I was rather active back on Google+ back in the day (and I am a bit miffed that Google ended it one week before I started my Patreon campaign).
And the one feature I truly miss are the "Collections". Basically, you could assign each of your posts to a single Collection you've defined. For example, I created the following Collections (among others):
"RPG" (tabletop role-playing games)
"Politics"
"Deutsch" (German-language posts)
"Science"
and so forth. And those who followed me could choose whether to follow my entire stream, or only specific collections. Someone who wasn't interested in Politics could unsubscribe to these posts. Someone who could not read German could thus not have my German-language posts show up in their stream - and so forth.
This was an amazing feature for keeping the signlal-to-noise ratio high in people's streams. And I would love it if someone implemented a #Fediverse -based approach for this - but I am not sure if #ActivityPub would even support such a subdivision.
EDIT: @sl007 pointed out that this feature IS, in fact, part of the ActivityPub standard and thus could be implemented on the Fediverse - but apparently, no one has done so yet. Read the following for the details:
Today in Labor History February 4, 1974: The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) kidnapped Patty Hearst, granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, in Berkeley, California. One of the SLA’s demands for releasing Hearst was for her family to pay for millions of dollars’ worth of food to be given out free the poor and unhoused of the San Francisco Bay Area. The Hearst complied, with various community organizations distributing 100,000 bags of groceries at 16 sites in 4 counties, before violence brought the program to a halt. The violence occurred because the crowds were bigger than expected and workers started throwing boxes of food off of moving trucks. As a captive, Patty Hearst was held in a closet, blindfolded, with her hands tied, raped and threatened repeatedly with death. She was later offered the choice of freedom, or joining the SLA. She chose the latter. Consequently, she was later sentenced to 35 years in prison for her complicity in SLA robberies. After several years in prison, her sentence was commuted by President Carter. President Clinton pardoned her. Congressional Representative Leo Ryan was murdered by the Jim Jones cult in Guyana several weeks after collecting signatures for her release. Actor John Wayne, of all people, expressed frustration that everyone accepted the idea that Jones had brainwashed hundreds of his followers into mass suicide, but wouldn’t accept that the SLA could have brainwashed a teenage girl. After her release, Hearst went on to become an actress, appearing in several John Waters films, as well as many others.
Listen to this absolutely lovely ten minutes with two stars of I, Claudius - Derek Jacobi and Brian Blessed (and wait till the end for the sweetest sign-off ever).
Earlier in the week I had the pleasure of spending the evening chatting with Marc Jobst (The Witcher, Daredevil, The Walking Dead) about directing action. Sharing some of his insights and techniques 👇
One of the lead actors from the TV show Hannibal. He actually did all of his own cooking on screen, including the egg trick. He is also best friends with his leading co-star Hugh Dancy
To date this year in the United States, 32,500 people have been laid off in the #tech sector. During 2023, 263,000 were laid off, and in 2022 it was 165,000. And these data are only for the U.S. tech sector.
From the #actor POV, it has been fascinating to watch people share their lived layoff experiences, as well as the cycle of job search —> job application —> job interview —> additional job interviews —> no job offer —> repeat, because it’s evident this cycle is not customary for many. 🧵
When I've taught people the #actor model (usually with #akka) the hardest thing I've seen is convincing people to not break the rules.
It's one reason I started favoring the 'm behavior -> 'm -> unit -> 'm behavior version of the model: it makes it more explicit how you can manage state and opens the conversation immediately about "this is how you can do this" as opposed to hiding it behind an other API call (become) where people can default to old patterns that break the actor assumptions.
My films have, so far, been collaborations with new talent. Everyone brings their skills without pay. I pay expenses, keep the production organised, and guarantee high quality films we're proud of.
When putting out casting or crew calls there's a bias against "free work" that I run into. There are always angry people. I get it, I don't want to be predatory, but I can't pay everyone out of pocket.
Hi to my new followers! Thought I would list some more facts about me:
You might have seen me on Dr Who or Call the Midwife
I once got to hold a Roman replica sword after filming and have been fixated ever since
My cane handle fell (gently) onto quite a famous actor’s head and I’m still mortified
Last time I went to a tea shop, I almost cried at a series of teaspoons because they were too adorable and I couldn’t cope
Welcome, everyone. #LGBTQ#Acting#Queer#Filming#Disabled#Actor
How exciting to be at the final morning of the 114th #NAACP National Convention! This year’s theme, Thriving Together, was brilliantly presented by multiple speakers at today’s press event in support of the #SAGAFTRAstrike. Thank you! 🪧
Following the presser: the ticketed Labor Luncheon & Symposium. Speakers include union and labor leaders who continue the fight for the future of Black workers — like #actor Alfre Woodard! ❤️ » https://naacp.org/convention
Hah, my insomniac's coding has paid off. I got my primative little #Actor framework through a basic smoke test.
Now after I write some tests and check some of the edge cases I can build an Improved Cache™ #OCaml
Basic idea is that rather than having multiple possible places that can mutate the cache, you only have one place inside of the actor. The actor always processes its queue in order, so you remove a lot of contention considerations.
Watched I DON'T KNOW JACK (2002), the low-budget talking-head documentary about character actor/David Lynch mainstay Jack Nance last night, and have some thoughts. What little I knew about the guy was confirmed: he had a rough life and aged far, far beyond his chronological years due to decades of booze and rough, rough living. Cautionary tale + character study. I bought the hard-to-find DVD for $40 and am not likely to rewatch, but it's good to know that I can revisit it when the mood strikes and appropriate circumstances arise. #Actor#DavidLynch#Eraserhead#JackNance#Movies#TwinPeaks
In tribute, @dohappybelove and I went to see “Waitress: The Musical” in cinemas starring Sara Bareilles. Well done filmed stage production with a lot of heart. Hope to make this sort of thing an annual tradition on his birthday.
Happy Birthday, brother. I know you are dancing on that heavenly stage.
Hey everyone! I’m Ellie, a visually impaired queer actor based in Brighton, UK. I’m really passionate about authentic representation of disability on-screen and uplifting the voices of other disabled actors/creatives. If you’re queer and/or disabled, I’d love to chat! I love feeling represented/seen and I hope I can help others to feel the same.
Also, Mastodon is overwhelming so bear with me while I figure it all out.
Actor Louis Gossett Jr., Oscar and Emmy winner, has died at age 87, according to his family.
AP reports: "Gossett broke through on the small screen as Fiddler in the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries 'Roots,' which depicted the atrocities of slavery on TV." He was the first Black man to win the best supporting actor Oscar for "An Officer and a Gentleman."