[Maark Abbott]

Just read about it. The fuck is wrong with people. 17 year old kid decides to go on a stabbing spree?????????????

[worry]

That is so heartbreaking.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Those poor families, it's horrific. I hope your friends aren't affected Tiste.

[Maark Abbott]

Had to come into the office because the fucking power grid are doing works outside and they've totally severed our broadband connection. No internet, no TV. Absolute nightmare.

[Macros]

Fuck this fucking country and it's fucking weather

[Tsundoku]

Macros, on 03 August 2024 - 12:21 PM, said:

Fuck this fucking country and it's fucking weather

Emigrate here then. You know there's plenty of work. May have to sort something about the driving range though.
You could earn enough in the decent months to be able to pick and choose what you do during the hotter months. Or as we call them, "October to March".

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 03 August 2024 - 01:27 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Tsundoku, on 03 August 2024 - 01:27 PM, said:

Macros, on 03 August 2024 - 12:21 PM, said:

Fuck this fucking country and it's fucking weather

Emigrate here then. You know there's plenty of work. May have to sort something about the driving range though.
You could earn enough in the decent months to be able to pick and choose what you do during the hotter months. Or as we call them, "October to March".

Sure move to Australia if you want literally everything to be out to kill you.

[Tsundoku]

Tiste Simeon, on 03 August 2024 - 10:17 PM, said:

Tsundoku, on 03 August 2024 - 01:27 PM, said:

Macros, on 03 August 2024 - 12:21 PM, said:

Fuck this fucking country and it's fucking weather

Emigrate here then. You know there's plenty of work. May have to sort something about the driving range though.
You could earn enough in the decent months to be able to pick and choose what you do during the hotter months. Or as we call them, "October to March".

Sure move to Australia if you want literally everything to be out to kill you.

Builds character.

[worry]

Do you guys ever say "B'day, mate" when things aren't going so well?

[Tsundoku]

worry, on 04 August 2024 - 01:33 AM, said:

Do you guys ever say "B'day, mate" when things aren't going so well?

Nah, you'll usually get a "yeah, fair" or something semi-positive-sounding, but it's the tone it's delivered in and body language that tells the real story.

"B'day mate" sound like a cheeky but decent idea, but in our accent it sounds like you're telling someone they need to wash their arse.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 04 August 2024 - 04:06 AM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Google has defaulted to putting AI Overviews at the top of web searches and holy fuck it's amazingly bad.

It doesn't understand the difference between "free" and "free 60 day trial".

When I search for a specific ETF's AUM (assets under management), it just returns a long paragraph about what AUM means. WTF.

In general, it seems to alternate between terribly misleading and extremely unhelpful.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 05 August 2024 - 04:28 PM

[Lady Bliss]

Yeah I’ve noticed that too.

[Maark Abbott]

Dolts at the gym moaning about how the Limpicks has gone woke and it's mocking jesus and it's transing our kids and I'm just like. Guh.

When I pointed out what the ceremony was actually showing their response was 'well everyone's been saying it's last supper innit' and I just die inside again. Not a critical thought in there.

[Macros]

Wasn't it Dionysis' feast?

[Maark Abbott]

 Macros, on 06 August 2024 - 06:51 AM, said:

Wasn't it Dionysis' feast?

Yep, but of course the folk who complain about snowflakes needed to be upset about something so they decided it was about Jesus and mocking Christianity.

I'm just like if anyone should have been upset about that it should be the Greeks, bro was NOT shredded like a Greek god

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

 Maark Abbott, on 06 August 2024 - 07:04 AM, said:

 Macros, on 06 August 2024 - 06:51 AM, said:

Wasn't it Dionysis' feast?

Yep, but of course the folk who complain about snowflakes needed to be upset about something so they decided it was about Jesus and mocking Christianity.

I'm just like if anyone should have been upset about that it should be the Greeks, bro was NOT shredded like a Greek god

It's the feast of the gods (of Olympus). The morbidly obese drag queen with the golden halo with rays that have stars on the ends of them is Apollo.

In terms of critical thinking... it was based on a painting that was almost certainly in turn based---at least in terms of composition---on Da Vinci's the Last Supper, with Jesus swapped out for Apollo.

Quote

Jolly did not name the painting that inspired the tableau, but art historians in France and the Netherlands have pointed to van Bijlert's work, a portrayal of the ancient Greek deities gathered for a feast on Mount Olympus.

The Magnin Museum did, however, acknowledge similarities between the work and The Last Supper, which was painted more than a century earlier before the Protestant Reformation, which rejected Catholic art and even destroyed many works.

That may go some way to explaining the confusion. "In the context of the Reformation … the artist found a strategy for painting a Christ-related Last Supper under cover of a mythological subject matter,"

Olympic 'Last Supper' scene was in fact based on painting of Greek gods, say art experts | Paris Olympic Games 2024 | The Guardian

... and Dionysus, in the song for the Olympic tableau, has a messianic, Christ-like message: if we were all naked, there would be no war. No place to hide a revolver. Etc. Humorous, but not really a parody of Jesus.

It's interesting to see how some reactionary intellectuals frame the fallout:

Quote

The army of fact-checkers, digital first responders, and other zealous supporters of progressivism sprang into action. [...] Whether the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games directly mocked Da Vinci's Last Supper or did so through a parodic imitation of Van Bijlert's painting, what happened was indeed mocking The Last Supper—and thus Christianity.

The most remarkable thing is that the fact-checkers and woke enthusiasts did not see that the ceremony was indeed about The Last Supper. They mocked those who did see, calling them lost and misguided. The more someone is gripped by this kind of progressivism, the more he accuses those who think differently of madness. In itself, it remains one of the most remarkable effects of the phenomenon of mass formation: an enormous narrowing of perspective, accompanied by a radical blindness to anything that does not align with one's own fanatical beliefs.

lol... the painting was imitating and alluding to Da Vinci's Last Supper, not parodying it.

Were the people who organized the ceremony completely oblivious to the obvious similarity to DV's Last Supper? That seems very unlikely.

If the Olympics aren't supposed to take political or religious sides, should the ceremony have made a political statement celebrity nudists and opposing war, even in comedic form? But the ceremony clearly is taking ethical stances; and that has been part of the intention behind the modern Olympics since their beginning:

Quote

The IOC was founded [...] on the belief that sport can contribute to peace and to the harmonious development of humankind.

https://olympics.com...eyond-the-games

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 06 August 2024 - 11:31 AM

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Partner's family being incredibly grating.

For context, generally we get on fine, and until the last year or so I would probably have said there were no issues. I'm not sure if it's just a combination of the passage of time meaning best behaviour has worn off for everyone, and that they've spent enough time around me that they've realised I'm really not a very traditional woman and that's started to be annoying, but we are stuck in a wearisome place at the moment. I feel like I've had my eyes suddenly swept open to how narrow minded these people are, and it's depressing.

I'd say it's a situation where if everyone was prepared to just accept that each person or couple's happiness can and does look very different and let it pass without comment, none of this would arise at all.

Mr NAB's parents are incredibly traditional - they got married young, had two children, and split very hard in conversation down the lines of "Men talk about sports and hobbies, women talk about women's things". It sounds like the people they see socially operate in the same way and so in those contexts I'm sure this works fine. I also get the impression Mr NAB's brother and sister in law play along with this - they married young, have three children and seem to also have quite set ideas about men and women's interests so they probably all rub along together far more easily.

That really doesn't work around either of us, it isn't how we have conversations or interact socially with anyone - and this is suddenly causing a lot of irritation towards me from his dad. He's been making it very clear he only wants to talk to Mr NAB if it's about "men's things" (mostly golf, football etc) and that he considers me to be interrupting if I join in. If a topic comes up and I don't know much about it I ask questions - to me, it's polite to engage and show an interest and also it lets the other person talk more about their topic of interest (and yes, I've concluded recently I'm autistic so I do tend to operate on script/set rules of social interaction). It's certainly not an intention to interrupt, and to my mind it's fairly rude to be in my home and expect me and any other female present to just sit in silence while the men talk. It's actually mind blowing to me that this would be an expectation in 2024.

When they briefly ask about hobbies, it's very clear only Mr NAB is supposed to answer about archery (our club has pretty much close to parity on male and female members, but no use telling them that) and they skate over anything to do with me powerlifting or running. The only hobby of mine that's apparently acceptable to discuss is horse riding because that's for women. They refuse to accept the number of house and garden tasks we do together and talk about them solely as if Mr NAB is doing it all, including comments from his dad about "needing a man to help" and "well Hannah won't cut it, some things need actual muscle". You are a little woman, stay in your box. Mr NAB pushes back, but the wish to not make things difficult for him is the sole reason I haven't exploded yet.

Add to this some tension about the fact they know we're not having children, while they are very active grandparents to his brother's kids, and the fact the whole family will never talk about anything but children and parenting related things when we're together, and I think I've hit a wall with how tolerable interacting with them is. I'd love to be able to say this is purely sensitivity and overreaction on my part, but he and I sat down together yesterday and came up with places we thought we could suggest to go the next time there's a family get together where there are activities and distractions so it will force some variety in the conversation - such is the lengths we feel we have to go to in order to get a break from it.

I think this probably all sounds like very small beer in the grand scheme of things, but it's much more of a wearing down over time than a sudden big thing.

We're going on a prearranged trip to Warwick Castle tomorrow with both Mr NAB's parents and my Mum. This was arranged before most of this nonsense became noticeably worse. I am dreading it - I caught myself self-policing already before we've got there about not talking too much about the history (it's an important Wars of the Roses stronghold and that period of history is my jam) so I don't annoy his dad, not offering too much comment about archery or the birds of prey (I used to work with them). On the flip side though, if packing up most of my personality is the only way to be acceptable, there's a part of me thinks "sod it" and just go all out One Woman Renaissance Fayre and their feelings about the place of women be damned.

Hopefully the day passes without incident (including my mum telling them how ridiculous she finds any of this) - and if it doesn't, at least there's the birds and the jousting!

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 12 August 2024 - 11:28 AM

[Tiste Simeon]

I'd go down the sod it route TRB, though interestingly their views go quite nicely in the period you're fascinated by so maybe it won't be out of place in an ancient castle. Maybe they can negotiate your sale to the king of Saxony in order to shore up the alliance?

I take it Mr NAB is on your side of things and understands your frustrations?

Also, picture of him in the Smithy for my entertainment please.

[worry]

That sucks. This isn't a solution or advice or anything, but the fact is they are wrong and you are right. This isn't like a toppings on pizza preference thing. So ultimately, they're just gonna have to get used to you being yourself, rather than the other way around.

Key phrases to add to your lexicon: "Did I ask?", "Did I stutter?", and of course "I could bench press you."

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Tiste Simeon, on 12 August 2024 - 11:41 AM, said:

I'd go down the sod it route TRB, though interestingly their views go quite nicely in the period you're fascinated by so maybe it won't be out of place in an ancient castle. Maybe they can negotiate your sale to the king of Saxony in order to shore up the alliance?

I take it Mr NAB is on your side of things and understands your frustrations?

Also, picture of him in the Smithy for my entertainment please.

Yes, Mr NAB is very understanding and does his best to push back - and has been very clear that I'm not to do anything different because it's their problem. I agree with his take that the constant kid conversation is inconsiderate rather than pointed (because I suspect they're just doing what they do when it's the four of them and the kids and we're not there), but he does understand why it's annoying (and gets fed up of it himself).

If we find one, mission accepted!

worry, on 12 August 2024 - 12:07 PM, said:

That sucks. This isn't a solution or advice or anything, but the fact is they are wrong and you are right. This isn't like a toppings on pizza preference thing. So ultimately, they're just gonna have to get used to you being yourself, rather than the other way around.

Key phrases to add to your lexicon: "Did I ask?", "Did I stutter?", and of course "I could bench press you."

Thanks Worry I look forward to the future use of all three (in one conversation? Sure, I'll challenge myself )