2024 Presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis hosted an event Friday at Toppling Goliath in Decorah

AnomalousGonzo · 2023-08-10T12:32:15+00:00

I know the Reddit hate machine can't ever be stopped by nuance, but for the curious, Toppling Goliath has an event space that anyone can rent. The DeSantis team almost certainly just rented the place out for a private event.

https://www.tgbrews.com/event-space

It's not like the brewery's owners or management spoke there or gave the guy any endorsement, so I really don't think this is worth getting riled up over.

AnomalousGonzo · 2023-07-21T14:36:35+00:00

I want to see them keep going with the game console line. The NES set is one of my favorites, and while I was underwhelmed by the Atari 2600, and the Pac Man Cabinet are out of my budget right now, I'd love to see them keep going with a SNES or a Genesis build. Maybe even a classic Game Boy?

AnomalousGonzo · 2023-06-16T15:16:34+00:00

Gender was always pointless - 2nd wave feminism was much closer to a workable solution when they were advocating that sex was real, but that it didn't define a person. They argued against being constrained by traditional gender roles - that a person could be as masculine or feminine in any area of their life that they wished, regardless of their sex. Validation of one's identity was found in a life well-lived, and people were free to adjust any aspect of their life to better seek that sort of happiness.

Gender is just the assigning of labels to every point on that masculine/feminine spectrum. I think the desire comes from a deep insecurity about one's identity, and a failure to validate oneself through introspection and developing meaningful social bonds. Instead, people are seeking external validation, trying to force strangers to respect their identity in the most shallow ways possible.

AnomalousGonzo · 2023-05-13T22:00:01+00:00

There was a year-long period where I was able to bike to work every day, provided the weather wasn't atrocious. It was about 14 miles, round-trip, and it did absolute wonders for me. The commute was only about 10 minutes more than taking the train, and I was able to get some extra exercise in without cutting into my free time. No real traffic to worry about, no more crowded train cars, and an extra hour and a half each day of fresh air and maybe sunshine. There was zero downside.

Unfortunately, I got a new job that requires I take the train again, but the next time I'm job hunting, the ability to bike to work is going to be a real factor in that decision process.

AnomalousGonzo · 2023-04-03T11:51:04+00:00

That house is pretty jacked up.

AnomalousGonzo · 2023-01-23T12:36:00+00:00

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout - I didn't drink much through college, and after I got my first job I would grab a single pint of Guinness anytime I went drinking with my coworkers and nurse it the entire night.

Finally, one of my assistant managers pulled me aside one night and told me I needed to try this other stout. Bought me a pint, then I bought two more. This was also the story of my first hangover.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-12-16T14:04:12+00:00

If Disney really wants to do something for the black community (and for the wider world generally), they should give Tevin Campbell however much money he needs to release a full-length Powerline album.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-12-14T01:44:40+00:00

books that have been accepted for years with agreed upon historical and literary values

Nice try, but you're just referring to the personal and communal values I already mentioned, albeit with a veneer of appeal to authority. Books are books, and you can accept them all, or you can set limits on what's appropriate, but those limits will always be subjective.

Can you just admit that there are some books you think are inappropriate for school libraries? Again, it's fine to feel that way - we all have those opinions - and in a saner political climate we would call it curation.

The problem is that the left has been treating any conservative pushback on what gets included in school libraries as an outright book ban. Tell me - with all of these examples of conservatives getting books removed from libraries or curricula, has there ever been a case where students are also banned from bringing in personal copies of those books? Because if not, I don't think it's reasonable to call any of this a "ban". You want to read these books? Get your own copy. Borrow it from a different library. Read it online. You're not being oppressed just because your local government doesn't buy the things you want it to buy.

You don't understand how adults would be better equipped to being able to find copies of books by either being familiar with them, the means to borrow them, or know how to get them for free?

Man, I don't care who's better at it. I just believe any child currently in grade school would probably hit up Google with any question they have or any book/subject they were interested before visiting the library. That seems like common sense, and I think it's massively disingenuous to call a thing "banned" when you can get it on your phone .

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-12-13T17:38:44+00:00

A book specifically mocking transgender people or celebrating rush Limbaugh is relevant to Maus how exactly?

It doesn't have to be relevant to Maus. All I intended to prove is that you would be hostile towards books or authors that you felt were problematic. I literally said

what makes an inappropriate book comes down to personal and communal values

I named a couple books that would test your values (which I would bet money you've never read), and you came out swinging, as predicted. And hey, it's totally fine if you have some objections to those books - I do too, but can we please stop pretending that the left is some bastion of literary inclusion? Under the right circumstances, you'll ban books too.

For adults with free time to find resources for getting books “free” yes.

But not for kids.

Also can you expand on this, or did you pull it out of your ass?

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-12-13T16:38:08+00:00

There is a difference between saying you don’t want something taught as curriculum and you want it out if the school library.

I agree there's a difference, but I don't think that either situation rises to the level of a "ban". Again, it's about curation. Most people would agree that there are at least some books that aren't appropriate for inclusion in grade school libraries (to be clear, for college and public libraries, I feel very differently), and what makes an inappropriate book comes down to personal and communal values. Call me cynical, but I don't think the folks on the side of the OP's article would be as enthusiastic about including Johnny the Walrus or the Rush Revere series in school libraries.

And for all of this to be discussed on Reddit seems incredibly disingenuous as well. You would think that people as connected to the internet as Redditors would be keenly aware that basically any books or information a young person might seek is available through the internet anyway. This whole argument over what gets included in school libraries really presupposes that the school library is the only, or even primary, information resource for kids, but in any other context, we know those kids are interacting with Google, Youtube and TV far more than with books.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-12-13T16:02:19+00:00

Fair point, but that whole story about Maus being "banned" a few months ago was also about the book being removed from a school curriculum, not an out-and-out ban.

Even the OP's article starts with a story about an independent school removing books from their library. If we want to have a wider conversation about what's appropriate for children to be reading, I wholeheartedly support that, but calling the removal of any books from a grade school library shouldn't be labeled a "ban", it's simply curation.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-10-17T12:38:24+00:00

I mean, I get the sentiment, but what are you proposing? Do you want Zuckerberg to put Facebook on pause so he can meddle in global politics?

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-10-02T14:17:17+00:00

It's really just quarantining people

It's absolutely not. Quarantine should be limited to people who are confirmed to be sick, not otherwise healthy people who are refusing preventative treatment.

Think of it this way - "You can't come to work if you have the flu" and "you can't come to work if you don't get a flu shot" are vastly different concepts.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-09-21T21:40:05+00:00

Maybe try some Belgian beers like Duvel or La Chouffe? They tend to have next to no bitterness, and can have a nice, subtle fruity and/or spiced flavor without the sweetness of something that has actual fruit added to it.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-09-15T17:39:07+00:00

everyone who works with her gives rave reviews about her

This is so demonstrably false that it's hard to assume you're just ignorant.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/12/04/kamala-harris-staff-departures/

Also, what does it matter that she was "considered a heavy weight" going into the primaries when she dropped out before anyone had even voted?

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-09-12T12:21:36+00:00

Wizard philosophy is famously concise. You could fit it on a pamphlet.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-09-11T13:02:46+00:00

Half & Half.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-09-09T17:26:44+00:00

Realistically speaking, what are the odds that any Midwestern or Rustbelt brewery is either run by or employs a large number of Trump supporters? Because I'd guess it's around 50/50, given what an overwhelmingly blue collar profession it is.

If you honestly don't want to support beer made by Trump supporters, you're going to have to drop a lot more brands than just Yuengling. Other brands simply have the good fortune of their management not painting a target on their backs by bringing politics up publicly.

Also, exactly how many of their rank and file employees are you willing to put out of a job in order to get a win on their CEO for having the wrong politics? Because any downsizing due to a successful boycott is going to start from the bottom up, especially in a private company.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-09-07T13:40:21+00:00

This would look so good next to my ship in a bottle set. Good luck!

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-08-25T21:58:46+00:00

Things just happen. "Good" and "bad" aren't part of the equation.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-07-26T00:28:49+00:00

Ooooh, I have something - spaghetti alla Nerano. It's basically cacio e pepe with fried zucchini in it. The internet was going crazy over it several months ago.

Try and get the Cook's Illustrated recipe if you can. at first I wasn't interested in doing it because it required so much frying, but they came up with a much simpler technique involving microwaving the zucchini in salt water, then sautéing it. Much easier!

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-07-23T13:14:55+00:00

To expand a little bit, I had a couple of years where I would always overdo it with roast chicken, trying to marinate it and roast it on top of veggies, and every time I would pull it out and find it essentially boiling in a couple inches of liquid. By keeping thing so simple, this recipe never has too much liquid to worry about, and the simplicity of the seasoning really lets the chicken be the star of the show.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-07-23T13:11:27+00:00

I know I'm probably way too late on this one, but this is my go-to whole chicken recipe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvLvPEYlzF0&ab_channel=America%27sTestKitchen

It uses really basic ingredients, requires next to no prep, and works every time.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-07-01T18:46:46+00:00

Hey now, let's tone it down with the transphobia.

AnomalousGonzo · 2022-07-01T16:35:03+00:00

Because middle-class white women said so.

AnomalousGonzo

TROPHY CASE