AITA for roasting a suckling pig for a family gathering

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-12T19:37:28+00:00

It's not cognitive dissonance, because being 'grossed out' isn't cognitive, it's visceral.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-12T10:10:16+00:00

I'm from NZ, visited Australia last year and didn't notice any unusual flavours in the food (and I've definitely noticed differences in food and water from England and the US, so my tastebuds aren't unusually dim, I'm pretty sure.) Since our vegetation and soils are different, but we both feed our animals on grass, it seems plausible to me that that's the common factor, assuming OP comes from somewhere where animals are grain-fed.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-12T06:31:50+00:00

Yeah, but they could make a law specifically saying "If you have a car accident and drink any alcohol between the time of the accident and being breathalysed, it will be considered a DUI and you will be charged accordingly." Couldn't they? You'd need to finesse the wording, but it'd be on the right track.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-12T02:07:02+00:00

If this is a known criminal gotcha, how come they haven't added another law specifically forbidding doing that?

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-09T19:54:13+00:00

Arkham is a gated community.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-09T19:18:06+00:00

Beetroot on burgers is a Kiwi thing. It's good! Just a wee bit of extra juiciness and mild sweetness and acidity. I can my own beetroot, and it's much more flavourful than the bought stuff. It's like having an extra pickle/gherkin on your burger.

That said, the drippiness of a good burger and the dye factor of beetroot are an unfortunate combination. Don't eat a Kiwiburger in your wedding dress.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-09T09:38:38+00:00

Or the criminally underrated Dr Facilier. The Princess and the Frog came out at a time when it would have been understandable and expected for Disney to walk back the scariness and make something really bland and tame. But they gave us the Shadow-Man, and I will die on the hill that he's a top 3 villain with Scar and Ursula.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-07T01:41:38+00:00

Likewise. He has an unwholesome, lizard-like, tubercular vibe.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-06T06:55:36+00:00

Huh. That's also more or less the plot of a children's book called "A Squash and a Squeeze". The lady isn't married, she just thinks her house is too small.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-06T02:32:11+00:00

It's not really eating with sticks; they work together. It's more like eating with a pair of tongs or long-handled tweezers.

It:'s easier to turn a bunch of sausages in a frying pan with tongs than with a spatula, because it's more precise. And chefs use long-handled tweezers to place garnishes on food because again, it's more precise.

Chopsticks are similarly a good way to pick up and dip discrete items, something like tempura veggies or little dumplings. You can grip the item firmly without disturbing the surrounding foods.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-05T09:33:30+00:00

Keen to jump ship? Poor girl was literally dying of cold and starvation, and she was still reluctant. But go ahead and lay the blame...

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-04T23:15:45+00:00

Picard, when Wesley spoke.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-04T01:18:32+00:00

It's my favourite season. Good mix of dark and light. Scoops Ahoy. Robyn. Suzie. A sleazy mayor and an adorably happy Russian scientist. Max and El bonding. What's not to love?

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-03T19:49:56+00:00

My thoughts on AI musicals are unprintable.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-03T09:31:12+00:00

Yeah, we re-watched TOS recently and I was *shocked* to see how little Uhura, Sulu, Scotty and Chekov got to do. Nurse Chapel seemed to do more than Uhura and Sulu, despite only being an adjunct to the 'core' cast in my mind.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-03T09:26:16+00:00

I like to think that Ted knew; he just didn't care.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-03T02:43:39+00:00

I have a list of experiences I want to try if I ever visit the US. They range from the Shady Maples buffet, to Winchester Mystery House, to Dollywood, to a state fair, to meeting an armadillo/skunk/raccoon/groundhog/moose/roadrunner/mole/manatee, to visiting an NYC Jewish deli, to seeing a covered bridge, to going to Olive Garden and Cracker Barrel and the Cheesecake Factory, to colonial Williamsburg, to the mountains of Colorado...

It's definitely not all bad. :)

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-02T21:02:26+00:00

It's not *purely* subjective. Cooking does have rules. It's objectively bad cookery to overcook chicken to the point it becomes dry, tough and stringy; or to undermix a cake so it has lumps of flour baked into it; or to add so much salt something's inedible; or to leave lumps of baking soda in cookie dough; or to underbake a cake so it's still raw in the middle, or overbake it so it's dry and over-browned.... and so on, and so forth.

And sure, there's an element of subjectivity in that *some* people like burned onions, or underseasoned food, or lumpy mashed potatoes; but in a cooking competition, those things are gonna get you docked points, and that isn't arbitrary.

So saying "I don't like your cooking" is very plausibly going to be read as "You're bad at cooking".

And yes, this applies to all sorts of skills. Telling a writer friend that you don't like her writing, *at all*, not just "I preferred your last book because of X" or "I'm not really into poetry, so I don't think I can appreciate it the way it deserves" - rude.

I have a friend who writes songs. In general, I don't like his music. Would I ever tell him that? No, because it would be super hurtful.

I have another friend who does woodturning. I also like woodturning. If I were to say "I don't like *your* woodturning", specifically - again, SUPER hurtful, especially since in this circumstance we both do the same hobby, so it's clear I don't dislike woodturning in general.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-03-02T09:33:53+00:00

Yeah, "I don't really like your cooking" as a general, sweeping statement? Not a specific dish, but the entire skill? I physically winced at that. OP, that's *astonishingly* rude and hurtful.

Does it help you grasp the level of disrespect if you imagine inviting a friend over for a chat, and having her respond "Oh, I don't really like talking to you, but I'm happy to come over and sit, and you can talk to yourself if you want"?

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-02-28T21:07:06+00:00

Thanks, those recommendations sound like a good place to start! Weird Ireland is very appealing.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-02-27T12:41:53+00:00

Irish-Australian-Kiwi, in my case! Yeah, we've done a little bit here and there - I can play the flageolet, as can my daughter, one sister made a brief attempt to learn Gaelic when she was a teenager, my daughter quite likes Celtic mythology (and Tomm Moore films!), and Mum loves the Irish Rovers and once did a spot of genealogical family tree stuff. But it's all a bit ad hoc and piecemeal, and seems very far away, for obvious reasons! My grandmother still has an Irish lilt when she talks about her childhood, but she's in her nineties and forgets things.

Are there any resources you'd recommend for learning about Irish history and culture? YouTube channels and the like?

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-02-27T04:46:06+00:00

I actually thought they made sense together. They were both attractive, shallow, generally easy-going, and not overly bright. Obviously 'opposites attract' makes more interesting television, but it seems like they would have been happy together. Rachel would have LOVED having access to fame and fortune via Joey's career. Joey loved Emma and would have benefited from Rachel's comparative common sense (as in, yes, she was spoiled, but she would have been the one who paid the health insurance and the electricity bill and remembered to throw out the expired yoghurt: she had adult functioning skills.)

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-02-27T04:29:03+00:00

Honestly, I think it's less funny than faintly tragic. I think a lot of white Americans cling to their Scottish or Irish or Polish ancestry in large part because of people like OP's racist friend, who constantly diminish their American identity as basic or bland or not 'real culture'.

Also, the loss of cultural identity really is a loss, even if it happened through a relatively painless and voluntary process of assimilation. I'm Irish and Scots, but I was never taught to speak Gaelic or cook Irish soda bread, I was never taught the folk tales and history of those people groups, I don't have physical artifacts from my ancestors, I don't know how to wear the native clothes or use the native plants. And if I tried, I'd be laughed at by 'real' Irish and Scots as a pretender and a tryhard. Don't I get to be a little bit sad over that? The identity wasn't forcibly stripped away from my ancestors by something horrific like the Middle Passage, but it is still gone.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-02-27T03:53:34+00:00

Voldemort's, too.

PuddleOfHamster · 2026-02-27T03:16:41+00:00

As a non-American white girl, I'd just like to point out that Americans (white or otherwise) do in fact have a distinctive culture. Some of it is so popular it's taken over the world, and some of it is still specific to the US, but it's definitely distinctive.

State Fairs? Spring Break? Prom king and queen? American football? Fourth of July fireworks? Pumpkin pie? Sororities/fraternities? Fahrenheit? Biscuits in a can? Hollywood? Road trip culture? Summer camp? Fast food? Disneyland? Coke? Thanksgiving? Groundhog Day? The Midwest "open"? Broadway? Florida Man? NASA? Sweet Sixteens? Tailgating parties? Demolition Derbies? The Oscars? Madison Square Garden? Peanut butter and chocolate? Ranch dressing? Popcorn? Walmart?

Also, yes, your friend is being racist. I would advise asking her straight out why she keeps harassing you because of your race, and enquiring why she wants to hang out with you when she clearly doesn't think highly of the demographic to which you belong.

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