I think you replied to the wrong comment?

It’s where the partnership is mostly focused on the kids, leaving very little time for the parents to connect. I see this more and more with how heavily scheduled kids are now. Parents have to schlep them from school to sports to playdates to music lessons, etc… it seems so overwhelming. And people don’t seem to use babysitters anymore so it’s rare the parents get adult time together to go out on a date, listen to live music, go dancing, see a movie, etc - just be people in love together and focus on each other. I think time together without the kids is vital to keeping a connection with your partner. Otherwise everything is parenting and logistical planning. You need balance.

I’ve heard “quarterlife crisis” used for this before. I think a quarterlife crisis is different in some key ways from a midlife crisis, and it makes some sense to distinguish between the two. I think more than comparison to others’ achievements, these crises have malaise/discontent at their cores. By the time you reach a midlife crisis, it can be extremely hard to make changes that will reinvigorate you: a lot of the time you’re pretty stuck - in that boring job, with that big mortgage, in that “Parents, Inc.” marriage, with those needy kids. When you’re going through a quarterlife crisis, I think it’s that post-college “is this all there is?” doldrums. But at that age there are fewer variables and change might be tough, but still easier because there are fewer people relying on you.

Just based on my observations, anyway.

In DS9, Kira Nerys refers to herself as a terrorist all the time.

Would it even matter? We’re already gonna have a brainworm running the DHHS…

Maybe all these numbnuts are brainworms driving human meat suits.

“The Gang Cranks One Out”

Man this sounds fantastic!

Holy shit, that’s so cheap!

The point of their existence is - and has always been - to line their own pockets. Thassit.

Ding ding ding!

Yeah, probably the same Texans who were shouting about death panels and “don’t pull the plug on Grandma” when Obama tried to fix healthcare.

He looks so proud of himself haha

For a simple example: my mother is Catholic and until Trump came along, a lifelong single-issue Republican voter who always said she would be a Democrat if it weren’t for abortion. She attends church in an extremely progressive, famously LGBTQ-friendly town.

There’s a transwoman who attends her church (let’s call her Rita). This lady is probably in her mid-50s to mid-60s and has been a fixture at the church for at least 5 years. My mom has been in choir and bible study groups with her for years now. She still just can’t see Rita as a woman. Treats her politely but behind her back refuses to call her “she” and says she’s a “man in a dress”.

She’s really offended that Rita uses the ladies’ room. I’ve asked her why and she can’t articulate it, she just feels like it’s an invasion of her privacy, because men don’t belong in the ladies’ room. And when I point out that Rita isn’t a man, she just rolls her eyes. I’ve asked her if she’s worried that Rita is in there for predatory purposes and she admits that she doesn’t think Rita intends any harm. I’ve asked her how she’d feel if she were forced to use the men’s room and she says “but that’s different!”

My mom prides herself in being a moral person, and still can’t manage to get past her bigotry to see Rita as a woman. There are just too many mental blockades against it. But since she thinks she’s so highly moral, she thinks she must be correct in this situation. It excuses her from finding empathy and bettering her attitude toward trans folks.

My longwinded point is that when people who consider themselves highly moral are bigoted, there’s almost zero chance of getting through to them. And I think a lot of the people who are bigoted against trans folks feel that morality is on their side and being trans is morally deviant, so they think they’re justified in their prejudice.

Currently leggings and a sweater

I didn’t change my name. My perspective is that my identity doesn’t change just because I got married. My name has been mine since birth and it’ll remain that way.

I think the point is he won both the popular and electoral. In 2016 he lost the popular vote but won the electoral anyway.

Yeah also 4chan

When I was growing up, I had some family in LA & San Diego. One year when we visited them we ended up going to both Disneyland and SeaWorld. This was the late '80s or very early '90s and not a huge deal, I think it was just something to do to keep us kids busy. I know Disneyland isn’t “the” Disney that everyone talks about so maybe I’m missing something but Disneyland was sorta underwhelming. I wasn’t huge into Disney stuff anyway but I remember being kind of bored.

When we visited in 1997 we went to Universal Studios Hollywood. They had an attraction where you could get photographed in front of a blue screen and edited into a scene from Star Trek - they had uniforms and props and everything. I loved TNG and was so stoked to wear a command uniform and hold a tricorder. My uncle Ira was appalled that I chose TNG over TOS…I can still hear him saying “but that’s not real Star Trek!”

That’s pretty reductive. How much power do you think the Israeli people have?

I’m American. I know my country is funding this genocide. All I have is my vote, which has very little impact. I care a lot, but other than my vote I’m powerless to stop my government from arming Israel.

The Israeli citizens are similarly powerless.

You should care. The people are not the leadership.