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offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-10 19:49 [#02626634]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict



anyways, it's not that i don't read those passages, or that
i think you're off base... in fact, though i don't agree
with every little thing, this seems solid, and now what you
need is to rephrase it so people on reddit will actually
read it and process

this is epcimegatrax telling you "this is when everyone
tells me TLDR, now you're doing it by spamming dead white
guy prose"


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-10 19:56 [#02626635]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict



someone on here -- wolfslice maybe? -- said something
something "...but when you start getting into nostalgic
stuff about your dad"

and, hmm. that i'm always going to be a freaking tangent
factory. but then when you're on a tangent of a tangent of a
tangent -- that's too tangential. that by the time i get to
writing something like that i've already wandered far off of
my original point and i'm just kind of livestreaming doing a
ghost in the shell dive through my memories. so, it's not
that dad stuff is never relevant, it's more that if i find
myself there, i should step back for a moment and check if
i've gone too far; delete a bunch of it

i've caught a good few of these already. that, believe it or
not, i do listen sometimes


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-10 21:45 [#02626637]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular | Followup to EpicMegatrax: #02626635



even THAT tangent, about being tangential, was tangential!
;p

on my end I looked at that 2013 post where everyone was
celebrating margret thatcher dying. And then I googled
"Margret Thatcher censorship" to see if *I* hate her too.
There was a little bit about state run media and how they
portray northern ireland. Not great. But nothing about
ghosts in video games, so whatever she's better than fucking
china, for sure.


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-10 22:05 [#02626638]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular



"Do I hate this person?"

is a very 2023, zoomer way to approach something. I almost
always answer "no," though. Too cynical to hate, proper gen
x


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-10 23:50 [#02626642]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular



Got no love for the Thatch
but don't hate her neither
take a peak at her hatch;
conservative beaver?
Yeah, I'm still eager
with the Prime Min meetup, Tony Blair called
he's in.



 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-10 23:58 [#02626644]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular



Thatchy baby
you gonna Xi and genocide the Uyghur Mus?
Fuck it if you gonna rub my face with that fuzz


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-12 19:45 [#02626705]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular | Followup to Tony Danza: #02626610



Wife and I watched that whole documentary ( How China Got Rich
). Tried to listen to it first while driving but it a lot of
chinese interviews wit subtitles.

Was really good, unbiased and almost made me want to cry
when it showed how happy people were to simply go to school
after decades of Mao's re-education.

It's funny because the documentary cites the reason for the
speed of their growth as a lack of regulation, they didn't
have the kind of protections other developed nations had by
this era.

The experts there, every one of them, refers to it as a
current single party state, btw. And I found it telling that
Xi Jinping's father was such a high ranking member of the
Party. One of his positions was literally "Party propaganda
chief." That gives me a pretty good idea of the actual
political maneuverability there. Beyond that every expert in
the documentary treated the government's heavy involvement
in the economy as either a series of question marks (????)
or an outright negative for their future prospects.


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-12 19:58 [#02626706]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular | Followup to Wolfslice: #02626705



The doc didn't really get into it but I can see some of the
positives of a massive state controlling the economy...

Probably less outright corruption (US style), and less
individual entities financially gaming the system.

Of course, in that kind of bureaucracy they play their own
special games. 3.6 rontgen reading in Chernobyl.
not great, not terrible.


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-12 19:58 [#02626707]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular



not great, not terrible


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-13 09:05 [#02626715]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict | Followup to Wolfslice: #02626637



And then I googled "Margret Thatcher censorship" to see
if *I* hate her too


by the time she was on my radar she'd been put out to
pasture with an agenda of gradually increasing dementia. we
had some good times on zilty in 2012 or such messing about
with that photo of her looking like a methamphetamine
skeleton surrounded by Young Conservatives

...you have to ask google if you hate something? this is
strange to me; i'm usually pretty clear about most other
than how overboard i've gone today. if you have the gift,
you're holding yourself back from hating anything too hard.
that it can almost be like cumming. gorging yourself on
vehemence. i will hate the shit out of something and savor
it like a steak, extra rare, with red to follow

and i think trump likes steak too


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-13 09:17 [#02626716]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict



i want to own my own house on a large plot of land so i can
curse the shit out of my computer and have zero worry that
neighbors will hear it.


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-13 09:18 [#02626717]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict



dosimeter, tho. hell of a word


 

offline Tony Danza from Sesame Street on 2023-04-13 13:48 [#02626718]
Points: 3456 Status: Lurker | Followup to Wolfslice: #02626705



Deng will be remembered as one of the greatest leaders of
the 20th century.

The superiority of the socialist system is demonstrated,
in the final analysis, by faster and greater development of
those forces than under the capitalist system. As they
develop, the people's material and cultural life will
constantly improve. One of our shortcomings after the
founding of the People's Republic was that we didn't pay
enough attention to developing the productive forces.
Socialism means eliminating poverty. Pauperism is not
socialism, still less communism.


Read the rest, brief and absolutely vital to
understanding China and the CPC


 

offline belb from mmmmmmhhhhzzzz!!! on 2023-04-13 15:12 [#02626721]
Points: 6257 Status: Lurker | Followup to Tony Danza: #02626718



i remember doing a module for GCSE history, on the shooting
down of a US spyplane over china. it focused mainly on the
diplomatic back-and-forth, and deng xiaoping thought was
either ignored or presented as just protectionism and
repression, without even bad/biased translations of what he
was saying. and what he was saying (in 1984!) seems to be
reasonable and moderate, especially after mao's willingness
to, er, experiment


 

offline Tony Danza from Sesame Street on 2023-04-13 16:01 [#02626722]
Points: 3456 Status: Lurker | Followup to belb: #02626721



When I was reading The Three Body Problem by Chinese scifi
writer Cixin Liu a few years ago i was surprised how much
scathing criticism there was of the cultural revolution. As
an ignorant westoid I'd figured you just didn't criticize
the revolutionary hero.

Even so I've read that the general Chinese take on Mao is
mostly good and partly bad, and they don't let him off the
hook for the bad stuff. But it's nuanced, because they also
recognize all the good he did and how he set the stage for
independence and development.

Most of what we get in Western media about China is pure
disinfo and if you trace the source you often find it's
Radio Free Asia, a literal US propaganda outlet. I profusely
apologize in advance for this guy's hairstyle but it's good
information. LAZY_TIBET


 

offline belb from mmmmmmhhhhzzzz!!! on 2023-04-13 19:42 [#02626723]
Points: 6257 Status: Lurker | Followup to Tony Danza: #02626722



yikes, the CIA really can't keep their beak out of ppl's biz
can they

have you read wild swans by jung chang? it's outdated now
but worth a go, even if it can be a bit of a slog. that's
the only proper history of the people's republic i've read,
still yr basic ignorant roundeyes


 

offline Tony Danza from Sesame Street on 2023-04-13 20:12 [#02626724]
Points: 3456 Status: Lurker | Followup to belb: #02626723



Funny you should mention her, I recently saw her Mao book in
a used bookstore and looked it up to see if it's any good.
Turns out it's "16 historians wrote a book on how
bad it is" bad. From what I can gather she's the Anne
Applebaum of popular writing on China.

I can't speak to her other books but I would raise a
cautionary eyebrow.


 

offline belb from mmmmmmhhhhzzzz!!! on 2023-04-13 21:33 [#02626725]
Points: 6257 Status: Lurker | Followup to Tony Danza: #02626724



well, wild swans is certainly anti-mao, but it's presented
as an autobiographical account, not an analytical or even
overtly political work. god damn agendas behind everything
huh, maybe i should revisit it with a more critical eye


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-15 01:21 [#02626728]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular



epic:
"...you have to ask google if you hate something?"
Only if I'm an dumb, ignorant american about it... like I am
with Margret Thatcher. No hate for her though, conservatives
have an important job to do in a healthy government based on
checks and balances. She seems like an interesting one.

tony D:
You (and the doc) sold me on Deng Xiaoping. He seems AIGHT,
better than Mao by a million degrees. You write off a lot of
China's Bullshit as disinformation, or in your words
"retarded faggotry," and I *do* tend to think you're soft as
fuck on China. Talk to me about your thoughts on their
Social Credit Score? I am genuinely interested.


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-15 01:37 [#02626729]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular



freely admitting I'd prefer Margret Thatcher to Xi Jinping
in 2023, is basically tantamount to what... flying a dang
swastika? but there it is, you soy xltronic fucks. there it
is.


 

offline Tony Danza from Sesame Street on 2023-04-15 13:54 [#02626733]
Points: 3456 Status: Lurker | Followup to Wolfslice: #02626728



Social credit? What you "know" about it is almost entirely
pure bullshit. Even Wikipedia, that tool of Western
ideological conformity, admits "The program is mainly
focused on businesses and is very fragmented, contrary to
the popular misconceptions that it is focused on individuals
and is a centralized system."

But hey you've probably seen stock footage of Chinese people
walking in the street (gosh! there's so many of them) with a
concerned voice-over by Leslie Stahl, so how I'm gonna
compete with that?


 

offline Tony Danza from Sesame Street on 2023-04-15 14:03 [#02626734]
Points: 3456 Status: Lurker | Followup to Wolfslice: #02626729



If you like Deng you should like Xi who is carrying on the
work of eliminating poverty.

That doc is, I understand, a CGTN / PBS co-production. The
English speaking host I've seen before, on a PBS philosophy
interview series called Closer to Truth, also very good.

Thatcher is the opposite of Deng. You know that Simpsons bit
where Homer is evolving and Moe walks past in the opposite
direction, devolving? Thatcher is Moe.

Also, in passing, soy? Really? It's 2023 dude the twenty
teens are over. What's next, something something triggered
snowflake?


 

offline Tony Danza from Sesame Street on 2023-04-15 14:06 [#02626735]
Points: 3456 Status: Lurker | Followup to Tony Danza: #02626734



"That doc" meaning, the one I just linked, not the one on
Deng.


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-15 23:37 [#02626740]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular | Followup to Tony Danza: #02626733



I'll check that out doc out. I asked in good faith because
I'm interested in your opinion.

I dunno who Leslie Stahl is. Believe it or not, I don't
really have a news "jerk off" pipeline. Don't consider
myself right, much less alt-right, and I think most media is
full of bias. I've tried all the names once or twice, find
them idealists or rage baiters. You can (and probably
should) make fun of me here--- but politically I most agree
with Bill Maher or shit like South Park (even though it's
really not one of my favorites, i always *agree* with their
takes). In most every sense, I'm probably just a very
classical liberal and totally willing to take on social
programs and certain reforms because it's PRACTICAL. And
Deng seemed practical as well, so that's why I said he was
decent.

I'm worried about the social credit score, in part because
I'm worried it's going to happen everywhere as AI advances.
It seems easy to do. It seems inevitable. But I'm not
parroting some dumbass viewpoint from like Rogan or Ben
Shapiro. It's just my own take and it's good to get some
second opinions. ARE you too soft on China's authoritarian
bullshit ? I do think so, but that doesn't mean I'll write
you off cause you aren't in a rage about one thing or
another.

I'll check out the rest of those materials when I have time.
I am interested.



 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-15 23:55 [#02626741]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular



the most rage baity thing in my feed is this one called "The
Critical Drinker." He heavily shits on pop culture for
clicks, but he's still pretty funny. That's about as far as
I go.


 

offline Tony Danza from Sesame Street on 2023-04-16 16:25 [#02626755]
Points: 3456 Status: Lurker | Followup to Wolfslice: #02626740



Haha! It's funny because Leslie Stahl is the only US
journalist I could think of. However I'm Canadian and never
watch TV so what do I know. OK so I also know Tucker but
that would be bait.


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-16 21:23 [#02626761]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular | Followup to Tony Danza: #02626755



I miss Tom Brokaw. He was my favorite and I always used to
tivo nbc nightly news and Jon Stewart, every weekday night.

I got nothing now, news wise. It's turning me into some kind
of hobgoblin who is a bit unclear on everything.


 

offline Wolfslice from Bay Area, CA (United States) on 2023-04-16 21:40 [#02626764]
Points: 4712 Status: Regular



Also used to tivo Ebert and Roper (I watched Siskel and
Ebert too but Sisk died pre-tivo).

The first time I felt genuinely old was when I mentioned
"Siskel and Ebert" to a young co-worker and he had no idea
wtf I was talking about. "Come on man. Siskel and Ebert? Two
Thumbs Up?" *blank stare.*


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-17 03:45 [#02626776]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict | Followup to Wolfslice: #02626764



> Also used to tivo Ebert and Roper (I watched Siskel
and
Ebert too but Sisk died pre-tivo).


did u mean: tibert, evo, and raper?

LAZY_TITLE


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-17 04:03 [#02626777]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict



alright.

i remember seeing siskel and ebert together, maybe, like...
three times? but if you count seeing the same thing a few
times, then perhaps six -- while i'm not certain, i think it
was some pre-recorded thing they played before every
movie
at the theater. my memory for things things is
distractingly accurate.

in the end, though, it's all very vague. i saw just
enough
to have some sort of vague, dream-like impression
of who they were, that their reach did extend through the
papers, i think if you remember newspapers you'd get the
"two thumbs up thing" -- but you may not know who siskelbert
is.

that, for whatever reason, i was reflecting on this one day
-- i think just wandered into it on a wikipedia dive -- and
so i pulled them up on youtube. watching it as an adult
after having nothing but 3-6 instances that feel like dreams
at this point

reactions were:

A1) wow, it's just so farty and dead here. that i feel like
they're the last living humans and they're on some spaceship
and review movies. i think there was another show based on
this concept...

A2) the audio sounds more dead and reflection-less than
if... oh... alec empire set up a studio on the supercooled
mirror of the james web space telescope? the only sound ~
their voices, forever. no echo, no reflection. no motion, no
interruptions. no change of scene. just this purgatory of
two people arguing. this is absolutely not salient to
whether their reviews were any good or not

B) right as i am getting this first impression (A1-2) gluing
my perception together with dream-like memories, the
encoding on the youtube vid sharts out and i get the
screenshot i posted. bon apparat


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-17 04:06 [#02626778]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict



on the other hand. this show left a very crisp memory.
bless it


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-17 04:19 [#02626779]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict



that -- merely an impression -- a lot of 80s talk TV shows
feel like this almost claustrophobic thing. that you're
meeting someone from another culture and their culture says
for them to park their nose three millimeters from your
nostril. despite the inferior audio you are too close; you
can hear lunch vibrating in their teef. then also, because
the inferior audio, perhaps you have a 60hz hum, adding to
this surreal dissociated feeling. i think it's same as kung
fu movies all using the same shit flanger and delay fx; they
didn't really have nonlinear editing and de-essing and
careful with that sibilance eugene

but on a show like siskel and ebert, it's rather magnified.
that i've never really watched MST3K properly, just clips,
enough for the flavor -- but i immediately thought: hell
this is where the idea came from. this feeling like you're
stuck on a space capsule for eternity with these two and
they just review movies forever


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-17 05:12 [#02626780]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict | Followup to EpicMegatrax: #02626779



!! attempt at summarization !!

despite the inferior audio you are too close; you can
hear lunch vibrating in their teef. then also, because the
inferior audio, perhaps you have a 60hz hum, adding to this
surreal dissociated feeling


combined with

this is absolutely not salient to whether their reviews
were any good or not


like -- this has a fucking vibe to it. adjective,
dissociative -- that they didn't do dissociatives, no way,
but after enough booze and valium, they met up at the inn
with the same adventurers

then we go back to

a lot of 80s talk TV shows feel like this almost
claustrophobic thing. that you're meeting someone from
another culture and their culture says for them to park
their nose three millimeters from your nostril.


which is why -- the dream-memory gluing together with
current sensory input from now, what fell out of the back of
my head was MST3K, and yes, this is it. whoever came up with
MST3K is just in this hazy floating bubble with these two
shadowy figures, who are more just voices, actually, who,
whenever their show airs, pull you into this weird strange
eternal time warp where just movie reviews forever.

then get someone who's a bit older than me and any number of
routes from there -- weird dreams after falling asleep
watching it, drug experimentation, whatever. someone just
took the escape pod vibe of siskelbert and expanded it into
their own thing with more characters and motion


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-17 05:20 [#02626781]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict



their reviews: agree with some, disagree with others.

existential criticism: i'll freely use the "two thumbs up"
metaphor myself, but i actually hate this as a ratings
schema. there's absolutely no granularity to it. i always
thought this, seeing it in the newspapers, like: these guys
that do 1-5 stars are giving me better quality data

it's like "7 out of 8 dentists are at at least vaguely sure
they know someone who likes this movie" and this was fucking
marketing; it's so mild that every movie poster has their
name on it, even if it was a very. weak. two thumbs up

but then i'm gathering that was merely for their brand, and
what they actually offered was a good nerd fight. and i
never saw that from just seeing "two thumbs up" over and
over


 

offline EpicMegatrax from Greatest Hits on 2023-04-27 12:01 [#02626945]
Points: 24389 Status: Addict



it's a bit of a long pull, but... mm, yes, Bob Iger 2028.
destroying the anus of one Ron DeSantis could really put him
on the map


 


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