through an Overton lens, Trump's increasingly-insane inanity will make any Bush-style Republican very attractive in 2028. a white man who isn't a psychotic narcissist will be soberly declared, by once-again-endorsement-friendly editorials everywhere, to be the kind of stable genius we all need. the press will wet themselves in bliss at the idea of the GOP returning to a normal balance.
the Dem base will have picked someone who promises to litigate all the Trump era scandals that the press is currently ignoring. the country will not be interested.
now change "from a libertarian viewpoint" to from a "from the viewpoint of a Hobbit".
keep in mind that LLM's don't know anything and are designed to output text that is statistically-likely.
"1. Appreciation for Simple Courtesies and Modesty
Subtle gestures of politeness: Hobbits value community, but not in a loud or intrusive way. The idea that people in Riga practice small courtesies, like offering a seat with a simple gesture or adjusting expectations without irritation, would feel very familiar. To a hobbit, these kinds of modest exchanges are the heart of a well-functioning community. The lack of grandiosity in social interactions, such as not making a spectacle out of kindness or politeness, would seem very aligned with hobbit ideals.Queueing with respect: The concept of respecting others' time in queues, where there is a mutual understanding that resources (like time and money) are limited, would be seen as a practical and sensible way of life. Hobbits, who enjoy quiet gatherings in their homes or the market in the Shire, would recognize the value of calm and respectful order in public spaces."
check out the list of other videos from that channel.
https://www.youtube.com/@TheFallOfNations
RUSSIA JUST KILLED ITSELF
CHINA IS FALLING APART
GREENLAND DESTROYS RUSSIA
DEATH BY VODKA
THE DEATH OF RUSSIA
RUSSIA IS GOING DOWN
PUTIN IS DONE
BLACK DAY FOR PUTIN
END OF ALASKA
END OF NORTH KOREA
IMMIGRATION KILLED CANADA
i guess what i'm saying is: right now, anyway, i don't care about policy details; i don't care about ideological purity; i don't care about authenticity or ambition. none of that matters to me because time has taught me that my preferences are irrelevant.
i really don't need to validate my specific policy ideals. they'll never get implemented anyway.
what matters is what the general public wants.what really matters is stopping The Party of Trump. so, any Democrat will do.
IMO, the person the Dems need is the one who grabs the attention of that huge mass of people whose political outlooks are completely alien to those of us who think we know something about politics.
cycle after cycle we spend a year debating the number of angels on the head of each of the candidates' pins. and then when the elections happen, the mass of voters go and pick the person who discredits our scholastic philosophies.
so, my vote is for the person who can win for the Dems. and i am 100% sure my own actual criteria are 100% irrelevant.
Everyone says they vote for whoever they think is “better on the issues” but how many people have any idea what policies a candidate is committed to on those issues?
i've always assumed he writes his own social media junk. i doubt anyone else could really understand what's going on in his head and so would eventually end up contradicting what Trump actually thinks. and then Trump would have corrected it. but i don't think we've seen that.
i'm sure he posts things that were co-/written by other people now and then. but the rants are all him.
one of the comments on that Kyoto HS vid said the reason there were so many women in the band was because marching band is seen as a 'girly' thing in Japan.
?
it being a former girls-only school makes more sense, though.
"...to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump..."
'of' is a very strange preposition to use here. i can't think of a way in which it could be considered correct.
and this:
"...with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before."
is a hideous mess.
whoever writes these doesn't care much about grammar.
when my wife and i were in Japan many years ago we wandered into a club one afternoon, somewhere in Tokyo, and watched a local rock band of young guys playing songs for their not-quite-a-dozen friends - just like local bands everywhere.
last week, YouTube started recommending a bunch of Japanese post-rock / noise bands to me for some reason. i can't even read their titles or band names, so clicking on one is a pure crap shoot.
i like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7apuNjIRe0
for me anyway, pot makes it more likely i'll act out a dream. it's a reason i limit my partaking.
>The other teaching dream involves being in the building on the first day, but I don’t know what subjects I will be teaching or where my room is and I have no teaching materials.
hilarious. i and my wife both have recurring dreams about being in school on exam day when we realize we are signed up for a class that we have never attended. and then we frantically search the campus trying to find the classroom where the exam will be held.
On “An open thread”
>The killing of Renee Good is truly shocking – could this be a tipping point?
nah.
Americans' capacity for apathy is unlimited. just look at school shootings.
this will be both-sided and dissected by the clowns in the news/entertainment industry until something else comes along to distract us.
On “Moving towards Epiphany”
>Well, that and the Democratic base picked a candidate they should have known was unelectable.
did Obama promise to go after the sins the Dem base was sure Bush committed Bush's?
will a Democrat get through the primaries who says he won't spend every second chasing Trump's crimes?
"
through an Overton lens, Trump's increasingly-insane inanity will make any Bush-style Republican very attractive in 2028. a white man who isn't a psychotic narcissist will be soberly declared, by once-again-endorsement-friendly editorials everywhere, to be the kind of stable genius we all need. the press will wet themselves in bliss at the idea of the GOP returning to a normal balance.
the Dem base will have picked someone who promises to litigate all the Trump era scandals that the press is currently ignoring. the country will not be interested.
GOP by 15%.
On “An inscrutable Merry Christmas”
we're almost 20F higher than 'normal' here in central NC.
almost 70F higher than the record low.
good times.
On “Welcome to my world”
now change "from a libertarian viewpoint" to from a "from the viewpoint of a Hobbit".
keep in mind that LLM's don't know anything and are designed to output text that is statistically-likely.
"1. Appreciation for Simple Courtesies and Modesty
Subtle gestures of politeness: Hobbits value community, but not in a loud or intrusive way. The idea that people in Riga practice small courtesies, like offering a seat with a simple gesture or adjusting expectations without irritation, would feel very familiar. To a hobbit, these kinds of modest exchanges are the heart of a well-functioning community. The lack of grandiosity in social interactions, such as not making a spectacle out of kindness or politeness, would seem very aligned with hobbit ideals.Queueing with respect: The concept of respecting others' time in queues, where there is a mutual understanding that resources (like time and money) are limited, would be seen as a practical and sensible way of life. Hobbits, who enjoy quiet gatherings in their homes or the market in the Shire, would recognize the value of calm and respectful order in public spaces."
(ChatGPT)
On “Weekend Music Thread music thread #09 In Russia, Christmas music sings you!”
"Oksana is a woman’s name that personifies a themometer."
whatnow?
On “Weekend music thread #08 How do you get to Carnagie Hall?”
check out the list of other videos from that channel.
https://www.youtube.com/@TheFallOfNations
RUSSIA JUST KILLED ITSELF
CHINA IS FALLING APART
GREENLAND DESTROYS RUSSIA
DEATH BY VODKA
THE DEATH OF RUSSIA
RUSSIA IS GOING DOWN
PUTIN IS DONE
BLACK DAY FOR PUTIN
END OF ALASKA
END OF NORTH KOREA
IMMIGRATION KILLED CANADA
christ
On “The Wiles Interview”
i guess what i'm saying is: right now, anyway, i don't care about policy details; i don't care about ideological purity; i don't care about authenticity or ambition. none of that matters to me because time has taught me that my preferences are irrelevant.
i really don't need to validate my specific policy ideals. they'll never get implemented anyway.
what matters is what the general public wants.what really matters is stopping The Party of Trump. so, any Democrat will do.
"
IMO, the person the Dems need is the one who grabs the attention of that huge mass of people whose political outlooks are completely alien to those of us who think we know something about politics.
cycle after cycle we spend a year debating the number of angels on the head of each of the candidates' pins. and then when the elections happen, the mass of voters go and pick the person who discredits our scholastic philosophies.
so, my vote is for the person who can win for the Dems. and i am 100% sure my own actual criteria are 100% irrelevant.
"
Everyone says they vote for whoever they think is “better on the issues” but how many people have any idea what policies a candidate is committed to on those issues?
to a good first approximation, zero.
On “Author, author?”
what a child
"
at least some of the GOP are not happy with Trump's Reiner reaction.
but, Jim Geraghty is impure enough in his Republicanism to be a regular at WaPo. so we shouldn't take him as a representative sample of the base.
"
i've always assumed he writes his own social media junk. i doubt anyone else could really understand what's going on in his head and so would eventually end up contradicting what Trump actually thinks. and then Trump would have corrected it. but i don't think we've seen that.
i'm sure he posts things that were co-/written by other people now and then. but the rants are all him.
On “Cory Doctorow and enshittification”
ironically, Doctorow used to be an editor for boingboing.com, which was once a great tech-nerd site. now, it's an ad-encrusted nightmare.
On “Weekend music thread #08 How do you get to Carnagie Hall?”
one of the comments on that Kyoto HS vid said the reason there were so many women in the band was because marching band is seen as a 'girly' thing in Japan.
?
it being a former girls-only school makes more sense, though.
On “Author, author?”
"...to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump..."
'of' is a very strange preposition to use here. i can't think of a way in which it could be considered correct.
and this:
"...with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before."
is a hideous mess.
whoever writes these doesn't care much about grammar.
On “Weekend music thread #08 How do you get to Carnagie Hall?”
YouTube knows all.
it just suggested i watch this Kyoto highschool marching band:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qce6Mu5dHzQ
"
when my wife and i were in Japan many years ago we wandered into a club one afternoon, somewhere in Tokyo, and watched a local rock band of young guys playing songs for their not-quite-a-dozen friends - just like local bands everywhere.
last week, YouTube started recommending a bunch of Japanese post-rock / noise bands to me for some reason. i can't even read their titles or band names, so clicking on one is a pure crap shoot.
i like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7apuNjIRe0
On “Cory Doctorow and enshittification”
once upon a time everybody needed a telephone because it was the fastest and most reliable way to communicate with anyone in the world.
today, a telephone is a device that primarily gives advertisers and scammers a direct line to your attention.
On “How are you sleeping?”
Spanish-American War!
who doesn't want to be Teddy R?
"
the Ledeen doctrine
"
speaking of nightmares...
i haven't been keeping up with my Republican mythology, so can someone explain: why are 'we' trying to start a war with Venezuela?
"
>5 mg of indica MJ at bedtime.
for me anyway, pot makes it more likely i'll act out a dream. it's a reason i limit my partaking.
>The other teaching dream involves being in the building on the first day, but I don’t know what subjects I will be teaching or where my room is and I have no teaching materials.
hilarious. i and my wife both have recurring dreams about being in school on exam day when we realize we are signed up for a class that we have never attended. and then we frantically search the campus trying to find the classroom where the exam will be held.
"
i've had those kids of (RDB) dreams since my mid 30s.
Drs haven't been interested.
On “Site Experiment”
oooh, nice. well done, Michael.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.