Adults pissing away their mortal minutes in idle distraction is fine. But children subjecting themselves to a constant stream of idiotic nonsense is downright obscene. In the not so distant past, stimulating a release of […]
Culture - Dystopia - Literature - Philippic - Politics
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The Dystopia Files: When the Sleeper Wakes
H.G. Wells originally published When the Sleeper Awakes in 1898 as a serial in The Graphic, an illustrated London newspaper. In his preface to the 1910 edition, The Sleeper Awakes, he expressed disappointment with the […]
Class - Culture - Labor - Technology
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Temporary Life 5: Survival of the Absent
When I started temping, the personal-computing revolution hadn’t yet rescued the American economy. The Internet as we know it did not exist—it was something called “The Well,” which had to be accessed by a 96-kb […]
Class - Culture - Politics
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If It Ain’t Private, It Ain’t Republican
A few years back, when Dubya was ridin’ his wooden horse hard, I was in a bar talking to a gal who at some point proclaimed, or admitted, that she was a republican. I asked […]
Class - Culture - Labor - Politics
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Temporary Life 4: Attitude Is Servitude
The drawbacks of a positive attitude are clear enough: first, you can assume one in regard to almost anything from the beneficial to the depraved, thus it is arbitrary; second, having encountered a number of […]
Consumerism - Culture - Drugs - Dystopia
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Stoned in the USA
On September 30, 2008 the PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer aired an essay by Richard Rodriguez titled “Mexico’s Violent Drug War Wreaks Havoc on Innocent Lives,” in which Rodriguez characterized the relationship between foreign trafficking […]
Consumerism - Culture - Dystopia - Technology
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Telephonic Purgatory
It should have been quick and simple, establishing a telephone account for a new place of residence. As Verizon was my existing provider, I saw no reason to take the business elsewhere. So I navigated […]
Class - Culture - Labor - Politics
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Temporary Life 3: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
Getting hired by a temp agency is relatively easy: make an appointment, appear in your second-hand monkey suit, fill out the application, take the software test, and discuss your resume with the “analyst.” Provided you […]
Culture - Labor - Technology
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I’m a Techy, You’re a Techy
About a year ago I bought a gadget that uses wireless technology to play electronic files and Internet radio through my stereo. Not a mind-bending idea. Receivers and transmitters have been around for over a […]
Culture - Labor - Politics
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Temporary Life 2: Revenge of the Human Resource
For three years I remained a temp or, should I say, impermanent. To those for whom I worked I was as insignificant as the tasks they assigned. And when those tasks were done, I was […]