Small southern towns that bake beneath a low hanging sun. If you’ve seen them all then you haven’t seen any.
Did you ever sit under Magnolia blossoms, next to a jar of crickets, as your friend’s sister twirled on a tireswing. A tireswing that was just ten minutes walk from a swimming hole?
No, I’m not trying to sell you chewing tobacco or homemade jam.
I’m just wondering if these places are going to stay.
They were sort of our version of indigenous tribes deep in the Amazon. All sleepy in a blanket of humidity and cicada song. As primordial as discarded peach pits that take root.
Do you remember battered banisters, and the highest technology being a superninendo; that you soon abandoned to slide in your socks across a musty woodpanel floor? You know the sort of stuff you’d do as an ancient Sharpee named Midnight watched lazily from his post beneath a shuttered window.
If you don’t I guess it doesn’t much matter.
Cause every sacred rite of passage that a barefoot, cricket hunting, Red Ryder marksman fell into, climbed over, or set on fire is now forever bathed in the witching glow of LCD.
Unfortunately that’s not an illicit substance that will get you closer to nature. It’s mighty uncanny. This disembodied voice that colors every living moment in artificial omniscience.
The oaks are still majestic at the periphery of the pasture. The earth smells sweet. But there’s a tension even here.
Zoologists and climatologists have challenged the narrative portrayed by the new Netflix documentary ‘Our Planet.’
This documentary tied walruses jumping to their deaths to global warming without giving due consideration to alternative explanations. This very much seems to be a case of sensationalism.
A sensationalism that is holding back environmental progress in the name of environmentalism. These sorts of things hog the spotlight and bury other real pressing issues.
The modern day certainly isn’t romantic. You need time for romance. And the modern day is all about instant access. So, it’s no surprise that sepia hued conceptions of lone desks in sparse rooms reeking of whiskey jar with reality. And this jarring leads some would be writers to whiskey without the licence of having written like Bukowski.
You may not dig Bukoswski. You may think my depression era vision of artistic struggle is cheesy (Confession: It is but cheese is yummy). But the fact that many feel that today’s over saturated market, desensitized readers, and short attention spans spell doom for spelling out literary vistas is undeniable.
The aforementioned factors are certainly there. Even though some may question the degree to which they’re present. They are there.
What does oversaturation imply? It implies a flooded market. What’s so bad about a flooded market? Well, aside from the obvious increased difficulty in getting traditionally published there’s the accompanying lack of funds due to a lethal combination of stiff competition and sheer static.
But, was it any better for Bukowski or Poe? I don’t think so. There’s probably a good reason both men were notorious alcoholics. A bohemian paradise isn’t one. Poe was writing at a time when literacy still played second fiddle to operating a plow. His market was small.
What’s worse a big market with lots of noise and asskickers or a small market full of aristocrats? I really don’t know.
I know that in Bukowskis day even though literacy had improved it still played second fiddle to assembling widgets at GM. Also, no one had time for reading.
That’s my first set of reasons for the firm belief that today might be the best time to be a writer. Because, despite all the hot air about overstuffed schedules readers have more time than ever. As do writers.
So, we have unprecedented levels of literacy and people who have time to watch the Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead while checking in on the Packers game.
Yes, but all these things are numerical…qunatative. It doesn’t matter if there’s more potential readers if there’s no engagement. People who are distracted by Game of Thrones and top ten lists won’t be reading very deeply if reading at all.
This may well be the lament of those who wish to view the past in roseate hues. But, the truth as far as I can see it is that these shallow consumers have a shadowside. Lots of folks, many of whom are in places like WordPress, are fed up with reboots. They make the exact sort of complaints that writers make. They’re hungry for deep engaging content. And seeing as they’ve had the whole worlds literary cannon at their fingertips are well equipped to engaged with said content.
Traditional publication and revenue may be difficult and it was always difficult. In fact I think that better informed folks might be able to argue that making money as a writer was even more difficult in Bukowskis day.
Yes, it may have been more difficult and it may still be difficult but there are many more tools. And one big difficulty is easily taken out of the equation. Writers as far as I can tell – want to be read. Due to technology and sites like WordPress this has never been easier.
This is a wonderful tool because it provides the invaluable insight of feedback. And there are many tools at the writers disposal. There are instant translators, internet dictionaries, just insane amounts of information about any given topic. Not only that but there are countless tools for organizing that information, for formatting, spell-checking, and editing your work.
I still flirt with the idea of the sparse room with the weathered keyboard. I flirt with it cause it’s sexy and it’s fun. But this little idealization of where real work and real writers happen is like most idealisations mere whimsy.
I’d conclude with something more concrete but I have to make my second cup of coffee before my shift starts.
Thanks for reading and don’t let the idea of being a ‘blogger’ keep you from writing.
By viewing this discussion via the lens of individualism vs collectivism Sargon has missed some key points. It, i.e ideological lenses and pathos are perennial problems with being a pundit. I’m not here to berate Karl but rather point out some misconceptions he’s allowed to seep in to his argument.
Busiest robot in the office with a heavy workload on all of his six hands.
The closing paragraphs of ‘The New Yorker article, ‘Machine Hands’ (John Seabrook), contain this little nugget:
“It’s also possible that this second wave of A.I.-based mechanization will automate the farmer’s job long before it removes the need for hired labor. In the indoor farms I visited, the brain work of farming-when to plant, irrigate, fertilize, and harvest-has been automated, but not the grunt work.”
This is something I’ve long suspected and have recently blogged about:
“I dunno how well versed these journalists and talking heads are in robotics but the level of sophistication required for a machine to load a UPS truck or do road work is insane. Fine motor function is a tricky business.”(Everyone should Code?)
While I hate to play Freud I think this all has to do with libido. The folks proposing a labor apocalypse delivered on the chrome horse of automation might know a bit of Java. They’re ‘men of letters’, socially savvy (read manipulative), and pathologically concerned about abstract futures.
It’s sexy to worry about the peasants not being able to keep up with your ability to write a Vox article.
But perhaps the effete should be worried about themselves.
Not about being accidentally racist, or sexist, or spilling their lattes on the latest issue of Entrepreneur.
They should be worried about their jobs.
Honestly, it should have been obvious from the start. Which tasks lend themselves to mechanization?
“The repetitive ones that those sweaty truckers and stockers do! You know the kinds done by people who make boner jokes. O shit is that the HR lady…I was using boner to describe how the lower classes talk…”
No, my precious orchid.
The sorts of jobs that lend themselves to automation are computational. They’re things with decision trees that don’t require the trees to sprout hands. In a nutshell: brain work.
Stuff that requires the fast and accurate scanning of vast reams of data, the analysis of that data, and a decision. Sure, QuickBooks hasn’t made accountants obsolete. It has however necessitated a bit of scurrying:
“Technology is rapidly reshaping the accounting industry, making certain skills and knowledge obsolete but at the same time creating opportunities for accountants to offer new services in the marketplace. For future accounting leaders, perhaps the biggest determinant of success is staying ahead of the technology curve so new innovations enhance one’s business, not replace it.”(https://quickbooks.intuit.com/ca/resources/pro-taxes/new-skill-sets-future-accounting-leaders/)
This suggests that it’s not truckers that will be thinner on the ground but research assistants, HR people, and stockbrokers.
Basically people who have to repetitively dig through data and perform basic logic. Things that a robot (computer) can do much better faster and cheaper than it can pick a strawberry.
This article isn’t here to gloat about folks losing their jobs. It’s here to point out that we need to think more deeply about what we value as a society. About what brings purpose to people’s lives.
Why haven’t we seen Glenn Gould in decades?
The answer is people define themselves through their jobs. Their self-worth is wrapped up in the ability to do work that’s more sophisticated and important than the schmuck in the truck (hence student loan crisis). Society values an insane mechanized orgy of buying and selling where Universities serve as bargaining chips rather than bastions of cultivation.
All the while engaging in self-congratulatory pity for the class of people who can actually change the oil.
Whoda thunk that the finesse of picking a strawberry just right is akin to the finesse of sawing a violin bow on a string? Whoda thunk that boolean operators handled statistics better than a hungover analyst?
Automation is inevitable. Let’s not let class pretensions blind us to where it’s most likely to happen. Now that we are getting a grasp on how to feed, clothe, sanitize, and house our teeming billions maybe we can start getting pre-industrial.
No, I don’t mean going Amish. I mean a return to craftsman culture. The sort of attention to detail, originality, and quality that flourished in Benjamin Franklin’s day. The sorts of activities that enrich lives and communities while being fulfilling in a specifically human way.
This isn’t writing code, or optimizing SEO, it’s the manipulation of matter. Manipulation – manus – doing it by hand. Hands honed by experience and guided by well-trained human minds and well trained human hearts.
‘There’s more than that to being poor.’ A discussion on the disconnect between pundits and the working class.
The question as to whether or not I should upload this… was answered – when I did a random search for Free Domain music on the Internet Archive and found a song with the title: ‘There’s More Than That To Being Poor’
I’ve heard several people weigh in on a series of articles describing troubles faced by men and boys (eg). These articles point out the higher rate of suicide, the unemployment, the crime, and the failure to form relationships.
These are certainly problems that need addressing. Yet, the way they are addressed both by mainstream media and various gurus like Dr. Peterson is lacking. It also seems to often veer in a unecessiraly condescending direction.
Part of the problem is an inaccurate view of the modern world. Just today I heard Tim Pool quote an article that said the job market currently valued brain over brawn. Then there were some vagaries about the trucking industry.
This is an odd diagnosis when mapping the problem of male under achievement since most technology is built and operated by men. Given the level of female interest in coding/engineering/etc. it is likely to remain that way. So no males aren’t getting shafted because we’re living in a high-tech society.
Tech may be a contributing factor but it is certainly second fiddle to outsourcing, population growth, Boomers that haven’t retired, and a host of other demographic issues. There are only so many positions available. There can only be so many surgeons and there can only be so many janitors. When women, your grandpa, and Bangladesh enter the US job market you’re gonna get a little sign that says: the position has been filled.
Are Opas and ladies in the workforce a bad thing? No. But, whether competent or not they do fill positions. So, talk show windbags should consider demographics instead of whinging on and on about MUH TECH while being confused by the difference between a composter and a compiler.
C++ via BoomerVision
It’s odd that a lack of college completion as a sign of underperformance is mentioned in the same breath as Coding. Since tech firms will hire people with demonstrable skills and a willingness to work with or without degrees.
Viewing IT and coding as the salvation of the millennial male is bizarre. To me it stinks of people who think they’re making savvy observations. ‘We understand the times you see. Automation is here and only the cognitive elite will fare well. Brawn is no longer necessary peasants.’
I dunno how well versed these journalists and talking heads are in robotics but the level of sophistication required for a machine to load a UPS truck or do road work is insane. Fine motor function is a tricky business.
Blue collar work isn’t going anywhere. Except for overseas.
And so…is coding! Cause coding doesn’t take much more than an average intelligence, YouTube, a book, and patience. Which is why lots of enterprising gents in Bangladesh are writing Java for those patriotic American businesses.
So the problem with ‘ya need moar skillsz lololoololol’ is that even if everyone learned to code….there’s only so many fucking things that you can fucking code. The salaried positions will be filled quickly and the remaining scraps will be passion projects and apps that allow you to put a baboons ass on your buddies Instagram pics.
GDP boosting tech!
The problem is not the march of progress leaving men behind. The problem is as it has always been a combination of carrying capacity, undervaluing the trades, and credentialed idiots.
In a previous column, I cited an article on News Forum For Lawyers titled “Study Finds College Students Remarkably Incompetent,” which referenced an American Institutes for Research study that revealed that over 75 percent of two-year college students and 50 percent of four-year college students were incapable of completing everyday tasks. About 20 percent of four-year college students demonstrated only basic mathematical ability, while a steeper 30 percent of two-year college students could not progress past elementary arithmetic. NBC News reported that Fortune 500 companies spend about $3 billion annually to train employees in “basic English.” Many of today’s college students are not only academically incompetent but emotionally so, as well, and do not belong in college. (The Times)
Men who are financially unstable due to these economic/demographic realities often have trouble sustaining or even starting relationships. They are viewed as underachievers by people who have loaded themselves up with a lifetime of debt learning how to do Excel spreadsheets. People who inhabit make-work professions like HR departments, managerial managing management managers, and counselors. Makework professions that are often the result of affirmitive action…
Google found it paid men less than women for the same job
These sorts of folks gloat about men’s romantic shortcoming citing that women have less trouble romantically. Forgetting that hookups aren’t relationships and what’s bad for the goose is bad for the gander.
Maybe just maybe brawn is just as necessary as it ever was and brains and civilization didn’t come from the professors lounge. If you like roads and you like toasters that can tickle your tits maybe you should look at the real reason men are faring badly.
The problem is cultural. The problem is demographic. The problem is condescencion by folks who have played on an entirely different chessboard.
What troubles me in all of this is that it’s not only the ideological gloaters and misandrists and corporations that are failing men. It’s also the well wishers. It’s those that want to ‘FIX’ men.
Because they tell you to clean a room that you don’t have.
The Fractal Journal 