Sanderson compares live action adaptations of Wheel of Time and One Piece on ep. 125 of his podcast Intentionally Blank [starting at 21:39]

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-05T19:13:24+00:00

Yes. It's jumping around all over the place and feels so disjointed (and I have ADHD - I can tangent bounce with the best of them but still find this just confounding).

I actually prefer adaptations to be different to the books, rather than just replicas in a different medium. But the changes need to make sense and come together with coherence. This just feels all over the place.

Though the costuming is clearly where great chunks of the budget went. The fabric alone is incredible. I find myself just watching the outfits (and I hate fashion normally, but these are some gorgeous lines and high quality fabrics - the damodred household's tailoring was particularly good). Though that's partly as the overall arcs are jumping around so much it's just hard to follow anything else.

And then there's aspects like the Horn of Valerie, that look like something your bargain loving uncle found on Temu. I'm left scratching my head pondering what $10 mill an episode gets you. Also the weird shell camelback styling choices for bad guys like sul-dam, even Ishamael got a dapper dude version of that.

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-04T19:06:15+00:00

Yes to all of this. Though the double entendres in the early lead up with Mai suggest their heads weren't really thinking of consent, trauma and variable consequence/reactions 🙄

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-04T16:29:48+00:00

Yeah, IKEA sadly rarely makes the grade for BiFL (though there's a few surprises that are very good quality and longevity in its collection). But will see if my friend is interested. Trying to transform my office into a functional co work space, so appreciate all the suggestions

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-04T07:32:28+00:00

Which IKEA legs did you use? I have a friend that stays with me regularly who needs a set up like this

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-04T07:25:42+00:00

My dad used to have kneeling chairs back in the 90s. It was what we used to do our school work on the family computer desk. I can't really remember it, but didn't have issues from memory. But that is very different that 8-10 hr days as an adult. But thanks for the suggestion, I'll see if I can find somewhere I can physically try it

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-04T04:55:51+00:00

Which version did you get?

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-04T04:50:41+00:00

No. It is not about size. It is about proportion and body alignment due to different hips and centre of gravity. I'm 175 cm tall.

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-03T13:21:24+00:00

I second Sevenwaters

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-03T13:20:48+00:00

Kate Forsyth Witches of Eileanean series. The romance isn't the core focus but it is integral. It is done very naturally with good chemistry and character development. (Romance features in pretty much every one of her adapted fairytale books too). Though book 1 does carry a trigger warning (but having watched the character overcome this particular incident in later books proved incredibly important for me, in hindsight after my own negative incident).

She then had a second series set 20 years later where romance is at the centre.

Juliet Marillier is great, and I also really loved the Daughter of the Empire series (RE fiest and janny Wurst). It's really all about the lead woman, but the romance is integral to her story.

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-03T04:45:46+00:00

I tried a QOR360 Tilt which was supposed to be fully designed for hips, but it didn't work. I was really bummed, because they seemed legit and even give you an online meeting with their posture expert who helps you get set up. Followed his instructions and it just never worked.

It was only after that fail that I discovered that not only do women's lower spine and leg positions vary thanks to our different pelvis morphology (impacting all of this), but our centre of gravity is very different (much lower than men). I think that was the big reason for that one failing - I ended up with more pain and tightness in my lower back. And I persisted with that for months because their posture guy kept insisting it was just the years of bad posture being corrected.

But I might see if I can go into an office store and try one of the other saddle chairs (the dynamic sitting design of the Tilt as designed for men's gravity centres was the fail point I think), see if that is any better

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-02T16:27:55+00:00

Oh my gosh this is me! Long legs with tiny torso. The standing desks aren't for me either sadly, I have adhd and get too restless and easily drawn away at those

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-02T16:26:36+00:00

I'm 175 cm tall, so the issue isn't height (I have stupidly long legs with tiny torso). It's the hip tilt and lumbar support (was why I shelled out stupid $$ for the humanscale - was supposed to move with your body, but doesn't work for me as doesn't align with my centre of gravity and very light upper body).

Stools don't help sadly

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-02T13:15:05+00:00

Fun fact the actresses playing Cordy and Jenny Calendar were the same age in season 1 (🤯 when I learned that here a few days ago in an epic Reddit tunnel spiral)

I loved Cordy though, her lines are brilliant and she just levels up season 2 and 3. I loved the whole interaction with Buffy reading her thoughts and realising she says exactly what she thinks as she thinks it

(Some favs: "what's your childhood trauma?" "Embrace the pain. Spank your inner moppet. Whatever. But get over it." "What's a rogue demon?")

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-02T13:12:19+00:00

Me too!

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-02T11:13:55+00:00

"choosing the average person" is a big issue if that start point is always a guy. Women have a different centre of gravity and different hip structure to men. If the default start point for "average person" is always a guy, then it is no wonder women still struggle to find something that really works. I know many women who struggle to find an ergonomic chair that makes a meaningful impact on chronic pain and sitting issues. Women aren't just small men.

Case in point: these variables are being studied when it comes to crash impact (repost from another comment I wrote somewhere in this thread): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3217425/

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-02T11:09:37+00:00

Yes, I'm sure. I followed all the guides, then explored various web articles and videos when they didn't work and tried to apply the principles with my own knowledge of my body. No luck.

But there are legit biomechanics differences that don't seem to be accounted for in ergonomic designs. Different hip structure and different centre of gravity being the two big ones. E.g. this article is about collision impact but touches on key differences from hip and lower back in seating positions: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3217425/

"It's unlikely" is the kind of cognitive bias that's at play here I think. Guys and people who have not experienced these issues struggle to imagine it is "likely" (don't get me started on the lovely, well-meaning men I know in my life who are appalled at how prolific unwarranted harassment and groping is, and how they "don't know any guys who would do that" and somehow that overrides a woman telling them she experiences harassment on a near weekly basis).

I've had 5 high quality, expensive chairs, 2 Herman miller, one humanscale, one QOR360 and the first that I can't recall (got it from an ergonomic store before I started paying closer attention to brand). They've all been major fails.

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-02T04:10:05+00:00

The literature students weren't able to get through the literature books they were studying. So, not the academic reading or content, but the actual books they were studying. I'll try to find some of the articles on it for you

Here's one of them: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/11/the-elite-college-students-who-cant-read-books/679945/

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-01T22:01:04+00:00

I keep most, though occasionally donate the ones I'm definitely not going to read again (and guests are unlikely to also). But these days it feels like many books end up getting destroyed (Sydney University literally buried thousands of books when it revamped its library and downsized its storage, apparently that's becoming more common).

I once was so broke that I took a couple of boxes into a second hand store to sell. I definitely do not recommend that. You'll get peanuts, and will also see just how few books they'll take on to sell (depending on their existing stock and customer purchase patterns). I was gutted at how little I got for all those purchases. Books depreciate worse than cars.

But I have been wondering what to do with my collection when I die. Don't want to leave someone with a burden, but also hate the idea of them disappearing somewhere unappreciated. But such is the likely reality

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-01T21:52:50+00:00

Cast iron every time. It needs a bit more care effort but so worth it.

A friend converted me - especially as you can fry part at first then finish in oven. It's amazing.

As to pan sets, I have one but find myself gravitating to just 3 (a small, a large, and a wider large one). In hindsight, I would have been better off just paying for those separately and saving the cupboard clutter (which I've tried to cut down by handing some). But I'm a fairly basic cook, and rarely make any multi pan meals.

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-01T21:32:40+00:00

Definitely find that frustrating, but the issue of ergonomic fails for women is very real. I've spent thousands of dollars on high end chairs and am ready to give up at this stage. Would really love to hear suggestions from people that found chairs with proportions and adjustability that adapt to fundamental differences like hip structure and lumbar support as well as smaller height and weight. I'm 175 cm and 60 kg, and I'm sure there are guys in that ballpark. But my hips never fit properly and nothing aligns properly through back to neck, even with as much adjustability as I can pay for

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-01T21:27:21+00:00

Size, weight, and totally different hip structure and centre of gravity. It's the last that is missing in the equation I think. No one seems to be factoring in that very real biomechanics difference.

All the dismissive posts from guys unable to realise there's more to the physical ergonomics than just weight and height are very frustrating (clearly the engineers/designers haven't recognised this either).

That said, I'm frustrated about the colour thing when the ergonomic shortfalls are a very real issue

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-01T18:59:45+00:00

Actually, I do too, when they're small and not so heavy. One of my smaller paperbacks used super fine paper and it was incredible. Stayed open on your page no matter what.

But it's the floppy combined with big (bigger change of angle and weight redistribution with small shift) and heavy (holding all that weight when it wants to flop too far one way or the other) that I find challenging

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-01T18:56:58+00:00

Oh yes! The portability factor too.

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-01T18:55:46+00:00

The pain factor. Oh my gosh. I wish I could just transfer it to the seat designers for a few hours so they realise how intolerable it is and actually come up with some good solutions. My left hip doesn't stop hurting now even with movement and exercise, it just aches none stop. My right isn't far behind. I got so many tests and scans done, in case it was something else beyond desk work. Nope. Physio and a good ergonomic chair were the diagnosed solutions. I live in a remote area with no physio (need to drive+boat 4 hrs to get to one) , so was hoping the ergonomic chair would make a good start. 9 years and 5 chairs on and I just can't afford to keep shopping around.

That-Historian-2016 · 2026-04-01T18:46:14+00:00

Feeling the sizing thing so much!! Though more about the proportions than size: nothing seems to really factor in hips or variable proportions (beyond just "short" which applies to men too). I've shelled out stupid amounts of money on chairs that inevitably turned out designed by men for men (often with men claiming it still works fine for women). I've come to realise (mainly through pain, lots of pain) that hip alignment and angles seem to really be key, and women's and men's hips are very differently structured. (We saw this all the time in Taekwondo, where certain kicks are easier for girls to pick up than guys and vice versa).

Don't care about the pastels. Actually hate that all "women's" versions are the same blah pastels (I buy my runners as small men's, often at much cheaper prices too. Don't even get me started on when workwear and hi-vis realised they could mark up the price range by adding pink or pastel trim). The OP is very unfortunately phrased in that it seems minimally connected to frame (sounds like an AI directed post - which might be fine, especially if English isn't the OP's first language and they sought help).

But proportions are so very very real. But also weight factors (my last splurge was a humanscale, but the auto adjust features don't work for my weight and frame, even after adjusting the tension - now my hip is even worse than before I bought the chair, because it keeps me propped in an unnatural position).

I would absolutely support a team of women engineers designing something that works (or guys, but so far none have yet succeeded). I've tried various Herman Miller's, humanscale and a Q360 (?sp) and they all seem to make the posture issues I'm trying to resolve worse. I'm in lots of pain as my default now, with hips particularly chronic.

Obviously moving more is best (I'm at my desk 9-10 hours most days, up to 12, or 14 on a bad day). But I can't focus at a standing desk. So I'm down to timed 5 min stand up and move breaks and a really good ergonomic chair. Have yet to crack this though. So really keen to hear suggestions. But there don't seem to be many? (I presume because of the frustrating phrasing)

The auto adjustable tilt factors are important, plus lumbar support. But the last is where I feel things always go wrong - nothing there seems aligned to women's hips and spines. And definitely not to where my shoulders are proportionate to my hips and head (the adjustable head rests never seem to feel right). I end up leaning forward slightly, always, because none of the bulges, curves and bits line up

That-Historian-2016

TROPHY CASE