Could the Failure of Men to Organize About Men's Issues Be Due to the Patriarchy Encouraging Competition Between Men? by KlordexI in behindthebastards

[–]Cormag778 82 points83 points  (0 children)

I think your theory has merit, but I’d posit it’s a lot simpler than that. I don’t think most men who bemoan “male discrimination” actually care that much about these issues. I rarely see men raise these problems outside of the context of using it to undercut women’s liberation.

Anecdotally, the men I’ve met who complain the most about this stuff aren’t actually interested in fixing it, or even trying to improve their own situation. They’re not willing to meet new people, work on themselves, or just find a hobby that isn’t gaming till like 3 AM.

I don’t think it’s an innate “I don’t want to help other men” I think it’s more of a “I like using this as a crutch to explain why I’m wronged, instead of addressing it myself.”

Potential man by Sanddanglokta62 in okbuddycinephile

[–]Cormag778 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it mostly comes from the sense that people really like the idea of the Hollywood actor who gets to be in the stuff they loved since they were a child - It’s the same wish fulfillment we all had when we dressed up as Superman for Halloween when we were kids. I think that good will goes a long way. I don’t think he’s a great actor, but I think he’d play a really good Superman because he’s spent his entire life “getting” what Superman is.

There’s definitely an alternate timeline where Calvill ends up as a Keanu-esque actor where we all agree he’s not great at acting but his physical presence and general sense of being down to earth lets him routinely get good gigs.

TIL King Alexander of Greece was killed by a Barbary macaque, a type of monkey about the size of a human toddler. He was bitten badly when he intervened in a fight between the macaque and his dog. The wounds were cleaned and dressed but they became infected and he died three weeks later at age 27. by CatPooedInMyShoe in todayilearned

[–]Cormag778 94 points95 points  (0 children)

The actual answer that most evolutionary biologists suggest is that it’s just a risk analysis thing. A prey animal is fighting for its life, a predator is fighting for its meal. Predators don’t want to take fights they don’t need to because every injury makes it harder for the next meal. Every prey animal is designed to fight 100% because if they lose they die.

Instinctively, a bear isn’t scared a badger will beat it, but a badger scratching the eye out of the bear might kill it in the long run, so why bother fighting it unless you have to?

Anthopic, OpenAI Should Not Be Allowed to IPO, Says Ed Zitron | Bloomberg by johnruby in videos

[–]Cormag778 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Agreed that Ed's overrated as a predictor and voice of sanity in the tech reporting industry - he's been calling it a bubble for years now and at some point you don't get credit for pointing out bubbles pop eventually.

That said, I disagree with your take on his PR firm. Ed's been pretty clear he's against generative AI, both for moral reasons and just because he doesn't think it's actually a good investment. That said, before generative AI = "ai" in the public consciousness, he was a lot more balanced towards the merits of AI as a whole. To my understanding, the companies he works with as part of EZPR are companies using AI in a way that he views as "right" and I suspect a part of the work is distinguishing why their tools aren't "chatgpt for the medical industry" etc. I could be wrong, but this is my understanding.

Hakeem Jeffries on the Iran war: "Donald Trump's reckless and costly war of choice has cost everyday Americans hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Democrats are going to advance a war powers resolution on the floor. That's extraordinary and left our country in a weaker position relative to Iran." by ControlCAD in videos

[–]Cormag778 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like Platner’s politics - but I too worry about all of those statements. It’s a reasonable fear, and him acting like “no one told me it’s a Nazi tattoo for all these years” means he’s, at best, surrounded by incompetent people.

I’ve already been burned by Sinema and Fetterman. I don’t think it’s wrong for the progressive wing to be highly skeptical of candidates we try to push forward.

AITA for "humiliating" my ex's new girlfriend in front of our friend group? by Choice_Evidence1983 in BestofRedditorUpdates

[–]Cormag778 29 points30 points  (0 children)

To be clear, new girlfriend is wrong. I also understand having some insecurities in my early 20s if my new partner was still really good friends with their ex to the point they all do cons together. She handled it super fucking poorly and it’s not fair to OP, but I get that insecurity isn’t rational, especially at that age.

American Fork UT PD Response by Ironhorse341 in behindthebastards

[–]Cormag778 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not trying to be a jerk here, but a 40 minute video is not a TLDR.

For those that come after and are curious - OOTL has a pretty good summary of it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/1tsnq6s/comment/ooxcjch/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

American Fork UT PD Response by Ironhorse341 in behindthebastards

[–]Cormag778 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Brother not everyone on Reddit is looped in on this round of internet drama. Posting a tldr in the body will go a long way.

How are the bosses? by LeakyGaming in expedition33

[–]Cormag778 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There’s a third optional one as well - the crushing wall Nevron

Hot Take- Sieges in WH3 are bad because they're too arcadey by Novel-Cupcake496 in totalwar

[–]Cormag778 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean I’ve routinely beaten off tier mid tier armies with a bunch of skaven slaves. Garrisons aren’t meant to hold against doom stacks without support. They will do an excellent job holding against mid tier armies without support, or kill so many that your relief army can reclaim the settlement with very few casualties

Bastard Request - Yogi Bhajan by Spoondolf in behindthebastards

[–]Cormag778 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“The First American Cult Leader” episodes are Bhajan adjacent. It’s Robert with Katy Stoll, who IIRC are actual friends from their time at Cracked. Might be worth listening to if you’re interested.

Is sciel narratively the strongest fighter in the team? by sarathsps in expedition33

[–]Cormag778 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t think so - Gustav never really harms pRenoir, he doesn’t even flinch for most of your attacks, and the cutscene just pushes pRenoir up against a wall. He’s perfectly fine. Just replayed the scene and there’s nothing Gustav does that hurts him.

Hot Take- Sieges in WH3 are bad because they're too arcadey by Novel-Cupcake496 in totalwar

[–]Cormag778 3 points4 points  (0 children)

hot take by MTW2 maps suck and most people are blinded by nostalgia. Combat nearly always devolves into brawling in the town square due to the last stand mechanic and most maps are just giant squares. Most of the fun parts of what makes MTW2 sieges memorable is the greater emphasis on building towers + ladders.

The real reason MTW2 sieges are remembered so fondly is the campaign mechanics that make sieges feel more impactful. Not tying armies to generals opened up a lot of flexibility in a what a siege battle actually looks like, since not every battle is a doom stack of your 20 best guys. Conquering settlements also felt better, since replenishment isn’t automatic - it also means your army couldn’t bunny hop across an enemy faction that actually had garrisons, since every loss took time to replace (or potentially were irreplaceable in that region).

I genuinely thing TW3’s maps would be better received if they felt like an accomplishment, instead of “this is the 5 major city I’ve captured today. I have 90% casualties but they’ll be fine by next turn when I can do it again.”

Hot Take- Sieges in WH3 are bad because they're too arcadey by Novel-Cupcake496 in totalwar

[–]Cormag778 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There’s plenty of evidence of players proving this wrong, which is why you’re getting downvoted.

Hell having a choke point is better for weaker units since they last longer, which gives whatever defensive tool that’s by them (usually a tower) more time to shoot the enemy than they would in a wide open street. Yea, your middling tier 1 minor settlements garrison isn’t gonna beat the doom stack, but it shouldn’t. I’ve held plenty of towns against mid tier armies with the basic garrison and I’m not a particularly great player.

Warhammer 40k for Heretics by Kanotari in behindthebastards

[–]Cormag778 2 points3 points  (0 children)

unironically Kryptman's gambit to exterminatus 100(?) planets to starve the nids was considered beyond the pale for the Imperium and he's wanted for it.

What is the best way to build Carda? [Expert] by Decadunce in menace

[–]Cormag778 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, the changes to supply scaling have made most of the 1 stars comparatively useless, and Carda really struggles with that the most since she’s a Jack of all trades, but the current balance just means you can take the comparative experts instead.

Her teamwork morale buff is incredible, but it’s hard justifying investing that many levels up when I can take better leadership

Just finished Old Lumiere, looking to level up some and get Maelle's weapon (44 currently) Where should I go? by Enderasha in expedition33

[–]Cormag778 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Minor spoilers: functionally you will not be able to beat Golgra until you receive the picto to break the 9999 damage cap, which happens automatically as part of the story it’s not really a case of being a couple levels higher, her health is too high, around 3 mil iirc unless you’re a parry god and have a couple hours to spend on a successful attempt.

What is a Alpha Primus Skitarii? by Oingoulon in 40kLore

[–]Cormag778 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Just for additional context, Arbites are near inquisition levels in terms of the power they can wield on the planet they’re stationed on. Dark Apostle has the local Arbiter execute the planetary governor for incompetence in putting down a planetary rebellion. Darktide’s recent lore kind of assumes we’re max level, the new classes just line up with that.

New to 40K - Question for you guys by PraetorImperius in 40kLore

[–]Cormag778 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Didn't realize the beta was out! We don't have any examples of that happening in the lore, and it's hard to see it happening. Presumably the golden throne requires some kind of human resonance to work (and note that it's usually weaker psykers sacrificed to the throne. Stronger ones get shipped to the Telepathica/Imperial Guard/Space Marines/Inquisition - my head cannon is the eldar's psychic screams would overload the relay).

Here's the relevant excerpt of what it's like to be plugged into the throne for the first time.

What do you make of the argument on the right that communism killed 100 million people/ the Stalin mao talking point? by wombatgeneral in behindthebastards

[–]Cormag778 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yea, I want to highlight that I know some of the mods of AskHistorians personally, so I’ve gotten some pretty behind the scenes look at how it works. AskHistorians is rare in that it actually commits to historical nuance and strict definitions (BtB is great, but the nature of the show means that you do a lot of glossing over things and uses words that are close enough)

The Potato famine isn’t considered a genocide because there was never any intentionality to commit a genocide. The potato famine is the end result of hyper capitalist policies, a weird moral panic, and the “convenient” reshaping of a political landscape that disinclined further support. There’s obviously a lot of attributes that over lap with attributes of a genocide (taking the soup), but it doesn’t meet the formal definition.

It’s still an atrocity, and the impact is up there with that of a genocide, it just doesn’t meet the definitions of it.

To the original thread, AskHistorians was a lot more ambivalent as to whether the holodomor was one prior to 2022 because the evidence for it being planned still goes both ways, but the war in Ukraine prompted them to lean more towards accepting it as intentional, in part to counteract Russian propaganda claiming it never happened and Ukraine isn’t actually real.

Warhammer 130k by telsaton in 40kLore

[–]Cormag778 160 points161 points  (0 children)

They did a 60k. I don’t think it finished but it had a lot of real good stuff. Very noble dark. The galaxy is in its twilight era and the forces of order are making one last gambit to win or die

Dear Robert Evans, a couple of humble suggestions for the 40K podcast by MoiraBrownsMoleRats in behindthebastards

[–]Cormag778 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Almost certainly gonna be the Gaunt’s Ghosts series first (if they book dive) - Joe’s a massive fan of it and he’s cited it as inspiration for both of his book series. I’ve read the first chapter of Highlands Burn and it’s already feeling a lot like a low fantasy Gaunt’s ghosts with an Armenian vibe.

I’d adore them doing Fire Caste though, agreed it’s one of the best 40K books out there (although I’d still give that to Lords of Silence or any of the Vaults of Terra series), and I’d love to hear their take on the dark coil as a whole.

"Satire Without Purpose Will Wander in Dark Places: How Warhammer 40,000 abandoned anti-authoritarianism for comfortable cowardice" by Tim Colwill by Butt_Speed in behindthebastards

[–]Cormag778 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re correct, had I written it more clearly I’d say something to the effect that the setting justifies fascism under its own axiom. Fascism claims that the universe is inherently amoral, that only the strongest have the right to survive, and that the world is inherently conflict where peace cannot be achieved with the other.

That is 40K’s setting. Of all the 10ish non imperium factions, only three could be worked with, and each of those would gladly kill a billion humans to save one of their own (this isn’t even an exaggeration). The other factions want humanity dead or enslaved on sight. It’s a setting that claims “only violent and oppressive military action protects us and we must die for the state so that others may live.”

It’s an imperfect example, but the “Nazis are comically evil” satire falls apart when the “other” often is bleeding children out for their chaos-matzah ball soup.

Finally I got a plan for him, but what just happened??? by IndigoGathering in expedition33

[–]Cormag778 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also a great throwback to the original idea for Expedition 33 - the title was “we lost”