lupi

cow of tailed snake (gay)

avatar by @citriccenobite

you can say "chimoora" instead of "cow of tailed snake" if you want. its a good pun.​


i ramble about aerospace sometimes
I take rocket photos and you can see them @aWildLupi


I have a terminal case of bovine pungiform encephalopathy, the bovine puns are cowmpulsory


they/them/moo where "moo" stands in for "you" or where it's funny, like "how are moo today, Lupi?" or "dancing with mooself"



Bovigender (click flag for more info!)
bovigender pride flag, by @arina-artemis (click for more info)



Webster
@Webster

i don't consider myself a very nostalgic person. i don't think there's inherent sanctity in the video rental store or the mall or the nickel arcade or even the web 1.0 landscape that microwaved my pre-teen brain and turned me strange. i don't think any fond feelings i have for any of those things represent a lost cultural ethos or that their reproductions would be superior to their replacements...

but i DO think their replacements, through streamlining and centralization, have created an void of exploration and tangibility. i don't want to mistake my desire to go somewhere and hold something as a desire to have blockbuster video back. but i do, very much, want to go somewhere and hold something. and i'm not a sociologist, i'm just some guy, but i think it's normal for people to enjoy rituals of preparation. idk, like... making pourover from whole bean coffee.

we have less of those now. and i think that instead of trying to get the old ones back, maybe we should be persuing new ones. real or simulated.


Webster
@Webster

some corollary thoughts:

-the public library, the indie movie theater, the record store, cafes, and tbh even the nickel arcade are still around and still wonderful places to go.

-vr makes streaming more experiential! me and my partner watched a movie in vrc last weekend, and it felt really special adding a (simulated) tangible space to a remote experience. i've watched twitch streams and had listening parties over vr and i always end those nights on a high. one of the things i really love about vr is that it turns interfaces into a place you go. i live for that shit.

-the first week of pokémon go was a uniting force between me and my neighbors. a new tangible experience brought us all to the town square. i haven't played it since, but it was magical.

-sits in my chair backwards like a youth pastor have you heard the good news about birding? people have been doing it for a century and a half, but new interfaces like ebird have made finding new birds, birders, and hotspots so much easier than it used to be. birding in the modern day is more exploratory and experiential now than it has ever been before, and having community science resources at your fingertips means that when you participate you are contributing to a free, evolving, publicly accessible global database. you are creating the modern range map. if you liked pokémon go, this is that turned up to 11.


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in reply to @Webster's post:

I fully expected myself to hate gardening and to give up on it shortly after trying it out. Same with bonsai.

But the ability to have a tangible, holdable item really can't be overstated. Especially if it's something you helped make.

My hypothesis is that tool restoration and other hobbies are so popular on YouTube because people today just crave tactile experiences but don't even know that's what their missing. I also think a large fraction of ASMR is trying to poorly fill the void of missing non-visual sensory experiences.

My wife and I talk about this a lot: how it's not that existing cultural practices should be statically maintained for eternity - whether it be video rental or large-scale organised religion - but that in many cases the replacements or improvements don't fill that same niche of tangibility and connection.

Centralised and online/app-based services have definitely led to a real homogenisation of experiences too. And to be honest I find it great to be able to do/access absolutely everything from my one device most of the time, but it does mean you have to work to have those unique interactions with the world rather than them coming inevitably.

in reply to @Webster's post:

yea, i think physical stuff is just... fuckin amazing. it even applies to stuff like computers and games to me. UI design a la windows XP/vista/7, fruitiger aero, games with photosourced textures like in max payne, cry of fear and stalker. hell, ive even started carrying around a point and shoot camera with me (a small nikon coolpix model) just because i don't like using a phone camera app. they're not 100% perfect, but something about them is just... human? in a way? i guess? no idea how to word this lmao. also what happened to physical buttons on things?