We are all the way up into the 20s now, and it’s largely sunny. We’ve got a warning of snow though. We’ll see what shows up.
I’m not sure when it started, I certainly didn’t catch the beginning, but some time earlier this week, AI artist and Spoutible user @dcroucher started making images of figurines of other members of the community. One after another after another.
And they are remarkable.
Every one is different, every one a unique personality and so much like the people themselves you can tell who is who with the people you know. The image above is mine, brightly feathered with large, sharp wings, a mask, the coolest jumpsuit anyone could own, boots. Couldn’t get the whole image to feature properly, the alignment was odd, so you’ll have to go to Spoutible to see her in her full glory.
And few things exemplify the beauty of Spoutible quite like Derek’s graciously spending his time making us into the boldest versions of ourselves, a ragtag bunch of battered souls who want to turn all that into a better place to be, a better planet to be, better people to be.
How do you get so much from some pixels arranged like something you could put on a shelf and treasure?
That I do not know.
The joy Derek created, not only from seeing ourselves but seeing everyone else as we see them, far away behind our screens, in our heads, is something entirely new from a social media site. As is the curation of the collection into a single thread by our own resident musicologist, yes, really, an actual musicologist, Dr. Laura.
Spoutible is home to the most amazing people.
None of this was done cynically. None was done looking for promotion or attention or “to gain followers.”
It’s all pure fun. Think about that, a social media site where people can have plain fun, not directed by anyone, not requiring a “big account.” Because someone was generous enough with his time and energy to create these amazing gifts for the community.
Because someone was generous enough with her time and energy to put them all in a single place for everyone to enjoy.
Sometimes I am eloquent and this is not one of those times bc this has brought me such a deep sense of happiness, my words can’t keep up. It’s sad, isn’t it, we have more vocabulary for the bad stuff than the good.
But if ever you wonder if “online” can mean true community, if it has to mean combat and cruelty and comparison, Spoutible illustrates that there is an entirely new way to exist online. It is possible.
People are making it happen in real time.
A billion thank yous to Dcroucher, not only for my own figure, but for each and every one of them. And also to Dr. Laura for taking the time to make them so easy to see, for giving them their place of prominence that they deserve. Like many collections, seeing them together in this way shows you how detailed and unique they all are.
And that does it for Thursday. Check out the figurines if you can and have an amazing day.
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