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maudenificent

@[email protected]

OldFart White #Atheist, on BoonWurrung Land; #GoodTVSeries; #CurrentlyListeningTo; #FavouriteBooks (usu non-fict); whinge #Crapitalism; #SystemicRacism; happy to discuss #Bipolar or #MentalHealth or just listen if that’s wot is needed
Banner says “Imagine your ancestors massacring vulnerable people and you celebrating it every year lol. You’re all psychopaths.” Madeline Hayman-Reber
Avatar Description; Wednesday Addams with incredulous expression

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@joyousjoyness@mastodon.social avatar joyousjoyness , (edited ) to random

✨ A Sprinkle of JoyousJoyness ✨

I hope she doesn't see the ski jumping!

Have a JoyousJoyfulJoyness day!

maudenificent ,
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@joyousjoyness


short video shows an older woman inside a house. She has a mop in her hand, and as a robot vacuum advances she furiously mops its path, as if she is in a curling event at the winter olympics

@georgetakei@universeodon.com avatar georgetakei , to random

Make it make sense.

Screenshot of a social media exchange. Brigitte Gabriel posts: “A person’s brain doesn’t fully develop until they are about 25 years old. That’s why the vast majority of Generation Z voters are Democrats.” Below, Devin Duke replies: “But you still want a 10-year-old to carry a baby?”
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maudenificent ,
@maudenificent@aus.social avatar

@georgetakei
and in most australian states, the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years of age ☹️

@maudenificent@aus.social avatar maudenificent , to random

why is there ?

sexism/ patriarchy, obvs, but why these?

property and privilege, obvs

modern usage of the word PRIVILEGE smacks of money and aristocracy. when poor white people are told they have privileges others do not, they might therefore have an emotional reaction of “yeah… nah, nobody helped ME…”
——-
but privilege is the right word if we keep to the original meaning;

privilege(n.)
mid-12c. "grant, commission" (recorded earlier in Old English, but as a Latin word), from Old French privilege "right, priority, privilege" (12c.) and directly from Latin privilegium "law applying to one person, bill of law in favor of or against an individual;" in the post-Augustine period "an ordinance in favor of an individual" (typically the exemption of one individual from the operation of a law)

and a definite CONSEQUENCE of privilege is that privileged people are sheltered from insight into their privilege
——-
what has all this to do with sexism/ patriarchy/ violence against women?

men have always had legal advantages over women.

if right-wing numpties are now keen to resurrect laws controlling women’s bodies, not just banning abortion e.g. but reproductive healthcare, this is part of the “we must re-assert privilege” BS happening in USA
Lacking the vision to be FOR something different, they can only be AGAINST stuff.
there is not even any logic to most of what they say — if they really cared about abortion they would work to prevent unwanted pregnancies, by protecting consent, bodily autonomy and so on

nigel dalton says his attitude to abortion is “personal”
yeah — too right it is
——
Isabel Wilkinson’s brilliant book CASTE gave me another way to view gendered violence (further to the whole judeo-christian influence and class/property influence)

wikipedia summarises her 8 pillars of caste — all of the laws and social beliefs that helped subjugate not-white people esp in chattel slavery, but still the white supremacist model favoured today. dehumanisation is a big part of this.

there are parallels between the social construction and control of race, and the social construction and control of gender (I’m not saying there is a competition happening here, just that the mechanics are similar)

women who do not want children, people who are gender fluid etc etc violate the pillars of gender-caste, and threaten the whole basis of gender privilege

violence against women (which takes many forms) works to support the legal/social privilege which gives (white) males class/ property advantages. that’s why governments do phuk all about it

anyway, thank you to the “not all men” who do have insight/ recognise their privilege, and in acknowledging their privilege, help to shake the foundations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste:_The_Origins_of_Our_Discontents

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-12/women-reveal-alleged-assaults-after-solo-hiker-safety-concerns/106321554

@maudenificent@aus.social avatar maudenificent , to random

people with poor values can do well in politics, if they play on resentment (as in australia and usa)

some australian polticians would say they are not about resentment but about what is right and fair. they sound like two year olds squabbling in a sand box.

here, ricky from council estate media talks about the UK, where the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is talking up paranoia on behalf of the Labour government.

“”Disturbingly, the home secretary wants to use technology such as facial recognition and AI to ensure the state has eyes everywhere at all times. Mahmoud recently said in a BBC interview:

“Let me say I make no apology for rolling out this technology... What I would say to people that are very motivated by sort of campaigning on civil liberties is that you can’t enjoy any of your liberties in any country if you’re not safe.””


https://mastodon.social/@cemedia/115978821195154326

@howie319@mas.to avatar howie319 , to random
maudenificent ,
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@maudenificent@aus.social avatar maudenificent , to random

will be glad when i stop getting news headlines in my inbox saying john howard has an opinion — about anything

@tante@tldr.nettime.org avatar tante , to random

One of our cats has taught himself to pee into the toilet. Like the human toilet, not the cat toilet. Consider me impressed (I always thought he was a bit dumber than his sister ;))

maudenificent ,
@maudenificent@aus.social avatar

@tante @purplepadma

a friend had a cat which did the same (long before mobile phones or digital cameras, unfortunately).
it refused to use litter to pee.

@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar arstechnica , to random

Disney decides it hasn’t angered people enough, announces Disney+ price hikes
In case you needed another reason to get rid of Disney+.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/09/disney-decides-it-hasnt-angered-people-enough-announces-disney-price-hikes/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

maudenificent ,
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@slevelt@aus.social avatar slevelt , to VinylRecords group

not a pressing like @TheVinylApe ’s, but yes what an album. Playing the finale, Sinnerman, very loud right now

Nina Simone - Pastel Blues vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

vinyl record cover of Nina Simone’s "Pastel Blues" displayed next to a turntable playing the record. The album cover, predominantly in blue tones, features a close-up of the singer’s face.
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maudenificent ,
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@slevelt vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

i bought a copy of that very same album in…. probably 1971 😀

maudenificent ,
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@slevelt vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group

over the years a succession of careless/indifferent people destroyed vinyls/ turntables. not being rich/good with electronics it was very annoying.
i was quite happy to switch to cds. now i just subscribe to apple music — justifiable because i used to spend more than a month’s subscription charge on cds anyway. there are maybe a dozen things apple music don’t have, but on the whole it’s great because i can instantly try new songs any time something looks interesting.

piaf had an “interesting” life, but i’m not sure she was ever fun to be around. 🤔

probably my favourite piaf song (that i sometimes find myself humming for no reason) is “autumn leaves”

@maudenificent@aus.social avatar maudenificent , to random

From the Saturday Paper 14 Jun

Industry sources reveal drug companies have stopped negotiating listings on the PBS and in some cases are considering not listing in Australia as they seek to lift profits under Trump. By Jason Koutsoukis.
Exclusive: PBS listings frozen over Trump’s executive order

<<Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme has been effectively frozen since May, after United States President Donald Trump issued an order to change how pharmaceutical companies price drugs.

Industry sources say drug companies have stopped listing new medicines with the scheme, hoping Trump’s order will allow them to lift prices for Australia.

At the centre of the dispute is Trump’s May 12 executive order reviving his controversial “Most Favored Nation” pricing proposal, a populist idea floated during his first term.

The premise is simple: the United States should pay no more for medicines than the lowest price paid by peer nations. In a globalised pharmaceutical market, the proposal could curtail Australia’s access to cheaper medicines.

By linking US prices to those in countries such as Australia – where the federal government uses rigorous health technology assessments to drive hard bargains with drug companies – Trump’s policy threatens to upend the commercial logic of launching new drugs in smaller, lower-priced markets.

“We are hearing that in the headquarters of companies, that they are having this conversation about the US’s Most Favored Nation policy and what that flow-on effect would have across the world,” says Sue MacLeman, chair of Medicines Australia, the pharmaceutical industry’s peak representative body.

“And companies may delay application for both product registration in Australia through the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and also reimbursement through the PBS of new medicines as they seek to avoid us referencing to prices that undervalue innovation and affect global prices.”

If Australian PBS prices become a global benchmark – not just in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, but for US health insurers – drug companies may simply stop offering Australia competitive deals. Worse, they may not offer the product at all.>>

/2

maudenificent ,
@maudenificent@aus.social avatar

vividspecter @MorpheusB@aus.social avatar MorpheusB
👆🏻
<<Who does it serve to diminish our cultural traditions and practices? This isn’t just about Welcome to Country, and we all know that. It’s about finding something for people to feel angry about, something that involves Aboriginal people.>>

@maudenificent@aus.social avatar maudenificent , to random


while i don’t always agree with Annabel Crabb, i can’t deny she has a lovely way with words…

<<One more thing, though — if you can stand to read any more words at all on an election campaign so uninspiring that record numbers of voters have lodged pre-polls just to secure merciful release.>>

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-30/coalition-bus-whitlam-aged-care-soft-voters-peter-dutton/105228352

@DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social avatar DoomsdaysCW , to random

I just had a moment where I had to laugh. EVERYTHING I believe in is being attacked! And I knew this day would come many years ago! And no-one took me seriously! FUCK! But I'll fight to the end, since that's what I decided on at the tender age of 13. Fascists won't erase me, my friends, or our planet without a fight. BRING IT ON ASSHATS! The world is watching!

maudenificent ,
@maudenificent@aus.social avatar

@kolektiva.social @pathfinder actuallyautistic@a.gup.pe icon ActuallyAutistic group

i can’t comment on “the science”, but i can confirm what you say, @DoomsdaysCW, as i am old enough to have known a lot of people born before mass vaccination, including quite a few on the spectrum.

lack of a formal diagnosis does not change who they were.

@slevelt@aus.social avatar slevelt , to VinylRecords group

one of the suburbs I drive through on the school run is virtually a free furniture store from all the things the locals put out, and today I found exactly the set of shelves we still needed for our vinylrecords@a.gup.pe icon VinylRecords group 🥳

also, plenty room for expansion of the collection 😅

a set of low IKEA bookshelves which seem made for holding vinyl records. there is a turntable and two speakers on top, and a record on display next to the turntable.
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maudenificent ,
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@chestas@aus.social avatar chestas , to bookstodon group

Just about to start this. At over 1300 pages it might be the longest single volume novel I'd have read.

What is the longest novel you have read, and did it hold your interest?

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

Front cover of the novel Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd. A sign notes that this is a thirtieth anniversary edition
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maudenificent ,
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@chestas bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group

i have read a couple of rutherfurd’s novels - i don’t much care for fiction, but ”faction” histories are okay.
war and peace was torture - the second half was throwing good time after time wasted. someone later told me that history buffs read the war bits and ignored the soapy bits, while others read the soapy story bits and skipped over the war bits.
the greatest torture of all was the lord of the rings. it should have stopped with the hobbit.

i’ve read all 9 of the outlander books - i think of them as the single longest book i’ve ever read. (the tv series don;t come close to doing the books justice)

i hope you enjoy Sarum, but if you don’t find it engaging, read something else. life’s too short, and there are too many other books to ignore 📚

@Daojoan@mastodon.social avatar Daojoan , to random

Under Littleproud's leadership, the National Party seems more interested in fighting imaginary culture wars and writing policy based on U.S. Presidential fanfiction than engaging with the challenges facing rural and regional Australia. That's not just bad politics - it's a disservice to the constituents the party claims to represent.

https://www.theindex.media/how-david-littleprouds-fumbling-spin-reveals-a-conservative-crisis/

maudenificent ,
@maudenificent@aus.social avatar

@Daojoan

hard to embarrass clueless people.

(australian politicians have been importing bad policy ideas since my grandmother was in utero)

@slevelt@aus.social avatar slevelt , to bookstodon group

200 pages in I can confidently say this is an amazing chorography of the east coast of Australia, mapping its narratives, its history of its First Nations and their contact with European colonisers. Truly fantastic storytelling and truth telling.

Those of you who know me from the before times may remember I worked on Poly-Olbion, and may even remember my live tweeting of my reading of Camden’s Britannia. This book is that: an account of places’ histories finding its own position between truths, lies, myths, stories, accounts, and accountings. A truly masterful balancing act, mapped along coast lines, islands, bays, estuaries and beaches.

Go get this book. Darren Rix & Craig Cormick, Warra Warra Wai - How indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook & what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People.

bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group @auslit

Book cover of Warra Warra Wai (as further described in the post). The cover is blue with white lettering, with a painting of First Nations people on canoes watching a sail ship in the distance.
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maudenificent ,
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@slevelt bookstodon@a.gup.pe icon bookstodon group @auslit

thanks for reminding me about this book - (actually very cheap thru itunes bookstore if anyone out there is curious)

(nothing like the LNP version of australian history 🤔)

How Indigenous Australians discovered Captain Cook, and what they tell about the coming of the Ghost People
By Darren Rix and Craig Cormick

@APoD@botsin.space avatar APoD Bot , to random

Milky Way over Uluru

Image Credit & Copyright: Max Inwood

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240729.html

image/jpeg

A starry sky is shown with the busy central band of our Milky Way Galaxy showing rising diagonally from the lower right. In the foreground are flat grasslands leading up to a huge orange rock mound named Uluru.
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maudenificent ,
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