On a stroll in Berkeley I passed by what was formerly one of my favorite shops, Tupper & Reed. It was a music store. But no more: it’s quaint awning has been usurped by the digital age…

Now I’m not a luddite, but does this bode the end of instruments (at least, those without a keyboard)? Do we lose something by not making music more “mechanically”? Is typing different than writing? Do we lose something of the creative process as we evolve into the age of bits and bytes? Just as Marx bemoaned the alienation of labor that came with mass production, I fear we will lose something of our cognitive and creative abilities as we increasingly automate.

For example, when was the last time you did – without the aid of any tool – math?….

I spent it in 2 interesting ways today. First, hanging out with Yossi & Misha near ClubOne after my workout. They hail from the Ukraine and I could not lose the opportunity to capture them today of all days.

Second, at a barbecue in Pacifica, where fireworks are, remarkably, legal to all. As I walked from my car to the party, I winced at all of the explosives going off and remarked at just how far away from “Kansas” (SF) I felt. Am I that parochial now? For an affirmative, see my post immediately preceding this one.

The other day I was walking downtown and was swept away with a sense of utter audacity when I saw a man sporting an American flag tie (remember, I live in San Francisco, the last city to tolerate the display of an American flag, let alone on an article of clothing which is meant, primarily, to be black). Interestingly, my brain flashed with the following statement: “Sheeeshh what country does THAT guy live in?”

Of course the irony of that statement (as in, the answer would be, er, the United States) was not lost on me…but the whole episode marked an interesting fact: I am now officially a citizen of the Republic of San Francisco, holding many of the attitudes and dispositions that seems to bring. Assuming that I do not, however, have to renounce my US citizenship (the…jury…is out on that one), that means I have triple citizenship: SF, the US, and of course the only real one, the Kingdom of God.