Milky
Way's Galactic Plane. Edited European Southern Observatory mosaic image
(created by the ESO) of the Milky Way's galactic plane: image by Stuart Rankin, 29 December 2014
The time of nature has passed
NSA Data Center (seen from Freedom Ridge) 4, Bluffdale, Utah: photo by Cory Doctorow, 7 July 2014
Dead
Admin. No One was really dead of course: p. But as I was shooting
pictures of a datacenter... I thought I wanted to be part of the
pictures ;) So here I am -- [Valbonne, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azul,
France]: photo by Arthur Caranta, 8 October 2009
There is increasingly the threat
of an objective penalty
for being excluded
from the game,
from these networked arrangements.
There is increasingly the threat
of an objective penalty
for being excluded
from the game,
from these networked arrangements.
Untitled [Underground data centers, Stockholm]: photo by Antony Antony, 28 July 2009
That no longer matters.
Google Data Center, The Dalles, Oregon: photo by Tony Webster, 17 May 2015
The world gradually draws into
a global unit, knitted
together by the networks stitched
into everyone's private
arrangements.
a global unit, knitted
together by the networks stitched
into everyone's private
arrangements.
Snowing in Lockport, keeping Yahoo servers nice and cool. [Yahoo! Lockport Data Center, Lockport, New York]: photo by Rpbert Freiberger, 26 March 2015
At the
same time
seeing these arrangements
clearly and objectively from the inside
is impossible.
seeing these arrangements
clearly and objectively from the inside
is impossible.
NSA Data Center (seen from Freedom Ridge) 1, Bluffdale, Utah: photo by Cory Doctorow, 7 July 2014
Only by being cut adrift,
stranded
on the outside,
does one begin
to make out the workings
of the game --
to make out that it is a game
and not a "natural" state of things.
stranded
on the outside,
does one begin
to make out the workings
of the game --
to make out that it is a game
and not a "natural" state of things.
NSA Data Center (seen from Freedom Ridge) 3, Bluffdale, Utah: photo by Cory Doctorow, 7 July 2014
A "natural" state of things
may or may not
ever have obtained.
may or may not
ever have obtained.
NSA Utah Data Center. Protest. National Security Agency Data Center at Camp Williams. The Utah Data Center and Bumblehive Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cyber-security Initiative (IC CNCI). Anonymous "Guy Fawkes" protest of the NSA Utah Data Center at the Bonnevile Salt Flats: photo by Occupy Global, 13 July 2013
That no longer matters.
The thought of a "natural"
state of things troubles
and distracts.
The time of nature has passed
like the dinosaurs.
The thought of a "natural"
state of things troubles
and distracts.
The time of nature has passed
like the dinosaurs.
Information. Datacenter up at the ol' 9-5: photo by John McStravick, 3 December 2009
All that is left,
effectively, is the present
drawing toward it
as a magnet attracts
iron filings
the mechanical regime
of a future
from which the players of the game,
enclosed
as in bubbles
by their socially enforced subscription
to what is perceived
as an inevitable
and necessary
condition,
would not be able to escape
even if the inchoate impulse to escape
were to become a conscious motive.
NSA Utah Data Center.
Protest. National Security Agency Data Center at Camp Williams. The Utah
Data Center and Bumblehive Intelligence Community Comprehensive
National Cyber-security Initiative (IC CNCI). Anonymous "Guy Fawkes"
protest of the NSA Utah Data Center at the Bonnevile Salt Flats: photo by Occupy Global, 13 July 2013
The world gradually draws into
a global unit, knitted
together by the networks stitched
into everyone's private
arrangements.
There is increasingly the threat
of an objective penalty
for being excluded
from the game,
from these networked arrangements.
At the same time
seeing these arrangements
clearly and objectively from the inside
is impossible.
Only by being cut adrift,
stranded
on the outside,
does one begin
to make out the workings
of the game --
to make out that it is a game
and not a "natural" state of things.
A "natural" state of things
may or may not
ever have obtained.
That no longer matters.
The thought of a "natural"
state of things troubles
and distracts.
The time of nature has passed
like the dinosaurs.
All that is left,
effectively, is the present
drawing toward it
as a magnet attracts
iron filings
the mechanical regime
of a future
from which the players of the game,
enclosed
as in bubbles
by their socially enforced subscription
to what is perceived
as an inevitable
and necessary
condition,
would not be able to escape
even if the inchoate impulse to escape
were to become a conscious motive.
a global unit, knitted
together by the networks stitched
into everyone's private
arrangements.
There is increasingly the threat
of an objective penalty
for being excluded
from the game,
from these networked arrangements.
At the same time
seeing these arrangements
clearly and objectively from the inside
is impossible.
Only by being cut adrift,
stranded
on the outside,
does one begin
to make out the workings
of the game --
to make out that it is a game
and not a "natural" state of things.
A "natural" state of things
may or may not
ever have obtained.
That no longer matters.
The thought of a "natural"
state of things troubles
and distracts.
The time of nature has passed
like the dinosaurs.
All that is left,
effectively, is the present
drawing toward it
as a magnet attracts
iron filings
the mechanical regime
of a future
from which the players of the game,
enclosed
as in bubbles
by their socially enforced subscription
to what is perceived
as an inevitable
and necessary
condition,
would not be able to escape
even if the inchoate impulse to escape
were to become a conscious motive.
Google Glass (detail): photo by Antonio Zugaldia, 27 June 2012
even if the inchoate impulse to
escape
Google search cables: photo by Google /EPA (via the Guardian, 22 January 2013)
were to become a conscious motive.
Google data center, Council Bluffs, Iowa: photo by Google/EPA (via The Guardian, 29 June 2013)
The world gradually draws into
Google data center, The Dalles, Oregon, exterior view: photo by Visitor7, 11 September 2011
a global unit, knitted
NSA data center, Bluffdale, Utah: photo by Swilsonmc, 21 April 2013
to make out the workings
of the game --
I had always imagined paradise as a kind of library (Borges): photo by Ryan Dearth, 30 January 2011
to make out that it is a game
Bibliothek ("Paradise as a kind of library"): photo by Andreas Gursky, 1999 (via The Photography Files, 25 July 2011)
The world gradually draws into
a global unit, knitted
together by the networks stitched
into everyone's private
arrangements.
a global unit, knitted
together by the networks stitched
into everyone's private
arrangements.
Children playing by road near school house, Kansas [?]: photo by John Vachon, c. 1942 (Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection, Library of Congress)
At the
same time
seeing these arrangements
clearly and objectively from the inside
is impossible.
seeing these arrangements
clearly and objectively from the inside
is impossible.
Three children playing "hide and seek" in a forest (Versteckspiel im Wald): Friedrich Eduard Meyerheim (1808-1879), n.d., oil on tinplate, 17 x 20 cm
A "natural" state of things
may or may not
ever have obtained.
may or may not
ever have obtained.
Children's Games (detail: "Hide and Seek"): Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559-60, oil on wood, 118 x 161 cm (Kunsthistorisches Museum. Vienna)
That no longer matters.
The time of nature has passed
like the dinosaurs.
The time of nature has passed
like the dinosaurs.
Children's Games (detail: "Blind Man's Buff"): Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559-60, oil on wood, 118 x 161 cm (Kunsthistorisches Museum. Vienna)
The thought of a "natural"
state of things troubles
and distracts.
state of things troubles
and distracts.
Children's Games: Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559-60, oil on wood, 118 x 161 cm (Kunsthistorisches Museum. Vienna)
The world gradually draws into
a global unit, knitted
together by the networks stitched
into everyone's private
arrangements.
a global unit, knitted
together by the networks stitched
into everyone's private
arrangements.
Blind-Man's Buff: artist unknown, before 1830, published by Paul Jarrard & Sons (London, England). Print made within the lifetime of King George IV of England (12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830); image by Daderot, 30 April 2008
There is increasingly the threat
of an objective penalty
for being excluded
from the game,
from these networked arrangements.
of an objective penalty
for being excluded
from the game,
from these networked arrangements.
Blind Man's Buff: Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, 1788-89, oil on canvas, 269 x 350 cm (Museo del Prado, Madrid)
Only by being cut adrift,
stranded
on the outside,
does one begin
to make out the workings
of the game --
to make out that it is a game
and not a "natural" state of things.
stranded
on the outside,
does one begin
to make out the workings
of the game --
to make out that it is a game
and not a "natural" state of things.
Blindman's Buff (detail): Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1775-80, oil on canvas (National Gallery of Art, Washington)
At the
same time
seeing these arrangements
clearly and objectively from the inside
is impossible.
seeing these arrangements
clearly and objectively from the inside
is impossible.
even if the inchoate impulse to
escape
NSA Utah Data Center. Protest. National Security Agency Data Center at Camp Williams. The Utah Data Center and Bumblehive Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cyber-security Initiative (IC CNCI). Anonymous "Guy Fawkes" protest of the NSA Utah Data Center at the Bonnevile Salt Flats: photo by Occupy Global, 13 July 2013
People gather to watch the Independence Day fireworks display in
Independence, Iowa: photo by Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters, 4 July 2011
and not a "natural" state of things.
fireworks: photo by shannon richardson (electrolite), 12 June 2009
enclosed
as in bubbles
fireworks and flags on the fourth (Amarillo): photo by shannon richardson (electrolite), 3 July 2012
by their socially enforced
subscription
Tom Brown Park on July 4th, Tallahassee, Florida: photographer unknown, 4 July 1985 (State Library and Archives of Florida)
to what is perceived
Visual pollution along Interstate 24, Tennessee: photo by William Strode, September 1972 (U.S. National Archives)
as an inevitable
Visual pollution along Interstate 24, Tennessee: photo by William Strode, September 1972 (U.S. National Archives)
and necessary
Central cooling plant, Google data center, Douglas County, Georgia: photo by Connie Zhou/Google (via Wired, 17 October 2012
condition,
Google data center, Hamina, Finland. Some halls remain vacant -- for now: photo by Connie Zhou/Google (via Wired, 17 October 2012)
the mechanical regime
of a future
of a future
Server room, Google data center, Council Bluffs, Iowa: photo by Connie Zhou/Google (via Wired, 17 October 2012)
from which the players of the game,
enclosed
as in bubbles
enclosed
as in bubbles
Google
data center, Council Bluffs, Iowa, exterior view. Radiator-like cooling
towers chill water from the server room down to room temperature: photo by Connie Zhou/Google (via Wired, 17 October 2012)
by their socially enforced
subscription
to what is perceived
as an inevitable
and necessary
condition,
Google data center, The Dalles, Oregon. These colorful pipes are responsible for carrying water in and out of Google's Oregon data center. The blue pipes supply cold water and the red pipes return the warm water back to be cooled: photo by Rex Features (via The Telegraph, 19 December 2012)
to what is perceived
as an inevitable
and necessary
condition,
Google data center, The Dalles, Oregon. These colorful pipes are responsible for carrying water in and out of Google's Oregon data center. The blue pipes supply cold water and the red pipes return the warm water back to be cooled: photo by Rex Features (via The Telegraph, 19 December 2012)
would not be able to escape
to make out the workings
of the game --
to make out that it is a game
Pop singer Miley Cyrus performs "Party in the U.S.A.", wearing black hotpants suit and a denim vest, atop a luggage cart, at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, as part of her 2009 Wonder World Tour: photo by calm down love, 14 September 2009
the players of the game,
enclosed
as in bubbles
enclosed
as in bubbles
Diet Coke and Mentos. A Diet Coke and Mentos eruption (or Diet Coke and Mentos geyser) is a reaction between carbonated beverage and Mentos candies that causes the beverage to spray out of its container. The numerous small pores on the candy's surface catalyze the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas from the soda, resulting in the rapid expulsion of copious quantities of foam. Although any carbonated beverage will produce a similar effect, the reaction was popularized using Diet Coke for seemingly producing the best results: photo by Matthew Woitunski, 26 October 2012
by their socially enforced
subscription
to what is perceived
to what is perceived
Coke-Mentos stunt. Vinnie gets a faceful: photo by Ruby Skye P. I), 17 August 2010
as an inevitable
and necessary
condition,
and necessary
condition,
Celebrate (Diet Coke and Mentos... too much fun): photo by Tara (taralees), 14 September 2011
would not be able to escape
One
person was killed and at least 2 injured when a trailer holding
fireworks for a July 4th show exploded at Comanche High
School in Comanche, Texas: photo by WFAA-TV, 3 July 2014
even if the inchoate impulse to escape
NSA Utah Data Center. Protest. National Security Agency Data Center at Camp Williams. The Utah Data Center and Bumblehive Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cyber-security Initiative (IC CNCI). Anonymous "Guy Fawkes" protest of the NSA Utah Data Center at the Bonnevile Salt Flats: photo by Occupy Global, 13 July 2013
FaceBook's new custom-built data center, Prineville, Oregon. The photo was taken by FaceBook's Chuck Goolsbee and I found it in FaceBook's Prineville Data Center Wall Photos page: image by Tom Raftery, 7 April 2011
Milky Way's Galactic Plane. Edited European Southern Observatory mosaic image (created by the ESO) of the Milky Way's galactic plane: image by Stuart Rankin, 29 December 2014
This is a wonderful post, Tom. In particular, the repetition of the words makes it into a kind of chant. There's no more wild blue yonder.
ReplyDeleteIt reminded me of a line from Solaris..I think it went: there is no return to the cosmos.
Brilliant post Tom, once again...can't believe after all you've been through you have the energy and focus and time and general wherewithal to continue to produce these extensively and intricately interlocking creations...
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said and shown, Tom. Yes, a chant, a Greek chorus doing a play-by-play of the decline. An anthropologist whose name I forget once said that the human ability to evolve, to adapt to (almost) every circumstance, would mean that eventually we end up losing everything that makes us human.
ReplyDeleteEach iteration is compelling, itself the working of a web.
ReplyDeleteIt's the thought that everything is reducible to data, everything sunk by a thoughtless, childish disenchantment, that haunts hardest.
Following your posts on Greece, this is very pertinant. The word socialist, I would suggest, is without place in the net. It's troubling but not enough to change things. I just heard Greece referred to as "a potentially failed state" all set to join the company of North Korea and Yemen in the Western imagination.
Brilliant--a series of bewildering moves all leading up to the endgame.
ReplyDeletebilloo, yes, Solaris, that queasy feeling of not-quite-eternal return... Iterative form seems the best way to capture a moment that keeps on repeating itself, but, as if entropically, by banging off increasingly imperfectly-repetitive copies...
ReplyDeleteMichael, General Wherewithal has now been reported missing, with a substantial detachment.
Hazen, I'm pretty certain human powers of attention have been declining fairly steadily ever since the Digital Universe recognized and identified its own tremendous Intelligence.
WB, yes, it's definitely true that Greece has now been chilled-down in the "climate of opinion" of the "international community" to approximately the same status as, would it be fair to say, Albania?
Vassilis, endgame, isn't that always now?