CuriousCat Archive Page 108 of 202

  1. have you made a vegan cheesecake before? how did it go

    in response to Doesn't the Cheesecake Factory have vegan menu items?

    I got over a breakup one time by making about 2 vegan cheesecakes a week. I got pretty good at them.

  2. What's the difference between incels and Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW)?

    I believe MGTOWs are volcels

    (goddammit I'm mad such sentences exist and that I can understand them)

  4. Do you ever do loglines? Before starting off a video essay/story?

    you think I can be BRIEF?

  6. Your worst video essay was the one on cucks. There's nothing grosser than a fat balding man talking about his sex life publicly.

    you got your cucks mixed up again, I have a full head of hair

  7. Is it hard to find a restaurant that caters to vegan? (Before The Plague^TM, of course)

    in response to What's your thoughts on the Cheescake Factory? I've haven't been to one, but it seems like the Las Vegas version of a restaurant? So gaudy

    Like with any restrictive diet, you generally assume that unless a place declares it has options for you, it doesn't. Boston has more options than most cities, but there are still things you have to hunt out. Since Peace o' Pie in Allston closed, there isn't any *great* vegan pizza in the whole city. There are only a handful of places where I can get donuts, and they're all a pain in the ass to get to. I keep a mental list of where I can get vegan hot chocolate. I have a lot of options for desserts, at least!

    New York City is the only place I've been where you rarely have to walk more than a block to find vegan options. (And, even then, not in the Bronx.)

  9. Can you think of a sex scene from a movie that actually works to further the story and characters and isn't terribly cringey?

    I can think of many that aren't cringey. As for furthering the plot... I mean, the fact that two people have sex is often very important to the plot. But does the *depiction* of the sex further the plot? Well, I mean... you could ask that about a lot of plot points. And, regardless, sex scenes can contribute a lot to tone, character, and theme. Does the sex scene in The Thomas Crown Affair "advance the plot" in a traditional sense? Well, it shows the two characters letting their guard down around each other, which is kind of what the movie is about, and it probably nails the whole "getting swept up in the whirlwind of Thomas Crown" vibe that the movie is trying to build. Those are not, strictly speaking, "plot," but neither are they separable from plot. And, arguably, the plot is an excuse for that feeling more than the feeling is meant to serve the plot.

  10. What's your thoughts on the Cheescake Factory? I've haven't been to one, but it seems like the Las Vegas version of a restaurant? So gaudy

  11. Idris is a little old now, I’d go for a younger woman maybe

    in response to Henry Golding or Idris Elba as the next James Bond?

    No, because if we went with a woman it would have to be Gillian Anderson and she's the same age as Craig

  13. In your "They Go Low, We Go High" video, you stated that liberals often fall into the belief that "thinking about ends is innately immoral". Do you believe the opposite is true of leftists? That some fall into the philosophy of "The Ends Justify the Means" to the point they believe that thinking about the *means* by which they accomplish leftist goals is innately immoral?

    Some do. Many still fall into the liberal trap of fixating on means to the expense of ends. It's one of many reasons we argue amongst ourselves so much.

  14. Fav Christine Love game?

    I've still only played Digital all the way through, but I liked it a lot

  15. How tough are you?

    fuck around and find out

  16. Several nazis and prager are heading to parler, should people follow them to kick them off there or is this a wasted effort

    No, let them have Parler. It's run by the same people who ran Cambridge Analytica. Enjoy having your data harvested, fuckheads!

  17. Henry Golding or Idris Elba as the next James Bond?

    Idris

  18. Did you ever finish Dream Daddy? Who was your fav?

    I successfully romanced Damien and Joseph. Didn't 100% it. Of the two, Damien; Joseph broke my heart.

  19. For deciding in advance how much energy we are willing tk use, how might we best measure so we are aware of when we hit it, instead of unintentionally overshooting it?

    in response to dealing with a college roommate who thinks himself a centrist but is obviously drifting farther right. He's currently telling a friend that because his friends from highschool are pro-choice, he won't be talking with him, and is finding reassurance in the arms of 'non-political pro-lifers' in the dorm basement. Is there a smart move for talking with him about potentially harmful ideas he might be exposing himself to

    I can't tell you what your limits are or assign value to your time.

  20. dealing with a college roommate who thinks himself a centrist but is obviously drifting farther right. He's currently telling a friend that because his friends from highschool are pro-choice, he won't be talking with him, and is finding reassurance in the arms of 'non-political pro-lifers' in the dorm basement. Is there a smart move for talking with him about potentially harmful ideas he might be exposing himself to

    The general advice I've picked up is:

    - have a conversation, not a debate
    - ask a lot of questions
    - try to figure out what's going on with your friend that makes the Right appealing to him
    - try to find your points of agreement and work out from there
    - demystify your perspective without trying to convince him; just show him how the world looks from the pro-choice perspective of someone he cares about
    - withhold judgment for now
    - assume nothing about his position; you cannot take for granted that the terms and ideas you're using mean the same things to you that they do to him

    and, most important:

    - decide in advance how much energy you are willing to put into this and stop when you reach that point. you are in a position to help your friend, but it is not your job, and, after a time, it becomes an inefficient expenditure of effort. do not sacrifice your own happiness and other modes of activism for this one guy.

  21. What would you say is the main cause of most revolutions where the revolutionaries end up becoming as bad as the people they overthrew?

    I don't know, that's why I want to do a series on it.

  22. Tools are neutral - it's who they're used by and how they're used that determines their moral/ethical worth.

    in response to So...we should lie to liberals? Because that seems to work out for fascists 99% of the time.

    I'm not making a statement as to the tool's morality. I'm saying deception helps fascists in ways it doesn't help leftists. You can't create a society truly run by the people if the people have been misled about what society they're building. You can't trick people into being socialists.

  23. How much of your success at avoiding too much of a parasocial bond do you think is attributable to your gender? Just as an observer it seems that women, cis or trans, and femme enbies get more parasocial creepiness, but you may have a better perspective.

    in response to Any examples of how you distance yourself from your audience in your videos and on social media?

    oh, being a cishet white dude, per usual, stems a lot of it. but there are channels at about my size hosted by white dudes who get way more parasocial attention than I do.

  25. How long have you been keeping the joke in your twitter name going, and what would it take for you to change it?

    A couple of years now. I will eventually run out of adjectives and have to go back to my boring ol' real name. Maybe then people will stop calling me Dan.

  26. Did you know that sometimes, CuriousCat will glitch, and send the same question twice by mistake?

    no

  27. Did you know that sometimes, CuriousCat will glitch, and send the same question twice by mistake?

    yes

  28. diff anon - while we're on the subject, how do you feel about that assertion, that liberals hate leftists more than they hate fascists?

    in response to Not to be that person but "liberals hate leftists more than fascists" means "liberals hate leftists more than liberals hate fascists," not "liberals hate leftists more that fascists hate leftists," rest of the point stands but I think there was some confusion there

    I don't think it's exactly accurate, but there is truth to it. Like... liberals definitely hate Nazis more than they hate leftists. Their problem is they don't SEE fascism when it's staring them in the face. They see us pointing at outright fascism and say "now now, that's exaggeration, don't you think?" Liberals COMPULSIVELY believe in the benevolence of The System, that The System naturally weeds out bad actors and serves the needs of the public provided the right people are in charge. Being that they are people working within that system, their whole sense of themselves as ethical people depends on this view. Leftists and fascists distress them because both want to junk the system entirely, but the key difference is: fascists lie about it. They gaslight liberals, saying that they do, in fact, want bipartisan government, and use the libs' gullibility to get concessions from them. By and large, leftists are honest about what they think the problems are and how they want to get them fixed.

    And, yes, this stems from a possessive investment in the status quo, most especially in capitalism. But it's somewhat more nuanced than "liberals and conservatives are both capitalist so that's why they both hate leftists." The psychology of liberalism does a lot more backflips than that.

  29. Also might be worth considering that much of this data comes from exit polls which are going to be _massively_ skewed in weird directions this year in particular.

    in response to As you're probably aware, there was some news about the Proud Boys where a more radical group split off because of their dissatisfaction that the organization was led by an afro-cuban man. That reminded me of the fact that Trump actually did better with many marginalized groups in 2020 than he did in 2016. Why do members of marginalized groups align themselves with fascists, especially in cases where there is no direct material benefit for them?

  30. Obviously the best call is casting a Vietnamese actress 100% agree, but it feels most likely a studio's actual solution would be to just make the character white and I'm curious if that's better or worse than having a white woman play a Vietnamese woman in your eyes?

    in response to Anything BoJack could have done better?

    I disagree with the premise of your argument. Ralph Bob-Waksburg has said he wishes he'd cast a Vietnamese-American woman to play Diane, and he clearly had enough creative control to have done that if he wanted. It was just something they didn't realize was important at the time.

  31. Any examples of how you distance yourself from your audience in your videos and on social media?

    in response to As a public figure, how can your audience best respect you and your personal space as an individual while still engaging with you as a public figure? Any thoughts or advice?

    I don't show up on camera, I don't speak unscripted, and I very rarely talk about my personal life. I make it hard to feel like your friend by denying you the things you know about friends.

  32. Not to be that person but "liberals hate leftists more than fascists" means "liberals hate leftists more than liberals hate fascists," not "liberals hate leftists more that fascists hate leftists," rest of the point stands but I think there was some confusion there

    in response to Seeing what's happening with the Pallbearers makes me wonder if we should be more concerned with leftists who honestly prefer fascists to liberals I understand the whole "liberals hate socialists more than fascists" (especially in regards to establishment Dems and Republicans) but some people really take it to mean "we should learn to be pals with fascists because it will own the libs" or something like that; and I fear this trend will continue on with how online leftists calling everything and everyone they dislike "libs".

    fair point

  33. As you're probably aware, there was some news about the Proud Boys where a more radical group split off because of their dissatisfaction that the organization was led by an afro-cuban man. That reminded me of the fact that Trump actually did better with many marginalized groups in 2020 than he did in 2016. Why do members of marginalized groups align themselves with fascists, especially in cases where there is no direct material benefit for them?

    I can't speak for marginalized groups, but, any time I see that the numbers went slightly up among minorities for a conservative candidate, I have to ask: how much of that was more minorities voting for the conservative, and how much was it the anti-conservative vote being suppressed?

  34. Seeing what's happening with the Pallbearers makes me wonder if we should be more concerned with leftists who honestly prefer fascists to liberals I understand the whole "liberals hate socialists more than fascists" (especially in regards to establishment Dems and Republicans) but some people really take it to mean "we should learn to be pals with fascists because it will own the libs" or something like that; and I fear this trend will continue on with how online leftists calling everything and everyone they dislike "libs".

    god, the first concentration camp in Germany was built to throw socialists in. liberals do NOT hate socialists more than fascists do, FFS.

    I think we should be highly skeptical of any model of leftism that centers so much around defining an outgroup, and that thinks throwing their lot in with reactionaries is good for whatever movement they think they're building. like, let's be clear: the reason a (relatively small) chunk of the Left said we should embrace Joe Rogan's audience was NOT because it was in the long-term best interest of "the movement." it was because they thought it would help Sanders win the primary. that's it.

    does letting in a group of people with seriously streaks of sexism, racism, and transphobia alienate all the women, POC, and trans people already in the movement? yup! has that audience made it abundantly clear they are not remotely interested in the long-term aims of socialism, mostly just wanna fuck over liberals, and will actively fight against the movement as soon as it doesn't suit their short-term aims? absolutely! has letting a large number of fucked up people into your movement no questions asked EVER proven an effective way to deradicalize them? of course not!

    but, so long as your view of "the movement" does not extend beyond "get this one guy elected," it makes sense. and, even if we wanna set aside all the spite for liberals and the tolerance of bigotry - which we shouldn't do - that problem remains: building your movement around a hatred of liberals and an embrace of electoralism provided the candidate has a handful of nominally leftish policies... isn't going to create a leftist society. it's just fucking not.

  35. Why are so many BreadTubers pals with Shoe0nHead who, even though she isn’t as reactionary as she used to be, has shown no accountability for the harm she caused in her heyday?

    I cannot, in fact, speak for other breadtubers

  36. How and why did Biden not have any down ballot coat tails?

    I've heard the argument that Biden's strategy was to pitch himself to #NeverTrumpers, making himself as appealing as possible to Republicans who wanted to distance themselves from Trump. A lot of Republicans either want Republicans to go back to being less obviously bigoted and authoritarian, or desperately want someone to tell them Trump is a fluke so they can go back to believing they are not, themselves, bigoted and authoritarian. Biden offers them that. But it's predicated on asking them to abandon Trump without asking them to abandon conservatism, so you see a lot of conservatives voting Biden for President but not casting votes for any other Democrats.

    I haven't researched this myself so I can't back it up with anything more than "smart people I follow have said as much," but it's the best explanation I've heard so far.

  37. As a public figure, how can your audience best respect you and your personal space as an individual while still engaging with you as a public figure? Any thoughts or advice?

    Actively, deliberately distance yourself from your audience.

    Nothing works 100%, but I deal with less parasocial creepiness than a lot of my peers.

  38. Favorite nut

    hazelnuts

  39. I don't want to ask for more gossip but i didn't know that so many other breadtubers disliked coffin and as a viewer i find that really validating. honestly i'd always wondered if they were a grifter and even aside from that, really hated stuff like how they're calling people who are happy about biden winning "neolib shills," like maybe for them but i'm a lesbian with lots of trans and POC friends like I don't have the luxury of pretending that just because biden is still a liberal that that isn't manifestly better than trump for me and the people i care about

  41. Obviously Peter Coffin is a classic missing stair, but I'm curious about your opinion on Ashleigh, AngieSpeaks etc.

    I'm not gonna gossip about The Pallbearers

  44. Not the same anon but also brazilian: Liberation theology was a fringe movement among clergy. It reached a certain artificial prominency due to the fact that those clergymen were big in the struggle against the military regime. Despite the fact that all of the major left-wing figures in Brazil, including Lula, being religious, liberation theology hasn't been a thing since the 80's and the left is still stereotyped as godless commies.

    in response to Brazilian here and that unfortunately isn't the case anymore if it ever really was US styled or influenced evangelism is rapidly growing and associated with the far right, with charismatic movements inside the catholic church following the same path Exactly one of my leftist friends is christian, although there are a few (really not that many) from other traditions Most of them recognize it as an issue that impedes communication with people who aren't that much into politics but no one has a clue how to go about it (including myself) Any thoughts or ideas?

    are you referring to Brazil in specific or all of Latin America?

  45. what's wrong with watching spongebob?

    Spongebob is actually deeply problematic, Dan Olsen did a video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0

  46. Best musical of the 90s?

    Hedwig opened in '98, right?

  47. How often do you experiment with different video editing software?

    as infrequently as humanly possible. I have a groove with my current setup. it's not a great groove. in fact, it's a very silly and sometimes inefficient groove. but any change, even if it saves time and frustration in the long run, lengthens time and increases frustration in the immediate, and I am still trying to get a video done every month without wanting to jump out a window. I am loathe to add friction to that process.

  48. Favorite TMBG lyric?

    the way Linnell belts out the final "why must I be sad?" in the song of the same name is the most cathartic moment in the history of depression

  49. Thoughts on the current Pope?

    got some good memes outta him

  50. If you could wave dash irl who would you want your wave dash to be like

    Luigi. Go big or go home.

  51. Is AOC the future of the democratic party, or is it milquetoast centrists like Pete Buttigieg?

    Relatedly, does the idea of one figurehead defining a party even exist anymore (barring Trump's personality cult)?

    I, too, would like someone to tell me the future, but, sadly, I cannot be that person for you.

  52. Brazilian here and that unfortunately isn't the case anymore if it ever really was

    US styled or influenced evangelism is rapidly growing and associated with the far right, with charismatic movements inside the catholic church following the same path Exactly one of my leftist friends is christian, although there are a few (really not that many) from other traditions Most of them recognize it as an issue that impedes communication with people who aren't that much into politics but no one has a clue how to go about it (including myself) Any thoughts or ideas?

    in response to Organized religion perhaps?

    Are you saying liberation theology is dead?

  53. Not the same user asking the question, but just curious..

    What do you mean a fallout? And why would it require a long period of time dealing with that?

    in response to I'm writing a story that's pretty much all redemption arc-- asshole incel's climactic scene is rejecting the notion that redemption and forgiveness are the same thing and insisting that the people he hurt prioritize themselves instead of him while he takes the responsibility of becoming better. On paper I like the idea, but I wonder if the redemption arc format in media just doesn't map onto real rehabilitation for toxic people, and I don't wanna make a weak excuse or say that my guy becomes a better person at the drop of a hat. Thoughts?

    Fallout as in the repercussions of the character's action. They apologize, and tell people to prioritize their own happiness... and then what? I suggest making the second half of the story about how the main character tries to live with that decision, how they do or don't continue to interact with the people they've hurt, whether or not they backslide into shitty behavior, whether they sometimes try to contact people who've said they want to be left alone. Redemption doesn't end with the apology; arguably, that's where it begins.

  54. I'm writing a story that's pretty much all redemption arc-- asshole incel's climactic scene is rejecting the notion that redemption and forgiveness are the same thing and insisting that the people he hurt prioritize themselves instead of him while he takes the responsibility of becoming better.

    On paper I like the idea, but I wonder if the redemption arc format in media just doesn't map onto real rehabilitation for toxic people, and I don't wanna make a weak excuse or say that my guy becomes a better person at the drop of a hat. Thoughts?

    make that climax the midpoint of the story and spend a longtime dealing with the fallout

  55. Organized religion perhaps?

    in response to What are some mainstream non-political communities the Left needs to infiltrate to make sure that community doesn't get radicalized by the far-right and instead becomes radicalized to become more leftist?

    if you were referring specifically to evangelism, you might have an argument, but organized religion as a whole? no. tons of religious leftists. the dominant form of leftism in Latin America is expressly religious.

  56. What is an asshole character done right?

    BoJack

  57. Top 3 skate games?

    Trickstyle

  58. Why are lasers so predominant in modern 3d puzzle games?

    thoughtful answer: because pointing lasers is a good use of 3D space

    pithy answer: because Portal 2 had them

  59. Ridiculous Question: What Spongebob character would be best/least terrible as the pres?

    the fuck makes you think I watch spongebob

  60. Do you think leftists should be trying to sow discord among pro-Trump and anti-Trump conservatives going forward? The logic being it would fracture the Republican base and make it harder for future Republican candidates to gain a solid base of support.

    they seem to be sowing it quite well on their own

  61. Why did you block Peter Coffin? I'm genuinely curious, I haven't really heard much about them.

    please don't ask me for Peter Coffin gossip, what little I've said about that is probably too much already

  62. Hi there. Long time lurker, first time asker.

    I saw a conspiracy theory on twitter a few days ago being spread by right wing users on the platform. The theory was that climate change was something Americans should stop, because China is responsible for a lot more, and it would hurt them more than it would hurt us in the West. There are a thousand reasons this is not true, but there were like a dozen people saying "Oh I never thought about it like this". I, obviously, said nothing, because I do not reply to tweets (I am a lurker). Is this, like, harmful? it’s racist, sure, and it’s misinformation, but...

    I dunno, man. You're smarter than me I just want to hear your thoughts since I have never had an original take in my life :)

    if there were enough people who believed that to actually move the needle on addressing climate change I might wanna tuck into it, but... I doubt it matters enough to engage with

  63. What is your sexuality? Do you have a life partner?

    what an odd thing to ask a stranger

  65. I've noticed some very unproductive discourse where some leftist will say "Kamala Harris argued trans women should be housed in men's prisons," & then other leftists or some liberals will correct them that she actually argued to deny hormones to trans inmates, which is clearly just a different bad thing, but people who make that correction get called neoliberal bootlickers or treated like they're defending her--why are some leftists so intent on engaging in bad faith with other segments of the left?

    in response to (bad imitation of a non-Borat Russian accent) remind me again, are we for or against Kamala Harris?

    the mentality of "any assertion that hurts my enemy is true" is core to conservatism, but leftists are not immune. part and parcel with that is "anyone who disagrees with my assertion is in league with my enemy."

  66. Earlier this year, the BLM protests got many democrats to support defunding the police, & even got some republicans to play defense & argue for police reform; this was huge at the time, but it didn't stick in a lasting policy way, so does demonstrate that leftists CAN push dems to the left or that we CAN'T?

    I would say that the effort to defund the police is still ongoing and that the BLM protests made that movement stronger. It has already resulted in *some* policy.

    Success and failure are not binary states. Success comes by degrees.

  67. One of the biggest arguments against reform and regulation under capitalism is "the capitalist power structure will reassert itself and wealth will be consolidated again," but could that not be equally true of a post-capitalist society? Many leftists say that maintaining an equal society would require "constant vigilance"

    this is the difference between managing symptoms vs. curing the illness with the awareness that, once cured, you still might get sick again someday

  68. Fighting fascism infiltration is a lot like fighting pandemics unfortunately - you need to take action, and relatively extreme action, very early, and if you do it right it looks like you're overreacting.

    And if you're steeped in capitalist culture and focused on "efficiency" and "an open mind" either is really really hard to do.

    in response to What are some mainstream non-political communities the Left needs to infiltrate to make sure that community doesn't get radicalized by the far-right and instead becomes radicalized to become more leftist?

  70. What was the first meal you had after deciding to go vegan?

    I didn't so much decide to go vegan as start reducing my egg and dairy intake until one day I said "huh... I've basically been vegan for a few weeks" and made it official.

  71. (bad imitation of a non-Borat Russian accent) remind me again, are we for or against Kamala Harris?

    Uhhhhhhh...

    Kamala Harris has good qualities? Like, she co-wrote a COVID relief bill with Bernie Sanders that would functionally end poverty in the US. And, so far as Democrats go, she's more progressive than most. But there are some glaring issues the left has with her, from her fixation with means-testing economic policies so "the undeserving" don't benefit from them, to her massively pro-carceral mindset, to her track record of denying hormones to trans inmates.

    The best feeling I can muster for her is "complicated."

    There's a kneejerk hatred of her that I find reductive (and partially informed by racism and sexism), but, like, it doesn't come from nowhere!

  73. What are some mainstream non-political communities the Left needs to infiltrate to make sure that community doesn't get radicalized by the far-right and instead becomes radicalized to become more leftist?

    I'm hard pressed to think of a community large enough that the Far Right wants to enter it that doesn't, statistically, already have leftists in it. I think it's more a question of informing the ones already there of how to defend their ground from Nazi infiltration and how to get the mods on their side early.

  74. Nobody is afraid of tankies. Right-wing whackos at least have guns to conceivably back up their idiocy. Tankies just have sarcasm and harsh language.

    in response to The series on leftist revolutions sounds like a really interesting idea, although I can already imagine the Tankies yelling at you online for mentioning Kronstadt and Stalin etc. Is the potential backlash something you keep in mind or are you not fazed by it anymore after years of making videos about GamerGate and the Alt-Right?

    I'm afraid of my @'s when tankies are mad at me, but that's the extent of it.

  75. What type of leftist are you? If so, why? Any problems with being just communist?

    I'm nondenominational.

Anon commented:
Ian replied: