2025-12-26 09:28:34
To frame #Grinch vs #Scrooge as a mere new-for-old replacement misses half the point of #AChristmasCarol: it’s not just a redemption story, but—like much of
To frame #Grinch vs #Scrooge as a mere new-for-old replacement misses half the point of #AChristmasCarol: it’s not just a redemption story, but—like much of
Oh, FFS. More than 80 gay men were murdered by youth gangs in #Sydney—that we know about—between 1970 and 2010. The actual number is probably far higher.
This isn’t a new phenomenon by any stretch. Only the perpetrators’ faces have changed.
Isn’t it about time #NSW took anti-
The #BlackDahlia and #Zodiac killings may have had the same perpetrator.
Very good news, indeed.
Also: “The agreement has sidelined Sussan Ley’s Coalition, who criticised the ‘dirty deal’ after Labor refused to accept its laundry list of business-friendly demands.”
This, of course, is a natural consequence of the #LNP doubling and tripling down on policies that handed them their arses at the polls, and then publicly throwing a tanty when they don’t get their way.
High-dimensional data has this property: it is extremely unlikely that there will be a data point situated at the exact center.
It’s the high dimensionality that’s important here. One person might be at some sort of average on •one• dimension, but for them to be at the average on •all• dimensions grows exponentially less likely as the number of dimensions increases.
It’s like trying to roll all threes with a set of dice. Odds of that with one die? 1 in 6. Odds with two dice? 1 in 36. Odds with 10 dice? 1 in ~60 million.
4/
And people keep being suprised by the regular genocides that *keep fucking happening*. And yes, call what ICE is doing what it is. It is a gencoide. Even if it's not killing millions of people (yet), the "genocide" doesn't mean "killing logs of people" it means "trying to wipe out a specific ethnic, racial, or religious group." What the fuck is ICE trying to do? They're carrying out ethnic cleansing. It's genocide.
Genocide in Gaza, genocide in Syria, genocide in Turkey, China, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Serbia... why the fuck does it keep happening? I'll tell you why. It's states.
People like to think of countries and ethnic reagions as the same thing, but they aren't. They never have been. There's never been clear divisions between ethnic groups. But the existence of the state depends on a shared identity. When the truth is more complicated, the state must find a way to fix that. The solution is genocide. You can't separate the two. There can be no state without genocide. The mechanism to carry ou the kind of mass murder and the incentive to do so are really not easy to put together without the state. The state makes genocide viable, and the state demands genocide to protect it's own existence.
Every election is a dice roll. Every state is on a clock, waiting for the luck to run out. And the worst people possible are just waiting for their chance to win and carry out those genocides in order to lock in their power.
Never again means nothing unless you are attacking the root of genocide: the state.
Olha que coincidência engraçada. Eu estou ouvindo os episódios do #RPGuaxa em sequência e, como não tenho muito tempo para essas coisas, estou muito atrasado. E o que eu peguei pra ouvir agora é justamente um episódio especial de Natal, só que antigo (acho que é de 2022) rs.
Ališs, pra quem curte RPG eu recomendo muito seguir o podcast "Realidades Paralelas do Guaxinim" do
A century ago, the average Australian was a 24-year-old man. Who is it now? https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/who-is-the-average-australian-january-26/x7yorayup?cid=newsapp:socialshare:other
Man, this Wolfenstein sequel is kinda weird.
😂 https://dice.camp/@artemis/115912966038758154
Nunca me cansaré de recordar a los compañeros de curro en la daily que en el móvil personal no se configura ninguna cuenta ni aplicación del trabajo. Que luego pasa que alguien dice que le llegó una notificación super importante a las 18:30. Pues es que si no lo tienes configurado y no te pagan guardias ya lo veršs a la mañana siguiente, que no eres un esclavo.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/seedlinggames/the-sierra-express
Doing a Kickstarter for zine quest (if they ever put the label on)
It's an adventure set on a train. It's for Knights of the Road and similar systems (an ItO-like set in a ver…
RE: https://dice.camp/@uncanny_kate/115747348589425025
It's VERY IMPORTANT to realise things were not always as they are now.
When the word "monetisation" started to be used instead of "don't be evil", that's when enshit…
I wish my #cat were so casual about his duties. Every morning he shepherds us through this sequence:
• I use the bathroom.
• I feed him breakfast, which he ceremoniously takes a few bites of.
• I open the lounge room blind for sun and the sliding door for breeze.
• He wakes my wife to herd her to the lounge.
• I make my wife tea and breakfast.
• My wife puts the TV on.
…
#SelfPromoMonday ( I just made up that hashtag)
Beside here on Sakurajima you can follow me at those places
on dice.camp (I don't post much there but I should) @…
on Bluesky I'm @kin…
How the #Aboriginal #flag ended up on a spaceship in the future: https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/art…
I hope Santa brings him bowel cancer for Christmas. https://aus.social/@jhaue/115773856102874588
A belated #ThursdayFiveList: courtesy of @…, #TheShortestSongs:
1. Steve Ibsen, “The Kitty Cat Dance” [1:29]—
“In research [doctoral candidate Colin Domnauer] is preparing for publication, chemical extracts from lab specimens produced behavioural changes in mice similar to those reported in human. [sic]”
So, is it safe to assume that the #mice perceived that they, in turn, were surrounded by even tinier mice? 🤔
#science
Así que Trump dice que quiere invadir un país de la Unión Europea y robarle parte del territorio secuestrando a la población. ¿Von der Layen qué dirš de esto?
Now that the US has left the #WHO, I'm kinda bummed I didn’t buy polio futures.
Nearly missed it AGAIN! Happy #Saturnalia!
My wife spotted this on Facebook: it’s apparently posted somewhere along Kings Hwy near Bungendore. #Christmas
First, they need to decouple the route from the existing network, or risk it daily becoming a *glacially slow* high-speed train. Then, set rolling stock design parameters that don’t, say, require paring back multiple existing station platforms. And then, somehow manage not to fuck up the rolling stock tender process.
We’ve been dancing this dance for decades. I can guess what’s on that shovel.
#auspol
TIL about Oskar Speck, who kayaked from Ulm, #Germany, in May 1932, down the Danube, through to Cyprus to work in the copper mines—but decided to continue through to #Australia instead. After over seven years of paddling, he finally arrived on Thursday Island, in Torres Strait, in September 1939, whereupon Au…
First-ever flexible #ToolUse seen in a #cow suggests livestock are smarter than believed | #ScientificAmerican
It’s Monday? *IS* it Monday? Here, take these 10 random tracks:
1. Weezer—“Say It Ain't So”
2. Single Gun Theory—“Fall”
3. Bong-Ra—“666MPH”
4. System of a Down—"Shimmy”
5. Digable Planets—“Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”
6. Bloodywood—“Punjabi Metal”
7. Big Brother & the Holding Company—“Piece of My Heart”
8. Metallica—“Enter Sandman”
9. Paul Oakenfold—“Ready Steady Go”
10. The Chaser—"Coal Makes Me Cum”
We’ll tag t…
Having to sell up your colossal polygamy palace—before you’ve even finished its cavernous basement or put the walls on its blimp-hangar barn—must be heartbreaking in a way that only the risibly wealthy could conceive. https://eigenmagic.net/@weirdestate/115937709041607436
In case you were curious how the #SocialMediaBan is progressing: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/article/australia-social-media-ba…
A #gongfarmer in the wild!
#DCCRPG https://piefed.soci…
AKA, 10 reasons why Dave becomes nearly homicidal in shopping malls during Yuletide. https://flipboard.com/@mental_floss/all-mental-floss-stories-6c4rdkdrz/-/a-qioyNTWXRzefg4EvIVr1qw:a:621690127-/0
10 tracks randomly chosen from a list of 2112:
1. Judas Priest, “Crossfire”
2. Royal Blood, “Figure It Out”
3. Disturbed, “Down with the Sickness”
4. The Smiths, “Ask (Remix)”
5. Stone Temple Pilots, “Plush”
6. Smashing Pumpkins, “Tonight, Tonight”
7. Queen, “Princes of the Universe”
8. Hoodoo Gurus, “Like Wow—Wipeout!”
9. Dave Graney & the Coral Snakes, “You”re Just Too Hip, Baby”
10. Stone Temple Pilots, “Dead & Bloated”
…and…
#OTD in 1788, the final seven ships joined the four vessels of the #FirstFleet already in #BotanyBay. (HMS Supply arrived on 18 Jan; three others on 19 Jan.)
Four days later, the two vessels of the French La Perou…
This week’s #ThursdayFiveList—courtesy of @…—is #ForeignAffairs: songs in a tongue that isn’t my own.
1. Adriano Celentano, “Prisencolinensinainciusol”—
Are they in the #Epstein files, too, Mr President? https://tomkahe.com/@GiftArticles/116100990382833807
As if clipping weekend penalties weren’t enough, consumers are now expected to subsidise #WageTheft like they do in the US? https://eigenmagic.net/@NewtonMark/115754528898615607
I should steal junk food. Copy that.
Love the scare acronym, BTW. Y’know, I might consider taking this article seriously if they hadn't plastered it with inline clickbait ads encouraging me to wrap my doorknobs in tinfoil. #meeja #jermalisms
This explains something.
My father's side of the family are notably understated in their spoken opinions, a trait I inherited. It's not just English stoicism—my grandfather on that side was born in England, and my grandmother came from the South Downs, then a very English part of QLD—but even more so. A couple of generations farther back, though, the male line crossed the sea from #Germany
The House Oversight Committee investigated #Ring’s data-sharing arrangements with #LawEnforcement back in 2020. Ring’s practice of #surveillance on behalf of
Take it from me, as an Australian who’s worked in politics: strongly reconsider following Australia’s lead in *any* sort of policy. Learn from our egregious mistakes. Please. #ukpol #SocialMediaBan
Bell died in office in 1851, but it’d take another 35 years before Parliament legislated the removal of MPs judged of unsound mind.
That particular instrument was only used once, to replace Charles Leach in 1916 after he was institutionalised for what may’ve been vascular dementia. The onset of #WW1 delayed a general election, whereupon an unfit MP would normally have been allowed to retire graceful…
The poster, FWIW, is shown here: #auspol
Jeez. I have nearly 600 on Bluesky, and I’ve only posted there a half-dozen times. https://beige.party/@StefanThinks/115925345069500675
Happy Gravy Day, to all those who celebrate.
Oddly enough, I feel the same way, albeit with an antipodean arsebackwardness: the nights will get longer again. *sigh* https://mstdn.social/@dabertime/115754561123667224
Having watched the first two episodes, the standouts IMO were Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti), SAM (Kerrice Brooks), Lura Thok (Gina Yashere), and Jett Reno (Tig Notaro).
I fear that, like #StarTrekDiscovery, #StarfleetAcademy’s strong, female captain may be its least interesting character. H…
Banana Shire’s recent history’s tied heavily to #coal, but they’ve pivoted towards #solar generation in the last couple of years. It’s great to see they’re following that up with environmentally responsible policy to mitigate landfill from solar generation, too.
What? No Daria?
(Okay, maybe I’m old.)
https://youtube.com/shorts/rGManNdSxPo
Alt Text:
"Andy Borowitz
"Trump Says Andrew's Arrest Sets Dangerous Precedent of Pedophiles Facing Consequences”
Beneath, a photo of Donald Trump speaking, looking somewhat upset, maybe? (I don't know. Do sociopaths' externalised emotions mean anything anyway?) https://social.vival…
It’s like my brain’s looking in a mirror. 😳 https://tech.lgbt/@Natasha_Jay/115852758435605312
*sigh* Why did I buy all these apples if I can’t hurl them at medical practitioners?
One of these things is not like the others. #jermalisms
Lemme get this straight: the man who led the Liberals—#Australia's more conservative major party, natch—to the worst defeat in its 60 year history wants to legally suppress the internal inquiry into its risible electoral performance because… it may suggest he was in some part responsible?
And not, say, the mythical Communist fifth column the snowflake Right routinely blames for its poor s…
It feels weird to me that they can estimate uncertainty to that degree of accuracy. https://wandering.shop/@cstross/116091704024541005
If you thought *your* high school experience was rough, please spare a thought for poor Anus the Diviner. Celestial Lowland High was not kind to them. https://mastodon.art/@wizard_roll_call/116090243725215507
Alt text:
“THEObr🌞mic
@theobromic_
“a 2005 study found an autistic reindeer herder in siberia that didnt like being around people but memorized the entire genealogical and medical history of all his 2600 reindeer, which made him a respected elder in his community”
Quoted post:
“Jack @JMB4wasHere
“What did autistic people in ancient times
hyperfixate on”
Alt Text:
“Sarah J. Jackson
@sjjphd.bsky.social
“Someone has sure already made this
observation but the fact they can
convert all those empty warehouses into
prison camps means they could have
converted them into housing,
community centers, job training centers
or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It's
always a matter of will not resources.”
Inverted pineapple on a pizza.
#ScandalousFoods #HashtagGames
Good news, but the #Nazis will still be out in force on #AustraliaDay, marching with the rest of the delusional bigots.
This is the face of the dog who inherited the postie bike. #auspol #libspill https://social.chinwag.org/@abc_bot/11
A lovely, overcast Monday, and 10 random songs from a playlist of 2146—what better time for #MondayRandom10?
1. Queens of the Stone Age, “Burn the Witch”
2. Angine de Poitrine, "Sahardnieh”
3. Donovan, “Jennifer Juniper”
4. Marilyn Manson, “Man That You Fear”
5. No Doubt, “Don’t Speak”
6. Otyken, “Genesis (Radio Edit)”
7. Musicalbasics, “Four Seasons Nig…
This is the face of the dog who inherited the postie bike. #auspol #libspill https://social.chinwag.org/@abc_bot/11
Jesus fuck. We don’t suddenly expect rational, well-considered options from Reddit of all places now, do we? https://social.chinwag.org/@FediThing/115907834493594403
Great. We ARE back in the 1920s again. https://qoto.org/@bibliolater/115909278576043973
“A week ago, someone sent me a link to an online article describing a flaming confrontation between me and the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank, Matt Comyn, on the set of 7.30.
“The story was 2,000 words long, very detailed, and had pictures of Comyn and me arguing in front of 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson, before Matt throws away his microphone and storms off.
“Not a word nor a photo of it was true. It was an #AI
400,000 years ago, early #Neanderthals gathered around a pit in what’s now a #Suffolk forest to spark the oldest known #fire created by human hands.
Not to be that guy, but it was #ASIS—#Australia’s *external* intelligence agency. #history
“[Plaintiff, disability #pensioner Kathy] Pope said she had contacted more than 45 legal firms in the hope of enlisting legal representation [against #mining #billionaire
Y’know, if history’s anything to go by, that kind of sentiment’s likely to have your corpse exhumed and tried for regicide. https://tomkahe.com/@GiftArticles/116073977239739909
It's Monday. I have 2107 tracks on my playlist. I’m going to list 10 of them at random:
1. Afrojack & Saymyname, “Hot”
2. Propellerheads, “Crash!”
3. Bloodywood, “Punjabi Metal”
4. Cypress Hill, “Dr Greenthumb”
5. Jon English, “Hollywood Seven”
6. Basement Jaxx, “Get Me Off”
7. The Cure, “This is a Lie”
8. E-Klektik, “Maracana Madness”
9. Subcarpați, “Underground Folclor”
10. The Beatles, “I am the Walrus”
And then I’ll slap a …
And the “-ger” part of "Roger” also appears in "garlic”—literally “spear leek”.
#etymology https://toot.community/@AllEndlessKnot/115684991273671288
Today, #Australian LGBTIQ youth, abuse victims, and other vulnerable young folk lose their social media access, including vital sources of information and support.
#NotPeterDutton’s response?
“Read that book that's been sitting there on your shelf for some time.”
As a survivor of…
I’ve not had a deep dive into the files, but from the little I did see, it was clear #Epstein actively searched for inroads into #Australia. I’m glad our government’s taking this seriously. Who knows what they’ll dig up.
#auspol
Why do I only find out about these 40 years after the fact? 🤦🏻♂️ https://bird.makeup/users/pulplibrarian/statuses/2010392910546763926
I’m mildly surprised Agent #Krasnov didn’t secure him a pardon.
#AldrichAmes, most damaging CIA traitor in agency history, dies at 84 - The Washington Post
Analysis of pine tar caulking shows that the #Hjortspring boat—a raiding vessel preserved in a Danish bog in the 4th century BCE—originated in the #Baltic, and not in northwestern Germany, as had been previously suspected.
#ThursdayFiveList! #SmellsLikeTeenSpirit! Songs teen Dave loved (and still does)! Too many characters!
1. Skatenigs, “Chemical Imbalance”—https://
FAFO: the same internal mechanisms used to deny minorities also work equally well at crushing dissent, from wherever it stems. https://tomkahe.com/@GiftArticles/116060293291811840
And that’s not even touching on *disability* issues like poor eyesight or dyscalculia… (3/3)
RQ, OTOH, suffers from its mechanical complexity, *and* somewhat abstruse setting. It has a steep learning curve, and if it's to succeed at its goals, then Chaosium needs to make the scenarios’ Cult editions (at least) more accessible to new players within a typical session's timeframe. There are things you can do as a GM (although they may require substantial additional time and effort), but I fear the materials as they stand throw *everyone* into the deep end, player and GM alike. …
@… If it *was* you, then thank you—I enjoyed myself, despite my whinging!
What I was getting at, though, was that since Chaosium last retooled the Cult of Chaos' scenario line-up, the programme's emphasised onboarding new players. Cthulhu's become sufficiently ubiquitous that CoC’s fairly easy to grasp, and Pendragon, Rivers of London, and Ag…
FAFO: the same internal mechanisms used to deny minorities also work equally well at crushing dissent, from wherever it stems. https://tomkahe.com/@GiftArticles/116060293291811840
I'm surprised Linda Reynolds hasn't sued herself for defamation; she's done more to impugn her own character than either Higgins or Sharaz have. https://social.chinwag.org/@abc_bot/115704374580265884
Monday again?
It must be time for #MondayRandom10: 10 tracks selected randomly from my playlist of 2134.
1. Smoke City, "What It Was”
2. Vato Gonzalez, "Cats Are Evil”
3. Propellerheads, “Crash!”
4. Spiderbait, "Shazam!”
5. Beck, “Fuckin With My Head (Mountain Dew Rock)”
6. Carnage (ft Terror Bass), “Holy Moly”
7. The Cure, “Lullaby (Exte…
Were I to be marooned, I'd choose one of these islands so I could overhear my neighbours' #DesertIslandMusic. 😁
My five albums, I think:
1. Alabama Shakes—Sound & Color: https://yout…
Ultimately, #Melbourne’s inaccessible tram stops are what led to my wife and I moving to Canberra. It’s despicable that #PublicTransport in a city of Melbourne’s size should be so deliberately exclusive of the disabled.
This whole thread is just… 🧑🍳🤌💋
#ttrpg #shadowrun https://xeno.glyphpress.com/@jack/115657286026101126…