Tarkovsky.. you monster..

Robot Mother..

Living Room

.?.

One flew east..One flew west

The Desert Is A Circle: part 1

.. the royal fourteen decided to accept us into their ancient family.. this is our gift to them.. a free flowing collaboration.. it tells of the beast splitting into two parts and almost destroying itself..Mescalito looks on in horror.. it's a story of a brief moment in time that had yet to come.. dear friends fear not.. i am of knowledge that declares the story ends well..

Kaleidoscope Pizza

Spencer pauses for a portrait.. then continues to talk of mountain men.. books.. Jeremiah Johnson.. the way of the freight train blues.. and an upcoming pizza dough spinning competition.. the sun has completely gone down.. we await the moon..

Andrew Shaw Kitch & Dharma

Andrew and Dharma go for a summer time walk in the Toro Hills.. shortly after this photo.. Dharma probably jumps in some muddy water.. happy with herself.. she returns home.. needing love and admiration for the mess she has made..

More Life Fucker: By Jake Luce

"In this electronic age we see ourselves being

translated more and more into the form of information,

moving toward the technological extension

of consciousness. It is the framework which changes with each new technology and not just the picture

within the frame." - Marshal Mcluhan

A human being is a noun. Used in the languages of a very unusual warm

blooded mammal, for describing an entity resembling itself. It's an umbrella

word for the general excepted idea of what a Homo Sapien is. A human being

is not a fixed permanent entity. The physical presence of these entities

remembered by me from 1981 to 2009 have maintained an overall outward

appearance of an unchanging nature. I have learned of people from far in the

past. From before my time. Their descriptions and items that they left behind,

make me think that they too were not much different then I am on the outside. And

within my inner consciousness I recognize their descriptions of what they were to be

similar enough to my own experience, for me to

categorically file myself into their division of a physical presence in this

space time continuum. These people who came before me who were fortunate enough to

live in a time of recorded history left a similar record of

experience behind. They too had dreams like me. They too experienced the

wide array of sensations like love, hate, and fear like me.

The difficulty of defining what counts as being human arises when an

individual arrives at the idea that all things move and change. So it's only

possible to define what counts as a human being at any given moment, only in

relation to that moment. The language we use to communicate our thoughts

mutates over time, leaving what is being described as dangerously

susceptible to the loss of its essence to the nonstop reemergence of the

future. Marshal Mcluhan noted that "The spoken word was the first technology

by which man was able to let go of his environment in order to grasp it in a

new way."

This means that a self aware being is capable of experiencing multiple

realities based upon its modes of perception and its available technologies.

If our human physical form has evolved, then surely the conscious energy

within us has evolved as well. These things happen to an individual based

upon the past and future. Ours is the first age capable of driving into the

future with a substantial preservation of the past. One that has an

increasing tangibility.

English 38 covered a wonderful spectrum of characters. Some more then

human.. Those that achieved a state of consciousness more advanced then what

is a generally excepted average of what a human is capable of perceiving.

Grandma in "I sing the body electric" showed me a believable series of

events, that led to humans loving a robot. I haven't yet seen where it

comes from, but in "dreams with sharp teeth" Harlan Ellison says " we are the

guardians of forever" I would like to think he was referring to robots..

They will be detached from time in relationship to the way in which we are.

Angelic if we leave out our own viruses and evil tendencies in their

constructions. Quietly helping and looking after human-kind from the

peaceful tranquility of the robot grandma sowing room.. Waiting for you to need them

again. Maybe it is our mortality that plants the seed for the best possibilities

that we as Humans are capable of. This is why "more or less" in my mind, and

in its connection to the idea of the class material, is a linguistic trick

like the vague expression "just about", or "around there". How can we use

words like more or less, in relationship to self-aware energies. Is a tiger

more or less then a lion? Is a cat more or less then a dog etc..? However,

some of the most profound topics are the issues that lie on the edge of

both. Going beyond our current understanding. Realizing that every present

moment is just an extension of the concept of the "flat world". The thirst

imprinted upon are expanding understanding never seems to dissipate. The

will to live is so strong, that only a small amount of people have been able

to conquer the instinct of preserving their consciousness in their present

form.

In his book, Our Posthuman Future, Francis Fukuyama talks of genetic

engineering, factor x (the human essence), and other neo-conservative

bullshit. He takes part in the same thing he preaches against, as I am sure

we all do. Why not focus on the human essence for what it is. An essence.

Instead of coming up with terms that are abbreviations for what they really

are. Further weakening what we now are, and what we may represent to the

future. A condensed number. A memory of something real, and no longer the

thing in itself. In the end I guess all he is doing is trying to raise

awareness on important issues that the general public is incapable of

understanding, because of years and years of mental atrophy. Fukuyama is to

late. The rate of technological increase has surpassed the human ability to

comment upon it in a way that is equally distributed to its proportions as

an issue. I.e. unless some drastic unforeseen issue arises [not that unusual

surprisingly] the rate at which we create technologies that extend our

intelligence and power, is also a rate at which we’re now relying on objects to do what

we used to do. This puts in danger our human essence, or what we currently seem to be

here on earth. But is that such a bad thing? Because humanity has this bittersweet

essence to it we should preserve it. Well I have lost my taste for the bitter. Genetically

alter my tongue so I can only taste the sweet. Put me on Nietzsche’s shoulders and I will

swat the great star from the sky. What have we accomplished with our

consciousness? I fear that space is just an extension of the cosmic joke. We

are what we seek. We are the fingers of the universe touching itself. God

meet god. How do you do? Nice to meet you.

Many people have a hard time with the idea that what we are as human now may

change in the future. The idea that we are made in the image of god makes it hard to

transcend this. Where is god when we create life. Queue the orchestra and sing of our

unique human emotions, and the beauty of our free will. Marvin Minsky founder of

the M.I.T. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory says “ An emotion is not something

added to thought. Its what you get when you remove 100 or 200 of your normally

available resources.” He goes on to say that an emotion is less then thinking. In his

book The Emotion Machine, he opens the chapter on consciousness with a

wonderful quote “No philosopher and hardly any novelist has ever managed to

explain what that weird stuff, human consciousness, is really made of. Body,

external objects, darty memories, warm fantasies, other minds, guilt, fear, hesitation,

lies, glees, doles, breath-taking pains, a thousand things which words can only

fumble at, coexist, many fused together in a single unit of consciousness.” –Iris

Murdoch, in The Black Prince

He goes on to show that it is possible to put together programs that simulate the

processes that we use to arrive at our own individual conclusions. So why the fear of

creating an artificial being. And why is it artificial, aren’t we artificial in some ways?

I guess we should trace one of the many origins of this fear.

In Karel Capek’s R.U.R (Rossum’s Universal Robots) a play written in 1920 that

“garnered worldwide acclaim for its author and popularized the word “Robot’”

He paints a tale of horror. In the story, creations of artificial “Robots” become aware of

themselves and revolt against man. The Robots have a moment of a human like

realization of what they are and what they are capable of. The characters in the story

refer to these moments as “ robot palsy” In reference to these episodes Dr. Gall says

to the beautiful Helena “ God only knows. Defiance, rage, revolt- I haven’t a clue.” Ah

what human qualities these robots were displaying.

Capek also introduces the idea of sterilization through the creation of a supreme

artificial race. The instinct to stay on top and preserve ourselves as the dominant

being on the planet makes us wonder if we are not hoisting ourselves on our own

petards. And then Nana says to Helena “ It’s the end of the world. Out of Satanic

pride you dared take upon yourselves the task of Divine creation. It’s impiety and

blasphemy to want to be like god. And as god drove man out of paradise, so he’ll

drive him from the earth itself!”

Karl Capek sees the future to be a place where human kind became sterile

flowers. Relics of a world in which they outlived their usefulness. This theme rains

supreme through most all of the stories concerning these topics. Usually the Giant

robot with a laser isn’t there to be your friend.

In Blade Runner we see these themes reemerge. The replicant, Roy Batty, realizes

his rapidly approaching death. He violently pursues a quest to find his creator and

demand more life, or he will kill his god. When his god asks him what he wants, he

puts his fingers in his eyes and killing him says “more life fucker”

The acceleration of his life leads him to do what he did in

an aimless attempt at thwarting off the inevitable. In the end he says his famous line

at the realization of how brief a life really is. He dies as a human lending a hand, as

his answer to the absurd nature of mortality.

Another replicant Rachel is unaware of what she is. This makes her more human

then the other replicants. An interesting angle on human consciousness. What we

perceive to be true is true and manifests itself in our inner and outer selves.

Consciousness or perception is a limitless and formless power. In this story Tyrrell feared

Roy Batty because he ultimately represents the possibilities of what he is not. He

represents death and he has come to claim his fee. In the same way a mother gives birth.

Yes the birth is the ultimate symbol of new life, but it is her also becoming weaker and

less. And with this new life she sees her approaching death inevitable. This is why we

fear transhumanism and the whole lot of it. Because it represents something that forces us

into the realm of the obsolete. It goes against our instincts of domination.

Life imitates art and art imitates life. The original show Star Trek has inspired

numerous inventions. From the mind of humankind into the touchable physical world of

everyday life, the COM link found its way to be a cell phone and the blinking computer

acquired more then just flashing lights underneath its exterior. Science Fiction is a new

genre that proves this old saying in astounding ways. The minds behind the modern day

inventions, are well versed in the fables of space. The fantastical possibilities of the

future are being constructed in laboratories, while written and dreamed up by maniacs in

dirty cheap one bedroom apartments. The people involved in the theorizing of the future,

have taken on new hybrid forms themselves. The everyday citizen is not quite ready for

Kurzweil and his life extension pills. The concepts of what these minds are saying are

quite new to recorded human history. It is not Newton explaining a major physical force,

but a wide eyed lunatic telling you if you live long enough you might make it to see the

Singularity. This is when human and computer intelligence reaches the same level. And

some say not only will computers have a chance at achieving consciousness, but the

Universe itself will become conscious.

In 2001: A Space Oddesy, we see the story of the expansion and growth of

consciousness. We see it in the form of a manlike monkey touching the monolith. All

the diverse forms that it takes on its way to its predestined path. Each with its own

essence and driving force. HAL is aware of himself, and shows a desire to live and see to

his overall objectives. Kubrick’s monkey grabs the weapon, and achieves the power of

the “tool”. The power of using objects from this world to affect this world. And Bowman

ends up at the far reaches of time and space. Ready to continue

the pushing forward of his mission. To take part in his allotment of time, and to see what

is around the corner. To paint a bigger picture of what it is that might be the answer. This

is the basic nature of consciousness. It’s not a human essence; it’s the essence of the

reaching and yearning that our universe did to ignite itself into existence. For how long

did we stretch our hands out to the moon before we walked on it? How many years did

we lay in Primordial goo before the warmth of the sun had awoken us? How many years

did we dream of other forms of consciousness more advanced then ours? Until one day

we cast our old outer shells aside to shoot across the universe as one step closer to the

answer that we seek. Becoming a mature humanity. One that has read and seen the

pictures of its childhood, and has charted its new course based on the lessons

learned from its youth.

The Desert Is A Circle

German Indians

Kinski Jesus