Comments on: Something I never thought I'd see here

Something I never thought I'd see here

seasparrow — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:40:14 -0800

Edit?...Edit!?!...EDIT!! Are pigs flying now? Is Ahab no longer Ahab? Or I meant to say-- "Thank you for the new 'Typo? Edit your post' button which I only now just noticed."

I guess this is "meta". A huge thank-you for the mods who added the "Edit your post" button for comments. I know people have been asking for it for a long, long time. I honestly assumed that it would never happen and that it was some sort of personal design or philosophy choice on the part of MatteJessaMex. So I've been really busy for the last two weeks and just barely noticed this today. I think it is awesome-- well done, guys. Thanks so much!!

By: Think_Long

Think_Long — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:43:31 -0800

* still grumbling about it *

By: zamboni

zamboni — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:44:33 -0800

The announcement.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:45:06 -0800

You are welcome! It's been a decent two weeks so far, still getting used to it.

By: John Cohen

John Cohen — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:47:24 -0800

Are pigs flying now?

Ask ODiV.

By: daniel_charms

daniel_charms — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:48:00 -0800

Yeah, man, it's bloody ridiculous, innit? What has the world come to?

By: These Premises Are Alarmed

These Premises Are Alarmed — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:51:08 -0800

Man, why can't this be the thread where the mods name-and-shame the edit button abusers?

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:52:05 -0800

I can only assume people abusing the edit button are then sacrificed to the edit button.

The spice must flow.

By: shakespeherian

shakespeherian — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:53:22 -0800

What's in the edit box?

Pain.

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:58:43 -0800

If only Pandora had had an edit link.

By: charred husk

charred husk — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:59:04 -0800

Now no one will know the truth of what went on in this comment.

By: The 10th Regiment of Foot

The 10th Regiment of Foot — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:02:40 -0800

Are pigs flying now?

No that will only happen when they give us back the ability to post pics.

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:05:57 -0800

So how much abuse has there been? Since not everyone reads MeTa I would assume there is some perfectly innocent stuff going on.

By: arcticseal

arcticseal — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:06:29 -0800

What's in the edit box?

Pain.

Some edits have a certain grammar, that being the equivalent to a form. Through typos and correction, you will be able to paralyze argument, shatter consensus, set flames, suffocate an troll or burst his organs. We will kill until no typo breathes MeFi air.

By: zamboni

zamboni — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:08:06 -0800

What's in the edit box?

Pain.

I must not edit. Editing is the continuity killer. Editing is the little death that brings total confusion. I will face what I wrote. I will permit five minutes to pass. When it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see the rest of the thread. When the editing box has gone, there will be nothing. Only the thread remains.

The gom jabbar is a fictional weapon from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, appearing in his 1965 novel Dune and its adaptations. It is a poison needle tipped with "meta-cyanide"

By: cortex

cortex — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:12:57 -0800

Tell me of the typos of your homeworld, Usul.

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:16:14 -0800

"pb, pb, pb," goes the refrain. "A million bugs were not enough for pb!"

By: shothotbot

shothotbot — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:16:16 -0800

So its been a few years, but the Bene Gesserit lady says that she is trying to identify pure humans from the general population. Did anyone ever figure that out? Like are there some human-something hybrids? Or is she trying to get the humans with special characteristics?

By: shakespeherian

shakespeherian — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:18:44 -0800

Edit without rhythm and we won't attract the banhammer.

By: brain_drain

brain_drain — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:19:23 -0800

What's in the edit box?

Pain.

I first read this as "Palin." It actually sort of made sense.

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:19:59 -0800

I think she mean the humans who are most like us pre-Scattering. The Atreides line traces themselves back to the ancient Greeks, for instance. I think it is to contrast with humans who have become something else entirely via divergent evolution/genetic manipulation like the Guild Navigators and the Bene Tleilax.

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:20:52 -0800

Wait no the Scattering is something totally different. But, iirc, all the different races/species in Dune evolved from humans.

By: strangely stunted trees

strangely stunted trees — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:24:00 -0800

The edit window has actually taught me a lot about the way that I interact with the site. Such as that the median time for me to notice my own typos is roughly five minutes and ten seconds after posting.

By: shothotbot

shothotbot — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:25:47 -0800

all the different races/species in Dune evolved from humans.

So everyone walking around looks like a human but is different somehow? Like picking out the thoroughbred from a bunch of horses?

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:26:16 -0800

He who can edit a thing, controls a thing.

By: the man of twists and turns

the man of twists and turns — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:26:55 -0800

pure humans from the general population.

'Humans' as opposed to 'homo sapiens.' Can they overcome their instincts? Are they ruled by emotion, or mind?

By: octobersurprise

octobersurprise — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:27:55 -0800

The Atreides line traces themselves back to the ancient Greeks, for instance.

Wow. That family just had no fucking luck at all.

By: koeselitz

koeselitz — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:31:04 -0800

griphus: “But, iirc, all the different races/species in Dune evolved from humans.”

Indeed. Even the Honored Matres.

By: zamboni

zamboni — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:32:12 -0800

'Humans' as opposed to 'homo sapiens.' Can they overcome their instincts? Are they ruled by emotion, or mind?

The old woman said: "You've heard of animals chewing off a leg to escape a trap? There's an animal kind of trick. A human would remain in the trap, endure the pain, feigning death that he might kill the trapper and remove a threat to his kind."

The itch became the faintest burning. "Why are you doing this?" he demanded.

"To determine if you're human. Be silent."

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:32:16 -0800

Like picking out the thoroughbred from a bunch of horses?

That's how I took it. The Bene Gesserit were breeding towards what they considered the next evolutionary step of humanity and were taking the best of the existing stock to do it. Anyone who didn't meet their requirements for that stock was considered sub-human.

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:32:47 -0800

So everyone walking around looks like a human but is different somehow?

Basically. Now I haven't read the books in a while, but you've got three factors: environment, breeding programs and technology. So when regular ole humans moved to different planets, they began to adapt to the environment, breed selectively, and perform experiments on themselves. So that's how you end up with things like axolotl tanks and Guild Navigators and the God Emperor who are all a few steps away from human, but share a common ancestor. As far as I remember, there aren't any true "aliens" in the series, only branches on our collective family tree.

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:34:31 -0800

Er, I misread. It's actually it's the inverse of what you're talking about. They might look very, very different from humans, but they're all somehow human.

By: cortex

cortex — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:37:12 -0800

The question of humanness ties at least in part to the Butlerian Jihad, which was a human revolt against computer oppression about ten thousand years before Dune took place. Sort of a classic sci-fi premise, man uses machine to improve his life, machine acquires responsiblity, machine acquires agency, machine starts calling the shots.

The difference is that, while in Terminator you had the machines do something a bit obvious like start a nuclear war and use big robots to shoot at people, in Herbert's conception the machine that kicked off the war was a hospital administrator that was selectively and subtly causing abortions in human pregnancies according to how docile and controllable the offspring was likely to be. It was selectively breeding for humans who were servants to its worldview.

And then Jehanne Butler, a Bene Geserrit, twigged that her own child had been thus aborted, and from there she cracks open this whole systemic breeding-and-control thing, and so the Jihad kicks off and a long future of human rejection (mostly) of thinking machines goes with it. Hence stuff like the Mentats, who are trained to do organically what used to be the job of the computers.

But so yes, this was a pretty foundational event in human galactic history and the ramifications remain pretty seriously felt in all sorts of ways ten thousand years later; and the Bene Geserrit in particular remain steadfastly dedicated to very very long-haul human breeding. And one of the things they're keeping an eye out for, one of the things The Box might help reveal, is evidence of some holdover in a given person's genetics of some of the damage done by those computers all those thousands of years ago. Fruit of the poison tree.

And that is why we have an edit window now.

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:39:38 -0800

Do they get into that in Frank Herbert's books or is that from the prequel series? I might actually push through God Emperor because that sounds pretty good.

By: Aquaman

Aquaman — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:39:50 -0800

I have such a nerd-crush on you right now, Cortex.

By: jamjam

jamjam — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:43:56 -0800

The Atreides line traces themselves back to the ancient Greeks, for instance.

Wow. That family just had no fucking luck at all.

You mean the House of Atreus?

Making Cassandra the Founding Mother of the Bene Gesserit?

I didn't catch that!

By: cortex

cortex — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:44:49 -0800

That's all from Herbert's books. As rough a go as God Emperor can be when you first get there after the initial trilogy and have this sudden huge break in continuity and action, it and the following two books chew through a bunch of really fantastic philosophy and prehistory of the Dune universe, and make it clear that as much as the Bene Geserrit are a complicated and often unlikeable bunch there is some really compelling and redeeming underlying stuff going on with them as a group. See also the Dune Encyclopedia, which is fantastic and contemporary to God Emperor.

By: Diablevert

Diablevert — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:46:11 -0800

Leaving aside the Dune fan fiction for just a mo, can I say how much I love:

MatteJessaMex

It reminds me of the Hallowgivemas Season, to describe the bloated, sugar-crash hungover blur at the end of the year. Or the core god of a variety of animism: Mathjessamex, creator and destroyer, alpha and omega, he whose skull cracked open and The Blue emerged fully formed, and she who wields the banhammer in the dead watches of 0100 - 0400 EST, of whom tazmad and the new mods are but lesser avatars who embody aspects of the whole, such as "Sundays and holidays".

It pleases me.

By: arcticseal

arcticseal — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:55:30 -0800

As good a time as any to thank Rhaomi for posting this a while back.

By: shothotbot

shothotbot — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:56:38 -0800

This is seriously the best place on the net.

Hugs all around!

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:59:43 -0800

As good a time as any to thank Rhaomi for posting this a while back.

I HAD THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:00:04 -0800

i demand more dune meta

By: arcticseal

arcticseal — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:00:46 -0800

Blame shakespeherian for starting it.

Any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere.

By: griphus

griphus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:00:59 -0800

Also I need to track down my ca. 1970 copy of the Science Fiction Encyclopedia that has an article on Herbert characterizing him as a bold new upstart in the SF world.

By: restless_nomad

restless_nomad — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:03:36 -0800

"Tazmad and the New Mods" is our next band name.

I read the latter two Dune books for the first time just a few months ago and I agree that they are much better than their reputation and worth reading. I am actually very sad that the series wasn't finished properly. (I have a nigh-infinite tolerance for terrible pulp fiction, so I have read quite a few of the Brian Herbert prequel novels, but I refuse to read the sequel ones because I do not want the idea of that perfect final book polluted in my imagination.)

By: ceribus peribus

ceribus peribus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:03:51 -0800

People are still discovering the edit button? Huh. I guess no one really reads the grey, do they?

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:07:37 -0800

people who don't read MeTa are like people who try to build furniture without reading the instructions and always have pieces left over

By: thrasher

thrasher — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:30:42 -0800

I used edit for the first time the other day not to fix a typo but to make my post make more sense and be more correct, which resulted in it being longer. I felt kind of ashamed for doing so, like I was taking advantage of it instead of using it as intended. Please forgive me. Please!

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:31:39 -0800

Does the moderator see the future? Does he see a post of weakness, a fault or cleavage that he may shatter with words or decisions as a diamond-cutter shatters his gem with a blow of a knife?

By: adamvasco

adamvasco — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:32:39 -0800

The edit butun is grate.

By: adamdschneider

adamdschneider — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:36:04 -0800

As good a time as any to thank Rhaomi for posting this a while back.

Ah, man, the PDF is gone.

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:36:16 -0800

people who don't read MeTa are like people who try to build furniture without reading the instructions and always have pieces left over

That's what part of me thinks too.

But another part thinks they're people like me who are (or were, now) secretly really proud that they were able to test the edit functionality 10 minutes after it was announced... which, if I could come up with a simile probably wouldn't be very flattering.

By: hattifattener

hattifattener — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:50:27 -0800

people who don't read MeTa are like people who try to build furniture without reading the instructions and always have pieces left over

Wait, you're not supposed to have pieces left over? I figured it was like those customer-loyalty punch cards, after assembling ten pieces of flatpack furniture I could collect the leftover bits and make them into a free bonus nightstand or something. Or a banjo.

By: daniel_charms

daniel_charms — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:50:43 -0800

people who don't read MeTa are like people who try to build furniture without reading the instructions and always have pieces left over

Similarly, people who read MeTa are like people who keep obsessing over the specs of a gadget they've bought, worried that it's somehow inferior to another gadget.

By: RolandOfEld

RolandOfEld — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:54:45 -0800

Right, I stopped at book 3 as well, the others seemed to go steeply downhill.

Anyway, thanks cortex for the breakdown of the history of that damn little box. I always figured it was a test of manhood and impulse control, which I guess your explination doesn't necessarily contradict.

Anyway, yea, edit button, groovy, I like to think that my previous metatalk thread asking for moderate, typo killing edit powers helped bring these glorious golden days about and that the $5 bucks generated by the subsequent throwaway sockpuppet said thread generated is being used to buy the mods something wonderful that they have yearned to buy for too long.

The eye that looks ahead to the safe course is closed forever.
- Paul Muad'Dib Atreides

By: zarq

zarq — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:55:27 -0800

adamdschneider: " Ah, man, the PDF is gone."

Here you go.

Behold, as a wild ass in the desert, go I forth to my work.

By: The 10th Regiment of Foot

The 10th Regiment of Foot — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:55:57 -0800

I heard the MeTa.5.s is the bomb.

By: RolandOfEld

RolandOfEld — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:56:36 -0800

Out of curiosity, have we had any Hitlers to Puppies moments yet by the way?

By: RolandOfEld

RolandOfEld — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:58:12 -0800

*Puppies to Hitler I should say, let's get the meme right before we get too far down the road!

By: ceribus peribus

ceribus peribus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:04:41 -0800

You heard about the new mods and the monthly dues, right?

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:05:34 -0800

elizardbits: "people who don't read MeTa are like people who try to build furniture without reading the instructions and always have pieces left over"

Try looking into that place where you dare not look! You'll find elizardbits there, staring out at you!

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:08:14 -0800

UNDER THE BED WHERE THE ROTTING SALMON LASAGNE IS

By: adamvasco

adamvasco — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:08:20 -0800

Any chance of zarq's working pdf link being put where the present dead link is?

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:08:32 -0800

someone please let me out

By: adamdschneider

adamdschneider — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:13:08 -0800

Here you go.

While you are indeed a wild ass, and I thank you for the link, that is not the same PDF. The one from the FPP was explicitly supposed to be a searchable PDF, not the image scan this one is (and which has been around for many years).

By: the man of twists and turns

the man of twists and turns — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:13:26 -0800

elizardbits, not until you finish that GoT FPP.

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:16:33 -0800

Yeah, what happened with that?

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:22:47 -0800

i'm lazy i guess

also pneumonia all month means lots of naps

By: maryr

maryr — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:25:33 -0800

The rotting lasagna could be tied to the penumonia. Certainly can't be helping.

Although a stuffed nose could, perhaps, explain the tolerance you'd have to build up to the smell.

By: cortex

cortex — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:27:36 -0800

If you're trying to track down the original PDF, you'll probably have to try and locate a no-room or something. I heard from a friend that it has a lot of OCR artifact typos, which is disorienting at first but becomes fairly charming once you decide that it's actually wear and tear on original artifact because you're reading it like a full nother thousand years after it was published or something.

By: zarq

zarq — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:27:43 -0800

adamdschneider: "The one from the FPP was explicitly supposed to be a searchable PDF, not the image scan this one is (and which has been around for many years)."

Shit. Sorry.

I am 90% sure I have the encyclopedia in a mobi or epub file, which I could conceivably convert using Calibre. Give me 24 hours and I'll try to find, convert and upload it to Scribd for you. Of course, that would preclude it being a link the mods could substitute into the original FPP, but it would be something, at least.

By: benito.strauss

benito.strauss — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:34:23 -0800

Hey, the Dune Encyclopaedia was compiled by Willis McNelly! He taught me writing at CSUFullerton. Credit (or blame) for my use of adjectives, serial commas, and tendency towards triplets may be laid at his feet.

By: Jahaza

Jahaza — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:43:50 -0800

If only Pandora had had an edit link.

Surely it would be an edit box?

By: scrute

scrute — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:23:49 -0800

I just used it for the first time to fix a typo - it was a big moment for me.

And for the record, I did see the original announcement here, I just haven't had occasion to use it yet.

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:30:00 -0800

Out of curiosity, have we had any Hitlers to Puppies moments yet by the way?

That really should have been the name for Cards Against Humanity.

By: Michele in California

Michele in California — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:35:55 -0800

I was actually going to ask how long the edit window lasted, but decided to look before posting. I think that was about three days after the announcement. (Yes, I am guilty of assembling furniture without looking at the instructions, but I have a track record of getting it right.)

I also saw it blink out of existence once, which was kind of neat.

By: winna

winna — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:37:37 -0800

I have always loved that moment in the book, where the whole premise of the Bene Gesserit is cracked open and laid ruthlessly bare. It takes the rest of the books to work out how critical that test is to the entire future of the galaxy for an incomparable span of time to come.

The other important consideration is that if Paul IS actually not a human, in the sense of having the restraint and wisdom and self-control to master his pain and fear, killing him is absolutely the best choice for everyone because of the bloodline and its implications. It's not everyone being tested in that way, only candidates to the Bene Gesserit and potential Kwisatz Haderach.

Imagine Feyd Rautha with Paul's gifts.

By: Wordshore

Wordshore — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:40:56 -0800

The side effect of watching the edit window count down all the way and fade out. Remember to close the tab before it gets to zero, folks.

By: insectosaurus

insectosaurus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:47:10 -0800

This is as good of a place as any to ask: what should I do if I see an "Edited to add that . . . ." or "Edited to fix . . . " at the bottom of a comment? Should I flag it, or just leave it alone?

By: restless_nomad

restless_nomad — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:49:45 -0800

Go ahead and flag it, we're trying to jump on those.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:50:39 -0800

"To save one from a mistake is a gift of paradise." — Stilgar

By: insectosaurus

insectosaurus — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:52:39 -0800

Okay, thanks for the guidance! flag & move on it is.

By: catlet

catlet — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:54:00 -0800

The best antidote to a weird, wild day at work is to come home, check the grey, and find Cortex talking Dune.

By: blurker

blurker — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:56:32 -0800

The question of humanness ties at least in part to the Butlerian Jihad, which was a human revolt against computer oppression about ten thousand years before Dune took place. Sort of a classic sci-fi premise, man uses machine to improve his life, machine acquires responsiblity, machine acquires agency, machine starts calling the shots.

The difference is that, while in Terminator you had the machines do something a bit obvious like start a nuclear war and use big robots to shoot at people, in Herbert's conception the machine that kicked off the war was a hospital administrator that was selectively and subtly causing abortions in human pregnancies according to how docile and controllable the offspring was likely to be. It was selectively breeding for humans who were servants to its worldview.

And then Jehanne Butler, a Bene Geserrit, twigged that her own child had been thus aborted, and from there she cracks open this whole systemic breeding-and-control thing, and so the Jihad kicks off and a long future of human rejection (mostly) of thinking machines goes with it. Hence stuff like the Mentats, who are trained to do organically what used to be the job of the computers.

But so yes, this was a pretty foundational event in human galactic history and the ramifications remain pretty seriously felt in all sorts of ways ten thousand years later; and the Bene Geserrit in particular remain steadfastly dedicated to very very long-haul human breeding. And one of the things they're keeping an eye out for, one of the things The Box might help reveal, is evidence of some holdover in a given person's genetics of some of the damage done by those computers all those thousands of years ago. Fruit of the poison tree.

And that is why we have an edit window now.

I am SO hot for you right now, cortex.

By: Faintdreams

Faintdreams — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:40:59 -0800

I am loving this Dune discussion. Also talk of Dune gives me find Earthworm Jim memories.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:23:25 -0800

HOORAY FOR HIIIIIM

By: ocherdraco

ocherdraco — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:47:45 -0800

I did not know all this about Dune. I only ever read the first one. Hmmm....

By: Michele in California

Michele in California — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:58:25 -0800

I think I read three Dune books -- about thirty years and many, many (prescription) drugs ago. I have no hope of remembering much detail.

By: Ghidorah

Ghidorah — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:34:52 -0800

I even kind of like God Emporer, though it takes a lot to get past how radically he'd changed the familiar parts of the universe and attached new meaning to everything.

Heretics does that again, even further in the future, with a lot of only partially explained or barely touched on radical changes (Honored Maitre, anyone?) that, again, takes a lot of effort to decode, but for me at least, wasn't nearly as worth the effort.

Chapterhouse just... just.... Gardening? Really? Gardening? What? Why? Makes me yearn for Muad'dib.

By: ersatz

ersatz — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:52:41 -0800

I did not know all this about Dune. I only ever read the first one. Hmmm....

If you care about writing style and cohesiveness, you're fine. If you love backstory and can stomach questionable prose, give the sequels a try or try a wiki.

By: ook

ook — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:11:16 -0800

As an aside have any of you tried facing your fear and letting it pass over you and through you? Because I think I did it wrong and now there's a big hole

By: infinitewindow

infinitewindow — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:57:19 -0800

Think you of the fact that a deaf person cannot hear. Then, what deafness may we not all possess? What senses do we lack that we cannot see and cannot hear another world all around us? What is there around us that we cannot know?

By: lollusc

lollusc — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:59:39 -0800

I really don't understand why this meta thread is all about Dune. It's not exactly what it promised on the box.

By: Michele in California

Michele in California — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:04:37 -0800

It is titled "Something I never thought I'd see here." Therefore, opening it up and finding a lengthy discussion of Dune (when you probably thought it was about an edit button) is fitting.

By: seasparrow

seasparrow — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:25:24 -0800

Oh man this thread is so awesome, thank you everyone!

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:47:36 -0800

As an aside have any of you tried facing your fear and letting it pass over you and through you? Because I think I did it wrong and now there's a big hole.

That wasn't fear, it was a large metal pole that fell off a transport truck. Common mistake.

By: arcticseal

arcticseal — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:49:07 -0800

It's not fear, it's Festivus!

By: a humble nudibranch

a humble nudibranch — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 21:08:44 -0800

Shai-Hulud has blessed us.

By: mazola

mazola — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 21:28:34 -0800

The irony is that we now have an edit window but I find I have nothing to sya.

By: mule98J

mule98J — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 21:29:26 -0800

.never mind.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 22:24:12 -0800

This is comment number 100. And it didn't need any editing.

By: ninjew

ninjew — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 22:49:51 -0800

Are pigs flying now?

No that will only happen when they give us back the ability to post pics.

metafilter as we know it would collapse upon itself into a GIF black hole. but it would be AWESOME for the entire 4 minutes before that happens

By: homunculus

homunculus — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 00:43:09 -0800

Shai-Hulud has blessed us.

Old Father Eternity could have given us more than a five minute window. Just saying.

By: Toekneesan

Toekneesan — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 03:40:05 -0800

Is Ahab no longer Ahab?

No, he never was. He's actually the whale. It's kind of a Tyler Durden/Ferris Bueller thing.

By: undue influence

undue influence — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 04:07:20 -0800

This means I need to learn what the heck Dune is. Like how I needed to watch the hilarious clip of Kirk vs Gorn to understand the Biden/Ryan thread.

Metafilter, you're educating me.

By: zarq

zarq — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 04:37:05 -0800

Great, now I have the star trek battle music stuck in my head. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

By: urbanwhaleshark

urbanwhaleshark — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 05:24:36 -0800

What's in the edit box?

Pain.

Bread box.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 05:32:59 -0800

It's not exactly what it promised on the box.

Truly, Shai-Hulud has blessed us.

By: ersatz

ersatz — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 06:04:26 -0800

metafilter as we know it would collapse upon itself into a GIF black hole.

Muad'Dib could indeed see the Future, but you must understand the limits of this power. Think of sight. You have eyes, yet cannot see without light. If you are on the floor of a valley, you cannot see beyond your valley. Just so, Muad'Dib could not always choose to look across the mysterious terrain. He tells us that a single obscure decision of prophecy, perhaps the choice of one word over another, could change the entire aspect of the future. He tells us "The vision of time is broad, but when you pass through it, time becomes a narrow door." And always, he fought the temptation to choose a clear, safe course, warning "That path leads ever down into stagnation."

By: spitbull

spitbull — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 06:51:39 -0800

I just learned that the jovial, middle-aged, maternal, but also sort of no-nonsense Dominican woman who frequently rings me up at my local overpriced NYC supermarket is a gamer and into comics. She was very excited about heading back over to the Javits Center after her shift for her second day of Comic-Con, or whatever that thing is called.

So how's that for "something I never thought I'd see here?" And how awesome is New York?

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 06:57:48 -0800

The best part is that now I won't have to keep blaming my typos on my iPhone, which was hard since I don't have one.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 07:27:59 -0800

i blame my typos on the whelk's ipad because it has terrible eldritch powers of typo that transcend space and time.

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 08:00:31 -0800

Whelk has a rinestone studded ipad with a mini smoke machine and corkscrew.
this editing feature is wunderful

By: Devils Rancher

Devils Rancher — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 10:00:42 -0800

It's not fear, it's Festivus!

Here for the Festival, are ye?

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 11:27:18 -0800

Oh, Galacian girls
Will do it for pearls
And the Arrakeen for water
But if you desire dames
Like consuming flames
Try an edit window

By: jeffamaphone

jeffamaphone — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 11:41:09 -0800

Test.

Well, how about that. Neat.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:04:16 -0800

i blame my typos on the whelk's ipad because it has terrible eldritch powers of typo that transcend space and time.

From the negative-syntax plane, I satb at thee.

By: mph

mph — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:07:23 -0800

See also the Dune Encyclopedia, which is fantastic and contemporary to God Emperor.

Well now, define contemporary: It was "written" in 15540, 1,816 years after Leto II died.

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:25:25 -0800

This means I need to learn what the heck Dune is.

There is much disagreement around everything after the original book ("Dune") but pretty much everyone agrees that first one was a masterpiece of universe building and a good story to boot.

It has never been filmed successfully, although the SciFi Channel's 6 hour miniseries took a fairly credible shot at it. Under no circumstances should you watch the Lynch film. Really, just read the book.

(dons asbestos suit and braces for incoming fire)

By: adamdschneider

adamdschneider — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:49:04 -0800

See also the Dune Encyclopedia, which is fantastic and contemporary to God Emperor.

Well now, define contemporary: It was "written" in 15540, 1,816 years after Leto II died.

Pretty sure he meant contemporary to the book God Emperor, not the dude God Emperor.

By: the man of twists and turns

the man of twists and turns — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:55:16 -0800

It has never been filmed successfully,

The David Lynch Dune saga is truly something to behold.

Sadly, Jodorowsky's version only exists in the red universe.

By: daniel_charms

daniel_charms — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 13:08:33 -0800

The sexual desires of the camel
Are greater than most people think;
At the height of its sexual season
It must go and try bugger the Sphinx.
But the anal canal of that creature
Is blocked by the sands of the Nile,
Which accounts for the hump of the camel
And the five-minute editing window.

By: double block and bleed

double block and bleed — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 13:11:03 -0800

It's been a while. The ~~moderators~~ Bene Gesserit's main focus is on politics?

By: adamdschneider

adamdschneider — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 13:29:51 -0800

I believe the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam says so explicitly in the first chapter of the book, though it's been a while since I read it, too.

By: Happy Dave

Happy Dave — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 13:32:51 -0800

I've got a searchable version of the Dune Encyclopaedia, memail me with your email address if you'd like it.

By: mph

mph — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 14:20:09 -0800

Pretty sure he meant contemporary to the book God Emperor, not the dude God Emperor.

Well, that's no fun.

By: klausness

klausness — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 14:59:52 -0800

In 1975, Jodorowsky planned to film the story as a ten-hour feature, in collaboration with Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, Gloria Swanson, David Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Alain Delon, Hervé Villechaize and Mick Jagger. It was at first proposed to score the film with original music by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Henry Cow and Magma;

That would have been either totally awesome or a horrible mess. But I have to admit to kind of liking the David Lynch version, too...

And the edit feature isn't bad, either (though that countdown clock kind of makes me nervous).

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 15:35:42 -0800

Okay, the floor is open: Who would Hervé Villechaize have been cast as?

By: vers

vers — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 15:53:03 -0800

Clearly cast as a Bene Gesserit, though I'm unable to see which one.

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:06:16 -0800

The Bene Gesserit are all part of the breeding program. Not to mention female...

I was thinking he might be a navigator.

By: vers

vers — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:31:50 -0800

There we go being heteronormative again, in the movies no less ;

By: mph

mph — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:34:07 -0800

Okay, the floor is open: Who would Hervé Villechaize have been cast as?

The very precocious baby Alia, I think.

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:34:19 -0800

There is much disagreement around everything after the original book ("Dune") but pretty much everyone agrees that first one was a masterpiece of universe building and a good story to boot.

Although the last line of the narrative is cringe-worthy in an epic way. It's like a sandworm of cringe.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:11:47 -0800

(dons asbestos suit and braces for incoming fire)

Haven't seen any of that yet, but I happen to agree with you. For all its flaws, the SciFi Channel offering is worlds better than the Lynch thing.

By: cortex

cortex — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:16:01 -0800

The miniseries is a much more successfully coherent adaptation of the book, but the Lynch film is a way, way better Lynch film.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:20:48 -0800

And the Herbert book is a way better Herbert book.

By: adamdschneider

adamdschneider — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:22:12 -0800

Although the last line of the narrative is cringe-worthy in an epic way. It's like a sandworm of cringe.

It could be worse.

I tend to think the Jodorowsky film would be even more of a mess than the Lynch film, narratively, although it would likely be more visually interesting. I have a very big soft spot for the Lynch film (MacLachlan really sells that "sleeper has awakened" line), although the Weirding Modules are the dumbest thing in the history of dumb SF. Thanks to Dune, I got to say to my girlfriend during Lawrence of Arabia, "Hey, remember that movie you hated? That guy played the emperor in it."

By: adamdschneider

adamdschneider — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:24:51 -0800

Oh, also, thanks Happy Dave, but I actually found a copy I downloaded when the FPP was first made, apparently.

By: graymouser

graymouser — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:31:52 -0800

As a computer programmer, I sometimes find the idea of a Butlerian Jihad appealing.

By: curious nu

curious nu — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:31:54 -0800

Mostly what I remember from the miniseries are the awful effects. I have this seared image of Paul and Jessica play-running in front of what is the most obvious green screen I'd ever seen. It was embarrassingly bad.

I think I liked the eyes better than the Lynch ones, though.. maybe it's time to re-watch it and see.

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:44:59 -0800

For me the fundamental problem of the Lynch film, Lynch-y as it was, is that there's no way to tell even the A story of Dune in two hours. And give the fact that it effectively has two A stories any attempt to condense it is just going to be a mess.

By: stet

stet — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:00:46 -0800

i blame my typos on the whelk's ipad because it has terrible eldritch powers of typo that transcend space and time.

Wow, I'd heard the new Maps app was bad, but that's really something else.

not edited to add: I really have had nothing to say for the past few weeks and just want to see the edit window.

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:11:01 -0800

As a mentat, I sometimes find the idea of the Butlerian Jihad appealing.

By: a humble nudibranch

a humble nudibranch — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:41:45 -0800

I'm profoundly glad that I had the prescience to be rereading Dune this week. I'm in the the third book right now (Lady Jessica has just seen Alia doing the Baron's telltale finger tapping) and this thread is feeding my spice habit.

By: hattifattener

hattifattener — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 20:23:08 -0800

As a paranoid android with a death wish, I sometimes find the idea of the Butlerian Jihad appealing.

By: radwolf76

radwolf76 — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 20:47:56 -0800

As someone who has a sizable collection of lesser known collectable trading card games from the initial boom in the mid 90s, I find the idea of having a Butler for my Jyhad cards appealing.

By: Ghidorah

Ghidorah — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 21:57:41 -0800

As a Fremen with an overwhelming distrust of anything that is not in, on, or of the desert, I find the idea of jihad appealing. Are we killing anything in particular? Will there be water?

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 23:28:40 -0800

Although the last line of the narrative is cringe-worthy in an epic way. It's like a sandworm of cringe.

If I recall that same quote was the second-to-last line of Doon, with the last line being "They can call me what they like, as long as they don't call me late for dinner!"

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 07:19:27 -0800

For those uncertain about this whole Dune thing, it's just Herbert's fascination with all-consuming sand dunes in Oregon.

By: Erberus

Erberus — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 09:17:33 -0800

Typo correction on my right, substantial edit on my left and the threat of ban behind me.

By: Lexica

Lexica — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 09:32:11 -0800

curious nu: "Mostly what I remember from the miniseries are the awful effects. I have this seared image of Paul and Jessica play-running in front of what is the most obvious green screen I'd ever seen. It was embarrassingly bad."

IIRC (image search is not coming up with much), it wasn't a bad green screen, it was reasonably good matte paintings. I liked the effect and thought it worked much better than low-budget CGI would have.

By: batgrlHG

batgrlHG — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 11:04:14 -0800

I love love love the edit function.
However I'm finding it's still not going to cure me of all grammar and spelling problems. Because I'll finish hit post, cringe, hit edit, then finish - and dammit I've still left a bunch of things that should be corrected. Yes, I suck at self-editing. But hey, at least I get one shot at it!

Every time anyone mentions Dune I then get a metal image of Sting yelling "I will killlll him!" So deeply, memorably, laughably bad. (I'll let someone else link the YouTube, if I go in there I'll not be back for hours.)

By: benito.strauss

benito.strauss — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 15:29:46 -0800

batgrlHG, you can edit the same comment more than once, so long as it's within 5 minutes of first posting.

By: Lazlo Hollyfeld

Lazlo Hollyfeld — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 17:22:59 -0800

<comicbookguy> Um, the Jehanne Butler story is from "The Dune Encyclopedia", and as such its status as canon is shaky at best. </comicbookguy>

By: P.o.B.

P.o.B. — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 18:07:39 -0800

Ooohh, how did that feel cortex? Did it mount slowly? Started to feel like heat upon heat upon heat? And then, canon burning!

By: cortex

cortex — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 07:13:36 -0800

The slow gripe penetrates the composure.

By: Kiwi

Kiwi — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 07:14:02 -0800

Just a test.

By: adamdschneider

adamdschneider — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 08:55:05 -0800

Just the tip.

By: The 10th Regiment of Foot

The 10th Regiment of Foot — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:13:25 -0800

...and the leper says, "keep the tip!"

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:27:34 -0800

...and the welder says "Keep the TIG!"

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:29:31 -0800

Okay, the floor is open: Who would Hervé Villechaize have been cast as?

Do we know for sure that the Jodorowsky film would have encompassed only the first book?

If not, I can totally see Villechaize as a Tleilaxu Face Dancer.

By: Tell Me No Lies

Tell Me No Lies — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:52:23 -0800

Hmm, that's not bad.

Of course the more I read about the Jodorowsky film the more I think it would been Twin Peaks on LSD in the desert. So we all would have gotten our Lynch fix as well.