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When the lights go down on the Internet…

producermatthew:

The following websites have made plans to go dark in protest of the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) on Wednesday, Jan. 18:

  • Wikipedia
  • Reddit
  • BoingBoing
  • WordPress (.com websites)
  • Twitpic (Twitter photos)
  • MoveOn
  • The Cheezburger Network
  • Mozilla

Google, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr have vocally stood in opposition to SOPA and PIPA, but have not announced intentions to take part in Wednesday’s online blackout. [CBS News] (h/t soupsoup)

(via playanon)

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This post has 28 notes
Tagged with stop SOPA, stop PIPA, Internet blackout,
Posted at 9:42 PM 17 January 2012

A totally outdated review on reviewing things

I wrote this years ago, right when I was about to quit Yelp. It’s funny how it has become relevant to me recently, so that’s why I’m posting it.

If there is one thing that Yelp has taught me, it is that everything sucks, and everything is great, and everything is predictably mediocre, all simultaneously.

Let me explain where this is coming from. It is 11:11pm on Wednesday December 3, 2008, and the famed Annual Yelp Holiday Party is just letting out. Right now there are literally thousands of amateur critics trying to figure out why, exactly, they’re headed the wrong way on the Golden Gate Bridge and if they’ve actually properly called out sick to work tomorrow.

I did not attend this party, mostly because at the last minute I was struck by my good friend Woe and decided that 2000 people in a science-minded venue might not be the best solution. But after receiving post-party texts about how much it kinda sucked, I really wanted to write about it! Which, as we all know, is not the right thing to do - one does not review things that one has not experienced.

But really, these texts. Of course the party sucked. Do you know how hard it is to please that amount of people? There is no freaking WAY that there would ever, ever be enough booze, food, or fucking AIR for 2000 people. Not possible. And yet, I’m sure some people had a really good time. They must’ve…right?

Enough about this fabled party. To Yelp in general. Yelp really worked out for me when I had a desk job and I was moderately new to the city and could try all the new things and write & write & write. It’s pretty easy, then, if you have a “cushy” desk job (sciatica notwithstanding) and shitloads of cash and annoying coworkers and paramours with which you can go to new places, eat new cuisines. And then you get to “Yelp” about it, which is essentially talk therapy, but a really hip & almost-but-not-quite trendy way of doing it and it’s totally gratifying and holy-crap-someone-thinks-I’m-

funny-& -this- Yelp-shit-is-really-addictive. [Great]

But what ends when the symbols shatter? I now work a very busy job in a hospital, with no desk nor time for these virulent reviews. And what with the economy and all (had to stick it in somewhere), I’m frequenting the same goddamned places I always have. No new experiences, just day-to-day survival. Thus, my opinions and the opinions of other people like me are unavailable for solicitation, undocumented. There is a huge, huge, HUGE portion of the population whose opinion does not, entirely, count. These are the second-class Yelpers. (And we all shudder to think of non-Yelpers, no?)You can even watch as my relevance as a Yelper fades because I am unable to write as much as possible. (Still, it doesn’t really matter! The coveted Elite status has been bestowed upon me for the last two years, and I didn’t even make any new friends at LAST year’s holiday party! Doubleyou-Tee-Eff!) [Sucks]

Nevertheless, then there’s the “valuable tool” argument. Despite picking me up just to throw me back down, I still check Yelp when I’m looking for, say, something EVERYONE else seems to have done except me. Like get my car window replaced or go to a cafe where I know no one will know me or even recognize me because it’s not in a neighborhood where people know me or will recognize me. And I judge these things by judging that certain reviewers are Not Me or Kindasorta Like Me. Yelp pops up unexpectedly when you search for the silliest of things. So while the varying opinions of a bunch of whack jobs might not seem very helpful, you know that there will not be anyone Like You (great), and you wouldn’t even consider those who are Not You (suck), you will probably manage to find reviewers that are Kindasorta Like You, trust them, and patronize whatever establishment they rate 5 stars. Really useful, see? [predictable]

Many layers, this onion. Do you see? Everything is ok! It also sucks and is great!
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Tagged with YELP, i quit, old writing,
Posted at 10:04 PM 08 January 2012
stfuconservatives: radioinactivity: kiddblink: le-me-in-a-hat: Real http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/12/31/396018/breaking-obama-signs-defense-authorization-bill/ TL;DR The President’s opponents played the electorate like a fiddle and will get away with it because people don’t seem to realize they’ve been tricked into being angry at the wrong person. He signed it because if he didn’t, defense spending including benefits to veterans and their families would not have been authorized. The sections of NDAA that many people here seem to have a problem with are sections that were added into the document by primarily Republican legislators and which the President adamantly opposes but was powerless to stop. I’ll repeat that: the parts of this bill that many people here hate were included against the President’s wishes and in a way that he is powerless to stop. The only way he could have stopped these sections from being included would have been to try to veto the bill in its entirety, a move that would have been both political suicide as well as being futile, as Congress would simply have overridden him. He is explicit in his opposition to exactly the parts of the bill everyone here hates, going so far as to detail exactly which sections he opposes and why. You’ll notice that the bill also restricts his ability to close Guantanamo Bay; this isn’t coincidence. These sections are openly hostile to the President’s stated mandate - they are effectively a giant ‘fuck you’ to the President, as well as a nasty way of eroding the President’s support with his own base. Observe: Draft legislation that is almost guaranteed to piss of the President but more importantly piss of his base. Attach said legislation to another piece of larger, more important legislation like, say, the Defense Spending budget for the entire year so that any attempt to dislodge the offensive legislation will result in a political shitstorm, as well as place the larger legislation in jeopardy. Once attached, begin a PR campaign that highlights the offending legislation and brings it to the attention of as many media outlets as possible - not just the traditional media, but alternative media outlets as well (Fox news, MSNBC, Media Matters, Huff-Po, Infowars, etc.) Here’s where it gets tricky: Simultaneously, speak to both your party’s base and the opposition’s. To your base, argue that the legislation is necessary to ‘Keep America safe’ and that the President, by opposing it, is clearly soft of terrorism and endangering the military by trying to strip the legislation out. At the same time, sit back and watch your opponent’s liberal supporters tear into the offending legislation as being dangerous, anti-democratic, and a threat to civil liberties. You know they will; that’s what they care about most. You’ve designed legislation that will make them froth at the mouth. You don’t even have to keep flogging the message; one look at the legislation will be enough to convince most people that it is anathema to everything they hold dear. Because it is. Pass the ‘parent’ legislation. Doing so forces the President to sign it or attempt to veto it. Since the legislation in question just so happens to be the military’s operating budget, a veto is out of the question. The President must sign the bill, you get the legislation you wanted, but you also practically guarantee that your opponent’s base will be furious at him for passing a bill they see as evil. Even if he tries to explain in detail why he had to sign it and what he hates about it, it won’t matter; ignorance of the American political process, coupled with an almost militant indifference to subtle explanations will almost ensure that most people will only remember that the President passed a bill they hate. Profit. you get the legislation you want, while the President has to contend with a furious base that feels he betrayed them - even though he agrees with their position but simply lacked the legislative tools to stop this from happening. It’s a classic piece of misdirection that needs only two things to work: A lack of principles (or a partisan ideology that is willing to say anything - do anything - to win), and an electorate that is easy to fool. This is pretty basic political maneuvering and the biggest problem is that it almost always works because most people either don’t know or don’t care how their political system actually functions. The President was saddled with a lose-lose situation where he either seriously harmed American defense policy (political suicide), or passed offensive legislation knowing that it would cost him political capital. To all of you here lamenting that you ever voted for this ‘corporate shill’, congratulations: you are the result the Republicans were hoping for. They get the law they want, they get the weakened Presidential candidate they want. And many of you just don’t seem to see that. You don’t have to like your country’s two-party system, but it pays to be able to understand it so that you can recognize when it’s being used like this.  EDIT: thanks to Reddit user Mauve_Cubedweller for this post Agreed, that’s the thing with this whole bill, it’s way more complicated than what the alarmists are making it out to be. The NDAA is not a singular “indefinite detainment” bill, that single article is a huge thing that the Republicans got in to put the President’s back against the wall and ensure that he could never close Guantanamo (which is its own fuck off lose-lose situation). It’s just one of those shitty things where you ask yourself what you would do? No answer you give is free from fucking over lots and lots of people. -Joe

stfuconservatives:

radioinactivity:

kiddblink:

le-me-in-a-hat:

Real

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/12/31/396018/breaking-obama-signs-defense-authorization-bill/

TL;DR The President’s opponents played the electorate like a fiddle and will get away with it because people don’t seem to realize they’ve been tricked into being angry at the wrong person.

He signed it because if he didn’t, defense spending including benefits to veterans and their families would not have been authorized. The sections of NDAA that many people here seem to have a problem with are sections that were added into the document by primarily Republican legislators and which the President adamantly opposes but was powerless to stop. I’ll repeat that: the parts of this bill that many people here hate were included against the President’s wishes and in a way that he is powerless to stop. The only way he could have stopped these sections from being included would have been to try to veto the bill in its entirety, a move that would have been both political suicide as well as being futile, as Congress would simply have overridden him. He is explicit in his opposition to exactly the parts of the bill everyone here hates, going so far as to detail exactly which sections he opposes and why.

You’ll notice that the bill also restricts his ability to close Guantanamo Bay; this isn’t coincidence. These sections are openly hostile to the President’s stated mandate - they are effectively a giant ‘fuck you’ to the President, as well as a nasty way of eroding the President’s support with his own base. Observe:

  1. Draft legislation that is almost guaranteed to piss of the President but more importantly piss of his base.

  2. Attach said legislation to another piece of larger, more important legislation like, say, the Defense Spending budget for the entire year so that any attempt to dislodge the offensive legislation will result in a political shitstorm, as well as place the larger legislation in jeopardy.

  3. Once attached, begin a PR campaign that highlights the offending legislation and brings it to the attention of as many media outlets as possible - not just the traditional media, but alternative media outlets as well (Fox news, MSNBC, Media Matters, Huff-Po, Infowars, etc.)

  4. Here’s where it gets tricky: Simultaneously, speak to both your party’s base and the opposition’s. To your base, argue that the legislation is necessary to ‘Keep America safe’ and that the President, by opposing it, is clearly soft of terrorism and endangering the military by trying to strip the legislation out. At the same time, sit back and watch your opponent’s liberal supporters tear into the offending legislation as being dangerous, anti-democratic, and a threat to civil liberties. You know they will; that’s what they care about most. You’ve designed legislation that will make them froth at the mouth. You don’t even have to keep flogging the message; one look at the legislation will be enough to convince most people that it is anathema to everything they hold dear. Because it is.

  5. Pass the ‘parent’ legislation. Doing so forces the President to sign it or attempt to veto it. Since the legislation in question just so happens to be the military’s operating budget, a veto is out of the question. The President must sign the bill, you get the legislation you wanted, but you also practically guarantee that your opponent’s base will be furious at him for passing a bill they see as evil. Even if he tries to explain in detail why he had to sign it and what he hates about it, it won’t matter; ignorance of the American political process, coupled with an almost militant indifference to subtle explanations will almost ensure that most people will only remember that the President passed a bill they hate.

  6. Profit. you get the legislation you want, while the President has to contend with a furious base that feels he betrayed them - even though he agrees with their position but simply lacked the legislative tools to stop this from happening. It’s a classic piece of misdirection that needs only two things to work: A lack of principles (or a partisan ideology that is willing to say anything - do anything - to win), and an electorate that is easy to fool.

This is pretty basic political maneuvering and the biggest problem is that it almost always works because most people either don’t know or don’t care how their political system actually functions. The President was saddled with a lose-lose situation where he either seriously harmed American defense policy (political suicide), or passed offensive legislation knowing that it would cost him political capital. To all of you here lamenting that you ever voted for this ‘corporate shill’, congratulations: you are the result the Republicans were hoping for. They get the law they want, they get the weakened Presidential candidate they want. And many of you just don’t seem to see that. You don’t have to like your country’s two-party system, but it pays to be able to understand it so that you can recognize when it’s being used like this. 

EDIT: thanks to Reddit user Mauve_Cubedweller for this post

Agreed, that’s the thing with this whole bill, it’s way more complicated than what the alarmists are making it out to be. The NDAA is not a singular “indefinite detainment” bill, that single article is a huge thing that the Republicans got in to put the President’s back against the wall and ensure that he could never close Guantanamo (which is its own fuck off lose-lose situation).

It’s just one of those shitty things where you ask yourself what you would do? No answer you give is free from fucking over lots and lots of people.

-Joe

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Tagged with icymi, reblogged,
Posted at 7:55 PM 01 January 2012
My idol in Lego. stuffbyberry: Lego Freddie Mercury is pretty great.

My idol in Lego.

stuffbyberry:

Lego Freddie Mercury is pretty great.

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This post has 24,134 notes
Tagged with queen, legos, freddie mercury,
Posted at 7:52 AM 24 November 2011
on Twitter, posted by @politicoroger

on Twitter, posted by @politicoroger

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Tagged with ows, uc davis,
Posted at 8:36 AM 22 November 2011

David Frum on the GOP's Lost Sense of Reality →

David Frum, lifelong Republican, shares his current reservations with the party he has identified with for years. A must read!

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Tagged with article, politics,
Posted at 1:23 AM 21 November 2011

crosscrowdedrooms:

Retired Philadelphia Police Captain, Ray Lewis, being arrested on November 17th, 2011 at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York City.

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Tagged with reblogged, tweetthepress, censorship, ows,
Posted at 9:29 PM 18 November 2011

A unintended side effect occurred while we were trying to sedate ourselves with these toys and tools. We became addicted to information, and we realized that we’re not alone.

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Posted at 4:09 AM 14 November 2011
I have this conversation a lot. comicallyvintage: Adulthood - can you wait?

I have this conversation a lot.

comicallyvintage:

Adulthood - can you wait?

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This post has 833 notes
Tagged with reblogged,
Posted at 1:53 AM 06 November 2011

Occupy Oakland’s November 2nd B.S.

Yesterday was the “General Strike” in the city of Oakland, which was called for by the Occupy Oakland movement in order to show the 99%’s power and shut down the city.

OPD chief estimates that the crowd was about 7,000 people at its height, while other reports say about 10,000. Regardless of the actual number, it was a shitload of people. I mean, look at this crowd heading towards the Port of Oakland! (picture via Think Progress). Amazing.

While my beloved Whole Foods (I’m not a 1%er, I just like organic avocados…(a lot of pesticides are fat-soluble, so organic is the way to go)) and a few banks were vandalized a bit, the General Strike and its concurrent marches garnered a lot of support from residents and indie media. I headed downtown after work for the celebrations. A lot of reggae and dancing, mostly young people. In fact, it reminded me a lot of college! Ahhh, nostalgia.

The funny thing is that although I felt a familiar sense of activism permeating the air, I felt left out. I didn’t have a sign, and maybe I looked too clean, but no one was approaching me. I made eye contact with one person in Black Bloc, but as far as humanity goes, I didn’t feel welcomed. I felt like the unpopular kid at school, or maybe that I missed out on some huge bonding retreat that everyone else experienced.

A huge banner saying “REVOLT” was unveiled, and certain people in the intersection were handing out fliers. No one gave me one; I was passed over by every single person. Intrigued, I had to ask, and once I got it, it announced a reclaiming of a foreclosed building that formerly provided services for the homeless.

I know that the General Assembly had previously voted to “occupy” foreclosed buildings. I made a joke on Twitter once I heard that:

It cost me a few followers, I admit. I know that Occupy has to strike while the iron’s hot and take the next step, but really - this sounded like a terrible idea!

So this splinter cell of the movement, handing out fliers to select people, decided to take over 520 16th Street. Here’s why. (Scroll up for the statement, down for comments.)

What really bothered me about last night was how there were so many people just BLINDLY following this group, without asking many questions. Fliers in hand, I suppose they had as much information as they needed. But that kind of blind trust is dangerous…dare I say it got us into this shitty economic situation in the first place. 

Mostly, though, was the stupidity of it all. Ok, sure, reclaim a building. It probably would have worked better had you done it during the day when 6000+ people had your backs. It may have worked out better had you not SET FIRE to an unnecessary barricade that was built between yourselves and the cops. (When there are flames 15 feet high, that’s a safety issue, and cops can certainly pretend that’s why they’re there, even if it’s not.) Hell, it may have ever worked if you freakin’ asked for it, since the city is scared shitless of the movement anyways - Occupy did, after all, shut down the 5th largest port in the country.

If we are demanding accountability of our lawmakers and anyone else who pulls the strings, we have to hold ourselves accountable. Jon Stewart says “peer pressure.” I say don’t be a douchebag; be the change you wish to see in the world. We have to take off the masks and bandanas, and fight with courage, not vandalism. Use our words and gain trust of the people. It’s not the easiest way, but it’s the better way to make sure we don’t end up a situation that calls for an Occupy movement in the distant future.

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Tagged with occupy, ows, occupy oakland,
Posted at 8:30 AM 04 November 2011