The future that passed me by

The photo above is the very first Google Glass shot I took, during orientation in New York City's Chelsea Market, inside Google's hub in June of  2013. The video below is the last thing I've taken with the device, yesterday, even though I'm trying to stop using it.

As I've stated in this space before, but in other words, the augmented reality face computer is not working the way it used to and has become as obsolete as a Sega Dreamcast, which I also have. 

Or maybe I'm wearing it 

because the future passed me by 

and I didn't notice. 

I was distracted 

trying to keep up with it

forgetting to discard the unrealized hypothesis of, 

'Maybe this will be the world we'll live in.'

This is the world we live in now. 

Commence the content.

Over my head

The big #snowzilla of 2016 skipped Kingston  and I'm pretty sure there's a metaphor in there somewhere, but it's gone over my head. Sometimes, a big snowstorm that didn't hit you is just nothing, and that's OK.
Still, there's a weird, lingering calm, waiting for a storm that never came.

The awkward reality of being

Find a recent, terrible photo of yourself. Post it on social media.
Can you do it?
The point is not the potential for embarrassment, but to shuffle off this social media coil and to dismantle the alterations of carefully crafted personas.
Or it could be to take power away from perceived judgements and digital pitchforks.
Or for fun.

Let's do one thing

Ok glass, you can rest now.

The bitter winter days of long ago last week took a toll on good ol' Google Glass, and the device's display is not quite in working order anymore. I'll still take some photos here and there, but the device is pretty much done. 

OK, Glass, you had a good run. 

***
Experiment: Do one very small and simple thing. Do so once a week for the year.
It could be taking a a photo. Or writing one sentence or paragraph. Or sending an actual letter or sharing a song. Maybe saying hello to a random person or run a mile or even drive somewhere you've never been.


For my part, I'll save one sentence and one picture. And I'll also retroactively do that for 2015, from the master archives of Yesterday's Internet, Today! and see what I'll come up with. In a sense, this very newsletter is a form of that exercise.

Let's dance

A huge flock of very coordinated birds greeted me along the ride to work this morning, and it momentarily reminded me that even in the face of the bitter and angry elements, life dances.
Let's dance.

'You've got to start with yourself'

The Day 1 Walk in Kingston

The holidays can be a wonderful time, but they can also be hard. I don't have any particular nugget of wisdom for those who suffer during these times, and I wouldn't dare to try.
But I've come to recognize that simply talking can be helpful.

How are you doing? Let's talk.

The most popular 'Yesterday, Internet, Today!' posts of 2015

1. Lingering ghosts of unanswered questions, March 20, 2015.

2. No words (and other topics) Aug. 21, 2015.

3. "Christmas won. Turn the lights on." Dec. 9, 2015.

4. "Nothing you can do about this" March 24, 2015.

5. "Stupid, explained" Oct. 19, 2015

6. "Mysteries on the side of the road." April 6, 2015.

7. "Suspended in the middle" June 24, 2015

8. "Two roads diverged but there's no yellow wood" June 6, 2015

9. "Here comes the rain again" July 30, 2015.''

10. "No peas" July 2, 2015. 

Yesterday, Internet, Today! is a free newsletter, not in listicle format, that's growing so now I can't really stop it. Thanks, Obama.

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On the Internet, nobody knows ...

The year is ending, the snow is melting and the fog is the question.
Online, the takes and viral posts of outrageous Fortune
will rise and fall and rise again in an endless Sea of troubles.
Is it better to go to sleep
or to feed the beast? Or to say we end
here and now, in the endless outrage of a thousand Natural shocks

that come and go?

Hamlet was indecisive, but we don't have to be. 

The calm before the New Year

The quiet, dreamy period between Christmas and New Year is one of contemplation, as many of us come off from over-indulgence and/or over-stimulation, sliding into an almost trance-like ritual of assessing the specter of the year that passed and planning for the next. It can get foggy, like in some of the unusually warm days we've just experienced. But it also signals a potential rebirth and reset.
It's a good time.

Yesterday's Internet Awakens

Where is my mind? It's been on ~your lights~ and some nascent projects and a war of stars I have yet to see, as of late. But I haven't forgotten the internets of yesterday, today, as we come around the very unlikely anniversary of this very feature and/or blog section and/or newsletter, depending on where and how you get it.

And as we approach the end of the year, looking back at what we've done and looking ahead at things to come, we pause to reflect while we circle back to our rituals filled with food, merriment and terrible year-end news listicles.
And stepping back, you can see how everything is connected.
Like string lights tied to trees.
It's a bright sight, if you let it shine.

Christmas won. Turn the lights on.

Someone complained the other day that the upcoming Freeman Holiday Lights tour something something War on Christmas, and as much as I would like to engage in this Christmas tradition and/or debate in futility, I simply don't have the time this year. Because I'm making a holiday lights map!
Did you know that I've been adding Easter Eggs to it for at least five years? Yes, there have been cats.

Short hot take: The War on Christmas was over before it ever began, and Christmas won, by a landslide. Look around you. You can't escape it even if you wanted to.

WAR OVER.

this just ended every war forever https://t.co/QPeslZ6zse

— Mezrahi, Samir (@samir) December 7, 2015

So let's skip the unnecessary outrage, at least for a bit, and enjoy the holidays. And because you're nice you get to see the map as I work on it. Don't tell my boss.

Not all ~content~

Have an idea and tell someone about it;

savor the look you'll get; 

and then do it, anyway.

Not a particular novel idea, but one worth trying anyway.

Case in point: I've been wanting to do this for over a month:

And I'm doing it.

Your turn.

Let's turn the corner

Thanksgiving is around the corner. I can smell the pie. And I can't wait.
In the meantime, let's see what's out there.

***

Can public documents be funny? LOLOLOL that's not a trick question, apparently.
The guy who owns the Washington Post and sends you 'Prime' packages and rents you movies is landing rockets now because the future or he got tired of playing with delivery drones. 

Also in the future, which is now: Mistletoe drones.  And in the past: This did not end well. 

PSA: How to roast a turkey. NYTimes-style.
The other Turkey is in trouble with Russia.

***

One video: Star Wars auditions.

***

The Four: 
* The owner of the Nevele wants to turn the former hotel into a casinsports complex. 
* ER's in. ER's out. ER's in again. ER's out again. Now it's in. 
* This Midtown Kingston building sold for more than $1 million.
* He lives in Kingston.

***

One cat: Fighting Animated Gif Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize winner and New York Times columnist and blogger, can't cat.

But Yesterday's Internet, Today! can cat.

Redditors Photoshop the Most Flexible Cat on the Internet https://t.co/gy5vN6bTmg pic.twitter.com/s79QpHjQmk

— reddit (@reddit) November 24, 2015

Hello from the other side

Yesterday's Internet, Today! is back and I have lots of ideas! But having great ideas is not the same as trying to put those ideas into practice. So, expect some (more) experimental weirdness in the coming weeks. If some work, they might graduate to Freeman proper. That's how we roll.

***

This guy lies so much and so blatantly that the media don't know what to do about him, mostly because he's running for president and people are taking him seriously?
But before you get all worked up about the prospects of enduring political debates during your Thanksgiving dinner, here's how to navigate the whole thing. 
OR you could use some Adele.

In other news, this is happening:

Link to the dress: <a rel="noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0142M5M72/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B0142M5M72&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=j0b21-20&amp;linkId=Y3FBZBEMWF76OFLE">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0142M5M72/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B0142M5M72&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=j0b21-20&amp;linkId=Y3FBZBEMWF76OFLE</a>

One video: Here's Adele impersonating Adele:

***

The Four:

* This should be very easy to sort out, honestly.
* Democratic leaders in 11 counties want Ulster County Executive Mike Hein to run for Congress.  You might remember Hein as the guy who, when directly asked (by you and yours truly!), "Are you running for Congress?!", answered "I love this question" and then quickly proceeded to not answer the question, because politics.
* Orange and Dutchess are competing with New Jersey for a Legoland theme park and I'm an adult and I'm not squealing like a 5-year-old at all, no sir.
* Onrust.

***

Twitter cats: ".. to the Rescue in Brussels Lockdown" <- via the New York Times, no less.

Yesterday's Internet Today! says 'Hello, can you hear me?'

All hearts and no stars

People have strong feelings about cosmetic changes— feels, faves and likes, in a starless world of random hearts.

***

All roads lead to somewhere

But what are you going to do when you get there?

***

Happy trees everywhere

It's been a breathtaking season so far, and the analog world is telling you to turn your things off, and look up. Look up before you miss it.
The expansive vastness can't be captured with a screen, even though we keep trying to wrap the world in the palm of our hands.

The sun also sets

The future was here the other day, and there were many a hot take about what we've accomplished and what we didn't and all that fun stuff. It was a neat collective exercise, like a societal self-evaluation.
What grade would you give to society today?

Stupid, explained

Kingston is a place where new meets old and not so old and not so new, and you can still see the mixing of flavors taking place. Sometimes it's messy, but it's delicious.

The future is here and I want my money back

At least we have cool murals in the future that is today.

Has the Internet become what you thought it should? I know, so much potential swallowed by fleeing outrage and disposable takes, covered by autoplaying ads and crawlers on your computer and your phones. On the Internet, everyone already knew you were a dog, after all.