site banner
PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   2550 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 2, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I'm doing the exact opposite of something fun- last minute packing for my move to Scotland.

If anyone has any ideas for things I can/should pick up within about 36 hours, I'd love to hear them. Preferably options that don't take much too much volume, it turns out you need an awful lot of clothing when you're permanently shifting countries.

Any information about foods you really like that might be hard to find in your new home (a list of restaurants to try or recipes or grocery stores that can get the spices and ingredients needed) that's the thing I miss most after moving cross country where very different immigrants groups settled the food of one ethnicity is in both places but no one from the new place grew up eating it so it's very very different here.

If there's one thing the UK isn't short of, it's Indian food haha. There's a cheap and cheerful curry place right down the road from my rental.

My culinary talents are.. questionable, so the dishes I'll dearly miss like biryani are outside what my skill allows. The majority of the condiments and spices we take for granted are readily available at supermarkets, or can be tracked down at specialty stores, and from what I've seen, the breadth and quality of products puts what we have at home to shame.

As many small things that remind you of your old home, your family and your friends as possible. They are the only things you won't be able to buy.

That's good advice, but I struggle to think of anything that fits the bill :(

I'm not kidding, I've never been a sentimental person and my family not one for gift giving, so barring the pictures I have backed up, there's nothing I can take with me. Maybe a big award I'd won almost a decade back, but that's big enough to need it's own seat on a flight.

Print and frame the pictures when you get to Scotland, then. They will make your place look more lived-in and a picture is a good reminder to call your mom.

Hmm.. That's a great idea! I'll see if I have time to drop by a print shop and get some made quick. Thank you, it wouldn't have occurred to me.

Canvas frameless pictures are some of my favorite:

  1. The colors pop
  2. They are light and easy to hang
  3. They are relatively cheap

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats