balooga's recent activity
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Comment on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shoots and kills a woman during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown in ~society
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Comment on Hooters | Bankrupt in ~food
balooga Link ParentI mean… that one’s on you guys lola place called Bombshells
I mean… that one’s on you guys lol
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Comment on The "why does this movie exist" scene in ~movies
balooga Link ParentReminds me of the snakebite scene from City Slickers 2. Come to think of it, this scene might just be the reason it exists. An otherwise forgettable film but it’s embarrassing how often my brain...Reminds me of the snakebite scene from City Slickers 2. Come to think of it, this scene might just be the reason it exists. An otherwise forgettable film but it’s embarrassing how often my brain reminds me of this part of it.
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Comment on Hooters | Bankrupt in ~food
balooga LinkInteresting retrospective, thanks for posting it. I have two stories about Hooters. One was during a family outing in the mid-‘90s when my dad decided unilaterally that this was where we’d be...Interesting retrospective, thanks for posting it.
I have two stories about Hooters. One was during a family outing in the mid-‘90s when my dad decided unilaterally that this was where we’d be having lunch. I was probably about ten and my siblings were younger so I don’t remember much, but my mom was not happy about the choice and spent the meal glowering at him. And I remember our server picking up on that and trying to convince her that Hooters was a “family restaurant.” Dad was in the doghouse for a while after that.
My other story was around 2006 when I had my first corporate office job. It was a small tech company with a largely male workforce. They would infrequently dip out for lunch trips to Hooters. I came along once and felt pretty uncomfortable about it (probably replaying that other memory in my head the whole time). Two women from the office joined us. TBH I was probably projecting my own discomfort onto them but I thought they seemed a bit put off and I caught them side-eyeing the waitstaff a couple times.
Neither story is particularly eventful but those are the only times I’ve set foot in Hooters; both experiences linger in my brain for the way their objectification of women unsettled me. It was in the years after that, that #meToo happened and I got into the feminist discourse, which gave me the vocabulary and context to make better sense of those memories.
AFAIK Hooters used a loophole to wriggle out of gender discrimination laws by hiring the women as “models” instead of “servers.” I believe their job interviews were considered auditions. And (this is blatant, irresponsible speculation) I would not be surprised in the slightest if that process involved a casting couch in at least one of those 400+ locations they had around the world.
Private equity seems to destroy every business it touches, but I’m not shedding any tears for Hooters.
One thing I’m watching with morbid curiosity is the cultural pendulum swinging rightward again in the MAGA (and broader global populist) era. Conservatives backlashed hard against #meToo and anything that smacks of it is now considered woke or censorious. These things trickle into public spaces at different speeds but I do wonder if we’re going to see a resurgence of breastaurants popping up again in the next decade.
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Comment on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shoots and kills a woman during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown in ~society
balooga Link ParentJonathan Ross, the shooter, was on his cellphone recording his own video while murdering Renee Good. That video has now been made public. Linking to an Instagram reel with commentary because I...Jonathan Ross, the shooter, was on his cellphone recording his own video while murdering Renee Good. That video has now been made public. Linking to an Instagram reel with commentary because I think it's good, but here's a CNN link if you just want the raw clip.
What's new from this perspective? We see and hear Ms. Good — smiling and speaking politely to the agent. We see her dog in the back of the vehicle. We hear her wife, in the last seconds before the murder, seeing what's about to happen and shouting to her "drive, baby, drive". And after the agent takes her life, we hear him utter "fucking bitch" as her vehicle careens toward parked cars down the street.
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Comment on Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live onstage at a cybersecurity conference while dressed as the pink Power Ranger in ~tech
balooga Link ParentHa, I'm just joking with you. Like I said, this topic should be totally kosher anyway, assuming people comment responsibly.Ha, I'm just joking with you. Like I said, this topic should be totally kosher anyway, assuming people comment responsibly.
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Comment on Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live onstage at a cybersecurity conference while dressed as the pink Power Ranger in ~tech
balooga Link ParentI was deliberate not to summon his gaze. You brought it on yourself!!I was deliberate not to summon his gaze. You brought it on yourself!!
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Comment on Texas A&M, under new curriculum limits, warns professor not to teach Plato in ~humanities
balooga Link ParentThat's what the far right mean when they use it, because they're trying to imply that people who think that way are "ideologically driven" while people who think like them are not. Transphobic,...That's what the far right mean when they use it, because they're trying to imply that people who think that way are "ideologically driven" while people who think like them are not.
Transphobic, binary gender reductionism is ALSO gender ideology.
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Comment on Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live onstage at a cybersecurity conference while dressed as the pink Power Ranger in ~tech
balooga LinkA different link about this was previously posted on Tildes, and it was deleted by Deimos (which I believe prompted this conversation about topic moderation on the site). AFAIK there wasn't an...A different link about this was previously posted on Tildes, and it was deleted by Deimos (which I believe prompted this conversation about topic moderation on the site). AFAIK there wasn't an issue with the actual content of the link, it was just shut down due to some problematic interactions in the comments section. Personally I don't have a problem with this being posted again today, but thought it worth mentioning that context, which might lead some to perceive it as an attempt to circumvent moderation. I think as long as people comment respectfully it should be fine. Just be aware this topic has the potential for volatility, as we saw before.
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Comment on US Border agents shoot, wound two people in Portland in ~society
balooga Link ParentAlso, when the people confronting you outnumber you and are all wearing body armor and holding assault rifles... well good fucking luck. Her fate was sealed the moment they approached. There was...Also, when the people confronting you outnumber you and are all wearing body armor and holding assault rifles... well good fucking luck. Her fate was sealed the moment they approached. There was no choice she could have made to secure a different outcome.
Edit: Ah jeez, this is the thread about Portland, not Minneapolis. Telling that we have not one but two ongoing threads about this shit.
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Comment on The "why does this movie exist" scene in ~movies
balooga Link ParentOr as the TV edit put it, “I’ve had it with these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!” You see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?Or as the TV edit put it, “I’ve had it with these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!”
You see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
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Comment on Toy Story's villain is a lie in ~movies
balooga (edited )Link ParentJust the first movie. Well there are a few small references to the second one as well. Edit: Oh, apologies, it does mention that we briefly see Sid as an adult in Toy Story 3. But his appearance...Just the first movie. Well there are a few small references to the second one as well.
Edit: Oh, apologies, it does mention that we briefly see Sid as an adult in Toy Story 3. But his appearance is more of an easter egg than anything relevant to the plot, so I’m not even using a spoiler tag for it here.
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Comment on Texas A&M, under new curriculum limits, warns professor not to teach Plato in ~humanities
balooga Link“Down with censorship!” they cried. “Free speech!” they said. “No more cancel culture!” they said. Well, it’s sure a good thing these defenders of liberty are in charge now. What a relief that...“Down with censorship!” they cried. “Free speech!” they said. “No more cancel culture!” they said.
Well, it’s sure a good thing these defenders of liberty are in charge now. What a relief that we’ve finally got principled, consistent, sane leadership to save us from the iron fist of wokeism.
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Comment on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shoots and kills a woman during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown in ~society
balooga Link ParentThey really do live in their own reality. It’s like some kind of absurd shared hallucination. You can’t reason with an individual that 2 + 2 = 4 anymore because they’ve got a critical mass of...They really do live in their own reality. It’s like some kind of absurd shared hallucination. You can’t reason with an individual that 2 + 2 = 4 anymore because they’ve got a critical mass of friends, family members, pastors, pundits, and influencers all shouting that it isn’t. No one’s willing to break ranks and disagree with the echo chamber — frankly that would take too much energy and critical thought anyway, and just put them on the outs with their tribe anyway, so why bother?
I don’t know how to bring them back to planet earth. I desperately wish there was a way. Plenty of my loved ones are in that cult.
The MAGA narrative is diverging further and further from reality as time goes by. That can’t be sustainable, sooner or later a kid in the crowd is going to ask why the emperor’s naked and the whole illusion will collapse. But how much harm will be wrought in the meantime?
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Comment on Toy Story's villain is a lie in ~movies
balooga Link ParentThe Potato Heads’ appendages seem like they’re just accessories that can be swapped freely, like a Lego minifig head. Changing from one nose to another doesn’t alter the toy’s identity. We also...The Potato Heads’ appendages seem like they’re just accessories that can be swapped freely, like a Lego minifig head. Changing from one nose to another doesn’t alter the toy’s identity. We also see a tortilla being used instead of the potato, but it’s still Mr. Potato Head. At other times we see him accessing the sight from his eyes at a distance, and speaking through his mouth at a distance. So I’d say his consciousness is evenly distributed among all his parts.
I’m still curious about a few things:
- Mr. Potato Head has multiple parts of each type… can he use all of them simultaneously?
- If Andy buys a Parts ‘n’ Pieces Pack for him, do the new pieces absorb his identity or remain separate?
- What happens if Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head shuffle all their parts together and arrange two spuds containing bits of each of them? I assume each part still belongs to its owner so I guess they’d both be wrestling for control of both bodies.
- What happens if one of Mr. Potato Head’s eyes is destroyed? Does he merely lose that sense organ, or also does that also affect his cognition, memory, sense of self, etc. since his identity is distributed among all his parts? Is each part entirely redundant, allowing him to survive fully intact in a single piece after all the others are destroyed?
If Lego follows the same rules, I guess a kid’s entire Lego collection would be one organism made of hundreds of parts. Each minifig would just be an avatar of it. Not sure what happens when new Lego sets are introduced, maybe they just get assimilated like Borg drones.
I don’t think Mrs. Nesbit was a new personality being put on Buzz. We see other toys change owners in the series and they all retain their identities. I think Mrs. Nesbit was just Buzz having an existential crisis. He had finally accepted that he was not a Space Ranger, and was just a toy, but that realization shattered his world. It broke him. He eventually came to terms with it, but that moment in Sid’s house was his rock bottom crash out.
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Comment on Toy Story's villain is a lie in ~movies
balooga LinkI wanted to like this but he's really overreaching to make his point. Sid burns a hole in Woody's forehead with a magnifying glass, and plans to incinerate him on a charcoal grill. He isn't...- Exemplary
I wanted to like this but he's really overreaching to make his point. Sid burns a hole in Woody's forehead with a magnifying glass, and plans to incinerate him on a charcoal grill. He isn't strapping a rocket on Buzz's back to help him fly, he's strapping an explosive on his back to blow him up. Sid's not the steward of broken toys, he's the one who breaks them in the first place. It takes a very selective reading of the movie to come to any other conclusion.
Poggy's saying that Sid's room is a makerspace where his toys are learning valuable field medicine techniques. It's not. He takes a brand-new alien toy from Pizza Planet and immediately hands it over to the dog to chew on. It's lovely that Sally and Pterodactyl got their heads and bodies reunited, but it was Sid who separated them to begin with. You can't paint him as a creative life-giver when he clearly gets his kicks from mutilating his wards.
It's true that his toys banded together in solidarity. They're all united in their victimhood. But they don't view Sid as a benefactor — they obviously hate him as much as Woody does, as evidenced by their participation in the uprising. Also I should point out that many of them are grotesque amalgamations of multiple toys. Toy Story has always played fast and loose with questions about toy consciousness, but I'd wager that if you combine the head of one with the body of another, at least one of the original toys is either annihilated or in endless agony. Babyface, Ducky, Legs, and the rest of the mutants all appear to be individuals. So what happened to their constituent identities? Sid is stitching dead bodies together like Dr. Frankenstein.
As for Andy's room and the argument that it represents a worldview of toys only existing as objects for the pleasure of their owners... well, yeah. That's the
humantoy condition. If the freeze reflex is an unavoidable fact of their existence, so is the fact that they were literally created for the purpose of being child's playthings. I mean, that's grim for sentient characters but you can only fight your reality so much. If the toys are looking to find meaning in life, there's no point in searching outside of the parameters that constrain them.Woody and his friends do find fulfillment through playtime with their owners, and that seems pretty close to self-actualization for beings in their predicament. Over the series, we see a few views of alternative existences for toys: Gathering dust (perhaps still in original packaging!) in a collection in Toy Story 2, being abused by swarming preschoolers in Toy Story 3, and of course being tortured by a psychopath in the first film. None of those are any more appealing than playing with Andy. Maybe Bo Peep's onto something in Toy Story 4, a life of freedom and self-reliance sounds appealing. I can see why Woody went with her. But it's also lonely, and perilous. It's a big world out there and toys are fragile. They're always one freeze reflex away from an encounter with a human who's more likely to toss them in the trash than give them another loving home. Maybe that's why (we can see from the trailer) Woody comes back to rejoin the gang in Toy Story 5.
By comparison to those other options, at least Andy played with his toys gently, kept them safe, and donated them to a younger kid when he outgrew them. That's the absolute most any of them ought to be able to wish for in life. That's as good as it gets.
Kinda bleak, and uncomfortably close to the "good master" defense of slavery, but that's the cosmology Toy Story exists within.
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Comment on Andreas Freise - Micro ASCII Art (2002) in ~arts
balooga LinkTook me a minute to figure this out, but the orange a:f that appears in all of them is his artist signature. I kept thinking it was either a shape I didn't recognize or a formatting error or...Took me a minute to figure this out, but the orange
a:fthat appears in all of them is his artist signature. I kept thinking it was either a shape I didn't recognize or a formatting error or something.These are pretty good! I love all the little details. Some didn't click at first, like I couldn't tell what the wolf was supposed to look like in "three little pigs" — then I realized it's a cartoony close-up of his head and neck, in the image foreground. Once you see it, it's super cute. I think "knight" is very impressive in its economy and detail. Truth be told, I think most of these are unintelligible without their titles printed directly above them. But once you have that to frame the experience it all comes together pretty neatly. A bit like those Magic Eye pictures in a way. Cool!
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Comment on US withdraws from sixty-six international organisations in ~society
balooga LinkThe U.S. Constitution survived for 237 years without significant stress testing. That’s pretty good. It was written with checks and balances to protect against 18th-century bad-faith despots....The U.S. Constitution survived for 237 years without significant stress testing. That’s pretty good. It was written with checks and balances to protect against 18th-century bad-faith despots. Clearly those safeguards were inadequate to protect against this new breed of uniquely malevolent autocrats.
I think it’s time to start writing a new constitution informed by the lessons we’ve learned in recent years, which mitigates the risks of corrupt and/or ideological scorched-earth governance. I don’t think the current system can be fixed at this point.
The problem is going to be that any sort of new constitutional convention is going to be immediately co-opted by Musk, Ellison, Miller, Fuentes, Cruz, and the like. We know the players and their agendas. If they see a new deck of cards being shuffled, they’ll do anything in their power to stack it in their own favor.
It seems to me that any serious effort to draft a new constitution would require the absolute transparency and democratic collaboration that only an open-source wiki-like platform can provide. I think it’s totally possible in the internet age for a constitution to actually be written by “we the people” rather than a group of elite founding fathers in a way that could never have been dreamed of centuries ago. Of course, writing the doc is just one part of the reboot process. An important part, but figuring out the rest of the plan is the real sticky wicket.
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Comment on US withdraws from sixty-six international organisations in ~society
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Comment on Deleting topics in ~tildes
balooga Link ParentJust playing devil’s advocate, but typically the most inflammatory posts are deleted, making it a lot less obvious what happened for users who didn’t see them before the hammer fell. In those...Just playing devil’s advocate, but typically the most inflammatory posts are deleted, making it a lot less obvious what happened for users who didn’t see them before the hammer fell. In those situations the reason for locking the thread can seem sudden and opaque.
This is rare enough here that it’s never really bothered me. I tend to agree with Tildes moderation anyway. Sometimes I do wish a little mod note was left behind for clarity though; on Metafilter, for example, closed threads will usually be appended with a brief statement like “Closing because of too many personal attacks” or whatever.
I appreciate the precision of the play-by-play and its attempts to be neutral. I think it would benefit from including Renee’s smile and apparent final words, “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.” Also the interaction with Becca, and the actual quote of the other agent’s order to “get out of the fucking car.” Not to mention the “fucking bitch” utterance after shooting her.
For this to be a truly impartial write-up, these details are critical for establishing the contrast in the parties’ demeanors.