links – Page 22 – Eclecticism

Linkdump for April 12th through April 15th

April 20, 2020April 15, 2018 by Michael Hanscom

Sometime between April 12th and April 15th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

GrayKey iPhone unlocker poses serious security concerns: “The existence of the GrayKey isn’t hugely surprising, nor is it a sign that the sky is falling. However, it does mean that an iPhone’s security cannot be ensured if it falls into a third party’s hands.”
While TOS is my home fandom, I’m of the belief that as a whole, DS9 is the best of the various Star Trek series.: "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was not a perfect show but its treatment of imperialism, war crimes, and genocide was light-years ahead of some of the stuff coming out today (looking at you, Star Wars)."
A short history ~700 years of “they” as an English gender-neutral singular pronoun:: “Bath ware made sun and mon, / Aiþer wit þer ouen light [Both were made sun and moon / Either with their own light]” —Cursor Mundi (~1325)
poor people deserve things they want, too.: "These tiny luxuries you give yourself are not sins as dictated from on high by some divine economist who decided you must earn your freedom through oppressive sorrow. These luxuries are the handholds you need to climb out of that pit, to have stamina, to keep focus, to remember that there is another type of life. It can be had, and by you too."
Charities/organisations to avoid (with links to reasons):: PETA, FCKH8, Autism Speaks, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, The Salvation Army, Wounded Warrior (I knew all of these already, but it's good to have a handy reference)

December 24, 2019April 14, 2018 by Michael Hanscom

The Transformers version of this Valkyrie mech was one of the coolest toys I ever had. I will always be disappointed that it disappeared at some point and I don’t have it anymore.

December 24, 2019April 13, 2018 by Michael Hanscom

I’ve joked about this for years, and am really excited that it will soon be a real thing: Contact Lenses That Darken in Sunlight Are Going to Give You Some Creepy Alien Eyes.

Linkdump for February 27th through April 12th

April 20, 2020April 12, 2018 by Michael Hanscom

Sometime between February 27th and April 12th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

poor people deserve things they want, too.: "These tiny luxuries you give yourself are not sins as dictated from on high by some divine economist who decided you must earn your freedom through oppressive sorrow. These luxuries are the handholds you need to climb out of that pit, to have stamina, to keep focus, to remember that there is another type of life. It can be had, and by you too."
Charities/organisations to avoid (with links to reasons):: PETA, FCKH8, Autism Speaks, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, The Salvation Army, Wounded Warrior (I knew all of these already, but it's good to have a handy reference)
‘The Simpsons’ To ‘The Problem With Apu’: Drop Dead: "In other words: We have heard how we have hurt people, and we honestly don't care."
Molly Ringwald Revisits “The Breakfast Club” in the Age of #MeToo: “Erasing history is a dangerous road when it comes to art—change is essential, but so, too, is remembering the past, in all of its transgression and barbarism, so that we may properly gauge how far we have come, and also how far we still need to go.”
Gun injuries go down by 20% during NRA conventions: “When the NRA holds its annual convention, the national rate of gun injuries goes down temporarily by 20%."
If You Want To Be An Effective Ally, Be Quiet And Know Your Place: "The lesson of 'Black Panther' for white allies is this: They must learn to be the sidekick, to be at the fringe, to give up power, to have people of color in their ears directing them on how to be useful in fighting for the cause of justice." [SPOILERS]

Linkdump for February 26th from 08:00 to 08:06

February 26, 2020February 26, 2018 by Michael Hanscom

Sometime between 08:00 and 08:06 on February 26th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

The Second Amendment was ratified to preserve slavery: "The real reason the Second Amendment was ratified, and why it says 'State' instead of 'Country' (the Framers knew the difference – see the 10th Amendment), was to preserve the slave patrol militias in the southern states, which was necessary to get Virginia’s vote. Founders Patrick Henry, George Mason, and James Madison were totally clear on that . . . and we all should be too."
Gun Rights, ‘Positive Good’ and the Evolution of Mutually Assured Massacre: "In the abstract, where no humans actually exist, there’s actually a compelling logic to this. If I know you’re armed, I’ll be on my best behavior. You will too because you know I’m armed. Of course, in practice, almost everything is wrong with this logic."
The AR-15 Is Different: What I Learned Treating Parkland Victims: "With an AR-15, the shooter does not have to be particularly accurate. The victim does not have to be unlucky. If a victim takes a direct hit to the liver from an AR-15, the damage is far graver than that of a simple handgun-shot injury. Handgun injuries to the liver are generally survivable unless the bullet hits the main blood supply to the liver. An AR-15 bullet wound to the middle of the liver would cause so much bleeding that the patient would likely never make it to the trauma center to receive our care."
Inside The Federal Bureau Of Way Too Many Guns: "There's no telling how many guns we have in America—and when one gets used in a crime, no way for the cops to connect it to its owner. The only place the police can turn for help is a Kafkaesque agency in West Virginia, where, thanks to the gun lobby, computers are illegal and detective work is absurdly antiquated. On purpose."
Why the Second Amendment does not stymie gun control: "Nearly every gun regulation under discussion today—from expanded background checks to bans on military-style weapons—would seem to pass constitutional muster."
Slavery, the Second Amendment, and the Origins of Public-Carry Jurisprudence: "The idea that citizens have an unfettered constitutional right to carry weapons in public originates in the antebellum South, and its culture of violence and honor."

Linkdump for January 17th through February 26th

February 26, 2020February 26, 2018 by Michael Hanscom

Sometime between January 17th and February 26th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

4 Laws That Could Stem the Rising Threat of Mass Shootings: "Pro-gun advocates claim new laws will not make us safer. But here is evidence the right laws will do exactly that."
How the NRA Rewrote the Second Amendment: "The Founders never intended to create an unregulated individual right to a gun. Today, millions believe they did. Here’s how it happened."
A Gun Ban Is Inevitable. Not just high-capacity assault rifles. ALL the guns.: "If gun owners can’t come up with something, and they continue to legitimize the NRA, then don’t be surprised when the right to bear arms is lost all together. Stranger things have happened in my lifetime, and yours."
One Teacher’s Brilliant Strategy to Stop Future School Shootings: As Chase’s teacher explained  this simple, ingenious idea, I stared at her with my mouth hanging open. “How long have you been using this system?” I said. “Ever since Columbine,” she said. Every single Friday afternoon since Columbine. Good Lord.
How the NRA Rewrote the Second Amendment: “The Founders never intended to create an unregulated individual right to a gun. Today, millions believe they did. Here’s how it happened.”
The Problem with Panic: "Sexual misconduct, affirmative consent, and the dangers of shame and moralism." A very interesting and thoughtful piece on the current cultural shift regarding sexuality, assault, and accountability.

Linkdump for December 27th through January 8th

December 31, 2019January 8, 2018 by Michael Hanscom

Sometime between December 27th and January 8th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

Why So Many Men Hate the Last Jedi But Can’t Agree on Why: SPOILERS: "I don’t think every human who disliked The Last Jedi is an evil, evil misogynist. I do think that we have so deeply internalized sexist narrative tropes that we see them as 'correct' and 'good filmmaking' while seeing their absence as 'flaws.'"
My Hero, Luke Skywalker: SPOILERS: “It is a beautiful fantasy and, I thought, a particularly resonant message for the anxious and depressed about what you can be capable of, the kind of peace you may be able to find if you dig down deep enough and push yourself emotionally.”
Stop reading what Facebook tells you to read: "Literally, all you need to do: Type in web addresses. Use autofill! Or even: Google the website you want to go to, and go to it. Then bookmark it. Then go back every now and again."
List: Alternatives to Platonic Love: "Newtonian Love – There’s a strong attraction between your bodies."
This is not going to go the way you think: The Last Jedi and the necessary disappointment of epilogues: SPOILERS: “Happy endings are always undone because ‘endings’ don’t really exist. Time doesn’t stop when you want it to. Your ‘destiny’ can and will be slowly eroded away by the many small, cumulative abrasions of life that inevitably follow after you achieve it. This is real, and it’s disillusioning, and it can fill you with righteous anger at the unjustness of it all.”

Linkdump for December 20th through December 26th

December 24, 2019December 26, 2017 by Michael Hanscom

Sometime between December 20th and December 26th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

Star Wars’ Vice-Admiral Holdo and Our Expectations for Female Military Power: SPOILERS: “What The Last Jedi does—amongst many other things—is present its audience with more than one mode of female power.”
The Last Jedi Is Subversive AF, and I Am Here for It: “Those who wanted a safe and comforting Star Wars movie are understandably upset. The Last Jedi is anything but safe. It’s as subversive as it gets, and I am here for it.”
From C-3PO’s perspective, ‘Star Wars’ is a prolonged nightmare – The Washington Post: "Your master goes into a bar, where they refuse to serve you. Instead of leaving the bar in solidarity, he makes you wait outside."
Love Actually’s Workplace Harassment Feels Especially Egregious at the End of 2017:
Star Wars “fans” should remember being a fan doesn’t mean unequivocal love (or hate): SPOILERS: “This is the problem with these loudest of ‘fans’: They’ve forgotten that a big part of fandom is the ability to hold multiple opinions on the same material all at once. That all-or-nothing mentality does a disservice to fans and films alike, by reductively lumping pluses and minuses into one indiscernible stew of love or loathing.”

Linkdump for November 12th through December 19th

December 24, 2019December 19, 2017 by Michael Hanscom

Sometime between November 12th and December 19th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

Toxic Masculinity Is the True Villain of Star Wars: The Last Jedi: SPOILERS: “Poe's character, while not one of the main protagonists, has even more to do in The Last Jedi. However, while he may be filling the role of the dashing pilot that Han did in the Original Trilogy, director Rian Johnson is using the archetype to say something completely different about heroism, leadership, and—perhaps most importantly—masculinity.”
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Offers the Harsh Condemnation of Mansplaining We Need in 2017: SPOILERS: “Any female boss in 2017 or American still nursing the hangover of the 2016 presidential election can tell you that even nice guys often have trouble taking orders from women.”
Star Wars, the Generations: SPOILERS: “Great movies reflect an era through the eyes of artists who embody that era. George Lucas embodied the era of Baby Boom ‘destiny’ and self-conceit. Rian Johnson embodies our era of diminished heroism, cynicism and near despair– tempered by the hope, if we can but learn from our heroes’ mistakes, that somehow, some way, some day, we may yet restore balance to the Force.”
Rian Johnson Confirms The Dorkiest Reference In ‘The Last Jedi’: SPOILERS: “There is a dorky reference in Star Wars: The Last Jedi that even director Rian Johnson admits that you may have to be of a certain age to get – thanks to a narrow window where you might have been watching premium cable in the very early ‘80s when this bizarre little short film would air in-between feature-length films.”
Rian Johnson Says There Are No Twists, Only Honest Choices: SPOILERS: “It seemed completely honest to me. It seems like the most dramatic version of that. And that’s what you’re supposed to do. Find what the honest moment would be, and then find the most dramatic version of it. So, in terms of the big ‘twists’ in the movie, they sprung from a process of trying to follow where these characters would go as honestly as possible.”
Star Wars: The Last Jedi humanizes the Force: SPOILERS: This was one of my favorite things about The Last Jedi. To my mind, a very smart direction to take things.
Did You Catch the Brazil Reference in Star Wars: The Last Jedi?:
‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Redeems the Prequels: SPOILERS: “One of the many reasons I love Star Wars: The Last Jedi is that it redeems the prequels. … It recontextualizes the prequels and reinforces what I loved about them.”
Pro-Neutrality, Anti-Title II: Interesting argument that the likely change to ISP regulations — the 'net neutrality' debate — may not be quite the horrid thing it appears to be. Worth thinking over. "The question at hand, though, is what is the best way to achieve net neutrality? To believe that Chairman Pai is right is not to be against net neutrality; rather, it is to believe that the FCC’s 2015 approach was mistaken."
Keyboard Maestro 8.0.4: Work Faster with Macros for macOS: Saving for me to remember and look into when I have more time.
The Amazons’ New Clothes: “The Wonder Woman designs received acclaim from fans and costume fanatics alike. They were clearly inspired by the Amazon’s origins in the Mediterranean and were feminine but very functional. Why mess with perfection? Oh, right. The all-male team of directors and executive directors wanted women to fight in bikinis.”

Linkdump for September 21st through November 11th

December 24, 2019November 11, 2017 by Michael Hanscom

Sometime between September 21st and November 11th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

Extreme test shows OLED iPhone X with ‘dark mode’ saves nearly 60% battery over 3 hours: Tricks to keep in mind soon!
Show Off the Inside of Your iPhone X with These Wallpapers: With these sweet wallpapers, you can basically pretend you’re looking straight through the screen and into the heart of your phone—like you have X-ray vision.
Robert Scoble: I didn’t sexually harass women as I lacked power over them: Scoble’s giving a master class in how not to handle harassment allegations.
Star Trek Starfleet Insignia Explained: "Nearly 50 years after Bob Justman wrote his memo, we now have the opportunity to clarify the use of each and every Starfleet uniform insignia used in TOS. With a wee bit of Scottish ingenuity, and a pinch of Vulcan logic, the complete picture of what Gene Roddenberry envisioned for the delta insignia should snap into focus."
The World Will Split Open: I think it may have been Philippa Gregory who pointed out that they didn’t burn women at the stake to control the women they burned. They did it to control the women they forced to watch the fires.