PETS

. . . in the first world, we cater to our pets' needs as if they are our children. we buy health insurance for them, we fret over their comfort, tote them around, buy them running water fountains, toys & treats, dress them in baby clothes and kerchiefs. . .just today, I heard over the radio: "did you know that today is national pet dental care day ? " . . .the industry does indeed play on our lonliness, our lack of touch, our distance from the real wilderness, our fear of death, our fear of old age all soothed by the wrinkle-less, speechless, domestic animals. . .as long as they're in good health.

the thing is. . .most pet's have significantly shorter lifespans than us. . .we can be sure that we will encournter death, sickness and old age with them before actually encountering it in the humans that are closest to us.

in light of this. . .it is no surprise that our first domestic robots will be all kinds of designer pets. . .that live as long as we do. . .they just need to get the fur right. . .and it will be a hit.

RADICAL WORLDS, SAME PLANET

what is it going to feel like to be old in the 21st century? . . . well, I kinda already know. . .how it feels to let that next big wave of new technologies, of hyper online fashionistas crash overhead and leave you entirely behind. . . for to have longeivity in this system, one must be fluent in tech, a rapidly changing language of testosterone and youth, surface information, popularity, fast graphics, and accessibility. one must also have the patience and energy to learn how to do the things you already knew how to do, in an entirely new way, over, and over, and over. it's humbling and refreshing and exhausting. . .for as long as we're willing to play, it will keep us unusually young into old age.

( I'm wondering, then, how culture might divide into certain zones of maturity. . .where do those with overarching wisdom fit in to this glocal human situation? well, I certainly know, I'm always looking for good teachers. meaningful elder life advisors and actual role models are hard to come by. we are emancipated from the strict bindery of so many traditions, but it's also a lonely, demanding highway out there without firm voices of authority and guidance. although our bodies may become less relevant as we live more and more of our lives online, age & death is still an innevitability. we still look to those ahead of us to guide us along. age is not just a pejorative thing, it's a resource.

a first foreshadowing of death in our culture, is that moment when a participating citizen just completely stops making the effort to keep up with current tech. could happen for some at 20. . .others at 40, 60, 80. for some it's a slow process, for others gradual.

I suppose seniors of my generation will fill up significant virtual space with their nostalgic laments, their cheezy conformist snapshots, their endless 80s music. . . .will others lurk and laugh?

me, I hope that I'll be that old mountain lady, or desert-mountain lady: long hair, mystical eyes, tatered lace & cowboy boots, library full of kick-ass books and objects & plants, a fast computer at a large wooden desk, a view of the sunset, an eletromagnetic travel device. I'll be in communication with other contemporary edge dwellers around the globe, plus the spirits, the rocks, and the animals. its a nice dream. . .wonder what will actually happen?

(I like the description of that old lady katy thompson cory, life-long photographer of the hopi indians. she dropped out of high society nyc in her youth (1908), hopped on a train to the west and never came back. they say she wore ripped up dirty old lace. . .she was that old lady in donny darko checking the mail, that invented a time machine, she was a person elegently walking between radically different worlds, both oddly on the same planet.)

-kt