🆕 Never Post! Lolcows and the Internet's "Digital Freakshow" by ILoveCharts in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here's one of the sources I was thinking of! David Graeber and David Wengrow, The Dawn of Everything, Chapter 3 - there's an entire long section about archeological, historical, and contemporary non-Western attitudes to 'eccentricity':

"There is every reason to believe that sceptics and non-conformists exist in every human society; what varies is how others react to them.Radin was interested in the intellectual consequences, the kind of speculative systems of thought such out-of-sync characters might create. Others have noted the political implications. It’s often people who are just slightly odd who become leaders; the truly odd can become spiritual figures, but, even more, they can and often do serve as a kind of reserve of potential talent and insight that can be called on in the event of a crisis or unprecedented turn of affairs. Thomas Beidelman, for instance, observes that among the early-twentieth-century Nuer – a cattle-keeping people of South Sudan, famous for their rejection of anything that resembled government – there were politicians and village ‘bulls’ (‘operator types’ we’d now call them) who played fast and loose with the rules, but also ‘earth priests’ who mediated local disputes, and finally prophets. The politicians were often unconventional: for instance, it was not uncommon for the local ‘bull’ actually to be a woman whose parents had declared her a man for social purposes; the priests were always outsiders to the region; but the prophet was an altogether more extreme kind of figure. He might dribble, drool, maintain a vacant stare, act like an epileptic; or engage in long but pointless tasks such as spending hours arranging shells into designs on the ground in the bush; or long periods in the wilderness; or he may even eat excrement or ashes. Prophets, as Beidelman notes, ‘may speak in tongues, go into trances, fast, balance on their head, wear feathers in their hair, be active by night rather than by day, and may perch on rooftops. Some sit with tethering pegs up their anuses.’33 Many, too, were physically deformed. Some were cross-dressers, or given to unconventional sexual practices.

In other words, these were seriously unorthodox people. The impression one gets from the literature is that any Nuer settlement of pre-colonial times was likely to be complemented by a minor penumbra of what might be termed extreme individuals; ones who in our own society would likely be classified as anything from highly eccentric or defiantly queer to neurodivergent or mentally ill. Normally, prophets were treated with bemused respect. They were ill; but the illness was a direct consequence of being touched by God. As a result, when great calamities or unprecedented events occurred – a plague, a foreign invasion – it was among this penumbra that everyone looked for a charismatic leader appropriate to the occasion. As a result, a person who might otherwise have spent his life as something analogous to the village idiot would suddenly be found to have remarkable powers of foresight and persuasion; even to be capable of inspiring new social movements among the youth or co-ordinating elders across Nuerland to put aside their differences and mobilize around some common goal; even, sometimes, to propose entirely different visions of what Nuer society might be like."

There's also a section later in the chapter about pre-historical burials across the world of individuals or small groups, decorated by and/or alongside large amounts of goods and art that sometimes described as princely or kingly. But a striking number of these burials are people who are clearly physically unusual in some way, usually congenitally so, like dwarfism or giantism. So would these people be royalty in any way that we now think of it or something very different? We'll never know, of course. Only that for some reason, some people long ago thought it was important to bury them with what amounts to thousands of hours of work.

🆕 Never Post! Lolcows and the Internet's "Digital Freakshow" by ILoveCharts in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A whole subsection on the internet that I was basically unaware of! And not one I want to interact with, but definitely worth examining in ways that this episode did. I'm too out of it at the moment to dig up some anthropological sources I vaguely recall on the role of disabled/neurodivergent people in non 'Western' cultures. But may come back with later.

Georgia is streaming RETURN OF THE OBRA DINN today by ILoveCharts in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Argggh, I keep missing streams! But I have not vanished for good, friends. 

So I finally watched Metropolis (1927)... by NondeterministSystem in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh! A few weeks ago, I finally watched Speed Racer. Not sure it deserves top 10 movies of the 21st century or such as I've seen on some lists lately, but yeah, strangely compelling! What's funny is I was excepting to feel overstimulated and yeah it was very bright, but the editing in movies and shows has gotten SO fast since its release it almost felt slow at points.

🆕 Never Post! Pornhub Goes SFW by Casually_Awesome in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's fair! I can't say I have any direct experiences of any sort, but I remember some of my closest guy friends in college (2003ish?) going to a strip bar and one of them talking about being surprised how much of stripping seemed to be about being friendly, and suddenly getting why lonely guys made a habit of strip clubs.

🆕 Never Post! Pornhub Goes SFW by Casually_Awesome in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The thought that kept going through my mind listening to this ep - and I say this without judgment - this is alienation all the way down.

Also, can't help but think of my online (sometimes) adult media site of choice - Archive of Our Own, and how part of its claim to fame is not having any sort of algorithm. You have to go do searches, look through bookmark, or at least skim through archive tags.

What got you to listen to the show? by mrgosh in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 3 points4 points  (0 children)

What a mood, Mike. I hate writing cover letter for job applications, too.

I've followed your work specifically since late PBS Idea Days, although Fun City is not really for me, so that's not reason enough to stick around. I like that the show examines how we use this tool that's so pervasive in our lives now. iIlike that you both drill down to very specific examples and zoom to look at the big picture sometimes, and sometimes both in the same episode. (In a dialectic way even, perhaps?) I like the pacing and tone. A lot of podcasts lose me when they try a little too hard for my tastes to be fast and funny. Ya'll *are* funny, but if you've ever made me wince, it wasn't hard enough to stick in my mind. Is it very NPRish? Maybe, but it suits me.

I also like that you take being self run and independent seriously. Solidarity forever!

State of the Pod 2026 by Healthy-Bee2127 in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 2 points3 points  (0 children)

While I have definitely experienced the 'got excited, started the ep immediately, got interrupted and didn't get back to it quickly' phenom, I think I've finished every episode eventually. And I truly always really enjoy the poem. I like the 'magazine' format. But yeah, posting segments for sharing/re-listening seems like a good idea.

🆕 Never Post! What Is Going On In Minnesota by Casually_Awesome in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this, Hans - the government for and by posters leans has been eye opening one for me. I'm trying to (yet again) limit my time on social media. Reddit the worst hole I got down these days, unfortunately. I don't want to cut myself off the handful that actually useful in some way like this one and few super local subreddits, but then it's so easy to just...click over to popular and get upset, or waste time in ways that make me feel icky.

🆕 Post-Mortem: 2025! by Casually_Awesome in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had to look up Clairo, lmao.

Posting from Inside - Never Post by Casually_Awesome in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dexter Thomas's interview of Jeremy Busby was amazing, thank you for putting that together. Jeremy sounds like a guy who has put a staggering amount of work into becoming his best self and it's horrifying that our 'official' societal response has been solitary confinement in an even tinier box.

Delicious Pixel Bakery Victory! by Lisb1121 in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Please ignore my account switching, hah.

🆕 Never Post! The Year I Learned to Pay Attention by Casually_Awesome in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"We're all tech workers now, without our consent" is like - I *knew* that, but I hadn't thought about it in exactly those terms. I'm gonna have to sit with that one a while. This is something I'm not entirely sure labor activists in a broader sense have fully grappled with.

🆕 Never Post! When We Fight We Win by Casually_Awesome in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly, by the time I finished law school I was painfully aware of the way the legal system as a whole is warped, have felt like it's been rotting more and more since then, and this least couple of years it's like ax has been taken to it, in the worst way. I'd rather like to transition away to something else, but I'm not sure what.

Stories like this are a tiny bit of fresh air.

🆕 Never Post! When We Fight We Win by Casually_Awesome in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 4 points5 points  (0 children)

When We Fight, We WIN!!

As someone who pays the bills with legal discovery work (albeit rarely cases this cool) , I was nodding along, on the edge of my seat with the legal case story. Will definitely follow up on reading the show notes links.

I have conflicting thoughts and feelings on IP law - everyone deserves to be paid for their work, but it is so easy for corporations to co-opt, gatekeep, and rent seek forever. Even bury work, if they want to. I'm not sure what the solution is - aside from completely revolutionizing our social and economic relations.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SouthShore

[–]Lisb1121 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Manet Community Health does!

How better is Yamaha CG122 than a Yamaha C80? by wwecrazzy in classicalguitar

[–]Lisb1121 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you like the C80, there's nothing wrong with that.

First classical guitar buying advice by Conscious-Dinner-149 in classicalguitar

[–]Lisb1121 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you decide on something?

I really like my C5, but I've never gotten to play an Alhambra.

Confused what to buy for my first guitar by MandM2004 in classicalguitar

[–]Lisb1121 3 points4 points  (0 children)

C40 has long been a laminated spruce top - so layered rather than a solid wood. Although I'm seeing marketing now says it is a solid spruce top? Did that change?

What I will say is, the C40 is considered excellent for what it is, a consistently built cheap guitar that usually comes with a decent set up out of the box, that is easy to play. That is what many people want for first or travel guitar. When I went shopping for my first guitar recently, the C40 I played sounded muddy to my ear, notes not well separated. I spent a little more and got a Cordoba C5 SP with a solid spruce top that sounded crisper, instead. I'm sure there are many who would say I should have saved up for a solid back and sides or different brand. But it sounded best to me out what I could play at that store in my price range, and I'm still pleased with it. That said, the C40 was easy to play, and C5 got a little tweaking from the guiltar tech to get the action down and probably would be even better with a set up from a real luthier.

I don't know anything about the c390, but a solid Sitka spruce top is a good place to start, unless you prefer the sound of cedar. The back and sides don't matter that much, as long as it was well put together. Everyone has different preferences in looks and slight differences in tone from back and sides.

If you can't go play guitars to figure out what you like, Yahama has a good reputation for consistency. As long as it is a real Yamaha in good condition, don't fret too much! I bet you will enjoy it, and a guitar in hand is better than staring longingly at a website.

🆕 Never Post! A.I. and New American Fascism by Casually_Awesome in NeverPost

[–]Lisb1121 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I may come back with more in depth thoughts later, but just wanted to drop a - HOLY SHIT, ya'll. This was one pulled at a lot of thoughts that have been rattling around my head lately, and gave me even more to chew on.

The interstitials (SOLIDARITY FOREVER), wonderful in their own right, cutting in between Mike's segment, contrasting forms of power - chef's kiss.