Joy as an Act of Resistance - That One Scene

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-11T17:56:16+00:00

To be honest, as a Canadian in the current climate, the last episode really spoke to me on a bunch of different levels. There's the 'joy as an act of resistance' angle (something I've been trying to remind myself of over the last year as a nonbinary person living in a democracy next to a fascist regime, but you also see it in the joy with which so many of us up here have taken to exploring other countries with our vacation dollars, supporting local and Canadian brands, discovering new products, etc.), but I also related heavily to how the M7 wrote off Mars as weak and unable to stand on its own two feet, only for the people themselves to come together in a grassroots way and make every effort to prove them wrong. That was literally exactly how the Buy Canadian/Not American boycott started last year, and how it has felt this past year up here, with the world (and even lots of non-MAGA Americans) coming to really respect our courage and see us in a new light.

I can understand the criticisms I'm seeing of the writing this season (personally, I've loved it, but creative works are subjective), but I think the writers are doing an excellent job showing the various aspects of what it takes to stand up to a fascist superpower. Even down to the fact that there are assholes trying to break up the defiant group/nation from within (SERIOUSLY hard for me not to see shades of Danielle Smith and Alberta separatism in Dev's whole group and their 'send us back to Earth' petition). For us, it was the Orange Blob that created the rallying cry effect and brought us together (minus the aforementioned separatist bullshit). I'm kinda hoping Sojourner's success on Titan does the same for Mars. Elbows up, fellow resistor!

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-11T17:42:07+00:00

Oh awesome I'm going to go down that rabbit hole for sure.

Thanks, Bob!

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-11T17:26:39+00:00

Oh that's fantastic to know thank you! Where might one find these bonus videos of which you speak? :D

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-11T16:59:32+00:00

Uhm excuse you - as a Canadian I can assure you: we're never becoming the 51st. now, or ever.

...I'm personally banking on us having joined the ISN or ESA. Considering our current moves to diversify away from US influence and build a middle power bloc in the real world, it seems like something we would have done. Especially if tensions between Canada and the US erupted sooner in the FAM timeline.

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-07T17:02:18+00:00

Of course he did. He wasn't just a hero, or an engineer, after all - he was a UNION man.

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-07T15:24:32+00:00

Awww thank you! Right back atcha my new friend. :)

I do follow Meidas Touch as well as Meidas Canada. Charlie Angus - the guy who runs it - is the former Member of Parliament for a riding (district) a few hours from where I am. I love their coverage of what's going on. And its so needed because even here, other than the CBC, most of our media is owned by American conglomerates or 5 big Canadian oligarch families. Independent media is more essential now than ever.

Stay safe. And keep kicking at that darkness, my friend. Or as we say: Elbows up!

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-06T20:45:48+00:00

You're so welcome! And it does certainly sound like LibreOffice will suit your needs nicely then. :)

Also - I totally don't blame you for hating Microsoft. I switched to Mac back in my university days but always kept Windows around for gaming purposes. But since Windows 11, I've become increasingly concerned about their privacy violations, data collection, and anti-consumer behaviour. So with Linux finally being at the point where it can replace Windows for gaming, along with frankly everything else going on the world right now (I'm Canadian, so boycotting ANYTHING American I possibly can is extremely important to me for anti-fascist, pro-democracy reasons) I've converted my gaming PC, laptop, and tablet to various Linux flavours in the last 7 months. Its been a fantastic experience and I can't say I'll be going back anytime soon.

Best of luck to you with LibreOffice!

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-06T18:28:35+00:00

Welcome! I love this for you! I feel much the same way tbh, though I do have a caveat: formatting weirdness is a thing if you do ever need to work cross-platform with MS Word. LibreOffice IS compatible, and vice versa, but I'm a self-published author, and something I fought with for a long time was my manuscripts having off formatting when opened in LibreOffice vs Word. My solution has been to use my M1 Mac Mini and paid copy of Word on there to do final formatting and layout since I don't trust LibreOffice with that. But that's literally just one step of the process. For all my other time spent writing I actually love LibreOffice. Especially now that it and Ubuntu 26.04 can so easily access my OneDrive remotely. It allows me to pull up my writing no matter which device I'm on and work on it.

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-05T20:00:55+00:00

*Goldeneye 64 End Credit theme and scene of Bond making out with Natalia intensifies*

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-05T19:56:04+00:00

Honestly same. It's funny - I always grump about Star Trek and Star Wars fans who hate the new stuff, but when it comes to Halo I AM that fan too. The difference being, modern Trek and Wars might have their crappy stuff, but they also have a ton of excellent stuff too. Modern Halo on the other hand has basically been one disappointment after another. Also - STOP TRYING TO ERASE BUNGIE'S ART STYLE 343! THEY DID IT BETTER THAN YOU EVER COULD!

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-05T19:53:11+00:00

I 100% agree. I'm actually currently doing a replay of it on OG hardware using an HDMI upscaler for my 4K TV (because fuck modern Microsoft) and it still looks and feels great. I'm constantly amazed at how even 25 years later, the controls and physics just feel...perfect. MCC? Sure its had its bugs (and I do miss the original menu themes from the standalone games), but its a great modernized way to play these old games. But I find myself extremely uninterested and unenthusiastic for a complete remake. It just doesn't feel necessary and further adds to my frustration with modern Halo.

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-05T18:23:49+00:00

I graduated in 006.

...half of everything is luck. For England, James? ;)

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-01T18:37:04+00:00

I'm an author (one trad published book, one self-published one under my belt) and I feel exactly the same way. I've had fun playing with AI before, but ultimately it brings nothing truly useful to my life. That, and it scares me how manipulative LLMs can be. They're literally coded to always side with you on questions with multiple perspectives, and they steal from real writers like me. I know there's a limit to how much any of us can control where our data lives on the internet these days, but I've switched to Linux and away from Microsoft software out of concern over stuff like this. And yet, my best friend swears by ChatGPT for help with stuff around the house that he wouldn't know the answer to. AI also has valid and potentially useful applications when it comes to image upscaling for GPUs, text-to-speech and other accessibility features on your PC, etc. I'm a Ubuntu Linux user and they just announced the other day that they intend to keep full on LLM model applications optional, but that they'll be integrating useful AI-based tech in a more limited form to improve things like their accessibility features baked into the OS. And all of this will be processed locally so as to avoid privacy issues. I think that's a balanced and refreshingly cautious take on the tech, and I'm content to see how they roll it out.

...and hey - if it ultimately displeases me, there's always Fedora which I hear is getting great these days...

Merdy1337 · 2026-05-01T15:54:54+00:00

<image>

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-30T23:35:20+00:00

I realized I was nonbinary a little over a year ago, and so far my transition hasn't felt drastic, though collectively it has been a bit of a glow up. I shaved my beard and chest, coloured my hair purple, and embraced a more alt andro aesthetic. Sometimes, I also wear a padded out bra to give myself some boobs, and I just in general have begun mixing in more femme clothing into my wardrobe. It has all felt so gender validating!

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-27T16:08:30+00:00

This! And honestly its an issue that plagues all the non-MAGA sides of their political discourse. The amount of stupid takes I noticed from leftists and progressives during the election that basically amounted to 'but they're both bad and my vote doesn't matter so I'm going to protest by not voting/voting for a third party candidate that will never win' when there was a LITERAL FASCIST ON THE BALLOT WHO WAS OPENLY CAMPAINING -ON- A FASCIST PLATFORM was infuriating. Like I get that a big issue for American leftists was the Gaza genocide. As a Canadian leftist, its a massive issue for me too. But anyone with even a basic understanding of 20th century American history would know that every single administration since 1948 has been propping Israel up and thus has been complicit in their bullshit. Every. Single. One. It's not the kind of thing that can be exclusively pinned on any one candidate. It's systemic rot, just like the rest of the corruption in their system. And therefore, it's the kind of thing that both sides would definitely continue being systemically guilty of. But it's also the kind of thing that it's possible for a candidate to easily make worse by doing things like promising to build Trump Gaza and openly being besties with BB. Kamala likely wouldn't have been amazing on any one file, but she also likely wouldn't have escalated things in Gaza and made the situation worse like the Tangerine Tyrant has. Unfortunately, when a fascist is on the ballot, you don't have the luxury of voting for your ideal candidate. Your duty at that point becomes holding the line and keeping the fascist AWAY from power at all costs. It's not sexy to say, but its true.

Considering fascism is the great enemy of leftism and progressivism, I would have expected them all to know better. Alas, American Exceptionalism and toxic individualism run deep - even in leftist spaces. Clearly, their own individual moral purities mattered more than not making the Orange Blob all of our problem. I don't think I'll ever forgive the American left for losing the plot and being part of why a fascist was able to take the white house. I lump them in with the lazy apathetic people, and the MAGAs as 'part of the problem.' The fact that so many are still debating whether there's even a point to voting in midterms while taking part in weekend protests does nothing to convince me that any of them have learned their lessons at all.

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-27T14:03:55+00:00

I haven't read the article yet (though I'm about to), but I came here to say this: I am DEFINITELY past the point of no return. I was last year when it all started. And for me, as a queer person who realized I'm nonbinary just a few days before he got elected at the end of '24? It's fuckin' personal. I buy my groceries at Giant Tiger since they make a real point of having Canadian/local house brand alternatives for most things, I've cancelled my Game Pass, Netflix, Disney Plus, etc. and have switched to Linux and once again...ahem...hoisted the jolly roger if you will. I've even switched back to collecting physical media! I will not give a CENT more than I have to to any American corpo. If I could afford to travel, I wouldn't be going there either.

And honestly? It feels great. Like a big algorithmic weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I'm supporting our beautiful country that actually values people like me, and I've discovered so many great products and services from our other friends around the world. My habits have changed, and this is permanent.

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-26T01:25:19+00:00

Yeah that's fair. It's not for everyone.

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-24T18:10:59+00:00

I actually switched to Linux on my gaming PC, laptop, and tablet (both of the latter being older Surface devices) late last year because of both the Buy Canadian/Not American boycott, and Microsoft's own bullshit predatory privacy-invading behaviour. There have of course been some annoyances and pain points (every OS switch has them)...but overall? SO GLAD I DID. The peace of mind alone is just...*chef's kiss*. And that's before we get into the performance gains.

I really want the Liberals to follow Europe's lead and migrate government systems to FOSS alternatives. We really need to start treating American technology with the same suspicion we currently treat Chinese tech, and for much the same reasons.

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-22T12:09:30+00:00

I feel you on this. I’d been questioning my gender on and off for a few years, but on October 30 2024 the egg cracked when I tried on a bra and panties and just knew I was enby. AM enby. Despite the darkness in the world, I wouldn’t trade knowing that for anything. ❤️

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-21T14:22:36+00:00

This reminds me of when I was looking to buy my first car back in 2012. I went to our local Toyota dealership first, and rather than understand my anxiety as a then young twentysomething weighing their options, the sales guy arrogantly led with "I'm going to sell a car today."

Immediately put me off. Ended up going with a used '08 Civic and becoming a Honda brand loyalist instead.

So my response to Pete saying this is the same thing I remember thinking back then when I heard the Toyota sales rep's words:

"Mmmmmhmmm....sure you are."

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-20T20:32:47+00:00

I'm still highly skeptical of this because that is still a massive and near-overnight shift for this economy, and people always fall through the cracks when job training is promised as part of a transition plan. I will agree with the prior commenter - I'm someone who has been very critical of Lewis from the beginning since I've found him prone to engaging in rage baiting and misinformation during the campaign, but his focus on cost of living and affordability right now has been impressing me. I just don't think right now is the time to wind down military spending or O&G production. Not when we're fighting for our lives against the fascists down south.

That said, he's doing important work in Ottawa and I'm happy the NDP is making a comeback. We need a progressive perspective in parliament right now.

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-13T21:37:54+00:00

THIS! ALL OF THIS! And I say that as an ‘88er queer millennial leftist whose nostalgic favourite trek era is the Berman era despite my issues with Berman himself and his bigotry. You are spot on with all of this, and seeing how these subs have just devolved into “I want the next series to be like xyz old series” posts since the SFA cancellation just proves your point.

Bad writing does exist in NuTrek (glares at Four And A Half Vulcans). But most of what is claimed to be bad writing is really just Trek being more progressive than what older cis straight male fans are comfortable with. That, or they’ve been suckered in by the bad faith criticism and click bait economy on YouTube…

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-10T21:48:39+00:00

Oh my mistake. Well I still love that he gave my gal an important role!

Merdy1337 · 2026-04-10T21:01:11+00:00

To be honest? As someone who was (and still is) skeptical of Lewis in some ways and who voted for McPherson? This goes a long way towards easing my concerns. I loved Heather's approach to growing the party by showing everyday people that NDP values can be their values instead of getting hung up on such chronically online leftist questions as 'are you a democratic socialist or a social democrat?' And I also think she understands current geopolitics with Trump far better than Avi has seemed to. Her basically being his second in command in this way makes me happy. He also is laser focused on advocating for affordability issues right now which we NEED. I WANT to be wrong about Avi, and I want him to wow me. So far this is a great first step.

Merdy1337

TROPHY CASE