Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 12m

ONE OF MY BIGGEST PET PEEVES IN THE UNIVERSE IS SEARCH ENGINES NOT HONORING WHAT I’M SEARCHING FOR.

YOU DON’T HAVE THE THING? SHOW ME “NOT FOUND”… DON’T MAKE ME WADE THROUGH 50,000 PAGES =WITHOUT= THE THING BECAUSE YOU’RE HOPING “CLOSE ENOUGH” WILL MAKE ME HAPPY, AND GET YOU CLICKS AND INCOME.

Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 42m

It's "soaring," but — yes — that's 100% the line that lives rent-free in my skull. 😊

Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 51m

For me it's "Missile to Your Heart" by @rifftrax.com . . .

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRyz...

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Reposted by Steven Marsh

Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 16h

I really adore the phase after a mass Twitter exodus event where that small minority of asshole new users get their shit totally wrecked by the effectiveness of blocks and blocklists on here

it’s like watching a baby gazelle get eaten by a crocodile in a muddy river

Jennifer @jennknut.bsky.social · 16h

what the trolls haven't learned is we have a block button here

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Reposted by Steven Marsh

lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 22h

i'm not going to chide or scold anyone for only now leaving twitter. your private, unspoken acknowledgment that i'm your intellectual and moral superior is all i need

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Reposted by Steven Marsh

Deanna G @deannag.bsky.social · 1d

Cool trivia question. In 2020, Onward set the record for the lowest weekly grossing #1 film at $71,000.

What was the movie it beat?

ET the Extra Terrestrial at $2.3 million. It hit number 1 in early December, 1982, 25 weeks after premiering.

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 1d

I'm just going to assume that "luminary" in this case includes me. 😊

Jesse Scoble @jscoble.bsky.social · 1d

Subversive Sci-Fi -- essays by some of gaming's luminaries on futuristic films that broke the rules!

Please check out the campaign and consider chipping in!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/gho...

Just check out this line-up:

1/?

Subversive Sci-Fi Evolution

More Reflections on Futuristic Films That Broke the Rules

www.kickstarter.com

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Reposted by Steven Marsh

Jesse Scoble @jscoble.bsky.social · 1d

Subversive Sci-Fi -- essays by some of gaming's luminaries on futuristic films that broke the rules!

Please check out the campaign and consider chipping in!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/gho...

Just check out this line-up:

1/?

Subversive Sci-Fi Evolution

More Reflections on Futuristic Films That Broke the Rules

www.kickstarter.com

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Reposted by Steven Marsh

James Wallis @jameswallis.bsky.social · 2d

Windows 10 users in the EU and UK, you can get free Extended Security Updates for a year just by:
> Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates. Click.
Scroll down to Enrol in Extended Security Updates (or similar wording).
Click on it.
Follow prompts.
Bingo, you're good for a year.

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Reposted by Steven Marsh

Natalie P (is not a vampire) 🦇 @sashette.bsky.social · 2d

I don't know whether it's unhinged, but it's certainly divisive:

I believe all novels should have illustrations in them again. Like etchings in Dickens, or Japanese Light Novels.

Every single novel would benefit. Artists would thrive. We all win.

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 3d

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 2d

Halloween continues on Feature of Habit! This "week" is only six days (so far), for reasons that'll make more sense next Tuesday.

10/15 — Shock Treatment (1981)
10/16 — 28 Days Later (2002)
10/17 — Barbarian (2022)
10/18 — Fantasy Island (2020)
10/19 — The Keep (1983)
10/20 — The Substance (2024)

Writing Film Essays

www.patreon.com

Reposted by Steven Marsh

bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 2d

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?

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Reposted by Steven Marsh

rahaeli @rahaeli.bsky.social · 3d

Look, I'm all for suspension of disbelief when reading fanfic and all, but I draw the line at a Gotham phone number being area code 201. It is in South Jersey! It's area code 609, dammit!

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 4d

(I know I just did that one a few days ago, but it's still on my mind...)

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 4d

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand

Fireballs deal 8d6 dawizard.

🏰meg⚔️ @Birthright Audiobook! @impavid.us · 6d

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand

I'll go first: Six page commercial lease.

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 4d

I wonder how many of these folks cut their teeth on grand-strategy computer games — such as CIVILIZATION — where just deciding "we're no longer a democracy... we're now operating under despotism because that'll be advantageous" is just a mouse-click choice.

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Reposted by Steven Marsh

Steve Jackson Games @stevejacksongames.bsky.social · 4d

Will Zombie Dice or Chupacabra: Survive the Night be on your table for #HalloweenGaming? Whether you prefer ravenous, undead creatures or scary cryptids, both fast-playing dice games will put you in a spooky mood!

#halloween #boardgames #tabletopgames #dicegames #stevejacksongames #playsjgames

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Reposted by Steven Marsh

Turhan's Bey Company @turhansbeycompany.bsky.social · 6d

My GURPS historicals touch (briefly) on things like race, gender, sexuality, and ability, not because of "DEI consultants" (there's hardly enough money involved to pay me, let alone a consultant) but because as someone who reads history I know there were lots of not-white, not-dude, not-straight,

Mike Rose @mikerose.bsky.social · 6d

We banned a guy on the Steam forums for repeatedly saying there were “too many women” in our game

So he flipped his positive review to negative

Still totally worth it

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 6d

I can't even imagine going to THAT many garage sales . . .

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 6d

Experience: I own the world’s largest Monopoly collection

Every set is exciting. I’ve currently got 4,379 different ones. The dream is to hit 4,500, maybe even 5,000

www.theguardian.com

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 6d

Secret Halloween terror message to all game editors:

dawizard

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 8d

Yeah, I spent too much time trying to sort it out. :-)

The big "tell" for me is that good modern human writers really like… randomness? Talking about an invading army while engaging a cat in tug-of-war. etc.

The one I suspect trapped you mimics someone who's "to the point," making that harder.

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 8d

I got three out of three... but I was nowhere NEAR as confident as I felt like I should have been.

Jessica Price @delafina777.bsky.social · 8d

Hey all, I'm trying to get a baseline for how good people are at detecting whether fiction is AI-generated or human-written (most of the research on this is for nonfiction and my hypothesis is we're better with fiction).

If you have time, give it a try?

jlp-experiment.github.io/ai-detection...

AI vs Human Fiction Detection Test

jlp-experiment.github.io

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Reposted by Steven Marsh

Jessica Price @delafina777.bsky.social · 8d

Hey all, I'm trying to get a baseline for how good people are at detecting whether fiction is AI-generated or human-written (most of the research on this is for nonfiction and my hypothesis is we're better with fiction).

If you have time, give it a try?

jlp-experiment.github.io/ai-detection...

AI vs Human Fiction Detection Test

jlp-experiment.github.io

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 8d

Yep! Even wrote it. (Behind a Patreon paywall...)
www.patreon.com/posts/131276...

Scary Elision on the Road That I Must Travel, With HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982) | Feature of Habit: A Movie a Day

www.patreon.com

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Steven Marsh @stevenmarsh.bsky.social · 8d

I've only seen one so far, and it was HALLOWEEN III (which I have fond memories of).

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