Prestige science fiction series

I've posted here first as a comment reply on reddit.

Prestige sci-fi, in order of appearance:

* Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987−1994)

* Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1992−1999) — very much stands the test of time, especially all the episodes featuring Cardassians and Garak (Andrew J. Robinson).

The first American tv show to talk about comfort women in "Wrongs Darker than Death or Night" (1998).

Behind the camera: Ira Steven Behr, Ron D. Moore and Naren Shankar.

* Farscape (1999−2003, 2004) — Made in Australia. Great animatronics and puppeteering, fantastic sci-fi.

Starring: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Virginia Hey, Lani Tupu, Wayne Pygram (once played Tarkin, btw), Jonathan Hardy (voice), Gigi Edgley, Rebecca Riggs, and many others.

Behind the camera: Brian Henson, Rockne S. O'Bannon and Naren Shankar.

* Star Trek: Enterprise (2001−2005). There was a lot of fan disdain for it, but it seems to have gained a resurgent following. 9/11 changed the world, and took the show with it.

* Battlestar Galactica (2003, 2004−2009) — upped the space physics realism part. Created and ran by Ron D. Moore. Score by Bear McCreary.

* Stargate Universe (2009−2011) — Starring Robert Carlyle, Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, David Blue, Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith, and Ming-Na Wen (The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett).

SGU features the first LGBT primary character in a space-based sci-fi show, and is one of the earliest to have a gay starring actor in a sci-fi show in Brian J. Smith (not related to the in-show character), though he wasn't out yet at the time. Brian J. Smith has starred in Sense8*, *Treadstone*, *Matrix 4*, and the upcoming series Essex County

Stargate Universe features an awesome score by the late Joel Goldsmith (son of Jerry Goldsmith), comparable in quality to that of Andor, and musical montages with the eclectic music of the day.

Some of the episodes depict in some detail what it's like to live with a family member who has HIV/AIDS, a life-long disability, and separately shows the progression of ALS and explains what it is.

By the time SGU aired, Star Trek: TNG had become dated in terms of style and presentation.

* The Expanse (2015−2022) — upped the space physics realism and greatly raised the standard on that. Shohreh Aghdashloo steals the show.

* Westworld — Season 1 and Season 2 stand out and raise the bar. Seasons 3 and 4 are weaker.

* The Mandalorian — the great space western. The Book of Boba Fett is good, too, once I disregard the inclusion of the teen biker gang. Boba Fett fills the lone ranger genre very nicely.

* The Boys — A very gory anti-superhero show, but worth watching for the gallows humour. Serious issues through and through. Adults only!

* Invincible — A bloody, gory, and messy cartoon, and a very good one at that. If you're an adult, it's worth the watch.

I must add extra caution wrt The Boys and Invincible, because they are so gory, that anyone who has seen bloody deaths, war, and battle trauma, might find these two shows very triggering.

Invincible is like the superhero version of Happy Tree Friends. If you know what that is, you'll get the gist.

* Andor — hugely raises the bar, and is on par with SGU, BSG, Farscape, DS9, and Westworld. (I've lost interest in The Expanse, though.)

Edit:

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is great Star Trek and captures some of the classic feel with Captain Pike and Lt. Spock.

• Star Trek: Lower Decks is a lot of fun, captures the TNG feel, and has some lovely moments.

• Star Trek: Prodigy is a great choice for children.

The other Star Trek shows are meh.

The status of post-conflict diaspora language

This was initially written as a response to a comment under a Reddit post in a thread that discussed the tender relationship between the diaspora big-minority Russian language, and the indigenous majority-status Estonian language in Estonia.

I think it will take a while for Estonians as a group to disassociate the Russian language from the titular people in Russia, from the titular state, and the regime that runs it.

In my view, the Russian language as such is not guilty of any crimes.

But it has long been used as an instrument of oppression, colonization, and foreign machinations; it's been the titular language of oppressive dictatorships, and has been spoken by a great many people who have advanced, and continue to advance the policies of said regimes. — All this dismays me quite a bit.

As a consequence of having been used as an instrument of colonisation, the countries in which russification took place, naturally gravitate towards undoing said acts of colonisation and their many outcomes, which have had an effect on a number of majority-status indigenous cultures that have come to fear the loss of their native language.

This uncompromising undoing, as it were, of the results of occupation and colonisation is done perhaps as a measure to reduce the chances of their indigenous language(s) — with not too many speakers on a world scale — from becoming endangered sometime in the future.

And so, this creates the externality of the Russian language suffering the fate of collateral damage as a somewhat self-inflicted result of several conflicts and wars started by the Russian state.

Yet the Russian language itself is not in any way in danger.

But how the many Russian diasporae are to develop a culture in each of their respective host countries, which culture would be immune to foreign (Russian) influence measures and meddling, is something that requires a lot of care and nurture.

It's important to note, that in Russia proper, several indigenous non-Russian languages remain endagered, or are under the threat of extinction. Their speakers are discriminated against, and their sons have been thrown into the meat-grinder that is the Russian-initiated war in Ukraine.

There, in Russia, several indigenous non-Russian languages have already become extinct. As such, their extinction is always a major harm and irreparable loss to humanity.

Tööstusrevolutsiooni nö. hukatuslikkus on ülepaisutatud

Algselt avaldatud veidi lühemal kujul siin.

Theodore Kaczynski manifesto avalause: "The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race."

Tööstusrevolutsioon ei ole inimkonnale õnnetuseks. Suuresti *ei ole õnnetus* sellepärast, et selle tagajärjel on paljude inimeste elatustase tõusnud ja vaesus langenud. Õnnetuseks *on* seetõttu, et suurem osa inimesi ei oska tööstusrevolutsiooni teha õigesti, eriti kui tekib palju õnnetusi ja avariisid.

Mitte et tööstusrevolutsiooni tagajärjed ei ole olnud mitmes kohas hukatuslikud (Tšernobõl, Fukushima, Bhopal), vaid et *välisus*te tulem (the outcome of externalities) on oluliselt rohkem hajutatud ja seega vähem kontsentreerunud kui arvatakse selleks, et teha "üleilmset hukatust" kuulutavaid üldistusi.

Kuid see tööstusrevolutsioon, mis kuskil toimus, on selle ajahetke ja asukoha kohta parim, mida teatud regiooni asustavad inimesed oskasivad teha. 'Parimaks' võivad seda hinnata terriooriumi haldajad, kui see pole *tegelikult* parim, või asula elanikud, kui see *on* ka päriselt õnnestunud (mõnikord võib propaganda abil nõustumist ka *toota*).

Tööstusrevolutsiooni tulemusel on arendatud tuhandeid uusi tehnoloogiaid, mille tagajärjel on ühiskonnad saanud kokku hoida aega, raha ja muid ressursse, ning mille järelmiks on ühiskondade kiirem areng.

Postindustriaalseks revolutsiooniks võib täiesti vabalt pidada digirevolutsiooni.

— mitte et tootmine ja rasketööstus oleks mingis maailma regioonis lõppenud. — Või isegi kui paljudel juhtudel on, siis on tootmine ja rasketööstus liikunud kusagile mujale. Ning toodetavate kaupade profiil muutub, käies sedaviisi sammu muutumistega tehnoloogiais.

Postindustrialismi üheks märgiks on ka turgude küllastumine mingite tootekategooriatega. Kui mingit toodet on mõnel turul palju, ning kui toode on oma olemuselt kauakestev, jätkusuutlik (!) ja hästihoitud, väheneb vastavalt ka vajadus selle tootmiseks, ning väheneb nõudlus. Teoorias vähemalt.

Saatuse irooniana on paljud ühiskonnad meie maakeral raiskavad, ning asjade hoidmise asemel kiputakse isegi täiesti töökorras seadmeid välja viskama.

Eesti iseseisvuse taastamise järel mitmed tööstused ja kollektiivmajandid suleti, ning sellega lõppes selline forsseeritud industrialiseerimine, mis on kujundlik diktatuuridele (NSVL) ja nende poolt okupeeritud maadele ja riikidele (Balti riigid, Ukraina jmt.).

Postindustrialism ei ole industrialiseerumise kui sellise lõppemine, vaid üleminek uuele etapile.

Eestis sai selleks uueks etapiks digirevolutsioon.

All the boonies of the world

Inspired by the town that time forgot by North!

There's a Russian proverb, which says, that 'Moscow is not Russia'. True to form, all the sticks on this Earth suffer the kind of oblivion that are spared to distant regions out of their conglomerating metro areas.

The regions of Russia are massively muddy and decrepitly derelict. Asphalt on the main roads is like the surface of the Moon, with a 20 km/h speed limit, or simply a distant dream. No war traversed those roads.

Stateside regions are adorned with flying trash, dysfunctional police, the smell of meth, and the edges of city blocks littered with people standing upside down. Not just in the sticks somewhere, but in Philadelphia, too. An entire city of brotherly love. For some obscure reason, the cult of AR-15 has strewn its deathly mandibles throughout all these tiny places we never knew the names of.

And then there is the very pockmarked Ukraine, mixed with light where there is freedom, and darkness where there is none. Albeit less-developed, it was and is striving to where Estonia is now.

Compared to all that hopeless despair, Viljandi is like a little island of paradise: there is no war, there are no junkies, the streets are clean and safe to walk, and the roads don't have potholes. Everything works, and the police do, too.

Undeniably, there is some poverty. All countries have poverty. But in Viljandi, in Estonia, there is this uncharacteristically strange sense of contentment, that everything will turn out to be ok. — Like an enduring hope for a better future: "some things are not nice, but they'll be fine one day." Maybe this is how peace feels like.

And so, I am to end this post with a somewhat sarcastic coda: "All the boonies of the world, unite!" :>

15 aastaga viie rikkama riigi hulka

Ühelt poolt avaldas Reformierakond oma lubaduse 2. novembril 2006, pidades ilmselt silmas kriteeriumina sisemajanduse kogutoodangut inimese kohta (nominaalne või PPP, sõltuvalt sellest kumb number peale jääb).

Praeguseks on mööda läinud 15 aastat (2007–2021, k.a.) ja veel natuke.

Et lubadus on "Viime...", tähendab see seda, et 'Reformierakond viib', aga sellisel juhul, kui juhib valitsust.

See ongi selles mõttes tinglik, et Reformierakond ei ole kogu selle viieteist aasta jooksul valitsust juhtinud, nii et Reformi juhtimiseta valitsusperioodid tuleb maha lahutada.

2. novembrist 2006 – 2. novembrini 2021 on täpselt viisteist aastat ehk 5479 päeva.

Seega kui me lahutame 5479-st päevast Jüri Ratase (Kesk) kaks valitsusperioodi (888 + 638 = 1526 päeva; vahesaldo 3953 päeva), ja liidame Kaja Kallase valitsuse 406 päeva (08.03.2022 seisuga), jääb 5479-st päevast alles vaid täidetud 4359 päeva. — Mis tähendab seda, et Reformierakonna valimislubaduse täitmiseni on päevi veel 1120, seisuga 08.03.2022.

Seega oodata tuleb 3 aastat, 3 nädalat ja 3 päeva kuni 1. aprillini 2025, kui Reformierakond on kogu selle perioodi jooksul juhtinud valitsust (ja koalitsiooni).

---

Reformierakonna valimisloosungi kallal vingujate agenda ja motivatsioon on teada, kuid selle suhtes mõistmist (ehk toetust) avaldada ei oleks inimlikult sünnis.

Eesti 2022. aasta riigieelarve on keskmiselt 13,38 miljardit eurot; eelarve on enam-vähem tasakaalus, sest tulude ja kulude vahe on vaid 0.5 miljonit eurot.

See on lähedal nominaalsele, aga mitte tingimata struktuursele eelarvetasakaalule. Viimaseni jõudmise nimel töötatakse.

Eurole üleminekuaja kursi järgi (15,6466 krooni euro eest) oleks see 209 392 885 433 krooni ja 70 senti — kakssada üheksa miljardit kolmsada üheksakümmend kaks miljonit kaheksasada kaheksakümmend viis tuhat nelisada kolmkümmend kolm krooni ja seitsekümmend senti.

Rublades oleks see 1992. aasta raharefomi "üks kroon kümne rubla eest" kursiga kaks triljonit 93 miljardit 928 miljonit 854 tuhat 337 rubla. (!)

Eesti 2022. aasta sisemajanduse kogutoodang elaniku kohta aastas (PPP) on U.S. $44.853,00 ($3737,75/kuus), nominaalne kogutoodang elaniku kohta aastas U.S. $29.735,00 ($2477/kuus). Avaliku sektori laenukoormus on Euroopa väiksemaid, aga seda tuleks vähendada veelgi.

Eesti on juba praegu suuteline iseseisvalt kompenseerima välispoliitilistest turukõikumistest tingitud hiiglasuured energia-arved kehvemalt elavatele elanikele.

1.32-miljonilise rahvaarvuga Eesti annab 41-miljonilise rahvaarvuga Euroopa riigile Ukrainale märkimisväärset sõjatoetust, ning avastas, et on suuteline vastu võtma 10.000 Ukraina sõjapõgenikku (29.05.2022 seisuga 40.178 põgenikku).

Eesti on maailma üks kõige vabama majandusega riikidest; me oleme digiriik, kellest võetakse eeskuju; ning Eesti on mitmes majandus- ja inimarengu-indeksis väga paljudest Euroopa ja Põhja-Ameerika arenenud riikidest ees, samal ajal kui supervõim Ameerika Ühendriigid on meist paljude näitajate poolest päris palju maas.

On self-awareness, introspection, and the disposition of self

This is a reply-as-a-comment to a YouTube video, in which the narrator exhibited an unusually deep sense of self-awareness and introspection.

I saw your video in the recommendations sidebar.

The Estonian word for this kind of sadness is "kaamos", while the Russian word for this is "тоска" (tos'ká).

It is not depression, but a flavour of sadness, which comes as a wave, and then subsides and recedes.

You are not the centre of the world, but the centre of yourself. It is not egocentrism, but rather more one of being in the centre of your own maze, in your own self. (Ego is not egocentrism, btw.)

Other people possess different levels of self-awareness; if that video is any indication, then yours goes a bit deeper.

The Maze is a reference to the first season of "Westworld", which concentrates itself with the idea of being a self-aware being, and what are the personal qualities and levels of such self-awareness that would qualify someone to have agency.

"Westworld" the series then goes on to explore if and whether androids should be recognised as equals to humans in having a similarly functional, if different, combination of self-awareness + agency — something that makes them whole unto themselves, and thus worthy of life.

Addendum:

I guess what you described in the video could be described as detachment, as the sum of self-awareness, introspection, and a dash of being mindful of the difference between what I glimpsed as the real you inside, and what you present yourself as to your friends, or the people currently in your orbit.

Said difference might have been caused by some of the recent losses that you say you've experienced, but which losses you appear to not have chosen to express and reveal to your friends, for said losses are too personal to reveal. It is okay to not let them know.

Whereas the relative anonymity and greater distance of the Internet permits one to signal a bit more of your inner self outside the circle of those in your orbit.

Dr. Ford in "Westworld" proceeds to posit, that suffering, through loss, is that which in his mind makes us us, and androids self-aware.

The catch here is, that not all people have experienced the profundity that often comes with losing a close person, be it a human or animal, and not all people have the ability even.

Feeling detached through loss confers not a state of being special, but different, apart from others.

Not wishing to share your inner feelings with those in your orbit is therefore normal, for they are not to know all that, because their reactions are predictable, maybe even boilerplate.

There's a passage in one of the songs by the Swedish band Eskobar: "I'm not lonely, but, yes, I am alone.

This inner journey in detachment is not one of loneliness, but one of having a whole self.

It is your inner journey, one which your friends and acquaintances are not part of, not even relatives and spouses. — I'd let perhaps only a very few close people I've personally met or known close to my spirit like this.