03 - Downerfest
Right, so lets kick this off with a disclaimer that shoulda been here from the beginning: thanks to multiple chronic health issues, I occasionally have weeks where my meatcage is especially broken, and it's all I can do to drag myself to the day job and maintain even basic interaction levels with the world. In that case (as you've already seen in 2016), I will probably skip out on the newsletter. I'd rather not send anything at all than just drop a half-assed overly whiny screed about health that no one but my mom *waves* actually cares to read. I can only hope the cyborg bodies fiction keeps taunting us with become a reality before the expiration date of said meatcage.
I had designs on wishing everyone a belated happy new year, but let's be honest, between the horrors of the news and some pertinent celebrity deaths (more on those in a moment), it just doesn't feel happy so far. Instead, I'll just say, congrats on still existing, and here's hoping this revolution around the sun gets better for everyone.
The last few weeks have been gutpunch after gutpunch of celebrity deaths. Granted, I'm entering that time in life where the creative people who were making rad shit when I was younger are reaching ages we associate with the end of life, but that doesn't make it any easier. I'm sure someone out there can prove me wrong, but I can't remember a time in recent memory where we've lost people on the level of David Bowie, Alan Rickman, or Lemmy Killmister, especially so close together. If you account for lesser know, but still famous-type folks, we've averaged a celebrity death a day in 2016. I'm not sure what this means, other than we need to assign dedicated physicians to Patrick Stewart and Brian Blessed STAT.
Rather than just collapsing into a puddle of despair and sadness, I'm trying to see these deaths as impetus to Do The Thing. Now. Not Next week. NOW. As someone who's had to come to grips with the fact that, given my multiple chronic health problems, my life span will be shorter than most, this is a sobering thought, and, at least sometimes, also a call to arms. To be clear: I know that's easier said than done, and it doesn't mean you forgo grieving altogether. It does, however, mean that you (eventually) push past that grief, and continue to crawl and scratch and fight to bring about the world and future you want to see.
Alright, everyone good? Feeling OK enough to continue? Great, let the depressing tone continue!
Forbes announces 30 under 30 list, forces people to turn off adblockers to view, hilarity (and malware) ensues - I don't have much commentary to add to Violet Blue's excellent reporting on this situation, other than, at some point, we have to have the larger discussion around online advertising and content that the major players seem to be putting off. It's easy to just say, "Information wants to be free. No advertising EVAR!", but that's a selfish and simplistic view of the internet, and ignores the inherent effort and labor that goes into creating content of any kind.
Lyft and GM partner to reveal endgame for the "sharing" economy - In a move that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, Lyft has announced that all those drivers they claim to be "helping" are really just necessary evils to be exploited until such time as an AGI can do their job. As Season 7 of Parks and Rec reminds us, no matter how fun or chill a startup seems to be on the surface, underneath is nothing but high-priced lawyers and a contempt for those persons who don't share their predatory vision on the future.
The Ridiculous Six has been watched more times in it's first 30 days than any other movie in Netflix's history - You may remember this as the Adam Sandler movie offensive enough to make some of the Native American actors walkoff the set in disgust. I'd like to believe that a lot of those watches were ironic, or for the purposes of posting a scathing review on the film, but people are generally terrible, so it's more likely legit fans of Sandler and his body of work.
*Phew* Ok, I know this newsletter has been more of a downer than most, but sometimes that happens in life. If everything was unicorns and rainbows all the time, that'd be pretty boring. We need to embrace the good and the bad of life, and try to use every bit of it as fuel and fire to do whatever the hell it is we've been put here to do. Now, as a reward for those of you who've made it this far, I give you this incredible supercut of hacking and general computer use in movies from the '70s, '80s, and 90s. ENJOY.
Finally, hit me up on Twitter or Facebook if you wanna talk about anything you just read, or if you want to say hi. If you dig what I have to say, maybe share this newsletter with a friend or something? And, if you're feeling especially generous, you can share and/or contribute to my reading and reviewing Marvel's Civil War comics event.
Now, onto the main attraction...
Greetings From Earth-200500 (Where things are basically the same, except everyone has beards)
I had designs on wishing everyone a belated happy new year, but let's be honest, between the horrors of the news and some pertinent celebrity deaths (more on those in a moment), it just doesn't feel happy so far. Instead, I'll just say, congrats on still existing, and here's hoping this revolution around the sun gets better for everyone.
"You Get What Anyone Gets - You Get a Lifetime"
The last few weeks have been gutpunch after gutpunch of celebrity deaths. Granted, I'm entering that time in life where the creative people who were making rad shit when I was younger are reaching ages we associate with the end of life, but that doesn't make it any easier. I'm sure someone out there can prove me wrong, but I can't remember a time in recent memory where we've lost people on the level of David Bowie, Alan Rickman, or Lemmy Killmister, especially so close together. If you account for lesser know, but still famous-type folks, we've averaged a celebrity death a day in 2016. I'm not sure what this means, other than we need to assign dedicated physicians to Patrick Stewart and Brian Blessed STAT. Rather than just collapsing into a puddle of despair and sadness, I'm trying to see these deaths as impetus to Do The Thing. Now. Not Next week. NOW. As someone who's had to come to grips with the fact that, given my multiple chronic health problems, my life span will be shorter than most, this is a sobering thought, and, at least sometimes, also a call to arms. To be clear: I know that's easier said than done, and it doesn't mean you forgo grieving altogether. It does, however, mean that you (eventually) push past that grief, and continue to crawl and scratch and fight to bring about the world and future you want to see.
And Now, A Palate Cleanser
Alright, everyone good? Feeling OK enough to continue? Great, let the depressing tone continue!
#ICYMI
Forbes announces 30 under 30 list, forces people to turn off adblockers to view, hilarity (and malware) ensues - I don't have much commentary to add to Violet Blue's excellent reporting on this situation, other than, at some point, we have to have the larger discussion around online advertising and content that the major players seem to be putting off. It's easy to just say, "Information wants to be free. No advertising EVAR!", but that's a selfish and simplistic view of the internet, and ignores the inherent effort and labor that goes into creating content of any kind.Lyft and GM partner to reveal endgame for the "sharing" economy - In a move that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, Lyft has announced that all those drivers they claim to be "helping" are really just necessary evils to be exploited until such time as an AGI can do their job. As Season 7 of Parks and Rec reminds us, no matter how fun or chill a startup seems to be on the surface, underneath is nothing but high-priced lawyers and a contempt for those persons who don't share their predatory vision on the future.
The Ridiculous Six has been watched more times in it's first 30 days than any other movie in Netflix's history - You may remember this as the Adam Sandler movie offensive enough to make some of the Native American actors walkoff the set in disgust. I'd like to believe that a lot of those watches were ironic, or for the purposes of posting a scathing review on the film, but people are generally terrible, so it's more likely legit fans of Sandler and his body of work.
Before I Go...
*Phew* Ok, I know this newsletter has been more of a downer than most, but sometimes that happens in life. If everything was unicorns and rainbows all the time, that'd be pretty boring. We need to embrace the good and the bad of life, and try to use every bit of it as fuel and fire to do whatever the hell it is we've been put here to do. Now, as a reward for those of you who've made it this far, I give you this incredible supercut of hacking and general computer use in movies from the '70s, '80s, and 90s. ENJOY. Finally, hit me up on Twitter or Facebook if you wanna talk about anything you just read, or if you want to say hi. If you dig what I have to say, maybe share this newsletter with a friend or something? And, if you're feeling especially generous, you can share and/or contribute to my reading and reviewing Marvel's Civil War comics event.
NOVUS OUT
Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to Greetings, Fleshbags: