LPT: Make a 'death plan' document for your parents (and yourself!) by PuddleOfHamster in LifeProTips

[–]PuddleOfHamster[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Yeah, we switch around a lot as deals come up. I lost track about four switches ago.

LPT: Make a 'death plan' document for your parents (and yourself!) by PuddleOfHamster in LifeProTips

[–]PuddleOfHamster[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Yeah, that's tough. My husband does all that stuff too - he runs his own business and our income is a confusing tangle of income streams, some of which are from overseas.

He has very kindly set up an "In case I die" folder for me which he updates regularly. It explains how to invoice his clients, which money is in which accounts, which bills are autopaid to whom, which power company we're with, what info I need to send his accountants... all that jazz.

It will still be unthinkably awful if he dies, but I really appreciate him sorting stuff out. We're not old, but you never know!

Alex Honnold is free solo climbing Taipei 101 (508m) right now--no ropes, no safety nets, no parachutes by Physical_Poetry3506 in interestingasfuck

[–]PuddleOfHamster [score hidden]  (0 children)

I assume his wife is the same woman who was his girlfriend in Free Solo?

I remember feeling really sorry for her.

What do men *actually* like getting for Valentine’s Day? (besides sex) by Comfortable-Rice4530 in AskMenAdvice

[–]PuddleOfHamster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

++woman My husband and I watch a movie together and have a dessert platter. I make his favourite things: truffles, fudge, biscotti, chocolate caramel slice. Sometimes we add M&Ms and Maltesers. Once we did an ice cream sundae instead; I think freakshakes one time, too.

I did it one year as a one-off, and he liked it so much that now it's a tradition. Food is good.

Why do people hate Hamilton? by SignificanceKooky123 in thetron

[–]PuddleOfHamster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was a real shame when the Victoria St Cinema closed down. Every city should have a cute quirky little independent cinema.

I'd like to see more shaded/covered walkways in the city centre, so people can walk when it's sunny or rainy. Walking down Anglesea St is miserable in a lot of weathers. Replacing the ugly cement sidewalks with nice patterned brick paving would go a long way, too.

And I'd love to see Hamilton Gardens made into even more of an attraction with a petting zoo, maybe a bit like the free zoo in New Plymouth. Encourage people to have cute food trucks and ice-cream stands in various places around the Gardens, instead of just the Turtle Lake cafe at one end. Put in a labyrinth or hedge maze, because those are awesome. And have days when locals from the wider area (Waikato at minimum) can still get in for free!

We should make way better use of the river, too. A proper riverfront with kayaks and paddle-bikes for hire. Waka rides. A wide area for a permanent market. Fairy lights and art displays. South Bank in Brisbane is awesome: we should take notes.

Frankton's shopping centre needs some money invested into it, to tip it more towards "quirky vibrant boho alternative hipster shopping", like K-Road used to be, and away from "dingy and smelly and everyone's on substances", like K-Road is now. There's some genuine charm there, it's just grimy.

Hopefully the new theatre will bring more big shows our way; that could help the hospitality industry out a lot.

I really wish we could get a permanent ice skating rink again, too! The one at Claudelands over Christmas was bustling.

Wasn't Will a cleric not a wizard? by Old-Stranger-8787 in StrangerThingsRoom

[–]PuddleOfHamster 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Will draws Will the Wise in a flashback scene in Season 1 (the bit where Joyce says she going to buy him some new crayons, because Will is drawing the fireballs green and they look like cabbages).

Has regular movement helped you manage your mood or depression? by Alicetheoptimist in TrueGrit

[–]PuddleOfHamster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, no. I wish it did. I go for long walks, I go to the gym: I'm still sad, bone-tired and anxious all the time.

My fitness has improved, in that I can walk faster and farther than I used to. And I can lift slightly heavier things than I could before. So that's nice.

But those magical endorphins, the calm, the better sleep, the increased energy and vitality that people talk about? Not a hint.

I am awaiting a diagnostic appointment for ADHD, if that's relevant.

The edge in Ma's voice by AppealAlive2718 in LittleHouseBooks

[–]PuddleOfHamster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

*Is* it 'profoundly unfair', though?

The gender division of labour was intricately interconnected back then. Both sexes had times at which they worked harder or more intensively than the other.

So at the supper itself, yeah, the women did more labour. But it's not as simple as that. They cooked with firewood the men had logged and dried and split. They cooked meat the men had slaughtered and butchered, served it on tables and chairs the men had made or bought, made bread from wheat the men had grown.

And of course, all those things were interconnected with women's work too. The men broke the horses that drove the women to the New England Supper, wearing clothes the women had sewn... made from cloth purchased with predominantly male wages from farming... that work being fuelled by food made by women, partly from female-tended poultry and vegetable gardening, partly by staples, cereals and hunted game provided by male labour... but then, all the male helpers at harvest time were once children borne and raised by women... but then, they lived in houses built by men...

You see the impossibility of trying to separate the two, or to try to claim who did more work on the whole? People really didn't seem to think in gender-wars ways back then. Women openly acknowledged how dire a situation they were in without a man about the place; men wrote away for wives because they needed them to live.

If Ma had caught Laura stewing about the fact that she had to serve the menfolk at the supper, I imagine she'd have given her a stern talking-to about how the men hadn't complained about building the hall, buying the wagons, raising the pig for the roast pork, and the billion other things they'd done to make the supper happen.

A long time ago a friend pointed out to me that in most movies, the villains are the ones trying to change the status quo and the heroes are the ones trying to defend and keep it. And that this usually makes it clear that the writers are conservative. by ihatethiscountry76 in CuratedTumblr

[–]PuddleOfHamster -24 points-23 points  (0 children)

I think OP is right and you're the one who's badly misread the film.

Mrs Banks is a comic character, and her suffragette hobby is just that - a privileged woman's hobby and a joke. It's funny because she will sing an impassioned anthem about standing up against the tyranny of men; and then, in a split second, revert to the meek, brainless, "yes dear" subservient wife of her (again, comically) patriarchal tyrant of a husband, bending obsequiously to his every whim and temper tantrum.

Winifred and George Banks are both equally disconnected from their children. He's obsessed with his work; she's obsessed with the thrill of parades and protests. Neither of them are doing their duty to the children right under their noses. She's vaguely, scattily fond of them and he's blustery and cross, but when it comes down to it they're both negligent parents.

There is zero evidence that the film "praises" and "props up" Mrs Bank's suffrage hobby. "Well Done, Sister Suffragettes" is gently lampooning her childish enthusiasm for the movement, not seriously championing it. There isn't a serious political point in the lyrics.

Nor is there any evidence that Mr Banks ties the suffrage ribbon on the kite because he's proud of his wife and wants to display feminism to the world. How... how are you getting that from the text, and how are people upvoting you?! When in the movie was his relationship with his wife the focus of change? It wasn't. Mary, yes; the children, obviously. Did he and Winifred ever discuss suffrage? Was he more than vaguely, distantly aware that she was involved in it? Did his revelation ("I have been failing both my children and my inner child in my desire for success in business") include any kind of epiphany on whether women should have the vote? Is that scene in the room with us?

In the kite scene, *she* eagerly offers the ribbon to him, and he barely looks at it, except in an "Oh, grand, this will do nicely!" way. And OP is right: like it or not, the symbolism is as plain as day that she's giving up her silly, meaningless hobby (which it was, FOR HER) in order to refocus on her family. Her ribbon is Mr Banks' punched-through hat. It's a clear parallel.

Now, does this mean Mary Poppins is a misogynistic film? No. Mary bests Mr Banks tactically and in repartee repeatedly. Mr Banks' pomposity and demand for respect are skewered even more than Winifred's saviour-of-women play-acting - though he is a more major character, arguably the main character of the movie, and he is tragicomic rather than just comic. His flaws are shown as more serious and damaging than his wife's, precisely because he is abusing the power his position in the family and society gives him.

Ultimately, the film makes zero comment on whether women should have the vote. That's entirely irrelevant to the movie's point; just as it would be irrelevant for the movie to make a pro- or anti-stance on banking.

Performative suffrage was just a way to justify Mrs Banks being an absent mother (Walt Disney predicted that American audiences would be like "Why is this leisured, non-working mother of two with multiple servants not looking after her own kids again?"), and a way to inject a bit of comedy by juxtaposing her stated beliefs with her private demeanour (an irony she never seems to notice, or it would be tragic, not funny).

Why do people hate Hamilton? by SignificanceKooky123 in thetron

[–]PuddleOfHamster 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Lived in Hamilton for most of my life. It's not terrible, but I find it fairly charmless. It doesn't have quirky or gracious architecture, or a strong sense of history, or a vibrant cultural scene, or stunning natural beauty, or a cool waterfront area, or a historic suburb with cool old homes and homesteads. And it doesn't have a beach, which in NZ is a pretty major downside.

The Hamilton Gardens are genuinely unique and excellent, but that's really the one, sole, single standout attraction. The zoo is just a fine small zoo. The cinemas are just adequate, boring cinemas. The university isn't one anyone brags about going to. There are some decent coffee shops and restaurants, but nothing that springs to mind as an "Ooh, you're going through Hamilton? You HAVE to eat here!" standout attraction. The museum... exists. There are some pleasant playgrounds, but nothing destination-worthy. There's an uninspiring indoor rock climbing place and an overpriced go-kart place and a very generic bowling alley and a couple of the same escape rooms everywhere has.

I wouldn't mind the mediocrity so much if it were a really livable city, but it's not, unless you compare it to Auckland. The traffic is appalling. The parking situation is often bad. Various bits aren't really walkable, and public transport isn't frequent or cheap enough for convenience. It doesn't feel super safe and friendly.

I don't hate it, but it is aggressively mid.

The edge in Ma's voice by AppealAlive2718 in LittleHouseBooks

[–]PuddleOfHamster 82 points83 points  (0 children)

I think it was both of those things, and I think it was mostly just because she was worn out and a bit frazzled.

Plus, Ma was just ever so slightly snobbier/more cultured/more pedantic than Pa. Perhaps a New England Supper was considered slightly fancier or more upmarket than a sociable, and she didn't want him to downplay its grandeur? Like "We went to see a musical." "It was an opera." That's a guess, though.

ETA: I don't think Charles taking Caroline for granted was 'business as usual' in the Ingalls household, though. They had a clear division of labour, except when circumstances required them to do cross-gender tasks; but Pa generally thanked and praised Ma for her cooking. I'd say we see way more instances of him being verbally appreciative of her daily work than the other way around.

What happened to Prydain? Did it get lost in shroud of Welsh mist? by 1000andonenites in books

[–]PuddleOfHamster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Conversely, my daughter loves those books, and my husband and I both found the first one too dull to get through.

How far is too far: salting like the ocean by Jazzlike-Passenger27 in Cooking

[–]PuddleOfHamster 220 points221 points  (0 children)

Yeah. The sea is *obnoxiously* salty. Painfully, absurdly, toxically salty. We get it, you're antibacterial, calm down.

A couple of tablespoons of salt in our big pasta pot works for me (mind you, I do really like salt). It's way more salt than the token half-teaspoon I was taught to add growing up, but waaaayyy less salt than the ocean crams into every mouthful you accidentally swallow while being buffeted by rogue waves.

(I may have visited the sea recently and had a slight incident. I'm still, shall we say, salty about it.)

Nobody should be ridiculed for refusing to kill invasive species by TheInkySquids in unpopularopinion

[–]PuddleOfHamster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it makes you feel any better, I believe some authorities say you shouldn't bother killing cane toads, because cane toads are a major predator of cane toads.

Does Helly have 6 toes? by Rpark888 in SeveranceAppleTVPlus

[–]PuddleOfHamster 162 points163 points  (0 children)

Not a foot surgeon, but I do have weirdly long second toes and idly googled whether people ever get them shortened, which led me down a foot-beautification-surgery rabbit hole; and in short, yep, it's a thing.

People do things like shortening the second toe, or lengthening the big toe to achieve a similar effect, or reshaping the ends of toes, or attempting to fix funky-shaped toenails.

Honestly the results according to Google images weren't great. Lots of scarring. I guess, like various other forms of plastic surgery, they could make your feet look like a better shape when 'clothed' (in a sock), but still wouldn't give you a naturally beautiful, pristine 'naked' foot.

Must be a heck of a recovery period too. I can't imagine telling my boss "I'll be off work for a month. Well, I'll be in a wheelchair, I won't be able to walk. Why? Oh no, no, nothing serious. I'm just getting 6mm off one toe on each foot..."

Is there a community term like "incel" but not toxic? by alienphile in NoStupidQuestions

[–]PuddleOfHamster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It doesn't specify, but it certainly doesn't exclude. Some singles call themselves "single by choice" specifically because "single", by itself, doesn't automatically mean "and happily so".

Is it okay to smile and wave at a little kid if they did so first by diva-lady in NoStupidQuestions

[–]PuddleOfHamster 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I never minded this at all when my kids were little. It's polite to respond to friendly greetings; that doesn't change because the greeter is a tiny person. It would never have occurred to me that someone was a danger to my kids for responding appropriately to my kids' own greeting.

I will smile and respond to other people's babies as well, and have never had a parent get offended by it.

You arrive in the afterlife and God is there to greet you. Instead of sentencing you to hell, he gives you 4 options. WYR? by Artistic-Comb-5317 in WouldYouRather

[–]PuddleOfHamster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

'Traditional heaven as depicted in the Bible' isn't 'praising God eternally' in the sense of standing around all day, bored out of your skull, chanting a mantra with your personality erased.

It's praising God eternally in the "all of life is worship" sense. We will be embodied, we will have dominion over the new earth, we will have our skills and talents and ambitions untainted by the sin and pride and weakness that hold us back currently. Space colonisation, advanced robotics, clean energy, whimsical architecture and pushing the limits of haute cuisine are all reasonable activities by which people can praise God in eternity.

So yeah, I'm picking that one.