PinnedTopics I PonderI have no certified expertise in any of these areas. I am informed and actively engaged in them. That is all. Virtual Reality This is my most active topic with over 50 articles related to VR linked, (below the picture). They range from think pieces to narrative evocations of VR community. The…Virtual Reality6 min readVirtual Reality6 min read
May 15A Funeral in KenyaReading Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s, “Petals of Blood” Now — I can’t think of anything like, “Petals of Blood” in American literature. It shows people shaped by inhuman forces, everyone, every day. …Kenya4 min readKenya4 min read
May 13Action Talks in VRSemi-Structured Semi-Serious Gabbing — It’s not cool to care. We are supposed to have given up. I’m old enough to know better but I’m planning VR Salons because I care enough to keep trying stuff. I think virtual get-togethers can help us share ideas that lead to collective action that could matter. The first…Conversations6 min readConversations6 min read
May 3Africa, by GurnahIf All I Knew was Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Stories — Abdulrazak Gurnah’s novels have been on long lists and short lists and they earned the author a Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021. When I decided to read some novels set in Africa, I started with his. I just finished my fifth one. They all involve the area shown above…Africa7 min readAfrica7 min read
Apr 7First Report: Real VR FishingInsane, right? — What says Getting Away From It All like putting on a VR Headset? It’s the juxtaposition. Fishing is off the grid, an escape to the natural. More about tranquility than accomplishing, usually. VR is the grid. An escape to the unnatural. Often associated with mayhem and violent conquest. How can…Virtual Reality4 min readVirtual Reality4 min read
Apr 5Old Rituals, New RulesCelebrating a Life, in VR — We expected a new kind of funeral, put together in VR by our friend for his Dad. What we didn’t expect was his Mom. Her husband’s death was difficult in ways that made having any funeral at all difficult. Her son, a grown man in his 40s, has many friends…Virtual Reality5 min readVirtual Reality5 min read
Mar 28Same Colonization, Different StoryPekka Hamalainen’s, “Indigenous Continent” — It’s all how you tell the story. Take Davy Crockett, “King of the Wild Frontier.” Walt Disney’s version was drilled into me and most other kids growing up in America in the 1950s. Everyone remembers how it starts: Born on a mountain top in Tennessee Greenest state in the land of…Indigenous5 min readIndigenous5 min read
Mar 4Under What Rules?When Death Can Be Gamed, Anything Can Be Gamed — When my grandson Charlie was four or five and just learning about games he’d ask me to play, Chutes and Ladders and I’d say, “OK, but which rules are we using?” By his rules, he didn’t have to go down big slides. He could just miss them. …Death7 min readDeath7 min read
Mar 3Reacting to ‘Born in Blackness’The Present Moment Begins in Africa — I used to know a lot about world history. What I knew was a lot of facts that were used by professional historians to tell stories about the past. …Africa6 min readAfrica6 min read
Feb 27Beco de BatmanStreet Art Break in VR with Tom — The art in the alley is world class, it keeps changing, and it’s been this way for more than 40 years. But before we can get totally into it, one question looms. Where did the Batman part come from? Are you hoping for a local origin story? Sorry. It’s the…Street Art4 min readStreet Art4 min read
