Taking more of a sober curious approach for June just to see how I feel and re-evaluate come July, but fuck yeah, IWNDWYT.

Doing it while still trying to do the stuff I like to do (see DJ sets, live music, hang with my neighbours at the local), and so far it’s actually kind of nice! Somehow much chattier, less in my head, still having a good time (though granted this could be more the abstinence from weed than alcohol). Pro and con is getting my little soda water concoctions comped - like, I super appreciate it but I still want to tip folks and only have a card sometimes.

Apologies if any of the above hits wrong for some of you guys - I know others’ circumstances around alcohol are way more intense, and that comes with a lot of challenges. But know right now that we’re on the same side: not drinking today. Y’all got this and I’ve got your back.💪

Was gonna say, with enough booze all things are possible.

Benefits: free body hair grooming (don’t mind that the razor is rusty)

I can think of few finer things in life.

First of all, how dare you.

(J/k, I can understand, it’s 100% not everyone’s cup of tea)

Eh… I’ve definitely seen what you describe borne out, but I’ve also seen cases where the contrarian/outlier is afforded a special status within that group. Not 100% sure how to account for that (aside from the specific nature of the contrarianism not really challenging the specific shared sacred belief involved?).

Edit: Noted that this comment was before the edit with additional discussion points, haven’t integrated those into this response but am reading for consideration.

Just an aside: It’s funny to read this and have an old post from someone who’s also (by their own admission) pretty autistic come to mind, where they were so taken by Inglorious Basterds that they actively refused sexy times because it was critical the other party watch this movie.

Viva la difference! Both positions are valid.

Not necessarily across all avenues. People often have friends in their lives that have a different opinion on some topics.

Personally, most of the time I find it’s how that difference of opinion is delivered that creates that exclusion - where it’s very easy to take, say, “this movie sucks, and here’s why I think that” as “you suck for liking this movie”.

Then of course there’s topics where that difference of opinion isn’t as trivial and delivery isn’t really the problem, but that’s a different conversation.

Eh, personal taste is a thing. Not every film is going to resonate with everyone, even if there’s some pretty impressive or neat shit going on at some level, and that’s ok.

Do think it’s worth giving most movies a shot though, for no other reason than you can have a discussion around “I thought it sucked, and here’s why.”

Example: I love Eraserhead, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Pink Flamingos save exactly one scene, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and All That Jazz. I also completely understand the grounds on which someone else would say any of these suck badly, and welcome their contribution to the conversation.

As I once said, drunk, to some university student waiting for a bus outside a bar across the street from a movie theatre, who had just watched Un Chien Andalou: “You can appreciate the cultural value of a piece of art and still not like it. Don’t just feign praise because others do, you’re allowed to just straight up not like things, and the opposite is true too.”

Dick Dale is a legend a lot of great musicians owe something to. Most (though not all) modern surf, some of which is fucking great, follows in his footsteps while also borrowing from psych rock and other genres.

Always give Dick his due, he is the king after all.

Edit: at the same time, it’d be a mistake to ignore the influence of The Ventures as well.

Edit edit: Since this has lead me to fire up my ‘face melting surf’ playlist again, I’ll take the opportunity to give a shout out for my aquaintence-of-an-acquaintence’s weekly radio show Storm Surge of Reverb.

Re: the Limp Bizkit bit, how do you feel about this? https://youtu.be/qI7SAPzPVQg

QUIET

Oh fuck they said it, HIT THE DECK!!!

IMO It’s some pretty dubious stuff, but you may find stuff about The Global Consciousness Project interesting.

Well that’s the point, you’re not supposed to, no matter how well it’s crafted or warm it is.

Gotta keep your comfy q***ts on the d/l.

I’m curious if you want to expand on this. I’d posit that everyone has the capacity for evil, and we all have some degree of darkness inside of us, but I don’t think masking is necessarily people trying to hide an evil nature (though, to be fair, sometimes it definitely is).

Just trying to understand where you’re coming from with this. I’d argue that for most people masking, it’s an attempt to avoid social injury, usually because of past experiences where they suffered one for acting completely genuine. Usually innocuous stuff from childhood that few people truly bat an eye at in adulthood.

There’s a word - starts with Q, ends with T. It is never to be uttered with regard to work conditions, ever.

It would definitely depend on the cafe set up, but I would love this for places that serve drip, which is pretty much all I drink.

Yes. One person in particular comes to mind - very nice guy, but has some obvious learning disabilities. He mispronounces words very often and mistates stuff frequently (a lot of ‘hims is’, that kind of thing). He doesn’t seem to have much of an inner life, though perhaps its more that he doesn’t have the facility with language to express himself well. He also doesn’t seem to understand a lot of things that people around him talk about.

But he’s a kind dude - frankly, that’s the important bit imo.

Most of the other folks I’ve met and considered dumb were seen only for limited duration and in specific contexts. They might indeed be, on the whole, dumb. But I’ve always felt those small interactions aren’t enough evidence of that - after all, I’ve met objectively brilliant people that, in certain contexts, have done phenomenally dumb things. Heck, we all do (or rather, I sure as fuck have).

17/20, very score, much dad.

Edit: Apologies for the novel, might’ve gotten a bit carried away.

I dunno your lifestyle around alcohol, but if you really enjoy your beer for the beer of it all (and it’s not a problematic habit/drinking purely for effect), moderation and mindful nursing might be the move. Take the stuff below if it makes sense when being radically honest with yourself, toss it out the window entirely if it doesn’t.

Set one night a week (or longer interval) as beer night. Pay attention to what us other substance freaks call set and setting - go into it in an already good mood, in a space and set of circumstances that are arranged to be pleasing (for me, that’s out at a place I enjoy, preferably with something I like going on [live music, etc.]). If the set or setting (or, to quote Gen Z, the ‘vibes’) are off, do it some other time.

If the vibes are right, order/get one really, really good beer and a water. Your goal is to make that beer last at least an hour - you can have as much water as you want. So obviously, you should pick a beer that doesn’t taste like ass as it comes to room temp.

Take each sip very slowly - sniff it before you sip, let the beer sit on your tongue a bit, with a breath through the nose during, and sit with the finish after you sip for a little. Keep the ratio of beer sips to water sips at like 1 for every 4 or 5. Just make a mental note of stuff like the flavour, texture, finish as you’re drinking. Make note of any changes to those over the interval.

Once the beer is finished, have something else (preferably lower sugar - soda water with a little bitters and lime, hop water with a hop profile you enjoy, whatever you’d like from what’s available. If out, ask the bartender for a suggestion, some like the challenge but be mindful of how busy it is). You don’t need to make that last an hour, but try to enjoy it slowly. Once that’s finished, decide if you want one more beer, and if so repeat the process. End at max two beers, though you can close the tab (if your ideal setting is out at some place) on a not-beer-not-water drink if you want to stretch out your time in the atmosphere.

Life’s short, and filled with both horrors and moments of bliss. Little pleasures can enrich your time here, so long as you’re careful not to let their fingers wrap around your neck and become vices. Just have to approach them carefully with an eye to your larger goals and ideals.

Or, if you look at this and think “Naw dawg, if I tried this it’ll end in chugging multiple beers”, ok, let the beer go. There’s myriad other little pleasures you can integrate into your life, many of which are healthier anyway.

Edit edit: if you take the approach above and your ideal setting is out at some place, I usually follow a $1 per drink tip rule, and that calculation includes the water. It ingratiates you to the bar staff who might otherwise be peeved you sat there for two-three hours. I call it vibe insurance, lol.