Ok, calling it a project is a bit of a stretch. Its something I have been doing for the past year, that really worked out well. Its not even something I can show off, quite the contrary.
I have been cleaning up my old Facebook posts.
Its something I have tried to do a few times, except Facebook does not really provide a good interface for browsing old posts. Its there, but its clunky and prone to “refresh and start over.”
A lot of my early posts were thing like, Friendfeed and Social Media shares or even just straight Tweets posted to Facebook. They don’t serve any purpose. Not that anyone is scrolling way back to see all that garbage.
I wanted to delete it though, for a variety of reasons, then even moreso with all this AI crap feeding from everyone’s data.
So last year, I had a bit of a revelation. Facebook, has a daily “Memories” page, that shows all your old posts from that day, to encourage you to reshare your old posts as memories. Each post on this page, has the standard Facebook menu on it, which includes a delete option.
So I simply, made a point, of once a day, deleting everything.
Not everything, but a lot.
One thing I learned was that my current trend of “not really using Facebook”, has been my “always trend.”
This just goes back to a large desire to just, being everything back to my own control and my own blog. Its always kind of been that way, but lately I have been actively pursuing it. Even though I post to Bluesky and Mastodon, everything feeds back here in hidden categories, so in the future, I don’t have to sort it out and archive it. I already have the archive.
Another Facebook related one is Instagram. I have always kind of disliked Instagram because unless you use the platform a lot, it doesn’t show your stuff to anyone. If no one is going to see my stuff, I may as well just post it to my own blog. I have been doing that some here already with my “Snaps” posts. Just, posts with single photos. I am going to set up something similar over on Lameazoid with Toys stuff, and maybe game screen shots. I have a ton of toy photos to schedule put for daily posts. I also have a ton of random game screen shots. It would not even be the first time I made a website around random screen shots, I had a Geocities site for that back in the days of dial up.
Anyway, I am kind of happy I managed to keep up with my Daily Facebook deletions all year. It really shows now because my “Memories” pages are suddenly very barren.
Meta plans to roll out generative AI (genAI) characters on Facebook and Instagram this year in an effort to boost user engagement.
Also, they apparently also deleted these accounts after the backlash, with some excuse about it being a “test product” and that it was run by humans on the backend. You know it will come back though. These companies have wasted too much time and money on this AI garbage to turn back now.
But one, I don’t know why they need to do this, these platforms are already overrun with AI “influencers”. And those influencers are already posting what they know will drive traffic, AI ladies with boobs and skimpy clothing. Not boring AI soccer moms.
Two, and, less jokingly, if they want to drive user engagement, then maybe they could try promoting… engagement with… users?
I can only speak to how I use Facebook, but I have heard plenty of people say they don’t really use it anymore because it never shows them what they want. Same for Instagram. I have no idea about Threads, for the “Microblogging Wars” I have already given up on Threads. My OpenVibe app crossposts to it, when I remember to use it instead of the native clients, but at this point, I am just, Bluesky and Mastodon. Bluesky for “what’s hip and current and meme-able”, Mastodon as the underlying pulse of the old-school nerdy internet.
But I am not here to discuss other platforms, just Facebook’s various platforms. I’ve established I don’t use Threads. I really don’t use Instagram either. Insteagram is like 90% videos now, which I absolutely LOATHE. I want photos, I use Instagram for PHOTOS. If I wanted videos I would use TikTok or Youtube, but I don’t really want videos ever. I check on TikTok like once a month to catch up on the 3 accounts I actually care about.
Instagram is also way too inundated with ads every other post. And yes, I am including “you might like this” in ads. I want to see posts from people I followed, I followed them for a reason, because I found their posts interesting, or in some cases because they were not “amazing” but I want to feel encouraging. Because I know I am in that latter group. Because I don’t need to ONLY see perfect, edited, amazing 10,000 likes photos, I want to see the 2-likes mediocre ones too.
But instead, it just keeps suggesting things to me, or showing ads.
Facebook has a similar problem. They want users to interact and comment and treat their groups like little forums. But then when I join a group, or like a page, it never actually shows me that content. Just, more suggestions. I don’t need to join 10 Aurora fan groups and a dozen Retro Gaming groups, show me content from the ones I am already in damn it.
And I definitely don’t need these spaces filled with AI garbage. Because these fake “influencers” are only going to be used to promote more ads. When I look for suggestions from people, I want real people who have actually used this crap, not some AI trained on an ad read.
Speaking of broken and dead internet, when pulling a quote, for context, from another website, it copied and pasted an additional hidden section as well…
Like, thats not how this work, that’s not how any of this works. The internet is made for sharing. I don’t think Financial Times would sue me or anything for removing their stupid blub, but instead, I just changed the quote and linked news article. So now you get nothing FT.
Bravo. Now the marketer website can get the zero click-throughs I generated by linking it.
Soy Ramen. Pero no la comida, se llama Ramen, en el internet. Apredio Espanol por michos anos ahora. Probablemente is muy mala, pero intentando.
Esta entrada del blog es mi “2024 Duolingo Wrap Up.” Donde escribo sobre mi progreso usando Duolingo por el ano passado. Senti que una buena idea escribir en español. Pero no estoy tan seguro.
Solamente hago mejor si intento. Mi estilo de escribo es no muy bueno por traducer en espanol. Esta demaciado …. rambling.
I don’t know what rambling is in Spanish… I could translate it, and I have been sort of using a translator, but I kind of want to stick to works I know that I have learned and know already. Oh look, another rambling long run on sentence.
Anyway, maybe I should start making some actual written notes to help drive the learning in a bit more.
Does that metaphor even work in Spanish? “Conducir esta en mas” says it translates to “Driving is on the rise”. Not quite the same meaning as “Driving it in more”.
Mandar en mas? Maybe? It doesn’t need the “esta”, I don’t know why I though ot needed an “esta.”
I have to admit, this is my own personal favorite post for each year, even if no one else cares. Q look back on my music listening for the year, and how it has, or has not changed or evolved, and a round of trying to make predictions, and then working to not make those predictions self fulfilling in some weird attempt to not be wrong about my predictions.
Anyway, lets get it going then, with the 5×5 for albums.
Unsurprisingly, Aurora’s What Happened to the Heart was my most listened to album. And this doesn’t even count time spent listening to the vinyl copy I have. Aurora was number one on my Spotify Wrapped as well. I suppose “unsurprisingly” is bad taste, since last year my too album was actually a surprise with Wolf Alice’s Blue Weekend.
Also not real surprising at number 2 is Lauren Mayberry’s recent debut solo album, Vicious Creature. Being a Chvrches fan, its not real surprising that I was into this album, but honestly, it all kind of “speaks to me” in a way that I am not inclined to post about here. Its good, its all good.
Going on down the list, The Gods We Can Touch from Aurora is still holding on at Number 3, despite being 2 years old now. Its actually my second most listened to album ever (on Last.fm), which is funny because if you asked me, I would tell you its Aurora’s weakest album. Maybe I need to reconsider that stance.
Daft Punk’s Discovery sits at number 4, its just a good classic standby for listening.
One real interesting one is a new one on the list, Disintegration by The Cure. The funny part is, a lot of this being on the list is just listening to “Pictures of You”, most often when driving home from work. It is exactly the same length as my drive home commute, at a little over 7 minutes long.
Getting into more “mainstream” music, number 6 on my list is Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Its full of nice catchy pop music for sure. Its followed by last year’s number one, Blue Weekend from Wolf Alice, and Supermodels by Claud. Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft is a bit surprising here at number 13. I actually would have expected it to be much higher. I guess part of the reason for that is I didn’t jump on that train until later in the year. But then, my number 2 album came out in December.
Some more oddities along the way, both Shame and Change Shapes in the single versions are in the top 25. I wonder if Vicious Creature would be pushed to number one if I added up the numbers.
A lot of my personal “mainstay” albums as well, Kid A Mnesia from Radiohead, Sucker Punch from Sigrid, Woman on the Internet from Orla Gartland. Step I is the only Aurora album not in the top 25, just missing the cut.
The only other significant newcomer is Karol G at number 17, and I am blaming Fortnite for that. She was featured for the Music Pass in the fall. I even got the Karol G skin from that pass.
I should also give an honorable mention to the popular BRAT from Charli XCX. If i combined BRAT and “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat”, it would almost make my top ten.
On a purely artists view, Aurora and Lauren Mayberry dominated there, with CHVRCHES as number 3, so, just more Lauren. Claud comes out at number 4, which can actually also be blamed on Lauren Mayberry, if I had not gone to Pygmalion last year to see her, I would have never seen Claud and gotten into their music. Billie Eilish makes up a bit for the low ranking of Hit Me Hard and Soft by being my 6th highest for artists.
Probably my most anticipated album for this year, it felt like it had ended up delayed and delayed. I was feeling pretty hyped over a year ago, during the initial tour, and managed to keep that hype going pretty strong, thankfully. Being hyped doesn’t always make bias though, I have had plenty of albums I was excited for completely fizzle out.
This is not one of those. If I have any issue with this album, and its not a big one because its something a LOT of albums suffer from these days, its the lack of overall cohesion. Every track is really great. There isn’t really any sort of overall theme or flow holding them together.
And like I said, a lot of albums suffer from this. But, for a related example, CHVRCHES’ Screen Violence did not. It had a theme and a flow. I suppose Vicious Creature has a bit of a theme of nostalgic tribute to a lot of older acts, with some undercurrents of empowerment despite doubt. But it doesn’t really feel as there as it could be.
Anyway, about half the songs were featured during the initial tour set list (Bird and *Under the Knife *did not make the cut). There have also been several singles put out over the last year or so leading up to release. Before getting into the album itself, I am a bit disappointed Bird did not make the but, but Under the Knife was my least favorite from the tour setlist, so I am not super sad it didn’t.
I figure I will just run through the tracks and give some thoughts on each. Something in the Air was the first new single we got that wasn’t already known. I believe in an interview she said it was inspired by an older British musician who had been talking conspiracy thoughts to her at one point. I really like this track, and the low-fi into bit works well as the album opener. I really love the build-up and the chorus riffs. It also feels like there is a bit of an undertone commentary on the world a bit with the whole “screaming through a red white and blue megaphone (the colors of the US and Britain, and “patriotism”) about conspiracy theories, while “I just wanna be someone (someone) who’s happy…”
Like, just leave people alone with your crazy nonsense.
Crocodile Tears is the second track, with themes of toxic masculinity, which kind of carries over a bit from Something in the Air. I really like this track as well and it was one of my favorites from the tour set. I love the thumping beats of this one in general, and the lyrics are fun.
Another tour track, and also one of the singles, Shame comes into slot three. While I do like the break out part near the end of the song, I have actually started to dislike this song a bit over time. I can’t really place why, maybe its just gotten a bit repetitious. Shame is followed by a nice little low key number, Anywhere But Dancing. It almost feels like a bit of a love song but its laced with melancholia in its tones and lyrics.
Next up, two new tracks. Punch Drunk, a song I can’t decide if I really like or really dislike. I feel like I just kind of really dislike the first half, but I really like the back half. The first of two piano ballads comes in with Oh Mother. It’s a sober and personal feeling track about family relationship changing over time. Its probably arguably the best song on the album, but I am not really into this style of song and I mostly skip over Oh Mother.
Things take a sharp turn though with Sorry, Etc, my initial favorite song, and favorite from the tour set. It’s a fast, loud, and angry rock track. Despite what people seem to be thinking, it is NOT some sort of breakup record towards CHVRCHES. Its intended as a commentary on the fame industry as a whole. I want to say I saw one comment that it was a comment on the often actual abuse that occurs with young people in the music and acting industry.
Whatever the case, I love it, a lot. To some extent for my own personal reasons.
Sorry, etc is followed by the pop-bop Change Shapes. I like Change Shapes a lot for its upbeat pop sound for sure, but I kind of feel like over time I may get a bit tired of it from over-listening, like Shame. Mantra follows up next, while I like this track, I can see it being disliked a bit. It’s very repetitious, but also, intentionally so, because, “I will say the mantra, until it is a curse.” I like the increasing distortion on the repeating “I want it” mantra.
The next two are both new again, and definitely my favorite and growing favorite from the album. Work of Fiction is definitely my favorite from the album at this point. I love the quick running lyrics and rhythm. I love the sort of, double meaning of the chorus.
“What if all I want is a work of fiction?”
What if all I want is an unachievable lie? What if all I want is to escape from everything awful into a fake reality?
Maybe I am reading too much into it.
Anyway, the release single comes next with Sunday Best, which is just an all around solid track, but I particularly like the break out moment that has a strong feel of “preaching” to it, in a song called “Sunday Best,” which is a teem used for “Church clothes.”. Then of course the third tier of that with Lauren being the frontwoman for CHVRCHES.
The final track is another piano ballad, and the first single from the album Are You Awake. I don’t have a lot to say about it other than it’s my least favorite track from the album, and I am glad it’s the last one
Ramen Junkie 
