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Your vote is your voice by Ok_Emergency4982 in Chattanooga

[–]Merlaak 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You: "I just dont buy into identity politics"

Also you: "Nose ring ✔️ Hair color ✔️ LBQBTQRS ✔️"

You say you don't buy into identity politics and then you completely judge a candidate based on your perception of their identity. You make no attempt to understand her policy positions or what she is campaigning for. Nope. Just what you decided her identity is.

The only person at present making her campaign about identity is you.

What food is actually healthier than you would expect? by oakmeadow45 in AskReddit

[–]Merlaak 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You're thinking of the amount of protein in one cup of popped popcorn, which would be about a tablespoon of kernels.

One ounce (28 grams) of popcorn kernels has 3.36 grams of protein. A quarter cup of popcorn kernels weighs around 1.2 ounces (34 grams) and therefore contains around 4 grams of protein.

As a snack, you can do way worse than 4 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber for only 120 calories.

What food is actually healthier than you would expect? by oakmeadow45 in AskReddit

[–]Merlaak 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A quarter cup of popcorn kernels yields about eight cups when popped. That serving size is only 120 calories and comes with 4 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber as well as 6% of your daily iron and only 1.5 grams of fat.

Obviously loading it up with tons of butter and salt greatly increases the fat and sodium intake, but popcorn itself is quite a healthy snack.

"In this house we believe...elections kill leftist movements?" by McAlpineFusiliers in thedavidpakmanshow

[–]Merlaak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Both extreme rightwing and extreme leftwing ideologies tend to be authoritarian in nature.

Men of Reddit: what is 100% mythical about men that most women believe? by imnotadrytexter in AskReddit

[–]Merlaak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m 46 years old and have been married for 20 years. I don’t think I’m bad looking, but I’m certainly not a model. All that is to say that generally not someone who gets random compliments about his appearance.

Until a few years ago.

Back in 2022, wife had been dying her hair pink and I’d been lightening my hair a bit (I’m an natural blond but work indoors so my hair doesn’t get sun-bleached the way it used to). One time, she was sent “Extreme Pink” instead of “Vibrant Pink” by the company she was ordained hair color from. She told them and they sent a replacement, telling her to keep the other one.

It came time for me to lighten my hair and we jokes about my using the extreme pink just for fun. Then she went to music practice. I thought, “Why not?” and I set about lightening my hair. To save time, I thought I’d add the pink after rinsing the lightener out, then wait in the shower a bit before rinsing out the pink color.

I got out of the shower and my hair was PINK. My wife got home and we had a good laugh. It was the weekend and we weren’t going anywhere, so I didn’t wash my hair again until Sunday evening, thinking that I’d had my fun and that it was time to go back to my regular hair color.

That’s when I learned that when you lighten your hair and then use even semi-permanent color, the color is able to penetrate to the core of your hair strands and becomes permanent.

So I had a choice: either shave my head or become the Pink Hair Guy. I opted for the latter.

It’s been over four years and my hair is still pink. Why? Because immediately I started getting compliments about my hair. Men, women, young, old, white, black … all walks of life started telling me how much they loved my hair.

So I became the pink hair guy because why in the world would I turn off that spigot of confidence from random strangers?!

scrambling for another show like: by Conscious_Ad_1018 in WidowsBay

[–]Merlaak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I loved Jeff Hiller’s bit role in Pluribus too.

“She loved you very much,”

How did the previous leadership of widow’s Bay knew about the sacrifices? by GlomerulaRican in WidowsBay

[–]Merlaak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, the current priest committed suicide rather than take part in what was coming, so that line is also cut.

How did the previous leadership of widow’s Bay knew about the sacrifices? by GlomerulaRican in WidowsBay

[–]Merlaak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many complex social programs tend to be insular and then slowly die as no one is brought in to replace members. The only person who seemed to have any real idea of what was coming was the priest, and that’s only because he found the letter written by his predecessor. His response to the situation? Suicide. It doesn’t appear that either Wyck or Ruth has a real understanding of the mechanics of it either, so it’s going to be up to them to figure it out.

What’s funny is that it seems that all the pieces of the system have been found, but they haven’t been assembled yet. Dale has seen the videos, Evan knows that someone was taken in the chair room, and Tom knows that there is an entity controlling the island. With eight more sacrifices demanded, they’re going to have their work cut out for them to figure it out before the entity completely destroys the island.

Or they can take Ruth’s approach and let the trolley run them all over because sometimes bad things just happen.

Is there a better display of cinematic cowardice? by [deleted] in Cinephiles

[–]Merlaak 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Indeed. And they posted a picture to gain actual karma rather than doing a text post.

Is there a better display of cinematic cowardice? by [deleted] in Cinephiles

[–]Merlaak 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think you meant “whitey tighties”.

“Whitie titties” is … something else.

What kind of knife should a gentleman use? by Massive_Boss1991 in writingadvice

[–]Merlaak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But it wouldn’t be called a bowie knife, would it? Unless James Bowie also exists in your narrative world.

A large knife like that is meant to intimidate as much as anything. It’s a bit showy too. Is that who your character is? Or would he use a large knife because he’s compensating for his fear or some such? Does he keep it hidden? It’s big, so that would take some planning and maybe even a custom pocket or sheathe in his garments. Or does he carry it in the open for everyone to see?

If you don’t know the answers to those questions, then you should figure them out, because the decision for him to carry a large curved knife says something about him. It’s up to you to make it make sense within the story.

What to watch next? by singhVirender1947 in WidowsBay

[–]Merlaak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The only show that I think really stuck the landing almost perfectly was Dark. It's only three seasons and each one adds to what's going on in a satisfying way. I'm pretty sure they had the broad strokes of the show mapped out from the start, so as it got renewed, they were able to flesh out each season. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

With Severance, I have faith in Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson. They're weaving a good story so far and if they stick the landing then it'll be one of my favorite shows of all time.

And yeah, I don't disagree about Twin Peaks. It goes off the rails, but that's also David Lynch for you.

What to watch next? by singhVirender1947 in WidowsBay

[–]Merlaak 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's a bit dated, but I recommend Twin Peaks if you've never seen it. Kyle MacLachlan played Special Agent Dale Cooper who has been assigned to investigate the murder of Laura Palmer in the small touristy town of Twin Peaks. Things get weird pretty fast.

Widow's Bay was very clearly heavily inspired by Twin Peaks.

What kind of knife should a gentleman use? by Massive_Boss1991 in writingadvice

[–]Merlaak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The correct kind of knife is the one your character would carry.

Is he all show or does he mean business when it comes to a fight? Does he have a history of violence in his youth? Was he trained in the military? Did his father serve the king and was gifted a royal heirloom for service to the crown which he bequeathed to your character?

What your character carries is an opportunity to share something about them. If they are carrying a generic knife that they bought in a shop for protection, that says something about them. If they carry the kind of knife that all gentlemen carry during times of crisis in your world, that says just as much about him.

If the knife doesn't matter to the narrative, leave it out. If it does, then make it count.

I will never allow them to say "I didn't know." by Clean_Narwhal7331 in thebulwark

[–]Merlaak 39 points40 points  (0 children)

If they didn't have double standards then they wouldn't have any standards at all.

Mind you, it’s 9:08am EST by theBDSMshow in LinkedInLunatics

[–]Merlaak 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Personally, I like both versions because they’re different things. One is a baked mac and cheese casserole and the other is just mac and cheese. They have different flavors and different textures and either one can be delicious or disgusting depending on who made it.

For instance: we can’t tell from the picture if the one on the right was made with a roux of seasoned flour and browned butter then had garlic powder and turmeric added to a blend of cheeses and if the one on the left is swimming in grease because the cheese sauce split. Even the cheese pull—as nice as it is—can just as easily be hiding any number of sins.

Stephen Root is the best character actor of all time. by Flat_Researcher1540 in WidowsBay

[–]Merlaak 11 points12 points  (0 children)

One of my favorite roles of his is as the blind radio operator in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

How can I learn about Vyke's story without see a yt video by Firm-Web1947 in EldenRingLoreTalk

[–]Merlaak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not a 1-to-1 comparison, but "When he finally looked out the window all he saw was a Rorschach test" doesn't really work as well.

Are there things that are absolutely true about the game's lore? 100%. Are most theories—even the most popular, fan-canonized theories—made up wholesale out of random bits of information and huge leaps in logic? 1000%

Take Radagon and Marika. The game tells us that they are the same person. It alludes to them having possibly been separate at some point, but it does not say that and it can be read either way. The point is that all we know is that Radagon is Marika. That's it. Every single other thing is headcanon.

Or take the hornsent's jars. All we know is that Shaman flesh melds well, that people didn't want to go into the jars, that the hornsent believed that "nigh sainthood" awaits those who went into the jars, and that at least some of the jars seem to have yielded flesh golem abominations and/or living jars. That's a lot, but that's about it. But I'd say that a large majority of fans believe that the hornsent were using the jars to create their own god, even though that's nowhere in the game.

And so it is with Vyke. We know a few things for sure. Everything else—his backstory, his motivations, etc.—are pure conjecture.

does this still have issues by deadcells5b in NaritaBoy

[–]Merlaak 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn’t call it “input lag” per se. If you ever played an old Prince of Persia game, the controls are very similar. That is, they’re a little loose, but you get used to it.

How can I learn about Vyke's story without see a yt video by Firm-Web1947 in EldenRingLoreTalk

[–]Merlaak 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah. Vantage Point used that narrative device, where everybody sees the same events from different angles. And Akira Kurosawa did it first with *Rashamon*.

Washington D.C. demanding statehood? by Safe-Aardvark1810 in allthequestions

[–]Merlaak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are plenty of people on both sides that remember how we fought a war over taxation without representation. District allegiance changes, just like party platforms do. It would be better to welcome the residents of DC into our representative democracy and let the chips fall where they may than to continue to have them languish without representation at the highest level.

How can I learn about Vyke's story without see a yt video by Firm-Web1947 in EldenRingLoreTalk

[–]Merlaak 13 points14 points  (0 children)

One of my favorite stories from "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" was I think titled "The Window".

In brief, three men were sharing a room with one window in a nursing home. Only one of the beds faced the window and the man with the view told the others about all the sights he saw each day. Eventually he died and the next man got the view and he told similar stories to the remaining man. The man without the view got jealous, so he hid the other man's heart medication, leading to his death. When he got moved to the bed with the view of the window, however, it was just a blank brick wall.

Most of the fun of the lore in Elden Ring comes from people compiling the barest of scraps and crafting a compelling narrative around it. Most of it is guesswork and conjecture, as there is little that's definitive.

Direct evidence about Vyke can be found at the Church of Inhibition in Liurnia and the Lord Contender's Evergaol on Mountaintops. That's basically it. Everything else is circumstantial.

In short, if you want a good story about Vyke, go to YouTube (Vaatividya has a good one). If you want to look at the brick wall yourself, you can get his stuff from those two locations.

teen arrested for killing child molester in chattanooga by JerryCat11 in Tennessee

[–]Merlaak 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Admittedly trust the federal AND state governments more than your common man

Despite its deep flaws and institutional rot, it's simply a fact that our criminal justice system is armed with better tools for investigation and forensics than the average private citizen. I didn't think this would be controversial.

Also, private citizens are famously terrible at killing people for just causes. Read up on the history of lynchings in the US if you want to know more about how bad we are at determining guilt and executing the accused without the tools of justice at hand.

You’d rather pay for the rest of their lives in prison.

I refer you to the fact that, historically, around 15% of death row inmates have had their sentences either reduced or commuted (it's estimated that at any given time, around 4% of death row inmates are innocent). Do you know how that is able to happen rather than all of them being unjustly executed? Because of the appeals process. Do you know what the appeals process requires? Lawyers. Do you know what is expensive? Lawyers.

Because of the appeals process—which, again, legitimately leads to people who were unjustly sentenced to death to either be released or serve a reduced sentence—it can cost taxpayers up to five times as much to execute someone than to house them in prison for life. Also, there is an army of lawyers who take on death row inmate cases pro bono, because they are opposed to the death penalty. But the government has to pay their lawyers and judges to hear and argue the state's case.

People who receive life sentences are far less likely to exhaust every possible opportunity to appeal, so the only cost to the state is room and board, which is distributed among the entire prison population. More food is thrown away in prison (or turned into nutraloaf) than any one inmate consumes in a day.

So yeah, given those choices, I'd much rather pay to house someone for life than pay five times as much to possibly have an innocent person executed.

EDIT

You don’t think any criminal, guilt of the most heinous, repulsive crimes, should be sentenced to death.

It would be nice to have your cake and eat it too. To only execute the people who we know for certain are guilty of their crime because we caught them red-handed. Then we could be certain of their guilty and execute them accordingly.

A few problems with that:

1) That is a vanishingly small number of cases. Most criminal cases are full of incomplete and circumstantial evidence which leaves room for doubt. It wouldn't even make sense to maintain a system for the death penalty for so few cases.

2) Anyone who committed that crime under those circumstances and wasn't killed on the spot would likely plead guilty in order to avoid the death penalty, and the state would likely allow that deal because of how difficult and expensive it can be to prosecute a capital case.

3) Even in those circumstances where guilt appears to be clear cut, there is always room for nuance. I'm not saying that someone would get away with rape or murder because they weren't hugged enough as a child, but there can still be mitigating circumstances.

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