ShamedSalmon's recent activity
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Comment on "Appear weak when you are strong" - This Confucian proverb is keeping everyone in confusion in ~talk
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Comment on "Appear weak when you are strong" - This Confucian proverb is keeping everyone in confusion in ~talk
ShamedSalmon Link ParentAs stated, OP, this is indeed a simplified transliteration from Sūnzǐ's The Art of War, near the end of the first chapter. Below is the Chinese, with Pīnyīn to aid in a modern Mandarin...- Exemplary
As stated, OP, this is indeed a simplified transliteration from Sūnzǐ's The Art of War, near the end of the first chapter.
Below is the Chinese, with Pīnyīn to aid in a modern Mandarin pronunciation. Below that is my personal translation of the passage, accompanied by several other notable translations.
《孫子兵法》 1 Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ: 1 兵者，詭道也。
故
能而示之不能，
用而示之不用，
近而示之遠，
遠而示之近。Bīng zhě, guǐ dào yě.
Gù
Néng ér shì zhī bùnéng,
Yòng ér shì zhī bùyòng,
Jìn ér shì zhī yuǎn,
Yuǎn ér shì zhī jìn.
Personal Translation What is warlike is deception's way.
Hence,
With ability, show them no ability.
With activity, show them no activity.
With proximity, show them distance.
With distance, show them proximity.
Lionel Giles (1910) All warfare is based on deception.
Hence,
When able to attack, we must seem unable;
When using our forces, we must seem inactive;
When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away;
When far away, we must make him believe we are near.
The Denma Group (2001) The military is a dào of deception.
Thus,
When able, manifest inability.
When active, manifest inactivity.
When near, manifest as far.
When far, manifest as near.
Victor H. Mair (2007) Warfare is a way of deception.
Therefore,
When one is capable, give the appearance of being incapable.
When one is active, give the appearance of being inactive.
When one is near, give the appearance of being far.
When one is far, give the appearance of being near. -
Comment on "The One Who Is". Who on Tildes recently called God by this name? in ~humanities
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentThis is the passage where the god of Israel is understood to have revealed some aspect of his personal name to the prophet Moses. Ex. 3:14 The particular phrase that traces to the heart of OP's...- Exemplary
This is the passage where the god of Israel is understood to have revealed some aspect of his personal name to the prophet Moses.
Ex. 3:14
WLC: וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כֹּ֤ה תֹאמַר֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה שְׁלָחַ֥נִי אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃
ESV: God said to Moses, "I am who I am." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'I am has sent me to you.'"
Custom: And said the gods to Moses, "I will be which I will be," and said, "thus, say to the sons of Israel, 'I-will-be sent [me] to you.'"
The particular phrase that traces to the heart of OP's question is:
אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה
I am who I am
And the particular epithet is the word ehyeh (אהיה or AHYH, where A is a prefix that indicates which person is being used, in this case first).
The base word for ehyeh is hayah (היה or HYH) and it acts as part of a series of words that, when overlaid onto each other, come to form the Tetragrammaton:
Hebrew English Translation הוה HWH (Hoveh) [I/he] who is היה HYH (Hayah) [I/he] who was יהיה YHYH (Yihyeh) [I/he] who will be יהוה YHWH (Yahweh) N/A
@krellor has also pointed out Rev. 1:18, a passage in the Christian New Testament. What makes it fascinating is the way the verse directly points to the above word-play by dissecting what would have been the Greek pronunciation for the Tetragrammaton, "iaō", spelled ΙΑΩ in the Septuagint.
The careful choice of these three letters cleverly succeed in preserving the theme of "is, was, and will be" so integral to the divine title itself.
EDIT: Just a little formatting.
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Comment on If happy people do nothing? in ~talk
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link Parent道德經：11 Dào Dé Jīng: 11 Addiss & Lombardo Translation 三十輻共一轂，當其無，有車之用。埏埴以為器，當其無，有器之用。鑿戶牖以為室，當其無，有室之用。故 有之以為利， 無之以為用。 Sānshí fú gòng yī gǔ,dāng qí wú, yǒu chē zhīyòng.Shān zhí yǐ wéi qì,dāng qí wú,...道德經：11 Dào Dé Jīng: 11 Addiss & Lombardo Translation 三十輻共一轂，
當其無，有車之用。
埏埴以為器，
當其無，有器之用。
鑿戶牖以為室，
當其無，有室之用。
故
有之以為利，
無之以為用。Sānshí fú gòng yī gǔ,
dāng qí wú, yǒu chē zhīyòng.
Shān zhí yǐ wéi qì,
dāng qí wú, yǒu qì zhīyòng.
Záo hùyǒu yǐ wéi shì,
dāng qí wú, yǒu shì zhīyòng.
Gù
yǒu zhīyǐ wèilì,
wú zhīyǐ wéi yòng.Thirty spokes join one hub.
The wheel's use comes from emptiness.
Clay is molded to make a pot.
The pot's use comes from emptiness.
Windows and doors are cut to make a room.
The room's use comes from emptiness.
Therefore,
Having leads to profit,
Not having leads to use.道德經：17 Dào Dé Jīng: 17 Addiss & Lombardo Translation 太上下
知有之。
其次親而譽之，
其次畏之，
其次侮之。
信不足焉，
有不信焉。
悠兮其貴言:
功成
事遂
百姓皆謂:
我自然。Tài shàng xià
zhī yǒu zhī.
Qícì qīn ér yù zhī,
qícì wèi zhī,
qícì wǔ zhī.
Xìn bùzú yān,
yǒu bùxìn yān.
Yōu xí qí guì yán:
gōng chéng
shì suì
bǎixìng jiē wèi:
wǒ zìrán.Great rising and falling—
They are aware it exists.
Next they witness and praise.
Soon they fear.
Finally they despise.
If trust is not enough,
There is no trust to gain.
Be careful in valuing words:
When the work is done,
And affairs are settled,
Everyone says
We just acted naturally. -
Comment on Christian Super Bowl commercial outrages US conservatives in ~humanities
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentTo further this point, while early Christian gnostics drew their ideas from many sources, especially influential were the Gospel of John and the writings of Paul the Apostle—the latter of whom was...To further this point, while early Christian gnostics drew their ideas from many sources, especially influential were the Gospel of John and the writings of Paul the Apostle—the latter of whom was so influential that the Ebionites flat out rejected him as a teacher.
The period of Roman occupation of the Levant was largely a continuation of the tumultuous Maccabean political landscape from the time of the Greeks. The dawn of the first millennium saw the Jewish "Fourth Philosophy" of Zealotry spurning Judas of Galilee to wage armed resistance against all foreigners and anyone seen helping them. Judaism's flirtation with Greek philosophy—often referred to as "Hellenization"—continued to be considered a dirty and profane influence on Jewish attempts at ethno-nationalist purity. As the idea of "god" likewise continued to expand up to and well passed the first century, people increasingly drew distinctions between it and the inseparable Judean nation-god that was so in vogue among the Zealots.
Of course, we all likely know that the Zealots would eventually seize power in the 60s CE, resulting in the First Jewish-Roman War, but shortly before that, Paul was teaching some curious ideas that were the primary influence of both gnostic and what would become main-line branches of Christianity (despite the latter's eventual attempts to repeatedly exterminate the former). The Christian gnostics drew on ideas such as:
Eph. 6:12
NE28: ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχάς πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας πρὸς τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις
ESV: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Custom: For to us is not the struggle against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the forces, against the cosmic powers of this the dark, against the pneuma of the evil in that above the sky.
and
2 Cor. 4:4
NE28: ἐν οἷς ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσεν τὰ νοήματα τῶν ἀπίστων εἰς τὸ μὴ αὐγάσαι τὸν φωτισμὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ
ESV: In their case the god of this world (Gk: aiōnos) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of god.
Custom: In whom the god of the aeon has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, to keep from radiating to them the light of the gospel of the glory of the Christ, who is the icon of god.
and
Gal. 3:19-20
NE28: τί οὖν ὁ νόμος τῶν παραβάσεων χάριν προσετέθη ἄχρις οὗ ἔλθῃ τὸ σπέρμα ᾧ ἐπήγγελται διαταγεὶς δι᾽ ἀγγέλων ἐν χειρὶ μεσίτου ὁ δὲ μεσίτης ἑνὸς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ δὲ θεὸς εἷς ἐστιν
ESV: Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
Custom: Why then the law? Because of transgressions it was added, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made, ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator, but the mediator is not the one, for god is one.
and
1 Cor. 2:6-8
NE28: σοφίαν δὲ λαλοῦμεν ἐν τοῖς τελείοις σοφίαν δὲ οὐ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου οὐδὲ τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου τῶν καταργουμένων ἀλλὰ λαλοῦμεν θεοῦ σοφίαν ἐν μυστηρίῳ τὴν ἀποκεκρυμμένην ἣν προώρισεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων εἰς δόξαν ἡμῶν ἣν οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἔγνωκεν εἰ γὰρ ἔγνωσαν οὐκ ἂν τὸν κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν
ESV: Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age (Gk: aiōnos) or of the rulers (Gk: archontōn) of this age (Gk: aiōnos), who are doomed to pass away; but we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of god, which god decreed before the ages (Gk: aiōnōn) for our glory. None of the rulers (Gk: archontōn) of this age (Gk: aiōnos) understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the lord of glory.
Custom: Yet wisdom we are speaking among the mature, wisdom yet not of the aeon nor of the archons of the aeon, who are to pass away; but we are speaking wisdom of god in mystery and concealment, which god designated before the aeons for our glory. None of the archons of the aeon has known this, for if they knew, they would not have had the master of glory crucified.
Paul's pre-gnostic archontics likely inspired the author of the Gospel of John to write:
John 12:30-32
NE28: ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν οὐ δι᾽ ἐμὲ ἡ φωνὴ αὕτη γέγονεν ἀλλὰ δι᾽ ὑμᾶς νῦν κρίσις ἐστὶν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου νῦν ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἐκβληθήσεται ἔξω κἀγὼ ἐὰν ὑψωθῶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν
ESV: Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler (Gk: archōn) of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
Custom: Yeshu answered and said, "Not through me has this voice come, but through you. Now is the judging of this world; now the archon of this world shall be cast out. And I, if I am lifted out of the earth, all shall draw toward myself."
So this distinction and problem of god-over-the-nation/world beneath a largely ignored and even higher power goes all the way back to some of the earliest Christian teachers and, indeed, further back into the core problems that monotheism has always struggled with in the midst of imperialism (but that's for another, much longer write-up). Hopefully this provides a few minor examples to inspire further exploration.
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Comment on Service jobs now require bizarre personality test from AI company - 404 Media investigation of Reddit post trend in ~life
ShamedSalmon Link Parent"I can't lie to you about your chances, but you have my sympathies."Paradox explains that Ash is there to allow applicants to more easily project themselves into these scenarios
"I can't lie to you about your chances, but you have my sympathies."
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Comment on The real lesson of The Truman Show in ~movies
ShamedSalmon (edited )LinkThis is one of my all-time favorite gnostic psychological films. Truman is trapped in a false world until a piece of the cosmos falls to earth. This disruption to his life begins a series of...This is one of my all-time favorite gnostic psychological films.
Truman is trapped in a false world until a piece of the cosmos falls to earth. This disruption to his life begins a series of chain-reactions which, as he engages with them, ultimately leads him to question the bounds of his reality. In his self-inquest to reevaluate the experiences he found to be the least and most genuine, Truman finds himself on the shores of confrontation with his most traumatic fears.
As he is thrashed about in the aetherial waters at the end of his world, Truman clings to the one ship more sturdy than the ground he was raised on: his sincerity of self. At last, he collides with the edge of the firmament. The despairing, soul-crushing moment of finding nowhere else to go sheds once more into faithful resolve as he stills himself again to walk across the water.
After one, final, direct confrontation with Christof the demiurge—who will be rendered meaningless without his subject—Truman then reminds us of the man he has always been and escapes his confines, stepping off into the pleroma of reality to live life truly for the first time. Initially, he was a captive; now, and in a most gnostic sense, he is a star.
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Comment on Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance | Official teaser in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentThe original series was recompiled into a three-movie trilogy. Interestingly enough, Netflix appears to have all three: Mobile Suit Gundam I (Subbed) (Dub: Archive.org) Mobile Suit Gundam II:...The original series was recompiled into a three-movie trilogy. Interestingly enough, Netflix appears to have all three:
Mobile Suit Gundam I (Subbed) (Dub: Archive.org)
Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow (Subbed) (Dub: Archive.org)
Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space (Subbed) (Dub: Archive.org)After that, if you want the political background for the lead-up to the One Year War, covering many of the major figures within Zeon, I Would suggest watching The Origin. Hulu has the OVA which is six 1-hour episodes, and Crunchyroll has the mini-series, which is thirteen 25-minute episodes, so roughly the same runtime. (I personally prefer the mini-series for this one.)
Gundam: The Origin (OVA)
Gundam: The Origin - Advent of the Red CometThe date given in OP's trailer is important as it's the day that Gihren Zabi gives his famous "Sorrow to Anger" speech after the death of the Principality's favorite son, Garma Zabi, at the hands of the Gundam. This marks a major turning point in the war and severely impacts Zeon morale. The next day, November 7th, is the start of the Federation's Operation Odessa, a counteroffensive against the remaining Zeonic hold on Eastern Europe. It's the largest ground battle of the war and, I presume, the setting for Requiem for Vengeance.
Somewhere around this time, in the southern portion of the Eastern Front, the 08th MS Team uncovers a testing grounds for Zeon's Apsalus project, indicating some sophisticated plans for an oncoming assault on Jaburo. Though the mini-series is more of a romantic side-story, it features some epic tech and highlights the breakdown within Zeon's ranks during the last quarter of the war. It can be watched on Crunchyroll:
Right, MS IGLOO, I almost forgot. So, the original Mobile Suit Gundam followed the crew of the carrier-ship White Base, while IGLOO flips the focus to follow the crew of the Zeon carrier Jotunheim. The first part of the series, The Hidden One Year War, is three episodes. Each one focuses on a different part of the war, from Operation British (the colony drop) & the Battle of Loum (the first major battle), to the earth invasions (EAF Drops), to Operation Odessa. The second part of the series, Apocalypse: 0079, takes place in December, following the failed assault on Jaburo, the retreat from Solomon, and the last stand at A Baoa Qu.
MS IGLOO 2: The Gravity Front is a follow-up mini-series. It flips the script back to following members of the Federation, taking place on earth during the Zeon invasion and finally Operation Odessa.
If you like the style of CG animation in Reboot, Roughnecks, or even the older Squaresoft games (FF8, FF9, Chrono Cross, etc.) it's not too hard to look past some of the stiffness in this series. However, it's a highly dramatic set of 30-min character pieces, which some viewers may have trouble getting into. I thought it was a neat watch, though!
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Comment on Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance | Official teaser in ~anime
ShamedSalmon LinkIf anyone remembers Toonami and would like some help getting pumped for this: Mobile Suit Gundam - From the Earth to the Stars 08th MS Team - March Towards Oblivion 0080: War in the Pocket - A...If anyone remembers Toonami and would like some help getting pumped for this:
Mobile Suit Gundam - From the Earth to the Stars
08th MS Team - March Towards Oblivion
0080: War in the Pocket - A Distant GameFor decades, the colonies had lived in poverty under the governance of the Earth Federation. The orbitals at Side 3 organized to declare their autonomy, prompting the Federation to respond with the Bardot Policy, which halted all trade and shipments of goods to the colony group. It's citizens had become roused by a new governing philosophy called Contolism. Zeon Zum Deikun, the movement's author, promoted the formation of a new colonial army to defend Side 3 in the midst of the Federation blockade, but they were soon invaded by Earth forces.
When Deikun was mysteriously assassinated, members of Side 3's aristocracy reformed the government and feigned cooperation with the Earth Federation until they amassed economic and energy independence, quietly investing in private military projects. In 0077, a Federation cruiser attempting to enter Side 3 collided with a civilian transport, sparking riots against the Federation occupation. Amidst the chaos, sympathizing members of the naval academy seized the opportunity to attack the Federation barracks, catching the garrison by surprise in what would be called the Dawn Rebellion. It's success would be complimented by the Reah Revolution of Side 6, further weakening the Earth Federation's hold on the colonies. Within the next year, Side 3's government would declare itself the Principality of Zeon, as it ramped up production of it's mobile suits.
On January 3rd, 0079, the Principality of Zeon declared war on the Earth Federation by issuing the Three-Second Warning, after which they blitzed Federation forces, seizing control of space around Sides 1, 2, and 4. They then killed the inhabitants by releasing G3 nerve gas into the air filtration systems and prepared to dislodge a colony cylinder from Side 4's orbital path, sending it on a collision course to earth in an attempt to drop it on Federation headquarters in Jaburo, South America. Zeon would lose a considerable amount of their forces in defending the cylinder's flight path. However, despite the Federation's superior troop strength and numerous attempts to completely divert or destroy the colony, on January 10th, it entered the atmosphere and collided into Sydney.
With civilian causalities already ranging in the billions, the desperate Earth Federation managed to thwart Zeon's second attempt at a colony drop, in the process losing half of their own forces. With both sides relatively exhausted and needing to regroup, Side 6 negotiated the Antarctic Treaty, forbidding the use of NBC weapons and large mass bombardments, including colony structures.
While Zeon begins their invasion of earth, a secret Federation R&D facility at Side 7 is hard at work on a classified operation that might change the course of the war: Project V.
The original series starts in September, nine months into the One Year War. This is the opening sequence for the first few episodes: The Universal Century
I think I'm just a huge sucker for alternate war histories that are commentaries on our own. U.C. Gundam, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Armored Trooper VOTOMS, Metal Gear Solid, Ghost in the Shell, so many great stories to choose from! I'm with @drannex on this: pretty darn excited for another U.C. series!
Bonus trailer:
A few years after the war, the reorganized Delaz Fleet launches an assault against the Earth Federation. In putting an end to the guerilla movement, the Federation institutes the Titans counter-insurgency group and once again exerts immense power over the colonies through it's technological superiority. A disillusioned Char Aznable — who has left the remnant Axis Zeon to go into politics under an assumed identity — plays a pivotal role in demonstrations against the Earth Federation. Meanwhile, members of the Anti Earth Union Group conspire to steal prototype mobile suits from a Titans outpost, sparking the Gryps Conflict. Axis rallies its forces to assist the AEUG in toppling the Titans taskforce, and in the ensuing victory turns on them, spilling out into the first Neo-Zeon War. Char slips into hiding during these years but makes a reappearance in the 0090s as leader of the ultranationalist Newborn Zeon, who quickly fill the power-vacuum left by Axis.
Char's Counterattack - The Guise of Surrender
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Comment on Half-Life: 25th anniversary update in ~games
ShamedSalmon Link ParentThere is definitely room in my heart for both. And hey, for those who do prefer Black Mesa, you can still get in that anniversary spirit this weekend by playing a reimagining of Uplink!There is definitely room in my heart for both. And hey, for those who do prefer Black Mesa, you can still get in that anniversary spirit this weekend by playing a reimagining of Uplink!
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Comment on Half-Life: 25th anniversary update in ~games
ShamedSalmon (edited )LinkHey, this is pretty great! I sat down and diffed the old and new releases (as well as some WON files) to see what's changed. So, to elaborate on some of the things mentioned in the change log:...- Exemplary
Hey, this is pretty great! I sat down and diffed the old and new releases (as well as some WON files) to see what's changed. So, to elaborate on some of the things mentioned in the change log:
- Previously, Half-Life was built with SDL 1.3.0 and shipped with that library simply renamed to
SDL2.dll. The game now appears to be built against SDL 2.0.20. - Mapping Z and R axis for gamepad right-stick support is now possible, but there still appears to be no ability within the engine to bind commands to analog triggers as of yet.
- On Windows,
vstdlib.dllnow requires MSVC 2015+. liblist.gamcontains two new keys:animated_titleandhd_background.- The original intro
valve.aviand menulogo.aviare back, bit-for-bit the same as the original WON videos — but sadly (and obviously) nosierra.avi StartupVids.txtis back, but instead callsvalve.webm, a converted copy ofvalve.avi. There is no.webmequivalent for the logo, interestingly (see next bullet). According to debug info, WebMPlayer handles the intro video. In addition, audio for this sequence is not being sourced from the.webmfile directly, but fromsound/UI/valve_sound.wav. Interesting hack?It looks like the logo is being interpolated to give it a nice smooth animation (the file itself is 24fps).The logo is a dynamic effect that happens in software, utilizing a set of new logo.tgafiles found in theresourcedirectory. Thelogo.avifile is never actually loaded during runtime.- The menu system is still using VGUI2, so all of the floating windows of the text-based Resources system are still there. The menu has merely been skinned to appear like the old WON bitmap-based Gfx system. (A little bit of the best of both worlds.)
- Single-channel versions of the WON menu selection sounds have been added.
- The original WON
splash.bmphas been sized up to 3840x1568 and sliced into the Steam version's grid format (meaning a whopping 105.tgas for the menu background). - The HUD interface previously incorporated two sprite sizes, 320 (small) & 640 (large). This has been expanded to four sizes, now adding 1280 and 2560.
- There are no changes to any of the campaign maps, except for spawnflags to three barrels on
c2a5.map(Surface Tension). - There are no changes to any of the multiplayer maps (aside from the addition of the extra maps, including those from Further Data).
- There are no changes to any models (aside from the addition of the extra multiplayer models, including those from Further Data).
- There are no changes to any texture
.wads. - The rapid-crowbar bug is not fixed. You can still kill a zombie and gib the corpse at some 30 hits-per-second.
- New
sv_allow_autoaimtoggle command, independent ofsv_aimadjuster. - The Uplink (demo) maps are bit-for-bit the same from the 1999-02 release. It also looks like they merged the two
titles.txts together. - No other games (OpFor, BShift, etc.) have received these updates yet. Adding a
logo.avito another game'smediadirectory, and settinganimated_titlein it's respectiveliblist.gamwill only fall back to the "Half-Life" animated text effect until you create the appropriate logo.tgas for that game.
All in all, a pretty solid release, and if you have not played Uplink, it's a rather nice survey of the game condensed into a fun hour of gameplay.
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Comment on Scientists are researching a device that can induce lucid dreams on demand in ~tech
ShamedSalmon Link ParentWhile I'm sure you know we're just having a bit of fun in the comments, to clarify for anyone else: this company has nothing to do with Facebook. We're both making joking allusions to sci-fi...While I'm sure you know we're just having a bit of fun in the comments, to clarify for anyone else: this company has nothing to do with Facebook. We're both making joking allusions to sci-fi inventions called dream consoles. The DC Mini is one such appliance from the film Paprika. The range of addictive to dangerous devices in Dreamfall, Paprika, and the like are derived from a novel by Roger Zelazny called The Dream Master (not to be confused with Nightmare on Elmstreet IV, mind you).
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Comment on Scientists are researching a device that can induce lucid dreams on demand in ~tech
ShamedSalmon Link Parent"Last week, Wollberg announced that his wildly successful company, Prophetic, has been acquired by Meta. In a statement on Monday, Mark Zuckerberg indicated that the New York-based tech startup..."Last week, Wollberg announced that his wildly successful company, Prophetic, has been acquired by Meta. In a statement on Monday, Mark Zuckerberg indicated that the New York-based tech startup would be consolidated with it's own Reality Labs to form a new company, WATIcorp."
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Comment on Intro to Carl Jung and Jungian Psychoanalytics in ~humanities
ShamedSalmon Link ParentI don't think you're getting carried away; your third point seems right on the mark. Jung's incorporation of Gnostic interpretation introduces somewhat of a triplicate approach: Term Description...I don't think you're getting carried away; your third point seems right on the mark. Jung's incorporation of Gnostic interpretation introduces somewhat of a triplicate approach:
Term Description Rationality Pneumatic Spiritual or Poetic Thought Exceeding the Rational Psychic Intellectual Thought Rational Hylic Mundane or Somatic Thought Sub-rational -
Comment on Intro to Carl Jung and Jungian Psychoanalytics in ~humanities
ShamedSalmon Link ParentIn addition to diving right in to Hero with a Thousand Faces, there is a fantastic book compiled by Bill Moyers called Joseph Campbell: The Power of Myth. It's a shorter read at less than 300...In addition to diving right in to Hero with a Thousand Faces, there is a fantastic book compiled by Bill Moyers called Joseph Campbell: The Power of Myth. It's a shorter read at less than 300 pages but it surveys Campbell's ideas and is based on this six-part documentary series of the same name, if you're up for a lengthy, informative watch.
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Comment on Intro to Carl Jung and Jungian Psychoanalytics in ~humanities
ShamedSalmon LinkDisregarding everything else I'm about to say, if you just want the shortest intro to Jung that is possible, it's hard to go wrong with Jung: A Very Short Introduction by Anthony Stevens. It's 150...- Exemplary
Disregarding everything else I'm about to say, if you just want the shortest intro to Jung that is possible, it's hard to go wrong with Jung: A Very Short Introduction by Anthony Stevens. It's 150 pages long, short but dense, briefly covering his life and all of the critical aspects of his analytical psychology.
Now, along with the recommendations others are giving here, if you really want to get to the heart of Jung, it may be helpful to have some background in Gnostic religions, especially of the Christian variety, as it was so impactful to the formation of his studies. The obfuscation of ideas putting the onus of work on the student to intuit meaning is an integral component which stems from esoteric traditions such as Gnosticism.
If you do decide to look into this, you may also want to already have some background in Christian orthodoxic theology, especially the works of the Apostle Paul, the Gospel of John, and some of the differing views on the first few hundred years of the Christian church. If you are already knowledgeable in that regard, I might recommend A Separate God by Simone Pétrement and From Jewish Magic to Gnosticism by Mohr Siebeck. If you are just getting started, then perhaps A History of Gnosticism by Giovanni Filoramo, Gnosis: The Nature & History of Gnosticism by Kurt Rudolph, or Gnosticism: New Light of the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing by Stephan A. Hoeller might be more approachable. Studying Gnostic scriptures is even more daunting however, so after having read one or two of the former, I'd recommend surveying some of the texts online, or grabbing a copy of The Gnostic Bible by Barnstone and Meyer (as you're probably not looking for a more complete set of Nag Hammadi or New Testament apocryphal texts).
Stephan A. Hoeller is also notable as he's one of the few to translate and publish Jung's Gnostic treatise in an explanatory book, The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead. Another book that handles this subject matter is the similarly named The Gnostic Jung including "Seven Sermons to the Dead" by Robert A. Segal. The Seven Sermons is the only part of Jung's Red Book (the summation of his private journals, his Black Books) that he released during his own lifetime, and neither will make much sense without some background in Gnostic theology and cosmology, and the way that Jung looked at people as microcosms.
Consider some of the various ways of interpreting this statement from Second Century theologian Monoimus:
Abandon the search for God and the creation and other matters of a similar sort. Look for him by taking yourself as the starting point. Learn who it is within you who makes everything his own and says, 'my God, my mind, my thought, my soul, my body.' Learn the sources of sorrow, joy, love, and hate. Learn how it happens that one watches without willing, rests without willing, becomes angry without willing, and loves without willing. If you carefully investigate these matters you will find him in yourself.
This is not a dissimilar outlook to what seems to have internally driven Jung's views on early-twentieth century psychology. Likewise, the New Testament book of Philemon is of great importance to Jung, who viewed it as a dialectic on the sharing of useful knowledge to discover what is at the heart of oneself. He saw religion not as being done away with, but as part of a larger body of inquest that is still very much evolving as a spandrel within the archways of the human mind.
Christian Gnosticism is not the only thing that inspired Jung's work however, but it does play a key part. As others have pointed out, he was very prolific and his work bleeds into many, many different areas. With all of that said, once you have a decent background in Gnostic and Jungian thought, songs by The Smashing Pumpkins and Gorillaz, films like Blade Runner, or games like The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind become much easier to dissect, interpret, and understand (that is, their pneumatic messages become all the more clear against the common psychic ones).
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Comment on So, any good horror flicks lately? in ~movies
ShamedSalmon LinkI had mentioned this elsewhere, but thought I would do so again here: I recently watched Beyond the Black Rainbow and it was, in a word, brilliant! Although, an excellent subtitle for this film...I had mentioned this elsewhere, but thought I would do so again here: I recently watched Beyond the Black Rainbow and it was, in a word, brilliant!
Although, an excellent subtitle for this film might be Answer to Carrie, in precisely the Jungian sense. The style is art-house grotesque, with critical themes being mirroring, pattern disruption, and the conflict between the synthetic and the natural. This can be observed almost immediately in shots of characters placed to the side of reflective walls, or the occasional abrupt turns in the soundtrack, even the implication of a great garden only to reveal a sterile environment moments later — all of which coalesce into unnerving the viewer.
Probable spoilers below.
Click to Expand
The opening sequence establishes the film's setting as retro-futurist, again playing into ideas of non-chiral or disrupted patterns. We see an advertisement for a psychological retreat center called the Arboria Institute, supposedly shot in 1966 (if the roman numerals next to it's copyright are to be believed), but done in the style of the Heaven's Gate recruitment video. Black Rainbow, while taking place in 1983, was released in 2010. If we the viewers place ourselves back in that time, the film is drawing upon feelings and nostalgia of fifteen to twenty years prior to the then present, using 1990s utopianism to make relatable the same grasps a generation earlier in the 1960s.
A pair of 1971 dystopian films are vital watches to both understand and anticipate the direction that the off-narrative is heading: A Clockwork Orange and THX 1138. The style of the music hearkens to John Carpenter and Tangerine Dream, while the coloring and texture of the scenes evoke Carpenter as well as Michael Mann. If you saw the fourth season of Stranger Things, you may likely be familiar with the influence that Mann's The Keep had over parts of the plot and antagonist. While the Duffer brothers have denied and partially admitted to having seen Black Rainbow, this film's influence on the Netflix series appears to me to be patently obvious. Of course, both are drawing from Akira, Scanners, and ultimately SLAN. Similarly, the exposure of the "man behind the curtain" — now in '83 shown withered and senile — draws upon the exchanges between Vader and Palpatine, again thematic of the conflict between Black Rainbow's antagonists and their chosen savior.
This midpoint of the film could be misunderstood as falling into the nonsensical. In reality, the depiction of the mind-trip clarifies the director's criticisms of synthetic attempts at insight and preservation, right down to the depiction of the divine spark petering out within the skull, leading the (seemingly) awakened Anthropos to emerge from darkness and consume the mother of God in a violent fit of sexual conquest. This is not literally but impressionistically depicted, however it is nonetheless obviously graphic and visceral while it compounds on the growing understanding of the eugenic nature of the protagonist Elena's captivity. From then on out, we are shown more discretely the way that people are being rendered into automatons, zombies, and ultimately less capable beings for the sake of the Institute's dark goals of "happiness" and "selfness."
Returning to the Jungian aspect, astute viewers may notice that at no point is the symbol of the pyramid ever shown completely from the side, but always at an angle as though having four corners. This is an emblem of Answer to Job's point about the quadrinity of God — the fourth member of the godhead being lost femininity and/or the unrealized evil aspect poured out over Job, which necessitated the Incarnation to forgive God of His own continuing sins. So, while Dr. Nyle (nihil) is the paragon of the Institute and becomes the adoptionist Christ, he fails to instigate redemption, insight, and utopia for others. His own individuation reaches an extreme point and splits, necessitating another incarnation in the anti-Christ Elena ("the Devil's Teardrop").
Nyle's understanding of himself as Avatara is synthetically induced and ultimately predatory. We see him take on the form of the immortal Michael Myers in brandishing the long knife that he carries to the end of the film. The conflict between sexuality and brutality are once again at play in his intense gratification wrought through controlling and ending life. These scenes are contrasted by Elena's emergence, passing through the industrial airways (with their colored pipes), to the nostalgic and cultured work room, through the contained and artificial garden, and ultimately into the cool night. Her first steps in the mud are deep and soulful, in sharp contrast to Nyle's heaving piquerism.
Why is this an answer to Carrie? Without giving away too much, in the eponymous story, Carrie is unfairly punished for the nature of her birth and sex. Unlike Job, she retaliates and is implied to have been sent to Hell for doing so, but alike Job, God incurs no explicit blame for having arranged this. For society, Carrie is the scapegoat (and Sue Snell is the only survivor to maintain pity for her). Elena passing through the red-tinted darkness of the Arboria evokes images of the blood-soaked Carrie, and Elena's willful escape and ascent to the surface is synonymous with the idea of Carrie escaping such a hell through virtue of her self-identity. Elena's natural telekinesis is made explicit by the film, but Nyle is never shown to be anything more than a self-aggrandized Dr. Jekyl. He claims to know Elena and himself, but eventually loses himself to drug-induced self-messianism. His Myers-like pattern is ultimately disrupted while the innocent product of the Devil remains, overlooking a new and foreign world in what are several inversions that mirror the conclusion to THX. Alike Job, these two characters are archetypes that represent a narrative dialectic within the collective unconscious.
The follies of the Institute are more direct criticisms of Learyianism and the aforementioned utopianism. The Institute as we find it in 1983 represents the product of Enantiodromia — a principle of extremity inversion (alike fǎn [ 反 ] ). The idea is that its leaders have artificially pushed into a place beyond the bounds ( [ 烏肝光 ] wū gān guāng: black liver light) of natural experience before they are really ready or capable of doing so. In skipping ahead to the finish-line to induce altered states, they miss the profound insight ( [ 玄學 ] xuánxué: deep-red learning) of natural processes, virtuelessly toppling instead into extremity and madness ( [ 走火入魔 ] zǒuhuǒ rù mó: exit fire, enter demons). To clarify, I don't think the film is necessarily against medicinal innovation; it merely attempts to address the psychiatric conflict between Jungian spiritualism and Freudian scientism still unresolved in society. Thus, along with the warning against rushing into utopia, a point of the film is not to throw Rosemary's baby out with the bathwater.
It's on the pretty extreme end of "out there," but don't let my amateurish explanation sour your impression; the film is quite a good thinker.
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Comment on The Shadow over Innsmouth in ~books
ShamedSalmon LinkAfter exhausting the mind through the labyrinthine pages of the Necronomicon, readers may also like bundling up for A Colder War.After exhausting the mind through the labyrinthine pages of the Necronomicon, readers may also like bundling up for A Colder War.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tv
ShamedSalmon LinkPerhaps you might like The Stand (1994 ver.). If you have not already seen it, the first six minutes make for one of the most iconic openings for a TV miniseries I've ever seen, and really sets...Perhaps you might like The Stand (1994 ver.).
If you have not already seen it, the first six minutes make for one of the most iconic openings for a TV miniseries I've ever seen, and really sets the stage for a dark, eschatological tale. While it may seem troped some 30 years after it's premiere, the COVID era makes aspects of this Stephen King adaptation still fairly relatable. It's not "2021 realistic," but if you can suspend your disbelief for character development, and also liked the mix of religious and anti-religious themes that Midnight Mass explored, it's a classic that's still worth the watch.
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Comment on The great advantage of being alive in ~arts
ShamedSalmon Link ParentTry prefixing lines with one or two em-spaces:  -- apologies for the fixed width, I could not find another way to get the indents in.
Try prefixing lines with one or two em-spaces:
 
(I hope it's okay to respond to myself, to cut down on length.)
OP, when you talk about whether people should be just as they are, the concept you may be looking for
is zìrán [ 自然 ], to be "self-so."
Consider this passage from the Dào Dé Jīng:
其猶張弓與？
高者抑之，
下者舉之；
有餘者損之，
不足者
補之。
天之
道，
損有餘
而補不足。
人之道，
則不然，
損不足
以奉有餘。
孰能有餘
以奉天下，
唯有道者。
是以聖人
為而不恃，
功成而不處，
其不欲見賢。
Qí yóu zhāng gōng yú?
Gāo zhě yì zhī,
Xià zhě jǔ zhī;
Yǒu yú zhě sǔn zhī,
Bùzú zhě
Bǔ zhī.
Tiān zhī
Dào,
Sǔn yǒuyú
Ér bǔ bùzú.
Rén zhī dào,
Zé bùrán,
Sǔn bùzú
Yǐ fèng yǒuyú.
Shú néng yǒuyú
Yǐ fèng tiānxià,
Wéi yǒu dàozhě.
Shìyǐ shèngrén
Wéi ér bùshì,
Gōng chéng ér bùchǔ,
Qí bù yù jiàn xián.
Is a stretched bow,
Pulling down the top,
Raising up the bottom.
If it is too much, cut it.
If it is not enough,
Add on to it.
Heaven's
Dào:
Cuts from too much,
Adds to not enough.
The way of people
Is not like this,
Depriving the poor,
Offering to the rich.
Who can have a surplus
And offer it to all under heaven?
Only those who follow Dào.
Therefore the Sage
Acts but does not claim,
Accomplishes then moves on,
Has no desire to seem worthy.
And while I have posted this one before, consider also:
知有之。
其次親而譽之，
其次畏之，
其次侮之。
信不足焉，
有不信焉。
悠兮其貴言:
功成
事遂
百姓皆謂:
我自然。
Zhī yǒu zhī.
Qícì qīn ér yù zhī,
Qícì wèi zhī,
Qícì wǔ zhī.
Xìn bùzú yān,
Yǒu bùxìn yān.
Yōu xí qí guì yán:
Gōng chéng
Shì suì
Bǎixìng jiē wèi:
Wǒ zìrán.
They are aware it exists.
Next they witness and praise.
Soon they fear.
Finally they despise.
If trust is not enough,
There is no trust to gain.
Be careful in valuing words:
When the work is done,
And affairs are settled,
Everyone says
We just acted naturally.
EDIT: Some formatting and a tone mark. :)