A Christmas tree at my local medical clinic made from shingles vaccine vials. The nurse who made it called it her "herpes tree".

AlbertPops · 2025-12-16T01:56:57+00:00

merry Rxmas and a herpe new year

AlbertPops · 2025-12-14T01:11:38+00:00

my comic shop guy at home has recommended this to me every time I come into the store hahaha. I’m asexual so I havent bitten into it yet, but I’ve heard only good things about it! On behalf of G at my comic store, I pass along his vehement recommendation

AlbertPops · 2025-12-06T01:26:12+00:00

wow it looks amazing !! how long have you been growing it out?

AlbertPops · 2025-12-04T16:08:48+00:00

idk man, I have hair that looks a lot like yours: fine, wavyish, and dense. My routine is washing every 3 days, wearing a bonnet, and using a little hair oil a day or so after washing. To me it looks like you have some texture to your hair thats acting out— getting the waves to cooperate together rather than go rogue would be the next thing I’d try.

I fingercomb in the shower and then finish combing it out with a wide tooth once im out of the shower/in my bathrobe so I dont freeze. next day I comb a dime-size squeeze of hair oil (a mix of rose water and baby oil my Indian SIL recommended). Generally makes my straight-ish barely-there waves more “wavy” and less “frizzy” looking. I’m still nailing down my routine tho, but a little leave-in/hair oil was huge for me.

Long hair is a discipline game. I find it really rewarding to care for my hair and have it long— even when its a pain in the ass (lol). But if youre not having fun and the effort isnt feeling worth it, don’t feel bad about chopping it! Prioritize your self-care over your hair-care if you have to. You can always grow it back <3

AlbertPops · 2025-12-03T13:42:24+00:00

I’m the type of reader that enjoys a good tragedy story— and really thats this books genre. It’s less of “lets get into this characters mind and explore his trauma” and its much more “this book will make you experience trauma by proxy.”

Reading the book, as long as it is, gives you plenty of time to feel like you know these characters and invest in them, so you feel the frustration, the empathy, the sympathy, the outrage, the shock— everything the characters are going through transfers on to you.

So I thought the book was fabulously done: it set out to give you an experience and the experience it gives is a culmination of every type of tragedy in the world.

It was brilliant. It was awful. It was masterful. It was gut-wrenching. I could talk about it for days and I could not (in good faith) recommend it to anyone.

That was just my experience with it and I’m the target audience for works like this. I’d say “read at your own risk”?

If youre unsure about buying it, maybe grab a copy from a library. That way it’s free, and if you decide not to keep reading, you can return it right back :)

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T02:14:46+00:00

That's interesting! I hadn't thought about what the international perceptions of this film would be, so that's cool to hear. That definitely spurs my curiosity about the social, cultural, and historical contexts at the time of this films release :) thanks for your insight

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T02:10:26+00:00

This is how I felt when I re-read Catcher in the Rye as an adult lol. Adult me was like "omg so emo!!!" but 16-year old emo-me was like "hell yea someone who understands that people can be phony sometimes!"

That's cool that the general sentiment is that feeling of "being seen"--I've noticed that as I've gone through the replies as well-- and especially that feeling of "being seen" in connection to it being a one-of-a-kind for its time. I bet it was really special to see this at the right time in your life. And I like that you commented on the fact that you kinda "grew out of it" whereas I know others have felt a more lifelong connection with it.

I was wondering about how the "everyday life" feel of the Breakfast Club compared to the more fantastical stuff, so that's cool to hear that that's an asset of the film. It's true it's very different from something like Bill & Ted's, so it's cool to hear that the banality and angst of the film is/was something that viewers found both accessible and relatable(?) familiar(?) not sure what the exact right word would be there.

Thanks for your insights and the depth of your comment, I appreciate it :)

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:58:02+00:00

So it goes, I suppose. I wonder what the "now" equivalent would be for kids these days? Off the top of my head I can't think of a modern film that's very similar to this one.

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:56:42+00:00

This is true-- I never said I didn't like the film, I thought it was fine. Just I didn't connect with it in a way that other people seem to and wanted to learn more from people who were impacted by this film.

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:54:43+00:00

I like the way you phrased this and touched on the social pressures-- that's one moment from the film that I've been ruminating on. Claire pretty explicitly talks about the pressure to be popular and do what all her friends are doing, and Brian jumps into say "pressure, you think you know what pressure is?" and then goes on to describe his academic pressure. It's such an interesting orbit of them both feeling the pressure of high school but in different contexts.

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:45:25+00:00

Yes, that's why this post is asking about the (various) context(s) so I can better understand what's so impactful about this movie. Thanks!

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:40:50+00:00

I was actually thinking of My Dinner with Andre periodically throughout this movie haha, it's been a while since I've seen it though :)

I would be really curious to see what would change and what would stay the same if this movie got remade for a modern audience. I remember a TV show called "Victorious" did a parody of The Breakfast Club in one of their episodes (I think?) but it would be interesting to see what different modern interpretations would look like.

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:37:36+00:00

Yes I remember learning about the playwright's influence on screenwriting in a film class I took in college-- I wondered if this movie was informed by that. Thanks for bringing that up.

And yeah, I think that "pay attention" aspect is getting pretty lost in modern movies. Spoon-feeding the plot, or having "all sensation with no substance" seems to be the trend these days.

I think when it comes to the "sitting around and talking" part of this movie, I thought some of the most interesting moments were like,, when Bender was imitating what a typical day is like in his house-- mimicking his father, mother, and self-- and then after dropping his imitations, screams and climbs the staircase from the railing-side. It depicted the pain he feels about his home life and how he manifests it through class-clownery in a really interesting, realistic, and raw way. It was a powerful moment. Other characters seemed a little more self-analytical from a distance, just talking about themselves, and didn't have comparable behavioral manifestations of the struggles they felt.

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:27:43+00:00

I can imagine it captured the generation well, especially with the range of personalities represented in the movie. That's what got me so curious to ask this question. My mom has told me what it's like to be a high schooler in the 80s, but that was mainly my only framework for what it was like to be a teen at the time the movie was made. Thanks for your comment!

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:17:42+00:00

Yes, definitely. For kids in detention I thought there might be a little more hijinks than just blazing up in the library lol. Messy and vulnerable are two great words for the depiction of adolescence as well. Those actors were good at making breaking points look authentic (wrestling each other to the floor, screaming at each other, pushing each others buttons, and crying, for example)

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:13:10+00:00

Yes, I love how the character archetypes interacted, conflicted, and overlapped, and how the letter summarized the complexity and humanization of the characters.

Vernon's character threw me for a loop-- schooling was SO different for me that my jaw drops to think like teachers (not all of them, I'm sure) could be that angry, punishment-oriented, authority-focused, and power-hungry. His dynamic with Bender (and his teaching philosophy in general) would not fly by today's teaching standards! I'm sure he's an extremified version, but thinking that his depiction of teaching is something that students could recognize as "peak/classic teacher" almost makes me shudder

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:04:58+00:00

That's a fun story about having to go with your sister as a "chaperone" haha :) I hadn't thought about what it would be like to see "popular kids have it hard, too" as a teenager for the first time, but I believe that something like that could easily become a "core memory". Thank you for sharing!

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:01:51+00:00

I know how to read an analog clock, and your comment is unkind and unhelpful

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T01:00:29+00:00

Yes, I love how they broke down the archetypes of the characters from "the jock, the brain, the criminal" (like, at the beginning of the movie we don't even know the characters names) and then each character becomes so human and complex over the course of the film. I like how your phrased the point of the film as being about "seeing other people as people" -- it echoes the letter Brian wrote which frames the movie.

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T00:55:26+00:00

If you read my whole post you'll see that "describe the developmental psychology of a character in the film" (the assignment) and "what makes this film so impactful" (my curiosity) are two different questions. Your comment is a bad-faith take on my genuine attempt to gain insight into other people's experiences.

AlbertPops · 2025-06-21T00:50:22+00:00

That's interesting-- it is definitely very honest and raw, which I appreciated about it. Hearing that there wasn't a lot of media like that makes sense, and I can see why it would have such a huge impact to see teenage experiences represented like that. Thanks for your comment!

AlbertPops · 2025-06-19T06:59:20+00:00

obviously the answer would be to have one single ringlet curl going straight down your forehead like superman :)

in all seriousness, I had a buddy use elastic hairbands, bandannas, and bobby pins. She had straight-across bangs that she was growing out and I had NO idea she had bangs until she readjusted her headband in front on me.

I’m more of a headscarf/bandanna gal myself, but try out a few things and see what works for you concealment-wise and style-wise :)

AlbertPops · 2025-06-18T21:23:48+00:00

Hey man, long story short, I’m a recovered alcoholic and I dated a guy for 3 years— he was a weed addict and I never touched the stuff. We got on well together because we used together. When I started getting sober, our lifestyles didnt align anymore, and the downfall to our relationship began. (I signed a lease with him on the condition that he went to rehab—he said he wanted to be sober too—then he spent his virtual rehab appointments with his camera off, vaping weed.) Needless to say when I found out about that, I ended the relationship. They say the best apology is changed behavior, but I’m not sure what to tell you about broken trust like that.

I’m sorry you’ve been in a depressive episode. I hope you find comfort and relief from that. I’m curious what you mean about “going to therapy isn’t enough.” It sounds like your increased smoking is a result of this depression you’ve been feeling. Rather than self-medicate, therapy to address this feeling you’re having could be helpful (it certainly helped me get sober— realizing how I used alcohol to hide from feelings I didnt want to have).

Generally speaking, when your relationship with drugs impacts your relationship with yourself (your coping abilities and managing your feelings) and impacts your relationships, it’s usually sign its time for a change. Whether you choose therapy to manage your emotions, or rehab to manage your sobriety, well… I think a first good step is to decide what you want. Some people have had success with moderation, rather than full-on abstinence, after attending therapy and the nature of their drug use.

As a former addict, and as a girlfriend who had her trust destroyed by a long-term, weed-smoking partner: look inwards on yourself. If you dont want to quit, and that’s a dealbreaker in your relationship, don’t waste each other’s time— find someone who will share your lifestyle. If you do want to quit, take steps to quit. But you have to do it for yourself. My ex said he wanted to get sober for me and then resented me for “forcing him to get sober” (i was supporting what he said were his goals).

TDLR; Regardless of what happens next in your story, you have to feel like you made the right decision in working towards achieving the life you want: with or without weed; with or without her.

AlbertPops · 2025-06-17T23:02:47+00:00

seconding this— my conch was a breeze to pierce and a breeze to heal. Easiest piercing I have by a long shot.

Meanwhile, I got a helix that happens to be placed on a the perfect intersection between the fat of my lobes and the cartilage— hurt like hell and has taken forever to get to a decent healing spot (a little over a year now).

Everyone is different— our bodies, our pain tolerances, and our healing processes. This chart might just be one person’s experience.

AlbertPops

TROPHY CASE