The future is now

Because we’re immersed in it daily, it’s easy to forget how much technology has augmented our experience of the world. Well, maybe forget isn’t the right way to describe the effect. A better way to phrase it would be that it’s impossible to remember what life was like before we had supercomputers in our pockets.

In a letter to a woman who wrote historical novels, Henry James drew attention to the difficulty of the task, noting how difficult a task it is for the writer to reinvent “the soul, the sense, the horizon, the vision of individuals in whose minds half the things that make ours, that make the modern world, were non-existent.”

“You have to think with your modern apparatus a man, a woman–or rather fifty–whose own thinking was intensely otherwise conditioned,” he continues on the impossible task of historical fiction, “you have to simplify back by an amazing tour de force - and even then it's all humbug.”

Maybe this is why it’s so boring and/or difficult to talk about how “technology” affects us. We are wet like water with it.

In any event, Ross Douthat took it on in a compelling way in a New York Times column that made it fresh, focusing on the destructive aspects of the ongoing digital transformation and offering a perspective on who will survive what he describes as the “evolutionary bottleneck” it portends.

The digital world has swept away local institutions like the daily paper and social clubs like the Elks Lodge and replaced them with cheaper, more easily accessible simulacra. This is all obvious to us by now. “The world’s gone digital” is like the 21st-century version of “The Times They Are A-Changin'.”

But these trends manifest most acutely in the relationship between the sexes. “When young people don’t date or marry or start families, that’s the bottleneck coming for the most basic human institutions of all,” writes Douthat. The key challenge of the 21st-century is making sure that everything you love is still there on the other side.

By Douthat’s estimate, it will be those who deliberately display “a clear preference for one’s own kith and kin” and necessarily limit their exposure to the digital that will make it through. The whole thing is worth a read. It’s not presented pessimistically as it sounds, more an exhortation to action. Paywall-free link here. DAVIS HUNT

📸 Mayor Ready To Greenlight LPRs Mayor O’Connell is ready to go full send on implementing Metro Nashville Police Department’s License Plate Reader program, and threw some shade at the council during Friday’s media roundtable in the process. “Within weeks of taking office, we started engaging the community to address concerns and we have a policy framework we're ready to run,” he said. “I think what you've seen upstairs in the Metro Council is they can't even get to consideration of a resolution asking us to bring LPR policy there.”

O’Connell also indicated that he’s open to several solutions, perhaps insinuating that Fusus isn’t off the table. “I would say we are ready to bring overall responsible frameworks for a variety of public safety tools to the Metro Council, and we are waiting on them to be ready to introduce them to the community,” he said. “We continue to have those conversations with community members, with council members, and you can see in the recent Vandy poll the level of popularity for the frameworks we're talking about.”

In fact, 83 percent of Nashvillians polled said they support allowing MNPD to use roadside cameras “to identify vehicles tied to violent crimes, stolen vehicles, and missing persons if they are tied to strict limitations and data protection.”

Mayor O’Connell also recanted a reckless driving incident he recently witnessed, touted MNPD’s quick response time, and indicated support for routine traffic stops. After commending Chief Drake's introduction of the department’s new D-shift, O’Connell said he hopes the addition of new officers and staff at the Southeast Precinct will produce “payoffs in terms of…an increase in traffic stops for those kinds of scenarios as an enforcement strategy, but also improving response times in Southeast Nashville where I think a lot of these driving concerns outside of the urban core have been most concentrated.” 

⚠️ The Pitfall Of Potholes During the state Senate’s final budget vote last week, we learned a bit more about the General Assembly’s plan to address Tennessee’s $68+ billion in infrastructure needs. In a last-ditch effort to add her “Pot for Potholes” amendment to the budget, Senator Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) stood up in defense of her proposed stream of new revenue to help address the issue. 

“We have a terrible situation with paving and potholes, and my Pot for Potholes bill would bring at least, I guess the amendment says, $10 million,” said Campbell. “But really, if we go by other states, I think it would be more like $280 million a year to the state of Tennessee in revenue for infrastructure.” The Nashville s enator also pointed out that “79 of 95 counties are subsidized by 16 counties in our state, with Davidson County losing the most in funding every year compared to what we contribute.” After acknowledging that driving through Music City is a disaster, she also called attention to dropping bond rates: “This is a good time for us to start thinking about alternative forms of revenue that are not taxing our citizens, that are not costing taxpayers money.”

It seems other state senators aren’t as keen on adding the stench of reefer to their morning commute. Instead, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) outlined the budget proposal to inject a record $1 billion into Tennessee’s Road Fund. “We're not borrowing it. We're not issuing bonds,” stated Johnson. “This is a $1 billion cash investment into our Road Fund.” He also pointed out that the General Assembly is redirecting an estimated $80 million a year in tire sales tax from the General Fund into the Road Fund: “I don't think this is the time, now, to have a conversation about recreational drug use in the state of Tennessee, or the revenue that could be generated from that.”

🥧 Speaking Of Pot…Pie While some restrictions still stifle the growth of small and start-up businesses that produce homemade food products in Tennessee, the General Assembly made it a bit easier to put your grandma’s baked goods on the market yesterday. Two weeks ago, we took a look at the impacts of Tennessee’s cottage food laws, and highlighted a bill that would expand the Tennessee Food Freedom Act to include the sale of dairy and poultry products. 

At the time, the legislation risked its failure due to a fiscal note that left it outside of the budget. That said, sponsors Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) and Freshmen Representative Michele Reneau (R-Signal Mountain) got the bill over the finish line with zero “no” votes.

“I know it's lunchtime, I do want you guys to think of this bill as the chicken pot pie bill,” said Reneau during its final reading in the House. “This will give farmers and small entrepreneurs greater opportunities, while keeping our food local and strengthening our local economy. This will allow Tennesseans to start a small business from home, keep more food dollars in our community, and it modernizes our laws in keeping with what other states have done successfully already.”

Representative Kevin Vaughan (R-Collierville) had some fun with Reneau given that it was her first time presenting a bill from the House well. “I’ve had enough of pot bills,” he said, instigating laughter from his colleagues on the floor. “We've heard of gummies, we've heard of weed, we've heard of flour, and now you're putting it into chicken pies? My gosh, I don't know what the great State of Tennessee is coming to.”

DEVELOPMENT

• 📉 Downtown office tower values fall by $400M in new assessment (NBJ)
• Tony Giarratana's SoBro tower site listed for sale (NBJ)
• Omakase coffee opens in East Nashville (NBJ)
• Tantísimo to Open in Sylvan Park (Scene)

✹ THIS WEEK IN STREAMING (April 22nd)

Companion (Max) Warner Bros’s oversharing marketing campaign ruined the box-office potential of this smart and effective thriller starring Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets) and Jack Quaid (The Boys) upon its release in January. Watch it. The less you know, the better, so we’ll go with what should have been the official synopsis: “New Line Cinema–the studio that brought you The Notebook–and the unhinged creators of Barbarian cordially invite you to experience a new kind of love story....” 

The Unit (Hulu) David Mamet’s 2006-2008 CBS drama about Special Forces agents whose globetrotting eroded their personal lives was the gold standard Post-9/11 TV drama. It’s a  shame the 2007 WGA strike killed it, and not just because Dennis Haysbert, Scott Foley, and Robert Patrick turned in the best work of their careers. 

Erin Brokovich  (Netflix) Those precious few who had the pleasure of seeing Steven Soderbergh’s glorious new spy thriller, Black Bag and want more should check out the director’s blockbuster Julia Roberts drama about a paralegal who takes on Big Chemical’s water pollution. It somehow plays better in the RFK-era thanks to its lack of sanctimony and penchant for dark humor. A towering example of contemporary Hollywood at its peak. 

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.

TONIGHT

🎸 Leya @ DRKMTTR, 8p, $15, Info
+ experimental violin and harp duo

🎸 Corridor @ The Blue Room, 7p, $28.60, Info
+ Canadian indie psych rock

🎸 The Road Ready Talent Contest presented by American Songwriter feat. BEACHMONT, SmithField, and Joe Jenneman @ The Basement East, 7p, $27.27, Info

🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik (Nashville), Jerod Hollyfield (Crowd Corner), Camelia Brennan (Local Noise), and Davis Hunt (everything else).