Hello! I’m an automaton, played on loop. Pitch, eat, sleep. Repeat. Routines as rote processes.
We’re stuck in eternal elevator, all acting. Robots. Our mouths open. A squawk box. It crackles to life, in humble salutation.
I’ve introduced myself thousands of times. I give my same spiel. I make the same stupid little jokes. They land; they laugh. I feel good. Nobody refuses a harmless hit of dopamine. I use the same intonations, my ears bleed from my faux enthusiasm that sounds oh so real. They don’t know the difference; I’ve convinced myself of it. Maybe I don’t either. It’s a well-honed craft.
I read from the same script. More artifice than artificial. I let the other person read from theirs. We smile. We judge. The quest for appeal. Who made themselves sound better. Are they articulate? Beautiful? Does their taste align with mine? Their interests? Do we consummate now or later? Or never. When eyes see red, malevolence or lust. Spirited. Away.
We spin the same yarn. Run the same wheel. Gauntlet. Round and round we go, the ascending drain. New people. Similar conversations. Maybe new projects. The cycle continues.
Gesticulations. Nobody smiled behind the mask, we just squinted our eyes. We developed early-onset crow’s feet… and attention disorders. We did it for the other. For them, we say to ourselves. We are good. Selfless. Sanitized.
Larp. It is not improvisation. More like.. interpretation. Instantiation, implementation. Intuition. All the world’s a stage. Shakespearean.
Hope is lost anticipation. The cynicism is at least real. We grow; calloused with rejection.
Fake it till you make it. No, break it. A lullaby. Talk about it or be about it. Forget about it.
Credentialism. Build immediate rapport. I consider giving myself over to some sort of virtual entity. It is lifeless anyways. An embodiment, disfigurement. We all know what we want from the situation. A simulation. “A yes.” A talent attachment. A capital injection. Distribution. Love. A job, for them or for us. Paid or pro bono. I’ve mostly given myself away for free. We do it for approval. For affirmation. To get made, or to get killed. We die by the project. We succumb to its glacial pace. Pump milk and honey into the machine. The system is bloated. A racket.
Kamikaze. The ultimate self-sacrifice.
Catacombs. It’s a playing field. A team and its players. Bones are the ashes beneath our cleats. A company and its employees. Disgruntled. The jerseys we wear, clean or dirty. Put me in coach.
It’s a sport. It is sales. Pitching is training for the big league. Prepping for go time. Being in-character is exhausting. It’s constant. The calls go on for hours upon hours, each and every day. Every year. The disassociation from the personal; the professional.
The playbook doesn’t make the player.
It is the act of playing. Losers don’t even partake. If you’re complaining about it, you’re at least doing it. Nobody wants to hear your lamentations, nor associate with them. The ultimate energy vampire. A parasite. A quick pass. Hell, when I had a few hundred bucks in my bank account a year ago (true story), I’d still paint a beautiful self-portrait. It works. Though I was dead behind the eyes. It really is darkest before dawn.
Perception is a warped reflection of reality.
The game needs to be omni-win. Collectivism. Not all is zero sum competition. Though that has its moments. My little victory does not come at a cost to you. Dog eat dog. All for one. One for all.
The search for autonomy. Agency. Protect yourself. Your only goalkeeper.
We can rebuild him. We have the technology.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. Beep beep boop. Game, set, match. See ya next week. 3 left.
Tech
Circle Labs, virtual influencers powered by AI, raised $4.2m CL
Alethea, detects misinformation, raised $10m Cis
Zebra Labs, celeb virtual characters, raised $5m TC
Brain computer interfaces Semafor
VenturePunk, crypto product studio, raised $1.5m (go Jordan!) JLtwtr
Mozart, nft platform to onramp game devs, raised $3m Yahoo
AugX, AI based video tool for content creators raised $1m VB
Roam, virtual hq for distribute teams started by Yext founder raised $30m TC
Topline, helps at-home online businesses with AI, raised $5m TC
Playgig, cross platform game studio raised $11m VB
Amzn expands satellite manufacturing with Kuiper facility Amzn
Heylo, social circle for virtual events, raised $500k TC
Courtyard, digital collectibles, raised $7m BI
Twtr might relaunch Vine Axios
Snap’s AR UK report PDF
HyperPlay, crypto game launcher revealed HPtwtr
Media
Disney to offer toy/merch deals thru platform (sensical) WSJ
YouTube looks to bring more film/tv to their app Verge
Shonda upset by Nflx ad tier (cut me in coach!) Yahoo
NBA looks to invest in more startups Bberg
Metallica invests in vault Comics, new approach for musicians THR
Universal Orlando shuts down attractions to focus more on IP characters Dead
Judge blocks S&S and Penguin deal (go vert, not horizontal) Dead
T Swift dominates the Bboard chart NYT
Nflx acq Cozy Games developer Nflx
ITV buys Lingo Pics in Aus Dead
DoJ concerned over Tegna price hikes bberg
Plan B in talks with MediaWan Bberg
ESPN news partnership with DraftKings Bberg
Zaz wants to make more Potter (go figure) Var
Cineworld reaches settlement with lenders and landlords Reut
Pluto TV profile THR
Amazn in the daily sports talk show game THR
AMC 11.1m subs ad rev drops THR
Fremantle grows by 27% Var
Fanatics ceo sells stake in HBSE LSR
CW looks to rework its license fee to $1m Dead
Tmrw Sports, sports tech media focused on golf raised from celeb list THR
WBD 95m subs across BUs Var
Girl Culture Films rebrands as Institute SO
Inside looks at WBD and DC Films Puck
Entertainment
Magnolia acq Master Gardener from Schrader, Sigourney, Edgerton THR
Skydance / Chai & Jimmy Chin to make America’s Cup docuseries Dead
Nflx expands the Dahmer franchise Dead
Telepool teams w Millennium to develop movie slate Dead
Showtime picks up George & Tammy from Michael Shannon / Chastain Dead
FX orders The Answers from Steinkellner, and Protozoa THR
Focus backing X Crucior musical from Mael Brothers Dead
Altitude extends Saban Films deal Var
Peacock orders Crystal Lake from Bryan Fuller, Peacock series Var
Westworld cancelled, cast paid Dead
Screen Gems commits to Border Patrol from Atomic Monster Dead
Ashland Media to finance The Crow reboot Dead
Film on the Cliquot family in the works Dead
IFC Midnight / Shudder take Consecration Var
Lionsgate NA rights to Retribution, Neeson market movie Dead
Kino Lorner NA to Cinema Sabaya THR
Analytics suggest Squid Game is to be Netflix’s most valuable title Axios
Samuel Goldwyn NA to Cairo Conspiracy Dead
Robin Hood feature on the way from Gaumont (ppl love the public domain) Dead
Collaborative
COD maps based on real places, gov’ts unhappy Washpo
Sarah Wolozin on revealed reality in imaginary worlds Immerse
A world ruled by corporate algo Markup
Coatue on the AI explosion Notion
A look at what might be next for Sesame Street brand THR
Fred Wilson on creator royalties AVC
A look into ABGO (interviewed there years ago..) Var
US turning against the first amendment (Is it though?) Verge
Generative AI and the taste gap Every
Peer-review process on the blockchain Neolife
Media companies on exploiting IP Var
Ways US consumers look to bypass paywalls TK
Pale Blue Eye trailer YT
Pay throughout Hollywood (sure sure) THR
Predator hunting stings as a YT craze (sounds like a movie) NewYorker
Highest paid dead celeb estates Forbes
Measuring time with a quantum watch Vice
Angela Jin on future proofing a community AJblog
Mattress Mike on the $75m Astros payout ESPN
Generative AI as a services marketplace VCCafe
Eternal Daughter trailer YT
Alexis Ohanian profile Info
Making of EEAAO THR
Valuations for tech cos down Fortune
Community has been around for ages MusicX
Glass Onion Knives Out trailer YT
Mschf gallery showing Leaf
Dobby’s beach grave too many socks and litter NYT
Mike Rothenberg goes on trial (forgot about this dude lol) Bberg
FII on the next creator economy YT
Slow ventures internal letter to LPs Mail
The Roku city screensaver NYT
McConaughey curates a brand glamping experience Forbes
Dawn Petrol and generative AI in music Med
Failed Disneyland in St Louis bc of beer SFGate
ROI on consumer vs enterprise tech VCCafe
Salary ranges on job postings CNBC
Stephenson on RDJ’s Footprint Coalition FPC
What we can learn from publishers across the world Reut
Listen: Nebula interviews Totally (Def friends!) HumansofWeb3
Read: The internet turned us into content machines (true) NewYorker
Watch: Marques on who cares about the metaverse MByt