So the most recent wave of fascism in the US is relatively new but we’ve had numerous brushes with it in the past. McCarthyism made certain kinds of speech subject to political retaliation in the 1950s just like we’re seeing now (well, worse then than now, actually). Outgroups like the Japanese (WW2) and Native Americans (always) have been forcibly moved/removed like we’re seeing with basically all people of color and, African Americans in the past were painted like the cause of “societal breakdown” just like LGBT folks increasingly are (another perpetual outgroup). So there’s a lot that’s the same as before – it’s not right, certainly not. But it’s also not new, which is sad.

The good news, though, is that elsewhere in the world, and even in the US, a lot of things are measurably better than before. The first chapter or so of Doughnut Economics does a good job of outlining where we’ve been successful at reducing poverty and disease and increasing liberties (even if you can’t get through the rest of the book, which I did struggle with).

We can (and must) do better. But there’s evidence that our efforts do actually improve things sometimes. It’s not hopeless.

It’s the same world that’s been here the whole time. The hidden parts are just more out in the open now.

Ah , I see were reading today’s issue of “What Could Possibly Go Wrong” magazine.

Who on earth downvoted this masterpiece?

oh, I understand why this particular fridge needs wifi – the tablet won’t do anything without it. I’m arguing against the merit of putting a hackable slab of ad-serving, soon-to-be obsolete e-waste into a fridge in the first place.

And to think not too long ago Intel thought about buying Nvidia.

It’s a pity this will probably kill off Intel’s own GPU lineup tho.

If you’re in a neutral shoe with moderate cushioning that’s definitely true (it feels weird though). If you’re coming from HOKAs or Asics Nimbus or other gigantically-cushioned shoes I feel like trying a midfoot strike would have you clomping around like Frankenstein’s monster (who could also be called Frankenstein IMO, but that’s a different conversation).

And this is why we can’t have nice things.

Also, and this is why a fridge doesn’t need a wifi connection.

I’m a long-time runner and have tried pretty much everything under the sun, including barefoot-style shoes. They’re not for me personally but I know people who have been running with them for over a decade. The only thing I’ll say about them is if you’re accustomed to distance running in cushioned running sneakers, if you abruptly replace your weekly 15-20 km in standard shoes with the same distance in barefoot shoes, you will almost certainly get injured. Plan to walk in them for a week before adding short runs (1-2 km) for another before attempting any real distance. And if something feels off, fix your form first.

There are numerous contemporaneous writings that are either (a) in French or (b) hard to read because of flowery Enlightenment-era English, but Dave Graeber and David Wengrow do an excellent job of collecting together a lot of the relevant information in The Dawn of Everything. There are also plenty of other really good histories of the Wendat and Huron people and Pacific coast potlatch societies though I can’t think of the authors I’ve liked right at the moment.

The kind of society that “won out” over the other kinds we’ve tried is definitely a contributor. When Europeans were integrating with the plains Indians in the US and Canada many of them noted how the “less-civilized” people seemed to be a good deal more civilized than themselves in a lot of respects (like with mutual aid, division of labor and resources, etc.). But there’s no reason to think we can’t get there again.

I used to think Peter Thiel was a Nazi too.

I mean, I still think he is, but I also used to.

Bring back old-school Orangina!

Isn’t that more like if you’re stuck in a time loop?

My understanding is that if you’re reincarnated you’re still in the current timeline (ie time has continued to pass), you’re just now in a different body.

And if it’s not a dharmic path-style of reincarnation and you’re just reincarnated into whatever living creature needs a soul, you’d probably come back as some kind of bacterium for the next 200 trillion times before – if you’re reeeeallly lucky – then reincarnating as a tardigrade.

I hope they’ve properly licensed that character design.

Or, as a friend of mine found out the hard way, decreasing the potency of your birth control

Ironically this article is about how China mastered the ultra capitalist art of getting people to buy (and crave) shit that they don’t need. They have mastered marketing and advertising. And they are now exporting this to the rest of the world.

Hadn’t heard that, but in the Mormon retcon he did visit .

Welp, once again SMBC mirrors the exact conversations in my head, right down to the bonus panel.

Was about to say something about that purple sky and a mean storm moving in before I realized it was just the photo taker’s finger over the lens :)