#boston dynamics dance

[sa-heelies]

my fatal flaw is that i actually love when people refer to ai and computers with human terms. ok yeah it's irresponsible and sometimes fearmongering and we shouldn't be mistaking algorithms for human thought because they are fundamentally just numbers and can never be a true representation of emotional states of being. but yes girl the capital of ireland is not belfast you ARE hallucinating!! ai is not an enemy to me but instead she is a lover. i will plunge my hand into her heart of wires if it kills me.

[macmanx]

Friday Dance Party

[decamarks]

i know for a FACT in the ultrakill universe they were posting cute propaganda videos of v1. like the goddamn boston dynamics dog. on ultrafacebook there's videos of it captioned like "aww cute silly robot does a cute heckin dance!!" and then there's one guy in the comments like "The robot runs on blood. Human blood. It runs on literal human blood. Oh my god why does it run on blood" with 50 dislikes. and then like five months later v1 is just out on the street eating people

[brunhielda]

As I am unable to indulge in my yearly Independence Day tradition this year, I instead reccomend it to total strangers on the internet.

(If you are reading this and it is not July 4th, USA, this is still a decent recommendation in general)

Watch 1776, the movie musical from 1972. (It is available on Amazon and Apple TV for less than $5, and is free with Hulu)

“Why?” I hear you ask, “would I watch that old thing when I have Hamilton?”

Firstly- I will not compare quality. The two shows are apples and oranges and the only thing they have in common is the subject matter being the Revolutionary period of the USA.

I will openly admit that Hamilton has much more dynamic staging/dancing, and there is simply no rap to be heard in 1776.

That said, reasons you absolutely SHOULD watch it:

1) You have already seen Hamilton. Presumably you have not seen 1776. It will be something new.

2) The line “Sit down John, you old f-!” from Hamilton is a reference to this musical, so you know Lin Manuel Miranda is a fan.

3) The main character, John Adams, is played by a much younger William Daniels. You may know him as “Mr. Feeny.” And yes. He is glorious.

4) You will enjoy such fun quips as-

“I have better things to do than stand around listening to Benjamin Franklin quote himself.”

“Hold on John- that was a new one!”

(Arguing with God)

“A simple plague of locusts I’d accept with some dispare. But no, you gave us Congress! Good God Sir, was that fair?”

“May my horse be turned to glue if I can’t deliver unto you a resolution on Independancy.”

(Said horse- a paid actor- turns around to bite him)

Jokes from old congressmen about being so old it hurts to piss.

Jokes about bull testicles.

(Refusing to help write the Declaration)

“I cannot write with any style or proper edicate! I don’t know a participle from a predicate! I am just a humble cobbler from Connecticut.” (He is so relatable for that. The whole song is one big- everyone is trying to ditch this “group” project)

5) Thomas Jefferson being too horny to work is a major plot point.

6) The most romantic subplot in this film, and I mean, actually beautifully romantic, is John arguing with his wife, Abigail, via letters. Best part about that is these parts are straight from their real historical letters. Perfect in every way. 🥰

7) The discussion on Slavery is intense. I will say this version of events paints Jefferson rather rosy, but it was written before we knew what we knew about him, and he is documented as fighting hard to end slavery with the founding of the nation. It is bizarre, knowing that, that he continued on in the manner he did. People are multifaceted, and some just get worse with age.

But the part in this movie that is worth watching is the argument the South gives back. Thier argument is basically “If we are sinning by this practice, then you are sinning with us, because you benefit.” While it is a lack luster argument to keep doing as you are doing, it does allow a nuanced understanding of privelege before the term was even used in that manner.

It also delivers a bone chilling example of the triangle trade in the form of a song that has haunted me since childhood.

“Molasses to rum to slaves. Who sails the ships out of Boston? Laden with bibles and rum? Whose fortunes are made in the triangle trade? Hail Charleston! Hail Boston! Who stinketh the most?”

8) “Cool Considerate Men” is also bone chilling, as a bunch of conservative congressmen dance calmly while listening to a casualty report from Washington. The song will never not be relevant.

9) In the same way, “Mama Look Sharp” will always always bring me to tears. It is a song from a Messenger Boy sent with Washington’s missive from the front. He sings about his friend calling for his mother as the young boy lay dying on “the green.”

The green was where people held meetings and parties and festivals- the green is the old fashioned version of “the Town Park.” The first battles for freedom were faught in town parks, where boys crawled off under thier favorite tree to die.

In light of everything that we have heard about fighting for freedom around the world, the line “The soldiers they fired! Oh Ma, did we run. Hey! Hey! Mama, look sharp,” is making me cry right now, and I haven’t even heard this song in a year. 😭🎶

10) “Is anybody there??? Does anybody care?! Does anybody see what I see? I see Americans, ALL Americans, FREE, forever more! Is anybody there??? Does anybody care?! Does anybody see what I see?”

The older I get the more I relate to John Addams screaming into the void because he simply cannot fix all the problems by himself.

There is more I could say about this musical, but at that point it would just be telling. Go watch the film. It’s funny and fun and poignant and powerful, and might make you cry. As good broadway often does.

[akkpipitphattana]

no but the way sand miscalculated with ray this episode. he's coming at it from the perspective that ray doesn't give a shit about him, right? ray's been jerking him around this whole time, ray's just using him, so it's fine to use him right back. it's fair, even. & top, this motherfucker here is tap-dancing right on all of his freshly exposed nerves, bringing up the ex & the fact that sand doesn't have anyone when sand thought he had someone but has literally just re-experienced all the pain of the person who was supposed to be his liking someone else more. so fuck it, he's gonna smash his not-that-cheap smartphone, he's gonna play nick who's supposed to be his friend, & he's going to use ray to fuck top like top fucked him. he gives ray the recording, goads him a little about mew & loving friends, figures he's winding him up to go running straight to mew with it & mew will dump top's ass & top, who seems to actually like mew somewhat, enough to go with him to the hospital at least, will finally know what it feels like to have the rug ripped out from under him like sand does. he even gets a side-swipe at boston for making him feel like a total moron, & maybe a little satisfaction from the idea that mew will feel as stupid as he did in that moment & for a lot of the same reasons. low-risk, high-reward, & so seemingly simple. easy, & his hands stay clean, & he gets to feel a little bit better about getting one over ray, playing ray just like ray played him. & if ray figures it out, fuck it, ray doesn't give a shit about sand anyway but maybe he'll like being used about as much as sand did.

except that ray clocks it immediately, before sand even gets to the point, bc after all these years of being friends with boston he does actually know when he's being manipulated. & ray does give a shit about sand, & more importantly he thought (correctly!) that sand gave a shit about him, so not only does he know that he's being used but he's hurt by it. & sand is lacking a lot of context about this friend group & ray's dynamic with mew & also just how fucking damaged ray is. so ray doesn't go running straight to mew, & other things keep happening to wind him up even tighter (i was BEGGING my girls to stop talking at that party, oh my god), & then ray's up on sand's fucking stage & then even worse he's off it, burning it all down, his whole life & every relationship in it. & sand did not intend this, & sand tries to stop this, but ray knows sand used him & ray is so hurt & ray is accusing sand of,, not really wanting to be a musician? except that's not what ray's actually saying here, is it, he's accusing sand of being superficial. of not really loving the things he seemed to care about. except that insult doesn't ring true to anyone except ray, & it turns out that ray is friends with boston & mew for a fucking reason, bc he knows how to hit where it hurts & so he goes for the money, bc that's not what ray's upset at sand for but it is the thing that will make sand feel small, & he goes for the sex bc that mattered to sand & ray could tell.

& so now ray's blown up his entire life & sand's the one who toppled the first domino, which means that sand is the one responsible. for all of this, but especially for ray, who he tried to use & manipulate to catastrophic ends. so he goes after him & tries to talk to him or at least stop him from driving drunk & angry, but ray is so upset, not just with sand but not not with sand, & he cannot hear "i care about you" from someone he knows used him without thinking it a lie so he calls him a whore bc he knows it'll hurt & gets in the car bc in this moment he can't care about anything beyond his own pain. & sand goes after him bc he does care but most of all bc he has to, bc sand set all of this in motion & therefore sand is responsible. & sand will continue to be responsible when the car fucking crashes. & i just. FUCK.

i'm not gonna lie i kinda feel better after writing all that out. anyway. it took me three hours to actually get through this episode & if there's more like it down the line (there definitely is) i am completely fucked.

“and sand will continue to be responsible when the car fucking crashes” NOW WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT WHEN YOU KNOW HOW I FUCKING FEEL.

no but god ALL OF THIS. and it hurts more because to me, everything ray did the the back half of the episode was so him planning to die when he got behind the wheel.

i was talking to antania about this earlier but the scene with mew in the bathroom really and truly felt like a goodbye in so many ways. he was just being more subtle because mew stopped him the last time and there’s a chance he’d stop him again and ray truly doesn’t want to hurt mew.

and then he burned all of his fucking bridges because he realized his friends don’t give a shit about him anyways and the one person he thought did manipulated him too. and that’s another reason he blew up on sand because no amount of evidence he has that sand cares would have stopped him from getting in that car because he’s convinced himself sand doesn’t. that nobody does. that everyone will be better off once he disappears. so he pushes again and tries to burn that bridge more.

and sand has no idea about rays suicide attempt or even how low he truly views himself. like yes he has some idea, and he has some idea about how they treat him, but he doesn’t realize how big it all is, so he couldn’t have had any idea that it would all spiral to ray getting in that car drunk on purpose. but when the car crashes he’ll still be responsible!!!!!!

[satellite-evans]

Kick Harder

Pairing: Chris Evans x actress!reader

Summary: if the whole world was watching, Chris would still dance with you.

Word count: 1.3k words

Warnings: fluff, talks of anxiety, rude fans

A/N: are we surprised that it's another dad!chris fic? Lmao I hope you will love it guys. Sorry that it's not my greatest work, love you all xxx

English is not my first language, so I apologize if I made any (grammar) mistakes. Feedback, requests, questions, recommendations, or just vents are always welcome.

happy reading <3

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site.

As a child, you’ve always dreamed of being an actress. When kids your age were watching Disney movies, you were watching movies from Jodie Foster and Tom Hanks. The world of Hollywood and the filmmaking industry were so fascinating. In your eyes, it felt like a fever dream. Everything about it was drawing you in slowly. Nothing in this world could change your love for acting or the goal of becoming one.

There was a slight problem.

You had social anxiety. And that is not a good quality, especially for a want-to-be actor.

Being an introvert and having social anxiety was not so easy for you. Hell, it was difficult for anyone that was suffering from it. Children made fun of you for not answering back. They never picked you up during gym and made fun of you when they heard you wanted to become an actress.

After many therapy lessons, you became a little more confident and finally got the nerves to audition for a role in a movie.

The movie changed everything for you.

It was a daughter-mother dynamic, and Michelle Pfeiffer played the mother. You were thrilled when you got the callback, saying you got the part. It was one of the year's best movies, and Michelle won an Oscar, and they nominated you as the best supporting actress. It didn't matter that you won nothing because it was never about the awards. You wanted to become an actress because it gave you happiness. It also gave you your current boyfriend, Chris Evans.

You and Chris met in 2017 when they announced that the two of you would play lovers in the new Greta Gerwig movie. He was dating his girlfriend back then. The two of you immediately hit it off. He was always nice to you and wanted to hang out with you. Chris was mesmerized by how you looked and how professional and childish you could be on set.

If he had a smile, it was because of you. Everything good happening to him was because of you. And Chris wasn't complaining. He took you out for coffee during breaks and introduced you to his dog. Chris was friendly to you, and you were nice to him. Social media went crazy when they saw pictures of you together and speculated that you and he were together. Of course, those weren’t true, and you would never do something like that to another woman.

But the truth was, the more Chris spent time with you, the more he fell in love. You had so much in common that he thought you were like his female version. There was a slight age gap, but not too big. Chris thought seven years were reasonable enough to have a relationship with you. But he had to break up with his girlfriend first.

It wasn’t a big surprise to the media when Chris and his girlfriend announced their breakup. It was a big surprise to you because never thought he would break his relationship to be with you. Not even once during your conversations did you ask him to do something like that. You didn't even 'hint' it to do so.

He started dating you five months after the breakup. Chris didn’t want to rush things and get all the media’s attention on you. So, he waited. He bought you gifts, took you back to Boston so you could meet his family, and even took you back to his place to make you his famous pesto eggs.

Everything was perfect. Until you found out that you were pregnant. You and Chris were beyond excited and happy with the news. Building a family was one of his biggest dreams, and that It came true because of you couldn't be better in Chris' eyes. You knew it was a little early in your relationship, but you loved him, and he loved you, so it didn’t matter.

Chris announced the news to the world and proudly said he would be a father. The media was shaking when they got the information, relieved that Chris would finally be a 'daddy.' But a group of people also wanted to hate on you.

The fans of his former relationship were not so kind, to say the least. Messaging your death threats, spreading fake rumors, harassing your family. It took a toll on you. The fact that you weren't the most confident woman in the world didn't help with the situation, either. You were trying hard not to read them since you didn’t want your baby to feel any stress, but you couldn’t help yourself. You read every single threat and cried about it every single time.

That’s how Chris found you when he got back home. He met with his team about the situation, trying to protect you as much as possible. It hurt him a lot, too. To see that the love of his life and his baby were getting threats made him sick. He had one purpose in life: to protect both of you.

He saw you sitting on the couch, crying. His heart broke immediately. He felt tears building up in his eyes and slowly walked towards you.

“Honey, talk to me. Is everything okay?” He wanted to punch himself in asking you a question like that. Of course, everything was NOT okay. He broke his promise to you. He swore to protect you and the baby forever, and he failed. He failed as a partner and as a father.

You slowly looked him in the eye and saw him crying like you. You hugged him hard, burying yourself in his chest and wanting never to leave there. His heartbeat was the only thing that comforted you, the only thing that gave you a smile on your dark days. Nothing else could help you.

Until.

“Chris?”

He panicked a little when he heard your high-pitched voice. Millions of scenarios went through his head only 2 seconds after you said his name.

“What, what is it? Is it the baby? Is there something wrong? Do you want to go to the ho-” You stopped his talking by putting his hand on your swollen belly, and time stopped for Chris.

He saw your lips were moving, but he couldn’t hear a thing; everything went silent.

The baby kicked. The baby kicked for the first time. The miracle that both of you created just made a move, saying that it was living inside you.

Chris couldn’t control the laughter leaving his lips and the tears escaping his eyes. He looked at you and saw that you weren’t much different from him. You were smiling like crazy and crying your eyes out.

“I think our baby wants to kick the people that made mommy and daddy sad. Is that right, huh, bubba?” You slowly rubbed your belly, and Chris felt the baby kick harder.

“Wow, look at you, bubba, not even born and trying to protect your parents from the bad guys.” While keeping his hand on your belly, Chris looked at you and gave your lips a sweet, gentle kiss. When the two of you parted, he watched with so much adoration in his eyes, asking himself how lucky he got with you.

“What do you think about a trip, honey? Just me, you, and our little protector. I know these last days were hard on you and our little bubba, and I’m sorry. I just wished people could see how much I loved our little family, and I swear in my life that I will do everything in my power to protect both of you. I love you so much.”

Before answering, the baby kicked again and made Chris and you laugh hard.

“I think the baby just answered both of us. Just know that people will always talk, Chris. We decide whether or not to listen. Let's be honest, we didn’t handle the latest situation well, but that doesn’t mean it will always be like that. I love you and will always love and support every decision you make. Never leave us, and we will be more than okay.”

Yes, thought Chris. Everything will be okay, because there was no way he would ever leave you.

[dragonballnewstar]

"Goooood morning, everyone~! We are refreshed after a wonderful weekend and now it's time to Amp! Up Your Week!"

"We took a break from the podcast for a little bit... I'm sorry to those who have been anticipating our return. I'll be changing my schedule to only Mondays moving forward. Anyway, onto the show!"

Recently, a white stork was seen in the skies of Cheshire, England - which on its own doesn't sound too remarkable, but storks have been extinct in England for the past 600 years! With the efforts of the White Stork Project and with a donation from the Warsaw Zoo, these birds have been rescued and have been slowly repopulating and have begun having their offspring rewilding in safe spaces. I look forward to seeing this population grow and thrive once again~!

Reinforcement learning AI might bring humanoid robots to the general public. Though many AI tools have had their controversies lately, Reinforcement Learning could potentially replace the current software used by bipedal bots (such as the ones used by Boston Dynamics). When discussing AI, please remember that Artificial Intelligence is so much broader than what the "AI Bad" community gives credit to. These AIs with Reinforcement Learning could potentially help do simple tasks with those with disabilities or in elderly community. I personally love learning about how the general public approaches robotics and the growths they accomplish.

Finally, music time! I don't have much recently in terms of music recommendations... so uhhh, this song has been plaguing my house since my dad will do the dance out of nowhere... :

June is Pride Month but also Men's Mental Health month. I wanted to bring this up as I've observed that men are commonly accepted to "accept" their struggle and bottle their emotions. More often than not, people will reach out to them to "help", but when no actions are done and it's just 'I'm sorry' lip-service, it's the same as not helping at all...

We're all people, with every struggle being unique and impactful on ourselves. Be kind to each other but also kind to ourselves. If your body needs rest, remember to give yourself time to recover and heal.

Thank you for listening, and I hope to see you all next week!

[laughingsquid]

Boston Dynamics Spot Robot Dances With Another Spot Robot in a Custom Dog Costume Named 'Sparkles'

[greetings-inferiors]

The crossover friendship (?) ever

Aigis would join a robotics society at her university and be like “omg there are other robots?? :0” and then when she goes to meetings be like “…this is not what I was expecting :(”

Even though she’s developed a consciousness and heart that are near indistinguishable from a human I still like to imagine she’s very proud of her robot “heritage” and would get on like a house fire with any kind of mechanical entity.

She’d probably go into maths or engineering so it’s very possible she works with Boston dynamics-type robots and she’d just talk to them like they’re just regular people because to her they literally are.

This is a lot of words to say yes they’d absolutely get along

Also when he starts dancing she joins in but she only knows how to do the robot (junpei thought it would be really funny to teach it to her)

[idleorbitals]

only friends ep 3 watch through (part 1/2)

!! the mess is here. the mess is here and so am I

we open on nick catching even more feelings over bostonnick sex montage. oh this is painful to watch. lmao @ the of directors being the ones to give nick the tweet replies he doesn't want to hear though

I have to say I am such a sucker for the kind of aw noise boston makes at 2:26 it would get me too. but right after this he sits up and says the most manipulative shit about ~we might become something more~ nick baby. get out of there

raysand softest wake up together scene. this is very tender for a one night stand situation. my expectations for what we're supposed to want for them keep getting overturned. what I want for them has remained consistent but not bc of anything rational just bc I'm a simp

moment of silence for first kanaphan special acting ability where he manages to look like he's gazing softly up at khaotung's character while towering over him

moment of silence for sand who is already gone for ray and realizing it a little

moment of silence for ray who is still flirting having fun and feeling fancy free. oh boy when you torpedo this everyone will suffer you included

The Friends (tm) are eating and planning a pool party. they are having a fun chat about all the crazy things the cctv they want to put in is going to pick up. you know when you create all these opportunities for the narrative to screw with you it will babes.

ray remembers he knows a hot musician and volunteers to take care of the djing in a way that is so sus that the rest of the friends get comic whiplash sound effects and an eagle scream about it

topmew date time. sorry legitimately the only thing I can think about in this scene is how if everyone is dancing to different music everyone will look foolish as heck. forcebook really selling it here

I lied I have another thought and it's that these lyrics they are singing make me feel like the narrative is slapping me in the face

everyone regards me as a bad guy / I'm a villain, no matter how much I love you, I must die eventually / in the end, he's the one who has your love / I want to be a hero, but villain is my role

ok calm down top

if some of that's not metaphorical tho...yikes yikes

*begin vid section [2/4]*

an old familiar hookup comes to flirt with top in front of mew. can't totally read this dynamic. mew is clearly a little jealous but doesn't really have the standing to say anything. much like top's encounter with boston in the shower last week he's pushing away just a little but not putting his arm into it. top what is your game here?

nick getting boston to help him move lmao. that's right use him babe

sand is connecting dots. about bostonnick and about the hostel. ding ding ding baby you're all tangled up in this thankless situation. I wish I could have hope about sand and nick being good for each other bc they seem like the two most sympathetic characters this storyline currently has to offer but unfortunately my guess is they will both be too hung up on other people to be any real help to one another. and/or nick's going darkside idk you guys I'm starting to wonder. more on that coming up

ray wants to hire sand for ~party fun times~ so he goes to his work mom yo to clear it with her first. she says /why are you trying to get me wrapped up in your mess I'm a pure character/ and ray, about his intentions toward sand, rasps out "nothing is suspicious" while clearing his throat and shaking his head very quickly to indicate that nothing is suspicious.

yo's bf arrives on the scene to act as another character pointing out ray's day drinking. sorry ray the narrative agrees it's problematic to hang out at a bar all day when you're not sleeping with someone on staff. yo and bf have a cute moment and ray goes sweet and starry eyed about it.

ray: "can I get one like that?" p'yo: "here comes sand"

sorry I legitimately cannot continue without taking a moment for sparkly princess ray here. wtf. this look is, of course, aimed at sand but honestly that's not even what's important to me right now

cut to sand doing some of the most inefficient chopping work known to man while ray stands around flirting prettily with him and asking for favors.

trailer teasing us yet again on their dynamic. ray is the first one to say "you think I want you as my boyfriend? of course not!" while sand takes a long sip of his water and stares into the middle distance. oh sand.

sand calls him an asshole (affectionate)* again and gets up to go. ray grabs him by the arm and asks with feeling if he is really okay with this, which is the narrative reminding us that we are still allowed to sympathize with him even when he's being a little shit bc he understands consent. they have a nice little ~what are we~ conversation which, like—even though we know it's not actually going to work out ok for either of them even over the course this episode—is some pretty healthy communication, especially stacked right up against everything we've had from boston and nick this week. I'm honestly consistently surprised ray is being allowed to be a decent person but I'm not complaining

*nearly every time the subs say "dickhead" "asshole" etc what the characters are actually calling each other is สัตว์ "animal". I get that this is a more commonly used insult in thai but I think it almost holds up as a direct translation in terms of relative weight and I sort of wish it was glossed more consistently somehow. idk someone come tell me more tho

back at the pool nick meets top, who he recognizes from the photo booth pictures he found at boston's. they get a set of villain zooms, one each top and nick. nick baby don't do anything sand wouldn't do ok?

back to one of nick's online-in-a-dark-room moments. he's stalking top and finding boston comments all over his ig. the camera is not looking kindly on him here. something something the toxicity of jealousy and obsession. nick has real feelings involved so he's already at a disadvantage in his dynamic with boston, but suddenly I get the sense that boston is not necessarily safe, even if he's not going to catch feelings

how is sandray of the messy unrequited friend thing the only safe dynamic of the Big Three

(part 2) (all ofts watch throughs)

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (18-24 Feb 2024)

i'll always prefer the og but this iteration is entertaining

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😍 The Old Codgers Greatest Hits Album (AggressiveWhenStartled, author; quietnight, narrator) - 57K series, canon-divergent stucky co-starring peter parker. Reread of this hilarious forever fave where first teenage peter is forced to deal with two body-swapped geriatric supersoldiers and then bucky is forced to deal with two teenage spidermen trying (and failing) to stealthily rescue their "dog". Great podfic by quietnight, absolute hilarity

🥰 History of American Capitalism (Zenaidamacrouras1) - 85K, shrinkyclinks college AU with superstar QB!Bucky & history nerd Steve - incredible found family dynamics, can't believe @zenaidamacrouras1 made me actually really get into an AU that involved both undergrads AND football. The nerve! The talent! (the fic is single POV but there's an amazing companion piece that's Bucky's convos with this sister that give a his POV on some of it and it's equally amazing)

💖💖 +347K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Half sleep, half waking (softestpunk) - The Sandman & Rivers of London crossover: dreamling, 8K - amazing crossover! I wish there was 60K of this for me to read

Road to Joy (Oddree13) - Stranger Things: steddie, 25K - latest chapter in this omegaverse steddie series that I absolutely adore

Knit One, Purl Two (mollus) - MCU: stucky, 32K - reread; forever fave WS recovery fic with lots of softness in the form of: knitting, dancing, soap making and senior citizens

Red, White & Royal Goose (fairestfaerie) - RWRB: alex/henry, 7K - I just love a good Soulmate Goose of Enforcement fic

This Sunlit Land (eyres) - MCU: stucky, 38K - wonderful canon/timeline-divergent WS recovery AU

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Resident Alien - s1, e1-3

QI - series S, ep 7-9

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "The Fall of New York City" (s7, e1)

D20: The Unsleeping City: Chapter II - "Heaven and Hell on Earth" (s7, e2)

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Stress Tested" (s21, e7)

D20: Adventuring Party - "A Negroni and a Bowl of Spinach" (s16, e7)

Ghosts (US) - s2, e16-22; s3, e1-2

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Vibe Check - Hey, Sis: featuring Kimberly Drew

The Sporkful - Can A Restaurant Makeover Make Diners Spend More?

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Boston’s Blue Hill

Short Wave - The Life And Death Of A Woolly Mammoth

Desert Island Discs - Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cellist

I Said No Gifts! - Jay Jurden Disobeys Bridger

The Assignment with Audie Cornish - Where Does Fani Willis Go From Here?

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - World’s Loneliest House

⭐ Switched on Pop - Adult Contemporary, but make it cool (with CHROMEO)

Shedunnit - The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (Green Penguin Book Club 1)

Up First - Julian Assange Extradition Hearing, Egypt Buffer Zone, Louisiana Special Session

Today, Explained - The Panama Canal is drying up

It's Been a Minute - Jada Pinkett Smith, the artist

Vibe Check - Welcome to Tip Check

Outward - True Detective: Night Country’s Lesbian Subtext

⭐ Code Switch - Why menthol cigarettes have a chokehold on Black smokers

Short Wave - When The Sun Erupts

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Stone of Destiny

⭐ 99% Invisible #571 - You Are What You Watch

Films To Be Buried With - Tyler James Williams

Ologies with Alie Ward - Black Hole Theory Cosmology (WHAT ARE BLACK HOLES?!) Part 1 with Ronald Gamble, Jr.

Off Menu - Ep 226: Noel Fielding

NPR's Book of the Day - 'Thank You Please Come Again' pays homage to Southern gas station food shops

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Buffalo Soldiers National Museum

The Assignment with Audie Cornish - Jake Tapper on American Political Scandal

⭐ Throughline - Dance Yourself Free (Throwback)

If Books Could Kill - The Better Angels of Our Nature

Our Opinions Are Correct - We Don't Give a F*ck About Canon

⭐ Today, Explained - Fight at the Museum

The Sporkful - Deep Dish With Sohla And Ham: Bagels

Dear Prudence - My Friend Has a Master’s Degree in Lying. Help!

What Next: TBD - The Coasts are Sinking

Short Wave - Didn't Get A Valentine's Love Song? These Skywalker Gibbons Sing Love Duets

Endless Thread - Endless Thread: The Musical

⭐ Twenty Thousand Hertz+ - Industrial Musicals

Strong Songs - "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden

You're Dead to Me - Queen of Sheba [turned out to be really perfect timing to have this knowledge right before getting to certain relevant bits in my current read The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi]

It's Been a Minute - Have we hit celebrity overload? Plus, Miyazaki's movie magic

Simply Reflecting - Did You Say Delusional?

Under the Influence - Seeing is Believing: The Power of Demonstration Commercials

Hit Parade - The Bridge: Bon Soir, Barbra

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Chromeo

Living Colour

Chicago House Foundation

Presenting Soundgarden

Swing Fever [Rod Stewart & Jools Holland] {2024}

Adult Contemporary [Chromeo] {2024}

Campfire Classics

[kineticpenguin]

I DO NOT RESPECT COWARDS WHO FEAR ROBOTS BECAUSE NO ROBOT CAN DEFEAT ME

Skynet isn't real, every Terminator model was dumber than a sack of bricks HAL 9000 was such a basic bitch that he died in 2001 singing Daisy Bell like a fuckin computer from 1961, because he got owned by some guy

Everything Boston Dynamics makes is a joke

I would not Zero Dawn, I would simply scorch the earth and deny the robots fuel

Tesla hired a guy to dress up as a robot and dance, and as an actual human he's the only threat I would take seriously because he's a human being clearly with nothing to lose

[velvetshirtnumber3]

I want to discuss the beginning of ep 8 teaser, where Ray and Sand are having a conversation. Ray says words to the effect of, "I still want to be friends" and Sand says words to the effect, "We were never friends; you are going to do to Mew what you did to me."

First (no pun intended) of all, Sand is doing what he has already done multiple times in this series: attempting to safeguard his feelings. Sand started off this friendship of sorts with him saying in the confessional essentially that Ray and him sleeping together and being friends had potential to go wrong. Unfortunately for him, he is proved right and starts having feelings for Ray. But he does still hold out a sense of hope that maybe Ray will feel the same way. It isn't a large hope (at least initially), since Sand seems like a person who keeps himself grounded in reality. After all, he is one of the characters who seems to face the problems of reality on a daily basis, having multiple jobs, and not having a lot of money (whereas the rest of them seem more financially secure). But I feel like Sand wouldn't view the idea of Ray having feelings for him as realistic.

Then Ray spends that day going everywhere with him, which is essentially an example of what it could be like being in a relationship with him could be like. They eat breakfast together, go shopping, go to a concert, and are having a really good time together. We see ourselves that Sand says to his mother that him and Ray aren't a thing, but maybe they could be. The events of the episode build hope that maybe Ray and him could be together. And then Boston happens.

He reveals that Ray has feelings for Mew and has had them for years. And just like his hope is broken by reality. Ray has feelings for someone else, including during the whole time Ray and Sand have been hanging out, proving to Sand that anything that made him feel like Ray liked him back was a false hint. So he tries to protect his own feelings by distancing himself from Ray, starting with when Ray tells Sand to ask him any questions. Sand should have taken him up on that, but he doesn't. Ray didn't deny his feelings for Mew when Boston brought it up, so it appears that its true. What else could Ray say about it that would make Sand feel any better? The worst has already been said, so there is no point is asking any more questions. Sand says it isn't his business, meaning he isn't important enough in Ray's life for Ray to need to share his feelings OR Ray's feelings for Mew doesn't overlap with Ray and Sand sleeping together, because at the beginning Ray and Sand has said they would be just friends, so feelings aren't supposed to enter the equation. Either way, emotional distance.

Followed by physical distance: Ray says that Sand has been ignoring messages and asks if he is mad about the whole situation with Mew (which Sand once again replies with that it is none of his business). Sand only is there to tell Ray about the sex tape, and he knows what path telling him will lead to. Ray does the whole revelation at the bar, and Sand realizes that it has gone farther than intended. He tries to stop Ray from driving, then follows him when it doesn't work. He takes care of Ray while he recovers from the car accident (and apologizes for telling Ray about the sex tape, to which Ray says he doesn't need to) and I feel like they fall back into their old dynamic again. Ray brings back the pleases, Sand caves to him, they tease each other a little. The next thing Sand sees regarding Ray is Ray and Mew dancing together, very clearly in a romantic way. His expression is disappointed, definitely, but I think to him it is just further proof that Ray doesn't like him romantically and he should give up on hope, now that Ray has the person he's always wanted. So when in the preview Ray asks if they can be friends, Sand says that they never were friends, shutting Ray down because once again, Sand wants to spare his own feelings. Continuing to be friends, when he would continuous see the person he loves with someone else, would hurt a lot and he is unwilling to do that to himself.

Honestly I think Sand's statements in the preview have a little bitterness to them. I think Sand feels a little used because as I said above, with Sand taking care of Ray after the accident, they fell back into their previous dynamic, maybe Sand thought things were going better again, and now he sees him with Mew. Sand doesn't regret taking care of Ray because he cares about Ray, but I think it definitely stings that Ray ran to Mew afterwards, when Mew did nothing for Ray regarding the accident, and didn't even run after him after the events in the bar (while Sand did and tried to stop Ray from driving).

I think Sand saying we were never friends is interesting too. There were other ways he could have worded that but he chose to say not that they aren't friends, but that they never were.

Is this because he wants to deny connection entirely (more distancing) or because he is stating that their relationship has never been that of friends (what with the kissing and such)?

I'm not sure which one I think but both are interesting.

This got too long so I made it two parts.

Part two here

[micah-pl]

✨💛 THE MATCHUPS FOR MPBT (MOST PUNCHABLE BOT TOURNAMENT) 💛✨

K1-B0 (Danganronpa) vs Those weird dog things (Boston Dynamics)

Pharma vs Overlord vs Sunder (MTMTE)

C3P0 (Star Wars) vs Baymax (BH6)

Wheatley (Portal 2) vs Mettaton (Undertale)

Serial designation N (Murder Drones) vs Pornbots (Tumblr)

Serial designation J (Murder Drones) vs MTMTE Rodimus

Serial designation V vs Regis from World Flipper

MTMTE Tarn vs TFP Megatron

MTMTE Thunderclash vs TMNT 2012 Donbot

Monokuma (Danganronpa) vs Lil Hal (Homestuck)

MTMTE Getaway vs Earthspark Shockwave

TFP Megatron vs MTMTE Tyrest

Dr Kahl’s Robot (Cuphead) vs MTMTE Whirl

TFA Starscream vs IDW Swindle

Atlas (Astro Boy 1980) vs Isaac (The Orville)

TFP Smokescreen vs BW Megatron

The three mechanical bosses (Terraria) vs Ruin Guards (Genshin Impact)

IDW Prowl vs Unicron

Lord Imperious Delirious (Beast Wars Uprising) vs HK-47 (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game)

The Great Spirit Robot (Bionicle) vs Metroplex

RID15 Drift vs Cyberverse Soundwave

G1 Galvatron vs G1 Sunstreaker

TFA Blackarachnia vs MTMTE Tailgate

IDW Zeta Prime vs H2G2 Marvin

stray (the game) vs Ratchet from Robots (2005)

cl4p tp (borderlands) vs Doctor Nefarious (Ratchet and Clank)

King Andrias (Amphibia) vs Pitching Machine (Blaseball)

Video killed the radio star coach (just dance 3) vs Atomic Robo

dot matrix (spaceballs 1987) vs TFA Ultra Magnus

TFA Sentinel Prime vs Motormaster

Terminator (Terminator) vs IDW 2019 Megatron

IDW Deadlock vs Shitbot (Dreamfall Chapters)

HOPE Y'ALL WILL HAVE FUN AND STAY TUNED BC THE POLLS WILL APPEAR TOMMOROW ✨💛✨💛

[allycat75]

The more I think about it, Boston Dumb Fuck, you are such a fucking patsy!

You ruined your life to try to give a boost to an untalented, lazy, arrogant childish, entitled, fatshaming, racist antisemite, tying yourself to her well beyond the eventual "break up". We know this, even though you still try to push your Political Avenger persona down our throats, unable to recognize, whether just because of obliviousness, ego or your rich, white male privlege, but you can't have both. Maybe that is why you have been doing such a bad job with ASP, wasting everyone's time, or even setting us back, as democracy hangs in the balance.

The sad thing is you didn't need to set yourself on fire for this little half Teutonic Twit. In Judiaism, we have a term called Dayenu, meaning "It would have been enough". If you've attended a Passover Sedar, which I sense you have, I believe you are familiar with the concept. Your annoying tweets promoting Warrior Nun in early 2022, leading up to the beyond embarrassing pap walk that looked like you were taking your bratty niece to her dance class, were serving their purpose. I even remember an article saying your tweets did more to promote the show than Netflix marketing was doing. Unfortunately, you also did more than your now wifey did. All you needed to do was continue the illusion of a relationship with said sloth Lolita (kinda like you did for those ghost ceremonies that never took place) and create a mystery about her and her show, or any subsequent projects, and she should have been held responsible for the rest. It isn't too much to ask that she lift a finger to further her own career. If she was deemed worthy of this opportunity she should be able to do the bare minimum of what her job requires. We can debate the vetting process and why she was chosen over more talented, dynamic and less evil and bigoted actresses who look like grown women, but we can save that for another day. Giving her more of your life has done absolutely nothing to raise her stock, and has plummeted yours. The results of this hands off approach would have been infinitely better, with much less effort and permanent damage.

But no, you went full bore and "married" the Nazi, lost your integrity, trustworthiness, moral compass, dignity and ultimately, your soul. You humiliated yourself as you made the wrong move at every single turn, became a user of people you supposedly care about, often without their permission, sacrificed your loyal fanbase, thinking we would be like you and just sit and take the abuse. Hubris is a bitch, though, and we left in droves, leaving you with bots, clout chasers and people who forgot they were following you (or thought they were following another Chris). You even exploited your beloved Dodger for this psychotic manipulation. Be thankful he doesn't know who you are, he would be ashamed.

What was so great that they promised you, or what was so bad that this was the preferred alternative? Was it worth it? Do you have the mettle to claw your way back?

I suggest you take a step back, regroup and work harder than you have ever worked before to relearn how to be a human adult, and tell the goddamn truth, no matter the consequences. Because, guess what? It will come out eventually and may not be spun so favorably in your direction. You have surrounded yourselves with vipers that put you in this perilous situation in the first place and would not hesitate to sacrifice you for their greater good. Besides, it is never a good look trying to chase a story; it is always better to get ahead of it.

[looosey]

Lucy's Side Quest #8: How much is too much?

Motivations: I've been pretty open to y'all throughout this year that I'm interested in being in love, and finding a partner. So... I made it a goal this summer, once I got back to Boston, to go on 10 dates on Hinge (have y'all seen the 50 first dates girl on tiktok? [1]).

Method: Two weeks ago, I updated my Hinge profile to reflect more of who I am now: using photos from dance and ring ceremony, and changed the prompt answers to be much less verbose (I used to be so open to these strangers!). I took 1 week to let the algorithm soak, and then 1 week to go on actual dates. This meant, sending out a bunch of likes per day without really looking too closely at any one profile or agonizing over what to slide up with, a method I came to now that I understand more of how the world runs in Hinge [2]. The matches trickled in slowly, and I challenged myself to one standard only, which was don't be weird about this. Then, naturally some matches matriculated to texting and then to meeting up in person!

Preliminary Outcomes: I set up three dates early on this week and just went out without too much thought. The first guy was fun to talk to and cute, and the second guy matched me on a more fundamental creative level. They were both new to Boston this summer. Both dates were on Commonwealth avenue, and consisted of eating then walking around Boston in the nighttime afterwards.

Both dates ended well, and left me feeling happy! Objectively, they were definitely better Hinge dates than the ones I had in February this year. Yet, I was not so eager to the point that I couldn't wait to see them again.

The third date! Though! Was yesterday. It was so strange in a good way. Even while texting this guy last week, I had a good gut feeling about him, like I knew could be myself. Maybe because he went to school in Texas? And having set up three dates, and knowing he was the last one, I felt the most excited about him. Thus, subconsciously, I saved the best date course(?) for this one, which was, instead of just getting coffee or lunch, go to a bunch of Sunday markets in Boston Southend and a supposed Little Italy festival in North end.

And I was right! Almost immediately, when I saw him, I felt a sense of comfort and a happy buzz? The date went so well, and Boston was being so lovely for us, including North end and the esplanade. And I'll skip the details, but I think I like him quite a bit, and it's strange to be on the other end again of this dynamic.

I remember two of the guys I considered seeing this year, and how often they wanted to meet up, so quick so soon. They were very clearly into me, and I didn't know it yet, but I know retrospectively, I wasn't as into them. And so now, I'm on the other end, and I don't want to scare him off, because duh, I'm interested in him, and thus I'm much more careful.

Thus, how much is too much? How do you show enough interest while respecting boundaries, and sharing a pace that works for both people? Texting, meeting up, doing acts of service for guys, inviting him to other things?

Or do I have to learn to play The Game? And resist the urge to show my feelings completely?

References:

[1] the 50 first dates https://www.tiktok.com/@hannahzaslawski/video/7263401638700780801

[2] Analyzing hinge and best use cases.