I was in a freefall high above Congress Avenue, or some acid-dream version of it, in Austin, (definitely not) Texas, with the "street" below me rapidly coming into view. I’d made the decision just moments before to relinquish control of the handheld drone that had been helicoptering me about the city's mesmerizing limits. I had to let go. It was the only way to take a screenshot and I figured the vertigo was worth it. Back down on the street level, without any other press nearby, I took advantage of my momentary solitude to marvel at the surrounding virtual world that was made possible, in part, by a global pandemic.  Read more...