Ethan
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User ID: 2275
Ethan
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2mo ago
Joe's decline is yesterday's issue. That VP Harris willingly concealed his decline is a now-issue. Plenty of footage of a grimace-wearing Harris standing next to doddering old Biden to sell the narrative that she's especially duplicitous. The emperor had no clothes and she knew. This will be the angle Republicans use against her.
Ethan
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2mo ago
All dictatorships are dysfunctional. Anyone who says otherwise is making a partisan and inflammatory claim.
Was Cincinnatus in the wrong when he briefly became dictator to solve a crisis in Rome? Are there really no scenarios where a dictator has done good?
Ethan
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2mo ago
Trump was exposing himself to further danger for the sake of a visual display. And he was indeed holding up his protection while they did their thing. But in the end, it was absolutely worth it and the correct move to make.
In fact, him doing this in the heat of the moment amid gunfire is largely the reason why it was the correct move. It was a display of masculine bravado. Perfect contrast, not only to the sitting president, but to pretty much every other politician. The resulting photographs alone are invigorating. Trump is effectively an avatar of masculinity in a culture which largely degradates it.
Ethan
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3mo ago
To be fair, just about anything looks amateurish and gratingly simple when compared to Better Call Saul.
Ethan
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4mo ago
Do you think he was telling the truth about his life? It seems nearly too adventurous to believe, though that may be owing to my shelteredness.
Ethan
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4mo ago
What resources have y'all used to teach yourselves how to sing? Specifically contemporary style -- or whatever you call what Sinatra was doing. If anybody happens to know any good teachers around the Cambridge, UK area, that would be fantastic too.
My fear with doing much beyond simple vocal exercises is unintentionally accruing bad habits. It just seems smart to learn the basics of breathing and vocal technique myself, and then to enlist the help of a vocal coach. That will make things a lot faster and less hazardous. Also, I live in a dorm, so practicing at home isn't much of an option. I do plenty of singing in my car though. What's been helpful to you guys?
Ethan
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4mo ago
Do you have recommendations as far as recipes go, for making veggies taste good and making you actively want to eat them?
Ethan
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4mo ago
I've been stationed in England for over a year now. If I had to choose between the two extremes of our day lengths, I'd absolutely choose the summer 5 am to 10 pm day length because it means more chance for sun. Folks weren't kidding when they said lack of sun makes you feel blue.
Ethan
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4mo ago
Interestingly, the president Jimble episode is really disliked on the smiling friends subreddit. But the trailer for episode 3, Alan's Adventure, has a really funny bit where he argues with the store worker.
Ethan
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4mo ago
Why not just solve the related problems? Do practice exercises until you perform well consistently.
Ethan
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4mo ago
That's the price for entry in reading Dostoyevsky. It requires a suspension of disbelief when characters go on impossibly long monologues while other characters listen with impossible patience.
Ethan
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6mo ago
If you say you can't function in the morning without coffee people will act understanding, if not sympathetic. Say the same thing about booze and people will start giving you pamphlets.
You mentioned the relative severity of alcohol, but I think it's good and natural to treat addictions with greater or lesser severity based on their risks. I mean, how much concern would you want people to have if you tell them that you're crabby and irritable without coffee?
I think a more apt comparison might be made to nicotine, cigarettes specifically. Of course cigarettes, too, are more dangerous than coffee. But nicotine withdrawal won't literally kill you like alcohol withdrawal can. And if someone says "don't talk to me until I have my cigarette," everybody sees that this is a problem. But there won't be any pamphlets handed out. It's pretty clear that our responses to addiction run on a gradient. As they should.
Ethan
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6mo ago
On first watch it didn't quite land with me. But now I think it's really good. The Cameo joke was great, and it's better when you realize that James (the one bullying Charlie) was the one who sent it.
Ethan
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6mo ago
Some bridges you just have to cross when you get to them. Planning out your whole life, or even a medium to long-term project, will make you paralyzed.
Ethan
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9mo ago
Just now rereading this for like the fourth time. It's fantastic, and Lewis himself called it his best book.
Ethan
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10mo ago
Batman: Arkham City is identical to RDR2 in this regard after Batman is poisoned. The only side mission which organically makes sense for Batman to prioritize is the Mad Hatter one, because it's predicated on Hatter tricking Bruce with a fake cure. But then it doesn't make sense if you wait till after the main storyline is done to complete the mission, because Bruce is already cured.
Ethan
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11mo ago
Not even a gay couple walking in the background? Strange.
Ethan
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11mo ago
Has anybody here ever substantially changed their personality? I don't mean a simple increase in confidence or developing a taste for beer. I mean a fundamental shift in polarity -- going from an introvert to an extrovert, a risk-averse nerd to an overconfident jock, etc.. Do you think there's any limit on the changes people can make in themselves, barring traumatic events or assistance from drugs?
Ethan
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1yr ago
On a similar note, does anybody know of any comprehensive books on the real "origins of woke?" Is it really just the Frankfurt school writ large?
Ethan
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1yr ago
I think the point of the Motte is that such opinions can be expressed within reason. If you think something needs to be addressed then why not do it yourself?
Ethan
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1yr ago
I've lived an entirely straightlaced life and have zero interest even in marijuana. I'm not interested in drugs per se. What I am interested in is the apparently mind-opening power of psychedelics. Aldous Huxley's essay "The Doors to Perception" has once again made me curious. For those of you who have experimented with mescaline or whatever else, have these experiences changed you deeply and permanently? Would even taking small amounts grant you clarity or creativity without some terrible drawbacks?
I think of Carl Jung's advice, to "beware of unearned wisdom," and I think that expresses a healthy conservatism about these things. But then again, millions of people have used caffeine and nicotine both recreationally or for work. People now use marijuana for medicine. So why not use psychedelics for whatever positive effects they bring? I also think of people having bad trips or frying their brains. My mother grew up in the 70s and recalls a few people who made themselves permanently insane through some wacky experiments or other. I think ultimately it's better to leave well enough alone, but I'd like to hear different views.
It would work best if it operated in the same spirit as those "American politics with no context" videos on YouTube; mainly aiming for comedy, across both political aisles. Cinemasins was originally a comedic channel before they began using the premise as a way to deliver actual criticism. If a Politicalsins did this it would quickly become subsumed into the mud-slinging contest.
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