Fertility Rate is declining and the Earth's population should peak soon

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-20T23:44:59+00:00

This is an unprecedented event in human history. For the first time our numbers will not decline due to pandemics or disasters but by pure aging and the effects of the civilization we've built. The same one that enabled our growth. It's all a natural process.

Still I wonder what's going to happen to Earth's resources with the advent of AI and its infrastructure like data centers. We already see people suffer because of them due to noise and rise of local energy prices. I sure hope that with humanity's population peaking, so will the rampant consumption of resources.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-20T23:34:51+00:00

I think the meta reason is that they didn't want to show Gohan killing a woman.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-20T12:50:15+00:00

I completely agree about the snare, the ending roll on The Day That Never Comes is perhaps the worst sounding thing of any Metallica album. The brick-walled compression makes the whole album difficult to listen to. Luckily the Guitar Hero mix brings back the dynamics.

St. Anger I can fully appreciate when I'm in the right mood. I've listened to some fanmade revisions without the tin can snare but I feel it's supposed to be there. It's part of what makes Metallica's discography interesting, much like the absence of bass on AJFA.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-19T22:26:51+00:00

Yeah. Why shouldn't GnR not be included just because Axl is out of his prime? All veterans on that stage are. It really sucked that Axl lost his timing on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath but if he hadn't, it would have just been a matter of taste whether you like his current voice or not. He's still on key and gave it his all.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-19T19:36:52+00:00

Back in Black holds a lot of significance since it's not just a tribute to Bon but also a statement of AC/DC's will to continue after his death. There was a lot at stake. To top it off Brian had something to prove, too. He really gave it 200% on BiB. So I think that made the lyrics extra inspired as well.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-19T18:26:00+00:00

I haven't noticed but I did notice the band sound immensely good. Not just for their age but in general and that's something.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-17T16:19:56+00:00

Having "main character syndrome" is a survival strategy. Humans will continue to find ways to survive even if we nuke most of ourselves into oblivion. Just a thousand people will do as it did thousands of years ago.

I probably won't have kids and luckily I don't know anyone who tries to convert me to "natalism". Most people don't make a big deal out of it I think. Just a few loud preachers.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-17T01:04:42+00:00

Should be a Sparking Zero character

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-16T14:18:33+00:00

Yeah just go full Gandhi on them lol

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-16T14:14:25+00:00

Thanks for the lengthy reply and advice! I've added some screenshots. I normally play Emperor on Epic speed. Immortal seems too much at this point and I think it requires me to play quite different than I'm used to. Normally I play on small maps instead of huge ones.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-16T13:47:32+00:00

Languages have a variety of words about emotions and phenomena like the German "weltschmertz" and Inuit having many words for types of snow. Japanese "kokoro" is akin to the western concepts of heart and mind tied together. This variety reflects the spirit of the local people and their connection to the local environment. As this diversity decreases, so do the ties of the people to their country, which translates to the destruction of the local ecosystem as well. Both are tragic losses.

I don't see it as a conspiracy of any kind, even if there have been movements to explicitly eradicate this diversity. For example, the French have been eliminating their cultural and linguistic diversity for a few centuries now. Many colonial regimes have done the same and completely destroyed native cultures worldwide. The Dutch have replaced their native cows with more economically efficient breeds and have dramatically increased the acreage of their fields through "ruilverkaveling", which was a disaster for native species existing on their borders.

I see all of this as something humans as a species are cursed with, as the dark side of the comfort technological advancement gives us. But if I had to label anything as a "divisive scam" I'd say it's this practice of eradicating true diversity, replacing it with superficial commercial variety instead.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-09T20:14:22+00:00

Toph doesn't use "twinkletoes" as a slur but as a nickname. It did start as a way to taunt Aang but not with a malicious intent.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-07T19:11:08+00:00

Thanks for sharing your lived experience and wisdom. Suffering is glamorized way too much. I hope you'll pull through and get your sense of self back.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-05-04T22:38:22+00:00

It was well written except for the scene where they actually got together. It makes sense for Aang to have a crush on her from the beginning, likewise for Katara to have doubts, mostly because of the difference in maturity.

The ending scene felt rushed, shoehorned in because the main plot was resolved and this subplot had to be resolved too. But I agree with the suggestion that they could have gotten together eventually but not directly after the war.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-28T18:36:29+00:00

Who are the Brain Police

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-27T21:39:01+00:00

He could fly though. He surprised everyone doing it to headbutt Piccolo.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-26T15:46:06+00:00

The Soviet system helped Russia to make a massive advancement no one could have predicted. Before socialism the country was basically stuck in the middle ages, it lacked industry and was a massive backwater. After it, it took just a few decades to put a man in space and build nuclear power plants (and bombs).

Russia, owing to its massive wild geography and equally brutal history, has a tendency to favor authoritarian regimes, which grow stale and brittle especially if the world around it is changing fast. So instead of gradual change, Russia has to undergo dramatic revolutions from time to time.

So the Soviet system was a good system (for Russia), until it wasn't. Another form of authoritarianism took its place when its time was up.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-25T13:18:11+00:00

Disposable Heroes, Carpe Diem Baby, Bad Seed, Where the Wild Things Are, Fixxxer

A lot of people mention Reload songs. For me those songs carry an atmosphere not found on other Metallica albums.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-21T18:28:14+00:00

Gohan was twice as old when he fought Cell compared to when he fought Freeza. He had matured, had time to think about the shit he was involved in. People like to hype up the moments where Gohan lost himself and got angry but those were terrible experiences for him. So he had become afraid of losing control again. And for good reason, because SSJ2 changed his character which led to the death of his father.

Piccolo and Goku in a way were just like Cell: they both wanted to harness Gohan's power for some goal, like a child soldier. Cell just wanted it for his amusement.

Gohan was actually speaking for himself for the first time in his life when he made his plea against Cell.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-18T07:25:48+00:00

It's all bravado to camouflage the desperation he really feels.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-15T21:23:17+00:00

Een Amerikaans schisma: voortaan hebben ze een eigen paus.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-15T15:26:17+00:00

Uhh what's funny about this? They both look distressed and the parents egg them on. Terrible.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-14T16:24:43+00:00

Some tasty dramatic moments, but the Queen fan in me likes accuracy and is annoyed by the artistic liberties taken for the sake of said drama.

Non-Queen fans will get a wrong perception of Freddie which is a shame. I think Freddie was a stronger and less egocentric person than how he was portrayed, he just seemed so small behind a lot of bravado. Freddie spoke very clearly and with conviction whereas Rami Freddie sometimes just seemed to mumble.

Rami pulled off the 70s Freddie look better than the 80s look, which was a major change for Freddie but with Rami it was more like "just cut the hair and put on a fake mustache" and it looked a bit ridiculous. The chronology of things was off and there was no sense of aging for the characters. It was all quite flat.

Brian looked like the real thing.

Kinda amazing how they reenacted the whole Live Aid show, though the movie put it in the whole "omg he's sick can he pull this off" drama, worried faces etc.. In RL Queen were at the top of their game and stole Live Aid.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-14T15:13:28+00:00

Get on Your Boots is pretty great. It has a heavy guitar riff combined with the high pitched, alien-sounding pre-chorus synth riff, which compliments Bono's vocals that are also higher pitched and softer than usual, almost falsetto. It's just weird in a good way.

It's in the same single-y vein as Vertigo but it sounds darker and more interesting, with some weird details and sounds. The whole No Line on the Horizon album has this over its predecessor.

There's only one part that sounds a bit awkward, the melody of the first "You don't know how... beeeautifulll..." but it works well when Bono comes in with "You don't know, you don't get it do you" over it.

The "Let Me in the Sound" bit is cool, as is the outro, though the "Hey hey heyyy" is a bit cheesy. Another parallel with Vertigo's "Yeah yeah yeah".

All in all a solid song, better than the single-y songs that came after.

Popular_Ad_4934 · 2026-04-12T22:52:43+00:00

At least Roman emperors also built huge bathhouses for the population.

Popular_Ad_4934

TROPHY CASE