suzanne emerence

[suzannemerence]

'The Nerd Reich' tracks the 'unmasking of Silicon Valley's true politics'

Journalist Gil Durán argues that a small circle of Silicon Valley billionaires and venture capitalists have concluded that democracy is in t

Well this is terrifying.

[suzannemerence]

Didn't know who Lillian Roth was until today. Ended up watching this interview with her in 1958, reflecting on her recovery from alcoholism, a conversion from Judiasm to Christianity, and her return to acting, singing and writing.

Her memoir, I'll Cry Tomorrow, was a breakthrough after years of alcohol abuse, volatile relationships and career struggles. That's quite a comeback.

[suzannemerence]

Ukraine mourns 'collector of souls' Oleksiy Yukov, killed recovering war dead

Oleksiy Yukov spent two decades recovering the bodies of soldiers — including many Russians. He was killed during a recovery mission after s

Sometimes I hope a certain person exists, and this is how I found out they do.

I classify this as "hardcore good." These types of people are rare and strong as hell.

[depsidase]

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True. There's so much data, and it's free, so...

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Came across this today (it's part of a series) and immediately thought about this image of gently rotating a shaken up can to keep it from exploding.

Maybe that's the metaphor for therapy or coping strategies: a way to reorient yourself so you don't end up all over the floor (or erupt in somebody's face).

[suzannemerence]

Spin or Starve — The Wheel Decides Where You Eat

Real restaurants near you, one wheel, zero further discussion.

Bookmarking this for the next social situation that needs it.

[suzannemerence]

What scientists are learning after SpaceX debris crashed into the moon

A four-ton upper stage of a SpaceX rocket is believed to have hit the moon at 5,400 mph. The SpaceX rocket launched a pair of lunar landers

This news story immediately brought two quotes to mind:

"If they keep crashing stuff into the moon trying to find water and then the moon gets pissed off and the tides change and all women start PMS-ing together, you guys are going to fucking regret that." - Tori Amos

"I’m awfully serious about the moon. I think that Robert Graves was right when he said that the most blasphemous thing that has happened since Alexander cut the Gordian knot was when we landed on the moon." - Orson Welles

According to their science correspondent Miles O'Brien (no, not that one), it isn't just a superstitious concern. We keep crashing things into the moon, sometimes on purpose (what?), and as a result a lot of space debris is out there, orbiting our planet.

Sadly, I doubt there will be a space race to clean it up until it inconveniences or endangers us somehow. (How typical.)

[suzannemerence]

I watched Alice in Wonderland today and thought about how I only own it on DVD because the last Disney blu-ray release had its colors pumped up to neon birthday cake levels. It was so off-putting I never bought it.

It had been a few years so I wondered if there had been another release, and coincidentally a new 4K restoration was released a few months ago. And what do you know, the first article I find about it discusses how the colors on that 2011 blu-ray release have been corrected.

After catching up on that, I watched this breakdown made by someone who noticed these differences on a level I didn't think possible, and for that I'm thankful.

I first noticed that Disney altered the color scheme on releases while revisiting Beauty and the Beast for an episode of Anatomy of an Adaptation. When I started watching the 1991 animated version, everything was so bright and punchy I had to stop watching and make sure I wasn't losing my mind.

Sure enough, I found this side by side comparison of different editions, which confirmed I wasn't crazy.

What I had watched the most was the Walt Disney Classics version at home. Since then the visuals have changed from release to release.

If the latest release isn't the way a film was supposed to look, you can only hope it gets corrected in the future. That isn't always the case (and maybe it isn't with Beauty and the Beast), but it makes the experience confusing when you're revisiting something you know quite well and struggle to recognize it.

For now, I'm interested in that 4K restoration of Alice, but a 4K UHD disc won't play in the blu-ray player I currently have. I don't know when I'll see it for myself.

[irenelichtensteinblog]

Marlene Dumas, Waiting (for meaning), 1988

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What I'm currently doing to cope.

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‘We Were Simply Animals’ • EQUATOR

What happens to the disappeared in Mexico’s narco-slavery camps

One of the darkest things I have read in a long time. There is slavery and then there is something like this, with no intervention, understanding or compassion if you make it out alive.

[suzannemerence]

Ray Bradbury read by Leonard Nimoy : Ray Bradbury : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Leonard Nimoy reads two of Ray Bradbury's classic stories from THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES.1. THERE WILL COME SOFT RAINS2. USHER IIThese recordin

August 4, 2026.

Revisiting this today.

[balzog]

[suzannemerence]

I appreciate Hedonismbot. He has Charles Laughton vibes.

Is it just because he played the decadent Emperor Nero in The Sign of the Cross? Maybe.

It may be the exaggerated voice and the high-class British accent too, although Laughton could play all shades of characters, from the subtle to the outlandish.

But most of all, it might be because I came across this story about him recently. Here is an excerpt from My Lunches With Orson about Laughton entertaining the troops back in the '40s, but he preferred to do it reclining on a divan.

That does sound like something Hedonismbot would do. And then apologize for nothing.

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Recently had a conversation where I said I wish I could give Philip Seymour Hoffman back to his family. Seeing his son doing anything brings those feelings to the surface.

Great taste in films. Great taste in roles so far. Loves New York. Loves his girlfriend. I genuinely hope for the best considering what he and his family went through.

[batavias]

Guys he fell off

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My review of this film:

So hammy, so over the top, so unintentionally hilarious (or maybe not).

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Mexico’s Olinia 1 Is a Homegrown EV Built for the Country's Streets

The Olinia 1 is designed to fit the needs of the country’s drivers

For the low price of $8,500.

[suzannemerence]

"When I learned how early Americans built a national identity, it kind of reminded me of January 6th. And actually it helped me understand it in a new way. I mean, some of the parallels are obvious–dressing up like Indians to riot.

But I found something deeper than that. Something so deep in the character of America it’s below the surface. Almost subconscious. At first, for me, what I didn’t understand about January 6th was how the rioters could claim they were defending American democracy, while also tearing it down. They denied the results of a democratic election. They stormed the capitol building. Once inside, they broke stuff. They basically went to the seat of our government and trashed it. 

But after I learned all this history, I realized our founders did the same thing. Our founders built a national identity on playing Indian at the same time our government was rounding up and killing actual Native people. We built our national identity on the thing we were trying to destroy.

It's the type of thing a serial killer would do in a horror movie. Kill someone, move into their house, and then pretend to be them. Today, it feels like we’re experiencing these big ruptures in our national identity. In what it means to be American. Like it's falling apart or breaking in two. And I think there’s this natural impulse to try and find where things got off track. But it's always been this way. Just imagine someone did kill a family, move into their house, pretend to be them. Wouldn’t you expect that person to lose their mind? To one day snap? Of course American identity is broken. We all live in that house."

- Rebecca Nagle