eatbees blog

Walter Benjamin predicts the Internet, cloud-sourced revolution, and beyond.

The 1910s were a surprisingly radical time. Gangs of footloose youth roamed the countryside, and theories of homoerotic bonding were embraced by progressives and nationalists alike.

Can this story possibly have a happy ending? If your goal is simply to get the Islamists out of power in Egypt, perhaps it will. But if your idea of democracy is broad, inclusive government representing all sectors of society, validated at the ballot box, this isn’t looking so good.

I want to express my intention to do something different, and strike off in a new direction. And in this, I hope you will help me.

“Let’s invent our cultural revolution right now, without waiting, as a matter of urgency…. The great work of thought, reflection and culture must get started as soon as possible.”

Today, foreign journalists are being attacked by pro-Mubarak thugs in Cairo, because Egyptian state TV has spread rumors that they are Israeli agents.

The first thing to know about me is I was born in the wrong place. I should have been born somewhere where people are free and full of love. Instead I was born in a world where people play power games and fight for scraps.

“This master has only two eyes, two hands, one body, and nothing more than the least of the inhabitants of our countless cities. All he has more than that, are the means you provide him with to destroy you. Where does he get those eyes to spy on you, if it isn’t from you? How does he have so many hands to strike you with, if you don’t lend them to him?”

Check out my novel Not from Here. It’s the story of a young musician, Anton, who wants to change the world with his music. It’s also the story of his unbreakable friendship with his alter-ego Timmins, a reclusive artist whose paintings come true. And it’s the story of his discovery of a plot by shadowy forces that are manipulating society on every level.

We need to admit that it may be impossible to return to the magical days of easy growth and abundant resources. What if this is a crisis of scarcity? What if much of what we’ve called wealth for the last fifty years was illusory? Even the best policies will never rebuild what we had, if our way of life was unsustainable in the first place.