Fogbow

I watched the first episode. I didn't find the inclusions of Blacks or women to be problematic. It was unnoticeable and organic, I guess unless you are looking for it from an exclusively white point of view. One more reason to dislike Musk.

Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 @RonFilipkowski wrote: Having read most of what he wrote, and two biographies on his life, I can say with some degree of certainty that Tolkien hated industrialization and wealthy business magnates more than anything except war. Which means he would dislike Musk more than a female lead and a black elf.

If so, he's in good company (Shakespeare, Aeschylus, Mozart...Doctor Who). Hell, I directed two plays with the male and female roles reversed.

And what about the nine out of ten revivals that feature y'know, black actors/singers in roles that were originally white? Are those playwrights also rolling in their graves?

Tolkien found me on my fifteenth birthday. Back in those dark ages, there wasn't an endless stream of information and literary criticism to hand. But I read what I could find, and distinctly remember someone's essay on Tolkien and his not particularly intricate symbolism: white was good, black was bad; the Corsairs of Umbar and the orcs had black skin, ergo (concluded the writer) Tolkien was racist (followed a story of how JRR was raised in India by black servants, which is where he no doubt* learned his racism. I thought that was rather a leap then, and I think so now--but I don't give a rat's ass.

Coincidentally, I heard a Christian Nationalist on the XM radio this morning, who was preacher-splaining how to read the bible to someone who had a different take: "You don't read into the Bible," quoth she, "you read out from the Bible."

Yeah, no. In fact, you can read into and out from any work of fiction--that's the whole point: you bring your own experiences and let them interact with the story on the page, whilst the story on the page is flooding into your pot of experience.

Racism and sexism pop up everywhere, don't they. Or, to quote what's her name's epic scoff on the topic: "Everyone knows Santa is white. He just is."

My heart will be glad, even in the winter.

I read the Hobbit so long ago I don't remember anything. I never read the rest (or don't remember). I've been following this conversation on Twitter and am gobsmacked that this is what people are upset about. Fantasy fans without imagination but with a lot of butt hurt over nothing.

pipistrelle wrote: ↑Wed Sep 07, 2022 7:26 am I read the Hobbit so long ago I don't remember anything. I never read the rest (or don't remember). I've been following this conversation on Twitter and am gobsmacked that this is what people are upset about. Fantasy fans without imagination but with a lot of butt hurt over nothing.

It's fairy tale elves that live thousands of years, hobbits, orcs and ogres, and they get all bent about a Black dude and a woman being in there as unrealistic.

My mother told me when I was 8, "If you can't say anything nice about anyone, don't say anything at all."

I took this bit of advice seriously. So I read lots of books and decided I could safely talk about the characters in books (don't get me started on Ulysses or Ashley Wilkes - both of them weak, selfish men).

So now we debate the characters in Tolkien's books. Some people want their books' characters exactly as written, others don't. My favorite book, A Wrinkle in Time, had in my mind a white lead female. The movie didn't, BUT the movie worked in today's culture. I met Madeleine L'Engle in a writing workshop which she led. I think she would like the movie.

raison de arizona wrote: ↑Wed Sep 07, 2022 1:12 pm

pipistrelle wrote: ↑Wed Sep 07, 2022 7:26 am I read the Hobbit so long ago I don't remember anything. I never read the rest (or don't remember). I've been following this conversation on Twitter and am gobsmacked that this is what people are upset about. Fantasy fans without imagination but with a lot of butt hurt over nothing.

It's fairy tale elves that live thousands of years, hobbits, orcs and ogres, and they get all bent about a Black dude and a woman being in there as unrealistic.

Exactly. Hilarious, sad and pathetic simultaneously.

Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: ↑Wed Sep 07, 2022 1:29 pm My mother told me when I was 8, "If you can't say anything nice about anyone, don't say anything at all."

My mother told me the same thing...the difference...

It didn't take hold with me...especially when it come to me calling out hatefully scumbags...

My mother taught a similar truth a bit differently.

She said, "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones".

I've never lived in a glass house, and I have tried to avoid even metaphorical ones. In general, I feel fairly comfortable when I see a useful point to be made by throwing stones.

Thankfully that situation arises very seldom indeed.

Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: ↑Wed Sep 07, 2022 1:29 pm So now we debate the characters in Tolkien's books. Some people want their books' characters exactly as written, others don't. My favorite book, A Wrinkle in Time, had in my mind a white lead female. The movie didn't, BUT the movie worked in today's culture. I met Madeleine L'Engle in a writing workshop which she led. I think she would like the movie.

I never understood the 'the movie must be exactly how I pictured the book!' crowd. I've already read the book, I wanna see what someone new does with the story!

RTH10260 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 07, 2022 1:31 pm

THE JERK!

What about STUDEBAKER????

neeneko wrote: ↑Thu Sep 08, 2022 7:44 am

Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: ↑Wed Sep 07, 2022 1:29 pm So now we debate the characters in Tolkien's books. Some people want their books' characters exactly as written, others don't. My favorite book, A Wrinkle in Time, had in my mind a white lead female. The movie didn't, BUT the movie worked in today's culture. I met Madeleine L'Engle in a writing workshop which she led. I think she would like the movie.

I never understood the 'the movie must be exactly how I pictured the book!' crowd. I've already read the book, I wanna see what someone new does with the story!

I think this is more the racist crowd.

feature not bug, keep your hands inside the vehicle

Tesla recalls nearly 1.1m vehicles in US over windows pinching fingers
Company says in documents that the automatic window reversal system may not react correctly after detecting an obstruction

Associated Press
Thu 22 Sep 2022 14.58 BST

Tesla is recalling nearly 1.1m vehicles in the US because the windows can pinch a person’s fingers when being rolled up.

Tesla says in documents posted on Thursday by US safety regulators that the automatic window reversal system may not react correctly after detecting an obstruction.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that is a violation of federal safety standards for power windows. An online software update will fix the problem, Tesla says.

The recall covers certain 2017 to 2022 Model 3 sedans and some 2020 and 2021 Model Y SUVs. Also included are some Model S sedans and Model X SUVs from 2021 and 2022.

Tesla discovered the problem during production testing in August. Owners will be notified by letter starting 15 November. The company says in documents that vehicles in production got the update starting 13 September.

Tesla was not aware of any warranty claims or injuries due to the problem as of 16 September, according to the documents.




https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... ng-fingers

wow, that's amazingly stupid.

would not be surprised if that car ends up with dozens of electrical gremlins due to submerged electrical connectors eventually corroding... and probably a few bearing failures as well..

Elon Musk unveils humanoid ‘Optimus’ robot at Tesla’s AI Day
Prototype walks onstage and waves at event as company looks to future beyond vehicles

Reuters
Sat 1 Oct 2022 03.24 BST

Tesla CEO Elon Musk showcased his much-touted humanoid robot “Optimus” at the electric vehicle maker’s “AI Day” event on Friday.

The billionaire has said a robot business will be worth more than its cars, hoping to expand beyond self-driving vehicles that have not yet become a reality despite his repeated promises.

A prototype of the robot walked on stage and waved to the seated audience. A video of the robot carrying a box, watering plants and moving metal bars in the automaker’s factory was shown.



https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... usk-ai-day

Elon is not an innovator in this area. Many companies around the world working on such have better prototypes.

Elon's machine is rather static...

some dance moves perhaps?

Thanks. Boston Dynamics. That is the company I was trying to recall.

Elon's bot doesn't have the moves. LOL

neonzx wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:49 am Elon is not an innovator in this area. Many companies around the world working on such have better prototypes.

Elon is waaaay behind the ball on this stuff.

Though maybe if he came up with a realistic robot that caters to the desires of his fanboys..

Musk should concentrate on his core business and stop saying stupid shit about things he has no clue about. IMO.

Or maybe he does have a clue and is just siding with Putin. Which would be worse.

WTAF does "Ukraine remains neutral" mean?

Elon is on the good stuff.

tek wrote: ↑Mon Oct 03, 2022 4:33 pm WTAF does "Ukraine remains neutral" mean?

No NATO.