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SubstantialFrivolity

I'm not even supposed to be here today

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joined 2022 September 04 22:41:30 UTC
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SubstantialFrivolity


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
I'm not even supposed to be here today

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 04 22:41:30 UTC
				


				
					

					
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				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 27, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


physical media is obsolete




Not remotely. Physical media is the only way to ensure you actually own something. We've seen that even digital "purchases" can be revoked from your account because the media cartel says you don't get to have that any more. But they can't (yet, I guess) remotely destroy your DVDs, paper books, and so on.


Also, when it comes to books specifically, paper is still far and away the best reading experience you can have. Easy on the eyes, requires no tech, and they have a pleasant tactile nature which no ebook reader will ever be able to match.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
True. I guess in the specific case of a gaming group, they could meet up at someone's house if they want everyone to be able to get their drink on (and not everyone is 21).


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 24, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Cassia had one job in my party: cast Lidless Eye.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


on the Culture War thread, where I've been assured that ten or more years age difference between men and women is fine and not a problem




I think it's important to disambiguate "not a problem" here. I think a 30 year old should be allowed to date an 18 year old if he or she wishes. Not only in terms of legality, but also not ostracizing those 30 year olds purely due to the age gap (though we should still disapprove of people who are manipulating 18 year olds or pressuring them into a relationship they don't want, etc). I strongly believe that if an 18 year old is to be an adult, then that means we should treat them like an adult in all respects, including having a sexual relationship with another adult if they so choose. But would I have wanted to date an 18 year old when I was 30 (much less now)? Hell no. Young girls are pretty and all, but the gap in life experience is so wide that I would hate being in such a relationship. So in one sense (what we should allow in society) I think it's fine, but in another sense (what would actually be good to pursue) I don't think it's fine.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
In practice it's a ban on consumption, since it is also illegal to purchase alcohol for minors (outside of parents letting their kids drink).


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I agree with @4bpp. The specifics kinda don't matter; kicking someone out of a group is always going to be painful and awkward. If you must kick her out (and for the record, I don't think you should, there's nothing wrong with an 18 year old hanging out with other adults if she wants), then best thing is to be kind but direct. "Hey $name, the group doesn't think that you fit in with the rest of us, we noticed that you don't always enjoy our sense of humor and because we are at a very different life stage than you are it's a bit hard to find common ground when we chat about stuff. I'm sorry, but I think it would be best if we went our separate ways". Something like that. It's really hard to not be mean while also being firm that no, we really are asking you to leave.


You asked how to do this without scarring this girl for life, and to be blunt I don't think you can. You are going to hurt her, no matter how hard you try, because it is intrinsically painful to be asked to not hang out with a group of friends any more. And if she really is lonely and doesn't have other friends, it's going to hurt even more. Them's the breaks.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 20, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


this was in the 90s, when ... the SSPX was officially schismatic




Time truly is a flat circle, I guess.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 24, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
It never was a chore imo. I think you just don't like the game and should stop playing it. There's no shame in putting a game down if you don't like it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 24, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I have only read the first two, but yeah I'd say so. Consider Phlebas was so boring I struggled to finish it, while Player of Games was genuinely quite interesting and fun to read.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 20, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Interesting, I hadn't seen the latter case. Thanks for the correction!


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 20, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yeah, if you watch British shows they pronounce the word rhyming with "mallet". I can only guess that early Americans were trying to be fancy and the pronunciation diverged.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 20, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Kinda depends on the movie in my experience. Most movies I've been to, people were quiet. When I saw the first Star Wars sequel people kept applauding at all the nostalgia callbacks and it got super annoying. Then at the extreme end you have stuff like Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is notorious for being an audience participation event. But I would say the vast majority of the time, when I go to see a movie people are quiet except for laughter at any jokes.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Well yeah, of course you won't know if someone has something but conceals it. I think it's fair to count that as evidence in my favor though, because there's no way to distinguish "someone has X hidden" from "someone doesn't have X" when comparing casual experiences.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I live in the US, and there's only been one time I can think of when someone had a knife at a social event. I can't say it's common in my experience. Bringing guns is completely unheard of.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
In my experience, a lot of people who carry knives are used to spending time outdoors. When you're out in the woods, in a field, etc etc, then having a tool on hand (even if it isn't the best form of said tool) is super valuable.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 13, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


I never really understood this. I don't need my heroes to be proxies for me. I appreciate good characters for their own sake.




Same! If I wanted to read about someone like me, I'd just go experience life directly. I turn to fiction because I'm looking for something not like my experience.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 17, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Granted I haven't watched all of Nolan's movies recently, but I don't think he's made a good movie since The Dark Knight Rises. Interstellar and Tenet were both godawful, though the former at least had a banger soundtrack. I would expect this movie to be more of the same.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 17, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
You don't even need path tracing for Cyberpunk to look absolutely beautiful. My graphics card can't really handle it, but can do the ray tracing setting fine, and when playing the game I would frequently stop just to admire how pretty it is.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 13, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
There are a depressing number of "engineers" who don't give even the remotest fuck about making a good product.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I came pretty close on my first date with my wife. The only reason I actually showed up was because it would've been a dick move to bail after we had made plans. Otherwise, I was a bundle of nerves to such an extent that I felt like my heart was going to stop, and I desperately wanted to turn back and go home. Obviously I'm glad I didn't.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Sarker was referring to the community aspect of church moreso than the religious one. Though the former doesn't work super well without the latter, so if you aren't religious then it's true church isn't much of a help. But perhaps there are other community organizations you could join in order to meet people? I have no idea what options exist in Chicago, and they might be just as politicized as the examples you mentioned in your post, but I think those are going to be your main option apart from dating sites.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Most people in the US say "I couldn't care less" as well. It's just that some people in the US are very bad at speaking the language, enough that the trend is noticeable.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


especially since there is universal agreement that the FF7 combat, especially Rebirth, is great




Very much no. I hated the battle system in FF7R. It wasn't fun to play, and also suffered from terrible boss design where fights would last 10 minutes because they had way the hell too much HP (not exaggerating, that's how long it took me to beat Air Buster even though I was doing nothing but hitting him with stagger and lightning moves to stagger him, then dumping in limit breaks when he was staggered). I know some people enjoy it and I don't expect them to stop, but their opinion is not remotely universal.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Man... I just found out last night that there is a P4R version of Heartbreak, Heartbreak that people have pulled off their promo stream. It's so awful compared to the original. No idea what the heck Atlus is doing rewriting music to have a completely different feel. I think I might pass on this one, or at most try it out on game pass. The music in P4 is top tier, and what this remake is doing to it is a crime.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
When my wife and I were dating, we would have sex every single time we got together (which was about 3x per week). I was kind of excited when we got married, thinking that living together would mean we'd have sex perhaps even more, like 3-4x a week. Yeah no - I'm doing good if we have sex once per month. I'm not happy about it to be honest, but ultimately I do love her, and I also took a vow before God to stay by her side no matter what - there aren't take backs on that kind of thing. So I make do.