dynasty decapitated, you just might see a ghost tonight

Another link post, but I think some fun links to edify and amuse.

First, we know of the purported Victorian "flower code", for which there is a plethora of contradicting information, but what about Victorian book flirtation? I didn't even know this was a thing, and as the article explains, current scholarship says it likely wasn't? But the concept is entertaining, for all it makes my inner librarian cringe at the thought of biting books.

Next, apparently there were exercise manuals for Victorian ladies, but very few of them advised strenuous exercise, just very mild stretching movements. What I find fascinating is that many dances of the time were good cardiovascular exercise, and womens' fencing clubs required strength and agility, and that required an elevated heart rate. So on the one hand, women weren't supposed to exercise, because men felt it was bad for their delicate bodies, while on the other, they were required to exercise, so they'd have the stamina to fence, dance, ride, and other supposedly strenuous activities. Odd.

And finally, though it comes with a mild warning for language, portable toilets used to be shaped like books. Why? When did it start? How did I not know this sooner?

There is a lot going on in this article covering a debate between Sam Harris and Ben Shapiro. Neither are particularly admirable people, and both of them get things wrong in the debate, but I'm linking the article because it looks deeply at the many presuppositions of our 'modern' belief set in Galileo having been tortured for his scientific knowledge. Which, we know now, is simply not the case. Yet men who went to college and proudly list their degrees in their introductions still get this fundametal fact wron. Why? Why do they never go back and verify that what they're saying is accurate? Especially if they've been that wrong, that many times.

Second Life's in the news again, and this time around, it's not a huge scandal. It actually is fairly complimentary. Yay for that.

my mouth kept moving and my mind went dead

This was a controversy that didn't need to happen.

[09:58] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: could some of you help to fill the midnight mania board at [hair store]? .. it doesnt fill since weeks :/ and i really want the hair .. also luckyboards here ... for both no group needed
[09:58] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: [SLUrl for hair store]

Now, even though I'm omitting the store's name and SLUrl, they were perfectly fine to post in the group. It's even in the format we want for announcements in the group: no more than three lines, name of the business, whether it's a free join group or no group needed, and where to go. Simple, easy, done.

It was this next bit that crossed the line.

[09:59] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: [Gyazo link which I'm omitting just to make the point]
[09:59] Pxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: what kind of hair is it and does it come with a hud for color ?
[09:59] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no outside links

In line with previous Scenes from a Chat, bolding the names of actual mods for groups.

[09:59] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: not sure to be honest .. i assume its fatpack
[09:59] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: NO outside links here please
[09:59] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: whats an outside link?

*coughs* "What is an outside link"? Really, this is a question you need to ask??

[10:00] Pxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: that was just a acreen shot of screen GAYAZO

"Gayazo"? I'm going to assume that's just a typo, not commentary.

[10:00] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: a link outside Second life like a gyazo or an URL
[10:00] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: its not allowed
[10:00] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: an url is defo inside
[10:00] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: i mean an SL url
[10:00] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: a SLurl is in SL.
[10:01] Pxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: that was just an innocent screen shot not a website not a porno

I'm morbidly amused that you want to reassure everyone your friend was not trying to post porn. I mean, thanks for trying, but a), that wasn't the issue, and b), she'd already been told not to post outside links.

[10:01] dxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: gyazo is a url not slurl
[10:01] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: rules arerules tho
[10:01] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: itis not allowed, which part don't you understand?

Apparently all the parts between "it" and "allowed".

[10:01] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx:
[10:02] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: the part where i pasted the slurl of [the hair store]
[10:02] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: that was allowed just not the Gyazo

It's not hard. Just read the rules.

[10:02] Pxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: sorry [Txxxxxx] i appolgize on behalf of the overeactions

These aren't overreactions. These are mods telling your friend to stop being an idiot.

[10:02] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: i still dont understand it though
[10:02] Emilly Orr: While there has been far less spoofing of Gyazo as a domain into SL, as there have been spoofing of MP and Second Life links into SL, the rules were established so that no outside links posted in this group could lead to hacking of accounts of group members, [Rxxxxx].
[10:03] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: yup exactly
[10:03] dxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: o.0? i know, i was telling them gyazo isnt an inside link

My apologies, then.

[10:03] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: Emily explained it perfectly
[10:03] Nxxxxx Txxxxxx: oh yeah ..that reminds me ..[Rxxx] when I was online someone posted a outside link very early this morning which was gyazo :-)
[10:03] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: how can I show a screenshot??
[10:03] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: what emilly said.
[10:03] Emilly Orr: Gyazo is an outside link, because it originated on a website outside SL. Even if it's a screenshot of something IN SL, it uses software outside SL.
[10:03] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: so you bann gyazo from your group .. a widely used tool in sl .. so noone gets hacked by the altavista scam?

Pretty much, yeah. It can get harsh at times, and since there isn't a fully in-SL screencap service, yeah, it makes it hard to share screenshots if what we're looking for is to have people help us identify something. But none of the rules of this group were made lightly, or without consideration.

[10:04] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: can be paste links from the SLf and o blog?
[10:04] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: it's a full ban on ALL outside links
[10:04] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: smh....
[10:04] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: we simply do not allow ANY outside link, not Gyazo nor any other screenshot
[10:04] dxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: there have been more than just altervita scams
[10:04] Emilly Orr: It's a broad brush used to protect everyone. And no, [Txxxxxx], no links from the SLF and no blog without approval.
[10:04] Axxxxxxxxxxxx Sxxxxxxx: [Txxxxxx]. only mods can post external links. This is to ensure the safety of all gorup members.
[10:04] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: great read btw : [and omitting the blog post she linked from the group to make the point]

What is WRONG with you? You were JUST told!

[10:05] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: yuppers
[10:05] Emilly Orr: When you see an outside link posted by someone in bold text? That means they think it's safe.
[10:05] Emilly Orr: [Txxxxxx]...
[10:05] mxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: again you were JUST told not to post outside links.
[10:05] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: smh peeps dont listen
[10:05] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: righht I just told you that outside links were not allowed
[10:05] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: i guess i just want to be banned from the group now
[10:05] dxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: wow
[10:05] Emilly Orr: Apparently.
[10:05] Axxxxxxxxxxxx Sxxxxxxx: [Txxxxxx], that is an external link. We just said you cannot post it. Only mods can

How many times do we have to restate the same things? She's either really, really clueless and should be having problems standing upright and breathing at the same time, or she's being deliberately obtuse and stubborn about it.

[10:06] Pxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: if was an SLfree and offer bog associated with the group page

No. Not unless it's posted by a mod. What did everyone JUST say?

[10:08] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: wish people would read rules ugh save alot of trouble

You could have stopped at "Wish people would read", but I get it. The rules are clearly posted in the info box for the group, plus they're repeated in group chat at least once a week if not more.

[10:09] Axxxxxxxxxxxx Sxxxxxxx: regardless [Pxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] only mods can pst links
[10:09] nxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: still you banning people without looking into ...

[10:07] Second Life: Incoming message from [Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx]
[10:07] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: You will be removed from the SL F and O group
[10:08] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: You have been ejected from 'SL frees and offers' by [Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx].

[10:10] Txxxxxx Txxxxxx: LOL
[10:10] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: not even a link to our own SL F and O blog is allowed, only MODS can post outside links
[10:10] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: so true
[10:11] Emilly Orr: Well, if it was [Txxxxxx], she directly violated a rule after being told, but she's still here. I'd say it was you, but you're still here, so I'm confused.
[10:11] Rxxxxxxxx Rxxxx: posting IMs is against the ToS. But as you can see she was NOT banned just removed for breaking the rules twice. The group is free. She can join back any time.

And that's pretty much where it ended. It's still vaguely disturbing that something like this happens about once a week in this group, sheerly because people don't read. So tragic.

somebody calls you, somebody says swim with the current and float away

The history of French fries is fascinating. To start with, they're not even French.

And like old books? How about 11,000 old books from 1923? They have now all been digitized and can be read for free. You're welcome.

And are you part of Collection #1? Before you sneer at the idea, a quick check of haveibeenpwned revealed I am, so I am now sighing and changing my passwords. You should check, too.



In the meantime, I have found the sub ocean! Which is probably only amusing to me, so I'll explain that.



There's a Canadian internet comedy troupe called Loading Ready Run. They do a lot of things, from skit comedy to news coverage to net streaming of games old and new. Every year I watch their charity livestream, Desert Bus for Hope, which is always amazing. But, there's one show, hosted by Graham Stark and featuring Alex Steacy, called Watch+Play.



And in that series of longform torturing of Alex with really bad games, one of the chief marks of a really bad game is that they built the game either in a visible skybox--and some of them are really, really visible--or on the 'ground level' of that landscape, which means any slight glitch, dip, or fall through the ground level results in Alex suddenly visiting the sub ocean--id est, the water layer below the ground.



In other words, Second Life.



I caught these pictures at DISORDERLY/CURELESS' sim, and it was really just a case of my inability to rez in the surroundings as fast as I ordinarily would. I think my comp's going out.

But it amused me.

you fight and you fuse, oh, you're a wild little bruise

Honestly, I think I just need to make a 'linkspam' category, and have done with it.

But here goes another round of wandering the net.

Photographer Jon Crispin has been taking photographs in a storage room of a former insane asylum. Why? Because in that storage room were discovered suitcases--four hundred in all. The room was discovered in 1995, and it's taken this long for Crispin to gain access to the room and its contents.

Can computer memory get faster and more stable? Two scientists--corresponding between Berkeley and Singapore--think so. And it's based on the science behind solar panels, and bismuth ferrite. Nanoferric technology seems to be finally coming into its own.

So, there's been this huge controversy brewing inside the SFWA Bulletin. I'm linking Seanan McGuire's commentary first, because she outlines the controversy very well, but I'd also recommend (as she did), reading some of Jim Hines' collected posts--none of which are anonymous, which is the main point Malzberg and Resnick seem to be fixated upon.

There's tons of really good commentary abounding--these are all authors or scriptwriters, keep in mind--but if you want another really good, really basic overview of the situation, writer Ursula Vernon tries to define the current controversy and decides if it's akin to an abusive relationship, or trying to housebreak a puppy.

(Also, see what I did there, Malzberg and Resnick? "Author" Ursula Vernon. Not "lady author" Ursula Vernon. See how easy that was?)

Also, if you scroll down to the bottom of this edition of Radish Reviews' 'Linkspam' post (one of many reasons I should just give up and adopt the term), you'll find actual pictured and scanned copies of the direct print-out to what Malzberg and Resnick said. Which is an interesting technique for later "but that's not what I said!" bleating.

Also, while this is really, really, really long, I recommend it for reading, and possibly bookmarking to read again later. It's the best essay on why real women hate fictional women, and why that leads to hating other real women, that I've ever read.

Not that anyone particularly needs it after that, but just in case you wandered off and read everything and did get mad--which is perfectly justifiable--here's a short list of calming websites. You're welcome.

I really dislike the writers (of more than this article) calling the stone carvings on the Washington National Cathedral "gargoyles". Put plainly, most of them are grotesques. What's the difference? Gargoyles are carved to carry water from the roof. Grotesques are just sculptures on the edges. But the fact that more and more stonecarvers are electing to carve representations of modern life--that, I think is pretty neat. And it will be just as baffling four hundred years from now, when those carvings likely need renovation.

Always puzzle your descendants. It keeps them on their toes.

you're an urge that can never be cured

It's that time again: too many tabs open with things I wanted to share. So here goes, in no particular order.

Michael Zoellner spent an evening tracing--by hand--the PSR B1919+21 waveforms from the cover of a Joy Division album, then 3D-printed them. That's all kinds of cool.

Anyone besides me like to go camping? BuzzFeed posted a semi-brilliant list of camping hacks, some of which I'd never heard of before.

(Oh, and there's a real easy dodge that entry didn't think of--one can also buy two one-person sleeping bags, and zip them together for a two-person bag. If both of them are rectangular, and not the 'mummy' style, it works like a dream.)

For other hacks, wander over to LifeHacker for a brief history of mechanical keyboards, and why you want one. I know I want one, because at less than six months in on the new comp, I've already typed off the L, the >, and the ? from the keyboard I'm using.

If you make machinima, or just need background music for a project, do consider Incompetech. Everything Mr. MacLeod releases is royalty-free; he only asks that you credit him back for any project usage. He also recommends AudioMicro.com, as another excellent resource for royalty-free music. (Both sites offer low prices for commercial use, no prices for personal use, and exist solely to help folks out. I do like to encourage this, as it makes everyone happy in the end.

An avatar known as Brilliant Scientist (great name!) refitted Maestro Linden's linkset script, with some assistance from Ann O'Toole, and launched it on the wiki. If you need one of those, try that one--it creates far less lag than its predecessor.

Toska - noun /ˈtō-skə/ - Russian word roughly translated as sadness, melancholia, lugubriousness.

No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.
Vladimir Nabokov, cited in A Field Guide to Melancholy by Jacky Bowring

Some days, everything has tentacles.

There's a bit of controversy raging around the Hawkeye Initiative currently. Blogger Natalie Reed explains it further. I get what everyone's saying, but I also think that several of these women are missing the point of both the Hawkeye Initiative, and the Escher Girls blog in the first place.

(Though I'd also single out this post, because it makes a damned good point.)

Also, at least according to one Jewish paper, women didn't exist during the Holocaust. This is a nigh-perfect case of good motivation leading to bad outcome. We know why they're trying to erase women from these photographs; but many of us are not comfortable with that conclusion. In addition, it's too closely kin to censorship, so it's disturbing on that level as well.

Moving in another direction entirely, go peruse the Rag & Bone blog. Much tasty literary eye candy--and paper-based art--there.

Finally, if you're like me, you have far more anti-skills than you have skills. But even if you're not, it's good to read through, because that article provides an excellent working understanding of the difference between life skills/coping skills and anti-skills. (Just an FYI: anti-skills are the bad ones. Anti-skills are the ones we have that are habitually responsible for holding us back, keeping us trapped, and keeping us wary and fearful. It's not easy to ditch them, either, but accepting that we have them is a great first step.)

the hybrid face of time and space, and all that's in between

Want to know more about Amanda Palmer's music? She's opened up a ton of past recordings--some to download, some to buy, but all available for listening. Fun idea, and something more artists should do; because the concept of record stores with listening stations is now something firmly camped in vintage reality for most of us.

Artist Nina Katchadourian has, for several years, been rearranging book spines to make snippets of prose ranging from the whimsical to the profound. Now, her project has been released as a book itself, which is, frankly, all kinds of awesome.

Interested in quilting? Interested in constellations? Combine the two! There are seventeen days remaining to the project, which is now fully funded, so you can still contribute if you want your own special thing; or just toss in funds to support quilt artistry in general. Either way, it's a fun idea, be that wall hanging or bed covering--a section of the sky, with stars strewn in stitches to adore at leisure.

More intriguingly, though, this is not the first Haptic Lab project to use Kickstarter, and it's far from the first that's funded--this tends to be what they do as a collective. Most of their projects are sold in kit form, but when they have a design idea that needs more funding than simply selling kits and finished quilts will get them, they toss up a "mini-Kickstarter" to help them. In exchange, they put out limited editions that will never be made again. So it's a win for everyone involved--Haptic Lab gets to make bigger projects, and sell the non-limited versions to the public; the contributors get a special, one-of-a-kind handcrafted creation with all of their trademark precision and tactile sensitivity.

Speaking of Kickstarter, have I mentioned the Girl Genius Kickstarter yet? Already fully funded, with sixteen days to go, the impressive thing on this one is the steadily achieving set of stretch goals, because the more Studio Foglio raise, the greater this thing's going to be when it closes.

First, a touch of explanation for anyone who doesn't know: books are expensive to keep in print. No one knows this better than independent publishers, but as the Foglios are highly talented, slightly scattershot, vaguely disorganized artist-types, they suddenly realized they had several volumes that had slipped out of availability all at once.

This is bad. Thus, the Kickstarter, and the stretch goal process:

• $70,000: Reprinting Volume One of Girl Genius (achieved!)
• $85,000: Reprinting Volume Eleven of Girl Genius (achieved!)
• $100,000: Reprinting Volume Five of Girl Genius (achieved!)
• $115,000: Reprinting Volume Two of Girl Genius (will likely also be easily achieved as they're close)
• $130,000: Reprinting Volume Three of Girl Genius (also highly possible, as they have sixteen days and a LOT of fans)

And it goes up from there. Even better, if for reasons of ecological preservation, discouraging clutter, or purely financial, the $20 level gets you both a shiny metal pin (in antique silver or brass) PLUS PDF copies of all the books they manage to save with this effort.

Also, some of the upper level offers are just amusing beyond all reason, up to and including, for the startling fee of $10,000, Professor Phil coming to your house (or, the concurrent offer, $10,000 to keep Phil from ever coming to your house).

If you're a fan, you just might need to help them out. Good news for us--they're going to get the help, so anything past now is gravy. Tasty, tasty steampunk gravy.

Are you a wee bit OCD? Do you cook? Consider the Obsessive Chef cutting board set, with precise organizational measurements printed right on the cutting surface. Personally, I love this concept; it would be a boon to both beginning and experienced cooks alike.

Know someone who's interested in calligraphy or illumination, but who prefers naked girls to dusty books? Offer them a compromise. (That link is elegantly NSFW, but very very pretty, just so you know.)

I actually think that's a fascinating concept in general--it hearkens back both to the old horror tales of living books, as well as tattooing in general, and the preservation of knowledge. After all--you can't suppress knowledge that people already know. And folks are already getting quotes tattooed on themselves, why not entire book pages? Think about a banned book fair that's entirely comprised of passages no one can take away without removing the skin of the participants.

(I might be taking this a bit far, but still. Fascinating.)

Normally, BuzzFeed is where you go to get a quick fix of internet oddity or quirky reaction gifs to save for later, but on occasion, they make serious points. Here, why Varys is the real star of Game of Thrones. They may not be wrong.

And--last but defiantly not least--prepare yourselves. He is coming. And he looks amazingly bad-ass. RiddickRiddickRiddickyay! (Yes I am a fan.)