• Activity
  • Votes
  • Comments
  • New
  • All activity
    1. Excerpt from "Myth and Ritual in Christianity" by A. Watts

      ... The very insistence on the one historical incarnation as a unique step in a course of events leading to the future Kingdom of God reveals the psychology of Western culture most clearly. It...

      ... The very insistence on the one historical incarnation as a unique step in a course of events leading to the future Kingdom of God reveals the psychology of Western culture most clearly. It shows a mentality for which the present, real world is, in itself, joyless and barren, without value. The present can have value only in terms of meaning—if, like a word, it points to something beyond itself. This "beyond" which past and present events "mean" is the future. This the Western intellectual, as well as the literate common man, finds his life meaningless except in terms of a promising future. But the future is a "tomorrow which never comes", and for this reason Western culture has a "frantic" character. It is a desperate rush in pursuit of an ever-receding "meaning", because the promising future is precisely the famous carrot which the clever driver dangles before his donkey's nose from the end of his whip. Tragically enough, this frantic search for God, for the ideal life, in the future renders the course of history anything but a series of unique steps towards a goal. Its real result is to make history repeat itself faster and more furiously, confusing "progress" with increased agitation.

      —Alan Watts, Myth and Ritual in Christianity. 1954

      11 votes
    2. Ahoy vegans; do you make yourself breakfast every morning? If so, what is it?

      Lately I've been trying to be better about cooking a decent breakfast for myself every morning instead of grabbing sugary stuff at a coffee shop, blowing money for something fancier, or wolfing...

      Lately I've been trying to be better about cooking a decent breakfast for myself every morning instead of grabbing sugary stuff at a coffee shop, blowing money for something fancier, or wolfing down a breakfast bar.

      I'm also trying to be a boring adult and limit my sugar intake, avoid gluten on account I'm apparently at risk for celiac disease, and would like to try and be vegan whenever possible.... couple this with me being incredibly lazy and us not having a dishwasher in our apartment, and I've got what feels like very few options.

      For the past two months, every weekday I've been crumbling firm tofu over a heated pan set to medium, throwing in some paprika, turmeric, salt, garlic & onion powder, nutritional yeast, stirring that up a bit for five minutes, and then ripping up a cup of pre-packaged kale/spinach leaves over it before taking it off the heat and tossing in a tablespoon of oat milk. I'll then eat half and leave the other for my wife.

      It's been OK, but I'm trying to look into other options just to add some variety, and was curious if someone else has found something that works for them that I might be able to piggyback off of for inspiration.

      10 votes
    3. For those that have been the target of online harassment, what was it like for you?

      I'm interested in the stories of anyone willing to speak about their experiences, whether it was cyberbullying, stalking, doxing, hate mobs, or anything else. Given the sensitive nature of the...

      I'm interested in the stories of anyone willing to speak about their experiences, whether it was cyberbullying, stalking, doxing, hate mobs, or anything else.

      Given the sensitive nature of the question, only share what you're comfortable with, if at all. The following questions are not a list to be answered but more just jumping off points for consideration.

      • What was the harassment like for you?
      • What platform(s) did it take place on?
      • Was there a specific inciting incident?
      • Was it related to any larger cultural factors?
      • What was your response like?
      • What impact did it have on you and/or others?
      • How long did it last?
      • What takeaways do you have from the experience?
      18 votes
    4. Weekly album and EP releases (27 July - 2 August)

      Here's a list of a things that came out in this past week, up through Friday. Of course, there's no way to be completely comprehensive with this and we avoided including things where information...

      Here's a list of a things that came out in this past week, up through Friday. Of course, there's no way to be completely comprehensive with this and we avoided including things where information was too lacking, so feel free to mention anything that isn't on here that you think is worth mentioning. Beyond that, if you have any thoughts of any of these albums, it would be great to hear them :)


      Artist Title Genre(s) Song Link
      Ami Dang Parted Plains Hindustani Classical Music, Progressive Electronic Song.link
      Black Milk DiVE Conscious Hip Hop, Jazz Rap Song.link
      Carnifex World War X Deathcore Song.link
      Channel Tres Black Moses West Coast Hip Hop, Hip House Song.link
      Clairo Immunity Indie Pop, Alternative R&B Song.link
      Cory Wong Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul Funk, Synth Funk, Jazz Fusion Song.link
      Cross Record Cross Record Slowcore, Art Pop Song.link
      Dave Bass No Boundaries Jazz Song.link
      Davina and The Vagabonds Sugar Drops Jazz Song.link
      Flume & Reo Cragun Quits Future Bass, Wonky Song.link
      Have Mercy The Love Life Alternative Rock, Indie Rock Song.link
      Jade Imagine Basic Love Indie Rock Song.link
      Joey Trap Professor Trap Trap Song.link
      Lil Durk Love Songs for the Streets 2 Trap, Pop Rap Song.link
      Little Boots Jump Nu-Disco, Deep House Song.link
      Lou the Human Painkiller Paradise Emo Rap, Cloud Rap Song.link
      Mabel High Expectations Contemporary R&B, Dance-Pop Song.link
      Mister Lies Mister Lies Ambient Pop Song.link
      Miynt Stay On Your Mind EP Indie Pop Song.link
      Moon Diagrams Trappy Bats Ambient Techno, Outsider House Song.link
      Moonshine Bandits The Whiskey Never Dries Country Rap, Bro-Country Song.link
      Mosa Wild Talking In Circles Indie Pop, Dream Pop Song.link
      Northlane Alien Alternative Metal, Industrial Metal, Metalcore Song.link
      Oliver Tree Do You Feel Me? Pop Rock, Electropop Song.link
      Penny And Sparrow Finch Indie Folk, Singer/Songwriter Song.link
      Possible Humans Everybody Split Indie Rock, Jangle Pop Song.link
      RF Shannon Rain On Dust Indie Pop, Americana Song.link
      Rich Forever Music Rich Forever 4 Trap, Pop Rap Song.link
      Russian Circles Blood Year Post-Metal, Post-Rock Song.link
      SiXforNinE Parallel Universe Progressive Metal, Alternative Metal Song.link
      Skillet Victorious Pop Rock, Hard Rock Song.link
      Slaughter Beach, Dog Safe And Also No Fear Indie Rock, Singer/Songwriter Song.link
      Sunz of Man The Rebirth East Coast Hip Hop Song.link
      Tennis System Lovesick Shoegaze Bandcamp
      Tenth Avenue North No Shame Christian Rock Song.link
      Tess Henley Better Singer-Songwriter, Neo-Soul Song.link
      The New Roses Nothing But Wild Hard Rock Song.link
      The Rocket Summer Sweet Shivers Emo-Pop, Progressive Pop Song.link
      The Teskey Brothers Run Home Slow Soul Song.link
      ThouxanBanFauni Seein Colors Cloud Rap, Trap, Southern Hip Hop Song.link
      Tobi Lou Live on Ice Pop Rap Song.link
      Ty Segall First Taste Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock Song.link
      Tyler Childers Country Squire Traditional Country, Americana Song.link
      Unlike Pluto Pluto Tapes: Volume 3 Electropop Song.link
      Volbeat Rewind, Replay, Rebound Hard Rock, Pop Rock Song.link
      Young Guv Guv I Power Pop Song.link

      Notes:
      If you spot any mistakes, let us know.
      Parental Advisory version of all albums linked, so expect NSFW.

      Channel Tres - Black Moses | EP isn't due until Aug 16, linked single instead
      Flume & Reo Cragun - Quits | Song.link says "Single" but it's the EP
      Tennis System - Lovesick | No song.link yet, album not due until Sept 6, linked bandcamp single instead
      Volbeat - Rewind, Replay, Rebound | "Deluxe" album linked

      Thanks to @Cleb, @Bauke, and @cfabbro!

      13 votes
    5. What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)

      What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was...

      What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.

      If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!

      6 votes
    6. BronyCon has held its last convention

      Some of you may remember this post from last year. Well, it has happened: the last BronyCon. 10,215 people attended (with rumors that there were enough uncollected badges to hit the 11,000...

      Some of you may remember this post from last year. Well, it has happened: the last BronyCon. 10,215 people attended (with rumors that there were enough uncollected badges to hit the 11,000 hard-cap), beating their previous record of 10,011 in 2015. They chose to make this the last year because attendance has been trending downward, and the show it is built around (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) is in its final season.

      I was there, and it truly was the experience of a lifetime. They intended to go out with a bang, and they absolutely delivered. Did anyone else here attend (or want to attend)? What were your thoughts on the event this year? Any other current (or former) Bronies on the site?

      Some news articles about the event:

      Also, people made a memorial on the 200 level of the Baltimore Convention Center. This was from August 2 at 2:37 PM, and this was from August 4 at 2:05 PM.

      19 votes