59 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
59 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: High Tech Low Life
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published: 2018-08-23
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---
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i believe that [Serial Experiments Lain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Experiments_Lain) is one of, if not the, most important piece of media in our time. i do not say that lightly.
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it's absolutely ***insane*** the sub-culture that this somewhat obscure, thirteen episode show has spawned, but it goes beyond that. lain is like the [itaots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Aeroplane_Over_the_Sea) of shows, and im going to go on a tangent to try to say why.
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## a praise for itaots
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people like to create and consume music that feels genuine. emotions are the primary vector for writing song lyrics, and if you go and ask almost any song-writer about a serious song you will get something along the lines of:
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> i had to dig really deep to write this, it was hard but i wanted to give others a voice with their own struggles.
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and i refuse to believe this. every emotional song, even the ones that i like, reek of being done for money. or to virtual signal. or as a humble brag. some definitely more so than others, but everything at least a bit.
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that is, except for Jeff Magnum.
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In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is the only album i can name where i honestly believe that we are hearing the inner, unfiltered monologue of the artist, and nothing else can even come close. **the mix of emotions is key**, he does not tunnel vision on being sad, or heartbreak, instead of something boiling down to "feeling bad sucks guys, do you agree?" we get something ***genuine***, and i love it.
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## a praise for lain
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in much the same way, i believe that its no coincidence lain gained the cult following (including a literal [cult](https://systemspace.link/) -- yours truly was migrant numero [162](https://systemspace.link/content/tsuki/listing.php)) it did, i believe that lain was the first show to really embrace and give a face to the `high tech // low life` way of life, and as such acted like a beacon, a meeting point. something we could all gather behind.
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lain is something for the people who look at the tech giants of today, of the massive technical debt and increasing surviellance, and are disgusted.
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lain is something for the people who see computers as something to be tinkered with. a toy that enables us to speak logic and trick a rock into making dumb jokes with strangers half way around the world. like magic.
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lain is something to bring together people who don't quite fit in with the rest of the world, who reside in streams of maths that fly around the world.
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lain is something we should all love.
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## the oncoming storm
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our world is going to come crashing. we ***cannot*** afford to keep up with this technical debt for much longer. we have systems to support systems for no other reason than we need systems to support. the computer equivilent of someone whos job only exists because corporatism says it should.
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lain is a world where this never happened. lain is a world where people understand, and more importantly want to understand, how to use a computer. how to *really* use a computer. the world needs more people like that.
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when the tech giants holding up the pillars of our society crumble, the world will need more people like that. the easy exchange of information is the most important technical advance since we discovered fire, and it is being wasted, and it is disgusting.
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## the comfy dystopia
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lain is anti-political, lain is for the centrists, lain is for the people who decide not to play.
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its raining, its dark, you're in your shitty apartment room staring at a black screen. you're trying to make an irc bot in your favourite language, because you want to. no other reason. its been made before far better than you could ever do, but you try anyway. because the important thing is that you tried, not what you contribute. lain is for the people who want to experiance rather than contribute. for the outsiders, for the insiders, for everyone.
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when the internet overlords vanish, and the cloud dissipates, the people who want to experience will be the pioneers. this blog will fall when digital ocean dries up, but as a wise person once said;
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> that is not dead, which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.
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this site will be back. as long as i have my own system, that i - not a corporation - am in control of, these ramblings will survive, and i hope that these strange aeons show these tech giants dying.
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lain is for the people.
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lets all love lain.
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`:wq`
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