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adding initial gemini pages

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```
," ,-. . ,
|- | | X
| `-' ' `
'
```
# fox@tilde.black
I am the admin of tilde.black. My real name is James Tomasino. I also run
cosmic.voyage and gopher.black.
## About Tilde Black
If you found your way here without knowing anything about this server I'll give
you the basics: ~black is all about anonymity, privacy, and security. To that
end, everyone here (besides this account) is acting in a sort of masquarade.
When users sign up they are given 10 random dictionary words as account names.
They can use any or all of those to do whatever on the system. It's pretty fun.
This server offers web pages, gemini pods, and gopher burrows to its users. We
also have net news, email, and plenty of programming languages to play with.
Come make toys.
## Article Series
### Vintage TV - The Adventures of Superman (1952)
=> gemini://tilde.black/users/fox/vintagetv/superman-01.gmi 2020-05-17 Superman - Part 1
## Journal Recent Entries
=> gemini://tilde.black/users/fox/journal/20200513-ramping-up.gmi 2020-05-13 Ramping up
=> gemini://tilde.black/users/fox/journal/20190831-starting-out.gmi 2019-08-31 Starting out
## My other projects
=> gemini://tilde.black Tilde.Black (gemini) - Tilde community for privacy
=> gopher://cosmic.voyage Cosmic Voyage (gopher) - Tilde community for sci-fi
=> gopher://gopher.black gopher.black (gopher) - Personal gopherspace

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Most of the content living on the Gemini protocol is related to
Gemini itself. It's to be expected, being so new and the early
adopters being authors involved in server, client, and protocol
creation. Still, much in the same way that Gopher grows stale from
talking about itself, I worry for Gemini. The healthiest way I can
fight that is by talking about other things.
Specifically what I want to talk about here is solderpunk's Remote
Outdoor Off-Grid Phlogging Challenge (ROOPHLOCH). You can read
about it on gopher here:
=> gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space/0/~solderpunk/phlog/announcing-roophloch-2019.txt ROOPHLOCH announcement (Gopher)
(Do gopher links work from gemini? I guess it's up to the client.)
In short, it's about getting outside and untethered and journaling
from there. I'm excited about it. I have a mountain in the back
yard that's yet untapped. I need to put air in my bike tires and
go exploring. Perhaps I'll do that tomorrow and do a mini write-up
via my phone. If nothing else, this should get me moving on things
I've already been planning.

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Solderpunk shared a really important message with the gemini
community on the mailing list today. It was a message of "content
first" that we've been pushing on gopher for some time. The
protocol cannot take-off for real until it gets valuable content
that people want to consume. That content needs to be about things
more than gemini itself.
Hear hear!
I'd like to do my part. I phlog a lot on gopher and have put most
of my effort there in the last few years, but I will carve out
some time to add things here as well. I encourage other ~black
users to do the same!

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```
_____________________________________________
//:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::\\
//:::_______:::::::::________::::::::::_____:::::::\\
//:::_/ _-"":::_--""" """--_::::\_ ):::::::::\\
//:::/ /:::::_" "-_:::\/:::::|^\:::\\
//:::/ /~::::::I__ \:::::::::| \:::\\
\\:::\ (::::::::::""""---___________ "--------" /::://
\\:::\ |::::::::::::::::::::::::::::""""==____ /::://
\\:::"\/::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::\ /~::://
\\:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::)/~::://
\\::::\""""""------_____::::::::::::::::::::::://
\\:::"\ """""-----_____:::::://
\\:::"\ __----__ )::://
\\:::"\/~::::::::~\_ __/~:://
\\::::::::::::::::""----""":::://
\\::::::::::::::::::::::::://
\\:::\^""--._.--""^/::://
\\::"\ /":://
\\::"\ /":://
\\::"\_/":://
\\::::://
\\_//
"
```
# An Introduction
In the midst of the indomitable covid affair I have been hard
pressed to find entertainment that avoids dragging me down into
further darkness. It feels like an overwhelming amount of recent
television has been dark, gritty, or tragic. In a happier world,
in a happier time, that would be fine. Right now I find myself
repeatedly checking to see if Brooklyn 99 has a new episode.
It hasn't.
What's a man to do? I turned to nostalgia. As a man on the younger
edges of generation X, I was just the right age to enjoy the birth
and early years of Nick @ Night, Nickelodeon's alternate
programming late-night content. If you're not familiar it
consisted mostly of TV shows from the 50s and 60s. Classic
favorites like Mister Ed, Dragnet, and Get Smart.
Not only are these shows wonderfully wholesome in a way that just
isn't seen anymore, they also pluck the strings of nostalgia in
just the right way to resonate in my heart. They warm me, comfort,
and sooth. They are a cup of tea or a conversation with an old
friend. Just what the doctor ordered for social distancing.
I have temporarily acquired a collection of these shows. For the
foreseeable future I'll be spending my time here sharing my
thoughts and observations on vintage television. What does it have
to say to the world of 2020? What should have been left in the
past? Just how racist can a wholesome sitcom get? These are all
topics we'll traverse together, and much more.
# The Adventures of Superman (1952) - Part 1
In 1951, George Reeves and Phyllis Coates filmed a 58-minute
black-and-white film titled "Superman and the Mole Men". It formed
what would become a pilot of sorts for a television show. That show
was shelved initially until Kellogg's, the cereal maker, decided
to sponsor it as they had done with the Superman radio program. In
the autumn of 1952 the show hit the air.
Relatively quickly the show writers learned that their audience
consisted primarily of children between six and twelve years. This
combined with a protagonist who was completely invulnerable would
create a major challenge for the scripts. Plot-lines needed to be
simple enough for young children to follow and the hero was
difficult to put into direct danger. Thankfully Clark Kent has many
idiotic friends to fall into traps for him.
This brings me to my first observation about the show, for which I
must offer credit to the great people of the tildeverse IRC network
for inspiration and discussion. Talking some of these ideas through
with them helped me reach some unusual conclusions.
=> gopher://tildeverse.org Tildeverse on Gopher
=> https://chat.tildeverse.org Tildeverse IRC network on HTTP
## The Lois Lane Conundrum
Lois Lane is insane.
I mean that quite literally. Oxford dictionaries describes someone
insane as "in a state of mind which prevents normal perception,
behaviour, or social interaction." I will argue
that Lois' state of mind displays all three qualities:
- prevented normal perception
- prevented normal behavior
- prevented normal social interaction
In the early episodes of season one, Lois has already displayed an
illogical degree of disregard for her own safety. The episode
"Rescue" is a prime example. A man has been trapped in a mine
after it collapses upon him. Lois is present at the mine, as are
other workers. They signal the disaster crew to come help. These
are trained men who specialize in this work. Their arrival is
imminent. The dangers of an unstable mine have been discussed with
her and she has been told clearly to avoid the mine. So what's a
Lois Lane to do? That's right, run straight into the mine without
equipment or plan. She has to help, after all!
In this case we see a clear demonstration that she does not
properly perceive the threat in the situation despite clear
communication. She is a city reporter with no background in what
to do here. She has no skill to offer and no plan to help, but
help she must. Her own importance is disproportionate in her mind.
In the episode "The Secret of Superman," Clark Kent has teamed up
with police to set himself up as bait to capture a group of men
using a modified truth serum to control people. It is part of a
dastardly plan to uncover Superman's true identity. No sooner has
Clark feigned capture than Lois is back to her old tricks. She, for
her own safety, has a policeman assigned to shadow her as she is
a possible subject for abduction. But Clark is in trouble! Again,
what's a Lois Lane to do? That's right, something batshit crazy.
Lois slips her police protection and rushes to the scene without
backup. Backup she already had, mind you, had she not gone out of
her way to lose it. She then rushes headlong into the building to
confront the criminals. These men are known to have slipped the
mind-controlling poison into the drinks of their targets, and so
Lois is not to be fooled. When the dastardly leader offers her a
cup of coffee she of course tell him to go to hell! Oh wait... no.
This is Lois Lane. She agrees. She's a little parched from all
the stealthy sneaking away from her protectors after all. But
never fear! She demands to pour the coffee herself. "Fine, fine,"
says the bad guy, "but what's that over there on the floor? Is
that blood?" And as quickly as that, she is distracted and the
drug is slipped.
I suppose this article could go into an argument of just how
stupid this woman can be, but I digress. Here again she has shown
a lack of judgement due to a misperception in her own power and
effectiveness. Her behavior is baffling.
### The Cause - Part 1
In the episode "The Mind Machine" a gangster is on trial. He has
kidnapped a scientist working on a machine to help modify the
behavior of mentally troubled patients. The gangster has other
plans for it, though. He pressures and threatens the doctor until
he uses the machine to overwhelm the willpower of those witnesses
testifying against him. This long-range mind-control has a
terrible side effect, though. It drives the target completely
insane, eventually killing them.
Lois is eventually the only witness remaining, and time is running
short for Superman to find the machine and stop the men from using
it upon Lois. In fact, the way the episode plays out, Superman is
not quite in time at all. The machine has already been turned on
and is effecting Lois on the stand, though the command is never
given that would have overridden her will. Superman manages to
stop the men just in time for that to be prevented, and the doctor
destroys the machine vowing never to build another. The day is
saved and all is well (other than several dead witnesses and a
clear case of a mistrial).
But what if Lois didn't get away without consequence? Her behavior
following that encounter does mimic to a lesser degree that of the
others who have been reprogrammed. Her own lack of understanding
could be due to the infernal machine. It's an idea, certainly, and
since we have no clear timeline in this series as every episode
stands alone in time, this could theoretically represent the
beginning of her time with Superman and the origin of her
behavior. There's just one bit working against that theory.
Lois has been deeply investigating a kingpin of metropolis (and
yes, they do call him "The Kingpin" in the episode,
interestingly). That suggests she's been at this for some time. It
doesn't square up with the other timelines at play. She wouldn't
have that sort of assignment early in her career, and her
relationship with Clark would be less developed. I think this
scenario is unlikely, and there is another that is far more
plausible.
### A Quick Aside
Before we talk about what I believe to be the true origins of
Lois' insanity, I want to call attention to some very strange
behavior in Superman in this series. In "The Mind Machine", Clark
is with a pilot in a small plane flying over the mountains in
search of the radar signal given off by the machine so he can
pinpoint its location. When the signal is found he learns he is
out of time and that Lois is already on the stand. He has to act
NOW. So what's a good, upright, Superman to do? That's right...
punch the pilot into unconsciousness, flick on the autopilot, and
jump out of the plane leaving him to his fate. Later on in the
episode that same plane runs out of fuel and Superman swoops in to
save it from crashing. Effectively Superman has saved that man
from Superman.
Punching his friends until they're unconscious seems to be a trend
with him when he needs a bit of privacy. He does the same maneuver
to his close friend and investigator, Candy, in "The Stolen
Costume". Since his costume was, well, stolen, he had to run in
and deal with the bad guys as Clark Kent, revealing his true
identity. He couldn't risk his friend seeing who he was, so he was
very fast to knock him out.
But what about the bad guys? The man is a blackmailer and wanted a
payday. The woman, his accomplice, was much less willing to go
down this path but had been pressured into it. Superman won't kill
them, they say. Superman doesn't do that. So what's a Superman to
do? That's right! He flies them deep into mountainous country and
places them on the top of a dangerous peak from which there is no
safe way down. "I'll be back with food for you soon," he tells
them before flying off. The punishment, as Superman has decided
acting as judge & jury, for knowing his identity is that they must
live the rest of their lives alone in the frozen wilderness where
they can never reach another human soul. It's no surprise the two
decide to risk it in a climb down the mountain. Unfortunately for
them, the climb was indeed too difficult. In the final scene we
learn they have fallen to their deaths. This is clearly a direct
result of Superman's forced, life-long imprisonment. He is
directly to blame for the deaths of two people.
Honestly it shouldn't shock me one bit. I believe it only took
until episode 4 before we found Superman recommending the police
beat the truth out of a man during an interrogation.
Truth, justice, and the American way! Probably not what they
meant, but it still works.
### The Cause - Part 2
We return again to Lois Lane. Why is she insane? I posit it is a
simple byproduct of her close association with Superman itself
which is at fault. His presence has:
- inflated her perception of self importance
- inflated her perception of her own threat level
- removed all sense of consequence
Superman's fascination with Lois Lane brings her again and again
into the spotlight of action. Where things that matter occur,
Clark is surely there. And with him is Lois. If someone is
threatening Superman, Lois is the easiest target. In those rare
occasions when Superman is not the focus of activity in
Metropolis, she is still a report for a major metropolitan
newspaper. Lois Lane is quite literally at the center of
EVERYTHING in the city. As a result she perceives herself to be
important to everything in the city. It's easy to see why she
might think that.
Her understanding of her own threat level is likewise conflated by
Superman's presence. When the intrepid reporter storms into the
den of thugs and thieves, she isn't afraid. They should be. She's
got their number and they're in for it when she gets back to her
typewriter. Oh, what's this? They're surrounding her so she can't
get to that typewriter. 3...2...1...SUPERMAN!
And that brings us to the final, but most important part. Nothing
Lois does has consequences for her. She could quite literally
chose to no longer take the elevator down to the ground floor but
rather step out the window of the daily planet office and plummet
toward the ground. Superman will be there to catch her. She could
run into a collapsing mine and Superman will be there. She can
confront a deadly doctor with a mind control agent, but why be
afraid. This literally always works out for her.
What a lifestyle!
### What can we learn?
The final bit that caught me off guard when I came to this
conclusion was that these symptoms all seemed familiar. Those
effects are not just a product of close association with Superman,
they describe someone who has a close association with wealth.
Consider the inflated sense of self importance. Consider the
inflated sense of power and threat they weild. And then recognize
the way consequences vanish magically away with money.
For Lois Lane this was enough to drive her to insanity. Superman's
presence in her life:
- prevented her normal perception
- prevented her normal behavior
- prevented her normal social interaction
If this is the textbook definition of insanity, what does that
tell us about the wealthy running the world today?