Why does the word ‘computer’
not have the noble ring of a ‘fountain pen’?
Even a ‘typewriter’ sounds better
than the name of the Difference Engine’s progeny,
though I could always say that I wrote this verse
on my PC (yuck!) or a desktop.
I wonder if the poet had the same problem
when quills had gone out of use.
More words to ponder at maciejmodzelewski.com
Perhaps history is impatient and likes the old-fashioned way,
so it would never walk you further than from yours to its own
prematurely announced end, only to, with a slightly ironic smile,
mark its face on the necrology—written by an aspiring visionary
over a lot of coffee and cigarettes—with a casually scribbled
moustache and bowler hat, and yet I can imagine Charlie Chaplin
working feverishly at a click farm.
I tried to find out if there has ever been a year without war in human history, but I could not find any reliable source that answered this question conclusively. However, based on various interactive maps, timelines, and articles, I am inclined to say that there were none. With regret, I have to say that we are not a peace-loving species—more like bloodthirsty monsters. And what worries me the most is that, with time, the situation might only get worse as our global population grows, while at the same time resources become depleted and climate change of our own making makes more and more places barely habitable. Add to that all the madmen in power who try to impose their delusional vision of history or morality, and you have a deadly cocktail ready to blow.
hidden pilcrow 