iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 14h

Unfortunately I didn't prepare any sparkling wine for Vucic going - but hopefully I'll remember to get real champagne in for when Trump and Putin, one day.

000 0

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 14h

And yes, there's reasons to be cynical about both as well - but unless you like authoritarianism they're objectively the best results contextually possible.

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 14h

Wow. Lula beating the odds to win re-election in the second round in Brazil (first time in history anyone's won from behind in round one) and Vucic's authoritarian government losing in Serbia and actually conceding defeat a la Orban. Rare case of two really good bits of politics news on the […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

110 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 21/10/2026

ngl, I kinda love mid-2000s UI design. Not very shiny but lightweight, decent info density. Before the plague of excessive whitespace that hits sometime in the 2010s and never goes away!

001 1

Reposted by Duncan

Dan Gillmor @dangillmor.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

Trifecta: Meta screwed with the accounts of the non-fascist Brazilian presidential candidate: www.reuters.com/world/americas/meta… The American tech oligarchs are completely beyond control at this point […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

1219 19

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Tbh Honolulu's one wasn't too interesting and Rovaniemi's blurb isn't technically about the city itself. But I really appreciate the thought that went into today's blurbs, especially Nagasaki's. It's an interesting place with interesting history, and I'm glad they didn't try to define it by […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

000 0

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Also fair play to the people writing today's blurbs - they didn't go route one. I kind of assumed Pearl Harbour for Honolulu (technically not actually in it though!), John Paul II for Kraków, sadly Fat Man for Nagasaki, Father Christmas for Lapland (or just the Lapps) and being a hold-out on […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Hyderabad - put it a bit too far north, which I'm fine with, but also mirror-imaged it, which I'm a bit embarrassed about. #MapTap

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Nagasaki - more or less plumped for midway between it and the other city famous for end of WWII reasons. Rovaniemi - did pretty well here. Being British probably helped, as Father Christmas usually lives in Lapland rather than the North Pole. Where's the usual place you go to in Lapland? I […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Holonulu - I kind of assumed it was on Hawai'i proper rather than O'ahu. Wrongly! Kraków - was overly concerned about punting it into Belarus and overcompensated. Also put it too far north for some reason. #MapTap

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

If you don't mind spoilers: Holonulu, Kraków, Nagasaki, Rovaniemi, Hyderabad. No US-centric element, actually decently sorted by difficulty. #MapTap

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Alright, first MapTap for a while! www.maptap.gg October 16 95🏅 94🏆 96🔥 98🔥 92👑 Final score: 951 #MapTap

100 1

Reposted by Duncan

Jungle George 🌬️🍃🐉 @junglegeorge.mastodon.africa.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

🍂 As Europe and the north slips quietly into shades of amber, rust, and encroaching dark, our world softens into bloom. Down here at the edge of Africa, the canopy catches fire in violet. 💜 #Johannesburg in October.

An elevated, panoramic view across Johannesburg's leafy suburbs at dusk, dominated by the sprawling, vibrant violet canopy of massive jacaranda trees in full bloom rising above red-tiled house roofs. In the distant background, the suburban expanse stretches toward high-rise buildings on the horizon under a soft sunset sky with pastel pink and gold clouds.

Looking up a steep, quiet suburban hill entirely blanketed in fallen violet jacaranda blossoms, resembling a vibrant purple carpet covering the road. Massive jacaranda trees line both sides of the street, forming an overhead tunnel of blooms, with a single pedestrian walking up the center distance beneath a glowing streetlamp.

A quiet residential street framed by a dense canopy of blooming purple jacaranda trees, their branches meeting overhead to form a natural archway. Two runners jog down the shaded road in the foreground, leading towards a glowing, stone triumphal arch illuminated by warm golden morning light at the far end of the avenue.

0232 32

Reposted by Duncan

Kit Bashir @unixbigot.aus.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026

Another successful week, by at least one measure.

Workplace sign “this is a velociraptor-free workplace, it has proudly been [2.59x10¹⁰] days since the last velociraptor incident”

913883 138

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

This all ended up quite far from Talk Talk. But I enjoyed my ramble about genre and religion in music. Hopefully it wasn't too dull for anyone reading it. And at the risk of ruining the tone - this thread was brought to you by unmedicated ADHD! #music

000 0

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

And non-religious people can engage and enjoy religious art. In Britain atheist church choristers and bell-ringers aren't unusual. Certainly they don't gain anything spiritual, but they can still engage with the art, as that transcends any religious functionality. #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

This applies less strongly to Christmas music or Western classical but these areas are littered with accepted religious and secular forms and tropes. You wouldn't assume a modern composer writing a requiem or an Ave Maria was necessarily Catholic, it's just a form in the tradition. #music

110 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

I'm unsure on this but perhaps in these areas the religious aspect is so core that there's less pressure to be direct all the time and more pressure to compete on artistic merit. Someone talented at rock has many secular options, someone talented in the Anglican choral tradition less so. #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

However much competing priorities explains why explicitly Christian rock is so much worse than rock that happens to have Christian themes, there's an elephant in the room. Why doesn't this also ruin religious classical music or Anglican hymns or gospel? Or, less illustriously, Christmas music […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

Functionality hindering art is not restricted to religion. And even different artistic considerations can hinder each other. Maintaining artistic quality while preaching is a difficult needle to thread, but so is making a concept album that maintains both narrative and musical quality! #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

As a brief digression into other music - this is why Marvin Gaye's Wholy Holy is jarring, while Flying High in the Friendly Sky is not. #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

This favours a certain directness and lack of universality that limits its resonance. For a secular audience "praise Jesus" is a hollow message, whereas a theme like "my negative past actions weigh on me" has weight, even through a Christian filter of sin and judgement. It has universality. #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

But the primary problem is that Christian rock is functional. It's not music where religious themes stem from artistic intent (like some of Talk Talk, or some of Nick Cave); it's music made to preach, to worship or to bind the in-group. Any artistic purpose is secondary. #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

Unsurprisingly Christian rock, with very few exceptions, leaves me cold. But popular music with Christian themes generally doesn't. Partially this is cultural. Christian rock is steeped in American conceptualisation of religion. Very different to the British approach, pretty alienating. #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

2) Another interesting aspect of late Talk Talk is the Christian element to the lyrics, their very last song is God forgiving a character for their misdeeds. I'm not religious and view spirituality as I expect ace people view sex - understanding it but with no deep connection. #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

Going back to the very start of the genre has firmed my view on this, I'd assumed the roots were a little further from the narrower definition of the genre than they actually are. #music

110 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

I typically prefer broad definitions, but I'd rather narrow but descriptive than broad and prescriptive. And the 00s/10s definition has the benefit of bounding a very specific style of music, but the later definition raises questions of how post-rock is different from experimental rock or prog […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

As most features of the narrower definition of post-rock are there from the start I think this broadening pretty prescriptive and top down - labelling music by set rules rather than defining loose rules from musical labels. (*caveat - going by RYM ratings, they can be idiosyncratic) #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

Talk Talk's last two albums & Slint's Spiderland are retrospectively seen as the first post-rock albums. TT is further from post-rock á la GYBE than Slint (which broadly is that), but the elements are mostly there on the ground floor, light on crescendos but otherwise fully formed. #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

1) Late TT is post-rock: rock-derived music incorporating unconventional structures/features/influences. Broadly defined today* but more narrowly in the 00s/10s: often long-form, texture-focused and crescendo-heavy. Some bands not on the radar before, like Swans or BCNR, are often included now […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

1) On changing definitions of post-rock (these albums' genre) 2) On Christian music versus music that has Christian themes #music

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

I regret taking 20 years to listen to late Talk Talk's albums. Up my straße now, would've been then. Acclaimed 35 year old albums are good, who knew? (If I disagreed I hope I'd not post, slaying sacred cows is rarely anything other than tedious.) But - two interesting things to me (long […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

101 1

Reposted by Duncan

Tyrone Slothrop @slothrop.chaos.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

A beautiful, angry, and important post by @anildash about how a whole generation has been brainwashed into censoring themselves. I like the actionable recommendations at the end, though I’m missing “take a big stick, and beat the billionaires to death with it.”

mastodon.scot

108 8

Reposted by Duncan

Tim Carmody @tcarmody.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This is the funniest thing I've seen today, possibly ever

A tweet by SarahStarberry that says "oh god read the vertical axis" on top of a chart measuring AI models' release dates and model numbers rather than any real capabilities

40120583112 12.1K

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

I suspect you're right, it is nice to see some actual ambition though!

011 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

Oh, and a commission on electoral reform. Brilliant! I'll put up with all manner of sins to get governments that actually reflect demographic preferences. As a bonus also no chance of a far right PM on 25% of the vote. Though obviously even all going well it'll be the election after next. And […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

000 0

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

Well. I'd lumped Burnham in with Starmer as someone who dodges hard choices. And maybe that'll still true overall but getting rid of the state pension triple lock is both necessary and brave. I expect the usual suspects will still moan but using the savings for social care strikes me as savvy […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

210 2

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

As I'm already rambling about this album its track A Place That Is Not So Unkind has the exact same melody as Lavinia by Les Clochards, a song released at roughly the same time by a band local to where I lived at the time. Almost certainly coincidence but kinda fun.

000 0

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

Small detail I've only just noticed in an album I've listened to on and off for almost two decades. In the penultimate track of The Golden Hour by Firewater, a deeply uneven album I'm still inordinately fond of, right at the very end … there's Withnail - "I demand to have some booze!". Kind of […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

100 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

@zzypt ah, that scans. One of those ones where they hit on a good idea but didn't know where to take it! And I think the turn in the general opinion did seem to happen around S3. At least S4 sounds like an improvement, even if it's not a proper return to form.

000 0

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

So, as someone who's never got round to Ted Lasso - how come everyone seemed to rate it a few years back but the internet hates it now? Doesn't seem to be a "later series dropped off" thing, more like how the internet did a near 180 on TBBT a few years in. #TV #Television

101 1

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 25/09/2026

Jesus said his father's house has many rooms, but I just don't see how Joseph could have earned enough money for that.

000 0

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 25/09/2026

So it goes without saying that the way to mash up Boom Boom and Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! is to sing the Vengaboys lyrics in the style of John Lee Hooker. But how best to mash up (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction with Satisfaction by Benny Benassi? Truly a mystery for the ages. #music

000 0

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

[LotR spoilers (books and movies)] My local was showing the extended Lord of the Rings, and that's now wound up. On a rewatch they hold up. Some stuff's aged badly (cliché now or notably undiverse), there's some Hollywoodisms for expediency and it's distracting how "not conventionally […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

000 0

Duncan @duncanmsussex.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

Checking the TheyWorkForYou page and counting everyone I actually knew of I get a much better result. Not to say I'd remember all of them unprompted or that I actually have an opinion on all of these people. 🟥 102/403 LAB 🟦 46/118 CON 🟧 56/71 LD ⬜️ 8/11 IND 🩵 8/8 REF 🟨 2/8 SNP 🟥🟦 4/5 DUP 🟢 5/5 […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

000 0