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golbargbashi · 9 months

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ترجمه فارسی مقالهٔ (سال ۲۰۱۶) در مورد انگیزه و تلاشم برای نوشتن و انتشار کتاب فراملی کودک‌ در صنعت نشر کودک آمریکا.

این مقاله قبل از انتشار اولین کتاب در سری کتابهای کودک متنوع و مترقی انتشاراتم به زبان انگلیسی در شهر نیویورک نوشته و چاپ شد. جمع‌آوری بودجه برای چاپ اولین کتاب حدود یک سال و فقط از طریق حمایت معنوی و تشویق بزرگان فلسطینی-آمریکایی مترقی و پیش خرید صدها خانواده و شهروند مهیا شد.

Persian translation of a 2016 English Op-Ed I wrote for Mondoweiss prior to the publication and launch of Dr. Bashi™️ first diverse social justice children’s book, namely “P is For Palestine: A Palestine Alphabet Book.”

داستان فلسطین به طور کلی داستان انسانیت ماست. داستان تمام آدم ها و تمام ملت هایی که در طول تاریخ به دنبال افتخار به وطنشان بوده اند.

در 22 سپتامبر 1980 با حمله صدام به اهواز در نزدیکی مرز ایران و عراق من شاهد از دست دادن خانه مان بودم. در آن زمان من 6 ساله بودم. شانسی که ما آوردیم این بود که توانستیم در زادگاه مادرم شیراز ساکن شویم و برای مدت کوتاهی در امان باشیم تا زمانی که بمباران هوایی شیراز و سایر شهرهای دور از مرز عراق هم آغاز شد. چند سال بعد از شروع جنگ خانواده ام به سوئد پناهنده شدند. در سوئد من کودکانی را از مناطق جنگی ملاقات کردم و داستان زندگیشان را شنیدم. مصائب پناهندگان فلسطینی در این میان احساسات عمیقی را در من برانگیخت.

در کمپ پناهندگان سوئد که محل اسکان موقت ما بود، هر کسی به جز فلسطینی ها ملیت شناخته شده و سرزمینی بر روی نقشه سیاسی جهان داشت. رنج های خانواده های فلسطینی شامل چند نسل می شد؛ از پدربزرگ هایی که در روز نکبت کشته شده بودند یا از آن جان سالم بدر برده بودند تا پدر و مادرها و کودکانی که در کمپ های پناهندگان به دنیا آمده بودند.

در ان زمان ما به جز معدود عکس های خانوادگی و حرف های خودمان، چیز قابل توجهی برای نشان دادن به یکدیگر یا همسایگان و هم کلاسی های جدید سوئدی مان که نسبت به فرهنگ و تاریخ ما بی اطلاع بودند نداشتیم یا در کتابخانه های محلی نمی توانستیم پیدا کنیم.

در آن روزها، کتاب یا فیلم هایی که سرزمین و فرهنگ ما را بشناساند وجود نداشت. من سال های مدرسه را به دفاع از وطنم ایران در برابر کتاب بتی محمودی (نه بدون خواهرم) و تبلیغات پیوسته رسانه های نژادپرست علیه اکثر جوامع مسلمان گذراندم.

اکنون بعد از گذشت سه دهه شرایط تغییر کرده است. با وجود اینکه جهان اوضاع بسیار نابه سامان تری را تجربه می کند اما فرصت ها برای یادگیری بیشتر و تشکیل گروه های مردمی برای انجام کارهای خوب افزایش یافته است. این شرایط برای من به معنای ترکیب تحقیقات دانشگاهیم در زمینه نژاد، جنسیت، حقوق بشر و تاریخ با فعالیت اجتماعی و علاقه ام به هنرهای بصری و ارتباط و یادگیری و تبادل ایده ها با دانشگاهیان، هنرمندان و فعالان اجتماعی همفکر از طریق رسانه های جمعی است.

بدین ترتیب، به مدد عصر دیجیتال و همکاری کوروش بیگ پور، تایپوگرافیست شناخته شده استارتاپ اجتماعی دکتر باشی را راه اندازی کردم تا از این طریق وسایل کمک آموزشی استاندارد به زبان فارسی و عربی را که کمبود آن احساس می شود برای کودکان ارائه نمایم.

شبکه اجتماعی فیس بوک نیز خانم گلرخ نفیسی هنرمندی با دغدغه های اجتماعی را به گروه من ملحق کرد و در حال حاضر در حال تالیف کتابهای مصور در حوزه ادبیات کودکان هستیم و این فعالیت ها را برای کودکانی انجام می دهیم که سرنوشتی مشابه ما دارند از جمله کودکان پناهنده سوری در المان یا سوئد یا کودکان پناهنده یمنی که در شهر نیویورک ملاقات کردم.

بر همین اساس بود که کتاب "ف مثل فلسطین" در دست انتشار قرار گرفت. این کتاب برای کودکان فلسطینی است که می خواهند برای دوستانشان حرفی برای گفتن داشته باشند.

ریشه کتاب های الفبا به چند قرن قبل باز می گردد. در حال حاضر کتاب های الفبایی بی شماری در باره بسیاری از کشورها و فرهنگ ها در دنیا وجود دارد که به کودکان در شناخت ملت ها و فرهنگ های دیگر کمک می کند، از جمله الف مثل آمریکا، ب مثل برزیل، ک مثل کانادا. با این وجود، چنین کتابی برای فلسطین به زبان انگلیسی تا به حال وجود نداشته است."

"هرکسی که در فلسطین بوده است یا دوستان، هم کلاسی ها و همسایگان فلسطینی دارد، می داند که این ملت پر افتخار اهل مدیترانه در مرکز توجه دنیای ماست. فلسطین سرزمین شیرین ترین پرتقال ها، پیچیده ترین سوزن دوزی ها، رقص های باشکوه (دبکه)، باغهای حاصلخیز زیتون و شادترین مردمان است. با الهام از پیشینه غنی مردم فلسطین در زمینه ادبیات و هنرهای بصری یک نویسنده دانشگاهی در زمینه ادبیات کودکان و یک تصویرگر با دغدغه های اجتماعی دست به دست هم داده اند تا کتاب "ف مثل فلسطین" را به زبان انگلیسی تالیف و در آن داستان فلسطین را به سادگی حروف الفبا به شیوه ای آموزشی، شاد و آگاهی بخش تعریف کنند تا از این طریق گوشه ای از زیبایی و قدرت فرهنگ فلسطین را نمایش دهند:

ع مثل عربی، زبان من، زبانی که چهارمین زبان ترانه دنیاست!

ب مثل بیت لحم، محل تولدم با بهترین باقلواها، که باید آنرا در بشقاب گذاشت نه در کوزه!"

Original English Op-Ed is Available here:

#PIsForPalestine #crowdfunded #labor of love #publishing #diverse children's books #Persian translation #فارسی #گلبرگ باشی

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fridge-reviews · 7 months

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System Shock Remake

Developer: Nightdive Studios Publisher: Prime Matter Rrp: £34.99 (Gog.com, Humble, Steam and Epic) Released: 30th May 2023 Available on: Gog.com, Humble, Steam and Epic Played Using: Mouse and Keyboard Approximate game length: 20 hours

Before I start this review I have to mention that I backed this game on Kickstarter.

Way back in December of 2015 I reviewed System Shock 2. I've always felt wrong about reviewing that game and not the original but each time I tried to play it or the enhanced edition I found myself just too put off by the 'clunkyness' of the game. So I'm very pleased that this remake was made as it solves many of the issues I had with the original release. Of course, I understand that while this remake has been pretty faithful to the original the developers have made a few changes so its not 100% faithful.

The game is set on the Citadel Space Station in the year 2072. You play as 'The Hacker' (yes, that is the only name given) who awakes on the space station. The onboard AI, Shodan, has taken over and has been either eliminating or 'modifying' the residents of the space station. When you start a new game you get to individually select the difficulty of the combat, cyberspace, puzzles and missions. Once the difficulty is set you won't be able to change it.

As you can see from the screenshots this game is a First Person Shooter, however unlike most FPS's this game has an inventory system that works like the attache case in the Resident Evil games. Everything you carry takes up space within your inventory meaning that you'll be playing inventory Tetris quite often.

Throughout the game are items that are junk (you'll know which items are junk as it'll have the word 'junk' in brackets next to the items name). These junk items can be 'vaporised' into scrap within your inventory taking up much less space and can be used to claim credits at recycling points. This system is where some of the clunkyness I mentioned before comes in. When you pick up junk items they take up a space (or several) within your inventory and you have to vaporise each type of junk individually by right clicking on it and selecting the vaporise option. As I'm sure you can imagine this can mean you spend much longer in the inventory when you could be wandering the ship. Oh, and the game doesn't pause when you're in the inventory so its not a good idea to do this unless you're sure you're safe. I should mention that vaporising system is totally optional, but the credits are very useful as they are used to purchase items from vending machines such as ammo, single use enhancements, health kits and even weapon modifications.

There are no objective markers to be found nor even a quest log. This is both a strength and a failing as it doesn't clutter up the map or your HUD with markers or handhold you through the various missions. But it can mean that you may spend a lot of time trekking back and forth trying to work out what you're next objective is since there is nothing to directly tell you. However, if you find yourself in that position I recommend checking the map for any places that remain unexplored and going through the various audio logs and emails you collect as those can contain important clues.

Occasionally you'll have to enter cyberspace which plays similarly to an old game called Descent. In this mode you essentially control like a free floating camera and can roll like an aircraft.

I loved playing System Shock 2 so it's been really nice to go back and play this version of the original predecessor. As I mentioned before, I have attempted to play the original or enhanced editions and just found it far too clunky to be enjoyable. This game mostly avoids that but newcomers may still feel a certain level of... age, especially when compared to more modern fare. I would ask that anyone who decides to give this game a go keep in mind that this is a remake of a game that predates and is a major influence upon many of the games that it shares a genre with (immersive sim) such as Prey, Bioshock and even Dishonored plus many more games that have taken inspiration from it and its sequel.

While I really like the games art style I will admit the rather 'busy' nature of it can make it easy for a player to miss a button or lever they need to interact with in order to progress. A feature I quite like is the shader that Nightdive have implemented to the graphics which gives all the textures a somewhat pixelated look, I know that some people aren't a fan of the effect but I think it really suits the over aesthetic of the game. It's also wonderful that the original voice actress of Shodan was able to retain her role, I was a little worried that they might try to recast which would be like recasting GlaDos.

On the whole I'm pleased with this game and I'm very glad I backed it. I just hope that System Shock 3 is able to have a similar impact when that finally appears (though I have some doubts as the licence has gone from Otherside Entertainment to Tencent).

If this appeals to you perhaps try;

Prey System Shock 2 Bioshock

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If you’d like to support me I have a Ko-fi, the reviews will continue to be posted donation or not.

#game review #game reviews #games review #games reviews #video games #video game #video gaming #fps #indie #indie games #indie game #System Shock #System Shock Remake #nightdive studios #Prime Matter #kickstarter #crowdfunding #crowdfunded #Immersive Sim

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elliesbelle · 3 months

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emily gwen, the creator of the sunset lesbian flag that we’ve come to commonly use, still continues to live in poverty.

multi-billion dollar companies have used their design and made profit from it, and yet they have not seen a cent for their creation.

i’ve been friends with emily for years, and i have not once seen them be financially stable the entire time. i’ve seen them homeless, unemployed, starving. right now, they need our help more than ever.

please consider donating to emily’s ko-fi, especially if you’ve used their design to create something and profited from it.

#emily’s finally found housing after couch surfing at friends’ places for months #they’ve got a lot of debt rn on top of bills and rent #rn they don’t have food in the house and they’re starving #they don’t deserve this at all they are so kind and i literally hate to see them suffering #please please pleaaase donate and reblog #they don’t ask for much but they deserve the world #mutual aid #crowdfunding #donation post #belle speaks

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rozzibunny · 2 months

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Three days left!

Caput Mortuum follows Mort (a young lich) on a perilous journey based on the official prompts for Inktober 2023.

For anyone who followed my uploads during inktober and enjoyed them, I really hope you consider backing (reward tiers start at just £3!)

The kickstarter can be found on my bio, or here: http://kck.st/49biAMy

#kickstarter #projects we love #kickstarter comic #comic book #comic #web comic #crowdfunded #crowdfunded comic #inktober #inktober comic

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bisonwares · 3 months

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TRANSFORM JACKET IS NOW LIVE ON KICKSTARTER 🌑🩸

Weathered black denim jacket lined with Sherpa includes:

X2 Breast pockets

X2 Lower hand pockets

X1 Interior hidden breast pocket

X12 snap buttons

Embroidered details

XS-6XL sizing💕

Back the project now on Kickstarter!

#small artist #small business #art #merch design #kickstarter #trans artist #trans business #transgender #werewolves #werewolf #blood moon #full moon #moon #horror #wolf #crowdfunding

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pkansa · 6 months

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Now Funding: Yema Superman Bronze CMM.10 Limited Edition

View On WordPress

#bronze #crowd funding #Crowdfunded #Kickstarter #Yema

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mostlysignssomeportents · 9 months

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Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it

My next book is The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation: it’s a Big Tech disassembly manual that explains how to disenshittify the web and bring back the old good internet. The hardcover comes from Verso on Sept 5, but the audiobook comes from me — because Amazon refuses to sell my audio:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-internet-con-how-to-seize-the-means-of-computation

Amazon owns Audible, the monopoly audiobook platform that controls >90% of the audio market. They require mandatory DRM for every book sold, locking those books forever to Amazon’s monopoly platform. If you break up with Amazon, you have to throw away your entire audiobook library.

That’s a hell of a lot of leverage to hand to any company, let alone a rapacious monopoly that ran a program targeting small publishers called “Project Gazelle,” where execs were ordered to attack indie publishers “the way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle”:

https://www.businessinsider.com/sadistic-amazon-treated-book-sellers-the-way-a-cheetah-would-pursue-a-sickly-gazelle-2013-10

[Image ID: Journalist and novelist Doctorow (Red Team Blues) details a plan for how to break up Big Tech in this impassioned and perceptive manifesto….Doctorow’s sense of urgency is contagious -Publishers Weekly]

I won’t sell my work with DRM, because DRM is key to the enshittification of the internet. Enshittification is why the old, good internet died and became “five giant websites filled with screenshots of the other four” (h/t Tom Eastman). When a tech company can lock in its users and suppliers, it can drain value from both sides, using DRM and other lock-in gimmicks to keep their business even as they grow ever more miserable on the platform.

Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

[Image ID: A brilliant barn burner of a book. Cory is one of the sharpest tech critics, and he shows with fierce clarity how our computational future could be otherwise -Kate Crawford, author of The Atlas of AI”]

The Internet Con isn’t just an analysis of where enshittification comes from: it’s a detailed, shovel-ready policy prescription for halting enshittification, throwing it into reverse and bringing back the old, good internet.

How do we do that? With interoperability: the ability to plug new technology into those crapulent, decaying platform. Interop lets you choose which parts of the service you want and block the parts you don’t (think of how an adblocker lets you take the take-it-or-leave “offer” from a website and reply with “How about nah?”):

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/adblocking-how-about-nah

But interop isn’t just about making platforms less terrible — it’s an explosive charge that demolishes walled gardens. With interop, you can leave a social media service, but keep talking to the people who stay. With interop, you can leave your mobile platform, but bring your apps and media with you to a rival’s service. With interop, you can break up with Amazon, and still keep your audiobooks.

So, if interop is so great, why isn’t it everywhere?

Well, it used to be. Interop is how Microsoft became the dominant operating system:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

[Image ID: Nobody gets the internet-both the nuts and bolts that make it hum and the laws that shaped it into the mess it is-quite like Cory, and no one’s better qualified to deliver us a user manual for fixing it. That’s The Internet Con: a rousing, imaginative, and accessible treatise for correcting our curdled online world. If you care about the internet, get ready to dedicate yourself to making interoperability a reality. -Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine]

It’s how Apple saved itself from Microsoft’s vicious campaign to destroy it:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

Every tech giant used interop to grow, and then every tech giant promptly turned around and attacked interoperators. Every pirate wants to be an admiral. When Big Tech did it, that was progress; when you do it back to Big Tech, that’s piracy. The tech giants used their monopoly power to make interop without permission illegal, creating a kind of “felony contempt of business model” (h/t Jay Freeman).

The Internet Con describes how this came to pass, but, more importantly, it tells us how to fix it. It lays out how we can combine different kinds of interop requirements (like the EU’s Digital Markets Act and Massachusetts’s Right to Repair law) with protections for reverse-engineering and other guerrilla tactics to create a system that is strong without being brittle, hard to cheat on and easy to enforce.

What’s more, this book explains how to get these policies: what existing legislative, regulatory and judicial powers can be invoked to make them a reality. Because we are living through the Great Enshittification, and crises erupt every ten seconds, and when those crises occur, the “good ideas lying around” can move from the fringes to the center in an eyeblink:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/12/only-a-crisis/#lets-gooooo

[Image ID: Thoughtfully written and patiently presented, The Internet Con explains how the promise of a free and open internet was lost to predatory business practices and the rush to commodify every aspect of our lives. An essential read for anyone that wants to understand how we lost control of our digital spaces and infrastructure to Silicon Valley’s tech giants, and how we can start fighting to get it back. -Tim Maughan, author of INFINITE DETAIL]

After all, we’ve known Big Tech was rotten for years, but we had no idea what to do about it. Every time a Big Tech colossus did something ghastly to millions or billions of people, we tried to fix the tech company. There’s no fixing the tech companies. They need to burn. The way to make users safe from Big Tech predators isn’t to make those predators behave better — it’s to evacuate those users:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/18/urban-wildlife-interface/#combustible-walled-gardens

I’ve been campaigning for human rights in the digital world for more than 20 years; I’ve been EFF’s European Director, representing the public interest at the EU, the UN, Westminster, Ottawa and DC. This is the subject I’ve devoted my life to, and I live my principles. I won’t let my books be sold with DRM, which means that Audible won’t carry my audiobooks. My agent tells me that this decision has cost me enough money to pay off my mortgage and put my kid through college. That’s a price I’m willing to pay if it means that my books aren’t enshittification bait.

But not selling on Audible has another cost, one that’s more important to me: a lot of readers prefer audiobooks and 9 out of 10 of those readers start and end their searches on Audible. When they don’t find an author there, they assume no audiobook exists, period. It got so bad I put up an audiobook on Amazon — me, reading an essay, explaining how Audible rips off writers and readers. It’s called “Why None of My Audiobooks Are For Sale on Audible”:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

[Image ID: Doctorow has been thinking longer and smarter than anyone else I know about how we create and exchange value in a digital age. -Douglas Rushkoff, author of Present Shock]

To get my audiobooks into readers’ ears, I pre-sell them on Kickstarter. This has been wildly successful, both financially and as a means of getting other prominent authors to break up with Amazon and use crowdfunding to fill the gap. Writers like Brandon Sanderson are doing heroic work, smashing Amazon’s monopoly:

https://www.brandonsanderson.com/guest-editorial-cory-doctorow-is-a-bestselling-author-but-audible-wont-carry-his-audiobooks/

And to be frank, I love audiobooks, too. I swim every day as physio for a chronic pain condition, and I listen to 2–3 books/month on my underwater MP3 player, disappearing into an imaginary world as I scull back and forth in my public pool. I’m able to get those audiobooks on my MP3 player thanks to Libro.fm, a DRM-free store that supports indie booksellers all over the world:

https://blog.libro.fm/a-qa-with-mark-pearson-libro-fm-ceo-and-co-founder/

Producing my own audiobooks has been a dream. Working with Skyboat Media, I’ve gotten narrators like @wilwheaton, Amber Benson, @neil-gaiman and Stefan Rudnicki for my work:

https://craphound.com/shop/

[Image ID: “This book is the instruction manual Big Tech doesn’t want you to read. It deconstructs their crummy products, undemocratic business models, rigged legal regimes, and lies. Crack this book and help build something better. -Astra Taylor, author of Democracy May Not Exist, but We’ll Miss It When Its Gone”]

But for this title, I decided that I would read it myself. After all, I’ve been podcasting since 2006, reading my own work aloud every week or so, even as I traveled the world and gave thousands of speeches about the subject of this book. I was excited (and a little trepedatious) at the prospect, but how could I pass up a chance to work with director Gabrielle de Cuir, who has directed everyone from Anne Hathaway to LeVar Burton to Eric Idle?

Reader, I fucking nailed it. I went back to those daily recordings fully prepared to hate them, but they were good — even great (especially after my engineer John Taylor Williams mastered them). Listen for yourself!

https://archive.org/details/cory_doctorow_internet_con_chapter_01

I hope you’ll consider backing this Kickstarter. If you’ve ever read my free, open access, CC-licensed blog posts and novels, or listened to my podcasts, or come to one of my talks and wished there was a way to say thank you, this is it. These crowdfunders make my DRM-free publishing program viable, even as audiobooks grow more central to a writer’s income and even as a single company takes over nearly the entire audiobook market.

Backers can choose from the DRM-free audiobook, DRM-free ebook (EPUB and MOBI) and a hardcover — including a signed, personalized option, fulfilled through the great LA indie bookstore Book Soup:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-internet-con-how-to-seize-the-means-of-computation

What’s more, these ebooks and audiobooks are unlike any you’ll get anywhere else because they are sold without any terms of service or license agreements. As has been the case since time immemorial, when you buy these books, they’re yours, and you are allowed to do anything with them that copyright law permits — give them away, lend them to friends, or simply read them with any technology you choose.

As with my previous Kickstarters, backers can get their audiobooks delivered with an app (from libro.fm) or as a folder of MP3s. That helps people who struggle with “sideloading,” a process that Apple and Google have made progressively harder, even as they force audiobook and ebook sellers to hand over a 30% app tax on every dollar they make:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-another-audiobook-that-amazon-wont-sell/posts/3788112

Enshittification is rotting every layer of the tech stack: mobile, payments, hosting, social, delivery, playback. Every tech company is pulling the rug out from under us, using the chokepoints they built between audiences and speakers, artists and fans, to pick all of our pockets.

The Internet Con isn’t just a lament for the internet we lost — it’s a plan to get it back. I hope you’ll get a copy and share it with the people you love, even as the tech platforms choke off your communities to pad their quarterly numbers.

Next weekend (Aug 4-6), I'll be in Austin for Armadillocon, a science fiction convention, where I'm the Guest of Honor:

https://armadillocon.org/d45/

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

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/31/seize-the-means-of-computation/#the-internet-con

[Image ID: My forthcoming book 'The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation' in various editions: Verso hardcover, audiobook displayed on a phone, and ebook displayed on an e-ink reader.]

#pluralistic #trustbusting #big tech #gift guide #kickstarter #the internet con #books #audiobooks #enshitiffication #disenshittification #crowdfunders #seize the means of computation #audible #amazon #verso

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caintooth · 1 year

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get it here!

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thepointofclicking · 5 months

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Miss Mass #1 “The Dame In Black” Comic Review

#Miss Mass #Science Fiction #Cyberpunk #Leading Ladies #comic review #comic #review #indie comics #indie #comics #comic books #graphic novel #crowdfunding #crowdfunded #kickstarter #indiegogo #zoop #fundmycomic #crowdfundr

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catpriciousmarjara · 7 months

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Getting a PHD literally anywhere else: Wow! Congratulations! What a great achievement! Amazing!

Getting a PHD in Gotham: Wow! Amazing! You're now on several Government, Civilian, and Bat watchlists.

So if any of the Wayne kids get a PHD, then the entirety of Gotham would be squinting at them suspiciously. They're rich, so resources, and most likely already insane with all the shit they pull.

What I'm saying is if Jason went and got himself a Doctorate in Literature, the whole city would anticipate the appearance of his villainsona called the Dead Poet(emphasis on the dead) or Bookkeeper or something else similarly nerdy and themed like that for sure.

I just know that it would turn into some Gotham inside joke with memes abound, and everytime Jason would, I don't know, give more funding to the neglected Arts Departments in Gotham University, or go to a school for read alongs to encourage kids to read, Gotham social media would go crazy and be like:

"The Dreaded Villain Dead Poet Reads Alice in Wonderland to Children! How Despicable!"

"Villain Dead Poet Lambasts Government on Banning Books! Leads Librarians to Riot!"

"Dead Poet Ramps up his Villainy by Establishing Educational Programmes in Crime Alley! Uplifting the Poor! What a Dastardly Villain!"

"Dead Poet Goes on Live Ranting About his Favourite Books! Favourite Author is Jane Austen! Is this the Feminist Agenda?"

And so on! It's a meme that refuses to go away. His siblings actively participate, and make the situation worse.

Dick held an online Gotham Villains and Anti-Heroes Poll and Dead Poet came out on top, over Red Hood. Jason is an actual Gotham crime boss, but his crowdfunded villainsona is more popular. No he's not salty about it at all.

Duke would create a montage of Dead Poet sightings.

Stephanie would make a Dead Poet meme compilation.

Tim would arrange Wayne Enterprises to donate to local libraries after allegedly being threatened by the heinous villain Dead Poet. (Jason did ask Tim to do that but not like that)

Barbara created an extremely popular Villain Watch account for Dead Poet.

Cass tweeted out Jason's favourite books as the villain Dead Poets reading list telling people to avoid them 'wink wonk', causing a massive uptick in the sale of those books ala Bigolas Dickolas.

Damian of all people tweeted out a pic of Jason playing with Alfred the cat accusing the evil villain Dead Poet of attempting to kidnap his cat.

And thats not to mention all the shenanigans they pull in their batsonas.

God bless Gotham and it's home grown, organic, not even remotely ethically sourced, free range chaos.

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fridge-reviews · 1 year

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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Developer: ArtPlay Publisher: 505 Games Rrp: £34.99 (Gog.com, Humblebundle, Steam and Origin) Released: 18th June 2019 Available on: Gog.com, Humblebundle, Steam and Origin Played Using: An Xbox One Control Pad Approximate game length: 15 Hours

When it comes to metroidvania's we tend to get games that focus more on the Metroid side of things and less on the Vania (as in Castlevania, in case I have to spell that out). However, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night pulls far more on the Castlevania side of things.

In case it wasn't obvious, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a spiritual successor to the Castlevania series. In fact, I think it's safe to say this is the closest we're going to get to getting a new Castlevania since Konami has decided to give up on making video games in favour of gambling machines. This game was the brainchild of Koji Igarashi who had been a producer for the Castlevania series who left Konami when they started to change into a gambling machine company. The game was crowdfunded on Kickstarter, of which I sadly missed out on being a backer, in fact for a short period it was the highest value video game kickstarter the platform had ever had.

Bloodstained (I shall be refraining from saying the full name now) is a sidescrolling platformer with three dimensional backgrounds. Meaning the various rooms are given an added level of depth but never interfere with the gameplay. Bloostained is very much keeping itself as close as it can to its inspiration by including many of the features and... quirks that made Castlevania what it was, such as having a save specific save room or having enemies repopulate a screen once you return to it.

When you start the game a lot of bonus content and becomes available including two extra characters to play as, the game recommends playing as Mirriam first as she is the default character and experience. Having completed the game and then replayed using these characters I wholeheartedly agree with that as the two other characters play extremely differently, With completely different tutorials.

Assuming your playing as Mirriam (the default main character) you will collect 'shards', which are crystallised demonic power. Usually these are obtained by killing a demon but there are some you will find in a breakable object. These shards come in six variaties. Conjure, manipulative, directional, passive, familiar and skill. Conjure shards are generally (but not always) offensive spells. Manipulative shards allow you to alter the game or yourself in some way. Directional shards are usually spells that assist in movement and require you to direct them using the right analogue stick. Passive shards are just that a passive ability such as increased damage with a specific weapon type. Familiar shards allow you to have a familiar who will assist in combat. Lastly are skill shards, these are generally the ones you'll need to progress in the game such as double jumping etc.

There's a crafting system that allows you to create, enhance and dismantle items as well as also allowing you to prepare food. As can be expected creating and enhancing items require resources (of which there are a great many in this game). Dismantling an item will give you the items that item is made from, however, you have to have a specific resource to do that. Preparing food works in exactly the same way as creating items however food will heal you when its consumed, the amount of healing given varying from foodstuff to foodstuff, but it also grants a permanent small bonus to your stats the first time its consumed.

When it comes to combat I'm really unsure of what to say. It felt fine, I personally thought that Hollow Knights was better but perhaps that was down to my build. You see, in this game each weapon has its own movement speed and move set. Daggers are quick but do little damage while great swords are slow but do huge sums of damage. You can bolster this with what equipment shards you choose to use.

I really liked this game, to the point that I actually forgot to take screenshots and had to go back through simply to get some! I was never really into Castlevania as I grew up but I knew of them through social osmosis. One thing I do want to mention is that there are a few endings to this game and the easiest to achieve isn't the 'best' one.

If this appeals to you perhaps try;

Hollow Knight Infernax

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