Technology Nerds and Philanthropy

I don't write well to Baroque or Classical music.  I enjoy aspects of both with baroque music providing the most interest for my ear.  There is something about Telemann, Vivaldi, or Albinoni that gets your blood moving.  It is interesting that music composed from 1600 to 1750 after the Renaissance has this particular tendency. Of particular note and also is heard often in the music of Handel is the continuo in combination with the string orchestra.  Possibly this can be the most defining characteristic of baroque music.  (At least its the easy one.)  Basso continuo is an interesting concept that makes use of figured bass.  The keyboardist is given symbols representative of the harmonies or chords they must play along with the orchestra.  If I remember correctly these chords are represented by the intervals of the chord tones from the bass note.  Also the numerals used in harmonic analysis are helpful, in particular chord inversions.  Simple inversions are 6 and 6/4 for a triad, and 6/5, 4/3, and 4/2 for a dominant seventh.  Interestingly these numeric representations of harmony are not dissimilar from what jazz musicians use to realize their tunes.  While it is a different nomenclature, fundamentally it is the same.  The other difference is the melody of the tune is written on the staff rather than a bass line by someone like J.S. Bach.  All of this aside I like the vigor of Baroque music.  Vivaldi was a pioneer, and I am finding that most music of interest to me at age 52 is anything but what I hear in the current year of 2015.  The same is true for television and film.  This leads me to a disturbing realization.  It also has led to an increased aptitude to learn more about music history.  When mainstream media is talking about self-driving cars, then only do I want to lower my head in shame at the state of philanthropy in America.  We have been misled as a populace, and it is new money that has done this.  Always I have known that walking around staring at one's palm is no way to live, yet we still do it.  Increasingly I see the flock of lambs nibble away at the ripe grass of technology.  It is because that enticing screen, full of its sound bites, entertaining graphics, and purported connectivity is better than what we are experiencing in the world around us.  Let's face it, America sucks.  I do not way that because I want FBI sponsored Cessna aircraft flying over my home tomorrow morning.  They will do that anyway.  Crime is high in Fayettenam, and they are not solving any of it from way up there.  What they are doing is invading my privacy, my peace of mind, and my humanity.  Can you imagine what it is like to have a disturbing, menacing, low-flying aircraft circling your home for hours?  I can, because it happens often.  It happened today, and for the first time I realized its purpose.  Its stated purpose is unknown.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation has a covert fleet of small aircraft for surveillance purposes.  They are operated incognito with fake companies to ensure the safety of its pilots.  How could these pilots be endangered flying high above our heads.  It has entered my mind a few times and against my will.  Why would I spend one waking second thinking about a circling aircraft above my home?  I wouldn't be if it weren't there.  What the fuck?  The Fayetteville Observer reported recently that these planes in all likelihood would continue, because the FBI has been using them for some time.  For what?  The crime rater in Fayetteville is higher than most places, and it is not coming down.  They can fly all of the planes they want, take all of the photographs they want, and review all the video they want and the crime will continue.  Its constituents have nothing else to do, because they are poor.  Dire circumstances produce crime.  I learned this when I had clothing stolen from an outdoor laundry in Columbia, South Carolina at an apartment complex where I was living.  When I walked into the laundry and saw my blue jeans had been stolen, I also saw the perpetrators sitting in their car less then ten feet away.  They were poor.  They were poorly dressed, hence their need for clothing.  They were poorly nourished.  They were poorly groomed.  I understood, and quickly I bit my tongue and made note of the incident for future purposes.  Cessna seems to be the aircraft of choice, and while this small plane is not crucial to our national defense possibly it is part of the defense contracting lobby in Washington, DC.  I have come to realize that these companies largely are responsible for the wars in America.  How else can they stay in business?  With Ft. Bragg being one of the largest military installations in the world less then a few miles away, these large aeronautic companies are close by.  Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman top my list.  Second and more important to the overall economy of the United States are technology companies.  Fuck them.  Other than making computing faster, nothing has happened in this arena in fifteen years.  I remember when I used to surf the net on Netscape Navigator, until Microsoft became a bully and demanded that its Internet Explorer be bundled with their Windows operating system.  This action resulted in an anti-trust case initiated and won by the United States Department of Justice.  Microsoft appealed the case and they settled.  Microsoft bullied its competition, something that many American companies continue to do.  The South has continued to fight the Civil War, since the Yankees won.  They have nothing else to do.  Money has influence in America, and more than it has in our recent history.  We are entering a cycle that harkens back to other periods in American history, and it is unnerving.  Trust is the operative word, and they are in control.  It completely is illogical to allow recently acquired money to coin America's agenda.  This is what has been happening, and most obviously it can be seen in the demise of television.  Only the internet can be responsible for this death, and who can say it is a good thing?  With America's deniable addiction to the small screen, television is a thing of the past.  Designers know it.  A small group of creators are corrupting the minds of Americans without our even knowing it.  Every bit it is as strong as heroin, because ironically our environment has been so polluted by corporate America we must have something to make us happy.  No longer can the cool breeze of a spring day bring contentment to a person.  No longer can the refreshing taste of cold mountain water quench our thirst.  No longer can the soothing silence of a peaceful meadow provide a mattress for adolescent infatuation.  Our environment is shit, and it is shit because off all the airplanes, the cell phone towers, the automobiles, and diesel trains.  With the burning of fossil fuels threatening the earth, how can anyone with a conscience even think about self-driving cars?  It is insane.  With all the money Google has think about all the philanthropic deeds that could be done.  Think of how many abandoned animals could be saved.  Think of how many mouths could be fed.  It is an atrocity, self-driving cars, and I am embarrassed to be an American.