I think Macklemore did us all a disservice by telling people $50 for a t-shirt means you’re getting swindled. $50 for a nice locally produced merino wool t-shirt is a bargain.

I imagine Macklemore’s point was that most people buying $50 shirts aren’t buying locally-produced clothes from a mom-and-pop shop; they’re buying overpriced, mass-produced shirts at department stores. I haven’t been to Kohl’s in a while, but I bet if I go to the men’s section at the one up the road from here, there will be an area with basic graphic t-shirts (mostly company logos like Coke) that are nearly $50.

Now that I’m on the topic, my most overpriced shirt is a Goo Goo Dolls shirt I picked up at a concert a few years ago. I really like the color of the shirt, but the cheap lettering on the front started coming off after a single wash. Very disappointing because it was a $45 shirt.

Sounds like your beef is less with actual “social justice” and more with bad actors co-opting the movement for their frivolous, performative virtue signalling

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As someone who has never read the Constantine comics, I enjoyed the movie with Keanu Reeves. I haven’t re-watched it in years though, so I wonder if it holds up.

I got a face mask with this design on it at the start of covid. One day I was walking out of a shop and a guy wearing a jacket with the same design walked past me. We both did the “Spider-Man pointing” meme

I also figured this was just a “let’s screw with the youth”-type post. We used to eat pistachios all the time when I was a kid (I’m 35) and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a red one before today. They were always beige/greenish.

Agreed. My home theater uses 5.1 floor speakers run through a dedicated A/V receiver and I’m constantly messing with the volume between dialogue scenes and action scenes for most movies. The gear ain’t the issue for this particular problem. Though I agree with OP’s statement that any sound bar is going to immediately improve sound quality over any TV’s built-in speakers.

DQ8 is the only Dragon Quest game I’ve played and I enjoyed it a lot. The art direction, the music, everything about it just has this whimsical, pleasant quality that few games achieve. I’ve heard Dragon Quest XI is a good spiritual successor, but haven’t tried it myself.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

Yes, but only in one direction. If I choose to remember an embarrassing memory I can increase my body temperature by a few degrees instantly. Like a really underwhelming version of the Human Torch.

even though the game is basically “Conservatives stay away, the RPG”. I’ve ended up in quite a few Reddit slapfights over it.

This seems frustratingly common. Like fascists who love Rage Against the Machine because they’re functionally illiterate and fail to realize the music is antithetical to their worldview.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse: while Kratom isn’t an opioid, it can cause “opioid-like” and “stimulant-like” effects in the brain by activating “mu-opioid receptors”

I figured you were just being funny, but I’m feeling talkative today, lol

People always say this on stories about “obvious” findings, but it’s important to have verifiable studies to cite in arguments for policy, law, etc. It’s kinda sad that it’s needed, but formal investigations are a big step up from just saying, “I’m pretty sure this technology is bullshit.”

I don’t need a formal study to tell me that drinking 12 cans of soda a day is bad for my health. But a study that’s been replicated by multiple independent groups makes it way easier to argue to a committee.

I’m not sure I understand the wisdom here. It comes off as “we live in a society”-esque. And doesn’t really acknowledge just how many people protested the Vietnam war.

“Sure, I murdered those people, but aren’t all of the complacent, disaffected, yet broadly powerless masses equally responsible for their nation’s unjust acts of military violence? We’re not so different, you and I.”

Here’s a thought experiment you might find worth pondering:

Assume, for this experiment, that becoming more mentally healthy definitely leads to being less artistic. You still make art, but it isn’t as good or profound as before.

Given that premise, would you forgo happiness for the sake of your art? Would you recommend others do the same? If you could offer Van Gogh advice, would you tell him to avoid help and embrace suffering so that he could produce nice paintings?

Oh wow, Bandle is a really neat idea. I’m adding that one to my daily puzzle folder

After 5ish years of semi-regular practice, I don’t completely suck at chess anymore. This year saw my most dramatic improvement since I started learning how to play in earnest.

Yesterday I hit a new personal best rating at chess puzzles: 2013 Elo. Pretty proud of that

If you (or your parents) like to cook, you could get some choice steaks (or other high-end ingredients) and make a nice meal that the whole family can enjoy.

Could also get a nice game controller if you’re into video games. Most first-party controllers seem to cost about $70-$80 these days.

I dunno what the “smart” thing to do with $75 would be; $75 isn’t a whole lot of money in the grand scheme of things so investing it wouldn’t exactly pay dividends any time soon. Maybe buy 1GB of DDR5 RAM and in a year it might be worth $75,000 if the market continues its current trend.

I remember L’oreal Kids shampoo commercials (like 25 years ago) very specifically showed kids happily wiping suds out of their eyes when “NO TEARS!” showed up on the bottom of the screen, clearly to exploit this misunderstanding