I remember some big rich dude refer to people against what gets marketed as “artificial intelligence” aka stable diffusion as “Communists and luddites”. I’ve read more Marx than the average catgirl, and the only cogent critique I’ve heard of Marx came from Heinlein’s For Us The Living on Marx’s theory of value. Basically, it is true that if someone can do something faster or of a higher quality than another person, that’s a better value. HOWEVER, that doesn’t take into account A WHOLE, METRIC, ASS LOAD of factors that critical race theory frameworks DO take into account that I dare say Marx himself predicted the possibility of. Further, I would even go so far as to say that Heinlein, as a writer, doesn’t discount or discredit any of that. It’s simply that, under capitalism, none of us can simply say what we mean or mean what we say. Instead, we have to rely on the “social lubricants” of proper pleasantries to determine who is good stock and who isn’t. Sometimes, these get referred to as “vibe checks”. Also, I can’t speak for anyone else, but… I’m a human person lady thing? I’m not a terminator (no matter how much I or others wish I were a cyborg). I need rest. If I am injured, I tend to feel pain, and I need to take time to heal. Even machines need maintenance and repairs.
Which brings me to what inspired this. I don’t watch a lot of modern TV or movies. By modern, I mean some of my favorite films were made before the turn of the century. Some even before I was born. They didn’t have frame rate issues because they were filmed on film. So, when I saw the new Matrix film in 2021, I thought “WOW WHY DOES THIS HAVE FRAME RATE ISSUES AS THOUGH IT IS A GAME RUN ON A LOW TO MID TIER COMPUTER IS IT SOME KIND OF JOKE ABOUT MODERN GAMES AND FRAME RATE ISSUES THAT’S FUNNY LOL” but no. It’s so much worse.
See, it’d be one thing if people just made fun of this movie for frame rate issues and misunderstood the layered humor that trans writers often have. We’re stuck in our heads a lot. We aren’t allowed the luxury of spoken opinions a lot of the time. So, if The Matrix Resurrections were in isolation as a piece of motion media that had frame rate issues, and it got made fun of for that reason because people missed the joke, that’d be one thing. HOWEVER, I’ve recently stumbled on other pieces of media where this issue is present.
Before I continue, I just want to point out, that the frame rate issue has happened on my Blu-ray copy, on HBO Max streaming, in theater, and on [REDACTED], so… these are not isolated incidents. The choppy frames are always in the same places.
The above two television shows I’ve only seen on a Roku via streaming services (HBO Max and Crunchyroll respectively, which show I saw on which service should be obvious). They both had frame rate jumps at the same spots every time I rewound it to check.
Why the fuck does any of this matter?
These rich assholes want us to pay X Twitter amount of dollars for their bullshit that hardworking artists and software engineers build and propagate, and they can’t even make stuff that has a consistent frame rate. On top of that the of Twitter is always N + (1*inflation). BTW math isn’t my strong subject, eat me. Meanwhile, they don’t pay the artists (except the ones that suit their interests who have tiny mostly dead hearts like theirs), and they barely pay the software engineers. Like a guy by the name of Marc Andreessen. Remember him? No? I mentioned him earlier in this piece. He’s the guy who calls folks like me a luddite for opposing stable diffusion, or rather, what gets marketed as “artificial intelligence.” Unfortunately for him and those like him, he’s lying. I fucking love tech. What I don’t love is tech bros being technocratic fascists.
In reality, Marc Andreessen is small potatoes. However, we’re unfortunately dealing with a mountain of fascist freedom fries. And it takes a lot of potatoes to make such a mountain. Which brings us to the crux of why I’m writing.
[Edit: 26Nov2024] There might be a coup fucking de tat happening. It may have to do with election software. Find your state’s election site and check your ballot. If it hasn’t been counted find out why. Trump won. Accept it. Now do something about the fact that voter suppression keeps happening, or that fucking weirdos who fuck couches keep lusting for power? [/edit] People fought and bled and died for the vote (and I’m not talking about soldiers I’m talking about people who marched along side the likes of John Lewis and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in the 50s and 60s… y’know… Real American Heroes?… and I’m saying this as a veteran, not that that should give my opinion on the matter any more weight). THIS IS ACTIONABLE. THIS IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO OTHER THAN STEWING IN MISERY. PLEASE DO THIS THING. ASK YOUR FRIENDS TO DO THIS THING. ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIVE IN PENNSYLVANIA, MICHIGAN, NORTH CAROLINA, OR OTHER SWING STATES. [Edit: 26Nov2024]So far, there are two folks out of the six in my circles in Kansas who voted early and didn’t have their votes counted. Ask folks to check their ballots.[Edit: 26Nov2024]
If the worst happens: Know yourself. Know who you are. Know why you are. Keep that last one secret and safe. Those who love you will show it with their deeds. They will also like birds. They will tell you their favorite bird. Good friends tell each other their favorite bird.
Oh, btw, fuck no not November. I’ve got amatuer lutherie work to do.
Our Lady of the Perpetual Metamagic 