Another weekend, another bunch of stuff to alleviate stress

This entry is part [part not set] of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

Why, yes, you continue to get a proliferation of fluff in the feed. But it’s good fluff!

At least I think it is.

Creative. Witty. So wrong it’s awesome.

It’s the stuff that helps alleviate the stress that my life has been lately.

But have no fear! There are also some gems of real content in there.

Interesting bits of science. Some very insightful comments on items. Actual world happenings that we should all be aware of.

Check it out, enjoy what you can, maybe jump in and participate in a conversation (even if you’re coming across this months later… don’t hesitate to comment, I’ll see it and it may get things moving on that post again).

Here’s the feed.

Hot Peppers, Stupid Humans, Culture Clash, and Textual Russian Roulette

This entry is part [part not set] of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

Two fascinating culture articles in today’s feed. One about the perception of lowbrow, midbrow, and highbrow cultural norms and another about a “game” called Damage Control that the kids these days seem to be playing.

The ideas, ideals, and realities of socioeconomic and cultural class systems fascinate me. How one level looks at the others, what anyone in a given class aspires to be, how divergent reality often is (sometimes despite the “best” efforts of society to have rigid separations). It always seems to me that those stratifications are made by people who want to, in some way or another, be able to easily identify themselves as elite.

Using things like art and clothing to lord over others who may simply have different tastes is a time-honored recipe for separation instead of synthesis. And in today’s world of ascendant “geek culture” all the classic “low brow” entertainment (i.e. comic books) is suddenly gaining traction and it’s now acceptable, if not a sign of a certain “elite” class, to actually be a geek.

Of course, all of that would likely still be considered, at best, midbrow by anyone who considers themselves highbrow.

The other cultural article is about a “game” called Damage Control, wherein people (often when drunk) hand over their phones to friends (or “friends,” depending on how things go) who then proceed to send some sort of off-the-wall/offensive/sexual text to someone (anyone–there are no rules limiting who) in the phone’s address book. People have lost friends, jobs, and tons of sleep as a result of this game.

I see it as not much less than classic Russian Roulette. Instead of risking physical death for the rush of “winning,” these people are putting their social standing and professional opportunities on the line to get the same sort of rush.

That seems to say something about what’s considered valuable and important to those who play. It also likely says something about how much they don’t feel a sense of fulfillment from what they’re doing. If you’re willing to risk everything on a random text, that strikes me as kind of call for some sort of fate to change circumstances you feel unable (or are otherwise unwilling) to change on your own.

Makes much more sense to me to just identify what you’re unhappy about and actually work to change it… instead of relying on utter randomness to maybe make life better.

So, definitely check those article out… they provide a lot to think on.

Here’s the full feed…

Politics, SciFi, Comics, Comedy, and, well, Pretty Much a Little of Everything

This entry is part [part not set] of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

I’ve really got get back on track to do posts on Fridays… or any of the times over the weekend that I think “Gee, I should probably post something to my actual blog…”

Because by the time Monday night rolls around, I’m usually doing so many other things that I put this off until the last minute and then find myself at a loss for something even vaguely meaningful to yammer on about. (Which is likely why I don’t do videos.)

Instead, as usual, I’ll just say there’s a lot that went into the feed since Friday morning. Some of it sparked some really good discussions, some of it is just really awesome in and of itself, and some of it has likely gone completely unseen–so you could be the first to discover it! (Or, uh, something like that.)

Anyway… here’s the feed…

https://www.facebook.com/kierduros/activity/10152191008695981

So Many Teeth, Bunches of History, Scifi and Comic News, and Good to Help Balance Out the Bad

This entry is part [part not set] of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

Right now, a bunch of people I know are out on the West Coast at San Diego Comic Con.

Another few are bouncing around various European countries.

Still more are heading off for two weeks of Pennsic War.

And, in another month, some mix of those same bunches of people will be heading to Dragon*Con.

I won’t be doing any of those things. It’s just not possible. Won’t be for a while.

That makes me a little sad.

But, things are what they are, and only time will open some doors again.

(I should also be asleep right now…. speaking of time…)

Here’s the feed…

Affordable Housing, Role Playing Games, Legal Wranglings, Inspiration, Tragedy, and Everything Since Friday

This entry is part [part not set] of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

Yeah, apparently I’m skipping Friday updates more often than not. I should stop that. Actually stick to my own schedule.

One of the big topics that ended up being discussed today in the stream was the whole rich/poor divide and the idea of affordable housing… spawned by an article about a new building in NYC that’s going to have a separate entrance for it’s less privileged residents (who they agreed to take in so they could get a tax break, mind you).

The topic of “affordable housing” comes up frequently here in Maryland. Particular in Silver Spring. The issue is a little different than it is in places like NYC.

Here we have the problem of people building a lot of expensive housing that is then bought/rented by people who mostly work and play in DC. This leaves people who work in Silver Spring (which has a wide diversity of jobs and pay rates) unable to afford to live there (in some cases), pushing them farther out where public transportation is less viable, leading to a bit of a traffic problem and a bit of a parking problem (which leads to all sorts of other problems… like local businesses being able to do solid business because people can’t get to/part at them easily or actual residents not being able to find parking/get around easily during the day).

A number of members of the community here are very interested in trying to build and maintain an actual community. One that’s vibrant at all times during the day…. not just during rush hour. What’s been in place has been slowly slipping away as development has boomed and busted a few times. (Most of what’s being built are one or two bedroom apartments/condos… not conducive to people with families, encouraging more transient people who go elsewhere to put down actual roots.)

It’s an interesting situation. A problematic one. And one I know I haven’t come up with a good solution to (mainly because I’ve got some very mixed feelings about all the affordable housing solutions I have seen–some of which were laid out in the article that Nancy shared–but some of those concerns are at odds with my desire to have poor people actually treated as people, since I’ve seen that be one of the best ways to help someone get back on their feet).

Needless to say, a number of people disagree with me on a lot of those points.

I’m okay with that.

Like I said, I don’t have an answer, so the discussion obviously needs to keep going on somewhere.

Here’s the extra long feed (which contains a few interesting discussions or starting points, so you should check it out)…