blastedheath's recent activity
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Comment on The fine dining flip in ~food
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
blastedheath Link ParentIts a shame how high school tends to ruin Shakespeare for the majority of the population. He's a great storyteller. King Lear is worth a revisit, that one is my favorite of all his works. Its a...Its a shame how high school tends to ruin Shakespeare for the majority of the population. He's a great storyteller. King Lear is worth a revisit, that one is my favorite of all his works. Its a true post-modern existential story. If you liked the pseudo-"fantasy" aspect of Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest is another one that does that really well.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
blastedheath LinkI just finished the first omnibus volume of The Department of Truth by James Tynion IV. Its a comic / graphic novel that explores the question "what if collective belief had the power to alter...I just finished the first omnibus volume of The Department of Truth by James Tynion IV. Its a comic / graphic novel that explores the question "what if collective belief had the power to alter reality?" The story follows a man who is drafted into a secret US government agency whose job is to control and manipulate conspiracy theories so that they don't gain enough believers to actually become real.
The author uses this concept to explore real life conspiracy culture and mysticism, from bigfoot to flat-earth to lizard-men and to some very salient modern topics like the Satanic panic and QAnon. Its definitely a very dark story with some difficult content. I really enjoy conspiracy theories and the occult as a fiction topic, so I love this take on the subject matter. For anyone who is familiar with the roleplaying game Delta Green, this series shares a lot of the same DNA.
I own the second omnibus as well and am looking forward to reading it, although I'm taking a short break to read a couple non-fiction books in between.
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Comment on When do you know that you've found "the one"? in ~life
blastedheath LinkI wish I knew. I thought I felt it twice, and both relationships ended up failing. After those experiences I've given up looking for a life partner. I guess you just throw your hat in and hope for...I wish I knew. I thought I felt it twice, and both relationships ended up failing. After those experiences I've given up looking for a life partner.
I guess you just throw your hat in and hope for the best. On a long enough relationship timeline, you either grow together or you grow apart.
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Comment on Do you think you're special? in ~talk
blastedheath Link ParentI often joke that Mr. Rogers was the worst thing that ever happend to me as a child. He convinced me that I was special and that I should behave morally and expect others around me to do the same....I often joke that Mr. Rogers was the worst thing that ever happend to me as a child. He convinced me that I was special and that I should behave morally and expect others around me to do the same. I've been struggling to cope with reality ever since.
I'm being tongue in cheek of course... Sort of.
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Comment on What's a show you love that's from before your time? in ~tv
blastedheath Link Parent"Vandelay Industries. Kel Varnsen speaking. How may I help you?" Seinfeld is mine too. Sounds like I'm a little older than you, because I was a little kid when the show was still airing. But its..."Vandelay Industries. Kel Varnsen speaking. How may I help you?"
Seinfeld is mine too. Sounds like I'm a little older than you, because I was a little kid when the show was still airing. But its an early TV memory of mine. I watched the syndication religiously as a teenager, but by the time I "got the jokes" beyond laughing at Kramer it had already ended.
Its funny to say but Seinfeld massively influenced my expectations about what adulthood would be like. I moved to NYC at 18 years old for many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons was Seinfeld. Around that time one of my close friends was really into it, and we became experts at Seinfeld trivia, and won many free drinks competing in Seinfeld bar trivia nights all around NYC.
I still watch the show all the time. Its my comfort show, the way "The Office" is a comfort show for a lot of folks. I can recite most of it from memory. I'm going to stop rambling now but the last thing I'd like to say is: I love the idea of your dad immigrating to the US and when people ask why, he just says "well you know, my home country had its positives and negatives, but... yada yada yada, now I'm here!"
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Comment on What's your line? in ~life
blastedheath Link ParentGood for you. I'm constantly shouting out the danger of Sinclair to friends and family who genuinely don't know they're watching propaganda. Its very cool that you walked.Good for you. I'm constantly shouting out the danger of Sinclair to friends and family who genuinely don't know they're watching propaganda. Its very cool that you walked.
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Comment on What are your "how on earth did I not learn this sooner" tech moments? in ~tech
blastedheath LinkI learned this decades ago, but I still regularly marvel at how useful this feature is to me: To switch between running applications, hold alt and tap tab to open a quick switcher. Keep holding...I learned this decades ago, but I still regularly marvel at how useful this feature is to me:
To switch between running applications, hold
altand taptabto open a quick switcher. Keep holdingaltand tappingtabuntil the application you want is hilighted, then release.Works everywhere on every computer: Windows, Mac OS and Linux. I must have learned it when I was 16? So I wasted the first 15 years of my life.
This is what came to mind for me as well when reading this. All restaurants have massively inflated their prices, and consumers seem to have accepted them, so business incentives have changed. Margins are much better charging $25 for a plate of pasta and vodka sauce than charging $50 for a fine dining entree that takes expensive ingredients and labor to prepare.
I have just stopped eating out altogether, unless its a social obligation. Seeing that I've spent $50 on a sandwich and a drink and then being handed a terminal with a default 25% tip option just completely destroys any enjoyment I might have otherwise gotten from the experience. If I'm busy or want a treat, I'd much rather just grab something premade from the grocery store these days.