these kids today with their y2k

Though I could not say whether the potential y2k cataclysm turned out to be a non-event because of assiduous preparation or the dire prediction of tigers falling from the heavens were somewhat exaggerated, but I do wonder if the anticipation and collective-relief was not somehow instructive on a sociological level.
Attuning us in a sense to future-shock, we were given a reasonably credible apocalyptic scenario that we each were able to do something about—other than repent. It is not as if we are powerless in the face of climate-change, political corruption or exploitive business, but there’s no tidy patch for it, deadline that everyone can agree on or easy to convey, process underlining problem. Computers would wink out of existence if the clock is dialled back and all those subsequent versions were never born. We dodged a bullet here. Now there’s talk of tipping-points and saturation, but we are just as readily shouted back from the ledge as we are led on. I wonder if those who survived such prophets of doom and lived to tell the tale have a different threshold for resignation when it comes to contemporary big problems than those who did not. What do you think? What do you remember about minutes to midnight on the last day of 1999?

from the blotter

The splendid arts and culture blog, Hyperallergic, has a weekly feature called Crimes of the Art, documenting offenses ranging from harmless vandalism, forgery to censorship and grand and daring daylight museum heists. Here are the latest cases on the docket but one can browse an extensive archive of past wrongdoings.

best-boy or no small parts

In order to illustrate the wage- distribution various acting roles and stagehands can expect for their role in producing a Hollywood blockbuster, Vanity Fair crafted this nifty credits-crawl. Having one’s name immortalized and associated with a grand project—involving more individuals seemingly than the top-level government of a moderately sized nation—is probably reward enough on its own but it would be a little disheartening to know that one’s contribution was less valuable that the play-or-pay contract of a feline extra.

trümmerfrau

The secretive Bilderberg Group will be meeting at an undisclosed location in Dresden, as Quartz reports, this week, and although proceedings are not subject to public-scrutiny in any sense, apparently one item of their agenda will be the so-called precariat.
Coined by economist Guy Standing, the term refers to the working-class suspended in a precarious situation—not rightly any longer called the proletariat since they were afforded more protections and securities—unsure whether they can enjoy continued employment or face redundancy, replaced by immigrants or robots. Siding with the author’s take on this anxiety-causing arrangement in the labour-force, I agree that the lizard-people who rule the world will be rather aghast with what their underlings are facing and what kind of toll this takes on society.

shangri-la or public-burden

Although with very different issues at stake, a series of referenda (plebiscites) put to the people have been returned, I think, with a degree of timidity—like Switzerland’s recent rejection of a basic income for all, the cession of Scotland or of Catalonia, and I wonder what this bodes, bold or dull, for up-coming votes, like for the US electorate or the potential UK withdrawal from the EU.
Of course, sometimes a departure is a foolhardy thing that fortune does not necessarily favour and there’s little leverage for polemics and convincing in defeat—but, as hackneyed and exhausting as being told votes are historic and come with a mandate can be (I doubt that anything so momentous would be left in the hands of the public) maybe our conservative posture is indicative of what meaning we attribute to democracy and how much personal liability we are willing to accept. What do you think?

hochwohlgeboren

The German president will be tendering his resignation and not seeking a second term. While there are some good candidates for Gauck’s successor being proposed, including co-chairman of the Green Party and direct-democracy advocate Cem Özdemir or Christian Social Union leader Gerda Hasselfeldt, I still tend to think (although more persuaded that the position is more than just a ceremonial one) that one of Germany’s noble families, given the affection that the country has for Her Majesty, could enjoy a more or less hereditary office and discharge a service to the public. I think royals must be naturally gracious hosts and could execute those duties expertly and without political baggage.

patrimoni dell'umanità

For the first time since 2000, Italy is not nominating any new sites or intangibles during UNESCO’s World Heritage annual call for submissions, begging off by saying the nation with the most treasures ought to take off a year and perhaps give the rest of the world a chance—though I am sure that they would not welcome being edged out by China or Spain (ranked seconds by different counts).

Not to fret, however, as Italy is already slated to present the picturesque town of Ivrea (near Turin) next year—not for its medieval sites, five lakes or its historic and epic food fight, the Battle of the Oranges (la battaglia delle arance), that dates back to the thirteenth century—worthy candidates all, but rather for its industrial heritage as the seat of Olivetti business machines since 1908 to the modern day.