Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
thanx for the indepth ibiza response. how self-sufficient is ibiza?
  

    
Like Bruce, I find myself gazing at the last course of life's meal,​
and wondering how to pay the bill when the check comes. And whether​
I should leave a tip.

Getting old, I see clearly how so many things change, how few things​
persist - and nothing lasts forever. Austin, Texas, where I live, is​
a model of growth and change. Counterculture types who've lived​
here, like me, for 50-60 years have trouble finding recognizable​
bits of the practices and traditions and actual places once​
prominent. The vital music scene that helped put Austin on the map​
is fading - so many musicians have died or grown older. In 2025 we​
lost bass player Speedy Sparks and guitarist/songwriter Joe Ely,​
both of whom I would've thought immortal, a few years ago. Local​
public radio, once known for its blends of roots Americana, cosmic​
cowboy twang, modern jazz, and John Aielli's anything-goes morning​
show Eklektikos, spun off a separate channel for even more diverse​
musical blends, a lot of it urban contemporary, pop rock, mostly​
twang-free from what I hear. Mention the Armadillo World​
Headquarters in mixed company and you're liable to get blank stares​
from anyone under 60. 
  

    
Austin's more urban, a skyline now overgrown with 'scrapers, a city​
that appreciates and supports fine food and fine art... and a city​
that has kept one aspect over the decades, its comfort with​
weirdness. But we might be losing that, as well... 
  

    
As I was saying, the local Austin music scene has expanded and​
fragmented, but that's not just a local phenomenon, and it's not​
just music. Cultural expansion and fragmentation has increased, or​
at least it's become more obvious through the Babelian aspects of​
social media. Weird pulses of chaotic, then coherent, then more​
chaotic...

It's winter. The oak tree in our garden has no leaves.
  

    
What would they say if you pulled out your Oat Willie Power Hitter?
  

    
"That's the weirdest looking vape...!"
  

    
I first came to the Bay Area in 1984, when California's population​
was 25.84 million.  I've been here since minus 6 years, 1989-1995,​
in Tokyo although my wife and I (and our son when he was that age)​
travel relatively frequently to SE Asia where she's originally from.​
Today California's population is 39.1 million - 51.4% increase. ​
Sure feels it to me although I think it's also age that when I'm,​
for example, out on the road, my first rule at 68 is stay out of the​
way.  Note that the rightmost lane is the secondary, but possibly​
faster, passing lane on the highway.

So what are the comparable number fors Texas?  16.01 mln -> 31.29​
mln.  A 95.5% increase.  Ouch.

I've never lived in Texas but did travel across it once in the​
winter of 1982.  East Texas looked familiar - West Texas did not. ​
First discovered the Permian Basin in West Texas which, if anything,​
has become even more relevant to the world at large.

I've been thinking that if the US economic system was bookended, in​
the 19th and 20th Cs, by New York to the east and Illinois (Chicago)​
to thew west the view forward and maybe now is that it's bookended​
by Texas and California.  They are, to some extent, different​
economic and political experiments and I'm not sure that's a bad​
thing.

I was thinking I'd like to do a John McPhee on Ibiza (or the​
Balearics more generally) but then thought, no that would be largely​
geology (although with some very good prose).  But then it occurred​
to me: what I'd really like is Fernand Braudel on the Balearics. ​
I've read pretty much everything he ever wrote.  If the Balaerics​
were there (long time ago) it was in passing.  But oh yes, maybe​
they can be seen, historically, as an extension of Catalan culture. 
  

    
number fors [Texas]?  Looks like I added that s in the wrong place. ​
Another thing that's gotten worse with age is my proofreading.

Hmm, what would be the regex that would move the s from for to​
number?  That too feels tiresome.  But wait a min - there's ChatGPT.​
b(number)s+for(s)b

I'm a retired software engineer.  The occupational hazard of pretty​
much every occupation is that you, to some extent, become that​
occupation.  So take care.
  

    
It's hard to shake these reflexes.  Show your work (moreover [even​
more importantly] check what the LLM gave you).

https://imgur.com/a/RIs87Gx
  

    
Permian Basin: once in the early 70s I camped alone at Monahans​
Sandhills State Park near Odessa.  There was nobody else in the​
campground. I slept in a sleeping bag on a cot outside.  The night​
was uneventful though when I woke up in the morning my cot was​
surrounded with a variety of pretty large animal tracks.
  

    
I confess that I used ChatGPT again.  Not only that but this is an X​
post.  (I've sinned twice).  The point though is to compare a​
characterization of wind in northern Europe, on X, with Texas -​
which is basically the US's answer to a large-scale wind experiment.

https://x.com/cremieuxrecueil/status/2008670504400666869?s=20
  

    
The underlying ChatGPT conversation is here:

https://chatgpt.com/share/695ec280-517c-8009-95a0-2b919db49f34

Do data centers in Texas actually accept curtailment?  I'm not sure​
that makes sense to me unless those are non-AI, and non-critical,​
data centers.
  

    
2026 is the year we'll drown in AI-driven crap, even in 80s-era text
conversation.
  

    
Yes.  I'm aware that that's at, or close to, the prevailing opinion​
on The Well.  There's some truth to this but it's not the complete​
truth.

I found ChatGPT's comparison of wind in northern Europe vs Texas​
useful.
  

    
THE DRIFT OS GETTING KIND OF DEEP IN HERE
  

    
Yes, I've been wondering about those last few posts. On the other​
hand, "State of the World" is a very broad topic...

As I sit hear tonight I'm feeling a sense of emergency related to​
events in the USA and the Western Hemisphere. I should probably​
sleep on my current thoughts before I post anything... if I can​
sleep.
  

    
Sorry.  Brief escape from the state of the world. Guilty as charged.
  

    
On the sentimental subject of Austinites, I can't help but plug the​
fact that Richard Linklater is in Ibizan cultural news this week.  ​
Linklater's a quite genuine keep-Austin-weird Austinite character,​
and yet he can make a European art film as soon as look at one.  ​
I'm touched that tolerant Spanish intellectuals would think that​
Linklater is cute, that they would cordially pat his back and nod in​
approval when he backpacks into Paris and somehow pretends to be​
Jean-Luc Godard.

Also Linklater made his film in French and premiered it at Cannes​
and got an eleven-minute standing ovation.  Liklater's not even​
PRETENDING to be an internationally significant cinema auteur, he​
actually IS one.  Of course Austin's changed a lot in fifty years,​
but Austinites didn't used to do that, and for whatever it's worth,​
now they can.

https://flic.kr/p/2rQGjaS 
  

    
Coincidentally I watched "Nouvelle Vague" just last night, and found​
it a cheerful manifestation of a time and place and mindset that​
aligned with my youth. I was eleven years old when "Breathless" was​
released, and didn't have an opportunity to see it until years​
later. Linklater's film captures the disruptive aesthetic and​
experimental charm of Godard and the French New Wave (Nouvelle​
Vague) set as they disregarded the conventions and practices of​
established cinema... Godard as a character in the film insists in​
following his creative instincts and disregarding convention.

Rick's first film, "Slacker," made for almost nothing in the Austin​
area 35 years ago, was sorta like an American/Texan version of the​
same approach. 
  

    
Apologies to those of you who are seeing odd characters at the end​
of every line in this conversation. We have a technical issue -​
we're looking into it.
  

    
Some say that Donald Trump has fascist tendencies and that the USA​
is leaning toward fascism since his election to a second term. What​
evidence is there to support this contention? The following couple​
of posts include a list of fascist tendencies, and how they align​
with Trump's actions. I wrote this list over a week ago - since then​
the Trump administration has operated a military strike in​
Venezuela, capturing its leader, Maduro. And yesterday ICE​
operatives in Minnesota killed a 37-year-old poet and mother, then​
lied about the killing, claiming self-defense when video clearly​
showed otherwise. So the USA seems to be slipping past fascist​
tendency to fascist reality. 
  

    
Indications of protofascism or fascism...

Undermining democratic elections and peaceful transfer of power. He​
claimed the 2020 election was “rigged” without credible​
evidence. He pressured state officials (e.g., asking Georgia’s​
Secretary of State to “find 11,780 votes”) He encouraged​
attempts to overturn certified results. He supported fake electors​
and legal strategies to block certification. He refused to concede​
and endorsed efforts to stop Congress from formalizing results on​
Jan. 6. (Fascist movements historically reject electoral legitimacy​
when they lose and treat opponents as enemies rather than rivals in​
a shared system.)

Loyalty-based governance instead of institutional norms - for​
example, he publicly demanded personal loyalty from Justice​
Department and intelligence officials. He fired or sidelined​
inspectors general and civil servants who investigated wrongdoing.​
He has rewarded allies and punished critics inside government.​
(Fascist systems centralize authority around the leader rather than​
independent institutions bound by law.)

Politicization of law enforcement and justice. He has pressured the​
DOJ to shield allies and prosecute opponents. He has called for​
imprisoning political rivals (“lock her up,” “lock them up”​
rhetoric). He has intervened in individual criminal cases involving​
supporters. (Using state power as a weapon against perceived enemies​
is a classic illiberal/fascist pattern.)

Delegitimizing the press and independent information. He has​
frequently labeled journalists “the enemy of the people.” He​
encouraged supporters to distrust independent media entirely. He​
elevated state-aligned media personalities as preferred information​
sources. (Fascist regimes treat the press as a hostile force and try​
to replace it with loyal messaging channels.)
  

    
Indications of protofascism or fascism /2 ...

Extreme nationalist & exclusionary rhetoric. He portrayed immigrants​
and minorities as threats or criminals. He has promoted “America​
First” identity politics centered on nativism. He has proposed or​
enacted harsh immigration controls and family-separation policy.​
(Fascist ideologies typically define the nation in ethnic or​
cultural terms and frame outsiders as corrupting forces.)

Encouraging political violence or tolerating it rhetorically. He has​
frequently used language romanticizing toughness or violence​
(“knock the crap out of them,” praise for rough police​
treatment). He has minimized or deflected responsibility when​
supporters engaged in intimidation or violence. He re-embraced​
extremist or militant groups (e.g. Proud Boys) when politically​
expedient. (Fascist movements rely on paramilitary or mob-adjacent​
energy rather than only formal politics.)

Personality-cult leadership style. He has framed himself as the​
singular savior of the nation (“I alone can fix it”). He​
encourages rallies and symbolic loyalty displays. He treats​
disagreement inside the party as disloyalty rather than debate.​
(Fascist systems center politics on devotion to a "strongman" figure​
over policy or institutions.)
  

    
One might argue that the current US government is not full-on​
fascist at this point, probably protofascist. Trump has normalized​
authoritarian tactics and rhetoric that resemble early-stage fascist​
movements, but operated inside our still-standing (so far) system​
that has resisted full consolidation of power.
  

    
I'll change topics.  Fond reminiscences, moaning about our bruises​
and forebodings, they're okay and even morally necessary,  but they​
get on my nerves.  I'll talk about  futurism from China.

In China there's a city called Tengchong, which is in a picturesque​
hot-springs region on the border with Myanmar aka Burma, and maybe​
because they're safely distant from the Comintern in Beijing and​
famous for nothing much, they decided to put themselves on the​
Chinese and world map as a brainy intellectual center.  So they are​
the hosts of the recently-established "Tengchong Scientists Forum." ​


I happened to get my mitts on the summary of their recent​
speculative proceedings, and as futurist forecasts go, this​
document's  out-there.