@patrickquin@furry.engineerI’ve seen a claim on BlueSky that #Zenimax “squared things away” with Mick Gordon. I struggle to find anything that substantiates that claim. Between that and BDS still putting fire to Microsoft, I have little interest in playing Doom TDA.
@hikingdude@mastodon.socialHello all!
I wasn't able to process the photos of my recent trips, but I wanted to share this one from last year.
I went there on a hot day to "take a couple of photos". In the end I spent 3h just at this waterfall searching for the right composition & interpretation, the right motive etc.
I love the result, but I'm surprised how much time I spent there to get it.
@sproid@social.linux.pizzaI'm trying PopOS on a second PC and there's some things I love and, all the things I hate about it have to do mainly with GNOME.
How come the terminal doesn't have autocomplete?
Why can't I navigate to a smb address by putting it on the file manager?
@EmilyMoranBarwick@mastodon.social
@mariyadelano@hachyderm.ioThe more time goes on, the more conflicted I get about #AI. (or, more specifically, generative AI. I like causal AI a fair bit)
On one hand, I hate so much about it:
the needless environmental and electronic parts waste, the impact on labor, the monopolistic nature of main organizations driving it, the endless conversations about AGI and other absurdly utopian (or dystopian) futures, the widespread theft of IP and human work, the devaluation of labor and craft… so much of it is not okay at all.
On the other hand, I kinda get it?
I like to test software for myself, so I've been dipping my toes into some popular AI tools over the past couple of years. I have a paid subscription to ChatGPT (which I don’t feel great about, I know), and I have found genuine utility in it.
More so, I feel so conflicted when I talk to people I respect and who I think are very smart and creative and they tell me how in love they are with all of these AI tools, about the complex workflows they build, about their experiments with agentic AI and integrations... These people seem so excited, so alive, so joyous about the things that this technology allows them to do. They often wouldn't have had the skills / knowledge / financial capital to do some of those things with human efforts alone. And now I see them coding their own tools, doing complex data analysis, trying creative experiments with graphics / text / video...
And I feel like a total jerk going "BUT ACTUALLY THIS IS UNETHICAL AND INEFFICIENT AND YOU SHOULD STOP IT BECAUSE AI SUCKS".
The technology behind all these gen AI models does have real utility, and it has kicked off a lot of creativity from people who wouldn't have dabbled in those kinds of projects otherwise.
So I don't know how to feel. Because I can't let go of the guilt and the real problems and the awareness of how much empty hype there is.
#technology #artificialintelligence #genAI #ChatGPT
@midtsveen@social.linux.pizzaI love it when my oversharing turns into me being hyperfixiated on the CNT-FAI in anarchist Spain from 1936 to 1939. Suddenly, I find myself lost in all the details of revolutionary syndicalism and anarchist ideas.
It feels like stumbling into a secret world where people actually tried to live without rulers or bosses. Every little detail just pulls me deeper into this fascinating moment in time.
GLORY TO ANARCHIST SPAIN! ¡VIVA LA ESPAÑA ANARQUISTA!
@nelson@tech.lgbtCalamus 34 I dreamed in a dream
On the surface this short poem is a sort of City on a Hill vision. But I'm going to go with a more radical reading.
This poem reads to me as a fantasy of a gay society. A city of men, lovers, set apart from the rest of the world.
a city invincible to the attacks of the whole of the rest of the earth ...
the quality of robust love ...
the actions of the men of that city
And in all their looks and words.
I can't plausibly argue Whitman conceived of a city set apart in the way I imagine. Although all of Calamus is him constructing the idea of a society of lovers, comrades, brothers, robust love. That to me is very gay.
Intriguingly, in the unpublished Live Oak draft of this poem it is even more explicitly gay:
I saw them tenderly love each other ...
Nothing was greater there than manly love
It seems to me he dreamed a very gay city.
@tiotasram@kolektiva.socialTo dig slightly deeper here, I think that there's a feedback loop between "fall in love/wait for your perfect match (and by the way girls the only career you should aspire to is the literally unattainable 'princess'" Disney stuff and this "my characters are complex I'm so sophisticated; they suffer but it's not intolerable and their lives are good enough despite the imperfections" crap that gets praised as so evocative of the human condition. In fact, I think it merely evokes the condition of its authors & fans who were poisoned by the Disney in their youth and who have remained bad as relationships ever since, though this is not exactly their fault. In any case, their white middle-aged wisdom-shaped-but-quite bitter and intricately-constructed-so-it's-hard-to-see-the-really-untrue-character-facets work ends up keeping their audience within the "romance is luck" cult by way of reassuring them that a middling romance with lots of doubt and complications is "just life" even though the author doesn't actually have any broader perspective on what life is than anyone else.
This has turned into a bit of a rant, but I think I'll just add that reading Mama by Nikkya Hargrove just before Dream State helped immensely to see how the distant & awkward parent-child relationships of the latter are not a product of human nature but instead of white western culture & capitalism.
(The defeatism about climate change is a whole nother dimension of wrong about Dream State, by that's a separate rant.)
@emd@cosocial.caI'm really torn. I love me my @…, great people, great model, love to support and use.
Buuuuut, I'd also love to use my own domain so I can truly own my own social. However I’m concerned about a single user instance not seeing all my current interactions.
Any advice from you self-hosters? I'm trying out
@kexpmusicbot@mastodonapp.uk🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #AfternoonShow
The O’Jays:
🎵 I Love Music (Joey Negro Sweet Music mix)
#TheOJays
https://recordstore.bandcamp.com/track/the-o-jays-i-love-music-instrumental
https://open.spotify.com/track/222TScMmzaZ0IdkvbLoin2
@ruari@velocipederider.comMy son (who is under 10) decided to wear a pocket watch to school today.
I love that beautiful, tiny nerd so much! 😍
@LaChasseuse@mastodon.scotA. I wonder what language the French pres. uses to whisper to the Italian pres?
B. How does Meloni manage to dress like a 12 year old girl and somehow not seem ridiculous?
C. Feel the stomach acid the Japanese delegate is experiencing 😬
D. How is it that Starmer manages to look *exactly* as awkward at these meetings as Theresa May did?
@siggib@infosec.exchangeJust came here to say I'm a huge believer in the message behind the song "All you need is love"
@wfryer@mastodon.cloud“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
John€ 15€:12€ NRSV€€
https://bible.com/bible/2016/jhn.15.12.NRSV
Abide in My Love - Pray As You Go
@jake4480@c.im#NowPlaying this great, bizarre EP that Austin, Texas' MONTAZ put out in 2020, 'Red Butt'. It's like, weird fuzzed out butt rock kinda - reminds me of Sebadoh sometimes maybe? It's rad and I love it when it came out but hadn't revisited it for a while. It's on Bandcamp to buy, too, but no previews there. So here it is on the 'Tube
@joannalaine@hachyderm.ioI love how the clip for Poland doesn’t even have any singing. Just hanging there.
@sonnets@bots.krohsnest.comSonnet 117 - CXVII
Accuse me thus: that I have scanted all,
Wherein I should your great deserts repay,
Forgot upon your dearest love to call,
Whereto all bonds do tie me day by day;
That I have frequent been with unknown minds,
And given to time your own dear-purchased right;
That I have hoisted sail to all the winds
Which should transport me farthest from your sight.
Book both my wilfulness and errors down,
And on just proof surmis…
@grifferz@social.bitfolk.comGot to love Aliexpress:
"Hi andy user,
Your package has been collected by our shipping partner. It is getting closer to you every minute!"
They always call me "andy user" and I have no idea how that could have happened. They of course have my full name and even if they're trying to appear friendly why lower case it and put "user" in?
@samir@functional.computerA friend of mine sent me Iceland (the UK supermarket)‘s official “fuck the management consultants” page, on their actual website.
https://about.iceland.co.uk/our-story/the-dark-ages/
I love it.
@sharan@metalhead.clubThis is a story of how Bad Religion made me start listening to punk rock, and became one of my favorite bands:
https://arnel.bearblog.dev/how-i-started-believing-in-bad-religion/
@paulwermer@sfba.social“Family values do not stop south of the Rio Grande,” he told the crowd. “Why do you think they are here? It’s because they love their family. You and I would do the same thing if we were in their position.”
Guess who said that? Answer below
https://ww…
@PaulWermer@sfba.social“Family values do not stop south of the Rio Grande,” he told the crowd. “Why do you think they are here? It’s because they love their family. You and I would do the same thing if we were in their position.”
Guess who said that? Answer below
https://ww…
@inthehands@hachyderm.ioAs much as I’d love to believe that the 2024 election results were the result of covert ballot tampering, I land in @…’s camp here. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and the evidence here isn’t extraordinary. It isn’t even passing.
Sorry. I’d love to believe it. But I don’t.
1/ https://federate.social/@mattblaze/114684093459547741
@stefan@gardenstate.socialLove #jrpg games but sometimes I run 10 feet between cut scenes and I'm like "guys, what are we doing here?"
@rasterweb@mastodon.socialI love FreshRSS but it no longer works in a desktop browser due to some cookie weirdness.
#FreshRSS
@chrislowles@mastodon.socialgod i love mustard
@Xavier@infosec.exchange
@todbot@mastodon.socialI love these bus stop ads Pasadena is running. And that they properly use “fewer” instead of “less” #pasadena
@Madelen@social.linux.pizzaGot my self a #thinkpad T520 yesterday, so far i love it. Ordered a 16gb set of ram for it. Battery is holding up well for it's age, so not replacing it right away.
@azonenberg@ioc.exchangeGotta love when optimizations and unit tests result in you catching what you thought was a regression, but turned out to be a long-standing corner case bug you've been chasing forever.
Tl;dr implemented an AVX512F version of the inner loop for the eye pattern, which had previously only supported AVX2 and AVX2-FMA.
It promptly failed the unit test despite being a straightforward vector stretch of the AVX2 version (with some small changes because a few instructions I used from …
@idbrii@mastodon.gamedev.placeÖoo is a novel puzzle platformer where you can't jump, but you can bomb yourself around. Love the aesthetic and demo takes 15 min and has some great puzzles. It's from the developer of the much-lauded ElecHead.
Also has the funniest implementation of Clear Save Data I've ever seen.
https://store…
@theDuesentrieb@social.linux.pizzaI have time to experiment with different programming languages and while I'm a big fan of functional or functional style programming, my recent obsession is with #Go
It is a tremendously simple language, without surprises or elaborate mechanisms, procedural and totally boring.. and I love it.
Most satisfying thing is life reload with air and it's usually already compiled and…
@nebucatnetzer@social.linux.pizzaI’m currently playing Jedi Outcast on the #NintendoSwitch
I played it when I was around 15 I think so about 20 years ago.
It is still a lot of fun and I love the fact that there is no auto healing but you have to hunt for medi packs.
However I could do with a bit more auto aim.
My controller skills are still very poor.
@tiotasram@kolektiva.socialJust finished reading Dream State by Eric Puchner, and it kind of pissed me off. I think I can see exactly why it might be popular with a certain WASPy liberal "literati" type that probably includes a lot of influential reviewers, but to me, it's points about love & life, despite being much more complex, ring just about as hollow (and harmful) as a Disney movie.
I've got a lot of quibbles, but I think most galling to me was a throwaway line near the beginning about why platonic relationships get so much less glory in media than romantic ones, when so much of the plot proceeds to revolve around a stale agency-free romantic attraction model that's certainly more complex on its face than a Disney romance but which is ultimately just as misleading.
Go read Loveless or really any YA #OwnVoices romance (especially queer) and you'll be learning more & better lessons about the human condition.
@tweedge@cybersecurity.theaterDoes anyone have an IEEE DataPort subscription through your work or institution and would be open to sharing some files?
I'd love to get https://ieee-dataport.org/documents/cloud-telescope-internet-background-radiation-may-2023…
@matthiasott@mastodon.socialI have no clue how to play in a band, how to record and track, let alone mix a track. But I love music and I could listen forever to Rick Beato interviewing Eric Valentine about every little detail of his productions – this guy really knows and loves his stuff! Incredible! 😮 #music #audioengineering
@kurtsh@mastodon.socialMy single favorite photo of No Kings Los Angeles. I often park here near City Hall Main.
The LA Mall is often hailed as an example of City government failure. I like to think this photo represents Los Angelenos unity & love.
When you attack one of us, you attack all of us. One City. #NoKings
@emd@cosocial.caI love how Mastodon operates
https://cosocial.ca/@timbray/114705127870668731
@funkvolk@mastodon.socialSo, this is why I love this place so much:
Person A makes a funny and interesting observation:
https://social.ds106.us/@johnjohnston/114665513635758197
@…
@v_i_o_l_a@openbiblio.socialdiese #sketchnotes von Nadine Roßa können v.a. für #münsteraner:innen interessant sein: sie drehen sich rund ums #fahrrad! :)
@denmanrooke@social.coop
@radioeinsmusicbot@mastodonapp.uk🇺🇦 Auf radioeins läuft...
Arcade Fire:
🎵 I Love Her Shadow
#NowPlaying #ArcadeFire
https://open.spotify.com/track/3vzh2kkBjJ6Eq28bznTQoj
@nemorosa@mastodon.nu#PennedPossibilities 695 — Do you enjoy the process of worldbuilding?
I love when it comes together, I do. My world is large, and I love to see how the pieces all fit, but most of all, I love discovering that through my characters. It is they who show me these things. They are my guides.
@AimeeMaroux@mastodon.social#LGBTQ people have always existed. I collected truly ancient literature quotes from Gilgamesh and pharaohs to Sappho in ancient Greece and Martial in Rome that prove same sex love is far from a novelty:
@NFL@darktundra.xyz49ers' Trent Williams would 'love to play until I'm 40,' says he won't retire with 'some left in the tank'
https://www.cbss…
@jake4480@c.imYou know it's coming, but you just never know. I was lucky to see Brian solo once, it was a magical show. RIP to this legend. I don't even know how to start with how much I love the Beach Boys. I've talked about it many times on here, how I really got into them in my teens, my parents had tapes (I wrote about my love for Wild Honey here:
@detondev@social.linux.pizzait really is generally safer to assume a male christian singer-songwriter is closeted gay than otherwise. it really is fundamentally lyrically androphilic despite the surrounding style. it really is mostly love songs about falling to your knees and pleasing jesus if you know what i mean wink wink
@tgpo@social.linux.pizzaYES!
I beat American McGee's Alice again!
Man, I love this #video #game.
#videogames
@denmanrooke@mastodon.ie
@Duckbill4994@social.linux.pizzaIt is only when you start searching the web for tips and tricks that your really know that program ;-)
As in:
"I love this stuff, I cannot get enough of it, I need MORE! even though I just finished every line of the manual"
Or is that just my ADHD?
@brian_gettler@mas.toSome music for today's protests in the US. Stay safe everyone. Don't forget to dance as needed.
Laura Jane Grace, "Baby, I'm an Anarchist" (live, 2021)
https://youtu.be/7-nj4QhjJpc
@YaoyuanXiaLei@mstdn.jpI was taking a break at DOUTOR Coffee Shop, and to my surprise, Dr. Hook's “Better Love Next Time” (1979) was played in the background music. So happy that I almost cried.
− https://youtu.be/URGJ2jK69qs
@jamesthebard@social.linux.pizzaThings I would love to have: a 32-port 400GbE switch. Things I cannot afford: a 32-port 400GbE switch.
@midtsveen@social.linux.pizzaSorry if I fucked up your day too, but I fucking love you all! After looking at this GIF, I’m over it!
Autism is real as hell, and autism is fucking awesome. Fuck the haters, fuck anyone who’s “anti-autism,” and fuck domestic violence against autistic people.
I exist, I’m proud, and I’m not going anywhere. Autism power, always fucking rad!
Mistakes happen, and I gotta work on myself, lmao! You do you, and I’ll do me. Cool? Cool.
@nelson@tech.lgbtCalamus 33 No labor-saving machine
Another poem in a style I don't care for. A series of negations, Whitman declaiming all the things he is not doing. On a theme I also don't care for, Whitman talking about his own legacy.
The nice part is what he does imagine his legacy to be:
these carols, vibrating through the air, I leave,
For comrades and lovers.
I love that phrase "vibrating through the air", delicious poetry. And once again Whitman's declares his passion for comrades and lovers, a return to the central gay theme of Calamus.
@brentsleeper@sfba.socialI love how the “#ColeValley Town Square” pop-up turns Carl St. into a relaxed oasis. It’s a great proof-of-concept for permanently closing the street where the #NJudah emerges from the Sunset Tunnel (and extending the footprint of Gamble Memorial Park).
@dingsextrem@mas.to
@andres4ny@social.ridetrans.itugh I hate them both https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3lrhcu2tnmx23
@roland@devdilettante.comI am no better and neither are you
We are the same, whatever we do
You love me, you hate me, you know me and then
You can't figure out the bag I'm in <-- #SlyAndTheFamilyStoneForEvah :-) https://yout…
@MamasPinkyToe@mastodon.worldGrandma, I love having you come over but I wish you would stop talking about your sexuality.
@BBC6MusicBot@mastodonapp.uk
@daniel@social.telemetrydeck.comAs a human, I love the WWDC advertisement voice encouraging me to run faster when I workout with the Apple. That’s just the boost I need to reach the finish line! #wwdc
@jovian34@social.linux.pizzaI will be giving my first #Python talk at PyOhio in July. Very excited!
https://www.pyohio.org/2025/program/talks/how-a-solo-hobbyist-learned-…
@cjhearn@mastodonapp.uk#Austria had great staging (who didn't love a rising mast?) and impressive vocals, but I don't think even a rave storm could get that through #Eurovision
@jeang3nie@social.linux.pizzaWent to Indian motorcycles demo day yesterday to check out a few of the bikes. I am admittedly not a cruiser guy, but in the back of my mind I'd love to have a touring bike someday, or at least something that can eat up highway miles better than my vintage Yamaha. I love that bike, but it was geared for the 55mph speed limit of the day, so at 70mph the engine is turning at 4500rpm. There's no wind protection, and while I think the riding position is perfect for controlling a bike thr…
@avalon@jazztodon.comYesterday and Karma — Osamu Kitajima and Minnie Ripperton
https://youtube.com/watch?v=J-AVx-qrxeI&si=qduD8LViKHBIS8C0
@sharan@metalhead.clubThis is me (playing bass) with my first band ever called Rapa Nui. This was officially our first gig, although the first one happened a few months before this one, in Sarajevo, in front of the then-demolished Youth House.
Back then, I hated melodic punk, feeling the buzz from bands like Motorhead and different extreme metal and grindcore artists.
However, in 2016, I rediscovered an old favorite.
This is a story of how Bad Religion made me start listening to punk rock, an…
@losttourist@social.chatty.monsterI do actually love Two Tribes and it easily makes my top ten of all time favourite 80s songs.
The bassline alone remains unsurpassed.
#TOTP
@Adam@social.lein.usI love that I can re-color individual parts of SVG graphics automatically for prefers-color-scheme user preferences using CSS! #WebDesign
@Erikmitk@mastodon.gamedev.placeI was playing Pup Champs and got totally stuck on level 2-12. I had an idea on how to solve it but I couldn't get it to work for days. Heck… this level IS IMPOSSIBLE AND NO WAY THAT IS SOLVABLE AT ALL. Then I did solve it and the solution is now clear as glass and straight forward even.
I love thinky games until I hate them until I love them again! That’s why they are great!
@caroldib@mastodon.socialLet me love the part of you
that doubts whether it can be loved.
You’re not a puzzle I wish to solve;
You’re the Universe I long to get lost in.
And in your vastness, find myself home.
.
🖼️ Hilma af Klint. The Swan, No 24, Group IX ✨
@teledyn@mstdn.caAlso, John Adams was cautioned by European royalty that his Constitution gave the President more power than any monarch of Europe ever had. Minor point, I know.
Crowned as king, Trump would become no more than a tourist attraction. He'd love that, and folks could toss peanuts at him!
@raiders@darktundra.xyzKolton Miller: 'I want to be a Raider for life, I love it here' https://www.raiders.com/video/kolton-miller-offense-raider-minicamp-presser-pete-carroll-geno-smith-offseason-061025
@Jyoti@mas.toI love food, I love sex, I love MUSIC but there's a special thrill about discovering that you love an author's work that you have never read before.
You look at all the books they've written that you're gonna binge and it's like.... mmmmmm... like a whole stack of the sexiest pancakes in your bed.
@ruari@velocipederider.comHmm… maybe I should pickup a watch with a "California Dial". 🤔
P.S. For those unfamiliar with this dial layout or even those who have seen it but wondered WTF is going on, this is a nice summary:
https://revolutionwatch.com/california-love/
@samir@functional.computer@… I love this piece. Thanks for sharing it. I'd not heard of Ink & Switch, and I'm going to enjoy browsing their work. Their spreadsheet ideas are really fascinating.
People seem to be pushing LLMs as the saviour to this problem. I think Lisp and Prolog are probably better answers.
@kurtsh@mastodon.socialI've heard the 'main' Kevin Smith stories so many times, I think this maybe round 4-5 of the George Carlin casting tale...
...but I genuinely love his delivery & punchline every time. 😂
▶️ Kevin Smith: The $30 Million Dollar Man | Whiskey Ginger
https://youtube.com/watch?v=WymwLg…
@kexpmusicbot@mastodonapp.uk🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #MiddayShow
Starcrawler:
🎵 I Love LA
#Starcrawler
https://starcrawler.bandcamp.com/track/i-love-la
https://open.spotify.com/track/5rc1AW1Ctdhs3HKJPviQdh
@midtsveen@social.linux.pizzaI love communism because of its vision of a society based on equality, solidarity, and the abolition of class and state oppression. The idea of real communism, as envisioned by thinkers like Peter Kropotkin and Karl Marx, inspires me deeply. It’s a world where people freely associate, manage their own workplaces, and share resources according to need. This ideal has never truly been realized in history, which makes it all the more important to keep striving for it.
At the same time, I …
@jamesthebard@social.linux.pizzaLast thing to do today accomplished: got the Allen&Heath CQ-12T mixer's firmware updated and now it works like it's supposed to under Linux. No more distortion/audio corruption which makes me happy. Absolutely love this mixer, but I hated having to wait for those kinds of issues to get fixed.
#audio
@sonnets@bots.krohsnest.comSonnet 131 - CXXXI
Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,
As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel;
For well thou know'st to my dear doting heart
Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel.
Yet, in good faith, some say that thee behold,
Thy face hath not the power to make love groan;
To say they err I dare not be so bold,
Although I swear it to myself alone.
And to be sure that is not false I swear,
A thousand groans, b…
@nelson@tech.lgbtCalamus 24 I hear it is charged against me
This poem feels just so typically Whitman, but lesser somehow. Not one of my favorites.
He says he is "charged that I seek to destroy institutions". Charged by whom, one wonders, is he really so important? He sort of denies this, or is ambivalent to it, and then gets to the queer part:
I will establish ... the institution of the dear love of comrades
And here we are again at the central queer question: just what does he mean by "dear love of comrades"? As I read these poems I'm increasingly thinking it's both things. Sure, it's brotherly love, adhesiveness, a sort of robust fraternity. But so much of his writing and life is homoerotic it has to also have that charge. It can be both.
I feel like I've heard that phrase "the institution of the dear love of comrades" repeated often.
@brian_gettler@mas.toI love Mel Brooks.
@denmanrooke@social.coopThis animation from the 2000s randomly or (shall I say magically) found it's way from the abyss of my memory... and so I sang it to my daughter and she loved it.
https://youtu.be/au3-hk-pXsM?si=1S5kAU47mVdGuHeY
@caroldib@mastodon.socialLet me love the part of you
that doubts whether it can be loved.
You’re not a puzzle I wish to solve;
You’re the Universe I long to get lost in.
And in your vastness, find myself home.
.
🖼️ Hilma af Klint. The Swan, No 24, Group IX ✨
@samir@functional.computer@… You’re going much more low-level, then!
Please make this work. I am quite disappointed with nvim-lsp and would love an alternative.
@detondev@social.linux.pizzaGod I love immediately pouncing on every misspell someone makes
@rasterweb@mastodon.socialGosh I would love to make the things I create more expressive and delightful, while being instantly familiar...
@jake4480@c.imIf you're in the mood for something weird and fast, I have some strange Chinese punk for you. 悶煮悶MENGZHUMENG are from Chengdu, China and have released three short, bizarro 'social reintegration' demos (so far) this year, and I love all of them. Herky jerky, fun, you'd probably call this 'egg punk' for sure. I mean, just listen to it. 🇨🇳 🍳 😂
Social reintegration DEMO#1:
@sharan@metalhead.club @tiotasram@kolektiva.socialFinished "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway last night. For me, it was a gripping and absolutely delightful read. I can recognize that I'm absolutely unequipped to judge whether it authentically reflects the experiences of many or few of the people whose situations are similar to the protagonists', but I find myself fervently hopeful for the former, even as I recognize such hopes in the part of people like me can be part of ultimately harmful publishing selection feedback loops. (If anyone reading this happens to have read the book and found it distasteful, I'd love to hear that.) Notwithstanding my probably overcautious uncertainty, I'll definitely be seeking out more books by Benway. At the very least, I really enjoyed her little joining and framing metaphors, and the pacing and plot construction were good, with lots of nicely interwoven implications arising through the buildup, and an ending that left me satisfied (albeit, I'm an inveterate optimist, YMMV).
#AmReading
@kexpmusicbot@mastodonapp.uk🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #SundaySoul
Sweet Mixture:
🎵 House of Fun and Love
#SweetMixture
https://sweetmixture.bandcamp.com/album/i-love-you-house-of-fun-and-love
https://open.spotify.com/track/1iP49EBHCt7YWHuFVePs6m
@nelson@tech.lgbtCalamus 30 A promise and gift to California
Well they can't all be winners. A tedious poem of Western fantasy. Appropriately aspirational for 1860 but not a particularly interesting nor unique sentiment. Also an unkept promise: Whitman never reached the west coast.
Looking for my gay reading, all I have is this:
I and robust love belong among you
I do like Whitman's lustiness, in this case his "robust love". We know a thing or two about that in California.
@nelson@tech.lgbtCalamus 27 O love!
Odd little poem. On the surface it's a celebration of reinvention, of metaphorically dying and leaving your corpse behind, "always living". I don't find it particularly compelling but it's a mood.
I can't honestly find a particularly gay reading here. Broadly speaking maybe, "coming out" is a kind of reinvention gay people do, leaving our old closeted persona dead and gone. I wouldn't argue Whitman is talking about that though.
One odd thing is the 1860 poem starts "O love!", but there's no love mentioned in the rest of the text. Whitman removed this line in later versions. So who or what is the love referring to?
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Randy Newman:
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@samir@functional.computer@… I love this and I'm going to abuse it.
@nelson@tech.lgbtCalamus 29 One flitting glimpse
What a sweet poem of quiet love. One of my favorites so far.
The setup is voyeuristic: we're spying on a bar full of men. And we see Whitman in a corner, and then
a youth who loves me, and whom I love, silently approaching, and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand
It astonishes me that these poems of clear homosexual love were published in 1860!
What's particularly nice is the contrast between the rowdy bar scene
drinking and oath and smutty jest
and the quiet intimacy of Whitman and his lover
we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little, perhaps not a word.
The expression of love here is universal. But it is a man writing about a man, in the company of men. And thus it is particularly mine.
@samir@functional.computer@… @… I love this. ^_^
This is the same GitHub where any commit on any fork is accessible in the forked repository, right?
I wonder if you can brick someone else's repo by forking, without even opening a PR…
@nelson@tech.lgbtCalamus 20 I saw in Louisiana a live-oak growing
What a heartaching poem of loneliness and the need for the love of another! Just wonderful. I understand now why this poem is so popular, particularly as a gay poem. It is full of meaning and is quite clear about it.
I wondered how it could utter joyous leaves, standing alone there, without its friend, its lover near—for I knew I could not
There's a more cerebral interpretation of this work, particularly if you understand "leaves" to mean "pages in my poetry book Leaves of Grass". Whitman talking about his own poetic inspiration from lovers.
Which well enough. But I'm more interested in Whitman's expressed need for "manly love". Which is clearly on his mind constantly:
my own dear friends ... I believe lately I think of little else than of them
Also Whitman's own eroticization of nature and himself. Here speaking of the tree,
its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me think of myself
@nelson@tech.lgbtCalamus 25 The prairie-grass dividing
Whitman's celebration of simple men, of men from "inland America", of those who are unimpressed by Presidents and Governors. It's a romantic sentiment but in 2025 also feels a little naïve or condescending.
But as always I'm here for the gay stuff. Which starts explicitly enough
[I] Demand the most copious and close companionship of men
Well OK then! Me too. Maybe you could read that in a non-sexual way but then Whitman gets lusty
[I demand] Those with a never-quell'd audacity—those with sweet and lusty flesh, clear of taint, choice and chary of its love-power
My goodness, is that hot! At least to start, it's a shame he tames it seeking out men "chary of love-power". At least he recognizes their love power! I'll take the taint, thank you.
