online: 8 june 2002

7 june 2002 life as it is, or as it could be


1:07 Yesterday, in the bus from Antwerp to London, we passed a robot traffic policeman (oblivious to the rain and to everything) waving its left arm continuously (to warn human drivers to slow down before a temporary intersection?)... It had a blank plastic face, a hard hat, and an orange cape and arm. The first humanoid (or human-form) robot I've seen in public life. It reminds me that in motorway driving (as it's so readily automated) we are close to being robots ourselves.

08:40 Awake since 7:20 - beginning to keep to my new resolve to write and to walk as near to sunrise as I can (the sun rose about three hours ago but it is still several hours before my usual start in late morning).

Yesterday, between Dunkirk and Calais. I was thinking of writing 'a criticism of modern life, or nature' (with or from Spinoza's view or assumption that God = Nature) - to review the whole situation or machine culture... as clearly as I can?

I was led to this by the sight of many new developments, for instance new motorways, some pathetic pieces of pseudo-functionalist architecture, the vast forethought of the channel tunnel and its extensive approaches, the pervasive commercialism, and the sight (on the supermarket-like ferry-boat) of hundreds of travellers taking the cheapest crossing and being treated more like profitable traffic than as autonomous and respected people.

I was half-inspired by these sights, and half-saddened... I imagined taking a long journey through life as it now is, world wide, in all its modes, to sample and to remark on 'the whole of it'... I imagined this as the way to complete my life among designers and users - among the forces that influence, or fail to influence, 'life as it is' or as it could be.

Perhaps.

A new connective work.



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© 2002 john chris jones

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