Let's debate religion. I don't think I've seen this topic on Tildes yet and it might be interesting.

My country has practically no visible religion - about 10-15% of our population is religious (mostly seniors) - and just a fraction of them does those religious thing like going to church. Religion basically doesn't exist here. We have a lot of nice churches, but they mostly aren't used.

The thing that I think caused this big amount of atheists (agnostics, ...) is that almost noone is raised to believe in God - in our culture, we don't teach religion at all. Kids are taught that religions exist, but they are not pressed to believe in it such as in other parts of world. They choose what to believe. And God isn't the thing people choose for most of the time.

Whenever I see anything about USA (discussion, film, serial), I frequently see religion there. When I saw it for the first time when I was young, I thought something like "They still have religion there? I thought USA is developed country". I don't think it anymore, I understand better why are people religious, but still - I'd like to know more about more religious cultures and what effect religion have in other countries.

I have been an advocate for privacy for a long time, but recently I don't even know why I am doing this anymore. I do most of my browsing through TOR, and that has made me give up a lot of conveniences. And that's what I miss. I miss not having to think about privacy. I also miss not feeling like I am being spied on. Now I am torn. I don't like companies like Google mining my data, but I also think I am being paranoid (the people in my life have shared this sentiment). I don't want to leave a permanent cache of my mind. But I also feel like doing so won't really affect me. Not to mention that I despise the predatory nature of advertisers, and I hate giving them even more info about me.

What do I do, Tildes? Have any of you felt this way? How do you balance running from Google while still staying sane?

New release today, Erra's Neon.

Apple Music
Spotify
YouTube

Currently the number one metal album on iTunes' chart, Erra's Neon is the latest release from the underground metalcore act. While they've attracted a cult following, Erra rarely gets headlining tours. Neon is their newest attempt at reaching the next step.

My personal opinion is that this is the perfection of the sound the band switched to with their last release, Drift. Just as atmospheric, with little less of the chug-chug-chug of most metalcore outfits, Erra may have finally found out how to make what some call "progressive metalcore" a bit more accessible. I personally enjoy how present the bass is in the mix. Metal and hardcore both seem to forget about the instrument and put it low in the mix as an after thought. The clean vocals have always been reminiscent of post-hardcore's darling Anthony Green, and Neon is no different.

It's a little bit of a shame that we have to wait until track three to really hear some of the noodling guitar solos they are known for. In a genre more punctuated by breakdowns, Erra is a breath of fresh air when it comes to lead guitar work. But when it does happen, it is up to the standard they've put out for themselves. They seemed to have moved even further away from the djent sound of their earlier work here. I don't mind that, even if I do like djenty sounds, as I think this crisper sound is better overall for Erra. While the uncleans do hit like a truck on first listen, they stay in a mid-range throughout most of the album and it would have been nice to see them go low, as JT has been known to do live.

Overall, I gotta say this is one my favorite albums of the year so far. Every song slaps a bit, gets the head bopping along at the very least.

Index thread | Next episode

Black Mirror Season 1 Episode 1 - The National Anthem

Prime Minister Michael Callow faces a shocking dilemma when Princess Susannah, a much-loved member of the Royal Family, is kidnapped.

Black Mirror Netflix link

Warning: this thread contains spoilers about this episode! If you haven't seen it yet, please watch it and come back to this thread later.

You can talk about past episodes, but please don't discuss future episodes in this thread!

If you don't know what to say, here are some questions to get the discussion started:

• How does the title relate to the episode itself?
• Are there any similarities between real life events and the episode?
• Are there any references or easter eggs in the episode, such as references to past episodes?

See image for what I mean: https://imgur.com/BGzLKGq

Basically, it can be hard to track new comments made in an old topic. In the recent one about tulpas, I checked in every so often to follow ongoing discussions but had to keep skimming the entire topic every time just to spot the new comments.

If there could be a kind of "recent comments" in the sidebar, it would save a lot of time and make it much easier to stay on top of evolving discussions: just click the comments you haven't seen.

The recent thread about Tulpas and their "Wonderlands" made me wonder if there are many people on Tildes that employ the Loci Method (since, as I understand it, they are functionally very similar).

For those that don't know it, the Loci Method is a mnemonic technique in which critical information is stored in a mental construct that is most commonly being visualized as a large building (hence the "Palace"). The process of finding the information within the building functions as a way to recall it, i.e. if you left your shopping list in your mental kitchen, then "going" to the kitchen and picking up the list makes you remember it.

Many people might know of this through the BBC series Sherlock, in which the titular character uses this method.

Personally, I have been using a mind palace for over five years now, when including the time I completely broke my old palace (more a bunker at that time) down to replace it with a new one, after I had become incapable of reliably using the old construct. My current mind palace is set up as a hybrid of the classic mind palace and a "Wonderland", in that it not only stores information within an extensive library, but also contains a number of amenities I can make use of when meditating. It is stylized as a temple carved into a snowy mountainside, think a combination of Paro Taktsang and The Tombs of the Kings.

To those of you who employ their own mind palaces, what are yours like?

I currently use Lastpass, and while I'm overall happy with what I have right now, some issues (like slow firefox support, android functionality that only works arbitrarily) makes me want to look at other solutions.

I have heard about other popuar managers like Keepass and Bitwarden, but haven't made the plunge yet. So I thought I could kickstart a discussion on this topic.

Which password manager do you use or have you used? Why do you recommend it (or not)?

[Verse 1]
Have you ever met a girl that you tried to date
But a year to make love she wanted you to wait
Let me tell ya a story of my situation
I was talkin' to this girl from the U.S. nation
The way that I met her was on tour at a concert
She had long hair and a short miniskirt
I just got onstage drippin', pourin' with sweat
I was walkin' through the crowd and guess who I met
I whispered in her ear, "Come to the picture booth
So I can ask you some questions to see if you are a hundred proof"
I asked her her name, she said blah-blah-blah
She had 9/10 pants and a very big bra
I took a couple of flicks and she was enthused
I said, "How do you like the show?" She said, "I was very amused"
I started throwin' bass, she started throwin' back mid-range
But when I sprung the question, she acted kind of strange
Then when I asked, "Do ya have a man," she tried to pretend
She said, "No I don't, I only have a friend"
Come on
I'm not even goin' for it, this is what I'm goin' sing

[Chorus]
You, you got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
And you say he's just a friend, oh baby
You got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
But you say he's just a friend, oh baby
You got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
But you say he's just a friend

[Verse 2]
So I took blah-blah's word for it at this time
I thought just havin' a friend couldn't be no crime
'Cause I have friends and that's a fact
Like Agnes, Agatha, Germaine, and Jack
Forget about that, let's go into the story
About a girl named blah-blah-blah that adored me
So we started talkin', getttin' familiar
Spendin' a lot of time so we can build up
A relationship or some understanding
How it's gonna be in the future we was plannin'
Everything sounded so dandy and sweet
I had no idea I was in for a treat
After this was established, everything was cool
The tour was over and she went back to school
I called every day to see how she was doin'
Every time that I called her it seemed somethin' was brewing'
I called her room, a guy picked up, but then I called again
I say, "Yo, who was that?" "Oh, he's just a friend"
Don't gimme that, don't ever gimme that
Jus' bust this

[Chorus]
You, you got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
And you say he's just a friend, oh baby
You got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
But you say he's just a friend, oh baby
You got what I need
But you say he's just a friend
But you say he's just a friend

[Verse 3]
So I came to her college on a surprise visit
To see my girl that was so exquisite
It was a school day, I knew she was there
The first semester of the school year
I went to a gate to ask where was her dorm
This guy made me fill out a visitor's form
He told me where it was and I was on my way
To see my baby doll, I was happy to say
I arrived in front of the dormitory
"Yo, could you tell me where is door three?"
They showed me where it was for the moment
I didn't know I was in for such an event
So I came to her room and opened the door
Oh, snap! Guess what I saw?
A fella tongue-kissin' my girl in her mouth
I was so in shock my heart went down south
So please listen to the message that I send
Don't ever talk to a girl who says she just has a friend