The Queen of Robots Preparing for a Personal Battle
April 30, 2018 5:14 PM   Subscribe

Simone Giertz has a brain tumor. She explained in an email to her Patreon subscribers.
Good news in all of this is that it's probably noncancerous, and there's a very small risk that I'll die from it. Bad news is, well yeah, I have a brain tumor.
I really feel like I should put more jokes in here to make sure that you know that I'm alright. Because I really am.
posted by Miss Cellania (32 comments total) 24 users marked this as a favorite
 
God love her. She's given me a lot of joy.
posted by Countess Elena at 5:27 PM on April 30, 2018 [3 favorites]


She may think she's alright, but after watching the video, I'm a real mess.
posted by Miss Cellania at 6:19 PM on April 30, 2018 [4 favorites]


Can we all send this woman Psychic Healing Vibes please?
posted by Sing Or Swim at 6:24 PM on April 30, 2018 [3 favorites]


She's a very talented engineer as well as a brilliant entertainer. I hope she gets successful treatment and a straightforward recovery.
posted by Combat Wombat at 6:27 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]


I look forward to many years of videos from her. She’s a national treasure. I wish her well.
posted by bondcliff at 6:37 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]


Simone is absolutely brilliant, and the internet will be a duller place while she's in recovery.

Meanwhile, her patreon is here if you'd like to join the Shitty Robot Nation. Long live the Queen!
posted by weed donkey at 6:58 PM on April 30, 2018 [3 favorites]


She's still coming to grips with it right now, but if anyone has the sense of humor to withstand a curveball like this, it's her. Hang tough, Simone.
posted by davelog at 7:07 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]


It’s too early, obviously for a . but I’m truly speechless. She’s got just the right level of ...pluck? to be able to make jokes and help the rest of us cope. YouTube lends a sense of kinship and intimacy that oddly makes one feel like a close friend has suffered a medical tragedy and we are suffering along with her - a feeling that is far deeper than any regular old TV star. I’m sure all the makers on MeFi have her in our thoughts. Can’t wait to see you back Simone!
posted by cyclotronboy at 7:44 PM on April 30, 2018


Very sad to hear. I couldn't make it through her video, to be honest. So here is a video of her Colbert visit. Wishing her well!
posted by greenhornet at 7:49 PM on April 30, 2018 [3 favorites]


"Everything will be fine, and if it isn't I will find a way to make it fine."

My husband and I don't watch a ton of TV and haven't had cable for years, but we have a youtube playlist that (mostly, since I work from home) I curate and we watch while dinner's cooking and we're decompressing from the day. It's all funny/cool/nonstressful stuff, and we generally refer to these people as our "friends", as in "what are our friends up to today?" I have been upset about our friend Simone all day, but it sounds like she has a wonderful support system and a decent prognosis and I look forward to whatever food or other substance her first post-surgery shitty robot covers her in while she attempts to keep a straight face.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:59 PM on April 30, 2018 [9 favorites]


I am very sorry about her illness, but very glad this post led me to her videos, which are completely delightful.
posted by Songdog at 8:18 PM on April 30, 2018


That video is a perfect example of how to break bad news: face it, be truthful, up-front, and take the piss as much as possible because humour is Humanity's best defense against a cold and uncaring universe.

As yes, I'm a proud and paid-up member of the Shitty Robot Nation.
posted by happyinmotion at 9:13 PM on April 30, 2018 [5 favorites]


On the healing vibes. Consider it done.

She is a brilliant, talented and (rather uniquely) charismatic inventor. I can think of so many people that deserve this more than her. And I was SO happy to hear her support network is as awesome as it appears to be.
posted by Samizdata at 9:14 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]


damnit, I saw that video pop up today and I thought for sure it was a joke and now.. damnit. I think she's freaking rad and this sucks.
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:14 PM on April 30, 2018 [1 favorite]


Simone, previously. (mefi posts and comments)
posted by crysflame at 11:42 PM on April 30, 2018


This was so hard to watch, love Simone and her shitty robots. Glad she's facing this with #tumourhumour.
posted by ellieBOA at 12:52 AM on May 1, 2018 [1 favorite]


1.7K downvotes ? WTF ?!? I don't understand people....
posted by Pendragon at 2:36 AM on May 1, 2018


Oh, this is a shock. She’s so talented and so damn young. I cried through the entire video, even as I laughed at her jokes. I am really pulling for her.
posted by sockermom at 4:39 AM on May 1, 2018


Eyes watering again seeing this here, too. And her support.
posted by filtergik at 5:23 AM on May 1, 2018


I saw Simone's post yesterday, along with the news from Shalthis and TotalBiscuit. Rough day. Really glad to hear that Simone's prognosis is positive so far.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 5:45 AM on May 1, 2018


I don't think I quite get her shtick, but what a frightening thing to have to go through. I wish her all the best.
posted by praemunire at 8:49 AM on May 1, 2018


Her shtick is in a techno-absurdist tradition; the closest antecedents would probably be Chindōgu and Survival Research Laboratories, though one can also draw comparisons with the (fictional, illustrated) absurd machines of Heath Robinson and Rube Goldberg.
posted by acb at 9:15 AM on May 1, 2018 [2 favorites]


She's an inspiration to me, love her work and personality so much! I am looking forward to her being an inspiration to my daughter as well. Pulling for her!
posted by amanda at 9:24 AM on May 1, 2018 [2 favorites]


The appropriate thing for her fans to do, I think, would be to build a shitty robot and convince the surgeon to demonstrate the robot as she explains the surgery.

In a calm reassuring surgeon voice, “you have nothing to worry about. Technological has evolved to the point that we have precision machines to aid us. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Let’s me demonstrate the apparatus on this life-sized rubber head.”

At which point the doctor pulls out a metal monstrously with eight tentacles tipped in grapefruit spoons, turns it on, and watches at the bot tears the demonstration head to shreds, eyeballs flying everywhere.

“Hmmm,” he says. “That almost never happens.“
posted by stet at 10:02 AM on May 1, 2018 [5 favorites]


Damn. I'm glad her prognosis is good. I look forward to her swift recovery and return to doing what she loves.
posted by biogeo at 11:56 AM on May 1, 2018 [1 favorite]


> Pendragon:
"1.7K downvotes ? WTF ?!? I don't understand people...."

This is why so many sites need an "Empathize" button. You can only say I LIKE or I DON'T LIKE, rather than I HEAR YOU AND ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SHITTY NEWS.
posted by Samizdata at 1:15 PM on May 1, 2018


Much like the + sign on Metafilter, there's a broad range of interpretation of the thumbs on YouTube. I myself felt like a monster clicking the thumbsup, even though I meant "I wish you well and I know that ups are important to channel metrics" and not "I love that you have a brain tumor, excellent content...s of your head" but I really did hover over the thumbsdown for a second.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:18 PM on May 1, 2018 [1 favorite]


#tumorhumor
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 8:32 PM on May 1, 2018


A coworker just had a tumor removed, after a particularly scary seizure at the workplace. He has recovered 100% and exhibited the same kind of humor. You humans are fascinating.
posted by DigDoug at 4:52 AM on May 2, 2018


When I was a professor teaching arduinos and electronics stuff I showed her videos to my students. They all wanted to be her. Aside from being hilarious they we're inspiring because she showed you could just do stuff. Maybe it didn't work *right* but you could still do it. For beginners getting over their nerves about soldering and coding and such it was great
posted by Perfectibilist at 6:24 AM on May 2, 2018 [4 favorites]


Simone is currently in surgery.
posted by bondcliff at 8:12 AM on May 30, 2018 [2 favorites]


Update
Simone is out of surgery and her doctors are very pleased with how everything went. She woke up long enough to make an inappropriate joke... so things are looking good.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 11:21 AM on May 31, 2018 [3 favorites]


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