Greetings Friends and Family

The Ministry of Love

"There are four Ministries ... between which the entire apparatus of government was divided. The Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace which concerned itself with war. The Ministry of Love, which maintained law and order. And the Ministry of Plenty, which was responsible for economic affairs."

- George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four

And thus it struck me recently that the perverse irony of the twin deities bequeathed to the 21st century , the Information Age and Globalization, are that their incarnation has threatened the opposites, call them: Nouveau Darkness and Hysterical Provincialism. Indeed, as we sail the seas of perpetually multiplying data and break barriers with heretofore unknown foreign lands, we are strangely more uninformed and disconnected with one another.

Each month there appears some new snake-oil widget promising to salve the pain: a social networking tool, a digital chat mechanism, free satellite calling to Nova Zemlya, what have you. Yet, even as the terrible triumph of the modern shopping mall is to leave one feeling less materially satisfied after a credit card fueled shopping spree, the global network threatens to usher us towards a sad realization that we are missing each other.

Perhaps it is something to do with the tyranny of choice. While we now have a plethora of powerful communication tools on our desktops and the ability to travel and form associations over the entire globe, the sheer breadth explodes some speed-limit of living we barely knew before. Barreling down the road, the muffler falling off, the cyborg future leaves the physical body, real spaces and real people, pitched in the dust.

Scott, Marloes & Lucky: Amsterdam June 2008

So, basically this new website is about simplicity. Beyond the design, stripped of chatter, the intention is to create a place where folks who want to catch-up can come by for a spell. Ideally, it will mean we will share stories and talk at some point as well. For the time being, I'm hoping this humble offering will suffice as my effort to share and continue a discussion we have been having these many years.

I hope all is well with you and those close to you.

Yours Sincerely,
Scott Mongeau

July 25th, 2008