Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

ktb ⧉ @kevinbaker.bsky.social · 3h

It's so refreshing to see someone actually confronting the realities of nonvoting, who non-voters are and what actually motivates them, and attempting to address those concerns directly, and not turning into a self-serving, dishonest morality play.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 3h

A few days after the presidential election one year ago, we went to Fordham Road in the Bronx.

It was a little different last week.

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

Timothy Burke @bubbaprog.xyz · 6h

...and less than 24 hours later Condé Nast has fired Lex and the rest of the Teen Vogue political desk, even as stories like this were bringing huge numbers of readers to the site

Lex McMenamin (they/them) @leximcmenamin.com · 1d

dissatisfied by the New York Times coverage of Zohran Mamdani?

great news! I talked to the guy Thursday about his campaign’s success at bringing community together beyond this election, and contextualized how it’s potentially shifted youth engagement with politics by simply listening @teenvogue.com

Zohran Mamdani's Establishment-Fighting Campaign Built Community for Young People

“What Mamdani has done is not only inspire and mobilize young people, but he has exposed the establishment and some of their calcified views of participation and inclusion.”

www.teenvogue.com

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

Frank Cifaldi @frankcifaldi.bsky.social · 7h

Y'all, I know two hours is a big time commitment, but this panel I arranged and hosted last month is one of the most important things I've ever done for video game history. The launch of the NES is a crazier story than most people realize, and my guests were extremely generous with their memories.

RetroGamingExpo.com @retrogamingexpo.bsky.social · 9h

Hear about the NES US launch 40 years ago from the people that made it happen: Gail Tilden, Bruce Lowry and Lance Barr with @frankcifaldi.bsky.social from the @gamehistoryorg.bsky.social moderating! Panel recording at youtu.be/f2WDfsiLiRA
#prge #prge2025 #retrogaming #VGHF

We Launched the NES 40 Years Ago Today - Gail Tilden, Lance Barr, Bruce Lowry - PRGE 2025 Portland

YouTube video by Portland Retro Gaming Expo

youtu.be

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Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 8h

Claire broke her old shelf lights so got some new ones

these ones have a microphone

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Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 1d

I didn't touch the One Piece TCG fan simulator before because I'm too traumatised from testing Dragon Ball on Untap so I didn't realise it was semi-automated??

I'm sspoiled from the Fusion World official client so it's still an adjustment but once again the DBZ community folds to OP

Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 1d

I really love Part 2 of Chainsaw Man and Asa is probably the newest entry in my pool of favourite characters but it still took me a few arcs to have the OH NO moment

Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 1d

I basically made a video about this years ago so this isn't new information to me but I'm still having semi-regulars reckonings with the fact that Yu-Gi-Oh is easily the most influential part of my childhood in terms of where my taste ended up as an adult

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

julie muncy @julie.radiantarray.io · 1d

i didn't have a lot to do today so in response to a very reasonable, straightforward question i wrote a microessay that functions as a close reading of the narrative voice in the item descriptions of dark souls.

julie muncy @julie.radiantarray.io · 1d

yeah, no, fair. and i know you're not being an asshole. but my answer is, uh, well, it's longer than i can fit so here's what you're getting, because i think you're asking an interesting question and i appreciate this

1/4: well, no-- i don't think you're supposed to assume that the information is diegetic as such (that is, that it exists *in the game world*.) but that to me raises some interesting questions about its role in the narrative of these games, though i will grant that not a lot of them take advantage of those questions. my example of the original dark souls, though, is one that i think *does.*

so, we assume it's non diagetic. great. that means it's being imposed upon the game world from outside, presumably for an outside observer-- us, the player. so what, narratively, does this extra-diagetic intrusion signify?

i think the generally assumed answer for games is that it's intended to either 1) represent what the player character knows but the *player* would not (ie, in-universe knowledge) or 2) it represents diagetic knowledge translated into a non-diagetic form-- ie, procedural knowledge, things like tutorials-- how to jump, how to run, how to drink the sunny delight.

2/4: but what's interesting to me is that the voice of these descriptions-- as you point out-- does not seem to neatly map to either of those assumptions. as you say, Hollows are ignorant as fact of biology, and forgetfulness is a fundamental part of their whole deal. What's more, these item descriptions seem to operate from an unstable place of knowledge where they, at times, know basic facts about the world and setting that even most *informed* people in it would not know-- like there are a couple item descriptions that spoil the twist regarding Gwynevere and Anor Londo, extremely privileged knowledge. Yet the voice or voices of these descriptions don't seem to *always* know these things. They ask questions they don't have answers to. The knowledge being drawn from is not a stable, unmoving thing.

Likewise, they don't neatly graft into the second assumed role, either, as they are, as many people will gladly point out, often *extremely unhelpful for the player.* Lore without context, questions without answers, snapshots of history with no heuristics with which to understand them. People have spent their entire careers as critics and entertainers trying to turn these disparate, barely useful scraps of information into a traditional plot or world, with clear diminishing returns-- gaps that are entirely unfillable. if these are tutorials, they're bad tutorials. and if these are histories, they're written by a maniac.

3/4: so, then, we have text that 1) is not meant to represent the player character's perspective, 2) *does* however seem to largely graft to an in-universe perspective, albeit an unstable one and 3) does not serve a clear utility.

a literary reading of this brings us to the idea of something like what some James Joyce scholars call the Arranger in the novel Ulysses-- an unexplained presence, that seems to exist simultaneously inside and outside the story, which regularly intrudes upon the surface level narrative. Sometimes to provide local color, sometimes to provide gameplay hints, sometimes to casually drop massive secrets about the true order of the fictional world. But never in a manner that is easily explicated.

was this intended? Hell if i know. But I do think-- at least in this specific text-- it is an incredibly clever and interesting thing. It further enforces the sense of Lordran's instability, both as a place within a fictional world that is falling apart and in its role *as a fiction itself.* As a story, told to us the player, and also perpetuated by systems that exist within the diegetic world.

4/4: and from there, that's a reading you can take to a lot of places. to thinking about the historiography of dark souls' world, to the story's themes of reproduction & rebirth as a fundamentally degenerative process, to a wacky deconstructive reading about the ability of game worlds to create meaning at all. and that's why i'm inclined to define the method as epistolary fiction, at least in this specific instance-- because if you take it seriously as a thing the text is doing, you find a surprising amount of meat on those bones.

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

與田 @yoooda.bsky.social · 2d

レゼ

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

Micah @rincewind.run · 1d

their plainly stated goal is to starve forty million people until they get what they want, which is to rip health care away from millions more

that this is too monstrous for most news organizations to tell the truth about does not change the facts

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 1d

The USDA sent an email to grocery stores telling them they are prohibited from offering special discounts to customers affected by the SNAP funding lapse.
I'm aware of at least 2 stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

Line @linesonwhite.bsky.social · 1d

I saw Marge with Piccolo's cape and I couldn't stop my hands from moving.

A drawing of Marge from The Simpsons wearing Piccolo's cape from Dragon Ball. She's hunched forward just like Piccolo does, charging up energy for firing the Makansap... Makakakkasapap... Makakapottamus...
...
...The Special Beam Cannon.

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

Dread @dreaddbound.bsky.social · 1d

“Mmmmm I hate to say it Homie but we may have to team up if we have any hope of defeating Krusty”

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

伊藤暢達/Masahiro Ito @adsk4.bsky.social · 1d

This concept art for Silent Hill : the short message is one of the leaked materials. The official has never released it, if I remember correctly. The Sakura Head in this was the initial version.

Beyond a dirty & darkened corridor where an innumerable amount sticky notes are encroaching on the walls and ceiling, a silhouette like a girl stands illuminated from behind by the ceiling lights. Its head and upper body are covered in cherry blossoms, and she wears a jacket over them.

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

GSK | ALL CITY SLOP SHOP (ETA SOON) @allcityslopshop.com · 2d

Arika's celebrating their 30th anniversary by permanently dropping the price of Fighting EX Layer to $0.99 on PS4 & PC—the new price is live on Steam rn & will go live on PS at ~00:00 Nov.2 in your region

store.steampowered.com/app/871200/F...

store.playstation.com/en-us/produc...

FIGHTING EX LAYER on Steam

After a long wait, Arika's EX characters gather once again for another exciting battle! Kairi, Skullomania, Blaire, Pullum and the others are all back with the latest graphics. And this time they're b...

store.steampowered.com

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

BlushySpicy💖🔥 @blushyspicy.bsky.social · 2d

Cafe outfit Reze from the Chainsaw Man movie

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Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 2d

Simpsons Fortnite thing is cute and all but it kinda sucks as a map, if you're gonna do this you gotta Hit N' Run it not just make a theme park

Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

Lady Emily ☄️ @ladyemily.nebula.tv · 2d

Someone else already posted Brianna Wu’s sexy KKK ninja girls attacking Terminator MLK, so instead I’m going to post Brianna Wu’s argument that people are folding under social pressure to be left handed

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Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 2d

Rich from Digital Foundry seems like a lovely man but in every thumbnail he looks like my dad about to reach for the belt

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Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 2d

I like to think I'm invested in the NY mayoral race cos it's potentially the start of a momentum swing for the left but I fear it's more cos I'm bout 6 months younger than Zohran and all the racist cope claiming he's too much of a goo goo ga ga diaper filling baby for office makes my knees hurt less

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

Blazemalefica @blazemalefica.bsky.social · 3d

got to draw hinako for my patrons 🦊🍃
#silenthillf

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Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 3d

honestly the boxes weren't bad either I'm just lowkey mad that we whiffed on the Peach Momoko alt again

Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 3d

goated store that I will not name as I'm not even sure if they're allowed to do this sent me my online order OP13 boxes in time for pre-release and included the 3rd anniversary campaign promos as well...and then I pulled this boy which is a better pull than anything I got in the boxes lol

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Reposted by Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel

Dr. Aggro @draggro.bsky.social · 5d

Hey look, YouTube is doing a thing that no one asked for, benefits no one, wastes resources, reduces functionality, destroys original content, burdens infrastructure, and worsens the user experience all so they can push a false narrative about tech that fundamentally doesn't work the way they want.

Portalrealm @portalrealm.bsky.social · 5d

Youtube has announced that all low-res videos (i.e. older ones) are to be automatically AI upscaled to HD.
Creators can opt-out on a per video basis (but the channel may be long abandoned).

When researching props or behind the scenes, old videos are useful, but not if upscaling produces artefacts.

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Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 5d

no nooo nooooooo I couldn't have read all of Chainsaw Man already it's not true

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Matt Lesle, Balls of Steel @lesmocon.bsky.social · 5d

assuming my banger Mario Maker 1 levels don't count I ain't no game designer but nothing double downs the concept of "players are not designers" than reading the discourse during the reveal season of a new TCG set

I swear people think cards are designed one at a time in the order they're shown in

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