https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/diversity-and-inclusion-consultant-jobs?trk=expired_jd_redirect&position=1&pageNum=0

https://old.reddit.com/r/Grimdank/comments/1c8dmub/the_call_was_coming_from_inside_the_palace/?sort=controversial

I love how Slotkin was just a CIA analyst, not some kind of hardcore spook, and even she knows exactly how to drop anodyne information in a way perfectly tailored to freak the target out

Our intelligence agencies truly are the best in the world 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 https://t.co/H0NdugWth4

— Swann Marcus (@SwannMarcus89) April 20, 2024

sending a donation right now holy shit

Foid nonsense is not being tolerated and it warms my heart

Some nerds including Kendrick Lamar dissed Drake in a verse recently and Drake decided to use AI to dunk on Kendrick by having his idols (dead and not) rap about him. Gonna be honest I don't know enough about this culture to effort post but here's an article.

https://variety.com/2024/music/news/drake-taylor-made-freestyle-tupac-shakur-taylor-swift-snoop-dogg-1235977178/

Here's the track on youtube

My husband started watching Fallout without me. I told him that some people think the ghoul cowboy is sexy and asked him to confirm (I didn't look anything up ahead of time). He grimaced and said, “I uh…I would not call him sexy.” I nodded my head and said, “Huh, must be the dark mafia romance folks who like him or something.” He said, “yeah, maybe if they like guys who have enormous cavernous nostrils-” and I didn't let him finish before I let out a huge “OHHHHH it's the monster romance folks!” 😂

I looked him up. I get it, friends. That jawline is nice. This sub is my favorite. 🥰

Exposure to poor people reduces support for redistribution among the rich. https://t.co/axsjAmLMuL pic.twitter.com/4Y37ck7gSf

— Rolf Degen (@DegenRolf) April 19, 2024

Power is a toxic vapor devouring the hearts of all who inhale it. Those who are smart revel in the rush. Those who are intelligent hoard it away from the commoners. Those who are wise avoid it altogether. One's circumstances of one's birth seldom paint the picture of one's future. There have been remarkable stories of people who have reached unimaginable heights starting from unfathomable lows. Likewise, those born in heaven have found themselves hurtling to heck like Lucifer.

Today I want to discuss gaming's most famous auteur - Hideo Kojima - and his fued with Konami.

Blighted Beginnings

Born 24 August 1963, Hideo Kojima describes his childhood as a very lonely one. Without many friends, he would find himself walking home alone to an empty house after school. Here, he remembers turning the TV to help him feel like he wasn't alone. It was through this ritual that his obsession with movies began, with his first favorite movie being Driver.

He admits that it wasn't until high school that he knew the difference between cats and dogs.

He had dreams of being a filmographer, and created short films on 8mm as a hobby. He was particularly interested in zombie movies. Those familiar with his movies will know that this love hasn't been squelched and his games can feel like a clash between film and gaming with their long cutscenes.

He went to univresity to study economics and decided to venture into gaming which was far from glamorous at the time. Hence, he would often lie when asked what is profession is. In 1986 he joined Konami, a move that would change his life.

Turning the Metal Gears

His first project with Konami was Lost Warld, and already we see where his conflicts with Konami would begin. He was limited to developing for the MSX system instead of the more powerful NES at the time. Unfortunately, Kojima scope for the game was too vast for the MSX so the idea was ultimately scrapped. This didn't kill his dream, however. He became more convinced of the idea of video games as "electronic arts" (EA was named for that same reason, if you're curious).

In 1987, Kojima released Metal Gear which could be considered the first example of a stealth game. It stars Solid Snake, who could crawl on the ground like a serpent to sneak past foes. He was an operative who is part of the special forces unit named FOXHOUND, and his objective was to infiltrate a base to destroy a nuclear weapon called the Metal Gear. This theme of nuclear warfare would continue throughout the franchise. It stood out from other action games at the time. Instead of shooting at your foes, you were using tactical thinking to bypass them altogether. Philosophically, this ties in with the game's anti-war themes and commentary on violence and cyclic retribution.

Following Metal Gear, Kojima would butt heads with Konami again for similar reasons as before. He wanted to create a graphic novel called Snatcher. However, the idea was for it to be six chapters long. Konami wasn't having that, and it forced the auteur to bring it down to two chapters. Hideo begrudgingly agreed.

The birth of the Metal Gear Solid series came with Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. Like its predecessor, it focused on warfare and the threat of nuclear weapons. The sequel to Metal Gear 2, simply titled, Metal Gear Solid, was released in 1998 and it brought Hideo Kojima's franchise to the 3D world. Several more Metal Gear Solid series would be released, with many declaring Metal Gear Solid 3 one of the greatest games of all time.

Konami vs Kojima

For Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Kojima had big plans. This was to be the first open-world title in the franchise and it was going to be excessive in almost every aspect. It's a long game as it stands, with a sharply rising difficulty level. Players are given a plethora of toys to play with and though the missions are similar, the fun comes using different tactics to infiltrate bases. Will you use a water gun to destroy communications, or a can of sleeping gas to subdue foes?

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain stars Big Boss, also known as “Venom Snake”. His paramilitary group, the MSF, is ambushed by Cipher's strike force XOF. The result is the death of many of Big Boss's soldiers and the amputation of his right arm which is replaced by a mechanical one. Nine years later, Big Boss wakes up from a coma, clearly traumatised by the events that previously ensued. With the help of Ocelot, he rebuilds his paramilitary in secret under the name Diamond Dogs and embarks on a mission to seek revenge on Cipher.

Set in the 1980s with the Cold War as the backdrop, Big Boss's missions have him travelling to Afghanistan where Soviet Soldiers are positioned, and Central Africa where South African mercenaries are found (and speak terrible Afrikaans). The game encourages using stealth and non-violent methods to accomplish goals. For example, players may deploy decoys to trick opponents or hide in cardboard boxes to lure them. Less kills during a mission equals a higher rank at the end of it. In this way, the battle becomes one of psychological warfare and figuring out how to outsmart your opponents. However, violence is always an option, and players who do not want to engage with the more strategic elements of the game can always resort to gunplay to murder foes.

Metal Gear Solid V illustrates how events of the past can etch themselves into your mind permanently and slowly drive you crazy. In that state of mind, it is not hard to eventually believe that revenge is the only way to bring about justice and find resolution.

Hideo was obsessed with long, expensive cutscenes which Konami disagreed with. They weren't interested in Kojima's cinematic ambitions. They were more concerned with the mobile and gacha market. The public got a whiff of the storm occuring within the studio when the "a Hideo Kojima Production" subheading was removed from the cover of the game. Before Kojima could complete the game, development time was cut short, causing the game to feel somewhat incomplete toward the end. Furthermore, Kojima Productions Los Angeles was renamed to Konami Los Angeles Studio.

The biggest and most painful moment in the fued came when Metal Gear Solid V won the awards for Best Action Game and Best Score/Soundtrack at the 2015 Game Awards, yet Hideo did not receive the award because he had been barred by Konami from attending the event. It was around this time that the relationship between Konami and Kojima came to an end.

Kojima post-Konami

Kojima started his own studio, Kojima Productions, and signed a deal with Sony for a video game. Death Stranding features protagonist is Sam Porter Bridges, a delivery man who is tasked with reuniting a post-apocalyptic America which has been ravaged by the ‘Death Stranding' which has caused beings from the purgatory between life and death to roam and destroy the country. This rebuilding of America must be done by establishing a ‘chiral network' that will connect people and forge the United Cities of America. To do this, Sam must travel across large swaths of desolate land, facing rebirths both literal and metaphorical. Literal rebirths take place when he is defeated by BTs (Beached Things) that can kill him. However, because Sam Bridges is a Repatriate, he is taken to the Seam, an underwater realm where he is able to swim back to his body and revive himself. Sam also experiences a metaphorical rebirth through the fact that he is afflicted with aphenphosmphobia, a condition which causes one to be averse to physical touch, emotional bonds and intimacy. Through his journey to reconnect America, he comes to see the value of human bonds, leading to his own psychic transformation.

The main gameplay loop involves players strategically loading Sam with cargo (paying attention to weight and how cargo arrangement affects his centre of gravity). The player must then have Sam trek a harsh, uneven terrain that features natural elements wind, rain and snow that can have Sam toppling over and damaging his cargo. Because of this, players must pay attention to factors such as momentum, inertia, stamina and weight distribution that may cause Sam to fall. These attempts at realism serve to turn the game into a hiking simulator, allowing players to role-play as pilgrims. Players also have control of Sam during his moments of rebirth and guide him towards his body when he is sent to the Seam.

Hideo Kojima has stated that he intended for Death Stranding to elicit a transformation within players. In an interview with Time magazine, Kojima-san spoke about his own struggles with loneliness and stated that “there are so many people who play games feeling like that, like they don't belong in this society”. However, the game shows players that they are not truly alone and that connections with others are possible. This is due to the collaborative nature of the game enabled by online features. Although players cannot see other players, they share the game world with one another and interact with structures others have built. For example, when multiple players have walked the same route, footpaths will eventually appear which both guide other players and demonstrate that they are not alone. Larger structures such as bridges and roads are collectively built with players from around the world contributing by donating raw materials. By seeing the contributions other players make, as Kojima-san states, “you won't feel alone anymore”. This shift from feeling isolated to feeling connected represents a transformation within players. As the interviewee writes, Kojima-san is “hopeful that players come away from Death Stranding feeling renewed. ‘I want players to think about these things and have the energy to live on the next day,' he says”.

Conclusion

Is he a genius or a goof? It's hard to tell with most eccentrics. At the end of the day, Kojima has a legendary career and some can say he outgrew Konami, a business that lost more than it gained through parting with Kojima. Let this be inspiration to you.

Bye!

Key word tried

Blut und Ehre (English: "Blood and Honor") was a Nazi political slogan that was used by the Hitler Youth, among others.

Orginal title was The Throne of Blood and Honor

Were they trying to increase morale or smth?

if it were any good, i wouldve watched the cam print. since it didnt, it isnt. in fact im lying, i havent even watched it cuz i dont care. like at all

"I care more about Eric and Dylan than I do about 90% of the people around me," a seventeen year-old girl known as "reb420angel" posts on Tumblr. She's talking about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two teenage boys who ushered in our current era of American mass gun violence when they massacred thirteen people at Columbine High School in Colorado. It happened in 1999, the same year she was born.

Reb420angel is part of a controversial fandom community of women—some of whom describe themselves as "Columbiners"—who have connected with one another based on their shared interest in the details of the crime, and especially in Dylan and Eric. They range in age from their early teens to late twenties, and blog about the shooting from all over the world.

Dave Cullen, the author of Columbine, considered to be the definitive work on the subject, believes that Eric was likely sociopathic. Nevertheless, he was charming and well liked by many at Columbine. Cullen describes Eric as a brain, but a cool brain. He smoked, he drank, he dated. He got invited to parties. He got high. He worked his look hard: military chic hair - short and spiked with plenty of product - black shirts and baggy cargo pants. He blasted hardcore German industrial rock from his Honda. He broke the rules, tagged himself with the nickname Reb, but did his homework and earned himself As."

Whereas, Dylan, Cullen argues, was just a very lonely, depressed, and meek boy who actually wanted to do things like go to prom and college. Throughout the ten years Cullen spent writing and researching Columbine, he too found wellspring of sympathy for Dylan. In reviewing the boys' journals, Cullen writes:

Eric began his journal as a killer. He already knew where it would end. Every page pointed in the same direction. His purpose was not self-discovery but self-lionization. Dylan was just trying to grapple with existence. He had no idea where he was headed.

Columbiners have fashioned themselves as the true experts on the massacre (many deride Cullen as a competitor), pouring over the boys' journals, notebooks, and the infamous "basement tapes." Some are budding psychologists and criminologists, whose interest is primarily a forensic one—they see the shootings as a puzzle or mystery to be solved, complete with unanswered questions that verge on the conspiratorial. But others express an intense "connection" to Dylan and Eric, which range from a shared emotional experience of bullying, loneliness, and depression to a professed physical and romantic attraction. "I'm in love with a dead school shooter," posts Ada, a twenty-two year old, "what the heck did 2015 do to me."

On Tumblr, Ada and young women like her circulate photos, gifs, and drawings of Dylan and Eric, using nicknames and inside jokes, the way teenagers passing notes in class might have done before the advent of texting.

"I want to see that smile everyday," one girl writes, under an old school photo of Eric.

"Can you imagine how cute Dylan would have been on a date, like seriously I bet he would have tried really hard and got flowers and everything, the cutie," another one ponders.

They share gun pictures with captions like "ugh I want."

Do you guys think that p-dophiles have superiority complex over other p-dophiles that like kids that are younger than the kids they like? Didn't make sense to me but it's also kind of funny you know. Like if you think about it like okay we'll go like well. You know it's fine that like 12-year-olds and then that's obviously bad you know. But then like give another p-dophile came up and went like well. I like 4-year-olds. Do you think like the other p-dophile goes like " you sick f*** they're only four " also, how do you? How do you think Asian people play into this plan of this? How do you think Asian people play into play and play into this? Like do you think a p-dophile looks at like an 18-year-old Asian guy and goes be like super creeped in over like an Asian kid because you know just

You don't, ideally they'd just be like well doing children is perfect, .*" And have their head blowing clean off by like the golf club. I mean like what you do is you put a golf club before you cut the head off a gut cub and you stick the the shaft of it down the barrel of the shotgun and then you shoot the shotgun so it's like a it's like a

If I if I knew Genie, I'd wish for all p-dophiles to get the mark of the beast on their forehead and then also like a 2% chance. Not even 2% like 0.2% chance of it happening to just random people but only only like really attractive. Random people. Ugly people, uogt people are going to have it disproportionately so

What would you guys wish for if there was a genie into you knew the genie and like you could wish it was that kind of arrangement but what what would you guys do? Discus f*** off discuss.

https://www.lowtechcartoon.com/?p=996

The First Gay Space on the Internet

It was called soc.motss, and it anticipated how we use social networks today

https://slate.com/technology/2014/08/online-gay-culture-and-soc-motss-how-a-usenet-group-anticipated-how-we-use-facebook-and-twitter-today.html

I mostly looked to see what kind of news group this was and discovered the NATURAL BEAR CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM that gays used years ago.... Or now.

The guy who started SOC.MOTSS looks the coomer part, pictured here:

Steve Dyer, founder of soc.motss.

Chuds were on the attack from the earliest days:

Here's the Slate article's part introducing the BEAR CODES of gays in the late 80's.

Some of that nerdiness spread beyond motss. The geeky urge to classify resulted in the Bear Code (officially, the Natural Bears Classification System), invented by Bob Donahue and Jeff Stoner in 1989 as an “incredibly-scientific system to describe bears and bear-like men.” Santa Claus' classification, for instance, was “B8 d++ f? w++ k–?,” describing him as a big round (w++) daddy bear (d++) with a very bushy beard (B8) whom people guess to be averagely furry (f?) and not kinky at all (k–?).

This format inspired the later Geek Code, which was ubiquitous in Unix profiles and email sigs in the 1990s—except instead of codes for weight and beard, the Geek Code offered opinions of Linux (l+++++ if you were Linux author Linus Torvalds) and Star Trek (t— if you hated Star Trek). The origins of the Geek Code in the Bear Code were quickly forgotten.

I can't copy paste this long mess of scientific gay autism except there's some fun stuff in here like Wilford Brimley's rating!

NBCS (...or Bear codes... or those darned abbreviations :)

4/26/91 - post date

by HASH BROWNS

alt.s*x.motss (members of the same s*x)

Source link: https://groups.google.com/g/alt.s*x.motss/c/x6POznoEu9o/m/KukmNkFP_swJ