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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   938 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 2, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Anyone else goes on an occasional Google Street View World Tour?

I think the fact that we have the entire external surface of the civilized world mapped out in 3-d is nearly not thought of enough. Most people's reaction to that reminder is "Yeah that's cool, I suppose". But it still boggles my mind that this is a thing that exists, and it's free, and easily accessible, and most of us don't even use it.

My favorite places to "travel" to are:

  • Places I've visited during vacation - I unlock memories about my vacation that I just about would forget if didn't capture photographs or record. A random street sign, or a "familiar" storefront brings all the memories back. I find it especially soothing when dealing with post-travel blues. I've been to Philadelphia recently and liked the city quite a bit (don't hate me). When I "travel" through North American cities, they all just kind of blend into one (except for NYC and LA which tends to stand out), but this time around I could I could "walk" around Rittenhouse square and visit the virtual Wendies there without directions. It's a bit of an unusual feeling, it's hard to describe, so you should try it out, but it feels a lot more visceral if you've been there and know what the air feels and smells like.
  • Childhood neighborhoods - Same deal with the "memory unlocking" but to a much more jarring extent. I've often noticed what I remember as a long ass journey is just a few blocks.
  • Japan - Most of Japan is exceptionally clean, well-maintained, and surrounded by natural beauty. One day, I will be pushed over the edge into visiting for real. The transition between modern, ancient, and nature is almost always clean and tasteful.
  • Anywhere with visibly cool weather - Unfortunately for me, I live in an oven of a country. But I love cold weather (I think 30F to 50F is ideal outdoor weather) and all its accompanying aesthetics. I'm talking snow, heater steam coming out of ducts/vents, cloudy skies, visible smoke from car exhausts, people wearing parkas. It's a nostalgia thing for me because for some odd quirk, almost all of my childhood memories are of winter.

My least favorite places are:

  • Central Asia - Dead, gray, and depressing. Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, (certain parts of China), all the same dreariness.
  • Canadian cities - American cities, but more run-down, gray, more "modern architecture".

When the “Place. Place, Japan.” Memes were roiling I was often tempted to simply say: “This, but unironically.” And chadface it.

I’m decidedly not a weeb; I consume very little Japanese culture, maybe more than the median person in my country but not a lot more. I don’t romanticize the place at all, I have no dog in this fight.

But fuck me do they have some gorgeous, walkable cities. And I would absolutely fight most people who use the phrase “walkable cities” out loud more than thrice per year.

I put walking tours of Japan up on YouTube as idle content while I’m doing housework and it always amazes me how nice they are. Even my kids love them, and my Latino & Latino adjacent clan.

Not a Japanophile amongst us, and yet we love those cities more than the ones available to us.

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