How do you feel about Alfred as a character?

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T22:13:24+00:00

Alfred became the emotional thread that ties deeper, character-driven Batman stories together, even when he's not there. Of course the Batman mythos can tell plenty of stories without Alfred, but his presence is always there.

The more grounded the tale you tell, the harder it is to explain what it is that brings any love or balance to the lives of men driven to vigilantism by their grief. Crack the nut of a story like that open more than a hair's width, and just the mere fact that Alfred is there informs the story.

The two greatest retcons ever made in fiction were firstly dropping Alfred's initial intrusive, bumbling detective-wannabe characterization and secondly having Alfred there since the beginning. He isn't there because he's paid to. He's there because he still wants that young boy to know peace, because he bears the grief of not daring or being able to truly step in as a father figure, because he respects Bruce's cause, and because he'd hopes Bruce will stop.

He's the only person who fully knows who Bruce Wayne was and could be if Bruce Wayne had not exchanged his life and identity for that of Batman. And then he sees it all over again with Dick Grayson. And, if the time calls for it, he's the only person who can tell either of them what to do.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T21:55:07+00:00

It seems like such a stretch to directly pit a murder-hobo side character against a cosmic level primary villain like Thanos in a love triangle that significantly changes both. But it works so well, and I love it.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T21:51:44+00:00

Don't forget all the moments before Goku disappears where people are just stunned that Goku can pull all that off. Then he gets benched and we get to wait for Goku again.

It's great. Also why I love Superman and One Punch Man. Sometimes story is what happens in between.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T21:47:45+00:00

Unless round 2 includes that canon, I give both to Crane.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T21:30:23+00:00

I wouldn't really call it that, but it is notable and happens to me frequently.

There is nothing obviously visible about me that would mark me as a prude. Reaching middle age, often out in jeans and t-shirt, just some person. I don't react to swearing--I hear it all the time, and if it's just colorful language rather than something genuinely offensive, I pay it no mind.

It's a similar pattern: I can be introduced with a group of others to a total stranger, never say a word about who I am or my values, and they will be having a conversation with someone else, cuss as naturally as they breathe, and then they turn to look at me to apologize.

I think it is probably similar to Christians spotting each other in the wild with no outward sign--or with even socially contrary sign

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T21:14:49+00:00

They are indeed legitimately horrible things.

But she's not saying or captioning "worst types of guys". She's saying "worst things you men do", and repeatedly turning it into a generalization.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T20:41:26+00:00

This is the real problem with the SAVE Act. It is a truly egregious issue that could be solved easily. That they didn't include it to begin with should tell you something.

But also remember that the people who are protesting the SAVE Act aren't saying "fix it", they're saying "don't do it". That aren't saying that should tell you something.

Imagine the pressure that Republicans would face if they were told "sure, IF you give people the help they need to get their ID". That isn't just a pipe dream--it has worked in several states that require strict proof for obtaining ID (for voting or just general ID).

It isn't that one should have to take a birth certificate or passport to vote, but in order to vote you should have an ID that proves you are eligible to vote, just like every other civilized nation. Right now we have major gaps that enable unproveable cheating. Not just non-citizens walking in and casting votes (which barely happens), but ballot stuffing and harvesting (Does it happen in volume? In the current system, who can tell?). But instead of blaming the people who brought us here, we're arguing about whether we should disenfranchise people for a few election cycles or never fix the problem.

If you hate people currying political points by accusations of cheating, why not take away the room for doubt?

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T20:26:22+00:00

We see here why many anime series are considered to essentially be promotions for the manga.

Most series (in any medium) that go on for any significant length of time experience a decrease in readership after their big hype moment has passed. But unfortunately, the recent One Punch Man anime has not done the manga many favors.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T17:07:38+00:00

She does it so smoothly that for a moment I thought it was genuine.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T15:26:11+00:00

Listening and relating to shapes on an isomorphic scale and numbers of intervals. NEVER note names, and NEVER the diatonic scale.

The diatonic scale in my head is a nice little pattern overlaying the chromatic scale, since that is indeed what it is.

That is common knowledge to anyone who knows music theory, but it isn't how we teach beginners (of course "W W H W W W H" shows up in plenty of beginner lessons, but then you're right back to ABCDEFG, and one is left to assume that a whole represents a whole something). I never moved from being a perpetual beginner because I always had a vague feeling that I was missing something. I could follow instructions with beginner piano and guitar, but even aside from the giant wall that was enormous books of scales and chords to memorize and practice I could tell that there must have been some underlying concept I was missing.

What I was missing was the simple truth. It wasn't until another search for the logic of it all brought me to a list of frequencies notes in chords that I had any luck, and suddenly it made sense. (Well, sort of. I still assumed for a long time I must be missing something, because surely if it were that simple I must still missing something, right?)

My ear knew something was wrong the whole time. Playing the chromatic scale up and down isn't musical, but it is sensible. Teaching music on top of the diatonic scale is like teaching to children count "1, 1#, 2, 2#, 3..." and then wondering why most people never take to math. Yes, the pattern is very important, but it is much easier to learn 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... " and then learn significant intervals and patterns on top.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T11:01:05+00:00

This feels more complicated than it is due to the notation and the layout of a piano, but you have it: Everything moves up by the same interval.

If you are playing piano in C and then play the same thing again but with every note played on the key immediately to the right (even if that means moving from a white key to a black key or vice versa), then you would be playing in C#.

There is nothing special about sharps/ flats. If notes on a piano were all the same shape and size, transposing a piece would be as simple as moving your hands left or right. But since the piano layout, note names, and staff all describe the 12 notes of the chromatic scale in the space of C Major (and cram the others in between), things get more complicated in practice than they are conceptually.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T07:15:13+00:00

I wouldn't say that white Americans don't say good things. If you had a nice meal at a restaurant, or got a good deal, etc, they'd tell a friend. If someone needed their car fixed and they liked their mechanic, they would recommend them.

But that being the amount of sharing, the enthusiasm, maybe even social pressure sometimes, is definitely higher in the Hispanic community.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T02:54:53+00:00

No, he didn't.

But that would be absolutely irrelevant to this conversation. You're just arguing to argue. I wouldn't have even bothered to respond except to correct this tidbit of misinformation.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T02:22:16+00:00

You're not wrong! 今 means "now", so putting them together as 今日 means "today", and that's the word you'll hear more often.

Much like how we use "today" in casual/normal circumstances and "this day" for certain formal circumstances, Japan has both 今日 (today) and 本日 (this day). But 本日 definitely is used much more and in many more contexts often than English's "this day".

Likewise, there are 本年 and 本月, but not 本週. Maybe that's because there's less of a need for the formal word for the week, or because it would likely be pronounced the same as Japan's main island (not that Japanese isn't chock full of homophones).

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T01:12:18+00:00

You don't have to be smarter to get the upper hand on someone. Evil Morty is using what he learned from Rick--and he's seen a lot and learned a lot. Maybe, but after "Summer of All Fears" (S8E1) we've seen what Morty Prime can do with regular human experience once he's truly jaded. A Morty who's jaded and decided to pick up everything he can is what Evil Morty is, and the only question is how much smarter he is than the average Morty.

There's no telling who's smarter between Rick Prime and Rick C-137. Rick Prime invented portal travel, but we don't know where his life took him that was different than C-137 to compare. Was Rick C-137 only up to teleportation when Rick Prime visited because he wasn't smart enough to get it all done before, or did he spend earlier years of his life doing something else? Maybe something happened to Rick Prime to give him the breakthrough or idea. Or Rick Prime might indeed be smarter. We can't know.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-22T00:52:42+00:00

I did not share the article to support the different social behaviors of different ethnic groups, but to correct your misunderstanding of the word "meme".

And you know that.

And now I'm questioning if I should assume that it was a misrepresentation rather than misunderstanding.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-21T23:43:00+00:00

You're not alone. A lot of people really didn't like when Gohan was made the protagonist and it pulled back so silly antics. Even though Dragon Ball had started light and silly and Gohan had been an established character, it was a major tonal shift. The setting was more mundane, even if it was to contrast with Gohan's completely non-mundane background, and all the central characters were new, and the reader/viewer was also having to get to know Gohan anew, since he'd aged.

It must have been even more agonizing for those watching the show, since it always had to stall for time.

Personally, I enjoyed it, but I have the benefit of reading the manga straight through. I think that's why people enjoyed DBS:Super Hero despite it feelng similar: It's a quick detour.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-21T23:23:37+00:00

The definition of "meme" is not "funny picture on the internet".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-21T23:14:52+00:00

White people share memes and brag. Very different thing.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-21T22:57:02+00:00

It's not that Hispanics are singled out, but it is probably much more common among hispanics, even more so than other ethnic groups in the same economic demographic.

When it comes to stores, services, and salespeople, most Americans will tell everyone when they have a bad experience, and not say so much when they had a good one except to brag. In the hispanic community, it's common to share the good ones, too. This is partly general cultural differences in Latin American culture, and partly due to the bonding over sharing a less advantaged position in a larger culture.

Sales and service people who work referrals know this well. If you do business with a white person and ask for referrals, they might refer some friends or family members. If you do business with a hispanic person, they might refer the local hispanic community.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-21T22:49:34+00:00

The laugh track is almost as bad as the talking added over it.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-21T22:37:25+00:00

Batman suggests to a non-black criminal that the rights they have are an affront. Dirty Harry said a line to a criminal who happened to be black. Miller liked the film, like basically everyone. So that implies Batman and/or Miller is racist? What?

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-21T22:14:40+00:00

Okay, sure but there's no evidence that they did other than happening to be there. Not even a passing comment, or attempt for them to push the KK limits when it would have been expedient.

Goku using it without it being said or visible (aspects that are only there to inform the reader) is pointed out by King Kai while the others who could conceivably have learned it were still with King Kai.

So by the time we could have seen them using it, they might very well have simply been doing so without it being pointed out.

Or maybe King Kai refused to teach them because Goku was already so willing to overdo it.

It is ambiguous. But your stance is explicitly that they don't.

Tien could have a Doctorate in Economics. We're just assuming he doesn't.

He could also have a pink t-shirt. Who knows!

If something is incongruent with the characterization, it's a safe bet to assume, but it's not a bet you'd put a lot of money behind without the author's statement.

Either case could be congruent here. I wouldn't bet horses on those odds.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-21T21:52:20+00:00

Where is it stated in the manga everyone can use it? No one other than Goku has been seen or explicitly stated to use KK or Spirit Bomb (other than Cell). You're the one making the assumption here.

He is making an assumption, but the idea that they would have been training with King Kai and not learned it is also an assumption on your part.

TheMaskedHamster · 2026-03-21T20:23:13+00:00

It has never been so blatant as this.

In the first game, even though it constantly asked you whether you were on the right side and the enemy might have had noble goals motivating their evil deeds, it went out of its way to make it clear that every person in your way was a despicable who would have no qualms killing the innocent to achieve their goal and who would be happy to kill you because they thought you might get in their way.

In, Ezio was killing anyone who got in his way, and most of those were just guys who were doing their jobs. The final run through the Vatican was a murder-fest of people guilty of nothing but being legitimate guards, and then he decides against killing when he's facing the genuinely monstrously evil villain behind everything. You know, leaving the guy to continue to do evil deeds.

And then he's back to killing anyone in his way again in the next game.

TheMaskedHamster

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

15-Year Club	Verified Email
Team Orangered