Disqus - Latest Comments for mrshl

Re: New Jam: “Weight of That Weekend” by Land of Talk... - i heard you looking

mrshl — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 10:52:05 -0000

Test comment.

Re: New Jam: “Freedom” by Advertisement... - i heard you looking

mrshl — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 14:00:51 -0000

Testing. Testing.

Re: How Many Judges?

mrshl — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 08:17:32 -0000

For all practical purposes, the police have the power of judges now. We use judges for the oversight. Which works not that well, it turns out, because judges have mostly neutered the oversight powers they have.

Most criminal cases plead out well before trial. Right now, if the cops say you did something, for most folks it matters not that much whether they did it or not. They will pay an enormous penalty simply for being accused. Even if they are found not guilty at some distant point in time.

People of color face disproportionate injustice at the hands of police. And that's WITH well-established procedures where cops police other cops. Because, it turns out, cops either don't believe or don't care about their systemic racism and in any case don't like policing themselves. Even if they hail from other jurisdictions.

The best thing we can do is admit that justice is corrupt among both the police and the judges. Then we could try to make it hurt less by putting many fewer people in jail. That way an arbitrary and capricious cop could cost you a paycheck, but maybe not ruin your life.

Re: Hulu is Adding 4K Support to the Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, & LG WebOS

mrshl — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 15:53:46 -0000

They need to fix their resolution on PC. Which is incredibly terrible and which does not seem to vary based on internet speed.

Re: Taboo Gradations

mrshl — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 06:13:42 -0000

I think this is true, and it inspires one of the weirder detours in the post above. He glosses over it, but ALL of Sally's family at Monticello are also slaves.

He says:

Should we reject an airline ticket purchase because the traveler is going to see family? Should we reject a rental agreement because the tenant wants to live near neighbors they like? Should we say that most people are enslaved by their nation because they are reluctant to leave due to wanting to live near family?

Sally is the only person in her entire family with a shred of agency who can potentially protect them or negotiate for their condition. No, it doesn't mean Jefferson was going to kill or torture them if she didn't agree.

But to act like her siblings (the children of Jefferson's father-in-law) are the equivalent of your white aunt and uncle back in Sacramento misses completely Sally's situation. It seems like she returns, in part, to protect and potentially to free her extended family (who were never given their freedom).

It seems possible that Sally asked for but was denied the freedom of her siblings as well as her children. This is where the "lower culpability" argument leaves me confused. Are we supposed to credit Jefferson because he granted Sally and her brother a small sliver of agency? Should we do so knowing he denied freedom to every other member of her family and to the other slaves he owned?

To the extent Hanson is noting Sally's unusual situation, I get the fascination. I agree it goes too far to call her a voluntary slave or to lessen Jefferson's culpability.

Re: How Facebook's Messenger Got Its New Look in a New Jersey Basement

mrshl — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 14:31:11 -0000

Why does this article not have one single screenshot of the actual interface?

Re: We Are Giving Away a Roku Ultra to Celebrate National Streaming Day

mrshl — Mon, 14 May 2018 10:06:38 -0000

I am extremely down for another Roku to use with YouTube TV.

Re: We Are Giving Away a $75 Sling TV Gift Card & a Roku Ultra

mrshl — Sun, 04 Mar 2018 07:40:38 -0000

We cut the cord in July 2016

Re: Hulu Comes to The Nintendo Switch

mrshl — Thu, 09 Nov 2017 12:00:33 -0000

It might be a better device than the Switch. But platform quality is based on network effects: the viability of the platform depends on a wide user and install base.

On that front, the Switch (and the Roku) are insanely effective platforms because they enjoy wide adoption. The Nvidia Shield is super nice, but it's a niche device, because hardly anyone has one.

Re: Not So Unlimited: YouTube TV Ads Could Be Its Fatal Flaw

mrshl — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 13:22:30 -0000

Look for Hulu's offering to have the exact same restrictions. And if YouTube's ads work like Hulu, that's not going to be a dealbreaker. Recall that Sling and other streaming services limit what you can DVR. On some channels the DVR doesn't work at all. If Google avoided these limitations at the cost of a few ads, that'll make it worth the trouble.

Re: mrshl: New track from Loretta Lynn and Elvis... | FNMTW

mrshl — Thu, 10 Mar 2016 12:31:11 -0000

Just adding a note here: This turns out to be the only good song on the record. The rest is frightfully boring.

Written with Todd Snider, btw.

Re: Yo La Tengo’s “Tom Courtenay” pays homage to ‘60s British movie stars

mrshl — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 17:13:22 -0000

To me one of the most poignant things about this song is the double meaning in these lyrics:

As the music swells somehow stronger from adversity
Our hero finds his inner peace
So now I'm looking for a lucky charm
With a needle hanging out of its arm

So yeah, they're referring to heroin, but also record players. In 1995 it was a darkly nostalgic comment about how and why we (used to) listen to music.

Re: Right this moment I feel like bands that arenâ€™t... | FNMTW

mrshl — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 20:30:00 -0000

I had no idea Georgia Hubley was on this record. http://www.stereogum.com/18...

Re: Mississippi Cops: We Totally Arrested That Black Doctor For Being Uppity, Ayup!

mrshl — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 01:12:58 -0000

You're thinking of Public Enemy.

Re: DC Mansion Murder Suspect Taken Into Custody

mrshl — Fri, 22 May 2015 00:56:12 -0000

Well, like I said, it doesn't matter. I could be Mike Tyson, and I'd still be right about this.

Re: DC Mansion Murder Suspect Taken Into Custody

mrshl — Fri, 22 May 2015 00:51:19 -0000

I am a white person (not that it matters). My avatar is right there <------

I'm a blond 40 year old white guy. I just think it sucks that people are on this thread acting like one dude is a good reason to slag on every black person ever.

Re: DC Mansion Murder Suspect Taken Into Custody

mrshl — Fri, 22 May 2015 00:43:06 -0000

You just said it. You're perfectly free to say racist things. That's why I asked, "what's with all racist comments."

I accept your answer: "Because you're racist."

Re: DC Mansion Murder Suspect Taken Into Custody

mrshl — Fri, 22 May 2015 00:39:21 -0000

My point is that doing such a thing is idiotic. Because one person's actions cannot implicate an entire race of people. So you make the idiotic list of murders. And I will call you an idiot.

But note that I will not say, "all white people are racist idiots," just because of one idiot commenter I happened to encounter on the internet.

Re: DC Mansion Murder Suspect Taken Into Custody

mrshl — Fri, 22 May 2015 00:34:44 -0000

So the logical conclusion you are drawing is that all black people are storing their kids in the freezer?

Re: DC Mansion Murder Suspect Taken Into Custody

mrshl — Fri, 22 May 2015 00:32:23 -0000

Well, I'd have to dig deep into my binder of heinous murders to find an exact match, but Ted Bundy? Jeffrey Dahmer? John Wayne Gacy? These gruesome awful serial killers are nearly always white dudes. And yet somehow, white people don't go around wondering what is wrong with all the white people.

Because that would be stupid. It is also stupid if a black person is the murderer.

Re: DC Mansion Murder Suspect Taken Into Custody

mrshl — Fri, 22 May 2015 00:25:37 -0000

What the hell is it with these racist comments? Apparently no white people have ever committed a heinous murder? Seriously?

Re: Peyton Manning to return to Saturday Night Live

mrshl — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 00:13:45 -0000

I think Manning's the pitchman for Nationwide, not State Farm (Rodgers).

Re: What’s your personal one-hit wonder?

mrshl — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 07:24:02 -0000

No one's mentioned Starlite Walker, which is the only other record I think is essential and also features Malkmus. Not as good as American Water, but it's up there.

Re: mrshl.net • With Spoon releasing a new record Tuesday for the...

mrshl — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 10:24:15 -0000

I think that's generally applicable to the band. Merge Spoon is really different from pre-Merge Spoon. Lots of people who love Spoon don't even know Pre-Merge Spoon exists.

Re: Report: Houston’s Morey & McHale Rush To Philly To Pitch Kyle Lowry

mrshl — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 11:50:19 -0000

It's in the article: "Rockets traded Lowry to the Raptors in July of 2012 forGary Forbes and the 2013 first-round pick that later became Steven Adams (it was used in the deal to bring James Harden to Houston, so you can still call Morey a genius if that’s your thing)."