July 20, 2026
Finally Found Programming for That 'TBA' Stream Thursday
OK the rescheduling of the Space-X Launch has necessitated changes to this week's schedule. All times on the chart are EDT (UTC-4).
The rapacious scrounging can be seen at https://www.twitch.tv/brickmuppet
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
08:29 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 38 words, total size 151 kb.
57 years.
Good morning everyone.
As I head out to work I reflect upon the fact that this is the 57th anniversary of the awesomest footprint in the history of feet.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
02:55 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 31 words, total size 1108 kb.
July 19, 2026
Next Week's Schedule
...is up.
Monday, baring any further engine out issues, or weather, or FAA interference, we WILL cover the Launch of Starship Flight 13.
The rest of the week is cleanup quests in games as we either approach their completion or anticipate new updates.
All times on the chart are EDT (UTC-4)
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
02:39 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 54 words, total size 129 kb.
Frau im Mond (The Girl in the Moon) 1929
Frau im Mond is a weird ride.
A bizarre mixture of ahead of its time hard science and absolute woo, it tacks a 1950s space opera onto the back of a noir espionage thriller with cyberpunk and populist propaganda overtones.
The special effects, while obviously dated, are actually superior technically and viscerally to many much later films.
Fritz Lang has a legendary filmography, both German and American, though, aside from Metropolis (1927) and a few of his Westerns, I am shamefully unfamiliar with most of it. However, I do note some similarities in style and pacing, particularly the nagging notion that one is watching two films simultaneously.
Like Metropolis, the film is based on a novel by prolific German writer Thea von Harbou (who was also the screenwriter) and her take on sci-fi is quite interesting.
This is not strictly an effects film and the special effects (if one disregards matte paintings) take up at most 2 minutes at most of a 3 hour film, but they are very effective.
The effects were done with the consultation of Hermann Oberth, a rocket scientist of great renown who later mentored a certain Werner Von Braun and a cadre of others who are best known for mischief perpetrated around Peenemünde and the triumphant glory they later sent from Cape Canaveral. His own contributions to spaceflight include the multi stage rocket, Oberth Effect (a gravity assist technique), and pioneering analysis into the math of ion drives. The rocket in this film is a multistage affair and has a remarkable degree of verisimilitude despite some...poor ergonomics.
The film has as its antagonists a group of international bankers and a particular individual who looks astonishingly like a certain genocidal Austrian after a shaving accident. This was only 4 years before darkness descended upon Germany, and I do wonder if Lang (who had to quickly flee Germany after the National Socialists took Power) intended the character to be a expy.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, the ending is...odd. I will say no more but the levels of "WHAT!" are high.
Also: One of the conceits of the film is that the protagonists are trying to prove a disgraced scientist's theory (that the far side of the moon has a breathable atmosphere) so it is not as hard a hard sci fi film as I had been led to believe.
My only complaint about the film is that I have the distinct impression that several title cards were omitted from the English translation, however Lang's excellent direction and the skill of the actors mean that the film does not suffer for it.
I quite enjoyed the film and recommend it, the VOD of last night's broadcast is available for a time here https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2823457224 (the actual film begins at about the 15 minute mark).
I'm leaving it up despite there being an audio issue early in the broadcast It's a silent film so it does not really matter.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
02:37 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 500 words, total size 871 kb.
July 14, 2026
Well, the FAA Gets a Vote
The schedule for the week has been amended as the Starship Launch is now scheduled for Thursday the 16th as per the FAA.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
09:15 AM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 29 words, total size 125 kb.
July 13, 2026
Someone's Providing a Budget Option
...and boy are folks mad.
The illustration has nothing to do with the article other than the fact that I posted it.
In the comments sidebar Mauser suggests that I use Leaflit's new budget V-tuber .png hybrid system.
I have been looking at it and considered it. It appears to be a cleverly designed, and robust system that in some ways would be a visual improvement on my current V-Roid rig.
The down side of this is that most of my artist friends would be hurt and they would skin me alive roll me in salt, dip me in iodine, have me shot in the neck, and scream like maniacs while urinating on my corpse, before desecrating my grave.
Now, one might think to oneself: "Dude, get better artist friends"
However, it is important to remember that artists are very emotional people. That's how they can do art. I actually think it's part of their source code.
That.
Being.
Said.
I've seen a LOT of unspeakable hate directed at Leaflit for this and while I'm horrified by and utterly disavow the sheer unhinged nature of much of the vitriol directed at her, I do( kind of) understand the anxiety.
A.I. art is a brutal pill.
Most of us do not quite grok this, but these folks have been told all their lives that their talents make them immune to this sort of displacement. That being replaced by technology is the fate of the uncreative, the working class, or those who have nothing to offer.
In the '90s and early 2000's I saw article after article and heard from professors in college in the last decade that the "creative class" was who society was organized around, and often heard it implied or outright stated by thought leaders or teachers that those not of the creative classes were...lesser, and deserved their fate.
It is easy to get angry about this if, like me, you're background is the blue collar professions that creatives so look down upon, as their jobs were, in many cases, shipped overseas.
However:
It is also important to remember that THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE TAUGHT. It is also completely natural that someone with artistic talent would develop friendships in the creative class and assume its attitudes and outlooks both good and bad. Furthermore, an artistic person, being (not always, but often) more emotional than many of us who lack the talent to draw are going to react negatively to the most human thing being usurped by a computer.
The offshoring of the blue collar industries was one of the great betrayals and strategic mistakes of our civilization. It caused untold hurt and agony to the middle of the country.
Likewise, this certainly feels similar to those affected. They are contemplating loosing their jobs and that is a dreadful thing. It stings for them more because they were told all their lives that they are special and that being creative made them immune to this. We can, I suppose, if we want to be asshats, mock that, but this must truly feel like a betrayal.
As someone who does not always agree with Leaflit, particularly recently, I nevertheless feel the need to both thank her for her efforts and reassure those who are on the verge bringing out the long knives and engraved bullets for her.
I have not looked at the Budget V-Tubing System in depth as it is not finished yet, but it does seem to fulfill a need and be a labor of love. Leaflit is making a big push to make it user friendly. This seems to be a passion for her and as a person neither skilled in art nor coding, I'm grateful for the effort, even as I'm unsure if I'll use it.
For those who feel threatened by this, I would posit that this particular endeavor does not threaten you at all.
This is aimed at folks who cannot afford a fully rigged model. You would get no money from them anyway. This is aimed at .PNG tubers like I used to be, or those who are using services like V-Roid like I am now. Leaflit's demonstrations clearly show that, while a vast upgrade from .PNG tubing, it is still not as versatile and visually seamless as a full-on rigged 3-D or even 2-D model.
A full upgrade to something like Leaflit's normal model or that of Ironmouse, or any of the really elaborate rigs is unlikely to be achievable with this. And someone with the traffic levels to justify that kind of upgrade will likely still hire an artist and a good rigger.
A.I. has unfathomable potential to make the future better, However, it has been and will continue to be disruptive and infuriating in ways that many folks did not foresee. Rather than dismissing the lamentations of those displaced by it, show them at least some sympathy. They are having a crash out that, while misdirected and hate filled is , while wrong, is at least understandable, and is an expression of real pain and fear.
And for my artist friends crashing out, I would remind you to tone down the rhetoric a bit. Violence is not the answer to this any more than it was a valid response to someone who lost their manufacturing job to globalization.
Also, bullets and knives don't work on slimes, so maybe...chill?
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
10:37 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 903 words, total size 120 kb.
IRL Life's Been Crazy, but the Streaming Continues At Least
This week is more derping about in video games, except when it isn't.
A grinding/exploration session in Zenless Zone Zero will be followed by a grinding session in Disgaea 2 as we try to level up enough to finish this game.
Wednesday however, it's time for another science stream as we watch the launch of Starship Flight 13! This will be the first flight of the definitive version of this spaceship and is expected to involve launching station-keeping drones that will film the craft in orbit. This should be spectacular ,so look forward to it!
Thursday's stream is up in the air as there are programming matters that are not finalized as of yet.
Friday, we will be doing the same thing we've done the past two Fridays: Trying to rescue Barbara from the moon. This time for real (for real).
Saturday, it's time for another silent film, this time a film directed by Fritz Lang (of Metropolis fame).
Frau im Mond is a German1929 Sci-Fi movie about a manned moon shot. Join us in chat to discuss it. We've got English title cards and everything!
Also: Do check out the V.O.D. of last Saturday's dive stream examining the wreck of U.S.S. Nevada, and it's history. It was a pretty interesting 3hr collaboration with Hyasynth Live.
All times on the below chart are EDT (UTC -4) and all the derping is at https://www.twitch.tv/brickmuppet .
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
07:27 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 244 words, total size 194 kb.
July 12, 2026
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
05:37 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 0 words, total size 46 kb.
June 23, 2026
Victory For the Roach King May Have Come Too Late
The dialog is awkward because You-Tube will demonetize or ban anyone who uses the R-Word in association with things that actually happened.
No not THAT r-word, I mean rape, which I can say to call attention to dreadful things only because Pixy's not evil.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
02:56 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 54 words, total size 1 kb.
June 22, 2026
A Bitter Pill of Indeterminant Color
This is all over the place but it's about 20 minutes and it is worth a watch.
Heiens' argument is not that novel, or at least would not have been 20 years ago, certainly not in Conservative circles, but a combination of populism, and students taught by todays teachers has blinded a whole generation to these realities.
One of the reason's for Trump being elected twice, is the quite well founded sense of betrayal that his followers have regarding the ruling class: i.e.: the managerial credentialled cadre that has run the U.S. and much of the world since the second world war and has become rather decadent at best and case studies in oikophobia at worst (see current events in the U.K.)
This is also the reason for the frothing levels of hysterical hatred directed at him by many on the right. Those of us who count ourselves as conservatives tend to deeply value the institutions and their trappings. and a great many in the comfortable class have no contact with or empathy for the suffering and in many cases sadistic humiliation that has been visited upon those that do not share their experiences.
Trump's own flaws have certainly not helped in this regard, but much of the complaining has as much to do with irrelevancies like fashion as any of his actual manifest shortcomings. Like it or not, Trump is a sort of Tribune of the Plebs, and the Plebians are what his loudest detractors hate more than anything.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
11:02 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 256 words, total size 2 kb.
June 20, 2026
The Banality of Girlbossing
Banality lurks below the fold.
more...
As compensation here is a song that, while not my cup of tea, still knocks it out of the park thanks to the superb editing of Calvin C. Shinobi..
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
10:32 AM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 799 words, total size 6 kb.
June 17, 2026
Bargains No One Needed
One must take savings where one can get them.
As it happens, yesterday, the internet provided doomscrollers with double the doom at no extra charge.
The Rape Gang Inquiry Report from the U.K. provides exoneration to those who had been screaming about this atrocity for 10 years or more.
However, I do not feel exonerated, chuffed, smug, or vindicated.
I feel sick and horrified.
It is far worse than I'd ever imagined.
This is worse, far worse, frankly, than I'd imagined was even possible.
I couldn't post on it yesterday. It made me physically nauseous.
I still cannot process it or say anything except that people need to die.
Everyone should read this.
But do not eat before doing so.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
08:38 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 124 words, total size 1 kb.
June 14, 2026
Programming Note
Above is next week's streaming schedule.
The reason for two ZZZ streams is that Monday is the LAST day to pull S-Rank Billy, which will require a spot of grinding, and, late Wednesday night, Version 3.0 drops what promises to be a thermonuclear lore bomb. Definitely looking forward to that!
No science, history or movie streams because the IRL RNG is being a gremlin.
(All times listed are EDT ie: UTC -3)
The chaos is all happening at https://twitch.tv/brickmuppet
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
05:46 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 81 words, total size 190 kb.
Chaos Via the IRL RNG
Banality skulks listlessly below the fold.
more...
As compensation here is some cheesecake featuring the Former Acting Goddess of Water and Courtroom Dramas.
Former Acting Goddess of Water and Courtroom Dramas is by Chabi009
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
05:41 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 233 words, total size 2 kb.
Descent
Yeah.
For folks who don't know, Ken White used to be a really reasonable guy, and an excellent lawblogger. I read Popehat Blog a lot back in the day, but his descent into...this...Has been genuinely scary. "Gradually, then suddenly..." to paraphrase Hemmingway.
Thing is, he's a really intelligent guy (he has to be, he passed the Bar Exam).
His writings can't be an inspiration anymore, but they can be a horrible, horrible warning that even the smartest of us can be swayed by the darker angels of our nature and will end up in the same place if we aren't alert.
Here's a hot take: as a general rule, calling for a political opponent's death, even obliquely, is not a best practice as long as elections still happen.
Here's a hotter take. It's easy to just point and laugh at Ken White because he is on BlueSky, a leftwing platform known for celebrating and advocating for the death of people like me. His arguments in this matter are silly and his desired outcome is evil. He is marinated in one rather wacked worldview on a platform that does not abide dissenting views and this has driven him clean out the Overton Window into the online equivalent of a Jacobin lynch mob.
BUT:
He is a guy who passed the bar exam.
Even smart folks can fall into the same murderous frenzies of chimpanzees on the warpath, because we are all fallen sinners and the great apes are not a peaceful lot.
I say this not to excuse White's abhorrent views, but to warn people that his path to perdition is only politics indicative and not politics exclusive.
I've seen, in the last few days, smart folks I admire, having been blackpilled by some recent events start to mutter things that are nearly as bad and taken to their logical conclusion would be far worse.
There is much stupid right now.
Don't yield to it.
Don't be online at all times.
Touch grass and talk to people.
And remember:
If one finds would-be despot from Eternia can have a humane and nuanced take on what's black-pilling one, then there is no need for one to embrace the darkness.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
04:54 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 368 words, total size 141 kb.
OH RIGHT!
I've got a blog.
I should maybe post there.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
03:27 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 11 words, total size 1 kb.
June 06, 2026
82 Years Ago
USS Nevada (BB36) fires the first shots of Operation Neptune, the Naval component of Operation Overlord (D-Day) 82 years ago today.
Photo from a German gun battery in Normandy making life stressful for a U.S. Coast Guard 83 foot patrol boat from Rescue Flotilla One 82 years ago today.
An 83 foot patrol boat from the U.S. Coast Guard's Rescue Flotilla One tows the wreckage of a landing barge lorded with survivors out of the range of German guns, 82 years ago.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
12:15 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 85 words, total size 1254 kb.
June 05, 2026
37 Years Ago Today
37 years ago today, the student know to history as Tank Man stood up to murderous oppression and for a brief moment gave the whole world hope, before Tiananmen Square became an abattoir.
An ironic footnote: Tiananmen Square is the park outside the Tiananmen Gate into the old Forbidden City. Tiananmen means 'Gate of Heavenly Peace'
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
07:09 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 60 words, total size 769 kb.
Special Event
Tonight at 9pm EDT 1am UTCs (9pm, EDT 1am UTC) Join Myself and Hyasynth Live over at https://twitch.tv/brickmuppet for a break from the usual as we screen aa absolutely superb documentary film from 1925. GRASS: A NATIONS BATTLE FOR LIFE follows a tribe of nomadic Iranian herders as they do their annual trek as they chase the seasons that provide them with the key to their survival: Grass.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
06:40 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 70 words, total size 1 kb.
June 01, 2026
This Weeks Schedule
Here is the schedule for next week (ending June 6). While the early part of the week is my usual muddling through video games with delusions of adequacy, Friday will see a special treat! We're doing a collaboration with Hyasynth Live and screening a 101 year old film that is genuinely historic.
Grass: a Nation's Battle for Life is a fascinating documentary and is generally considered to be only the second ethnographic documentary ever made. Telling an epic story about the migration of a nomadic tribe in Iran, the film itself also has a wild story, which we will be delving into on stream. Don't miss this. It's neat! As usual, streams start at 6pm EDT / 9pm UTC except Friday's stream which will be at 9pm EDT / 1am UTC at https://www.twitch.tv/brickmuppet
*****
Tonight though, at 6pm EDT / 9pm UTC, in the aftermath of last Thursday's unfortunate turn of events, we will be spending the evening in a desperate search for polychromes, as we continue to explore New Eridu in the bombastic, high-energy, fighting gacha, Zenless Zone Zero.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
03:00 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 183 words, total size 937 kb.
<< Page 1 of 254 >>
6093kb generated in CPU 0.4335, elapsed 0.5492 seconds.
76 queries taking 0.3206 seconds, 433 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
76 queries taking 0.3206 seconds, 433 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
