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breelandwalker · 8 months

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PODCAST RECS - Debunking and Fact-Checking for Witches & Witchcraft Spaces

A collection of podcast episodes fact-checking, debunking, or just providing some clarity on modern myths, misinformation, and conspiracy theories that are frequent flyers in witchcraft and pagan spaces, both theories mistakenly touted by community members and some of the utter drivel spouted by non-witches that still affects us today. Check out these shows on your favorite podcast app!

(Updates to be made whenever I find new content. There will be some crossover with my Witches In History Podcast Recs post and some of the content will be heavy. Blanket trigger warning for violence, abuse, bigotry, sexism, antisemitism, and mistreatment of women, queer people, and children.)

[Last Updated: Dec 29, 2023]

This post is broken into three basic sections:

Historical Misinformation

Modern Myths and the People Who Create Them

Conspiracy Theories and Moral Panics

List of Cited Podcasts, in alphabetical order

American Hysteria

BS-Free Witchcraft

Dig: A History Podcast

Hex Positive

Historical Blindness

History Uncovered

Occultae Veritatis

Our Curious Past

Ridiculous History

Stuff You Missed In History Class

The History of Witchcraft

Unobscured

You’re Wrong About…

Historical Misinformation

General History of Witchcraft

Historical Blindness - A Rediscovery of Witches, Pt 1 & 2 Oct 13, 2020 & Oct. 27, 2020 A discussion of the early modern witch craze and the myths, misconceptions, and theories about witches spread by academics. Topics of discussion include the works of Margaret Murray and Charles Leland, the founding of Wicca, the emergence of the midwife-witch myth, and folk healers as targets of witchcraft accusations. Sarah Handley-Cousins of “Dig: A History Podcast” supplies guest material for both episodes.

Hex Positive, Ep. 36 - Margaret Effing Murray with Trae Dorn July 1, 2023 Margaret Murray was a celebrated author, historian, folklorist, Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, first-wave feminist, and the first woman to be appointed to the position of lecturer in archaeology in the UK. So why so we get so annoyed whenever her name is mentioned in conversations about witchcraft? Well, it all has to do with a book Margaret wrote back in 1921...which just so happened to go on to have a profound influence on the roots of the modern witchcraft movement.

Nerd & Tie senpai and host of BS-Free Witchcraft Trae Dorn joins Bree NicGarran in the virtual studio to discuss the thoroughly-discredited witch-cult hypothesis, Murray's various writings and accomplishments, and why modern paganism might not have caught on so strongly without her.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep 03: The History of Wicca October 06, 2018 On this episode, Trae digs deep into the history of Wicca, and tries to give the most accurate history of the religion as they can. I mean, yeah, we know this is a general Witchcraft podcast, but Wicca is the most widely practiced form of Witchcraft in the US, UK, Canada and Australia… so how it got started is kind of important for the modern Witchcraft movement. (And trust me, there aren’t any pulled punches here.)

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 28: The Burning Times May 30, 2020 On this installment of the podcast, we tackle probably one of the more controversial topics in the modern witchcraft movement: The Burning Times. What were the actual “Burning Times,” where do we get that phrase from, and what really happened? Also, how has this phrase been used in modern witchcraft? It’s a heavy one, folks.

Dig: A History Podcast - Both Man and Witch: Uncovering the Invisible History of Male Witches Sept 13, 2020 Since at least the 1970s, academic histories of witches and witchcraft have enjoyed a rare level of visibility in popular culture. Feminist, literary, and historical scholarship about witches has shaped popular culture to such a degree that the discipline has become more about unlearning everything we thought we knew about witches. Though historians have continued to investigate and re-interpret witch history, the general public remains fixated on the compelling, feminist narrative of the vulnerable women hanged and burned at the stake for upsetting the patriarchy. While this part of the story can be true, especially in certain contexts, it’s only part of the story, and frankly, not even the most interesting part. Today, we tackle male witches in early modern Eurasia and North America!

Dig: A History Podcast - Doctor, Healer, Midwife, Witch: How the the Women’s Health Movement Created the Myth of the Midwife-Witch Sept 6, 2020 In 1973, two professors active in the women’s health movement wrote a pamphlet for women to read in the consciousness-raising reading groups. The pamphlet, inspired by Our Bodies, Ourselves, looked to history to explain how women had been marginalized in their own healthcare. Women used to be an important part of the medical profession as midwives, they argued — but the midwives were forced out of practice because they were so often considered witches and persecuted by the patriarchy in the form of the Catholic Church. The idea that midwives were regularly accused of witchcraft seemed so obvious that it quickly became taken as fact. There was only one problem: it wasn’t true. In this episode, we follow the convoluted origin story of the myth of the midwife-witch.

Dig: A History Podcast - Cheesecloth, Spiritualism, and State Secrets: Helen Duncan’s Famous Witchcraft Trial July 3, 2022 Helen Duncan was charged under the 1735 Witchcraft Act, but her case was no eighteenth-century sensation: she was arrested, charged, and ultimately imprisoned in 1944. Of course, in 1944, Britain was at war, fighting fascism by day on the continent and hiding in air raid shelters by night at home. The spectacle of a Spiritualist medium on trial for witchcraft seemed out of place. What possessed the Home Secretary to allow this trial to make headlines all across the UK in 1944? That’s what we’re here to find out.

The Conspirators, Ep. 63 - The Last Witch Trial Nov. 26, 2017 England’s official laws regarding the prosecution of witches dates back to the 1600s. Those very same laws would also remain on the books until well into the 20th century. In 1944, a psychic medium named Helen Duncan would gain notoriety by becoming the last woman to be tried under England’s witchcraft laws.

The History of Witchcraft Podcast, hosted by Samuel Hume Witches didn’t exist, and yet thousands of people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Why? The belief in magic and witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture; this podcast looks at how people explained the inexplicable, turned random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and how desperate communities took revenge against the suspected perpetrators.

Unobscured, Season One - The Salem Witch Trials Welcome to Salem, Massachusetts. It’s 1692. And all hell is about to break loose.

Unobscured is a deep-dive history podcast from the labs of How Stuff Works, featuring the writing and narrative talents of Aaron Mahnke, horror novelist and the mind behind Lore and Cabinet of Curiosities.

As with his other series, Mahnke approaches the events in Salem armed with a mountain of research. Interviews with prominent historians add depth and documentation to each episode. And it’s not just the trials you’ll learn about; it’s the stories of the people, places, attitudes, and conflicts that led to the deaths of more than twenty innocent people.

Each week, a new aspect of the story is explored, gradually weaving events and personalities together in chronological order to create a perspective of the trials that is both expansive and intimate. From Bridget Bishop to Cotton Mather, from Andover to Salem Town, Mahkne digs deep to uncover the truth behind the most notorious witch trials in American history.

Think you know the story of Salem? Think again.

Witchcraft Practices

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 43 - “Lilith” Jan. 29, 2022 Host Trae Dorn discusses the ongoing debate over whether or not it’s okay for non-Jewish witches to incorporate Lilith into their practices. Is Lilith closed? Is it cultural appropriation? There’s so much misinformation in New Age and poorly written witchcraft books on Lilith, it’s hard for some witches to get a clear picture. It’s common to run into folks on social media talking about Lilith as a “Goddess,” which she very much isn’t. Let’s dive into the origins of the folklore surrounding this figure, and we’ll let you decide whether or not it’s okay to work with Lilith. But, uh, spoiler – we don’t think you should.

Historical Blindness, Ep. 106 - Lilith, the Phantom Maiden November 22, 2022 Host Nathaniel Lloyd explores the evolution of the figure of Lilith, from Mesopotamian demon, to the first woman created by God, and back to a succubus mother of demons. It’s a tale of syncretism, superstition, forgery, and a dubious interpretation of scriptures.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 55 - Lucky Girl Syndrome and the Law of Attraction January 28, 2023 Trae takes a look at one of New Age spirituality’s most toxic philosophies - The Law of Attraction. The history of the idea is discussed, where it came from, and how this dangerous combination of prosperity gospel, purity culture, and victim-blaming has come back in a major way to a whole new generation as “Lucky Girl Syndrome.”

Hex Positive, Ep. 19 - The Trouble with Tarot August 1, 2021 Tarot and tarot-reading have been a part of the modern witchcraft movement since the 1960s. But where did these cards and their meanings come from? Are they secretly Ancient Egyptian mystical texts? Do they have their origins among the Romani people? Are they a sacred closed practice that should not be used by outsiders? Nope, nope, and nope.

This month, we delve into the actual history of tarot cards, discover their origins on the gaming tables of Italy and France, meet the people who developed their imagery and symbolism into the deck we know today, and debunk some of the nonsense that’s been going around lately concerning their use. The Witchstorian is putting on her research specs for this one!

Stuff You Missed in History Class - A Brief History of Tarot Cards Oct. 26, 2020 How did a card game gain a reputation for being connected to mysticism? Tarot’s history takes a significant turn in the 18th century, but much of that shift in perception is based on one author’s suppositions and theories.

Hex Positive, Ep. 23 - The Name of the Game November 1, 2021 Bree delves into the history, myths, and urban legends surrounding Ouija boards. Along the way, we’ll uncover their origins in the spiritualist movement, discover the pop culture phenomenon that labeled them portals to hell, and try to separate fact from internet fiction with regard to what these talking boards can actually do.

Our Curious Past, Ep. 20 - The Curious History of the Ouija Board August 18, 2023 Host Peter Laws explores the history of the “talking board,” which was wildly popular in the early 1900s, until something happened that would tarnish its’ reputation for good.

Ridiculous History - Brooms and Witchcraft, Pt. 1 & 2 Oct. 13-15, 2020 Most people are familiar with the stereotypical image of a witch: a haggard, often older individual with a peaked hat, black robes, a demonic familiar and, oddly enough, a penchant for cruising around on broomsticks. But where did that last weirdly specific trop of flying on a broomstick actually come from? Could the stereotype of witches on broomsticks actually be a drug reference? Join Ben, Noel, and Casey as they continue digging through the history and folklore of witchcraft - and how it affected pop culture in the modern day.

Historical Blindness, Ep. 116 - The Key to the Secrets of King Solomon May 02, 2023 Host Nathaniel Lloyd continues his occasional series on the history and mythology of magic. In this installment, he looks at the development of the story that the biblical King Solomon was actually a flying-carpet-riding, magic-ring-wielding wizard and alchemist who bound demons to do his will. The origins and content of the legendary Key of Solomon are also discussed.

Dig: A History Podcast - Plastic Shamans and Spiritual Hucksters: A History of Peddling and Protecting Native American Spirituality July 24, 2022 In the late 20th century, white Americans flocked to New Age spirituality, collecting crystals, hugging trees, and finding their places in the great Medicine Wheel. Many didn’t realize - or didn’t care - that much of this spirituality was based on the spiritual faiths and practices of Native American tribes. Frustrated with what they called “spiritual hucksterism,” members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) began protesting - and have never stopped. Who were these “plastic shamans,” and how did the spiritual services they sold become so popular?

Holidays

Hex Positive, Ep. 28 - The Easter-Ostara Debacle April 1, 2022 Host Bree NicGarran puts on her Witchstorian hat once more to delve into the origins of both Easter and Ostara and to finally answer the age-old question: which came first – the bunny or the egg?

Historical Blindness, Ep. 28 - A Very Historically Blind Christmas Dec. 18, 2018 An exploration of the origins of Christmas traditions, with special guest Brian Earl of the Christmas Past podcast. (There is also some mention of Christmas witches!) Further installments of this series explore additional Christmas traditions and iconography which have been falsely claimed to have pagan origins as well as the myths surrounding the history of Christmas itself. (Eps. 47, 63, 84, & 132 in December of subsequent years)

Modern Myths and the People Who Create Them

Ed and Lorraine Warren

You’re Wrong About…Ed and Lorraine Warren w. Jamie Loftus November 8, 2021 Special Guest Jamie Loftus tells Sarah about Ed and Lorraine Warren (of The Conjuring and Annabelle fame). Topics of interest include Connecticut as a locus of scary happenings, New England uncles, and psychic communication with a tearstained Bigfoot.

Dig: A History Podcast - The Demonologist and the Clairvoyant: Ed and Lorraine Warren, Paranormal Investigation, and Exorcism in the Modern World Oct 3, 2021 In the 1970s, Lorraine and Ed Warren had a spotlight of paranormal obsession shining on them. In the last decade, their work as paranormal investigators–ghost hunters–has been the premise for a blockbuster horror franchise totaling at least seven films so far, and more planned in the near future. So… what the heck? Is this for real? Yes, friends, today we’re talking about demonology, psychic connections to the dead, and the patriarchy. Just a typical day with your historians at Dig.

History Uncovered, Ep. 92 - The Enfield Haunting That Inspired "The Conjuring 2" Oct 25, 2023 The Enfield Haunting began with a bang. Literally. From 1977 to 1979, an unassuming North London home was the site of near-constant paranormal activity, from knocking sounds and moving objects to disembodied voices and the terrifying alleged possession of one young daughter of the Hodgson family. But how much truth was there to these happenings? And since the Warrens got involved briefly and subsequently touted themselves as experts on the case (and made money from talking about it), how much of what we think we know reflects the actual events?

"Paranormal" Literature

You’re Wrong About…Winter Book Club - The Amityville Horror, Pts. 1-3 Dec. 20, 2021 - Feb. 6, 2022 Sarah tells guest host Jamie Loftus about the Amityville Horror, how it’s a Christmas story, and buying murder furniture might not be such a great idea. Further highlights include Jodie the Demon Pig, poor insulation and terrible parenting as evidence of a haunting, lots and lots of sunk cost fallacy, and how the book kind of debunks itself.

You’re Wrong About… - Michelle Remembers, Pt. 1-5 March 26, 2020 - April 30, 2020 Intrepid hosts Sarah and Mike delve into one of the foundational texts of the Satanic Panic - “Michelle Remembers.” A young woman spends a year undergoing hypnosis therapy, which uncovers repressed memories of shocking and horrifying abuse at the hands of a Satanic cult. The book became a foundational text for both mental health professionals and law enforcement attempting to grapple with an alleged nationwide network of insidiously invisible child-abducting cults. The only problem is…none of what Michelle remembered ever actually happened.

You’re Wrong About…. - The Satan Seller, Pt. 1-5 June 28, 2021 - August 9, 2021 Sarah and Mike return to Camp You’re Wrong About for another Satanic Panic story hour. This time, the summer book club explores Mike Warnke’s 1972 “memoir” about joining a demonic cult, rising through the ranks of Satan’s favorite lackeys, his sudden downfall and redemption, and the California hedonism that made him do it. This is followed by a discussion of the Cornerstone Magazine exposé that brought the facts to light and thoroughly discredited Warnke’s story.

American Hysteria, Eps. 64-66 - Chick Tracts, Pts. 1-3 March 20 - April 03, 2023 In his own lifetime, Jack Chick was one of most prolific and widely-read comic artists in history. His company, Chick Tracts, published hundreds of millions of copies of pocket-sized bible comics, filled with lurid illustrations of cackling demons, wicked witches, and sinister cults, all hell-bent on corrupting any hapless mortal they could get their hands on. These tracts were meant to be left where they might be found by a sinner in need of salvation, with a scared-straight morality-play approach to Christianity that contributed in no small part to the period in the late 20th century we now call the Satanic Panic. (There’s also a follow-up two-part episode about one of Chick’s “occult experts,” who claimed to be, among other things, a real-life vampire.)

History Uncovered, Ep. 95 - Roland Doe, The Boy Who Inspired "The Exorcist" November 15, 2023 In 1949, priests performed an exorcism on a boy referred to as "Roland Doe," aka Ronald Hunkeler, in a chilling ordeal that became the real-life inspiration for William Peter Blatty's 1971 book, "The Exorcist," and the movie adaptation released in 1973. But what really happened during this alleged exorcism and was there any proof of the claims of alleged demonic paranormal activity surrounding the events?

You're Wrong About... - The Exorcist (with Marlena Williams) December 27, 2023 Marlena Williams, author of "Night Mother: A Personal and Cultural History of the Exorcist," joins host Sarah Marshall to discuss the little possession movie that changed America forever. Was the set cursed by Satan himself, or plain old 70s misogyny? What makes a country going through a cultural upheaval embrace stories about the Devil? And - the most critical question of all - do Ouija boards really cause possession?

Conspiracy Theories and Moral Panics

Secret Societies and Antisemitism

Historical Blindness, Ep. 14 - Bloody Libel December 12, 2017 An exploration of one of the most destructive myths in history - the blood libel, or the false accusation that Jews of the Middle Ages and beyond ritually murdered Christian children, a lie that host Nathaniel Lloyd traces back to its’ roots in medieval England and the murder of one Young William of Norwich.

Historical Blindness, Eps. 56-57 - The Illuminati Illuminated September 15-29, 2020 A contemplation of the modern conservative conspiracy theory of a “deep state” leads host Nathaniel Lloyd back to the dawn of the modern conspiracy theory, the Enlightenment, when the ultimate conservative conspiracy theory was born as an explanation for the French Revolution: The Illuminati!

Historical Blindness, Eps. 38-40 - Nazi Occultism, Parts 1-3 July 2-30, 2019 An exploration of the dark roots of Nazi occult philosophies, from a neo-paganism preoccupied with the Nordic Pantheon, to a folksy back-to-the-land movement that evolved into a nationalist sentiment, to an ideology of racial supremacy all tied up with contemporary myths and pseudoscience. (The host is careful to note with clarity and vehemence at the start of each episode that this series IN NO WAY approves of, promotes, or supports this ideology and Nazism is roundly condemned at every turn. It’s not an easy listen, but understanding how and why this bigotry continues to be a problem in pagan spaces and how to recognize it is very important.) TL;DR - Fuck Nazis. No tolerance for genocidal fuckwads.

DIG: A History Podcast - Werewolves, Vampires, and the Aryans of Ancient Atlantis: The Occultic Roots of the Nazi Party Oct 17, 2021 Modern movie plotlines which portray Nazi obsessions with occultism might be exaggerated for dramatic effect, but they aren't made up out of wholecloth. The NSDAP, or the National Socialist Worker's Party, was a party ideologically enabled by occultist theories about the Aryan race and vampiric Jews, on old folk tales about secret vigilante courts and nationalist werewolves, and on pseudoscientific ideas about ice moons. In this episode, the hosts explore the occult ideas, racial mythology, and 'supernatural imaginary' that helped to create the Nazi Party.

The Satanic Panic

American Hysteria - Satanic Panic, pt 1 & 2 Dec. 10 2018 - Jan. 07, 2019 This two-part episode covers perhaps the most mystifying moral panic in US history, the 1980s and early 90s ‘Satanic Panic.’ For this episode, Chelsey covers the rise of organized Satanism beginning in the late 60s, as well as the adversarial countercultures of the hippies and the metalheads, and their apparent Satanic crimes that would be hailed as proof of their evil, as well as proof that teens, as well as children, were in serious moral peril. Satan was allegedly hypnotizing the youth with secret messages in backwards rock songs, teaching them occult magic in Saturday morning cartoons, and causing suicides through a popular role-playing games, all while helping religion blur into politics for good.

For part two, Chelsey will cover what came next, a serious investigation into an imagined network of Satanic cults ritually abusing children in daycare centers all over the country. Chelsey will try to understand this shocking decade in history, why it really happened, and the cultural issues it was really about.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep 10 - The Satanic Panic April 27, 2019 The Satanic Panic of the 70s, 80s, and 90s shaped the Modern Witchcraft Movement in a lot of unexpected ways. Its effects still ripple through a lot of our sources, so in this installment of the podcast we’re digging into this extremely weird part of American history. It’s a bit of a doozy, after all.

BS-Free Witchcraft - Ep. 32: A New Satanic Panic? February 27, 2021 A couple of years ago, we did an episode on the history of the Satanic Panic of the latter half of the twentieth century, but recent events have led us to ask - could it be happening again? It’s very possible that we are at the start of a new wave of satanic panic, and QAnon is just the latest symptom of a larger problem.

Occultae Veritatis, Case #014: Satanic Panic of Martensville Jan. 28, 2018 Today the hosts cover one of the various Satanic ritual abuse scandals that happened close to them. Is it full of hot air and false allegations? Yes. Yes it is.

Occultae Veritatis, Case #097A & B: Dungeons, Dragons, and the Satanic Panic Dec. 07, 2019 - Dec. 15, 2019 Dungeons & Dragons, introduced in 1974, attracted millions of players, along with accusations by some religious figures that the game fostered demon worship and a belief in witchcraft and magic.

[Last Updated: Dec 29, 2023]

#witchblr #witch community #podcasts #podcast recs #history #satanic panic #fuck the warrens

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destinationtoast · 13 days

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Calling Game of Thrones fans with knowledge of the fandom's history! [see also: Supernatural version]

I'm in the midst of putting together some fandom deep dives as part of my analysis of TV Fandom Fix-Its on AO3, including GoT. I'm trying to give context for how many fanworks the fandom was producing overall, and when overall spikes in fandom activity were happening, and I could use help.

Specifically, I'm trying to label AO3 activity spikes with what episodes/events seemed to contribute to them. But I'm probably missing important context. E.g., I know there were other events like fanwork exchanges happening that might have been contributors to some activity spikes, or things the show creators said/did might also have contributed sometimes.

If you have theories about why the red spikes between seasons happened near the following dates, that would be excellent:

Dec 28, 2020

May 11, 2020

Oct 5, 2015

Sept 29, 2014

July 21, 2014

And if you think I'm missing important context for some of the other spikes, or I made goofs on some of the labels, please LMK!

This was posted on April 10, 2024; I'm hoping for relevant replies in the next few days.

If you prefer to look at the raw data, it's too long to list here, but you can read it in this spreadsheet. And you can view the graph and labels bigger in this slide.

Thanks so much in advance!!

(If you have questions or critiques, please click through and read more context on AO3 or click through to the OP version of this post, which I will update with clarifications as needed.)

#got #game of thrones #asoiaf #fandom stats #questions for the tumblmind #op #toastystats #50 #100

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mostlysignssomeportents · 6 months

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Amazon Alexa is a graduate of the Darth Vader MBA

Next Tuesday (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.

If you own an Alexa, you might enjoy its integration with IFTTT, an easy scripting environment that lets you create your own little voice-controlled apps, like "start my Roomba" or "close the garage door." If so, tough shit, Amazon just nuked IFTTT for Alexa:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/25/23931463/ifttt-amazon-alexa-applets-ending-support-integration-automation

Amazon can do this because the Alexa's operating system sits behind a cryptographic lock, and any tool that bypasses that lock is a felony under Section 1201 of the DMCA, punishable by a 5-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine. That means that it's literally a crime to provide a rival OS that lets users retain functionality that Amazon no longer supports.

This is the proverbial gun on the mantelpiece, a moral hazard and invitation to mischief that tempts Amazon executives to run a bait-and-switch con where they sell you a gadget with five features and then remotely kill-switch two of them. This is prime directive of the Darth Vader MBA: "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further."

So many companies got their business-plan at the Darth Vader MBA. The ability to revoke features after the fact means that companies can fuck around, but never find out. Apple sold millions of tracks via iTunes with the promise of letting you stream them to any other device you owned. After a couple years of this, the company caught some heat from the record labels, so they just pushed an update that killed the feature:

https://memex.craphound.com/2004/10/30/apple-to-ipod-owners-eat-shit-and-die-updated/

That gun on the mantelpiece went off all the way back in 2004 and it turns out it was a starter-pistol. Pretty soon, everyone was getting in on the act. If you find an alert on your printer screen demanding that you install a "security update" there's a damned good chance that the "update" is designed to block you from using third-party ink cartridges in a printer that you (sorta) own:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Selling your Tesla? Have fun being poor. The upgrades you spent thousands of dollars on go up in a puff of smoke the minute you trade the car into the dealer, annihilating the resale value of your car at the speed of light:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/23/how-to-fix-cars-by-breaking-felony-contempt-of-business-model/

Telsa has to detect the ownership transfer first. But once a product is sufficiently cloud-based, they can destroy your property from a distance without any warning or intervention on your part. That's what Adobe did last year, when it literally stole the colors from your Photoshop files, in history's SaaSiest heist caper:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/28/fade-to-black/#trust-the-process

And yet, when we hear about remote killswitches in the news, it's most often as part of a PR blitz for their virtues. Russia's invasion of Ukraine kicked off a new genre of these PR pieces, celebrating the fact that a John Deere dealership was able to remotely brick looted tractors that had been removed to Chechnya:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

Today, Deere's PR minions are pitching search-and-replace versions of this story about Israeli tractors that Hamas is said to have looted, which were also remotely bricked.

But the main use of this remote killswitch isn't confounding war-looters: it's preventing farmers from fixing their own tractors without paying rent to John Deere. An even bigger omission from this narrative is the fact that John Deere is objectively Very Bad At Security, which means that the world's fleet of critical agricultural equipment is one breach away from being rendered permanently inert:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/23/reputation-laundry/#deere-john

There are plenty of good and honorable people working at big companies, from Adobe to Apple to Deere to Tesla to Amazon. But those people have to convince their colleagues that they should do the right thing. Those debates weigh the expected gains from scammy, immoral behavior against the expected costs.

Without DMCA 1201, Amazon would have to worry that their decision to revoke IFTTT functionality would motivate customers to seek out alternative software for their Alexas. This is a big deal: once a customer learns how to de-Amazon their Alexa, Amazon might never recapture that customer. Such a switch wouldn't have to come from a scrappy startup or a hacker's DIY solution, either. Take away DMCA 1201 and Walmart could step up, offering an alternative Alexa software stack that let you switch your purchases away from Amazon.

Money talks, bullshit walks. In any boardroom argument about whether to shift value away from customers to the company, a credible argument about how the company will suffer a net loss as a result has a better chance of prevailing than an argument that's just about the ethics of such a course of action:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/microincentives-and-enshittification/

Inevitably, these killswitches are pitched as a paternalistic tool for protecting customers. An HP rep once told me that they push deceptive security updates to brick third-party ink cartridges so that printer owners aren't tricked into printing out cherished family photos with ink that fades over time. Apple insists that its ability to push iOS updates that revoke functionality is about keeping mobile users safe – not monopolizing repair:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

John Deere's killswitches protect you from looters. Adobe's killswitches let them add valuable functionality to their products. Tesla? Well, Tesla at least is refreshingly honest: "We have a killswitch because fuck you, that's why."

These excuses ring hollow because they conspicuously omit the possibility that you could have the benefits without the harms. Like, your tractor could come with a killswitch that you could bypass, meaning you could brick it at a distance, and still fix it yourself. Same with your phone. Software updates that take away functionality you want can be mitigated with the ability to roll back those updates – and by giving users the ability to apply part of a patch, but not the whole patch.

Cloud computing and software as a service are a choice. "Local first" computing is possible, and desirable:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/03/there-is-no-cloud/#only-other-peoples-computers

The cheapest rhetorical trick of the tech sector is the "indivisibility gambit" – the idea that these prix-fixe menus could never be served a la carte. Wanna talk to your friends online? Sorry there's just no way to help you do that without spying on you:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/08/divisibility/#technognosticism

One important argument over smart-speakers was poisoned by this false dichotomy: the debate about accessibility and IoT gadgets. Every IoT privacy or revocation scandal would provoke blanket statements from technically savvy people like, "No one should ever use one of these." The replies would then swiftly follow: "That's an ableist statement: I rely on my automation because I have a disability and I would otherwise be reliant on a caregiver or have to go without."

But the excluded middle here is: "No one should use one of these because they are killswitched. This is especially bad when a smart speaker is an assistive technology, because those applications are too important to leave up to the whims of giant companies that might brick them or revoke their features due to their own commercial imperatives, callousness, or financial straits."

Like the problem with the "bionic eyes" that Second Sight bricked wasn't that they helped visually impaired people see – it was that they couldn't be operated without the company's ongoing support and consent:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/bionic-eye-obsolete

It's perfectly possible to imagine a bionic eye whose software can be maintained by third parties, whose parts and schematics are widely available. The challenge of making this assistive technology fail gracefully isn't technical – it's commercial.

We're meant to believe that no bionic eye company could survive unless they devise their assistive technology such that it fails catastrophically if the business goes under. But it turns out that a bionic eye company can't survive even if they are allowed to do this.

Even if you believe Milton Friedman's Big Lie that a company is legally obligated to "maximize shareholder value," not even Friedman says that you are legally obligated to maximize companies' shareholder value. The fact that a company can make more money by defrauding you by revoking or bricking the things you buy from them doesn't oblige you to stand up for their right to do this.

Indeed, all of this conduct is arguably illegal, under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits "unfair and deceptive business practices":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

"No one should ever use a smart speaker" lacks nuance. "Anyone who uses a smart speaker should be insulated from unilateral revocations by the manufacturer, both through legal restrictions that bind the manufacturer, and legal rights that empower others to modify our devices to help us," is a much better formulation.

It's only in the land of the Darth Vader MBA that the deal is "take it or leave it." In a good world, we should be able to take the parts that work, and throw away the parts that don't.

(Image: Stock Catalog/https://www.quotecatalog.com, Sam Howzit; CC BY 2.0; modified)

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/26/hit-with-a-brick/#graceful-failure

#pluralistic #alexa #ifttt #criptech #disability #drm #revocation #nothing about us without us #futureproofing #graceful failure #darth vader MBA #enshittification

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narujenreacts · 2 months

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Will Murder Drones get a Season 2?

Alrighty. So, after GLITCH's post yesterday of Digital Circus that also mentioned "We're also working hard on Murder Drones & will be releasing final episodes soon!", which sent a lot of the fandom (including yours truly) into a panic that this meant these are the final episodes for the SERIES and not the 1st season. However, that felt off to me since GLITCH has been promoting MD as Season 1 and not a short series, which, if it had always intended to be only 8 episodes, it would've been. That's just how it goes in the industry for online series. And I believe GLITCH wouldn't make that kind of mistake in marketing. It'd be different too if it was only promoted as Season 1 for the teaser, but it's been that way up until that Digital Circus post. Hell, here are some of the things Kevin and Liam said during GlitchX:

"I remember when we were coming up with the, uh, this is like way before when, you know, Murder Drones was really, like we were really going for a smaller, smaller show-" - Kevin

"The whole oil thing that was getting set up in the pilot, that was gonna be like a MASSIVE sort of plot thread throughout the season." - Kevin

"Because in terms of importance to kind of where I want the story to go, it just ended up being less relevant." - Liam

"We, um, did the opposite of that. I think the series as it progressed, which I think is - it is intentional, I would say. We have gone from, I think, supremely silly to supremely kind of self-serious." - Liam

"There's so many dog easter eggs if you go and watch through the entire season." - Kevin

"We are announcing the finale of the season." - Kevin

With everything they said, none of it sounds like Murder Drones was intended to be a single season series. Now, this leaves two questions myself and I'm sure some of you have, "Why haven't they announced a S2 yet then and why are they barely posting MD?" I decided to enter analyzation mode and went digging through GLITCH's Twitter and YouTube. What I found was that this isn't GLITCH's first time handling their series like this.

Meta Runner Season 1 (Animated Movie Cut) was released on Aug 28, 2020 and in the description Season 2 was immediately announced since they already had it done.

Meta Runner Season 2 - EP 1: Hard Reset released Oct 16, 2020. The final episode for S2, "EP 10: Fatal Error" was released Dec 18, 2020 and there was no mention of the 3rd and final season.

Want to know when they announced it? Not until Nov 29, 2021. Over a YEAR later.

And before that they barely posted anything of MR. At first it was Sunset Paradise, and then once that series was about to conclude they started posting about MD. A lot. Way more than they have for DC. And when they announced S3 for MR they didn't even mention it was the series finale! That wasn't announced until May 6, 2022, 6 months after S3 was even announced.

However, once they did they made it VERY clear it was the final season. 99% of their posts of MR after that mentioned it was the final season.

So, to conclude my thoughts. I don't think we should be worried. I wouldn't suggest getting our hopes up TOO high, because despite GLITCH handling MD the same way they did MR, there's always the chance MD doesn't get a second season. That way we're not deeply disappointed if it doesn't, but after looking into it I personally feel a lot more confident MD will get a S2. Just be prepared that if GLITCH doesn't say anything, it could be up to a year before they do, but if MR fans could hold out for as long as they did, we can too. Don't forget either GLITCH isn't only working on the first season of DC. They're also working on the pilot for Gaslight District.

#murder drones #murder drones uzi #murder drones n #murder drones season 2 #glitch productions

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matan4il · 9 months

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There’s a lot I don’t know so this is an invitation to collaborate: if you see anything you can correct or add to, please do! I’ll update this post accordingly.

Note about the dates: If a date is presented as is, that means I found something that seems to indicate this is the date when this event took place. If a date is presented with the sign [ in front, that means this is the earliest this event could have taken place. If a date is presented with the sign ] at the end, that means this is the latest this event could have taken place (for example, the date when an interview was posted. Even though this interview is likely to have been filmed on an earlier day, I can only tell for sure that it could not have possibly taken place later than this date)

Mileapo Timline:

21 Feb 2013 - First modeling event Mileapo are both present at (click here for a vid from that day)

24 Jul 2013 - Second modeling event Mileapo are both present at (click here for full vid showing this day)

10 Aug 2013 - Third modeling event Mileapo are both present at and the first we know for sure they remembered

26 Sep 2020 - Applications for KPTS casting under Filmania open

4 Oct 2020 - Announcement about which 72 candidates out of 500 applicants will get to audition for KPTS

10 Oct 2020 - First day of auditions for KPTS under Filmania. Mile and Apo meet again, seven years after their first meeting

17 Oct 2020 - KPTS auditions workshop. Mile and Apo won 2 of the 7 available fast tracks, which seems to mean they were automatically accepted into this stage of the auditions, they didn’t have to wait for the 12 Oct announcement like the rest of the candidates

18 Oct 2020 - KPTS auditions final casting day

16 Nov 2020 ] - Photoshoot for the official casting announcement

22 Nov 2020 - Official casting announcement posted

23 Nov 2020 - Mileapo's photoshoot done ahead of the teaser

26 Nov 2020 - Physical training workshop

28 Nov 2020 - Character participation workshop

30 Nov 2020 ] - Workshop

1 Dec 2020 - First day of filming the teaser for KPTS under Filmania (Apo mentioned in one interview that the filming was done on 3 days, the other two days appear to be 8 and 9 Dec)

7 Dec 2020 - Intimacy workshop

24 Dec 2020 (lasting into the night of 25 Dec) - Filming of a KPTS special for Xmas, which is meant to be a part of a series of BTS specials (I giffed my fave bits here)

7 Jan 2021 - Filmania does a live for Mile’s bday which in parts includes Apo

8 Jan 2021 - Teaser for KPTS under Filmania posted

[ 9 and/or 10 Jan 2021 ] - Apo does a Q & A session with fans in honor of the teaser being released (in one of the screenshots he uses, the teaser shows up as having been posted on YouTube ‘1 days ago’ suggesting the Q & A session was done Jan 9. However, it’s possible that due to time zones, or how ‘x days ago’ is calculated, it was actually Jan 10, or continued into that day)

12 Jan 2021 - The cast all meet up again after a break and spend the day together (probably as a part of a workshop)

17 Jan 2021 - Sosat Seoul Say does two interviews, one with the main cast as a group, one with just Mileapo. As far as I can tell, these are the first interviews Mile and Apo ever do for Kinnporsche the Series (posted online 13 Mar)

21 Jan 2021 - Star Update does two interview, one with the main cast as a group, one with Mileapo (posted online 6 and 10 Feb), the cast change outfits and also do interviews with Zoom Dara - Apo and Us do a live together

22 Jan 2021 - Acting workshop and filming promo material

28 Jan 2021 - KPTS cast spend the day and even go out together (Mile doesn’t seem to be there)

31 Jan 2021 - KPTS cast do 3 interviews and seemingly a photoshoot as well in Calvin Klein, then Guess outfits, the interviews are for Newsplus, Zoom Dara and Hello Asian

4 Feb 2021 - Mileapo do their first Shopee live

5 Feb 2021 - Mileapo film a guest appearance on Oh My God (aired and posted online 7 Mar) - Mileapo have their first fan meeting for KPTS

7 Feb 2021 - Filming Valentine’s Day online date with KPTS couples - Mileapo do Valentine’s Day photoshoot (pics will be posted then)

8 Feb 2021 - KPTS cast go paint-balling together, it’s filmed for another Filmania BTS special - Search Talk interview with Mileapo and Black (the Filmania CEO. This interview was conducted live)

9 Feb 2021 ] - Mileapo do some sort of a shopping campaign together at Siam Center (this is likely filmed Feb 4, but I can’t find definitive confirmation online)

11 Feb 2021 - Mileapo do their second Shopee live

18 Feb 2021 - Mileapo do their third Shopee live

20 Feb 2021 - KPTS go to Adidas’ shop to promote the brand

21 Feb 2021 - KPTS cast go out together, including to a cafe

23 Feb 2021 - KPTS cast go to a shooting range, it’s filmed for what seems to be the last BTS special that Filmania did

24 Feb 2021 - Mileapo do a photoshoot for Madan Fun, Apo gets surprised on set with cake for his bday - Filmania does a live for Apo’s bday which in parts includes Mile

25 Feb 2021 - Mileapo do their fourth Shopee live

4 Mar 2021 ] - Physical training workshop

16 Mar 2021 - Filmania’s KPTS press conference

26 Mar 2021 - KPTS cast attend the Yniverse Awards

27 Mar 2021 - Live zoom interview with reporter from the Philippines

5 Apr 2021 - Mileapo film ep of Fun Day (posted online 17 Jul)

20 May 2021 - Workshop

25 May 2021 - Workshop, Apo is there but Mile doesn’t seems to be

28 Jun 2021 ] - Elle interview filming (posted online 6 Oct)

4 Jul 2021 - Daemi (the writers of the Kinnporsche novel) announce publicly that they are leaving Filmania. Things are said to have been resolved by the next day

10 Jul 2021 - Mileapo do photoshoot with manager of a fan club walking around Bangkok

13 Jul 2021 - Filmania officially announces the cancellation of KPTS

14 Aug 2021 ] - Filming of The Hidden Messages vid (likely but unconfirmed date/s revolve/s around 12 to 14 Aug)

26 Aug 2021 - Teaser for The Hidden Messages vid posted, announcing the renewal of KPTS under BOC

27 Aug 2021 - Speculated photoshoot for The Hidden Messages (pics will be posted online together with the vid on 29 Aug)

29 Aug 2021 - The Hidden Messages vid and pics posted

(thank you so much to the very talented @kinnporsche for this beautiful edit of The Hidden Messages! Find the whole set here)

5 Oct 2021 - KPTS cast under BOC travel to Hua Hin together and film their time there

12 Oct 2021 - Vid posted of Mileapo answering questions regarding the new KPTS under BOC

3 Nov 2021 - BOC’s KPTS press conference

10 Nov 2021 - First day of filming KPTS under BOC

20 Jan 2022 - Mileapo film visit at cat cafe (posted Feb 14)

22 Feb 2022 - Event to unveil KPTS trailer under BOC

4 Mar 2022 - Last day of filming KPTS

8 Mar 2022 - Elle photoshoot, Mileapo’s hair is dyed for Farger

[ 9 Mar - 15 Mar 2022 ] - Mileapo film interview for Pop Melon (aired May 20)

29 Mar 2022 ] - Mileapo film interview for Dek-D

1 Apr 2022 - EFM fandom live interview - Event in honor of KPTS premiering the next day

2 Apr 2022 - Mile and Apo do an IG live

8 Apr 2022 - Mileapo film guest appearance on Goy Natty Dream - Mileapo film interview for Talk To Me

15 Apr 2022 ] - Posh interview and photoshoot

19 Apr 2022 - Mileapo film interviews for On That Day (The Standard Pop) and for The Exclusive Interview (The Headline)

5 May 2022 - Mileapo do photoshoot and interview for Pet Hipster

21 May 2022 - Screening of KPTS ep 7 with the cast there

31 May 2022 - Mileapo do (supposedly) live interview with Aaron Yun, assuming it was conducted on this date, this is also when Mileapo record iQiyi interview for Pride Month (aired Jun 8)

2 Jun 2022 - Mileapo do photoshoot and interview for Unique

7 Jun 2022 - Press conference event to announce KPWT

20 Jun 2022 - KPTS panel at Drama Arts Chula including Mileapo

21 Jun 2022 - Mileapo and Tong film interview for Orange Mama (aired Jun 22)

24 Jun 2022 - Group interview including Mileapo for Kland Mexico

7 Jul 2022 - KPTS cast do a live Twitter space chat

9 Jul 2022 - Screening of KPTS finale with cast (Mile can’t attend due to covid but joins them for a bit via zoom)

24 Jul 2022 - KPWT 1: Bangkok

25 Jul 2022 - KPWT 2: Bangkok

18 Aug 2022 - KPTS cast trip to Phuket

11 Sep 2022 - KPWT send off event (Mile can’t attend due to covid, but through vid performs a song from home)

8 Oct 2022 - KPWT 3: Singapore

16 Oct 2022 - KPWT 4: Seoul

22 Oct 2022 - KPWT 5: Manila

30 Oct 2022 - KPWT 6: Taipei

31 Oct 2022 - KPWT 7: Taipei

2 Dec 2022 - Mileapo and Bible fly to the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia

31 Dec 2022 - BOC’s NYE countdown event

18 Jan 2023 - Mile trip to Paris for Dior

21 Jan 2023 - KPTS cast trip to Japan

31 Jan 2023 - KPWT 8: Hong Kong

1 Feb 2023 - KPWT 9: Hong Kong

14 Feb 2023 - First day of filming Man Suang

25 Feb 2023 - KPWT 10: Bangkok

26 Feb 2023 - KPWT What the Fun: Bangkok

27 Feb 2023 - Apo trip to Paris for Dior

13 Mar 2023 - Mileapo trip to Seoul for photoshoot

28 Mar 2023 - Mileapo trip to Mumbai for Dior

18 May 2023 - Last day of filming Man Suang

30 May 2023 - Man Suang wrap party

22 Jun 2023 - Mileapo trip to Paris for Dior

1 Jul 2023 - THC last ep event

6 Jul 2023 - Engfa interview (based on their clothes) - Song Wat visit as part of Man Suang promotion

13 Jun 2023 - Mile is announced Friend of House at Guerlain event

7 Jul 2023 - Mileapo film ep of The Driver

3 Aug 2023 - Mileapo film a bunch of interviews for Man Suang, some just them, some with Tong and Bas, including among others: Brandthink Cinema clip, That Guy from This movie interview

8 Aug 2023 - Man Suang press conference

18 Aug 2023 ] - Mile films guitar jam session

19 Aug 2023 - Mileapo, Tong and Bas film vlog at Song Wat as part of promoting Man Suang

20 Aug 2023 - Mileapo present award at Thai cinema awards ceremony

21 Aug 2023 - Man Suang Gala

22 Aug 2023 - Mileapo, Tong and Bas at Casetify shop to promote Man Suang - Mileapo record interview with Nylon Radar - Exclusive screening of the movie for fans

23 Aug 2023 - Mileapo, Tong and Bas do several interviews, including: Late Night Game, Nine entertain, One31′s Duichep Show; Mellow Pop Showtime and Flex Talk radio show

24 Aug 2023 - Official opening of Man Suang, Mile and Apo each join a separate fan screening - Mileapo, Tong and Bas do live interview with EFM fandom

25 Aug 2023 - Mileapo, Tong and Bas at Srichand special fan screening

26 Aug 2023 - Mileapo, Tong and Bas attend two roadshows (greetings for fans at start of Man Suang screening) for Major Group

27 Aug 2023 - Mileapo, Tong and Bas attend two roadshows (greetings for fans at start of Man Suang screening) for SF

31 Aug 2023 - Mileapo do a live for Bento spicy snacks

1 Sep 2023 ] - Mileapo likely attend rehearsal at their vocal coach’s - Shopee Game Show taping (first teaser was posted Sep 3, but it could not have been recorded on either 2 Sep or 3 Sep, so this is the last possible date for this recording)

2 Sep 2023 - Mileapo, Tong and Bas attend roadshows (greetings for fans at start of Man Suang screening) in Chiang Mai

3 Sep 2023 - Mileapo, Tong and Bas attend roadshows (greetings for fans at start of Man Suang screening) and lead truck parade in Korat

5 Sep 2023 - Mileapo join a lunch with Thailand’s Tourism governor

7 Sep 2023 - Mileapo do a live interview at Good Time radio - Mileapo conduct two interviews at Ch 7, one of which is live - Mile has solo event at Guerlain shop

8 Sep 2023 - Mileapo fly to Vietnam for a multi-star concert

9 Sep 2023 - Mileapo do a press conference for the concert

10 Sep 2023 - Planet of Friends multi-star concert includes Mileapo

13 Sep 2023 - Apo is announced Friend of House at Piaget event

14 Sep 2023 - Mileapo do live interview for ch 7

15 Sep 2023 - Mileapo, Tong and Bas attend roadshows (greetings for fans at start of Man Suang screening) in Ayutthaya

17 Sep 2023 - Mileapo fly to Laos and attend a special fan screening for Man Suang there

19 Sep 2023 - Mileapo do Srichand live

20 Sep 2023 - Mileapo fly to Vietnam

21 Sep 2023 - Mileapo attend a special fan screening for Man Suang

22 Sep 2023 - Mileapo fly back - Mileapo do Mellow Pop live

24 Sep 2023 - Mileapo fly to Paris for Dior event

26 Sep 2023 - Mileapo attend Dior event for Spring Summer ‘24

[more to come here once Tumblr stops erasing my updates]

~ I was not going to post this incomplete, but 10 Aug 2023 is exactly 10 years since Mile and Apo met for the first time and I had to do something for this anniversary. 💖 (I will obviously continue working on this list) ~ Thank you so much to the lovely @cs-nane for the pretty header! ~ If you’d like to check out more of my Kinnporsche/Mileapo posts, you can find them here.

#mileapo #mkp #mile phakphum #mile phakphum romsaithong #phakphum romsaithong #apo nattawin #apo nattawin wattanagitiphat #nattawin wattanagitiphat #man suang #man suang cast #kinnporsche #kinnporsche cast #kinnporsche the cast #kpts cast #kpts the cast #kinnporschedaily #mileapodaily #i'm scheduling this to post #no one will see or care but i'll have done something for the mileapo 10 years anniversary

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hobermen-archive · 6 months

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Painted my favorite turtles on pumpkins! 🧡🎃💜

(28 Oct 2020)

#mikey #donnie #ROTTMNT #REPOST #original twitter caption

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lurksunderthebed · 6 months

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Ghoap Analysis/Meta (1?)

The Evolution of GhostSoap Redux

Continuing thoughts on how Ghost and Soap's relationship has changed over the course of mw(19), mwii(22) and mwiii(23)

Spread out amongst several posts. This will be long 😅

(Part 1)

BEWARE SPOILERS TO MWIII(23) !

I've had time to settle my thoughts on Ghostsoap in mwiii (23) and this will go more into depth of the re-contextualising of Ghost and Soap's relationship in mwii (22) from the verdansk mission: "Flashpoint".

Flashpoint is set 4 years to mwiii(23). The game places it as April 6, 2019. This is important to us because it sets a different potential first mission (meet cute lmao) between the two and thus changes the tone of their interactions in mwii (22)

So let's set up a timeline with the available dates. Thankfully, the game sets some very concrete dates for us. Not all missions are included.*

2019

Flashpoint - April 06, 2019

First canonical appearance of SAS Ghost and Soap

Ghost provides sniper cover for Soap

Price/Soap capture Makarov and transport him to a helo with Ghost and Shepherd

There's a failed interrogation by Ghost and Soap.

Makarov implies he has met Ghost before and thought him dead at an airport

2019 Mw(19)

Piccadilly - Oct 25, 2019

First canonical appearance of SAS Gaz

Gaz is attached to Met Counter Terrorist Police. This implies he has worked largely in his career in conjunction to the Police. It's unknown whether he met Soap or Ghost before.

First meet of Gaz and Price to combat terrorists in London

Old Comrades - Oct 31, 2019

Gaz meets Nikolai

Interrogation scene. Arguably strengthens Gaz and Price's relationship

Into the Furnace - Nov 03, 2019

Last mission, they kill general barkov

Credit Scene - Nov 03-04, 2019* (hypothetical)

Laswell and Price form task force 141

Price seconds Ghost, Soap, Gaz. This implies that Price has worked with Soap and Ghost on missions for x amount of years. It's Gaz who was the surprise recruit.

2020 Cod Warzone

Season 2 - Mar 2020

First appearance of 141 Ghost

Unknown amount of 141 stationed in Verdansk. Ghost asks for backup.

Season 3 - Apr 2020

Armistice dissolved

Price and Gaz show up to help Ghost

Implied- unknown amount of 141 to Verdansk (possible meeting of Soap and Ghost)

Season ? - Dec 2020

Price kills Zakaev

First appearance (via call) of 141 Soap asking for backup in Verdansk

Price, Ghost, Gaz, Farah etc backup Soap who is somewhere else in Verdansk getting pinned down by enemies

2022 Mwii(22)

Strike - July 15, 2022

Ghost calls an airstrike on Ghorbrani with the aid of Shadow Company

Hindsight - Aug 12, 2022

Shepherd/Shadow Company loses American missiles to terroists

Kill or Capture - Oct 28, 2022

Ghost gets assigned Soap as his sergeant for Al Mazhrah mission to kill or capture Hassan

They find American missiles instead

Cartel Protection - Oct 30, 2022

Ghost/Soap meet Ale/Rudy in Las Almas

They fight the Mexican army under control of the cartels

RV with Graves/Shadow Comp.

El Sin Nombre - Nov 01, 2022

Soap infils cartel mansion

Valeria is revealed as El Sin Nombre

They take her into custody

Dark Water - Nov 02, 2022

Boat/oil rig mission with Shadow company

Missile launch averted by Ghost, Soap and Graves

Alone - Nov 03, 2022

Graves and Shepherd betray 141/mexi bros

Ghost and Soap get out of Las Almas

RV at ale's hideout with Rudy

Prison Break - Nov 03, 2022

Ghost, Soap, Rudy break out ale from prison

Meet up with Price/Gaz

Ghost Team - Nov 03, 2022

141 with mexi bros take back mexi bros base

Soap and Rudy "kill" Graves

Countdown - Nov 04, 2022

Stop missile launch in Chicago

Ghost and Soap kill Hassan

2023 Mwiii (23)

Operation 627 - Oct 13, 2023

Makarov breaks out of prison

Reactor - Nov 10, 2023

141 find out that Makarov escaped

141 assaults konni base

Price finds chemical weapons (almost died)

Payload - Nov 11, 2023

141 split up to stop missile launch of chemical weapons

They fail to stop 2 missiles to Russia

Oligarch - Nov 12, 2023

Ghost/Soap island mission to find Makarov's financier

Interrogation of Milena for Makarov's location

Frozen Tundra - Nov 14, 2023

141 ambush konni convoy

Find Shepherd was Makarov's prisoner

Interrogate him on Makarov's location

Gora Dam - Nov 16, 2023

Ghost/Soap split up to stop chemical weapons in Verdansk

Trojan Horse - Nov 21, 2023

141 split up in London tunnels to stop Makarov from using chemical weapons in subway system

So now that's done. I've mostly ignored Farah and Alex and focused on Price, Ghost, Gaz, Soap and Nikolai as it pertains to relationships within the core group of Price/Ghost/Gaz/Soap.

What can we make of this ?

Well, a couple things.

We can now say that from 2019 to the events of "Kill or Capture" in 2022, Ghost and Soap have most likely worked together on missions before. The timeline shows that they at least had to have met in Dec 2020 in Verdansk as Soap had called for backup to Price and group.

That makes it actually at least 3 years of knowledge of each other prior to mwii(22). So a total of 4 years + potentially at the start of mwiii(23).

It also shows us how quickly their relationship changed from the Alone mission in '22 despite the 3 years of prior knowledge they had since '19.

Let it be said that it took 1 week, ONLY 7 DAYS!! to change Ghost and Soap's relationship. 7 days out of a total at least 3 years total.

Ghost started at not even bothering to name Soap in 2019, to presumably basic Soap/Mactavish/sergeant for the next 3 years.

Cut to the events in mwii(22). Lets say beginning at "Kill or Capture" and finishing at "Alone" and suddenly Ghost ends up having made up his own personal nickname that no one else can use for Soap in just those 7 days.

I posit that this was in part due to "Kill or Capture" in '22 being the first mission that Soap has directly worked under Ghost's command.

This is all hypotheticals and guesswork so take it as you may.

Assuming Ghost was mainly a solo mission sort of guy, let's also assume he mostly helped as sniper overwatch if he ever had team missions (like in Flashpoint). Most 141 missions have him taking that position as well, so it's safe to say he is support most of the time.

Given that assumption, it's also likely that Soap and Ghost had to have interacted mainly on comms and any physical meeting would be restricted to transport via heli or otherwise.

It's possible Soap and Ghost have worked together on a more physical basis (aka Ghost leading Soap on a squad), but given how much Ghost seemed to be testing Soap in "Kill or Capture" I find that somewhat unlikely.

In 2019 we see how brusque Ghost is with Soap. It's very likely that Ghost was largely monosyllabic with Soap pre or post missions to Flashpoint.

Considering Soap's propensity to chatter in 2022 and 2023, it's also very likely Soap annoyed the hell out of Ghost on comms. Lol.

This could explain why Ghost was so dismissive of having Soap as his sergeant in "Kill or Capture", despite working together 3 years ago.

I, and arguably most of fandom had theorised that "Kill or Capture" was the first mission that Soap and Ghost ever had together. And we weren't quite right, but we weren't completely wrong either.

With Flashpoint, it's obvious now that was not quite true. It even suggests in it that Ghost and Soap had worked together prior to even that, as there was no formal introduction between the two.

This dramatically changes how Ghost's dialogue and Soap's to a lesser degree can be read in mwii(22) and implies much much more if you consider how they interact with each other in '23.

So why does it matter when Ghost and Soap's relationship started?

With mwiii(23) we can now definitively tell when Ghost and Soap's relationship changed. We now have a rough basis of a timeline and we can track down the differences between '19 -'22 and then '22- '23. Its important because we can see how their relationship deepens and how it changed within a span of 3 years, 7 compelling days and 1 heartwrenching year later.

For all that mwiii(23) was lax with explicit Ghostsoap moments, it's rich in how much context we gain to their relationship. We see how Ghost changes and how his relationships differ between 141. It's an interesting and compelling look at both Ghost and Soap's characters.

In this discussion I separate this analysis into 3 parts. Part 2 will cover the implications of "Flashpoint" on mwii (22), with discussion line by line. Part 3 will most likely go over comparisons a year makes from the events in '22 to '23. (This might be subject to change as I get further into the analysis)

Onto Part 2.

#ghostsoap #cod mw3 #cod mwiii #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #soapghost #ghost x soap #simon riley #call of duty #meta #analysis #soap x ghost #soap mactavish #soap cod #mw3 spoilers #cod mwii #call of duty modern warfare

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bubbloquacious · 6 months

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Effortpost registry

Recommendations for learning category theory; 28 mar 2024

The hairy ball theorem and stably free modules; 11 feb 2024

Topological connectedness and generalized paths; 24 nov 2023

Graphs as presheaves 3: subobject classifiers; 19 oct 2023

Effortpost registry; 18 oct 2023

Graphs as presheaves 2: limits and colimits; 11 oct 2023

Hydrogen bomb vs. coughing baby: graphs and the Yoneda embedding; 7 oct 2023

Extending the D ⊣ U ⊣ I adjunction sequence; 23 sep 2023

The Riemann rearrangement theorem and net convergence; 18 sep 2023

Thoughts on the axiom of choice; 18 feb 2023

Topological spaces and simple graphs as neighbourhood spaces; 15 feb 2023

The exponential function applied to sets; 24 dec 2022

But IS the empty space connected?; 11 nov 2022

Monads monads monads; 8 nov 2022

Calculating what the triangle identities mean for a bunch of adjunctions and being amazed when it works every time; 7 nov 2022

Defining the Lebesgue integral as a net limit; 27 jul 2022

Rambles about describable sets; 28 oct 2021

Functions with cycling derivatives; 30 aug 2021

Why the rationals have zero length; 31 may 2021

An infinite cardinal valued random variable; 30 may 2021

A field-based functor; 20 mar 2021

Generalized sides; 13 mar 2021

Rambles about metric convexity; 22 feb 2021

Wiggle function convergence; 28 jan 2021

Rambles about infinity; 5 sep 2020

Generalized golf; 24 jun 2020

Rambles about continuousifying series; 10 may 2020

Rambles about being closed under exponentiation; 7 may 2020

Rambles about the groups that come with fields; 3 may 2020

A compilation of donutified functions; 17 mar 2020

Rambles about arithmetic functions; 24 jan 2020

Graphing real functions on a torus >:); 29 nov 2019

#math #pinned post #effortpost registry

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luulapants · 4 months

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Where California politicians stand on Palestine

The majority of Democrats in DC, despite their voter base being overwhelmingly in support of a ceasefire, refuse to disavow the genocide in Gaza or call for ceasefire.

They are able to do this, to disregard the outrage of their constituency, because they feel certain that no matter how many letters we send, we will show up and vote for them when the time comes. They are certain their actions have no consequences.

Senator Alex Padilla received about $31k from Israeli lobby groups. He refuses to call for a ceasefire. This was his going rate to enable genocide.

Senator Laphonza Butler was appointed in Oct 2023 after the death of Diane Feinstein, who was pro-Israel. No campaign finance info on file. She refuses to call for a ceasefire. Perhaps she's waiting for her payout.

12/52 California congressional representatives are Republicans. None have called for ceasefire. Palestinian genocide is core to the Republican platform.

Of the 40 Democrat representatives, only 11 have called for ceasefire. The following CA Democrat representatives have called for ceasefire. They were not swayed by money received from Israeli lobby groups.

Jared Huffman, 2 - not swayed by $1k from Israeli lobby groups this election cycle, down from 13.5k and 9.5k in the last two

John Garamendi, 8 - not swayed by $500 whole dollars from Israeli lobby groups, down from 5k and 15k

Mark Desaulnier, 10 - not swayed by $1k, down from 4k and 4.5k

Barbara Lee, 12 - not swayed by $13.5k, down from 27k and just 4k in 2020

Ro Khanna, 17 - not swayed by $12k, down from 45.5k and 23k

Judy Chu, 28 - not swayed by $1k, down from 7k and 10.5k

Tony Cardenas, 29 - not swayed by 35k, down from 70k and 38.5k

Jimmy Gomez, 34 - received nothing this cycle or 2020, not swayed by the $13.5k Israeli lobby groups gave in 2022

Robert Garcia, 42 - has received nothing from Israeli lobby groups since taking office in 2023

Maxine Waters, 43 - has received nothing from Israeli lobby groups in the past 3 election cycles

Sara Jacobs, 51 - not swayed by $9k, down from $26.5k in her first election cycle

The following CA Democrat representatives have refused to call for ceasefire. The approximate amount they've received from Israeli lobby groups since 2019 (the price it cost to buy their endorsement of genocide) is after each name and district number.

Mike Thompson, 4 (24k); Ami Bera, 6 (46.5k); Doris Matsui, 7 (9k); Josh Harder, 9 (159k); Nancy Pelosi, 11 (92.5k); Eric Swalwell, 14 (54.5k); Kevin Mullin, 15 (0 - 19-22 data missing); Anna Eshoo, 16 (34.5k); Zoe Lofgren, 18 (22k); Jimmy Panetta, 19 (14k); Jim Costa, 21 (127k); Salud Carbajal, 24 (27k); Raul Ruiz, 25 (24.5k); Julia Brownley, 26 (47.5k); Adam Schiff, 30 (205.5k); Grace Napolitano, 31 (8k); Brad Sherman, 32 (132k); Pete Aguilar, 33 (315.5k); Norma Torres, 35 (14.5k); Ted Lieu, 36 (122k); Sydney Kamlager, 37 (15.5k - 22 data missing); Linda Sanchez, 38 (36.5k); Mark Takano, 39 (17k); Nanette Barragan, 44 (69.5k); Lou Carrera, 46 (12.5k); Katie Porter, 47 (152.5k); Mike Levin, 49 (143k); Scott Peters, 50 (34k); Juan Vargas, 52; (208.5k)

The Republicans will be trash regardless, but we cannot let our Democrats skate by thinking there are no consequences for supporting a genocide. They are slaughtering people with your tax dollars, Americans. It's time to get serious. It's time to tell these people that they cannot have our votes for free. It's time to start talking about primary opposition and third party voting. It's time to start exercising our power as voting citizens.

#us politics #palestine #california politics #alex padilla #laphonza butler

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mwebber · 1 year

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MARTIAN'S MATCHING PORSCHE 911 GT2 RS CARS: A MASTERPOST

are you ready to feel parasocial about a pair of matching porsches, one of which may or may not even exist? you've come to the right place!

SECTIONS:

what is the 2010 Porsche 911 GT2 RS?

what's been said about the matching cars

timeline

unanswered questions and speculation

WHAT IS THE 2010 PORSCHE 911 GT2 RS?

well, it's her (source in watermark)

though she's been upstaged by her counterparts in the last decade, at the time, the gt2 rs was the most powerful road car porsche had ever built. only 500 were made. one of which, as we all know, came into the paws of one mark webber--another, presumably, found a home in sebastian vettel's garage. why do i say presumably? well..

WHAT'S BEEN SAID ABOUT THE MATCHING CARS

rather than making you squint at a bunch of screencaps, i'm just going to copy and paste the quotes that are out there..

“[The 911 GTS RS] is a beast! It’s got biblical power – the amount of torque is phenomenal. Sebastian [Vettel] bought one as well back in the day, we bought one together pretty much and I think he’s had a few tricky moments in his! They’re proper machines, those things. I think the engine’s probably a little bit big for the body, but in the right hands she’s a machine!” Red Bull. july 28, 2016.

Webber said he shopped for a new ride with teammate Sebastian Vettel and both agreed that the Porsche made the most sense. He's extremely happy with the GT2's performance, comfort and race car-like driving dynamics. Auto123, date unknown. the video in question

“I think it was around Monaco Grand Prix time, [Red Bull teammate] Sebastian Vettel and I were looking at some cars,” Webber said. “I’m not big on my road cars, to be honest, but when we started talking about this one it was a no-brainer.” But instead of pulling any strings using his formula one fame, Webber reportedly strolled into a UK Porsche dealer to order his new wheels personally. Drive. October 7, 2016.

“As a young guy, growing up in Australia, the Porsche 911 was definitive. I remember talking to Sebastian Vettel when the GT2 came out, about the power, the way it looked. He said, ‘what do you reckon?’ I said, ‘we should both get one’, so we did. If you take a 911 to a track day it’s the car that’s running around out there still working, with its brakes still working, at the end of the day. It’s a Porsche. You know that. We all know that. Brakes are important, you know." Top Gear Malaysia. date unknown, but since the headline is "mark webber has retired from racing," i'm going to pin it at sometime around november, 2016

“… Monte Carlo Grand Prix, 2010. I was sitting with Sebastian Vettel, and we were looking at the new 997 GT2 RS. And he said, ‘Shit, we need to buy one of those, you know?’ And I said, ‘yeah, we need—both of us.’ So I think that night, Monaco, after qualifying, we, uh. I didn’t outqualify Seb often, but that day, lucky, I kicked his ass, I was on pole position and he was not qualifying that well. And I said, ‘you still gonna buy the 911?’ And he said, ‘yeah, we should buy it.’ So he got a black one, I got a white one...” fan video from the weekend of oct 2-3, 2021.

and though nothing was mentioned about matching cars, they're driving the same model (DEFINITELY different car though, one purchased by the red bull ring) in the now-famous martian taxi drivers instagram post, where mark says, “At the end of the day we even drove each other for a few laps. That’s the biggest bloody endorsement a street car can have, F1 drivers wanting to do more laps for the own pleasure😉👌🏽” april 24, 2020. this is the only allusion to the car i can find that is not only from 2010, but also shows that seb so much as touched a 2010 porsche 911 gt2 rs.

now, you may ask, why are you being so cagey about seb and his porsche?

well, the thing is. sebastian vettel has not so much as breathed a WORD to the media about owning a porsche 911, much less matching one with mark. as far as i can tell from the numerous searches i've done, anyway. everything we know about their matching porsches has come from mark.

TIMELINE

so with that, let's piece it together:

some point on thurs/fri of the monaco gp (may 13 or 14, 2010): martian see the 911 and they're like. hot damn. seb says what do u think. mark says let's get one each.

saturday (may 15): mark beats seb in qualifying, then gloatingly asks if seb is still in the mood to buy the porsche. and because seb is insane, he says yes.

some unidentified point in the future, likely in the break between monaco and turkey because i sincerely doubt mark was in the mood to go car shopping with seb after that (may 16-26): they buy the porsches. mark buys a white one, seb buys a black one.

2016: they don't speak about this to anyone in the media until mark retires from racing for good. when questioned about his favourite porsche cars, only THEN does he even mention that this car matching business took place at all. and, unprompted, repeats this story to multiple news outlets when asked about the 911.

we're faced with several years of silence until 2021, when the story pops up again.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS AND SPECULATION

have you ever thought it weird that something as clinically insane as matching cars with your rival was never given more media attention than a passing few lines in some articles? somehow, either nobody has asked about the fact that Thee most fractious relationship in contemporary f1 bought matching cars, or they DID ask and were effectively muzzled, which is telling in and of itself. and check the dates: 2016. 2016. 2016. 2020. 2021. they did not only keep this under wraps until mark retired and became a full time porsche #influencer. one of them is either STILL KEEPING IT UNDER WRAPS...

... or doesn't have the car at all.

does seb even own this porsche? why have we only heard of it from mark's mouth? there are so many articles on ~road cars f1 drivers own~ but none of them even mention seb having it. so what's the truth? did he never buy one and only tell mark he did? does it stay dusty under a cover in his garage, never to see the light of day? did he buy it and then immediately sell it/give it away after turkey? or because it was like, purposefully to match with mark, is it one of the things he's Sentimental about that he's viciously protective of and keeps out of the spotlight?

mark goes into detail and says that seb got a black porsche, so that must mean that it EXISTS? surely?? well, we take that for granted, but we may never actually know.

another thing: notice how in the Drive article, mark reportedly went to a uk dealership in person to order the car? if he and seb bought them together, does that mean they also went to the dealership... together? and if we take this to be true, does that then mean they physically went to a porsche dealership in the uk just weeks before they collided in turkey and their relationship tripped and fell off a cliff? or did they go separately in person, or did only mark go in person and seb order through connections?

yet another thing: in the "Mark Webber and his 911 GT2 RS" video linked above next to auto123, he drives a black 911 and seems to imply that the car is his: "i'm definitely not gonna be parting with this one." but the car is black. and he says he got a white one. WHAT? [EDIT: the one in the video may be the 2011 model and not the 2010 model he bought with seb]

AND ANOTHER THING TO NOTE: while the internet was surely a Widespread Phenomenon in 2010, there may very well have been printed news about the matching cars that never got digitally archived. unfortunately i do not have a time machine, so that's up in the air for now.

but that's it! that's everything we know about martian's matching porsches. i will be updating this post as more info comes to light, so if i've missed anything, pls let me know!

#WIPES SWEAT FROM BROW. WELL . HERE IT IS #martian #martian monday #sebastian vettel #mark webber #matching porsches masterpost

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