Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Much appreciated.

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either Safari or Chrome. )
  

    
Hi, SotWders.

I think the lst time I dove in was a coupel years ago, or was it​
when I was still a correspodant from Dubai (which, oddly I return to​
periodically).  There is a lot to say, but I think the reminiscence​
chain is apropos, as being here in quaint lille Winona, MN (the​
Midwest's version of Ibiza - actualkly, no it isn't - it's more of a​
getrifying Lake Wbegone).

The cognitive chain goes back to the early 90's when I was orbiting​
Jon, et al by showing up at Fringeware, and beign indirectly​
introduced to the Churcjh of the Subgenius indirectly my hometown​
hero Mark Mothersbaough (Akronites!)

But lots of things happened, raising hell in the 90's and 2000s as​
the animator for a cheeky little activist band, TheYes Men, doign a​
lot of writing nad net art, running a mag called Intelligent agent​
with the digital curattor of the Whitney, getting up mornings at​
SxSW at Jon's to hear Bruce say, "So, what cool thing did ya see​
this year, Pat?" to cybirging with Jon, winding up in Dubai only to​
hang out with 'Worlder Derek Woodgate, and doing occasional rants on​
JKon and Scoop's podcast.

This isn't so much a bragchain, but more of a "What a long, weird​
walk it;s been..." sort of thing.
  

    
But there's a moral to this story,  I, and my ethereal Tehrani wife,​
Negin, have been on the front lines of global trends sine leaving​
Dubai in 2021. Most of it is too long, and probably boring to tell,​
but the exciting and heartbreaking part is the journey we had​
through the US immingration system.  In short, about 50 months​
before I came here and her able to join me, with academic breas in​
Turkey or Cyprus (had to get a pass from the Ministry of Culture to​
get Negin in), then escaping the war to get her to Weimar for the​
past year, only to have to walk away from our place cold to come to​
Winona.

And now we live a scant two hours from Minneapolis, which ain't fun.

And I get the aging thing - seeing my slightly forward friends​
starting to hit bumps, and at 63, I'm now a full-fledged cyborg,​
reading the messages with AI glasses, saving my RP-infested​
remainign vision for remarks.

The point to this is that I remember Bruce cry out at an EFF party​
at SxSW, "This isn't the dystopis I wrote aout!"

Damned straight, hermano.
 
And we're looking down the barrel ofn climate change - actually I​
g=began doign Neo-Romantic art based on my anxieties about climate​
change and AI by making AI rehases of the Caspar Friedrich seascapes​
I saw at the Goethe Haus or monuments likt the Eiffel submerged 60 m​
at the base.

But we're here waiting for Iran internet to open back up, in shock​
but the Renee Good shooting, and I'm doing themost anachronistic​
thing of all—finishing a tenure portfolio (my 3rd time doing this)​
- that venerable ivory-billed woodpecker of academia. I get it, and​
we're bunkered in for a decade in Midwest Ibiza, or we go back on​
the road.

The point is, again that chaos is de rigueur now—a polycrisis in​
the ambient muzak of the time.  When I was eating horse jerky in​
Kazakhstan, I had no idea the world was this weird.  

Or maybe so.
I sometimes think that coming home from Dubai was stupid, then I​
look again, and maybe it was one of the best options I could have​
had.  At least Negin and I had the forst Xmas at home since 2020.

OK, typo laden rant ended for today.
  

    
I wouldn't claim that the Chinese are ten feet tall.  It's more that​
everybody else now is two feet tall and some are half-buried in​
foxholes.

The manifesto goals in that Tengchong document aren't "new."  It's​
more that the Chinese ability to sort-of carry them out is new.  You​
can have all the way-out, innovative ideas you can handwave about,​
but if the Chinese are really building and selling them and you're​
not, then you're basically a sci-fi writer.

Xiaomi is a consumer-electronics company, and they designed and​
built a car in two years.  The car didn't fly, but it's a luxury car​
and it sells.  Apple spent ten years and several billion​
contemplating an Apple car. Then they shrugged and gave up.  Too​
far-fetched, not stockholder-centric.
  

    
These Chinese companies are not indolent, featherbedding​
bureaucracies filling out Red Chinese paperwork.  A lot of them are​
being persistently and directly attacked by the US, like, say,​
Huawei, where Trump once kidnapped the mandarin's daughter in high​
Venezuelan style.  These trade-war assaults didn't even slow them​
down.  It seemed to capture their attention and focus their​
technical activities.

I see these guys all the time now.  They're forcing their way on my​
attention in the way Japanese companies did in their trade-boom.

The Big Tech Platforms, of course:
Alibaba (e-commerce)
Tencent (e-commerce)
Baidu (AI, autonomous vehicles)
  

    

But all these other ones, too:
Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit (DRAM manufacturing)
Huawei (semiconductors, telecommunications and consumer electronics)
BBK Electronics (consumer electronics)
Xiaomi (consumer electronics)
Aviation Industry Corporation of China (aerospace)
CRRC (rail)
Sinopharm (medicine)
Megvii (AI)
DJI (AI, drones)
SMIC (semiconductors) 

BAIC (new energy vehicles)
Geely (new energy vehicles)
NIO (new energy vehicles)
BYD (new energy vehicles)
  

    
If you say, "what does a Chinese flying car look like," that sounds​
corny and goofy.  If you ask "what does a Xiaomi-Huawei pilotless​
taxi-drone look like when it's a new-energy-vehicle," then the Saudi​
investors would fret about that.
  

    

"Room temperature superconductors" are also an old idea, but if ten​
thousand Chinese lab engineers ground-it-out force-of-numbers style,​
and some Chinese heavy-industry managed to mass-build those, the​
world would be set on its ear.  Of course the world would still be​
stricken with the ongoing climate crisis, but everybody would kowtow​
to them because it would transform the grid worldwide.
  

    
The Xi Jinping "Chinese Dream" is about the kowtows.  It's about​
historically overcoming the "century of humiliation" and having the​
world bow the knee in awed respect of a rejuvenated hegemonic​
techno-superpower.  I get it why that would be a Chinese​
ethnonationalist aspiration, but if everybody else is​
auto-humiliating themselves by comparison, that makes them look even​
more impressive.  I'm not all that "impressed" by them, but I'm sure​
I'll be paying more attention to them.  If they're setting the pace,​
it behooves you to look.
  

    
The disciplined and energetic Chinese are ascendant compared to the​
declining USA, where billionaires are getting fat on grift and the​
government has fallen into the hands of a demented former reality​
show host who's formed a muddled, violent idiocracy. Meanwhile "the​
world’s oceans absorbed colossal amounts of heat in 2025, setting​
yet another new record and fuelling more extreme weather, scientists​
have reported."​
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/09/profound-impacts-record-oc
ean-heat-intensifying-climate-disasters>

Meanwhile "Trump’s first 100 days in office have been the most​
harmful 100 days of any administration for climate, clean energy,​
public health, and communities – especially our most vulnerable​
communities. His actions have accelerated the climate crisis and​
endangered communities’ health by kneecapping pollution​
protections and
crippling extreme weather preparedness, and have driven up costs and​
undermined economic growth through illegally freezing clean energy​
investments and launching a trade war with important economic​
partners."​
<https://www.actonclimate.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/100days100harms.pdf>

Despite this, "Columbia Climate School experts see signs of progress​
on the horizon, and climate solutions within reach."​
<https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2026/01/07/columbia-climate-school-experts-o
n-what-gives-them-hope-for-2026/> Let's hope.
  

    
It's also worth looking at how fast the Chinese are rising in​
control of the world's fastest growing culture engines, with​
significant ownership of some of the top global companies in games​
and music: 

TenCent Games: Riot (100%), SuperCell (84%) Epic (40%) Funcom (100%)​
with big infrastructure for esports/live streaming via Huya/Douyu

TenCent Music: Operates China’s leading DSPs: QQ Music, Kugou​
Music and Kuwo Music

WeChat is about half the size of Meta with a lot of room for global​
growth; FB users spend roughly 35 minutes per day whereas WeChat​
users spend 80+ minutes a day because it is a true "super app" with​
deep hooks into ecommerce, messaging, gaming and the social fabric​
of Asia.
  

    
Via email from Filip Dedic:

So State of the World increasingly looks a lot like a smouldering​
hell and outlets even have a regular yearly column „XX Conflicts​
to watch in 20YY."

So in the survivor mode of writer Italo Calvino I am asking: What do​
we seek and recognize as not part of hell in 2026? What do we make​
endure and give space? And how do we realistically maintain that​
practice on a personal scale? How can we rewrite that intent for​
conditions of 2026?
  

    
How to define not-hell? Perhaps through practices.      

Specifically, these:
Taking a moment where no one is performing for an algorithm.
Do work with care, even when unseen.
Have a conversation without trying to "win."
Give attention freely (a mindful approach).
Humor without cruelty.
Practice with skill, craft, patience.
Take small actions that preserve dignity.

Find practices that don't reduce humans to metrics, enemies, or​
resources. Practices that slow us down instead of accelerating us.​
Connect instead of sorting. Clarify instead of inflaming.

Take time for silent meditation. Acknowledge complexity. Do some​
work that can't easily be monetized, or at least without thought of​
monetization. Tell great stories. Change minds. Find and encourage​
coherence. Tell the truth.
  

    
bravo jon
  

    
Thank you Jon,  I'm signing off now to teach a free course in making​
Calder style mobiles to some local enthusiasts.  All of the above in​
#88.  Find some balance in life.