The difference between chirping out of turn and a faux pas depends on what kind of a bar you're in.

Tell me not of joy: there's none Now my little sparrow's gone; He, just as you, Would toy and woo, He would chirp and flatter me, He would hang the wing awhile, Till at length he saw me smile, Lord! how sullen he would be!

Cultures have long heard wisdom in non-human voices: Apollo, god of music, medicine and knowledge, came to Delphi in the form of a dolphin. But dolphins, which fill the oceans with blipping and chirping, and whales, which mew and caw in ultramarine jazz - a true rhapsody in blue - are hunted to the edge of silence.

Life seeks life and loves life. The opening of a catkin of a willow, in the flight of the butterfly, in the chirping of a tree-toad or the sweep of an eagle - my life loves to see how others live, exults in their joy, and so far is partner in their great concern.

I agree that sometimes Michelle Obama can come across as angry - and anger is discomforting. We venerate that empty word, closure, wanting to seal off the pain of the past and refusing it admittance to the chirpy present. This, of course, is nonsense.

The difference between chirping out of turn and a faux pas depends on what kind of a bar you're in.

Tell me not of joy: there's none Now my little sparrow's gone He just as you Would toy and woo He would chirp and flatter me He would hang the wing awhile Till at length he saw me smile Lord! how sullen he would be!

Web 2.0 ideas have a chirpy cheerful rhetoric to them but I think they consistently express a profound pessimism about humans human nature and the human future.