⁸ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

–King James Version Bible

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July 9, 2021Vanessa Able (thedewdrop.org)

“Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”

– Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, has to be one of the most accomplished accounts of a lifetime’s intimacy with the sea. The drama of the book, which is ultimately a fable about fate, endurance and the struggle against destructive forces, takes place on a small fishing boat in the Gulf Stream off Cuba. From the perspective of the aging fisherman Santiago, Hemingway sketched portraits of the sea from various angles, including its great silence as well as its masculine hostility and feminine power over life and death.

---

Sometimes someone would speak in a boat. But most of the boats were silent except for the dip of the oars. They spread apart after they were out of the mouth of the harbour and each one headed for the part of the ocean where he hoped to find fish. The old man knew he was going far out and he left the smell of the land behind and rowed out into the clean early morning smell of the ocean. He saw the phosphorescence of the Gulf weed in the water as he rowed over the part of the ocean that the fishermen called the great well because there was a sudden deep of seven hundred fathoms where all sorts of fish congregated because of the swirl the current made against the steep walls of the floor of the ocean. Here there were concentrations of shrimp and bait fish and sometimes schools of squid in the deepest holes and these rose close to the surface at night where all the wandering fish fed on them.

In the dark the old man could feel the morning coming and as he rowed he heard the trembling sound as flying fish left the water and the hissing that their stiff set wings made as they soared away in the darkness. He was very fond of flying fish as they were his principal friends on the ocean. He was sorry for the birds, especially the small delicate dark terns that were always flying and looking and almost never finding, and he thought, the birds have a harder life than we do except for the robber birds and the heavy strong ones. Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel? She is kind and very beautiful. But she can be so cruel and it comes so suddenly and such birds that fly, dipping and hunting, with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea.

Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel? She is kind and very beautiful. But she can be so cruel and it comes so suddenly and such birds that fly, dipping and hunting, with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea.

He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fishermen, those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had motorboats, bought when the shark livers had brought much money, spoke of her as el mar which is masculine. They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favors, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.

He was rowing steadily and it was no effort for him since he kept well within his speed and the surface of the ocean was flat except for the occasional swirls of the current. He was letting the current do a third of the work and as it started to be light he saw he was already further out than he had hoped to be at this hour.

I worked the deep wells for a week and did nothing, he thought. Today I’ll work out where the schools of bonito and albacore are and maybe there will be a big one with them.

Before it was really light he had his baits out and was drifting with the current. One bait was down forty fathoms. The second was at seventy-five and the third and fourth were down in the blue water at one hundred and one hundred and twenty-five fathoms. Each bait hung head down with the shank of the hook inside the bait fish, tied and sewed solid and all the projecting part of the hook, the curve and the point, was covered with fresh sardines. Each sardine was hooked through both eyes so that they made a half-garland on the projecting steel. There was no part of the hook that a great fish could feel which was not sweet smelling and good tasting.

The old man always thought of her (the sea) as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favors, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.

The boy had given him two fresh small tunas, or albacores, which hung on the two deepest lines like plummets and, on the others, he had a big blue runner and a yellow jack that had been used before; but they were in good condition still and had the excellent sardines to give them scent and attractiveness. Each line, as thick around as a big pencil, was looped onto a green-sapped stick so that any pull or touch on the bait would make the stick dip and each line had two forty-fathom coils which could be made fast to the other spare coils so that, if it were necessary, a fish could take out over three hundred fathoms of line.

Now the man watched the dip of the three sticks over the side of the skiff and rowed gently to keep the lines straight up and down and at their proper depths. It was quite light and any moment now the sun would rise.

The sun rose thinly from the sea and the old man could see the other boats, low on the water and well in toward the shore, spread out across the current. Then the sun was brighter and the glare came on the water and then, as it rose clear, the flat sea sent it back at his eyes so that it hurt sharply and he rowed without looking into it. He looked down into the water and watched the lines that went straight down into the dark of the water. He kept them straighter than anyone did, so that at each level in the darkness of the stream there would be a bait waiting exactly where he wished it to be for any fish that swam there. Others let them drift with the current and sometimes they were at sixty fathoms when the fishermen thought they were at a hundred.

But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
From: The Old Man and the Sea

Weeks before full service salons reopened in San Francisco, the robots stepped in.

by Lily Sinkovitz • 07/07/2021 4:50 pm – (SFWeekly.com)

On a recent Friday afternoon, two young women emerged from under a pink awning on Chestnut Street and beamed as they showed one another their freshly painted nails. Crystal Hsieh and Ishika Nimmagadda agreed they had just wrapped up the quickest — and cheapest — paint job ever.

At Clockwork, a new popup in the Marina, AI-assisted robots paint 10 nails in just 10 minutes for less than 10 bucks — $8 to be exact — and the machines won’t even give you a dirty look if you fail to leave a tip. Less than a block away, both Ciao Bella Nails and The New Nails charge $16 for the same service, and gratuity is expected. 

Thanks in part to a TikTok by Elissa Maercklein — one of Clockwork’s first customers — the fully automated salon has generated some serious buzz in a short period of time. Clockwork opened at 2209 Chestnut St. on March 28 and is booked through the end of July, although those interested in checking it out may be able to sneak in if there’s a no-show.

Maercklein, who goes by the username @elissamaercklein on TikTok, posted a video of her visit to Clockwork a day after the store’s opening. In the clip, which has been viewed more than 8 million times, Maercklein sits in front of the pink robot, which scans her nails and applies a single coat of maroon polish — its automated arm, which recalls the nozzle of a 3D printer’s extruder, moving in tiny clockwise circles. As of now, the robots can’t cut, shape or buff nails.

Clockwork, a San Francisco- based startup, claims to have the “first robot manicure for unstoppable humans,” but it surely won’t be the only one for long, as New York-based startup Nimble and Los Angeles-based startup Coral aren’t far behind. With millions in funding from investors in the beauty and robotics realms, the companies are developing smaller machines for home use. All three startups incorporate the use of computer vision and intelligence into their nail-painting bots.

HYPE MACHINE

The viral video and others like it have generated mixed feelings and added fuel to the ongoing debate over the role of robotics in society. Is Clockwork a flash in the pan, or will artificial intelligence one day drive human-operated nail salons out of business?

In reaction to the video, which Maercklein captioned “Living in the future,” some viewers were enthusiastic about the technology. User @workinonit2 commented, “As a socially awkward person this would be bliss for me.”

But others worried about the future, including user @alexandrahunter10, who replied, “This is kind of sad, I love my nail lady. She works so hard for her business.” User @singulartime chimed in saying the Clockwork robot is unlikely to “fully replace human nail techs since it can only do the basics.” 

The popup on Chestnut was designed as a sort of “lab” where the company could place the robot in front of the general public for the first time, says Clockwork’s co-founder Aaron Feldstein. But due to its popularity, Clockwork may be here to stay. 

“We have this location for six months with an option to extend, and given the demand we’re seeing I think that’s likely,” Feldstein said. The company also plans to get its bots in corporate buildings, retail stores and airports.

Feldstein says the conceptualization of a robot nail tech originated years ago with his female business partner and the company’s founder and CEO, Renuka Apte, who found beauty routines and upkeep to be far too time consuming and expensive. 

According to the San Francisco Business Times, the two met as software engineers at a startup and later worked together at Dropbox. They launched Clockwork in 2018, raising $3.2 million in first-round fundraising in 2019. Within a year, they began testing their first prototype robot, which uses artificial intelligence to recognize nail shapes and learns as it goes. The more nails the machine sees, the more accurate it gets. 

Feldstein says the overall response has been one of amazement, but some of the most-asked questions involve robots taking jobs from nail technicians at small businesses. He deflects such critiques by saying the company offers an express service that cannot replace the salon experience and that there “is room for both.” 

“I think it’s a natural question whenever a robot appears and does a thing that people have been doing,” Feldstein says. “The reality is it’s just not practical for nail salons to offer a quick, cheap nail polish-only service. In order to actually make margins they have to bundle all these services and upsell you on a lot of other things. When you want all those other things it’s great and when you don’t it’s kind of annoying and inconvenient.”

He suggests Clockwork’s machines may serve a supplementary role — providing a solution for quick touch ups in between full manicures.

STILL GELLING

In a world where nail artists have been the subject of reality TV shows, a “manicure” can mean much more than just a regular polish change. Acrylic, gel, dip powder, and various other long-lasting formulas often are more appealing, albeit much more expensive. According to Marketglass, the size of the nail care market is close to $10 billion and could reach $11.6 billion by 2027.

The 19-year old Hsieh and 20-year old Nimmagadda traveled from the San Jose area to the Marina after seeing Maercklein’s TikTok. Both say they regularly opt for gel or acrylic manicures but wanted to see what the robot hype was all about.

“I feel like if you choose to come here you know it’s something quick and you want to be in and out or you have a busy schedule,” Hsieh says. “Personally, I’d still rather go to a salon, but if I needed something quick then I might go to Clockwork.”

Because the selection at Clockwork was scarce, the women weren’t keen on returning in the near future. But Nimmagadda says if the technology continues to develop, she might go full bot. 

“If they offered gel I’d definitely just go there instead,” she says. “I think our entire future is based off technology and that’s not going to change. There’s nothing you can do to stop it so it’s just something cool that’s there, but I feel like people will still want nail salons.” 

While the company claims the robots’ limited capabilities don’t pose a threat to salons, Feldstein doesn’t deny Clockwork is looking to expand the capability of its machines.

“We’re looking at some of the feedback and trying to understand what would make this most valuable for our users,” he says. “Gel is something that is very technically feasible and if we find that users want it, we will do it.”

Clockwork opened shop just three weeks shy of San Francisco’s official reopening, when local nail salons could welcome back customers without capacity limitations or social distancing protocols. Within a mile radius from Clockwork, there are more than 10 nail salons with technicians skilled in nail art, from traditional polish to intricate acrylic patterns.

Less than a block away from Clockwork, a typical manicure at The New Nails can take more than half an hour depending on the choice of service. And you’ll likely throw in a tip. 

Marina resident Molly Macgillivray is a longtime customer of The New Nails. She says the highlight of getting her regular manicure is the hand massage. “This place also gives you a back massage if you pay extra and I always do that. I love it and I think it’s important for the experience,” Macgillivray says.

Macgillivray’s reaction to the nail robot was similar to that of many TikTokers. She fears if the technology keeps developing, robots could run her nail techs out of business. 

“I think it’s kind of scary how far we’ve come with technology,” says Macgillivray. “I like to support local businesses and I know a lot of them shut down during COVID and it hit their industry pretty badly. I don’t love the idea of replacing nail salons with machines.”

According to the Mayor’s Office, San Francisco’s 94,000 small businesses make up over 93 percent of total businesses in the city and support more than 364,000 jobs. And according to data gathered by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, nearly 50 percent of small businesses had remained closed in May. With the city’s official reopening on June 15, many local salons are now offering full service — if they survived the pandemic.  

Next door to The New Nails, Ciao Bella Nails owner Trang Dang, and her husband, Fong Doan, are relieved to still own their store after a troublesome year. Their salon, which was typically packed with customers on most afternoons and weekends, shut down in the wake of the pandemic.

Since their initial March 2020 closing, the couple had to continue paying full rent for their salon even while its doors remained boarded up for over 6 months. They attempted to reopen in September when Gov. Gavin Newsom gave the go-ahead — Dang paid for all new supplies and the plexiglass they installed between chairs to meet pandemic protocols — only to shut down again in early December. 

“It was so hard. We couldn’t do anything,” says Dang. She and Doan have two small children, and their salon is the family’s main source of income. 

Dang and Doan couldn’t procure any government aid for more than a year but in May secured a PPP loan. Without their regular business during the pandemic, they accumulated significant debt. Ciao Bella Nail’s doors have now been open since late January, and the couple is still working to break even. 

“It’s better than the first and second time we closed. But it’s not back to normal,” says Dang. “I still have a big debt. I didn’t have income at all so I still owe them the rent.”

Since mid June, Ciao Bella has rarely been quiet. And Dang says she’s no longer wracked by anxiety. She’s grateful to invite customers back to the salon without capacity limits just in time for pre-vacation pedicures. 

“I’m not worried because summer is coming and people have come back,” says Dang.

Word about their new robot competition spread quickly. But Dang says after talking to some of her regulars, she isn’t too concerned just yet. 

“The first time I heard about it I was worried. It’s cheap, only $8,” says Dang. “But when I asked the clients, they still prefer people working with people better than just the machine. They can tell us what they like.”

Still, the future looms, and Dang says if the robots could ultimately provide more services, that could be worrisome. 

“It’ll be a big challenge if they have gel or even a file.” she says. “But we’ll see, I guess.”

Lily Sinkovitz is a contributing writer. Twitter @LilySinkovitz

The Future of Humanity: A Conversation

by Jiddu Krishnamurti, David Bohm 

An introduction to the thoughts of the spiritual teacher J. Krishnamurti includes discussions of consciousness, time, intelligence, and society.

Foreword by David Bohm

“The two dialogues which appear in this book took place three years after a series of thirteen similar dialogues between Krishnamurti and myself, which appeared in the book The Ending of Time. [Harper & Row, 1985.] Therefore they were inevitably profoundly affected by what had been done in these earlier dialogues. In a certain sense, therefore, the two books deal with closely related questions. Of course, The Ending of Time’ can, because of its much greater length, go into these questions in a more thorough and extensive way. Nevertheless, the present book stands by itself; it approaches the problems of human life in its own way, and provides important additional insights into these problems. Moreover, I feel that it is an easier book to follow, and may therefore usefully serve as an introduction to The Ending of Time.’

The starting point for our discussions was the question: “What is the future of humanity?” This question is by now of vital concern to everyone, because modern science and technology are clearly seen to have opened up immense possibilities of destruction. It soon became clear as we talked together that the ultimate origin of this situation is in the generally confused mentality of mankind, which has not changed basically in this respect throughout the whole of recorded history and probably for much longer than this. Evidently, it was essential to inquire deeply into the root of this difficulty if there is ever to be a possibility that humanity will be diverted from its present very dangerous course…”

– David Bohm.

The Ending of Time

by Jiddu Krishnamurti, David Bohm 

This very important work offers penetrating dialogues between the great spiritual leader and the renowned physicist that shed light on the fundamental nature of existence. Krishnamurti and David Bohm probe such questions as ‘why has humanity made thought so important in every aspect of life? How does one cleanse the mind of the ‘accumulation of time’ and break the ‘pattern of ego -centered activity’?The Ending of Time concludes by referring to the wrong turn humanity has taken, but does not see this as something from which there is no escape. There is an insistence that mankind can change fundamentally; but this requires going from one’s narrow and particular interests toward the general, and ultimately moving still deeper into that purity of compassion, love and intelligence that originates beyond thought, time, or even emptiness.

An Uncommon Collaboration: David Bohm and J. Krishnamurti

by David Edmund Moody 

For more than two decades, renowned theoretical physicist David Bohm engaged in a close collaboration with psychological philosopher J. Krishnamurti. The two men participated together in 144 recorded dialogues and many unrecorded conversations, and the transcripts of their discussions appear in several published volumes. Their mutual interests encompassed the whole of human consciousness, its nature and structure, and the sources of illusion and conflict in the individual and in society. An Uncommon Collaboration: David Bohm and J. Krishnamurti describes the course of their relationship from beginning to end, including the substance of their dialogues as well as the uneven quality of their personal interactions. Author David Edmund Moody worked with both men for more than a decade, and his observations of them inform and supplement his description of their relationship.

Bohm’s background as a physicist was characterized by his close associations with Oppenheimer and Einstein, his revolutionary contributions to the foundations of quantum mechanics, and his clash with the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities, an event which ultimately deprived him of his American citizenship. Krishnamurti’s background was notable for his break with the Theosophical Society, which had nurtured him as a youth and hailed him as the World Teacher. He developed his own independent philosophy, one which offered penetrating insights into the human condition and emphasized freedom from all authority in psychological and religious matters.

An Uncommon Collaboration: David Bohm and J. Krishnamurti describes the life stories of the two men individually as well as the nature and quality of their relationship. The book concludes with a critical assessment of each man’s contribution to the work they were engaged in, their mutual accomplishments, and the issues that remain unresolved. Moody’s work with Bohm featured several recorded dialogues that examined Bohm’s views on Krishnamurti’s philosophy and his personality. Complete transcripts of these conversations provide a rich, illuminating supplement to the text.

(Goodreads.com)

Wholeness and the Implicate Order

by David Bohm 

David Bohm was one of the foremost scientific thinkers and philosophers of our time. Although deeply influenced by Einstein, he was also, more unusually for a scientist, inspired by mysticism. Indeed, in the 1970s and 1980s he made contact with both J. Krishnamurti and the Dalai Lama whose teachings helped shape his work. In both science and philosophy, Bohm’s main concern was with understanding the nature of reality in general and of consciousness in particular. In this classic work he develops a theory of quantum physics which treats the totality of existence as an unbroken whole. Writing clearly and without technical jargon, he makes complex ideas accessible to anyone interested in the nature of reality.

(Goodreads.com)

On Dialogue

by David Bohm 

Never before has there been a greater need for deeper listening and more open communication to cope with the complex problems facing our organizations, businesses and societies. Renowned scientist David Bohm believed there was a better way for humanity to discover meaning and to achieve harmony. He identified creative dialogue, a sharing of assumptions and understanding, as a means by which the individual, and society as a whole, can learn more about themselves and others, and achieve a renewed sense of purpose.

(Goodreads.com)

Russell Brand The system’s trying to hack ya! BUT there is a way out! In this video, we look at some of the great thinkers that have been on my podcast ‘Under The Skin’ to discuss ways to avoid been coerced by the system. Let us know who else you’d like to see in the comments below! #YuvahNoahHarari#ElizabethGilbert#MarianneWilliamson#EckartTolle Elites are taking over! Our only hope is to form our own. To learn more join my cartel here https://www.russellbrand.com/join and get weekly bulletins too incendiary for anything but your private inbox. *not a euphemism Listen to my Luminary Original podcast, Under The Skin, to hear from guests including Edward Snowden, Jonathan Haidt, Jordan Peterson, Naomi Klein, Kehinde Andrews, Adam Curtis and Vandana Shiva. Subscribe to Luminary at http://apple.co/russell My NEW weekly meditation podcast, Above the Noise, is available now only on Luminary. Get passes to my show Our Little Lives: Shakespeare & Me. It’s streaming on Live Now on July 14th. http://bit.ly/3godW5g SEE ME LIVE! Check out my live events and buy tickets here https://russlebrand.com/live-dates/ My Audible Original, ‘Revelation’, is out NOW! US: http://adbl.co/revelation UK: http://adbl.co/revelationuk AU: http://adbl.co/revelationau CA: http://adbl.co/revelationca For meditation and breath work, subscribe to my side-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AwakeningWi… Instagram: http://instagram.com/russellbrand/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/rustyrockets

Matthew Stelzner This video continues to explore the current special alignment of Venus and Mars that I talked about in my last video, and it also gives a forecast for the special astrology of the next nine months. I focus on the upcoming series of “Venus Gates,” the five evening-sky conjunctions of the Moon with Venus, with each of their unique flavors, as well as the four upcoming morning-sky Moon-Venus conjunctions (including a long morning sky conjunction of Venus and Mars), which climaxes in a very rare quadruple conjunction with Jupiter and Neptune next April. That is an alignment that can happen at most every 13 years (the next one in 2035 is not nearly as precise as this one), and it is easily one of the most healing and Heart Chakra activating alignments of the coming decade. It is also not limited to next April. The Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in Pisces lasts through all of 2022. So now is the time to make intentions for the coming 9 months, setting your sights on next April and the crest of a great healing wave of potential that is just on the horizon. What waves of self-love do you need to surf well now, in order to catch the next wave of self-love, and the next one after that, all the way to next Spring, when you will be able to catch that rare Jupiter-Neptune wave and ride it all of year? Let’s go on that journey together, and let me help you maximize this special time we are living in. I will be back with more videos keeping us on track for surfing the alignments leading up to next spring. My hope is that everyone watching these videos and following my YouTube channel will all sync-up in a collective consciousness experience, with all of our hearts opening together in mutual support of the group intention. Wishing you all happy sky watching, and sending blessings. Love! I will be giving away a free astrology reading after this channel hits a 1000 subscribers. In order to qualify you will need to be a subscriber to this channel, and also signed up for my email list. I will give out more details on my free livestream event on Sunday July 25th at 11am California time. Sign up for my mailing list here: http://stelz.biz/register-for-my-emai… If you sign up for my mailing list you will also receive my newsletter and special promotions. Check me out on Instagram where you will find unique content that is not shared here: @tarot_and_lola To explore more of my work, see my blog, and get information about my intuitive readings visit my website at: http://stelz.biz/ Check out my two recent videos on the Moon-Venus cycle and the Venus-Mars cycle: Moon-Venus video: https://youtu.be/bX3Agzr1A9s Venus-Mars video: https://youtu.be/fpxiYEUrTGA Daniel Giamario’s Shamanic Astrology article on Venus: https://shamanicastrology.com/wp-cont… Cayelin K Castel on the Venus Gates, Inanna and the Chakras: https://shamanicastrology.com/wp-cont…

Thursday 7:00AM (theonion.com)

THE HEAVENS—Kicking Himself for never getting around to developing what would have been a useful skill, God, Our Heavenly Father, and the Creator of the Universe, admitted Thursday that he regretted never learning to speak Spanish.

God reported feeling frustrated with Himself that He had procrastinated for so long, admitting to reporters that if He had made a concerted effort to master the language when He was younger, He could have probably already been fluent by now.

“Ever since the Crusades, I’ve been meaning to learn Spanish, but here it is already 2021 and I still don’t know how to say more than ‘What time is it?’ or ‘Two beers, please,’” said the omniscient deity, adding that the decreased neuroplasticity brought on by His advanced age would likely make it significantly more challenging to learn a new language. “It sucks because if I’d taken some night classes or even just traveled around Spain or Mexico a bit, I could probably have picked up the basics. Then again, maybe it’s not too late. I’ve always been a quick study, and I’m already fairly conversant in Italian which people say is pretty similar.”

“You know, I’ve had a copy of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote in its original text beside my bed for centuries that I’ve always wanted to read,” God continued. “Plus the billions of prayers from Spanish-speaking souls that I’ve never been able to understand.”

Heavenly sources confirmed that in recent weeks, God had taken numerous steps in an attempt to shore up his language skills, going so far as to tape up index cards with the words “la puerta” on the Pearly Gates, and “las nubas” over various clouds. The Divine Creator also reportedly enlisted all of Heaven into the learning exercises, requesting that the angels and departed souls greet Him with “Hola! ¿Qué pasa?” and address Him only as “Señor God.”

In addition, God was reportedly taking additional measures such as signing up for flamenco lessons and insisting on taking a daily afternoon “siesta” out of the apparent belief that getting into an Iberian mindset would help Him learn the language.

“It was definitely a struggle to find enough Castilian leather to reupholster His throne, and I think all the angels are a little sick of gazpacho and sangria, but we’re glad the big guy is so excited about it,” said the archangel Azrael, confirming that God had made some definite progress with simple phrases, though He still struggled to roll his R’s. “God’s super passionate, which is what we love about Him, but when He goes off on one of these kicks, it can be a little exhausting—a while back, He was obsessed with Creole cooking and the entire firmament smelled like cayenne and garlic for months.”

“If He insists on spending his time on projects like this, He could at least try to learn Mandarin, which is the language of the future,” Azrael added.