These Trailers Happened

Lots of things to say about Themyscira getting invaded in Wonder Woman's first movie, but that's for later.

For a second there I kinda thought Cyborg wouldn't say anything.

Rule of Life #16

Rule #16: Freedom is a paradox.

The assumption of freedom is that a person has at least two substantive^[1] options from which they can choose.

The thing is that even if you have ten options, you still choose only one. Even if you can synthesize a “both or more” option, priorities have to be set and you can't ever choose all options.

The paths not taken expose the oppresive paradox of linear time; yes, freedom and choice, but only one. Even the wisest of us can't know the eventual consequences of our every choice. I've had too many chance encounters to believe otherwise.

So obsessed are we that our fiction has desperately spawned the idea of multiple universes, which allow us to justify or bemoan our exercise of feedom up to this point. Fighting with our alternate selves tends to justify our decisions, because in the end there's nothing else we can do but accept them. Also, Home Universe Bias should totally be a thing.

Anyway, I'm just bitching because the broad vistas of all our futures have to be fed through the eye of the present's needle and I'm the sort of guy who always wants more.
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[1] "Substantive" because being beaten with black versus white billy clubs doesn't ring as "freedom," really.

Linkstorm: Gays and Science

Gay Stuff
God bless South Korea. If you have a hard time remembering which Korea is the "good Korea," South Korea has the bars where you can platonically rent attractive young men.

It's no surprise that in its waning days, the regime of Husni Mubarak used sexual harassment and rape in an attempt to silence female protestors. What's exceptionally shameful is the way that Egyptian citizens have continued this practice after his removal. Say some of the offenders, "It's the way girls dress that makes guys come on to them. The girls came wanting it - even women in niqab" before continuing to explain that a tight niqab indicates a woman wants their attention.