Buffy the Vampire Slayer series is one of my favourite series. And over the years, I can't help but notice Buffy inspirations in other TV shows, sometimes in characters, relationships, plot, and so on.

For example, (and my sister actually pointed this out to me), Supernatural seems to follow the conflict escalation patterns from Buffy. Both series kind of rollercoaster through the "monster of the week" to "self vs. external" (escalating big bads) to "self vs self" (e.g., addictions).

Note: I'm not saying people are copying Buffy, just that there are certain storytelling tools that are obviously very useful and effective that Buffy shares with other works.

What other shows/movies remain you of Buffy? What does Buffy remind you of?

...I clearly haven't been doing a lot lately...

It's a good feeling though, knowing that you accomplished something, no matter how small that thing is. I've had a hard time the past several years but yesterday not only did I go to the store, I also managed to change the sheets and wash all my clothes, and even cleaned the kitchen and scrubbed the sink from all the hard water deposits.

It's a good feeling and so I don't know why I don't do those things more often... I guess it's just easier to watch TV shows, movies, and play Fortnite all day long.

I have been on break from school for over a month now, and have another entire month left before it starts back up again. I'm 25 so you'd think I'd've gotten used to it by now - but nope. It's still ridiculously hard to stay motivated and to keep going with a proper, healthy routine day-to-day.

I love comic books but just don't have the time to be a regular reader. I like classic characters, though, like Superman, Batman, X-Men, etc but it's always difficult to find self-contained stories that don't require knowing all the ins and outs of what a character has gone through or knowing that certain events happened.

What are your favorite self-contained series or graphic novels in comics? I'm looking for suggestions of things that are great stories that happen to have comic book characters (like Watchmen, Dark Knight, Hush, etc.) rather than cheesy comic book adventures (like All-Star Superman, which is a little too golden age for me).

The custom of tipping your server dates back to the mid-1800's. 150 years later, it seems that tipping is less customary, and has become entrenched in the service industry.

Some view tipping as a positive. People may feel compelled to give their server 'something extra' for extraordinary service, and tipping gives them that option. They might also say that a tip provides extra motivation for the server to do a better job. From the perspective of the server, they may even feel enticed to pursue employment where tips are readily available as it could supplement their income.

Opposers of tipping often feel that employers should offer a 'living wage' to their servers instead of relying on their clientele to 'make up the difference.' Sociological critics have also noticed that physically attractive servers might get larger tips, regardless of the quality of service they provide, thus negating the "motivation" argument. Again, from the perspective of a server, they might also not wish to pursue a job that forces them to rely on tips as their income may fluctuate from month-to-month, making it difficult to budget accordingly.

These are just some of the most common arguments for and against tipping. I'm curious as to what you all think!