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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • With all due respect, I strongly disagree. I admit my views are coloured by my love of Asimov’s work, and their radical re-write has left a bad taste in my mouth. But when I analyse this show objectively I am left bewildered that anyone could call it “excellent fucking science fiction.”

    Most of the actors are TERRIBLE. It was like watching wooden planks act. Instead of developing the story in any meaningful way, the directors chose to focus on disparate and dream-like sequences which appear to have little connection to each other. Bizarre pacing. They took the expansive time gaps and somehow made them confusing and meaningless. The dialogue is atrocious. The CGI is laughable. The accents are ridiculous. This is science fiction of the worst kind.

    Lee Pace is the only reason I finished season one. Despite the horrific writing, he somehow pulls it off. The Expanse set the bar very high for sci-fi, but it showed us it can be done well. Foundation is fantasy in space. It’s Wheel of Time and Rings of Power in space bad.





  • The DMA explicitly forbids that. There must be no cost, and no barriers to distributing apps to iOS users. Apple cannot, for example, force developers to sign up with Apple, pay additional fees, or use special certificates.

    Honestly, I think the DMA is the most impressive, most comprehensive technology focused piece of legislation in my lifetime. They’ve clearly gone to great lengths to consider all the ways gatekeepers like Apple might intend to maliciously comply. Further, the EU operates under the principle of “spirit of the law,” as opposed to the US, which operates under the principle of the “letter of the law.” This means judges don’t take kindly to companies attempting obvious circumvention of the intended principles of the legislation. Even if Apple were to find a loophole, they probably won’t be allowed to exploit it.





  • and tolerance of the intolerant was never a theme.

    I’m sorry but this is bullshit. I cite episode 1-2, season 1. Q places Picard and the Enterprise on trial for the misdeeds of the human race. This character and plot re-emerges many times throughout this show and others. As recently as Picard season 3. Q’s accusation is that the human race is guilty of crimes. He calls humanity a “dangerous, savage child-race.” He’s right, of course, which is what gives the theme gravitas. Picard’s ongoing game with Q is a form of atonement rather than a test. The theme is that us humans are clearly fallible, and guilty of much, but also capable of heroism and feats of bravery and altruism.

    Star Trek isn’t Star Wars, with a baddie and a goodie. The three shows I cited explore the grey area between what you think is right, and what someone else thinks is right. They are powerful and thought-provoking precisely because they don’t treat the audience like children, or parishioners in their pews. “Tolerance of intolerance” was one of the central themes in Star Trek, because the writers demanded we explore the nature of our morality ourselves. As a Star Trek fan I’m surprised to be explaining this to you.


  • TNG, DS9, and Voyager had great writers. They deftly wove in contentious issues designed to invoke introspection and consideration of one’s own positions, prejudices, and biases. They appealed to people of all political persuasions because they didn’t cast judgement. “Oh that’s what you believe? Well here’s a whole planet built on those hypothetical principles. Here are some cool things, and some terrible things. Make up your own mind.”

    Star Trek writers today have all the tact and nuance of an angry baboon flinging faeces at the viewer while screaming “REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” Without exploration of the plentiful and beautiful nuance in life, what’s left is a sermon. A preachy, dire, boring sermon. And who better to lead the ceremony each week than the Maryest of Sues, Michael Burnham.

    Comparing TNG with whatever the fuck we have today is an insult to Star Trek, and Trekkie Bill knows it.