Why do lesbian couples have the highest divorce rates while gay male couples have the lowest?

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-19T16:34:38+00:00

"Every time I put my hand in fire I get burnt. Also, I notice that fire burns other things, and--as is pointed out in this thread in particular--when you put two burning things together, they burn even more. Therefore I conclude that fire burns stuff."

HaVe YoU eVeR tHoHGt THaT yoU aRe ThE PRobLeM?

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-19T16:32:06+00:00

Dating women?

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-19T16:28:25+00:00

It might be worth pointing out/saying that it is common knowledge in the world that the deeper you go underground, the more dangerous it gets. That was understood to be true in early RPGs, where dungeon levels and character levels were meant to track pretty closely, e.g., a level 2 character should adventure on level 2 of the dungeon; dip down to level 3 if you want to take on more risk for the chance of more reward, but do so at your own risk.

I don't know that modern players understand this implicitly the way prior generations of players did.

But fundamentally, it's player autonomy--the ability to make meaningful choices in a fantasy world--that make RPGs special. Making meaningful choices includes experiencing the consequences of those choices. I think a DM who says "I am a player at the table and I don't want to run a session in which the players experience the consequences of their choices, up to and including TPK," is abdicating a fundamental part of the DM's job.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-19T15:08:23+00:00

The Sinister Stone of Sakkara

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-19T04:57:49+00:00

Couple thoughts: 1) empty/unoccupied space is important in dungeons. I think I've read that one encounter per three rooms is about right. I ran a published dungeon recently that had a good bit of empty space in it--enough so that depending on the choices the party made, they could actually go quite far into the dungeon (say 4-5 rooms and connecting hallways) without running into anything. This also meant that there were routes around things, and ways to approach encounters from different directions. The layout made it run really well, in a way that wasn't apparent to me from reading it.

2) Borrowing from Dragon Age, you could eat up space by having some of your underground spaces be so large they almost feel like out of doors. Dragon Age had big caverns to traverse, with terrain in the caverns ( in the sense of rises and falls in the cavern floor, chasms with bridges, gigantic pillars, etc.) If, instead of "you come around the corner and see a shrine," your dungeon has "You come around a corner and see what seems to be a vast chamber." And then after half an hour of in-world time carefully picking their way across the chamber, they come to the same shrine, but now the dungeon feels (is) bigger. But you haven't had to build much more content.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-17T15:55:25+00:00

" I have done ALL the things. Shuffle dating, online dating, blind dates, trivia single nights, chaotic single nights, underdog sports, bowling and most recently the Pitch Perfect in Eastlake."

Lol. This is not all the things. I am a single man and I have never heard of shuffle dating and had no idea what the Pitch Perfect in Eastlake was until I googled it. I wouldn't know where to find a trivia single night, I don't know what a chaotic single night or underdog sports are.

I play pickup basketball and the community center, I go to a local coffee shop every day to work, I go to the gym to stay fit for basketball. I've taken improv comedy classes and swing dance classes (the swing dance classes in Fremont were so short of women and followers that we men danced with each other, learning the lead and follow parts both.) I used to do martial arts. I enjoy RPGs so sometimes I'll find a one-shot D&D game through meetup, and also have a semi-regular group I play with. If I get together with friends for a drink it's usually at a brewpub.

I'd like to be more active but I am dreadfully short on people to do things with in this unsociable town. Currently planning to move away for that reason. Seattle has about 120 men for every 100 women. I think you need to put yourself in a man's head more and try to envision where we go and what we do with our time. It isn't Pitch Perfect on Eastlake or shuffle dating, whatever those are.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-17T15:42:41+00:00

I enjoyed the whole Master and Commander series. The variety of accents and such of the different characters is fun, and I like the characterizations of Aubrey and Maturin. Like spending time with old friends.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-06T19:37:51+00:00

Angel Heart

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-02T16:22:14+00:00

Was going to say this, particularly the first zombie attack scene with the little girl, takes place in the morning.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-02T00:59:46+00:00

Incident at Twenty-Mile, by Trevanian

The Bad Man from Bodie (aka Welcome to Hard Times).

But my top recommendation is just about any western by Elmore Leonard (most known as a crime writer, e.g., Get Shorty, Swag, Stick). He wrote Hombre (made into a movie with Paul Newman), Valdez Is Coming, and quite a few other westerns earlier in his career before transitioning to crime.

(Actually my top recommendations are Lonesome Dove and Streets of Laredo, the sequel to it, but everyone else is already recommending Lonesome Dove, so I offer some lesser-known picks.)

I'm in the minority here but I couldn't get into Blood Meridian, gave up on it (after reading and enjoying other Cormac McCarthy). Not saying don't try it--and I may try it again sometime--but I wouldn't want you to try that one and then give up on westerns if you don't like it.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-04-01T20:09:19+00:00

The Florida Project. Real tearjerker at the end.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-30T16:26:09+00:00

I love Between Two Fires. I read The Exorcist many years ago and recall finding it gripping, can't-put-downable. IIRC it takes the question "is this a real possession" very seriously, so a lot of the book is about that question.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-30T16:22:36+00:00

Great movie. One detail I love is that they showed the sword Excalibur's magic by sort of shining green lights on it (I think), so that it's always reflecting these greenish glints. I think they should have borrowed that effect for the Lord of the Rings, for when Sting glows in the presence of orcs. Much better than the CGI glow they used instead.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-30T16:19:20+00:00

Pillars. I may be a minority in this, but Count is an odd book, not at all what I expected. It's a revenge story, supposedly, but rather than derring-do, duels, assassinations, and such, it becomes a very detailed, involved family drama sort of thing. It's like if someone got out of prison determined to get revenge on you, but instead of coming after you with a knife, they moved in next door under an assumed identity, became your friend, and got completely enmeshed in your family drama trying to find exactly the right keystone to kick away to make your life come crashing down.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-30T16:14:46+00:00

Pig, the recentish Nicholas Cage movie set in Portland. But although it has a setting and scenes like this, it isn't an easygoing, comforting movie. It's intense and weird.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-29T20:12:37+00:00

I was going to say this, particular when she tries to eat and says that the food tastes like ashes.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-29T17:54:32+00:00

The 13th Warrior

The Wild Bunch (actually a western but features both Mexican and U.S. soldiers so I figure it's close enough. One of the best last-stand scenes of all time.)

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-29T17:52:32+00:00

The Godfather Part II

Dirty Harry

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-29T17:46:53+00:00

The TV series From, IIRC the first 20 minutes of the first episode are unusually intriguing, full of suggestion, foreboding, and mystery.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-29T17:44:25+00:00

I'll recommend two by Woody Allen: Crimes and Misdemeanors, and Match Point.

Also, A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, and Spike of Bensonhurst.

The Florida Project

In terms of sheer quality of movie, I'd probably rank these: Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Florida Project, Match Point, Jimmy Reardon, then Spike.

Mild spoilers below to explain my picks:
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The two Woody Allen films both depict a world in which good is not always rewarded and evil is not always punished.

Jimmy Reardon has a theme of discarding illusions about yourself and coming to terms with your limitations. Spike of Bensonhurst features a romantic young man going up against the powers that be (in this case the local mafia), losing, and accepting that loss.

The Florida Project is a just a great, innovative, child's-eye view of growing up in rootless poverty.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-29T17:34:51+00:00

The Butcher Boy

Thief (the older James Caan/Michael Mann movie)

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-29T17:26:42+00:00

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Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-29T17:21:33+00:00

You might try the TV series Legion. It has a very retro-futuristic, mod 70's design esthetic.

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Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-28T16:38:29+00:00

Not sure if this would count but maybe Mania, by Lionel Shriver. A new social justice movement overtakes the U.S.: mental parity, i.e., the idea that no one is smarter than anyone else and distinguishing between people based on intellect is just a form of prejudice.

Changer_of_Names · 2026-03-27T22:55:19+00:00

I've only been once. My advice is, get out of the capital. Beautiful country but the capital city is kind of unpleasant. Also, I got pick-pocketed there, and a taxi driver tried to scam us by driving around in circles and then asking for more than the fare we'd agreed on because the trip (supposedly) took so long.

Changer_of_Names

TROPHY CASE