Farewell to Venice
On our way to the airport.
Quote of the Day
”I don’t mind growing old. I’m just not used to it.”
- Viktor Borge
Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news
Mozart | Così fan tutte, K. 588, Act 1: “Soave sia il vento”
I know, I know: Fiordiligi and Dorabella are being taken for a ride. But it’s a gorgeous tune.
Long Read of the Day
When Super-Chickens Started to Roost
Terrific blast by the redoubtable Margaret Heffernan on techbro arrogance and Tony Blair choking on the AI Kool Aid.
In 2014 I was invited to speak at a California tech ‘summit’ comprised of the CEOs of young startup companies. I was no stranger to this kind of event; when I was the CEO of startups, we gathered regularly with our peers to help one another and share what insight we had into a new and confusing market. No longer running companies, I was intrigued to see what these gatherings had become.
“There is nothing wrong with healthcare that getting rid of doctors won’t fix.”
”There is nothing wrong with education that getting rid of teachers won’t fix.”
”There is nothing wrong with the legal system that getting rid of lawyers won’t fix.”
… and so on. The new world would be improved by eliminating human relationships.
The speech made me want to leave. But I honoured my commitment and stayed,..
I’m glad she did. And so might you be if you read on.
My commonplace booklet
RIP Abdullah Ibrahim
The great African jazz pianist has passed away. His song Mannenberg became the unofficial anthem of the ANC’s fight against apartheid. I knew him first as Dollar Brand and was mesmerised by his music. May he rest in peace.
In one of those strange coincidences, his Blue Monk was the opening music at the funeral on Wednesday of an old friend who, in addition to being a distinguished academic, was also a jazz lover. In fact he once told me that if he hadn’t become a systems theorist he would like to have had a Chair in Jazz Studies.
You can hear Mannenberg here. And his wonderful Bra Timing From Phomolong is here.
Linkblog
Something I noticed, while drinking from the Internet firehose.
How does a mechanical watch work? Lovely explainer by Bartosz Ciechanowski.
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