James Paige

Current mood: Integrated

I love Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, and not just because of Motoko.The show’s storyline centers around social, political, behavioral, and psychological ramifications of technology– especially the integration of human and machine, which is IMHO, one of the most important and interesting aspects of technology.

Superficially you may see a cartoon about a Sexy Cyborg Crime-fighter battling insane robots and evil hackers, but what I see is a futurist story about real issues that our children and grandchildren may face. I also, of course, see the Sexy Cyborg, (she is hard to miss) … actually, come to think of it, I suspect that Sexy Cyborgs is one of the issues our children and grandchildren may have to face :)

She is an interesting character. She’s human, but enough of her has been machine for so long that she can’t interact normally with other people anymore. In some episodes, her empathy for robots and artificial intelligences seems to be much stronger than her connection to other humans.

Something to think about… Imagine if you could just go out and buy a new body, let’s say for sake of example, costing about the same as a car costs today. You would just pick one out, customize it, and have your mind installed. How would that affect you? Our mind is the seat of our souls, but our experiences shape our minds, and our bodies can profoundly influence our experiences. Imagine if you were stronger, faster, more resilient, and more beautiful than you are now. Would your life be the same? Where would you be? Would you be doing the same things you do now? Would you be thinking the same things you think now?

And a final thought; Batou’s glasses are cool. They are basically part of his eyes. How long until I can order eyes like that on E-bay?

Current mood: Crisp

I was in my art class yesterday, and while waiting for my sculpture to dry a little bit, I wandered across the hall into the painting class. I enjoy looking over artist’s shoulders while they work. In the middle of the room one woman was working on a painting of a freeway interchange. She was painting it in bright pastel colors. I remember a smurf-blue overpass across the top right of the canvas. The shapes were a little stylized, but I immediately recognized it.

“The 110 – 105 interchange, right?” I asked.

She finished her brush stroke, and then glanced at me and smiled. “Yes” she said.

For those of you who don’t live in the area, the 110 Freeway runs north and south, from Pasadena to San Pedro, passing close on the west side of downtown Los Angeles. The 105 freeway run east and west, terminating on the west end at the LAX airport.

This picture does not really do it justice, this is just the best I could find on Google Images. To really experience the beauty of this concrete monument to transportation, you must be closer to it, under it, looking up at it all around you. I have always felt that it looks best from the southbound side.

I imagine that 1000 years from now, post apocalyptic historians will look at the 110/105 interchange and wonder who built this towering temple, and what deities it honors.

Those of us who live today know perfectly well that nothing appeases these particular gods better than a sacrifice of fresh gasoline.

Current mood: Moving

Reality Television! Everybody loves it! nobody can get enough of it! Get ready for this year’s hottest new sensation in unscripted prime-time entertainment.

America’s Next Top Communist Dictator

You heard right! Fifteen randomly selected leftists will live together for five weeks in a big house in Malibu, and their real unscripted lives will be televised. At the end of the season, America’s viewers will vote for their favorite, and the winner will become the next Chairman of the People’s Republic of China!!!

Co-hosted by P. Diddy and The Writings of Mao Zedong.