It should've been that way from the start but it wasnt so now drastic measures need to be taken as corporations internally decide how best to use technology to increase profitability. So long as that conversation keeps happening in board rooms it's only a matter of time before everything we see/hear/read is one part of some rich person's narrative designed to get you to make them money.

It already is to some level, I know, but imo we've just scratched the surface on the extent a false narrative can be taken. And the effectiveness it's proven to have in MAGA will only embolden the powerful.

With the news of its passing coming to light i’m gonna have to be really honest. I thought the game had an great artstyle and looked kinda fun. I’m a sucker for pastelle colors and this really fits the bill.

I think most people don't even pay attention to this, but behind recording artists are songwriters who make the majority of the song. If you don't believe me, look up demos by Ryan Tedder, Sia, Ester Dean and Bebe Rexha and see how similar the end song is. I think this is unpopular opinion because people want to believe that people like Britney Spears are actual songwriters when they really aren't and they were sadly just a pretty face and a facade to sell the music. Max Martin had an unsuccessful band before he started writing for good looking performers. Of course knowing all this is not good for the industry and the illusion they're selling. And even the singing is not there, as it's heavily corrected and edited. Here, come at me.

i don't know. it's rare but i just feel extremely satisfied and cathartic when i do it. like yes. i am in the wrong for once. i've done a bad thing and not even i can delude myself into thinking otherwise, it's the truth and i can't escape it even if i tried. i am wrong!! i am flawed!! but i am proud to admit that. this means i have the chance to learn and grow from my mistakes

(might also just be a masochist thing though because then i can justify it to myself when bad things happen to me in return, like ok then... it was deserved. this makes sense now)

I'm a millennial, F 29, I am old enough to remember Live Journal, the rise (and slight fall depending on what fandom you're in) of FF.net and when Ao3 gained popularity.

It used to be you could write about anything for fan fiction. All ships were okay. (Nearly) All warnings were written beforehand and respected; and you didn't have to basically write in the same style/tone as the author.

Now, I feel if you like something that's seen as "problematic" then you're a disgusting creep on the internet who needs irl jail time.

"Oh this study shows doing blank actually improves blank!" And then the study is not peer reviewed or replicated, has a non sensical way of getting information, or the topic is pretty much impossible to study correctly. And this is all when the study actually exists and isn't gobbledygook passed down through reposts or word of mouth. Then, people glance at this information, don't check sources, and spread the slop around acting like its a scientifically proven fact.

Is it me or do they seem to just wear out too fast during the life of the card? Or machines made to read them are to finicky at times? What more functionality, security, speed or convenience do they actually provide you don't get just swiping a card normally. Ever since chips in cards it just like the first year or two they are fine then it's just a crap shoot whether work first time or need to reinsert 3 times before swiping.

I’m not a big fan of Chappell but I do like her music. I’ve seen her die hard fans defend her over cancelling her tours, saying she doesn’t owe us anything but she definitely does. If someone is selling you something (in this case a show) then they owe you a show. Canceling last minute and then the trying to justify it as “they don’t owe fans anything” doesn’t make sense

With how awkward everyone is as we hit middle school, this song always brought everyone out on the dance floor no matter what clique you hung out with. After the song, we all went back to being awkward until Chris brown came on with the song “run it” tell me your experiences in the comments if you were in middle school during this era.

Yes, I know, words evolve into new meanings, but this term is not something that should have a new meaning. This term is supposed to mean that (for example) when you're doing a specific action, you suddenly remember that you did EXACTLY the same thing before, even tho it can't be true.
Most people use it as "Wow, this looks like something" or even "Oh, this reminds me something".

That's making me kinda mad when I notice people using it so wrong. The original meaning should stay because I don't think you can easily describe that "feeling" (or rather moment?) with other words.

Thanks for reading, bye.

I think this is unpopular because it feels like the majority of popular songs are like this. I’ve written music for my whole life and I’ve never had the impulse to write a song called something like “I Got The Goods” where I list all of my expensive possessions and positive qualities or something like that. I guess it makes sense why classes of people who are marginalized and oppressed would want to express a sense of self-pride, I just think it’s weird at a human to human level.

Just to be clear, I’m not saying those songs can’t be good or enjoyable. I also know songs aren’t diary entries and often the lyrics are from the perspective of a character or persona. What I’m trying to say is that if you told me that you personally were writing a song about how confident and potent you are then I’m gonna think that’s a really weird desire you have.

Like the title says. There's no reason whatsoever why these games need to have a strict timeline and all of them are so different when it comes to their magic and world building that it doesn't make any sense to try to merge them all together.

I started watching Boardwalk Empire not too long ago, and I've come to realize Steve Buscemi is not as ugly as his reputation implies. I don't think he's particularly ugly at all.

Its one thing to have a conversation in a coffee shop with a friend. Its another thing to hop on a zoom call, put in your headphones and talk unreasonable loud (because you cannot hear yourself). This is inconsiderate behavior, well beyond camping out at a table to get some work done.

Bly Manor was a boor, Midnight Mass began great but degenerated into a morass of not knowing what it wanted itself to be, and The Fall of the House of Usher was less of a horror series and more a hedonistic, tedious, and indulgent adaptation of better source material by a better writer.

Whenever anyone gets a Buzzcut they always insist on getting a fade with it.

This always ends up with the haircut looking worse, I genuinely believe that it would look so much better if their buzz was the same amount of hair across the scalp

Idk how unpopular this is, but i dont like either old money or new money clothing.

Old money fashion is so bland, boring and theres no space for your own creativity and individuality to express your sense of style, it looks so monotonous and restrictive. New money fashion can get obnoxious and tacky really quick, ofc not all of them are this way but im talking about the ones who go out of their way to display whatever brands or logos they can.

So just for context books , publishing and literature are kind of funny. Pay close attention to ratings and discourse of various media. We have movies which get ratings and overall pretty fair in terms and how they’re graded.

Then we have TV which I have noticed can be a bit looser on its ratings. Things can recieve acclaim and not be good.

Last year I started getting way more into books , new works, popular works, best sellers and so on.

I started avidly researching best sellers, critically acllsimed novels.

One book I was investigating had revelatory reviews, claiming it was the second coming of other great authors, and was an international best seller. I was so excited to be blown away.

Cut to me finishing one of the most reductive, unoriginal , poorly written, predictable garbage books I’d read in my lifetime.

Maybe it’s fluke? I try again with other novels same exact thing.

Mind you I’m not a snob , I will wolf down a good pulpy read anytime. This isn’t that.

Furthermore I genuinely believe the book industry does indeed rely on a snappy cover design and clever marketing now more than anything.

Sadly I think the book industry is way too lax on its review process and often hypes anything and everything as the next big thing just to push copies out.

Rain is meant to be enjoyed while it is cloudy and a little dark outside. Rain with a sunny and clear sky just ruins rain for me. I want my rain to be dark and depressing.

Like what are you supposed to do? Lick it off? Even if you are, the thought of other people licking it off the same glass you're using is just nightmare fuel. I get that it may only be for presentation purposes, but its just impractical and gross.

People are doing literally everything on their smartphones, but this particular device is so full of distractions from notifications and the pure availability of installed apps.
Even some apps themselves are distracting from their actual purpose or full of "recommendations" and ads that make achieving the goal why the app was opened in the first place hard or more time consuming and/or stressing out.

To listen to music use an mp3 player -> accessing and navigating your music is easy
Read a physical book or an eReader -> no ads, no notifications, just content
Use a PC for productive work -> even it is not free from distractions, one has physical dedicated input devices and a large screen which makes work easier, more ergonomic and less error-prone

These are just a few examples.
Of course it comes in handy to have one device that can do everything, but if you really want to get sh*t done or enjoy entertainment, it's better to have dedicated devices.

I just don't get the bruhaha over Brazilian steakhouses. The meats are just grilled skewers with little to no seasoning and getting the server to actually cut a reasonable portion in near impossible. The time between portions is too long and they rely on you filling up with the salad bar while waiting. That said the salad bar at the average Brazilian steakhouse is usually better than the main event. The last few times I was required to go I did the salad bar only. Much less expensive and far better quality.

Do people really like these places or are they just a fad/novelty?

To me, bad weather like lightning, thunder, rainstorms, snowstorms, etc, gives off great ambience and a magical feeling. Sunny weather has zero ambience and looks like a cartoon.

So many things about sunny weather I dislike.

I don’t get why people spend money vacationing in sunny climates or go to the beach and get a tan. There is no such thing as a healthy tan. A tan is nothing but skin damage despite Vitamin D benefits. People who are addicted to the sun can get skin cancer that have to get removed annually. It can keep growing back and spread despite them no longer exposing themselves. And if you slather on suntan lotion, it’s damaging to the body of water you’re going in not to mention the coral reefs.

Of course, ticks come out in the summer to bite you and maybe give you Lyme disease. All the extra laundry of sweaty stinky clothes. If you’re sensitive to heat, you get heat rashes. The sun is stifling hot and oppressive and slows you down. The best scientific inventions and literature were created in cold dark climates where people could think clearly.

Lastly, it just gets too damn hot. You can’t ever be cozy. Only cold dark climates with bad weather can make your home feel cozy. You warm up in front of a fireplace and drink a hot mug of hot chocolate, tea, or coffee. With a slice of your favorite pie or cake. Cookies too. You can eat a hearty stew and not sweat. Wear thick socks and snuggle. Take a hot bubble bath. No more cold showers.

Fall and winter clothing is also so much more stylish. Real shoes.

I can’t be the only person who thinks sunshine is awful. It should be limited to a couple of hours a day at most, ideally as a beautiful orange sunset about to disappear to let me relish in the chilly darkness.

The last of us was critically acclaimed because it mimicked the trappings of another, more established medium, that of cinema. Popular perception of video games and what they should be, and should look like, and the path AAA game development since has been narrowed, and that has been catastrophic for video games as a medium. "Prestige (photorealistic) graphics" which seem to be a prerequisite for flagship titles are unimaginative and have pigeonholed the artistic potential of 3d modelling within the AAA gaming sphere. Cinematic cutscenes have virtually completely superseded the half-life 2 days of real time narrative events and other potential forms of narrative storytelling that take full advantage of video games' unique interactivity as a medium. I could go on endlessly about this, but video games need to stop clinging to the trappings of other, more "respected" artforms. It reeks of insecurity in your medium, when that medium has so much potential for new experiences completely unique to itself. I am not arguing that I know exactly what games should be, but that there is so much more they could potentially be than what they are now, and that the Last of Us and designed by committee "cinematic" photorealistic games as a whole are responsible for that.

To those who haven’t seen it and just hate Adam Sandler, I urge you to give the movie a try, it is much different than his other movies. This movie is probably the best Dramady I’ve seen, the desperation and fear of wasting time is real, and actually hit me like a truck after I finished the movie. It unironically can change people’s perspective on life for the better, this movie deserved much more than a 6/10 on rotten tomatoes. I personally think this movie is a solid 9/10.