Interesting Links for 27-10-2022

[andrewducker]

1. Edgar Allen Poe Dolly Parton in each others styles

(tags:mashup funny )

2. Miracleman: Alan Moore's Nightmarish Superhero Masterpiece Is Back in Print for the First Time in Years

(tags:alanmoore comics history )

3. How the U.K. Became One of the Poorest Countries in Western Europe

(tags:uk austerity growth gdp epicfail Conservatives )

4. Germany's 9-euro ticket strengthens the social participation of people with low incomes

(tags:Germany welfare transport )

5. Transparent solar panels hit 30% efficiency

(tags:solarpower )

6. Reminder that our current Prime Minister moved money out of deprived urban areas

(tags:inequality UK conservatives )

7. Firefox now lets you annotate PDFs

(tags:firefox PDF )

8. Disney has just debuted its first plus-size heroine

(tags:weight Disney animation )

Comments

[mtbc]

(3)'s an interesting analysis, reads clearly and feels plausible.

(And am curious about (2).)

[andrewducker]

I first read Miracleman back in the 90s, when we were still hopeful it would continue.

I reread it seven years ago, when it was reprinted, and it looked like the latest issues would come out.

It mostly stood up. Some of the race stuff is dated, if clearly good hearted. But a lot of it is still better than anything else written about superheroes.

[mtbc]

Good to know, thank you. I've tended to like Alan Moore's stuff.

[hairyears]

It's mostly right.

I would nitpick 'degrowtherism' as lazy - there's no such thing, nothing of it has ever been implemented into policyhere, and the green post-carbon-economy components of it that have been applied in economic policy elsewhere have been very positive for growth indeed.

And that's it, for my objections.

Deindustrialisation has been a disaster, deskilling and low productivity are real - and both a cause and effect of our decline - and 'austerity' has *proven* to be an engine of economic contraction with no fiscal benefit whatsoever: it makes the public finances even worse.

Above all, that article points out the awful truth: yes, we really are getting poorer. Not just falling behind our neighbours: losing what we've gained.

We seem unaware of this, except for when we are compelled to confront a loss of our living standards.

The one part this that's missing, is that it's unevenly distributed: everyone talks averages and some have it worse. Much, much worse: and this is very true in London, however prosperous it seems to be.

Quoted text taken from the linked article (8), and I couldn't agree more.

[conuly]

While it’s certainly a positive look at how children and young people should embrace the body they have, it strikes me as a shame that plus-size leads’ stories still need to centre around their weight and their body image. For me, as a plus-size woman, it would have been fantastic and so much more empowering to simply see a fat dancer smashing it at what she does, without a plot about her needing to overcome her insecurities.

I understand that this film is directed towards children, but shouldn’t we be setting examples of how we want our kids to feel, rather than reinforcing that plus-size people need to go through this period of uncertainty and insecurities? Reflect is certainly a step in the right direction, but until plus-size leads get plots unrelated to their size, we’ve still got a way to go.

Re: Quoted text taken from the linked article (8), and I couldn't agree more.

[andrewducker]

On the one hand I totally agree that there should be plus sized characters for whom it's not the defining characteristic. On the other I know that there are lots of insecure plus sized people who *do* battle their insecurities, and if showing a successful battle helps them then I'm in favour of it. On the third hand, maybe showing the battle doesn't actually help people who are struggling with it - I don't have an answer to that!

(We could certainly do both)

Re: Quoted text taken from the linked article (8), and I couldn't agree more.

[hairyears]

I would say "There is rejoicing in Heaven..." for any efgort, at all, in this direction is better than the none, and worse than none, that we have seen in decades.

[bens_dad]

5. So I can now put solar panels on the windows on my house ...

and on my laptop/tablet, if the sun will shine through the back of my head without overpowering the backlight (eInk?), or there is somewhere I can leave it to recharge and expect it to be there when I get back ...

... but can I put transparent panels above the solar thermal panels ?
Even better efficiency, but I am not sure about mixing water and electricity.
At least this means I no longer have to put the water on top of the electricity.