internet | Writingbolt's Creation

Posts Tagged ‘internet

Jun

Joke of the Day: My DUI

Categories: Creations and Uncategorized
Tags: AOL, Chat Cafe, cyber cafe, dial-up, DUI, fossil, free trial, humor, internet, internet cafe, ISP, joke, MySpace, website

****

I just realized I had a DUI back in 2014…

…As in Dial-Up Internet. [Yea, I’m a slow fossil.]

And, Gmail, did I Paypal for that major AOL.

I Kickstarter’d that MySpace to the curb like Rotten Tomatoes and said, “Ya-HOO-ooh-ooh! You’ve got to GoDaddy.”

[Considering how crappy dial-up became by 2014, I honestly think it should have been free, all of the time, for everyone, and not just a bunch of “free trials” that led to unhelpful, costly service. It could be the broadcast TV of the internet…if it was still even remotely tolerable. Does anyone still use dial-up? Remember the cyber-cafes of the early 2000s? I met quite a few cute Asian gals through those. Ah. Memories.]

Aug

The World DID End in 2012, as Told Aug. 14, 2024 Edition

By writingbolt Leave a Comment

Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: 2012, advertising, AI, calendar, campaign, celebrity, chads, choice, commercial, constitution, democracy, district, districts, Donald Trump, door-to-door, editorial, educated voter, educated voting, education, election, feed, government, internet, Kamala Harris, law, leadership, Mayan, Mayan calendar, newspaper, omen, opinion, politics, prediction, prophecy, redistricting, REM, rules, Sarah Connor, social media, Terminator, the end, USA, vote

****

And, I’m a lone, confused survivor, getting by in the hot mess that is unfolding. I feel like Sarah Connor in those Terminator movies and the spinoff TV series. Play the drums and hand me my assault rifle, with a grenade launcher and flamethrower. Let me put on my aviator sunglasses. Hasta la vista, humanity.

What is happening here?

It really sounds like the end of the world described in the Bible. Fires and conflicts everywhere. Riots in the streets. Mass assaults no one seems able to prevent. Political leadership in question and doubt.

On that note, let me talk about voting in the USA. No, there won’t be any national secrets unleashed, you hackers out there. I’m just talking about the basic system at hand…and only the basics of it. Voting is gradually making less and less sense. And, jokes are being made about uneducated voters. Lately, I’d say all voters who don’t interview the candidates themselves are uneducated. And, voting seems very unintelligent in more ways than one.

Recently, a “primary” vote was cast/called for which limited voters to two choices, even though the ballots had multiple choices on them.

Now, unless I’ve just walked into a crazy dimension where the old rules don’t apply and madness rules, a primary has always been a vote, before the final vote cycle, in which parties (Democratic and Republican) filtered out the candidates that were not popular for each position. You had the complex task of learning about every candidate (or just wildly picking…or basing your decisions upon which party you think has more sense, thus pegging the other party as the enemy, even though both parties have to somehow work together to include everybody in a UNITED country). Then you had to pick which candidate you favored for each job category. So, maybe you like this one blue guy for senator and this one red gal for district leader in that one part of town. You broke down the options before the final vote, which typically happens in November. There have also been primaries for each party, so you could breathe a little easier and only pick your favorites (or least hated, if you are so inclined to favor only one party/side) from each side before deciding who gets the final votes.

Apparently, this recent primary eliminated most of the “confusion” and difficulty by giving voters, essentially, one choice. [Just like my family only gives me one choice when attempting to have a discussion; either I agree with what they are thrusting in my face or they ignore an badger me.]

There were multiple items and people to vote for on both the Democratic and Republican side. But, there was a hitch, a trick. And, if you didn’t listen, your vote did nothing. The trick was you had to pick all blue or all red choices; no mixing. Strangely, while you could go down the page and pick out individuals you liked (or hated less than others), you were limited to one color, one side; and if you didn’t like someone on that one color’s side…well, tough.

Just push one button, and you’re done (but look at all of the details you don’t want to read because their are choices you are making with that one choice which you cannot alter if you are a true believer of democracy and would like to be fair to both parties). And, by that, I mean there could be good candidates in both parties, people who could work the two sides together in harmony…but voting is ruling that kind of thinking out. You either are blue or red. [There is no Pokémon-game-version mixing here; no trading version exclusives.]

Well, that sounds as simple as you can get, but where is the fairness to both sides? And, how can choosing one option, one side, one color, also impact other decisions that affect vital rule-setting documents? [Talk about some mad villain’s plot to dangle the hero over a dooming device. Will you the voter survive this dastardly scheme or will you face The End?]

Not only are the candidate choices limited to a pick of color, but, apparently, there is an inclusion about how the very US Constitution could be altered, like a sneaky clause by the line you sign on a contract with some evil entity after your soul. So, pick what party you favor…and decide your constitution’s fate, as well?

[This reminds me of something I experienced on a rare cruise I took. There was a certain expectation about tipping which was discussed prior to the trip, but there was, later, a mandated document that listed other expectations of tips. I didn’t have much choice but also didn’t have much money to just start passing around like I had a cigar in my mouth and a ten-gallon cowboy hat on my rich-Texan head. Suffice to say, I was a bit irate, not knowing the document mandate was going to appear in my room like a silent threat from the maid.]

I guess we have come to a time in history when voting is more hazardous than smoking and drinking and when both sides might be holding a gun to the head of the nation’s rulebook. That’s insane. So much talk about hacking and rigged elections; how does anyone feel sensible placing a vote? And, they have been doing far more pushing for multiple votes, too. Primaries used to be sort of slighted in favor of the final votes. But, now, they’re finding new ways to jab them at people and make threatening comments about the fate of the country.

[I feel like every vote includes the leader of some terrorist army talking in a monotone voice on TV; he’s making a mandate for all of the USA to hand over their assets unless they submit to a decision he is making. That or it’s John Cleese in the movie Rat Race, betting on what moves I make, along with a few dozen other wealthy jerks.]

So, there’s this question. If I don’t vote, what kind of citizen am I? And, if I do vote, am I just going along with a hazardous scheme, playing a tiny part in some madman’s game? Is voting now Jumanji or die?

Let me take a step back and talk about something I think is important for voting: being educated before you vote.

Well, only true extroverts like seeing politicians show up at their door (because they can’t get enough socializing). So, I guess politicians aren’t doing that as much as they used to, now that more people are turning introverted and anti-social, relying on radiating devices in their hands to do everything for them, which is why we are doing the crazy stuff like calling the devices smart and the voters stupid.

The internet is dismissed and questioned. Fake news is a popular term. You can’t trust the internet, they say. Well, if everyone’s being drawn to it like a bug to the flame, what sense does this make? It does not make sense.

Newspapers are now dinosaur fossils, not the flags people used to raise overhead and flash some headline about what’s happening in the world. [How many ancient photographs have I seen of people holding up newpapers to display big, bold era-shifting headlines?] Online newspapers are not papers…they’re ad-injected, seemingly limited pockets of cyberspace which cannot be held, folded or flapped and may require you to deal with cookies and pop-ups and frustrating searches to get the whole stories, which are not as satisfying as the old ones were (to me), even though I’m not much of a reader.

So, we’re not entertaining people at our door (while, instead, dealing with porch pirates–yar) and we’re glued to the internet but not believing what we supposedly need to read, instead mindlessly scrolling for bits of entertainment and trends to follow. Good talk. Communication fail. People stop socializing; that’s a good sign…not.

Celebrities are pitching everything under the sun, even when they seem to be sounding like they are supporting humankind. Nice try, artificially generated and highly filtered aging faces we know. But, I don’t think I’ve seen any celebrities (from movies and TV) pitching for political candidates…yet. I just hope we’re not voting for an AI or Amazon or Tesla or Disney or Mr. Monopoly takeover.

Now that you’re educated…sort of…you have to know where and how to vote. Unfortunately, this year, there’s added confusion to that little detail. They call it redistricting, or the new mapping of where certain residents must vote. So, imagine playing a game of Twister while trying to decide the fate of your government. Yep. Imagine going to vote and finding yourself at the wrong pit stop. Oops. Now, you’re out of time, too. Rats. And, you made these changes in an important election year. Way to go.

Will there be any confusion counting ballots? Of course there will. You made the process a three-ring circus, including a crass lion and a laughing (or waltzing) hyena. Spare me the daily reports of recounts and candidates arguing how the contest was hacked and/or rigged. Just blame Chad…not the country, that guy over there.

[I find myself drifting back to a previous election in which “chads” were all the rage for weeks upon weeks of news coverage. Those were the days…when I wanted to puke my guts out and scream at the stars.]

And, breathe.

Even if the system has been turned into a hot mess…and even if the impending decision seems easy, because Option T sounds more hazardous than Option K…I think voting has become a game of Three-Card Monty. You see two sides of the situation (and both are colored a certain way to evoke response rather than be absolutely honest and thorough), but there’s a third element you seem to perpetually miss which will take you by surprise once it’s in power. So, Option T puts on a good show to get you riled up, and Option K offers a fire extinguisher in your time of need. But, what about that card still sitting face-down?

As Sarah Connors had to cope, I am thinking I cannot change or impact the vote, even if I try. So, perhaps, no matter the decision, I just have to stay armed and ready to fight for myself, come what may (Moulin Rouge). You want my vote? Come and get me. I wouldn’t want to be guilty of voting for a nuclear bomb or “the machine.”

So…yea…I think the Mayans were right. The world DID end in 2012. At least, the world as I knew it. And, I’m not fine with that, REM. Population–BOOM!

May

What’s a JOB? Just Sell Stuff Online.

By writingbolt Leave a Comment

Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: blog, business, delivery, drug, drugs, ecology, editorial, education, empire, employment, fad, garbage, internet, job, jobs, junk, merch, merchandise, monopoly, online, online sales, opinion, sales, sales pitch, sell, sexual, stimulant, stuff, technology, trend, waste, welfare

What’s a Job? Just Sell Stuff Online.

Jobs are too often scarce. Jobs are fussy about your education. Jobs get cut. You don’t need any of that. So, just sell stuff online like countless other people taking over modern commercial space.

What kind of STUFF? Oh. All kinds of STUFF. There is no limit to the kinds of STUFF you can sell and pitch on TV. As long as you’ve got a small factory in your garage, basement or neighborhood, pumping out this STUFF like some non-stop 3-D printer, and a link to the Amazon delivery empire, so you can have your STUFF sent by drone, you won’t ever need to think about seeking another job. If you can manage it, find a “professional” who can promote your STUFF with some phony status that is intended to make you believe the STUFF isn’t going to fail you.

Ain’t that just delightful?

Yes. A world full of dummies selling their STUFF and signing their souls over to Amazon delivery (just delivery…yeah, sure). What a wonderful world. [Bull shat.]

Anyone out there familiar with the Tupperware era? Or, Avon cosmetics? How about Asbestos or that pink insulation promoted by the cartoon Pink Panther?

You know where all of those fads ended? In a heap of what-do-we-do-now and a world scrambling to sort out one more ecological crisis. You may not need or want a JOB, but the world you depend upon for existence might not survive if all you do is contribute to the mass production of STUFF. STUFF is like smoking and alcoholism. It’s easy to slip into, especially if someone provides you with the means to make enough STUFF to satisfy demand. But, when you really think about what you’re doing, if you have any conscience at all, you might get a little nauseous (like I do).

Instead of shipping everybody’s latest variation of something paper or plastic they are trying to make outshine fifty other sellers, we should be discussing pipelines for properly distributing the goods this planet can and does often produce, instead of letting that natural STUFF go to waste. We live in an age/era when nature is somewhat out of balance and animals, not just humans, go hungry.

[And, yet, some groups trying to supply the “hungry” don’t always seem “legit” and may be just passing around food that’s expired or unwanted by fussy folks claiming to be on welfare.]

We have and promote a limited variety of wireless communication options which make just about anything seem possible. If you can connect minds, across the globe, to find common intentions (and interests) willing to work together to achieve a goal, that has to be better than posting a sign in a window or newspaper (or one website). Right? We have the means to reduce the need for income and taxes to zero. And yet, with the contributions of those who like to cause trouble and inject fears (which supposedly can only be cured with the latest “security app” or insurance offering), we humans still struggle with socializing and cooperating. Thus, we see/hear stories of tragic results from poor communication and see ads for services trying to get you into the virtual office of a therapist.

[Am I injecting fear? Maybe. But, I’m not following that with a pitch for some product or service you need to pump with your borrowed money. I’m not selling you anything here.]

There is a mountain of discontent hidden in all of what I just said. And, it’s not going away if you pump out more STUFF. Your conveniently manufactured body paste, sexual stimulant** or wall decor is not going to make the world a better, safer place to exist. It’s just going to give people a temporary, fleeting thrill before it ends up in a landfill of instant gratification failures. Then you and everyone else who didn’t want to work together to resolve the world’s problems is going to be looking for the STUFF that gets them off this doomed planet and moving somewhere safer.

**On that note, we have advertisements for sexual stimulating STUFF (“improving male confidence and stamina” and pleasing women at the same time), on one hand, and, on the other hand, governments debating the rights of humans to use abortion and birth control STUFF to counter what is a biological DUH! from having sex without self-control and common sense (that includes assaulting someone and leaving them pregnant). How dumb do humans have to get before we realize we’re screwing ourselves? Forget I asked. You already know. You just choose to douse yourselves in alcohol and other memory-warping drugs, hoping to forget.

Does your STUFF reduce waste? Eliminate garbage? Recycle garbage in a way that won’t upset stomachs or frighten to death? Does it put an end to ads for charities that are not always true to their word? Does it help reduce world hunger (including the loss of environment for animals other than humans)? Does it bring people together in harmony? Does it cultivate teamwork and friendship? [Or, does it just make people more vain and anti-social like “mean girls?”] Does it avoid feeding a monopoly which could easily wipe out all small businesses and thus end your financial pipeline?

[And, if you say it’s creating jobs by giving job to people who would otherwise struggle to find employment because of past “criminal” or otherwise disapproved behavior/history, I will slap you senseless. Having those people help manufacture and/or package your stuff, until machines take over, is not a positive to promote anywhere. While you are pitching that fabricated American dream, countless other humans are scrambling across national borders, looking for answers to their own misguided lifestyles.]

You know who’s going to be waiting at the exit ramp to abandon Earth? Those wealthy giants you fed with your shipping orders. Your convenient delivery assistants. And, they will decide your fate…kind of like a boss deciding if you should remain on the job.

So, you see, pretending you’re Betty Crocker or the next Mr. Clean isn’t going to last. It all piles up under the launch pad being built by people already looking at other planets to conquer, people who started out with something small and quickly manufactured because it was convenient, a seemingly modest service to the world which became hungry and started eating up other businesses until it no longer looked like a humble business with a singular purpose. And, the old fears of alien races taking over planets won’t be about little gray or green oddballs with big eyes and no body hair…it will be about your fellow human beings (or you, if you are so “fortunate” to become one of the next financial giants). We are the monsters of those alien stories. And, the more we ponder the possibility of selling STUFF, the bigger and dumber our eyes get.

Take me to your Amazon, earthlings.

Before you press the button to set your next whim into production, take a long hard minute to think about what’s ahead.

Oct

WHAT IS THIS AMAZON.COM SHAT?!! LINKING TO MY BLOG?!

By writingbolt Leave a Comment

Categories: Concerns and Alerts
Tags: advertising, amazon, amazon.com, anger, blog, content, content mining, editorial, follow, follows, hack, internet, link, third party, tracking, wordpress

***

Okay. It’s one thing to get people “following” my blog who run businesses of their own and have shady accounts with smiling faces snatched from free photo spaces for profile images, to look “legit.” These “businesses” claim to be following blogs to get little links at the bottom of their web pages, some sort of content supplying they need to do for some ad-space reason? I don’t know.

It’s a whole other thing for some Amazon.com source to start flooding my blog with “follows” from people with pictures and links that merely suck you into sale pages for whatever they are selling. I don’t think the links even correspond to the people in the profile photos. Again, they are just photos taken from some free space online to represent people of some kind.

WordPress!

Get it together, or I am pulling the plug on this blog. And, you can take your 33 percent of the internet to the MySpace graveyard!! And, I feel sorry for anyone else who is going through this crap. Probably because we are not paying to use our space and get “premium” support. Whatever.

Are you going to come out and say it? Are you? Are we saying it? Are we saying the age of free internet anything is over? It’s all paid and basic labeled premium, while the real premium is some inside-trading secret for those with more resources and status? Just say it then.

Ya know. Not everyone online is running a business out of their spare room. Not everyone has an Etsy shop or boutique. Not everyone has sold their soul to the big merch’ monopoly of this world. SOME OF US blog for more carefree, personal reasons. And, if we have to pay to do that, to share our thoughts and stories from home, well, I think we can find better ways to use that energy and thought process. [Suddenly, a paper journal doesn’t sound so lame…even if it’s just screaming into a pillow instead of group therapy.] And, obviously, charity is an endangered species, along with human kindness. Though, freebies sure find their way to get around, often to those who don’t care or need them. And, the landfills aren’t getting any thinner.

Is this just one more voice in the world telling me I am wasting my time here? No, not here, son. You can’t be your creative self here. It’s not the place or time. It’s sell or be sold.

To borrow a page from a followed blogger’s book, insanity bites. There. I said it.

This is starting to peeve me off.

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May

Where Is “Somewhere Else?”

By writingbolt Leave a Comment

Categories: Confessions of the Rabbit Kind and Uncategorized
Tags: artist, behavior, chance, chat, conventional, discouragement, email, fate, friend, gaming, internet, invitation, invite, luck, mail, online, opportunity, privacy, psychology, risk, security, shopping, social, social anxiety, socializing, status quo, talent, text, voice chat, wrong, wrong place, wrong time

***

Have you ever heard that old song that talks about being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or, is it the right place at the wrong time? It seems I am perpetually in a similar position, and someone feels obligated to let me know. It’s as if I am stuck in some sort of Alice-in-Wonderland story with countless characters steering me away from where I am or think I should be.

If I choose to pick up pencil/pen and paper and draw something, that’s nice…but could I draw somewhere else at some other time? This isn’t the time or place for that. And, so many wish I had a better place to use that talent, a talent which I think is less impressive on paper than it is in my mind and the minds of those who see what I create. [My true talent is in composition and in my imagination and possibility thinking, in getting people to visualize great opportunities and awe-inspiring concepts…when I believe in the concept, not to sell merchandise for someone else.]

Then there will be moments when I express an interest in or ability to draw/create something, and someone will get excited and want me to do that and more…until I start and hear them or someone else tell me, again, it’s the wrong place and time for creating. And then there are other moments when I resist or refuse to draw/create and someone will say, “Didn’t you say you’re an artist? Why aren’t you using that talent?”

If I choose to speak–about anything–at length, I soon enough hit a roadblock with someone and have to curb my words. Oh no; I’ve said too much. [Yes, I hear REM, too.] I said something inappropriate, even if I try to speak cautiously and respect the interests of those present. Look out; it’s the next detour which is sending me to Shutitville. I’ll see you some other time, maybe. Or, I should realize you and I will never see eye-to-eye and avoid future discussions (with you). [Some people you try so hard to communicate with that you fail to accept the possibility that not everyone will “click” with your way of thinking. Some connections you just have to avoid or accept as failures.]

If I try to make friends online, without first seeing someone’s face and physically shaking their hand, I’m weird and/or crazy. Certain games provide the means to connect with other players…and then, perhaps, post notices about privacy and avoiding certain subjects to protect them and everyone’s privacy…which makes the whole interactive aspect questionable. Are we so starved for social contact that we inject it into video/computer games only to wince and feel pain when it’s too much to bear? Why play dangerously?

All I know is that I see an opportunity to socialize without my usual face-to-face social anxiety, to meet and interact with people around the world, to put an internet tool to its best use, not its worst, and I’m classified as “wrong.” I don’t want to “quick chat” and leave it at that. I’m not using a handful of stickers to substitute human interaction. If you want to talk about what is wrong, it’s trying to put my typically busy, heavy brain’s thoughts into less than three words from a very limited selection of phrases/faces.

What if what I need to say doesn’t fit those words? How does one say “You suck” or “Let’s do this, again, sometime” with a wink and a tongue? Do you have any idea how infuriating it is to see others repeatedly rubber-stamp the same tired words/symbols on my screen and be unable to convey what is going through my mind?…to have a microphone but be unable to adequately use it?…to see food or some other useful object and be unable to use it? That is evil.

You cannot reconnect with someone another day just by sending a “friend invite” and potentially adding them to a list, especially if that person/list doesn’t seem to grasp how to use it or speak my language. Right now, I have a few friend lists which might as well be coated in cobwebs because more than half of the people on those lists don’t seem to know how to communicate nor send invitations to play…nor respond to my invitations. A few might not be legitimate players, meaning they are some sort of spying or hacking weeds sitting in my interactive space. And, for some reason, I cannot remove them? How did they even get on my list?

I need to get to know my teammates, if they are worth knowing, and have the chance to establish solid friendships. Otherwise, I’d rather just go back to the old games that require someone to sit next to me when sharing a game. But, if I am limited to teammates I can see and touch, I’d rather curl up in a ball and die. I cannot adequately negotiate with the people around me to find adequate teammates, which is why I sadly turn to the internet and search for companions.

[Sigh.] There is a whole world out there, with some feeling much the same way…and we cannot make those good connections? Surely, there are success stories…or, as people like to fuss and say the internet is a liar, are the stories fake news? Is there no true happiness? Is the whole of the internet just one sly slot or claw machine that teases you with a prize you cannot get?

I get the concern for online security/privacy/safety, which only exposes our weaknesses, our need for interaction and our fear of being hurt and/or robbed. But, then, I wonder why we bother making and maintaining an internet, at all. Is it just one more scheme to get our money, time and energy?…to steal our souls?

Yet, so much is hinged upon the internet. If I want to see a doctor, I’m advised to get an online account with some app and link it to an email account, so I can receive all sorts of useful charts and sort out appointments. [Because using a printer or sharing a phone call is too much trouble? Isn’t that just putting more personal information online where anyone who can hack could tap into it?] If I’m going to go that far, why can’t I be phone or pen pals with the doctors (providers) I like and meet for lunch, sometime? Is that wrong?

If I want to get the instruction manual for some item I just purchased, it’s not in the box (anymore); but there is a tiny booklet that tells me, in seventeen languages, I can either scan a QR code or go directly to a listed website to find the information…maybe…if the link even works or the internet doesn’t glitch. Well, great. Maybe I will learn how to use this thing…or maybe I’ll wish I never shopped for anything.

Is it possible the internet was created to teach people a lesson about want?…to give them too much and eventually drive everyone who isn’t tech-smart away from it into the garden of the oblivious?

Is the internet any different from what happens when you apply for something offline only to get “third party” junk mail which agitates you to no end? Is the internet really any safer than your physical mailbox? You submit personal information like an address and/or phone number to get a chance to win or do something you want and get a bunch of stuff you don’t want which only adds to social conflict and landfills. You might even fill out a form for a legitimate and very personal need, like a doctor’s office, and some “third-party” business could get enough information to send you something you don’t want and sound like they know something you wish wasn’t public knowledge. So, instead of worrying about people you cannot see accessing your “personal data,” you’re bothered by countless businesses and jerks pestering you with a paper trail and sending you bills for things you didn’t buy.

Everything wants to be linked to an email account, which means you have to have some means of online/internet communication/interaction. You have to create an account to access something. And, those application portals don’t usually have opening and closing times. So…just about any time seems to be the right time to create an account.

But, it’s not the right time or place for me to speak or draw?

Whatever.

Am I wrong…here?

I’ve heard plenty of opinions from who may be “the wrong people.” But, what do you think, reader?

If you’re looking for me, I’ll just be standing over there. That’s me, in the corner, losing my…mind. [I can’t say I’m losing my religion because I’m still sorting out that bit.]

May

Be Socially Aware, Not Socially Overwhelmed

By writingbolt Leave a Comment

Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: awareness, charity, crime, denial, editorial, emotion, family, influence, internet, media, news, overwhelmed, personal, psychology, PTSD, radar, response, responsibility, social, socially aware, world news

****

Among the failings my family has, there is the habit of absorbing unnecessary information and reacting poorly to it. The people responsible for television and all that comes with it can rub their hands together and gloat because my family eats it up, hook, line and sinker. Oh, we may deny the effects of television, but they are happening. ‘Nothing good, either. So, if that’s your intent, congrats. You got us.

Local and world news programs cannot avoid reporting matters that are devastating and vile, far more often than they can report good, helpful news. In fact, strangely enough, if something good is reported, it usually comes with a website or code to scan to get more information some other time. Oh, the reporters could be more useful, but they don’t have the time. No one does that with bad news. If there’s bad news, you’re going to hear some part of (not the whole, never the whole) of it. And, there is no link or code to scan that will tell you more than what the internet and broadcast TV already license and allow. Everything’s bad…except for one tiny kernel of good news from some Samaritan who helped the victim of a car incident. But, the rest is horror stories and crimes of all kinds, as if this world is no place to live.

Well…

Are we not still living?…in it? Are we not still alive.

Let me ask you this. Do you live better knowing how many lives have been destroyed by monsters and fools? Or, do you get through your day better by having people you know are good at your side and weeding out the crap? I’d vote for the latter. Right? I mean, that’s not what I am sufficiently able to do…because the people I deal with are the sort who watch all the crap and react poorly to it, my family. Such is crappy luck.

But, you, you who function and find some measure of success in your lives…whether it’s good family relations and friendships (which seems almost mythical to me) or financial (oh, so many financial dealings going on around the world, stirring up trouble for one group or another). You productive souls don’t absorb any of this talk about the horrors of the world; you’re probably working in the area and ignoring the scenes.

There isn’t a day when some member of my family presents a case of something they saw online or on TV which grinds their gears and makes them an emotional tornado. And, me, completely unprepared to adequately process all of that anger and other emotion, is left to paddle against the current to stay afloat in my own troubled head. It’s not right. I feel like I’m surrounded by piles of garbage being ignited by jerks with cans of oil and matches; I just about put out one fire, and another dozen are going up behind me. I’m not a god, and none of us should feel like we have to play one.

When I finally take a moment to consider the local and world news being televised, something starts to fester and boil in my brain…starts to come into perspective.

We, the humans of this planet, are in a state of denial of responsibility, as well as a state of “static” information overload. A majority of us WANT something, perpetually, but are not getting it and are not taking the proper steps to GET it. I think of all the historical movie footage I’ve seen and would be inclined to think this wasn’t the case before my time. [Then again, surely that’s what happened with the Pilgrims and the “Indians.” The Pilgrims wanted and they took and made the “Indians” suffer.] But, IN my time, I see more and more people getting angry and pointing fingers rather than doing something positive to make improvements. And, rather than improving one’s own life by making healthy decisions, more and more are making unhealthy mistakes and then having the audacity to blame others.

I may even be guilty of doing this myself! But, all I can say is it’s not my fault, alone. I’m not denying complete guilt. But, even I can only take so much blame before I self-destruct, which isn’t fair. I wish I had a better grasp on my own thoughts and decisions. But, try as I may, there are influences from family and authorities who tell me what I can and cannot do, even if I have a measure of decision-making power. It seems my power is still not sufficient to make a sensible, happy life for me. And, while I may not be the most charitable, I like to think I do my part to heal this world, to make peace among those who would rather self-destruct or harm another. I do my part to put out the fires of temperament and dry the “uncontrollable” tears when the mourning becomes obsessive, compulsive and/or obsessive-compulsive.

Now, trying to get all of this talk back into some more sensible focus…

People are too busy getting mad and pointing fingers to get things that need to be done…done. It’s not a particular political party’s fault, nor the fault of a particular president. And, the televised and internet news isn’t helping. It’s just gasoline on the fire!

We^^ need to tune out the news outside of our realm of influence and let the journalist and whatever they choose to call themselves figure out what else they can do to “make a living.”

———

^^Let me clarify this. “We” refers to people who do not have exceptional wealth and networks of people to make things happen that other folks find bewildering because they’ve never had such “power,” such influence, myself included. I think all of the reported news should be shown only to people who CAN do something about those matters. There’s a drug or immigrant crisis at some country’s border? Get those in charge of that department on the line to deal with it. Don’t show the stories to general communities and call it clarity or transparency, unless you’re also showing the situation being resolved in a humane manner…which you’re not. No one is. No, it seems more…conventional to depict things going wrong and people making horrible mistakes which leads to other hardships and misery, a vicious cycle of crap.

The military and government are so “hush hush” about so many matters, yet the news tips the rest of the world off to just enough to cause confusion and chaos. Is it any surprise those who partake in government and military affairs then take crooked action or suffer some mental breakdown? Nope. It makes total sense.

When a married couple is on the verge of divorce, there is usually a measure of secrecy in play. Someone is up to something and not saying anything to the spouse. Undermining behavior is afoot. The demolition squad is planting explosives at the foundation. It’s about to go down. Neither partner wants to talk about what’s going on, but something will leak out, eventually. And, it won’t be a happy ending. Something wasn’t being dealt with in a more healthy way; thus the only solution in sight is to pull the plug some unpleasant way. You don’t want to deal with it. I don’t want to deal with it. We can’t deal with it. Shut everything down. Oh, but there is baggage…and fallout…and PTSD.

———–

You want the important news?…the news that’s going to really impact your day, your life? Talk to your neighbors. You want your area to improve somehow? Work with those neighbors to make it happen. And, by improving your own “garden,” you’ll be helping others stay out of your business and improve their own areas, ideally, so we all improve. You see a mess? Clean it up, if you can/will. Don’t just point and fuss.

If you prompt someone to do something, to help, don’t fuss so much about HOW they do it. Be glad anyone did anything to help. And, if the help not good enough, I guess you have to do the job, yourself. Just don’t stab the other person, the hired help, for being lousy service. You hired them, didn’t you? And, if someone volunteers, and you accept the help, well, we all do what we can. Right? None of us are flawless superheroes…are we? Because I’d love to speak with one of those, right now.

If I had the proper tools every time I went for a walk, I’d be collecting garbage other fools dumped along my path. I cannot take responsibility for littering (because I don’t), but I can help pick things up…even if I’d rather not, simply because it sickens me to think anyone would litter the way they do, and it shouldn’t be my job to pick up after the rest of the world…but that would surely happen if enough people who like to gossip saw me picking up the trash.

They’d say, “Hey! You like doing that? Great. The job is yours.” [And, I’d dump a big smelly load right on that loud mouth.]

I may not like it, but I know my area would look and feel nicer if more people like me, at least, thought to collect the trash and dispose of it sensibly. [I wish I could do the same with verbal trash going around. I’d like to stab it with a stick and stuff it in a dumpster.] I cannot correct those who litter; I can’t dish out a punishment for the crime, even if I had the authority, without hurting the innocent in the bargain. That’s the same sort of problem that would happen in my school days; you could punish everyone because no one would come forward to accept the blame and take his/her punishment. Yet, those with power, money and other influence could just as well dodge the punishment and look the other way; they can pay to ignore and dismiss.

[Isn’t that just sick? We may not take a certain responsibility/duty upon ourselves, but we’ll trust and/or appoint others to take it just for those who have the power to shrug off the duty and stir up trouble, simply because they can, because others give them the resources and authority. Yet, if we took every task upon ourselves, self-governed, I wonder just how long it would take for the whole human race to implode and destroy each other. Sure, certain pockets of humans would get along great, but too many others would compete, thrash and dominate out of unrestrained emotion, like primitives, like savages, just because the conventional system of order, which had been raising them like cattle for so long, suddenly vanished. It would probably make Mark Twain and any other survival-of-the-fittest theorist nod with satisfaction, saying, “I told you so.”]

Did someone in the neighborhood get shot or hit by a vehicle? How might that affect your area? Did you know the person? Can you console the neighbor who lost that someone? Can you help in some other way? [These are just possible questions. You and I need to find the possible solutions and make them happen.]

If someone gets hurt in another part of the world, or even a distant part of your own state or country, what are you going to do? Send money? Fly out there and help those affected by the tragedy? If you can do that, well, aren’t you just amazing…or too generous and risking your own lives to help others. I just hope that money or other resource is put to proper, good use. [And, that’s an issue for another argument on some other day.]

————

Charity is good, but charity that leaves you blind to your own suffering is…well, dumb. And, charity that is deceptive, taking money but not following through with promises made is absolutely immoral and criminal. If you are not a corrupt charity and you cannot follow through on your promises, you’re not much help. Are you? You’re just a costly good intention. Nice thought, but can you be more helpful some other way? Stop taking donations and maybe pick up a tool that could help or donate time, talent and energy. [I say this and hear myself pointing fingers. Sigh.]

The rest of “us” can only feel helpless and go down some unnecessary emotional paths. For many, it doesn’t take much to light up something to smoke or have a drink, simply because of a little emotional distress caused by information received.

One other point about charity: You cannot throw money at a problem to make it go away, even if you’re stinking, filthy rich. You could pay someone a fortune to do something for you and still be disappointed by the help you get. Money didn’t make it better. Taking responsibility and doing the best we can to help each other is more effective. [Let that much process through your already troubled brains. Accept what happens, good or bad. Odds are the result won’t be perfect…but can you live with it? If not, can you make it better? And, if you cannot, that’s as good as it gets, for now.]

You want to help poor, suffering animals? Adopt one. I said ONE! Not fifty. And, raise it like the child you don’t already have. I said like the child you don’t already have! Don’t adopt if you’re juggling a brood of your own. Adoption isn’t some trendy can you feed coins and call it done. It’s about treating someone outside your genetic pool like family, whether that someone swims, flies or walks on land with two feet or more.

————–

I think of my school years and how gossip could drive inappropriate behavior and really screw some kids up. There are kids who become spectacles and ostracized because of changes and hardships in their family become skewed public knowledge. That news didn’t directly impact the rest of the school. But, because it got out in some inaccurate capacity, it started a buzz which got fingers pointing and provoked a number of unhealthy consequences.

How sad is it that someone who experiences something (and I say that in such vague terms because it seems anything anyone experiences or faces can become a powder keg of emotional and social conflict) cannot adequately deal with that matter without someone else hearing about it and stirring trouble? Why can’t news get out and spark sympathy and contribution instead of negative talk, drug abuse, violence and/or other scandals?

Let’s go back to my title…

Be socially aware, not socially overloaded.

How can you be socially aware without being overloaded?

Well, think of a radar station. A radar that picks up too much information causes any system attached to it (and anyone at the controls) suffering. Signal jam. System overload. ‘Can’t get a clear picture. If there are too many “blips,” you cannot pinpoint anything. It’s that whole seeing the trees in the forest analogy. Do you see individual trees or just a bundle of green over brown/gray?

The radar works just fine within a certain range and limit of variables. So do our brains. You cannot hear every radio station at once without going mad. You cannot enjoy a single radio station until you tune the dial(s) and clear the signal. If something disturbs or obstructs the signal, you only hear part of the transmission and probably get a bunch of agitating feedback. Suddenly, a solitary form of entertainment becomes fuel for more conflict. [Now, I think of all the old family TV shows in which the father comes home from a day job that wears him out just to get mad and attack the rest of the family when the TV is malfunctioning and making him unhappy.]

Even some of the trending violent crimes would make more sense if the criminals had clear and focused radars. These are not incidents in which one assailant targets one singular source of their discontent. These aren’t serial criminals. Instead, they are nuclear meltdowns, inappropriately managed (not to mention inappropriately nurtured and supported) individuals, who operate on overload and out of distress. Someone didn’t adequately deal with something sparking inside these individuals, didn’t put out the fire, so, left unattended, the quiet cinder becomes a bewildering blaze. And, some, I would not be surprised, could be affected by others who are overloading themselves with what they take from television and the internet.

Why does every situation in the USA have to be the fault of the Republicans or Democrats? Are you kidding me? If it was just the fault of one party or one person, as so many arguments these days seem to suggest, we could just go to war and kill all the offenders! Right? As if. Hello, American history? Does the Civil War or just about any revolution ring any bells? War isn’t solving anything. Neither is segregating. And, sadly, no pride fest can resolve the conflicts still arising in matters of gender and equality.

It’s not a party or gender-choice problem. It’s an excess-of-incomplete-information and poor-education problem. It’s a not-telling-the-whole-story problem. It’s a lack-of-taking-responsibility-upon-oneself, instead of ordering someone else to fix the problem…problem. And, in general, it’s a poor-cooperation and failing-to-be-humane-with-each-other problem.

Well, Tommy the Democrat won’t do it. So, why should I, the Republican, have to do anything? I don’t wanna! But, it’s totally Tommy’s fault!

No. It’s not. And, while I’m fussing about Tommy, I’m not doing anything to improve this situation…or any situation.

Now, I’ve rattled on long enough. Let’s all find a way to clear our heads and get to work on saving this planet from ourselves. Yes. You heard me. ‘From ourselves. Turn those eager-to-point fingers inward and see what improvements you can make. [And, I don’t mean purely cosmetic.]

As the band Green Day once said, we shouldn’t “subscribe” to television (or the internet), lest we follow in those unpleasant and confusing footsteps to our own demise. “For that’s enough to irk you.” [At least, I think that’s what they said.]

I realize I’ve said all of this on an internet platform. Well, I wish I could reach all who read this in a more personal way without overloading myself. So, to be fair to what I’ve said and you, if anything I’ve said doesn’t affect you personally, you have my permission to dismiss it…even if that makes you look wealthy, ignorant and arrogant. I am merely choosing this portal to send out my message. I pray it serves a good purpose. That is all I can do.

Jan

Don’t Let Your “FEED” Rob You of Family Connections

By writingbolt Leave a Comment

Categories: Concerns and Alerts, Confessions of the Rabbit Kind and Uncategorized
Tags: anti-social, cattle, drain, editorial, Facebook, family, fbook, feed, internet, machine, norm, online, parent, parenting, personal, reality TV, social, soul-crushing, submission, technology, The Parent Test, TikTok, tourism

***

You know something is vitally wrong when someone cannot take the time to look at your email because they’ve already given that time to their “feed,” that term for what so many “cows” are fed by some anonymous online source, that stream of stuff, including TikTok-worthy videos and images, which is said to be custom-picked to appeal to every person, based upon their online activity. Are we that lost, as a species, already? Are we already submitting to the machine and forgetting what we claim is important, like family?

I saw a particular episode of the Parent Test, a recent TV show in which one of my favorite comediennes/actresses, Alexandra (“Ali”) Wentworth, and some guy, who looks a tad uptight, evaluate different types of parents by having them face various “challenges” as families. In that episode, the farming parents were asked by their kids to put the cellphones away for a day. And, the parents claimed to be somewhat surprised by the request. [Honestly, with ABC and television, lately, in general, I am not sure how much is staged/planned; but this felt slightly staged…like one of many Public Service Announcements.] I don’t think the farm family, if they even have the technology, would have this problem…or wouldn’t be the only ones. If you look at most of the video footage taken by the various families, there is some sort of “tech” in each segment. It’s everywhere. It’s like one big deceptive ad for some ISP (internet service provider). It’s sickening, in a way.

So, on a personal note, I have family who have submitted to “the machine” while still occasionally throwing a jab at others, including me, for how they either don’t make good use of technology or waste time on “pointless” interests/pursuits. ‘So easy to judge others and then disappear into the void of mindless scrolling…and scrolling…and ignoring what’s in front of you.

GOOD GOLLY! I want to scream and vomit.

What has happened to so many?!

Whoever is responsible for this madness, which seems like such an evil plot or a very poor miscalculation of technological power…there is a very special place in the “world below” for sick individuals like you.

I cannot even get my sister to look at artworks I thought would not only get her to laugh but give me some feedback on how I am doing with my art skills.

My other siblings send me emails so short and quick that they often just contain a link I’m supposed to click? In the age when we should already be aware of scams that appear like that? I tell them no; they have to include a message with that link to let me know it’s really from them. I am not just going to jump at every link; I already made a costly mistake with that move, once.

And, on top of the stuff that happens on these devices, it’s affecting social interactions. My siblings seem less tolerant of discussing anything and become more easily distressed when asked; and, if I look, I’m sure I’ll find them scrolling through that “feed,” again. It’s really, really sickening.

I ask them, repeatedly, who sends that “feed?” Where do they get it? Fbook? If it’s Fbook, I’ll add a few pounds of strength to my grip the first chance I get to strangle someone from that hot mess. If Fbook is to blame, I will just add another few pounds to the weight that keeps my hand from touching that disaster-waiting-to-happen. I refuse to submit.

But, what can I do?

I used to feel guilty for dabbling in online chat and other “traps.” I used to think I was a freak living in the shadows instead of socializing like “normal people.” I did it to fill in what I was missing but kept looking up and out of the rabbit hole, hoping some better reality would come along so I could turn off the internet and get on with my life. And, when the “feed” I was looking at lost its charm, when I either felt too sick-in-the-head (in part from the opinions/input of nosy people) or tired of going to bed feeling as empty as I was when I started looking, I stopped using those rabbit holes. I’m not saying I “quit cold turkey,” but I grew tired of being disappointed by the “filler.” And, even when I was somewhat hooked, I knew I wanted something else. I just couldn’t seem to get what I wanted from anyone, not from the people I knew close to home nor those I was meeting online. [I still find myself dabbling and feeling this way, just with different outlets that don’t suck me in the way the older ones did.]

I don’t even get along with my family, not very well, anyway, and I still want better interaction. I don’t want my family completely disconnecting, correcting each other and being guilty of judging the rest of our lives, when we’re not casting some sort of appealing illusion which makes others think we are glamorous arm candy. I don’t want to be a reality-TV disaster. Right now, I’d just be happy to have my siblings give time and honest opinions on my creative output without telling me I have too much time on my hands and that I talk/think too much for “social norms.” I can’t get them to look at something I wrote because they already spend too much time looking at glowing screens/text. That’s so sad.

What seems to be normal, now, isn’t normal…or tolerable…to me. This “norm” is sucking the warmth and comfort out of everything. It’s a bug zapper waiting to close the door on humanity. One day, someone’s going to say, “J-Just one more minute.” They’ll be looking at their little glowing screen, letting their good eyesight wither and die…and some big black box is going to close in around them, sealing them away for eternity.

I’d rather chuck it all in a void than lose complete touch with real people. I’d rather have a real hug than an emoji or short video clip.

Damn. How do you stop this runaway machine?

And, why can’t you “cattle” wise up?

I’ve never been the biggest family-gathering person; I’m a bit of an introvert who struggles with social anxiety. But, even I feel this is the onset of something very wrong and want more warming, social interaction in this world. I certainly do not want to see every human being glued to a glowing screen in their hands.

Can you imagine? ‘Being a tourist and seeing everyone around you sitting quietly with a small screen glued to their hand(s), perched on fountains and fences and leaning against buildings…all hypnotized by some glowing, radiating slice of technology? You might hear the wind and seagulls/pigeons over everything else…because the people won’t be talking or walking, anymore. It’s an unsettling thought.

Sep

Join the Cancel Culture Club!

By writingbolt Leave a Comment

Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: behavior, career, celebrity, forgiveness, freedom of speech, gossip, habit, intent, internet, karma, law, lawsuit, mistake, news, privacy, racism, scandal, tabloid, tattle, tattletale, trolls

****

Have you heard? It’s the latest hip thing to groove your generation. And, if you’re down with sacking the kings of mountains (or queens of the Stone Age), you’ll be top of the crap heap or just another brick in the wall in no time.

It’s the Cancel Culture Club! And, unlike the Culture Club of the 1980s, this one is headed by Chief Boi R and D; that’s Research of online history and Development of public scandal. Ain’t it cool? Ain’t it cool to be nosy and rat on rolling stones?

Don’t know what I’m sayin’? Well, catch this, faze-ing beach bois and manly valley girls.

“This ain’t a scene; it’s a god-damned arms race.” ~Fall Out Boy

“It’s interesting when people die; give us dirty laundry.

Dirty little secrets; dirty little lies.
We got our pretty little fingers in everybody’s pie.
We like to cut you down to size.
We love dirty laundry.” ~Don Henley

Someone says or writes something etched on a tiny piece of internet territory. Celebrities are practically encouraged to rant as an alternative to professional therapy; anything to stay famous if the price is right. Maybe no one says anything, in response. Maybe they do, but it gets swept under a rug.

You know how it is. You blog, and, if you’re lucky, some rare soul leaves a comment. Or, you pour your furious heart out on the screen, and all you get is dead silence and shady “follows” from people who might just be covers for secretive, spy-like organizations or websites looking to make a dime off you (possibly by involving your internet space in a scam). [I’ve looked into a few “followers” and found empty spaces and a few 404s. Surprisingly, not that many 420s. They seem to be swarming to arenas like Rocket League.]

Years roll by, and the thought just sits there, collecting cyber-dust. Then, out of the blue, someone pulls the pin on a tabloid grenade and blows up your claim to fame or just a sustainable lifestyle. Boom. Down goes your career and all you cherish. You’re public enemy number one and will be joined on the firing line by a dozen other similar saps wishing they were in a witness-protection program.

[So much for The Great Escape, Boys Love Girls.]

Welcome to the Cancel Culture Club, where the drinks are free but the price of admission will take you by surprise. You don’t get drunk here. You get SUNK…as in cement boots of shame and a cold farewell.

What? You thought it was just an innocent explosion of your temper? You were under pressure and venting steam? Oh, I understand. But, the trending majority do not and are too eager to pull the trigger that ends your comfortable life.

Sure. Some unpleasant crimes hidden away in a deceptive past may finally see justice served. [If you were raped at a younger age or drugged on a date, you have every right to shed light on the monster.] But, just as likely, the white paint will go too far and wipe out some colorful characters who merely cast a brief shadow on the immaculate world so many wish was their utopia. There seems to be no such thing as a small crime or little slip, anymore. The oppressed are rising up like The Planet of the Apes and taking down anyone who gets in their mad way, big fish or small fry.

[My skills at getting the dirt on people could use some honing. It’s no good to kick up a fuss without sufficient evidence. And, back when I was in school, there was no internet, just tiny bits of film you could magnify in a library, clippings of old news articles and whatnot. I suppose it could cause the same scandal if you put in the effort to research, but you’d have to buy air time on TV versus taking the convenient YouTube/Vimeo route you have today.]

Well, wake up mouseketeers. If you get sucked into the dark pleasure of tattling, it’s only a matter of time before we all go down in flames. You think you’re innocent, now. But, you just try to paint yourself as the next Mother Theresa. Good luck. The writing is on the movie screen.

Now, I’m not saying we should all throw away our conscience and/or morals, if we have any left. I’m not giving everyone a license to be rude (all of the time). But, I understand how events can boil and cause some otherwise innocent souls to be bent to the side of darkness.

Right now, you might not have an axe to grind. Tomorrow, someone does something to threaten your pleasant outlook on life, and you feel the burning prod of revenge. If you lash out, your action might be justified. [Well, maybe not in this present age of turning every little thing into a crime.] You’re only truly a monster if you make a habit of it and take pleasure in your torture. A one-time rapist can still atone. A serial or habitual rapist needs more help (and maybe some jail time).

[Then again, Cain only had one brother and put an end to that rather quickly. I guess there wasn’t much room for atonement there…unless he started a Big Brother organization for counseling troubled youths with annoying siblings. Ha. Can you imagine? The guy who murders his own brother managing a company that counsels youths lacking proper emotional support and discipline.]

Maybe, as a kid, you stole something from someone or a store, just because you couldn’t resist the desire to have one of your own. If you were still a good little kid, you might have returned what you stole (and golden if you apologized). Even if you kept the stolen good(s), as long as you don’t take up a life of crime, you can, at least, seek forgiveness, even if the victim doesn’t forgive you. You can redeem yourself.

Cripes; even Luke Skywalker wasn’t a whiney bitch all of the time. He had his light and dark force moments, like his father before him. Did he join the Sith? Nope. He turned his semi-robotic life around and shed some light on the universe. Just imagine if he’d been cast out of the rebel alliance or struck down faster than that prune-faced emperor guy. Your box set would probably be a fraction of the size it is now. [I think I heard a stand-up comic recite this bit, once.]

Let karma (or a higher power) sort the criminals from the innocent (if you can’t trust the police or government). Don’t be the internet troll unless you want to abolish free speech, forgiveness, atonement and privacy, along with your long list of tiny crimes. Be the internet muse or the internet counselor. No one needs a troll. [Sorry, actual trolls who might just be nice creatures living under bridges. I’m just…I-I should come up with a better term for the type.]

As The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus says…

“A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect.
Every action in this world will bear a consequence.
If you wade around forever, you will surely drown.
I see what’s going down.”

So, either mind every little thing you say and do in life (because someone seems to be watching and privacy just might be endangered) or take your chances and pray you don’t take the fall. Eventually, even the rats get eaten, when there’s nothing else left to call food or target practice.

Thanks, Internet. You’re the bad gift that just keeps giving, like “smartphones,” your ugly cousins who suck the enjoyment out of every live experience because they can’t stop filming and scrolling. Like Jurassic Park, you were the dream of a man seeking a free circus, and you spare no expense. You let us in and made us feel fairly comfortable with all of the ice cream and toys before the dinosaurs broke out of their cages and started tearing us all apart.

If you’re looking for me, I’ll just be sneaking around the heaps of ankylosaur feces, peeing in can of shaving cream. You know, ankylosaurs, the dinosaurs who knows how to CLUB.

I won’t likely be joining. I’ve never been a good “joiner” (or reader). Knowing me, I’ll be too blind to see the hammer coming. But, I’m not that blind, yet. And, I’m just too cynical and bitter at my age to shut my mouth. ‘Doesn’t make me a fill-in-the-blank-ist. I’m not a mobster; I typically operate solo. If I hurt anyone, they probably had it coming and ignored the warnings.

Party on, rebels.

Jul

Letter to Psyonix and the Other Makers of Rocket League

By writingbolt Leave a Comment

Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: boost, car, cars, champion, complaint, credits, filter, free, friend list, friends, gaming, goal explosion, internet, letter, letters, Nintendo Switch, online, premium, prizes, Psyonix, reward, Rocket League, season, tournament, video games

*****

A Letter to Psyonix and the other makers of the “free edition” of Rocket League, capable of being played with the Nintendo Switch (provided you have a decent controller).

To whom it should concern,

Folks, let me be blunt. Your gaming universe sucks. You’ve created one more lousy internet-crashing space full of jerks, losers, cowards and posers. Most of your music catalog is absolutely annoying. And, your award system is the worst.

How do I justify these statements? Well, let’s see…

I’ve invested more time than most players to complete every goal of the 3rd season, just as I did last season. And, I came very close to completing “gold level” the first season, back when Slushii was a decent guest DJ, providing the first song I would have liked as a player anthem…but nooo…I couldn’t get that song as my anthem. And, just because I’m not a paying member of your “premium” customer base, you’re going to deny me a decent song when I find one? Instead, you’ll feed me a billion dumb blueprint copies, ugly wheels and hideous decals? On my best day, I get a “finish” or “trail” that looks half-decent. Maybe I’ll craft a new preset to improve my furious mood. But, not today!

So, people are astounded when they see my high-level picture frame. Gee, is it because I put in the hard work for such little gain? It’s not like I am a great player……buuuuuut I sure am better than many of those boasting “Season 3 Tournament Winner.” Which brings me to my next point…

Learn how to group players by rank! You create this lengthy road to a rating system and provide numerous tournaments. But, people who cannot clearly play somehow become winners and appear in games with rookies and actual “noobs” (not those champion hotshots who just call themselves NOOB to be cheeky). Only the real champions ever show any skill, and, when I see them, it seems to always be an unfair game, me and a couple of newcomers or some lousy AI against 1-3 guys half my age who can spin their car in the air like a wand of cotton candy.

Let me tell you about my latest tournament experience. In my first tournament, just this season, I made it to round two before being crushed by a team of “S3 Tournament Winners.” There were no such winners on my team. How did I get put up against a team of winners? [Actual winners; not posers.] Fair enough; that just seems to be the norm with your lousy setup; it has happened far too many times in ranked matches, like those Rumble and Snow Day variations. I powered through. Oh. I earned some sort of tickets or credits to spend on some kind of trophy package. Hmm. Lots of possible items to get. Oh. I just get one? Ookay. Oh, wow! Goal explosions and some of Julie Buchanan’s music! Maybe I’ll. Okay. No goal explosion. But, I did get the better of two Julie B. songs. I’ll save the rest of my credits/tickets for later….maybe I’ll earn enough to get a higher prize. Next tournament, I am put up against three more pros with two rookies at my sides; we’re wiped out in round one. I have just enough credits/tickets to get two prizes. Maybe I’ll be lucky this time and get–nope! I got some lame wheels and a really ugly decal. Okay. Let’s save some credits for next time, again. What?! The week turned over, and my saved credits/tickets are gone? Is that how that works? What a load of–! Okay. Stay cool. Let’s just try one more tournament and get some more credits/tickets to spend. Okay, my team makes it to round 2. And, we are supposed to be facing some “Mantis” team. But, the game isn’t starting. I clicked “Continue” and was faced with the “bracket” while my teammates, for some reason, retreated to the main menu. Now, I don’t see them on the list and I am not in the game…and the Mantis team is up 2 to 0?! What is going on?! Suddenly, I’m ejected from the team and seeing results for the team’s loss. WTF?! Okay. Calm down. Let’s just spend some credits/tickets to improve our sour, confused mood. What the–?! A duplicate of the same song track I got the previous round?! Son of a–!! Okay, let’s not lose those other credits, again. Let’s spend them and get–more crappy wheels?!

And, ya know what else grinds my gears about team-ups? 9 out of 10 games, I am put up against a “club” of two or three who clearly have a means of communicating with each other. Forget your crappy chat system no one but me seems to want to use other than to slander and beg for freebies (trades and shots they won’t earn themselves). These players must have headsets and internet voice-chat services running to be so coordinated. And me? I’m just trying to silently convey how to work together, passing the ball in front of the other team’s goal (called clearing) so one of my teammates can score. No. No one really gets that move, other than the other team who does it so flawlessly and skirts around me and my team almost every time. And then, my team has the nerve to criticize ME! And, if one more “floater” tells me to “take the shot,” I will snap and shove my foot up his or her– Well, you get the idea. What’s the use in having my fierce language filtered?

And, how lousy is it to enter a ranked match and either have your team vote to forfeit after one goal or have some internet glitch lose connection, knock you out of the game and get a penalty for leaving the game? Extremely lousy! How many games have I entered in which my team bails and leaves me to rot with the full other team for another few minutes of humiliation? How many must I endure? And, if I feel the urge to leave, heaven forbid! I will be burned at the stake and banned from play! As if! Do that and I will unleash a wrath so scathing, you’re grandkids will scream in pain.

Oh yea. And, “friend lists?” What a joke. The people I befriend seem only interested in winning, not being actual teammates who tolerate and learn from loss and actually communicate with each other! I have actually deleted and blocked “friends” because they only want someone who can win games for them, as if it’s magic that just graced their doorstep like some blue fairy visiting a wooden boy. When I’m not dazzling them, they want nothing to do with me. Screw friends.

I thought chatting outside games would be beneficial to all. I guess not! People have no patience for chat. They just want to play, rank up and win, win, win more stuff. But, if they are going to be “friends,” why can’t they be more friendly and enduring?! No. Friends suck. Your friend list and chat service with all of its excessive filtering sucks. You’re worse than Ned Flanders; ohgly dohgly.

Now, let’s talk about those “rare drops.” How many of those damn things do I have to earn to get something I really like?! Well, so far, I’d say the odds of getting a favorable reward are about 1/20. 19/20 include lousy duplicate wheels, paint finishes or decals, even if the drop is an extra special one. Last season, when I completed the big list of chores and got the three special prize “eggs,” did I get anything great out of those? Nope. I got a duplicate of a car I had already unlocked/earned elsewhere and more wheels and, I think, a new finish or decal I was lucky I could even use on some cars. THAT was what all of my hard work earned?!

Of course, there’s always trading. As if! If I don’t “buy in to trade,” I see only the option to “trade in,” AND THAT SUCKS! How many things have I traded in just to get another lousy set of wheels or duplicate finish? Too many. Blueprint trading is dumber than dumb!

If people could actually trade with me, MAYBE I’d actually find someone willing to trade for what I have in duplicate. But, probably not, because what I think or see labeled as RARE, UNCOMMON and/or IMPORT are actually quite common and already showcased on other players. I don’t see much sense in trading anything. Any good items I have or want seem only one-of-a-kind.

Do you realize I have worked my arse off through three seasons/years of lousy team-ups and brutal thrashings by pros thrice my speed, and I still haven’t earned ONE lousy goal explosion? What is the fricken elite deal with those, anyway?! And, why can’t I get the one Julie Buchanan song I actually like without “going premium?” Haven’t I earned that track? I think I have. Last season, you had tracks available as prizes along the journey to completing a season level. Why not this season? Someone actually wants one of your better songs. LET ME USE IT, ALREADY!

I am so furious at my lousy luck after three years, I am reluctant to even open any more “prize eggs” much less play any more games, at all. And, I’m sure some if not all of you would say, “Good! Get lost, you cheapskate!” Well, isn’t that just a fine kettle of fish. What did you expect? Every person who plays without paying to eventually give in and spend the bucks? Ya know, I bet I’d cave, spend the money and STILL get screwed with the lousy prizes and teams. I look at the “premium” list of items I am missing out on…and only 5 of the lot are remotely appealing. The rest are–ooooh! fifty colors of the same prize from several levels ago! Oh, I just have to have that prize in every color! NOT! I’m not going to put out my hard-earned cash just to get paired up with more wimps who cannot communicate or endure a loss and get creamed by more pros and sweet-shot weasels who sit at their goal just waiting for my team to make a mistake so they can race across the field and score the easiest of goals! I’m not going to pay to earn duplicate items only to feel worse than I do getting useless furniture in Animal Crossing. You can take your financial demands, turn them sideways, polish them and then shove them up your candy–

You want me to reconsider? Tell ya what. Just give me the Julie Buchanan soundtrack, all of her songs, so I can pick and use them in the game…or, maybe, just send me a CD I can play at home when I don’t need to be raising my BP to the limit in your game, late at night. Do that, and I’ll likely shrug off my complaints. Or, even better, throw a decent goal explosion my way. Give me that “overgrowth” with the birds flying out of the tree; any color but pink or green will do. Give me the dancing rabbit girl (without me spending 20 bucks to buy enough credits). Or, give me that checkered flag or mic drop. For crying out loud, how hard is it to earn a goal explosion?!

But, if you’re anything like the average player I encounter, you’ll probably be happier just to see me storm away and never play your game, again. Whatever. There aren’t enough foul words to satisfy the bile in my throat, the venom I want to spew at you before I drive my fist into your faces like your obnoxious Octane speeding into a goal explosion; you know, that thing you refuse to let me use.

Sincerely,

One furious customer who regrets ever getting sucked into your world, Junk Sleep

P. FRICKEN S. Is there a contact service line I could use to speak with some of your illustrious staff? Email? Phone line? [Cracks his knuckles in anticipation.]

Nov

Voting Is a U.S. Right, Not an Obligation!

By writingbolt 2 Comments

Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: ad, ads, advertising, celebrity, convenience, election, government, history, internet, law, media, memorials, monument, monuments, nature, obligation, order, peer pressure, pressure, privacy, reality TV, right, rights, scandal, system, transparency, United States, vice, virtue, vote, voting

*****

If you live in the not-so-United States, there’s a lot of hub-bub about VOTING. Oh. Hey. Is that today? Yes, it may be happening right now! Wait. Read this.

It goes into all sorts of heated debates about rights which nip and peck at matters like race, gender and religion. It teases about aspirations for taxes, schools, jobs and the big ol’ dinosaur of a “snake-in-the-grass” known as insurance. It starts to sound like a chariot race at some Roman coliseum or an NFL football crowd. It’s like war without most of the bloodshed. I guess…that’s…a good thing?

And, unless you pay no attention to TV or…apparently…any screen receiving “feeds” of some “newsworthy” kind, you are sure to see and/or hear something about the push to vote. It might be worse than the push for pumpkin-spice everything, the obnoxious internet service monopoly commercials and…well, no, none of those is as annoying as the lawyer who can’t stop flashing his face and talking in his annoying voice every half hour because he decided to invest in every branch of life as he knows it, thinking that gives him a right to be a broadcast nag. On that matter, I vote NO.

Now, back to the bigger voting matter(s). Oh wait, we interrupt this blog for a commercial endorsement by some celebrity…yep, I think it’s none other than Mr. Technology Rapper, Common. Okay. Uh-huh. Got it, smooth talker.

So, as I was saying…

What? Wait 8 seconds to bypass this ad for candidate Dingleberry? *sigh* Oookayyy…

Ya see what’s happening here?

Now, if you have the patience and don’t suffer from one of those “attention-deficient disorders,” I have a few things to say. And, I might get winded. But, that’s just part of the misery of being a citizen in “the greatest country in the world.” [Nobody’s perfect here. Okay, Earthlings? If you seriously cannot read all I have to say, you may kindly skip down to the lower portion that begins with “Let me just make this short and bittersweet.”]

Americans?…and all who occupy the country even if you are not “legally settled in” the place. Voting is a citizen’s right. Yet, from all the noise going around, it sounds more like an obligation pending. And, on the sides, you have all the talk about interference and other reasons to be concerned.

This time, the red guys win. Next time, the blue guys win with the adolation of most “celebrities,” those members of some “academy” or “foreign press” association. [It all sounds like secret society talk, like some Luminati or Nazi nod or stroke of the nose. We got ya, boss. Wink.] Nothing good can really be achieved if every day is spent battling Joes and Cobras, or if one “side” paints the town red just for the other to paint it blue when they dominate “seats.” It’s just a waste of time and energy (life).

If recent years haven’t made it abundantly clear, the whole U.S. voting system is a joke and a mess. [Remember the “chad” fiasco from a previous election? That thing that made the cryp-to-spo-rid-i-um scare seem trivial.] But, like other U.S. messes, it goes around and around, and no one really makes an improvement. Is that stability or insanity? [And, if anyone in Russia is laughing at this, take a look in the mirror, once in a while. Are you really any better off? Is any country truly happy with itself? I’d like to know, and I might like to live there.]

And, when the voting is supposedly done, the winners get a mixed bag of quiet time (in which they can do whatever they want) and time in the spotlight when they either get mention for some kind of achievement or pestered for what they did wrong. The latest gladiator to enter this arena has been grilled and then grilled some more for being an all-around fool. Yet, all the noise hasn’t made him even flinch.

Does that mean he’s just that secure in himself or is all the noise just noise and an illusion of unrest? And, if it’s an illusion of unrest, what is going on here? What are “they” protecting at the risk of several minds, not to mention lives?

I begin to question the whole security and essence of my existence. Don’t you? Are we all just cattle being scared into bumping into each other, dropping money we supposedly earn to secure our “status” in this world and our futures, dropping it on the grate that filters into some system we have no control over though we are pressed to vote it into existence year after year? Are we just batteries in some grand machine, handed illusions of better lives until we are broken and replaced? Or, are we truly valued individuals who have a right to live on the same planet and, at least, not assault each other as we find balance with the environment?

I know the concept of everyone living content and having kids as they will is beyond my comprehension of population control. It’s some idyllic fantasy of a science-fiction show about some people and aliens in spandex costumes breaking apart the universe in pursuit of other worlds to occupy and systems of order to upset. [Yeah. Let’s upset some other race. Not ours. Whatever. I guess it’s all learning from experience. Right? Even if it takes an eternity for the light bulb to glow.] I can but choose not to imagine what life would be like if we were no different than deer and lions chasing around in the wilderness, risking the chance of being slain and eaten. But, such is “domesticated” life, conditioned in our minds for such a long time. Right?

And now, back to our voting program……still in progress.

—–

If voting is a gauntlet of fear and anger with a roaring crowd occupying some sort of stadium, arguing over which “side” will rule the land, I really don’t want any part of it. I mean, I am not sure I fit into that sort of medieval mentality, that clash of kingdoms and warlords where you paint your faces to represent a side and then unleash all kinds of confetti-infused mayhem on the land. You’d think the country would have evolved beyond the WW2 days of war bonds and collecting materials for vehicles, rations and weapons. Is this Game of Thrones or Fantasy Island?

If you are pressed to vote and looked down upon for not voting, isn’t that sort of…bullying? Isn’t that as bad as sexism and racism?

Is the “system” so desperate to keep everyone “involved” just to appear as if they care and can work together rather than actually learning to work together?

Has life on this planet become all about the “clicks” and “likes” rather than actually putting our hands together to make some good happen?

Are the “powers that be” so concerned about order crumbling into chaos that their only reassurance is to pressure everyone to partake in this mad scene called a vote?

If we all quarrel and fuss, are our voices reassuring anyone?

Is this like a game of Marco Polo in which being heard confirms we’re still alive and not up to no good?

If a tree in the forest makes a sound, does that mean it’s not plotting to end you?

And, if you must vote with only what you get from ads and debates and those colorful not-so-little flyers passed around until they litter the streets like some 1940s war-era movie disaster, isn’t your vote a bit mis-educated? Misguided? How many candidates make the same promises and then bend differently once in office? Does it really matter who gets in the offices? Does any side really win forever? Does anything good last? Is everyone ever happy?

[Now, I am sure it’s worse in other countries. I know no Americans are getting beheaded, killed for going against the flow and/or voicing opinions that don’t agree with the ruling force. Women aren’t as “repressed” in the U.S….though one could argue the conditioned mindsets of makeup and fashion are a bit like shackles. Is that comforting to know or just a different color of the same crap?]

I cannot honestly say I have any grand knowledge of or trust in any candidate. Sure, I could “research.” But, if all I get is the “resume” of aspirations, am I not still taking a gamble on a person’s character? I cannot be guaranteed one person put in a government job slot will improve anything. And, whether or not my vote does some good cannot be proven. It’s no better than me offering up a prayer unanswered or tossing a coin in a fountain and making a wish. Yet, both of those are not NEARLY as costly to “air time,” taxes and the environment.

[I have voted in previous elections. And, did it make me feel good? Not really. I get that voting, as a right, gives people a chance to decide who gets some sort of job which is supposed to improve the way everyone lives. But, there’s just as much chance my choice will get slammed for some crime he or she did not previously admit and turn out to be something I did not want, at all. I trusted a man’s calm face only to then question is motives and worry about the environment not only threatening job security but the resources that sustain life. If my vote contributes to making my life miserable or ending it sooner than it should be…what the frick am I achieving?!]

When George Washington became the first president of the “United States,” I doubt everyone who could vote voted. People were present and denied the chance and/or right to vote. Some couldn’t make it to wherever it was decided to have their say. Yet, some consensus pushed him up the red-white-and-blue pipe to the top and convinced him to lead the people as he had led some faction through war. And, somehow, this was better than the old taxing ways of the “red coats” and the even older conquering broods that stormed lands, slaying and enslaving natives. Well, it got his face stamped on a few things; that’s for sure. But, is that such a great thing, considering what other places have been stamped with and/or the names they’ve been given? [Boy, I sure enjoyed my weekend at Screw-Your-Soul Lake! I got the chance to climb Mt. Sisyphus and ride the It-Doesn’t-Matter-Horn.]

SEGWAY ALERT! [And, I don’t mean one of those semi-trendy electric scooters.]

And, let’s stop making memorials for every damn wrong humans committed! Aren’t movie remakes enough to let people know they aren’t learning from past mistakes? We’re not making new good; we’re just remodeling the old bad. A statue that represents a racist attrocity isn’t going to stop people from being racist. It’s just as likely to remind people how and/or why to commit one. [What did that guy do? Oh…now that I think of it, maybe I should do that.]

Ever heard of a killer that mimicked a past one? That’s kind of what history does. It’s a sneaky reminder of all the good and bad deeds done in the past, and that filters through our minds like panning for gold. Some will get the virtues while others collect the vices.

Just because there is a Mecca, pope or Buddha doesn’t mean everyone is going to pray to it, him or her and get the benefit. But, at least, those three are hopeful options versus big, glaring reminders of some horror that took place. I’d personally rather walk down a street to find some positive inspiration rather than a reason to feel depressed and/or unreasonable guilt, thank you very much. Yes, many, many people died here. But, you don’t see nearly as many memorials for all the natives trampled and slaughtered under the cover of Thanksgiving! No. Just plenty of casinos and “reservations.” Did we learn anything, class?

And, breathe.

Voting is not something you hand out on the street, not knowing where it has been and where it is going. You don’t smuggle foreigners into voting booths to sway your preference. You should not have to even worry about another country tampering with the ads and/or results. [I won’t name names because that’s like the old school ritual of gossip about “germs.” And, that’s…kinda like bullying. But, thanks a bunch, electronic “conveniences.” Is it so hard to print paper forms or take a vote in person? Why not just have every voter stand in front of a video (or “phone”) camera and voice their choice like the kooks who participate in those “reality TV game shows” who send someone packing every week? Wait. Can that be tampered with, too?] You don’t quibble about ID proof or pester your citizens about anything that they are or do other than being a registered citizen and their choice of candidates. You should not be fed similar mud-slinging stories from all of the candidates and then forced to make a choice with poor education.

If voting is no better than a “Catholic school” permitting some questionable–to say the least–practices or drilling old scripture into your heads that isn’t being respected, it’s as useless as making a complaint to the boss at work who brushes it off for whatever reason and works under the thumb of another guy who works under the thumb of another guy who… Can’t we come up with a better system, already? Or, just do our best to respect the decisions of some person or persons that want to make such decisions so badly so as to keep our heads and liberties, if we still have any.

Let’s not trade dictatorship for democracy or shuffle the cards and pick one of the already disfunctional systems.

And, god or gods help us, let’s not hand over the planet to the alien robots some aspire to replace our humanity, as flawed as it may be. As cool as some might think it is to meet a Transformer, do you really want to be replaced by one or be denied the chance to have real children of your own who go on to have their own children, and so on? Do you really want humankind, your kind, to end its historic tale in a blaze of disaster and failure? Do you think all monkeys want to be known for flinging poo?

I’ve personally heard enough about the origins of democracy to make me give up my fascination with ancient Greece. But, I’d really like such negative and worrisome feelings to just go away so I can wander in daydreams of the old exquisite architecture and happier toga parties…or kimono parties in the Far East, surrounded by cherry trees in full bloom.

Making televised ceremony of some “heir” taking a throne before making baby heirs to ensure the future of one family keeping the old kingdom’s balls rolling isn’t better. It’s like “reality TV” government. And, I really don’t see how probing into the lives of your leaders is allowing anyone to think clearly enough to run any nation. It may be “transparency,” but I don’t want someone watching me poop just to know I am not up to no good. Are the concepts of trust and faith so dead and gone from this world? Are we all so criminal that no one can be trusted with doing GOOD? [And, if you’re booking a flight to Mars just to get away from it all, send me a letter, telling how much better you have it there, provided you don’t repeat these mistakes we humans haven’t learned to correct, yet. Bomb-shelter scare, anyone?]

Ideally, you should have a chance to speak with the candidates and get a feel for what you really like and dislike about the people. After all, this is all “for the people, by the people.” Right? Well, how close is “by the people” if the candidates are just images on a screen and some audio clip endorsing the ad? And, how much do we really get out of debates other than who slammed the opposition best and who stood up for him or her self? Are debates just a wrestling match and test of social stability?

—–

Let me just make this short and bittersweet. [I just like to say that in hopes of preventing myself from foaming at the mouth and exhausting all of my resources, resources like those considered so abundant that they can be wasted on everything “WiFi,” cable-fed and campaign-related when there are people and other animals struggling to live in a world that can’t come to terms with population control and balance with nature. And, maybe, if you DO suffer from a drifting mind, you’ll float down here and get the consensus of my thoughts.]

If voting is not simply a right of United States citizens (and should be a right in other countries, as well), if, instead, it is some sort of obligation like taxes, attending certain schools and obeying certain laws, then it should be an educated decision people make as comfortably as depositing waste in their toilets. Yes, I am saying voting should be as pleasurable as pooping and peeing. And, right now, it’s not even close.

If you made voting available online–as I am sure many are considering even now–that is not the solution! A swipe right or left on some mobile device might be easier than going to a foreign building to fill out a ballot, but it’s as or even more likely to be corrupted and, thus, futile, just because you cater to lazy whims and, again, consider resources like electricity and all of these invisible rays passing through our bodies and everything else on the planet just to transmit “decisions” we should be making face-to-face, with each other, considering such resources so abundant that they can be wasted when so many go without and fall to the wayside.

Let’s really work together to find a “system” that works as well as or better than those supposed globally peaceful “federations” you hear about in some show about “space explorers” who…end up going to war with other worlds and fighting over who is right and wrong, anyway. There has to be a better way! Let’s find it! Not just Americans. Not just celebrity-sales-pitch slaves. Every human on Earth.

Oh, now don’t get any pushy ideas about me as some candidate. I have little to no concrete wisdom about running a house, much less a country or planet. Just noble aspirations and a weakening heart crumbling under so many social pressures and failures. And, I don’t have a clue who I could work with to make things actually better for everyone.

Don’t vote for me. Vote for your city, state and/or country’s security. Vote responsibly or not at all (just like using drugs, including alcohol, pills and all things weed-y). If you cannot meet with the candidates and feel confident in what they could do (because we cannot expect anyone entering a sea of mysterious operators from warring factions to be some kind of Moses parting the Red–Red? Hmm.–Sea), then your vote is dangerous and likely futile.

If no one votes…well, that’s not likely to happen anytime soon. But, if you don’t vote, does it really matter? Someone’s going to step up to make decisions, in pursuit of establishing noble order, domination of territory or just a place in history books. Some folks will follow that person while others will resist. And, if you do vote only to complain later about and/or suffer from the results, did you achieve anything good? And, isn’t that a shame?

I’m Writingbolt, a currently faceless (because I honestly fear for my life, sometimes) identity on a cash cow farm…er, blog site, and I support this statement, even if it fills enough pages to quality for a whatever Times bestseller. If nothing else, I’ve stated my opinion, for what that’s worth. I’m told it’s good to write down one’s thoughts. I hope that’s true. And, I hope I haven’t wasted any precious resources with this output.

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“This ain’t a scene; it’s a god-damned arms race.” ~Fall Out Boy

“It’s interesting when people die; give us dirty laundry.

Dirty little secrets; dirty little lies.
We got our pretty little fingers in everybody’s pie.
We like to cut you down to size.
We love dirty laundry.” ~Don Henley

“A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect.
Every action in this world will bear a consequence.
If you wade around forever, you will surely drown.
I see what’s going down.”

Letter to Psyonix and the Other Makers of Rocket League

To whom it should concern,

Sincerely,

One furious customer who regrets ever getting sucked into your world, Junk Sleep

Voting Is a U.S. Right, Not an Obligation!

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Posts Tagged ‘internet

“This ain’t a scene; it’s a god-damned arms race.” ~Fall Out Boy

“It’s interesting when people die; give us dirty laundry.

Dirty little secrets; dirty little lies. We got our pretty little fingers in everybody’s pie. We like to cut you down to size. We love dirty laundry.” ~Don Henley

“A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect. Every action in this world will bear a consequence. If you wade around forever, you will surely drown. I see what’s going down.”

To whom it should concern,

Sincerely,

One furious customer who regrets ever getting sucked into your world, Junk Sleep

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Dirty little secrets; dirty little lies.
We got our pretty little fingers in everybody’s pie.
We like to cut you down to size.
We love dirty laundry.” ~Don Henley

“A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect.
Every action in this world will bear a consequence.
If you wade around forever, you will surely drown.
I see what’s going down.”