Texas Fog & Endless Advertisements

It's been foggy here in Texas. I mean...really foggy. Check it out.

You know what would be truly scary to see out there in the fog?

Ads.

// rant mode: activated

When did the world turn into 24x7 advertisements? These days, we're constantly bombarded with ads everywhere, all the time. It's been a slow and steady insidious creep. Remember when Pizza Hut tried to put its logo on the moon? There are other people working on similar ideas, like placing projection-mapped billboards on the moon.

There are startups working on inducing lucid dreams so you can work while you sleep. That's pretty messed up in itself, but just imagine a world in the not-too-distant future where your dreams are constantly interrupted by advertisements.

Buy our products like this fancy water bottle that is super special, I promise, and not like all the other ones because this one is made from upcycled manifestations of misery; buy my master class because I promise even though I don't do the thing I'm teaching I'm actually an authority on it, buy my consultation service and handbook on "10 Easy Steps to Transform Your Life" because it's not just any self-help guide, but a revolutionary approach with secrets that nobody else will tell you about how to achieve happiness and success overnight. Buy my promise to magically solve all your problems with no effort required. Not only that but everywhere with direct messages (DMs), like Reddit, Discord, Instagram, etc., suffers from constant spam that once existed only in email and overstuffed mailboxes.

Are there any ad-free safe spaces anywhere now? If so, there aren't many. I even get massive amounts of spam from my website now of people trying to sell me web traffic or SEO or "hot leads for my business." I have plenty of visitors to my site to "monetize" it, but that has never been the point and isn't one of my goals. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find useful things on the internet because of all the ads and attempts at monetizing everything. I'm not going to contribute to that hot mess.

I like writing.

Anything else I get from it is just a bonus.

Every day, we all face choices, and we don't have to choose to buy X vs. Y. We can choose another path. We can choose silence over noise, depth over superficiality, and meaningful connections over likes and follows.

// rant mode: off

Special thanks to those of you who write me and share your thoughts and experiences.

What's New?

• Here's something new and fascinating: Lost work of the Brothers Grimm found hidden in library.
• As for me, it's mostly been just "heads down" revisions. I also started on a new script for Phonographic Visions. It's been slow getting back into the swing of things after the whole tooth thing.
• Upcoming Into Horror History: Muskoka's most haunted hotel.