…was going to be this Tuesday’s post - based on recent news that 60 countries have agreed to legalise semi-autonomous driverless cars on certain roads. These cars would allow drivers to (we were told) play computer games or use their phones in slow moving traffic. There is a 10 second revert-to-driver function if things go wrong. What could possibly go wrong on a road in 10 seconds when you are behind the wheel of a vehicle weighing 1.5 - 2 tonnes? And anyway how is this any sort of priority? Who asked for it? When was it debated in parliament? Why are we just being towed behind random tat technology? And that is all putting to one side that roads in the UK are not in a fit condition even for the vehicles we already have.
There was also the new robot dog in the US. And who
am I to say that the millions spent developing something that looks like a cheap prop for a forgettable sci-fi film that might appeal to 15 year old boys could have been better spent training the police not to shoot unarmed black men?
But as I considered this theme – ‘IT is the new Stupid’
or ‘Intelligent is the new Moronic’ – I felt I was losing the will to live. So
I’m not going to write that.
Then I thought I might bang on about this Thursday’s
UK elections – local and mayoral elections in England and Wales and
parliamentary elections here in Scotland. But then I noted that despite the
horrific, unnecessary death toll under Boris Johnson and the news that despite
his corruption, despite the profiteering of tory cronies during the pandemic ,
despite the multiple enquires now under way into this government’s sleaze – and
that is before we even start on the low-life mess which is Johnson and his ilk
generally (check out blog post – British Boarding Schools Breed Posh Sociopaths) – the Tories still command a significant poll lead – and Johnson has - today - got himself in our tame media as the saviour of wickle doggies everywhere with his master plan to thwart naughty doggy thieves– well – we’re just
back on a theme – only this time ‘Knowledge is the new Dum-as-shit’?
So – instead – as the lovely Bandcamp are again waiving
their revenue in order to help hapless artists like me who’ve seen no income
from our endeavours for over 12 months now – I am going to link you again to my
wee piece on that website – Casey & the Surfmen . Part 1.
Down by the Sea. Part 2. Ripping the
Earth. You’ve heard the planet groaning for decades and felt it trembling over
the last few years – now listen to its raw message in this lyrical family-friendly
epic tale of environmental peril and triumph.
Sample for free then by on
Friday 7th May.
OR
Buy a copy of the paper back or e-version by
checking out My BOOKS
And we’ll see if the world is any saner this time
next week…