@jonfreadom

@jonfreadom

Pnictogen Horses

@PnictogenHorses

there's a truth about American right-wing society, hardline Christian society (for these two things are almost the same) that has yet to sink into mainstream public acceptance. it's *necessary*, however—it's vital to human survival—that this truth be fully understood.

(cont'd)

@MattWalshBlog

it's simply this: they are always at war.

always.

@MattWalshBlog, racist, staunch defender of Christian pedophilia, abusive parent, fascist Catholic fanatic, is able to drag himself out of bed every day to do more evil in the world because he thinks he's a soldier.

(cont'd)

@DouthatNYT

@DouthatNYT, flatulent Catholic hypocrite, imagines himself to be a soldier. @PastorMark, sex pest and extremist Christian grifter, thinks he's a mighty paladin for Christ. so does @DavidAFrench, who went as far as joining a genocide to get some Christian soldier vibes.

(cont'd)

Read 17 tweets

Kris Dreemurr of the Pnictogen Wing (at Large)

@KrisAtLarge

@NateSilver538

there's something I'd like to point out about @NateSilver538's recent behavior. it's important when trying to understand these awful people just how they *disguise* themselves. the excuses they utter, and in _what order_, matters a lot in understanding them.

(1/x)

@NateSilver538

nothing @NateSilver538 *ever says* in public ought to be taken at face value. he's a bigot; he tells whatever lies are necessary to protect that. but there's a _pattern_ to the lies. there's a kind of boom-and-bust pattern to bigoted behavior. I'll try to explain.

(2/x)

@MattWalshBlog

the general behavior of a bigot is compelled to *oscillate* between two poles. it's a bit like being addicted to a drug, or to gambling, or some other similarly addictive activity—for wallowing in bigotry is, for people like @MattWalshBlog and @mtaibbi, *addictive*.

(3/x)

Read 17 tweets

Kris Dreemurr of the Pnictogen Wing (at Large)

@KrisAtLarge

https://twitter.com/KrisAtLarge/status/1632260753788141568

argh! I forgot the most important bit! because it's about Baldr and Hoðr and Loki—and a very *particular* version of their story, the one that most people know, which comes from Snorri Sturluson and the "Prose Edda" and which then got picked up by English poets.

(1/x)

https://twitter.com/KrisAtLarge/status/1632260753788141568

#CSLewis cites Matthew Arnold's "Balder Dead", a retelling of the story of Baldr's death from the "Prose Edda", as one of his early influences in his semi-autobiographical work "Surprised by Joy".

now I speculate: Jack Lewis probably had Baldr in mind when he converted.

(2/x)

for it's been *noted* that the narrative about Baldr's death from Sturluson's "Prose Edda" is *almost* like the Christian narrative. Baldr is impossibly beautiful and impossibly pure, with amazing powers, then treachery lays him low—but he'll be coming back after Ragnarok!

(3/x)

Read 14 tweets

Cory Doctorow (@pluralistic@mamot.fr)

@doctorow

The classic #trilemma goes: "Fast, cheap or good, pick any two." The #ModeratorsTrilemma goes, "Large, diverse userbase; centralized platforms; don't anger users - pick any two." 1/

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

pluralistic.net/2023/03/04/pic… 2/

@ARozenshtein

The Moderator's Trilemma is introduced in "Moderating the Fediverse: Content Moderation on Distributed Social Media," a superb paper from @ARozenshtein of @UofMNLawSchool, forthcoming in the journal @JournalSpeech, available as a prepub on @SSRN:

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf… 3/

Read 73 tweets

Kris Dreemurr of the Pnictogen Wing (at Large)

@KrisAtLarge

@NateSilver538

let's talk about the wacko racist crap a little bit. it's not just @NateSilver538 farting out tales of Chinese evil scientists creating all the world's diseases. the whole @elonmusk / @mtaibbi / @MrAndyNgo / QAnon-ish set is super into whackadoo nonsense about "cabals".

(1/x)

https://twitter.com/KrisAtLarge/status/1631346346874777600

@bindelj

the "gender critics" of the @bindelj / @Docstockk camp are super into conspiracy theories of their own; @HJoyceGender copied antisemitic fantasies from Jennifer Bilek into her own work, blaming the existence of "TRAs" on some murky Jewish doctors' plot or other.

(2/x)

@HogwartsLegacy

@HogwartsLegacy is an *entire game* pitching antisemitic blood-libel trash to the fascıst #JKRowling / #HarryPotter / @RGalbraith fandom—bigots are Rowling's chief base of support, and the Rowling fanbase no doubt overlaps heavily with the @mtaibbi / @NateSilver538 fandom.

(3/x)

Read 16 tweets

Peter Pischke-Friendly Neighborhood Journo

@HappyWarriorP

twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Okay, I'm now up to the Deathly Hallows films
I think my fav film so far is Half-Blood Prince

it's the most film-like & still balances the "yar a wizard harry" aspect of the series with the serious dramatic tension.

Great film; I would actually watch it again.
#harrypotter… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Jim Broadbent plays Professor Slughorn & totally nails the role.

He is actually likable & relatable without the script telling you this is the guy you are supposed to like

He brings in the sense of a deeper philosophical world in Harry Potter & makes it feel more lived-in.

When people talk about the Harry Potter movies & the best talents, they rarely bring up Broadbent,

Usually, it's Gary Oldman or Alan Rickman, sometimes the 2 actors that played Dumbledore

But Broadbent's Slughorn holds my attention & makes me want to see more of that character.

Read 8 tweets

Alex Gopoian

@HumblyAlex

To formally end my involvement in the #HarryPotter drama (rather than let it be easier to get sucked back in) I'm going to tell a relevant story about when & why I rebranded my Twitter account almost a year ago. Not relevant for the trans person involved, but for the groupthink.

I used to be part of a large private Facebook group where people posted screenshots of the messages they would receive from creeps that slipped into their DM's. The group included the intent to shame them in its title.

Now, I used to be one of those creeps awhile back. I can now see both sides of that experience a lot clearer (especially after remembering some messages I've received from people asking if they could give me a massage on another site and not taking no for an answer).

Read 21 tweets

itaker.rital

@attaquederital

Die ganze Debatte über #HarryPotter beweist aus literaturwissenschaftlicher Perspektive schlichtweg wie wichtig der #ToddesAutors bzw. die Trennung zwischen Werk und Autor für die Analyse von künstlerischen Werken ist. Die obsessive Fixierung auf Rowling als Person führt dazu...

, dass keine objektive Lektüren mehr stattfinden, die sich am Text orientieren. Im Gegenteil: man projiziert nun alles Negative auf diesen, obwohl ein vernünftiges Close Reading die Absurdität dieser Deutungen, die auf Social Media verbreitet werden, schnell offenbaren würde.

Dann wird da ein unschuldiger Text plötzlich antisemitisch, kapitalistisch, verherrlicht den Neoliberalismus und verfügt auch noch über eine transfeindliche Treppe. Alles Unsinn, der aber von (jungen) Journalisten, die scheinbar nicht lesen können auch medial verbreitet wird.

Read 7 tweets

Kris Dreemurr of the Pnictogen Wing (at Large)

@KrisAtLarge

Western culture does not regard children as human beings. the values of "the West"—the values instilled by authoritarian #Christianity—do not permit children to be respected as human beings who deserve to have their feelings and wishes respected, like any other person.

(1/x)

@bindelj

no better example of the general Western *contempt* for children can be imagined than the "gender critical" cult—the @bindelj / @Docstock / #JKRowling brigade—which functions almost entirely as a kind of support group for abusive parents who loathe their LGBTQ+ children.

(2/x)

@jk_rowling

they cling to the faded celebrity of @jk_rowling as a shield against the charge that they despise children—after all, #JKRowling is the Best Fantasy Writer in the Universe, according to the @HJoyceGender / @AbigailShrier gender theorists. she's the friend to all children!

(3/x)

Read 23 tweets

Pnictogen Horses

@PnictogenHorses

@AEI

Western #education is in abysmal state, and #capitalism is to blame.

the noisemakers at all levels of the #conservative noise machine, from the august @AEI propagandists (like "race scientist" @charlesmurray) to circus sideshows like @Timcast, try to blame "woke", but...

(1/x)

@mtracey

that "woke" game is extremely thin by now. really it's just rebranded Red Scare nonsense. in 1950, it was Commies who were "destroying our youth" with virulent ideas that right-wing ideologues didn't like, like abstract algebra; now @mtracey and @DouthatNYT blame "woke".

(2/x)

@realchrisrufo

but ask any low-level right-wing expert on "woke"—ask @realchrisrufo or @ConceptualJames what "wokeism" actually *is*—and you'll get the word "Marxism" in no time: "woke" is, in other words, nothing new at all. it's the same old paranoia about pinko Rooskies in closets.

(3/x)

Read 19 tweets

Pnictogen Horses

@PnictogenHorses

I am a #unicorn! you may believe that, or not.

my sense of self isn't dependent upon outsiders' scorn; in any case, I'm quite content to be regarded as a mere figment of a crazy person's imagination. that's little impediment to my life and purpose in the Pnictogen Wing.

(1/x)

I daresay that I'm unusually *practical* for a unicorn. my interests are mundane ones; I like science and engineering and working in shops and keeping things running as smoothly as possible, and while I'm no atheist or positivist, I leave magic and religion to others.

(2/x)

all the same—it's a painful thing, being a unicorn in a world that has attempted to *wipe out* creativity and mysticism and magic—a world that embraces cruelty and casual sneers at suffering and death. I may have been ethereal once; I am not, now.

(3/x)

Read 13 tweets

Pnictogen Horses

@PnictogenHorses

@elonmusk

let's try again. I wanted to write more *specifically* about Mr. @elonmusk—speculating about why he's the catastrophic person he is, based on what's popularly known about him. everything I'm going to mention is something reported in the popular press (not by @mtaibbi.)

(1/x)

https://twitter.com/PnictogenHorses/status/1619558112171810819

@elonmusk

we know that Mr. Musk had an abusive father, whom @elonmusk has had little good to say about. the man was typical colonialist trash—a South African grifter and speculator who *got lucky*, making a lot of money quickly with a partial share in an apartheid-era emerald mine.

(2/x)

@elonmusk

Mr. Musk (and certainly his #ElonMusk fan club) has tried as hard as possible to suppress any chatter about the emerald mine; Mr. @elonmusk himself, a prolific and habitual liar, has even tried to pretend that the press made it up. but it's too broadly reported to deny.

(3/x)

Read 44 tweets

Pnictogen Horses

@PnictogenHorses

@KrisAtLarge

Chara, at @KrisAtLarge, has been talking about @mtaibbi's #marketing and #branding; I'd like to talk about a *specific* aspect of Western society's obsession with "personal brands".

it's simply this: in marketing, _censorship is the norm_.

censorship is *expected*.

(1/x)

https://twitter.com/KrisAtLarge/status/1619458019565371392

@elonmusk

it's fully expected; #capitalism depends upon #marketing to censor the truth.

they've normalized the practice: corporations (and @elonmusk and @mtaibbi) never tell the truth about themselves, nor do they feel the slightest need for it—they need to maintain the *brand*.

(2/x)

@elonmusk

the trivial nature of #marketing culture dictates that people like @elonmusk and @mtaibbi (and @pmarca and @ID_AA_Carmack and literally everyone else who has *marinated* in this culture) think of their own crimes and sins as trivial. "bad publicity", at worst.

(3/x)

Read 14 tweets

Kris Dreemurr of the Pnictogen Wing (at Large)

@KrisAtLarge

oh right! we were going to write something about the power of language.

hm, how to start.

let me begin with talking about a concept that I learned from classes in ancient Greek: the *grammatical particle*. it's a type of word, in linguistics.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatic…

(1/x)

@SDSU

I remember being impressed during @SDSU Classics classes by this entire book on ancient Greek particles: abebooks.com/book-search/ti…

*particles* are words that have no inflection or clearly defined "part of speech" in a sentence.

"um" and "er" are particles in English.

(2/x)

we could regard "um" and "er" as linguistic filler—words with no real meaning, merely taking up space—but the insertion of such particles does give us some information about the *mood* or *feeling* of the person speaking.

here, "um" and "er" convey a sense of uncertainty.

(3/x)

Read 24 tweets

Pnictogen Horses

@PnictogenHorses

I am not an #atheist

my daughter Alyx Woodward is, however—she's also the daughter of a *god*, but has ambitions of proving—somehow—either that Loki does not exist, or can be reduced to a superfluity, a mere error term in an equation somewhere, perhaps. gods *annoy* her.

~Mona

I'm not an atheist but neither am I religious. I feel no particular need to act upon my spiritual beliefs, which are at any rate quite vague. I may be a unicorn, but I'm also rather practically minded; I leave religious matters to Chara and Kris and their various friends.

~Mona

@michaelshermer

I will tell you, however, that I have little respect for #atheism, the way it's currently done.

its loudest exponents are shallow, superficial, ignorant (and profoundly racıst) men like @michaelshermer and @RichardDawkins, who show no clear understanding even of science.

~Mona

Read 34 tweets

Tim White

@TWMCLtd

https://twitter.com/TWMCLtd/status/1594588056140611584

Day 272 of #Russia 4 day plan to take #Kyiv and 10 days to control #Ukraine. How's that going?

Here is another daily thread covering all the news as it happens.

Missed something yesterday? Here's the link for all Monday's news:

#StopRussia #SaveUkraine

https://twitter.com/TWMCLtd/status/1594588056140611584

Let's start with the daily losses as estimated by #Ukraine.

The total of #Russia's soldiers killed for Putin's egotistical and illegal dream has reached 85,000

The 100,000 figure remain on track to be hit shortly before New Year.

#RussiansGoHome #StandWithUkraine️

British Intelligence comes to the conclusion I wrote about four days ago when #Ukraine appeared to have struck an oil terminal on #Russia's Black Sea coast with a 'marine drone'

#StopRussia #SlavaUkraini

Read 43 tweets

Graviola Finland

@GraviolaDOTfi

:Collapsed #FTX hit by rogue transactions, analysts saw over $600 million outflows | Nov 12
- suspicious circumstances
m.economictimes.com/tech/technolog…

#UKRAINE "#MILITARYAID" FROM #USA WAS #INVESTED IN CRYPTO "#FTX" BY UKRAINE! | Nov 12
- The sudden collapse of "FTX" and its #Bankruptcy filing today, has revealed that FTX presently suffers from $10-$50 BILLION in liabilities with almost ZERO assets
halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/n…

#HeavenlyJerusalem. #FTXbankrupty filing today, has revealed that FTX presently suffers from $10-$50 BILLION in liabilities.
- #Ukraine was receiving money from the US, Ukraine sent it to FTX, Sam #BankmanFried and #FTX sent it to #Democrats

https://twitter.com/BTC_Archive/status/1591365581550551043?s=20&t=Y2mt23ofnnH49-69WhjeNg

Read 32 tweets

Luiz Fernando

@Luiz_Fernando_J

Habemus Numbers!!!
During #WBD’s Q3 2022 Earnings Report (JUL-SEP), it’s unveiled 2.8M boost in global DTC subscriptions, citing #HouseOfTheDragon as the main catalyst, but coming below #WallStreet’s 3.3M estimates, reaching 94.9M total #HBOMax+#HBO+#DiscoveryPlus subscribers
1/

According to #WBD, total subscriptions in the US grew 500k, to 53.5M subscribers, and an ARPU of $10.66, a +1.1% increase
Meanwhile overseas markets were the main driver in subscriptions growth, adding 2.3M on Q3 2022, for a 41.4M international total,with an ARPU of just $3.68
2/

Streaming and subscriptions alone were responsible for 2.3B in revenue, -6% compared to Q3 2021.
Ads revenue more than doubled to $106M, as #HBOMax Ad-tier keeps growing in subscribers.
Even so, overall streaming Costs increased +22% to almost 3B, putting DTC -634M in the red.
3/

Read 18 tweets

Roope Rainisto

@rainisto

Emma Stone as Gollum

#emmastone #gollum #dreambooth #stablediffusion

Emma Stone in Pirates of the Caribbean

#emmastone #piratesofthecaribbean #dreambooth #stablediffusion

Emma Stone in Terminator 2

#emmastone #terminator2 #dreambooth #stablediffusion

Read 13 tweets

Hansley A. Juliano

@NonRadix

This diatribe of mine is less just about LOTR, and more about the dilemma of adaptations as the dominant IP production method of global visual media now. (A thread 🧵)

smh.com.au/culture/tv-and…

Perhaps this is the harsh truth: at this point, facilitated no less by people who never really cared about Tolkien beyond using his flaws to shore up the very voices of Mordor in the real world, criticism of this work will remain associated in bad faith. (cont.)

(The same is already occuring with #HouseOfTheDragon, yet perhaps it's story, attuned as it is to a post-20th century world--not to mention the still living author--is more amiable to it). [Cont.]

Read 14 tweets

EmelittencesSchool ✦

@emelittences

Волшебство ✨

Разработчики Hogwarts Legacy показали гостиные факультетов Хогвартса. По словам авторов игры, комнаты отдыха максимально приближены к книжным версиям. Релиз должен состояться 10 февраля 2023 года.

Part 1: Гриффиндор

#harrypotter