Daughter of Godcast
Episode 084
Humanity
We’re back with the Daughter of Godcast Episode 084, Humanity. We’ve got a few months yet before the return of the crickets. Metaphorical crickets however are here in profusion, the sound of a theater filled with awkward silence, of a joke falling flat. Which might be where we’re at on the Daughter of Godcast Season Two Crowd Creation. Where’s the crowd?
In Episode 083, Relief we played a game with the mediatronic relief boxes. We’ll, mostly I played the game. And anonymous. And Seamus. Feedback has declined precipitously since 082. Folks are still listening to the podcast and poking around the web site, according to the stats, but feedback? Not so much.
Could this be an opportunity? An opportunity to just trust the process and see where we end up? The royal we that is – me, myself and I. Insanity is supposedly doing the same thing and expecting different results. So call me crazy but we’re going to play ANOTHER game. With the boxes. That’s right. But first, let’s get feedback for 083 Relief.
After a series of catastrophes, which 3 boxes would you carry back to your friends and family, and why?
Here’s the engagement graph for Relief, showing the decline in watching as the video progressed… sad. Hilarious! People were shutting down the video as soon as I start up with the character voice. The phenomenal Chop Suey Mambo by Alfredito and his Orchestra was not enough to counter act my obnoxious West Side Story and Roger Rabbit vocal fusion.
Jil and Gus played the game but I had to go to their house to find out which boxes they picked. Dehydrated rations, Medical Supplies and Shortwave Transceiver. Jil liked my character voice btw, but then she’s an exceptionally gifted and perceptive human. She also shares her house with Violet, the 120 pound pig, who can’t be trusted around visitors. So Jil’s aesthetic criteria are not run of the mill.
What I take from Jil and Gus’s choices is that survival was an important criteria for them. Wait what? Wasn’t survival the point of the Relief game? That’s a straight forward interpretation, the 8 choices were about survival, sort of. I liked to think the Relief game would reveal personal preferences, and hint at cultural yearnings – vision for what a reboot of human presence on planet Earth might look. Let’s hear from a couple more of Daughter of God's most blessed devotees.
Here’s anonymous via email.
“if the dehydrated food and sprouting seeds are organic or at least non-gmo then i would take the food and 2 boxes of seeds. why 2 boxes – i have become a microgreen grower these past 2 winters and love clipping fresh greens whenever i want. plus if there is a possibility of gardening they could also be used for growing mature food or producing more seeds.
if this dismal future is only providing genetically engineered crap then i will go for the personal hygiene and radio transmitter and i guess a box of dehydrated ‘food’. why – to find who else might be around and if i have any hair left i could brush it :)”
I responded that I could add the word “heirloom” to the sprouting box or maybe get permission to use the NON GMO project logo.
Anonymous replied.
"i like the heirloom approach. but not the non gmo tag. over 160 different crops that are non gmo are treated with glyphosate. so many people think they are getting a better food than they really are.”
I totally love this. Anonymous spontaneously asserted a very specific vision, in this case about the quality of food.
Seamus via dog.movie
"I’d grab the sprouting supplies, fecal composter, and dehydrated rations. Food availability is the thing I worry about most when planning for extended disasters, particularly since I don’t have any fat reserves to speak of. I can invent games. Humans lived without shortwave transceivers for forever, and they got along just fine. Personal hygiene and medical emergency are desirable, but less-so than food. I might make an exception for the medical emergency if there was, indeed, a medical emergency in progress within my party, in which case I’d substitute that for the fecal composter. I’d only need hazard containment under exceptional circumstances, like if the poop crawled out of the fecal composter and started feeding on the dehydrated rations."
Seamus methodically weeds out the non essentials – games, shortwave transceivers, personal hygiene, medical emergency and hazardous containment and goes with not only what HE needs but, as I interpret his response, what the group needs. Seamus knows that fecal composter keeps group living conditions sanitary while providing a trickle of energy and a rich soil amendment for farming. He’s already got a plan for a sustainable civilization restart.
Well, since the game fell flat with the rest of my feedback crew, I almost want to spill the beans about my inspiration for deploying. But that wouldn’t be very good feedback practice. So instead, we’ll give this game another go, and perhaps ask a better question.
The dominant culture has collapsed, undermined by an unsustainable premise. All those catastrophes and disasters? Likely caused either directly or indirectly by consumption consciousness. The ecosystem is damaged, but given time could recover. The slate has effectively been wiped clean and you, your family and friends are about to start over.
You have returned to the field scattered with hundreds of relief boxes, to carry back three more. Assuming you met the basic survival needs of your tiny clan with the first three boxes, you are now faced with a more momentous choice.
The next three boxes you pick will point the way for a benevolent human presence on the planet. What future will you choose? Pick the three boxes that best illustrate your vision. Or, list three boxes of your own. Good luck, let’s get the humanity thing right this time.
Are you ready to play Daughter of Godcast, Episode 084, Humanity, our second Crowd Creation game? I crave a robust feedback response, a humandess response! The Daughter of Godcast, where else are you prodded to feel the future you’re craving, the culture you’re yearning for and make some efficacious choices in that general direction? And you thought this was just a movie. *I* thought this was just a movie! That was my plausible story to get the ball rolling. Human desires are huge and ever expanding, they are humandess! Nowadays I’m letting Daughter of God flow everything I’ve always wanted into my experience, the movie that’s making me. You can let DOG be your excuse to feel magnificent too, why not? You’re also making this movie after all. “Whoever drinks from my lips will be as I am, and I will be as him. Or her. That’s a little gnostic gospel of Thomas for you right there.
From: anonymous
Subject: Re: Daughter of Godcast 084, Humanity feedback
Date: April 8, 2018 at 5:54:08 PM EDT
To: Uncle Joe aka Shri Fugi Spilt
1. 2 guitars with cases and lots of extra strings
2. a kitchen box; copper pail, good knives, copper bowls, cast iron dutch oven
3. tools; shovel, bowsaw, handsaw, wooden mallet, wood carving tools, i don’t think i’ll need a screwdriver 🙂
the handbag of the gods? clueless (and curious) what that might be – sounds too potent for me.
peace and joy,
anonymouse
Weather Prediction can be learned through careful observation over time. That box would not be a priority.
The plastic decompiler might be very useful if there is still a lot of plastic around. Then again, by that point, it might be good to just let evolution take its course. When trees first evolved lignin (another organic polymer), it wasn’t biodegradable either, and it accumulated into the coal deposits we’re burning through today. Eventually, bacteria evolved which could digest lignin, and a new balance was reached. Plastics are used for a reason, and even if we stopped using them for a while, there’s no guarantee that another civilization wouldn’t pick them up again later. While easing off of plastic use makes sense, it might be wise not to stop using it entirely. Who knows what nature could do with the stuff, given time.
The Self-Governance Guide could be useful. It might help mitigate social chaos.
The Medicinal Mushroom Spores would immediately be very useful for survival, but we already said that we had survival under control, and that the goal here was to begin to develop sustainable civilization. Besides, the fossil record shows that decomposing fungi should be abundant in the aftermath of an apocalypse, as they feed off the decay of the old world.
The Nomadic Shelter has the same problem of immediate usefulness, but not for jump-starting civilization. Now, one might claim that a nomadic society might be more benevolent to life on Earth, but I’m of the belief that humanity’s ecological niche does, in fact, lie within our technological civilization, and that’s not very feasible unless we settle down somewhere.
The Megalith Kit sounds like an inflatable temple. It’s probably disposable and impermanent, which kind of defeats the purpose of a megalith. If you’re gonna build a monument, put some effort into it.
The Encyclopedic Reference could be critical for jump-starting civilization. That’s a definite keeper.
What’s in the Handbag of the Gods? I wouldn’t take it unless it had something in it that was truly useful.
The Kinetic Generator would be very useful for establishing an energy paradigm that did not rely on fossil fuels, at least not from first principles. Even if there was nothing to power at first, having that technology available to reverse engineer would help get civilization back on track.
The Love Potion sounds non-consensual, but might be useful as a plot device.
The Spiritual Resonator is too abstract.
The Water Purifier has the same issue as the Medicinal Mushroom Spores.
Gentle Immobilization seems well-intentioned, and possibly useful for avoiding more serious conflicts, but might ultimately be overused and abused. It might also turn out to be a poor deterrent for whatever activity you’re trying to deter. In the words of Rick Sanchez, “Everyone wants to be knocked out. Nobody wants to die.”
The usefulness of the Resistance Fighter Manual depends on whether there was anything that seriously needed resisting.
Artist Materials can be found in nature.
The AI Companion wouldn’t be necessary, as I’d already have human companions with me. I might make an exception if the AI had superpowers or extensive knowledge.
Astronomical Instruments would be useful if you wanted to discover science from scratch, but the encyclopedic reference likely already has the basics, so I wouldn’t prioritize it.
The Empathic Language Primer sounds well-intentioned, and could certainly help with individual relationships, but in general, discussion of non-violent communication first assumes that words can be violence. In my short lifetime, I’ve already observed that idea becoming twisted into an excuse to arrest political dissidents, so I’d rather not have that idea floating around a recovering society.
All together then, the three boxes I would choose are the Self-Governance Guide, the Encyclopedic Reference, and the Kinetic Generator.
From: anonymous
Subject: #84 feedback revised – please ignore previous choices
Date: April 9, 2018 at 7:15:26 AM EDT
To: Uncle Joe
vision
all handbags have something useful
just in case 😉
peace and joy,
anonymouse
From: Uncle Joe aka Shri Fugi Spilt
Subject: Re: Daughter of Godcast 084, Humanity feedback
Date: April 9, 2018 at 12:43:21 PM EDT
To: anonymous
I like this first pass also because you suggest new boxes – musical instruments, cookware, woodworking tools.
Why copper tho? I don’t know much about the rationale of copper for cooking, besides being a good conductor of heat.
From: anonymous
Subject: Re: Daughter of Godcast 084, Humanity feedback
Date: April 9, 2018 at 12:56:19 PM EDT
To: Uncle Joe aka Shri Fugi Spilt
The Oligodynamic Effect: … Within 4 hours, the copper pot had killed off the Salmonella microbes…..
From: anonymous
Subject: Re: Daughter of Godcast 084, Humanity feedback
Date: April 9, 2018 at 1:14:39 PM EDT
To: Uncle Joe aka Shri Fugi Spilt
i think i would really miss music – and even though i don’t play guitar my son does and really enjoys playing with others so that’s why 2 are listed.
(when you entertain us with music i think it’s fun too)
copper for health as noted in previous email
tools for gardening and building a shelter and carving tools for spoons etc.
[snip]
From: anonymous
Subject: Re: Daughter of Godcast 084, Humanity feedback
Date: April 9, 2018 at 5:18:38 PM EDT
To: Uncle Joe aka Shri Fugi Spilt
[snip]
copper has a very long history, pretty cool eh? old wisdom confirmed by current science – love it 🙂
still wondering about the handbag ?
blessings,
anonymouse (i like the mouse part)
From: Uncle Joe aka Shri Fugi Spilt
Subject: Re: Daughter of Godcast 084, Humanity feedback
Date: April 9, 2018 at 5:53:46 PM EDT
To: Anonymouse
Cc: Uncle Joe aka Shri Fugi Spilt
Check out some Graham Hancock for handbag hints. Might take some time to assimilate theories but if you don’t know about him, I think you’ll totally enjoy.
Mouse it is then.
From: Anonymouse
Subject: Re: Daughter of Godcast 084, Humanity feedback
Date: April 9, 2018 at 6:16:51 PM EDT
To: Uncle Joe aka Shri Fugi Spilt
yes to graham and i’ve also watched several rupert sheldrake interviews. he and terrance mckenna expanded each others minds/hearts
THE SIXTH SENSE – Dr. Rupert Sheldrake
From: Uncle Joe aka Shri Fugi Spilt
Subject: Re: Daughter of Godcast 084, Humanity feedback
Date: April 9, 2018 at 6:29:00 PM EDT
To: Anonymouse
I know Sheldrake, got his book. Will watch this, looks great. Have you watched Graham’s discussion of Gobekli Tepe and why pyramids show up everywhere?
From: Anonymouse
Subject: Re: Daughter of Godcast 084, Humanity feedback
Date: April 9, 2018 at 6:38:00 PM EDT
To: Uncle Joe aka Shri Fugi Spilt
not sure if i’ve watched that one but will check it out. i have seen how there are pyramids across the world. and a certain pattern was suggested?
enjoy the mysteries. one thing that i liked that mckenna suggested that instead of life pushing us forward, life is pulling us forward