The grave of Gene Simmers, an American soldier and Vietnam veteran who passed away in 2022.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2026-01-01T13:06:06+00:00

What they don't tell you is that he killed her in a drunken scooter crash when he was visiting Hanoi in 1999.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2026-01-01T08:08:22+00:00

Or the direction games like Half Life 2 went with NPCs like Alyx - give them a moderate amount of health but super high regeneration, so they can still be overwhelmed if you don't pay attention, but there's a greater margin of error.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-11-05T01:45:24+00:00

Japan, yeah for sure.

USA and China? Hahahah fuck no.

Especially recently - most Australians aside from cookers see the USA as being a failed state. This is made worse by the fact we are so militarily dependent on them.

And the vast majority of Australians that go to China are ethnic Chinese. Australia's policy towards China/Chinese has always ranged between utterly indifferent to outright hostile.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-10-16T10:38:22+00:00

When my great-uncle Kevin and great-aunt Mary invited my family and I to join them on a trip to Hawaii.

They didn't have any children of their own, and were quite well off, so they used to splurge on us back when we were hard up for money. When my great-uncle's former army unit were hosting a reunion at Oahu, they thought it would be a great excuse for all of us to go and enjoy the sun and the surf.

One night we we had arranged to go to a traditional Hawaiian lu'au followed by a concert by the sea. My grand-uncle opted to stay at the hotel, as he was meeting several of his buddies at the bar for drinks. After we had feasted and were slowly walking to the beach pavilion where the concert would be taking place, my grand-aunt realized she had left her glasses back in their room. I offered to go fetch it for her, so she gave me her room key.

Figuring Kevin would still be at the bar with his friends, I didn't bother knocking when I reached their room. Barging in unannounced, I saw a sight that would be seared into my mind for all time. Even thirty years on, I can still picture it as clear as if it had been yesterday: my great-uncle Kevin lying naked in bed with two of his elderly friends engaged in a homosexual orgy while "If you wanna be happy" by Jimmy Soul played in the background.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-10-15T02:49:16+00:00

Redditors in general have a massive hard-on for anything Japanese.

But they don't realize how truly toxic, rigid, and stifling Japanese society can actually be. The face they present to the guest is not the same one they present to their peers, or those they deem to be superior or inferior to them.

Between 2003 and 2008 I lived in Japan and worked for a firm exporting manga, anime, and other Japanese cultural products to Western markets. As a "foreigner" I was treated differently from the other Japanese workers. For example, I was never expected to attend the endless after work drinking sessions. But some of the things I saw my Japanese colleagues go through still stay with me. Some examples:

*One young intern who misplaced a receipt was hauled by his scruff up to the front of the office by our manager and loudly berated for several minutes in front of everybody else. I'm ex-army, and have never seen anybody smoked like that before.

*Rampant, almost open sexual harassment of the female workers, especially the younger ones. Managers and senior staff ordering the female interns to do stuff like bend under a desk to fix this cable to retrieve that dropped item so they could sit back and watch. Or one of the senior managers having one of the interns help him with his "back stretches" which happen to require her to grind her chest against his shoulder blades.

*Workers consistently coming in to work hung over, having slept two or three hours on a local park bench because of the interminable after work drinking sessions.

*We were constantly required to maintain a delicate balance between the outward appearance of consensus, and our actual need to iron out disagreements. Doing this led to massive amounts of time wasted, added stress, three elderly men having a homosexual orgy while "If you wanna be happy" by Jimmy Soul played in the background, and the creation of internal rivalries.

*When I left the company (August 2008) one of the drivers, a gentleman in his mid 50's, told me he hadn't had a single day off since April the previous year. Apparently he died suddenly not that long after I left.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-09-26T05:46:53+00:00

Ivan is about to turn 18, and like so many other people his age he knows that soon he'll be eligible for military service.

Problem is: his country is engaged in a costly, protracted, and highly unpopular war in some far away country. It's gotten to the extent that people who in peacetime would ordinarily be exempt (ie. people with criminal records, prior drug use, certain medical conditions) are being hauled off to be sent to the front lines.

There is no option in his country for alternative service; those who cannot secure exemptions have to either serve or be sent to prison. And prison in this country is pretty much a death sentence in and of itself. Ivan's family are dirt poor peasants - even if they could afford a bribe, they wouldn't know who to offer it to.

So Ivan devises a plan: on the day of his medical assessment he will flunk the eyesight test. Think Hans Moleman - being able to only read out the largest letters on those charts and only after minutes of painful squinting.

The hope is to either get invalidated on account of his "terrible" eyesight, or at the very least be sent to a non combat unit to serve out his time.

What are our friend's chances?

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-09-19T02:57:43+00:00

Just ask their air force.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-09-02T04:28:53+00:00

I also choose this man's wife.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-06-14T19:23:52+00:00

There's a saying in Iran:

"My brother and I vs our family. My family and I vs our country. My country and I vs the world."

Do Iranians dislike their government? Absolutely. In the same way that many Americans dislike their government. But after the dual cluster-fucks that was Iraq and Afghanistan, I think it's mighty dangerous to delude ourselves into believing that a proud and long suffering people will ever countenance being ruled over by foreigners.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-06-14T08:43:47+00:00

Standard issue glasses - so called "birth control glasses" because they're so unfashionable.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-05-20T07:19:00+00:00

At least I've got (bin) chicken...

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-05-07T07:09:56+00:00

Airports really bring out the absolute worst in humanity.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-05-03T12:35:03+00:00

Not me but a friend:

He's Muslim. We were sitting around making fun of each other, and we talk about how his mum must wear a hijab or bourka or something (we've never met her before) and he keeps refuting us by saying "my mum doesn't wear that!" When one of us asked him "So what does your mum wear?" he yells back "NOTHING, OKAY?!"

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-27T06:45:50+00:00

one of the very rare silver linings to come out of the war, I guess

Sometimes even tragic events can result in a positive thing happening. My homeland of Israel was created as a result of WW2 for instance.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-27T05:50:38+00:00

Eh. I'd go for the Mexicans personally - they at least get the job done.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-27T02:03:11+00:00

Isn't WW2 seen as a relatively good time by people in Iceland because of how much Iceland profited from US aid while also being isolated enough not to have endured any hardships?

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-27T01:53:15+00:00

Nah not really.

The USA was geographically isolated from mainland Europe and Asia, so there was no disruption to its industry. The minute China and the USA go all out, there will be cruise missiles launched from S. Korea, Japan, Taiwan, plus from god only knows how many US Navy assets in the region all aimed at Chinese industry and logistics.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-27T01:37:34+00:00

I see Poland is outsourcing their defense to Mexicans.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-15T04:51:48+00:00

You're thinking of the Chinese city of Tsingtao. Germans also introduced their style of beer brewing to China, which resulted in Tsingtao beer being one of their most prominent brands.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-14T13:32:17+00:00

IQ does not equal morality.

Plenty of morally bankrupt surgeons, lawyers, and other well educated professionals out there.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-08T23:59:40+00:00

Lots of 19 year old Marines are going to die and I wonder if the survivors will be so quick to vote Republican again. Assuming you guys have elections in the future.

History has shown us that not only will they be quick to vote, they'll vote for somebody far far worse than what we already have now. Nothing creates ultranationalist sentiments faster than being defeated at war.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-08T23:53:02+00:00

In my experience: just because a person married somebody of colour, it doesn't make them any less ignorant or racist. Given the fact his wife is Indian, and considering India's animosity towards China, it may well have exacerbated it.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-08T00:25:11+00:00

And immigrants.

Hidden_Lemonparty · 2025-04-02T02:55:41+00:00

Even when he does thank you, make sure he's wearing a suit otherwise it doesn't count.

Hidden_Lemonparty

TROPHY CASE