EarlyWords's recent activity
-
Comment on An appeal to the community for non-algorithmic recommendations in ~talk
-
Comment on Sleeping on the floor in ~life.home_improvement
EarlyWords Link ParentIt's mainly about being strong enough to stabilize your joints and keep things from grinding. I've learned some old man skills. There are only a few poses I sleep in now, on my side or on my back,...It's mainly about being strong enough to stabilize your joints and keep things from grinding. I've learned some old man skills. There are only a few poses I sleep in now, on my side or on my back, with my hands and feet and neck and shoulders and elbows and knees all just so. But if you lose conditioning, the joints can't support themselves and you wake up with them grinding.
Core strength is also important as well as proper posture and neck/head placement. Another old man skill I've learned is that if something musculoskeletal is hurt, it's not complaining to be babied. It's weak. Do whatever recovery it needs then make it a point of strength. Bad back? Work on it and make your back your strongest point. Bad knees? (me) I just finally got the fascia around my knees to behave for one of the first times in decades and now I'm up to 50 squats/day. Either I make them strong now at 55 or I lose them. I'm always shocked to see people making the other choice, loading up on drugs and surgery and hopelessness.
-
Comment on Sleeping on the floor in ~life.home_improvement
EarlyWords LinkMy wife and I have been sleeping on the floor for about 17 years now. It used to be with a latex topper no more than 6 cm thick. Our baby daughter and the two of us with several animals in a big...My wife and I have been sleeping on the floor for about 17 years now. It used to be with a latex topper no more than 6 cm thick. Our baby daughter and the two of us with several animals in a big pile every night.
Then our daughter got old enough to want her own bed and kicked us out of her room. My wife wanted to sleep directly on the floor but I convinced her to share a very narrow and thin twin sized futon with me. We have been on that for 12 years now.
I find it funny that other comments are trying to talk you out of this or consider it crazy or extreme. You do have to be physically fit but I see that as part of the deal. If I wake up very sore from a night on the ground then I know I need to get in better shape. If I can’t sleep on the floor in my own house then I can’t sleep in the dirt when I go backpacking.
This all started when I went to Japan for a month 25 years ago. Putting the futon away every morning gives you a whole other room to use that isn’t just for storing a giant bed.
A nice thick felted wool rug or sheepskin would also be good but we haven’t tried it yet. Good luck with your sleep!
-
Comment on Solo outings in ~life.men
EarlyWords LinkOh hey I went solo to a Green Day concert once! It was… 1994? At Slim’s in San Francisco. Great show. They fucking rocked and I spent an hour in the pit. I love going out alone. The majority of my...Oh hey I went solo to a Green Day concert once! It was… 1994? At Slim’s in San Francisco. Great show. They fucking rocked and I spent an hour in the pit. I love going out alone. The majority of my adventures are solo.
I’m about to get a week off for the first time in recent memory. With a daughter at a private university I’ve been working like a maniac the last couple years. I’ll be taking the dog and driving up the coast to visit a friend in Portland. I’m looking forward to all the silence.
My current problem is the opposite of yours. I work alone and get weekend hikes alone so solitude is my normal state of affairs, but for any of my wilderness backpacking trips, my family doesn’t want me solo any more (since I fell off a cliff in Germany on a solo walk at midnight but that’s another story). I’ve had medical issues over the years as well and nobody likes my normal M.O. of “getting up to trouble in the middle of nowhere.”
But finding someone who hikes the way I do, at full speed for 6-10 hours per day with no breaks, is a real challenge in your 50s. Younger hikers generally don’t want me around and everyone else my age has slowed way down.
So my solo outings are generally day trips these days. Poor me. If anyone is on the US West Coast and wants to throw themselves at a mountain with me, feel free to reach out!
-
Comment on Swiss church installs AI-powered Jesus in ~humanities
EarlyWords LinkOh good one of the great cyberpunk dystopia tropes is coming true. There is so much worry about the hostility people will have against AI, we forget the sizable number of those who will go in the...Oh good one of the great cyberpunk dystopia tropes is coming true.
There is so much worry about the hostility people will have against AI, we forget the sizable number of those who will go in the exact opposite direction and glorify the ineffable wherever they find it. Black box ambiguity is comforting.
-
Comment on I've been enjoying a few tropes in 1970s TV shows in ~tv
EarlyWords LinkI remember an episode from The Partridge Family when Reuben got in trouble with some local government agency because it had switched to computers and it had gone haywire, leading to all kinds of...I remember an episode from The Partridge Family when Reuben got in trouble with some local government agency because it had switched to computers and it had gone haywire, leading to all kinds of chaos and grief. But the way computers failed in the 70s were always the same. HAL from 2001. They had our flaws but magnified. The popular imagination couldn’t conceive of them as what they were, which were just glorified adding machines. Garbage in, garbage out, etc.
There was a ton of anxiety about the digital revolution in the 70s that had evaporated by the 80s with the advent of personal computers and a better understanding of how machines actually cause trouble.
-
Comment on What artist, regardless of medium, did the most to progress their field? in ~arts
EarlyWords Link ParentOne of my film teachers back in the 90s liked to speak about photography and film being the first newly-invented art form in perhaps 3000 years. Every other form had gone through countless...One of my film teachers back in the 90s liked to speak about photography and film being the first newly-invented art form in perhaps 3000 years. Every other form had gone through countless iterations, from sculpture to theater to epic poems. So I would nominate the earliest photographers and cinematographers.
The professor (and I) found it fascinating that we get to live through the dawn of a new form, and that something inherent in that form is that it leaves a permanent record of its growth and development.
But history is speeding up. Now we can place any number of digital arts in that same framework. In fact, most of us are more comfortable with newly-invented arts than we are with traditional ones. With AI on the horizon, it looks like we are about to do it again.
-
Comment on Who are your favorite actors? in ~movies
EarlyWords LinkI'm an old actor and my favorite actors are all dead or retired. My very favorite of all-time is Peter O'Toole. I always said I suspected he had been formulated in a lab to perform. He is just too...I'm an old actor and my favorite actors are all dead or retired.
My very favorite of all-time is Peter O'Toole. I always said I suspected he had been formulated in a lab to perform. He is just too perfect in every way. Lawrence of Arabia is his great classic of course, but my very favorite performance by any actor ever is his portrayal of Henry II in The Lion in Winter. This is my very favorite film, which also includes stunning performances by my very favorite actress (how'd I miss that thread???) Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor d'Anjou and a very young Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton, and Nigel Terry as the princes.
Marlon Brando had become a caricature of himself by the 60s (as did another favorite, Orson Welles) but his early body of work to me is the greatest collection of performances in film history. He basically invented modern naturalist realism for the screen, as well as convinced entire generations of actors (myself included) that in order to be a towering genius you needed to also be a towering asshole. What we never understood was that his difficulty came from his impatience, not arrogance. Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, and even his performance in flawed films like One-Eyed Jacks showcase his volcanic emotional power, complete lack of filter, and extraordinary sensitivity to the setting and other actors.
Until we lose him, 93 year-old Robert Duvall remains the greatest living actor in the English language. We might argue about my other choices but to me this is an incontrovertible fact. His ability to transform himself and bring gravity and raw emotional power to each role has made him the actor's actor since the 1970s. Terms of Endearment. The Great Santini. Apocalypse Now. The Godfather films. Lonesome Dove. Watching a great Duvall performance is almost terrifying because you know he will drag you through hell like no other.
I also love Paul Newman, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Ralph Richardson. And my favorite performance by an actress (better late than never) is the soul-searing genius of Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People.
-
Comment on Tildes worldbuilding thread in ~creative
EarlyWords LinkHey it's my favorite drug! Worldbuilding and storytelling are so important to me I've built my whole life around them. In my 50s now and I've got hundreds of worlds kicking around in my brain....Hey it's my favorite drug! Worldbuilding and storytelling are so important to me I've built my whole life around them. In my 50s now and I've got hundreds of worlds kicking around in my brain. They still keep me up at night. Game design and homebrew and science fiction theater, as well as all the digital flavors that have come since, with narration and production of said worlds. Sold some worlds to Hollywood and comics over the years. Met some really cool people. But it's all about chasing that high: when enough independent strands of thought and observation and ingenuity collapse together like a field equation into something crystalline and bright and alive, it's a better epiphany moment than any amount of lsd or peyote.
Like, right now, the world I'm delighting in creating is a fantasy world as medieval scholars envisioned it. The setting is Prester John's Three Indies. About a thousand years ago, the Byzantine emperor received a letter from a mysterious Christian king named Prester John who lived faraway, surrounded by Muslim kingdoms. Believed at face value, it began an at first feverish then long and abiding belief in the mythical kingdom for centuries. First it was placed somewhere around the north or east of the Black Sea. Then it was long considered to be Ethiopia, once it was known widely in the Holy Roman Empire that they were a Christian nation surrounded by Islamic ones.
I love telling extremely constrained tales. So while my worldbuilding will be immense, it will only be glimpsed at through the eyes of a pair of lowly palace guards at the least gate in the kingdom. This will be an actual play homebrew podcast called Leastwatch that is currently in pre-production. Just four of us playing an online RPG that I'm creating. See, Prester John's incomparably glorious city of Nyse still needs a sewer gate, and these are the two louts who man it. They won't know about the palace intrigues, the war with Ecbatana, or even the merchant and assassin guild wars for a long time yet. Their entire existence is manning the stinking gate beside the open sewer canal, and shout "Next!" to the next sad person waiting in the long queue. Sometimes they might have to knock some heads.
In the auditions I say I'm looking for "three delightful people." It has more of a cozy sitcom structure than a D&D grand quest linear plotline. Casting now. Let me know if anyone knows a woman of a thousand voices who can help me play all the petitioners who appear in the queue each day. Think I've got the guards cast although if anyone wants to throw their hat in the ring, I'm all ears.
Otherwise, I'd be happy to help other folks with their worldbuilding. I don't have many masteries in this life but this is one of them. I've committed my life to being the Idea Guy. Whether it's development or scripting or producing or acting or narrating or game designing or filming... Feel free to reach out and ask for that extra helping hand we all need to get the heavy lifting done on these projects so they can actually stand on their own. No credit, for free. Seriously. This is my drug.
To all you creators... this is the flower of civilization! For a fleeting instant in history we've been granted lives of ease that allowed us to turn our minds to idle pursuits. And they became so rich and nourishing that these worlds catch the imagination of the globe and are what give life meaning. Man, we should start a church.
-
Comment on The ideal candidate will be punched in the stomach in ~health.mental
EarlyWords Link ParentOh, sure. But writing for money is hardly ever a good idea. And u/simplify is already burned out on the genre. So if the writing is the important part, as it is for me, figure out what you want to...Oh, sure. But writing for money is hardly ever a good idea. And u/simplify is already burned out on the genre. So if the writing is the important part, as it is for me, figure out what you want to write and shape your life around making that possible. Usually that means getting a job that makes you barely enough to live on so you still have the time and energy to devote to the art. I've been doing it that way for over 30 years.
-
Comment on The ideal candidate will be punched in the stomach in ~health.mental
EarlyWords Link ParentSounds like romance novels aren’t what you really want to write. What kind of writing do you really want to do?Sounds like romance novels aren’t what you really want to write. What kind of writing do you really want to do?
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EarlyWords Link ParentThanks. I got a dock but I have yet to make it work. When it asks for a code to be entered into the deck, the deck won’t turn on. Haven’t solved that yet. It was one of the reasons I shelved the...Thanks. I got a dock but I have yet to make it work. When it asks for a code to be entered into the deck, the deck won’t turn on. Haven’t solved that yet. It was one of the reasons I shelved the unit for the last few months.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EarlyWords Link ParentThanks. I did try it and it didn't suck me in. Not sure why. I'm generally in favor of everything it represents. Perhaps too saccharine. But hopefully your comment makes some other folks try!Thanks. I did try it and it didn't suck me in. Not sure why. I'm generally in favor of everything it represents. Perhaps too saccharine. But hopefully your comment makes some other folks try!
-
Comment on Help finding shoes in ~life.style
EarlyWords LinkI'm about to order a new pair of Crafter Romeo slip-ons from Danner. I own like five pairs of their shoes. They just really fit my foot. Still made in-house. Many models with welt stitching,...I'm about to order a new pair of Crafter Romeo slip-ons from Danner. I own like five pairs of their shoes. They just really fit my foot. Still made in-house. Many models with welt stitching, although these are molded. Still, I abuse the hell out of my work shoes and these lasted three years.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
EarlyWords (edited )LinkCan I ask for requests or advice? I’ve been an avid gamer since pong. Now I have a steam deck that has only been gathering dust for nine months. I don’t know why I can’t seem to get into it. I...Can I ask for requests or advice?
I’ve been an avid gamer since pong. Now I have a steam deck that has only been gathering dust for nine months. I don’t know why I can’t seem to get into it. I think I’m playing the wrong games Like monster Hunter and BGIII, when they should be on larger formats.
So much of my diet the last 20 years have been FPS battles like TF2 or the original MOH. But I’ve learned that I hate aiming a weapon using a joystick instead of a keyboard/mouse.
So I think steam deck would be better for simple games? Arcade games? I like word games and some card games but I don’t care for puzzles, nor do I care if a game has high production value or cut scenes or a well written story and voice acting.
Please give me your recommendations and I will go check them out.
Edit: thank you everyone for all the suggestions!
-
Comment on GenAI is reshaping work—don’t let it dull human intelligence in ~tech
EarlyWords LinkI was part of the San Francisco dot com boom as a creative director. Coming from Hollywood, I pitched hundreds of digital games and animated series for the new internet over that brief period....I was part of the San Francisco dot com boom as a creative director. Coming from Hollywood, I pitched hundreds of digital games and animated series for the new internet over that brief period.
Looking ahead, I worried about our imagination and creativity the way people are currently worrying about our reasoning skills. When you have only world-class people generating ideas, everyone else stops dreaming.
It didn’t become quite as widespread as I feared, but I still meet many people who don’t allow themselves to create or develop ideas because they can’t compare to what they consume online.
-
Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
EarlyWords LinkI've been working on a new novel called Chaplin_13. It's a kind of literary science fantasy young adult adventure that I first conceived about 40 years ago. On my first of many trips to the San...I've been working on a new novel called Chaplin_13. It's a kind of literary science fantasy young adult adventure that I first conceived about 40 years ago. On my first of many trips to the San Juan Islands in Washington and BC, I imagined a remote and isolated society there 300 years in the future, where they have decided to use tech advances to create a fantasy-themed existence of competing kingdoms and constant medieval and "magical" warfare.
Our hero Chaplin is 13 and lives on the mainland in a reclusive community called the Thirties, which is a society that has turned away from the horrors of modern technology and refuses to progress beyond the world of the 1930s. But a mysterious violent bank robbery then suicide pulls Chaplin and his friends into a much wider plot and soon they find themselves on a boat out to the Isles, where they are kidnapped by monsters, sold to a dissolute court, studied by inhuman Doctors, and escape with the help of a pair of old souls.
What they don't know is that one bit of tech that they embrace on the Isles which they don't in the Thirties is a tiny white indestructible capsule they each have at the base of their skulls, which records every bit of their biological states. When they are killed, these capsules float away for the people to be reborn in the cycle of Fortune and for them to once again strive in the Endeavor. They have basically turned every moment of their lives completely into an MMORPG.
When I first thought of this in the 80s there were no MMORPGs or RPGLit or any of the things that make this idea seem suitable, if not even a bit passé by now. But it has finally bloomed in full detail and the world is there for the exploring. So I'm about 150 pages in now and having a grand time.
-
Comment on Why blog if nobody reads it? in ~tech
EarlyWords LinkI studied acting in college. My tastes ran toward experimentalism. By my senior year I was a devotee of Jerzy Grotowski. He argued that in essence, theater was nothing more than an interaction...I studied acting in college. My tastes ran toward experimentalism. By my senior year I was a devotee of Jerzy Grotowski. He argued that in essence, theater was nothing more than an interaction between an actor and an audience.
Then, in an audacious move, Grotowski concluded that the actor doesn’t need the audience after all. The artistic journey of the artist is the valuable essence of theater, and it can be accomplished alone.
Since then, I’ve been far less worried about whether anyone else might involve themselves in my theatrical journey. Relating to an audience has its own value, but it isn’t as necessary as most people think.
-
Comment on David Ingram and the Lost Cities of Native North America in ~humanities.history
EarlyWords LinkThis story has always fascinated me, and years ago I found a rare copy of Walsingham's manuscript. In it, he interviews the English sailor David Ingram, who was abandoned by the notorious...This story has always fascinated me, and years ago I found a rare copy of Walsingham's manuscript. In it, he interviews the English sailor David Ingram, who was abandoned by the notorious privateer and slaver Thomas Hawkins with a hundred other men on the shores of Mexico in 1568.
Over three years later, after nearly all the men had surrendered to the Spanish, only three remained. They had, in Ingram's account, walked from Veracruz, Mexico to Cape Breton, Newfoundland to find a ship that would bring them home. But as if the length of the journey itself isn't fascinating enough, what Ingram said he saw was a Native North America filled with cities. He describes a kaleidoscope of cultures and languages and traditions that have been otherwise forever lost to the historical record.
Do you believe Ingram's tale? Or do you think it's too fantastical, dreamed up in the ports of 16th century Europe to explain his three-year absence? For the record, Hawkins himself met with Ingram and his companions Richard Brown and Richard Twide, and rewarded them for surviving his abandonment.
Many in England, including Elizabeth I, were inspired by the tale and all its descriptions of wealth and plenty. It did much to motivate the English to begin their own belated colonies in North America.
-
David Ingram and the Lost Cities of Native North America
4 votes
One of the most important resources I’ve found in my ancient history research is this essential and well-maintained website, which is so much more than a collection of beautiful maps: https://indo-european.eu/
If you are at all interested in the migration of early peoples in Eurasia, as well as the genetics and linguistics of proto-Indo-Europeans, all illustrated with excellent maps and articles starting with pre-human populations through every major historical period.
A true labor of love, freely accessible to all.