Lurker > ElatedVenusaur

Wax Fang - Mystery Girl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljmrawDoCV0

and

Wax Fang - Running in Circles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CTCBSk96NM

Just some Valentine's feels for a dying thread.

Kim Petras - Everybody Dies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDtV8puRd38

Including this thread, soon enough.

Well, well, it seems David Bowie still has surprises for us, even from beyond the grave..

David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World (Changes Now Bowie Version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp4UBmFmNUY

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/08/794514014/hear-a-previously-unreleased-version-of-david-bowies-the-man-who-sold-the-world
According to this article, it was recorded in 1997, but is being released now for the first time to promote a new EP of unreleased songs.

David Bowie - Starman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRcPA7Fzebw

It's his birthday today.

Janice Griffith.
Oh, and Mercy West might be a good bridge.

That's X-COM baby!
It makes me so damned angry, but I still love it. You're just doing a mission and realize everything's going well and that's when you realize that other shoe is going to drop. You're going to lose people, you're going to get wildly unlucky, you're probably going to fail missions f***** Newfoundland man. How do you win that the first time!? The challenge is to survive and overcome.

I worked today. Wasn't supposed to, but I got called in. Made time-and-a-half for four hours, so no complaints.

JKRowling posted...

Im not allowed to respond to that on gamefaqs.gamespot.com.

What is your contention, anyway? Because certainly the Jews did not choose to be oppressed minorities: they had no choice in the matter, and Jewish communities sought to survive where and how they could, as anyone would.
And being/having been oppressed is never an excuse to be an oppresser.

Edit: https://twitter.com/TheRaDR/status/1057333224538624001
Let me cite this Twitter thread, which is great.

Jews have always been an outgroup. Their homeland was tiny and insignificant and thus inevitably ended up under the thumb of whichever regional power was ascendant at the time. Judea was basically an eternal backwater and the Persians were the only overlords the Israelites could mostly put up with.
The Romans naturally got sick of their trouble-making and deported a ton of them, but they didn't deport everyone. Christians blamed them for murdering Jesus and persecuted them brutally, and the Jews returned the favor however and whenever they could(for two examples, they opened the gates of Jerusalem to the Sassanid Persians, followed by an orgy of anti-Christian violence, only for the Romans to come back and persecute them some more, so they opened the gates to the Arabs when they came knocking too.) As with all areas under Islamic rule, the region Arabified(mostly this came from the fact that Islam is in Arabic and you needed to be Muslim to get out of the jizya and to work in government and what not. There were never actually very many people from the Arabian peninsula, but I digress).
So the Jews wound up as a bunch of minority communities floating around the world(some Jews even made it as far away as China). Islamic law restricted some of their activities, but was generally nicer to them than the Christian world(it generally still wasn't very nice). In Europe, they were barred from most professions, so they naturally turned to jobs like money-lending and tax-collecting that were looked down on by or forbidden to Christians/Muslims. These jobs happened to be lucrative, which was great, because both Christian and Muslims rulers got into the habit of shaking down the weak, helpless Jews for money on the regular(they would generally get expelled, expropriated and/or pogromed if they didn't pay). Of course, you might also realize that people hate money-lenders and tax collectors, and they hate them even more when they're "different". The Jews were also generally not allowed to live in normal areas and were typically subject to restrictions as to where they could live, even though they were not always confined to explicit ghettos.
Throw in the fact that the vast majority people in the Middle Ages were wildly uneducated and terrible things happened to the Jews all the time. The rise of phrenology and eugenics in the Victorian era just gave the old anti-Semitic tropes a thin veneer of being "scientific"(there are not quotation marks big enough).

tremain07 posted...

Already buzzed
pulls out a bottle of jeager as they go to break

Man, they are getting it IN tonight

Oh man, RIP their day tomorrow.

MFBKBass5 posted...

Is someone gonna get fired for this?

Only total monsters would fire some one for being wasted on New Year's Eve.

coh posted...

North Vietnam was the aggressor and we were fighting on behalf of the South, yet that made us the bad guy.

I don't get it.

In accordance with the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was temporarily divided into the Republic of Vietnam(led by Ho Chih Minh and the communist party a.k.a. North Vietnam) and the State of Vietnam(supposedly led by the Vietnamese Emperor Bao Dai a.k.a. South Vietnam). This division was to exist only until 1956, when general elections were to be held to elect a unified government. However, the South, under the control of Ngo Dinh Diem, refused to abide by the convention(with the encouragement and support of the U.S. under President Eisenhower). This was likely partly because Ho Chih Minh was regarded as a national hero for defeating the hated French and thus would have undoubtedly won the elections. Diem was a Catholic who promoted his fellow Catholics and persecuted the country's Buddhist majority, so he was highly unpopular and needed to rig a referendum to get Bao Dai out of the picture(who, as a former French puppet, was also undoubtedly unpopular).
The division was entirely artificial to begin with and the South's government was very unpopular(and dictatorial) from the get-go.

Garioshi posted...

I'm not defending the Viet Cong, but the atrocities and war crimes committed by the US in (and out, because borders are just silly suggestions) Vietnam are far, far worse than what the Viet Cong did.

This is absolutely true.
Hate to break it to ya'll, but we were def the baddies.

General Anxiety Disorder(Moderate). It is currently well managed though.

Its a great game, but I would caution that the end of the game is entirely combat-focused, so you cant lean too hard on social skills.
As far as what to play, you miss a lot of content as Nosferatu. You get more out of Malkavian on a second play through, but theyre fun regardless. Tremere is also great fun, but do what strikes you.

creativerealms posted...

I have to apologize to Yang. He's not the joke candidate.

Alternatively: he needs to up his game to keep up with Bloomberg.

I completely blocked out Beaver Bother until I was watching an LP of it ages ago, and just the mere sound of those damned gnawties filled me with rage.
Basically, Rare padded out that game with a lot of lame "press button here, get banana" type things, a lot more that are just uninspired or repetitive(it feels like at least half of Tiny's are gotten by shrinking, for example) and a handful which are just utter BS(Beaver F**** Bother).
There are plenty of bananas that are actually fun to get though, so again, it's perfectly fine unless you force yourself to endure the dumb, boring, and/or outright bad ones.

It's fine as long as you don't try to 100% it. It gets bad if you do that.

Stagmar posted... Deep down inside they might have known it was wrong, but they were too racist to admit it.

Not even: Jefferson condemned King George for perpetuating the institution of slavery in the colonies, but the passage had to be struck to appease other Southern delegates. They were very much aware it was wrong, even if they didn't grasp just how wrong it was(because they were incredibly racist), they just agreed winning independence came first.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Were it not for the civil war, mechanization would have made slavery largely obsolete within a few decades.
What happens to the slaves after that is up for speculation, but it wouldn't have been pleasant in most hypothetical cases.

I wouldn't bet on it. That was certainly the position of moderates, but there's not much reason to believe it would ever happen(at least not quickly), as a lot of the Southern aristocracy's status and mystique was tied up in the institution, and even less reason to believe that Southern politicians would ever compromise on the matter. I just can't envisage a scenario where the Southern aristocracy let all that go without a fight. Elites very rarely relinquish power of their own volition.

Since it's Week 17, both CBS and Fox have double-headers. Your local Fox affiliate will air one game in each time slot.
If they're not airing the game you want, it's pretty easy to find streams online.

The first and last episodes were the best. Both the Morty and the Ricks plots were great, Wasp reality was suitably horrifying, and the reveal that Morty's "death with Jessica" was just her rotely reading off his name tag at the hospice she works in as he dies alone and forgotten was even better.

The second episode was basically one great plot(Rick's plot hunting down the rogue pooper) stapled to one mediocre plot(Morty/Jerry) and one terrible plot(Beth/Summer). I'm glad they end the episode with the payoff of the Rick plot: it's too perfect.

The Heist episode was eh. It has some great quotable lines(my personal favorite is Rick's: "Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer.") but as an episode it's weak, even with the reveal the whole thing was just Rick trying to get Morty to hate heist plots. The Elon Musk cameo was weird and unnecessary.

Slut Dragons was good(it even has an especially inspired title: Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktims Morty), but hurt by the Jerry/Cat plot being mostly dead space. The A plot is hilarious all the way through though, IMO, and the payoff from the Jerry plot was good especially Rick actually doing Jerry a favor.

The snake episode was gold. All the references are great, the snake language is great, snake jazz is great, it's funny throughout and time travel being an apocalyptic, civilization-destroying invention feels perfect. Everyone wants to go back in time to kill Snake Hitler, for example, but there are a ton of people going back in time to save Snake Hitler(maybe they're Nazis, maybe Snake Hitler being murdered by a random time-traveler creates an even worse reality, who knows?), and it all turns into people murdering each other while Snake Hitler watches the carnage from his bath tub. Beth straight-up murdering the Snake Terminator because it skeezed her out was also a great gag. Then you have Jerry Jerrying it up in the B-plot, culminating in saving himself by crashing a 747. Great job Jerry, at least you didn't need Rick's help!

SamWincester posted...

I was hooked the moment Steven fused with his dad.

Steg is goddamned amazing and I hope we get to see him again.

It's a fun, uplifting show that doesn't shy away from confronting really difficult issues and handling them very well. The show explores themes of being yourself, relationships(healthy and unhealthy), destiny(or lack thereof), dealing with loss, the fallibility of parents and leaders, etc. etc.
We are currently in the midst of Steven Universe Future, which is a sequel series set after the movie(itself set after the end of the original series).
Oh, and the fights tend to be cool.

Ooh, that's a delicious one.

I had Dogfish Head Suddenly Comfy. Managed to snag it last Friday when I learned it had expanded into my town.
Imperial Cream Ale brewed with apple juice, cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla bean.

Do people think Jews are going to get super-offended you're celebrating a holiday during Hanukkah or something?
'Cause Muslims are down with the Jesus.

_Matchabuu_ posted...

Working retail is horrible, especially around the holidays. Being patient is hard.

I worked yesterday and it was pretty bad. Whole Foods, so probably not as bad as a retailer, but still. Something about the holidays really brings the worst out of people.

Nirvana - Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB67hMuFSig

They didn't even have to try.

Sounds like a scumbag.

It's the most aggressively commercialized of all holidays, and insists on afflicting everyone with its garbage ass mix-tape.
What I'm saying is that Christmas is lame.
But then, I work at a grocery store, and eight hours of Christmas music does strange things to a man's soul.

wormwyrmwyvern posted...

Wait a sec @Hop103 is the clown who called pride parades "degenerate" iirc

The gaslighting is strong with that one.

I read Thus Spoke Zarathustra some years ago, and the line that sticks with me all this time later is this:
O my brothers, your nobility should not look backward but ahead! Exiles shall you be from all father- and forefather-lands! Your children's land shall you love: this love shall be your new nobility the undiscovered land in the most distant sea. For that I bid your sails search and search. In your children you shall make up for being the children of your fathers: thus shall you redeem all that is past.

What We Do In The Shadows
Steven Universe

Willy_Lopez posted...

This is what happens when self esteem movement clashes with real life. :/

You are the best, don't let anyone tell you any different! Real life: I don't think so!

Actually, that gets to a big part of the problem: millennials are systematically gaslit into believing everything is their fault. Were sensitive snowflakes, were financially illiterate, we dont work hard enough, we complain too much, etc. etc. etc. All this even though the available evidence points to large-scale, systemic issues being the problem. We are told that all of this is our fault and chastised for daring to suggest that things shouldnt be like this. Were gaslit so effectively some of us do it to ourselves and others!
That destroys people who are struggling just to live, because they start to think they deserve to suffer and that life has nothing but suffering in store for them.
But we dont deserve to suffer. We have to open our eyes and share our struggles and fight to fix society. For ourselves and for the Zoomers and everyone else.

Duck is great eating. Enjoy.

I would definitely be doing many times worse without a strong support structure, and Im in college Phase 2 without my own place, scraping by at a retail job(Im blessed to have great coworkers). My social life is in a shambles because many of my friends have moved away and I have little free time.
This all qualifies me as one of the lucky ones! I would have succumbed to my anxiety disorder by now if I hadnt been able to get help.

I think his reaction to the aftermath implies that he did: he seems to look himself over, surprised to still be whole. I think that Thanos did actually believe his quasi-egalitarian rhetoric.

CyricZ posted...

Although it hasn't been established in the work or by any of the writers, I have my own take.

No he didn't.

From a pragmatic standpoint, it's because the work wasn't done until he used the Stones to destroy the Stones so his work could never be undone.

From a narrative standpoint, it's because he needs his "grateful universe". He needs to know he won. His arrogance is one of his extreme failings.

This is a convincing reading for the contrary, nonetheless.

I'm always amazed by how obsessed these people are with arbitrary statistics.

Ashes to Ashes
Heroes
Scary Monsters(and Super Freaks)
Blackstar
Hallo Spaceboy

Jabodie posted...

Haha, I think Whole Foods is headquartered in Austin, TX.

It is, as a matter of fact.(I work there). The first store was initially called "Safer Way", because John Mackey is insufferable.

But yeah, the South has a lot of poverty(and also generally less generous SNAP and WIC programs to boot) and poverty leads to eating as cheaply as possible. And cheap food in this country is full of added fats and sugars, and if you're working a full-time job or more just to make ends meet, you don't have time to make a healthy dinner.

It's really great, yeah. Played the original on 360 and it's a game I think back on fondly.

Omnislasher posted...

...no, the democrats have plenty of them, too

It's why Bernie is investing so heavily in ground-game in the early states: his voters are the people who don't always show up. Essentially, if the pollsters are correct about what the primary electorate will look like, we're going to have a pretty messy opening leading into Super Tuesday, with Biden doing well in South Carolina but very possibly losing Iowa(to Buttigieg or Bernie), New Hampshire(to Warren/Bernie/Buttigieg), and/or Nevada(to Bernie or Warren). If he consistently places at least 2nd or a close 3rd and performs strongly in South Carolina, he'll probably be in good shape, as he's likely to clean up in southern primaries with their primarily older, more moderate black voters and Bernie won't win California by enough to mitigate it.
If he takes a beating early though, his electability argument will go down in flames, and his standing will deteriorate. If Bernie or Warren is the big beneficiary, you'll probably see the donor class and Obama endorse Biden(or Buttigieg, if he's doing better) in an attempt to "save the party".

Bjork - Bachelorette
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNJv-Ebi67I

She speaks in the beginning, and she sounds like you would think.

Ivynn posted...

Honest question, what's the point of yet another debate? Haven't most people made up their minds who they want? And it's not like they'll say anything new.

A lot of people are still undecided and the first primary contest isn't until February 3rd.
On the other hand, the stage is still clogged with no-hopers and they'll ask basically the same things they've been asking about since the summer and the answers will be as banal as they have always been, and the post-debate analysis will be as insipid and shallow as ever.

COVxy posted...

...and she won the popular vote.

Polls were remarkably accurate, just that Trump got lucky within the margins in the states that matter.

General election polls are fairly accurate, but this is a primary. Here're some examples:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/ia/iowa_democratic_caucus-208.html
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/nh/new_hampshire_democratic_primary-194.html
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/mi/michigan_democratic_presidential_primary-5224.html
It's much harder for pollsters to get a read on who is going to show up.

Yes, but the Democrats rushed it and made it far too narrow.

FarFromFields posted...

Different circumstances. The Republicans intentionally rushed to vote for political reasons. The Democrats didn't want to play along with their charade.

Go easy on him, he's having a rough day.

Tmaster148 posted...

Opinion sections generally suck.

Its just the NYT also has a horrible editorial board too.

I hope I would have the foresight and discipline to dump most of it. I would quit my current job and focus on school so I could do something better.

Ryuko_Chan posted...

its specifically something muslims and christians have done to a scale uncomparable tho @ElatedVenusaur

And why do you think that?

Crazyman93 posted...

You study the battles and tactics of the time. Like, I can give you a basic overview of how a Roman Legion fought, but can't tell you fuck all about why they went to war beyond "Fuck Carthage" and "MOAR LAND"

My read is that something about being occupied by Brennus and his tribe broke something in their psyche. Like, even Roman sources admit the Romans wronged Brennus and his people and that they comported themselves with honor in their (temporary) occupation of Rome, but the Romans were just utterly terrified at the idea of it happening again. Perhaps because they were violent jerks and couldn't imagine other people weren't just as massive dicks as they were.

Ryuko_Chan posted...

regular islam is very shitty for destroying so much historical artifacts in the name of ending polytheism but i like sufism

You say that like it isn't true of literally every other random group of humans.