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252
Joined
3 yr. ago

Been a student. Been a clerk. Been a salesperson. Been a manager. Been a teacher. Been an expatriate. Am a husband, father, and chronicle.

  • Haven't seen this but have heard this title for decades. One day, I'll have the strength to take this film on.

    • The Pianist
    • Empire of the Sun
    • The End of the Affair
    • 火垂るの墓 — "The Grave of the Fireflies"
    • La Vita e Bella — "Life is Beautiful"

    Less about how the front lines and the warriors fared. More about how the wars affected individuals, particularly children.

  • They did get me. I got away. But, it was my own kids.

    CIA. Recruiting my own kids against me.

    Always has been.

  • "Canadians say U.S. ... is bigger threat [to us] than Russia"

    World's longest undefended border may have something to do with that.

    Note: ask any country in Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Africa, or the Arabian/Persian Gulf who is a bigger threat, you'll get the same answer. Some might say China is forgotten from the list.

    Canadians are breaking through the propaganda, finally. Contra-American sentiment or a political anti-American stance has probably not been this rooted since 1812.

    Russia threatens European power. U.S. threatens the Western Hemisphere and

  • Seven Seconds by Youssou N'dour and Neneh Cherry (French and English)

    • this was my first foray into "world music" in, like Grade 7.

    Sadeness by Enigma (Latin and French)

    Miserere by Arvo Pärt (Latin)

    The Expanse by Clinton Shorter (Old Norse?)

    Disappointment by Moon (Russian?)

    Also, I lived in Korea when Gangnam Style dropped. It was magical at the outset, but now... well, hyperexposure is a real thing. But, good on Psy for his work.

  • The Roots (first four albums especially)

    Godspeed You! Black Emperor / A Sliver Mt. Zion

    Portishead, Massive Attack

    Public Enemy

  • Ah. Oops. Did not know I'd transgressed.

    As far as I know, these cycles were written by the post-maker. I just found them compelling, each a visual and visceral view of our inhumanity toward ourselves. The writing is pretty good. The AI is illustrative, though not altogether the compelling element.

  • Ask Lemmy @lemmy.world

    Which of Gossip Goblin's "The 13 Cycles of Humanity" do you think we are trending toward? TW: body horror, AI generated video (think, Terry Gilliam).

    youtube.com /playlist
  • In your head, change the name of a food you wish to avoid. I've done this with McD's.

    In my head, it's been called McDicks since high school. I, personally, don't enjoy eating dicks. So, when I see the sign, and I feel like a Big Mac would go down easy, I say to myself, "I don't eat dicks."

    It works.

    For those who enjoy eating dicks, well, you'll have to choose another association. Also, I didn't think the phrase "feel like a Big Mac would go down easy" would be so overtly sexual.

  • More people need to know about Bernays. Literally wrote the book, Propaganda in 1928. Went on to found the industry of Public Relations. He is the reason advertisers target your subconscious, make you feel bad, an use their products as a salve for the pain they inflict.

    Adam Curtis covers the effects well in The Century of the Self. Watch out, it clocks in at just under 4 hours.

  • Do yourself a favour, watch the directors cut.

  • Let's see: USA has 26.3% of world GDP. They jealously guard that by force of arms, unfair trade deals, and an aggressive propaganda campaign.

    Then, the relationship turns truly abusive. America is even inflicting self-harm.

    So, the trade partners of thw world want a divorce; to find themselves and reconnect to their core values, absent the frathouse belligerence of USA. Certainly, other powerful and potentially abusive partners are there among the large economies; but the smaller, resource rich countries are looking for better partnerships.

    The US's stars will fade. Their economic power will shrink. They may even lose some of their states to secession.

    If I'm not mistaken, this is how the Holy Roman Empire collapsed — into a handful of warring kingdoms and principalities in the middle of Europe. It wasn't the end of the world. It was the end of that world.

  • Skateboarding. Wingsuit flying. BASE jumping.

    All seem like SO much fun. But, Im entering middle age with two kids. Broken bones are not fun. Nor are risks not covered by my insurance, apparently. That's what my partner tells me anyway. She gets final say on fun.

    Or, the insurance company does. Whichever. They're on the same side: against injury. And fun.

  • For those who don't understand these words, I'll translate: driving a motor vehicle (car, truck, van, or other) with a manual-shift or stick-shift transmission.

    In an automatic transmission vehicle, you have steering, gas, and brakes. The car itself decides automatically which gear to be in based on several conditions. This is the form of driving to which most are accustomed.

    The rest of us can actually drive.

  • Ee-ahn'-aw-oh(ng)-oo(ng) for robot to vehicle. And quickly.

  • Not new, but additional. I'd like to hear what the others

  • It is difficult to get all of these in a single film.

    However:

    • Art direction that makes you love design.
    • Cinematography at such scale and intimacy that you love light, shadow, depth of field, and the rule of thirds
    • Writing that makes you love language, references, and lived experiences
    • Casting that extols the virtues of interpersonal chemistry
    • Editing that forces you to feel pace, tone, and contemplation as the story demands
    • A plot that twists, turns, and delivers a gut punch when you least expect it
    • A twist-in-the-end that, on reflection (or re-watch), makes total sense.
    • Compelling, developing characters responding to irresistible forces that wash through their being
    • Murphy's Laws in full force: failure is an option, main characters can die

    e:

    • A true, hidden, and/or surprise villain whose perspective you can see and might even agree with.

    Good examples:

    • Synecodoche, New York
    • Michael Clayton
    • Sicario
    • Requiem For a Dream
    • No Country for Old Men

  • I've used this so many times. Now I need to employ Wilhoit's composition as well.

    Perhaps both, together.

  • You make an excellent point.

    Perhaps, instead of "celebrating", the opposite of "[vicious] harassment and [ignorant] hatefulness" is virtuous identification and commitment to learning. Thoughts?

  • A foreword: there is no picture. The future has guidelines, tendencies, but no actual shape. There's nothing you're supposed to do. Life isn't planned out all at once. Those days are dead. In fact, they nay never have existed. You will become a new person, and have a new career or focus or stage of life, about once every 11 years. That's normal. That's life's uncertainty.

    The piece of advice is the one I've given on many platforms for years: if you're —

    • North American and
    • from any "settler-colonial" culture and
    • you're able,

    then leave North America for at least one year. Live elsewhere, see how others live, and break out of the bubble built by the preschool to prison pipeline, the corporate cradle to coffin collective consciousness. This advice isn't exclusively for Gringos and Canucks, but it's based on the particular starting square I had and most of the people I've encountered. Also, I don't mean to exclude my Indigenous, Mexican, Mexica, and other Latino brothers and sisters, but my understanding is that you've already got reality pushing the movement narrative.

    If you're a a first-generation North American (like me), also build connections within your community. There is much work to be done to diversify these places and so many other new, and first-gens could use some support. Detachment from one another is what harms us most. The communities I've had outside of El Norte continue to feed me. Admittedly, the job I have and the hours I keep prevent community-building. I need to get back to it.

    Finally, get smart about money. Find teachers, take meetings at banks, go to teachings at libraries. Study the jargon in your credit card agreements. Make investments in yourself and your future. I failed pretty spectacularly at this one.

    As far how to choose WHAT to do with all your time, well, the only thing I'd advise is to be a crafty, insightful, decisive disruptor. Nothing else that I've seen works. Be the best there is at a small thing you do. Identify a critical mass for your work and work hard to get to the place where 15% of the people you talk to will say 'yes' to you. Gain your repeat customers, followers, students, and acolytes. You can do what want. The trick is to have people support you or believe in your doing it.

    Just a digest of what Ive seen here so far:

    don't get bogged down planning too far ahead. Set yourself some achievable goals for the near future.

    This is good advice.

    there is a good chance that your future could look very different than what you imagine it might be.

    This is not advice, but true and warrants remembering because you can bend the future.

    find a good strategy for managing upkeep on whatever needs it.

    Many people forget that anything and everything you obtain and want to keep working will require maintenance. Machines, subject knowledge, relationships, tools, whatever — all need upkeep. Know your shit so you can keep your shit together.

    Focus on improving a single thing you can do in the short term.

    I'd add to this. Short term goals should not be ends in themselves unless they are for entertainment. If you're focusing on a short term goal, connect it to a long term goal.

    get[ ] a union job if you don’t have employment figured out yet.

    Unions can protect you. But, if you're looking for satisfaction, the job has to be what you want it to be. Or, take pleasure in the union connections. If neither of these feeds you, a union can't save you from yourself.

    Anyway, you asked and I'm stuck in a waiting room.

  • You Should Know @lemmy.world

    YSK: 1930s Germany used Jim Crow America as a model, which was a resurgence of Antebellum American racist policies — segregation, imprisonment, enslavement, and homicide.

  • You Should Know @lemmy.world

    YSK: Unfortunately, at this point, ICE has "Erik Princed" a US city; over a traffic violation. And the Administration is lying, gaslighting, and giving it cover.

  • A Boring Dystopia @lemmy.world

    Unfortunately, at this point, ICE has legally "Erik Princed" a US city; over a traffic violation. And they're lying, gaslighting, and giving it cover.

  • Ask Lemmy @lemmy.world

    What X-mas themed things do people who hate X‐mas like?

  • A Boring Dystopia @lemmy.world

    Adobe sells these as 4 different designs.

  • Memes @lemmy.ml

    Request: Mini truck or van racing toward a concrete pole, but never arrives.