An opinion on the Disappearance of The Page (As transcribed by Cory Banta)

     
     "I dont think the topic is related to the group, but I just wanna rant.
Am I the only one bothered by the disappearance of the concept of 'PAGE' on internet and the deliberate inconvenience it brought?
I remember vaguely once on Youtube comment section there was page. So if a video has 2000 comments, one could still put them in temporal order and straightly goto the page in the middle. The youtube comment section now, however, users are forced to either only viewing the latest comments (suppose the user wont waste few days keep scrolling down thousands of comments), or to view the comments picked by the AI algorithms.
 
     Its the same for facebook or any other major social medias. For one to find a older post in a facebook, the only thing they can do is scrolling down for god knows how long, or hope it magically appears by facebook algorithms.
And this design was deliberate. What it causes is a destruction of the concept of 'past' on social media, which what only remains is the 'now', the 'present', the newest in the feed, and the things being pushed by the algorithms lord.
In the old school style BBS and forums, one could simply browse the history of a community by selecting a page and look for the old posts from years ago whenever they want. But for the major social medias, they eliminated the feature together with the history of the each within-communities.
   
     On facebook or most social media now, it became so hard for you to find something that you can only wait for things to be fed to you. It is triumph of information control and training for user dependency."

The City of God is Built on Clay

     

     There is a trepidation to be found in the holy city of Wilmore, Kentucky. Outwardly the small town carries itself to be a place of spiritual excellence and vitality. After all, it holds both a Christian or "conservative" arts college (Although they will tell you they are a rather prestidgious university) and a Wesleyan theological seminary. Much of the land within the town has been owned or subcontracted to these two pillars, and as a result much of the population believes and conveys that just as these two organizations are undeniably performing the Lord's work, such also are they. This is most often conveyed metaphysically through subconscious behavior and attitudes, but can also be found manifest through both the egotistical and capitalist advertizing and slogans scattered across the town's landscape as well as in the very conversations of residents.

     A false self-awareness can be heard from the lips of her heard of villagers. In fact the very nikname "The Holy City" is one of the most common found at the seminary. The supposed irony lies in the comparison of their beloved Wilmore to bulwarks like Jerusalem, Rome, or for the Southerner, Charleston, South Carolina. Clearly Wilmore resembles these cities in no way. Where these cities shine as the eyes, jewels, and serve as the foreland to the hinterland, Wilmore conversely hides in the shadow of a shadow, resting beyond the hinterland of Nicholasville which already serves as the hinterland to Lexington. Furthermore, these cities play and have played significant roles in the religion of their people for much of their existence primarily by drawing pilgrims and others to them. A University and College do the opposite of this by sending people away from the city after they have scraped up what it has to offer. While the seminarians who crack these jokes regularly find this to be a good bit of irony, the issue is that not only does the instrumentally-thinking majority struggle to conceive this, but the seminarians themselves hold this underwhelming jest to be a truth in their hearts.

     I take revulsion at this notion (for more than simply a stagnant humoresque). Not only is their identity incorrect, but it is quite hypocritical. Swept under the rugs of the college and seminary is the seedy underbelly of the town. Meth labs, addicts, sex-offenders, and all the like that are associated with "white trash" appear in an almost vampiric fashion some time after dusk. Wilmore is no more devoid of its deep socio-economic problems than any other 'hood in middle America. Unlike many of these 'hoods, however, Wilmore refuses to acknowledge or legitimize the presence of any these individuals. Instead of recognizing (let alone resolving) this dysfunctional and problematic stem of their town, the puritanical seminarians would instead hide away in their ivory offices carefree. Those who claim to be the guardians of truth and faith reap no practical application of it in the field most plainly within their reach.

     However, the auxiliaries and producers are found guilty as well. Fed by the disdain of the guardians, the two lesser classes share in this identity, but where the guardians are at least bound by posterity, the lesser classes are not slaves to appearances. It is beyond dispassion that these people hold; repudiation serves much better for these classes against the hidden faults of their town. What is most glaring is despite all these efforts, conscious or unconscious, the grave issues plaguing this town stand out all the more as they are juxtaposed to this whitewashed wall of false purity.

     An eerie vibe carries through the town of Wilmore during the day which I attribute to this lifestyle. After dusk, this vibe is only exemplified as the true nature of the town is made apparent. I am unsure if it is possible to entirely dismiss my perturbation, but I feel that doing so would be injustice. It is for this reason that I write this piece.

Respice post te. Hominem te memento.

t. A concerned onlooker

A Brief Analysis of Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Repeat

   

     Well bois, we did it. After two years of waiting, Season 4 is upon us. Hopefully you spent that time doing something productive instead of just sitting around and shitposting like an incel. If you haven't already watched the season premiere, I suggest you do so before reading this analysis. Working (and legal) link here: https://www.adultswim.com/videos/rick-and-morty/

     Roiland and Harmon clearly put their time into making this premiere well worth while. I didn't know what to expect after waiting 2 years, but I definitely wasn't expecting something this grandiose, and was not disappointed.

     Our misadventures begin as has come to be expected at this point: at the breakfast table. This time around, however, the remnants of family drama in season 3 are at the forefront of the scene. Rick is no longer "Completely in control" of the family as he was in the beginning of season three, and is clearly still peeved about it, but I will touch more on that later.

     As the episode progresses (without too many spoilers), we see firsthand some dynamic character changes. Firstly, Morty is no longer the helpless, pathetic 14-year-old from previous seasons. He has grown increasingly cynical of Rick and forgoes all caution, striving only to satisfy himself, no longer playing the role of a mindless sidekick, as is reinforced also by the new family relations.

     At the same time, Rick experiences closure to the old way the Smith family functioned. It becomes clear that his threat of always switching to a better reality is rather empty as he is repeatedly cloned into alternate realities, where he experiences Ricks and Morties who take on exotic roles, from hardcore fascists to insect killing wasps. Wasp Rick tells C137, "When you're born that big an asshole, the least you can do is have a little empathy. Now come have dinner with my family." As C137 has dinner with the Wasp Smith family, he undergoes some self-reflection as he sees how well the Wasp Smiths get along and agree with each other. "We're Wasps, not Monsters," Says Wasp Rick.
     "I guess I don't have it as bad as I thought," says C137 to himself.

    After a wild battle sequence involving a Giant holographic Rick made flesh, the episode concludes with the gang deciding that it is important to both plan ahead and live in the moment, a theme we will likely see repeating later this season.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

 - The creators successfully managed to make light of extreme left/right wing politics that have arisen in the US today. Not only were these themes appropriately handled, but were comedic regardless of the viewer's political ideology, a feat which is rarely seen today.

 - Many references of lore were used throughout this episode. Whether this will continue throughout Season 4 is yet to be seen, but it was refreshing to see the levels of continuity in which the creators will go to.

 - As was implied by Rick's multiple reality shifts, we will likely see multiple Ricks again this season, and possibly Evil Morty.

 - Despite previous concerns, the show remains as edgy, charged, and graphic as ever, which should please many hardcore fans

 - The show continues to break the fourth wall on a semi-regular basis, again continuing themes from previous seasons.

 - Mr. Goldenfold is still one of the most iconic and humorous characters in the series, in my humble opinion.

Pain as Pleasure

A friend of mine recently recommended an episode of Black Mirror to me, in which a doctor is able to feel his patients' pain. The doctor finds himself enjoying the pain, to the point where he is unable to perform his job correctly. Eventually, he realizes he can enjoy pain by hurting himself, and the rest of the episode features him "cutting bits of his body off."
Though I'm not a masochist, or into self harming, I do identify with the doctor in some way. Take hot-sauce, for example. Plenty of people enjoy hot-sauce, and I can't speak for any of them, but personally, I enjoy the pain. I remember eating crushed ghost peppers sophomore year in track season: I told my pals it invigorated me, but I just enjoyed the pleasure I derived from the pain.
My first memorable exposure to enjoyment of pain goes back to visits to the D.O. as a child. As the doctor pressed and pulled the muscles in my neck and back, I found myself relishing every moment, especially the uncomfortable ones.
I should clarify that this is not sexual pleasure, but a unique, mild euphoria that is exclusively induced by pain.
Another similar physical experience is the use of a TENS unit. I'm not sure what these are typically for, but I have enjoyed many hours on the table at the chiropractor being zapped by this pleasure-generating pence machine. When turned all the way up, the TENS keep forcing one's muscles to contract, and can hurt quite a bit. At points, it's so pleasurable that I am basically laughing and drooling into the face towel while convulsing uncontrollably. It sounds disgusting, but feels extraordinary.
These physical pleasures are lovely, but they are nothing compared to the enjoyment induced by emotional pain. At this point, it becomes more about the aesthetic than the pleasure. Imagine an artist making a beautiful art piece, and then destroying it in a creative, unique way. Was the art the piece that was destroyed, or does the art encompass both the destroyed piece and the entire act? Obviously, half the artistry is the creative act of destruction

The Most Tragic Death in Avengers: Infinity War is American Cinema

Disclaimer: most of the ideas presented here about the Marvel franchise are discussed in the phrasing of PewDiePie, not because I had no opinions on the matter before he discussed it, but because I feel that he best addresses the issues at hand.

That's right. This miserable 2 and-a-half hour advertizement for the vast number of identical Marvel movies' most saddening death scene was American Cinema. How far we've fallen, RiPoLa. Much like how the mainstream blindly eats up any other franchise, Infinity Wars succeeded in making millions off of sheeple Marvel fans young and old. There are so many things that I disliked about this movie, that I don't even know where to begin, 



1. Greenscreen/CGI does not make everything better.

     As of late, I've become somewhat of a consumatore for big movies from the late 50s and early 60s, such as the highly esteemed Ben-Hur, Exodus, El Cid, James Bond, Lawrence of Arabia, and a continuing list of other notable "classics." When comparing these films to those of modern day, there are stark differences in every category from camera angles to plot. to the unseeing eye, the most immediate and profound visual difference that can be noted is the lack of any greenscreening or CGI, as this technology was not yet invented. Shockingly, even in the abcense of such capabilities, these movies still hold excellent and dynamic scenes, massive armies clashing, and chaotic scenes of action. 

     When movies couldn't use any form of greenscreen or CGI, produces had to either do everything from scratch or improvise. Take Ben-Hur's chariot racing scenes, for example. The set for the area in the movie was so large, it had to be constructed 9 months ahead of filming to complete it. Once the set was complete, hundreds of unique actors with costumes and roles, all real people, filled this stadium to watch was was a very real chariot race. Real horses were lined up with real chariots on their backs with real actors in those chariots. It was anyone's guess as to what could happen when the horses took off. As one of the actor's chariots fell apart, he rolled into the path of multiple other chariots where he was then crushed and trampled by those horses, and unfortunately did not survive to see the finished movie. That sort of dedication is NEVER seen in modern movies.
     

Some Brief Thoughts on The Space Cowboy: Richard "Beedo" Russell

Article from Heavy.com

     The video and the article explain and show most of what happened, but on August 10, 2018, Rich essentially committed suicide by stealing an airplane from Seatac, where he worked. There were no passengers on board, and he was the only one killed in the event.

     Suicide rates have steadily climbed in the West. Living conditions, bullying, a lack of  meaning... there's a near unlimted number of reasons for suicide, but I think that in Rich's case, he ultimately was broken, and probably felt a lack of purpose.

     Why would you steal a plane? Rich probably felt that if he was going to end it all, it would be most meaningful to do it not in hiding or in shame, not in violence towards others, but in a way that he felt would bring him peace and push him to the very limit. Because of his job, stealing a plane might have felt like the most logical way to do that, and throughout the video it's made clear that Rich was taken aback by the beauty of the sky. In the article, Rich's personal life is discussed, and he had a love for natural beauty.

     Suicide is no laughing matter, and I think to an outsider, the somewhat light tone about this event among 4channers may have been viewed as an offensive way to handle the situation, but I think that it was more just a coping mechanism, and really a way of trying to feel compassion.

     And speaking of compassion, Rich made it excruciatingly clear that he wanted no one else to be hurt by his response to his pain. I think that says a lot about his character.

    I don't really have much else to say, but thought this was of significance and wanted to archive it here, so there ya go.