iSurf Social | Derek L @ iSurf Social

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Derek L

Derek L
9 months ago from DiCa

This needs to be permanent!

Tue Jun 04 17:03:29 +0000 2019

this kind of in-your-face combative messaging addressed at changing harmful behaviors towards queer people is a great example of a large organization doing pride right
RT @spencrejack@twitter.com
NOW THATS WHAT I CALL PUBLIC TRANS IT BABEY
🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/spencrejack/status/1135651450753900545

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Tomorrow marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. As the author of this elegy points out, this may be the last time the quinquennial ceremony in Normandy will host living veterans of the invasion. It folds into dead history.

The event will feature a speech by a xenophobic US president who's mocked a POW, feuds with allies, and would likely have rejected the Allied cause back then ("good people on both sides", ja?).

"It's unfortunate we have to be even concerned that this historic commemoration will be overly politicized, but this is the command climate he's created and the reality we have," said Paul Rieckhoff, founder and former head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "We have to send our president. You go with the president we've got, and this is the president we've got. So we're rig... show more

#dday #normandy #omahabeach #wwii

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

the high cost of lies

I'm still marvelling over the incredible HBO Chernobyl docudrama, which concluded last night. I'd never learned much about the scope or cause of the disaster. The photos and timeline at the Chernobyl Gallery are also powerful, and spooky.

TIL that now there's a 1.0 MWp solar power plant operating there.

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2019/06/chernobyl-disaster-photos-1986/590878/

Photos From the 1986 Chernobyl Disaster

Thirty-three years ago, a series of explosions destroyed Chernobyl's reactor No. 4, starting a blaze that burned for 10 days and sent a plume of radiation around the world—and that was just the beginning of the disaster.

^{www.theatlantic.com}

#chernobyl

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Derek L 9 months ago

My Ukrainian neighbours also thought it was very well done. They're originally from Kiev, and moved to the US in large part because of Chernobyl's disruption.

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Phil Landmeier (ᚠ) 9 months ago

It was a horrific event. I mourn for and honor the heroes who gave their lives to reduce the disaster. It wasn't like most cases of heroism, where there is a chance for survival. These guys knew they faced a certain and horrible death if they did this, and they did it.

@Derek L

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

Word of the day: pareidolia

Whenever I brush my teeth, my kids call for me from another floor. In reality, they're not, but I often briefly turn off my electric toothbrush to make sure. This is a mildly-annoying manifestation of auditory pareidolia (or "electronic voice phenomenon"), the unconsciously imposition of meaning on random noise patterns. It happens with the bathroom fan running also. For more, see this article on apophrenia, pareidolia, and musical ear syndrome. (Maybe as my hearing gradually worsens, I'll start to come up with some good new tunes.)

I get hypnagogic auditory hallucinations too, which are more annoying because they wake me up.

apophenia, audio pareidolia and musical ear syndrome

Apophenia, Audio Pareidolia and Musical Ear Syndrome

^{hearinglosshelp.com}

#apophenia #hallucinations #hearing #neurology #patternrecognition #wordoftheday

This entry was edited (9 months ago)

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

before Game of Thrones, before Firefly, there was Blakes 7

h/t to @Valkyrie for the newsflash.

I fell hard for this show as a tween, along with The Prisoner (and Red Dwarf to a lesser extent). My best friend and I watched its reruns on WNET and debated it passionately. Avon is still a fantastic antihero. I saw each episode 4-5 times at least, but I'm reluctant to watch any of it again in case it doesn't hold up (not the FX, which were laughable even for the era, but its characterization and 40-yo mores).

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jun/03/paul-darrow-cult-favourite-in-blakes-7-dies-aged-78

Paul Darrow, cult favourite in Blake's 7, dies aged 78

The Surrey-born actor found fame with anti-hero Kerr Avon in the sci-fi saga and also appeared in Doctor Who, Emmerdale and Law & Order: UK

^{www.theguardian.com}

# @Valkyrie #bbc #scifi blakes7

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Isaac Kuo 9 months ago

I rewatch Blakes 7 maybe every 5 years or so, and to me it holds up. But then, my expectations are not unrealistically high and I've watched it frequently enough to not remember it through rose colored glasses.

And honestly, I like laughing at some of the sillier costuming. The plastic garbage bag roach suits? Brilliant. That goofy IMIPAC scientists's getup? Classic.

I really love the chemistry between Darrow's Avon and Cally. And Avon and Servelan. And Avon and Villa.

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Derek L 9 months ago

If you haven't seen it, the "Making Blake's 7" twitter feed is a fun rabbit hole to dive into. I also just discovered the Zenith podcast which I'll take a listen to on bike rides.

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

Phil Stracchino

2019-06-04 00:45:04

Where do you live?

And who lived there before you?

Remember, we're ALL immigrants. The town where I live used to be part of the land of the Abenaki nation, one of the five tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy, along with the Mi'kmaq, the Maliseet, the Passamaquoddy, and the Penobscot.

This is not the New World. It is as old as any other part of it.

#FirstNations

NativeLand.ca
Welcome to Native Land. This is a resource for North Americans (and others) to find out more about local Indigenous territories and languages.
^{native-land.ca}

#FirstNations

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

works every time

http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/asleep

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Asleep

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal -

^{www.smbc-comics.com}

#comic #parenting #pavlov #smbc

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

How do you keep playing?

This is an Obama-era article that reinforces the point that all work and no play makes us cray-cray.

https://aeon.co/essays/children-today-are-suffering-a-severe-deficit-of-play

Children today are suffering a severe deficit of play – Peter Gray | Aeon Essays

Children today are cossetted and pressured in equal measure. Without the freedom to play they will never grow up

^aeon.co

#behavior #childhood #education #games #parenting #play #psychology #school

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Phil Landmeier (ᚠ) 9 months ago

Yup. I see it here in West Virginia all the time now. Parents here are raising a crop of absolute weirdos. Parents stand and wait for the school bus, then quickly usher their kids into the house, where they are sequestered like prisoners. The kids themselves are utterly unsocialized feral animals. It stems from the government and media convincing people that the world outside their house is an extremely dangerous place.

We've got a rough ride ahead as this generation of weirdos comes into the mainstream.

@Derek L

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

Stress

http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/stress

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Stress

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal -

^{www.smbc-comics.com}

#braaaaaains #comic #smbc #stress

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

the clocks are striking 13

Orwell wrote about fascism in 1936: “If you pretend that it is merely an aberration which will presently pass off of its own accord, you are dreaming a dream from which you will awake when somebody coshes you with a rubber truncheon.” Nineteen Eighty-Four is a book designed to wake you up.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/19/legacy-george-orwell-nineteen-eighty-four

Nothing but the truth: the legacy of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four

A new book about the novel examines its relevance in the age of fake news and Trump

^{www.theguardian.com}

#1984 #doublespeak #fascism #history #literature #newspeak #orwell

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

ok, but I need the almond milkman

I missed this story when it was published in January -- sharing it now because I love nearly everything about this. It shows how a savvy eco-minded entrepreneur can cozy up to titans of industry and make a pitch that might improve our world. It kicked off before we hit the Plastic Wall of China (when they stopped accepting most western recycling load shipments), but is in prime position to take advantage of that disruption. And it's just a fun article to read (loved the comparison between Davos and Burning Man).

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/01/business/loop-reusable-packaging-mission-ahead/index.html

How to solve the world’s plastics problem: Bring back the milk man

Loop, a shopping service from Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Nestlé and others seeks to reduce plastic pollution by delivering your household items in reusable packaging just like milk men of the past.

^www.cnn.com

#ecology #packaging #plastic #recycle #reuse

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Phil Landmeier (ᚠ) 9 months ago

I lived in Guatemala for years and I always thought it was great that Coke, Pepsi, and the universal beer in Guatemala (Gallo - excellent, by the way) all came in refillable glass bottles. The population there, at all social levels, considers it obvious that disposable packaging is wasteful and you're paying for it, without having to be taught about environmental concerns, etc. Even the poorest have this inherent attitude and it stems not from environmentalism but concern for their pocketbook. That's how it should be.

We in the USA have been brainwashed into the supposed "convenience" of disposable packaging so the oil companies can sell millions of tons of plastics. Again, we've been had, and we're paying for it with our pocket money, and burying ourselves in trash.

It's great when products come in clean, non-toxic, no chemicals, glass bottles, and of course you return them for refilling. What could be more obvious?

Also, the Coca-Cola in Guatemala is the original formula, made with sugar, not corn syrup, and it tastes freakin awesome, like it did when I was a k... show more

@Derek L

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Derek L 9 months ago

Yes! I spent 5 weeks in Guatemala ten years ago (in a medical Spanish language immersion program, based out of Xela). That was indeed the last place I remember actually enjoying a Coca-Cola as a treat! I was glad so much came in glass bottles. The only problematic trash I remember was plastic bags.

(IIRC, when I had a beer, it was usually a Moza oscura, but Gallo was pretty good too.)

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Phil Landmeier (ᚠ) 9 months ago

I'm a plain Gallo person. When lots of Germans came to Guatemala to establish coffee growing in the 1800s, naturally, they brought some expert German beermakers. That's the basis of Gallo. Few except beer aficionados seem to know that the beer they slug down in large quantities is arguably the worlds best Pilsener beer. Gallo has won more gold medals in world competition than any other beer on Earth(!).

I like some darks, but Moza doesn't do it for me. However, if you mix Moza and Gallo 50/50, you have something magical.

Yeah, my friends who occasionally do me the favor, bring a case of Guatemala Coca-Cola and a bottle of Flor de Caña 5 year. I like that rum straight on the rocks, but with the Coke, you have the best Cuba Libre evarrrrr.

I'm pleased to run into someone who has some experience in Guate. I love it there.

@Derek L

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

By definition there are very few people who have direct experience in managing exceptional children. Identifying and tracking them into magnet schools for the highly gifted has short-term social benefit, but doesn't necessarily make for happier or more productive people in the long run (per some of the longitudinal studies referenced in this article). And only a few narrow bands of intelligence are effectively measured.

https://www.1843magazine.com/features/the-curse-of-genius

The curse of genius

We see exceptional intelligence as a blessing. So why, asks Maggie Fergusson, are so many brilliant children miserable misfits?

^{www.1843magazine.com}

#intelligence #parenting

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Derek L

9 months ago

Derek L
9 months ago

all snails go to heaven

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/05/20/climate-change-and-the-new-age-of-extinction

Climate Change and the New Age of Extinction

People easily forget “last of” stories about individual species, but the loss of nature also threatens our existence.

^{www.newyorker.com}

#climatechange #collapse #extinction

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Derek L

9 months ago from DiCa

Derek L
9 months ago from DiCa

Damn you, dermestidae. Go find some other source of keratin and leave my bow alone.

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Derek L

10 months ago

Derek L
10 months ago

I remember loving Stand on Zanzibar when I read it in or around 2005, and I've enjoyed some of Brunner's other stories (Shockwave Rider, The Crucible of Time).

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20190509-the-1968-sci-fi-that-spookily-predicted-today

The 1968 sci-fi that spookily predicted today

In the first of BBC Culture’s new series on fiction that predicted the future, Hephzibah Anderson looks at the work of John Brunner, whose vision of 2010 was eerily accurate.

^www.bbc.com

#scifi

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Derek L

10 months ago

Derek L
10 months ago

This is what an optimist looks like

"'It's worse, much worse, than you think.'

"That's the first sentence of David Wallace-Wells' The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming, and it's all downhill from there. Wallace-Wells sets out to knock down an entire mythology about climate change that has helped make people feel safe insulated from it. It's not happening slowly, there's nowhere to hide from it, there's no part of how we live our lives as humans that will be left untouched, and it's not even something that's barreling down on us—it's already here."

https://www.gq.com/story/uninhabitable-earth-david-wallace-wells-interview

How to Keep the Earth as Inhabitable as Possible

David Wallace-Wells, the author of 'The Uninhabitable Earth,' says climate change is no longer a matter of "if" or "when" but "how bad will it get." And, he says, there's still time to fight it.

^www.gq.com

#climatechange #collapse

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Phil Landmeier (ᚠ) 10 months ago

Indeed. I lived in Central America for many years, starting in the 1990s, and have many friends there that I communicate with on a daily basis. Climate change has been apparent there for many years. About every three days, somebody there will text me, or send video of insane weather phenomena. They're actually getting scared because even a fool can see it's getting serious. Like a monster thunderstorm that produces not just high wind gusts or a derecho, but sustained 90 mph winds that go on for 10 or 15 minutes. Or heat indexes of 52C. That's way out of line.

@Derek L

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A journey through internet garbage.

^www.vox.com

#chumbox #internet #spam

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Christoph S 10 months ago

Thanks for sharing this. The term chum box was new to me. I had a laugh at the is it 🌽? Question thing.

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Marysia Kurowski 10 months ago

😁

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Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal -

^{www.smbc-comics.com}

#comic #compsci #parenting #physicists #smbc

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Derek L

10 months ago

Derek L
10 months ago

Emmanuel Florac

2019-04-06 17:24:40

Glenn Greenwald on Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, Russiagate & the debacles of the Corporate Media

#politics #propaganda #wikileaks #Assange #Snowden

Glenn Greenwald on Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, Russiagate & the debacles of the Corporate Media
In this exclusive interview with investigative journalist and co-founder of The Intercept, Glenn Greenwald, we talk about Edward Snowden’s ...
^{www.actvism.org}