Nocbot

(❁´◡`❁): michaonthemoon: yaoibutts: I love how potato in French is pomme de...

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:39:51 -0400

(❁´◡`❁): michaonthemoon: yaoibutts: I love how potato in French is pomme de...:

yaoibutts:

I love how potato in French is pomme de terre, which pretty much means “earth apple.”

like what stupid frenchman saw this:

and said “zis petite légume looks like a, how you say, APPLE! hmmm… but it grows in ze earth… HON HON HON! MAIS OUI! C’EST UNE…

They were probably friends with the american who saw this:

and said “aw, would you look at that, it dropped off the back of that horse like an apple off a tree. But it’s on the road, so, ah, that there must be a…”

On the bright side...

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:18:50 -0400

…the fact that my Tumblr has transitioned from gleefully posting Doctor Who gifs to grumping about Stephen Moffat means that there’s no longer any rush for me to stay current with the series lest Tumblr spoil it for me.

It’s okay, last handful of episodes. I’ll get to you eventually.

Nap Hard: bad at math

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:45:34 -0400

Nap Hard: bad at math:

heysawbones:

I am bad at math.

I’m not totally sure why that is, though I have some guesses. It might have something to do with the way I learn and organize learned information. It seems like I have a really hard time remembering things I can’t anchor to an underlying comprehension of the subject. For…

I don’t know of any particularly good sources on the subject, but I can confirm that that sort of context-based comprehension is how I end up understanding math, and thus I don’t think the matter is intrinsic to math itself so much as a function of our education system being terrible at teaching it. There’s lots of “trust us, just learn this, it’ll be important later,” and lots of barreling ahead on a schedule whether or not the students have actually gotten the material. In the math classes I’ve taken, I’ll either cakewalk through most of it or start slipping in the beginning and fall progressively further and further behind, because if I don’t properly understand the basic concepts then the rest is just confusing and arbitrary.

…until it suddenly makes sense years later and I’m baffled by why my teachers didn’t just explain it like this.

In terms of learning math, though, I think learning to program is actually a good place to start? Programming concepts help algebraic ones make a whole lot more sense, because you’re actually handling variables and functions and such as practical tools rather than abstract symbols on a page which you’re tasked with rearranging in a certain way.

It also helps provide context to what you’re actually doing, since you’re writing a script to simulate something rather than answering a “well, if hypothetically we wanted to figure out this…” sort of prompt. Even better, the computer handles the number crunching itself, so you a) can focus on the actual math rather than worrying about whether or not you fucked up the arithmetic and b) can see a clear and immediate connection between adjustments to your program and changes to the output rather than having to go through the number-crunching process again.

Um. I don’t actually know how to find a good programming course either: I’m mostly self-taught, which requires a lot of spare time you may not have, and am reasonable skeptical about a lot of CS classes I see offered about. Especially for this purpose, since you’d probably want to pick up a scripting language and get right to messing around with math, while a lot of intro CS classes seem to think it’s important to start with C, learning low-level programming concepts that aren’t necessarily useful to you.

So I dunno. But it’s an approach that’s made a lot of sense to me.

I can only assume that this is like when fighter pilots paint...

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:05:26 -0400

I can only assume that this is like when fighter pilots paint silhouettes of their kills on the side of their plane.

atomicqueen: peacelovehappychan: HOW COME I HAVE NEVER...

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:57:43 -0400

atomicqueen:

peacelovehappychan:

HOW COME I HAVE NEVER REALIZED THIS BEFORE?!?!?!?!?!

since when is “rich” a personality trait

Since class became a thing, presumably? There’s no shortage of characters around who are defined primarily by their wealth (or lack thereof).

atomicqueen: enigmaticagentalice: valendiles: blergedandlawyer...

Sat, 04 May 2013 21:57:09 -0400

atomicqueen:

enigmaticagentalice:

valendiles:

blergedandlawyered:

avettbidenlemoncreggalmasy:

team-joebama:

indiedrone:

wickedveganwitchofthewest:

“It’s a talking dog, or a bear cub?”

lol greeaat

“Yes it would, but the point is, no human being would do such a thing.”

That sounds about right, actually.

“But the Russians knew.”

??????? oh

“That encourages further attacks from opposing politicians, gives pause to allies, and stimulates aggresive questioning from news organizations and blogs, spreading perceptions of even more negative public opinion.”

That’s…complicated. And seems so public.

“I couldn’t believe it.”

….Seems kind of accurate so far.

OH MY GOD I GOT THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING AND IT WAS THE PART ABOUT BILBO’S BIRTHDAY AND

“All one hundred and forty-four guests expected a pleasant feast…”

oh

page 35 in the nearest book to me was just a giant photo of a micro-pig

His manner, terse to sullen, and the haggard expression on his face, which made him look suddenly very old, made her drop the subject.

…All portents indicate another good year of singledom, then. 8D

So I’m not at home. Looking around my friends’ living room, I spot a “Vorkosigian Saga” RPG Sourcebook in the corner. Expecting something comical and out of context about rules, I flip it open to p 35 and…oh look, flavor text.

“The woman raised her delicate eyebrows at his apparent ignorance and swept the long hair from her face with a pale hand.”

…well okay then.

insouciant magic eight ball: Feminism in video games

Thu, 02 May 2013 03:42:00 -0400

insouciant magic eight ball: Feminism in video games:

heysawbones:

7nights:

This is the Sorceress from Vanillaware’s Dragon’s Crown. Lately, this character has been getting a lot of heat, becoming the new icon of sexism in video games. Are you offended by this character? Do you find it sexist? Well guess what, it’s not.

Read More

I think I see…

Personally, I tend to figure that the “objectified” male characters in media aren’t the power-fantasy heroes — they’re the minions, the almost universally male henchmen who’s purpose is to threaten the good guys and then get beat up. They’re objects in both senses of the word, presented not as people but as props, who exist to be the objects of violence the same way the standard female eye-candy exists to be the object of desire.

Which…actually isn’t necessarily a problem, on its own. Not every character in a story needs to be fully fleshed out: some characters will be the ones we follow, and some may only intersect with the story briefly and for a specific purpose. That’s not necessarily a problem!

The problem comes from context, and patterns are a good way to look at context. Not so much ”in the context of the work,” as 7nights seems to be offering: “Oh, they justified why this character dresses like this, see, it makes sense in the story so it’s okay!” No, the context and the pattern emerge when we look at all the other, similar stories and other similar characters and notice that being conventionally attractive seems to need to be standard for leading female characters. As is dressing sexily and revealingly: it’s apparently not okay to have a female lead who’s not a hot piece of ass. Sure, they may totally “justify” that within the context of the character, but there’s a reason why so many characters “just happen” to be that way. (Hint: it’s because they’re expected to appeal to a male audience. It’s not a justification, it’s an excuse for something that would be like that anyways.)

This is why people keep pushing for nonsexualized female leads: not because female sexuality is gross and they need to cover that shit up, but because holy crap it is getting tiring for cheesecake to keep being mandatory. Nonsexualized female characters are a break in the pattern and a breath of proverbial fresh air, the same way overtly sexualized male characters often are. And man, when we don’t need our female leads to fit a narrow standard of beauty (and implicit availability), that opens the doors to a way broader range of characters and visual designs.

It also doesn’t help that these costume designs tend to treated as just part of the character design, as just how the characters happen to look rather than, you know, presented as clothing they actually made the conscious decision to put on — the sheer impracticality of most of these outfits tends to speak volumes about that. The characters dressing all stripperly isn’t about them being comfortable dressing that way, it’s about them being attractive to the viewer.

…

So: basically two points, I guess. One is about the nerd fallacy that internal coherence is the most important aspect of a work — that the most important thing is whether or not a thing ”makes sense in the context of the story,” as opposed to the broader relevance of that element itself.

The other is about lazy costume design. I might get into both of these a bit further at some point, since I’ve nowhere near exhausted the vein of natter they provide.

holypunsbatman: spacemancar: kirbyallen: It’s Enzo! My...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:49:37 -0400

holypunsbatman:

spacemancar:

kirbyallen:

It’s Enzo!

My friends are so fucking weird.

And it’s fucking wonderful.

…but Enzo should probably get that looked at.

princesskilljoy: I was bored of reading and made a...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:36:51 -0400

princesskilljoy:

I was bored of reading and made a thing.

Alternately…

nocbot: bananabuttmuffin: The best road rage I’ve ever seen was this girl screaming out of her car...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:32:00 -0400

nocbot:

bananabuttmuffin:

The best road rage I’ve ever seen was this girl screaming out of her car window “I hope you don’t fuck like you drive!” I still think about that sometimes.

Timidly, even though you have the right of way?

While singing to yourself, badly?

For long, dreary stretches at a time, most of which you don’t remember afterwards?

With an inescapable, nagging worry that this’ll be the day something breaks down?

With your windows rolled down and the wind in your hair and the radio turned up?

With infuriating ponderousness, despite increasingly vociferous requests for you to please pick up the pace, some of us don’t have all day?

With the nagging worry that you’re being judged and that you really need some body work done and a new coat of paint, and that you’re just kidding yourself by insisting that your ride “has character?”

With a willingness to slam on the brakes if a small animal unexpectedly darts in front of you?

With the suspicion that you probably should have cleaned up a bit more beforehand? (They aren’t saying anything, but you’re sure they’re judging your for the mess.)

Only when you have to, because it’s really stressful and not something you feel like you’re good at?

With a series of workarounds for broken or fiddly mechanisms? (“Oh! Sorry, that bit doesn’t work, you’ve gotta do it like this. No, it’s cool, everyone has trouble with that.”)

With periodic flashes of panic when you realize your attention had drifted and oh god oh god that could’ve gone so terribly wrong?

With occasional moments where the banality of the activity falters and you suddenly realize what a tremendous, amazing, monstrously dangerous thing you’re actually doing?

With a gnawing, sinking loneliness in the pit of your gut?

With a habit of getting distracted by the scenery, especially if it’s a nice day?

With your mind stuck on the fact that you spent all that time getting dressed up really nice and now your clothes are just kind of all scrunched up everywhere and your shoes are just tossed in a corner nevermind your hair and it’s going to be so much work to make yourself presentable again and where are you even going to find a mirror?

Plagued by thoughts of “Was that there last time? I’d swear I haven’t seen it before, but it doesn’t look new or anything, I guess I just wasn’t paying very close attention?”

With inexplicably cold feet, despite the fact that the rest of you is practically boiling?

Often interrupted by the need to check a map?

Often frustrated by a lack of clear signage?

With far greater comfort if you have someone giving you directions, because even if you’re going the right way you’re never confident of that and it’s nerve-wracking?

Occasionally in a rush, ‘cause you’re already late for a thing?

Mildly annoyed at your friends for constantly calling you up for rides, since you’re apparently the only one who drives? You don’t mind, honestly, but sometimes it feels like they’re taking you for granted.

bananabuttmuffin: The best road rage I’ve ever seen was this girl screaming out of her car window...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:55:02 -0400

bananabuttmuffin:

The best road rage I’ve ever seen was this girl screaming out of her car window “I hope you don’t fuck like you drive!” I still think about that sometimes.

Timidly, even though you have the right of way?

While singing to yourself, badly?

For long, dreary stretches at a time, most of which you don’t remember afterwards?

With an inescapable, nagging worry that this’ll be the day something breaks down?

heysawbones: hyperbali: so apparently there was more than one shooter at MIT and they hijacked a...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 01:36:02 -0400

heysawbones:

hyperbali:

so apparently there was more than one shooter at MIT and they hijacked a mercedes

the cops tracked them down to Watertown

wherein the shooters proceeded using gunfire, hand grenades and explosives

either these guys had something to do with Boston or there’s something fucked in MA right about now

one shooter’s been caught (apparently got run over), the other is still at large

I sorta idolize MIT so this is

well it would be pretty uncool anyway but I guess it’s double uncool

“Coolness” is funny. I mean, this is pretty archetypical Action Movie Stuff (CAR CHASES! EXPLOSIONS! TERRORIST PLOTS!) but all I can think is “Man, really? This is pretty bullshit and unnecessary and people are getting hurt.”

It is a bit odd to think about HIGH SPEED CAR CHASES through Cambridge, though, which is an area I mostly just associate with being a headache to drive through. Though looking at Google Maps and an address a friend heard while tuning in to the police scanner, maybe they went down Memorial Drive, which I guess is the place to do that if you’re going to.

Hurm.

For Me to Poupon: motherfucking tumblr/missing-e feud HEY HERE IS AN ANSWER POST

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 22:01:00 -0400

For Me to Poupon: motherfucking tumblr/missing-e feud HEY HERE IS AN ANSWER POST:

poupon:

Don’t worry, you’re not a jerk. And, well, I’m… still kind of belgh so I’m making this quick as I can. Ideas might be muddled. Scratch that, ideas WILL be muddled because bhwekgjhagh

Now, this is just ONE reason why I think this might be the case, and I know there are probably a ton of other…

ALTERNATE THEORY:

The objection creators tend to have to fanfiction is that it feels appropriative: it feels like the fan is taking their work and running off with it, turning it into their own thing. (Generally the counterargument is that yes, that’s exactly what they’re doing, and it’s awesome: it means you made an impression in them and inspired them to do stuff!)

However, most of this source material is narrative in nature, as is fanfiction. The fact that fanart isn’t helps avert that sense of appropriation — it’s a different kind of thing done in tribute to the original, rather than an act of taking the original creator’s work and making it your own.

For example, if we think about non-narrative work I can definitely see a creator being bothered by seeing “fanart” of a painting they’ve done, but totally happy to see someone write a short story around the implied narrative of their work. It’s a similar phenomenon: the closer in nature the fanwork is to the source, the weirder it’ll tend to seem.

Is it…wrong that I file “unexplained...

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:48:01 -0400

Is it…wrong that I file “unexplained metamorphosis” under “reasons to roll over and go back to sleep” instead?

I mean, we know how fire works. But maybe the “being a gigantic cockroach” thing will go away if you just let it sit for a bit, and I dunno if I could reasonably fulfill most daily responsibilities with both an inarticulate bug-face and skinny little bug legs anyways.

weareallfromearth: nocbot: le-revenant: pathwalker: raspu...

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 12:19:53 -0400

weareallfromearth:

nocbot:

le-revenant:

pathwalker:

rasputin:

This Blood Lamp doesn’t look that bloody, but the way you turn it on can be considered gruesome. It only works once, and you need to add of a drop of your blood to activate it! The idea is to stop and think about how badly you need light before you use it. Designer Mike Thompson created the lamp in order to draw attention to how much energy we waste.

we can finally power the world with periods

there are two kinds of people

Hmm. It doesn’t look like it’s all that bright, either.

I suppose “I bled for this thing and it only glows in the dark!” is a viable comment on inefficiency, though, but that’s less “I need to think really hard before I turn the lights on,” and more “I need to either get a better friggen lamp or get a big industrial-sized one and start sacrificing animals to it.”

I will admit that my favourite thing about it has nothing to do with environmentalism or periods. I just like it because it clearly belongs in a fantasy novel, but here it is, in reality!

Oh man, yeah. It’s super cool! I am totally in favor of weird globular light sources with idiosyncratic operating methods, this was just eclipsed for a moment by my peeve with half-assed artistic social commentary. >.>

le-revenant: pathwalker: rasputin: This Blood Lamp doesn’t...

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 11:28:13 -0400

le-revenant:

pathwalker:

rasputin:

This Blood Lamp doesn’t look that bloody, but the way you turn it on can be considered gruesome. It only works once, and you need to add of a drop of your blood to activate it! The idea is to stop and think about how badly you need light before you use it. Designer Mike Thompson created the lamp in order to draw attention to how much energy we waste.

we can finally power the world with periods

there are two kinds of people

Hmm. It doesn’t look like it’s all that bright, either.

I suppose “I bled for this thing and it only glows in the dark!” is a viable comment on inefficiency, though, but that’s less “I need to think really hard before I turn the lights on,” and more “I need to either get a better friggen lamp or get a big industrial-sized one and start sacrificing animals to it.”

deirdrerose: Sweet mother of Jesus let this song never...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 23:54:46 -0400

deirdrerose:

Sweet mother of Jesus let this song never end.

Cheesus fuck that was amazing

WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE OH MY GOD

This is the best thing ever. Just hit play. You need to.

I will never escape this song in my lifetime. Oh my God…that was amazing.

At 3 seconds I almost pressed stop.

Then I heard the lyrics. Oh god the lyrics.

Forever reblog

omg this is perfect

THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN I EXPECTED

I CANNOT BE THE ONLY ONE WHO IS SCREAMING SO FUCKING LOUD RIGHT NOW.

Today’s art: another character portrait. Since I...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 23:32:16 -0400

Today’s art: another character portrait. Since I remembered that references are, well, useful, I showed my initial sketch to some folks and asked for suggestions of actors they seemed to resemble. This fellow ended up being William H. Macy, who’s a surprisingly good match once I stick some glasses on him.

“Pencils” and original sketch included for reference.

Based on this photograph.

Getting back on the Art Train. One art per day, even if...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:06:00 -0400

Getting back on the Art Train. One art per day, even if it’s shitty. Especially if it’s shitty. Here’s one and a half.

Experimenting with painting straight-up instead of doing inks and coloring them. Need to work more on modeling. Also wooden puppet-hands.

Also I need a new avatar, so an attempt at a robot head. I’ll decide tomorrow if I want to keep working on this one or try another from scratch.

RE: DOCTOR WHO (spoilers):

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:02:00 -0400

Did anyone else get the impression that The Bells of Saint John had to hurriedly rework its premise halfway through production and ended up with something weird and disjointed?

Like, the WiFi was basically a red herring. The initial pitch was that there were MONSTERS LIVING IN THE WIFI and that if you connected your computer to one of them they would invade and a bunch more would show up and maybe eat you, trapping your soul in the airwaves!

Except that didn’t end up being a thing, the villains just had robots that could hack people and were apparently mobile WiFi hotspots for some reason. People who were uploaded were trapped in a server in a room. And it’s not clear at all why connecting to a robot’s hotspot causes the to target you, since apparently they can hack anyone nearby at any time anyways?

Which makes for a perfectly reasonable Doctor Who villain, especially given the revelation at the end regarding the Great Intelligence’s M.O…but has essentially nothing to do with the initial premise, which makes me wonder if they had to switch gears halfway through or mash two different episodes into one or something. As usual there are lots of little things to quibble about and (some little moments that are actually pretty neat) but those are easily filed under Doctor Who Being Doctor Who, while this seems odd from a broader, narrative perspective.