My Internet service stopped functioning last Friday--no email, nothing. Calls to Cox technical support confirmed that the problem was something that could not be remedied over the telephone and a service technician would have to make a house call. Unfortunately, the earliest they could schedule the repair was on Monday, late afternoon.
So, Janet and I enjoyed a lovely weekend together. I read most of the Da Vinci Code (good book!), we went to the Scripps Aquarium with our friend, Kay Chandler, and on Sunday afternoon we drove to Irvine and watched Matrix Reloaded on the huge IMAX screen there. The weekend also included long walks together; breakfast a Cafe 222; two viewings of Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers (via DVD from Netflix); church worship service; a trip to the Farmer's Market, Whole Foods and Ralph’s; dinner at El Pollo Loco and Red Robin; and, only the occasional email checks via my wireless phone.
Russ and Joan Allen (Janet's brother-in-law and sister) came to visit for the weekend. We have just exited from viewing the Degas exhibit at the San Diego Art Museum--a docent politely asked me to turn off my phone when she saw me preparing to snap a picture with Degas sculpture in the background (no photography allowed). The Allens sat to rest a moment at the fountain before moving to view parts of the museum-owned art displayed across the hall.
Few people have experienced some of the dramatic new advances of virtual reality technology. I will be participating in a meeting in a few weeks where at least one of the persons in the room, sitting at the table, speaking at a lectern, will be a three-dimensional life-size image of a friend who will actually be in Boston as we conduct the meeting at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. My friend will be able to make eye contact with everyone in the room. He will hear us speak even as we hear him discuss with us the effect accelerating change is having on people.
These new technologies are also bringing people back to entertain us even though they are no longer living. This will be dramatically demonstrated in a series of concerts...
Janet and I spent mid-day Saturday watching the Gay Pride Parade. The annual event takes place only a few blocks from our home, so we walked over to get a good spot before the parade began at 11:00 AM.
As the Dykes on Bikes roared past us in their ritual beginning to the parade, Janet and I recalled how we initiated Stephanie to our value structure when she came to live with us in 1997. We met her at the airport, and then went directly to the Gay Pride Parade. She was nervous about being there, but it didn't take long for her to revel in the outrageous ecstasy of the celebration. I think it was the gay cheerleaders that hooked her. In any event, it was a great time and Steph knew she wasn't in Kansas anymore (oops, I mean Illinois).
BBC News is reporting that that The Matrix Reloaded has been banned in Egypt. The country's censorship board cited the 'religious themes' of the film's storyline, those about the search for the creator and control of the human race, may cause a 'crises'.
I was mesmerized by the original Matrix film. The idea of humanity being transcended by vastly superior artificial intelligence is one that I have come to accept as inevitable. How this transition will unfold and whether humanity will survive or evolve rapidly to join our progeny is uncertain, but I find no compelling argument that persuades me our biological brain/mind/soul will continue to sustain our rein as this planet?s most intelligent entity much longer. The Matrix tickled my imagination even as I found its dark vision humorously sophomoric and twisted.
Matrix Reloaded was less compelling. It was fun and did no damage to the first film, but it does not stand strong alongside the first movie. I hope it will be redeemed by Matrix Revolutions and that the trilogy will surpass the sum of its parts. So, call me a dreamer.
My thoughts about the Matrix and our future as a species were stirred by a recent article in the Los Angeles Times: Rooting for the Robot. The author does a good job of putting the Matrix into context with other movies that have touched on the theme of transcendent intelligence and shares some interesting insights in the process.
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