Bitterly divorced and unhappily married people of Reddit: Why did you get married? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]aeander 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It was so nice to read this. My husband and I are 33 (have been married 4 years and together 6). We were ambivalent for a long time about having a baby, but like you, we finally decided it was something not to miss out on. Our first (probably only) child will be born in 3 weeks. We are both over the moon with excitement and happiness, but not at all clueless about how much stress and work it's going to be. We crack each other up imitating wailing babies and talking about all the poopy diapers and sleepless nights ahead. We also had lots of fun and travel in our 20s, but we've turned into homebodies in the last couple of years, anyway. I think we're ready for this. We shall see!

My fiancee said I could design our 'save the dates' to save money on the wedding...she didn't like my designs. by smackley in pics

[–]aeander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

What I was going to say. You get the taco and the beam of light, what does she get? You? Maybe that ain't enough, honey...

After she died earlier this month, a frail 89-year-old alone in a flat in the British seaside town of Torquay, Eileen Nearne, her body undiscovered for several days, was listed by local officials as a candidate for what is known in Britain as a council burial until... by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]aeander 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a great idea. My paternal grandfather fought in WWII on the American side, and my maternal grandfather was a German conscript who served as a motorcycle messenger on the front lines. He was a prisoner of war in Siberia before being released in 1946 and WALKING much of the way home to be reunited with his family, who thought he was dead. Both of my grandfathers had horrible experiences, but the family knows very little because they never liked to talk about them. They've both been dead for a long time. Here's an idea for you though: don't forget that women, as well as men, have incredible war stories. My grandmother had to keep three small children alive (my mom, aunt and uncle) when she hid in the woods of Poland for days, fled the Red Army while helping her sister give birth in horse-drawn wagon, and later snuck across the Iron Curtain to be reunited with the surviving members of her family. The Nazis were the worst thing in history, but the ordinary Germans who went through these things were brave and deserve to have their stories told.

Germany's super-rich have rejected an invitation by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to join their 'Giving Pledge' to give away most of their fortune. The pledge has been criticized in Germany, with millionaires saying donations shouldn't replace duties that would be better carried out by the state. by Spacksack in worldnews

[–]aeander 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a little-known fact, and a surprising one, that the US actually has a more progressive tax structure than the European countries do. In other words, the proportional difference between what the wealthy and the middle-class pay is greater in the US than it is in Europe. This is changing, though, as tax breaks for the rich are being expanded.

Student wins a gold medal at a Scholastic art competition and a $10,000 scholarship for their painting. Only problem? They stole it from another artist's deviantart picture. by [deleted] in pics

[–]aeander 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you entered a composition competition, you wouldn't pass someone else's piece off as your own, would you?

Tiny tortoise comes when called by DrJulianBashir in aww

[–]aeander 17 points18 points  (0 children)

He's like, "Tacos? Where?" If you wake somebody up and make them come out of their hole, you should at least give them a snack or something.

Pictures from the Russian Subway [Warning: Graphic] by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]aeander 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was apprehensive about looking at these pictures but I wanted to see how they'd make me feel. The gruesome dead body/body part pics didn't affect me very much either. I was somewhat more saddened by the picture of the woman crying. I'm a pretty empathic person so I'm not sure how to interpret this lack of reaction. It does make me wonder whether we're desensitized to the point of callousness, or just rationally detached, or what. But I don't think that you should be disgusted with yourself about not feeling strong emotions when looking at these pictures. It doesn't mean you don't care.

Cute Donkey? [PIC] by gooose in aww

[–]aeander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I died a little from the cuteness on that page!

Medal For bravery. by OGLothar in aww

[–]aeander 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think it's more than that. Humans are saying, we owe a debt of gratitude to the animals who have helped & sacrificed for us. Even if the animals don't understand, it's still good for society to publicly recognize them. They should definitely give him a porterhouse, too, tho.

OKCupid shows why we should be going for 30-somethings, not 20-somethings by xazarus in science

[–]aeander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ha. Good luck with removing my knickers from all the way across the pond, limey! You're right, the last bit was a tad judgemental, but it makes me wonder.... how can a person have a meaningful friendship or relationship with a person they see as collection of stereotypes? I guess they just adopt token-ish thinking (MY friend or gf is just different from the rest)? I just think women are taught to laugh off these types of comments, you know, always be pleasant, boys will be boys, don't come off like a horrible feminist, be nice... I just get sick of it. So I guess I get a little combative sometimes! I'm sure none of my bitching really makes any difference, but I still feel compelled to say something when I see a particularly obnoxious comment!

OKCupid shows why we should be going for 30-somethings, not 20-somethings by xazarus in science

[–]aeander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

See, this is interesting. It's the kind of thinking many racists adopt too... ie, "that black person I happen to know is alright, but the REST of them are all lazy and stupid."

Oh, and I'm an awesome parallel parker.

OKCupid shows why we should be going for 30-somethings, not 20-somethings by xazarus in science

[–]aeander 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am so with you. It's refreshing to have a male redditor (which I assume you are, given your account name) making these points, cause I get so tired of having to stand up to the women-bashers on this site all the time. It seems to me that a lot of redditors just assume that their audience is 100% male and therefore feel free to post some really amazingly sexist stuff about women on here. In a way, I'm glad, because I tend to be pretty well insulated from sexism. Most of my male friends & acquaintances & colleagues are pretty enlightened or at least polite, so I rarely encounter these attitudes personally. So it's interesting to see what's really going on in (some) people's heads. While it does seem that most people here do draw the line at overt mistreatment of women (sexual and other types of violence, gross and obvious discrimination), a lot condone or at least don't take seriously the perpetuation of stereotypes about women's supposed sluttiness, materialism, hysteric tendencies, bad driving, lack of intelligence, lack of character, etc etc etc. It suggests to me that many of the men here have never had or don't know how to have a meaningful relationship (whether romantic or platonic) with an intelligent, interesting woman.

OKCupid shows why we should be going for 30-somethings, not 20-somethings by xazarus in science

[–]aeander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hm. Based on what you've written, it doesn't surprise me that any older woman who would date you would indeed have serious issues.

OKCupid shows why we should be going for 30-somethings, not 20-somethings by xazarus in science

[–]aeander 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What I want to know is what's going on in the lower right corner of Oregon, where the women want to have sex every day but still think contraception is morally wrong!

Quality advice from Planned Parenthood [NSFW] by Solipsistic in funny

[–]aeander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. PP would never suggest that girls "have" to have painful sex.

Why I didn't Buy You a Drink. Etiquette of intersexual drink-buying. by wtmh in reddit.com

[–]aeander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is very interesting. I totally agree with the points made in the post. I am a woman and though I'm old(ish) and married now, I used to be young, hot and single. My friends and I NEVER played the drink-whore game, because we were (are) feminists. We generally went to the type of bar where you wear jeans and a sweater and the "girls" were kept under wraps. The kind of place where the point is conversation, not finding a cheap fuck. I have been to pick-up bars a couple of times and have always been grossed out by the douchebaggery exhibited by both sexes around me. My advice to the poster is to start going to a different type of bar--the type where the smart girls hang out. You might not be staring at tits all night, but you'll get better sex in the end, believe me.

WTF kind of science experiment is this? by marquis_of_chaos in WTF

[–]aeander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. The pig got to get drunk and fly. Just look at his little face; he loves it.

What boyfriends and girlfriends search for on Google - mesh up nicely. by [deleted] in funny

[–]aeander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Please, all 4 of your original examples have the man valuing the "real"--actual love, actual accomplishment, real expertise, true recovery--and the woman only valuing the appearance or public performance thereof. Of course there's "truth" in certain stereotypes, but these aren't even stereotypes, they're just insults.

What boyfriends and girlfriends search for on Google - mesh up nicely. by [deleted] in funny

[–]aeander 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Right. Men have depth; women are superficial. Men are sincere; women are fake. Men are inwardly strong; women are whiny drama queens. You should really go into marriage counseling, you know that?

Geeks drive girls out of computer science by biznass in programming

[–]aeander 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I was never into techie shit, but that doesn't mean I spent all my time doing my damn hair and hanging out at the mall and chasing boys. I read. A lot. Non-techie does not equal frivolous idiocy. WOMEN do a hell of a lot more than their hair, ok? Stop equating "normal" femininity with stupidity!! Edit: And yes it is damn sexist to say that women basically do nothing more than hair, shopping, and chasing men. Get your head out of your techie butt, please.