Likewise I think he had the broad strokes for a pretty good political allegory with the prequels, he just didn't have any of the creative/literary skills or the political consciousness to do a decent job. Andor has been critically acclaimed because it brings that to the period of galactic history where it can matter most.
Also, he was way more interested in designing a galaxy than a *society*. An evil empire and a valiant rebellion, in a more or less formless (as depicted) geopolitical space, were just about the level of detail that made sense for that. None of the Ursula K Le Guin-like tendency to think deeply about how differently people might live in such settings; a roaring Route 66 road trip rather than Dune's social-ecological study of the ingredients of a revolution.
The prevalence of "single biome" planets in Star Wars (eg Desert World, Ice World, Swamp World, etc) stemmed from a couple things I think: Lucas' universe building ambition was to design a galaxy of vivid visuals with a relatively short (compared to say a TV series like Star Trek) but expensive screen time, and he knew he had some of the best concept art and special effects people in the business to back those ideas up.
1970s Ralph McQuarrie concept art for imperial capital city-planet (aka ecumenopolis) Had Abaddon, which never appeared in the original Star Wars trilogy but later (in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire) became Coruscant
it's good and right that we depend on each other, and that we are subject to the needs and human rights of the people doing labor we cannot. but a world where that is the rule is incompatible with a world where a small # of guys can buy megayachts. "i and people like me can buy megayachts" is the immovable term in an equation they will never, for that exact reason, be able to balance in any remotely competent sustainable way.
Scryfall Magic The Gathering SearchHundreds of thousands of Computers won't be able to upgrade to Windows 11, but that shouldn't make them eWaste.
Kudos to the @kde team for this amazing initiative!
https://endof10.org/
@gnat I think about this post from @ceejbot all the time when thinking about coding with AI: https://blog.ceejbot.com/posts/programming-as-theory-building/
AI cannot have a theory of the system or a point of view on the problem space, so it's actively detrimental to introduce into a codebase imho. It hinders the team's development of a theory of the system, which is the only long-term artifact that holds value.
Programming as Theory-Building – Ceejbot's notes
This internet thing seems to have taken off.
on this international workers' day, a thought for those whose labour goes largely unacknowledged, unappreciated & unpaid. here's to the carers & the cleaners & everyone else without whom the world would pretty much grind to a halt. ask iceland.
#iwd #internationalWorkersDay #huitHeures #1erMai #work #labour #art #illustration‘Rafael Onak, a user experience writing manager at Apple, instructed an employee to add the phrase “external website” to the screen because it “sounds scary, so execs will love it.” Another employee gave a suggestion on how to make the screen “even worse” by using the developer’s name, rather than the app name. “ooh - keep going,” another Apple employee responded in Slack.’
https://www.theverge.com/apple/659296/apple-failed-compliance-court-ruling-breakdown
‘Cook chose poorly’: how Apple blew up its control over the App Store
In a scathing ruling, a federal judge explains how Apple repeatedly chose the worst option for developers, undermining her injunction on anticompetitive conduct.
__lands__
Jordan Maris 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 #NAFO
Paddy
it's kat! 🇵🇸✊
Allen Tan