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Some scenarios for the future of the collective West

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Some scenarios for the future of the collective West

For centuries the West has held outsized global power, even though Western societies were always a demographic minority. That dominance is now slipping, and although the world is still built on Western foundations (established institutions, science, law, finance) the West can no longer assume it sets the terms for everyone else. The real question is what kind of Western dominance is fading, and what might replace it.

After 1945 the USA forged a politically unified West, but then diluted that cohesion by framing itself as leader of the entire Free World, defined mostly by what it opposed. This logic survived the Cold War and eventually turned into a universalist liberal project that depended on having enemies to justify itself. When liberal democracy failed to spread globally (and when the US electorate doubled down on America First) the gap between Western ambitions and Western capabilities became impossible to ignore.

The West now faces three paths.

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Current Mood: aggravated
Current Location: Lenoir City(Nevermore;>!)
Current Music: Davinci's Notebook Radio

Soooooooo.....

Last night I was told that the contractors were coming to replace my bedroom windows. When we moved in, I suggested simply removing them since they separate the bedroom from the sunroom. I leave them open anyway to heat in Winter and cool in Summer.
So, this AM I'm moving bookcases, furniture and taking down my altar. I ask my brother for help with the latter because it has a marble top and is more than a century old(aka Heavy and Fragile;>). He tells me after that they probably won't start today. "Didn't you say they were coming over today?". He said that he did but they had to finish the work on the sunroom roof/balcony. The same one they started a month and a half ago. The same job they've worked a max of 2 hrs daily per week. Wish I'd known it was the same company....then I wouldn't have started moving chit until after New Years.....
Guess I'll set up a minimalist altar until they get around to it.
Need to get back in the habit of Procrastination;>!
Cheers,
Pat

Christmas Cartoon Icons!

❄️🎁🎄 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌 🎄🎁❄️

9 Christmas Cartoon Icons

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NATM: if this was a cowboy movie (i'd give you my boots) by Liviapenn

Fandom: Night at the Museum
Pairings/Characters: Jedediah/Octavius
Rating: T
Length: 10,180
Creator Links:

liviapenn
Theme: Amnesty, Cultural Differences, Enemies to Friends (to Lovers), Enemies Working Together, Missing Scenes

Summary: There are secret articles in our treaties with the gods, of more importance than all the rest, which the historian can never know. -- Henry David Thoreau

This hour I tell things in confidence,
I might not tell everybody, but I will tell you.
-- Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself"

Reccer's Notes: This is so much fun, charting the growth in these boys' friendship starting from their trek through the snow in the movie to their awkward, gradual romantic advances post-canon ❤️

Fanwork Links: if this was a cowboy movie (i'd give you my boots)

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Antioch OTR radio stream

@Holiday_wishes is on again this year!

I'm late in realizing the fact, but yep, this comm is up and running again! I need to get my own wishlist posted over there.

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BG3: Glad Tidings by partingxshot

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3
Pairings/Characters: Wyll/Astarion
Rating: T
Length: 25,638
Creator Links:

partingxshot
Theme: Amnesty, Black Characters, Characters of Colour, Character Development, Established Relationship, Family, Just Plain Fun, Marriage, Outsider POV, Politics, Post-Canon, Unconventional Format & Style, Working Together

Summary: You are ULDER RAVENGARD.

Your son is completely besotted with his fiancé, but you can’t figure out the appeal. He’s spoiled, and petty, and seems chiefly concerned with draining the Ravengard coffers. You are, frankly, at your wits’ fucking end.

Surely the only solution is to declare an INSANE SECRET WAR on him before he can ruin the MIDWINTER'S EVE BALL. This cannot possibly backfire.

[A choose-your-own-adventure Astarion son-in-law simulator. Happy Holidays! Or possibly the opposite of that.]

Reccer's Notes: This is just so much fun 😄 The notion of how Astarion would fit in at Wyll's childhood home is a common topic for Wyllstarions, and this is such a fun take on it!! It's remarkably coherent no matter which paths you take, and there are so many fun running jokes or weird endings to find! (And also, if you enjoy the writing style... Might I have a particular webcomic called Homestuck to recommend? Because it was very clearly an inspiration :D)

Fanwork Links: Glad Tidings

I need a Baldur's Gate fandom tag please, mods!!

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Blackadder: General Relativity by Nomad

Fandom: Blackadder Goes Forth
Pairings/Characters: Blackadder/Darling
Rating: T
Length: 20,605
Creator Links:

nomadicwriter
Theme: Amnesty, Casefic, Cuddling Snuggling & Bed-Sharing, Enemies to Lovers, Enemies Working Together, Forced Proximity, Historical Settings, Just Plain Fun, Old Fandoms, Rare Pairings, Pretend Couple, Small Fandoms, Time Travel, Uncommon Settings, Undercover as a Couple

Summary: Darling's remarkable resemblance to French traitor the Duc de Darling - no relation - sees him unwillingly sent to infiltrate a German-occupied château. Blackadder accompanies him even less willingly, especially when he learns exactly what it is they're looking for.

(Baldrick is also there, but no one bothered to find out if it was willingly or otherwise.)

Reccer's Notes: This is just so fucking good. It has been an age since I last watched Blackadder but this fic brought me all the way back immediately: the character voices are just chef's kiss! It really feels like it could've been a special episode, except with added totally in-character shippiness! 10/10, perfect characterisation, perfect dynamics, perfect silliness, no notes ❤️

Fanwork Links: General Relativity

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book log: reading wednesday

Reading Wednesday

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Life lived in dot points

Well into 'it's not one thing after another, the damn things overlap' territory here

nominal deadline for my confirmation of candidature to have been submitted has passed without anything from my reviewers (one of three from our school has theirs)
Eldest's quilt has been somewhat abandoned, which is annoying me but I haven't had the cope
Instead I've been working on logistics of Youngest's quilt, which is very heavy in the planning stages (picture quilt, converting it from a photo)
Took a week at home on light duties last week, this week I'm back in the office. Did surprisingly well yesterday. Surgery site looks to have healed on the surface but the internals are still quite sore, so I'm still sleeping with the post-surgery bra.
Middlest and their partners have bought a house. They move in January. There was a messy blow up with the fourth housemate, who has since moved out, so they are learning how they fit together as a trio, and it sounds like things are going well. R's parents are providing lots of important support for the process.
Saw the nurse for follow up on Monday. They didn't like the wound support stuff I'd found in the pharmacy (because it is plasticky) and replaced it with a stiff fabric 'can be washed but blow dry it after' dressing that was so annoying/itchy I took it off last night (and it took off lots of ick; that area has an unsurprising build up of Stuff) and put the second piece of the wound support stuff on. That is so much better -- it is a clear plastic lattice that actually moves with the area, rather than digging in. Also, I'm not reacting to the glue.
My middle sibling and their partner are moving to Perth for two years. D has a job at UWA, K's job will allow 'remote' work from the Perth office. Amusingly, D described UWA as 'not restructuring' and Youngest laughed when reading that out. My comment was that from my perspective it has never not been restructuring, it is just the level that is changing. Plus, there was a leaked minutes from some meeting that suggested they were going to try and get a merger with Curtin, which I learned about when the Curtin Guild sent a 'not if we can help it' email out to all students. Pointed out to sibling that as they and I share a family name there is a non-zero chance they are going to get spotted as related.

Current Mood: busy

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About that "National Security Statement"?

Let me know if this is paywalled?

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/its-becoming-all-too-clear-how-trump-sees-canada-no-wonder-carney-cant-get-a/article_279db437-9900-44e7-8598-300441ec2db7.html

https://www.thestar.com/news/world/united-states/not-the-51st-state-but-a-vassal-state-what-donald-trumps-national-security-strategy-envisions/article_abe71b85-123c-4554-84b6-825d0dcb128f.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=copy-link&utm_campaign=user-share

Current Mood: busy

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About the Trek Writers' Rooms?

A suggestion to the people currently care-taking for the Star Trek franchise, one that Larry and David Ellison may well try to prevent the heeding of: the writing teams need people who have served in military or NGO contexts, or have survived as refugees and/or dissidents.

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If you're required to deploy AI

...here's an excellent use-case: feed your strong passphrase text as a prompt to an image generator

from the passphrase string "fabulous tattoo Harvey", Reddit user u/waydomatic and ChatGPT made ( this cheerful example )

The LLM thinks Harvey is a muscular white guy wearing a skimpy purple Speedo; arms, shoulder and upper chest covered in rose tattoos. He flexes his right arm and flashes a big white smile under his handlebar mustache. Of course he's wearing a rose crown.

Saving the generated image would certainly be more secure than writing down the password.

(no subject)

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Of course today's most important post:

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I hosted a discussion on this a few months back

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Current Mood: worried

Well this is horrifying

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life

December is for showing up

Two weeks before I'm off for the holidays. I'm grinding through edits, and have gotten to the section of 4 chapters that need full rewrites. I'm starting to feel the pressure of getting this draft done.

What I'm reading: Babylon's Ashes and The Man Who Died Twice. The latter is a reread/listen and is my falling asleep audiobook.

What I'm playing: Still Stardew Valley. This is the first time I'm going for perfection since the last update. Just got the Big Clock and full friendship with Leo.

What I'm watching: We're onto Nova episodes on Youtube for our low stakes watching. The one problem is many of these were made in lower resolution and/or then futher compressed when they were uploaded so it's like watching without glasses on. But they're cool. I reccomend the one about the Kite structures in the middle east.

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Bang Bang Bodhisattva by Aubrey Wood

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memes: music,
music

meme: 30 songs of importance, post #7

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