Lots of prognostication out there about the rise of India, China, and Brazil in numerous ways. I wonder how many of the people talking about it are doing so because Bruce Sterling is. Or, possibly, vice versa.

I'm not interested in multiculture. I'm not particularly syncretic, at least not intentionally. Western culture's got shitloads of problems, but it's still what fascinates me the most. China is pretty enthralling in ways, but the language barrier's a bitch. (You've gotta love the nation that gave us Lin Yutang, Wang Wei, and Li Po, even in translation.) I'm not going to fight the wave of non-Western culture crashing over the US and Europe, because I don't really care, unless said wave utterly destroys everything it hits, and I doubt that'll be the case. I'll take what happens in stride.

now playing: Murder City Devils
now smoking: University Flake
now drinking: Lone Star