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Iconochasm

All post-temple whore technology is gay.

3 followers   follows 10 users  
joined 2022 September 05 00:44:49 UTC 

				
User ID: 314


				
				
				

			

		

	














	


		


			



	

		

			

			

				

					

						

							
						

						

							
							

								
Iconochasm


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
All post-temple whore technology is gay.

				
				
				

				

					3 followers  

					follows 10 users  

					joined 2022 September 05 00:44:49 UTC
				


				
					

					
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User ID: 314


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 4, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I think this is focusing too hard on the BDSM element.  As others have mentioned, very few women want an erotic master 24/7, especially if it involves menial labor.  OTOH, most women appreciate a man who is confident and commanding most of the time - especially if he can escalate that in a darker direction during sex.


It's a difficult line to walk, and I think most advice for men leans way too hard in one direction or the other.  Somewhat ironically, I think the meme trad Christian approach might work best, but only if you never acknowledge that that's what you're doing.  Act like you're the captain of the relationship, with her as your trusted first mate (and tolerate her lack of a Riker beard), but never make that explicit.


And kindly insert a bunch of tedious throat-clearing about spectrums and Not All Women, etc, etc.  Thanks.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 4, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Not many subs would be turned on by being ordered to do their dom’s tax returns, which is probably what would happen if the scenario was real instead of just a fantasy for their sexual gratification.




I would say "Big Yud in shambles", but he apparently has no short supply of "math pets".


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for May 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


You and I could probably discuss this for days. My friends and I were huge into SC1 and Battle.net back in the day.




Same.  Many, many late nights doing 3v3 and 4v4 on group calls with the boys.




That said, did they ever finish the chapter or cliffhanger with Lieutenant Duran and his experiments he was conducting across the stars?




Yeah, Duran shows back up in Heart of the Swarm as "Dr. Narud", and after Kerrigan's heel-face-turn he takes over as a Zerg villain personality.  He was doing the Big Bad's work fusing zerg and protoss into the hybrid, which are very powerful elite enemy units that show up increasingly often as HotS and Legacy of the Void progress.  Duran himself is slowly revealed to be a sort of high level eldritch horror.  HotS does a lot to humanize the zerg, with actual characters that have personalities.  Alexi Stukov is revealed to still be alive, if zerg-infested, and he takes the role of "human friendly zerg guy".  He gives some missions to finish Duran/Narud to satisfy his vengeance after what Duran did to him and the UED at the end of Brood War.


I will say that a lot of the missions are very fun, with good replayability.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 4, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Much of the worry about the school gender crap is precisely worry about what your own kids are being groomed to do.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 3, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
You are correct.  What a shame.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of May 4, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
As moderate evidence, the fact that the Reds tolerated this behavior from people who were often open insurrectionists acting in accord with a hostile foreign power.  Just saying, we live in a world where a third of academics refuse to tolerate the hiring of colleagues they consider to be right-wing, no matter how qualified.  If Reds were willing to act the same, Bill Ayers would still be rotting in a prison instead of teaching Education at Columbia and communist sympathies would be as much of a hiring black mark as Nazi sympathies.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 3, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Spoilers for Mage Errant.  General spoilers, @ThomasdelVasto should avoid mousing over, but for anyone else it's general worldbuilding stuff, not specific plot points.  The magic system basically lends itself to an Archmagistocracy, rule by individuals who are personally powerful on the level of armies.  It's essentially Great Man theory of history, the magic system.  The political landscape is literally just "which archmage, lich, or superpowered monster lives in this area, and thus rules it."  The main antagonist faction uses "tricks" to empower semi-disposable troops to fight above their level, but they're also the only thing remotely resembling a democracy that cares about their people on an institutional level.  Somewhere around book 5 the author seems to have realized the implications of a small band of Randian Ubermen fighting off the vile forces of egalitarian institutionalism, and frantically retconned the main cast to try to backdate them as the mere product of having good supporting research teams, and you know, basically anyone could have done what they did with the right support network.


Actual plot point spoilers:  And then the last book has an awkward villain-swap to a generic "steal the magic of others" raid boss monster that had minimal buildup.  This is really glaring because the second to last book involves a detour to another world with a different magic system that is actually based on institutions and infrastructure and large-scale societal organizing, but the author clearly didn't consider any of this stuff when he was writing the first handful of books.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 3, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I was saying that job was the solution.  It wasn't sales, but the social pressure of not acting like a moody bitch at random customers (and instead getting to solve problems and generally make them happy with me) sort of slowly rewrote the offending part of my brain.  Actual sales is not something I am a great fit for.  I loathe upselling, and would rather autistically drill down to a clients actual needs, even if that's only a minor sale or even recommending them a different business that better fits their needs.


Luckily, that's been working out decently well for me and my small fiefdom of Globocorp.


I don't have any specific advice for someone who is experiencing depression/anxiety from working sales, though I think I get exactly where you're coming from.  Maybe seek some kind of lateral move that involves more sorting than maximizing?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 3, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


though a bit too redditor for me to truly love it.




That gets worse.  There's a point where the very redditor author seems to realize the, let's say, meta-social implications of his worldbuilding and has an on-page freak-out about it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 3, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Depression: I think a major factor was having a job where I had to put on a fake face.  The mind affects the body and the body affects the mind.  Smile, and it will trick the treacherous mind into being happier.  Though, that job also involved organizing stacks of heavy boxes, so it was simultaneously good exercise and a constant source of satisfaction for my 'tism tendencies.


For anxiety, the only solution I know if is to brazen through.  Exposure therapy.  IME, it really doesn't take that much.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for May 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Sorry, I meant to rephrase that so it was more clearly ranting at the hypothetical in general, and not you in particular.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for May 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Recommend not grinding.  They're nice if you just want to play a quick game or two, without the stress of a pvp game.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for May 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Oh, are we ranting about Starcraft?  Let me pour out a drink and ante up.




I don't remember StarCraft 1 being remotely that obnoxious and one note. Oh well.




Starcraft 1 had it in a much older style, that hews closer to "White guy gets accepted into alien culture" tropes.  Think The Last Samurai, or every rip-off of The Last of the Mohicans.  Once you get past the first Terran campaign, Raynor is estranged from Mengsk, so the story keeps him around by just letting him tag along with the Protoss.


"Greetings.  We are the Firstborn, the sons of Aiur, the Protoss.  Our people are advanced far beyond your ken, both technically and psychically.  We have come to do battle with the greatest forces of darkness, wielding our eldritch might in the most ancient of our sacred warrior traditions.


Also, we brought our friend Jim.  He is a kind of monkey-thing, militia, motorcycle-cop.  We gave him a battlecruiser; it's hilarious."


SC1 is a lot funnier if you interpret Jim as the Protoss' version of Boblin the Goblin.


But yes, the plot for SC2 is fucking stupid all around.  They can't alienate any players, so all three factions have to have Good Guys, though they all splinter so much that there's someone for everyone.




I forget which mission it was that finally broke me and caused me to switch to normal, but it was some defense mission where your allies start off covering your east, west and south entrances, and you get repeatedly hammered from all three directions.




My general love for Starcraft is matched and mirrored by my burning hatred for the damned defense missions.  Why the actual fuck did that team think static defense missions were the best way to cap almost every campaign?  And the LotV one was just actually offensive.  You spend the whole campaign building up and unlocking Solarite powers, and then they take them all away for the final mission?!  One of my angriest video game experiences.


Difficulty-wise, "hard" feels like the correct choice for all of them.  Normal for the horrendous defense ones that feel terrible to try at.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 27, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
MAGA is closer to "90's Democrat" than modern Dems are.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for May 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Is this stupid? Yes. If everybody were rational, we could all just pick Red and we'd be fine. But unless you're willing to bite the bullet and say that irrational or foolish or unlucky people should all die, even 80-20 in favour of Red, or 90-10 in favour of Red, is a nation-wrecking calamity.




I think the reason this hypothetical annoys me so much is that it's essentially set up to permit suicidally stupid people to morally and emotionally blackmail the rest of us by the threat of their own self-harm, and then self-righteously preen about it afterwards.  It teaches bad - ruinous! -  habits.


Real life coordination problems do not look like this!  Real life coordination problems are made massively worse by this sort of intellectually cancerous SF Rat crap.  Real life coordination problems instead look like "If you push red, the criminal goes to jail and then doesn't commit more crimes.  If you push blue, we let them free and then they rape and murder a random person selected from among the reds and blues".


Unless you're willing to bite the bullet and say that stupid, or irrational, or congenitally anti-social criminals need to go to jail, then you are a nation-wrecking calamity.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 27, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Taken uncharitably, "Husband material" implies someone to settle for.  "Oh, you're a very sensible decision.  The no-dressing salad option at this steakhouse."  Conversely, "baby daddy material" implies excellent genetics and/or sex appeal, even if he's a cad.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 27, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Based on her internet-prison romance with Howling Mutant, Holmes may be a true one-in-a-billion freak.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 20, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


By contrast, lone wolf terrorists may be following some piece of political rhetoric to its logical conclusion, but people can pretty easily justify disavowing them because rhetoric, however incendiary, usually stops short of saying "go forth and kill."




Speaking of derangement, the common response I'm seeing is "I'm disappointed that the newest hoax assassination failed."


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 20, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I did not watch the interview, but the commentary/coverage I saw included a section on Luigi Mangione that was supportive.  E.g.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 20, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Shooter was supposedly active on BlueSky, and frequently replied to Will Stancil.  No word yet if he was a supporter of the Stancilwaffen, or one of the people calling Herr Stancil a fascist.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 20, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Are you taking as a given that Democrats think of the opposition party the same way that right-wingers think of a hostile foreign nation that has been calling for Death to America for 50 years?


That would be a very concerning level of radicalization and extremism, if it were true.  Perhaps Trump should close shipping to California and NYC in retaliation, just like heroic Iran-kun.


And to stop the cute Mottely bush-beating and speak plainly, for a meaningful subsection of the left that might even be a majority, it obviously is true.  It was just this week that the venerable NYT sat down with leftist thought leader Hasan Piker and platformed his calls for leftist political assassinations.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 20, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Relevant XKCD.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of April 20, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Zero.  His social media is full of Abolish ICE and Trump is a Nazi slop.  If he found his way here, he'd have flamed out faster than a vampire under the noon sun.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for April 24, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Writers are sometimes broken into two categories.  Architects plan everything in advance, and then go fill in the outline.  Brandon Sanderson is an architect.  IIRC, his writing process is something like "set up the outline with all story beats, then a more detailed outline, then fill it in with descriptions, then produce a beta manuscript, then a real manuscript, then five editing passes".


The other category is Gardeners, who plant a seed and just see where the story takes them.  GRRM is a gardener, and there are a thousand essays comparing him with Brando Sando on this regard.


For your case, it might not be that the plot "sucked", as that the characters weren't quite right for it.  You probably have to alter one or the other to make it fit right.  This is where the "kill your darlings" advice comes in.  Sometimes hard choices have to be made, but you can always recycle anything you cut.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for April 24, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
If the seven year old shows any interest in athleticism, there are a ton of great old sports movies that may be more tolerable.  The Mighty Ducks trilogy, Sandlot, Rookie of the Year, Little Big League.


In this house, we watch Remember the Titans on loop.


Shaolin Soccer was also a big hit with my kids, and it's so goofy that it might slip through the scariness.