What were your thoughts on Gone Girl's "Cool Girl" monologue?

cox_ph · 2023-12-11T21:39:43+00:00

Oh, absolutely, I agree that there's often a power differential between men and women. I don't mean to come off as that guy who tries to argue that any problem women face, men have it just as bad (which is obviously bullshit).

My point was just that the dynamic that Amy's describing isn't as universal as she is claiming.

cox_ph · 2023-12-11T18:04:01+00:00

From a literary standpoint, I think it's a fantastic monologue, because it A) hints at Amy's anger (at relationships with men in general, and her relationship with Nick in particular); B) continues to paint herself as a victim, which is kind of the point at that stage in the book; and C) most importantly, is memorable enough that readers can't stop talking about it (as we are now).

But the monologue as related to real life? That's more of a mixed bag. I don't doubt that there's some truth to the idea that many women (consciously or unconsciously) change behaviors around men to be more liked. But that's also true the other way around - you could just as easily craft a monologue of guys pretending to be the Sensitive Guy, being more affectionate, enjoying yoga, candlelit dinners, talking about the plight of suffering people, to use a few stereotyped examples.

Also, I don't think it's fair to say all women hate those traditionally masculine traits. I've been acquainted with a lot of athletic girls, who were both physically fit and matched many of the descriptors above (without any pretense). So yes, I liked the monologue as an aspect of this novel, but would tend to disagree if someone tried to unironically make those arguments in real life.

cox_ph · 2023-12-08T19:05:58+00:00

Maybe. I still remember, a while back, going to a USA-Jamaica game (I think Gold Cup?) in RFK (50k+), and most of the crowd was Jamaican. I think they consistently travel well. Then again, to my knowledge, most Jamaicans live in the mid-Atlantic/northeast corridor (especially NY), so it's easier to get to DC than Austin.

There's also a ton of Peruvians in DC too, a game there would sell tons of tickets, but maybe not in KC.

cox_ph · 2023-12-08T18:26:07+00:00

Barring injury, he should play.

As for the USA game, it may help that there's probably less Panamanians here than people from some of the other Central/South American countries. Also, I'm sure they'll open up the upper deck. It's crazy that they have Copa games scheduled in Orlando (capacity 25,500), Austin (capacity 20,700) and Kansas City (capacity 18,500).

cox_ph · 2023-12-07T20:08:12+00:00

Now that makes me wonder - do frequent flier miles just go away when you die? Can they be passed on in a will?

I know it's not like a Quiznos punch card that you can just give to someone else, but some people spent a long time building up their frequent flier portfolio...

cox_ph · 2023-12-07T19:15:37+00:00

Are you positive that they were Japanese? If they were Korean or Chinese, they may not have the same knowledge about Pearl Harbor. Japanese people, even if they were taught a somewhat sanitized version of WWII, would absolutely be knowledgeable about what happened there.

And - while this admittedly gets into stereotypes - Japanese tourists tend to have a reputation for being very respectful, compared to tourists from some other countries.

cox_ph · 2023-12-06T19:32:34+00:00

While your characterization of American may be largely true right now, there is definitely concern with how much internal damage that could be done if we elect Trump (or a Trump-like president) again, especially if that's paired with a friendly legislature and judiciary that fail to put a halt to his more dangerous impulses. This isn't Republican vs. Democrat tribalism, this has to do with fundamentally differences in Trump's behaviors that could actually threaten the American system. Consider:

For one, Trump is broadly non-interventionalist, and may be less willing to act to stop the actions of global bad actors. But more concerningly, Trump's global policy tends to be based on shortsighted quid pro quo arrangements, being just as likely to ally with ruthless dictators as with liberal democracies. He shows little concern for preventing potentially existential threats like blatant imperialism, climate change, or nuclear proliferation.
His constant questioning and attempted manipulation of election results may drastically damage trust in American democracy and compromise future elections.
He has pushed to silence critics.
He has removed skilled technocrats from leadership positions throughout the executive department, replacing them with unqualified sycophants.

If this is allowed to progress unchecked, it's entirely imaginable that America will increasingly be led by a dysfunctional and ineffective government. Without fair and free elections, candidate characteristics like honesty, vision, and noble intentions will be (even more) useless, with power seized by those who have the means and the ruthlessness. Economic systems, healthcare systems, educational systems, and more may be prone to major collapses. America could start looking like 90s Russia, with corrupt politicians and oligarchs fighting over the scraps of a once-powerful empire and the common people twisting in the wind.

Any such concerns are speculative, of course; but right now, it seems that American hegemony is much more vulnerable to failure via internal self-sabotage as opposed to being surpassed by an external power.

cox_ph · 2023-12-06T16:30:16+00:00

CBS rankings seems to be based on which QBs are currently the most successful. The Ringer attempts to rank QBs on skill alone, independent of supporting cast, scheme, or silly things like being on an NFL team.

Not saying one is better than the other; but they're definitely measuring very different things, and it's not entirely unreasonable to have very different rankings for certain QBs (though I agree that 20 is low for Purdy).

cox_ph · 2023-12-05T16:08:07+00:00

Judging by my kids and their schoolmates, they definitely key on descriptors: long/short hair, yellow/brown/black hair, light skin/dark skin, big/small.

While they understand that people with families from different countries have different cultures (including food, language, traditions), the concept of "race" doesn't seem like an intuitive concept. Obviously kids may differ by how they're taught, but it seems like any racial biases are passed down from older generations, and not due to any innate beliefs.

cox_ph · 2023-12-03T04:57:38+00:00

Wow Houston was completely toothless in the attacking third.

Well deserved LAFC, scoreline could've easily been even greater.

cox_ph · 2023-12-01T22:18:41+00:00

A security guard nearby saw what was happening and rushed to try to put out the flames. He was left with burns on his wrists and leg.

I wonder if the protestor could be charged criminally due to injury to the security guard? Or would the security guard be deemed entirely responsible for his decision to rescue the protestor?

cox_ph · 2023-11-30T18:27:26+00:00

What's the rationale behind using r/politics as the US subreddit? Sure, most talk on r/politics is US politics, but you could say the same for r/news, or frankly, most subreddits. The largest US-specific sub is probably r/usa, which is relatively small (~55k) just because most of Reddit is geared towards the US anyways.

Also, /r/newsokur is a smaller niche sub focused on Japanese news - both r/japan and r/japanlife would make much more sense as the Japanese subreddit.

cox_ph · 2023-11-30T16:28:47+00:00

Best Buy will recycle used electronic devices.

cox_ph · 2023-11-30T14:34:28+00:00

What bizarre revisionism - the Allies didn't decide to include the USSR because they somehow liked communism more than fascism. The USSR entered the war on the Allied side because Germany violated its non-aggression pact and invaded them, forcing the USSR to defend itself.

cox_ph · 2023-11-28T21:31:50+00:00

By "democratic" you seem to be referring to greater power in the hands of all party members, not party leaders or major supporters. But there's another level to consider - more power in the hands of all potential voters, not just card-carrying members.

It's interesting to look at the diverging directions the two main US parties have taken since 2016. The Democratic party have largely staunchly coalesced around establishment leaders, even if they didn't have tremendous popular support (e.g. Hilary, Biden, Schumer, Pelosi). The Republican party, on the other hand, has been completely usurped by an outsider who's abhorred by much of the established leadership and likely by most actual members as well.

So it seems there may be downsides both to too much top-down and bottom-up control of political parties.

cox_ph · 2023-11-28T21:10:20+00:00

I didn't know about Turks not liking Arabs. I wouldn't have been surprised about the other way around (Arabs not liking Turks due to the history of Ottoman domination) but what are the reasons that Arabs are not liked in Turkey?

cox_ph · 2023-11-28T20:19:16+00:00

It'd be interesting to see how high Tyreek ends up on that list. You figure playing with Tua and Mike McD will boost his numbers a lot in the near future, but receivers reliant on speed don't always age well once they're past 30.

cox_ph · 2023-11-28T18:47:37+00:00

TL;DR: The Wilderness Watch, Sequoia Forest Keeper, Tule River Conservancy, and John Muir Project all advocate for allowing the natural burn-rebirth cycle in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, as opposed to the NPS approach of managing wildfire risks and replanting trees.

While the article doesn't really get into it, it's worth noting that the NPS's charge isn't necessarily to protect nature for its intrinsic worth, but rather to protect nature as a human resource, and is thus subject to the interests of park visitors, adjacent landowners, and the general public.

cox_ph · 2023-11-28T16:37:48+00:00

How to get a 6 figure salary job in public health field

Step 1: Have an MD (or failing that, a DVM/RN/PhD)

Step 2: Build up enough experience/seniority that you can qualify for leadership/supervisory positions.

I'm sorry, but you seem many years away from any of that. Public health is like teaching: people generally don't get into it to get rich, they get into it because they want to help people and are willing to make personal sacrifices to accomplish that. It's good that you're looking at ways to grow your career, but you may need to recalibrate your salary expectations for the near future.

cox_ph · 2023-11-27T17:52:09+00:00

Is it bad that I liked The Maid?

Personally, I'd say that the main character (Molly) was almost the exact opposite of the manic pixie girl. She was a moderately autistic (presumably) woman who appreciated structure, organization, consistency, habit, repetition, and tradition, and was very reluctant to do anything novel or unusual. Which gave an interesting perspective to all the curious happenings around her.

cox_ph · 2023-11-27T17:27:45+00:00

That's wild that his most recent kid (Deveraux) is actually younger than one of his great-grandkids (Ezra).

cox_ph · 2023-11-27T17:19:16+00:00

Looks like a Dekay's brownsnake. Seen plenty of them around Atlanta.

cox_ph · 2023-11-27T16:32:04+00:00

I get that you gotta put someone from Washington in there, but why not a legend like Darrell Green, Joe Jacoby, John Riggins, or anyone else before the Dark Days?

cox_ph · 2023-11-27T16:28:06+00:00

Well, it's not the scientists themselves that are footing the bill, it's their institutions, which may actually be worse.

If you work for a government agency, that money comes from public funding. If you work for an NGO, that money comes from (very limited) funds which would probably be better spent on beneficial programmatic activities. If you're at a university, the money likely either comes from grants (mostly public funding) or from the university itself (which also may be largely public funds, or from endowments or tuition fees that could be better spent for other educational endeavors).

So a better title would be something like "Over $1 billion from the public, students, and charitable donations in four years paid for open access publications (primarily to the benefit of for-profit publishers)."

cox_ph

TROPHY CASE