Mark Zuckerberg's karma

Almost bought an ART FORUM at City Lights for old times sake, an old time place, but didn't, seeing it no more and no less different than the ART FORUM I'd bought in 1995.

Ran into the big Richard Brautiguan bio, Jubliee Hitchhiker by William Hjortsberg. The thing just about knocked me out. Earlier, during dinner at Sotto Mare on Green Street, had asked Neeli, a poet who was around at the time, if he'd known Brautigan. Neeli had run into him from time to time in North Beach in the late 1970's, early 80's. Brautigan always seemed angry, felt sorry for himself, sort of moped around, Neeli said. Those were the days when Brautigan was actively in the throes of being forgotten by his readers and dismissed by the critics, whichever comes first.

At the same dinner, we talked about Facebook. Three of the four people at the table were "on" it, but none  were enthusiastic. Two were about to get off. I told everyone about my son who'd never been "on" and who'd told me at least two years ago he never would be "on": "there will be a time in the not too distant future, when never having been on Facebook will be considered avant-garde," he said, or something like that. He said that in the not too distant future, complete and total privacy would be the coin of the realm.

Capitalism is what has its way. It runs less than half on ideas and more than half on getting other people to buy into ideas. The time between 2004 and 2012 must be speeding by for Mark Zuckerberg, much in the news these days, to the time of what may lie ahead.