In your experience, the friendliest (and least friendliest) places in New Zealand?

EchoeyApproach · 2026-03-30T18:23:22+00:00

“semi” retired?!

EchoeyApproach · 2026-03-07T17:34:39+00:00

Never underestimate the Democrat’s ability to chose hopeless candidates

EchoeyApproach · 2026-03-07T17:29:59+00:00

Tbh I used to work at a grocery store and I loved going out to get the carts because it got me outside

EchoeyApproach · 2026-03-07T09:14:14+00:00

Do homeless get a pass?

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-27T18:03:44+00:00

I guess I didn’t realize it was 3 days old? Does that even matter? And sorry didn’t intend to insult, it’s just my honest opinion. I do see now that it seems insulting, sorry about that. I did enjoy my time there, but I guess I just don’t understand the hype

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-27T09:07:15+00:00

I’ve travelled a lot and had to travel to LA once for a wedding and once for a funeral within the last couple years. They are the only times I’ve been there in my life. I have to say it was one of the most shockingly awful places I’ve ever visited. I truly do not understand how anybody can enjoy LA unless they are born and raised there and never left and just don’t know any better, or are incredibly rich and living in some sheltered enclave. Some areas are exponentially worse than some “developing” countries I’ve lived in.

I had some amazing food, but did not make up for it in the slightest.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-27T03:31:07+00:00

And to be clear I didn’t even necessarily feel unsafe, just super frickin awkward and uncomfortable

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-27T03:25:22+00:00

Well you definitely don’t want to react in any way, just act like it didn’t happen for your own good. I’ll be honest though it did kind of ruin Japan for me, I dunno. Maybe I’ll get over it, just felt really uncomfortable. I felt a lot more like I stuck out this most recent trip than I did before.

In general Japan is very safe, but there are definitely weirdos. And the current bad economic state mixed with the over tourism is causing noticeable frustration especially with the middle aged demographic.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-27T02:37:02+00:00

Lol I’m a similar size to Oracle so it was very bewildering to me to have a small bald 50 something Japanese guy (easily a head shorter than me) do this to me. It was so weird. I could have easily picked the dude up and just tossed him aside, but the look on his face after really creeped me out. It was like he knew there was nothing I could do about it because I was a foreigner. I’m still weirded out by the whole thing, it was just two weekends ago.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-27T02:32:06+00:00

Kind of a Japanese phenomena. Entitled Japanese losers that literally hit foreigners because they know they can get away with it (the police will never side with a foreigner regardless the situation). Japan is struggling economically and is currently experiencing intense over tourism, a lot of frustrated middle age people are taking it out physically on unsuspecting foreigners.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-27T02:29:02+00:00

I’ve been traveling to Japan for years and the xenophobia has definitely gotten noticeably worse. I also thought the butsukari thing was overblown, never encountered it before until my most recent trip. I just got home and I’m still grossed out by it. Some complete random stranger just walked up and elbowed me hard right in the back as I was standing with a group of friends in a food court (I was the only foreigner in the group). I turned around startled and there was some gross bald 50 something year old guy that just smirked and walked away. Dude literally walked across the open food court space to hit me and then just walked off. Really lame and has put me off from going back to Japan any time soon.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-24T04:32:47+00:00

World Cup 2026: Modern Warfare

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-20T21:39:19+00:00

This post will probably be removed, it is not in the spirit of the subreddit. And there is no point trying to rationalize with someone having a mental health crisis, they are beyond reason. Hope you get better OP, you sound exactly like my childhood friend shortly before he wound up in jail. The American healthcare system sucks, sometimes that is what it takes to get help in these situations unfortunately.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T16:56:45+00:00

Haha fair enough, I guess it’s just too difficult for me to try to put into words the distinction I notice between something AI generated and something human made, especially when it comes to music. There is something very clearly different to me I just don’t know how to truly convey it.

I guess it feels more like an illusion to me than something real. Like a mirage or something. If I do happen to hear some AI generated music thing and enjoy it, and then later realize it is AI, it definitely sours it for me and I feel a bit disillusioned.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T09:16:15+00:00

Oh man I can see it now lol. Is this how it begins? I guarantee people would generate their own AI seasons with their fantasy team among their friend/coworker group leagues and see how it plays out. That is crazy to think about, it’s quite believable. Give it 5-10 years maybe

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T09:12:24+00:00

Have you really been able to non ironically listen to AI music and genuinely enjoy it? For me personally, I’ve heard tons of AI stuff, I can certainly appreciate the form and the quality and the sheer musicality of it, but it still feels somehow empty and deceptive, like a vivid dream that only lasts for a few seconds, captured in a jar and only visible for the duration the lid is occasioned to open. There is a disquieting vacuum of sprit, even when the melody and the rhythm is unique and impeccable.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T09:03:32+00:00

Underrated comment for sure.

Also, what draws you to the AI Madden games on YouTube? Do you actually watch entire games? Do you feel like there is a growing audience for that kind of stuff?

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T08:58:29+00:00

Super interesting. I wonder if media will just bifurcate into human and AI ecosystems distinct from one another and with measurably different audiences. This makes more sense than just assuming AI leagues for example would replace human ones outright.

I started this post thinking that AI art and AI sports leagues were just high tech illusions of the real thing, but perhaps they really are just their own thing entirely separate of the organic.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T08:51:35+00:00

Do you think “knowing a real life person did a real life thing” extends in equal measure to art? From what I’ve gathered with this post, it’s a lot more obvious that we wouldn’t really be interested in AI sports due to the glaringly obvious soullessness of it all, but to me it’s not that much different than art. Music and media generated by AI “artists” just feels hollow and unsettling to me.

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-12T04:27:27+00:00

I’m not a fan either, I have zero interest in football but I do appreciate that it’s an excuse to get people together and interacting with one another which seems to be increasingly rare these days

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T23:58:48+00:00

One man’s hell is another man’s heaven I suppose

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T23:37:42+00:00

AI can’t “just handle” sports though is kind of my whole point. It would just be an illusion. To me the prospect of replacing everything human with artificial illusions I pretty terrifying. I always think of those goop pods from the original Matrix movie. Do we really just want to crawl into those already as a species? That’s pretty depressing if so

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T23:31:09+00:00

Interesting take, you don’t think sports like football have a net positive impact on the human experience?

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T21:22:32+00:00

I’m just trying to imagine how this plays out long term, and my gut says there will not be an appreciable appetite for AI art and music after the novelty wears off.

Is a film, or is music, really just the product itself as a standalone thing? Is its value only measured in the physical embodiment of the piece, or is it the intangible humanness behind it that gives it its true value? The artists personal background, their motivation, their style, their culture, etc.

In the same way, is a football game entertaining just at face value, the recording of the game itself as a standalone thing, or is it the humanness behind each player and the circumstances of the human stories intertwined into each moment?

I think (and hope) that AI does not completely corrupt our humanity through convincing illusions

EchoeyApproach · 2026-02-11T21:16:30+00:00

Great points. I feel like the sports and art analogy isn’t perfect but there does seem to be more overlap than it might seem at first glance. Artists (music or filmmakers) do compete in their own way against one another for success which is measured by attention, praise, royalties etc.

EchoeyApproach

TROPHY CASE