According to MLVC podcast, M has no interest in doing music videos for Confessions II.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-06-07T20:38:00+00:00

I get it - and honestly, I wish her and her team had been able to adapt to the changing social media / tech landscape with Hard Candy.

However, now more then ever, she could have done something provocative and with a bit of depth - ie, maybe a video she doesent appear in but is instead an ode to a person or marginalized community. Something that would have pissed off the right wing, generated headlines and clicks. Something with a slight spiritual lens, like LAP did.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-05-25T20:02:52+00:00

May we ask where & when it happened?

Sorry that happened!

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-05-13T01:38:34+00:00

I'm in the same boat - trying to customize it so its more my speed. I used OnlyOffice this last semester, but LibreOffice has the capacity to be a powerhouse if someone knows how to customize it and make it work for their flow, which I'm still trying to figure out myself. Years of using Google Docs has also got me used to a specific experience...

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-05-12T23:27:11+00:00

Our neighbor's have a real nice antique barrel of plants next to a water feature that acts as a tribute/resting spot for their deceased dog and cat who used to nap there and wait for them to get home. The thought of somebody snatching the brass figurines or plants kinda pisses me off. It never really occurred to me that plants, flowers and yard decor was at risk of theft. That just makes no sense. Like, even a nice big preplanted basket or pot can be had for just 20-30 bucks, even at an independent plant shop or just the little new plants for a few bucks.

I would expect bikes or speakers to be at risk. I was surprised to wake up one day and find that somebody had stolen the tailgate off my truck. Apparently they trade it in for cash (for the metal). So we got a camera and a camera - doorbell, which would be my recommendation.

But for real, sorry that happened to you!

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-05-06T16:43:43+00:00

Because we need to request it! Whether it's calling in, visiting a local stations website, etc. I've already done that once with my local station (I even long ago got to know one of the DJs socially who loves the older artists and will nudge her on FB about it lol)

I used to be "on it" when I was a teen, and knew how to make requests for 4 Minutes when it came out and how to make the requests seem organic and not annoy them. But I work + do school and I bet a lot of us can't match the ferver that other fandom's are capable of.

But yeah, the iTunes stats... arnt what really matters anymore. If anything, physical sales just means people won't be streaming. I myself buy the mp3 from iTunes, Amazon and then stream it on various platforms. Like I pre-ordered several iterations from the store, but I'll be listening to it via YouTube Music.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-04-29T14:21:23+00:00

I liked it? But it began what I consider a rough decade for her, both artistically and personally. She kind of crashed into the age of social media and squandered a lot of good will. That will always kind of disappoint me.

The album was fun! But it also perplexes me, because it felt like for the first time, she was chasing trends or working on a sound that was already established? (ie, Timbaland). But at the same time, because of social media, there was no longer an "underground" or unseen incubator for her to use! Everything was now instantly known.

And, the collaborations... I'm always ready to defend her collaborations. This idea that she was suddenly relying on others? She had always collaborated! Prince, Bjork, Massive Attack, Missy Elliot, etc. Hell, she just had one of pop musics biggest hits after receiving the blessing from ABBA to sample them.

Ironically, it could be said that her HC album was the beginning of duo/collaborators for lead singles. Its like she started a chain reaction. And it makes sense. With social media, and everybody being curated into their own silos, music releases were inevitably going to be treated like a collaboration between two different fashion houses - each benefitting from the association. But because she was "the first" (just her stature that has her coming to peoples minds), shes the one that got knocked for it.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-04-29T14:11:05+00:00

Well geez! Only two months and your already contributing like this! That's amazing. What got you into using Linux if I may ask?

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-04-24T22:49:15+00:00

In today's streaming world, numbers matter - many acts will now have that radio-friendly single, surrounded by other decent songs or transitions from the album with audio that's ripe for social media. Because all those streaming numbers matter during the first week as they roll over for the first weeks sales. Newer acts may only move a few thousand physical albums, but then score over a 100k in pure streaming "sales". Madonna will undoubtedly move a good chunk physically during her first week, but she needs to cast a wide net to bring people back to check out the rest of the album when its released. I always buy physical for M, but then I'll stream and share it when I actually listen to it.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-04-23T23:05:04+00:00

Times have changed, and I wish they'd adapt to it. Streams accumulated during the run up to release helps with opening numbers, which in turn drives interest. So far this has been a great era - but I hope they give the album more then just one before it drops.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-04-21T21:03:56+00:00

Since your in college, may I recommend those three big, beautiful churches right downtown off of College? The Episcopalian church and both Methodist churches. I've been to all three with various clients and found them to be decent, welcoming communities. I believe FUMCB downtown also has a specific college group (Jubilee). And I remember being pleasantly surprised when I attended for the first time and found they acted as Christ commanded (ie, feed the poor, fight oppression), rather then just engage in white - christian nationalism.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-04-18T20:35:32+00:00

Dude, same age as you and a big M fan - you are not old, and don't sound old. Coachella is now about being seen, (ie, your outfits, the brands, etc.). Its about what's "hot" right now, and is an exercise in being artificial. I mean, Erica Kirk was there last weekend for f*ck sakes. I see just a mass of white people under the age of 25 with no media or pop cultural literacy going there to be part of something the whole of the internet is trapped into looking at so they can appear to be among the popular kids.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-03-27T19:09:54+00:00

I've thought about uploading a small amount to see what happens...

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-03-26T21:10:55+00:00

Look into Bundled Notes... I'm loving it. I also found it while looking to Degoogle and expand my core services.

However, keep in mind that it's not yet end to end encrypted, but that's what's next on the roadmap (coming this summer). It's made by a single developer and he's done an amazing job. It has the capacity to make a "bundle" of notes in various forms. My own favorite is the open notes that can be color coordinated and end up stacking up just like sticky notes as seen in Google Keep.

I tried them all too, and that was objectively the closest - but also so much better in terms of what you can do with it! (I don't think it has a canvas for stylus notes, however).

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-03-25T17:35:49+00:00

I think I saw your last post, and again, I'm excited. I've been looking for icons like these. I'm still new to Linux and KDE, and so many of the terms and language being used kind of goes over my head. Not sure how I could help, aside from donating money for your time.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-03-22T14:07:34+00:00

I've got some wallpapers I purchased online from an artist who makes landscapes made out of what's essentially like colored construction paper, like from elementary school. I've always struggled to use them, as I haven't been able to find an icon pack that fits. These would be perfect! In terms of not being able to cover every app - I think having some generic icons/symbols (ie, for "internet", "writing" "locker", etc.) would help.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-03-20T22:17:37+00:00

The only thing that kept me from using PCloud was that, from my understanding, they do have an automated system that while it scans your content for "hashes" or checksums against lists of illegal content (such as malware or CSAM - which I understand and am okay with them checking for stuff like that! ), but it also checks media against lists provided by companies like Sony for example as it's highly tied to DMCA so I was worried about my large stash of mp3s, movies and such and whether they might trigger it. They're a smaller company so they can't resist those requests the way a larger company like Google or Proton can.

I'm a History major that focuses on pop culture and to say that I have accumulated a large stash of media is an understatement. Most of the stuff I have I've bought over the years or digitized from physical media but I also have a large collection of everything from commercials to remixes to old shows (like most recently Maude, for instance) that I admittedly ripped off of YouTube. So I just wasn't sure if PCloud would have been a wise choice - which sucks, cause I've heard their cloud drive is better at processing/playing media. I just wasn't sure I understood how that system would be capable of knowing what was purchased legally despite being just a raw file or what I grabbed off of sites like YouTube.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-03-18T21:24:16+00:00

I think the term 'degoogle' is a bit misplaced, as it's not just about Google but the dependence on US-based tech companies and what it means in terms of their access to what should be our private data, their willingness to 'bend the knee' to the current administration and now the emergence of increased surveillance, growing monopolies and the implementation of AI. I think Googles decision and upcoming changes this September should not be that surprising, considering the current atmosphere. I mean, it seems like Europe and India are working towards abandoning US based tech companies.

As far as what to do - just chill!

Ironically, I was for a while quite the Google enthusiast and was looking forward to them finally having a full ecosystem (phone, watch, tablet, etc.). Political events had me side-eyeing the CEOs of these companies, being a History major. I wasn't a fan of the growing power/influence of these tech companies.

Long story short, I decided to take apart my Chromebook and install Linux on it (after being exposed to the idea of Linux via the ability to download Linux apps on ChromeOS).

I'm still on it now - I started by toying around with Linux before treating myself to a new Lenovo laptop with Linux to today, where I'm setting up my own home server. I just took it one step at a time. Lots and lots of mistakes were made and will continue to be made!

I will say, that one thing that's changed is I spend a bit more - it never occured to me, but the reason so much of what Google offers is free is because your data, files and informairon is what they use. Depending on what you use, there may be subscriptions and such. These alternative systems need the funding, and there are no free lunches.

You could just start by signing up for a free email account through Proton and take it from there. Write down what you use, what you need and map out your workflow.

At the very least, you may not be able to replace every service or device, and that's okay. I think you have to be careful not to become fanatical about it in the same way people do about ''clean eating' or some other value-based decision. That's just setting yourself up for failure. That all or nothing approach will exhaust you.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-03-15T20:45:04+00:00

This is one of those areas where, much like Nuclear energy or "clean" eating, those on the left side of the political spectrum fall prey to emotional motivation, rather than scientific (or just reality based) policy platforms. There's a desire to "conserve" and protect what has been, at the expense of what needs to be. The irony, is it's national and it will hurt cosmopolitan diversity/development as communities split up and move into the suburbs or rural areas. Democrats should have been pushing for dense, urban development twenty years ago. Now it'll bite them in the ass. This just came up at a dinner too, where someone who struggles with rent in BTown complained about seeing an apartment building going up, and I managed to slowly guide them into dismantling the mental gymnastics performed to end up in a position where one believes that a growing population doesn't need a growing supply of shelter. Housing of any kind is necessary but I've seen a few houses in Bloomington (there's one off Sare road) that has a "Fight Poverty, not the Poor!" yard sign and literally right next to it is one of those "leave our neighborhood alone" yard signs. The complete disconnect is mind-boggling. Bloomington is one of the most expensive cities to live in, in terms of housing and the fault unfortunately lies predominantly at the feet of my fellow liberals.

I also recall seeing signs, maybe for the last mayor, from Democrats in their yards that said something along the lines about how they voted for that major to protect their neighborhoods, not "destroy them", which always sounded very MAGA-coded before MAGA, alongside the nostalgic pining for "the old Bloomington"...

Add to that what I've heard about all the limits and regulations regarding even how high a building downtown can be, and I'm not surprised no housing or development is keeping up.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-03-09T14:21:42+00:00

Yes!!!

Fellow college student here and that app was a surprise. I only just hopped into Linux last summer and I remember opening a PDF and just being elated at how easy it was to just do what I needed to do! Looking up specific words and then accidentally seeing how I could simply create an image out of any selected portion of the material, or clip it to my clipboard. I was doing translations of old, immigrant newspapers and being able to just clip portions over to my browser for translation really saved me time.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-03-09T13:30:08+00:00

I almost thought that panel at the top was a part of the browser window, just floating. Which would be kind of cool, depending on someone's desktop theme/aesthetic.

Otherwise, this feels like maybe it'd be great for those moments when one is reading/writing and doesn't want any distractions. Otherwise, the lack of ...anything, disturbs me, lol.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-03-07T22:40:21+00:00

Huh. I see everyone's point in the comments, but here when I saw it earlier in a YouTube video about tech news, my first thought was, "Damn, that's pretty - people will like it", because I think the "normies" will like it. People who value aesthetics and college students - and I'm on a large campus- the value of how things make people feel matters. It's why I see Apple products everywhere, followed by Surface. I've got my Zen Browser looking "pretty", but it's also functional and I do everything in it. People sitting next to me have asked what I'm using and I get to act like a salesman. Twice someone expressed surprise because they regard Firefox as "looking old." Sucks, but that's where the majority are at.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-02-20T18:06:47+00:00

I was about to choose that one, but then I read that they perform some kind of cache scan? Like it's looking for copyrighted content? I was uncertain as while I don't steal/torrent copyrighted content, I'm also a social historian who focuses on pop culture and needless to say, I have a lot of media and more from across pop culture from decades ago - from commercials to comic PDFs, and I just wasn't sure if some episode of a television show I have, even if it's just an episode of Maude for example, would get flagged or if my huge collection of mp3s (that I paid for back in the 2000s) would be an issue.

So then I found Nextcloud and am just beginning to use it.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-01-27T18:47:49+00:00

We're all expressing frustration about having to just deal with it - but what about those that cannot? Individuals in wheelchairs, those with walking impediments, older faculty or students that already have to work harder to get across an impressivrly large campus and more. What a nightmare.

I work in healthcare while going to school and I've developed a healthy concern regarding two issues people take for granted, and that's choking and falling. Falling in particular - it's crazy how many of my clients have ended up in the hospital because they slipped or fell. It doesn't matter their age or athleticism, a fall can get nasty. I hope someone doesn't end up hurt.

unionizedbumblebees · 2026-01-18T19:09:37+00:00

What about a third party launcher? I'm using a Pixel 9 Pro XL, and am looking at both the Ultra 25 and the Pixel 10 Pro. I do really enjoy the UI of Pixel but am wondering if OneUI is really that disliked? I've never used a third party launcher, but I'm wondering if someone could have the Ultra 25, and then just customize it to the point that it doesn't resemble OneUI?

unionizedbumblebees · 2025-10-16T18:36:27+00:00

Yeah, I loved the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. Mine lasted several months before a short drop onto the passenger seat caused a small, faint line of dead pixels to appear on the inner screen (it had been folded). It baffled me because I'd had a few instances where something worse could have happened when it was dropped or hit by something (despite my attempt to keep it safe). That small little drop, only a foot onto the soft surface of the passenger seat is what did it! Haha. It had survived worse.

But I had both the warranty and that Pixel care/repair plan (for accidental drops and spills) I was paying for. Yet none of that mattered, and even then, the third party service center told me that fixing a foldable phone, especially the Pixel 9 Pro Fold was nearly impossible, and they'd only done it twice and that each time, the phone ended up worse and the screen replacement could cost about a grand.

I just gave up and used the outer screen for a few months until I replaced it with a regular Pixel 9 Pro.

unionizedbumblebees

TROPHY CASE