Archive for November 6th, 2026
A Long Walk, part 5
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Oh boy, Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville really does remind me of the late 20th century version of North Brooklyn, in so many ways.
Centuried buildings standing alongside brand spanking new luxury residential towers, ancient and insufficient infrastructure which was built for a low density industrial zone suddenly finding itself handling a high density residential population – composed of self important ‘master of the universe’ type tech and real estate ‘bros’ – with their artsy fartsy hipster hanger on’s and arounds… all that good stuff.
After luckily running into a passing freight train, and having kicked around five to six miles of dirt around by this point, one realized that he was somewhere around the half way point for the day’s effort.
From this spot, I’d be angling my feet in the direction of a still distant series of T light Rail stations, where I’d find a ride back to HQ in Dormont.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In the meanwhile, the area I was moving through was fairly deserted and I had a camera, so ‘wheee.’ Massing shapes, structures of expedient execution, busted up crap… all my kinds of bag.
It was a good time to remind myself of all the usual tropes;
- Everybody hates me, on sight.
- Nobody has a real friend.
- It’s best to not even try, anymore.
- No hope, and no future.
- All is dire, and colored a sickly pinkish gray.
- When I die, people will say ‘Good, that’s finally over with.’
Actually, I’ve long held a desire to have my corpse frozen solid in liquid nitrogen, and then fed into a wood chipper on the back of a boat on NY Harbor, which would then spray scarlet rainbows of ‘Mitch bits’ into the Newtown Creek.
At least I’d feed the fish on my way out…
My own corruptions, mixing with those of the Creek, and… and…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yeah… I do miss it sometimes. New York, I mean, not the human infestation it hosts.
I’m the type of person who feels completely alone in a room full of people who would profess to love me, but I’m sure they’d just be saying that anyway to set me up. As soon as I’d turn my back….
Me? I’m perfect, just like Caligula, and like that long ago Augustus I set the standard of sanity for the rest of the world to follow.
Anything that goes wrong when I’m in the room is something I should, or could have, stopped from happening. Everything bad is my ultimately my fault, somehow. You got cancer? Sorry, my bad.
It’s never been a good place, between my ears.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hey, I think that those might be some of the ‘murder bots’ which Carnegie Mellon University is working on for the Marines.
Yep, whereas the conversation about AI has centered in on the resources that data centers will consume, we’ve all forgotten that the United States Military is currently working on building autonomous ‘Hunter-Killer’ battlefield technologies – here in Pittsburgh – with young geniuses whom I can tell you have never read Asimov. I know this because I’ve asked several of them, and in addition to ignorance of Asimov, they haven’t read Stanislaus Lem or Phillip K. Dick either.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sigh… I’m old and won’t last too much longer, so this is not my problem yet – but AI is likely to somehow be my fault somehow. Ask anyone.
Some street furniture was encountered. Looks like a comfy park bench, if you ask me, but it’s likely very unpleasant during rainy weather.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pictured is one of the more frustrating ‘things’ you regularly encounter in Pittsburgh, with some working guy parking his truck right in the middle of a narrow street.
No doubt the truck is there to facilitate something practical, but damn does it suck when you make a left turn and then see this in front of you.
Back next week with a bit more from this long walk – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
