Constant Fractal
@nfb42.bsky.social
Fan of reading, writing, gaming and all that!
Reposted by Constant Fractal
This Pope is so essential at a time of Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Pope to Youth of Lebanon: “If love has a time limit, it is not truly love. Conversely, friendship is genuine when it places ‘you’ before ‘I.’ This respectful and welcoming way of looking at others makes it possible for us to build a greater ‘we,’ open to society as a whole and to all of humanity.”
December 1, 2025 at 9:03 PM
This Pope is so essential at a time of Donald Trump and JD Vance.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
i.e. that ideas matter, deeply, & that the highest value is to (try our best to) live with intellectual & moral integrity— no bullshit. And that it also matters to try to hold one another to this ideal, as a group. I really do mean this.
December 1, 2025 at 12:27 PM
i.e. that ideas matter, deeply, & that the highest value is to (try our best to) live with intellectual & moral integrity— no bullshit. And that it also matters to try to hold one another to this ideal, as a group. I really do mean this.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
Unfortunately, in US journalism it is considered neutral to spread a lie, but it is considered "biased" to call out a lie. So, there is a structural asymmetry that rewards colorful lies with virality.
November 30, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Unfortunately, in US journalism it is considered neutral to spread a lie, but it is considered "biased" to call out a lie. So, there is a structural asymmetry that rewards colorful lies with virality.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
People are trying to make something of this, but I don’t think it reflects what they’re trying to make it into. Folks have to understand Pope Leo as a Midwestern Catholic. From a Midwest perspective, it would be rude to go to a mosque & offer a Catholic prayer in it. He’s respecting Islam.
Pope visits Istanbul mosque but, unlike predecessors, opts not to pray there
The Vatican then sent out a corrected version of its bulletin about the trip, removing reference to the planned "brief moment of silent prayer," without further explanation.
www.ncronline.org
November 29, 2025 at 11:02 PM
People are trying to make something of this, but I don’t think it reflects what they’re trying to make it into. Folks have to understand Pope Leo as a Midwestern Catholic. From a Midwest perspective, it would be rude to go to a mosque & offer a Catholic prayer in it. He’s respecting Islam.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
at the the of the day, you can try to litigate and legislate lying, but you can’t force good faith and no amount of regulating the truth can fix society if its participants aren’t good faith members of the same project
the fact that dealing with rampant lying and its much worse downstream consequences involves cultivating values rather than just imposing formal frameworks or rules (legal or otherwise) is a tough pill to swallow for some. but it is indeed medicine
Pointing out that something is incorrect definitely isn't sufficient - the *culture* of "it is bad to make incorrect statements, good to promptly and clearly retract and apologize for them, and disqualifying to keep making them deliberately" is the framework needed for fact-checking to plug into.
November 29, 2025 at 1:23 PM
at the the of the day, you can try to litigate and legislate lying, but you can’t force good faith and no amount of regulating the truth can fix society if its participants aren’t good faith members of the same project
Reposted by Constant Fractal
This conversion between Ezra and Fareed is exceptional.
Gets to the heart of this moment we are in, why democrats and the center left failed, and how to move ahead.
Notably - Fareed echoes what @radiofreetom.bsky.social says. Bored affluence leads to fascism much more than economic struggles.
Gets to the heart of this moment we are in, why democrats and the center left failed, and how to move ahead.
Notably - Fareed echoes what @radiofreetom.bsky.social says. Bored affluence leads to fascism much more than economic struggles.
With Fareed Zakaria, host of “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on CNN and the author of the book “Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash From 1600 to the Present.”
Discussing the “revolution” we may be living through, the forces driving it, and how the Democratic Party can adapt.
youtu.be/bc0oOW___qs?...
Discussing the “revolution” we may be living through, the forces driving it, and how the Democratic Party can adapt.
youtu.be/bc0oOW___qs?...
Fareed Zakaria Thinks Steve Bannon Got One Thing Right | The Ezra Klein Show
YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show
youtu.be
November 25, 2025 at 3:49 AM
This conversion between Ezra and Fareed is exceptional.
Gets to the heart of this moment we are in, why democrats and the center left failed, and how to move ahead.
Notably - Fareed echoes what @radiofreetom.bsky.social says. Bored affluence leads to fascism much more than economic struggles.
Gets to the heart of this moment we are in, why democrats and the center left failed, and how to move ahead.
Notably - Fareed echoes what @radiofreetom.bsky.social says. Bored affluence leads to fascism much more than economic struggles.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
the fact that dealing with rampant lying and its much worse downstream consequences involves cultivating values rather than just imposing formal frameworks or rules (legal or otherwise) is a tough pill to swallow for some. but it is indeed medicine
Pointing out that something is incorrect definitely isn't sufficient - the *culture* of "it is bad to make incorrect statements, good to promptly and clearly retract and apologize for them, and disqualifying to keep making them deliberately" is the framework needed for fact-checking to plug into.
November 28, 2025 at 3:40 PM
the fact that dealing with rampant lying and its much worse downstream consequences involves cultivating values rather than just imposing formal frameworks or rules (legal or otherwise) is a tough pill to swallow for some. but it is indeed medicine
Reposted by Constant Fractal
Saw the Pope went to visit President Erdoğan today. Do you think this is the result of translation/idiom issues?
Pope:
“Arrange something special for November 25. It’s Turkey Day, you know.”
Aide, for whom English is a second language:
“We will make it happen, Your Holiness.”
Pope:
“Arrange something special for November 25. It’s Turkey Day, you know.”
Aide, for whom English is a second language:
“We will make it happen, Your Holiness.”
November 28, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Saw the Pope went to visit President Erdoğan today. Do you think this is the result of translation/idiom issues?
Pope:
“Arrange something special for November 25. It’s Turkey Day, you know.”
Aide, for whom English is a second language:
“We will make it happen, Your Holiness.”
Pope:
“Arrange something special for November 25. It’s Turkey Day, you know.”
Aide, for whom English is a second language:
“We will make it happen, Your Holiness.”
Reposted by Constant Fractal
This is very interesting (and yeah, I also had an initial “oh come on, that’s nuts” reaction to the first part of this article, but as I read on, I realized he was making some pretty compelling points)
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:17 AM
This is very interesting (and yeah, I also had an initial “oh come on, that’s nuts” reaction to the first part of this article, but as I read on, I realized he was making some pretty compelling points)
Reposted by Constant Fractal
This article makes really good points about the inability of most people to cut expenses without entirely losing the ability to participate in the economy. I get tired of people telling me to live cheaper by eliminating things that are necessary for modern life.
November 26, 2025 at 9:47 AM
This article makes really good points about the inability of most people to cut expenses without entirely losing the ability to participate in the economy. I get tired of people telling me to live cheaper by eliminating things that are necessary for modern life.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
![Comic. Panels up to the 10-year point are grayed out. New panels since the Ten Years comic, which chronicles the first ten years of PERSON 1's journey with cancer: (1) [two people in bed] PERSON 1 (woman): One more chapter? PERSON 2 (man): Don’t we both have to get up early? PERSON 1: Nnnnnggggh PERSON 2: Sure, good point. (2) [many people wearing masks, walking while looking at graphs on their phones] (3) [birds landing on people] PERSON 2 in beanie and scarf: Hah! They like *my* seeds best. PERSON 1 in scarf holding phone with a bird sitting on it: Wait, how do I take a picture of this one? (4) [two people rowing boats with tree landscape] (5) [Person 1 carries overflowing stack of things to Person 2 in bed] PERSON 1: I brought you honey lemon tea, more pillows, a cinnamon roll, Tylenol, another blanket, a– PERSON 2: It was just Appendicitis, I’m really– PERSON 1: *It is my turn to take care of you and I am going to do it right!* (6) [Two people in car] (7) [still in car) PERSON 1: Oh my god. PERSON 2: Oh my god. (8) [car driving] PERSON 1: Pull over! PERSON 2: I am! (9) [both people get out of car] (10) [Large colored panel of aurora borealis over water with both people looking on] (11) [Person 1 sits against tree while Person 2 lies on the ground] PERSON 1: Fifteen years. No sign of the cancer. (12) I *am* having some weird symptoms. Joint pain. Fatigue. I think I’m losing my close-up vision. PERSON 2: Yeah. Me too. (13) PERSON 2: I think we’re getting old. (14) PERSON 1: I guess that’s okay. PERSON 2: It’s all I wanted.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreihwhjblp5lyiwp63ouar7ocfea7evmckytoeo7rkfuoo4gw5rnrra@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Reposted by Constant Fractal
I think we often don't appreciate the danger men face when they break those norms, which serve as a major method to enforce patriarchy. This seems to be more important for patriarchy even than women's norms. It's not that men fear being women, it's that they fear physical attack and death.
November 26, 2025 at 3:57 PM
I think we often don't appreciate the danger men face when they break those norms, which serve as a major method to enforce patriarchy. This seems to be more important for patriarchy even than women's norms. It's not that men fear being women, it's that they fear physical attack and death.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
1) genuine life changing moment of my early 20s was realizing I actually didn't have to do this at all. tell the youths
2) I feel like there's a class discussion to be had around the stakes of this kind of decision though
2) I feel like there's a class discussion to be had around the stakes of this kind of decision though
So many men go through life like that. You can play poker because it's right-coded, you can't enjoy fruity alcoholic drinks because they're women-coded, you can't lick an ice cream cone because it's gay-coded. All day, every day, choosing and judging things based on coding for narrow norms.
November 26, 2025 at 3:43 PM
1) genuine life changing moment of my early 20s was realizing I actually didn't have to do this at all. tell the youths
2) I feel like there's a class discussion to be had around the stakes of this kind of decision though
2) I feel like there's a class discussion to be had around the stakes of this kind of decision though
Reposted by Constant Fractal
This is what we mean when we say “patriarchy hurts men, too”.
November 26, 2025 at 3:08 PM
This is what we mean when we say “patriarchy hurts men, too”.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
I have often seen masculinity, conventional version, as a constant renunciation, in return for corrosive power. All the things you're not allowed to like, enjoy, do, say, wear, but (metaphorically speaking) this straitjacket comes with a gun.
November 26, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I have often seen masculinity, conventional version, as a constant renunciation, in return for corrosive power. All the things you're not allowed to like, enjoy, do, say, wear, but (metaphorically speaking) this straitjacket comes with a gun.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
So many men go through life like that. You can play poker because it's right-coded, you can't enjoy fruity alcoholic drinks because they're women-coded, you can't lick an ice cream cone because it's gay-coded. All day, every day, choosing and judging things based on coding for narrow norms.
November 26, 2025 at 3:02 PM
So many men go through life like that. You can play poker because it's right-coded, you can't enjoy fruity alcoholic drinks because they're women-coded, you can't lick an ice cream cone because it's gay-coded. All day, every day, choosing and judging things based on coding for narrow norms.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
The point of your article (in my mind) is that religion is complex, even conservative religious dynamics! The pushback is because this messes with people’s set beliefs. I also think it’s a good look into that evangelical conservative base cracking. This is good reporting, and that some people don’t
November 26, 2025 at 5:24 PM
The point of your article (in my mind) is that religion is complex, even conservative religious dynamics! The pushback is because this messes with people’s set beliefs. I also think it’s a good look into that evangelical conservative base cracking. This is good reporting, and that some people don’t
Morrowind's a big nostalgia bait for me. Yet, imho there's something genuinely special about that period in gaming. The industry had developed enough to think big and ambitious, but was still young enough to allow for wild experimentation even at the top.
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/11/morr...
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/11/morr...
Morrowind Against the Market
For more than twenty years, dedicated volunteers have continued developing the Elder Scrolls game Morrowind — building a vast, handcrafted alternative to the corporate, profit-driven world of gaming.
tribunemag.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Morrowind's a big nostalgia bait for me. Yet, imho there's something genuinely special about that period in gaming. The industry had developed enough to think big and ambitious, but was still young enough to allow for wild experimentation even at the top.
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/11/morr...
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/11/morr...
Reposted by Constant Fractal
Millennium Actress and Ghibli's Tale of Princess Kaguya are both profoundly anti-Buddhist films, affirming the value of saṃsāra. Whereas 5cms Per Second is a piously Buddhist meditation on achieving enlightenment by realising one's attachments are fleeting. Yet they're all really good. Contradiction
November 26, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Millennium Actress and Ghibli's Tale of Princess Kaguya are both profoundly anti-Buddhist films, affirming the value of saṃsāra. Whereas 5cms Per Second is a piously Buddhist meditation on achieving enlightenment by realising one's attachments are fleeting. Yet they're all really good. Contradiction
Reposted by Constant Fractal
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:58 AM
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Reposted by Constant Fractal
This is so important. People who study international relations love to fight over whether interests or values define relationships. It is both. An interest is something you define. And your values come into the equation. It is not either or.
What Trump has made me realise is how much the post-Cold War relationship hinged on shared values rather than shared interests. Trump is illustrating how, whether on Ukraine and Gaza, our interests diverge and, absent those values, there's not much holding us together.
November 25, 2025 at 9:38 AM
This is so important. People who study international relations love to fight over whether interests or values define relationships. It is both. An interest is something you define. And your values come into the equation. It is not either or.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
Yo what’s up chat. It’s ya boy Sisyphus, back again with another Eternal Boulder Any% run. If you’re new here, smash that follow button like Zeus smashed my hopes and dreams.
November 23, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Yo what’s up chat. It’s ya boy Sisyphus, back again with another Eternal Boulder Any% run. If you’re new here, smash that follow button like Zeus smashed my hopes and dreams.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
Racism is not justified by immigration levels or rising poverty, unemployment or crime.
It is not justified, period.
I see the rising wave of voices & arguments justifying the rising levels of racism as the most sinister political development in 2025 on the British landscape.
It is not justified, period.
I see the rising wave of voices & arguments justifying the rising levels of racism as the most sinister political development in 2025 on the British landscape.
The Home Secretary explaining that the rise in racist violence is, actually, the natural response to higher levels of immigration is a state of affairs that can't exist without the government having largely decided that racist violence is, if not legitimate, at least understandable.
November 22, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Racism is not justified by immigration levels or rising poverty, unemployment or crime.
It is not justified, period.
I see the rising wave of voices & arguments justifying the rising levels of racism as the most sinister political development in 2025 on the British landscape.
It is not justified, period.
I see the rising wave of voices & arguments justifying the rising levels of racism as the most sinister political development in 2025 on the British landscape.
Reposted by Constant Fractal
The ‘Danish model’ is the darling of centre-left parties like Labour. The problem is, it doesn’t even work in Denmark | Cas Mudde
The ‘Danish model’ is the darling of centre-left parties like Labour. The problem is, it doesn’t even work in Denmark | Cas Mudde
This week’s local elections are the latest reminder that when social democrats move rightwards, they’re making a mistake, says academic and author Cas Mudde
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:47 AM
The ‘Danish model’ is the darling of centre-left parties like Labour. The problem is, it doesn’t even work in Denmark | Cas Mudde
Reposted by Constant Fractal
I have to admit, as someone who's both trans and an immigrant, the way that trans people who aren't immigrants talk about the Catholic Church's response to Trump can be a bit galling. No, I don't like the Church's transphobia at all, but I'm still glad that they defend my human dignity as an
November 18, 2025 at 10:17 PM
I have to admit, as someone who's both trans and an immigrant, the way that trans people who aren't immigrants talk about the Catholic Church's response to Trump can be a bit galling. No, I don't like the Church's transphobia at all, but I'm still glad that they defend my human dignity as an