Lattepunk 2077
Lattepunk
So why did I choose the name “Lattepunk”. Let’s break it down.
Definition of latte: a type of espresso coffee served with foamy steamed milk, and usually served in a tall glass or mug.
I actually only started drinking coffee about 3 years ago. A coffee shop opened not too far from me and I decided it would help make me interesting if I started drinking it.
Of all the choices, why a latte? The internet led me to believe it’s the drink of a basic bitch. Reader, take a guess at what I am.
Punk has so many ways of being interpreted. But it’s actually inspired by a very specific one: Cyberpunk! This definition feels right:
A genre of fast-paced science fiction involving oppressive futuristic computerized societies.
I love me some Sci-Fi and this is the sub-genre that will hook me the easiest. I can’t begin to explain how easy I get lost in these worlds! From books like “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and “Snow Crash” to anime like “Akira” and “Ghost in the Shell”. TV shows such as “Westworld” and “Altered Carbon” to movies like “Bladerunner 2049” and “The Matrix”.
Even video games give the genre proper love. “The Ascent” and “Cyberpunk 2077” got my money the second my eyeballs ingested their trailers. With that last title being especially influential on me. I got some iconic fish from it tattooed on me!
I’ve always wanted to try my hand at a table top role playing game (TTRPG). Dungeons and Dragons theme just never intrigued me enough to get into it. Cyberpunk 2077 is based off of a TTRPG. One that’s as dark, grim, and cool as that world! That inspired me lean into my creative side and play game master to some friends.
Fantasy usually fills their worlds with sunny and beautiful landscapes, where cyberpunk leans into the dark and gritty. Instead of magic it uses something that may help you realize why I like it so much, technology.
Fantasy has defined “good” and “bad” guys, where the hero usually saves the day. Cyberpunk stories tend to be about a character dealing with a problem, which leads to clashing with others when problems intersect.
With the fantasy genre, you’re meant to escape reality and visit a whimsical world. A world that doesn’t exist. The cyberpunk genre is meant to be a warning. Avoid the world where it becomes this: overpopulation, dependence on technology, lots of crime, corrupt government, corporations with too much power…
See a trend here?
That’s where the punk comes from. When I’m not reading about the latest happenings in the technology world (like OpenAI releasing a chatbot inspired by the movie “Her”, or Elon making a vehicle that would be straight out of Blade Runner, I don’t want to rant about the metaverse again), I’m getting lost in make believe worlds that are also dominated by technology.
That’s how I named the newsletter. I combined two things I loved into one.
You really are a basic bitch.
Good one reader, now I want a banana bread latte.
Some Cyberpunk themed recommendations:
Imagine a world where we just make too much clothes. Businesses can’t even sell them all. What are these corporations and people supposed to do to remedy this? Just throw in the desert. Not going to hurt anybody right?
In this other world, healthcare is a booming business. Big enough where money is prioritized over quality of healthcare. And if doctors aren’t aligning with those priorities, well, what good are they then?
Lastly, a good twist in the cyberpunk genre. Envision a private school for children that have autism. The school is understaffed, police regularly get called to check up on kids, children return home with strange injuries, others are running away. Oh! The school also isn’t approved by the board of the state it’s in. Tuition for this school? $570,000 a year.
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