lou's recent activity
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Comment on What are your predictions for 2025? in ~talk
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Comment on Why US health insurance reform is difficult in ~society
lou Link ParentPublic healthcare has issues anywhere it exists. It is good to have another option. But they must be regulated.Public healthcare has issues anywhere it exists. It is good to have another option. But they must be regulated.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
lou (edited )LinkI was "playing" the visual novel The House of Fata Morgana - Requiem until I learned that it was actually a prequel that spoiled the original. That was a shame because I was really enjoying it --...I was "playing" the visual novel The House of Fata Morgana - Requiem until I learned that it was actually a prequel that spoiled the original. That was a shame because I was really enjoying it -- it was somewhat action-packed, at least in the beginning.
I am now reading The House of Fata Morgana. It is a highly rated visual novel. I have finished what I believe was the first chapter.
The atmosphere is very gothic. The music is stupendous, although I am bothered because one of the themes starts with the same notes of Clair de Lune only to diverge from the classic by Debussy. Although I have little experience with visual novels, I feel like this one is unique because it feels very personal and genuine. The story is not exactly original. It is tragic and ultra-romantic like The Sorrows of Young Werther. It is tragic not because it is surprising, but rather because it is inevitable.
To say that I am playing a game is a stretch. I am only posting this here instead of ~books because, due to an accident in history, the visual novel is often lumped with gaming.
In my many hours with Fata Morgana, I have only once "played" anything, and it was a brief, irrelevant click where I only had one possible choice. I am very much reading an enhanced novel, and thinking of it as literature instead of a game is the right way to go about it. That is because if a novel allows for occasional interaction that is a novelty and a plus, but if a game only requires my input every 2 or 3 hours, then it is a very bad game. My take on the concept of genre is pragmatic: it serves to moderate expectations in a way that improves artistic experiences. If I think of this as a game, I will be dissatisfied. If I think of this as literature, then I am delighted. So literature it is.
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Comment on Why US health insurance reform is difficult in ~society
lou (edited )Link ParentBrazil has universal Healthcare. There's also private Healthcare. You can literally pick and choose. Why is that so hard to understand? In the US you can already choose between private and public...Brazil has universal Healthcare. There's also private Healthcare. You can literally pick and choose. Why is that so hard to understand? In the US you can already choose between private and public education. It's the same thing. No one's forced to go to public institutions, and many (in Brazil) don't.
If a public alternative served only as competition, reducing prices in the private sector, it would be helpful already.
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What are some professions, crafts, competitions, or activities in which being older is considered advantageous?
That is just a general random question by me, nothing to do with the fact that I am getting older. That is just a coincidence!
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Comment on A manifesto against for-profit US health insurance companies — by Michael Moore in ~society
lou Link ParentSorry I'm not getting into that maze. /r/askphilosophy is great about that stuff.Sorry I'm not getting into that maze. /r/askphilosophy is great about that stuff.
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Comment on A manifesto against for-profit US health insurance companies — by Michael Moore in ~society
lou (edited )Link ParentMichael Moore is usually right because his arguments are ethically correct. But he will lie, massage data, and make weird correlations in order to achieve his goals. I don't think he will...Michael Moore is usually right because his arguments are ethically correct. But he will lie, massage data, and make weird correlations in order to achieve his goals. I don't think he will ultimately be in the wrong here, in the sense that you mention, because he is making an ethical argument and he is usually right on those.
I mean, I personally disagree, as I find no satisfaction in murder. But it's a philosophical disagreement rather than a predictive one.
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The simulation argument
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Comment on Brazilian judge orders Adele song be pulled globally over plagiarism claim in ~music
lou (edited )Link ParentIt is possible that the two claims are about two different segments Maybe it is this song? https://youtu.be/Bj5ZkCdEH38It is possible that the two claims are about two different segments
Maybe it is this song? https://youtu.be/Bj5ZkCdEH38
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Comment on Brazilian judge orders Adele song be pulled globally over plagiarism claim in ~music
lou Link ParentAnnoying geo blocking strikes again :( It's from the Adele YouTube channel. The song is "Million Years Ago".Annoying geo blocking strikes again :(
It's from the Adele YouTube channel. The song is "Million Years Ago".
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Comment on Brazilian judge orders Adele song be pulled globally over plagiarism claim in ~music
lou (edited )LinkYes, I understand it sounds ridiculous for a Brazilian judge to order the world to comply. I'm not a lawyer but there's probably some technicality or something out of context in these headlines,...Yes, I understand it sounds ridiculous for a Brazilian judge to order the world to comply. I'm not a lawyer but there's probably some technicality or something out of context in these headlines, Brazilian judges know they cannot order the world to do anything. The decision came from the Rio de Janeiro state justice. The Brazilian song was a very popular hit in 1995. Most Brazilians are familiar with it. Martinho da Vila is a very popular, very rich sambista. I can see a similarity between the two songs, but I am neither a musician nor a judge.
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Brazilian judge orders Adele song be pulled globally over plagiarism claim
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
lou (edited )Link(moving my comment here because I accidentally commented on the last week megathread) It feels weird to share a World of Warcraft private server announcing a new server on its own post, I really...(moving my comment here because I accidentally commented on the last week megathread)
It feels weird to share a World of Warcraft private server announcing a new server on its own post, I really don't know what would be deimos piracy policy on that.
So... Turtle WoW is coming to South America!. I have been playing Turtle WoW and I think it's a blast! Yes I'm a Turtle fanboy now, 100%. It's Vanilla+ done right and I love the leveling Glyphs/challenges. It's the best part for me. There's even a boar challenge inspired by South Park!
Also, unlike Blizzard, they got real GMs and chat is actually moderated. So there's no bots, no politics, no casual Nazism, and no homophobia, etc.
Now Turtle WoW announced South American severs and I think it will a bast to play with my fellow Brazilians with a decent ping! An official WoW subscription is a significant expense to a lot of people over here, so that could be a game changer.
Blizzard has a official presence in Brazil so I don't think they'll be very happy about this.
Edit: and of course, it's all in Spanish only... Lol
I don't wanna jynx it, but I'm gonna run the risk: Turtle gets it so freaking right, and with the Unreal client on the way, I fear like they're flying too close to the Sun. People say they're safe cause they're in Europe, but IDK, there's probably some Turtle people in a US friendly jurisdiction Blizzard can sue.
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Will even the most advanced subs have nowhere to hide?
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Comment on Why the Soviet Union was obsessed with corn in ~humanities.history
lou LinkThe video is about Nikita Khruschev's plan to convert many crops in USSR into hybrid corn that would serve as feed for cattle and pigs as well as feeding their population. It includes a well...The video is about Nikita Khruschev's plan to convert many crops in USSR into hybrid corn that would serve as feed for cattle and pigs as well as feeding their population. It includes a well documented visit by Kruschev to Iowa, with a first hand report.
It's an actually interesting video. So I'm just leaving this here if anyone wishes to discusses the actual video.
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Why the Soviet Union was obsessed with corn
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Why Ren'Py?
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Comment on What’s something that you weren’t supposed to see/hear, but did? in ~talk
lou Link ParentI mean, I estimate I had at least a 50% chance of becoming The Brazilian Batman. Not this time, unfortunately :PI mean, I estimate I had at least a 50% chance of becoming The Brazilian Batman. Not this time, unfortunately :P
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Comment on What’s something that you weren’t supposed to see/hear, but did? in ~talk
lou (edited )Link ParentI feel for you. Looks like our mothers share a few similarities. My mother once said, "having kids is all about luck. With 'Mary' I got lucky. With @lou I had bad luck". She also put me in a...I feel for you. Looks like our mothers share a few similarities.
My mother once said, "having kids is all about luck. With 'Mary' I got lucky. With @lou I had bad luck".
She also put me in a bedroom without a roof where I literally woke up every day to a bunch of bats hanging from the ceiling and marks of bat poop and piss on my sheets. At the same time, my sister was in a perfectly comfortable, bat-free bedroom.
I still have nightmares where I am back to that house.
My mother wonders why I feel no affection towards her. My sister certainly does have that affection, but my mother was very different towards her. That is because my sister was a not a male. Hearing my sister talk about our childhood is like watching that fake comedy trailer for The Shining.
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Comment on What’s something that you weren’t supposed to see/hear, but did? in ~talk
lou LinkI was probably 10 or 12. I woke up and went to the living room, where I saw my mother telling some very intimate and sensitive things about myself to a crowd so large there was someone sitting on...I was probably 10 or 12. I woke up and went to the living room, where I saw my mother telling some very intimate and sensitive things about myself to a crowd so large there was someone sitting on the window. I'm not telling what she said them but it was very disturbing to watch her making my life into a spectacle. And it really was an spectacle, the atmosphere was that of a theater. I pretended I didn't see anything, went back to bed. As an adult, my mother conveniently "forgot* all about it. It happened.
I predict that a far right government in the US will be very harmful to Brazil. The far right will gain force in our county once again, and will end 2025 with favorable odds for the 2026 presidential election.
Given his brain issues there's a good chance that Lula will die or become incapacitated. His VP is competent but very right wing. If there's no coup, we'll probably be fine in that eventuality.
I expect for neopentecostals to become even more prominent, leading to significant regressions even among progressive politicians. The next president will profess direct affiliation to an evangelical church.
I also believe that Brazil's Supreme Court will face a reckoning for its continuous breaches and excesses. Although their actions are generally favorable to our country, that continuous stress between the powers is likely to generate tensions and reactions.