#started a new post because i got waaaaaay off topic here

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Errors, “Errors,” and Sci Fi

@strawberry-crocodile

tvtropes calls stuff like the wolf example "science matches on" which I think is a pretty fair shake

This.  This is what’s got me thinking so much about errors.  There’s a certain danger, here.  A certain way that this particular effect — delicious dramatic irony — tempts the mind when reading old stories, even true ones.

What do you know about R.M.S. Titanic? I ask my class every year, and the first hand rises.  “It was unsinkable,” the student inevitably says, and everyone is nodding, “or so they thought.”  I write the word UNSINKABLE on the board, underneath my crude drawing of a ship with four smokestacks.  It will be crossed out before the end of the hour, but not for the reason they expect.

“I find no evidence,” Walter Lord, preeminent biographer of the ship’s survivors, wrote, “that Titanic was ever advertised as unsinkable. This detail seems to have entered the collective mind so as to create a more perfect irony.”  Indeed, historians’ examinations of White Star Line documents show the shipbuilders themselves worried it would be so large as to risk collision; they stocked several more lifeboats than 1910s regulations required.

The War to End All Wars (deep breath, satisfied exhale), also known as World War ONE. Chuckle.  Shake of the head.  What if I told you that this phrase, used primarily in American newspapers after the fact, wasn’t meant to be literal? Nowadays we’d say The Mother of All Wars, or One Hell of a Fucking War, but we wouldn’t mean literal motherhood, literal intercourse.  What if I said the armistice and the Lost Generation and the Roaring 20s were all braced for another outbreak of European conflict, and yet we still failed to prevent it?

Did you know they were so confident in the safety of the S.S. Challenger that they put a civilian schoolteacher onboard? I do, because I’ve heard that one repeated many times.  Only, see, it’s got the cause and effect reversed.  Challenger launched on a day the shuttle’s engineers knew to be dangerously cold, because the first civilian in space was on board. And NASA knew its shuttle project would be cancelled entirely, if they couldn’t get that civilian’s much-delayed entry into space in the next two weeks.  So they launched on a cold day, and killed her instead.

These are all what cognitive science calls Hindsight Bias on the personal level, what sociology calls Presentism on the cultural level.  Social psychology’s a little of both, is primarily interested in why you’re sitting on your couch in a Colonize Mars shirt watching PBS and chuckling at the fools who believed in El Dorado.  It wants to know why the mind flees straight from “marijuana will kill you” to “marijuana will cure cancer” without so much as a pause on the middle ground of its real benefits and drawbacks, its real (mild) risks and rewards.

And they can paralyze the sci-fi writer, if you think too much about them. Jetsons is futurist one decade, retro the next.  “There are no bathrooms on the Enterprise,” the creators of Serenity say smugly, as if Gene Roddenberry should’ve simply known that decades later it’d be acceptable to show a man peeing in full view of the camera, nothing but the curve of the actor’s hand to protect his modesty.  “No sound in space,” the Fandom Menace says, “No explosions in space,” and “A space station can’t collapse in zero-G.”  Only then NASA burns a paper napkin outside of atmosphere, transmits music using only the ghost of nearby planets’ gravities, and logs onto Reddit long enough to point out the Death Star would implode in its own gravity field.  And now we’re the ones pointing, the ones laughing, at those earlier point-and-laughers.  Self-satisfied, smug in superiority.  As if we did the work to find out ourselves, instead of just happening to be born a little later than George Lucas.

#errors #continuity #sci fi #presentism #star wars #titanic #world war i #science marches on #history #started a new post because i got waaaaaay off topic here #if you think the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (1993) should've had feathers #you're a lot more ignorant about paleontology than the people you're trying to criticize #science was not handed down to us in its perfect complete form circa 1943 #stop for a second before you call out someone else's reptilian denonychus #someone else's oxygenated moon #and ask: am i better read #or am i just more recently born?

[thanksjro]

More Than Meets the Eye #28- I Sure Hope Y’all Like Megatron

“Dark Cybertron” is finally over! Woohoo!

Who’s ready for a return to hijinks and mild peril?

I know this guy is!

Hold on a second-

We start our foray into Season 2 of MTMTE with a little meta-humor-

-and then it’s right into the swing of things, as Brainstorm uses the thin, fragile wine glass of faction-based morality to hold his personal need to make instruments of violence. Nautica disapproves, but then why wouldn’t she? She’s not been steeped in the militant ideologies of the Autobots for millions of years.

It’s six months after the convoluted events of “Dark Cybertron”, and our beloved ship, the Lost Light, is back on track for the Knight Quest. Nautica’s joined the crew, which is neat, but there are far more interesting things going on.

Like Rung actually doing his fucking job for once.

Wow, look at that little creamsicle man go.

It would seem that in the last half-year (by Earth standards) Megatron’s somehow gotten himself into the esteemed position of Captain of the Lost Light. This likely means that Rodimus has been defeated in battle, or perhaps fucked off on yet another space yacht to run away from his responsibilities. I suppose the narrative will have to fill us in on just what exactly happened.

Or, at least, I hope it does. Wouldn’t be a terribly good story if I had to guess on how exactly this dude’s in charge of a whole-ass Autobot crew.

Yes, yes, I know he switched sides, but goddammit, it takes a little more than saying sorry and changing your wardrobe to excuse the murder of half of NYC.

I mean, we can do both. Both is an option. I’ll break out The Communist Manifesto right now, let’s fuckin’ gooooooooo-

Six months prior to Megatron’s therapy appointment, Rodimus is ready to high-tail it off of Cybertron yet again. This is because, as established in previous posts, Cybertron kinda sucks butt. He bursts into the meeting Optimus Prime called- even though he’s really not leader of anything anymore, Starscream is- bids everyone farewell, and is about to run back out of the room when he’s stopped.

Turns out that the populace of Cybertron want Megatron to stand trial. That makes sense, given what all he’s done. Of course, the Autobot pals we’ve got in the room want to skip due process and go straight to the part where Megatron pays through the nose for the last four million years.

Which doesn’t feel terribly heroic or good guy-ish, but I think by this point you’ve probably caught on to the fact that everyone in IDW Transformers is morally gray at BEST.

Because Megatron’s had a rough time the last few years, in relation to his bodily integrity, spark extraction- that thing that High Command lied about in relation to Overlord- isn’t an option. It would just kill him dead.

Uh, excuse me? Optimus Prime, sir? Monsieur Premier?

Guess Optimus hasn’t been keeping up with exRiD.

Anyway, yeah, since Tyrest fucked off in “The Sound of Breaking Glass” and also tried to commit a genocide, we’re gonna need someone to cast judgement.

Course, a military trial isn’t exactly ideal, but as long as it’s open to the public, it should be fine.

Probably.

Anyway, Prowl’s also going to help. Ultra Magnus has been assigned the task of representing Megatron in court, a job which he’s positively delighted to have, if his face is any indication.

The gang breaks for lunch, and Rodimus and Optimus touch base on how the Knight Quest is going.

Because Rodimus’ half of the Matrix had the map for finding the Knights of Cybertron in it, they’re gonna have to go with Plan B.

Oh fuck yes, I love Plan B!

Unfortunately, finding the ideal romantic partner for all Cybertronians is going to have to wait until after the trial, because Optimus really wants Rodimus here for this. Though perhaps there’s a way to make things move a little faster…

Back in the present, Megatron’s had just about enough of Rung being a psychiatry joke, and is about to walk out of his appointment. Ravage is here, which is neat. Rung asks Megatron about the three most important people in his life, and how he met them. One of these people is, funnily enough, Rung.

Rung, if you’ll recall, was thrown into Megatron and Impactor’s table at Maccadams waaaaaay back in The Transformers #22, the first issue of the IDW run that Roberts wrote solo. It would seem that getting arrested and subjected to police brutality ruined his once-idealistic worldview. This is just a lightning-round recap of the events of the “Chaos Theory” storyline.

Being reminded of how hard he got dunked on makes Rung break out his copy of Megatron’s autobiography, Towards Peace. Of course, Megatron has to be “that guy”, and makes it out to be far more than it actually is. My dude, you used your writing to tell all your proto-Decepticon buddies to go beat up Whirl in prison. Let’s not make things sound more grandiose than they are.

Anyway, it turns out that Rung is actually just as much a nerd as he looks, as he reveals that he’s in possession of one of the only few copies of the original version of Towards Peace. And then he takes off his glasses and the fans go bonkers, even though he’s just got that Milne Same-Face going on, just like everyone else.

There you are, you animals.

Rung discusses Revisionism, I’m reminded that the first publication of Eugenesis had a dedication to Roberts’ son of all people, and we get the question of who Terminus is to Megatron.

But alas! The X-ray vision’s been turned on, and it’s time to see… nude robots? An in-depth anatomy lesson?

Robots are confusing sometimes. Anyways, major props to Milne for drawing all that detail. Dude does the technical stuff with a ferocity that must be awe-inspiring to behold.

Megatron’s decided that it’s time for lunch, and then he’s going to do captain stuff.

Because he’s captain of the Lost Light.

I’m convinced Rodimus is dead. That’s the only way this is happening.

Six months ago, Swerve was being awful Swerve-like, with his new buddy Crosscut- guess he finally learned the guy’s name- and Riptide, who we’ll get to a little later on. These three wonderful lads are holding a sort of “crew try-outs”, and it looks like the requirements needed for entry on Megatron’s Lost Light are stiff.

Still, maybe our new friend Nautica will make the cut.

Oh, you are simply delightful!

Despite Nautica having interest in nearly every topic in the universe, on top of having impeccable taste in booze, she just misses the cut. It’s at this point that Nightbeat bursts into the room to stop this farce from going any further. The fact that nobody mentioned anything prior to this is surprising, given that portmanteaus don’t really seem the type of thing Ultra Magnus would approve of.

Back six months ago, we see what Optimus Prime’s super great idea was to expedite the judicial process- Chromedome. It’s always Chromedome. He’s gonna do that thing he promised his late husband he’d stop doing. I suppose it’s a good thing- for Rewind, anyway- that Megatron is wholly against the idea of having his memories torn out of his head. Guess we’re gonna have to do the trial the normal, non brain-pokey way.

Optimus leaves the cell, because I suppose he’s remembered that there’s a conflict of interests here, but Rodimus stays behind to let Megatron know he deserves everything that’s coming his way.

Then Megatron breaks out the puzzle-box from Hellraiser.

In the present, Chromedome isn’t so much spiraling in his depression as he is circling the drain. Nightbeat doesn’t give a shit about that though- he’s more concerned with the fact that one of the numbers on the door to Chromedome’s room is missing. But I’m sure it’s fine.

It’s fiiiiiiiiiiine.

While Nightbeat’s busy being insensitive to his fellow man’s distress, Megatron’s arrived to his room to find his door’s been vandalized by a bunch of idiots who must have just discovered what a thesaurus is. Then he gets shot in the fucking hand with an arrow.

As you do.

Whirl’s gotten ahold of a bow, and he fully intends to use it for Megatron-directed violence. And also his fists. His very pointy fists. He punches Megatron through the fucking floor into the fuel furnace, and they fall what’s probably a good 200 feet to the ground below. Whirl yells about evening the score between the two of them, and then knees Megatron in the dick.

Turns out, Megatron remembers Whirl even better than originally thought, having gone so far as to order his forces to not kill Whirl, because, in a way, he was grateful for the lesson he learned back before the war in Rodion.

Oh man, I hope Rung’s somehow listening in on this. Like, eavesdropping is obviously bad medicine, but we’ve already established that he sucks as a professional, and he needs what few advantages he can get.

Whirl, enraged by the implication that he’s been fighting fixed battles for the last four million years, punches Megatron in the gut… and his arm gets swallowed up by an errant portal leftover from all of Shockwave’s tampering. Since you can’t really fight with only one arm, Megatron wanders off to do captainy things.

Walking back the timeline slightly, we revisit Megatron leaving Rung’s office, and the idea of personal revisionism, the conversation becoming parallel with the strange happenings going on within the ship, as Rewind’s final message is altered so as not to end with “I love you” but instead a blood-curdling scream. Chromedome is, understandably, upset by this turn of events.

Over with Whirl, it’s revealed that the little fight we saw was intentionally set up. For what purpose, or by whom, is left a mystery.

Please see a doctor.

One last flashback to the trial, as Prowl lists off everything that’s standing in the way of our Sympathetic Megatron Redemption Arc.

Good fuckin’ luck, James.

Back in the present, Megatron’s slapped a bandaid on the hole in his torso, as he checks to see what’s happening on the bridge. It would appear there’s a coffin floating around in space.

Pretty fucked up.

#transformers #jro #MTMTE #world shut your mouth #issue 28 #maccadam #Hannzreads #text post #long post #overthinking about robots #comic script writing

[pixiedane]

What are the top 5 things in your life right now?

I got this ask soon after I posted the meme but I just sort of stared at it, perplexed, wondering what counts as “things” and “right now”. What I can tell you is my July, and into August, is wildly out of control – and it is entirely my own fault because I am quite easily perplexed and constantly overcommit but also why does everything have to happen all at once all the time?

Let’s talk about my degree program. I am one credit away from completing my Masters. I started in 2014, taking one course a semester because I also work full time and I’m a single mom. I’d planned to write a capstone for my final credit. Last Fall I outlined my proposal, created a reading list, met with four separate advisors – and became convinced there was no purpose to my project. I decided to start over with a new topic, got a new advisor, and planned to use this summer to write the proposal and finish this coming Fall. There were two summer courses I really wanted to take, ‘Developmental Psychology’ and ‘Writing for Television’, but I had A Plan. 

Then, rumors of a Starfleet Academy series rose up again and that’s my dream job? And I could take the writing course, at a university well-regarded in the industry, for less than $200. So here I am in this class. It meets for three hours twice a week and the homework includes reading 6 books, watching countless hours of television, and writing assignments due each class, culminating in a pilot script due the end of this month, two weeks or five classes from now. 

Meanwhile, I am meeting with my new capstone advisor (not the topic advisor, the program advisor) tomorrow and my draft proposal is also due in two weeks. And I still work full time and I’m still a single mom. My tween daughter is not a ‘thing’ but she certainly occupies much of my time (this week she has camp and I am so tired of driving you have no idea). My job is a job, boring, not particularly fulfilling or requiring me to stretch my intellect or imagination, but it, somewhat by definition, requires work. Work that is physically and emotionally draining: I work for scientists and educators and with immigrants and none of the above feel happy or safe in the US at this moment in time. (Aside: the world is on fire, everyone I know is hugely stressed and anxious, just existing is exhausting. I do what I can when I can.)

I have three cons coming up. ConnectiCon, Star Trek Las Vegas, and Cumbercon. All three have a working component – work that is waaaaaay more fun than my job job, but is still work. I guess my blogging commitments fit in here, too. Plus I’m plotting both costumes and looks for STLV cuz it’s five days (all the components of my Team Cornwell look are complete and I cannot wait to show you all – and Jayne!!). And of course events such as these require me to Be Social. Which I love! But definitely takes energy. See also: family camping weekend, friend’s bridal shower, another family camping weekend, friend’s wedding, planning a holiday Disney trip for nine.

And I’m renovating various rooms in my house (mostly DIY because that’s my budget) so at the moment the second floor is closed off, I’m sleeping on a loveseat in the living room and my clothes are in a laundry basket on an armchair. We don’t have AC, my eczema is flaring, and I’m fighting off bugs (I hate Summer, it’s the worst!!!!). 

Finally, there’s my 300,000 fanwork projects. 

(I didn’t count, but I think there are five things listed in this.)

#ask meme #wip list

[vestedbeauty]

How to Make Time Stand Still Just for a Little While

New Post has been published on https://vestedbeauty.com/how-to-make-time-stand-still-just-for-a-little-while/

How to Make Time Stand Still Just for a Little While

Pretty much everyone I ask who’s over 30 says time seems to be going faster and faster for them. Those over 50 describe a yearning to be able to make time stand still even for a moment. I wrote about this time warp while back… maybe it was last week. No, probably a few months ago. It all blurs together. 

Now, I’m probably violating all the laws of physics with what I’m about to share with you. But I’m pretty sure I’ve cracked the secret to stopping the clock – at least in how we perceive time passing. 

Call me crazy, but this works so well for me that I’ve come to crave it like an addict. If I do it regularly, I experience more happiness, more creativity, better sleep, and an all-around greater sense of wellbeing. 

You want in on this?

First, Here’s What’s Happening When Time Flies By

Sure, time flies when we’re having fun. We’ve all been around long enough to know that any big day or special event will be over before we know it. Learning to enjoy the anticipation leading up to some long-awaited experience multiplies our enjoyment. 

Got a vacation planned? (Remember those???) Focus on the pleasure of mapping it out, choosing a place to stay, and dreaming about what it’ll be like when you’re there. It’ll add to the whole experience and help make the vacation feel longer. (We’re hoping the UK will open enough to take our trip this summer. I’ll thoroughly enjoy picking places like this croft on the Isle of Skye where we can stay.)

But time doesn’t just whip past you when you’re enjoying some special occasion.

It also happens when you’re “on the clock” – especially if you absolutely love your work. Following a daily routine is extraordinarily helpful for me as a writer (otherwise… SQUIRREL!!!!). But when work days become mostly indistinguishable from each other, other than which meetings I’m in or what needs to publish that day, time flies. Every time you turn around, it’s Friday, right?

There’s something about a routine that, helpful as that groove can be, lulls us into a bit of a time warp. I’ve even noticed that when I was a kid, having a routine seemed so boring that time stood still (I swear the clock in math class went backward!). 

Of course, it makes sense. 

When we’re kids in school, we don’t have much control over how we spend our time or what we think about. As adults, we choose occupations that we eventually master. Instead of thinking about algebra, geography, biology, French, and that cute trumpet player, our minds focus on a narrower range of topics. That range could be called a groove… or a rut. Depends on your take on it.

On the Hook or Off?

Part of what makes a routine seem like time is flying by is that you’re on the hook for something. Coworkers or clients expect you to attend meetings. Colleagues expect you to work on and deliver projects. Family expects you to do whatever tasks or chores you do. All of these expectations are absolutely legit. Hopefully, you’ve created a life in which what you do and who you do it for or with is at least bearable (maybe even delightful!).

But no matter how good you feel about your day-to-day, you’re on the hook. Someone’s expecting something from you. You’ve got deadlines of all kinds. Deliver those deliverables. Move the laundry. Cook dinner at a reasonable hour. Get up, work out, shower, and go.

How’s that old song go?

“There never seems to be enough time

To do the things you want to do

Once you find them.”

It’s perfectly good and reasonable for us to fulfill our responsibilities. But what if we carved out time where nobody expects anything from us? Time we can be fully present – not doing something mindless so that it also whizzes past. 

Here’s the secret I’ve discovered.

By letting ourselves live unleashed, or off the hook – even just for a little while each day (or a long while, as I now crave)… we can make time stand still. Just for a moment.

Here’s how I do it.

Go. Out. Side.

I’ve written a bit about this already. Getting outside is good for the body and soul. But it’s more than a feel-good pill. If you do it like I’m about to prescribe for you. 

Step 1: Realize that you will NEVER be done with all the things on your plate. 

Your email box will still overflow the day you die. Laundry is never really done (unless you’re running around nekkid). There’s always something productive you could be doing. So, you can’t wait until there’s literally NOTHING you “should” be doing. Once you make peace with that, you can lose the guilty feeling that might arise if you do this. You’re not shirking responsibilities; you’re putting yourself on the list.

Step 2: Choose some outdoor activity you’ll enjoy – or at least, not hate.

Walking the dog is not inherently thrilling. Neither is pulling weeds, cleaning a chicken coop, mowing the lawn, or deadheading roses. Flying a drone? That’s pretty fun (when it’s not scary because you keep crashing). Just choose something. It’s okay if it’s something that “needs” doing. It just has to be something that’s at least mildly pleasant for you.

Step 3: Stop the clock.

It’s best to do that outdoor activity when you don’t have a hard stop on your time. I mean, the sun will set and you’ll probably need to stop then. But this works best when you’re not squeezing your outdoor time into a small window. You don’t want to feel compelled to keep checking your watch.

Step 4: Ditch the whip.

You don’t need an iron-clad plan for what you’re doing. You’re not on the clock, so efficiency is irrelevant during this precious time.

For example, I built a compost bin a few weeks ago. The process was entirely inefficient. 

Our chicken coop needed cleaning now that winter is past. So, I raked all the poopy straw out of the girls’ shed. 

I put it into a wheelbarrow and hauled it to the back edge of the yard to use as mulch. 

Then the dogs started rolling in it, and the chickens started scratching around in it and made a huge mess.

Realizing my future was now going to be filled with lots and lots of dog bathing, I reconsidered this plan.

Hey, this would make a great compost pile – if I could keep the dogs and hens out.

I found some fencing material and formed it into a barrel, sort of. Then re-raked the straw into piles, put it into the wheelbarrow, hauled it to the other side of the yard, and filled the barrel. (It’s working great, by the way.)

If I’d been on the clock and concerned about efficiency, I would have thought this through entirely before starting. (Or at least that would be the wise thing to do!) If I’d had someone else doing this with me, we would have come up with a plan first and gotten it done in no time at all.

Aren’t these hens pretty?

Even Shoveling Chicken Shit Can Be Pure Joy

Sure, it was a stinky, messy job. 

And it took way longer than it “should” have.

But it felt incredibly luxurious to just do it my way, with no time constraints, with the freedom to redo it when I got a better plan, and without the need to answer to anyone but myself.

Those couple of hours? I felt every minute. Not one slipped by at warp speed.

I’ve discovered that the same thing happens when I walk our knuckleheads on the 2.4 mile route of our neighborhood. I don’t look at my watch. The time passes, but not at a breakneck speed. The dogs just want to walk and smell and pee. I notice new buds on trees, the neighbor’s weird trash in the ditch, and the two black dogs who race along their fence to bark at us.

It’s not the excitement factor of what you’re doing. (In fact, this works best with mundane, practically meditative activities.) It’s the fact that you’re doing it your way, at your unhurried pace.

  These peonies are gorgeous!

Repeat Daily for Best Results

Days I don’t do this – when I just work, make meals, watch Netflix, and go to bed – they fly by, happy but indistinguishable from all others.

And I can’t tell you that taking time “off the hook” makes any particular day stand out from the others. But at least in those days (and they’re becoming the norm now), the hour or two I take to putter slow WAAAAAAY down.

Any day I do this, I feel better. Happier. More whole, more peaceful, more satisfied with the day I created. 

Before I did this, the sense of time rushing past so fast felt borderline panic-inducing. But knowing how to make time stand still – just for a little while – brings a level of peace, serenity, and plain old happiness I think will help you, too.

If you do it, let me know how it goes.

#Make time stand still