sparksbet's recent activity
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Comment on Should a country speak a single language? In India, one of the world’s most polyglot countries, the government wants more than a billion people to embrace Hindi. in ~humanities.languages
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Comment on Should I stop using Kagi because they do business with Yandex? in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentIf /b/ is the opposite end of the spectrum from /pol/, I don't think anywhere on the spectrum is somewhere I want to spend my time.If /b/ is the opposite end of the spectrum from /pol/, I don't think anywhere on the spectrum is somewhere I want to spend my time.
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Comment on Maybe Bluesky has "won" in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentI think there are some advantages to social media regardless (though I'm a bit biased, as I met my wife that way before we lived in the same hemisphere, through a hobby that is rare enough that...I think there are some advantages to social media regardless (though I'm a bit biased, as I met my wife that way before we lived in the same hemisphere, through a hobby that is rare enough that there would never be socialization with other hobbyists without the internet), but I definitely think a lack of third places makes social media something more people feel the need to rely on in unhealthy ways. I don't think more third places would solve that issue but it would certainly improve things for many people.
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Comment on Should I stop using Kagi because they do business with Yandex? in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentI do think you're underestimating how easily advertisers are put off by certain content. If anything, advertisers can be far MORE skittish about where they're advertising (though they tend to be...I do think you're underestimating how easily advertisers are put off by certain content. If anything, advertisers can be far MORE skittish about where they're advertising (though they tend to be skittish about different things than many users). The difference is that services that rely on advertising much more frequently acquiesce to the desires of advertisers than they do to users. YouTube's draconic demonetization rules are a very good example of this.
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Comment on Maybe Bluesky has "won" in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentI agree that the bulk of posts are quite American politics-centric, especially if you're browsing the "Discover" feed, but this can definitely be addressed by following people who talk about other...I agree that the bulk of posts are quite American politics-centric, especially if you're browsing the "Discover" feed, but this can definitely be addressed by following people who talk about other things. I followed one New Zealander who posts about an area I'm interested in and got a refreshing look into their politics, for instance! I've been able to find a lot of good accounts to follow that post about other areas I'm interested in by finding lists and feeds on those topics and scoping out the accounts in them.
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Comment on ‘Do not pet’: A robotic dog named “Spot” made by Boston Dynamics is the latest tool in the arsenal of the US Secret Service in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentI'm much more horrified by their use by law enforcement than by the Secret Service, tbqh. I remember when Boston Dynamics would put out cute videos of their robots (including Spot) dancing, and...I'm much more horrified by their use by law enforcement than by the Secret Service, tbqh.
I remember when Boston Dynamics would put out cute videos of their robots (including Spot) dancing, and people would get downvoted for pointing out that these would inevitably be used to enact violence. The more cops have access to these, the sooner we'll get one killing an unarmed civilian, I suppose.
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Comment on United States Department of Justice will push Google to sell Chrome to break search monopoly in ~tech
sparksbet Link ParentThe vast majority of browsers on the market these days are chromium-based, so I think if they're allowed to reenter the browser market at all, they'd be allowed to do it with something...The vast majority of browsers on the market these days are chromium-based, so I think if they're allowed to reenter the browser market at all, they'd be allowed to do it with something chromium-based. Not sure if they'd be able to fork chrome directly though as afaik it's not open source?
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Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies
sparksbet Link ParentI'm kinda surprised intermissions haven't caught back on in the US, if only as an opportunity for the theater to sell more snacks. They're a thing to this day in some countries! I can understand...I'm kinda surprised intermissions haven't caught back on in the US, if only as an opportunity for the theater to sell more snacks. They're a thing to this day in some countries! I can understand disliking them as a filmmaker because obviously you don't necessarily want to structure your film around one, but at least they give you more control over when people inevitably leave to go pee.
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Comment on Question: Pedicure pricing differences in ~life.women
sparksbet Link ParentI prefer when salons just say manicure/pedicure vs. manicure/pedicure + polish instead, since I'm not currently perceived as a man but prefer no polish, which I'm more comfortable asking for when...I prefer when salons just say manicure/pedicure vs. manicure/pedicure + polish instead, since I'm not currently perceived as a man but prefer no polish, which I'm more comfortable asking for when it's not label "men's manicure/pedicure." But at the same time, yeah, there are probably a lot of cis guys who'd enjoy a manicure or pedicure without polish who would be way less comfortable without very explicit "THIS IS FOR MEN" labeling. Hopefully that'll change over time.
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Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies
sparksbet Link ParentI think, rather than guesstimates, it's more effective to look at what entertainment industry publications were saying when the film released, as well as what the studios ended up doing with the...I think, rather than guesstimates, it's more effective to look at what entertainment industry publications were saying when the film released, as well as what the studios ended up doing with the property. The fact that I'm having trouble finding contemporary articles on Sicario's box office returns (though the ones I can find are positive, they focus on the film's initial six theater limited release) because my search results are full of articles about how Sicario 2 made a killing indicates to me that Sicario was probably viewed as a success by the studio.
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Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies
sparksbet Link ParentIncluding Dune: Part One as "barely broke even" is also... technically true but very much ignorant of the context in which the film came out. It was released in 2021 and had a simultaneous release...Including Dune: Part One as "barely broke even" is also... technically true but very much ignorant of the context in which the film came out. It was released in 2021 and had a simultaneous release on streaming (something Villeneuve and others worried would hurt its box office takings). Contemporary sources thus regard the film as a financial success, and it surpassed its box office estimates.
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Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies
sparksbet Link ParentI also think Dune: Part One tells a satisfying narrative even if it doesn't actually finish the plot of the book. Paul and his mother make it to relative safety by the end of the film, and Paul's...I also think Dune: Part One tells a satisfying narrative even if it doesn't actually finish the plot of the book. Paul and his mother make it to relative safety by the end of the film, and Paul's character arc in the first film has a satisfying conclusion. I was super excited for Part Two when I finished watching the first movie, but the narrative ended at a place where I felt sufficiently satisfied but eager for more, which is exactly what you'd presumably want for an audience member who hadn't read or watched Dune before (I came solely as a Villeneuve fan and bought a boxed set of the books shortly afterwards). If anything, I think the ending of part one would have been more satisfying if it hadn't gotten a follow-up than Part Two's ending would be (presumably because Villeneuve already knew he'd get to make Dune Messiah), as there were character-relationship-based loose ends at the end of Part Two unlike in Part One. If I didn't now own that boxed set, it wouldn't have surprised me to find out Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two were based off two successive books in the series (although presumably there'd be a better name than "Part Two" in that case).
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Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies
sparksbet Link ParentI can definitely see expanding some portions of the original musical as part of adapting it to film -- Wicked is very economical with its time when it comes to communicating certain plot points,...I can definitely see expanding some portions of the original musical as part of adapting it to film -- Wicked is very economical with its time when it comes to communicating certain plot points, and I can thus see a bit of expansion during those bits (for instance, Dancing Through Life would probably make its plot points feel rushed in a film in the way it doesn't in a musical, due to different expectations of the medium). But I cannot fathom how a straightforward adaptation of the musical could find enough material for two whole long films.
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Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies
sparksbet Link ParentThe book is VERY different from the show beyond merely having had things cut from the show, though. The Musical's an incredibly loose adaptation to the extent that they're very different entities....The book is VERY different from the show beyond merely having had things cut from the show, though. The Musical's an incredibly loose adaptation to the extent that they're very different entities. It's been a joke for ages about how shocked naive theater kids who pick up the original book are. The film is absolutely not being marketed as an adaptation of the book either -- for one, it's being marketed as family-friendly, which the book decidedly is not.
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Comment on Wicked, Dune, It, and deceiving the audience about two-parters in ~movies
sparksbet Link ParentIf Across the Spider-verse's cliffhanger counts as "small", so does Dune's. Maybe IT's too (but I haven't seen that one).If Across the Spider-verse's cliffhanger counts as "small", so does Dune's. Maybe IT's too (but I haven't seen that one).
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Comment on United States Department of Justice will push Google to sell Chrome to break search monopoly in ~tech
sparksbet Link Parentnot sure if this is the same Youtube issue or another one, but I do recall one slowdown in particular that was solved just by setting one's user agent to Chrome rather than Firefox without...not sure if this is the same Youtube issue or another one, but I do recall one slowdown in particular that was solved just by setting one's user agent to Chrome rather than Firefox without changing anything else.
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Comment on Question: Pedicure pricing differences in ~life.women
sparksbet LinkThe "men's" services probably assume you don't want colored polish. Quite a few places near me charge less if you don't want polish (and charge more for gel), albeit without referencing gender....The "men's" services probably assume you don't want colored polish. Quite a few places near me charge less if you don't want polish (and charge more for gel), albeit without referencing gender. While there's a degree of sexism in making assumptions about what men will want from a manicure or pedicure (which definitely would lead me to prefer gender-neutral language in this context), it probably is genuinely much more common for men to get the desired service than anything else, and it's probably relatively rare for women to request it. They likely want to draw in male customers by making this explicit (rather than just listing an extra charge for a mani or pedi that comes with polish).
It seems very similar to having different prices for men's vs women's haircuts. I've gone to salons that do this and once I switched to a sufficiently short haircut, I was instructed to switch to booking men's haircuts, which cost less because they take less time. The prices were, in reality, based on hair length rather than gender. But the website still listed it as men's vs women's because this shorthand was the easiest for them and applied to the majority of people. I'd prefer gender-neutral language take over in contexts like this, but it probably will over time anyway as norms change. It's pretty low on my list of things to make a stink over.
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Comment on Balancing self-expression and parents in ~life
sparksbet Link ParentYour description makes me suspect I know which country you're in, and that definitely makes your rent situation much clearer to me. While my background is very different, I can very much empathize...Your description makes me suspect I know which country you're in, and that definitely makes your rent situation much clearer to me. While my background is very different, I can very much empathize with the difficulty in choosing to leave a very conservative, unsupportive environment vs. moving somewhere new with no support. Moving somewhere where you don't already have connections is really hard.
I definitely recommend increasing your network of queer friends, not only for the sake of your social life but also because other queer folks may have tips and tricks for how to live comfortably under your country's current laws. This can, at the same time, give you a stronger sense of whether remaining in your current home country is something you could see yourself doing long-term.
If my guess at your home country is correct, your passport has pretty good visa-free access to quite a few countries. This will absolutely make moving abroad a lot easier for you once you decide to make that move. I can do my best to help and give advice if you do reach that step, especially if you end up immigrating to somewhere in Europe.
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Comment on Balancing self-expression and parents in ~life
sparksbet Link ParentIn the end, it's up to you how you think about your parents in all this. What counts as abusive is a fuzzy line. But I think it's worth acknowledging to yourself that putting your kid on the...In the end, it's up to you how you think about your parents in all this. What counts as abusive is a fuzzy line. But I think it's worth acknowledging to yourself that putting your kid on the street for being gay is breaching a fundamental part of being a good parent. I suspect you're under a lot of pressure from both them and society to be a good son. So if you ever feel guilty for that, keep in mind that it's a two-way street.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
sparksbet Link ParentIt was discussed in both the recent movies iirc, but in dialogue relatively quickly, so I can understand someone missing it.It was discussed in both the recent movies iirc, but in dialogue relatively quickly, so I can understand someone missing it.
While this article does a reasonably good job of addressing this issue, I think anything it's underselling how deeply rooted in disgusting ethnonationalism this type of language policy is. Not because it doesn't bring it up, but because it's hard to oversell how important language is to culture and identity and how harmful language policies like these are. It's no surprise that linguistic imperialism is far from the only way in which the BJP are putting their Hindu nationalism into practice, but the language policy is a particularly disgusting aspect of it for me.