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yourmatenate | 7 months ago | on: Prices as the optimal mechanism: Why I Support Capitalism

Missing the bigger picture? The need for food banks exists precisely because capitalism fails to provide basic necessities to all people despite abundant resources. Celebrating more efficient charitable food distribution sidesteps the question of why such charity is necessary in a wealthy society.

yourmatenate | 1 year ago | on: UK, Bristol – Stokes Croft to Become a World Heritage Site

Tim Maughan's award-winning dystopian / utopian sci-fi novel, Infinite Detail is set in Stokes Croft. It's not hard to imagine it one day it becoming the small anarchist post-collapse refuge of the novel. - http://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/non-fiction/infinite-de...

There are a hundred things to do in this little Bristol microcosm, starting with breakfast at Cafe Kino, The Bristolian or the Craft Egg and ending the evening at The People's Republic, The Canteen or The Cube. - https://secretbristol.com/things-to-do-stokes-croft/

Note: I realise this is an April Fools joke, but I'd make a case for its raw charm and unique cultural heritage being preserved.

yourmatenate | 1 year ago | on: Funded ESP32 ZX Spectrum Emulator

We seem spoilt for Spectrum remakes lately -

This ESP32 one is perhaps a more 'pure' example in terms of the user experience, and is similar to the PicoZX in some regards: https://www.tindie.com/products/bobricius/picozx-handheld-zx...

But some of the others come with extra bells and whistles:

Most recently, The Spectrum, which is not without its detractors: https://retrogames.biz/products/thespectrum/

Here's one you can take on the go: https://retroradionics.com/OMNI-128HQ-LAPTOP-p75106221

Of course the super Spectrum Next, which is scarcer than hens teeth: https://www.specnext.com/

But has its own clones: https://ultimatemister.com/product-category/zx-spectrum/zx-n... & https://zxrenew.co.uk/Xberry-Pi-p596973674

And here are some more DIY options: https://www.bytedelight.com/?product_cat=harlequin128 & https://retrocomp.cz/produkt?id=62

yourmatenate | 1 year ago | on: Star Wars Origins

It seems appropriate on May the 4th to look into the radical political origins of Star Wars …

* Did Vietnam inspire Star Wars? * Is America the Empire? * Is Darth Vader Nixon? * Is Andor an Anarchist? * & How does Stalin & the Ewoks fit into all of this?

yourmatenate | 1 year ago

I didn't mean to shoot the messenger.

I'd like to think the site was a joke, but if it is the joke stops too short for it to be very funny.

yourmatenate | 1 year ago

Really? Blaming the victims of poverty?

I kept expecting it to say "Just kidding!" but it didn't.

Being poor just takes one sad accident, one unexpected health problem, the circumstances of birth, bad luck, or a system that undervalues and drives down the value of your labour.

yourmatenate | 2 years ago | on: Graeber: Ancient History Shows How We Can Create a More Equal World

Is it your extensive research into anthropology that leads you to call this a "garbage essay"? Or could it be your resistance to some experts (admittedly not all, but many do agree with Graeber) looking at the evidence and finding that it raises interesting possibilities about hierarchal societies? In "The Dawn Of Everything" Graeber and Wengrow do address alternative views, and why they believe theirs has merit and is better supported by the evidence. So maybe this shorter essay just doesn't fulfil that need for you, and you'd be better off reading the whole book.

Scholars will focus on what they find of interest, and are not exempt from having personal ideologies, but I'd argue that the fact that Graeber acknowledges this (at least in more detailed treatments of the subject) makes him more interesting (and dare I say it reliable) than those who pretend or claim to be completely impartial.

On the other hand many of the objections to Graber and Wengrow (and notable others) conclusions have seemed have come from those who have strong personal biases in favour of hierarchy, negative views of human nature, fundamentalist religious beliefs, or positive views of capitalism. So this gives me good reason to be suspicious of their motives or perspective (especially when they don't acknowledge them, or consider their presumption beyond challenge).

yourmatenate | 2 years ago | on: A Solarpunk Manifesto

There are several different attempts at Solar Punk Manifestos: (As there should be in a decentralised non-hierarchal philosophy)

* From the short - https://www.solarpunkstudio.com/manifesto

* To the bright - https://www.solarpunkstories.com/our-manifesto

* To the metamodern (post-postmodern?) - https://www.joelightfoot.org/post/the-metamodern-solarpunk-m...

* To the Italian (in English) - https://solarpunk.it/what-is-solarpunk-a-manifesto/

I for one welcome our positive post-capitalist future ... if we can get it started while we still have a chance.

yourmatenate | 2 years ago | on: A Guide for Prospective Tea Monks

When I wrote this article I would have never expected anyone beyond a few friends to notice it. My blog has been mainly a place for me to think through ideas I'm interested in by writing about them.

I love the book recommendations. I'll share them with our local Utopian book collective. For those interested in positive sci-fi futures ... The club has a blog here - https://justutopias.com/just-utopias-blog/

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