Everything but the Zombies
Feb. 4th, 2022 14:16![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bill_schubertOther than not saving my progress in Plants VS Zombies the phone reload went perfectly. Both mine and Dana's phones are working fine and everything came back. The one thing I did not say earlier was that the problem with phone calls is intermittent. So I'd say a week or so before we can be sure it is fixed. But the back up and restore capabilities of Google and Pixel are nothing short of amazing. Google wanted to verify that my account was really me and sent a notice to an Android tablet that I use only to cast soccer games. Fortunately it was charged and by the TV so I only had to hit, yup, is me and everything was fine.
Such an impressive system.
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Date: 2022-02-05 01:24 (UTC)Thoughts?
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Date: 2022-02-05 15:41 (UTC)For the record, I can take podcasts that are kind of linear, that are thought out, that are informational. But the jabbering just seems like they want to hear their own voices. So weird that they get paid for it.
So, sorry, there may have been a point later in the podcast that was worth hearing but I'll never get there.
I'm also beyond caring about the whole mess. I was looking for a reason to dump Spotify and they gave me one. There is nothing about Joe Brogan that I want to be around. I went to Amazon as if that is a defensible position.
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Date: 2022-02-05 16:04 (UTC)Watching Bill Maher, the other night, one of his guests was Ira Glasser, the former ACLU director. They were discussing freedom of speech and something Glasser mentioned reminded me of ACLU’s support for Pro-Nazi rallies, back in the day. He said we now fall into a trap of supporting free speech ONLY if it’s OUR speech.
It got me thinking. About my withdrawal of support for Spotify. I love Jon’s comment and his encouragement:
"Don't leave. Don't abandon. Don't censor. Engage,"
I like that, but it ain’t easy. I believe that is who I was and want to be once again. I go through these cycles where I find myself no longer part of the solution and I bitch and moan for days.
Anyway, onward we go.
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Date: 2022-02-05 16:32 (UTC)The ACLU is such a thorny organization. I absolutely love the whole 'defend to the death your right to say it'. But there is a difference in supporting free speech and providing support for views antagonistic to specific groups or individuals or civil society itself. It is like telling the truth. Seemingly a good idea until the soldiers knock at your door asking if there are refugees in your house. Nazi rallies and Trump rallies are very close to yelling fire in the theater and once the panic has set in the lawyers will not be there to slow the crowd, only to prosecute the miscreants and write the history.
My personal cycle is to be engaged to an extent, at least in my own mind. I do a lot of reading and stay current on the news, much to my detriment.
The other cycle is one suggested by Ram Dass. Absorb enough of the news and current events to make sensible decisions and then back away. One of the major issues now is that people are too engaged, too wrapped up in the noise, overwhelmed while thinking they are creating meaningful dialogue. There is very little meaningful dialog going on in podcasts. There are some meaningful monologues, thoughtful explorations, but I've not heard a discussion in years. I've heard a lot of yelling back and forth, jabbering nonsense, but not much conscious engagement. That takes work and podcasts are not about work.
My being on or off Spotify matters little to them. I'm not thrilled with the Bezos I'm supporting, that is certain. But I have a richer life as a result of having a music service and try to spread that to my actions. I listen to music while working with the senior dogs. If I could put ear phones on them so we could listen to the same thing it would be better.
Sometimes I do what I can do and then move on.