@seanbala@mas.to
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

seanbala

@seanbala@mas.to

Former #ReligiousStudies student in #Chicago. Interested in #religion, #philosophy, #ethics, #culture, #environment, #ecology, and #community. Currently working in #HigherEd.

Other Tags: #Episcopal #Episcopalian #Ecotheology #Books #Folklore #Travel #Fantasy #History #Solarpunk #ScienceFiction #SFF #Bookstadon #Bookmaking #Musicals #Theater #India

Love exploring new cultures, interesting ideas, and meeting new people!

"If only I may grow - simple, firmer, kinder, warmer." Dag Hammarskjold

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seanbala, to random
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

A six-week general election? How quaint....

Love from America!

#UKPol #USPol

CountBinface, to random
@CountBinface@mastodon.world avatar

It’s meant to be.

seanbala, (edited )
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@CountBinface And should we win today, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American Holiday. It will be the day when the nation of Britain declared in one voice "We WILL take out the trash!" - today, we celebrate our Bindependence Day!!" (cue swell of patriotic music)

hugo, to random
@hugo@assemblag.es avatar

fabricated cell lines.

https://www.science.org/content/article/hundreds-cancer-papers-mention-cell-lines-don-t-seem-exist

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@hugo I always go back to the idea that in the UK under the Coalition government of the early 2010s, they said that faculty had to publish a certain number of article to keep their jobs. So what people started doing was dismembering book projects and submitting the chapters as articles. I don't know I always found it somewhat ridiculous.

seanbala,
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@hugo Yeah. I work a public higher ed institution so I know all to well.

Politics and higher ed is a joke. I feel like in the UK you have a bunch of Oxbridge graduates talking about how terrible elite higher education is.

In the US, you have many members of Congress with Ivy League degrees decrying their former schools as full of out-of-touch elites.

liztai, to tech
@liztai@hachyderm.io avatar

When Iived in Australia, I realised that we Malaysians had access to more advanced tech. Our laptops, smartphones etc were more advanced.
When I was a journalist who would travel overseas to interview people - Asian journalists always had the slickest voice recorders. We were using MP3 recorders while the Western journos were still using tape.
I don't think it's because we r smarter; I think we dare to copy & improve while co's in the West are more protective & possessive of their . 1/2

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@liztai Interesting point! I also noticed in Asia that some technology was way more advanced. I've thought one thing is price point - many Asian markets (because of cost sensitivity) need to innovate more with less (jugaad). The market is less sclerotic than it is in the West. One of my favorite things in India was that the Supreme Court ruled that textbook copyrights are invalid because students have a right to get information. So you have massive copier stalls outside of big universities.

LifeTimeCooking, to random
@LifeTimeCooking@mastodon.au avatar

Good morning beautiful people. My gift to you today... Put it in your pocket and take it with you.

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@LifeTimeCooking

Morning, Ganga - will pocket this for tomorrow my time.

Hope you are having a good weekend!

GeraldKutney, to random
@GeraldKutney@noc.social avatar

Has climate change hit Canada?

You bet it has!

https://cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/canada-accounted-for-43-of-people-displaced-by-wildfires-globally-in-2023-data-shows-1.7205739

🌏🔥 🔥🌏

seanbala,
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@GeraldKutney It's all Trudeau's fault, right? That's what I've heard.... LOL

fediversereport, to bluesky
@fediversereport@mastodon.social avatar

New: Video, audio and blogging: Japanese #Bluesky is building in the ATmosphere

I take a look at 3 new products build on #atproto

Blogging with whtwnd.com
Video with bluemotion.app
Audio spaces with bluecast.app

Read at: https://fediversereport.com/video-audio-and-blogging-japanese-bluesky-is-building-in-the-atmosphere/

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@fediversereport Thank you for sharing. It is exciting to see what is happening! I think your point at the end is really worth considering: is and the interested in multiple apps or is it merely a vehicle for microblogging? I don't have technical background, but I suspect that the decentralization for BSKY is more for show than practice. Critique all we like but I do think the commitment to platform diversity is there and is practiced.

gerrymcgovern, to random
@gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green avatar

Microsoft's jaw-dropping nauseous greenwashing

Microsoft’s AI Push Imperils Climate Goal as Carbon Emissions Jump 30%

The company’s goal to be carbon negative by 2030 is harder to reach, but President Brad Smith says the good AI can do for the world will outweigh its environmental impact.
https://revealnews.org/article/what-california-can-learn-from-saudi-arabias-water-mystery/

Ah, Brad, Brad, pull the other one, fella. Maybe for once in your life could you be honest? It's the good AI will do your stock price. That's all you care about.

seanbala,
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@gerrymcgovern @brent With AI, I keep returning back to something Ezra Klein said - "AI has the potential to change everything, but I still can't figure out how to use it in my daily life." This news makes me very angry. I used to be pretty supportive of Microsoft but I think that with their attempts to ram AI down our throats, I might start to extricate myself from them as much as I can.

lex, to solarpunk
@lex@floe.earth avatar

Reread A psalm for the wild-built - still lovely 😊 did anyone else get the vibe that mosscap (and the robots in general) could be read as neurodivergent?

seanbala,
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@lex I didn't catch that actually, but that is a nice point. Maybe it is time for a re-read!

evan, (edited ) to random
@evan@cosocial.ca avatar

"The consensus opinion on the fediverse is more representative of public opinion than the consensus on siloed social networks."

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@evan Completely agree. I love the Fediverse but I do wish there was a bit more ideological and intellectual diversity at times. I don't want to just be in a comfortable cocoon of familiar ideas but I want to be challenged.

evan, (edited ) to random
@evan@cosocial.ca avatar

Do you say "Fediverse" or "Social Web"?

#EvanPoll #poll

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@evan

I feel Fediverse sounds like a unique brand. I get that Social Web feels more descriptive but I think it is tainted by being too close to Social Media.

On the other hand, you do need to explain the term Fediverse. But I also think you need to explain social web as well. I don’t think it is as explanatory as it might appear at first blush.

Finally, at least internally, I feel like Fediverse is too deeply ingrained. It would take a massive culture shift to change the term.

IrisAndIndy, to random
@IrisAndIndy@mastodon.thirring.org avatar

Hiding from Monday be like 🫣🫣🫣🫣

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@IrisAndIndy I feel the same way today, Iris ❤️

spinach, to random
@spinach@girlcock.club avatar

kissed wife in ikea today. the marriage is now consummated

seanbala,
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@spinach I now pronounce you Voxnan and Himleån - you may now kiss the Järvfjället?

seanbala,
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@spinach If you need help putting it together, there is a handy pictorial instruction leaflet in the box...

seanbala, to chicago
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

In the 1880s, the mark of consumption among elites was replacing gaslights for electric ones. Today it is the replacement of electric ones for useless decorative gas lights that constantly burn. We see these in many wealthy neighborhoods in Chicago.

I really don't know about the mechanics of this system. Nor do I know anything about the people. Just always find such fixtures strange.

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@capnthommo I definitely agree with you. I would have put "conspicuous consumption" but ran out of characters. I completely agree with you about it not being a new thing. I find it fascinating that idea of consumption to show status morphs so much and can change over time. Something that signals status today will lose all meaning tomorrow.

seanbala, to chicago
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

Anyone in having luck with the tonight?

A bit cloudy near Lincoln Square where we are but someone sent us a crazy shot they claim is from up near Bowmanville / Andersonville.

Maybe better luck tomorrow? Or maybe better luck on the Lake?

@chicago

susankayequinn, to climate
@susankayequinn@wandering.shop avatar

SUPER COOL: My story will be in a exhibit in NYC!

THE CLIMATE IMAGINARIUM: a community center for climate & culture (galleries, exhibits, performances, events) that respond to the climate crisis with visions for hope & justice.

There'll be a wall of stories w/QR codes to download & read!

WHERE: Governor's Island, NYC

WHEN: 11a — 5p Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, May-Nov

Launch May 18th:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-imaginarium-launch-party-on-governors-island-tickets-896416133787

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@susankayequinn Congrats!! 💚

booksns, to books
@booksns@channels.im avatar

https://www.booksns.com/57661/ Prodigal Summer I’m a huge Barbara Kingsolver fan. The Poisonwood Bible was a masterpiece. I can’t put into words how much I love Demon Copperhead. But Prodigal Summer…. I am struggling so hard to get into it. I’m about 150 pages in. I’m just so bored. I need some kind of encouragement that it gets better. I …

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@booksns I liked it but it did take a while. I read it a while ago but I remember being struck by moments of beauty.

Delhi, to delhi
@Delhi@charcha.cc avatar

Congrats Delhiites!! #delhi #mastindia #delhi #india #mastodonindians https://redd.it/1cnaxsh

seanbala,
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@Delhi

This picture and post make so little sense...I love it 😂

compfu, to random
@compfu@mograph.social avatar

I just re-watched "Howl's Moving Castle" because I had forgotten what exactly it was about. I nodded off towards the end, and I'm sure that in a few months I will once again be unable to recount the exact plot.

But it looks so gorgeous. I love the depiction of early 20th century European cities. The "airplanes" are a nod to Nausicaä or Laputa but are animated much more fluently. The quality holds up all the way to the end. But the plot just feels so obtuse to me.

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@compfu Hope you enjoy! We have been rewatching many of them in Japanese and it is a different experience sometimes. For example, in "Castle in the Sky" the voices of the two leads in Japanese sound about 11-12 but sound about 14-15 in the English. I also recently discovered that for "Arriety" there is a US and a British dub. And my favorite Ghibli fact is that Myazaki actually prefers the French dub of "Porco Rosso" because of Jean Reno's voice as the lead.

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@compfu

P.S. - If you ever do watch Howl's in Japanese, please let me know what you think l. I'm curious if you also feel that the film feels different and a bit more coherent.

bunvoyage17, to chicago
@bunvoyage17@mastodon.social avatar

We wanted to have a quiet afternoon and so we went to go to Kapej Coffee on the Brown Line. It is one of our favorite places in with some of the best in the city. In fact, the owner was roasting coffee fresh in a little alcove off the counter.

@dohappybelove made a and @seanbala started “The Lost Cause” by @pluralistic - a wonderful Sunday!

@coffee @bookstodon

A man lounging in an armchair reading a book, with a coffee cup and a takeaway beverage on the table next to him, in a cozy room with plants and decorative items on a fireplace mantel.
A hand holding a sketchbook with a watercolor painting of a colorful balcony in front of an actual fireplace, alongside art supplies and an iced coffee on a table.
A book titled “The Lost Cause" next to a white coffee mug with the word "Kapej Coffee" written on it on calligraphy. The setting is a a cafe with a plant and window in the background.

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@FullyAutomatedRPG @bunvoyage17 @dohappybelove @pluralistic @coffee @bookstodon

Thanks - I'll take a look!

Em0nM4stodon, to random

New People of Mastodon :mastodon:​✨

Know that Saturdays on Mastodon are in fact Caturdays :ablobcatnod:​

If you have a cat,
please caticipate by sharing pictures (with alt-text) of your cutie friend with us and using the hashtag Caturday!

We need more cats! :blobcatalt:​

MORE CATS! :blobcatflip:​

:blobcatrainbow:​

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@Hawaii @Em0nM4stodon

Latterday is unusually inspired - bravo!

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