michaelhopcroft.bsky.social
Novelist, Worker, Fan, Gamer -- I wear any hat but red.
46 posts
57 followers
42 following
Active Commenter
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One of my leads told me she'd worked at Walmart for ten years. Sounds unfathomable, but it's likely her reasons are like mine.
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I do not understand why you keep talking about this. I do not recall saying I was going to unfollow anybody. If someone does something especially offensive, I will of course drop them like a hot potato. I went to Bluesky to avoid this sort of thing.
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Two words: Arab Spring. Several dictators got overthrown in that moment, and some even lost their lives as well. But many of the new governments were unstable for various reasons, leading in at least one case {Libya) to an open civil war.
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Where is the dog?
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"Just as every cop's a criminal, and all the sinners saints" -- Mick Jagger.
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That he wants to defund the ACLU at all is a sign that he has absolutely no faith in constitutional protections. There is a difference between dissent and treason that Musk the South African just doesn't grok.
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LAN parties are still around. I've been to a few, usually woth 300-400 guests and their mostly custom-built PCs. The monitors are all flat screens now, but the vibe is the same.
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He should have gone to prison, not the morgue. I feel compelled to remind folks that, media aside, there is no such thing as a good murder.
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Although I have to wonder what will take its place, or how it will alter the balance of power in the Middle East.
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That a "democracy" has the gall to outright ban a movie is a bit disturbing.
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There needs to be a place for art and craft in moviemaking, or we end up with shameless imitation going on and on with no respite. Give us something we haven't seen before, not planned to have sequels, and pushing boundaries instead of buttons. Franchises are for burgers.
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Only, in real rap battles, without actually writing them down. I've never been to one, amd certainly wouldn't take part, nut it sounds like fun if you can take the emotional punishment.
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Our unfortunate tendency to "blame the victim" is a major barrier to getting people help they desperately need. It extends beyond not caring and well into malice.
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Neither a state, a territory, of an independent nation. The GOP in particular has been unwilling to let go the last legacy of Aerica's failed experiment with colonialism. The only reason PR isn't a state is because the Republicans don't want to see two new senate seats occupied by Democratic POC.
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And Oregon's [ath to the championship would be blunting the Buckeyes plans for revenge. A rematch would be slmost unprecedented. And I think THE OSU has all the advantages in that game. Now watch Tennessee win the first-round game and nobody can figure out what's happening.
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Was it common a hundred years ago to play football on entirely dirt fields? I guess the term "Three yards and a cloud of dust" was taken quite literally.
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Haters are going to hate, but when haters win elections nobody is better off. And victim-blaming remains a favorite sport in many circles.
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Maybe some of the things Trump does because he has money (or had) are things they wanted to be able to do but are too broke to stay out of prison for them.
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we did make a serious attempt in the early 19th century to conquer and annex Canada. That's what the War of 1812 was about -- a chance to sneak in and grab Canada which the British were occupied with Napoleon. It failed, Washington burned, and when Napoleon was beaten the USA sued for peace.
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I didn't listen to much truly new music, but "The Tortured Poets Department" is a very interesting album. Even if it is Taylor Swift.
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In a different way, just about every movie that glamorizes horse racing is an example of that as well.
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And I believe he used them again in "Waterloo". It was standard practice in the'60s and '70s.
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"Waterloo" and most other pre-ASPCA Napoleonic films didn't just portray the use of horses as disposable weapons of war, but the methods used to reproduice mass cavalry charges and horses being killed in action we so dangerous to the horses that IIRC about half of them actually died.
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Just as long as they don't binge on Milton Friedman. It's hard to think of a less deserving Nobel Laureate than Milton Friedman.
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And he lost by three million votes in a popular vote only election. That he still managed to be granted power--by the incumbent who defeated him yet--is a sign that we need to remain vigilant.
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Where can I see the games? Last season they were on YouTube. What about this year?
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I never played the game, but I sure as heck enjoy the movies. It's like they're a sort of antidote to ennui; in any case they're perfect escapist fun.
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There are still Anglicans in America. We call them Episcopalians. The difference is that tax money supports the Episcopalians only with the tax exemptions other churches enjoy. My mother is one and loves it.
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And it will only get harder for them (who could easily be any of us who missed a paycheck or two, and some of whom are reading Bluesky). Americans only seem to care about humanitarian crises anywhere but here.
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I exclusively use Pinterest for fan stuff on my favorite media, including things most Americans have never heard of, much less seen or read.
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Right now I'm finding not working in the store dur9ing my leave (they will take me back at the end of it) far more stressful than waiting to go back is. Weird, right?
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Nice work! makes me wonder what Peach would do on a date night with Mario in Brooklyn (warp zones can go both ways). There are so many quintessentially Brookyln things he could introduce her to, like hot dog carts.
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I work at Walmart, as a cashier. The pay isn't great, but it keeps me active and keeps a roof over my head. And I do enjoy working with customers. But I don't see myself as working for the Walton family in Bentonville. I'm working for my co-workers, for my leads, and for my customers.
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They seem to already have been fully assembled. In fact, I'm pretty sure they come that way.
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I wanted to write a musical inspired by the Rossini opera "La Cenerentola", which is a variant on the Cinderella story. One of the main differences is that it's an elderly courtier, and not some mystical entity, that gives Ella her dress. And the Prince has a servant named Dandini.
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I wrote comedy sketches in college, but they were never produced. And since this was 1983-1985, it was hard to write comedy -- especially when your audio writing professor was so easily offendable. I learned from that experience that satire must always punch up, never down.
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Well, that may be good for me. Because I'm only starting to play the thing now and the servers still being up is a good thing. Now if only I could learn to mark effectively I would give up fewer goals and have more possessionn...
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If you're going to be putting on Mariah's Christmas album anyway, there's a song called "I Miss You Most" that will absolutely break anyone with a heart.
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Why not indeed? What could possibly go wrong?
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The best part of college for me was the theatrical troupe that emerged. I got to do Ibsen, Gilbert & Sullivan, Tennessee Williams, Sondheim, and finally Shakespeare. I loved being on stage as much as anything I have ever loved in my life. Go for it, theater kids!
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I had a friend who was knowledgeable enough about Oz to write a TTRPG on the subject. (For those unfamiliar with gaming parlance, that is short for "Tabletop Roleplaying Game" -- think D&D with different rules.) There are, in fact, several Oz-based TTRPGs out now on the shelves and on DriveThru.
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The reflects my experience of 2024. It is a very rough time, both for the world and for me personally, and 2025 isn't likely to be any easier. But I am learning new skills, and hoping that will give me ways to carry on. Like Billy Joel, I have "learned that just surviving is a noble fight".
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Godzilla Minus One. The emphasis on the human story of one man and how he and his "found family" caught up in the catastrophe makes the appearance of the kaiju all the more terrifying. The stakes suddenly become very real, which makes the terror more real.
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There were a lot of people in Revolutionary America who did in fact remain loyal to England and even took up arms to oppose the "rebellion". The revenge inflicted upon them by the victors was horrific and caused many to flee to Canada where it was safe. Revolutions are never polite and civil.