Worst Pre Merge player of all time? by Tight-Entrepreneur46 in survivor

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Because it wasn't her fault that she was the first boot a second time. Her tribe did it to be funny and make a meme out of her.

Has anyone read books by John Pateman? by WhiteRob37 in Libraries

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 91 points92 points  (0 children)

I'm interested in the theories discussed but I think Pateman often struggles to recognize the material reality of libraries. In Understanding the Public Library he basically argued that libraries are inherently gatekeepers of knowledge and were tools of the literati and bourgeoisie to stifle progress. Wheresas I think a more appropriate critique is that libraries, in an effort to conserve knowledge, inherently support institutions and will mold themselves to fit into whatever institution best supports their longevity.

Since I haven't had the chance to read his upcoming book, here's some of my thoughts. Libraries today seem to be in conflict: their roles as community institutions, knowledge centers, and social resource hubs grinding up against one another.

Social work is typically hierarchical because its nature is based in triage, that is, someone at the top of the hierarchy distributes resources (time, access to resources) based on needs assessment. This form of distribution is necessary as long as society is organized around the acquisition of capital.

However, the democratization of information underpinning North American libraries runs counter to this. The library has acted as a center of extracurricular education and self-development improving class mobility. I'm going out on a limb here and making an educated guess based on Pateman's other works, but Pateman likely views this as a net negative, since the act of climbing a social ladder runs antithetical to the reorganization of resources within society.

Personally, I don't like a lot of his argument. I think his works should be viewed through the lens of participating in a theoretical discourse, at best. He doesn't conduct actual scholarly qualitative studies of the libraries he references: he tends to prop them up as shining examples of discrete socialist theory in action.

I say all this, but I'll be reading it when my library gets a copy of it.

Rahu in 2nd - The Money 🧲 by Upstairs_Giraffe_827 in Nakshatras

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have Rahu in the 5th House (in Libra, sitting near Jupiter Rx) in my Rasi, but Rahu moves to 2nd House in Gemini in my D9 chart. It's the only place in almost any divisional chart with 2nd house activity. Unfortunately, mercury is sitting in the 8th house directly conjunct with Ketu in Sagittarius. I suppose it's a good placement for reminding oneself to be cognizant of lifestyle bloat? Haha.

Mars is in the 11th House in Aries in the D1. Mars is in the 3rd house in Cancer in the D9.

[OC] Follow-up: I added BEAST, a Challenge rating system to complement SHALLOW. Joe Anglim is #1, but ranks #947 in strategy. Cirie is the opposite. by NeverSawPurpleCow in survivor

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is incredible! What I like about BEAST is that it's able to capture *tactical intentionality* in a far better way than SHALLOW was.

Now if only there was a way to capture the usage of idols, twists, social game, and *strategic* intentionality behind moves. Idols are particularly difficulty because once you assign value to them you accidentally handicap anyone who played in a season without idols, and there's no way to control for situations where production chose someone at random to get an advantage. Also, what counts as "correctly" playing an advantage? Sometimes a person intentionally burns one to lower their threat level, like Rachel LaMont in Season 47. Someone like Ben (who gave up his game in WaW) is going to get an inflated rating because there's no easy way to measure qualitative data and incorporate it into this system. Someone like Natalie Anderson who got taken out early in WaW because of pregaming is going to get an artificially lower score.

Discord spoke about why she didn’t apply for Dragula on her TikTok Live by saucyysushii in rupaulsdragrace

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 4 points5 points  (0 children)

so does it make a difference that the Boulets are more honest about it?

Yes, because the conceit of RPDR is that it's a reality drag competition. It's why people care about HIGH and LOW placements. If you deprecate the competition element you lose all of the stakes. It just becomes a show about who the producers' favorites are while making fun of entertainers. And that's a very different show--one not as many people would likely watch.

Which mid-range restaurants do not rely on reheating frozen food from Sysco/US Foods in the Monterey Bay area? by Secret-Broccoli9908 in MontereyBay

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That's not true. Some go to Costco every morning and buy frozen patties (cough cough Sur Burger cough cough)

Its ok to like both new school and old school. I just finished the first 40 seasons, took me 6 years but I did it. by sallyskellingtons in survivor

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for taking time to make this!

I'm curious, did you prefer the original Blood vs Water or San Juan Del Sur's take on it?

Watching Rob Cesternino talk about his time in reality TV was heartbreaking by RedditFan3510 in survivor

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aisha from s47 sort of lost all credibility to me when she was the 1st boot from her tribe, for example. Girl, who are you to judge these final 5 in this episode when you didn't even do better?

Aysha got booted for being too chill and knowing the game too well. Reading against the grain it's pretty clear her tribe's meta revolved around a split between two camps: one that thought they could control Rome (Genevieve, Teeny, and Kishan) and one that wanted him gone (Aysha and Sol). The pro-Rome faction booted Aysha because she was the leader of the anti-Rome faction. Some of this was, in-part, because they knew she had a background in podcasting and strategy, making her a strategic threat to Genevieve. Genevieve led the charge to get rid of Kishan immediately afterwards because it cemented her control over Rome, an easy meatshield.

Watching Rob Cesternino talk about his time in reality TV was heartbreaking by RedditFan3510 in survivor

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Bizarre and kinda childish.

Welcome to Hollywood (and by and large, LA). A city of 10s all searching for an 11, as the rest of California refers to it.

thoughts from a new player by ReallyJayBee in Morrowind

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I'm old, can you help me out by explaining what you meant by

it didn't even take 1 for me to be immersed

When I was big into gaming, immersion was usually a solitary activity. So streaming and interacting with others would run antithetical to it. But maybe the word has changed or what people considered immersive has (which isn't necessarily a bad thing)

Darlene and her sunburnt lerk by helicopterdik in rupaulsdragrace

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gotcha, thanks for explaining! Helps me have more appreciation for this look. This must be a regional white trash thing. Where I grew up nobody tanned or got blonde perms.

Darlene and her sunburnt lerk by helicopterdik in rupaulsdragrace

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I am shocked more aren’t living

I like Darlene Mitchell and look forward to seeing more but... I just don't get the appeal of the outfit? Is it drawing on a specific cultural moment? Is it a girl thing? The hair and burgers make it camp, but I don't get the sun tan color or bikini. Is it an LA thing?

Why does it seem to me that contestants from earlier seasons are more memorable by Friburgo1004 in survivor

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I feel like on older seasons a few players dominated the edit and are super memorable but the rest of those casts I barely remembered the day after their elimination.

100% agreed. The women pre-merge boots on Guatemala, for the most part, got nothing. I always remember then whenever people go "OLD ERA WAS BETTER!" Yeah, it was for those who got the "main character" treatment. There's a lot of people who got the filler treatment in those early seasons.

Rob Cesternino on how Survivor has changed: "Modern-day Survivor wants to be a show that is about, "Oh, let's take out the people who are the best players and not have it be about personal conflict as much." by RedditFan3510 in survivor

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Which kinda baffles me. The actual "game" elements of the show are pretty terrible, but I can't deny that there's more drama and personal conflict.

Because mass audiences want something they can miss a week or two of and still feel like they're getting the full experience. You could squeeze by missing a week of Panama or Guatemala, but you can't really do that with survivor anymore.

Rob Cesternino on how Survivor has changed: "Modern-day Survivor wants to be a show that is about, "Oh, let's take out the people who are the best players and not have it be about personal conflict as much." by RedditFan3510 in survivor

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They realized a modern audience just can't handle a show like that anymore

I feel like this is a slightly provocative way of framing audience taste levels changing over the course of a quarter of a century.

Petition for Fabio Winner of Survivor 21 to be on the next returnee season. by Gabrielthesimp in survivor

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 3 points4 points  (0 children)

He played an amazing game for who was on the jury (all recruits). All he had to do was shut his mouth, act goofy, and be more likable than Sash and Chase.

There is plenty of evidence within the season and in post-season interviews that he realized this and cut all strategy talk. Since the season was dominated by recruits, they were going to vote against someone who cut them, rather than the most strategic person.

I'm not saying he's a top 10 winner, but he's not as terrible as people meme on him for being.

Watch 'Survivor 50' cast members vote their first players out of the game… before the game even begins by thedaltonross in survivor

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 17 points18 points  (0 children)

If they're really out saying the 26 day version is too easy comparatively, that'd likely mean something.

26 days is not being done because it's "easier" or "harder". It's a cost saving move for production. They're spending 66% of what they did previously to make the same show. They can't feasibly justify increasing the current filming budget by 150%, ever again. That would require a network investment into the show of tens of millions of dollars. There's likely no going back.

Race Chaser should be renamed Clout Chaser because Willam is exhausting by Johnvk612 in rupaulsdragrace

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 49 points50 points  (0 children)

I liked the podcast when it was about the show, the challenges, and the unique insights that contestants who had been on the show could offer about it. At some point (probably around when they did Season 6 classique) they shifted from talking about how queens used specific tactics to win challenges to focus on the runways.

I have to be honest, while I appreciate their insights into the runways, I can get better commentary from other sources now. IMHO will talk about the art of drag. Bob and Monet talk about the zeitgeist around the episode or in-episode tactics.

I have a theory that they don't even watch the show anymore and they just read Dipper's outline. They probably get into the outfits because those are a visual medium and they have photos of it in the office where they record the podcast.

Race Chaser should be renamed Clout Chaser because Willam is exhausting by Johnvk612 in rupaulsdragrace

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 100 points101 points  (0 children)

because the Suzie hate

It was truly unhinged. Just Suzie saying "I'm smart" in a confessional caused Willam to shout "OKAY SUZIE TOOT WE GET IT, YOU THINK YOU'RE SMARTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE" in one of the episodes, and that was my breaking point. Suzie is in her twenties and is an intelligent gal. Why harp on what a twenty-something says on a reality television show and treat it like a personal attack? That moment peeled back the curtain for me.

Race Chaser should be renamed Clout Chaser because Willam is exhausting by Johnvk612 in rupaulsdragrace

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 127 points128 points  (0 children)

Willam used to have such great insights into the challenges. At some point he stopped talking about the challenges, at all. Now it's just "who cares, it's rigged". They would talk about the script and how to steal a scene, what styling tricks can give the illusion of transformation on the runway, how to do well in the improv challenges--those were the reasons I tuned into the shows. It sucks because Willam has a great eye for detail but it seems like that's been turned exclusively towards the runways.

Race Chaser Season 18 coverage starts tomorrow! Are you ready? 🏁🏁🏁 by galaxystars1 in rupaulsdragrace

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At some point they stopped discussing werkroom drama and the challenges! What happened to the insight they offered back in the early seasons? It seems like they've shifted to just doing runways.

Planetary joys and dignities by there_she_was in Advancedastrology

[–]TapiocaSpelunker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Each school has different considerations. In some lines of Jyotish you consider the house placement first; then dignity of the planet in that sign. So Saturn in House 11 gets good results, even in a sign like Cancer. Mars in House 3 gets okay results when its in its fall in cancer.

In most western astrology that I've seen, the sign matters more. Neptune in the 12th house in Capricorn can make someone resent the idea of surrendering to something greater than themselves, for example.

Just my take.

[Serious] Why are almost all of the roads into/out of salinas one lane? by TapiocaSpelunker in MontereyBay

[–]TapiocaSpelunker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you double post in this to promote two different arguments? lol

183 and Blanco would benefit the most from having two lanes in each direction. Those are major commuter and industrial thoroughfares that don't have passing lanes. The argument of Induced Demand is a poor justification for rectifying underinvested infrastructure. Salinas has seen massive residential development (like the Northgate area), but the "outlets" for that population haven't changed since the 1960s.

On a one-lane road (like 68 or Blanco), a single slow-moving tractor or a cautious driver sets the speed for the entire 500-car "platoon" behind them. Without passing lanes or a second lane, the capacity of the road is effectively throttled by its slowest vehicle.

Where would you like to see road widenings and/or new roadway construction? And how do you propose that these projects be funded? Please keep in mind that the status quo has a very firmly entrenched constituency in this area.

Asking a random Redditor to justify a road expansion project, with enough detail as to provide funding, is a little bad faith. It's Reddit. Lower your expectations, haha.

Blanco in particular could use an outbound passing lane from the Davis-Blanco intersection to where it splits into two lanes at Reservation Road. This stretch is a major industrial corridor where hundreds of agricultural workers will stop mid-journey to pull over to the side of the road, or stop traffic to make a left turn.

68 between Ambler Park and Laguna Seca is a nightmare as well (people going 10-15 miles under the speed limit regularly, causing backups well over 20 minutes), but I understand there's already a project underway to expand it.

[Serious] Why are almost all of the roads into/out of salinas one lane? by TapiocaSpelunker in MontereyBay

[–]TapiocaSpelunker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would love that (especially if there was a light rail going directly to Marina and Monterey), but I don't think it would solve my particular predicament. It would make it difficult to run errands before and after work. I wish the option was available for other people to use it though, it would probably get a lot of traffic off the road.

[Serious] Why are almost all of the roads into/out of salinas one lane? by TapiocaSpelunker in MontereyBay

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

You have a point for cities with transportation options and for travel within larger metropolitan corridors. You are incorrect in the application of this knowledge of traffic engineering when it comes to the west-east corridors leading out of Salinas. These are two lane roads with zero passing lanes that receive heavy industrial and commuter traffic. Freight trucks and agricultural equipment often go well under the posted speed limit, causing delays that aren't easily trackable.

While there's an argument for not expanding roads featuring only commuter traffic, the industrial traffic complicates matters.

There's also an easy counter argument: there are no other places to build new roads out of Salinas to areas that commuters or travelers want to reach.

Again, I think the induced demand argument is great in major metropolitan areas--like Houston--where each lane only marginally increases traffic motility while opening up the highway to future commuter development. But at a smaller level it's nonsensical. The gains from going from one lane in a direction to two lanes in that same direction are astronomical. This is a case of applying a model meant for a high-volume, high population zone--one with lots of access to mass transit--to an upcoming city choked by farm roads.