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Constant Fractal

@nfb42.bsky.social
139 followers 526 following 287 posts

Fan of reading, writing, gaming and all that!

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Reposted by Constant Fractal
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 3h
The secret lives of men who read romance books: ‘My life is full of love, so I’m drawn to them’
theguardian.com
The secret lives of men who read romance books: ‘My life is full of love, so I’m drawn to them’
It’s often assumed straight men are not interested in romantic fiction – but many are sharing their passion in forums online
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Margaret Killjoy @margaret.bsky.social · 8h
Reading, and writing, are holy. I love reading novels because they tell me something. They say: "this is what someone believed enough to dedicate months or years of their life to say." This is just as true for the trashiest pulp as it is for the highest literature.
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georgia-lux @georgialux.bsky.social · 17/08/2023
Young man-- there's no need to feel down I said young man-- Pagliacci's in town You can go there-- see the world's greatest clown Now why do- you- wince- so sadly?
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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Like, this is classic 'aristocrat does not know basic life skills' stuff that has been happening forever, because why would they ever learn to cook or clean or drive a car or any other basic activity if someone else has always and will always do it for them?
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dr. rich traditions, JD @helldude.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
if you don't know your own address it's because you specifically don't have to know it. people that detached from reality shouldn't be in a position to drive social policy for those of us living in reality
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Dr Zara Bain @zaranosaur.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
sliding this link in here in case anyone is like “oh man I really would love to read The Racial Contract but it’s just not accessible!” Also it’s 180-odd pages, and if you’ve not read it, it’ll upend your understanding of the world, and of philosophy, I promise abolitionjournal.org/wp-content/u...
abolitionjournal.org
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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
But I cannot stress enough: we have spent decades de-prioritizing and defunding the humanities broadly in secondary and post-secondary education and then we're all surprised-Pikachu-face when we are suffering from systematic leadership failures in exactly those skills and knowledge domains.
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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
To reiterate, "Only white people are capable of empire, slavery or atrocity" - that only white people can do the worst of sins - is itself still a form of white supremacism that imagines white people as the unique protagonists of history rather than recognizing that all people have agency.
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lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
It's genuinely fascinating that the US president keeps announcing that he just flat out doesn't know what trade is, he legit doesn't appreciate the concept of exchange and instead views economic activity through the lens of a dragon attempting to maximise its gold hoard to sit upon.
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Unwinnable @unwinnable.com · 02/09/2026
Where is the year going? Get our latest nuggets of microcriticism in the September 2026 issue of Exploits, including writing on The Tale of Princess Kaguya and The Odyssey. Buy: buff.ly/AzNU0so Subscribe: buff.ly/LK0CTtF Read @saraclemens.com's essay on Lestat's live rock show: buff.ly/l51eY9i
The cover of the September 2026 issue of Exploits, featuring the art "Zhou Maoshu Appreciating Lotuses" by Kanō Masanobu from the 15th century. The art depicts two people in a boat riding away from a willow tree.
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Pine Cellar @pinecellar.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I’ve been asked if I was “born a man” by more than a few cis het men during dates due to my lower voice and muscular body (I lift and do pole dancing). Gender policing is fucking ridiculous, dangerous, and makes idiots of all of us.
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Liberal Currents @liberalcurrents.com · 13/09/2026
"Many of us, rather than regarding voting as one more bit of annoying work that has to be done to keep our governments on track, regard voting as a singular opportunity to express ourselves." (from July 2024) www.liberalcurrents.com/elections-ar...
liberalcurrents.com
Elections Are Purely Practical
Don’t be vain about your vote.
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Sonneveld @sonneveld.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I just finished a patch for Tlon: A Misty Story: sonneveld.dev/tlon/ It's a 1999 point and click adventure game that's notorious for being incompletable due to a bug. There are save game hacks but this is a proper fix with correct exits and everything. Try it out and let me know how you go!
sonneveld.dev
TLÖN: A Misty Story Fix
A fix for the 1999 point and click adventure game TLÖN: A Misty Story.
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Tristan Lee @tristanl.ee · 12/09/2026
hi, imperial power expert here! this is not funny, imperial powers only do this when they’re in extreme distress.
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Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 11/09/2026
twenty-five years on i am much gripped by the contingency of things, and by the unending progress of history. at the time events loom as large as the sky. but the river of time flows ever onward, and there is nothing for it but to keep on keeping on.
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Medievalist.net @medievalists.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
What Medieval Kingdoms Really Called Themselves www.medievalists.net/2024/09/what... #medieval
medievalists.net
What Medieval Kingdoms Really Called Themselves - Medievalists.net
Medieval kingdoms and empires often went by names very different from the ones we use today. These original names reveal how people of the time viewed their realms and the world around them.
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vortex_egg @vortexegg.com · 11/09/2026
Outside of more actual organizing, the best thing the left could do tactically would be to develop propaganda literacy instead of collectively and constantly letting ourselves get walked around like a dog.
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Maria Antoniak @mariaa.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
People working in AI industry posting nonsense on X are not “putting their careers on the line.” They’ve got a ton of $$ and will be fine. A lot of this discourse is just weird in-group social signaling explicitly *for* career advancement. Genuine concerns exist but good luck disentangling all that.
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Vituperative Erb @vituperativeerb.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
As between a substantive commitment to a minority rights from a politician in power and rhetorical purity from a person who loses the election the first is unquestionably better, we know that right?
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Adrian Currie @adrian-currie.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Methods in the Philosophy of Science: A User's Guide, edited by the inestimable @phieveigl.bsky.social (and me!), has 27 chapters from super-cool philosophers of science explaining how they do their thing, and is now open access! Our baby is free! #philsci direct.mit.edu/books/oa-edi...
direct.mit.edu
Methods in the Philosophy of Science: A User's Guide
A guidebook to methods and methodology, encouraging deeper engagement across the philosophy of science and beyond.The last twenty years have seen multiple
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Ted Underwood @tedunderwood.com · 09/09/2026
That career is not dead which can eternal lie. And, with strange eons ...
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Digital Brain @yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The open-source office suite LibreOffice has just experienced the most successful launch week in its history.
sinapti.ca
LibreOffice sets download record by stating it has no generative AI features - Sinaptica
The open-source office suite LibreOffice has just experienced the most successful launch week in its history. And it achieved this by promising exactly the oppo
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Liberal Currents @liberalcurrents.com · 08/09/2026
"That is a dangerous idea… The descent of stable societies into ones of endemic violence rarely produces anything but new forms of tyranny and terror. People are fond of citing history’s famous revolutions in support of such extremism, but the full record of armed revolt is mixed to say the least."
liberalcurrents.com
You Won’t Win the Revolution
The descent of stable societies into ones of endemic violence rarely produces anything but new forms of tyranny and terror.
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Quinn Slobodian @quinnslobodian.com · 02/09/2026
Yes, the architectural literalization of the empty signifier Laclau and Mouffe talk about.
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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
May I politely suggest that the correct response to people voting for fascists is not, "how can we feel their pain and listen?" but "what the hell is wrong with these arrogant fools?" The latter is still a quest for understanding, but in the correct frame, I think.
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Lydy @lydy.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Because even that terrible sign man should not have to lose a beloved relative to a preventable cancer. And the cancer treatments should not bankrupt him and his family. And there's so much promising research in that area.
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Damon Young @damonyoung.com.au · 07/09/2026
I bet that their rationale for cutting was similar to that of university management: the vibe, or petty malice
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Dylan Roth @dylanroth.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
TIRED: Being pissed at yourself for not saving your work before an application crashes WIRED: Being pissed at the developers for cramming in more and more shit you don’t need into their enterprise software so it’s no longer stable and apparently even the autosave feature can’t be trusted
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Dead Carl @deadcarl.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
So long as the MAGA movement remains viable electorally, it does not much matter how conciliatory Democrats are, since the GOP will renege on everything. Conversely, if MAGA suffers a significant collapse, countries will feel much more comfortable engaging with the US.
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Andrea Pitzer @andreapitzer.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I realize this story isn’t new to millions and millions of people out there (even billions perhaps?), but holy cow. Cannot believe this was written in the 1700’s. Hat tip to @bokane.org for the recommendation.
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WIRED @wired.com · 05/09/2026
The studio released an official catch-up list ahead of December’s release. We have easy links to watch every one of the movies so you can get up to speed. www.wired.com/story/marvel...
wired.com
Marvel Has Assigned 42 Hours of Homework Before ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
The studio released an official catch-up list ahead of December’s release. We have easy links to watch every one of the movies so you can get up to speed.
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Dead Carl @deadcarl.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I do think a big cultural problem is that the worst thing you can be is a sucker. It encourages this and other thought-terminating cynicism.
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Amy-Leigh Shaw @diveamydive.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Actually you know what, let me just
A still of the character Chihiro in the film “Spirited Away”. A character called No Face is offering her a pile of false gold that has been edited and overlayed with the logos of Claude, OpenAI and Grok. She is saying, “I don’t want any. I don’t need any.”
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Konstantinos Dimopoulos @konstantinosd.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
My old fantasy (and analog) city generation tool: medium.com/@Konstantino... Thinking it would be fun to actually code it in Python, and see how that goes.
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Simon Hattenstone @shattenstone.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
A note to publicists: Maybe hold back from saying how much your client loves what they're promoting unless you're absolutely sure. Meet the fabulous Mr T www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
‘I don’t chase the dollar. I never did’: the astonishing hidden life of Mr T
He grew up in the ghetto, became a global superstar – then gave it all up. Why did he step away from the spotlight?
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Elizabeth Taylor @elizabethtaylor47.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is why I find the whole ‘oh yes we need to show the public migration is handed control’ stuff from labour so stupid as well as immoral. The public at large isn’t basing their concerns on evidence or migration rates! How much clearer can we see this
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Nicolete Burbach @nicoleteburbach.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
16) despite all of this, if you believe in a God who is on the side of the oppressed, then you believe in a God who is on *your* side no matter what anyone says or does to you. It's important not to pretend that this fixes everything, but the Cross teaches us that it is worth everything. Take heart.
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Micah @rincewind.run · 01/09/2026
a remarkably effective life hack: just be nice to people it's incredible how much goodwill people will extend to you if you're pleasant to them
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🐔 Brian Bucklew 🐔 ₑͤ>∿<ₑͤ ∞🌮 @unormal.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
it kind of is catfishing all the way down
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Aftermath @aftermath.site · 31/08/2026
The Lovers is a sapphic romance that will restore your faith in the power of indie animation aftermath.site/the-lovers-stu...
The Lovers
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☀️ @stel.energy · 01/09/2026
i want games made by people who get to keep their jobs
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William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Large portions of the data center backlash are based on moral panic, but the the tech right VC types upset by it are very funny considering how gleeful they were about the demise of ‘legacy’ media. What’s that? You’re missing epistemic gatekeepers who would place complex facts in context? Tough shit
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lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I love my wife.
Man standing up defiantly free speech meme
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Dead Carl @deadcarl.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
This is the heart of the fallacy: that we must imitate the fascists because they “fight harder”. No! Their destructiveness and cruelty is not ruthlessness, it is the point. We do not become more effective by mirroring it.
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Hamilton Nolan @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Life hack: When writers suck, do not read them. www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/you-can-ig...
hamiltonnolan.com
You Can Ignore the Bad Pundits
One easy trick to make yourself smarter.
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lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Man I love Light Yagami as a character so much, and I specifically like the versions of his character where he's just flat out delusional manchild. I love the supreme instrumental rationality paired with the grandiose self-delusional evil.
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Medievalist.net @medievalists.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
In medieval Germany, going to war often meant finding the right allies. ⚔️🤝 See how military alliances brought together princes, nobles and cities — and the challenges of keeping them united. www.medievalists.net/2026/05/mili... #MilitaryHistory
medievalists.net
When Cities Hired Nobles: Military Alliances in Medieval Germany - Medievalists.net
David Bachrach examines how medieval German cities formed military alliances with nobles, revealing how urban communities managed war, trade, and political power in the thirteenth century.
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Luke Plunkett @lukeplunkett.com · 25/08/2026
played through the drifter again yesterday just to feel something (that something was immense love for everything about the drifter, a game 10000x more people should play)
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Alan Elrod @aselrod.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
The Soviet Union was not just imperialist. It was monstrous. And it’s a good thing it collapsed.
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vortex_egg @vortexegg.com · 28/08/2026
This is a great article and I think it highlights how being Extremely Online is a *way of knowing*, a social epistemology, where constructs and frames that are warranted solely on the make-believe of bouncing ideas in online discourse become the lens through which participants come to know the world
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