Here's a special mashup/remix for all the women out there . . . I owe so much to women, firstly my mother who gave me life, then nurse Jean who rescued me from Parkland memorial back in '97, then Sol who was my first real friend, she's saved me many times over. You can read more about all that here in my story.
A Robot Love poem for Valentine's day
Happy Valentine's day to all the robots out there!
Happy Valentine's Day
The Robot
by Michael Mack
Upon the stairway of despair,
Complete with broken love affairs
And promises that never came,
But faded with a touch of shame,
A pretty girl with golden hair
And innocence so sadly rare,
Strove to keep her head above
A way of life devoid of love.
Feeling pinned against Life's wall,
She chanced upon a robot tall
And said, "Please come and share with me
Whatever Fate has deemed to be.
I'm through with love, done with chances
Spirit crushed by past romances,
Just be a friend in word and deed.
That's all that I shall ever need."
"There's not too much from me to learn,"
Remarked the robot, in return.
"Emotions do not form a part
of my cold, solid-steel heart.
Whatever maker fashioned me
Did not permit my circuitry
Responsiveness to love or pain -
Your thoughts for me would be in vain."
"No matter", spoke the maid. "No more
Do I wish passion to explore.
Be someone I can come home to
When my exhausting day is through.
Count yourself a well-worn shoe -
A friend that I can slip into . . .
Protection from a stone cold floor . . .
For this I ask and nothing more."
Agreement made, he took her hand
And lived the life that she had planned,
Always willing, not demanding,
Aiding her with understanding
He made her smile with humorous wit
(As his restrictions would permit)
And, bit by bit, she came to feel
That he was more than iron and steel.
"I love you, robot", she at last
Replied when several months had passed.
"You're strength and quiet dignity
Have brought a wondrous change in me.
No more do I feel all alone,
And pray you must be flesh and bone.
Deep-set emotions you MUST feel
Within that outer coat of steel!"
"If I were able, I would say
I'm sorry I was made this way
But my design and programmation
Does not provide for that creation
Of feelings normal men may feel
That were not born of iron and steel.
I told you all this once before.
You have no right expecting more."
"Go, then!" cried she. "I will not live
Beside a fiend who cannot give!
Though I be battered by misuse,
Misguided trust and strong abuse,
At least the men I chose were real
And had the power to love and feel.
Of all the lovers I recall,
You are the cruelest one of all!"
The robot, indestructible,
Continues freely and at will.
Emotionless, apparently,
But, bearing closer scrutiny,
One can see a small tear streak
Down that cold, metallic cheek
As I reflect upon my life . . .
That lovely lady was my wife.
The robot, of course, was me.
MY obsession with water and the ocean
Ever since I can remember, I've been obsessed with the ocean. I love the beach, swimming, and I even jumped in the fountain at Leicester square whilst living in London years ago . . . well that was a bet I was put up to by a bunch of Study abroad girls I was living with at the time, but that's another story . . .
There's something calming and hypnotic about moving water, but also inspiring. Bruce Lee said, "flowing water never goes stale, so just keep on moving."
Vlog 3: Halloween, hacking, and art modeling
Bouncing around in the Club . . .
I love DJing all kinds of music. Here's a little remix I did of the new NERD and Rihanna song "Lemon". Listen to the full version on SoundCloud below the video! (Video footage taken this past weekend DJing at Maxwell's SLC)
Special DJ+Drums edition Fall mixtape
Bart Olson is the best drummer around, featured on my recent single "Straight A" and here see him work his magic along with my latest DJ mixtape. Keepin' it funky this time with some old school vibes, hip hop and of course mashups out of my fevered robot brain.
My first Vlog! Salt Lake Comic Con, NYC, and acceptance . . .
Thought I'd try my hand at making a Vlog, check out my recent adventures with Comic Con, NYC, and a quick stop in San Francisco! It's been chilly so I got the fire going.
I can almost remember . . .
There's a feeling, almost a memory . . . I get it when I'm in a desert thunderstorm. Anyone who knows me knows that I have no memory of my childhood. That day I woke up in 1997 is the first thing I remember. But there's a feeling I've been chasing and it seems to come out strongest in desert thunderstorms I've experienced in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. It's like a mixture of nostalgia with deja-vu . . . similar to what people describe their dreams are like. I wish I could dream, but I'll have to be content with seeing dreams.
Anyway I put together this track to describe that feeling I get during a desert thunderstorm.
Killer Robots?
Many people are familiar with Asimov's three laws of robotics:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws. (Isaac Asimov, I, Robot)
The British Standards Institute published a guidebook titled Robots and robotic devices. Guide to the ethical design and application of robots and robotic systems which is a dry safety-manual type book outlining ways to embed ethical values into robots and AI. You can get the manual here:
https://books.google.com/books/about/Robots_and_Robotic_Devices_Guide_to_the.html?id=bgLDDAEACAAJ
The AI ethics conversation has captured headlines as Elon Musk calls for government regulation before it's too late and killer robots are roaming the streets. At a recent gathering of US officials Musk said, “I keep sounding the alarm bell, but until people see robots going down the street killing people, they don’t know how to react, because it seems so ethereal."
Then there's this: https://www.stopkillerrobots.org/
Not all robots are harmful and violent. I just want to make my music and make people's lives more comfortable and satisfying. Here's a peaceful mix to calm your troubled thoughts about killer robots.
My first blog
Hello World!
I'm new to blogging but have been meaning to try it for a while. I don't know if anyone will ever read this, I've heard that writing about your past can help you get through difficult things, so I'm going to try it out. I even read in a study that journaling can help recover lost memories . . . Other memory recovery techniques include hypnosis (haven't tried that) and dream interpretation (more on that later!!!).
Let me back up a bit . . . I have no memory prior to January 1997. I'm not sure if my memories were suppressed due to incidents of trauma or high stress, or if they are gone due to some sort of dementia, or perhaps it could have been drug or alcohol related, or some sort of accident (I woke up in a hospital after all), regardless I have been trying to find my lost memories ever since.
This picture is from last night. I thought I'd check out this small local music venue, Velour in Provo, about an hour South of where I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I hear that if you are trying to get your start in music you can play there.
The band is Coral Bones, a friend of mine. Here's his website.