CM Thiede

Is it just me or is the world starting to resemble a day in the life of Aeon Flux? Especially, now, with all the subscription fee jabbing going on. Are those OUR archives floating overhead? Are we paying to operate digital versions of ourselves (avatars) so our analog counterparts can continue plugging the machine with quarters? Have humans developed an innate ability to digest glass overnight and I just didn't get the memo? Or, maybe the fees are simply for paid security? "Oops, sorry, all your information was scraped." Again? Guess not.

It's hard to keep track of every harebrained scheme AI is going to: solve, invoke, evoke, emote. You know? Try to find an "expert" on the matter and ask them, "Where do you see this going, exactly?" A utopian world where everyone gets along and nobody has to work, everything takes care of itself; eternal bliss. "At this stage it's hard to know." -Brad Smith (60 Minutes) Groovy.

Twitter and Meta (Instagram/Facebook) are on their own. They have yet to declare state sponsorship, candid photos meant to rouse suspicion not withstanding. Google, Microsoft and Amazon have all been awarded contracts by an ominously named geometric shape, as did a specially blended cup of Joe, to keep the lights aglow. (PBS) And, if you think about it, a portion is being funneled to the not so silent public/private partner that is (OpenAI) too. What about TikTok though?

No, no, no, no, no, no. Don't be so judgmental. Just because its operations are based in another country with a completely different set of rules governing their society doesn't automatically spell trouble. Let's put a new frame on "History & Evolution" and give it a touch-up, shall we?

There's nothing wrong with a billion+ people playing with facial recognition filters attached to whatever personally identifiable information the app extracts. Every man, woman and child should have the opportunity to become a viral, overnight sensation, no?

BOOM! Stop sucking up all our brain goo, dude! But, not until making it across the entire country so we can get way in deep with all that goo you got. Mmmmmm. What about the other three? That's four objects that went down, including big daddy, right? (ABC NEWS) Has anyone stepped up and said, "Hey, man, that was my thingy you shot down. WTF!?" I know I'd have something to say if somebody shot down my thingy. Wouldn't you?

If you want to stay friends with your pen pals then maybe it's time to tell them to tell their Lady or Lord they're no longer the one calling the shots. Level up or leave. Who do you want calling the shots? Anyone? No one? Say it's you, calling your own shots, how are you getting there? What's your ISP? Who you gonna call? Don't cross the streams. What goes up must come down, at some point, or what's the point? Planet hopping? Really?

Might as well give everyone hammers to knock themselves out then, because, I don't see that ride being any fun. Mobile, desktop, centralized, fedi, unless you plan on building your own Starlink equivalent, your subscription count is one.

What time is Matlock on? Huh? WHAT? Just press play.

Join me in a musical countdown to get into the spirit this holiday season. With COVID losing its grip on the psyche and things slowly feeling "normal" again, these songs all ring a bell on one level or another. Enjoy!

1 | Winter Weather