Book III of the Humper Trilogy
The story of Sasha and his butt
There are things that cannot be quantified. Computers will not reach into my heart and pull it out and kick it against the wall for a few more years at least. But I do notice the ways that they are rearranging my life, or should that be "allowing me to arrange my life around them."
I used to get off on the things in life that were simple and pure and beautiful: my lover's perfume silently screaming up from my bed when I lie on it; birds chirping and pooping on me in Golden Gate Park; a stranger's smile and empty promise of the future in a moment, passing on the sidewalk; love is for fools and all fools are others and the psyche-wards are filled with love's longing children. But now I wake up and pray and turn on the computer while I walk into the kitchen and take a vitamin out of the fridge and pop it. I log on and pee while checking my e-mail, then I read it and see who wants to sell me stuff, who wants to fuck me, kill me and/or pay me for sex.
I can see who this shit will insidiously hanker into our souls and big-brother their ways into our little lives and futter away all that is good and simple, very soon. I can see how "smart" chips are gonna link our phones, computers, TVs, toasters, walls, cars and marital aids really damn soon. I liken it to heroin addiction, if heroin were legal and taught in classrooms.
But I ain't buying it. I really believe that I can see when too much is too much, and will be able to say "stop." (Just like the heroin addict, who believes that he will be able to do the same.) I still do things that are computer free, (although ever since a trick bought me an Alphasmart (www.alphasmart.com)--a inexpensive, light, rugged ASCII-only, uploadable word-processor, I am usually typing whenever I have to wait 15 minutes at a bus. It is cool--this web shit. I can wait for the muse, if she shows up, fine. If not, at least I kept my appointment. I can type to myself and know that that evening, I can go home and format it with rudimentary HTML that even a trained ape could master, and upload to a potential audience of 300 million. (Although my actual audience is closer to 20 hits a day.)
Black Home!