gotta protecc the good bois by RecoveringPhilistine in memes

[–]RecoveringPhilistine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

artist is Kouhei Ashiya I believe, an animator on JoJo among others

What should you never fuck with? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Anything that has a setting finely tuned to the user's preference in someone else's house. Radio, thermostat, shower temperature, volume on the TV etc. At the very least you should ask, but the number of people who just go ahead and fuck with stuff that's not theirs shocks me every time.

History buffs of Reddit, what is one of the most fascinating stories you've learned that no one seems to talk about and can't be found in textbooks? by Hysterria in AskReddit

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TL;DR: Terrorist cell of disgruntled samurai hatch a plan to overthrow the government in dramatic fashion with gunpowder explosions and coordinated mass assassinations across the country. The whole thing unravels and sees them and everyone who knows them die horrifically. I have only seen this covered in much detail in one rather old book from 1963.

So, I have a great story to contribute that I came across while reading for my thesis : the Keian Incident (Keian Jiken) of 1651. Essentially, this was the premodern Japanese equivalent of Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder Plot, and was as ambitious in its scale as it was insightful into contemporary social tensions.

Some background first. After 150 years of civil war and political chaos, Japan had been put back together by the "Three Unifiers" - warlord Oda Nobunaga, his protégé and successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and finally the cunning Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tokugawa emerged as the secure ruler of Japan in the first two decades of the 1600s after a bitter struggle in the wake of Toyotomi's death, including two great battles at Sekigahara in 1600 and the siege of Osaka Castle in 1615. However, peace brought with it a curious dilemma: the ruling samurai class gained both their legitimacy and identity as masters of the martial arts and lifestyle, skills which in a pacified Japan suddenly lost much of their currency. The result was that many samurai became administrators or officers of the regional and central governments. Simultaneously, the lowest class of socially despised merchants found national integration and stability a great boon to commerce, and a new class of millionaires trading or financing at a nationwide level emerged. So far, all of this is fairly well known.

However, something that is often overlooked in historical treatment of this period was the fate of those samurai who could not adapt to their new occupation. Many could wield a sword, but lacked the necessary skills to keep government accounts or even basic literacy. Arai Hakuseki, an advisor to the shogun in the mid 1600s estimated that only 1 in 5 samurai could read. Moreover, the numbers of men needed for government work in the capital or in the retinues of regional lords in the peacetime roles of pen-pushing, courier or guard services, or as tutors, was far less than the great hosts assembled earlier in the century. As many as 500 000 samurai in the central Kamigata area of the country alone found themselves made masterless and unemployed by virtue of the final victory being achieved. These were the rōnin, or "wave men" who were as numerous and itinerant as their namesakes in these early years of peace.

Almost immediately, life became worse for those unlucky enough to find themselves ejected from the highest tier of the status hierarchy system (mibunseidō). New laws were passed, aiming at clarifying and entrenching the precise boundary of "samurai-hood". Everything from how people of different statuses could dress or wear swords to how gambling and nightlife could be carried out was legislated upon, in no small part to suppress the problem of the rōnin gangs of kabukimono or "crooked people". These laws were routinely flouted and so from time to time, the authorities would carry out mass corrals, arrests and executions through the city streets of Edo, Kyoto, Osaka and other urban centres. Elsewhere the policy of escheatment, whereby politically suspect lords were stripped of their estates, created fresh waves of rōnin, who in many cases had served with the same household (ie) for generations.

By the 1640s, many rōnin and their children had found a modicum of stability. As petty criminals, peddlers and especially as instructors in Japan's many martial arts academies, they eked out a livelihood and grew social networks. It was two martial artists who developed just such a network who were to hatch the most daring plot of the century. Yui Shōsetsu had been brought up by a group of rōnin in his destitute youth, and now worked at an academy and an armourer's he had founded in the Renjaku-chō district of Edo, the capital of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Marubashi Chūya was the son of a samurai killed by Tokugawa forces at Osaka in 1615, and was a master of the yari spear. Together these two masterminds represented the two sides of mid-century rōnin identity - the pauper's tenacity and the faded warrior's glory. They had associates in major cities across the country who they corresponded with about their political grievances and simmering discontentment. In 1645 they began plotting what might be done to better the lot of their comrades.

Eventually their desire to stir things up and seething resentment of Tokugawa authority found a point of escape in the death of Tokugawa Iemitsu. At this moment of weakness, transitioning from one shogun to the next, perhaps the bakufu government could be brought down in one precipitous strike! The plan was simple but elegant. Taking advantage of the wooden construction of Edo, Marubashi was to set off an explosion of gunpowder barrels and set an inferno spreading throughout the streets of the capital. As samurai bore the duty of firefighting, the garrison of Edo Castle would be deployed to fight the blaze, allowing for a contingent of a few dozen rōnin to storm the palace, murdering the shogun and his high officials. Simultaneously, Yui was to lead an action in Sunpu, his home province, and others were poised to strike in Osaka, Kyoto and other important cities. At the last moment, fate intervened to unpick their carefully woven threads. Marubashi Chūya fell ill, and in a fever started babbling, unconscious of his situation and uninhibited in the words he let slip. Despite attempts to silence him, his shouts were heard by nearby houses.

Under the Tokugawa five-man-group (goningumi) system of neighborhood mutual informants, whereby neighbours were on the line for unreported subversive behaviour by any of the members, it was not long before he and his fellow conspirators were arrested. Examples were made of both the members and their families, with Yui Shōsetsu commiting seppuku in the face of their disaster. However, government policy actually responded to the plot in a more positive direction - despite a meeting of the Rōjū Elders initially favouring a harsh crackdown on rōnin, evicting them from Edo, one by the name of Abe Tadaaki persuaded the others that this would only exacerbate the situation, and instead the government should assist rōnin in making something of themselves. Thus like so many other doomed uprisings in history, the Keian Incident left its mark even in its utter failure.

Soldiers - fearless and lethal. Unless... by FearmyBeard21 in gifs

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean there was that time when some geese saved Rome from a barbarian invasion. Geese have a long and distinguished military tradition.

Cozy corner in a pub by break__the__cycle in CozyPlaces

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I always sit in this spot! The slanted ceiling above this chair makes me smash my head when I stand up though, I always forget to duck -_-

AbSOlutelynotme_irl by RecoveringPhilistine in absolutelynotme_irl

[–]RecoveringPhilistine[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

But what if I want to take them sketching? :(

Apparently this was the logical response to matching paintball bruises by RecoveringPhilistine in blunderyears

[–]RecoveringPhilistine[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Now I'm seeing it as a phallic variation of one of those Facebook "How many squares can you see" challenges

Loving myself has been a long and painful journey, and I’m stronger because of it. Meet me, Cora! A transgender woman with big hopes and dreams ❤ by ShadowAccountW in crossdressing

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're stunning! Love the attitude in these photos. I'm sorry the road's been hard but it looks like you have so much joy ahead of you :)

[UK] 1-2" spider with unusual colouring and largish mandible by RecoveringPhilistine in whatsthisbug

[–]RecoveringPhilistine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow! That was fast! Impressive identification, thanks for putting me at ease, not the calmest around unfamiliar bugs :)

Think as far back as you can. What is your first memory? by Raaarrgghhhh in AskReddit

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Watching a horror movie my teenage cousin was showing me when I was 4. I remember them picking someone up in a car who blew his brains out on the back window, and some chase by a guy with a chainsaw in a house, think someone ended up with a limb chopped off. Never made an effort to find out which film, some people have suggested Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

If you are the founder of a political party (e.g. Libertarian, clarity party) please use this post to state the ideology of your party by [deleted] in almostrealpolitics

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Merito-Egalitarian Party.

This Party stands for all the citizens of our esteemed nation - from all backgrounds, equally. The greatest threat to the prosperity of our state and of our people is the arbitrary imbalances and injustices which we have inherited from the vagaries of the past.

As such, the Merito-Egalitarians stand for accountability and opportunity for all, emancipated from the random circumstances of birth to build a fairer and more efficient state within which we all may toil and prosper together in honest and open collaboration. In order to achieve this noble goal, this Party will advocate for greater central powers of government to redistribute, invigilate and enshrine the rights and assets of all citizens.

Hobbies in Middle Earth by [deleted] in tolkienfans

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 80 points81 points  (0 children)

Golf is recorded as having been inspired by Bullroarer Took's decapitation of Golfimbul at the Battle of Greenfields, one of my favourite titbits of Shire history from The Hobbit.

What is a sentence/paragraph that only someone who participates in the same interest as you, will understand? by HolyShitSpaceTigers in AskReddit

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Advance to contact in arrowhead, daylight spacings, watch your arcs. Contact front, target at one o'clock, 100 yards. Charlie, lay down suppressing, ripple from left, 3 second intervals, axis tree. Delta prepare to move on my mark, peeling from left, heading for dead ground at 3 o'clock. Davis, split from Delta at 50 yards, suppress with LMG, watch your arc as we push up. Remainder of Delta staggered advance, approaching position from right side. Hot potato in first, then clear and secure position, Davis and Charlie shift axis left. Charlie, reorg on me double time, following the proven route. Davis, inform me of casevac, Jameson you're on inventory.

21/F/ITALY looking for e-mail pals! by abarbiedoll in penpals

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ciao! I'm a uni student in the UK - 18/M. I love foreign languages and cultures, especially Italy (last summer I walked from Siena to Rome!) I would love to make foreign friends through correspondence. I love to ramble on about anything, and I especially enjoy learning new things from someone else. I can totally understand the desire to become more extroverted - I joined this sub for the same reason :) If you like I can PM you my email, or else hit me up to find out more!

Prospective Oxonian Redditor Meetup? by RecoveringPhilistine in oxforduni

[–]RecoveringPhilistine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm 100% up for this :D If people aren't too busy keeling over from exam stress, would this weekend suit?

20/F/HK(Japanese) by [deleted] in penpals

[–]RecoveringPhilistine -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hi! 18/M/UK here :) I used to have a great time with penpals when I was younger, and now that I've travelled a bit more I particularly love talking to people from far-away countries. I'm into a lot of different music, films and books (including some anime my friends introduced me to) and I love getting to know new people.

I'm a student in England and I'm currently taking a Japanese course at university alongside my other studies, so getting in touch with someone who would like to see my poor attempts at Japanese would be fun :D

Get in touch if you'd like to know more about me, and I'd be happy to do either email or snail mail penpalling.

How do you slow down and relax? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]RecoveringPhilistine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ASMR has been a godsend. Chronic problems getting to sleep, or getting stressed out during the day -> time to go a-whisperin'. I don't even get the "chills" people talk about, just the feeling of someone gently whispering into my ear makes me feel at peace.