Skip to main content



Ever since I bought a can of chemicals against silverfish I haven't seen the insects anymore. I haven't used the can yet, but it seems to act as deterrent.


So why did I stop using Tumblr? Back when I stopped actively using it (I still have the account), there were two main problems. Firstly it was utterly broken in varying but always original ways. It gave me the impression that people working for Tumblr didn't use their own software. Secondly they introduced terms at the time (when they were under Yahoo) that forced you to accept that everything you did was communicated to all kinds of 'partners' like Facebook, with no opt-out. The latter has since relaxed.

This caused me to look into Mastodon (at first) and I've since started to appreciate the open source nature and the ability to have different servers with different moderation that all interoperate.



I have so many ideas to un-mess-ify my blog, but it's so much work that I can't bring myself to begin doing it. And I'm also somehow making things more complicated than they need to be, adding moving servers, going multi-site, new domains, caching, to just reorganising content and making a homepage.

If you want advise on how to make simple things more difficult, ask me.



in reply to Gidi Kroon

What finally broke the Tumblr software, because I suspect they weren't aware of all the places in the code it was used, was that they stopped using post types. So I want post types back on my hypothetical ideal platform. It would have post types like:

  • a note, short and only text
  • an article, longer like a mobile web page with photos and videos between sections of text
  • a photo post with one or more photos, with a short caption, shown in a layout the poster controls
  • a video post with a description
  • an audio post with a description
  • posts asking for interactions like: poll, question, form, q&a
  • a link share post with introduction text (which includes the link preview from the sender side)
  • reblog post type with optional added text
  • maybe a separate reply type post


Miranda Cosgrove has made car-selfies a very regular feature and in this latest one she's wearing what given the car seats colour is almost a camouflage dress. I mean, is she even in the picture? 😉
#MirandaCosgrove


in reply to Gidi Kroon

PeerTube is one of the few platforms that have a 'license' field on each post/video. I would prefer that any post/video with an unknown (or non-free) license would never appear publicly (to unauthenticated guests) on other servers in some 'federated'/'Recently Added' timeline. I think Mastodon/Friendica/Pleroma are wrong in appearing to host items of which it doesn't know the license, which for these platforms is all items. One of the reasons I switched off public viewing of 'global community'.

So basically: unknown license? => always unlisted




Today Emilia Clarke's new film The Pod Generation is available in cinemas, somewhere in the world, I didn't get where. Maybe UK, maybe US. Thursday 24 August it comes out in Dutch cinemas!

Trailer:
youtube.com/watch?v=rGMx_7oAeU…
#EmiliaClarke #ThePodGeneration

in reply to Gidi Kroon

I tried to look for a ticket today in my country, but it turns out to not be released after all. There's no new date other than what seems like a placeholder date of 31 December 2023. I was looking forward to seeing Emilia Clarke on the big screen. Anyway, I have set a notification alert on that film.

Why do film companies always do this? They complain that they can't make enough money from people going to see the films, then when people do want to see the films they make it impossible to see them. I can't pay for a ticket if they don't sell them.
#ThePodGeneration #EmiliaClarke #FilmIndustryGripe



Everytime an organisation posts something on Mastodon, there's someone in the replies saying 'you should also make a Peertube account' (or Pixelfed, etc). It's so tiring. Can we stop driving people away?

Everytime a software developer posts about a new feature or product they're making, someone replies with all the other technologies that should have been used instead. Can we stop it? Can we start accepting that other people may do things that don't fit in your own world view?

Like "I bought a roomba!" -> "no, no, no, you should have strapped your vacuum cleaner to your cat".



Finestkind, a new film with Jenna Ortega, will premiere in Toronto at TIFF 2023, according to the film's Instagram post and this Deadline article. As does this The Hollywood Reporter article, which also mentions the festival runs 7-17 September.
#JennaOrtega #Finestkind


I think both Friendica and Peertube don't support unlisted-like posts.

The Mastodon unlisted scope could be useful if you want to add a post that's visible to everybody even when not logged in, but you don't want to bother the global or local timelines with it. It is still sent to followers though, which may or may not be useful. The big problem with Mastodon's implementation is that I've heard these posts also don't show up in searches, not even with hashtags, which doesn't make any sense to me.

For Peertube I'm looking for a scope that's public locally, but is not public when federated out. In fact I believe this should be the default for any platform: don't show publically what you've only received from other servers.



Pinned post, about following from multiple addresses

Hi, when I follow someone I usually do this from multiple accounts, with different servers and platforms. This is partially as backup. It’s also because different software has different features. E.g. at the moment of writing I mainly post from my Friendica server, but it doesn’t yet support polls, or account migrations. So I also follow from my Pleroma server, which does notify me someone has migrated.

I also sometimes use platforms that support nomadic identity, that allows my channels on multiple servers to be synced. From software that doesn’t support that, a follow request looks like multiple separate requests from those channels.



Miranda Cosgrove, as the host of Mission Unstoppable, the show to promote women in STEM, telling the story of Marie Curie in this tiktok and Instagram reel.


#MirandaCosgrove #MissionUnstoppable #MarieCurie



Once advertising has failed as an attempt to finance the web, we will finally be rid of its consequences. No more clickbait headlines. No more wholly copied q&a websites, or websites full of stub pages. No more engagement enhancing algorithms. Just content.


Another reason we should not let the receiving server resolve a link preview (so apart from the ddos that is many receiving servers at once loading from a site, bringing small blogs down): your text in the preview will be in the language of where the server is located. E.g. on mastodon.social previews are often in German.

If the client resolves the link preview, load will be spread in time and the reader gets the text in their language. If the sending server resolves the link (my preferred solution), only one request is done to the site (much fairer) and the text will be in a language the poster expects and can see.



Typical for the Dutch transport situation:

Event organisers: please come by train, there aren't enough parking spaces.
Train operator: no trains, goodbye.



I'm starting my dvd of Hooten & The Lady, a tv series with Ophelia Lovibond, the actress with the most British name I know. All the images of the series look very adventurous and I gather each episode is in a different location. On this first disc we get Alexandria, The Himalayas and Rome, but first: The Amazon.
#OpheliaLovibond #HootenAndTheLady
in reply to Gidi Kroon

The behind the scenes feature on episode one shows that the reason the location seems so real is because it is real. They actually are in the jungle shooting it.
in reply to Gidi Kroon

This was a quite nice series. Each episode has a behind the scenes location documentary, since the locations of the stories are an important part of the show, and that things are really filmed all over the world.
#HootenAndTheLady


Jenna Ortega in this Instagram reel for Adidas Sportswear, acting out the emotions watching the world cup football.
instagram.com/reel/Cvt4hsnuJma…
(I still can't do video in these posts...)

#JennaOrtega #Adidas #AdidasSportswear

in reply to Gidi Kroon

Uploaded the video using a separate account:
[share author='Jenna Ortega fan channel (resharing clips)' profile='https://friendica.gidikroon.eu/profile/jennaortegatrailersandclips' avatar='https://friendica.gidikroon.eu/photo/356510832164deee12ca2b0607770161-5.png?ts=1692331566' link='https://friendica.gidikroon.eu/display/1f16c6da-9764-df65-3028-c47213496231' posted='2023-08-18 12:33:52' guid='1f16c6da-9764-df65-3028-c47213496231' message_id='https://friendica.gidikroon.eu/objects/1f16c6da-9764-df65-3028-c47213496231']Jenna Ortega showing how she and her family watch the World Cup. This was part of the publicity for Adidas Sportswear, of which she's the brand ambassador.

(I finally found a way to share the video unlisted, in a rather indirect way, using another account and my PeerTube. Original link in video description.)
#JennaOrtega #Football #AdidasSportswear

peertube.gidikroon.eu/w/vHm2yv…



Sometimes I look up the strangest things. This time, driven by annoyance that films increasingly aren't distributed in my country, I looked up how much it would cost to be a film distributor, expecting it to be millions. Turns out it's free? There are different models and some expectations, but in one model you pay the production 30% of gross revenue without an upfront fee. You pay for marketing and investment in e.g. producing a batch of dvds, but what if you don't? Don't (agree to) do any marketing and just stick the file on a server, or use manufacture-on-demand.

Sure for streaming it may cost 100000 to millions per film (what I read). And sure they would expect you to do marketing. And maybe subtitles are nice. And film ratings. And packaging.

And for a production company, even if a film is still looking for a distributor in a territory, signing a single media deal for that territory would loose them the ability to later sign with a real distributor that wants to have all (cinema, dvd, digital, streaming, tv, film clubs, etc).

in reply to Gidi Kroon

Also, it seems you could run an 'online film club' ( / private Netflix) legally for around £80 per film. (Let's say around 100 €/$)


Stephanie Leonidas being super mysterious as usual, but she finished filming something. That's it, that's the news.
instagram.com/stories/stephleo…
#StephanieLeonidas
in reply to Gidi Kroon

Still waiting for films she made five years and eight years ago to get released outside the UK, or on dvd, so I should probably not get too excited.
in reply to Gidi Kroon

This photo she posted may or may not be from the same thing, but this is also about her wrapping on a film project. I don't know which one.

IMDb lists an upcoming project called A Very Venice Romance and that could be this. They say it releases next month already, 30 September.
#StephanieLeonidas



This is apparently extremely common in Canada, but I thought it was an April Fool's screwdriver when I first saw this picture.


Hey European & American friends who use tools and do building, repairs, DIY – are Robertson screws common in your area?

Are Robertson screwdrivers common in European toolboxes?

In Canada I suspect that 99% of people who have tools would have Robertson screwdrivers in their toolbox. At least the red & green (#2, #1) sizes. The more intrepid will have the yellow and black (#0, #3) sizes too.

#DIY #tools #carpentry #joinery #Question

Poll to follow…




More Helena Bonham Carter, from blu-ray, in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. As I remember, she's the bride.

letterboxd.com/film/mary-shell…
#HelenaBonhamCarter #Frankenstein #MaryShelleysFrankenstein #NowWatching

in reply to Gidi Kroon

Somehow we have to believe that Kenneth Branagh is the son of Cherie Lunghi (eight years difference), and grew up as children together with Helena Bonham Carter (six years difference).
in reply to Gidi Kroon

Her character is more forceful than you'd expect a female character to be in this kind of role, maybe helped by having a female author. It seems to be Helena's thing: choose a role that isn't lead by events but who drives the narrative, then in her acting drive it even more.
#HelenaBonhamCarter #MaryShelleysFrankenstein


I don't know anything about baseball and I don't know whether it really was a strike as someone said, but if a celebrity first throw is at least caught by the catcher, I think it's a good thing. Well done Chloë. If I were to throw it it would go in such a random direction they wouldn't be able to find the ball again.

Instagram stories:
instagram.com/stories/mets/316…
instagram.com/stories/chloegmo…
#ChloëGraceMoretz #Mets



Examples of how AI enforces stereotypes, in this Instagram reel:
instagram.com/reel/CvhXQULIcfs… By London Interdisciplinary School (LIS), h/t Jasmin Savoy.


I'm old enough to remember the time when you had to phone a package delivery service to hold your package because you were going to pick it up yourself, and the person on the phone audibly climbed into the back of the truck, rummaged around until they proclaimed 'I've got it!'.

Who needs websites.

feld reshared this.



Visual effects workers may also be unionising, beginning with those that work production-side at Marvel films and shows.


I agree with this post, but it is also a nice example of a dark pattern: I see four options instead of the two options mentioned in the alt text...


Logged into LinkedIn for the first time in months, and I feel like this says it all

First thing you see

"Do you want a new job?

A) Yes

B) Yes, but not right now"

The concept of being content with your current job, and *not wanting to career climb* seems utterly anathema to the modern corporate world, and I feel like that explains a lot about where we're at.


in reply to Gidi Kroon

the four options
  • 'yes'
  • 'no, but I'm open'
  • 'x' (i.e. 'no, go away')
  • don't click anything, just scroll your feed


Another miniseries, two parts this time, with Helena Bonham Carter this time: Merlin. I like these different retellings of the Arthur/Merlin legends. And I like seeing Helena. In this she plays the witch Morgan, and they've tried with special makeup effects to make her look ugly, which is of course impossible.

I've seen this before on tv, now from my dvd.

Merlin (1998)
#HelenaBonhamCarter #Merlin #NowWatching

in reply to Gidi Kroon

"We thought we'd come in the traditional way: through the door."

"It's customary to open it first."



Why is this rain cloud blocking the sun I was sitting in?


Since it's such dreary weather outside, I'm watching A Room with a View so at least someone has something nice to look at outside. It's a film with Helena Bonham Carter of a long time ago. I've seen it before, but I have it on blu-ray now. It's one of her costume dramas.

Just looking through her massive list of films, I think I've seen a significant part of them. Including some of the unknown ones, some so long ago that I can't remember the plot...

A Room with a View (1986)
#HelenaBonhamCarter #RoomWithAView

in reply to Gidi Kroon

Helena plays this costume drama heroine so refreshingly. She's immediately a strong opinionated young woman who is not afraid of her chaperone.
in reply to Gidi Kroon

This Lucy Honeychurch is really a different kind of woman than you'd expect in a costume drama, the opposite of demure. I love how Helena Bonham Carter plays her, as a true independent spirit.


Another dvd to watch: a three part miniseries which is one of the first things I saw Emilia Fox in. Not the first, but it is of long ago. Shooting the Past is about the world of photo archives. I've seen it before and it's quite interesting, mainly character based.

letterboxd.com/film/shooting-t…
#EmiliaFox #ShootingThePast

in reply to Gidi Kroon

And yes, that's Timothy Spall again. Not surprising since he's in everything.
in reply to Gidi Kroon

It may be about photo archives, and beautifully shows the stories even in otherwise unremarkable pictures, but it is also about loss and grief. It's very much the moment a doctor gives you a terminal prognosis and you want to just not accept it, but then in a metaphor of photography.
#ShootingThePast


in reply to Gidi Kroon

Life is Sweet (1990)
That scene between Nicola and her mother is one of the best dialogue scenes in films ever. In a sense everything in the film before that leads up to that dialogue.
in reply to Gidi Kroon

Played this from my own dvd since it's so not available for streaming, rental or buying digitally that it doesn't even have a JustWatch entry (in my country). Most other films I look up there just say 'not available', suggesting they are available in other countries or were available at some point in the past.

Owning dvd's may seem old fashioned, but is still the only way.



I can't figure out how to upload videos on Friendica, but I have found out that I did figure it out twice before on this server. But then forgot. Trying to replicate what I did then I can now upload it, even select it for inclusion in a post, but it doesn't show up in the post. Even if a previous post still shows the video player...


Just watched a film called Hide and Seek which is an American remake of an Asian film called Hide and Seek, neither of which are the film called Hide and Seek that I wanted to see.

It could be a case study in how not to write a film, and as such have some merit. Still interesting enough to sit through it once, though.




The suffix "The Movie" means 'the same, but slower'.


I'm thinking of what moderation rules I would set if I were to set them for some microblogging server. I'd do something sensible and normal like have specific rules that only apply to replies, like: no reaction gifs, no links, no photos, no changing the topic and no evangelising ('have you tried rust/mastodon'). Each top level post is in my mind a new forum with strict rules against off-topic messages or posts that don't contribute anything new.

But more than that I would want replies to be hidden by default. With the original poster being the moderator of this microforum. Maybe able to set the no-links etc rules per post.

in reply to Gidi Kroon

Also: it would be illegal to reply to a post with a link to an article, without reading the article. (Twitter is already doing something like this!)

Also: a reply should take at least as much effort as the original post. When you reply to something quicker than someone took to post it, or write the blog, you will be automatically locked out of your account for the remainder of the time.

Yeah, I'd make completely normal rules.



I guess I'll have to swim to work tomorrow. So much rain tonight.


Jenna Ortega shows her football skills in this clip for Adidas Sportswear and the World Cup. As far as I can tell it's not an edited video. But even if it is, it's fun.

instagram.com/reel/Cu6L_KRNS9J…

Some photos of her for the same campaign:

#JennaOrtega #Adidas #AdidasSportswear

in reply to Gidi Kroon

I don't know how to upload and insert a video on Friendica, that's why it's only a link to the reel.
in reply to Gidi Kroon

Uploaded the video using a separate account:
[share author='Jenna Ortega fan channel (resharing clips)' profile='https://friendica.gidikroon.eu/profile/jennaortegatrailersandclips' avatar='https://friendica.gidikroon.eu/photo/356510832164deee12ca2b0607770161-5.png?ts=1692331566' link='https://friendica.gidikroon.eu/display/1f16c6da-3864-df64-445b-5ad766653822' posted='2023-08-18 12:29:56' guid='1f16c6da-3864-df64-445b-5ad766653822' message_id='https://friendica.gidikroon.eu/objects/1f16c6da-3864-df64-445b-5ad766653822']The World Cup final is soon and Jenna Ortega shows how to do it.

This was part of a photo shoot for Adidas Sportswear, of which she's the brand ambassador.

(I finally found a way to share the video unlisted, in a rather indirect way, using another account and my PeerTube. Original link in video description.)
#JennaOrtega #Football #AdidasSportswear

peertube.gidikroon.eu/w/g7d7Wy…



It has been confirmed that Scream 7 will happen, but it is not known yet whether Jenna Ortega, or in fact anyone else, returns. These negotiations will probably wait until after the strike.
#JennaOrtega #Scream #Scream7
⇧