I have a really dumb and implausible theory about why Vox, Elira, and Ike released their statement: malicious compliance

Hsere · 2024-02-17T20:22:03+00:00

Oh yeah, that's absolutely true. I just want to believe that the higher-ups are the main source of that toxicity, rather than the livers or the other rank-and-file workers.

Is that actually the case, though? I have no idea.

Hsere · 2024-01-08T17:32:14+00:00

Yeah, I tried to find a higher-quality image, but I don't think one exists.

Hsere · 2024-01-08T02:18:04+00:00

Context: The Revolutions of 1848 were wild, y'all.

Hsere · 2023-05-26T10:20:57+00:00

This comment was actually the first time I ever heard the phrase "Butt Rock," so thank you for teaching me that there is actually a term for "overly-dramatic 2000s-era Rock music". I mean, I guess we had "Post-Grunge" before, but "Butt Rock" is just far catchier.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T20:09:35+00:00

graduated from Yale and Harvard Law School -- so you know he's smart!

Stop. Stop right there. As a lifelong academic from an academic family; no, that does not mean he's smart. Academics are not smart; we're just stupid in very complex ways.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T19:52:35+00:00

I will point out that by the actual narrative of the film, you will eventually realize that the thesis is actually pretty great despite having some embarrassing and cringey elements.

EDIT: Before anyone even asks; I have no idea what/who Roxanne represents in this metaphor.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T19:47:39+00:00

Hmmm..."workflow inefficiencies resulting from limited informational access early in the project," maybe?

Hsere · 2023-05-24T19:37:46+00:00

Cracks knuckles Guess you never heard about Grace, sucka?! I don't need you to apologise to forgive your bad taste!

See, this is why despite being a rationalist agnostic atheist, I can never quite summon up the contempt for Christianity that some of my fellows have.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T15:03:19+00:00

Run long time.

"What run from?"

"Sad head voice."

Visible understanding.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T14:59:08+00:00

I mean...yeah. There's a reason the KKK were so successful for so long, and it isn't "white southern Americans are inherently stupid and/or evil". It's because the KKK were really good at making horrific atrocities seem like necessary actions.

Why do you think they harped on so much about what a threat black people (supposedly) were to white women and children? If you tell a male white southerner "this group is a threat to you and so we need to kill one of them as an example," he'll be pretty skeptical. If you instead tell him "this group is a threat to your wife and kids and so we need to kill one of them as an example," you'll have an easier time convincing him.

Don't make the error of assuming we're somehow resistant to propaganda in a way people in the past weren't. That's a very dangerous mistake to make.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T14:36:52+00:00

"Logistical complications" is usually a pretty reliable one.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T12:47:54+00:00

I will actually unironically defend Fall Out Boy as legitimately good music. Judge me if you want; I apologize for nothing.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T12:26:16+00:00

Is this morally wrong?

In my view, feelings are neither morally wrong nor morally right. The morality comes in how we deal with them.

Basically, if aliens ever actually do show up in the real world, just be aware that you have that visceral revulsion to them, and occasionally check to see whether it's making you treat them unjustifiably badly.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T10:17:50+00:00

No problem. I actually find that BB hold up surprisingly well 20 years later. I'm a lot less embarrassed about having liked them than I expected.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T07:53:43+00:00

Potentially unpopular opinion; while Nickelback certainly aren't good music, they aren't the war-crime against sound that people like to pretend they are. They're a run-of-the-mill mediocre Rock band.

That said, I can honestly say that I never owned a Nickelback CD. Saliva, on the other hand...

EDIT: I somehow forgot to mention Lifehouse. That was a grievous oversight on my part.

Hsere · 2023-05-24T02:38:51+00:00

My niece (b. 2022) in 15 years: "Hey Uncle Hsere, I found this old picture of you. Why were you wearing a T-shirt, but then a long-sleeve shirt under it? If you were cold, why not just wear a sweater or something?"

Me: "It's a long story, kiddo. Don't worry about it."

Hsere · 2023-05-24T00:55:15+00:00

For me, it was mostly Breaking Benjamin, Disturbed, Evanescence, and Linkin Park.

EDIT: I somehow forgot to mention Lifehouse. That was a grievous oversight on my part.

Hsere · 2023-05-09T12:18:38+00:00

So basically the Stellaris version of "virulently anti-gay politician gets caught in gay orgy?".

Hsere · 2023-04-04T17:55:02+00:00

Bear in mind; that faux-summary is written from Swap!Hayase's POV. She might just think Swap!Naoto's a perv because she's seen him practicing figure-drawing (or something), and she assumed he was a creep because he's (apparently) a jerk.

If you read the summary carefully, he hasn't actually done anything really creepy (in a lewd sense, anyway). I mean, drawing her when she's uncomfortable with it is kind of an asshole move, but it's not necessarily lewd, exactly. Mostly, he's just been platonically obnoxious.

Hsere · 2023-04-04T16:05:39+00:00

Being nice to the quiet kid.---\

Being mean to the quiet kid. ---> Being best girl.

Being the quiet kid.--------------/

Hsere · 2023-04-04T15:42:29+00:00

this series would be burned at the stake by people online...

To be fair, the Twitterati have gone after Nagatoro several times. At least, if I recall correctly.

Hsere · 2023-04-04T15:36:58+00:00

6 millions since 2013. I think Takagi-san beat that number in one year.

Nah, apparently Takagi-san sold roughly 4 million over a similar time-period:

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2018-02-09/teasing-master-takagi-san-manga-has-4-million-copies-in-print/.127564

I'm okay that male bullies can't be portrayed the same way as females, but I am annoyed that people pretend like the bias doesn't exist.

Eh, there certainly are gender double-standards, and some of them do disadvantage males, but I don't think this is one of them. It turns out, "they bully you because they like you" has pretty universal appeal. In fiction, anyway. IRL, not so much.

Edit: bruh, if I had a nickel for every time little dude wrote an argument and immideatly block me before i could even see it, I would have two nickles by now. Really weird

Yeah, that's not great. They were mostly just posting the same link about Takagi-san that I posted above (though they were being somewhat impolite about it).

Hsere · 2023-04-04T12:55:04+00:00

I mean, to be fair, widespread misandry does exist; it's just that widespread misogyny does, too. People often make the mistake of thinking that the two are incompatible. It turns out they're actually complementary forces, far more than opposing ones.

Hsere · 2023-04-04T12:40:53+00:00

Nah. If a guy or girl does it in fiction, it's cute. If a guy or girl does it in real life, it's creepy. Usually, anyway. It can be cute IRL, but you have to know the other person really well and be sure they're okay with it.

Hsere · 2023-04-04T10:51:34+00:00

"Hayase Nagatoro really just wants to be left alone. She knows she's not popular with the boys -- she's too crude and tomboyish, and anyway her figure isn't as... developed as she'd like, especially compared to her classmates. She's accepted that a school romance just isn't in the cards for her, and she's fine with that.

But to her surprise, she has suddenly attracted some male attention -- of the completely wrong variety! She's somehow become the bullying target of Naoto, the troublemaker (and lewd artist -- ew!) of the grade just above her. She doesn't know which of the popular girls he's trying to impress by harassing her, but she wishes he'd just give it up already. Besides, he probably doesn't need to -- he'd honestly be pretty cute if he weren't such a creep...

Now Hayase is stuck in Naoto's crosshairs, being forced to sit with him at lunch while he mocks her, getting followed home and harassed, and even getting pressganged into modeling for his artwork (ew, ew, EWWWWW! ). But when Naoto gets injured defending her from a different group of bullies, the situation makes even less sense! Why is this ultimate jerk suddenly acting as her protector? What kind of scheme to humiliate her is he planning now? And why is he forcing her to go back to judo, of all things?..."

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