What Steve Jobs foisted on us:

And no Fortran, either.

 And now, the ignominy of the iPhone:

I mean, where's the steering wheel? 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

 The Commander-In-Chief circa 1974

The early seventies: all things permitted. 

The revolution was over.

We had lost.

Party time.

We were doing mountains of blow (coke not yet addictive—cause for celebration), drinking, clubbing.

O my fellow sprouts, I did the mandatory twig infatuation with Burroughs' thousand wounded galaxies on the nod, heroin, every single layer and cell of my being down to the Core perfect, perfect, humming, buzzing, fuzzy and gleaming.

I quit abruptly when I realized, wisely, that morphing into junkiehood would seriously screw up my drinking.

The key to successful living is in one's intention.

I studied the Physicians Desk Reference, concocting pill cocktails. My basic rule of thumb was to note the maximum dosage recommended for a given drug and not exceed that amount by more than a factor of two or three, on the maiden voyage, anyway. Black beauties+valium+rum: good for drinking lightyears into a blackout. Cocaine+mushrooms+brandy: intergalactic shuttles landing in North Beach earthport. Alpha Ralpha Boulevard.

Friends began dying.

Car crash. 

Suicide.

Overdose.

Mr. San Francisco reigned over the city.

Marie, swathed in Edenic garb. 

From the Associated Press:

 FERNDALE, Mich. - A Detroit man, Ronald A. Dotson, with a history of smashing store windows to grab female mannequins has been accused of indulging his fetish again.

And from Salon.com, a front page story on the third of January:

Big breasts for dummies:

Mannequins with giant bazooms are busting out in shop windows from coast to coast. More than just garment racks, they are a mirror of current beauty and fashion.

"... but these mannequins with their massive chests crossed the line from a little harmless obsession with appearance to a society run amok. I grabbed my husband's hand and jerked him to a stop in front of the store. 'Look at that!' I demanded. He was already looking ..."

I do not believe in coincidences. That these two stories appeared on the same day is just one more auspicious portent of the shape of things to come now that the Democrats have taken control of both houses of Congress.

Joking.

That was a joke.

You may read my insights into Ronald's unfortunate compulsion, coupled with a culture of enablers, on the flip-flop. 

"... fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives ...
"So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked.
"But if you see what I see,
if you feel as I feel,
and if you would seek as I seek,
then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight ..."
                —V, V For Vendetta

[This is Part Two of a three-part series. If you haven't done so, you may want to read Part One first.]

So we are talking about the killing of President John F. Kennedy, the fact that his killers were never brought to justice, and the feeling that we are now, as a country, living in Bizarro-world, where everything is the opposite of what it is supposed to be.

We left off in Part One with my ex-gangster friend replying,"Are you having a nice night, kid?" when I asked him who his associates in the mafia thought had killed JFK.

I smiled, but was silent, totally focussed on him and whatever he might say next.

 And he said, finally, looking at me levelly,"I could tell you a story. I don't like to talk about it that much. I knew at least fifty people who were involved who have been killed ..."

(further conversation on the flip-flop)