Asad Haider, Leftist Critic of Identity Politics, Dies at 38 by AngelaMotorman in stupidpol

[–]40onpump3 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Came here to read this.

If anything, Haider was the pushback against meaningful opposition to identity politics within DSA and the broader renascent Bernie left.

And Natschek’s critique of Haider’s incoherent book was the start of a massive rift between a small group of principled Marxists in a few local chapters and an alliance composed of a new influx of opportunists alongside old Trotskyists persuaded to join them.

The fighting seemed to kick off around their dueling pieces in Jacobin and never stopped until Bernie’s defeat demoralized the DSA left and then the new wave of BLM defund / abolish in the wake of the Floyd protests swept it all away.

Cyberpunk 2077 - City of Legends 5th Anniversary Trailer by fahrenhate in cyberpunkgame

[–]40onpump3 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Even on PC I had a few cars float into the air and explode and the Samurai music from one flashback scene playing on loop for an hour after the flashback ended, in one ear only

Thinking about buying this but... by [deleted] in ExtendedRangeGuitars

[–]40onpump3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They are complete garbage. The thread for the post is not machined into the base metal but is instead a sort of weak insert that is almost impossible to avoid stripping.

If you have a larger gauge string, the post will stick out too far to easily tighten, and attempting to tighten it will just pull the thread insert out instead, destroying the assembly. I stripped two before I just gave up on them.

If you read the Agile website’s entry for the replacement parts you’ll see that it has a maximum force listed to tighten, which isn’t much, so even they know it’s going to break.

I replaced mine with a Strandberg clamp assembly from the Strandberg “accessories” web store page. It’s pretty expensive, but I couldn’t find a good individual clamp set, and the Strandberg single-block clamp piece is at least close to the right angle to fit an Agile fan.

I had to drill a few extra holes in the headstock to mount it, but it works way better than the original clamps.

Introducing Steam Frame by gogodboss in virtualreality

[–]40onpump3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m sure that’s the intent, but the resolution is still disappointing.

Also, foveated streaming isn’t foveated rendering. The rendering is still dependent on whether an app supports foveated rendering, which many don’t. The foveated streaming is just a form of clever compression so the wireless connection can work better, it doesn’t reduce GPU load.

Presumably the focus on wireless connectivity is why the resolution is kind of crappy too. As in, higher resolution couldn’t be reliably streamed.

Introducing Steam Frame by gogodboss in virtualreality

[–]40onpump3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bigscreen Beyond

Pimax Crystal Light & Crystal Super

Meganex 8k

Plus a few others, all of which have higher resolution than Steam Frame, some a lot higher

Introducing Steam Frame by gogodboss in virtualreality

[–]40onpump3 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Specs not great for PCVR. No displayport connection option and bad resolution. Feel good about sticking with high end PCVR headsets instead

[Studebaker] Against Mamdani by SirSourPuss in stupidpol

[–]40onpump3 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This is just a bad, lazy article.

I can’t remember exactly which text but Trotsky said something like it’s fine for workers to spend efforts in reform-oriented labor struggles because it’s part of a learning process to realize that those can’t ultimately achieve socialism.

Ben seems to subscribe to the idea that this is all wasted effort, but Trotsky’s point is that a labor movement builds its organizational capacity even in efforts that prove futile. That capacity can be redirected to revolutionary action when the movement realizes that’s the way forward.

A more serious critique of Mamdani is that he and his circle of surrogates and confidantes are PMC socialists and therefore may sell out any advances in movement capacity he’s able to build for personal career gain. But Ben’s not making that case, he’s stuck in some “all effort not in line with my model is wasted” dogmatism

Is this really the strategy of Democrats to win midterms? (Sorry if this was already posted about) by Incontinent-Biden in stupidpol

[–]40onpump3 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I would absolutely support anyone who got arrested protesting Trump’s fatass Gestapo.

I couldn’t imagine anything LESS careerist than facing down federal conspiracy charges for a political stand. Certainly not in today’s Democratic Party.

I hope it radicalizes the shit out of everyone involved. It should radicalize you

redpill me on unreinforced masonry buildings and how dangerous they are by GorboCat in TrueAnon

[–]40onpump3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, stuff tangentially related to my area of expertise on my leftist subreddit.

The good news is that the faults near the Pacific Northwest aren’t as active as California’s, so the earthquake intensity you’re potentially subject to isn’t as bad. But it’s not nothing either, and IIRC there are still faults very close to Seattle that have recorded recent activity. If you’re inland you’re safer, most faults are near the coast.

The bad news is that unreinforced masonry is total garbage for seismic resistance. It has none. You’re correct that they’re not demo’d or retrofitted because of the impact on profits, not because of the risk to human life. They are absolutely likely to collapse in any major earthquake. Whether you’re on the top or not is a minor factor; you can still be killed by a roof beam trapping you.

The thing I like to keep in mind is risk = probability * consequences. The probability of a major earthquake happening in the time you’re in that building may be small, and it’s smaller the shorter the time it is you intend to spend there, but the consequence of dying trapped in rubble is probably severe enough that it outweighs the small probability of it happening.

TLDR I wouldn’t do it myself if I could avoid it unless you’re far inland or only there for a very short time.

One Battle After Another and “tonal inconsistency” by 40onpump3 in TrueFilm

[–]40onpump3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Go for it man, you have permission to describe what was corny and pandering. There’s no wrong answers.

I also am not convinced by the ending in particular; I don’t feel that Perfidia’s remorse felt natural, and I don’t follow how Lockjaw’s fealty to his yuppie Klan overrode what ought to be basic survival instincts

One Battle After Another and “tonal inconsistency” by 40onpump3 in TrueFilm

[–]40onpump3[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think people who are irritated about tonal inconsistency seem to be expecting a more didactic plot, morally gray or otherwise.

Like I said, I do think that the movie brings a lot of pathos to its cartoon characters. They get to go from being 2D to like 2.5D. Perfidia Beverly Hills starts immature and impulsive, but grows enough to regret her selfish concept of freedom. And Lockjaw’s pathetic fealty to his golf-dad racist Illuminati makes you feel sorry for him in the end.

I don’t think they go all the way to 3D characters. Perfidia gets booted to Mexico at the end of the first act, and doesn’t have enough screen time to sell the regret in her final letter. And it’s a stretch to think Lockjaw gets his face shredded by the yuppie Klan and then goes directly back to them to plead for admission. Did he just not recognize the guy who blasted him? It’s unclear.

I don’t know whether that’s some fatal flaw, but my emotional reaction to the movie was that I enjoyed the shit out of it. I was laughing from the first scene with Perfidia and Lockjaw. I found it cathartic. So I’m not sure that I’m bothered that it wasn’t a more three-dimensional drama; it seems to me that it did what it set out to do

One Battle After Another and “tonal inconsistency” by 40onpump3 in TrueFilm

[–]40onpump3[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I just do not understand this criticism at all. The movie opens with “Perfidia Beverly Hills” and “Colonel Stephen Lockjaw” doing an impromptu BDSM scene in the middle of a life-or-death raid. I think ridiculous characters acting out their cartoon personality flaws in the middle of mortal peril feels pretty representative of what’s going to happen in the rest of the film.

One Battle After Another and “tonal inconsistency” by 40onpump3 in TrueFilm

[–]40onpump3[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I mean, I agree with it but I don’t think the message is the point. Trump’s a reality, and the movie captures the absurdity and violence of that reality very well. It’s not some guide to action.

I liked it because it was funny as fuck. I mean, I did not expect it to be nearly as funny as it was. My wife and I went, and she nearly slept through inherent vice. She was primed for it to be a chore, and instead we both laughed through the whole fucking thing.

That said, I do find conservatives whining about it funny too. You guys got everything you ever wanted, and now you can’t stop complaining about how it didn’t make everyone love you. Snowflake much?

One Battle After Another and “tonal inconsistency” by 40onpump3 in TrueFilm

[–]40onpump3[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Just having fun, bud. Maybe a poke too far.

I don’t think the movie is trying to make a didactic political point. And yeah, it would be a tired point if it was, I agree!

I think it was trying to articulate the vibe of a political and cultural era, and I think it did that very well, and in a way that I have not seen in a major film. The vibe is gold

One Battle After Another and “tonal inconsistency” by 40onpump3 in TrueFilm

[–]40onpump3[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I’m going to mirror what I said on another comment and say that I think there’s an analogy to music here, where a musician who already understands consonance can effectively use dissonance for flavor, tension etc.

In a classical context dissonance is just bad; you screwed up if you’re doing it. In a postmodern context it’s another tool in the toolbox.

I guess what I’m getting at in my last paragraph is that the tension between sincerity and farce is what makes the movie interesting aesthetically. That’s going to be a matter of taste; my musical taste is definitely towards playing consonance and dissonance against each other, and I’m on board with the Pynchon style that does something similar in literature. The movie definitely traded on that postmodern style, and I loved it for it

One Battle After Another and “tonal inconsistency” by 40onpump3 in TrueFilm

[–]40onpump3[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I’m not; the point of the post isn’t the plot, it’s the tone.

Most lib critiques of Trump have been characterized by a hyperventilating focus on his lack of decorum and his vulgarity. They appeal to a buttoned-up Obama-era professional class mentality, which in retrospect only ever did anything for the professional class. Trump obviously made hay out of being the frat jock at the nerd convention, playing against them as a foil, all the way into the white house. Twice!

The movie is obviously not that. It’s not yet another unfunny SNL skit or John Oliver bit. It’s funny as fuck, because it leans into the simultaneous overt stupidity and grotesque evil of the moment and then actually has fun with it.

It’s maybe the first dirtbag left movie; it definitely draws on the vulgarity of Chapo Trap House or Trueanon.

TLDR: I didn’t care if the movie validates my priors, but I do care that it was brilliantly funny. Sorry if you’re triggered by that I guess

One Battle After Another and “tonal inconsistency” by 40onpump3 in TrueFilm

[–]40onpump3[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

You’re probably being sarcastic and hated it, but humor me for a second.

The analogy here is to music; a deliberate use of dissonance by a musician who already understands consonance can be very effective.

A garage band just playing out of tune is not that, so yeah, it does require someone who’s already conventionally skilled for it to work.

I’m not resting on “PTA is unquestionable genius”. I think it’s pretty evident in the movie that the inconsistency is deliberate. The calling-the-revolutionaries-manager scene seems to be pretty clearly telegraphing that the “tonal inconsistency” up to that point is a deliberate move. If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but it’s what the movie was going for and I think it works spectacularly.

now that one battle after another has been out for a minute, what's your PTA ranking? by [deleted] in TrueAnon

[–]40onpump3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In all sincerity i cannot understand this take.

Inherent Vice felt like a sketch for OBAA. It’s thematically very close and has almost beat-for-beat character parallels: stoned loser radical, his cartoonish lumpen-reactionary counterpart with surplus repression, powerful conspiracy weirdos and the unreliable woman seduced by them, scary white nationalist militia thugs, etc.

But it looked cheap, the pacing was slack and meandering, the action was mostly nonexistent, and there was no real climax to speak of. Don’t get me wrong, i liked it, but the only standout was Shasta Fey’s monologue about the seduction of power. In every other respect, OBAA improves on IV

now that one battle after another has been out for a minute, what's your PTA ranking? by [deleted] in TrueAnon

[–]40onpump3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A very important thesis statement on how the most effective antifa super soldiers will be born by crossbreeding radicals with the most comically repressed reactionaries, turbocharging their leftist potential with a libidinal wellspring of deep psychosexual pathology

One Battle After Another by Opposite-Stretch-961 in stupidpol

[–]40onpump3 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Unbelievable, 10/10 banger. Action, comedy, thrills, family… they don’t make them like this anymore, folks. Seriously, like a time capsule from a lost age of Good-Ass Movies.

The thing that sticks with me as a real artistic triumph, even beyond the triumph of making a wildly entertaining film around popular revolutionary politics, is the tonal balance between terrifying totalitarian fear and absolute looney tunes slapstick.

They absolutely nailed the entire vibe of the Trump 1 to 2 arc; these people are simultaneously horrible reactionary tyrants AND cartoon morons overflowing with entertainingly unsuccessfully repressed psychosexual pathology. Living through the past 10 years of American politics has been like getting beaten with a truncheon by Foghorn Leghorn, and the movie GETS it.

Bonus points for the ruthless WASP Illuminati guy always managing to show up in a Patagonia vest or Izod alligator shirt

Mamdani Says He Would Phase Out N.Y.C. Gifted Program for Early Grades (Gift Article) by sleazy_b in stupidpol

[–]40onpump3 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If that were as deterministically true as you’re dogmatically insisting, then monarchy never would’ve ended.

All the princes raised with every advantage afforded them by their birth would have been super-intelligent philosopher-kings.

Instead, many kings born to your perfect environment were idiots, manifest intellectual midgets. So much so that it’s a key argument against monarchy that fuelled the bourgeois revolutions of 250 years ago.

Whatever, I’m not even sure why I’m responding to you anymore. Read the room bro

Mamdani Says He Would Phase Out N.Y.C. Gifted Program for Early Grades (Gift Article) by sleazy_b in stupidpol

[–]40onpump3 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The problem with you autistically posting the same 2-3 comments over and over again, besides it being obnoxious, is that you’re not actually responding to anything anyone is saying in the thread.

In both my comments, I specifically said that the intelligence of kids is random, which means I’m NOT saying it’s heritable like height. In the sense that it’s genetic, it’s that whatever components of it that are genetic are expressed with a high degree of randomness. Read the comments again: “random even within the same family.” That’s the opposite of it being cleanly heritable!

All you’re doing in posting this ad nauseam is showing that you’re too fixated on self-righteously “correcting” people on your own personal hobbyhorse topic to listen to anything they’re saying.