balooga's recent activity
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Comment on Ten desktop publishing tools that didn’t make it in ~comp
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Comment on The America Party in ~society
balooga Link ParentWhaaaa…? Somehow I missed that. Sounds like he was channeling John McAfee.Whaaaa…? Somehow I missed that. Sounds like he was channeling John McAfee.
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Comment on Apparently impatient US President Donald Trump slaps 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea in ~society
balooga Link ParentIt's just more sanewashing — they take the limited, scatterbrained information available and try to stitch together a coherent narrative where none exists. This is the scaffolding on which the...It's just more sanewashing — they take the limited, scatterbrained information available and try to stitch together a coherent narrative where none exists. This is the scaffolding on which the right wing's entire apophenic epistemology is constructed and reinforced.
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Comment on On the increased popularity and serious risks of choking during sex in ~life
balooga Link ParentFrom an informed, sex-positive standpoint, I think that participants having dispassionate straight talk about consent and boundaries and safety before beginning is chef’s kiss. Fully on board with...From an informed, sex-positive standpoint, I think that participants having dispassionate straight talk about consent and boundaries and safety before beginning is chef’s kiss. Fully on board with that.
But I don’t think it’s realistic. We’re animals. We have hormones and pheromones and impulses. It may be ideal to suppress all that, but I think it’s naive to expect society to willingly do so en masse.
Honestly I don’t know what the dating / hookup scene is like these days. I’ve been monogamously married for decades, from long before Tinder and the rest. If these apps are basically Uber for sex (as opposed to romance/dating services) then that’s actually a great context for these consent conversations to be normalized. Because everybody’s already up-front about what they’re there for. But if the range of expectations becomes broader and more ambiguous, then that becomes a much bigger ask.
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Comment on The America Party in ~society
balooga Link ParentThat’s the point! Drum up as much real people’s support as possible with the deliberate goal of fracturing the right. I mean, it’s kind of a troll, which is rather fitting as an implement against...That’s the point! Drum up as much real people’s support as possible with the deliberate goal of fracturing the right.
I mean, it’s kind of a troll, which is rather fitting as an implement against Musk. But it’s also a legitimate strategy to poison the two-party system by bolstering a third party to turn the opposition against itself.
I just signed up for the mailing list. Use a burner email and keep an eye on it.
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Comment on The America Party in ~society
balooga Link ParentSo what you’re saying is, we ought to be collectively sharing and retweeting and retruthing and liking and subscribing and registering as members of the America Party just to inflate the bubble as...So what you’re saying is, we ought to be collectively sharing and retweeting and retruthing and liking and subscribing and registering as members of the America Party just to inflate the bubble as much as possible? The thought of millions of fake supporters pumping it up just to spoil elections in the eleventh hour is… delicious.
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Comment on The America Party in ~society
balooga Link ParentHa, sounds like a good experiment for a new party in Scotland.Ha, sounds like a good experiment for a new party in Scotland.
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Comment on The America Party in ~society
balooga Link ParentMusk is South African, he’s ineligible to run for President.Musk is South African, he’s ineligible to run for President.
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Comment on The America Party in ~society
balooga Link ParentYes! Such a good movie! Sam Rockwell is brilliant in it, and I love the AI played by (unfortunately) Kevin Spacey.Yes! Such a good movie! Sam Rockwell is brilliant in it, and I love the AI played by (unfortunately) Kevin Spacey.
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Comment on The America Party in ~society
balooga LinkI just realized that if a member of the Republican Party is called a Republican, and a member of the Democratic Party is called a Democrat… then members of this will be called Americans and that...I just realized that if a member of the Republican Party is called a Republican, and a member of the Democratic Party is called a Democrat… then members of this will be called Americans and that branding really doesn’t sit well with me.
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Comment on The America Party in ~society
balooga Link ParentYeah, get that wealth Elon! You don’t have enough yet! This whole planet doesn’t have enough wealth for you, big boy, so take your perpetual search for more of it into spaaaace! Surely there will...Yeah, get that wealth Elon! You don’t have enough yet! This whole planet doesn’t have enough wealth for you, big boy, so take your perpetual search for more of it into spaaaace! Surely there will be enough wealth for you there! Surely you will find the fulfillment you’ve forever been unable to attain here on earth. Surely that hole in your soul will be filled at last, once you acquire that beautiful space wealth. It’s the only thing that truly matters. You are nothing without your wealth, Elon. Nothing.
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Comment on The rise of Whatever in ~tech
balooga Link ParentOh, I thought you were involved with the importing and exporting of fine latex goods, or were an architect or something…I work on enterprise wiki software
Oh, I thought you were involved with the importing and exporting of fine latex goods, or were an architect or something…
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Comment on TikTok is being flooded with racist AI videos generated by Google’s Veo 3 in ~tech
balooga Link ParentIt’s true, and I agree, and I’m a human 😉 but Tildes isn’t “safe” from AI infiltration. We shouldn’t let our guard down just because we’re here. No place is immune.It’s true, and I agree, and I’m a human 😉 but Tildes isn’t “safe” from AI infiltration. We shouldn’t let our guard down just because we’re here. No place is immune.
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Comment on ASCII Moon: View and cycle through the Moon's phases, rendered in ASCII art in ~space
balooga Link ParentThank you. I was about to complain that true ASCII art doesn’t get clipped to a circular shape, but you took it a couple steps further.Thank you. I was about to complain that true ASCII art doesn’t get clipped to a circular shape, but you took it a couple steps further.
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Comment on Classic movies in ~movies
balooga LinkThere were a couple movies that sprang to my mind but they’ve already been mentioned. I’ll list them again for emphasis… Das Boot - An excellent example of tense, claustrophobic storytelling,...There were a couple movies that sprang to my mind but they’ve already been mentioned. I’ll list them again for emphasis…
- Das Boot - An excellent example of tense, claustrophobic storytelling, masterfully executed
- The Maltese Falcon - I know Casablanca got a lot more mentions in this post, by IMHO The Maltese Falcon is the more compelling Bogart film
- The French Connection - The archetypal “bad cop” movie, I’d say it was ahead of its time in terms of cinematography and its famous (gritty, visceral) car chase sequence
I want to add a few more for consideration:
- Singin’ in the Rain - A fun and funny musical that holds up really well today, largely because of the leads’ charisma and Gene Kelly’s ambitious dance choreography
- It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - An outrageous ensemble comedy, it’s quite long (and feels that way, with a midpoint intermission arriving right when you’re thinking it’s surely almost over) but is still great fun
- 2001: A Space Odyssey - A dated but technically impressive sci-fi vision of the future, with stunning practical effects, that was prescient in a lot of ways
- The Princess Bride - An intelligent, wittty, and eminently quotable comedy
Here are a few other suggestions I consider modern but might qualify as old or classic depending on your POV:
- Phone Booth - Another tense thriller, notable because the whole story occurs in realtime, and mostly within the confines of a telephone booth
- Children of Men - A bleak and dramatic action movie with possibly the best examples of “long takes” ever constructed
- There’s Something About Mary - One of the funniest comedies I’ve ever seen, with tons of perfectly setup jokes that build and build… it’s raunchy and gross-out but expertly done
- Groundhog Day - One of my favorite movies because it’s such an interesting twist on a “sci-fi” concept; it’s a time loop but not portrayed in a sci-fi way at all, it’s funny and thoughtful
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Comment on How did you ruin a game for yourself? in ~games
balooga Link ParentIt’s my kind of game! At least today it is, some 30 years on. I definitely didn’t have mindset for it back then, when I was a kid. I’m glad I gave it another try when I was older!It’s my kind of game! At least today it is, some 30 years on. I definitely didn’t have mindset for it back then, when I was a kid. I’m glad I gave it another try when I was older!
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Comment on How did you ruin a game for yourself? in ~games
balooga LinkHere’s a throwback for you: I learned how to skip straight to the end of Myst on an AOL message board back in the ‘90s. Spoilers Turns out, all the solving puzzles to travel to other ages, where...Here’s a throwback for you: I learned how to skip straight to the end of Myst on an AOL message board back in the ‘90s.
Spoilers
Turns out, all the solving puzzles to travel to other ages, where you solve more puzzles to collect red/blue pages, then return to deliver them to their corresponding books… all that does is lead to a point where one of the trapped brothers tells you a secret page number in a book on the shelf in the library, where you’ll find a pattern you can enter on the panel in the fireplace, which opens a secret compartment to the endgame.
Or you can just get the pattern on an AOL message board, go straight for the fireplace and beat the game instantly. Literally all the puzzles in the game are skippable.
I eventually returned to Myst, years later, with the goal of solving all the puzzles and experiencing things the right way (and it was worth it), but for a long time I was so put off by the feeling that none of it really “mattered” that I couldn’t enjoy the game. I don’t know why it affected me more than all the games with cheat codes that do effectively the same thing. I think it was because the solution is right there the whole time and the only thing keeping you from it is a bit of knowledge that you can learn outside the game. I know that was an intentional design choice but it’s always struck me (albeit irrationally) as inelegant, and cheap.
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Comment on Disney reportedly planning full reboot of the Indiana Jones franchise in ~movies
balooga Link ParentI agree with you 100% on 1 and 3, but I think a huge part of what makes Indiana Jones "work" is its colonial fetishization of the exotic. I don't think you could pull the character any further...I agree with you 100% on 1 and 3, but I think a huge part of what makes Indiana Jones "work" is its colonial fetishization of the exotic. I don't think you could pull the character any further forward in time without sacrificing that. Honestly even WWII is a bit late in history for some of his white savior, western academic, Howard Carter ideals, but it works. I don't think there's anything wrong with locking the series to that time period. 1980 would have a radically different tone that would, I think, transform it into something too unrecognizable.
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Comment on Disney reportedly planning full reboot of the Indiana Jones franchise in ~movies
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Comment on Disney reportedly planning full reboot of the Indiana Jones franchise in ~movies
balooga Link ParentBases with CASTLES, no less… you might be onto something.Bases with CASTLES, no less… you might be onto something.
Interesting read, my parents rode the desktop publishing wave from ‘88 through the ‘90s and I had a front-row seat as a kid. Some of these I’ve never heard of but others stir up real nostalgia. I especially want to call out that lovely pixel art in the screenshot of The Newsroom. The economy of it, the whimsy and charm… they just don’t make things like that anymore. It was a special time.