ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝 @feddit.uk A geologist and archaeologist by training, a nerd by inclination - books, films, fossils, comics, rocks, games, folklore, and, generally, the rum and uncanny... Let's have it!
Elsewhere:
- Yrtree.me - it's still early days for me in the Fediverse, so bear with me
Indeed. Lemmy/Mastodon integration isn't the best, so we'll see if it punches through.
I read the link, I still don't see the relevance to a post about a Japanese woman arrested for driving a suitcase. It's not the kind of topic to attract trolls. We sometimes get some Hexbear shenanigans in political posts but you can't bang that in every thread unless you are going to claim this is Magic Elephant Dust.
That's not much.
It's an incredibly complicated issue, even if you look at individual cases (like Caster Semenya) and there's almost no easy way to define what you mean by a woman. Ultimately it's down to the individual sporting organisations to decide how to call it based on expert advice and any decision is going to disadvantage some athletes. If they think the decision is wrong, then there should be a way to appeal decisions because it can come down to difficult analysis based on each individual's life history.
A compelling argument I've heard is that the greatest performance enhancing drug is being exposed to testosterone during puberty and that seems to be the base line a lot of the sporting organisations use. However, even then it is difficult to call for individuals and would need expert testimony on each individual case.
We're yet to see if it's a good one.
you should never use Wikipedia as a source. and definitely not on politics.
I wasn't. It's there for further reading.
Seems like Obsidian could easily address this need [on Android] by adding a widget feature. Allow the user to pin a note to the home screen like Google Keep, or tap the widget to open a lightweight markdown editor which saves to a new file in the vault.
From the linked article it does sound like they are aware of the issue and will come up with a fix. For now, I'm happy with ZN but we'll see.
JK Rowling has branded 'Harry Potter' actor David Tennant the "gender taliban" after he said transgender critics are on the "wrong side of history."
> J.K. Rowling is embroiled in a fresh row with another Harry Potter actor over transgender rights. > > Following exchanges of fire with Daniel Radcliffe and others, Rowling has blasted David Tennant after the Goblet of Fire star voiced strident views on those who speak out against trans rights. > > During an appearance at the British LGBT Awards over the weekend, he called on British equalities minister Kemi Badenoch to “shut up” after she advocated for banning trans women from entering women’s toilets and sports teams. > > In an interview at the same event, Tennant called transgender critics “a tiny bunch of little whinging f*ckers who are on the wrong side of history, and they’ll all go away soon.” > > Earlier in the week, Rowling branded people like Tennant the “gender Taliban.” In posts on X (once Twitter) on Friday, she expanded her comments to address Tennant’s “wrong side of history” quote. > > Rowling wrote: “This man is talking about rape survivors who want female-only care, the nurses currently suing their health trust for making them change in front of a man, girls and women losing sporting opportunities to males and female prisoners incarcerated with convicted sex offenders.” > > She added: “For a man who’s supposedly a model of compassion and tolerance, he sure does want a lot of people to cease to exist.”
OVO Group, the UK's fourth-biggest home energy provider, is lining up bankers at Rothschild to assist with a review of its strategic and financing options, Sky News learns.
> Britain's fourth-biggest household energy supplier is lining up bankers to explore options including bringing in a new investor or a sale, 15 years after it launched in a bid to challenge the industry's oligopoly. > > Sky News has learnt that OVO Group, which was founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick, is close to hiring Rothschild to assist with a strategic review of the business. > > City sources said this weekend that a range of possibilities would be considered during the process, which is expected to take several months. > > These are likely to include a refinancing - with talks already underway about OVO's existing borrowings - as well as issuing new shares to prospective investors, or a partial or full sale by some of the company's shareholders. > > An outright sale of the business is considered by insiders to be unlikely at this point, but is expected to be explored as part of the strategic review. > > ... > > Key to OVO's valuation will be the growth of its technology platform, Kaluza, which was set up to license its software to other energy suppliers, and provides customers with smart electric vehicle charging and heat pumps. > > OVO recently announced that AGL Energy, one of Australia's biggest energy suppliers, had bought a 20% stake in Kaluza at a $500m (£395m) valuation. > > Kaluza is understood to be exploring further expansion opportunities in Europe, Japan and the US. > > OVO has also entered the electric vehicle car charging sector under the brand Charge Anywhere, adding 34,000 public charging points across the UK. > > In 2022, OVO Group made an unadjusted loss of £1.3bn, which it blamed on a decline in the value of energy it had bought in advance to meet future supply commitments. > > It said this had "no cash impact" in a corporate filing, and that this value would rise as customers used the energy it had bought.
The US star struggled to be heard, and to hear herself, during a much-anticipated Pyramid stage set.
> Cyndi Lauper’s return to Glastonbury was beset by sound problems that left the audience struggling to hear her vocals. > > For the first few songs, the star’s voice was drowned out by rumbling bass. When fans could hear, she seemed to be struggling to find her pitch and timing -particularly on a wayward version of Rocking Chair. > > The issues appeared to have been resolved by the time she got to the power ballad I Drove All Night, with her voice suddenly resonant and powerful in the mid-afternoon sun. > > But she faltered again on Time After Time, with the delivery on one of her earliest hits from 1984 lagging behind the band - suggesting she was having trouble with her in-ear monitors. > > At times, the singer appeared to be in dispute with members of the production team by the side of the stage.
Now I Know Why Even The Best Jedi Masters Didn't Stand A Chance Against Palpatine
Contains spoilers for The Acolyte episode 5.
Sir Grumpus L Shorticus The Monster Raving Loony Party Candidate For Ynys Môn
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/14030641
> > Sir Grumpus L Shorticus has been named as the Official Monster Raving Loony Party candidate for Ynys Môn. > > > > Describing himself as ‘Half Man Half Biscuit’ Sir Grumpus is one of 22 Monster Raving Loony candidates standing across the UK for the Westminster Parliamentary election on 4th July. > > > > ... > > > > Sir Grumpus’ key policies include creating a unique time zone for Wales, building a third Menai crossing …. From Dublin and deporting illegal Grey Squirrels to Rwanda. > > > > ... > > > > Sir Grumpus L Shorticus’s SIX-STEP Plan for Ynys Môn > > > > 1. A UNIQUE TIME ZONE FOR WALES – Reduce the hour from 60 minutes to 40, fully reversing the 20mph speed limits back to what they were without the cost of changing all the signs – again; and creating a whole new industry in manufacturing Welsh time pieces. > > > > 2. BUILD THE 3RD CROSSING – FROM DUBLIN – But fiscal stewardship is key, so a return crossing will only be built when public finances allow. > > > > 3. GREY SQUIRRELS ENTERING ANGLESEY ILLEGALLY WILL BE SENT TO RWANDA – Badgers, to their county of origin. > > > > 4. YNYS MÔN TO RE-JOIN THE EU – Build Wylfa B, reverse the generated power into the wind-farms which would then propel Anglesey to an EU country of choice. > > > > 5. A PRIVATE MEMBER’S BILL TO MAKE THE MISUSE OR OMISSION OF APOSTROPHE’S A CRIMINAL OFFENCE – Improper grammar in text messages will also incur a Fixed Penalty, increasing Treasury revenues a trillion-fold – an App to be developed to make automatic payment on hitting ‘Send’. > > > > 6. A FLEXIBLE APPROACH TO POLITICS – These pledges are sincerely held beliefs and promises, but may be changed on a whim. > > > > 7. IMPROVE MATHS EDUCATION FOR ADULTS
Sir Grumpus L Shorticus The Monster Raving Loony Party Candidate For Ynys Môn
> Sir Grumpus L Shorticus has been named as the Official Monster Raving Loony Party candidate for Ynys Môn. > > Describing himself as ‘Half Man Half Biscuit’ Sir Grumpus is one of 22 Monster Raving Loony candidates standing across the UK for the Westminster Parliamentary election on 4th July. > > ... > > Sir Grumpus’ key policies include creating a unique time zone for Wales, building a third Menai crossing …. From Dublin and deporting illegal Grey Squirrels to Rwanda. > > ... > > Sir Grumpus L Shorticus’s SIX-STEP Plan for Ynys Môn > > 1. A UNIQUE TIME ZONE FOR WALES – Reduce the hour from 60 minutes to 40, fully reversing the 20mph speed limits back to what they were without the cost of changing all the signs – again; and creating a whole new industry in manufacturing Welsh time pieces. > > 2. BUILD THE 3RD CROSSING – FROM DUBLIN – But fiscal stewardship is key, so a return crossing will only be built when public finances allow. > > 3. GREY SQUIRRELS ENTERING ANGLESEY ILLEGALLY WILL BE SENT TO RWANDA – Badgers, to their county of origin. > > 4. YNYS MÔN TO RE-JOIN THE EU – Build Wylfa B, reverse the generated power into the wind-farms which would then propel Anglesey to an EU country of choice. > > 5. A PRIVATE MEMBER’S BILL TO MAKE THE MISUSE OR OMISSION OF APOSTROPHE’S A CRIMINAL OFFENCE – Improper grammar in text messages will also incur a Fixed Penalty, increasing Treasury revenues a trillion-fold – an App to be developed to make automatic payment on hitting ‘Send’. > > 6. A FLEXIBLE APPROACH TO POLITICS – These pledges are sincerely held beliefs and promises, but may be changed on a whim. > > 7. IMPROVE MATHS EDUCATION FOR ADULTS
And the Award for Least Hateful Tory Student group goes to...
Tory student group apologises after dancing to Nazi marching song
> A Tory student group has apologised after leaked footage showed them dancing to a Nazi marching song. > > The Warwick University Conservative Association asked the DJ at a gathering following their annual “chairman’s dinner” to play Erika, a song composed in 1938 by Nazi soldier Herms Niel. > > In a leaked video published by The Times, students can be seen dancing and laughing to the song before one member spots the camera and says: “Don’t film!” > > The students are also accused of chanting “Kill the Hughs” – substituting the word “Jews” for the name of their outgoing association chairman Hugh Herring. > > Reports suggest they also said: “Heil the chairman”.
As the media provides the Reform Leader with a prominent platform once more during this general election campaign, Peter Jukes considers all the concerning lines of enquiry that journalists never confront him with
They are:
- Why Did Farage Lie About Meeting the Russian Ambassador?
- How Could Farage Not Have Known About Arron Banks’ Multiple Visits to the Russian Embassy During the Brexit Campaign?
- What Did Farage Know of the Russian Hacking of the Clinton Campaign?
- How Could Farage be Blind to Trump and Steve Bannon’s Backing for Russia?
- Why Did Farage Hide the Assessment that his Leave.EU Campaign Funder was an “Agent of Russian Influence?”
See also:
- Previous thread on Russian interference in the current General Election
- Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum on Wikipedia, which seems well-written and properly sourced
However, as Farage has already been spouting pro-Putin rhetoric, he'd probably see it as a great endorsement.
On the plus side, at least it is a lot clearer that voting for Farage is really furthering Putin's agenda to erode Western democracy (not that we needed the help).
The article does suggest iOS options for Mobile Quick Capture - Drafts and Shortcuts. Might be worth a try.
Pity they didn't do anything when claims emerged of Russia interfering with the Brexit vote.
A report says five co-ordinated Facebook pages have been spouting Kremlin talking points, with some expressing support for Nigel Farage's Reform UK party.
> Claims of Russian interference in the general election campaign are "gravely concerning", the deputy prime minister has said. > >Mr Dowden told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that Moscow allegedly using Facebook pages to spread support for Nigel Farage "is a classic example from the Russian playbook". > >The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) says it has been monitoring five co-ordinated Facebook pages which have been spouting Kremlin talking points, with some posting in support of Reform UK. > >Mr Dowden, who has called the ABC report "gravely concerning", told Sky News: "This is something that I've warned about for some time. > > "There is a threat in all elections, and indeed we see it in this election, from hostile state actors seeking to influence the outcome of the election campaign. > >"Russia is a prime example of this and this is a classic example from the Russian playbook." > >He added that this was a "low-level use of bots". > > ... > > The broadcaster also reportedly found most of the administrators for each page are based in Nigeria, which is a significant connection as previous online Russian propaganda networks were found to have been operating from Africa. > >The reports come after Mr Farage faced a backlash for saying he blames the West and NATO for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. > >Mr Farage called it "cobblers" to claim bots generated by foreign state actors could interfere with the election outcome - as he launched a personal attack on Mr Dowden.
No problem, I've only been using it a month or so, and haven't really dug into all features yet but there's a lot to like - the markdown editing is very smooth (with lists, including check boxes, automatically generating on a new line) and I've started drafting longer Lemmy posts in it too.
I have some niggles, like the YAML "note_type: task" producing a much nicer check box list but it seems to stop line wrapping. I'd also like checked items moved down the list. However, the developer is, apparently, approachable so I may drop them a line or note.
Yes, even if they never hit these "heights" again, the example of Europe is going to make electoral reform a real uphill fight.
I'm hoping more sensible thinking prevails - with PR, you'd likely have a majority Labour government for most of the time, backed by Greens and Lib Dems. Gordon Brown seems to be driving a lot of the ideas for improving our democracy but his focus seems to currently be the House of Lords, which is an easier one to implement (although likely not in a way that suits me - it's sortition all the way for me), but I could see him chewing this one over afterwards. Realistically, Labour won't do anything now but if their support collapses they may need other parties to prop them up after the next election and PR is likely to be the price for it.
Obsidian + Zettel Notes
Mobile Quick Capture is important to prevent you from losing your best ideas. Learn how to set it up on your phone today.
I may be preaching to the converted on this but I was looking to solve two problems:
- Being able to chuck down a quick note in Obsidian on mobile which can take far too long to open. I'd tried suggested solutions like Loqseq but it still felt a bit clunky.
- Import a webpage as markdown on mobile
The latter requirement took me to Zettel Notes and then I discovered that you can just add your Obsidian archive to it and so you also have Mobile Quick Capture too, as the post link says:
> Zettel Notes checks a lot of boxes. If you need a more flexible solution for Quick Capture, and an open-source one at that, check out Zettel Notes. > > Zettel Notes is impressively flexible and versatile. It supports Markdown, synchronization through many different platforms, all forms of media including audio and video, keyboard shortcuts, properties, templates, and much more. > > If you want an app that rivals even Obsidian in features, then Zettel Notes may be for you. > > With a little bit of setup, it also makes a great quick capture app. All you have to do is install it, configure it to your Obsidian folder, and you’re off to the races! > > I did notice a few oddities in setting it up: it’s not set up perfectly for Obsidian, so you may have to fine tune it a bit to get it working like you want. See the documentation for details. > > Zettel Notes is not as easy to set up as Fleeting Notes, but it is the swiss army knife of note taking on Android. If you’re serious about Quick Capture, I recommend giving it a try. > > Pros: > > Quick startup >* Highly configurable >* Can do almost anything you could want >* Good privacy policy > > Cons: > >* Harder to setup initially >* More of a learning curve
I haven't noticed too many downsides and while I wasn't previously prepared to fully commit to Obsidian in my note-taking app journey (having started with Evernote many years ago), Zettel Notes has helped seal the deal. It's already speeding up my note-taking on the go and just become my go-to app for markdown files. I can then switch to Obsidian when I need all the bells and whistles.
Woman suspected of violating traffic law for riding an electric suitcase
Police in Japan have sent papers to prosecutors concerning a woman under suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Act for allegedly riding an "electric suitcase" on a sidewalk without a license.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/23992689
> Archive/mirror: https://archive.ph/zoBGi
> Police in Japan have sent papers to prosecutors concerning a woman under suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Act for allegedly riding an "electric suitcase" on a sidewalk without a license. > > The police say this is the first time someone has been identified for an alleged traffic offense involving such ridable luggage in Japan. > > ... > > Electric suitcases can move at a maximum of 13 kilometers per hour, and are legally in the same category as small motorcycles. > > But they are not allowed on public roads in Japan as they do not meet standards for brakes and blinkers set by the Road Transport Vehicle Act. > > The woman is reportedly denying the charges saying during voluntary questioning that she was not aware that the suitcase is a vehicle that requires a driver's license.
It's a concern of mine too. Next election we may have an incumbent Labour party that has done little to improve people's lives (potentially despite their best efforts because the economy and national infrastructure is wrecked) and a Tory party wrecked for a generation and Reform could emerge as the protest vote or, worse, Reform merge with the Tories and Farage leads a BNP-lite party to victory. The latter might doom the Conservatives forever but after BoJo and Trump getting elected, and the rise of the right across Europe Farage worming his way to PM is not something we should dismiss too quickly.
Exclusive: Former Labour leader calls on party to ratchet up scrutiny of Reform in final week of campaign
> Neil Kinnock has warned his party not to ignore the nationalist threat posed by Nigel Farage, as concern grows in Labour ranks that Reform UK could pose a long-term threat for them as well as for the Conservatives. > > The former Labour leader told the Guardian he wanted Labour to turn its guns on Farage’s party in the final week of the election campaign, saying the populist right could gain a stronghold in the UK as it has across much of Europe. > > Labour has been accused of not putting up a fight against Farage because the Reform party appeared to be taking more votes from the Conservatives. But with Reform predicted by some pollsters to win more than a dozen parliamentary seats next week, Kinnock said Labour needed to start taking the threat seriously. > > ... > > Kinnock added that if Labour was overly cautious in government, it would play into Reform’s narrative that there was little difference between the two main parties. “Absolutely vitally, [the populist right] have to be combated with actions,” he said. “That means the implementation of change which is positive and cumulative, and driven by strong purpose in the service of the community.”
Bristol punks IDLES smashed Glastonbury 2024's Other Stage with a Banksy-assisted protest – read the NME review
> “Any scumbags in the audience?” Joe Talbot leers at a seething Other Stage crowd by way of introducing the bovver boot chant ‘I’m Scum’. There’s a distinct sense that the outsiders have stormed the gates during IDLES’ headline set, which pits them against fellow post-punks Fontaines D.C. on the Park Stage. Perhaps the clash gives Talbot and the gang something to prove: this is a bravura show that pops with cartoonish rage and flows with compassion, righteousness… and even a few chuckles along the way. > > Talbot sports a shock of pink hair; guitarist Mark Bowen a sort of sheer onesie covered in roses. The frontman proclaims of the aforementioned track: “This is for the people of Palestine and this is for you.” He repeatedly announces “Viva Palestina!”, incites a crowd to bellow “Fuck the King!” and demands a circle pit so massive it makes “the whole fucking field spin”. He almost gets his wish. > > ... > > Most astonishing, though, is tonight’s performance of ‘Danny Nedelko’. As ever, Talbot describes the song as “a celebration of the bravery and the hard work of the immigrants who built our country”. And then something wholly unexpected (not least among the band themselves) happens. A fake life raft bearing life-jacketed dummies rears up through the audience: it bobs and weaves, lifted by countless outstretched hands that scramble to right the vessel when it upturns. > > The raft, which we later learn was designed by Banksy, drifts towards the stage and Bowen reaches out to it before he flops into the crowd – an unforgettable image from a truly incendiary show. “We’ll back to back headline the Pyramid Stage in 2027,” a bloodied Talbot spits before they leave the stage. You’d better believe it.
A quick clip of it on TikTok.
He is Ezekiel Sims and the Wikipedia entry might give more background on the original character, although he has been chopped and changed so much he is almost unrecognisable.
The reason the character is so one dimensional is that they radically changed the story (why cast members have been so happy to throw it under the bus, as what we saw wasn't what they signed up for) and we'd have got more of his motivation. As the character is key to some of the big storylines and lore upgrades, he might have also helped set up future films. Instead they still seem intent on killing the franchise, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because a Spidey-less Spider-Man fictional universe is a stupid idea, badly implemented.
With the recent reveal of another LEGO Star Wars set, we've got a first look at another LEGO Star Wars 25th anniversary minifigure.
And where Nyarlathotep went, rest vanished, for the small hours were rent with the screams of nightmare.
Rediscover a Cult Classic monster movie with ORCA, THE KILLER WHALE, coming soon to 4K!
> STUDIOCANAL announce a fantastic new 4K restoration of ORCA, THE KILLER WHALE, as part of the Cult Classics Collection. Terror is just below the surface in this ferocious action adventure of mythical proportions from legendary producer Dino Di Laurentiis (King Kong, Conan), starring screen legends Richard Harris (Oscar-nominated for This Sporting Life) and Charlotte Rampling (Oscar nominated for 45 Years). As well as a collectable 4K UHD SteelBook, the film is available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. > > From Academy Award nominated director Michael Anderson (Around The World In Eighty Days) and screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni (The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly) comes a gripping and terrifying tale of man versus beast. Described by Scream Magazine as ‘Jaws with heart’, ORCA, THE KILLER WHALE features a marvellous lead performance from Harris as a sea captain targeted by a vengeful killer whale, and also stars Will Sampson, famous for his performance as in Chief Bromden One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Bo Derek (“10”), and Robert Carradine (The Long Riders). > > With a magnificent, stirring score by Ennio Moricone (Oscar-winner for The Hateful Eight), and cinematography by Ted Moore (Oscar winner for A Man for All Seasons), you’ll have a whale of a time with this handsomely mounted and tremendously exciting adventure thriller, restored to its original glory in this beautiful restoration.
Some of the best movies from the past century are heavily discounted.
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13989416
> This year's 50% off B&N Summer sale runs through July 28. > > I missed Criterion's flash sale earlier this year so I'll probably stock up on this one sometime next week.
A nonce is a sex offender. As in: "we had to put him on the prison's nonce wing as the other prisoners would try and kill him.'
SINGAPORE — Wanting to talk to women, a man hatched a plan to soil their clothes with a mixture of his urine and flour so that he could have an opportunity to break the ice between them and him. On June 20, Tan Jun Hao, a 31-year-old Malaysian, was fined $1,200 after he pleaded guilty to using crimi...
> Wanting to talk to women, a man hatched a plan to soil their clothes with a mixture of his urine and flour so that he could have an opportunity to break the ice between them and him. > > On June 20, Tan Jun Hao, a 31-year-old Malaysian, was fined $1,200 after he pleaded guilty to using criminal force on one of the women. > > He followed a 26-year-old woman as she was going up an escalator from Nicoll Highway MRT station at around 8.30pm on April 9. > > He then squirted the mixture, which he had earlier mixed in a small plastic bottle, on her dress as she was walking along a nearby overhead bridge. > > Instead of stopping to talk to the woman after that, he walked past her. > > ... > > Deputy Public Prosecutor Yap Jia Jun said: "The accused intended to squirt the mixture on the clothes of ladies, especially young ladies wearing dark-coloured bottoms, and then alert them that their clothes had been dirtied. > > "He wanted to create opportunities for him to talk to these ladies."
The unofficial retirement of Jack Nicholson – where did Hollywood’s most charismatic star go?
Jack Nicholson’s performances in ‘Chinatown’ and ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ are cast-iron classics. Fast-forward half a century later, and the actor has performed a vanishing act. Geoffrey Macnab asks: where is he now?
> Where’s Jack? This year marks the 50th anniversary of Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974), the 1930s LA-set crime thriller that has one of Jack Nicholson’s most famous performances, as sardonic detective Jake Gittes. It’s also nearly half a century since Nicholson played rebellious everyman RP McMurphy, who is incarcerated in a mental institution and engaged in a battle of wills with the sociopathic Nurse Ratched, in Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). Those two movies alone are cast-iron classics. > > But despite such major anniversaries, Nicholson – now 87 – is nowhere to be seen. There was a time when the actor was spotted everywhere: in nightclubs, on chat shows, at basketball matches, at movie premieres. No more. The actor has performed a vanishing act. It is 14 years since his last movie, the rapidly forgotten romcom How Do You Know. One of his friends, music producer Lou Adler, told the WTF podcast that Nicholson now prefers to spend his time “sitting under a tree and reading a book”.