Tag: Merged

I caught up on Flash War and its aftermath. I feel like it could have …

I caught up on Flash War and its aftermath. I feel like it could have been epic, but ultimately was just a way to break up #TheFlash family and set up the new Forces.

That’s a problem I’m having with DC #comics lately: Stories don’t feel like they start from the characters and new threats picking up where the previous story left off, they feel like they’re working backward from where everything needs to be to set up the next story and finding a way to get there.

#DCcomics #superheroes

On BookToot.Club

It’s been like that for a while. It was a problem with Flash: Rebirth, with Countdown, with Full Throttle. I sort of feel like the early New 52 escaped the problem and built more organically, at least some of the books I was reading. But those kept getting cancelled.

On BookToot.Club

If you compare Final Crisis to Metal, they’re both similar in structure: cosmic threat turns earth into a nightmare between panels, the heroes seek help from the multiverse to restore the world. But Final Crisis *finishes.* Metal sets up the alloys, the Challengers & Hawks, the crack in the Source Wall. It’s more like COIE in the way it works hard to set things up for the coming year(s) of stories.

#comics #dccomics

On BookToot.Club

We have book clubs at booktoot.club!

@stefanhayden @andeluuu @Mastodon We have book clubs at https://booktoot.club ! #sffbookclub, #nfbookclub, #storyclub & a few others.

On Wandering.shop

@andeluuu @stefanhayden @Mastodon Just check out the hashtags to see what people are reading. There’s a master list at https://fediverse-reads.dreamwidth.org

Joining the specific instance isn’t required, since hashtag columns will federate.

On Wandering.shop

@andeluuu @stefanhayden @Mastodon I mean each server will be able to see tagged posts from others, so you don’t have to move to a specific one to participate in a conversation around a hashtag.

On Wandering.shop

I’ve made a point from time to time of linking to Mastodon posts…

@stefanhayden @Mastodon

I’ve made a point from time to time of linking to Mastodon posts from birdsite & FB. Not sure how many people followed.

That said, I’m not a huge fan of the “screenshot of text” phenomenon. IMO text should be quoted so it’s accessible & searchable, not photographed…but based on my experience trying to share *just* links, screenshots might be more effective. Even if it seems backwards to me.

On Wandering.shop

@stefanhayden @Mastodon Just links & descriptions, I mean. Not URLs by themselves.

On Wandering.shop

Morbid wondering: food allergy death stats

An article on a recent incident where a college student died from peanut allergy got me thinking: most news stories about people dying from #anaphylaxis are about kids or teens. You rarely hear about a 40-year old or even 30-year-old dying from a #foodallergy. It happens (which is why I still carry an EpiPen everywhere), just not as often.

I couldn’t find any solid numbers, but wrote up some speculation in my blog: https://hyperborea.org/journal/2018/07/age-food-allergy-death/

#allergies

On Wandering.shop

It occurs to me that the impending start of #SDCC is probably another factor in why I started thinking about this, as it’s coming up on 5 years since my “adventure” leaving Comic Con in an ambulance due to a peanut-laced mocha from a nearby cafe. I could’ve been one of those rare cases in my late 30s.

On Wandering.shop

IMO Watchmen is more notable for the craft than the story…

@zephasaurus_hex IMO Watchmen is more notable for the craft than the story. The way it uses the nature of comic books as a medium, nonlinear time, the thematic connections with the pirate comics, etc.

On BookToot.Club

@zephasaurus_hex …which makes it really weird that DC approved a movie to begin with, never mind handed the keys to their own superhero universe over to the director.

On BookToot.Club

Why do some people go ballistic over *other people’s* conversations in another language?

Why do some people go ballistic over *other people’s* conversations in another language? Were they talking to you? Were you planning on eavesdropping?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/05/16/my-next-call-is-to-ice-watch-a-man-wig-out-because-workers-spoke-spanish-at-a-manhattan-deli/

Is he afraid they’ll get a secret discount negotiated in another language? What?

His threats to call ICE make it obvious that he’s motivated by racism, but this sort of language freak-out is common enough in white people who *think* they’re not being racist. It’s like a gateway.

I want to believe we can short-circuit things like “OMG someone’s talking in a language that’s not mine!” before it progresses to worse things like calling the cops on a BBQ and threatening direct or state-sponsored violence against people they think are less human.

This is promising: SmugMug has bought Flickr & plans to “maintain Flickr as a standalone community…”

This is promising: SmugMug has bought Flickr & plans to “maintain Flickr as a standalone community of amateur and professional photographers and give the long neglected service the focus and resources it deserves.” (quote from article)

Now I don’t have to worry about Verizon shutting it down!

Exclusive: Flickr bought by SmugMug, which vows to revitalize the photo service

On Photog.Social

And the Flickr Q&A

On Photog.Social

Brush fire reported at the marsh preserve where I took the last photo I posted …

Brush fire reported at the marsh preserve where I took the last photo I posted here. It’s not a very big preserve – basically a large city block, in the middle of suburbia. (There’s literally a Target across the street.)

Here’s hoping they manage to stomp it down quickly, before it does too much damage.

On Photog.Social

Got a follow-up alert that the fire’s been put out. The word “small” was included, which is a good sign. Next time I hike there, I’ll have to ask about it.

On Photog.Social

Les Mis: Marius/Cosette Courtship

One of many things that gets lost in adaptation is the extended courtship between Marius & Cosette (usually condensed to love at first sight). They pass each other in the park on a daily basis w/o paying much attention to each other, until she hits puberty & they start stealing glances at each other, trying to keep Valjean from noticing. She’s a lot better at that part than he is, though, which gets funny at times.

#LesMiserables

On Wandering.shop

It does get creepy later on when Marius starts, well, creeping around her garden at night.

But at this point, it’s funny watching Marius hide behind trees so he & Cosette can make eyes at each other w/o Valjean seeing, make a fool over himself with the handkerchief he thinks she dropped (it was actually Valjean’s, so she can’t understand why he’s so fascinated by it), etc.

And when Valjean gets suspicious, and sets traps? Marius blunders into every single one.

On Wandering.shop

Marius & Cosette…

I really appreciate that in the novel, Marius & Cosette have an actual courtship, not the love at first sight that most of the adaptations go with for time.

It’s also amusing how much of it is done stealthily, stealing glances at each other across the park.

And it’s really amusing to watch how clumsy Marius is when it comes to not being noticed, while Cosette manages to keep things secret from her father even after Marius starts visiting her in her own garden, months later.

OTOH, there’s also the awkward stalker stage in between.

I’d forgotten just how much fool he makes himself over the handkerchief! 🤣🤣🤣

Yes, I suppose data revealed through a system *working as intended* isn’t technically a “breach.”

Yes, I suppose data revealed through a system *working as intended* isn’t technically a “breach.”

Most social media these days is built around selling access to participants’ data, directly or indirectly (through ad placement). It doesn’t have to be, but that’s the business model that’s taken hold.

There are alternatives to the big data-mining social networks, but they have their own drawbacks. Blogs still exist, Mastodon is making great strides, you can self-host if you can afford it & have the know-how (or know someone who does)…

But your friends/family aren’t on [cool social network], they’re still on FB & Twitter, so you need to keep them around to talk to them.

And it takes time, effort & money to maintain your own site.

And a lot of networks aren’t as polished as the ones you’re already on…

Leaving FB/Twitter isn’t easy for everyone, or even rewarding for everyone.

We can make it easier, help people diversify, & grow those alternative networks, but let’s not blame those who accept the trade-off & stay on the major sites.

Still, user data is the product. Breaches need one kind of solution. Business practices need another.

@brion I think that got started because quantity is so much easier to measure than …

@brion I think that got started because quantity is so much easier to measure than quality. But ultimately it’s like the joke about looking for your keys where the light’s better instead of looking where you dropped them.

On Mastodon.social

@brion Actually I think a *lot* of problems are the result of measuring what’s easy to measure instead of what’s useful to measure, including economics and politics.

On Mastodon.social

I really liked seasons 1 & 2, but it’s been kind of up & down since then…

(Re: Flash TV show) I really liked seasons 1 & 2, but it’s been kind of up & down since then. Lots of missed opportunities w/the villains, but the Devoes have been fascinating. Barry’s gotten annoying lately, but Cisco & Caitlin are great.

I’m a couple of weeks behind. Left off w/the shrinking ep.

—

I never expect anything on the show to be exactly like the source, but I would rather they not waste potential.

I can’t remember two things about New 52 Wally West: 1. Did they confirm his mother died in Forever Evil, or is she still presumed dead? 2. He didn’t know Daniel was his father. Did he think Rudy was? So before classic Wally vanished, did they think they were half-brothers?

I can’t remember two things about New 52 Wally West:

1. Did they confirm his mother died in Forever Evil, or is she still presumed dead?

2. He didn’t know Daniel was his father. Did he think Rudy was? So before classic Wally vanished, did they think they were half-brothers?

—

Wally I has history w/the Titans & Iris in this timeline from before Kadabra grabbed him. Wally II doesn’t remember him, but if he thought Rudy was his dad, they would’ve at least known of each other as half brothers, not cousins, even if he lived w/his mom.

—

I imagine naming Rudy might’ve been a convenient fiction since Daniel was so young, but it would still have made for awkward family interactions, since Rudy was married and already had a kid. It really makes me wonder what arrangements were made among the Wests & Wally’s mom.

Also: Wally 2 was really upset that his father never acknowledged him as his son. But Daniel visited him. If he grew up thinking Rudy was his dad, but never met Wally 1, he must’ve felt abandoned by his dad.

—

Looked it up: DCU Rebirth established the 2 Wallys had never met. Flash #9, they meet both masked & unmasked, but Wally 1 didn’t give his name. Also Wally 2 learns Daniel was his dad. Sins of the Father established Daniel was around, just pretending to be his uncle…and in The Lazarus Contract, Wally 2 learns who Wally 1 is. So that brings us to the Flash Annual status where both Wallys & Barry know who they all are.

But I still wonder about the West family dynamics.

I stopped when I got to #20, but didn’t see Wally 2 confronting Iris about her hiding Daniel’s relationship to him. It probably happened after he argued with Barry, but I didn’t see it.

Unspoken: how much did race factor into Wally 2 never meeting the West side of his family?

Amazon: “Hi, we noticed you bought an accessory for a tablet. Here’s a trade-in deal for tablets!” I don’t know, the fact that I bought an accessory for my current tablet suggests I might be planning on hanging on to it for a while.

Amazon: “Hi, we noticed you bought an accessory for a tablet. Here’s a trade-in deal for tablets!”

I don’t know, the fact that I bought an accessory for my current tablet suggests I might be planning on hanging on to it for a while.

To be fair, the ad doesn’t mention the recent purchase, so it could be unrelated. Possibly.

So DC decided it wasn’t already mining enough of Alan Moore’s ideas this year?

So DC decided it wasn’t already mining enough of Alan Moore’s ideas this year?

DC using Promethea bugs me more than them using Tom Strong.

Partly, Promethea is the only ABC comic I read through to the end, so it matters to me more.

Partly it’s the same as Watchmen: the series was *a story*, not episodes driven by a story engine.

—

That said, the *concept* of Promethea *is* a story engine, which could have life and relevance beyond her original series – especially now.

But I don’t think she’ll achieve that as a guest star / supporting character in Justice League.

And having already alienated Alan Moore, you’d think they’d at least *say something* to JH Williams III about it.

You know how some people insist that net neutrality is a solution looking for a problem because you can trust cable companies? Here’s Comcast…

You know how some people insist that net neutrality is a solution looking for a problem because you can trust cable companies? Here’s Comcast:

Comcast hints at plan for paid fast lanes after net neutrality repeal (Ars Technica)

Also… who actually believes you can trust cable companies to have your best interests at heart? I mean, really?

The biggest roadblock to adoption and the key feature

I’m kind of reminded of XKCD’s initial response to Google+

Ultimately, though, I think the separate instances are going to be both the biggest roadblock to adoption and the key feature that distinguishes Mastodon from Twitter.

On Mastodon.Social

Wait, is there a taboo against naming that other microblogging site? that other microblogging site. Should I call it “You-know-where” or “That which must not be named?”

(I will admit I was amused to see someone refer to it as “The Bad Place” yesterday.)

Conversation On Mastodon

…and I just noticed the editing error in this toot. :facepalm:

On Mastodon.Social

I do wonder about permanence, though: How often do Mastodon instances shut down? How much notice?

Data Export seems to only cover follow/block/mute lists so far. I suppose I could hook up my atom feed to IFTTT or something.

Or I can just do what I do with “the bird site,” and if I really want to make sure I keep something I’ve written, copy it over to my blog.

On Mastodon.Social

Mastodon’s been trending again

So I noticed Mastodon’s been trending again & figured I’d take another look. I don’t need another time sink, but I figured it might be worth jumping in this time. Now to replicate just the good parts of that other network…

On Mastodon.Social

I should probably figure out what I want to talk about here before I try to figure out who to follow, huh? I mean, I’ll probably end up cross-posting photos & blogging (yes, I still blog), but other than that, do I want to talk about…tech? politics? comics? sci-fi/fantasy? I don’t think anyone I know IRL is here, so it’s a matter of topics for now.

—

Actually, what *is* the etiquette for cross-posting here?

—

So, the 5-7 interests meme (this feels like early 2000s LJ): #comics #scifi #space #computers #science #art #photography

—

Hmm, looks like I may want to check out wandering.shop for scifi/fantasy and photog.social for photography…

—

OK, so I’ve set up @kelsonv@photog.social for photography posting. I’ll probably keep this one for other stuff.