Ben Royce 🇺🇦 green IOTA🍃

the tygers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction

BS Yale, MA NYU

#fedi22 #IOTA #Shimmer #DID #Web3

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npub1epxfp243v9pc4z5a4g598k0y94edcdkycg7eadr45gz76qskyttsftszvp

NIP-05 Address

accretionist_at_techhub.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsvsnys42ckzsu232w652znm8jz6ukuxmzvy0v7k366yp0dqgtz94cpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qdcgzta

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relay.mostr.pub

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npub1epxfp243v9pc4z5a4g598k0y94edcdkycg7eadr45gz76qskyttsftszvp

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Last Notes

2024-02-05 20:53:57

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@npub1xkk…9gj7
the mastodon threads instagram, a flickr of a college facebook memory, veroly linked in to my twittering heart

2024-02-05 08:09:07

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@npub1sdk…0kgj @npub1xj8…egqe
you don't. and you better start building European defenses
apologies from this American, we've gotten brain rot and allowed Russian influence in

2024-02-02 09:56:47

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@npub1g7j…7unj
BUD LIGHT MORTARS INCOMING
HIT THE DECKS BRETHREN, THEY ARE WEARING RAINBOW T SHIRTS FROM TARGET. IF YOU SEE THEM YOU WILL CATCH THE GAY

2024-02-01 17:40:12

welcome to modern #Russia #Putin
Russian Girl Jailed for Wearing Rainbow-Colored Earrings
A Russian court has sent a girl to jail for wearing rainbow-colored earrings shaped like frogs, according to multiple local reports.
The press service for the Sormovsky District Court in the Nizhny Novgorod region confirmed to RBC News that the girl has been jailed for five days on charges of publicly displaying “the symbol of an extremist organization.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-girl-jailed-for-wearing-rainbow-colored-earrings

2024-01-31 06:50:05

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@npub1vqm…ccpx there seems to be a certain tension here between the ecclesiastic and the profane, bilaterally balanced, with a distinct vertical component. it draws the eye to make a distinction between two juxtapositions that is further enhanced by the artist's color choice. which is not subtle, but that choice to not be subtle reinforces the essential dichotomy contained within
and excellent use of negative space

2024-01-31 02:09:35

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8 it's our job to vote. if enough of us don't that's why we're in this situation of bad political leaders

2024-01-31 02:07:59

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8 am i wrong about you? you, 20 toots into a thread, telling me i have to do other people's responsibility, and that that is the most vital criticism on this topic?

2024-01-31 02:06:57

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8 i know. you're telling me it is my job to do other people's basic awareness and responsibility. and if they won't be responsible, that's my fault. amazing! 🤣 🤣 🤣

2024-01-31 02:05:52

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8 oh i see. i'm not typing in mastodon discussing a problem of irresponsibility in the american electorate, i'm banging on their doors and yelling at them 🤣 🤣 🤣

2024-01-31 02:04:13

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8 we do know how that will work out. and apparently your criticism is not for orange godking, and not at the lumps who don't care, your problem is i'm not pandering enough to the ignorant irresponsible lumps 🤣 🤣 🤣

2024-01-31 02:02:10

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8 if caring about the fate of the future was a plastic product, and not their goddamn responsibility, your analogy might work

2024-01-31 02:00:20

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8 🤣 🤣 🤣
my friend, we're a little beyond "marketing" in regards to the GOP. it's full on cult indoctrination. they aren't appealing to an informed populace with stands on issues, they're zombifying dim wits with lies

2024-01-31 01:59:10

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8 so they'll hand the country to trump. that will vindicate them of course!

2024-01-31 01:58:25

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8
yes, it would be very nice if they would come and vote and stop whining. but of course, i said "whining" so i'm meanie bad man and now i'm responsible for their behavior

2024-01-31 01:56:48

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8 i agree. for an engaged populace. you can't do someone else's lack of engagement for them

2024-01-31 01:51:47

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@npub16kg…hh7t @npub1zeq…qpj8 this kind of cuts to the root of the problem
it's not my job or the democrats or anyone else's job to do someone else's responsibility for them
the very idea that someone has to be pandered to before they will deign to do their own goddamn maturity is kind of a joke

2024-01-27 04:47:36

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/26/germany-unearths-pro-russia-disinformation-campaign-on-x
Everyone knows #RussianTrollFarm is on #Twitter
Judging by some interactions I've had lately, they're coming to #Mastodon now too

2024-01-23 04:03:15

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@npub1pqp…e753 @npub1ks4…x88p @npub18su…nd38 @npub1dt8…yc4s @npub1vfl…nqkg @npub1dgr…8xrh
free speech is free association
this here is all decentralized. you associate with whomever you like and disassociate from whomever you like. genuine freedom
so if enough instances block some ignorant a**, they need to look in the mirror and not whine about freeze peach

2024-01-18 16:43:14

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@npub1grx…uxfe
there's certainly more mundane explanations
there is a certain kind of "WELL ACKSHUALLY" mind that takes delight in showing off some sort of clarification, regardless of whether or not the clarification is useful
it's performative, it's almost like a form of trolling: "i don't have to entertain other points of view or genuine knowledge on the subject, that i feel leads to something i don't like, if i can interrupt and loudly bark this exciting, mind blowing clarification that proves i'm already knowledgeable"

2024-01-18 16:07:58

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@npub108x…8n99 the only problem on the topic of sanctions is thinking their effect is immediate and obvious. sanctions work. but they take time and the effects appear subtly at first

2024-01-16 15:06:22

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@npub1pwx…xk5j
little known fact:
schrodinger's cat has never forgiven us for that cruel thought experiment, and USB plugs *never* going in right the first try is the cat's revenge
for when that cat entered quantum superposition, it acquired terrible powers, and we are only beginning to suffer the consequences of what we did to that cat
curse you schrodinger!

2024-01-13 00:28:11

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@npub1c57…awu5 curmudgeonly old white dude here, who just got out of the same thread as you with the exact same thought

2024-01-11 08:23:04

In september last year, #TaylorSwift wrote on her #Instagram: "I've been so lucky to see so many of you guys at my U.S. shows recently. I've heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are, make sure you're ready to use them in our elections this year!"
her post included a link to register at vote.org and they had a surge of 35,000 registrations
naturally, the #GOP, which depends upon voter suppression to stay in power, did not like this. the character assassination and manufactured outrage "braintrust" from rightwing media has been smearmongering Taylor ever since, and yesterday the very stable geniuses at #FoxNews came up with the following galaxy brain move (see image)
no this is not a photoshop, this is real
for added absurdity, #Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh pushed back yesterday, saying:
“as for this conspiracy theory, we are going to *shake it off*”
all of this is real. this is the reality you live in
again, i'm not making any of this up
#USpol
https://files.techhub.social/media_attachments/files/111/736/325/277/180/964/original/c292e83fe7c8ae07.webp

2024-01-08 05:58:25

i don't think #substack understands what is going on here
people are going to leave the platform. for all the "who cares" or "freeze peach" types, there's plenty of us who know what tolerance of intolerance means
people are going to leave substack for alternatives. they should
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/rcna132593
"Pressure builds on newsletter company Substack to stop revenue sharing with #Nazi writers"

2024-01-07 20:31:18

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@npub1uyx…dmcm
no
what has happened is that before, #elonmusk 's drug use was seen as quirky rich guy behavior, practically endearing for some
but now that his plutocrat edgelord antics are causing real damage to someone's financial position, they reassess the drug use as an aspect of his remarkable decline
the next step would be to reassess the narrative of decline, and point to toxic behavior of elon going all the way back to the 1990s, and see he has always been this sort of manchild
for me personally, who has never been invested in elon but did have some sort of admiration for him in the '00s because of tesla, my opinion of elon changed when he called the cave diver a "pedo", simply because the cave diver hurt elon's feelings when they denigrated his weird ineffective cave sub science project. this sort of temper tantrum, and the choice of the baseless smearmongering insult "pedo", is indicative of a whole host of personal problems

2024-01-06 16:30:07

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@npub1pwx…xk5j
social media: "#australia fauna scary"
#northamerica:
https://files.techhub.social/media_attachments/files/111/709/951/627/084/067/original/3b0b58ff1a09f825.mp4

2024-01-05 16:00:59

i just got out of a sh**show of a thread
i want to say something to all #americans :
#vote
and make your vote count
to not understand the stakes, and to think you have the *privilege* of not voting or voting third party, is an absurdity
a vote is not a love letter, it's strategy in a war
your heart may be in the right place, but your mind?
i've engaged people who indicate otherwise, and the amount of bs i get in return is incredible
do whatever you want in life, say whatever you want. but you can't expect to post a rationale for wavering on a simple easy need for an obviously appreciable reason without getting some pushback
i understand the wisdom of silence. i understand people just want to vent
but i can never accept those who argue not voting or voting third party (and we should have #rankedchoicevoting so we do have viable third party options, but we're not there *today*)
i can't bite my tongue. whatever the consequences
the stakes are too high

2024-01-05 04:52:41

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@npub1ccn…czwu
you are what you eat -> your god is what you eat

2024-01-03 17:41:19

You think you achieve something in life.
Then someone else achieves God-tier status at age 13:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/03/arts/tetris-beat-blue-scuti.html
Boy, 13, Is Believed to Be the First to ‘Beat’ Tetris
On Dec. 21, Willis Gibson, 13, put his hands to his head and rocked back and forth in an office chair in his bedroom in Stillwater, Okla., unable to believe what he had just accomplished.
His screen had frozen, and his Tetris score read “999999.”
“Oh my god,” Willis repeats in a high pitch, in video of his triumph that he uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday, as he collapses into his chair. “I can’t feel my fingers.”
Willis had just become the first person to advance so far in the original Nintendo version of the puzzle game Tetris that the game froze, achieving a feat previously credited only to artificial intelligence.

2024-01-02 21:44:43

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@npub1ccz…7l0l @npub1xg3…nyjk cynicism is self-fulfilling prophecy. you don't have to believe in the difficult and unlikely, but it's important to offer affirmation and good sentiment to what you know is right. doing what is right is not only a struggle, it is the hardest struggle. this should not crush your spirit. this is and always will be the nature of life. put on a dumb grin and face a million arrows. that's not absurd, that's called strength

2024-01-02 04:52:27

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@npub1agu…j0sk
discovery is a vector for harassment
this is a valid concern but of course you enunciate the other valid concern: sharing is the whole point of social media
we don't have to say "grow a thick skin and use to learn the block button" (which doesn't even work for committed harassers and brigading) we just have to make discoverability opt in, and I think mastodon is doing that now with search indexing
PeerTube just has to do that too (unless I misunderstood the exact technical impediment here)

2023-12-30 17:45:40

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@npub1sac…apc0 because that's what bigotry is: ignorance and indecency. that's what causes bigotry

2023-12-24 18:23:19

#RudyGiuliani is down because he defamed poll workers
Next up?
#KariLake
Good
https://azdailysun.com/news/state-and-regional/arizona-judge-defamation-lawsuit-against-kari-lake-to-move-forward/article_de304012-a0ea-11ee-b7a7-4ba6d7d483e8.html

2023-12-22 22:47:16

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@npub1nqz…838y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGAqYNFQdZ4
"Don't Be a Sucker"
US Army anti-fascist filmreel, 1945
REQUIRED VIEWING FOR EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN, AND EVERY CITIZEN OF ANY DEMOCRACY ANYWHERE
it specifically addresses the concept of fascist rhetoric in the USA, and the threat it poses, as told through the lens of a Hungarian survivor of WWII recounting Hitler's rise to power, chatting with an American as they witness a racist xenophobic street speaker in an American city

2023-12-22 22:34:16

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@npub19fc…ay3c
cruelty is not a political tactic
cruelty is the whole ****ing point

2023-12-22 20:02:46

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@npub1lnm…624t clarence thomas and his wife most apparently

2023-12-22 20:00:25

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@npub1lnm…624t ah i see
so it's a battle of the clocks, and the Supremes gave Trump some more time
infuriating

2023-12-22 19:57:07

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@npub1lnm…624t the way i understand it, by the Supreme Court demuring on the question fo Trumps's immunity, that means the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit will get it and they are scheduled to hear oral arguments on Jan. 9
which, while cowardly, does not delay Trump's case (which is what he wants) and the DC court can rule against him
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/rcna130769
(i could be wrong)

2023-12-22 19:22:57

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@npub19fc…ay3c
i think i've clashed with you before on this topic. and i disagree with you on the topic. but i have no right to get personal or controlling about it
i wish more people understood this, i've gotten this kind of reaction too
it doesn't change anyone's mind. in fact, by making it condescending and patronizing, it hardens people's positions

2023-11-07 21:04:25

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@npub1xg6…e6jt
taylor swift is the new dolly parton
both are saints
and this is bonkers:
#taylorswift fans in #argentina are using her fandom there as a nucleus against far right candidate #JavierMilei
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/latin-america/301004043/newsable-taylor-swift-fans-could-decide-argentinas-president

2023-09-29 11:42:47

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@npub189n…satx
https://files.techhub.social/media_attachments/files/111/148/253/283/286/201/original/c5bb80bd42919c19.mp4

2023-09-26 00:33:46

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@npub189n…satx
we need to handle the stupid. how can their energies be wasted in cycles rather than be harnessed by demagogues for corrupt and hateful agendas?
i say: fake ufo stuff
get them chasing ufos and they won't have time for their toxic stupidities

2023-09-23 00:36:18

#Microsoft is releasing an #AI tool called #Copilot
So I'm using the opportunity to take a dig at #Twitter, AI, and Microsoft by reminding people about Tay:
https://www.theverge.com/2016/3/24/11297050/tay-microsoft-chatbot-racist
"Twitter taught Microsoft’s AI chatbot to be a racist a**hole in less than a day"

2023-09-10 20:43:04

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@npub1eet…79q6 This is not a nice way to talk about the psychological impact of Twitter sir (/s)

2023-09-06 23:23:13

Madeleine L'Engle's #scififantasy novel "A Wrinkle in Time" has cover art which always intrigued, and no one ever knew the story behind it. Amory Sivertson and Emily Jankowski of #Boston 's #NPR affiliate WBUR tracked down the artist in an endless months-long quest and solved the mystery. Great listen.
Amory: I responded to Sarah's post, saying, "I have at least one string I'd like to pull on this."
Ben: And that was 8 months ago.
Amory: It was a solid, like, 4 months ago. And little did I know... that string would lead to another... and another... and another... until I was on my own full-blown months-long quest through time and space to find an artist credit gone mysteriously missing, and to understand the forces that have left this cover's artist — AND countless others — unknown for DECADES.
https://www.wbur.org/endlessthread/2023/09/01/artist-known-wrinkle
https://files.techhub.social/media_attachments/files/111/020/772/309/669/603/original/0cc63e9add936a7c.jpg

2023-09-02 00:05:06

'Dominic Pezzola, a member of the #ProudBoys, did not play a leadership role but was convicted of felonies including obstructing an official proceeding and assaulting police. He yelled, "#Trump won!" as he left the courtroom after being sentenced to 10 years in prison.'
So... a grasp on reality is very important in life.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-judge-sentence-two-more-proud-boys-jan-6-attack-capitol-2023-09-01/

2023-08-30 15:12:26

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@npub1nn8…8sed
showing my age:
Tom Hanks in Bosom Buddies
the '80s had transvestites all over American media
Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie
Culture Club - Boy George, Twisted Sister - Dee Snider, The Eurythmics - Annie Lennox, etc.
all of a sudden the far right tells us it's the end of the world
it's lying manufactured outrage

2023-08-30 13:34:24

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@npub1qzc…yetl
How to think about the impact of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation #AMOC possibly shutting down due to #ClimateChange.
(An oversimplification.)
Here in Northeast USA we think of Northern Europe as our lateral equivalents.
Not true.
Draw a line out from the latitude of New York City, what do you hit?
Portugal.
Northern Europe is counterintuitively (for Americans) over from *Northern* Canada. Great Britain lines up with Labrador, North of Newfoundland. Pretty far North and... so why isn't Great Britain cold like Labrador?
That's due to the AMOC.
Think of it (vast oversimplification) as a gyre of water turning the Atlantic in a big circle. The current shoves warm water far North along Europe's Atlantic coastline. And reciprocally, it pushes cold water down to New England.
It also explains why Britain is famously foggy and rainy.
So what's going to happen if the AMOC shuts down?
Northwest Europe will freeze, and New England will cook.

2023-08-28 18:08:08

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@npub1zva…e2q5
there is a psychology here:
ukraine as victim gives it support
ukraine as aggressor makes it lose support
but a few more years and more russian decay, and russians themselves might be helping the ukrainians in russian territory. who wants to live in russia anymore?
then it's no longer a matter of ukrainians fighting for sovereignty over their own lands, but instead a fight over the implosion of russia
so it's not a concern now
but give it time and maps like this might make a comeback:
also finns should start thinking about karelia, turks about circassia, poles about kaliningrad, norwegians about kola, etc... not as some imperialism, but as a need for security with increasing chaos as russia implodes. if you think this is insane and improbable, well russia invading ukraine was insane and improbable. i still think its unlikely, but there should be perhaps preparations. russia is in dire straights and getting worse, their own doing
https://files.techhub.social/media_attachments/files/110/968/569/978/689/994/original/4235d2615e3e1a68.jpeg

2023-08-28 17:44:38

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@npub1ccz…7l0l
this. so much this
don't evangelicals know they are destroying their religion by making it about short term political goals? or, if they make it about eternal hatreds (misogyny, racism, transphobia, homophobia, etc) that this is also death of the religion?
even if you are areligious and you know these hatreds feature in every religion, you understand that the idea of doing good works as a positive social construct is the only thing that gives the religion any lasting life and appeal
by making it all hate 24/7, evangelicals are repulsing anyone normal and killing their religion

2023-08-27 17:02:39

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@npub1uwt…p8lz
do they believe no one can see what they're doing?
they spew hate. then they fake surprise at the results of their hate
the hatemongers understand. the racists, nazis, transphobes, homophobes, misogynists... they love the GOP
the victims of hate understand. black people, jews, trans, gays, women... they know where the rhetoric targeting them comes from
and the GOP demagogues stand there, going "who me?" and think no one notices
the cynicism is industrial grade, almost laughable. but we see you GOP

2023-08-24 12:43:37

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@npub189n…satx
the entire GOP powerbase depends upon a tragic foible of human psychology. that when they are suffering, especially "suffering" according to the most entitled whiny terms, then their suffering is "relieved" by making sure outgroups suffers more

2023-08-24 12:38:54

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@npub189n…satx
so much of analysis of Republican behavior tries to understand various complex motivations and goals
that's a mistake
it's really quite simple:
the cruelty is the point

2023-08-24 03:10:57

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@npub189n…satx he is a sadist

2023-08-23 21:11:49

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@npub1ddp…2tax @npub1d33…p3lv
you fight by any means possible. what you're criticizing is low effort/ low chance at payout. and? relax, let it all flow

2023-08-23 20:49:40

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@npub1ddp…2tax @npub1d33…p3lv i kind if like it
actual effectiveness is not always the point. it's a statement. a good statement

2023-08-21 01:46:57

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@npub18ay…0exw
life is cosplay and cosplay is life

2023-08-21 01:32:12

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@npub189n…satx
edgelords
edgelords would vote for cornel west
people for whom shocking others by being braindead contrarians is their driving purpose in life, and nothing more
because there are no more important problems in the world. yes, mmm

2023-08-20 20:53:00

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@npub189n…satx
deeply unfortunate
dear #mods
i would much rather see some expletives thrown at racists than some fake adherence to civility. there is no such thing as civility with racist voices around

2023-08-20 20:44:23

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@npub189n…satx we watch the slow rise of #mastodon as an antidote to twitter's destruction and we cheer it
but it's time we take it up a notch and actively wage war on #twitter/ #x/ #facebook/ #meta/ etc by delivering via #activitypub/ the #fediverse everything people want out of traditional centralized #socialmedia, and so much more
for most of you, this means great content. keep rocking
for us #coders, time to roll up our sleeves
destroy the old world. make room for the new

2023-08-20 07:35:09

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@npub178j…tqtd
A periodic reminder that Elon Musk has a transgender daughter who hates him.
And (indulge my pop psychology) rather than face his failure as a father, he takes it out in the rest of us via Twitter/ X.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/10/10/elon-musk-says-he-lost-transgender-daughter-because-of-neo-marxists/

2023-08-18 15:37:12

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@npub189n…satx
"Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past."
- Jean-Paul Sartre

2023-08-17 23:53:09

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@npub1e0a…eww0
true. but preferable to the endless trolling on twitter
so mastodon is better, not perfect. but we're never going to get perfect
just steel yourself from the "ACKKSHUALLY..." crowd, roll your eyes, or even better no reaction, and just move on

2023-08-15 20:35:17

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@npub189n…satx
and magneto bends and moves metal just by thinking about it
a superpower is a superpower: compare anything to the average, and any sufficiently advanced skillset is, relatively speaking, practically magic

2023-08-15 20:32:40

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@npub189n…satx
superpowers are real
there are social and cognitive skillsets that some people are utterly unaware of. it's almost magic to them

2023-08-15 20:21:53

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@npub189n…satx
when you deal with a certain kind of abuse your whole life, your mind is trained and strengthened in certain ways. someone who never had to deal with that is mentally flabby and blissfully unawares in an entire constellation of cognitive and social skillsets
it may be enraging that they don't even have to be aware of the struggle
but it also makes *you* unaware of something. something that, on examination, is deeply embarrassing for them: they can be easily hoodwinked conned and victimized in simple cringe ways that you can spot a mile off and not even pay the slightest mental workload on. your cognitive musculature is in full swing and it is effortless for you. while they fall into these weak traps and become deeply enmired and then it gets a lot worse from there for them. all playing off cognitive weaknesses that are, well, appalling in their ineptitude

2023-08-15 19:59:25

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@npub189n…satx
to someone who has been unfairly victimized, the process of understanding how that can happen in the world, that there are problems with the status quo, is a matter of coming to terms with the injustice. and then be rightfully angry
to someone who has never been victimized due to privilege, where the status quo is a matter of their benefit, there is this immature thinking that victimization is only a matter of personal shame and personal failure. the idea of facing that sends them into irrational anger
they can never admit they have been conned. even if it means doubling tripling down on their victimization, even sublimating their entire identity to a cult. it's preferable to the shame
any lie will do. hard denial is their bedrock
this immaturity is all they can offer. it helps to extend toxic status quo, but it is a weakness that eventually fails them and their system in the end

2023-08-15 19:47:25

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@npub189n…satx
the answer to what happens when awareness of how you've been manipulated grows, is to shortcircuit that thought to avoid shame and humiliation. instead sublimate your identity even further to the manipulator, and grow the cult even more
uggh

2023-08-15 16:53:42

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@npub1lrv…tth9 as someone born and raised in the nyc area, trump has been known as a mafia-lite slimeball since the 1980s
then "the apprentice" happened and suddenly middle america thinks trump is some sort of business genius
exasperating

2023-08-15 15:18:26

can i make one request of prosecutors and law enforcement in the trump cases?
can we flag his passport and ground his private jets, and watch him carefully when he goes to airports with private jets of his friends?
he *will* flee the country. he will not submit to any punishment
then he'll be on social media forever spreading lies and hate from some enemy of the USA working his cult for years
#Trump #USpol #Politics #Crime

2023-08-14 00:14:13

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@npub1aum…5jx0 "Christopher Robin I don't feel so good."
"Pooh, invasive species are detrimental to local ecosystems."
"Is that what this is? Will I be ok?"
"Pooh, xenomorphs are our local friends. Since when have anthropomorphic stuffed animals been endemic to any ecosystem?"
"But Christopher Robin I've lived in these woods my whole life."
"Yes, introduced species have taken their toll on these woods for a long time, it's time for that to end."
"Christopher Robin what of all of our adventures together?"
"Pooh I have a new friend, we all need a xenomorph buddy. Goodbye Pooh."
"Goodbye Christopher Robin."
"Eeyore, where are you?"

2023-08-13 10:41:02

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@npub1hpc…hjn3
I don't understand.
If someone doesn't like some content, content that doesn't fall afoul of any sexuality or violence standards, don't follow the person or block them.
What would be the purpose of removing content whose horrible grave crime is simply being frivolous?
Do these people want Mastodon to die?
Are they unable to see what being a severe overcontrolling busybody leads to?
No to Mastodon becoming an HOA.

2023-08-13 01:29:19

#OddFindsataGarageSale #HashtagGames
Einstein's brain
"Harvey's marriage soon fell apart, and he left Princeton in search of work. After his wife threatened to dispose of the brain, he returned to retrieve it and took it with him to the Midwest. For a time he worked as a medical supervisor in a biological testing lab in Wichita, Kansas, keeping the brain in a cider box stashed under a beer cooler. He moved again, to Weston, Missouri, and practiced medicine while trying to study the brain in his spare time, only to lose his medical license in 1988 after failing a three-day competency exam. He then relocated to Lawrence, Kansas, took an assembly-line job in a plastic-extrusion factory, moved into a second-floor apartment next to a gas station, and befriended a neighbor, the beat poet William Burroughs. The two men routinely met for drinks on Burroughs's front porch. Harvey would tell stories about the brain..."
https://www.npr.org/2005/04/18/4602913/the-long-strange-journey-of-einsteins-brain

2023-08-13 00:56:21

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@npub1uud…4kdc "It would be a very strange Thing, if six Nations of Ignorant Savages should be capable of forming a Scheme for such an Union, and be able to execute it in such a Manner, as that it has subsisted Ages, and appears indissoluble; and yet that a like Union should be impracticable for ten or a Dozen English Colonies, to whom it is more necessary, and must be more advantageous; and who cannot be supposed to want an equal Understanding of their Interests."
-Benjamin Franklin
Hey Ben: if you admire their wisdom, theyre not ignorant.
"Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the Perfection of Civility; they think the same of theirs."
-Benjamin Franklin.
OK Ben, but lose the "ignorant" epithet.

2023-08-10 14:47:20

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@npub189n…satx
one of the greatest tricks the plutocrats pulled on the ignorant (ranking up there with "trickle down economics" reagan era bs) is that the solution to solving govt corruption is to get rid of govt, rather than getting rid of corruption
of course, they are the corruption, and without govt regulation the abuse is easier and direct. so it's quite the trick

2023-08-10 14:44:04

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@npub189n…satx
it's also worth spending money to break the system so they can abuse us directly, no pesky laws or govt to get in the way

2023-08-10 00:04:18

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@npub145u…hq7w yeah nothing James Bond about it but for curiosity's sake I hope it's not just a sales pitch for a multi level marketing scheme

2023-08-09 23:56:44

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@npub145u…hq7w
Be careful of sharing any personal details. Don't bring any personal effects like your wallet or your phone. Beyond the personal or business angles there might also be some new scam out there that works broadly rather than targeting you specifically, not sure what it could be, so be on the lookout for the unusual. An attempt to distract you, another character in the crowd working the angle with the principle, a "random unconnected" event, etc. You're the mark! It could be interesting dinner theatre, it could be nothing, but it might also be a quality con that can ensnare you. Be careful!

2023-08-09 23:38:42

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@npub145u…hq7w
If it's a chatbot what's the point for them to meet you? What would be the scam angle?
Don't meet behind the laundromat at midnight!

2023-08-06 00:56:43

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@npub14uk…2erc
in 1938 folk singer Lead Belly used the phrase "stay woke, keep your eyes open" in a spoken afterward to his song "Scottsboro Boys" (about nine black teenagers falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931), warning people who travel to the area
GOP coopted the term as a dog whistle with a twist: opposition to awareness of systemic racism, metastasizing into meaning anything they hate
here's Lead Belly in the afterword to his song: https://youtu.be/VrXfkPViFIE?t=265 (12 seconds from the end of the recording)

2023-07-13 00:21:09

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@npub1nxt…055a
The perpetual spinning disc will be a revolution in clean energy. One neighbor laughed at me after I told him I was on my third mortgage to finance my invention. Another neighbor called me a crackpot. A third threatened to burn my house down because the hum keeps him up at night. The police visited me twice; they say there's a court order in progress. The bank has said foreclosure begins next week. My life is over. I'm denied my glory.
But tomorrow I uncouple the disc. Unstable, it will take a mere three seconds to turn this entire neighborhood into a crater. Goodbye cruel world.

2023-07-11 13:31:13

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@npub189n…satx
i cheer threads only because it destroys twitter
but of course zuckerberg is no better
and hopefully, enough uprooted frustrated social media users, yearning for something better, will notice the same old problems with centralized plutocrat controlled spyware threads, and go to mastodon or any decentralized social media
unfortunately there's still a large number of people who seek the lying echo chamber. for them there is no help. there is just something about weak minds that want to be told what to think, and are then programmed like the zombies they are
i don't know what to do about that problem

2023-07-02 04:49:41

Essential services: fire, police, emergency, etc, need to stop using Twitter if this rate limit thing by Musk sticks around. They should stop relying on it regardless but I don't know what clearer signal they need that Twitter is dying and unreliable.
#twitterrip #twitterdown #twittermigration #Twitter #twitterexodus #twitterdemise #twitterisdead

2023-06-23 19:20:50

I said it before, I'll say it again:
Fascists always create in their wake a potent vacuum of self-destruction while they push general societal destruction. The history of fascism teaches us this. They always go too far and always self-consume. They have to, they have to move forward in ever more deranged ways. They can't stand still or they fade. They keep pushing until they collapse. Know the nature of your enemy.
The key is to hold and limit their damage on the rest of us. Then let the self-inflicted wounds play out.
https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari/watch/trump-s-tv-confessions-pave-path-to-prison-jack-smith-sends-trump-his-own-interviews-in-new-filing-184190021804

2023-06-16 19:20:41

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@npub1uwt…p8lz
anyone who cares can see that if school is the only stable source of food in a kid's life, kids are incentivized to be in school and to learn
but of course the GOP doesn't care
well, not true: they care enough to note an educated society rejects ignorance and hate. and that will hurt their platform

2023-06-11 14:32:54

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@npub1zxp…sl5g hello from western ny. i always tell my kids "crack a window to circulate in good air because of indoor sources of air pollution." well, so much for dad's little nuggets of wisdom

2023-06-09 20:44:52

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@npub1m5y…cqpg all trump ever did was set himself on fire. it worked for him with a sort of person who was the same way: loud, ignorant, entitled. he became a demagogue force for doing so. and then, it all came crumbling down, as it always does with destructive fascism: the self-destruction plays out eventually as well. it always does

2023-05-12 17:57:52

one of the most mind blowing things about politics in the USA is the left leaning Americans who reserve the most criticism for the Democrats. what matters in politics is results and tactics, not ideological purity tests. progress is progress, even if it is not as much as you want
please, criticize the Dems. but be aware of three things:
1. loss of perspective that the slobbering beast that is the GOP must be defeated, as job #1. naval gazing efforts and inflexible idealism must not move you to inaction on this most important of questions
2. there are concern trolls who redirect the topic into lost perspective and lost context, purposefully. tedium and analysis paralysis. losing sight of the most important conflict
3. learned helplessness as a political and psychological weapon. never forget that cynicism is acceptance. the GOP hasn't forgotten, they welcome your cynicism
left leaning Americans:
do not win a battle and lose the war

2023-05-10 15:31:46

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@npub1cmg…rzd2 success to a certain mindset means domination
decentralization means success on terms many can't understand
but since traditional social media has become a toxic wasteland soon to be turned into content free horror indoctrination chambers by AI chatbots indistinguishable from real people, they can have their "success"

2023-05-07 18:18:41

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@npub1pqk…z65u @npub1lrv…tth9 i thought this was just how the software works
links are always within the domain of the server you're navigating from. and if you want to see more of a discussion that originated in another server, you need to manually mangle the url
i don't like it, but it seems to be a design decision, which i can speculate a reason why it might have been rationalized. but indeed, it's subpar in terms of user experience

2023-05-03 02:20:23

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@npub15ef…n95r link didn't work
this works:
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/texas-senate-passes-bill-allowing-state-to-re-run-harris-county-elections/

2023-04-15 15:28:49

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#[0] I look at this way:
You're stuck in traffic, up ahead flashing lights. As you approach and slowly roll by the accident, you can't help but glance.
Morbid curiosity.
The decay of Twitter is a dinner and a show.

2023-04-06 01:40:59

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#[0] can i go back occasionally and be entertained by the decay?
like when you pass a car accident on the highway and you can't help but rubberneck. morbid curiosity. it's my weakness

2023-04-01 19:10:44

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#[0]
GOP is functioning on wife beater logic
"if you wear that dress i'm going to beat you, and it will be your fault"
"if you pursue basic justice, i will commit acts of violence, and it will be your fault"

2023-03-30 21:23:46

A morbid observation from the elections in November 2022 that shows an insight into a weakness of fascism:
Kari Lake, denier of democracy, lost by 17k votes in Arizona.
Arizona had north of 31k COVID deaths.
That's not a direct overlap. But COVID deaths skew elderly, which skews conservative, which skews GOP, which skews MAGA, which skews COVID denial. And even if someone was not a COVID denier, if they were elderly they would tend to vote GOP.
Fascism is all about destruction. It doesn't build things, its method and reason for existence is to deny, exclude, punish, and attack based on perceptions of superiority, entitlement and exclusion. Its driving forces are prideful ignorance and straightforward indecency. We oppose it for many reasons, not least of which is that it hurts our country. But this damage backfires.
(1/2)