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  • 75 Comments
Joined 2 months ago
Cake day: March 6th, 2025
  • Semisimian@startrek.websitetoPolygon@sh.itjust.works•Saw Gerrera is Star Wars at its very bestEnglish
    1·
    1 day ago

    Saw is great, Whitaker really brings so much to the character, but our 1st experience with Saw is in the Clone Wars. From there to here, I think THIS is what Star Wars does well.

    In TCW, he’s a war hawk that has a differing view of rebellion from his sister. We get a few episodes to work through a pretty basic “rules of war” exploration when it comes to insurgency. And that’s it…

    Until Rebels and Rogue One, where we see his development from his roots as an insurgent into a real terrorist leader. Now he’s scary, and has a much more hard line, much less nuanced view on the Empire.

    This is what I really like about Star Wars, the character development, lore, and interconnectivity. Andor is giving us the middle between “argue with your sister” and “muddle a man’s brain using an alien because you’re paranoid.” These people feel real, and they always have. That is when Star Wars is best. Take a throwaway character, give him a backstory and give him 100 lines of dialogue in a video game. Retcon an extra into a standalone series. It’s cool, but moreso, it’s so fun!

  • Semisimian@startrek.websitetoRaygun Gothic@lemm.ee•An ad for the 1951 NashEnglish
    7·
    1 day ago

    We poured so much time and money, research and will into aviation that we went from the Wright Brothers to spaceflight in a half a century. This is a great ad to capture all that momentum.

    Now, with the privatization of all this knowledge procured by public means, I could easily see an ad for the opposite in the future. “We build our planes like our cars, so they only crash a handful of times, but the crumple zones will likely save you. Though, not your kids in the backseat; that’s not regulated. But you’ll likely survive! And think of the lawsuits for those at fault! Some of you might die, but it’s a risk we’re willing to take!”

  • Semisimian@startrek.websitetocats@lemmy.world•We're getting older together and it makes me smile as often as it breaks my heartEnglish
    18·
    2 days ago

    Pets help us understand our own mortality in ways that continue to surprise me. When I was young, the first pet I lost was a young cat, just a few years old. I raised her from a kitten that was probably too young to ween so we had a close bond. She was indoor/outdoor and was attacked by a neighbor’s dog during the day when I was gone. Holding her and watching her die broke me, like she waited all day to die in my arms. She was mine and I felt like I let her down. Woof, it hurt. Still does.

    But while I was holding her, our family dog (Allison) was next to me. She was older than I was, a feisty Lhasa Apso that had lost her ability to hold her bladder. We diapered her: we’d cut a hole in human diapers to pull her tail through to keep the hardwoods from getting ruined. She died a year later, after living a full life.

    I buried both of them in the front yard, under a couple of pines that bordered our neighbor’s pet cemetery. Both times, digging those holes gave me the time I needed to be able to return them to the earth and say goodbye. I learned so much from their passing. It is the last gift our pets give us, their final act of love.

    Now, older, with kids of my own, we have Sadie, who I am looking at as I write this. She’s a rescue, probably a golden mixed with some border collie, at least 16 years old. Her sister died last year and it was the first close death my kids experienced. Her passing taught my kids the alchemy of aging gracefully, the privilege of old age. Now, they find charm in Sadie’s rickety hips and excuse her incontinence. Getting old is okay; we are lucky to be able to do it. Watching your loved ones get old is a privilege we should cherish.

    Edit: I wanted to thank OP for posting this. Reading your observations of your aging cat brought It all forward.