I needed to see it!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl3a1hh1hHQ

Since others have fully covered the Q portion of your comment I came to say that that cool saucer separation that’s so bad ass happens like 3 times max!

I get that maybe it’s “expensive” or awkward to write or something from the production standpoint that makes it underused, but seriously, is it “expensive” in-universe?! Because they spread that shit out more sparingly than me buying pine nuts!

Other show reference alert: it’s a lot like on Deep Space 9 how rarely Odo changes. If I had that fucking power I wouldn’t hold back! Let’s see, can I squeeze any more complaints in? I never understood the premise on Bewitched that Darren & Sam wouldn’t want to use her powers to make things better constantly! Ok I’m done. For now.

I felt highly agitated when I first learned of this plan but then I got more information and I calmed down a bit. From what I’ve read if this justice is removed the governor, a Democrat, would be entitled to appoint a replacement—possibly the same removed justice. Or someone else liberal & the removed justice could run again. There’s a way the Republicans could try more fuckery by the state house impeaching and the state senate refusing to hold a trial, because the state law says that an impeached official is barred from serving until the trial results in removal or acquittal. So GOP could try to say that once impeached the justice cannot serve, but delay the trial in the senate to avoid the governor appointing a replacement. Sigh this is so long! So anyway that’s a very narrow route to guaranteeing they get the result they want & obviously it bumps up against the article excerpts above, that voters would be angered and some GOP legislators are in unsafe districts. And finally if they did do that convoluted process to sideline a justice but delay the governor being able to appoint a successor I think the governor could very well rightfully interpret the situation as a vacancy on the court and appoint anyway. Which would of course probably go to court!

Phew.

I think all factors considered the situation in Wisconsin is not completely bleak.

Now the US Supreme Court, on the other hand, is a horrific tragedy.

Vivaldi on laptop, Orion on iPhone — but as of last week Orion is crashing multiple times a day (after months of use without issues).

To calm my mind I work to reduce:

• unwanted inputs
• broadcast media
• advertising
• bad faith arguing (and the unfortunate corresponding output of me arguing back, feeling angry & hopeless)
• time and energy spent harming my own wellbeing (I chose a path of financial instability for mental health; my prior jobs made me & the world worse)

& to increase:

• silence
• walking
• nature appreciation
• reading
• creativity
• meditation

Meditation is something I have felt for years I should do, but didn’t. Just last week I started a new daily practice. I had difficulty with apps and podcasts and YouTube videos because of the capitalist need for $urvival. When the path to inner peace features billboards I tend to lose focus. So I started doing it myself. I’m recording the sessions and will share them to encourage others who may be like me. I intend to show that maybe it’s not so difficult and foreign to pause and breathe and talk to oneself. In no way am I following any meditation tradition. I considered coming up with another label but felt that meditation would be the one most easily understood. I have joined this community and will post my meditation series here in the next week or two.

My name is Rob. I’m 51. I’m an abstract expressionist painter. My diagnoses (received in my early 20s) are ADHD, major depression, and eventually bipolar. I have taken many prescriptions. I have attended much therapy. I’m not doing either at the moment, for a combination of financial and DIY/philosophical reasons. I do not judge the course others take on their route to survival. At least I aspire not to judge. It’s one thing I’m working on, including in meditation.

P.S.
I experienced mild anxiety as I wrote this comment in the form of these thoughts:

• Maybe after one day HandOfDoom already received enough response. I can think of many times I’ve reached out online then retreated as I felt overwhelmed by replies — and I’m not talking as someone with a huge following, 3 replies can overwhelm me!
• If I’m not careful I will write a book length response because figuring this stuff out is my life story.

Since you mentioned “boring” — Probably the most out of step thing about me is that I think boredom is healthy. I think constantly stimulating stories (and consumption habits, relationships, news…) are interfering with the hard, slow work of sustainable existence. (I just realized I’m almost quoting Dr. Wong! Sorry lol)

I crave entertainment and distraction. And I admit my huge flaw of falling into a lecturing tone. Sigh. I don’t mean it. I only want to control me. It’s just that for most of my life I’ve been pretty unhappy and dysfunctional & I see links between my past state and a desire for escape and constant entertainment. Is this still about kissing in movies? Maybe. We are just sharing opinions on the internet. Getting feelings out is good.

Gonna go watch Andy Warhol’s “Sleep” now…

I consider them part of normal human behavior and therefore natural in movies. If anything I might think more intimacy should be portrayed on screen. But this question and many of the replies let me see that I am not necessarily typical in my view that sex, love, and kissing are no big deal in media.

I’m curling up to a movie right now on Hooplah & last night watched one on Kanopy, two streaming services I get free with my library card.

List of Fediverse admins pledging to pre-block Meta instances: https://fedipact.online

It will be possible to have accounts on multiple instances, those that block Meta or federate with Meta. Then see what happens.

I’m not currently using RSS, it’s been years. And yes I also felt overwhelmed. I have same problem with Podcasts on my iPhone and honestly email. Just like in most cases I don’t want to be pushed content. My brain feels bad for not keeping up. The best use of RSS that I can imagine for me would be following a small number of original content creators who post erratically in multiple platforms. It’s another reason I love the fediverse so much bc we can slap /feed on the end of many addresses to pull that content elsewhere. And again I’m not currently using RSS lol. I’m just saying that I might use it for passionate follows. I think it’s a useful tool for getting people free of the big bad platforms.