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robotsandramblings · 5 months ago

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The Journey of Clone Force 99 (and Friends)

a fun little research project i've been working on -- mapping out the locations visited by [members of] Clone Force 99, as seen on-screen in their Clone Wars Season 7 arc and The Bad Batch show itself. i really wanted to see where these locations were in relation to each other in the big, wide, Star Wars galaxy.

click on the map images to enlarge them in new tabs/windows; hopefully you can read the planet names better that way!

the full list of locations -- known, and unknown (ie. not on the map) -- are listed below, along with my resources and other notes. enjoy! 😊🗺️📌

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Note #1: Any planet names on the map that I had to add/type in myself are locations that I had to approximate, based on their Wookiepedia entries. They're not 100% accurate but I feel they're pretty darn close!

Note #2: This is NOT the complete map of all locations visited -- there were about 10 places that had planet or moon names in Wookiepedia, but no information on their location within the galaxy, not even a sector name.

Note #3: the pink-purple "misc" locations are ones that were either A) visited by non-CF99 characters, and/or B) mentioned or shown on-screen but no one really 'went' to the planet. They're all mentioned in the big list at the end of these notes.

Resources:

primary map (the one in the images above); from Wookiepedia. I desaturated the colours for better visuals and trimmed the edges a little.

used the links here to access the sector maps for the Outer and Mid Rims. it's an older but legitimate Star Wars source, from a book published in 2009, but I believe it has remained accurate and carried over into the Disney Canon. I used this a lot for the locations that weren't on the primary map -- Wookiepedia gave me the planet's sector name, and I was able to find the sector using these maps.

this map is fan-made and can be zoomed into very closely to see a lot more locations. There are also faint outlines for the sectors. I don't think this map itself is 100% accurate either, but it was still very helpful in confirming some locations I was approximating.

Fun things I noticed:

with it's "cameo" / intro appearance at the very end of Season 1, Wayland/Tantiss is the only location that we see in all three TBB seasons.

(unless there was a Coruscant scene i'm forgetting from S1??? that would be the other most likely candidate. but I think we only visit Coruscant in S2 and S3.)

(Ord Mantell came kinda close, with an indirect reference in S3, re: the imperials finding and questioning Cid.)

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The VERY LONG list of locations, by approximate chronological appearance in TCW and TBB:

The Clone Wars Season 7 -- Bad Batch arc

Anaxes

Skako Minor

The Bad Batch, Season 1

Kaller

Kamino

Onderon

Saleucami

Ordo moon (location on map UNKNOWN)

Idaflor ("misc") -- at the beginning of Ep 4, Hunter says he wants to hide out on uninhabited Idaflor for awhile. Tech says they need supplies and they end up going to...

Pantora

Ord Mantell

Corellia (where they retrieve the tactical droid head)

Bracca

Bora Vio (Kaminoan cloning facility; location on map UNKNOWN, although I'd guess it's relatively close to Kamino)

Raxus

Ryloth

Daro (where they rescued Gregor)

(cameo appearance by Wayland, aka location of Mount Tantiss / Tantiss Base)

Season 2

Serenno

Desix (Crosshair only; with Cody et al.)

Serolonis (Safa Toma riot racing; location on map UNKNOWN)

Skara Nul

Vanguard Axis station/base (location on map UNKNOWN)

Kashyyyk

Coruscant

Ipsidon (ipsium mine; Mokko & kids)

Silla (crashed science vessel & escaped Zillo Beast; location on map UNKNOWN)

Barton IV (outpost w/Mayday)

Tantiss (Crosshair only)

Pabu

Balmorra ("misc") -- where we see an imprisoned Howzer being transferred; he's rescued by Echo & co. in Balmorra's orbit

Eriadu

Ord Mantell

Season 3

Tantiss

Devaron (home of the Isa Durand's council, per Wookiepedia)

Setron (abandoned Hemlock base with the slither vines; where Hunter & Wrecker find the younger clones Mox, Deke, and stak; location on map UNKNOWN)

Lau (where Crosshair & Omega crash their stolen shuttle; location on map UNKNOWN)

nameless Ryloth moon (where everyone reunites)

Pabu

Barton IV

Pantora ("misc") (Rex, Howzer, and co. only; where Riyo Chuchi meets Raxus's Sentor Singh in secret)

Teth

Veelo (where Fennec Shand, Hunter, and Wrecker track down Sylar Saris; location on map UNKNOWN)

random asteroid where Phee gases up her ship & CX-2 sneaks aboard (location completely unknown)

Erebus (labour camp where Rampart is being held; location on map UNKNOWN)

Bora Vio (Kaminoan cloning facility where they meet Echo and his stolen imperial shuttle; location on map UNKNOWN, although I'd guess it's relatively close to Kamino)

Coruscant imperial orbital station (where they latch onto Tantiss shuttle)

Pabu

BONUS -- Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #10, which featured Clone Force 99 (pre-Order66)

Hylanth moon (location on map UNKNOWN)

~~~~~

if I've missed anything, or something seems incorrect, please let me know!! again, it's not 100% accurate or complete, but I've tried my best :)

#the bad batch #the clone wars #star wars #planets #galaxy map #wookiepedia #locations #analyzingsw #R&Rpic

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prettiest-thing-in-the-morgue · 8 days ago

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First of all I wanted to say I love ur writing style.

What I wanted to ask is I came across a prompt in ur asks from someone about batfam x neglected reader which u also told u would write.

I just want to know when u might write it because genuinely I loved the prompt and love to read it.

The link of the post is https://www.tumblr.com/prettiest-thing-in-the-morgue/781014256622714880/hi-i-have-a-batfam-x-neglected-reader-angst?source=share

hihi ! Sorry took so long to reply , I had a huge authors block and an unsolicited break (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡

For some reason it won't let me access the link but if I remember properly it was this ask 🎀

rushed ; cursing ; idk man , edit in honor pof fathers day lol

january marked a month of hope and prosperity , a month of new beginnigs , a shed of the old in many cultures. but to y/n wayne it marked the month of brutality and an era of neglect . she always knew her family loathed her .

cassandra and stephanie are not saints either - in fact stephanie runs a controversial podcast alongside cass where they actively debated with other celebrities - often known as the duo whom likes to instigate things. damian wayne does not have a pretty track record either - he is often every week has trending becuase news of him violently beating up another kid at school got surfaced.

wasn't of of spite , wasn't of of hatred , wasn't out of anything but pure neglect. in comparison to most of her siblings , y/n wayne actaully had a decent public appearance . something most of her family can not relater to .

she did not have have a messy social life like her father , frequent videos of him in night clubs galroe , her older brother dick who had several articles critiquing the manner he cheated on his wife , kori , the night before their wedding or jason's plathera of tabloids talking about his messy death.

tim is not safe either - you think tech genius and prodigy would keep his messy relationships under the wraps would you ? safe to say y/n wayne and duke thomas are the only two wayne family memebers with a decent background.

duke barely posts but y/n wayne is a known and well revered celebrity and lawyer. graudated from Harvard law , top of her class , known as a living legend who passed her bar exam on her first try since 1990's. not to mention she also co-graduated from harvard medicine and was already running her own firm and clinic a year after her graduation. was president for both class and student council and was captain of harvard girl's volleyball team.

y/n wayne is the girl every socilaite talks about , the girl your parents compare you too , the girl everyone wants to be , the perfect embodiment of a wayne . yet despite how good she is , her family would never like her , except for alfred.

alfred pennyworth would never say he had favorites to anyone in the family who asks him in jest but it does not take a person with a brain to figure out it is y/n wayne . the man , despite his old age would personally drive himself to harvard's campus and spend the weekend with name in her apartment that he himself bought for her because why woukd his favorite child live in a dormitory ?

the man personally meal prep a week's worth of food just for her - feigning that his baby shouldn't have to worry about meaningless work she has more important things at hand. said man attends all her events , parent meetings , her school seminars , all her speeches - he personally records for himself , graduations , personally attended her first clinic opening , met her first girlfriend in highschool , literally goes dress shopping to spa and makeup appointment because his baby just got her nails done and has a big gala to attend to why should she worry about driving when he can ?

basically y/n wayne is that man's pride and joy , if anyone walks up to this man and asks about any of the wayne children he'd give a small polite , " they're doing alright " but ask him about y/n wayne ?? that man is already pulling out his phone to show his lockscreen of him and y/n at a recent gala where she gave an opening speech and he will talk your head off about her .

safe to say y/n wayne's life at home maybe depressing but alfred made up for it. flash forward to early morning , and the news are lighting up , ' y/n wayne caught holding a child in gotham square could this be a secret wayne child we don't know of ?'

alfred practically rolled his eyes when he saw those news - it wasn't public information but y/n along with her highschool girlfriend actively run an orphanage , the reasoning why it wasn't public was because y/n wayne kept it under the wraps for the children's safety and wellbeing so her highschool girlfriend became the face of said orphanage and y/n was just a silent owner.

alfred rolls his eyes again before switching to another channel - he knows y/n wasn't waking up anytime soon because last night she not only had an emegency surgery , an unscheduled meeting with italian overseas investors for her firm but she also had an emergency enrollment . alfred doesn't know the specifics of why and how but he knows she did message him that she had been called by gordon about taking in a child last night and he assunes that was just her and the child in the pictures.

alfred sets put the tableware as the other wayne members fillter in. bruce had am angry expression and everyone else was muttering amoug themselves , " how can she shame us like that ?" , " i know she was weird but i mean.." , " such an attention seeking whore i mean whe couldn't keep it in her pants ?" , " for fucks sake shes 16 - when I was 16 i would never do that shit ".

breakfast continued on just like that , everyone murmuring and gossiping staurday morning in silk pajamas except bruce whos taken to brooding more this morning. alfred had just finished washing up before going to finish up y/n's breakfast when she walked in.

she's dressed immaculately , red ysl heels and black channel pants and jacket along with a dark maroon shirt. she wears her gold accesories , her hair is open and free , makeup minimal but beautiful as she strolls in towards alfred.

" I know such a disrespectful child like yoruself is not perading in my house when she was outside being a whore ! " bruce angerily exclaims as his eyes glare into her. y/n just stood there shocked and confused , " what are you even on about ?" she asks.

y/n embracss alfred , has not even glanced at her family - she hasn't since she was a wee naive 11 year old. " morning pa " she greeted him. alfred embraces her back , " morning hun , work meeting ?" alfred asks and before y/n can even respond bruce angerily slams his hands against the table.

damian snared , " dont pretend your not a hooker y/n your disgrace is all over the news " . " yeah y/n have some fucking class " stephanie retroted. y/n just stood there and just looked at them , " listen - i don't know what the fuck crawled up your asses this morning but i am no hooker " y/n said defensively.

bruce laughed , " shut up y/n , you've alaways been a disappointment now ? now you've surpassed it". y/n glares at him - how dare he call her a disappointment when he is one ? " yn its all over gotham fucking news how you have a secret love child no one knows about - like for fuck sake name your 16 close youe damn legs " tim yells at her.

y/n just stands there shocked and angry , " go fuck yourself " she curses before walking out , alfred trailing after her. y/n just walked straight out before walking into her red proche and speeding out of the gateway , not even stopping for alfred.

alfred sighs in disappointment but he's also furious and walks back inside , body shaking as he stands before the rest of them. " IN WHAT WORLD GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO TALK TO HER LIKE THAT ?" he yelled at bruce.

bruce hides his immediate shock but yells back , " SHES A 16 YEAT OLD WITH A BABY WHAT ELSE WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO ?" . alfred can practically feel the vein in his head popping

" YOUR DAMNED DAUGHTER IS 25 BRUCE , 25 AND WAS NEVER FUCKING PREGENANT " , alfred cursed back , enraged. bruce sat back , in both shock and embrassment and the others ? well the others can only open and cllse their mouth shut . " ..25..." jason murmured as if it's unbelievable . " yes your damn sister is 25 " alfred confirms , voice angry.

" THEN WHAT ABOUT THE KID ?" Stephanie yells back . alfred practically feels himself loose more braincells , " SHE FUCKING CO RUNS A DAMN ORPHANAGE SO SPEAKING SHE HAS MANY KIDS I'D FUCKING KNOW I MET THEM ALL " he shouted back.

alfred then walks off , grabbing a suitcase along with him. " wait where are you going -" dick asks as theh watch alfred haul the suitcase into the foyer , " i'm going to stay at y/n's " and walked out.

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mollyjimbly · 10 months ago

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🚨🚨AWFUL HORRIFIC NEWS🚨🚨

Hey everyone, some news update and a call to action :( Yes, KOSA is most likely going to be moving again possibly. Please read the entire message and take action.

WHAT TO DO?:

(YES YOU CAN CALL IF YOURE A MINOR)

1) Call House leadership everyday.

Steve Scalise (R), Mike Johnson (R), and Hakeem Jeffries (D). House leadership (GOP) sounds like they're somewhat in disapproval. Use their reasonings. There is a tailored call script SPECIFICALLY FOR REPUBLICANS in our call script here:

2) Call House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Click their names here:

and their phone numbers should be present. Split amongst yourselves which ones to call because there's a lot of members. If you have time, call all. If not, pick a few and call.

More noise = better.

⭐ See end for extra resources and tips.

1) Movement in the House. There will be a full committee markup next Wednesday at 10 am. The list of bills they will markup hasn't been finalized but KOSA is most likely to show up.

SOURCE:

2) 42 State Attorney Generals signed a letter in support of action on social media harms, including passing KOSA

SOURCE:

3) Schumer has been pushing for a vote on this all last week

⭐ Pretend you are a member of the GOP when calling them. Use their concerns. They are worried about pro-life, christian messages being censored off the internet. Pretend you are concerned about this as well. Say things like "this will give Biden a win and then they will use this bill to push their LGBT agenda on the rest of us!"

CALL SCRIPT FOR GOP:

I am urging you to VOTE NO on KOSA, the Kid’s Online Safety Act. This is a dangerous bill that will harm children. Many news organizations have reported that this bill actively harms kids by exposing their private data to strangers under the guise of protecting them. We need to hold Big Tech accountable, but KOSA is not the solution.

The bill let any state attorney general and the FTC to sue any website for “harmful” content. Do we really want blue state lawyers deciding what can and can’t be allowed online? Big Tech is already censoring us. That’s why they support KOSA. This is massive government overreach. We need a bill that actually protects children by creating better security measures instead of bringing about more censorship.

Multiple experts agree this bill pushes age verification, even with the new language. KOSA hands more private data of children to third party companies, which would put them in further danger. How is this protecting children’s privacy? What parent would want their child’s private data in the hands of strangers like this? KOSA is actively putting kids in danger. Do NOT support this bill. Thank you.

CALL SCRIPT FOR DEMS:

I am urging you to VOTE NO on KOSA. Nearly 200 human rights and LGBT organizations total came out in an open letter opposing it. The ACLU is against it. Hundreds of thousands of Gen Z, who actually live online, are against it. We know the harms of social media, and we know this is not the solution. The new language does NOT meet any concerns brought up, in fact many organizations were ignored. Major news have reported that this bill actively harms kids. We do not want this.

The rewritten bill would still allow any state attorney general, and now the FTC, to sue any website for “harmful” content. When you have Republicans calling anything LGBT “sexual exploitation” or anything about race “CRT” to successfully ban books and teachers, then they will use any justification to censor the internet. The Missouri attorney general used “mental health” successfully to ban gender-affirming care with backed up research. Suicide rates will skyrocket for marginalized youth with this bill restricting content.

Multiple experts agree this bill pushes age verification, even with the new language. KOSA hands more private data of children to third party companies. Furthermore, updated language threatens encryption the same way the Earn It Act does. How is this protecting children’s privacy? KOSA actively harms kids. Do NOT support this bill. Thank you.

friendly reminder!! ⬆️

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wachinyeya · 3 months ago

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A consortium linked to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has built a plant at the Mannheim wastewater treatment plant that cleans generated biogas and uses the resulting CO2 to produce climate-neutral marine fuel using green hydrogen. The process could help decarbonise the shipping sector, which is currently responsible for around three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The demonstration plant uses a patented process to convert biogas produced during wastewater treatment into climate-neutral methanol. The biogas is first purified and the separated CO₂ can then be used with renewably-produced hydrogen to make methanol – a raw material that can be used as marine fuel or in the chemical industry. Methanol does release the CO2 back into the atmosphere when burned. However, because the carbon comes from the treatment plant and not from additional fossil sources, it is considered climate neutral.

There are some 80,000 wastewater treatment plants in Europe that offer considerable potential for the new process, wrote KIT. "To achieve our climate protection goals, we must keep all technological options open," said Volker Wissing, federal minister for digital affairs and transport. “In addition to electrification and hydrogen-based propulsion, we need climate-friendly fuels, especially in maritime shipping." Stressing that the sector represented a future growth market, Wissing said Germany should play a pioneering role in research and development. "It's also about making our country independent of energy imports."

Vidal Vazquez, co-founder of climate tech start-up ICODOS, a spin-off from the KIT, added, "In Germany alone, wastewater treatment plants could produce several million tonnes of sustainable methanol annually." The project shows that "wastewater treatment plants can serve as the heart of sustainable fuel production – a potential that has so far remained untapped," Vazquez said. ICODOS is currently in discussions with other wastewater treatment plants to set up other production facilities.

Renewables-based synthetic fuels could be necessary to decarbonise certain sectors such as shipping, where alternatives are not available today, or extremely costly. However, producing the rare fuels is energy-intensive and expensive and they should only be used where the direct use of electricity is not an option.

25 Mar 2025

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technofeudalism · 4 months ago

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The startup Eight Sleep Inc. makes a temperature-controlled, water-filled mattress cover system popular with Silicon Valley execs and body optimizers who say that sleeping at the perfect temperature gives them the ideal rest. The bed cover costs more than $2,000 and requires an internet connection to work. To power the temperature adjustments – which the company now says can be finessed with AI insights – Eight Sleep beds need to be online. But one researcher says he’s found ways that Eight Sleep’s engineers can theoretically snoop on customers’ bed activity. He says it’s just the latest example of the way tech companies today are often pushing everyday products to be overly engineered, unnecessarily internet-connected and reliant on a recurring subscription. Dylan Ayrey, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Truffle Security Co., said he initially bought an Eight Sleep system to help with insomnia. He joins users such as Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, biohacker Bryan Johnson and Andrew Huberman, the tech industry’s favorite health guru. Elon Musk has also praised the bed. (The admiration is apparently mutual: Eight Sleep CEO Matteo Franceschetti shipped bed covers to DOGE this month and wrote on X, “@eIonmusk us if you need more.”) When Ayrey looked at the bed’s firmware, he was surprised to see that it appeared to have a backdoor that would allow the company’s engineers to remote into any bed and run code on it without oversight. Ayrey hypothesized that, for example, if your ex worked at Eight Sleep, they could find out when you’re sleeping at home – or when you’re not – and whether you’re sleeping alone or with someone else. He compared it to Uber Technologies Inc.’s controversial “God View,” an internal system in which employees previously could track individual riders using their service. It also evokes the way thousands of Amazon.com Inc. employees could listen to sound clips recorded through Alexa devices.

[ Source ]

#technofeudalism #horrifying in every way #technology #privacy #anti capitalism

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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The Coprophagic AI crisis

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TORONTO on Mar 22, then with LAURA POITRAS in NYC on Mar 24, then Anaheim, and more!

A key requirement for being a science fiction writer without losing your mind is the ability to distinguish between science fiction (futuristic thought experiments) and predictions. SF writers who lack this trait come to fancy themselves fortune-tellers who SEE! THE! FUTURE!

The thing is, sf writers cheat. We palm cards in order to set up pulp adventure stories that let us indulge our thought experiments. These palmed cards – say, faster-than-light drives or time-machines – are narrative devices, not scientifically grounded proposals.

Historically, the fact that some people – both writers and readers – couldn't tell the difference wasn't all that important, because people who fell prey to the sf-as-prophecy delusion didn't have the power to re-orient our society around their mistaken beliefs. But with the rise and rise of sf-obsessed tech billionaires who keep trying to invent the torment nexus, sf writers are starting to be more vocal about distinguishing between our made-up funny stories and predictions (AKA "cyberpunk is a warning, not a suggestion"):

https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2023/11/dont-create-the-torment-nexus.html

In that spirit, I'd like to point to how one of sf's most frequently palmed cards has become a commonplace of the AI crowd. That sleight of hand is: "add enough compute and the computer will wake up." This is a shopworn cliche of sf, the idea that once a computer matches the human brain for "complexity" or "power" (or some other simple-seeming but profoundly nebulous metric), the computer will become conscious. Think of "Mike" in Heinlein's *The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_Is_a_Harsh_Mistress#Plot

For people inflating the current AI hype bubble, this idea that making the AI "more powerful" will correct its defects is key. Whenever an AI "hallucinates" in a way that seems to disqualify it from the high-value applications that justify the torrent of investment in the field, boosters say, "Sure, the AI isn't good enough…yet. But once we shovel an order of magnitude more training data into the hopper, we'll solve that, because (as everyone knows) making the computer 'more powerful' solves the AI problem":

https://locusmag.com/2023/12/commentary-cory-doctorow-what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/

As the lawyers say, this "cites facts not in evidence." But let's stipulate that it's true for a moment. If all we need to make the AI better is more training data, is that something we can count on? Consider the problem of "botshit," Andre Spicer and co's very useful coinage describing "inaccurate or fabricated content" shat out at scale by AIs:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4678265

"Botshit" was coined last December, but the internet is already drowning in it. Desperate people, confronted with an economy modeled on a high-speed game of musical chairs in which the opportunities for a decent livelihood grow ever scarcer, are being scammed into generating mountains of botshit in the hopes of securing the elusive "passive income":

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/15/passive-income-brainworms/#four-hour-work-week

Botshit can be produced at a scale and velocity that beggars the imagination. Consider that Amazon has had to cap the number of self-published "books" an author can submit to a mere three books per day:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/20/amazon-restricts-authors-from-self-publishing-more-than-three-books-a-day-after-ai-concerns

As the web becomes an anaerobic lagoon for botshit, the quantum of human-generated "content" in any internet core sample is dwindling to homeopathic levels. Even sources considered to be nominally high-quality, from Cnet articles to legal briefs, are contaminated with botshit:

https://theconversation.com/ai-is-creating-fake-legal-cases-and-making-its-way-into-real-courtrooms-with-disastrous-results-225080

Ironically, AI companies are setting themselves up for this problem. Google and Microsoft's full-court press for "AI powered search" imagines a future for the web in which search-engines stop returning links to web-pages, and instead summarize their content. The question is, why the fuck would anyone write the web if the only "person" who can find what they write is an AI's crawler, which ingests the writing for its own training, but has no interest in steering readers to see what you've written? If AI search ever becomes a thing, the open web will become an AI CAFO and search crawlers will increasingly end up imbibing the contents of its manure lagoon.

This problem has been a long time coming. Just over a year ago, Jathan Sadowski coined the term "Habsburg AI" to describe a model trained on the output of another model:

https://twitter.com/jathansadowski/status/1625245803211272194

There's a certain intuitive case for this being a bad idea, akin to feeding cows a slurry made of the diseased brains of other cows:

https://www.cdc.gov/prions/bse/index.html

But "The Curse of Recursion: Training on Generated Data Makes Models Forget," a recent paper, goes beyond the ick factor of AI that is fed on botshit and delves into the mathematical consequences of AI coprophagia:

https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.17493

Co-author Ross Anderson summarizes the finding neatly: "using model-generated content in training causes irreversible defects":

https://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2023/06/06/will-gpt-models-choke-on-their-own-exhaust/

Which is all to say: even if you accept the mystical proposition that more training data "solves" the AI problems that constitute total unsuitability for high-value applications that justify the trillions in valuation analysts are touting, that training data is going to be ever-more elusive.

What's more, while the proposition that "more training data will linearly improve the quality of AI predictions" is a mere article of faith, "training an AI on the output of another AI makes it exponentially worse" is a matter of fact.

Name your price for 18 of my DRM-free ebooks and support the Electronic Frontier Foundation with the Humble Cory Doctorow Bundle.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/14/14/inhuman-centipede#enshittibottification

Image: Plamenart (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Double_Mobius_Strip.JPG

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

#pluralistic #ai #generative ai #André Spicer #botshit #habsburg ai #jathan sadowski #ross anderson #inhuman centipede #science fiction #mysticism

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source-co · 2 months ago

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pi37 why did your flawless wonderful gay ceo hurl your camera down four flights of stairs

he, and i quote, ''thought the video it'd make would look awesome''. which i why i was tasked with fixing the camera instead of just replacing it.

#it was also a very expensive camera. just an addition.#pi37 #source co. tech

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reasonsforhope · 1 year ago

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Green energy is in its heyday.

Renewable energy sources now account for 22% of the nation’s electricity, and solar has skyrocketed eight times over in the last decade. This spring in California, wind, water, and solar power energy sources exceeded expectations, accounting for an average of 61.5 percent of the state's electricity demand across 52 days.

But green energy has a lithium problem. Lithium batteries control more than 90% of the global grid battery storage market.

That’s not just cell phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes, and tools. Scooters, e-bikes, hybrids, and electric vehicles all rely on rechargeable lithium batteries to get going.

Fortunately, this past week, Natron Energy launched its first-ever commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S.

“Sodium-ion batteries offer a unique alternative to lithium-ion, with higher power, faster recharge, longer lifecycle and a completely safe and stable chemistry,” said Colin Wessells — Natron Founder and Co-CEO — at the kick-off event in Michigan.

The new sodium-ion batteries charge and discharge at rates 10 times faster than lithium-ion, with an estimated lifespan of 50,000 cycles.

Wessells said that using sodium as a primary mineral alternative eliminates industry-wide issues of worker negligence, geopolitical disruption, and the “questionable environmental impacts” inextricably linked to lithium mining.

“The electrification of our economy is dependent on the development and production of new, innovative energy storage solutions,” Wessells said.

Why are sodium batteries a better alternative to lithium?

The birth and death cycle of lithium is shadowed in environmental destruction. The process of extracting lithium pollutes the water, air, and soil, and when it’s eventually discarded, the flammable batteries are prone to bursting into flames and burning out in landfills.

There’s also a human cost. Lithium-ion materials like cobalt and nickel are not only harder to source and procure, but their supply chains are also overwhelmingly attributed to hazardous working conditions and child labor law violations.

Sodium, on the other hand, is estimated to be 1,000 times more abundant in the earth’s crust than lithium.

“Unlike lithium, sodium can be produced from an abundant material: salt,” engineer Casey Crownhart wrote in the MIT Technology Review. “Because the raw ingredients are cheap and widely available, there’s potential for sodium-ion batteries to be significantly less expensive than their lithium-ion counterparts if more companies start making more of them.”

What will these batteries be used for?

Right now, Natron has its focus set on AI models and data storage centers, which consume hefty amounts of energy. In 2023, the MIT Technology Review reported that one AI model can emit more than 626,00 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent.

“We expect our battery solutions will be used to power the explosive growth in data centers used for Artificial Intelligence,” said Wendell Brooks, co-CEO of Natron.

“With the start of commercial-scale production here in Michigan, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for efficient, safe, and reliable battery energy storage.”

The fast-charging energy alternative also has limitless potential on a consumer level, and Natron is eying telecommunications and EV fast-charging once it begins servicing AI data storage centers in June.

On a larger scale, sodium-ion batteries could radically change the manufacturing and production sectors — from housing energy to lower electricity costs in warehouses, to charging backup stations and powering electric vehicles, trucks, forklifts, and so on.

“I founded Natron because we saw climate change as the defining problem of our time,” Wessells said. “We believe batteries have a role to play.”

-via GoodGoodGood, May 3, 2024

Note: I wanted to make sure this was legit (scientifically and in general), and I'm happy to report that it really is! x, x, x, x

#batteries #lithium #lithium ion batteries #lithium battery #sodium #clean energy #energy storage #electrochemistry #lithium mining #pollution #human rights #displacement #forced labor #child labor #mining #good news #hope

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starry-crossing-zone · 15 days ago

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Love Finds a Way - Hunter (Part 2)

Summary: Hunter and the rest of the Bad Batch tries to help you restore your memories. Length: 3.6k Warnings: Mentions of Jedi Purge; Mentions of Death; Amnesia; Scars; Angst; Female Jedi Reader

Part 1

Hunter stood in the entryway of the cockpit with his arms folded across his chest. You sat in the co-pilot chair as Echo and Tech asked questions about what you remembered.

Hunter tried to appear stoic, serious, and focused on the mission at hand. But yet his gaze was soft as he watched you explain your memories. He studied your mannerisms and listened to every intonation of your words. And yet, he found that his close analysis only made the situation more difficult to stomach.

It made his skin crawl when he heard the accent of the planet reflect in your words. Or the way that you sat slumped in your seat. You did not carry yourself like a Jedi general with several hard-fought victories under your belt. You were a negotiator. You were an ambassador. You rarely dropped your composure and were cool under fire.

But the you before him wasn’t you. It was your face and your body, but yet it wasn’t. You were nervous and fidgety. You were constantly running your hands down your pants to wipe the sweat off and your voice never rose above a certain level.

Hunter thought that it was hard to grieve you. But now he realized that this was somehow worse.

“Byn found me unconscious on the bank of the river that runs north of the village. There’s a lot of berries that grow there, and it’s not uncommon for villagers to go up there to pick them. But I have no idea of how I ever got there in the first place.”

“And about five klicks from where you were last seen,” Echo noted, reading through the Imperial report.

“The river appears to be part of a larger tributary network,” Tech cut in, tying away at his datapad. “There are several water sources that flow south from a mountain range.” He stood up from his seat and a hologram of the planet appeared in the center of the cockpit. “And if we overlay the crash location with the tributary network, it appears that the crash site is above a lake that is part of the network.”

Tech pointed at the red point on the map. You slowly stood up and stepped towards the hologram, studying the map with furrowed eyebrows. Hunter, trying to not get distracted by how the light reflected off your eyes, watched you with concern.

“It would make most sense to start at the crash site.” Echo stood up and moved to stand beside you in front of the hologram. “We can search for the wreckage and see if there are any clues that can help trigger your memories.”

You nodded firmly. “Let’s do that.”

It was the most like you that you had sounded since Hunter found you again.

“Then let’s not delay,” Tech agreed, already typing in the coordinates of the crash site.

As Tech began the flight sequence, you slowly retook your seat in the co-pilot’s chair. Turning, you stared out at the darkened landscape and fiddled with your fingers.

Echo turned to do some more research into the explosion when he spotted Hunter staring at the back of your head. With a sigh, Echo walked over to Hunter and stood beside him. Echo glanced in your direction before turning to Hunter.

“How are you holding up?” Echo asked quietly, keeping his voice low.

“I’m fine.”

Hunter felt Echo’s stare of disbelief and turned to meet his gaze. With another nudge, Hunter sighed and ran a hand down his face. He pushed himself off of the wall and turned around, heading back to the barracks. And with one last glance between you and Tech, Echo moved to follow him. Hunter leaned against the console and stared at the floor.

“I just hope that we can find some answers for her,” he admitted quietly, causing Echo to nod.

“That’s what all of us want. And that’s what we’re all going to try to do.” Echo studied Hunter’s body language for a moment before he stepped forward and gently grabbed Hunter’s shoulder. The sergeant picked his head up at the contact. “Try to get some rest, Hunter. You need it.”

Echo gave Hunter’s shoulder a squeeze before he turned to return to the cockpit. Hunter watched Echo leave before his eyes wandered over to you. You smiled at Tech as the two of you discussed the mechanics of the Marauder. And when Hunter felt his jealousy spike at the fact that you hadn’t smiled at him, he shook his head and decided that Echo was right. He did need some rest.

With a heavy heart, Hunter stood up and walked into the barracks to go mope by himself and dream of a different, simpler time.

*~*~*~*~*

Hunter stepped out of the barracks when the Marauder began its landing sequence. You stood up from your seat when the ship touched down. As you waited for the doors to open, you locked eyes with Hunter. The two of you held each other’s stares, searching for some kind of familiarity that continued to elude you, until Tech cut into the moment.

“This is about as close as to the location of the crash that we can reach, as the actual explosion occurred in the air above the planet’s surface.”

“Explosion?” you asked, causing Tech to nod in confirmation. In a passing comment, you muttered under your breath, “No wonder my hair was singed.”

And although no one else heard it, Hunter did. The small comment made his fists clench and his jaw lock before he forced the muscles to relax. Instead, he tried to focus on Omega as the rest of the Bad Batch stepped off the Marauder.

Staring out at the small lake, you glanced up at the sky as if you were trying to remember the explosion. You stepped further from the group, tuning out Wrecker, Tech, and Echo’s discussion of investigating the area. Your eyes dropped to the surface of the lake.

“Wait.”

Blinking back to the present, you looked down to see Hunter’s hand wrapped around your bicep. It took another moment, but you suddenly realized that you were standing knee-deep in the lake. Hunter stared at you worriedly, trying to read your expression.

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know.” You trailed off as you turned to look back into the lake. It was clear and warm from the season, but there was a drop off to a darker depth. A depth that you needed to see. “But there’s something down there that’s calling to me.”

“Calling how?”

“I don’t know how to describe it.” You turned back to Hunter with hope shining in your eyes. “But I need to go down there. I need to see what’s calling me.”

Turning to where Tech and Echo were standing, you walked out of the lake and out of Hunter’s grasp. Despite the fact that you left, his hand remained in the same position, holding onto the ghost of your past self.

“Tech, do you have underwater masks?”

“Certainly,” Tech piped up as Hunter turned around quickly.

“You can’t go down there,” Hunter stated firmly and with a sense of finality.

It was in that moment that the galaxy seemed to stop. Omega and Echo both winced, clearly having seen the change in your expression, and shared a look. Wrecker even appeared a bit scared as you slowly turned around to glare in Hunter’s direction.

It seemed that even if you didn’t have all your memories, you reacted just the same way to demands. Unreasonable demands, you would have said.

Your eyes narrowed dangerously and for a moment, Hunter could see a peek into your past self. The general who conducted herself with an impeccable sense of power and prestige. You did not back down and you were not one to cower away from a fight, no matter the opponent. You were a fierce warrior and negotiator and you never took kindly to being ordered around.

“Excuse me? What do you mean that I can’t go?”

There was a beat of silence before Hunter replied, “We don’t know what’s down there.”

“Congratulations, Sergeant, you just discovered the reason why I need to go down there.” Turning back to Tech, who was typing away at his datapad, you asked, “Can I have that equipment, Tech?”

“It’s too dangerous,” Hunter continued, walking closer to you. You turned around at the sound of his footsteps and stared him down. “You could get hurt.”

“I already got hurt. I didn’t have this scar the last time that you saw me, did I?” You gestured to your jagged scar, which caused Hunter to look away, pained at the reminder. Trying to quell your annoyance, you stated, “I need answers. And I’m not going to find them up here.”

“Then let us go down there for you.”

“No,” you snapped back. “These are my memories. My life. If anyone is going down there, it’s me.” Hunter could hear how hard your heart was beating in your chest with anger towards him. “Would you have trusted her instincts?”

Hunter slowly turned to meet your gaze again. There was that spark, that fire that drew him to you—well, the old you—in the first place. Your tenacity, your refusal to give up, to give in. There was always a way and you never stopped until you found it. And that little spark, that little fire, glowed bright in your eyes as you awaited his answer.

“Without question,” he responded quietly.

“Then trust mine.” Your figure relaxed and you slowly unhunched your shoulders. Holding Hunter’s gaze once more, you added, “If you want me to get my memories back, if you want the old me that you knew and remember, then you have to let me go.”

Let you go? Could he?

The last time that he saw you—well, the old you—you were in the process of being shipped out to some Outer Rim mission without them. A clone battalion needed a Jedi general after their last one was killed in battle and you were the closest and most capable replacement. The orders came with urgency and you barely had any time to say goodbye.

He had let you go then and what happened?

He lost you. You got hurt. The entire galaxy flipped on its head. He lost Crosshair. Bodies stacked up and there didn’t seem to be an end to the suffering.

But as you suited up and prepared to dive to the crash site, Hunter felt just as powerless as he had the first time that he read the report of your supposed death. If he stopped you, he risked alienating you forever and never reawakening the side of you that he remembered. That he loved. And if he let you go, you could get hurt. You could be lost forever.

Either way he lost, just as he had with every decision since the fall of the Republic.

“You can communicate with us at all times,” Tech assured you as you zipped up the suit. “And should you need to resurface quickly, press that button.”

“Thank you, Tech.”

With one last glance in Hunter’s direction, you placed the helmet over your head and turned for the water. Stepping slowly into the water you took a deep breath to steady yourself before you dove down.

“She’ll be alright, Hunter,” Omega assured him, leaning against him. Hunter merely nodded in reply, not trusting his voice.

Meanwhile, below the water’s surface, you swam deeper. The light from your helmet allowed you to see the bottom of the lake. Kicking along, you paused when the light reflected off something in the sand. You hovered over the lakebed. Staring at the shiny piece of metal in the sand, you gently brushed your hand over it.

You sucked in a sharp breath when the symbol of the Republic appeared before you.

“Everything alright?” Tech’s voice echoed through your helmet.

“Fine.” You looked along the lakebed and found a deeper canyon. And that call seemed to tug at you again, only this time it was even more powerful. “I’m going deeper.”

Swimming into the canyon, you uncovered more wreckage. Pieces of metal and other materials from a ship that had been blown up. And when you found the main part of the wreckage, you took a moment to stare at it. Pieces were scattered around, strewn about as the current and time slowly hid the truth of those horrors from the galaxy.

You approached the body of the transport carefully, using your instincts to guide you. Placing your hands on the lakebed, you started to push the sand away and move the debris in your way. The call was louder now, almost consuming you. Resting your feet on the ground, you grunted as you pushed one of the larger metal pieces out of the way.

Breathing heavily, you stared down at the lakebed as the sand slowly settled. A new glint of metal caught your eye and you bent down to investigate. Your hand wrapped around a column of metal and all of a sudden, the call stopped.

Pulling your hand up and dragging the material to the surface, you stared down at a lightsaber. Your lightsaber, you realized with a sinking feeling.

*~*~*~*~*

Hunter looked up as he sensed you about to resurface and walked to the edge of the lake. Your helmet appeared a few moments later and you slowly swam towards the shore. When your feet touched the ground once more, you slipped off the flippers and slowly walked out of the water.

“Did you find it?” Hunter asked as you approached.

You did not respond to him, tossing your flippers onto the sand of the shore without a word. Hunter waited intently for your response as you reached up and removed your helmet. You turned to look up at Hunter with an mix of emotions that he didn’t have time to identify because the sudden hum of a lightsaber drew his attention first.

You held the blade in front of you, not in a defensive or aggressive manner, just simply to make a point. Your eyes, however, never left Hunter’s face, trying to read his expression.

“You never thought that it was important to mention that I was a Jedi?”

And when Hunter turned to hold your gaze again, he only found a look of betrayal staring back at him.

“I can explain,” Hunter replied carefully, taking a step towards you.

But at the slight movement, he found the blade hovering dangerously close to his neck. The other Bad Batchers jumped into action, their hands reaching for their weapons, but Hunter held up a hand for them to stop. He stared at you and found tears gathering in your eyes.

“Save your breath.”

Hunter noted the subtle shake to your hand. Although the blade had called out to you, it clearly was not held with confidence. You once described your lightsaber as an extension of yourself. You toiled and meditated to build it over the course of several days. Without it, you felt incredibly exposed. And now it was foreign to you.

“We’re not here to hurt you,” Hunter tried to assure you.

“You’re not?” you snapped back incredulously as the shake in your hands became more apparent. “You know, this may be a dustball in the Outer Rim but even out here, we heard about what happened to the Jedi. About what men just like you did to them. To me.”

“We didn’t carry out the order.”

“Why should I trust you?” you demanded from Hunter. “Why should I trust any of you!?” You cast a glare in the direction of the other Bad Batchers before turning back to Hunter. “How do I know that you didn’t just play along, waiting until you had the opportunity to drag me away to your overlords? How do I know that I wasn’t just a bounty on your list?”

You stepped closer to Hunter, who remained still, holding your gaze with a measure of calm that was unsettling in of itself. Your lips trembled as emotions that you had no control over surged through your mind and cracks started to appear.

“I saw the Republic insignia down there on that ship. The ship that I was on when I lost my memories. The ship that was littered with blaster holes! After people just like you tried to kill me!”

“But we didn’t,” Hunter replied softly. “We would never.”

“I can’t trust you,” you hissed back, tears dripping down your cheeks. “You lied to me!”

“We held truth back from you. We did,” Hunter agreed, sharing a look with Echo and Tech. “But we thought that bombarding you with that information all at once would be too much.”

“You were just trying to control me!”

“I was trying to protect you.”

“Why do you even care about me?” you asked, another set of tears dripping down your cheeks. “Was all of this just a game to you?”

“No!” Hunter protested immediately. “No, it wasn’t.”

“Then why did you offer to help me?”

“We knew you as a Jedi. I knew you,” Hunter started to explain. “You were our Jedi general during the war. You served on countless missions with us over two years. We had a perfect success rate under your leadership. And you were . . .”

“I was what?” you demanded from him once more. “I was what?”

“Hunter,” Echo warned, but Hunter ignored him.

“We were friends, you and I. And we became even more as time went on.”

“Jedi aren’t allowed to have relationships,” you snapped back, the whirr of your lightsaber reminding Hunter of the very present danger in front of him. “Stop lying to me!”

“I’m not.” Hunter paused for a moment, searching your eyes for any familiarity. “You have a scar on your back. A thin, raised pink line that you got during the Battle of Geonosis. You told me that it aches when it gets cold.”

Your hand seemed to drop back to the scar before your brain caught up with you. Shaking your head, you held the lightsaber back to Hunter’s neck.

“That’s just a coincidence.”

“You can’t eat Muja fruit because it makes your throat itch.”

“Lucky guess,” you breathed out, though your voice started to lack force.

“You have a tattoo on your right hip. Just a simple stick and poke of a star that Tech did for you.”

“Stop it.”

“You favor your left foot for balance because of an injury to your right foot when you were a padawan. Even now, you’re balancing predominantly on your left foot.”

“Stop.”

“And you—”

“—I said stop!”

The Force seemed to return to you as the dust suddenly swirled around you after your outburst. Hunter looked down at your shaking hands before he slowly met your gaze once more. Your eyes were wide and frightened, lacking the anger and frustration from a few moments prior. Slowly, and as he held your gaze, Hunter reached down to grab your lightsaber.

You flinched, but didn’t push him away. He could feel you shaking more now that he held your lightsaber. Gently twisting his grip, Hunter deactivated the weapon.

“Put it down, mesh’la. You can put it down.”

“No, I can’t,” you breathed heavily. Your grip tightened on your lightsaber.

“Yes, you can.”

Your grip remained tight on the lightsaber as your hands shook. But soon, Hunter’s words seemed to have an effect on you. Your grip slowly loosened as Hunter continued to hold your gaze until your hand dropped back down to your side and your lightsaber remained in Hunter’s hand.

Staring at him with tears streaming down your cheeks, a sudden force seemed to come over you after you relinquished your lightsaber. Hunter’s hope evaporated and your lightsaber clattered to the ground as he lurched forward to catch you before you fell. Your head lolled to the side as your eyes rolled into the back of your head.

“No, no, no,” Hunter breathed out, holding your face in his hand. “Tech! I need help!”

Echo and Tech raced over and Tech quickly began to assess your condition. Hunter held you in his arms, tears streaming down his cheeks as he stared at your seemingly lifeless form. He could still hear your heartbeat and the sound of your breathing, which was the only reason he still clung to what remained of his sanity.

“She is stable, medically speaking. I believe that this is her body’s response to this encounter,” Tech announced after completing a scan.

“Her body shut down to protect herself?” Echo suggested, causing Tech to nod.

“Precisely.”

“When will she wake up?” Hunter asked, holding you closer to his chest.

“That is uncertain. It could be hours or days, if not weeks.”

“Tech.”

But Hunter tuned out Tech’s ramblings about the likeliness of your quick recovery. Brushing the hair that had fallen on your face away, Hunter lowered his head to rest against your own as tears continued to dribble down his cheeks and onto your own.

Peeps who asked about a Part 2: @astralqueenoc @mariahstarwarsgal @pissandgrits @sflame15-blog @oceansssblue @skellymom @leapingbadger @dragonrider9905 @sh1zhu @clonethirstingisreal @griffedeloup @literallydontlook

#the bad batch #the bad batch x reader #the bad batch x you #star wars tbb #tbb hunter #sergeant hunter #sergeant hunter x reader #sergeant hunter x you #tbb hunter x you #tbb hunter x reader

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dertaglichedan · 5 months ago

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CEO of Canada’s 2nd biggest company defends Trump’s tariff demands, slams Trudeau for not stopping trade war

The CEO of Canada’s second-largest publicly traded company says Canadians want their government to do all the things that President Trump is demanding — and slammed outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not preventing the trade war.

Trump, 78, on Saturday, signed an executive order to slap 25% across-the-board tariffs on America’s northern neighbor, citing its failure to meet his demands on helping crack the fentanyl and illegal immigration trade.

“Canada thrives when it works with America together. Win by helping America win. Trump believes that Canada has not held its side of the bargain,” Tobi Lutke, who co-founded Shopify, wrote on X.

“These are things that every Canadian wants its government to do, too. These are not crazy demands, even if they came from an unpopular source. These tariffs are going to be devastating to so many people’s lives and small businesses.”Lutke’s withering critique came in response to a clip of Trudeau announcing 25% retaliatory tariffs on $107 billion worth of US goods and pushing for policies targeting red states. Shopify, the e-commerce giant that Lutke co-founded in 2006 is worth about $150 billion. It’s Canada’s biggest tech company and biggest ever startup — and second only to the Royal Bank of Canada in size.

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mixterglacia · 4 months ago

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Hey, for my writers out there.

Remember that even an audience with impeccable media literacy needs SOME direction to follow your intended path.

You can't just assume people will understand when you never give them anything. You can't get mad when they come to a conclusion you don't want when you don't give them any clues.

It doesn't have to be over the top. Hell, things like Eggers films are extremely subtle. But if you're paying attention, you'll get it.

Audiences can't read your minds. They can only work with what they're given. You can't get pissy and claim you have to spoon feed people when you don't even have the food on the table in the first place.

Two brilliant examples currently running are The Amazing Digital Circus and Monkey Wrench.

While we don't fully understand what's going on, there's a fairly reasonable pathway you can find if you're paying attention.

There's something wrong with the company Pomni was at. Obviously you would typically lock up the kind of tech that causes someone to be trapped in the Circus. So either they intentionally made her put on the headset, or they allowed her to find it. (I'm leaning towards the latter.)

Beebs is from an extremely traditional society where strength and stature are obviously valued. His house is clearly in a bit of a shakey state, and his mother is a notable point of contention. To the extent where I wonder if she's even Walrinean (sp?) in the first place. Or if she was a runt so to speak.

Another example is the Crewniverse's FLAWLESS execution of the Pink Diamond, and Gravity Falls Stanford reveal. Both were incredibly subtle, but made perfect sense upon confirmation. Because they'd been quietly nodding at it since the earliest parts of the series.

Then you have things like the Helluverse, where they keep having to explain things on Twitter and Blue Sky, because they either over explain it or not at all. That's not your audiences fault. That's on the writing team.

Of course, there's always going to be things that aren't clearly understood. It happens. Sometimes people are looking too hard into things, and you didn't realize that you kinda fucked up. See the Peridot Canada Theory for an example.

But when it keeps happening, you need to put more care into how you drop hints to your audience. They shouldn't have to look for external sources to understand. See Rise of Skywalker's novelization trying to retcon the Reylo kiss as platonic. See Helluva having to explain Satan's whole deal on Twitter.

Also, don't fucking contradict yourself in the course of your own show. Get a continuity editor for the love of the gods.

Yes, there's a media literacy crisis right now. But there's also just straight bad writing. I find it extremely frustrating when people are out here calling critics stupid for not knowing something that was only mentioned in a one minute segment, of a five hour podcast, from six years ago.

I'll also throw Viv and Co a bone here with my favorite subtle nod of theirs that actually works.

In the pilot, there's a moment where Angel offers to blow Alastor. Unlike some of the other characters he's done this to, who usually react with a benign no? We hear the sound of glass breaking before Alastor regains his composure and dismisses him.

That is a great example of something that seems like a joke in the moment, but makes you think more deeply. One that also makes you curious as to why he was so defensive. There's a few conclusions you can draw without looking at external media from that.

One, he's a prude.

Two, he has some form of trauma.

Three, he's got a problem with Angel specifically.

Or Four, he's not into sex.

Several of those are at least partially correct. Those were my thoughts when all we had was the pilot alone. They later confirmed he was touch repulsed aroace.

We didn't inherently need the word of god to come to that conclusion. But that's the level of work you need to put in before you can bitch about people missing the point.

What I'm trying to get at, is if you have a regular problem of being misunderstood, or people being unable to follow your character arcs, you might want to review what information you're sprinkling in.

External media should simply deepen our understanding. Not be required reading.

#logan laments #vivziepop critical #media literacy

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