Nothing Was the Same
By 144 Hertz
Is anyone else still watching WestWorld?
Look. I get it. Season 2 had some glaring weaknesses and a lot of people stopped watching. I still highly recommend the show for its world building and ability to make viewers ask crucial questions about their own realities.
The beginning of the episode aired Sunday the 22nd began with a short video discussing the Coronavirus. Symptoms, at risk groups, etc. It felt so….dystopian. It felt like it was an add you would see in the show’s world. Just imagine walking through the slums of a hyper-futuristic/post-apocalyptic world and seeing a super clean and almost totalitarian feeling add on a large screen (the show Altered Carbon also comes to mind). I have no thoughtful commentary to add about this, but I just found it made the world we live in feel even more surreal.
Speaking of which, how weird is life right now? Some observations:
1. I look outside in the early morning/late afternoon and see maybe 3 or 4 cars driving by the busy street I live on. This feels peaceful yet eerie.
2. I get on social media to see it flooded with different “challenges” like push ups or donations. These are pretty cool because they’re encouraging people to stay active and help organizations in need (don’t get me started on the stupid challenges like licking different surfaces in public). I also really like how these challenges are normalizing the idea of sheltering in right now. But no matter how cool they are….how fucking strange does this feel?
3. Another note about social media – my blood pressure has gone down pretty tremendously after cutting down my use of it.
4. I’ve stocked up on food for a while but yo….I can’t stop eating it all!
5. I’m spooked about touching mail/packages right now. Is that insane?
6. The Weeknd’s new album took about a week to grow on me. I’m a fanboy so pretty much anything Abel cranks out will sit well with me, but this one took a little while. It’s best to listen to it in a dark room with a very good sound system.
7. There are very stupid people in this world (referring to people downplaying the virus). No real comments on this. I try to be understanding of how different types of upbringings can lead people to being less informed and making bad decisions, but that doesn’t stop my blood from boiling.
8. I love checking in on people. Loneliness and anxiety are running rampant in our society right now and just sending a simple “hey, thinking of you – how are things” can mean a lot to someone.
9. I’m still following numbers and models regarding the virus and while I hope I’m wrong, I think the situation in parts of the U.S. is about to be horrifying. It’s already really bad, but just watching how our numbers are following the trends in Italy has me worried. Again, I hope I’m wrong but it’s better to be mentally prepared for such devastation.
10. Observation 9 leads me to the title of this post (Drake reference – get a listen on the album if it’s been a while). Even if things return to normal at some point, will our world ever be the same? Are some companies experiencing equal or even higher productivity as a result of remote work and looking into making permanent changes? Viruses don’t just go away – is there going to be a second wave? Is it going to become yearly like the flu with its own respective vaccine? People will be paranoid about catching/spreading Covid-19 for a looooong time.
Those are my current thoughts. These are truly unprecedented times for my generation. Stay healthy and continue to be good to one another. Some are dealing with these circumstances better than others, but everyone could do with a check up now and then.
