I don’t really get it. Reminds me of the guys who’d send each other fractal images on floppy disks in the early 90s, which they must have got something out of, but to everyone else it’s just pictures of maths.
Some of these responses either have a weird and jaded agenda or literally don’t make sense. You don’t like AI art because of the smudges or the weird colors? Huh? lol
I’m gonna speak purely from an American football (NFL/NCAA DI) standpoint, which will probably interest like 2 other people on this site, but whatever:
If you’re talking about those who provide “analysis” between games, I don’t think there is a more useless way to spend your time than listen to these guys. I put analysis in quotes because it’s all really just speculation. Speculation about a fucking game. People already speculate about real world stuff like politics way too much, but I feel like I know too many grown adults who treat consuming sports “analysis” as a hobby.
Now, as for the play-by-play and color commentary, there was a time when I felt like it actually added to the experience, like the 90s to the mid 00s. Of course, there was the great John Madden who had the talent of providing interesting commentary for both experienced fans and people who were watching their first game. Once he retired, I feel like it all went downhill. Now, the commentators only cater to the lowest common denominator of fans who are more into sports for the tribalism aspect than actually understanding the game beyond what is happening on the screen. Everyone always goes “but what about Tony Romo?” Ok is it really that surprising that a quarterback who played professionally for over 10 years can occasionally predict plays pre-snap? It was his job long before he was a commentator. He doesn’t even really explain the thought processes behind his predictions either. He’s just flexing to impress people.
I think about the one team whose games I watch and realize the commentators are a huge part of what I enjoy about watching. I would enjoy it much less without them.
Then I think about watching other teams on occasion, or about the occasional broadcasts that are national or put on by a different network, where there’s a different team of commentators, and I pretty much hate them all.
So, I’d have to say “depends on how interesting/entertaining they are.”
Absolutely not. People might give you reasons Americans are but that’s because they don’t know about the crazy shit people believe elsewhere but there’s nowhere that’s immune to conspiracy theories.
The thing that differentiates America is that it’s a major country (so on TV a lot, in English) and a low-trust society. But Italy and Uganda and Japan all have wild ass conspiracy theories. (Italy has some actual conspiracies like Propaganda Due.)
Went to New York city to go see Ozzy in concert (from Canada). My first time in the US. It was me and 3 other male friends, all in our mid/late 20’s. On our way back home we got pulled over by a state trooper because my friend was speeding.
The state trooper walks up to the window and says he smells marijuana. Which was total bullshit because this was a new car and we aren’t dumb enough to bring that shit with us. He proceeds to make us all stand in the cold for 45 minutes while he goes through the entire contents of the car and finds nothing. They give us a warning then leave with all our shit just laying around.
This was like a month before they legalised weed in Canada so we figured that was why they did it. The entire time I was just scared they would plant something. I’ve been conditioned to not trust cops due to all the shit I’ve seen online. This experience just made it worse. And we were just a bunch of white guys, can’t even begin to imagine what people of color have to deal with when it comes to cops in the US.
Youre right not to trust American cops. They’re corrupt and above the law. If you had pissed him off in any way he would have certainly planted something and arrested you. He searched your car because your ages and destination. He wanted to find something.
I’m unwillingly associated with the U.S. Democratic Party only because I’m uncompromising in my beliefs of equality and antifascism, but disagree with almost other policy of theirs^1
This doesn’t mean I agree with the only other major US party.
This is the correct answer. Pretending there are more than two choices doesn’t stop Roe from being abolished. You have to play the hand your dealt, etc.
Yes, absolutely. I’m talking about the in court defense, not what you say to the officers.
If you’ve been following all of the Trump investigations and trials, you’ll see a lot of it comes down to the prosecution proving that the defendants knew what they were doing was illegal and that they don’t have a credible alternative explanation for their actions. I’m speculating that a medical consultation may be a credible alternative explanation.
Because I live in and enjoy living in Chicago, am socially liberal, an ardent feminist, an aspiring antiracist, people assume I’m a Democrat. Honestly, even the first alone is usually enough to trigger this assumption.
Because I’m politically conservative, respect religious freedom, respect the second amendment, and oppose stacking the Supreme Court, people assume I’m a Republican; even though the GOP hasn’t respected religious freedom or been politically conservative in general in decades.
And when I tell people that I’m not registered with a party, won’t vote along party lines, and won’t vote the lesser evil, I’m assumed to be politically inactive, apathetic, or ignorant. Whereas I’m very active, always vote, usually campaign for favored candidates and against corrupt incumbents.
The “team sport” mentality of FPTP political systems is absolutely terrible, honestly.
Im curious what you are politically conservative on? I don't see religious freedom as being conservative nowadays. Like respecting tst stuff. maybe the second amendment but like bernie is pretty good with that. honestly the supreme court stacking I only hear from an extreme side. EDITED - see if Im fast enough to sneak this in. How the heck does one even register for a party in chicago? I mean im not going to but is that even a thing?
Illinois has open primaries and you don’t need to register a party when you register to vote; but you can still register with the parties themselves. I also grew up in South Dakota, which has closed primaries, and you do fill out an party (or not) when you register to vote there, or at least when I turned 18 you did.
I’m conservative in the sense of opposing change, especially to our political system. Not all change, but my default stance is “don’t fuck with it”.
I’m confused. Is this a bit? You’re essentially describing the Democratic Party and all the things progressives complaining about the party “really being conservative” compared to the rest of the world.
The Democrats have a big problem with “solutions” that either don’t address the problem or create worse problems in doing so. And maybe I’m biased by dealing with the Chicago Machine, but there’s too much corruption as well. And don’t even get me started on the corporatism.
The DNC is pretty left socially on a global scale, which I approve of, but just all over the place in terms of economic policy, and I think that axis is where they get labelled as centrist or even right-leaning globally. Though, yes, Secretary Clinton in 2016 was the most conservative candidate with any real support, partly because she was the most experienced in actual governance.
The alternative is a party only focused on making the rich richer and staying in power even if they have to kill democracy to do it. I’d take partial solutions or failed attempts at doing the right thing every time over that. We don’t have other realistic options. From time to time we get populists who are mostly talk.
The word corruption gets thrown out far too much too. Those that break the law should be punished, but simply adding something to a bill to benefit your constituency is literally the job, and far too often I hear people say that’s corruption. It’s compromise.
Would you mind elaborating on “change…to our political system” perhaps with some examples and your stance on them? I’m exhausted and struggling to understand and find any examples aside from stacking the courts.
If not no worries, I’ll be chewing on this for a while. I appreciate your perspective and your willingness to share it.
For example: eliminating the Electoral college, term-limiting senators, declaring an official language, limiting jus soli citizenship, granting senatorial representation to the federal district… there are others that don’t come up as often that I can’t remember now.
I do have things I think should be changed or reformed, of course, as everyone does, but I’m very much against change for the sake of change. Society can be dynamic, the government should be stable.
Placeholder comment because I need to go back to sleep. Someone remind me and I’ll tell y’all about rescuing my brother from a maybe kidnapping in Mexico.
Okay, so, me and my brother visited Mexico. It was a fairly small town, not a major place like Cancun. Had an amazing time. Ended up meeting these two bartenders that we became friends with. Their boss, who legit made everyone he met call him El Jefe, would come by and steal their tips and get drunk. We were there for a week. On the last night, I’m on the other side of the town (10 minute walk away) trying to seal the deal with this dude I’d met, and my brother was at the little bar hanging with our bartender friends. I get a call from him, panicked, as he whisper yells that El Jefe asked him to come with him to another bar he owns. He’s in the car, El Jefe is flying down the street, he’s doing cocaine off the dash. Please come get him at this other bar. He sends me one of those location pins that update in real time.
I tell dude that I’ll help him finish later, and take off to rescue my brother. He’s only like 5 minutes away, and has stopped moving. I go into the club, and start looking for him, but he’s not there. I’m asking folks if they’ve seen him, and trying to get closer to his pin. Finally, I find his phone, there’s some random ass dude who has it, and when I tell him I’m gonna need that phone, he tries to act like it’s his. I explain to him it’s my brother’s. He acts like he’s gonna swing at me, so I drop El Jefe’s name. That, combined with the fact that he’s 5’nothing and I’m 6’3 and near 300 pounds convinced him of the error of his ways. He gave me the phone, and I moved on in my search. I talked to the bartender, who explained that El Jefe had been there a few minutes ago, and had left some coke for me because my brother told him I was meeting them there (neither I nor my brother do coke). I asked could he tell me where they were headed. He gave me an address about a mile away. I took off.
I arrive at the house, by this point it is nearly 2 in the morning. It looks like just a house, but the lights are on so I knock on the door. I am greeted by a woman with the largest breasts I have ever seen in real life. They’re enormous. And she’s topless. Now, I don’t speak Spanish. I know enough to ask where the bathrooms are, and (I smokes at the time) where I could smoke at. Other than that, it was Google translate and gesturing for me.
However, I did not need Spanish to understand that this woman was a prostitute, and was very keen on the young American in front of her (or, at least his wallet). I tried to explain I’m trying to find my brother, but she wasn’t having it. Grabbing at my crotch, trying to pull me into one of the bedrooms off the (very nicely decorated for a brothel) living room. As my actions at this moment were less Liam Neeson and more Jerry Stiller, I decided to just come clean with her with one of the only Spanish words I knew “yo soy Mariposa!”
Now, I know that’s a slur, and I’m sorry if it upsets anyone. But at the time, it was the only thing I could think of. An hour before hand, the phrase had been… Relevant.
It was like a magic spell. Her entire attitude changed, and she was finally able to listen to my words. Once we cobbled together enough Spanglish to understand each other, I gave her the coke from the club as a thanks, and headed off to find my brother where she told me El Jefe had taken him next.
I arrive back at the night club I’d gotten the coke from, and I see El Jefe’s car this time. It’s parked in an alley behind the club, against an outdoor stair case. I go up the stairs and open the door to a private little fucking rave on the top floor of the club. They’ve got their own bar up here, and if I remember correctly, you can’t get from one floor to the other from within the club.
I see them at last! My brother looks mortified, trying to get to the entrance, and keeps getting pulled back by El jefe, and El jefe dancing with fucking scar face levels of coke on his face. It’s insane. I go up to them, and El jefe is all excited to see me, asks if I want some more coke, do I wanna party, he has a pretty boy all picked out for me if I want.
I tell him no thanks, we’ve gotta go. He gets pissy and says I’m being rude, stay and party. I tell him we’re leaving, and before I can react, he swings at me in all hiscoke fueled glory, completely missing me by a country mile. I stand up and tower over this man and explain we have a plane to catch in the morning. He finally let us go, and we head out.
Our plane the next day was delayed, so we ended up spending two more days there. In that time, El Jefe apologized for swinging at me, and gave us a tour of some of the apartments he rents.
We still keep in touch on Whatsapp, and he invites us to his enormous birthday party every year. He also says he’ll rent me an apartment there if I want to do private security for him. He talks to my brother more than me, though. He really liked him, and he calls me El Gigante. He really, really wants us both to come work for him. From what I gather, he basically runs the entire town we were in.
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