I’ve been doing this since you first posted it. Gotta add that Hungarian paprika tho

Lore and Data being about toxic masculine identity and the deceitfulness in heredity a la Esau/Isaac is also something I missed when young, but is an incel/gender narrative arc

Last time I watched ST:TNG, I finally realized the Borg become interesting as a reference to Hellraiser’s Cenobites (they even fly in a cursed cube), and really their whole deal ends up being about these topics. A prosthetic trunk used to be something our tv shows concealed (in layered symbolism).

people should cover 4'33, but every cover must escalate the performance in a way that is actually good. for instance, someone dashes onstage and slams the lid of the piano down upon the performer's hands at 4'32

where is the reboot, where is the streaming series, where is the MDWA expanded universe lore

Ultimately I think a lot of people actually would benefit from the approach the Buddhist canons and doctrines and schools take to these core existential questions, but for some reason it's rare to encounter folks, even in American Buddhism, who clearly discern what Buddhism is.

Another crucial one that well-meaning, aspiring western Buddhists will even post here on Bsky, is translating the First Noble Truth as "Life is suffering". It's not saying that, it's saying, "Existence always comes with pain or at least background stress". "Life is suffering" has a very Xtian tone.

Then "reincarnation" is not actually Buddhism, where the concept is more accurately "rebirth". Reincarnation reflects a much older Indian cultural concept, where some core soul/being undergoes reincarnations based in good/bad actions in each life. Rebirth rejects the eternal soul and "punishment".

"Karma is a bitch" is a pretty superstitious way of looking at karma, and I'm not sure why anyone would think that's different from "God will punish their sins". It's actually more like the older or else contrasting Indian views of karma which Buddhism critically rejected with its own.

To some extent it happens with most non-western or less prominent cultures and religions, but I find Buddhism is an oddly common blank canvas for so many (western?) people to project disconnected, idiosyncratic imaginings upon. Most obvious example is how karma is assumed to be divine justice.

not necessarily meant as a judgment, just seems to be a demo i’ve come across in daily life

older/centrist readers with retirement savings (who have given up on WaPo and NYT but read this, and maybe other stuff like the new yorker, the economist, etc)

Always cool when it turns out an ancient enlightened society instead was even more violent than we even expected. Like the 20th century archaeological jump-scare of discovering the Minoans likely engaged in religious human sacrifice.

It's been really entertaining today just flipping between all of the continent's local news/weather teams's livestreams on Youtube. They only have one thing to talk about all day long, so the chemistry (or insane awkwardness) of each local team is incredibly prominent.

That looked/sounded pretty harrowing—glad you came out (technically) ok.

many such cases, sadly

It’s also like… think of how niche stuff of an era gets massively popular over time. Few ppl in the 90s were into shred guitar or extreme metal or J-RPGs or anime or “chiptunes”, but it’s mainstream pop culture now. Future norms will comes from contemporary niches. Examine and play off of those!

I’m not suggesting AAA games like Cyberpunk necessarily need niche subgenres or artist playlists, but this was one project where the 2077 dystopian futuristic setting means taking zero risk/effort on an eclectic and interesting variety of tracks and styles would significantly elevate the experience

there’s a legacy jazz radio station, which is a charming throwback idea in the middle of the electronic and “extreme” radio options, but then it’s like… the 2-3 most famous and overplayed jazz tunes/recordings in history. why wouldn’t they instead have that station be like, badass 70s/80s fusion?