Fern: The Most Dangerous VPN of All Time [21m].

Lies I Tell Myself Part XVIII.

I go to a discount grocery store commonly known as “Grossout.” It is somewhat like a slot machine. The items vary from day to day. Sometimes, there is nothing you need/want. Sometimes, there is a lot. On those days, if there are multiple desired snack items, I say to myself, well, I can buy this big tub of local coffee ice cream, and these hatch chili tortilla chips, and that will last me two days each sequentially ... a total of four days of snacking.

What actually happens is that if I buy n snack items, I will no longer have any snacks within 24 hours, for any value of n.

I have been keeping up this charade for decades now. I’m a professional. Is charade italicized? Charade.

[SFX: Fire engine] Shut UP out there I’m doing important works!

Work:

Folding Ideas: Why was I invited to Beast Studios? [1h18m].

Mr. Beast Inc. actually did the exact right thing but they’ll never apply the lessons in the video, because they can’t. They’re stuck in their bizarro artless anti-intellectual anti-labor spend more big numbers death loop. This isn’t about any of the controversies (they’re briefly touched upon), this is the core of the phenom. Line goes down, apparently eight year olds are a fickle bunch and word on the street is that AI slop is giving them the dopa hit better than BeastTV. The anti-intellectual thing is straight from Donaldson’s mouth in at least one interview, it explains a lot.

The other day I received an email from a well-known, immense financial service. “Hey, how’s about a little feedback on your recent merchant blah-blah blah.” I checked the header, everything looks legit. I have never merchanted with this multinational money thing. That was a fun puzzle I will never solve, I thought as I deleted and super-trashed the message. Perhaps someone has my identity. Better them than me, really. The only spam I’ve been getting lately is from a computer “algorithm” masquerading as a person who has apparently hacked my “cam” and knows what I’ve been doing (perversions). I don’t have the heart to tell them I don’t own a camera, which makes for dad-joke fun times during video meetings with my dysfunctional art collective: “No one said anything about my new glasses”

Somewhat relatedly, The Pez Outlaw documentary is now available on Kanopy, which is free if you have a USA library card. There was a bit wherein I knew what was going to happen, roughly, before the decision was made, and I was all “NOOOOO DONNNNNN’T” like that. I have one-half of a toe dipped in the same Eastern European candy manufacturing world for different reasons right now, but my reaction was more about red-flagging the somewhat-familiar Upping The Ante personality quirk.

Someone yelled “nice bike” at me while I was riding the e-bike, which is the first time. I don’t think much of any e-bike design, much less the one I own. 99% of them look clunky/dorky. Took me awhile to process the yell, by the time I figured it out I was out of earshot range. “Norse bite?” “Nurse night?”

E-bike wise I think Bike 43 Long (“up to 4 kids”) is eye-catchy but nothing comes close to bikes like these. I mean specifically the omafiets “grandma bicycle” “step-through” type, you know, like the one I have. Not enamored of the nut bar. “Butt it makes it more stable” Lacking the nut bar, thousands of omafiets are constantly falling apart all over Amsterdam. Free bicycle parts strewn all over the streets. Woo what a dilemma. “Yeah apparently it’s time to go off on the nut bar again, this is the stuff I come back for, it’s like a hearty meal”

DKMD ‒ I’m Watching You [6m31s].

Not Just Bikes: Every Reason to Hate Cars [48min].

In unrelated news, I was going to post an image I ran into today. It was for a “Girl Action Dynamic Pose References” for artists. 303 illustrations of women. But ... it was all AI. Yes, artists of the future, learn how to draw in the bullshit slop bucket AI way. Finally now you can replace the machines replacing you with creepy garbage.

Decided against posting it, I know some people have sensitive stomachs.

Anyway, someone thought this would be a good idea. They probably spent more time making the graphic for the “References” than they did really concentrating and coming up with good AI prompts.

Here’s an AI prompt you can type in if you are interested in generating AI art. “How do I kick myself in the junk.”

Arc Raiders is not pinball. A semi-thorough examination of problems currently plaguing the popular computer video game.

ShawnGrows: How Oranges Became Orange [1m].

Was mulling on opening up the Arc Raiders can o’ WTF worms but then remembered I still had another deeeeep-think piece about Watch Dogs: Legion sitting around. I mean, the thing still has hundreds of daily players so this might reach one or two of them.

The Chemist and Druggist July 31, 1897.

Mixed Signals: How a joke sound defined 90s rave [12min].

Documentary Central: A Tuba To Cuba [2019; 1h23m].

Amazing travelogue of Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s trip to Cuba to explore their musical roots. Beautifully shot/composed.

There was a brief clip of Mr. Okra, who passed away in 2018 RIP.

I was down in New Orleans 2008 and Mr. Okra drove by:

ProcessX: Process of making hiking boots. Handmade shoes made by Japanese craftsmen [24min].

Entrancing. Yes, that is correct, I posted a makin’ hikin’ boots video in 2022. This one is a different one. There are two now. They are friends.

Gamers Nexus: Discord’s Disturbing Ties to Global Surveillance ‒ ID Verification, Palantir, & Thiel [38min].

Captain Pikant BLUE MONDAY ‒ Analyzing the MOST BRUTAL BEAT of the 1980s ‒ Drum Patterns Explained [12min; via Jon].

About Here and HUB Cycling: The Bike Share Dilemma [18min].

Strong Towns: The sign you’re looking for is in Philly [1min].

Not Just Bikes: Why I don’t use Google Maps in Amsterdam [25min].

Technology Connections: You are being misled about renewable energy technology [1hr31min].