tried to edit, i forgot how to internet for a secondtepista wrote: ↑31 Dec 2018, 8:52pm#LeePeetForeverDr. Medulla wrote: ↑31 Dec 2018, 6:12pmI went to school with a guy whose name was Gooch. In grade ten or eleven, someone seriously beat the fuck out of him—never heard the details of why—and for a couple weeks his face was massively bruised and swollen. He was a bit of a prick, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
We reach the parts other combos cannot reach
We beach the beachheads other armies cannot beach
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We beach the beachheads other armies cannot beach
We speak the tongues other mouths cannot speak
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
Lee would have been the kind of kid doing the beating (hopped up on sugar … or something). Gooch was named Shane something.tepista wrote: ↑31 Dec 2018, 8:52pm#LeePeetForeverDr. Medulla wrote: ↑31 Dec 2018, 6:12pmI went to school with a guy whose name was Gooch. In grade ten or eleven, someone seriously beat the fuck out of him—never heard the details of why—and for a couple weeks his face was massively bruised and swollen. He was a bit of a prick, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"Ain't no party like an S Club party!'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
So, I quit ("quit" really, since I haven't deleted my accounts) Twitter a few months ago and decided to stop logging onto Facebook in 2019. So far, so great. Interesting feelings about the absence of both platforms.
There's a lot that I enjoyed about Twitter: I actually got a lot of info from there, and there was a lot of funny content. But the pace and micro- nature of dialogue there meant that it was basically just a perpetual rage machine. So, I've felt its absence some - I'm not as up to date on music recommendations, political news and analysis, et cetera, and there are some folks on there whose company I enjoy who I don't really have alternate avenues of communication - but the upside of getting out of the Twitter rage grind has been almost revelatory.
Facebook, conversely, features almost nothing I particularly enjoy but just sort of remained part of my life out of a zombie-like state of death-paralysis. The best feature about it - sharing photos - is done better on Instagram and the ability to remain in contact with folks can be handled just fine with e-mail, text or g-chat. I don't know what some of my old high school friends are up to, but I don't really care. In the short time I've been off FB, it's forced me to stay in better contact with the people I actually care about (including, not for nothing, starting to post here more) via other avenues of communication. The only thing I'm worried about missing is that FB is a great way to keep track of concert announcements from bands and music venues. So, I just have to subscribe to more newsletters and such, which whatever.
There's a lot that I enjoyed about Twitter: I actually got a lot of info from there, and there was a lot of funny content. But the pace and micro- nature of dialogue there meant that it was basically just a perpetual rage machine. So, I've felt its absence some - I'm not as up to date on music recommendations, political news and analysis, et cetera, and there are some folks on there whose company I enjoy who I don't really have alternate avenues of communication - but the upside of getting out of the Twitter rage grind has been almost revelatory.
Facebook, conversely, features almost nothing I particularly enjoy but just sort of remained part of my life out of a zombie-like state of death-paralysis. The best feature about it - sharing photos - is done better on Instagram and the ability to remain in contact with folks can be handled just fine with e-mail, text or g-chat. I don't know what some of my old high school friends are up to, but I don't really care. In the short time I've been off FB, it's forced me to stay in better contact with the people I actually care about (including, not for nothing, starting to post here more) via other avenues of communication. The only thing I'm worried about missing is that FB is a great way to keep track of concert announcements from bands and music venues. So, I just have to subscribe to more newsletters and such, which whatever.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
I've never been on Twitter and I'm not likely to be. But Facebook just turns most people into morons.Flex wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 2:06pmSo, I quit ("quit" really, since I haven't deleted my accounts) Twitter a few months ago and decided to stop logging onto Facebook in 2019. So far, so great. Interesting feelings about the absence of both platforms.
There's a lot that I enjoyed about Twitter: I actually got a lot of info from there, and there was a lot of funny content. But the pace and micro- nature of dialogue there meant that it was basically just a perpetual rage machine. So, I've felt its absence some - I'm not as up to date on music recommendations, political news and analysis, et cetera, and there are some folks on there whose company I enjoy who I don't really have alternate avenues of communication - but the upside of getting out of the Twitter rage grind has been almost revelatory.
Facebook, conversely, features almost nothing I particularly enjoy but just sort of remained part of my life out of a zombie-like state of death-paralysis. The best feature about it - sharing photos - is done better on Instagram and the ability to remain in contact with folks can be handled just fine with e-mail, text or g-chat. I don't know what some of my old high school friends are up to, but I don't really care. In the short time I've been off FB, it's forced me to stay in better contact with the people I actually care about (including, not for nothing, starting to post here more) via other avenues of communication. The only thing I'm worried about missing is that FB is a great way to keep track of concert announcements from bands and music venues. So, I just have to subscribe to more newsletters and such, which whatever.
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
"Without the common people you're nothing"
Nos Sumus Una Familia
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
Is it just a matter of constantly moving on to a newer platform as current ones become too contaminated by trolls and the narrow marketing demands of those in charge? It seems like there's something parallel to the life and death of music scenes/subcultures. People come together because of an absence in their social lives, build a cool community, it gains momentum and attracts a second wave of joiners with a slightly different interest, as well as record company interest, which poaches bands from the scene, and finally what made things cool and fun get compromised and the originals mourn how it ain't like it used to be and start dropping out.
"Ain't no party like an S Club party!'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
Yeah, Facebook has sucked since they started letting Boomers use it.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 3:04pmIs it just a matter of constantly moving on to a newer platform as current ones become too contaminated by trolls and the narrow marketing demands of those in charge? It seems like there's something parallel to the life and death of music scenes/subcultures. People come together because of an absence in their social lives, build a cool community, it gains momentum and attracts a second wave of joiners with a slightly different interest, as well as record company interest, which poaches bands from the scene, and finally what made things cool and fun get compromised and the originals mourn how it ain't like it used to be and start dropping out.
Addendum: And on Twitter, part of it is that I've pretty much lost interest in internecine Left micro-dustups. Life's too short for that shit.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
- Dr. Medulla
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
While I've never gotten into all those platforms, my very superficial sense of things was that it encouraged more of an echo chamber than a gathering of diverse views. Everyone's free to join, but then they bundle up with those with common interests and interpretations. Which makes sense—that's largely the basis of our real world friendships. It's not like the workplace where you have to figure out how to be productive with people who you wouldn't want to hang out with, which, in the best cases, leads to exposure of diverse viewpoints. The voluntary and self-selecting aspect of it all ends up being harmful to pluralism. Like so many things in a free market, what's great for the individual may be harmful to the community. I know I'm overstating and generalizing here, but I do regard social media has having a similar corrosive effect on a civic-minded community as the free market does.
"Ain't no party like an S Club party!'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
I read an article about a study done recently (can't find it now, think it was at Vox) that exposure to competing worldviews/etc. on social media platforms actually makes people more intolerant of those views, so I'm thinking there's another layer to the problem.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 3:28pmWhile I've never gotten into all those platforms, my very superficial sense of things was that it encouraged more of an echo chamber than a gathering of diverse views. Everyone's free to join, but then they bundle up with those with common interests and interpretations. Which makes sense—that's largely the basis of our real world friendships. It's not like the workplace where you have to figure out how to be productive with people who you wouldn't want to hang out with, which, in the best cases, leads to exposure of diverse viewpoints. The voluntary and self-selecting aspect of it all ends up being harmful to pluralism. Like so many things in a free market, what's great for the individual may be harmful to the community. I know I'm overstating and generalizing here, but I do regard social media has having a similar corrosive effect on a civic-minded community as the free market does.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
Huh. That's remarkable and raises the question of how one becomes more pluralistic intellectually. Or does it just suggest that social media is a hindrance to intellectual development?Flex wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 3:40pmI read an article about a study done recently (can't find it now, think it was at Vox) that exposure to competing worldviews/etc. on social media platforms actually makes people more intolerant of those views, so I'm thinking there's another layer to the problem.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 3:28pmWhile I've never gotten into all those platforms, my very superficial sense of things was that it encouraged more of an echo chamber than a gathering of diverse views. Everyone's free to join, but then they bundle up with those with common interests and interpretations. Which makes sense—that's largely the basis of our real world friendships. It's not like the workplace where you have to figure out how to be productive with people who you wouldn't want to hang out with, which, in the best cases, leads to exposure of diverse viewpoints. The voluntary and self-selecting aspect of it all ends up being harmful to pluralism. Like so many things in a free market, what's great for the individual may be harmful to the community. I know I'm overstating and generalizing here, but I do regard social media has having a similar corrosive effect on a civic-minded community as the free market does.
"Ain't no party like an S Club party!'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
Yeah, I'm not sure. The deeply cynical might suggest that intellectual pluralism is basically a myth, although I'm more inclined to think there's just something deeply, structurally toxic about social media. Hence the quitting.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 3:43pmHuh. That's remarkable and raises the question of how one becomes more pluralistic intellectually. Or does it just suggest that social media is a hindrance to intellectual development?
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead
Pex Lives!
Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
Facebook really should be overwhelmingly dominate. Particularly because it does everything instagram and twitter do, but all at in one place. I still use it, though I have been tapering gradually for some time. Just posting pics of the daughter for the relatives and stuff to see. The layout has become awful. Ads litter the page. I'll post most of the blame on going public and the need to appease shareholders. But yeah, having my mom on, I don't post as freely as I used to.Flex wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 3:06pmYeah, Facebook has sucked since they started letting Boomers use it.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 3:04pmIs it just a matter of constantly moving on to a newer platform as current ones become too contaminated by trolls and the narrow marketing demands of those in charge? It seems like there's something parallel to the life and death of music scenes/subcultures. People come together because of an absence in their social lives, build a cool community, it gains momentum and attracts a second wave of joiners with a slightly different interest, as well as record company interest, which poaches bands from the scene, and finally what made things cool and fun get compromised and the originals mourn how it ain't like it used to be and start dropping out.
Addendum: And on Twitter, part of it is that I've pretty much lost interest in internecine Left micro-dustups. Life's too short for that shit.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.
Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
I pretty much use Facebook, as Flex mentioned as a one-stop repository of band info, and Twitter as a comedy delivery system. They work pretty well if you immediately filter out the stuff that melts your brain.
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc
Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
Yeah this.Flex wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 3:47pmYeah, I'm not sure. The deeply cynical might suggest that intellectual pluralism is basically a myth, although I'm more inclined to think there's just something deeply, structurally toxic about social media. Hence the quitting.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 3:43pmHuh. That's remarkable and raises the question of how one becomes more pluralistic intellectually. Or does it just suggest that social media is a hindrance to intellectual development?
I never liked Facebook as it seems to require you to have an account to view anything. Say what you will about myspace but I could view band pages without having an account. I think the required brevity of twitter lends itself to garbage. I guess I probably have some antisocial tendencies and that colors my view of the stuff.
As for following bands I use two apps on my phone Bandsintown and Songkick and both work pretty well to alert me of artists I've entered or shows in the area I set or you can go in and browse tour dates for specific artists.
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
I'd describe myself more as insular, but I might be deceiving/flattering myself. But I agree with you that my own bullshit influences my wariness—I'm far from dispassionate in my skepticism about social media.
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Re: Return of the Mighty Observations Thread
Possibly all the above. However the world really is full of assholes.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑04 Jan 2019, 3:04pmIs it just a matter of constantly moving on to a newer platform as current ones become too contaminated by trolls and the narrow marketing demands of those in charge? It seems like there's something parallel to the life and death of music scenes/subcultures. People come together because of an absence in their social lives, build a cool community, it gains momentum and attracts a second wave of joiners with a slightly different interest, as well as record company interest, which poaches bands from the scene, and finally what made things cool and fun get compromised and the originals mourn how it ain't like it used to be and start dropping out.
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
"Without the common people you're nothing"
Nos Sumus Una Familia