bubbleblower | Silicon Soapware #243

Silicon Soapware #243 is out. Look in

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                            SILICON SOAPWARE 
       wafting your way along the slipstreams of the Info Highway
                        from Bubbles = Tom Digby
                           = bubbles@well.com 

                      http://www.well.com/~bubbles/

                               Issue #243
                      New Moon of September 23, 2014


Contents copyright 2014 by Thomas G. Digby, and licensed under a Creative 
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.  See the Creative 
Commons site at http://creativecommons.org/ for details.

Silicon Soapware is available via email with or without reader feedback.  
Details of how to sign up are at the end.


                          *********************

Summer gave way to Fall a few days ago, with rain following as if to help 
make the change official.

More local to me, the plumber managed to take out the broken disposal and 
get the drain working without replacing the sink itself.  So I have 
working plumbing again.

But I've been here fifteen years, and everything is showing wear and 
tear.  The manager says what he would really like is to have the place 
empty so he can do a complete renovation.  But he hasn't said anything 
definite about dates or anything.  It's all up in the air.

I've been going through my stuff (starting with the stuff I had to move 
to make room to work around the sink) and seeing what I can get rid of.  
There's lots of stuff that I may have needed (or thought I needed) in 
days gone by that I don't need now.  So I'm throwing or recycling much of 
it, while setting some other things aside to donate or try to sell.  It's 
slow going, but then again it took fifteen years to accumulate it, so 
it's not surprising that it's taking weeks or months to clear it out.


                          *********************

As various things in my life decide to change, I'm wondering if it may be 
time to think about changing the format of Silicon Soapware.  Maybe go to 
something like a blog or online journal rather than the traditional zine 
format?

I haven't decided anything, but I'm starting to sort of think about it.  
I've been at this a long time and it may be time for something new.

And if I do decide to make a change, when should I do it?  At Samhain 
(Halloween), the Witches' new year?  At the Solstice?  At the mainstream 
new year?  At my birthday (early January)?  There are arguments to be 
made that any of those times would be symbolically fitting.  Then there's 
also the logistics of getting it done by a particular date.  So I need to 
think on this, and in the meantime try to get this issue done.


                          *********************

Meanwhile fiftieth anniversaries of events of the 1960's that changed the 
world continue apace.  On September 24 we had the release of the Warren 
Commission Report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  
Although those concerned may have hoped that the report would settle any 
controversy about the matter once and for all, it didn't.

I'm reminded of the time a few years ago when I was standing in line at a 
fast-food place and the person next to me started telling me about his 
JFK conspiracy theory: The CIA did it as revenge for being forced to kill 
Marilyn Monroe.

Seems that in the course of their love affair JFK blabbed some 
super-top-secret stuff to Marilyn when he should have just said, "If I 
told you I'd have to kill you," and left it at that.  Since the CIA felt 
she couldn't be trusted with the information they had to kill her.  But 
they LIKED her, and felt unhappy at having to kill her.  So they got 
revenge by killing JFK because it was all his fault.

I don't know what to believe.  Several of the theories I've heard sound 
plausible.  It also seems plausible that Oswald acted alone and just got 
lucky.  I know many people seem to prefer to pick one theory and put a 
lot of emotion into believing that theory, but I don't seem to feel that 
need.

But whatever the truth may be, I suspect the matter may never really be 
settled.


                          *********************

I've also seen fictional treatments of the JFK assassination where the 
hidden culprits are time travelers or UFO space aliens or other beings or 
creatures from the realms of science fiction or fantasy.  Those can be 
interesting stories even if nobody really believes them.  And I wouldn't 
be surprised if at least a few people do really believe them.  You can 
find people who will believe almost anything.


                          *********************

Around the beginning of October of 1964 there was student unrest at the 
University of California at Berkeley.  This led to the Free Speech 
Movement.

And mid-October saw the first demonstrations of prototypes of the Moog 
Synthesizer at an audio engineering conference.

These things may all have been unrelated when they took place, but their 
effects later came together to give us much of what we think of as the 
"look and feel" of the 1960's.


                          *********************

Another thing that's been in the news lately is some big-name sports 
player or other getting arrested or otherwise accused of a crime, often 
something related to sexual assault or domestic violence.  There have 
been enough such cases off and on over the years to make me wonder if 
there may be something about being successful at certain sports that 
makes one more likely to engage in violence where it is not appropriate.  
I'm thinking that being accustomed to making split-second decisions about 
whether and how to get physical with an opponent might lead to 
regrettable actions off the field.

I would guess this effect, if it exists, would be strong in (US) football 
(lots of fast-paced violent body contact), somewhat weaker in basketball 
(lots of split-second decisions, but less violence), weaker still in 
baseball, and weakest in things like golf or track & field, with other 
sports falling in various places along this spectrum.

Has this been studied?


                          *********************

I had an odd experience a few days ago at lunch.

I was at a fast-food place I often eat at, sitting near the center of the 
room, facing the front door and windows with my back to the serving 
counter.  I was just starting to eat when I heard someone behind me say, 
"Fucking queer," just as they were passing my table heading toward the 
front door.  The geometry was such that I saw only his back as he was 
walking away from me, so I don't really know what he looked like or what 
his expression was.  I was too surprised to have anything immediate to 
say, so I did not respond.

I know nothing about this person except that he appeared to be a white 
male, middle-aged or older, and wearing "normal" middle-aged male 
clothing.

I don't even know if my presence had anything to do with him saying, 
"Fucking queer."  He may have been referring to somebody else behind me, 
or he may have just been saying it at random and not to or about anyone 
in particular.  In theory it could have even been a Tourette Syndrome 
tic, although from what I've been told about the condition that is highly 
unlikely.

When I glanced up at him I didn't notice a cell phone although he might 
have had some kind of hands-free thing.  So he was probably speaking in 
response to something in the room.  If that was the case I was probably 
the most unusual-looking person there at the time, so chances are good he 
was saying it about me.

But why?  His tone of voice seemed to indicate that he thought being 
queer was a bad thing.  I suppose I could have asked him why he thought 
that, but I have the impression that few of the people who will say 
things like "Fucking queer" to people they don't know in public places 
are capable of civil discourse on the subject.

So it was probably best that I remained silent and ignored him.


                          *********************

As I mentioned earlier, getting this zine out has been feeling more and 
more like a chore over the past year or so.  As each New Moon approaches 
I stare at the blank screen and wonder where that issue's content will be 
coming from.  But despite my doubts, it always does eventually come.

That reminds me of this:


                        Incident Along Fantasy Way 
                               Idea Crisis

Things are quiet tonight --
Too quiet.
There is a severe inspiration shortage.

Downtown is silent and dark,
With rolls of sidewalk stacked in the parking lots.
Store windows are empty
And none of the signs say anything.
I try making noise
But the echoes are only echoes.

Two people are conversing on a street corner:
     "Hey, what's happenin', man?"
     "Nothin'.  What's happenin' with you?"
     "Nothin'.  What's happenin' with you?"
     "Nothin'."
Back and forth endlessly.

Most of the newsracks on the next corner are empty.
A couple have blank papers
And one headlines "NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS"
Over a full-page picture
Of a Smile Face.

My favorite DJ is on the radio
Announcing that his station will be playing elevator music
Until further notice.

Finally I conjure up a press card
And inquire at a police station.
The desk sergeant looks up from his crossword puzzle
And says that the last several days have passed
"Without incident."

So it looks like I have nothing to write about
This time.

                                   Thomas G. Digby
                                   written 2315 hr  8/16/74
                                   entered 1645 hr  2/27/92


                          *********************


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