site banner
PaperclipPerfector  15d ago (text post)   2893 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 14, 2025

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.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Thank you, I was wondering for a while whether I was actually wrong and that that's just how Mexican paella is. I wish I could drag someone who would know to my favorite spots and ask them about everything on the menu. Are nacho fajitas authentic? What about all these quesadillas? Notable Mexican dish omissions from American-Mexican cuisine includes pozole, which is insanely common in Mexico apparently but nowhere around here makes it. I asked a waiter if they had it once, and he laughed and said "my mom makes it just about every night" but admitted the restaurant does not make it.

I had no idea spaghetti and meatballs was a falsehood. I have to wonder what they do with their spaghetti.

  • Nacho fajitas are not authentic Mexican-Mexican but they are authentic American - Tejano/Tex-Mex to be specific.
  • Quesadillas, if on corn tortillas with an appropriate cheese, are authentic. Fun note, in Mexico City you have to explicitly ask for queso in your quesadilla otherwise you'll get a tortilla with fillings but no cheese. This makes Mexicans from other parts of Mexico angry.

Thanks. I'll have to take some photos of a menu and send them to you sometime.

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