last weekend a glitch occurred in the matrix of new york: the back alleys of the internet took physical form at the knockdown center in queens at the internet yami-ichi.
as a curious post_human i felt practically called to attend this event. these were my people. or bots. or bot-people. the only way to find out was to show up – or find a periscope.
i ventured forth in my best #weatherpunk garb as part of the delegation from WEATHER IS HAPPENING, boston’s premier weather service. we spent the day ogling what the net has wrought, and urging all to REPENT.
what does weather have to do with the internet, you might wonder? much like the internet itself, emergent atmospheric phenomena are at once global and local. changing temps are something that we can all relate to, and find solace in sharing on the social avenues available.
WEATHER IS HAPPENING embodies a glorious tradition of merging of virtual and real that precedes the internet of things: the internet of weird.
post_humans crave connection, and guard our attention. how many online weather services exist to sell our most precious resource? not so at WEATHER IS HAPPENING. your dignity is respected, and in fact your personal relationship with the weatherlords is all but monetizable.
WEATHER IS HAPPENING adhesive emblems and sky-blob enhancing glasses were hot items at the black market - though no substitute for actual intimate connection with the weatherlords’ eye.
when i wasn’t hawking repentance, i wandered around bashfully admiring the world’s largest in-joke, annotating as i ambled. the thch meme traders spoke to me in the language of the future: obscure imagery and ideas at affordable prices. and also megaphones.
post_humans crave novelty, and the internet yami-ichi had quite a concentration; however certain patterns emerged: the lab coat of authority.
post_humans crave lab coats - at least 4 booths presented in full scientist regalia, two of which were internet-related medical services, more evidence that the healthcare industry is prime to be disrupted.
as some wise guy in the christian bible once quipped, there is no new thing under the sun. it can be easy to forget that all memes have their roots in, at least the parameters of biological function. but internet enthusiasts revel in remixing projects like mike richison’s 16 step social instagram video sequencer. does this lead to memetic bloating, like a poorly-maintained code base cobbled together by anyone with a keyboard? or just a really good time?
post_humans are self-deprecatingly aware of our dependence on memetic substance. the no phone is a kick-started brick of plastic that serves as a luddite prosthesis. deconditioning stickers quietly comment on our attention’s mismanagement - a cry for moderation, a whisper of empowerment.
and yet even in the black markets, art persists. expression ranges from of pixelated anatomical pillows of dani leggard, to the twitter bot chapbook from the ephemerides of allison parrish, to analog instagram filters. post_humans crave beauty that washes ashore among the digital flotsam, polished smooth by contact with many minds, and comforting in its intellectual ergonomicity.
we project our visions onto everything, even screens that are projecting light onto our fevered brains.
post_humans reject linearity and the dichotomies it imposes - in favor of networks and dissonance. the post_human world is grand and beautiful; it is petty and frantic; it is connected and isolating. it must be experienced to be understood.