Welcome to Litsy!

#tuesdaytunes

I've been finding comfort this week in revisiting 80s/90s country: Doug Stone, Collin Raye, Lonestar, Sawyer Brown, Mary Chapin Carpenter.
Clint Black's D'lectrified was a childhood favorite, and, listening this morning, I couldn't remember for sure whether The Galaxy Song was from Monty Python (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkkjzmuEBbo) or Animaniacs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BphgKX-DZE), and that made me smile 😊

Here are my Valentine's gifts from Barnes & Noble.

Two books that seem very interesting
And a Moomin bag, because... I love the Moomins!!!!

Very insightful look at the tech oligarchs. An intelligent, creative, but largely an emotionally immature lot. She follows their careers and social rise from the earliest Silicon Valley days to present day. I was left with great respect for some and loathing resignation for others. A valuable read for the time we are in.

This is a must read for anyone interested in or horrified by the ways in which social media has disrupted how we write, communicate with each other and conceive of ourselves, politics and society. Moreover, this essay in book format reads as part philosophy, psychology and history to deliver a thorough analysis of the present danger posed by the “social industry” especially in relation to conspiracy theories and political campaigns. Great read!

#TodayILearned more about Spyware😡🤢

I haven‘t read Ronan Farrow‘s reporting on Pegasus, but this 61 minute documentary on HBO Max gives a great overview.

Tagged the book that‘s lauded as the best owner‘s manual on going off the digital grid. We‘ve got the book and someday I‘ll read it. Just doesn‘t seem like there‘s much you can do to minimize intrusions unless you‘re truly willing to give up connected tech. I‘m not there, yet.

Cory Doctorow‘s entertaining treatise on interoperability. 💻 🛜 🆓

We have made a lot of changes in recent years to move our family away from Tech dependence in centrality. This book very practical advice on how to do that in all areas of life, and most importantly, it gives the heart and why underneath it all. It‘s not about a fear of some thing, but a desire not to miss and gain the greatest things.

Page-turner examination of the corrupting influence of extreme wealth and blind faith in technology. This won‘t be the last book I read by Douglas Rushkoff. A true visionary!

The blurb made me think I was the target audience for this book but I‘m really not. I was interested by the geopolitical and global economic influence of chip technology, and although this was a thread which ran through the book, for much of the book this is bogged down in highly detailed discussion of the mechanics of chip technology. I was not smart enough to penetrate this and I got bored. On reflection I should have quit while I was ahead.

I‘m interested in what other disabled people have to say about the world we face today. Shew is a cancer survivor with an amputated leg and Crohn‘s. I like that she narrowed down the book to amputees and those with autism and looked at ways advancing science and “miracle” cures (like bionic limbs and sketchy autism cures) actually hinders progress for those with disabilities. Really interesting if you‘re disabled or into disability rights.