CuriousCat Archive Page 2 of 202

  1. What's something you think is Very Pretty?

    ur mom's eyes

  2. This is actually somewhat harmful misinformation. Bread is not healthy for ducks. If you want to feed ducks, you should use Peas.

    in response to What do ducks want?

    nobody asked what's good for ducks.

    cupcakes are not good for Ians but I want them.

  3. Help, I need an extremely wrong opinion about preparing meat for a bit!!

    so you asked a vegan?

  5. Do you have an idea of a dream house or dream living arrangement?

    GIANT TREEHOUSE

  6. What do you want?

    in response to What do ducks want?

    I could also use some bread

  8. How different do you think would your politics be if you grew up in the bible belt instead of New England?

    I didn't grow up in New England

  9. isn't communism the eventual goal of leftism, and the different ideologies just different ways of getting there?

    communism can look a lot of different ways. the different ideologies are pushing for different interpretations of communism. the anarcho-communists want something very different from the Marxist-Leninists.

  10. Does the Bible support killing animals?

    depends on which version you read

  11. An American Tale: Five Eels go West

    in response to Five eels.

  12. Do you really believe that Islamic terrorism is due to US interference? as of 2024 over half of the terrorist casualties on earth were by islamic terror groups in Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina faso 3 countries that have 0 US troops and 0 drone attacks. Don't you think it has more to do with the rise of radical Islmist Ideology in these countries.

    honey, the rise of radical Islam is not separable from the near-century of interference. the global superpowers have RAVAGED the Middle East and Islamic-majority Africa since before either of us were born, and the West funded extremist groups to counter socialism and gain access to oil.

    if it matters to you, I recommend looking into some of it. the information is freely available. google "Operation Cyclone."

  15. What are some video games that have had to ugly crying?

    The Walking Dead: The Final Season

  16. How many semi finished videos and scripts do you have saved on a hard drive?

    none

    they're saved in the cloud

  17. I feel like I am too dumb to get Finnegan’s wake how do I become better able to comprehend it without getting a phd in english literature

    I guess get one of those companion readers that tell you what's going on in every single sentence

  18. If you were evil what would be your villain song

    I'm a big fan of "Gaston" and "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind," songs where a buncha flunkies sing about what a swell dude the villain is. so I want one of those.

  19. Four and a half eels, and a squid arm

    in response to Five eels.

    WHICH arm? you ain't sticking me with no hectocotylus.

  20. Which would you rather come out first, Silksong or Half-Life 3?

    I am long past giving a fuck about Half-Life 3

  21. (DA) I've been thinking about this a lot in the context of European politicians, from "moderate Conservatives" to Social Democrats, shifting their message further to the right and often simply adopting the fear mongering logic of the Right in an effort to curb their rise all over the continent: Is there any way to tell whether some of these policy shifts are strategic moves (as you mentioned likely very flawed ones), or whether they are simply the politicians' actual views and beliefs and they are just getting more comfortable expressing them?

    in response to Do you think Harris is shifting to the right on social issues because she knows progressives will vote for her anyway? So why bother catering to them when they know the alternative is worse.

    I'm increasingly of the opinion that "strategic moves" and "actual beliefs" are the same things for politicians. at least for centrist liberals. the whole "values-neutral governance" thing kinda demands it; the liberal flipside to "the card says moops." believing in anything - or, at least, being consciously aware of your own beliefs - is detrimental to being a politician.

  22. Feel like that straight up lie about THE OTHER doing THING WE DO NOT DO (but is harmless by our own logic) really lays the core of the far right playbook bare in a way I'm having trouble articulating.

    Also, does it give you rugburn that the Alt-Right Playbook has been in production for so long that those nerds have given up on that euphemism already?
    Or do you think it is, after a fashion, a success?

    it's a mixed bag. I would like to get on my soapbox and say "I'm going to keep using the term. I won't let them distance themselves from a phrase they themselves invented and then tainted. never forget what 'Alt-Right' was and what it meant, and that these same motherfuckers are still out here running the same playbook." and it's kinda true, and I can hype myself up into it.

    but the WHOLE truth is that I wanted this series to be done years ago, well before the term wore out its relevance. so, while I can JUSTIFY continuing to use the title "The Alt-Right Playbook," I have to admit I'm stuck with it. it still gets traction, it is algorithmically sticky, it gets eyeballs on things that are still worth sharing. the fact that I'M more stuck with it than THEY are is a bit galling, even if I can choose to see it as tarring them with something they wish we'd forget.

    so it is a success that also gives me rugburn.

  25. ive got a gen x parent whose like "yeah Reagan fucked everything up and this current situation sucks but there's nothing i can do besides vote". do you have any guesses as to where this comes from (besides nihilism; some probably do it because of that but my parent definitely isn't nihilistic)?

    speaking as a man in his 40s, I can vouch that we have seen a lot of protest movements come and go with little fundamental change. like, yeah, the character of the parties has shifted, and some things got better. but the shit Reagan did to fuck things up still remain, a lot of problems go ignored, and climate change/wealth inequality/police brutality/US military imperialism have all gotten steadily more dire. confronted with that, you either pivot to "I guess voting really is the only thing that works" or "we need to get more radical." I can understand if not everyone is up for going radical, especially if they have a family to worry about.

  26. Is this the way you'd have prefer it? Or are there longer episodes you'd have done if not ADHD taking it's toll?

    in response to do you still have a few of the shorties left, or is the next one going to be longer? How do you determine which topics are going to be short?

    the shorts were originally intended to be a lightning round video. I had this list of topics that I wanted to cover but didn't feel like they warranted the 25-minute video treatment, so I was working on a thing called Compendium. realized after it was written that it would be better, both financially and for my sanity, to actually release them as a series of shorts (and "short and to the point" WAS the original pitch for the series!).

    so, yeah, this is the way I prefer it, but IDEALLY I would have been releasing them quickly and steadily in the run up to the ending, instead of having months between each video. that's less ADHD than a lot of LIFE going on in the last 24 months (though ADHD certainly doesn't HELP).

  28. What prompted you to appear on camera in this latest video? To definitively prove you aren't four eels in a trenchcoat?

    I wanted to do it like a "confessional" video, where a lefty YouTuber responds to being spuriously cancelled

    [EDIT] also I wrote that segment late in the edit and didn't wanna do any more illustrations

  29. Do you think Harris is shifting to the right on social issues because she knows progressives will vote for her anyway? So why bother catering to them when they know the alternative is worse.

    probably, but the thing is: every Dem who's lost an election in the last 40 years had the same strategy

  32. (DA) I hate to be the one to break this to you, but TV shows have existed for at least twenty years.

    in response to What about da teevee shows buckaroo

    I bet you don't have a shred of proof

  33. (DA) is that what you would suggest other people do?

    in response to How do you deal with family members that are interpersonally very kind & but hold bigoted views that they aren’t willing to change?

    no. it was easy for me because I was never close with them to begin with. my immediate family shares most of my core beliefs (even if I wish they'd go further). also I'm a cishet white man, so I've never had to keep any part of my identity secret. I had to "come out" as poly, but my family was accepting even if a bit confused.

    some people have to put up with more. I'm not gonna tell anyone "you have to cut contact with your dad because he's a homophobe." that's not my call to make, and not my place to judge. family is complicated.

  34. Given the choice of any singular utility to make universally free for everybody worldwide, what would you choose?

    clean water

  35. probably been asked before, sorry, but: do you use caffeine on a regular basis, and if so, how do you get it? (coffee, tea, whatever)

    I used to be anti-caffeine, but started self-medicating my ADHD with it during the pandemic while waiting for a diagnosis, and now it's routine.

    tea, soda, and this caffeine-and-electrolyte drink I mix up on gym days.

  36. How can I not feel emasculated when women desire an alpha male when they’re ovulating?

    when you say "women," do you mean a specific woman you are involved with? or, like... women at large?

  38. Please rank the animated Spider-Man? Please understand, that because we are specifically asking about Spider-Man, we intend also to capture your feelings and opinions with regard to the cgi of all of the Sony Pictures features filmes.

    rank? there are only two! I like the first one more than the second, but the second is only half a story so that may shift when the third one comes out.

  39. If he ran for president what would you think of him?

    in response to Thoughts on J.D. Vance?

    there is no scenario where that man is getting near my sofa

  40. the couch is social furniture, it is meant for sharing

    in response to Thoughts on J. D. Rockefeller?

    WITHIN REASON

  41. Thoughts on J. D. Rockefeller?

    in response to Thoughts on J.D. Vance?

    none of the JD's can fuck my couch. not even Salinger!

  42. There's nothing wrong with Pratt...he doesn't go to that racist church, even their pastor came out and said it.

    in response to Who are the three cast members here? I know a bit about Chris Pratt

    Pratt's brother is a Three Percenter - a Far Right militia - and Chris has been seen wearing their merch in support

  43. Why kiss feel good?

    lip skin hits different

  44. How many US states have you been to? And also how many countries?

    I have only been to one US country

  45. Is the climate apocalypse inevitable?

    nothing is inevitable, and the full-on APOCALYPSE scenario might not even be likely. but "things are going to get very bad" is pretty much foregone.

  46. Who are the three cast members here? I know a bit about Chris Pratt

    in response to What about Parks and Rec?

    Pratt, Ansari, and Lowe

  47. Thoughts on J.D. Vance?

    ain't letting him near my sofa

  48. If Trump said he would immediately stop Israel and you had reason to believe him, would you vote for him in November?

    yeah and if a purple unicorn ran as a viable third party candidate on an anti-apartheid platform I'd vote for that, as long as we're writing fairie tales

  49. Was capitalism a bad idea from the start? I would think it was a step up from feudalism at least…

    in response to Were police a bad idea from the start?

    democracy was the step up from feudalism. capitalism was how the aristocrats stayed in power.

  50. in practically all of aaron sorkin’s work, all the main characters are smug, pretentious, and condescending and act as though every interpersonal problem can be fixed by being witty enough. they usually get called out for this in-universe too and it never gets addressed.

    in response to Do you think the west wing holds up? Like would you recommend someone watch it?

    and that works for me well enough when he's writing about tech billionaires, but The West Wing doesn't even show it WORKING. you have these hyper-literate people who are always right and always have the cleverest way to prove it, but they never actually accomplish ANYTHING. you're just supposed to side with them because at least they TRIED.

  51. What about Parks and Rec?

    in response to Do you think the west wing holds up? Like would you recommend someone watch it?

    I mean... it "holds up" as well as it ever did? it was always a lib fantasy, I clocked that out the gate. but it lives and dies on its characters and humor in a way West Wing doesn't, and those hold up. your main impediment is that three cast members are harder to enjoy today than when it was new, but it's counterbalanced a bit by Nick and Aubrey being even more awesome than before.

  52. What's something that you've ever changed your mind about?

    I'm a vegan, atheist, polyamorous socialist. I didn't used to be any of those.

  53. Do you think the west wing holds up? Like would you recommend someone watch it?

    fuck no

  54. Diff Anon:
    IDK man. I'm with you most of the way here, but continuing to enact a policy goal or policy good seems to be mobilizing enough for people. Especially if that thing is perceived as "embattled".

    No, the issue, I feel is that this constructed population EARNESTLY BELIEVES that the systems in place are (or were) effective and that radical change is unproductive or unnecessary. They are people for whom "Brunch" is always an option (and always has an alcohol option) and for whom an estate tax has a modest impact. i.e. they are people very well served and for whom the emaciation of the middle and working classes is personally invisible.

    So it's real easy to convince them to slow their roll on stuff we know we need, because their less idealistic brunch buddies (and them) stand to lose a lot of what's been fleeced over the last 100 years.

    in response to (DDA) They seem to justify it with the excuse that keeping their jobs is the only way for them to affect change. But then they don't ever do anything to push for drastic systemic change, because that's the only way for them to keep their jobs. It's a vicious cycle.

    yes, but Dems aren't delivering for the brunch crowd, either! they've been promising a return to Clinton-era neoliberalism since 9/11 and they've never done it! so even "restore the old status quo" works better as a carrot on a stick than an actual policy goal.

    also I dunno what brunches you go to, but even the biggest shitlibs complain about Elon Musk not paying taxes and private healthcare being too damn expensive. even the normies are further left than Dems in Congress.

  55. (DDA) They seem to justify it with the excuse that keeping their jobs is the only way for them to affect change. But then they don't ever do anything to push for drastic systemic change, because that's the only way for them to keep their jobs. It's a vicious cycle.

    in response to (DA) and what are liberals trying not to admit?

    if they effected change they wouldn't be able to dangle the carrot of effecting change anymore. they'd have to find a new thing to rally around, probably further left than the thing they accomplished. and, if the party drifts left, most of these centrists will be left behind.

  57. And worst?

    in response to best season of spongebob

    Indian summer, it's always rough

  58. (Same) Diff Anon:
    Are you telling me you never met someone who came out as gay, only to realize that they're bi (and "come out" again) like 20 months later???

    in response to Diff Anon: Maybe showing my age a bit, but some folks aren't comfortable being "out" as bisexual and only come to realize this later in their journey.

    I knew a guy in high school who went from straight to bi to gay to bi to "straight but I made out with a guy once" over the course of two weeks

  61. first: enjoying my incredible typos. second: my question was about the first question you asked (like the military budget), but like go off give us the double feature partner

    in response to Capitalism is like definitely a reason we're in this mess, but like, how reasonable would capitalism be usa health departments got 800 billion dollars is it like we're entering a new cultural paradigm because every gets some childhood trauma therapy or are we just like 800 billion dollars into snoil (snake oil)

    they're a different set of problems but they stem from the same root in capitalism: there is a finite amount of money in the economy, so $800 billion has to come from somewhere. if you divert it from other places, then you've got a well-funded health department but a whole bunch of other failing systems. if you print it, then you get massive inflation and all the money is worth less than before.

    if you could convince the government to just swap the budgets of the health department and the military, I think that would be pretty much a 100% improvement. we'd still have institutional problems with the health department that aren't budget-related: they take their cues from whichever party is in power and often make bad calls because of it, our healthcare system is still privatized, and so forth. maybe I'm pessimistic, but I can't see it as a "paradigm shift." but it would be an improvement!

  62. Do you ever think about how crazy the odds are that you could have been born as any of the millions of species of animals but you happened to be born a human?

    "I" couldn't have been born as an animal, or even another human being. I am a specific collection of synapses and brainmeat. a different brain is a different entity.

  63. best season of spongebob

    spring

  64. How much of conservative “hypocrisy” is actual hypocrisy vs “makes sense in a stupid and or fucked up way” ?

    a point I'm making in a future video is:

    conservatives are factually incoherent but ideologically consistent
    liberals are factually consistent but ideologically incoherent

    conservative hypocrisy shows up in the ways they try to cloak their very simple beliefs in facts and logic. it is all contradictory and nonsensical because they are trying not to admit "we just wanna empower and enrich ourselves at the cost of most Americans, the economy, the environment, and the future, and we want to be in control of any system that might prevent us."

  65. Capitalism is like definitely a reason we're in this mess, but like, how reasonable would capitalism be usa health departments got 800 billion dollars is it like we're entering a new cultural paradigm because every gets some childhood trauma therapy or are we just like 800 billion dollars into snoil (snake oil)

    is the health department getting $800 billion by diverting the money from someplace else? or are we printing an extra $800 billion? cuz both are gonna cause problems under capitalism...

  69. So if it was somehow known that every candidate would fund geno, would that make all people capable of casting votes culpable in geno funding independant of the actual actions they perform? Since there'd be no way to avoid geno funding?

    in response to If I vote for Kamala would you find me morally culpable for supporting the administration funding a genocide?

    yes. if both candidates are going to fund genocide, and there are no alternatives, then no matter what you do you are culpable for that genocide. that's the price of democracy: the entire country carries responsibility for its actions. that responsibility is not equally distributed - the people that actively support it are a lot guiltier than the ones pressuring politicians to stop - but no one who has political agency is free of responsibility here.

    so you get to do the moral calculation: if genocide is happening either way, which course of action will end it sooner? do you choose Harris because she's more receptive to pressure? do you bank on Trump's incompetence and antisemitism to limit his support for Israel? do you accept the knock-on consequences of what each of these people will do in office?

    and if even asking the question, "which flavor of genocide am I gonna vote for?" makes you sick to your stomach, you can understand why some of us want the whole goddamn system replaced.

  70. If I vote for Kamala would you find me morally culpable for supporting the administration funding a genocide?

    yeah, but... if you have agency in this, if your vote has an impact, then you are morally culpable for WHATEVER YOU DO WITH IT. if you vote for Kamala and she wins, you are culpable for what she does. if you vote third party, or stay home on election day, and Trump wins, you are morally culpable for not voting. we are all morally culpable for our actions AND our inaction. there's no escape hatch: you have to own you decisions, even the decision to do nothing.

    it sucks! but that's ethics for ya.

  71. Why is the tech sector filled with the worst possible people alive? Not a single a redeeming quality, the most reactionary beliefs of the right coupled with a yuppie liberal smugness

    It’s shocking that they are this awful how do they end up like that? And why tech?

    money rots your brain

  72. (DDA) The problem is that those alternatives *are* hypothetical and unproven, with no guarantees that any of them will operate better or more ethically than capitalism when put into practice.

    in response to (DA) How would an economy with guaranteed standard income fund that without taxes?

    sure. but, statistically speaking, if there are loads of things we could try, SOME are bound to be improvements. and we have a few centuries with capitalism to know what its flaws are, and SOME data from alternatives throughout history to hypothesize on what could work better. we're not making wild guesses here.

    it would be ludicrous to think humanity has already found the best possible form society could take and that it's capitalism.

  73. Diff Anon:
    The core is where your POWER is!! Shrinking the tum is shrinking the gains!!!
    Also, I am sure you are roughly aware- different folks bear muscle (and fat) in different places. None of which is meaningfully more or less healthy than the others. This is (perhaps the smallest part of) why our beauty standards are divorced from being healthy.

    in response to Diff Anon: Are you ready to "get swole" as the kids say?

    broadly, yeah. it is not impossible to have a strong core but less belly fat, but I take your point. I'm not too distressed about my body shape these days. I had some weird feels when I started gaining weight, cuz I was skinny as fuck for 27 years and shot up 80 lbs in 2 years, so the person in the mirror was just UNRECOGNIZABLE for a while. but I've gotten pretty happy with the body I have, and photos of younger, skinny Ian look WEIRD to me now. I look EMACIATED! and I wasn't - I just had a really high metabolism that finally slowed down.

    anyway, I eat healthier and get more exercise than ever, and I'm generally happy and healthy. my tum has grown on me (literally and figuratively). I'm good with the way I look. :)

  74. (DA) How would an economy with guaranteed standard income fund that without taxes?

    in response to Do you support low taxes?

    if the government is paying your salary, I'm not sure what the point of taxing the salary is. like, "here's some money! now give some of it back." why not just pay less?

    so maybe they collect the sales tax. or maybe the funds they pay you with are exchanged for goods and then removed from circulation, and each payday they print a fresh round of currency. or maybe they do away with currency entirely and pay in the goods and services themselves. there are hundreds of hypothetical alternatives to how we do things now, if we can get away from the idea that our current economy is some sort of natural force and money HAD to operate by the rules we're used to.

  75. Were police a bad idea from the start?

    you mean the slavecatchers who became an institution? yes. yes they were.

Anon commented:
Ian replied:
shiftp