My brothers: Punch each other, wrestle each other, cram each other into pillow cases and cardboard boxes, all the while yelling and screaming.

Mom: Says nothing.

Me (daughter): Doesn’t want to “sit like a lady” when watching TV, and wants to play in the dirt. Complains when she’s expected to keep herself to a higher standard than her brothers.

Mom: Sighs Girls are so much more difficult than boys!

Even if it’s with rice?

It started as a ruse, but when the pink guy bought into it, the green guy got confirmation that the ruse worked. “Fake it til you make it” and all that.

Bob: Black Friday before Thanksgiving?

Louise: Yeah. Cuz it’s dark.

The fact that you’re trying to figure it out is the important part. It’s important to self-reflect and define your ideologies, not by what others have told you to believe, but by what you personally believe.

Also, it’s okay to not take a label. It makes sense to want to identify yourself as an individual before attempting to identify yourself as part of a group.

Don’t you dare fix that typo.

At least they’re are trying. That’s more than can be said for a lot of people. Is it better to be with someone who’s got an understanding of their issues and wants to resolve them, or be with someone who doesn’t acknowledge their issues and/or who leans into maladaptive behaviors because of them?

I’ve dated people in both camps. I’ll take the psych major any day. By a long shot.

I just realized, it’s no wonder much of Lemmy’s current base is in their 30s (and older.) The social aspects of the internet we grew up with was more forum-based. The slower pace we currently have here isn’t a deal breaker, because we knew a time where this was normal. We participated in and built communities because if we didn’t, they wouldn’t exist. There was no pre-made social media behemoth for us to get lost in.

But people who’ve grown up with modern social media didn’t have that experience. They’re accustomed to riding fast-paced rapids, where things quickly change, and where algorithms control their feed and direct the whole experience. That’s their normal. By contrast, Millenials and older came online to gentle, quiet streams. We had to learn to row the oars manually (creating novel communities and content.) That gave us greater control over where we’d go and what we’d see.

Lemmy is a gentle stream right now. People who come here expecting white water rafting are going to feel like something’s missing. People who grew up with pre-made online communities probably never took the steps to build one up before.

I’d love to see younger people taking up the mantle of building a new corner of the internet. Especially in an era where personal control is increasingly limited by powerful monied interests, learning how to create and run communities can be very empowering.

Oof, poor kitty. And isn’t that just what this trip needed - more uncomfortable tension in the air. Is your brother the type of person to find comfort from talking about a recently-deceased pet? Or will it just make things more awkward?

My brother (and his wife) practically house a menagerie/farm. Not that they care about animals in some particular way, I honestly don’t know why they do anything they do. But I know that for them, life just rolls on.

Best of luck, friend. That’s a good thing you’re doing for your mom. I, too, have a troublesome brother in a southern state, and even my own family members have told me, “If you ever visit him, for the love of god, get a hotel. Do NOT stay at his house.” I’m glad you have friends that you can stay with instead. Hopefully you’ll arrive back home with more fun memories of friends than anything else.

You mean Queen. Vanilla Ice simply stole “sampled” the riff.

Unfortunately, the fact that they don’t take many pictures of themselves can be really obvious. I try not to turn a guy down because of a bad profile picture, because I know there’s a technique to it and that requires practice.

At the same time, we’re in a digital era - you can take 100 pictures and only upload your favorite one. There’s no reason for an average guy’s profile picture to resemble a mugshot.

Friendly reminder that “Employees of the Month” (and “Students of the Month” in schools) are rarely exceptional at their jobs. Rather, they are chosen by management as examples for what they want from their other employees (or students.) Suck-ups and people who quietly obey orders are frequently awarded such titles.

You could be the most supportive coworker, the most productive worker in your field, and have a genuine passion for the work you do - but if management sees (or even senses) any sort of disagreement with you, you’ll never find yourself on that poster.

Which is all for the best anyway, since in all the places I’ve worked, there’s rarely an actual prize. If there is, it’s usually a cheap gift certificate to some dying chain restaurant.

Goddamn, way to make me flashback.

There was a point in my life where I was facing homelessness, was constantly job searching but hearing nothing back, and had to count coins to make sure I could afford to eat each day. Not only that, but the closest family member, who had invited me to stay with them if things went tits up, had just died two days before in a sudden and tragic way.

And my then-bf dragged me to a bar, where he and all his friends told me to “just let it go” and “loosen up” as if the basement rock of my world hadn’t just eroded out from under me. I sure as shit couldn’t afford bar prices, and not a single one of the group offered to get me anything, leaving me stone sober while they all got shitfaced. I ended up crying alone in the bathroom for an hour, and when I came back out, “bf” was getting a fucking lap dance from his friend’s fiancee.

That wasn’t even the worst part of the night. It definitely got darker before the light returned.

I’m okay now, over a decade later, in an infinitely-better place with supportive friends and partners. But man, what a journey.

For critically-panned movies that are arguably good, I recommend a scroll through this thread: [Meme] Which movie was this for you?

It’s interesting to see what everyone’s opinions are. I’ve already downloaded a few of the suggestions out of curiosity.

Dating someone of equal height: you can easily kiss on the lips without anyone awkwardly bending to reach

Dating someone shorter: every hug gets a bonus motor-boating

It’s always a pleasure to come across a hoopy frood who knows where their towel is.

Yeah, this isn’t unusual for a religious school.

I remember, as a little girl, playing the part of the angel Gabriel… except I thought the character was named Gabrielle. The only reason I tried for the part was because I thought it was the only explicitly female role, besides Mary (and my unpopular ass wasn’t about to complete for the role of Prima Donna.)

It was a huge let down to find out that Gabriel was yet another male character in the perpetual sausage-fest that is The Holy Bible. Combined with how practically nothing was written about how Jesus would’ve been as a child, I never understood how I was supposed to relate to anything in that book.

If you directly translated them, a lot of the time you’d get like “cabbage the horse wheel” or something.

That reminds me of the “Password Strength” comic by xkcd. All right, it’s settled. Next time I need new password, I’m feeding random names into a phonetic name translator.

“However, I did make it with a hot alien babe. And in the end, is that not what man has dreamt of since first he looked up at the stars?”