looked up the x files spin-off bc i was curious why i’d never heard of it and why it’s apparently not available to watch anywhere (especially given how huge x files is) and. this is crazy
no wonder they wiped this show off the face of the earth
Obsessed with this syntax
Official Penis Post
I’m losing it over this twitter thread. this is the post-digital hellscape
Sometimes high tech is worse
Don’t Be a Scab Uncredited and Undated Photograph
Happy US Labor Day, everyone. Solidarity Forever!
YESSSSSSSS
Voice actors for video games may be following TV and movie actors to the picket line.
Driving the news: SAG-AFTRA, the union that has a contract with leading gaming companies for actors who do voice or performance acting for video games, called for a strike Friday, citing lack of progress in renegotiating a contract that expired last November.
The union said Friday that its board has unanimously agreed to ask its members to vote for a strike by Sept. 25.
Details: The union is calling for a retroactive 11% wage increase, on-set medics for hazardous performance capture, and protections against the use of generative AI to replace working actors.
Be smart: While actors who contribute to video games seldom appear as themselves, on camera in a game, they regularly lend their voices to game characters. Many also have their facial and body movements captured to animate the roles they portray.
Actors have been sounding alarms about the potential for generative AI to clone their voices and speak lines for them, without them getting paid.
Strike Summer continues.
One of the requests is for BASIC SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. Like medics, for stunts, rest breaks for work - and yes, ising voice the way voice actors do IS strenuous and risks injury if overworked. So yes, please. Make them renegotiate.
One of the companies they name is Formosa... the one that handles the Genshin English VA and which is responsible for those sometimes questionable voice directions... and which recently was exposed by desperate VAs for not paying them on time. For work done LAST YEAR. Ao yes. STRIKE IF NEEDED, PLEASE.
teetotailer
first incidence of good writing advice i've seen in 10+ years on this platform and it's in the notes of a mustelid wreaking absolute havoc in a german grocery store
dungeons & dragons: honor among thieves + text posts bonus:
The name of this creature is YOTAcat or POTOOcat.
This creature is a combination of Yotaka (potoo) and cat.
His true identity is one of an alien reconnaissance unit that plans to invade the earth.
His body can change its shape at will by copying other creatures and objects.
When he came to Earth, he first tried to copy the appearance of the planet's main life form.
However, the first thing he saw there was a cat. He decided that the creature was the main life form and tried to copy the cat's form.
However, by some accident, he also copied the information of Potoo, and his body became a chimera of cat and Potoo.
What was even more unexpected for these aliens was that once they copied the earth creatures, the original spirit invaded their psyche.
His spirit was about to be taken over by cats and POTOO!
The human who found the strange creature brought it home out of curiosity. Not knowing it was a vicious alien.......
Well, you know, some bathroom graffiti offers insight.
Red marker handwriting on a bathroom wall. Text reads:
“Boss made a dollar Granddad made a dime But that was a poem From a simpler time.
Boss made a thousand Gave pa a cent But that penny paid the mortgage Or at least it paid the rent
Now Boss makes a million And gives us jack Smugly blames the workers For the labor that he lacks.”
And the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls.
1984.
Text books were banned in Racine, Wisconsin because they contained "a lot more funny pictures of Republicans" than Democrats.
obsessed with this sign i saw taped up outside the bat room at the zoo yesterday. the enthusiasm, the hand-written note, the bat drawing.
i read coraline at the age of 11, it traumatised me. I politely ask for an apology.
I liked it tho
You are welcome.
This response is how you know Neil is an author.
how to ask the demon you've been smitten over for 6000 years to dance: an angel's guide
bonus:
Hello Mr Gaiman just wanted to say I find it marvelous how every time someone asks you if you've heard of a certain person, be it an author or an actor or whatever, and somehow you don't only know of them but you know the person in real life ams call them your friend always gives me a little giggle! and as someone who's very shy and finds it very hard to make and keep friendships, do you have any tips on how to make more friends?
Go to places where the people are. Not the famous ones, but the ones who will be famous thirty years from now. And hang out with them.
So, this conversation is happening in the comments, and it's a pretty interesting question, so maybe we can all work together to make a How to Make Friends post?
My local board game shop is SUPER friendly. I'm very lucky. Every single person here is friends with everyone else because we all invite people into games and ask to join games at will. I didn't make it like that - in fact, I have pretty bad anxiety.
But somebody DID make it that way! A handful of friendly people started it. The shop owners were definitely the ones who fostered the community the most, but the patrons are the reason it worked.
It turns out that if you have just a few people who are friends with each other and feel secure enough not to feel to anxious, they can make it so everyone feels welcome. We have a guy here who is The Friendly One, and every time we notice a new person, we walk him over and he introduces himself, asks how they're doing, asks what kinds of games they like, etc. And the mere fact that one person is like that kind of gives the rest of us permission, too, so it's not as awkward.
We also are all super down to spectate, just walk up to a random table and say "do you mind if I watch?" If the guys playing say yes, you watch for a bit, and you might end up having a conversation with one and Boom, you have Made a Friend. Usually at least one person at the table will answer questions about the game, and talk about how it's going. If it doesn't click, though, and you just feel awkward, you can move on to the next table.
So, that's my big advice:
1) Once you have enough friends to feel comfortable and secure, remember that you can be the one who makes your community better.
2) If you have an excuse to talk to people, even if it's a dumb thing like watching a board game, you might accidentally end up making friends.
It took me a long time to learn this!
Anyone else have some additions?
As an adult, socially awkward and somewhat anxious (though better than I used to be!) I have only successfully made friends in two ways:
1. Reconnect with someone or meet someone new at a party hosted by an existing friend / relative / co-worker This may seem counter to the question in the post. But, I have to admit “meet people through events hosted by other people I already know, however distantly” has had the most consistent success. Maybe the takeaway there is, if a friendly acquaintence invites you to a party, and your nervous because you’re not that into parties, go anyway. Someone else at the party (who also finds parties a bit overwhelming) will also likely step into a quieter room, or mosey out onto the porch. Strike up a conversation with that person. 2. Become an arts + culture journalist. Fun fact: there is literally no minimum licensing requirement to be an arts and culture journalist! You can literally post interviews on your tumblr or website. Voila: you’re a journalist. I have no idea why this worked, or if it will work for anyone else. But, for some reason, walking up to someone who looks cool at an event, introducing myself as a ~journalist~ and asking them questions, is way easier than walking up to that exact same person, at that exact same event, and introducing myself as, well, just myself, looking for someone to talk to. I have at least two genuine friends I first met by interviewing them at a music festival and a gallery opening (respectively). They were just other attendees. I think it also helps that people are flattered to be asked their opinion about an event. Starting with a compliment helps. Feel free to replace “Arts + Culture” with “Gaming” or “Sports” or whatever your thing is. The key is:
Or, if asking for someone’s number is too anxiety-inducing, ask them which upcoming events they recommend attending / might be attending themselves. Maybe you’ll run into them again, or at least gather a better sense of the scene that. Tangent - Joining Groups Hasn’t Worked for Me In The Past For what it’s worth, I have had very little luck forming friendships by attending activity-based events as a participant (i.e. tabletop games club, trivia night, community art class). I don’t know; I don’t do well when my early interactions with someone require me to perform in any way.
If I’m worried about doing badly at the task, it makes me too nervous. I don’t really get to know people, and I feel embarrassed more than I feel relaxed.
Whereas pretending to be being a journalist, I’m in a role with no set performance expectations. I suppose I could be bad at the task of interviewing? But since people seem pleasantly surprised that I’m interviewing them at all, the vibe mostly stays good.
Plus, it lets me get to the part of making friends I enjoy the most - getting to know people’s contradictions + complex internal selves - without having to do nearly as much personal revelation on my end. It’s fun! It’s like a shortcut out of social anxiety.
The journalist thing worked for me.
this moderna commercial just went "the pandemic may be over, but covid 19 isnt going anywhere. covid is still among the top 5 leading causes of death"... wow... its almost like the pandemic isnt over.
