Speaking Sentinel
@jhitan.bsky.social
Eight held the line, six unto eternity.
Pinned
There is a time to lurk and a time to post, and my instincts say the present is firmly the latter. So... hello!
Personal foible of note: I tend to dislike Following functions (in favor of old-fashioned bookmarks) and use them only when necessary. If I'm not following you, that may be why.
Personal foible of note: I tend to dislike Following functions (in favor of old-fashioned bookmarks) and use them only when necessary. If I'm not following you, that may be why.
Mostly concur, though I would caveat that in addition to Kurosawa there's also a significant amount of secularized Christianity with New Age admixtures. (This is conveniently glossed as the Light Side of the Force.)
(In some ways, the OT's truest comparison is the medieval Everyman plays.)
(In some ways, the OT's truest comparison is the medieval Everyman plays.)
it was basically politically inert. I know ppl want to tie it to Vietnam but... Lucas really was just following Hero With A Thousand Faces from front to back. With a little Kurosawa thrown in.
February 17, 2026 at 5:32 AM
Mostly concur, though I would caveat that in addition to Kurosawa there's also a significant amount of secularized Christianity with New Age admixtures. (This is conveniently glossed as the Light Side of the Force.)
(In some ways, the OT's truest comparison is the medieval Everyman plays.)
(In some ways, the OT's truest comparison is the medieval Everyman plays.)
... A mildly distressing thought occurs to me courtesy of your first half here: we're basically guaranteed to get "your soul is your prompt" as a thing in woo-type circles a few years down the road, aren't we?
(Nonzero chance this is already happening, actually...)
(Nonzero chance this is already happening, actually...)
I get stuck in a conclusion that strongly resembles believing in a metaphysical human soul, which I'm deeply conflicted about.
But I think also, language is a really inadequate tool for exploring the nature of self or consciousness or sentience or whatever. It gives conclusions and not evidence.
But I think also, language is a really inadequate tool for exploring the nature of self or consciousness or sentience or whatever. It gives conclusions and not evidence.
To me the chatbots pose zero interesting questions about the ‘nature of selfhood’ but dozens about the nature of manipulation. Here the Claude team pretends they are programming the robot for ethical responses but they land on one that is false and disingenuous.
February 12, 2026 at 3:33 AM
... A mildly distressing thought occurs to me courtesy of your first half here: we're basically guaranteed to get "your soul is your prompt" as a thing in woo-type circles a few years down the road, aren't we?
(Nonzero chance this is already happening, actually...)
(Nonzero chance this is already happening, actually...)
The friend pelican meme is far too good to be allowed to just languish on Tumblr, so here is the latest version of it courtesy of recent Discord events.
February 10, 2026 at 11:55 AM
The friend pelican meme is far too good to be allowed to just languish on Tumblr, so here is the latest version of it courtesy of recent Discord events.
There *are* strategies the regime can try (and is showing evidence of trying) that I think have a chance (but by no means certainty!) of actually working wrt to the midterms, even in this environment.
This? Yeah, this ain't one of them. They've shown no sign of the logistics for it.
This? Yeah, this ain't one of them. They've shown no sign of the logistics for it.
i have no doubt that the admin is going to try to meddle in the midterm elections, but i am not going to grant them the ability to execute this effectively, given how little they have been able to execute thus far
February 9, 2026 at 10:42 PM
There *are* strategies the regime can try (and is showing evidence of trying) that I think have a chance (but by no means certainty!) of actually working wrt to the midterms, even in this environment.
This? Yeah, this ain't one of them. They've shown no sign of the logistics for it.
This? Yeah, this ain't one of them. They've shown no sign of the logistics for it.
There is a time to lurk and a time to post, and my instincts say the present is firmly the latter. So... hello!
Personal foible of note: I tend to dislike Following functions (in favor of old-fashioned bookmarks) and use them only when necessary. If I'm not following you, that may be why.
Personal foible of note: I tend to dislike Following functions (in favor of old-fashioned bookmarks) and use them only when necessary. If I'm not following you, that may be why.
February 6, 2026 at 2:42 AM
There is a time to lurk and a time to post, and my instincts say the present is firmly the latter. So... hello!
Personal foible of note: I tend to dislike Following functions (in favor of old-fashioned bookmarks) and use them only when necessary. If I'm not following you, that may be why.
Personal foible of note: I tend to dislike Following functions (in favor of old-fashioned bookmarks) and use them only when necessary. If I'm not following you, that may be why.