#(which internet SHOULD be considered a utility)

[an-aura-about-you]

that post I reblogged about American Woes made me think of my hometown and like. I feel like we are So Close to grasping something but it's not gonna happen. I mean, one of the reasons I like living here and not wanting to move is that, even though I have to pay for it directly instead of through taxes, I can get municipally provided internet. Comes on the same bill as my electricity, water, sewer, and waste management. (They also provide phone and cable tv services if I want them.) We could just. pay for these things with our taxes. give them to everybody in the city. Why Don't We Do That?????

[theculturedmarxist]

>First, we’ve discovered that about a quarter of all the internet connection in or out of the house were ad related. In a few hours, that’s about 10,000 out of 40,000 processed.

>We also discovered that every link on Twitter was blocked. This was solved by whitelisting the https://t.co domain.

>Once out browsing the Web, everything is loading pretty much instantly. It turns out most of that Page Loading malarkey we’ve been accustomed to is related to sites running auctions to sell Ad space to show you before the page loads. All gone now.

>We then found that the Samsung TV (which I really like) is very fond of yapping all about itself to Samsung HQ. All stopped now. No sign of any breakages in its function, so I’m happy enough with that.

>The primary source of distress came from the habitual Lemmings player in the house, who found they could no longer watch ads to build up their in-app gold. A workaround is being considered for this.

>The next ambition is to advance the Ad blocking so that it seamlessly removed YouTube Ads. This is the subject of ongoing research, and tinkering continues. All in all, a very successful experiment.

>Certainly this exceeds my equivalent childhood project of disassembling and assembling our rotary dial telephone. A project whose only utility was finding out how to make the phone ring when nobody was calling.

>Update: All4 on the telly appears not to have any ads any more. Goodbye Arnold Clarke!

>Lemmings problem now solved.

>Can confirm, after small tests, that RTÉ Player ads are now gone and the player on the phone is now just delivering swift, ad free streams at first click.

>Some queries along the lines of “Are you not stealing the internet?” Firstly, this is my network, so I may set it up as I please (or, you know, my son can do it and I can give him a stupid thumbs up in response). But there is a wider question, based on the ads=internet model.

>I’m afraid I passed the You Wouldn’t Download A Car point back when I first installed ad-blocking plug-ins on a browser. But consider my chatty TV. Individual consumer choice is not the method of addressing pervasive commercial surveillance.

>Should I feel morally obliged not to mute the TV when the ads come on? No, this is a standing tension- a clash of interests. But I think my interest in my family not being under intrusive or covert surveillance at home is superior to the ad company’s wish to profile them.

>Aside: 24 hours of Pi Hole stats suggests that Samsung TVs are very chatty. 14,170 chats a day.

>YouTube blocking seems difficult, as the ads usually come from the same domain as the videos. Haven’t tried it, but all of the content can also be delivered from a no-cookies version of the YouTube domain, which doesn’t have the ads. I have asked my son to poke at that idea.

[getvalentined]

An open letter to @staff

I already submitted this to Support under "Feedback," but I'm sharing it here too as I don't expect it to get a response, and I feel like putting in out in public may be more effective than sending it off into the void.

The recent post on the Staff blog about changing tumblr to an algorithmic feed features a large amount of misinformation that I feel staff needs to address, openly and honestly, with information on where this data was sourced at the very least.

Claim 1: Algorithms help small creators.

This is false, as algorithms are designed to push content that gets engagement in order to get it more engagement, thereby assuring that the popular remain popular and the small remain small except in instances of extreme luck.

This can already be seen on the tumblr radar, which is a combination of staff picks (usually the same half-dozen fandoms or niche special interests like Lego photography) which already have a ton of engagement, or posts that are getting enough engagement to hit the radar organically. Tumblr has an algorithm that runs like every other socmed algorithm on the planet, and it will decimate the reach of small creators just like every other platform before it.

Claim 2: Only a small portion of users utilize the chronological feed.

You can find a poll by user @darkwood-sleddog here that at the time of writing this, sits at over 40 THOUSAND responses showing that over 96 percent of them use the chronological feed*. Claiming otherwise isn't just a misstatement, it's a lie. You are lying to your core userbase and expecting them to accept it as fact. It's not just unethical, it's insulting to people who have been supporting your platform for over a decade.

Claim 3: Tumblr is not easy to use.

This is also 100% false and you ABSOLUTELY know it. Tumblr is EXTREMELY easy to use, the issue is that the documentation, the explanations of features, and often even the stability of the service is subpar. All of this would be very easy for staff to fix, if they would invest in the creation of walkthroughs and clear explanations of how various site features work, as well as finally fixing the search function. Your inability to explain how your service works should not result in completely ignoring the needs and wants of your core long-term userbase. The fact that you're more willing to invest in the very systems that have made every other form of social media so horrifically toxic than in trying to make it easier for people to use the service AS IT WORKS NOW and fixing the parts that don't work as well speaks volumes toward what tumblr staff actually cares about.

You will not get a paycheck if your platform becomes defunct, and the thing that makes it special right now is that it is the ONLY large-scale socmed platform on THE ENTIRE INTERNET with a true chronological feed and no aggressive algorithmic content serving. The recent post from staff indicates that you are going to kill that, and are insisting that it's what we want. It is not. I'd hazard to guess that most of the dev team knows it isn't what we want, but I assume the money people don't care. The user base isn't relevant, just how much money they can bring in.

The CEO stated he wanted this to remain as sort of the last bastion of the Old Internet, and yet here we are, watching you declare you intend to burn it to the ground.

You can do so much better than this.

Response to the Update

Under the cut for readability, because everything said above still applies.

I already said this in a reblog on the post itself, but I'm adding it to this one for easy access: people read it that way because that's what you said.

Staff considers the main feed as it exists to be "outdated," to the point that you literally used that word to describe it, and the main goals expressed in this announcement is to figure out what makes "high-quality content" and serve that to users moving forward.

People read it that way because that is what you said.

*The final results of the poll, after 24 hours:

136,635 votes breaks down thusly:

An algorithm based feed where I get "the best of tumblr." @ 1.3% (roughly 1,776 votes)

Chronological feed that only features blogs I follow. @ 95.2% (roughly 130,077 votes)

This doesn't affect me personally. @ 3.5% (roughly 4,782 votes)

[lutzlig]

Tumblrwoman Election Wrap-Up

To celebrate the end of this election, I'm gonna answer the rest of your questions!

First off:

Thanks everyone for participating! This ended up way bigger than expected. It was pretty exciting, seeing everybody chime in and participate.

Shoutout ESPECIALLY to all the people making fanarts, memes, etc... you people are incredible!!! Most of it can be found under #twe23, be sure to check it out, everybody!

Here's some highlights you people have made:

this github live number tracker made by @twilight-sparkle-irl during the vriska/katya poll. A THRILLING read!

this hollow knight miku oc by @anonymous-utility!! shes so cute...

@seasoned-cabbage made a wiki sandbox for the polls... it's so satisfying to see the stats laid out like this : D

@unidentifiedfroggy wrote fanfiction that just perfectly encapsulates the whole experience : ' )

General Q&A

"Who did you want to win?"

I myself think Vriska deserved the title most! I think vriska is just as integral to tumblr as Cecil is, if not more.

As for the other 2 involved, they didn't really care who won!

How often did you hear "Why are you pitting 2 bad bitches against each other"?

Often! One of us was going to count, but he got so annoyed that he stopped. You people need to get a new sentence.

"Why are there minors in a tumblrsexywoman contest?"

It's not a tumblr sexywoman contest, it's a tumblrwoman election! Before we made the poll, we considered whether it's better to throw out the minors or remove the "sexy" angle. We decided on the latter, mostly because this kind of competition would feel incomplete without tumblrgirls like miku and vriska.

Will you be doing this again next year?

Hm, not sure. Probably not! At least, I wasn't planning on it. We did this on a whim, and this is (SUPPOSED TO BE) my art blog.

I might make a blog for it next year, if these are still relevant and the demand is high (which i highly doubt).

Why didn't you answer my question?

I got like 130 asks this week and most of them were cries of pain and outrage. I was also incredibly busy irl until a day ago. If I didn't answer your question, Sorry!

Concerns about Corruption

According to the tags on these, every single one of the polls was rigged in some way or another. Particularly grievous examples of this were Miku's loss (I suspect Vriskavoters doing foul play (I am vriskavoters. I voted Bayonetta to sabotage Miku. Then i spent the whole day listening to Miku voicebank comparisons.)), and Marcie's win (Somebody accused the Adventure time subreddit of having swamped the poll. The post in question had 19 upvotes. The poll on tumblr had 92,123 votes).

What's more, I've been offered bribes!! Several american dollars! The political landscape of tumblr sure is a scary place...

Manners

Some of you really don't know how to act. This goes out to a small (but very, very vocal) minority - don't be a dick! Just because it's the internet does not mean you can just insult random strangers! This is a poll about fictional women, this is NOT a place to call people the r-word or imply someone is stupid for liking a character.

Some people left pretty graphic, violent messages. Most of these were jokes, but still. Take caution with the words you choose. This should go without saying, but telling strangers to "eat glass" and the like is not acceptable behaviour.

In the end, this was a competition between fictional characters, so seeing people arguing in the replies and trying to gain some sort of moral high ground was a little bit saddening.

Most of you were nice though, luckily : )

Thanks

To everyone who left kind messages, to everyone engaging and having fun, the fan art, the posts, to everyone expressing their thanks to us - thank you!!!

In the end, this was a lot of fun, and it was nice to see the website come together like that!

What's next?

For the next few days, I'm going to be promoting my friends' projects as much as I can to scare all of you people off of my blog.

I got WAY too many followers from this and frankly, that is simply not acceptable. You all need to leave NOW, because I want to get back to posting art eventually and I would rather not be on everybody's timeline.

That's why I have decided to become a massive sell out and reblog my friends' stuff on main for a bit. Peace!

[titleknown]

So, the US Copyright Office is asking for public input about the whole issue of copyright and AI art, and as someone who's not a fan of modern copyright overreach, but with the rise of this issue also feels like I have been abandoned by God in this respect because it feels like everyone just started suddenly turning like the Pod People in Invasion of the Body Snatchers and start shrieking at me when I'm consistent with my values...

...Well, let's just say I'm kinda nervous. But, I recall enough of you hate copyright that you might as well be able to help, so I may as well boost.

My views on it, which I will submit:

Limiting fair use to stop the harvesting of AI data would have huge after-effects, both allowing only megacorps with their own proprietary models to use these tools and also likely being abused by these same megacorps to shut down independent artists.

This is also true for laws forcing the purgation of models using previously mass-harvested data, the havoc it would wreak would be unfathomable and I could easily see that abused to further attack sites like the Internet Archive.

I think there is room to consider models finetuned on a singular living creator/artist's style non-consentually as non-fair-use, that would be reasonable, but no further than that.

The way non-consentual inclusion in datasets should be handled is through expanding online privacy laws rather than copyright law, because this is a privacy issue and always should have been a privacy issue, and you need to tell Chuck Schumer to stop serving as a lobbyist cumdumpster and actually pass some privacy laws that aren't "Think of the Children"-type garbage like KOSA or EARN IT.

Copyrighting artstyle would be an unfathomably terrible idea that would make the visual art world as much of a copyright hellscape as the music world and destroy the livelihoods of all traditional artists who utilize pastiche at all, DO NOT DO THIS, NO MATTER WHAT ADOBE SAYS.

The idea that purely AI-generated works are automatically public domain should be explicitly placed into law, and in fact stringent standards should be created for what counts as "human input" so that megacorps don't find loopholes to still displace workers while still keeping copyright on their AI creations, because "pure" AI art being auto-PD is potentially a major tool to prevent worker displacement and should be used for such.

Finally:

[propheticeve]

Holiness Hoodoo: Speaking in tongues

In my exploration of the question, "Do any other religions practice speaking in tongues?" I arrived at a resounding "NO." More specifically, I discovered that speaking in tongues, or Glossolalia, is primarily native to Pentecostalism. This revelation left me pondering why the internet isn't more updated with information about the practice of speaking in tongues in African Traditional Religions (ATRs), as this practice predates the knowledge of Christ or Pentecostalism.

My curiosity extends to how this practice correlates with spirit possession in other cultures. Speaking in tongues is often seen as a form of being possessed by the Holy Spirit. I wonder how this phenomenon compares to the concept of being "ridden" by the lwa in Vodoun rituals, a practice prevalent in various religious traditions, such as shamanism, Yoruba, Santeria, and Spiritism. In these cultures, spirit possession is not only accepted but viewed as a privilege or a sign of divine favor and great power. The question arises: does it matter if one understands the spoken words, especially when the person speaking has no control over them or doesn't comprehend their meaning?

I shared that I grew up in a Pentecostal environment, where I witnessed numerous instances of tongues speaking, the laying on of hands, Holy Ghost encounters, and more. While I have not been gifted with the ability to speak in tongues myself, my sister has received this "mantle." I acknowledge that it might still be possible for me to receive this gift; it simply hasn't manifested yet.

A striking discrepancy lies between the way the Bible describes speaking in tongues and how it is practiced in the Black church. These two interpretations do not necessarily align. The way in which the Black church practices speaking in tongues could be considered blasphemous by those who do not understand the cultural context.

For instance, 1 Corinthians 14:27-28 (ESV) advises that if anyone speaks in a tongue, there should be only two or at most three speakers, and someone should interpret. If there is no one to interpret, individuals should remain silent in church and speak to themselves and to God. However, I recall watching my mother enter profound trances in church and speak in tongues. She often conveyed familial messages, sometimes from loved ones or ancestors. On occasion, her utterances were messages directly from the Most High. This suggests that, despite our belief that we are communicating solely with the Most High, we may inadvertently be connecting with ancestral spirits.

As previously mentioned in my post about "shouting," Black people approach worship differently, and our cultural influence extends to various religions we encounter. This manner of worship has roots that run deeper than mere survival; it dates back long before the era of colonization. Our unique approach to worship resonates deeply with the source, and we have been able to utilize the Bible to justify our practices.

Acts 2:4 (ESV) states that the disciples were "filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." In the Black church, particularly the ones I attended, deliverance magic, akin to exorcism or the casting out of demons, was prevalent. When witnessing the casting out of a spirit, the individual performing the exorcism would often speak in tongues. My mother would emphasize that she wasn't addressing the person but the spirit.

Mark 16:17 (ESV) further supports this practice, stating that "these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name, they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues."

Despite its significance, many people question those who speak in tongues, doubting the authenticity of their utterances. They may ask, "What are they saying? Can you translate it?" The answer is generally no, as this conversation resembles a language of light—words only decipherable by the person and the spirit. Sometimes, the person speaking in tongues is unaware of the message once they emerge from the trance.

The discourse conducted through speaking in tongues is not meant for everyone's ears. It is a communication meant for specific individuals, often excluding the person speaking. Consequently, I do not advocate listening to or repeating others' tongues or mimicking the practice. The spirit being communicated with may not be in everyone's best interest. Speaking in tongues is a form of spirit communication bestowed upon only a few.

Please make sure you SHARE! SHARE! SHARE! For more if you enjoyed this post.

Don’t forget My MInd and Me inc is still seeking donors for The Peoples Praise House! Even if you cannot donate, SHARE ! Thank you !

@conjuhwoeman on twitter

@realconjuhwoeman on IG

[20dollarlolita]

I don't remember if you already answered this, sorry in advance if you have, but what are your thoughts on the Bernette 79 Yaya Han edition sewing machine + embroidery machine? I consider myself a cosplayer and a lolita (Yaya is, as far I can recall, a cosplayer but not a lolita), and I've only ever sewn on a vintage Singer in a table and a Hello Kitty Janome. I don't see myself using the embroider option a lot since I embroider by hand, so that part would be taking up space unless I put in the effort to learn. On the other hand, it's a pretty shade of purple and is meant to sew over a variety of costuming fabrics which cannot be said of my current machine. It seems like a lot of extra stuff I probably don't need or have time to learn about if I do need them, but preliminary research seems to show it's a great value for the price (unless you break it). Or do you have any other recommendations in the same line? Thanks again for all your diligence and hard-earned expertise!

Okay, so I just sold one of those to someone whose other machines are a Hello Kitty Janome and a vintage Singer in a table, and I had to immediately check if you and them were the same person. So if you're Singer in a table is a 201, you should really meet my other customers.

Also quick note to everyone who is interested in this machine: you can buy it from the company that I work for. It's an internet model, so I can sell it to anyone in the USA. I can price match anyone else selling it. If you buy it from me, I get credit for the sale and I make commission (but it doesn't cost you anything). So if you want a Bernette b79 Yaya Han edition, or probably any other sewing machine, please shoot me an ask and I'll give y'all my work email or my sale code.

So I personally don't like Yaya as a person, but the B79 is a pretty good deal if it's what you're looking for. The fact that it's got embroidery and it has the digitizing software is really the thing that pushes it into the really good price point. On the sewing side, the foot kit is a really good perk, especially because not a lot of places keep feet in stock that work with the dual feed.

But if you're really not interested in the embroidery, I'd suggest just getting the Bernette b77, which is the sewing-only version of the b79 (if you want the embroidery-only version of the b79, you're looking for the b70Deco). It's going to be about a thousand dollars cheaper. It, sadly, is not purple, but that's nothing a few stickers can't fix. My store's current price on the Yaya 79 is $2499 and our price on the b77 is $1499, so it's literally a thousand dollars.

(Or, if you're absolutely insane, you can get some Cricut infusible ink paper and an EasyPress mini and sublimate onto the front of your machine. It's the kind of plastic that takes sublimation. Isn't that absolutely bonkers wild?)

That said, if you're willing to spend the extra money, you would be getting embroidery with a very large hoop size (for a beginning sewing machine, anyway), the foot kit, the built-in stitches and designs, and Creator9. I tell creative people who are interested in embroidery machines that you should not consider embroidery software to be optional. There's a lifetime worth of fun premade designs and projects in the hoop, and most people are happy to jut use those, but most of the people who are in my age range would not feel like they're getting everything out of their embroidery machine if they can't digitize goofy ideas from scratch. Creator 9 is like a thousand dollars normally, so it's what I find really pushes the price of the Yaya machine into the "really good deal" range, if you ask me. But, if you're not interested in embroidery, it's not really worth paying the extra money.

Anyway, if you're interested, please buy from me because it won't cost you more and it helps me pay my utility bills.

[antiquatedsimmer]

"Holy Cats! Extra! Extra! Billions Lost in Stock Market Crash!"

The year is 1929, and your Sim finds themselves among the countless affected by the devastating aftermath of the stock market crash. With nothing left but shattered dreams, they must now begin anew!

No job, no home, and worst of all, NO MONEY :(

The goal of this Mini Decades challenge is to get your sims to build, live and have raised a family in a happy home by the beginning of world war 2. The great depression was considered over by the start of the 1940s

I didn't invent the Rags to Riches challenge or the Decades Challenge rules. I'm just sharing a slightly tweaked challenge I've been enjoying and thought others might like too :)

*currently working on a random encounter table to make this version a bit more unique

My Guide Below:

I am following these guides with basic tweaks

Rags2Riches Challenge

Decades Challenge, Follow the 1930s Rules

BAISCS OF THE CHALLENGE & MADATORY RULES

• You must follow technological limitations of that Era.

• No Cheats or Mods made to make the challenge easier allowed.

Being this is a Decades inspired Challenge the use of CC & mods for realism involving historical gameplay is fine. At the end of the day the point is to have fun!

• Choose your sims age & lifespan.

Whether your sim had a family & children prior to the crash is entirely up to you!

• Sleep in a public area or a friends home if you do not own a bed.

Historical Tweak:

During the Great Depression, the prevalence of "slums" or homeless encampments surged due to the housing crisis that plagued people in the early 1930s.

If you opt to invite Sims into your household, take on roommates, or utilize the FOR RENT Landlord ability to rent out beds, you can do so. However, it is imperative that you secure the necessary funds to construct housing for these new Sims.

• You may eat/ make dishes using public spaces or a friends home, however taking food with you is not allowed.

Historical Tweak:

In the tough times of the Great Depression, families were really struggling, which means your Sims' neighbors might not have much food to spare.

If your Sim wants to hit up a neighbor's kitchen for a meal, they gotta flip a coin:

Heads - They can grab a quick meal from the fridge.

Tails - Sorry, no luck. Time to try somewhere else.

So, your Sim might resort to begging if they are unable to feed themselves But hey, it could lead to some interesting stories and maybe even some new pals along the way.

• No selling through household inventory

• No selling through Plopsy - no internet in 1929

• No selling through Retail job due to the unemployment crisis, if you can afford to purchase a retail lot however you may open a retail business.

• You CAN sell items through the Food Stand or Market tables.

●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●～●

GOALS OF THE CHALLENGE

Build a home:

• At least 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, living room, a study ( with a type writer if u have historical CC ), and a outdoor garden area.

MANDATORY STEPS FOR BUILDING A HOME:

In order to build a home you must have completed these steps:

• Reach level 7 Handiness and level 5 gardening before you begin building or placing items outside.

• Have 1 Bedroom with bed, a bathroom with toilet and shower, a living room and kitchen area.

• you must own at least one of these: Fridge or Icebox, sink, stove, stove, counter, table, chair, and couch.

• A blueprint for your house cost $500

HAVE A FAMILY

Find love, and have the opportunity to raise a family despite the hardships of the great depression!

• Get married

• Become a grandparent

MANDATORY STEPS FOR STARTING A FAMILY:

due to the affects of the great depression I feel like it would be unreasonable to expect a FULL HOUSE BUILT before you can start a family, so instead I'm tweaking that a bit.

You don't need a HUGE MANSION by the end of the challenge but a decent house should be expected. the point it escape being forced to live in a shack.

• For every new Sim joining the household, you must ensure there is a dedicated room to accommodate them. This room must be equipped with basic necessities, including a bed, access to a bathroom, and sufficient funds and food to sustain them.

• Max Toddler Skills

• A Child must complete one of the options before becoming a teen:

Reach level 5 in 2 skills with perfect grades or reach level 10 in any skills.

• Teens must complete one of these option before becoming a young adult

Reach level 5 in 2 skills & a part time job or reach level 10 in 2 skills.

• Host a wedding every time a pair of sims get married.

ASPIRATIONS:

• Complete at least one aspiration for your sim and it's spouse

• Complete an Aspiration for each of your sims children.

[undeniablerealities]

something I've been considering is how the second smart phone I owned had an IR blaster built in

all of a sudden I could connect to / interact with any tv, any cable box, any projector, and basically anything that demanded a remote. that tech felt WAY ahead of its time but utilized 30/40 year old development. Immediately after that generation of phone, it was eradicated and I've never seen anything like it again.

I feel like it was removed because that data it collected wasn't very profitable. Compared to a wifi controller, which can track your location, button presses, what you're interacting with, how what you're interacting with reacts, an IR blaster only shared device-side info, not what you're using it for (generally)

this is disturbing for a couple reasons, namely IR Blasters use tremendously less energy than WiFi or Bluetooth (which is just high density WiFi) and IR doesn't NEED connectivity. So many 'smart devices' rely on WiFi to perform basic functions, junking up your bandwidth, when they could send a very simple IR blast to tell your your toast is done or your laundry is ready to switch.

But that's the problem, if it's not on WiFi then Samsung who supples the washing machine, Comcast who supplies the internet, and Apple who supplies your phone can't profit over the data you're generating merely by interacting with this process. In reality, your phone should have an IR Blaster and Receptor so that you can start the laundry, and have the laundry machine tell you when it's done by an extremely simple low energy IR Blast.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we won't see anything like this until our officials finally start regulating how personal data is collected and sold. I did the math the other day using this calculator and concluded that the value of internet data for an individual across their entire life is roughly $25000. That means for every living person right now, over all our entire lives, our internet data are worth between 1 & 2 Trillion dollars. money that none of us will ever be able to use.

Now consider this, say for Apple or Comcast or Disney or Twitter, you can pay to interact with these services. You pay your money to watch the new sanitized 'Season 1' Disney Who. Disney, or any data-driven company, is then also taking your personal data and selling it for more money. You pay to use services, then you donate your data by using said services.

IR Blasters or cookie-tracking, personal data is gonna become a tremendously bigger problem as we get older

[mariacallous]

Donald Trump appears to dream of being an American authoritarian should he return to office. The former US president, who on Tuesday secured enough delegates to win the 2024 Republican nomination, plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and house scores of them in large camps. He wants to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the military in cities across the nation to quell civil unrest. He wants to prosecute his political opponents. There’s an organized and well-funded effort to replace career civil servants in the federal government with Trump loyalists who will do his bidding and help him consolidate power.

What’s also concerning to legal experts, though, are the special powers that would be available to him that have been available to all recent presidents but have not typically been used. Should Trump decide to go full authoritarian, he could utilize what are called “emergency powers” to shut down the internet in certain areas, censor the internet, freeze people’s bank accounts, restrict transportation, and more.

Utilizing laws like the National Emergencies Act, the Communications Act of 1934, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), he would be able to wield power in ways this country has never seen. Furthermore, America’s vast surveillance state, which has regularly been abused, could theoretically be abused even further to surveil his perceived political enemies.

“There really aren’t emergency powers relating to surveillance, and that’s because the non-emergency powers are so powerful and give such broad authority to the executive branch. They just don’t need emergency powers for that purpose,” says Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program at the New York University School of Law.

Goitein says she worries most about what a president could do with the emergency powers available to them, though, when she considers whether a president might decide to behave like an authoritarian. She says the laws surrounding these powers offer few opportunities for another branch of government to stop a president from doing as they please.

“Emergency powers are meant to give presidents extraordinary authorities for use in extraordinary circumstances. Because they provide these very potent authorities, it is critical that they have checks and balances built into them and safeguards against abuse,” Goitein says. “The problem with our current emergency powers system—and that system comprises a lot of different laws—is that it really lacks those checks and balances.”

Under the National Emergencies Act, for example, the president simply has to declare a national emergency of some kind to activate powers that are contained in more than 130 different provisions of law. What constitutes an actual emergency is not defined by these laws, so Trump could come up with any number of reasons for declaring one, and he couldn’t easily be stopped from abusing this power.

“There's a provision of the Communications Act of 1934 that allows the president to shut down or take over communications facilities in a national emergency. There is a provision that allows the president to exert pretty much unspecified controls over domestic transportation, which could be read extremely broadly,” Goitein says. “There’s IEEPA, which allows the president to freeze the assets of and block financial transactions with anyone, including an American, if the president finds it necessary to address an unusual or extraordinary threat that is emanating at least partly from overseas.”

Goitein says that if someone is targeted using IEEPA, they wouldn’t be allowed to even rent an apartment, buy groceries, or have a job in the US. She says Congress needs to reform these laws before a president decides to abuse them.

You can imagine Trump deciding he wants to shut down the internet, use the military as a police force, and utilize the government’s surveillance powers if a large anti-Trump protest were to occur in one or more cities around the country. This would resemble the tactics authoritarians have used to quash popular resistance in less democratic countries around the globe.

Though the Insurrection Act is not technically an emergency power, because no emergency has to be declared for it to be used, Goitein says she’s deeply concerned about how that law could be utilized.

“It clearly falls into the category of extraordinary powers that are meant for extraordinary circumstances,” Goitein says. “The Insurrection Act gives the president incredibly broad discretion to use federal armed forces as a domestic police force.”

Chris Edelson, an assistant professor of government at the American University, tells WIRED that he worries what Trump might do regardless of what is lawfully allowed.

“I think he will do what he can get away with, and he will make use of whatever tools are available, which could include statutory provisions like the National Emergencies Act, or it could just include acting by fiat. He could just say, ‘I’ll order the government to do whatever I want,’” Edelson says.

If the US Supreme Court were to rule that Trump has overstepped what he’s allowed to do, Edelson says he’s not confident Trump would obey such a decision. This harkens back to something that happened in 1832 when President Andrew Jackson said of the Supreme Court decision in Worcester v. Georgia, “[Chief Justice] John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.” The Supreme Court can put out a decision, but it’s not guaranteed that a president will listen. The executive branch has been operating under norms, and Trump likes to break norms.

“Trump is a bully at heart. He might try to ignore a court ruling,” Edelson says. “He’ll do whatever he thinks he can get away with, including ignoring a judicial decision.”

Regardless of who’s president, Goitein and Delson both say that Congress needs to reform the laws that allow presidents to wield such great power. If they’re not abused by Trump, they could be abused by another president in the future. It’s best not to leave a powerful weapon available to someone who may one day be tempted to use it, and Trump has historically tested what a president can get away with.

[newkiqx]

Nearly every single modern computer utilizes cobalt, a mineral whose supply chain is so heavily dominated by slave labor that it's practically impossible to ethically source. Ignoring AI, it is even ethical to do digital art at all? The production of a drawing tablet is not a victimless crime.

I feel you when you want to reduce this to something as simple as a comparison. But bear with me (or alternatively, I put a tl;dr/conclusion at the end).

Much of capitalism is unethical - yes. I agree with this point completely. It's impossible to completely avoid unethical consumption in the world we live in. But it's good to be thoughtful of it and I think businesses and governments responsible for bad practice should be held accountable. Sadly I can't change the world on my own in any meaningful way, but i'll do my part where I can & vote people into power that care about this too.

Taking your comparison for a second, I feel like the art project of that OP was asking a much more direct "I bought cobalt I didn't need and then turned into a children's toy, could this be art?". And my reply was basically yeah sure it could be art, but was it worth it? My point is that I'm not sure on that last part, and leaning towards a 'no'. They specifically sourced it unethically and made that the center piece, which is distinct from the utilitarian nature of consumer electronics we need to get through our lives. Unethical sourcing of art can be a goal or statement (like here cw dead pets) but will then of course still be a part of it. I don't think ethics were considered for the post we're discussing though and it instead only discussed the very unproductive 'is it art' discourse. This, of course, matters about as much as my "dick" being objectively "long" or not.

Maybe getting a little sidetracked, but I also want to mention that cobalt is an extremely useful metal, whereas AI.. well.. i've mentioned the very human cost of mturk and the wholesale theft of the entire internet. There's also:

the power required

the jobs in art it threatens and therefore the skilled labor we stand to lose if we're not careful

the inevitable price hike and betrayal of the public as soon as alternatives are out competed (this will happen)

the risks of biases (racism, ableism, sexism) in an opaque weighted system like AI & the fact we cannot deal with this except for slapping some extra prompts in front

AI poisoning our actual collective knowledge with untrue shit. Recent cases in point being the hilarious fake mouse dick science being published and the ai generated inaccurate servals on google, but there's a lot more going on

the risks of companies and people in power using AI to more efficiently screw everybody over and hide behind 'machine told me so' accountability loopholes

the risks of AI being used in all sorts of malinformed use cases

But what are the gains? What do we stand to win? Call me cynical, but we already had an infinite amount of pictures at our fingertips, as well as all the mediocre writing you could ever want (but actually much better because someone loved writing it). I feel like all these general AI's are good for is filling the pockets of some very rich robber barons and grifters, as well as diluting everything that's beautiful and true in the world.

Quick sidenote - Some specialist AI have genuinely already improved the world, like with medical screenings, but even then it's hard to really call it a win because reverse engineering the reasoning of an AI is so fucking hard. And again, they're a slippery slope with insurance companies wanting a piece of that pie badly, just so they can apply their 'justified' penalties to people not even sick yet.

tl/dr; So in conclusion, no, I don't think your comparison holds up. I agree that it sucks that so much of necessary consumption is unethical in ways we can't easily fix as consumers. But one thing bad does not equate other thing good. If anything, it should inspire you to do better where you can make a difference and hold the ones responsible for the exploitation in this world accountable.

Don't let it eat you up though. I'm not even saying you can't use it for inspiration ever. But any art based on these generated pictures cannot be divorced from the ugly side we'd rather not see: the underpaid army of technically not slaves and the wholesale theft of everything.

also sorry but i couldn't not include this (source: matt bors)

[beggars-opera]

how do I use tags correctly? like, whats the propper tag etiquette? I'm pretty new here and don't wanna screw this up haha

Tags serve three main purposes: they help others find your posts, they help you find your posts at a later date, and they serve as a way to add metatextual commentary to a post.

So, at a base level, if you want other people to find your post, or want a way to find the post more easily yourself at a later date, you would add purely descriptive tags like on any other social media site so people looking in those tags will see your post. For example, a post of someone baking bread might have #food #baking #cottagecore etc. Fandom tags often utilize abbreviations (tagging #OFMD instead of #OurFlagMeansDeath for example) and these are best found by searching around yourself and seeing which tags are the most active.

A few pointers here:

Don't tag hate. It's fine if you dislike something, but going on a rant about how much you hate a thing and then tagging it so that everyone who loves the thing will have to look at it is considered aggressive and rude.

People will often tag for common triggers like gore and rape as a courtesy to those using extensions to erase posts containing those tags from their dash. The exact format of these tags has never been formalized, but most use the #cwtrigger, #twtrigger, or just #trigger format.

Tags on original posts mean that post will show up when you search for that tag. Tags on reblogs do not make it show up in the tag page a second time and are only useful for internal blog searching.

You can also choose to use tags that are just for you, like #mythoughts or #myart, which allows you to search your own blog more easily. If you are an artist of any sort, using a tag denoting what is an original work is highly recommended.

Some people also use a tag specifically for posts that are in their queue, to let people know that the post is automatic and that they are not necessarily online at that particular moment. Getting creative with puns gets you brownie points. #scoobydoobyqueue

Tags specifically go into the tag section at the bottom of the post editor. Adding hashtags to the body of a post does absolutely nothing. You can, however, @ another user in the body of the post.

Tags are also often used for commentary purposes. They are sort of like whispering under your breath after you've publicly stated whatever is in your post. This can include musings, jokes, and other information that didn't quite seem important enough to put in the main body of the post. Every post of a beautiful woman does not need five hundred people writing "as I lesbian I am looking respectfully *googly eyes emoji*" in the post but you can 100% put that in the tags.

Pointers with this:

Eventually everyone gets the hang of what thoughts are important enough to put in the body of a post or reblog and what should be relegated to the tags. You can ask yourself "is this adding something useful to the conversation, or is it just me rambling or keysmashing?"

If your tags are witty enough, other users may deem them worthy of being included in the main post, screenshot them, and put the screenshot in their reblog. We consider this a peer review process of sorts and it is a badge of honor.

Again, being kind is a common courtesy. When you add tag commentary, the original poster and person you reblogged from are notified, and everyone can see it. So if you write in the tags that the post is stupid and that the OP is a cunt, congrats, you've just made the OP cry and you should probably not be on the internet.

Tags are comma delineated so if you are typing a thought in the tag long enough to need a comma, use a semicolon instead, otherwise the tag will be split in two. Likewise, quotation marks will not show up in a tag.

I hope this helps!

[nightcolorz]

Quick disclaimer: I mean no hate or ill will at all to any fanfic writers who’ve written this trope. You’re all very talented and u shouldn’t let my personal taste stop u from writing what u want to write. This is just me complaining for fun bcus I’m a brat and I care way to much about stupid internet stuff concerning my vampire blorbos. Also this isn’t directed towards any individual fanfic and/or fanfic author since I’ve seen lots of works that include this, and wouldn’t be able to name or remember any specific work even if I wanted to bcus I dislike this sm that I rarely stick around for long when this comes up in stuff I read. So plz don’t be like “oh this is about xyz isn’t it?” Bcus I guarantee u it is not

I’ve noticed this trope that’s become common enough to be annoying to me recently concerning Nicki. This isn’t a fanfic exclusive phenomenon, it’s also present as a general attitude among amc iwtv fans mostly which is a rant for another day. But basically what it boils down to is fanfic writers (pretty much always in AUs for reasons that will become obvious) characterizing/utilizing Nicki as the romantic rival for loustat and/or bitter ex who we should be rooting against bcus he’s interfering with the Ship. I really dislike this trope! As someone who’s a certified Nicolas de Lenfent fanboy it’s so disappointing whenever I come across a fanfic that includes Nicolas as a reoccurring character and he ends up being stripped of all his nuance and character traits and boiled down to unlikable romantic rival. It sucks! And it’s frustrating especially bcus theirs literally canonical loustat romantic rivals (Antoine/Antoinette for show fans bcus tbh this is a very amc exclusive occurrence) that could easily fulfill this role! And if that doesn’t suit your fancy we have love interests of Lestat that r generally disliked/unlikeable (at least imo) that could be used in a similar way (coughcoughDavidTalbotcoughcough). And u could make an argument that those characters just don’t have Nicki’s brand of drama and emotion and yes! I agree! That’s why I’m frustrated! Bcus I would eat up a fanfic that explored a love triangle or rivalry between Nicki, Louis, and Lestat where shit hit the fan over the unique conflict and drama that would unravel considering the characters and their dynamics + history, au-ified or otherwise, but I’ve never come across a fanfic like this! And trust me, I read a lot of fanfic. It’s just a little saddening for me tbh. I love Nicolas sm, I don’t like reading about him as the shitty ex bf and the shitty ex bf only, with little to no depth. The reason I’m complaining about this is bcus it’s reached the point where it’s clogging the Nicki character tag on a03 a bit, I keep finding fanfic with him in it and checking it out only to find him portrayed as a stock bitter ex character. And I honestly don’t know where this characterization even came from when it comes to the show fans? Bcus Nicolas has only ever been framed in the show as Lestat’s tragically and mysteriously dead first love, and it’s like, idk how u can hear about that and come to the conclusion that this guy would make sense as the romantic rival? Like poor Nicolas lol, he’s literally dead let him rest 😭. He doesn’t have any part in this ship drama 💀. And now I’m getting a lil off track and verging onto general Nicolas hate in the fandom and not just in fanfic, but whatever, I all ready decided I’m not touching that. But u know, as a side note, Nicolas in book canon was never once framed as someone who’s existence is a threat to loustat and the validity of their love, so u don’t need to make him about that! Louis and Lestat r immature messes who can’t function healthily ever but not to the point where Louis has beef with Lestat’s literally dead ex boyfriend 💀 c’mon now

also if I didn’t make it clear my beef isn’t with framing Nicki as a villain I love me a messy bitter bitch.My beef is with stripping him of all that makes him interesting for the sake of having a generic romantic rival in ur fic. Not a fan of that. However I am all for messy bitter bitch Nicki. Idk this phenomenon just comes off as weird and kind of upsetting to me. It’s kind of like if the John Wick fandom had a trend where ppls self insert ocs or y/n characters had drama with John Wick’s dead wife…it’d be uncomfortable. (I’m not in the John Wick fandom so idk if this is an actual thing lmao).

[talkingnerd]

Highlights from Aka Akasaka interview with ANN

What inspired the original idea of “reincarnated as your favorite idol's child”?

Aka Akasaka: During my debate with my assistant about ways to create manga, we were discussing ways to create a story based on “strong desire.” At that time, one of the assistants and I talked about wanting to be reincarnated as an idol's child. That is a famous joke in Japan, often tweeted as a set piece when news of an idol's marriage breaks. I wrote the idea down in my book of story ideas. A while later, I started to hear more and more grumbles and complaints about the entertainment industry through the live-action version of Kaguya-sama and new streamer friends of mine. I thought this was the right time to create a story about the entertainment industry, and I realized that I could utilize the idea I had back then.

How much of the story's overall plot did you have in mind when you started drawing the first chapter?

Aka Akasaka: For me, the plots of the first act and the final act were a set. Then I pondered what kind of events I wanted to add in between. I had the impression that Japanese entertainment manga in Japan often used dramas, movies, plays, variety shows, etc. as themes. Today, however, the entertainment industry has changed dramatically. Talents [entertainers who frequently appear on TV in Japan] can no longer ignore the internet, YouTube has become super popular, movies are watched with subtitles, plays are increasingly based on anime and manga, and there has been an instance of a suicide stemming from a reality show. Considering all those facts, I then decided to take a contemporary subject, something that is happening in the real world of Japanese entertainment today. That was the first concept.

To what extent do you (Aka Akasaka and Mengo Yokoyari) exchange ideas when developing the manga's plot?

Aka Akasaka: Mengo-sensei has made a hit with Scum's Wish, which isn't based on an existing story or a separate writer's script. She is capable of writing interesting manga without me. When I am stuck on a story, I often consult with Mengo-sensei. I go out to dinner with the editor and Mengo-sensei. We call these “prep meetings,” but we mainly just shoot the breeze. Basically, think of it as me having the flow of the story in my mind, and whenever I get stuck, I consult with someone.

How does working on Oshi no Ko compare to your previous manga?

Aka Akasaka: Fundamentally, I believe myself to be a writer in the vein of Oshi no Ko. The comedy style in Kaguya-sama is just a particular formula that originated from the editorial department's request. So, for me, that series is something made from that particular formula. However, I have also included Kaguya-sama-style comedy in the Oshi no Ko series to make it easier to read.

What is your process for designing new characters? Were there ever any disagreements on how a character should look?

Aka Akasaka: For the main characters, I draw a rough sketch and send it to a lady in charge of storyboards. However, at times Mengo-sensei draws an entire character even without me providing the finer details in writing. Sometimes, the process is more interactive, like I became fond of the character and increase the frequency with which they appear. I like that style of character creation. If there is a problem with the character design, we discuss it and change it. However, it was only once that we actually made a change. That was when I modeled a character off a real person, and the design looked too much like the person in question. Oshi no Ko uses pieces of real-life stories in its plots, but it is not a documentary, and it definitely does not intend to attack real people. I adapt events that could happen with the trends and rules of the current entertainment industry in the storylines. This work is fiction.

What kind of research did you do on the entertainment industries depicted in this manga?

Aka Akasaka: The lines of coverage of research for Oshi no Ko are very extensive. We go around hearing real stories and personal estimations from top talents, underground idols, people who work at TV stations, real producers, managers, editors of gossip magazines, YouTubers, scriptwriters, and many others. What is revealed in this process is a great deal about power balance and logic, and there are quite a few instances of dissatisfaction, like “A is taking B lightly, B is taking C lightly, and C is taking A lightly,” that are chalked up to specific circumstances and rules. Sometimes, I think that if they work with this understanding, the talents and the people around them can work without stress. I have heard that the entertainment industry in the U.S. and Japan are completely different. In the Japanese entertainment industry today, there is no union for talent and writers, there are no guarantees, auditions are disregarded in casting, opportunities are given based on the balance of power between companies, and basically, you can't go against the office manager…those sorts of things. And they continue to happen. If you, American readers, can enjoy reading Oshi no Ko with the knowledge of this unique Japanese situation, you may deepen your understanding of this story.

What inspired you to portray the idol world in such a dark and dramatic way for a fictional work?

Aka Akasaka: There was an instance of a cast member being attacked by a fan who saw a picture of the first news of a movie release. When that happened, the person came across as very tough, but after we became friends, they confessed that they were badly hurt emotionally. When I found that out, I realized that talents hide their true colors for the sake of their works and for their fans who are supporting them. With the spread of the internet, we live in a society where fans' voices are heard directly. I want people to know how young talents are being hurt, exploited, and suffering. I think that this work also asks the question of how people should deal with and treat those talents. I guess it is correct to say that when I wrote about reality, it naturally became darker.

full interview: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2023-05-10/how-accurate-is-oshi-no-ko-about-the-japanese-entertainment-industry-an-interview-with-aka-akasaka/.197795

[fishmech]

when did "making money off of the internet unto itself" happen, if we don't consider anyone to be doing so now? cuz i can sure show you a big list of companies that make billions upon billions a year just "doing internet". like you have to be legit ignorant to not notice this.

does anyone agreeing with this understand there's pretty big differences between the whole internet and the web? if anything we've kind of gone back to the 90s in terms of amount of stuff on the internet that is not part of the web!

who is nationalizing "web hosting"? every country? do federal countries with differing views in what should be online in different jurisdictions get to dictate that? hell who would be operating "web access" is easy but whether they get to do the same censorship as would be inherent with "web hosting" is a pretty big issue for most people.

what's the big deal with having public web hosting (which some places do have) when most people's needs and capabilities require a whole lot more than mere hosting to work? sites like this do a whole lot more than just host your data!

also i mean people talk shit about advertising being "not sustainable" but then they also don't want to pay for anything and they especially don't want to be subject to payment per use metering in the manner of other utilities. and well, advertising to run free web services has continued to be around for more time than the median tumblr user has been alive!

the most reliable structures we've developed - and they develop again and again - for funding community things has been to build up voluntary payment/subscription things, usually with minor increases in user abilities versus free users. it's a proven method and usually the people choosing to pay, even small amounts, are generating much more revenue than ads will pull. .

[theroadtofairyland]

Before anyone judges my tone or behavior, I'd appreciate it if you'd take into consideration that in the last two weeks I've made one sale. It was just enough to keep the internet on. I'm way behind and I've suddenly realized why it's been so hard. I have had to spend two hours of every day reporting spam messages where people thank someone for the opportunity to spread things I, better than anyone know the lies in. I've seen two particularly vicious users create an indefensible mythology me. They started telling people I was a scammer they made this wild blog that immediately got taken down but they then sent as proof to confirm their own lies.

And they've done it again and again. They've skewed everything I ever say...I say the show I'm proposing is at a venue that books two years ahead so I may not have a show until 2025, which become, "she wants you to give her enough money to pay all her bills until 2025" spammed into inboxes.

I asked what is the scam? The scam is that I sell art. Every time I explain why I've drastically reduced prices based on financial hardship it's maligned as e-begging.

I realized as I dug into what the people I had blocked in the last decade had been saying in the margins. It turns out someone is big mad that I called them an anti-Semitic bigot when then said "Israel deserves to be blown off the fucking map" in 2016 and had such a fragile ego they can't let it go still and are determined to make me pay by whatever means necessary in 2023.

I hope you will consider how it would make you feel to read thousands of responses to spam that's sole purpose was to force your community to ostracize you. Imagine how it would feel if people who had thanked you for your sensitivity about deadnames on payment info and how it related to shipping swallowing what to me seems like their personal interaction should have caused them to be absurd.

The only reason I still have a place is that they want to tear down this 1905 Victorian and don't want to enter into a new lease, which a new law demands. I'm looking at being three months behind in rent, I'm so scared about utilities being shut off and I'm hindered by lack of materials. I'm not blaming loss of income on a stalker's harassment because I have no other excuse. I read people who had been regular customers for years promise never to purchase again to my stalker. People who had talked about their plans to buy a work or a deposit stated outright they canceled their plans. I'm hurt, a feeling so wronged, attacked, and really scared.

As all of this shitstorm created for the purpose of alienating my fans, I have this paradox that I see that no one else seems to, there is a person who has copypasted a message into 1000 inboxes of blogs combed from notes on my paintings "Kate doesn't have a stalker and she isn't being harassed." Think about how frustrating that is, to have spam sent to a 1000 people to tell them you're lying about being targeted for harassment.