Stealth Tortoise

I think the thing that confuses me the most about the modern algorithmic hellscape is that people engage with it. I mean, I’ve always only viewed YouTube through subscriptions and from videos recommended to me by friends. I only ever used Twitter in chronological mode for the brief time I was there

I never had tiktok, I deleted Facebook over 10 years ago and I don’t ever look at the discover tab on this site, etc etc. Obviously to some extent you can’t escape it. Google is run by algorithmic searches, music apps will try to give you algorithmic playlists and such…

People talk about the left being unable to build community and being unwelcoming to strangers and I just think about my local brewery with its pride flags plastered everywhere that is regularly full of happy people of all walks of life and their dogs, and happy people asking to pet dogs. It’s great.

I’ve been watching deadliest catch for the first time in 15 years and there’s something so dystopian about it. Men being sold to us as being cool badasses who risk their lives for noble, hard work when in reality it’s a totally unnecessary danger for an unnecessary luxury good.

And the whole recurring talking point of “you can’t see these views in a cubicle” as if physical labor is somehow more noble than mental. As if construction crews, plumbers, warehouse workers, or what have you are somehow often treated to ocean views due to the supposed nobility of their work.

I’ve been watching deadliest catch for the first time in 15 years and there’s something so dystopian about it. Men being sold to us as being cool badasses who risk their lives for noble, hard work when in reality it’s a totally unnecessary danger for an unnecessary luxury good.

I think we’d all understand the world better if we realized a lot of people don’t have self-determined ideals they feel strongly about. They were raised in a narrative, whether that be social, religious, etc. Having a core value is irrelevant. The only relevancy is to stick with the group…

And that complication is something they resent. Seeing someone stand firm on ideals suggests they should also have ideals on which they should stand firm, but formulating those ideals is hard and takes time. They haven’t been taught how to do it. So they resent ideals and those who champion them

I think we’d all understand the world better if we realized a lot of people don’t have self-determined ideals they feel strongly about. They were raised in a narrative, whether that be social, religious, etc. Having a core value is irrelevant. The only relevancy is to stick with the group…

So I’ve been test running a more semi-analog life. Obviously I haven’t gotten rid of all digital influence but outside of this, discord, and I guess YouTube I’m pretty clear of social media, which frees up a lot more time to fill than one might initially think. But in so doing I’ve learned 2 things:

But hey, at least I squeezed some good in there. I helped a stranger on Reddit find an anime they like, or understand a complicated topic, or whatever. I did something. And I think that goes a long way to explaining why our online discourse has gotten so fraught too…

So I’ve been test running a more semi-analog life. Obviously I haven’t gotten rid of all digital influence but outside of this, discord, and I guess YouTube I’m pretty clear of social media, which frees up a lot more time to fill than one might initially think. But in so doing I’ve learned 2 things:

Sometimes it’s easier to be online. To feel like you’re making some small impact. Maybe planting a seed in an argument, or maybe saying something a person hasn’t thought of. Wanting fifteen minutes or wanting an audience isn’t always about wanting fame or money or even connection or love…

So I’ve been test running a more semi-analog life. Obviously I haven’t gotten rid of all digital influence but outside of this, discord, and I guess YouTube I’m pretty clear of social media, which frees up a lot more time to fill than one might initially think. But in so doing I’ve learned 2 things:

1. Despite the jokes, touching grass is real y’all. It’s cliche at this point but being in nature, being with people, having hobbies you can fallback on that aren’t full of toxicity is crucial. Nothing has done more for my mental health than a weekly trivia night with friends. But…

Every now and then I’m hit over the head anew with the realization that nobody in the work place really likes you (royal you) and nobody really cares what you think or how you feel. Your presence is only tolerated because your labor is useful. If your presence outweighs your labor, you’re a problem

Superman was good and cute and fun and hopeful. I think it’s a pretty solid introduction to the character, even and perhaps especially in how he contrasts to other heroes, and it’s a solid foundation from which to launch more DC movies, shows, etc.

It’s also not particularly saying as much as I wish it would. It goes to show how cracked and corrupted our culture is that this milquetoast of a message in a Superman movie somehow spawned “””controversy“”” It definitely refers to the current moment in multiple broad strokes but that’s about it

Superman was good and cute and fun and hopeful. I think it’s a pretty solid introduction to the character, even and perhaps especially in how he contrasts to other heroes, and it’s a solid foundation from which to launch more DC movies, shows, etc.

Can’t wait for Elon to make his own political party and for republicans to suddenly, magically all decide that maybe he was a bit of a fascist after all and to align the death laser of their propaganda machine towards convincing their audience of that reality while doing nothing different themselves