Flother's recent activity
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Comment on Life: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~life
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Comment on What's the coolest thrift store find you've ever scored? in ~talk
Flother LinkA Harris tweed blazer for about 20GBP. At retail those things sell for 200-300GBP.A Harris tweed blazer for about 20GBP.
At retail those things sell for 200-300GBP.
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Comment on What new poems have you come across this year? in ~books
Flother Link ParentThey do pair quite well, thank you for sharing them both. I knew of The Orange before, but I think my favourite poem by Wendy Cope is undoubtedly this one - which I suspect you may already know...They do pair quite well, thank you for sharing them both. I knew of The Orange before, but I think my favourite poem by Wendy Cope is undoubtedly this one - which I suspect you may already know too!
Differences of Opinion - He Tells Her
He tells her that the earth is flat —
He knows the facts, and that is that.
In altercations fierce and long
She tries her best to prove him wrong.
But he has learned to argue well.
He calls her arguments unsound
And often asks her not to yell.
She cannot win. He stands his ground.
The planet goes on being round. -
Comment on What new poems have you come across this year? in ~books
Flother LinkI've chosen an English and a German one. I have a wonderful book, "The Oxford Book of German Verse", which I got from a market. It's got some gems. English: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney...I've chosen an English and a German one. I have a wonderful book, "The Oxford Book of German Verse", which I got from a market. It's got some gems.
English: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney
Late August, given heavy rain and sun
For a full week, the blackberries would ripen.
At first, just one, a glossy purple clot
Among others, red, green, hard as a knot.
You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet
Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it
Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for
Picking. Then red ones inked up and that hunger
Sent us out with milk cans, pea tins, jam-pots
Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached our boots.
Round hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills
We trekked and picked until the cans were full,
Until the tinkling bottom had been covered
With green ones, and on top big dark blobs burned
Like a plate of eyes. Our hands were peppered
With thorn pricks, our palms sticky as Bluebeard's.
We hoarded the fresh berries in the byre.
But when the bath was filled we found a fur,
A rat-grey fungus, glutting on our cache.
The juice was stinking too. Once off the bush
The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour.
I always felt like crying. It wasn't fair
That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot.
Each year I hoped they'd keep, knew they would not.
German - Herbstklage von Nikolaus Lenau
Holder Lenz, du bist dahin!
Nirgends, nirgends darfst du bleiben!
Wo ich sah dein frohes Blühn,
Braust des Herbstes langes Treiben.
Wie der Wind so traurig fuhr
Durch den Strauch, als ob er weine:
Sterbeseufzer der Natur
Schauern durch die welken Haine.
Wieder ist, wie bald! wie bald!
Mir ein Jahr dahingeschwunden.
Fragend rauscht es aus dem Wald:
"Hat dein Herz sein Glück gefunden?"
Waldesrauschen, wunderbar
Hast du mir das Herz getroffen!
Treulich bringt ein jedes Jahr
Welkes Laub und welkes Hoffen.
You can find an English translation (two, actually) of the German here: https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=21667. I don't think the translations will ever quite capture the original, however, so hopefully some of you can appreciate it in its native tongue.
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What new poems have you come across this year?
I've made an effort to read some more poems this year and always enjoy finding out any more when I can. In the UK you can find anthologies of "The Nation's Favourite Poems" and "The Nation's...
I've made an effort to read some more poems this year and always enjoy finding out any more when I can. In the UK you can find anthologies of "The Nation's Favourite Poems" and "The Nation's Favourite Comic Poems" et alia by the BBC, which is where I've learnt most of my new ones this year. It'd be great to see what poems have left an impression on you this year.
For brevity, I'll put a short one here and then two longer ones I discovered this year down in the comments.
Two Cures for Love - Wendy Cope
Don’t see him. Don’t phone or write a letter.
The easy way: get to know him better.11 votes -
Comment on Life: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~life
Flother LinkNice idea :) I'll focus below on my mindset instead of hobbies and career. I think a major shift this year for me occurred in my recognition of time. I suspect strongly it is related to my turning...Nice idea :) I'll focus below on my mindset instead of hobbies and career.
I think a major shift this year for me occurred in my recognition of time. I suspect strongly it is related to my turning 30 next year. I don't necessarily see life in a way that many others describe as flying by, on the contrary I find the year goes quite slowly, but I have begun to have an increasing appreciation as to the shortness of life. Fortuitous, I suppose, even if it does seem a bit silly as I may have several decades left.
I have also definitely become less rigid and stubborn, particularly with the way I relate to others. I've managed to develop healthier ways of seeing others, I guess, and have learned recently to just chill out a bit more than I normally would.
And, perhaps the most recent change, I've also began to wind down massively how much I read the news, or, at least, "negative" news. I used to enjoy politics a lot, but, upon reflection, the toil of trying to engage in so many different stories throughout the world is significant. Why shouldn't I instead simply focus on the community around me, as that's where I spend my time.
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Comment on Exposing YouTube sponsor "Honey" Part 3: Suppressing stand down in ~tech
Flother LinkPayPal's e-mail at the end certainly is something and becomes fairly unprofessional the further on it goes. I had to laugh at the prospect of someone writing this with a straight face: If what's...PayPal's e-mail at the end certainly is something and becomes fairly unprofessional the further on it goes. I had to laugh at the prospect of someone writing this with a straight face:
Finally, the Honey platform follows industry rules and practices...
If what's been demonstrated by MegaLag is true then this is a significant breach of conduct and I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being Honey's death knell.
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Comment on How do you want to define 2026 for yourself? in ~talk
Flother (edited )Link ParentI'm glad I could help :) Our evolutionary ingrained sense of competition can be a good motivator, but our tendency towards pessimism can exploit this, as you noticed, by making us believe we...I'm glad I could help :) Our evolutionary ingrained sense of competition can be a good motivator, but our tendency towards pessimism can exploit this, as you noticed, by making us believe we haven't done enough.
In reality, if you're even 0.1% better at something than you were last year, you've still improved.
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Comment on How do you want to define 2026 for yourself? in ~talk
Flother Link ParentI sincerely hope 2026 goes better for you and I would like to congratulate you on your resilience for what you have gone through this year. Being able to get back up when you're down is half the...I sincerely hope 2026 goes better for you and I would like to congratulate you on your resilience for what you have gone through this year. Being able to get back up when you're down is half the job and it sounds like you're doing a damn good job at recognising what steps to take to feel better and implementing them.
And hey, if a Starbucks is what it takes to help you achieve some goal, then so be it. Why do people put dressing on a salad? To make themselves actually eat it, of course.
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Comment on How do you want to define 2026 for yourself? in ~talk
Flother LinkI posted in the related thread for this last year (https://tildes.net/~talk/1kw1/your_theme_for_2025) that I wanted 2025 to be the Year of Commitment. I said to myself yesterday that I felt I'd...I posted in the related thread for this last year (https://tildes.net/~talk/1kw1/your_theme_for_2025) that I wanted 2025 to be the Year of Commitment.
I said to myself yesterday that I felt I'd largely fulfilled that and, then, began to wonder what I would have to do to proclaim I had fulfilled it entirely. I realised that regardless of what I did, I would always push the goalposts farther and farther back. So, really, I ought to be saying that I did a tremendous job of pursuing my theme for 2025.
For 2026 I have chosen to focus on Empathy and Gratitude. Both are skills of mine I could do with refining and building upon. Over the years, I've managed to use many tactics to stop self-hatred and negative thoughts, but I still remain a somewhat cynical guy. Perhaps it's in my biology; my parents and grandparents are the same. I would like to spend the next year proving that assumption wrong :).
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Comment on Exposing the YouTube sponsor "Honey" Part 2: Stealing private coupon codes, extreme data harvesting, and more in ~tech
Flother LinkHoly sh*t. That's all I can say. Part 1 was shocking enough, but seeing just how egregious Honey are in Part 2 leaves me speechless.Holy sh*t.
That's all I can say. Part 1 was shocking enough, but seeing just how egregious Honey are in Part 2 leaves me speechless.
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Comment on Do you feel like you’ve had many lives so far? Why, why not? Which? in ~life
Flother Link ParentYeah, I encountered it in the book you found - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. Amongst other themes, the passing of time and the inner lives of others are particularly prominent in this book....I would like to know more about the quoted verses! A quick google search points to a longer poem, but the particular passage was also quoted in another book?
Yeah, I encountered it in the book you found - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. Amongst other themes, the passing of time and the inner lives of others are particularly prominent in this book. Quite worth the read, beautifully written. The poem comes to the mind of one of the main characters during a dinner scene, where it's suggested all the guests can hear the reciting of it in their minds, a form of collective epiphany almost. I won't spoil too much of the book as it's worth reading it to experience it first-hand.
If I recall correctly, Virginia had heard the poem from an acquaintance. I believe two or three different versions exist, with mainly the final verse varying. It's definitely not a well-known poem :).
And your way of thinking is also quite beautiful as is that biblical story. Eternal persistence also makes terrific sense even from a physical perspective - all our atoms will ultimately become something else, then something else, and so on. All of us are surrounded by the remnants of our fellow-kind.
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Comment on Do you feel like you’ve had many lives so far? Why, why not? Which? in ~life
Flother (edited )LinkI do believe our personality and identity are far more fluid than often assumed, and this is certainly aided by living in a time where there's more freedom of expression and ability to develop...I wonder if it seems to you
Luriana Lurilee
That all the lives we ever lived
And all the lives to be,
Are full of trees and waving leaves,
Luriana Lurilee.I do believe our personality and identity are far more fluid than often assumed, and this is certainly aided by living in a time where there's more freedom of expression and ability to develop oneself. I quite like how the Germans express this kind of concept of self-development: "entfalten", literally to "un-fold" yourself.
I struggled with a significant mental health disorder for much of my teenage and young adult life, so I certainly see a caesura between who I was before and after recovery of it. I have dabbled in many different things over my life, in terms of work, education, and hobbies, and I suppose people may count some of those as 'different lives'.
I think, however, I still hold the belief that these are just different facets of a core being. It has been wonderful to explore and discover alleyways of my personality previously unknown.
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Comment on Lego Island has been recompiled in ~games
Flother LinkIncredible. There aren't enough words to express how happy I am to see them having completed this. Lego Island was one of the first video games I played and the first one I completed, and it's...Incredible.
There aren't enough words to express how happy I am to see them having completed this.
Lego Island was one of the first video games I played and the first one I completed, and it's always held a very dear place in my heart.
To be able to play this game now, so many years later, on an Android phone just astonishes me.
Immense respect for all of those who worked on this.
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Comment on Marina - Cuntissimo (2025) in ~music
Flother LinkPerhaps the only thing I've endeavoured to listen to since she released the Froot album. Strong music video as well.Perhaps the only thing I've endeavoured to listen to since she released the Froot album. Strong music video as well.
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Marina - Cuntissimo (2025)
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Comment on What quotes inspire you? in ~talk
Flother LinkFrom the film Adaptation. Also, From the film Mr Nobody. Or, for one from literature, From A Happy Death by Camus.You are what you love, not what loves you.
From the film Adaptation.
Also,
Every path is the right path. Everything could've been anything else. And it would have just as much meaning.
From the film Mr Nobody.
Or, for one from literature,
What matters—all that matters, really—is the will to happiness, a kind of enormous, ever-present consciousness. The rest—women, art, success—is nothing but excuses. A canvas waiting for our embroideries
From A Happy Death by Camus.
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Comment on Lady Gaga performs Abracadabra and Killah on Saturday Night Live (2025) in ~music
Flother Link ParentHahah 😂 it took me a few listens to figure what song the beat reminded me of. That mashup hits the spot when it gets to B A N A N A S 🔥Hahah 😂 it took me a few listens to figure what song the beat reminded me of.
That mashup hits the spot when it gets to B A N A N A S 🔥
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Comment on Lady Gaga - Abracadabra (2025) in ~music
Flother Link ParentPerfection 😭 nothing more to say It's been a very long time since I listened to more than a handful of songs from an album. Zombieboy is an addictive disco-esque bopPerfection 😭 nothing more to say
It's been a very long time since I listened to more than a handful of songs from an album.
Zombieboy is an addictive disco-esque bop
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Comment on Tommy Cash - Espresso Macchiato (ESC 2025, Estonia) in ~music
Thank you for the response to this, I think this is a nice way to put it:
I believe some research came out earlier on this year stating that our brain's adolescent phase actually goes on until 32, so this would align well with that.