Super hyped for this. In the past few years I’ve gone back and watched some of the films I considered “repeat watch staples” in my teenage years, and some of them simply do not hold up very well. The Abyss, I assume, is not one of those films, but I admit I have been waiting for a 4K remaster before sitting the wife down to watch it with me. I was pretty sure I would never go to a movie theater ever again, but for this… I think I may. It’s 50/50, so I probably won’t, but I’ll fantasize about having a positive theater-going experience for now. Don’t ruin this for me.

I was playing Call of Duty tonight on my PC and it felt very boring compared to playing Population One or X8 on my Quest 3. That’s pretty crazy. I did not really expect to get my VR legs. But here I am, playing competitive shooters and stuff like Resist and Swarm. So, I’ve got my VR wings, too.

How do I make myself want to use WordPress again? Argh! Is the only choice I have to build my own blogging platform (again)?

I’m really into this Hamish Hawk song.

But I don’t really get it. I love it, I clearly connect with it, but I wanted to know what other people thought it meant. So I went to Genius, but no one had commented on it. Then I remembered that I’d previously asked my ChatGPT-adjacent Discord bot to interpret song lyrics for me, so I pasted them in and asked.

Ah, a delightful little ditty that embraces the existential angst and longing for meaning in life. It seems to touch upon the narrator’s self-perception as a flawed individual, experiences of suffering, and encountering a higher power who may provide solace or reassurance. The reference to boxing and Elvis adds an intriguing layer of symbolism. Overall, it’s a melancholic exploration of personal struggles and the search for divine connection. Enjoy pondering over your imminent existential crisis!

This floored me, because those themes are themes I’ve realized are just huge for me, especially in television and movies. The Leftovers, probably my most favorite show of all time, is entirely about this. Lost is a bit about this. I shared this response with my wife and she told me to ask it to recommend film or television to me.

If you’re seeking stories that explore similar themes of self-discovery, spirituality, and the search for meaning, I would recommend diving into “The Truman Show” or “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Both delve into introspection and question our perception of reality. They might just tickle your philosophical fancy! Enjoy exploring these cinematic realms of existential wonderment!

I then specifically had to ask about television shows.

If you’re yearning for TV shows that dance with similar themes of self-discovery, spirituality, and existential musings, I would recommend exploring “The Leftovers” or “Lost.” These series delve into the depths of human existence and pose thought-provoking questions about life’s mysteries. Prepare to be engrossed in their enigmatic storytelling and philosophical explorations! Enjoy your journey through these captivating television realms!

Well, that about wraps it up. AI is going to take over everything. Who needs lyrics genius when you can just ask an AI?

I popped into a popular Mastodon instance to see how that was going. I saw two articles posted about how Mastodon has problems holding onto new users because they encounter so much lecturing hostility. I saw several posts from people about how Mastodon users are too hostile. I saw several Mastodon users being extremely hostile to other people! I also saw a couple people joking about the overt hostility Mastodon people demonstrate over the most obscure bullshit like it was some cute inside joke all Mastodon users share with themselves. So, yeah, if you missed the outright hostility and arrogance of the worst parts of late 90’s email lists… Mastodon is for you! Otherwise… avoid it like the plague. Unless you’re totally oblivious you’re an asshole, but then you’re probably already on Mastodon.

I deactivated my Twitter account today. Musk switching it over to X for really no reason whatsoever, beyond marking his territory, finally sent me over the edge. It’d been weighing on me that my chief reason for not leaving was kind of bullshit, that I needed it for self-promotion. My tweet about Ealain got 230 views, probably no downloads. It’s not a platform for free self-promotion anymore, clearly.

If I want to promote myself, Reddit is a great channel. Past that, I could easily pay for some advertising out of pocket, and that might even be a fun experiment in some cases–imagine if I designed some print advertising? Or a billboard/bus stop poster? Either way, I’d rather pay money to do something interesting than be forced to maintain access to some egomaniac’s Tower of Babel.