Thufir's Third Random Banter #224

[Anonymouswizard]

Perhaps the problem is that you're using mainstream dating apps when you're actually looking for dates within a specialsed subset (you're an androgynous person looking for androgynous people). Given that the vast majority of people are neither androgynous nor seeking a partner who is, you're like a needle in a haystack trying to find other needles. Have you considered trying a specialist androgynous dating website (if such things exist, which I'm fairly sure they would)?

I think I'm going to take a break from trying to find a relationship. Finding people I'm actually attracted to (best described as 'nerds with androgynous or gender mixing features') is practically impossible, abs I don't want the low mood to get worsened by the anger of rejection.

I'll write a book or something instead. Without romance.

How did you manage to attribute this quote to me?

Magic. I am a wizard.

I have a confession to make: I can't rap and I'm a Spanish/African American. LOL!

I have a confession to make, I can sing and I'm a Celtish/Anglish/probably some Mediterranean or something Englishman (outside of New York).

I mean, I'm not X-Factor or YouTube channel good, but by the standards of normal people I can hold a tune and hit some notes. Even stay within a key sometimes, although it's never the correct one.I just have to remember to stay above speaking register, below and I devolve into tuneless drone.

(I cannot, however rap, and have great respect for those who can, even though I detest most rap songs.)

[Bartmanhomer]

I have a confession to masks, I can sing and I'm a Celtish/Anglish/probably some Mediterranean or something Englishman (outside of New York).

I mean, I'm not X-Factor or YouTube channel good, but by the standards of normal people I can hold a tune and hit some notes. Even stay within a key sometimes, although it's never the correct one.I just have to remember to stay above speaking register, below and I devolve into tuneless drone.

(I cannot, however rap, and have great respect for those who can, even though I detest most rap songs.)

Cool. Which rap songs that you don't like? I don't really care for modern rap songs myself because it's really kind of meh to me.

[Anonymouswizard]

Cool. Which rap songs that you don't like? I don't really care for modern rap songs myself because it's really kind of meh to me.

Most of them. It's probably easier to list the rap songs I do like:
-Libera Me From Hell
-Those bits in Zydrate Anatomy.
-Some other songs which are probably rap but that my brain files under a different genre
-The rap in White and Nerdy

To explain better, most rap loses me due to a mixture of a boring backing track and a focus on subjects I don't care about (generally combined with an implied attitude I'd like to see go). It only gets worse in the cases where rap includes a modified chorus from a song I recognise, I get the urge to sing that song (Islands in the Stream, that is what we are...).

[Bartmanhomer]

Most of them. It's probably easier to list the rap songs I do like:
-Libera Me From Hell
-Those bits in Zydrate Anatomy.
-Some other songs which are probably rap but that my brain files under a different genre
-The rap in White and Nerdy

To explain better, most rap loses me due to a mixture of a boring backing track and a focus on subjects I don't care about (generally combined with an implied attitude I'd like to see go). It only gets worse in the cases where rap includes a modified chorus from a song I recognise, I get the urge to sing that song (Islands in the Steam, that is what we are...).

Ok. The rap world is meh these days anyway. I like G-Unit though. G-g-g G-Unit.

[PhyrexianShovel]

I'm not very fond of rap either, mainly because I have trouble understanding the words and the beat and melody aren't great, usually.

That gets into a problem I tend to have with a lot of music, actually. For most music, I find that I can't really enjoy it unless it tells a story in some way. Otherwise, I'm just not very interested in the music, and I find myself tuning it out more often than not. It's why I like musicals. Speaking of which, Lin Manuel Miranda's In The Heights is just about the only rap I do like (I never saw Hamilton).

[Tvtyrant]

I'm not very fond of rap either, mainly because I have trouble understanding the words and the beat and melody aren't great, usually.

That gets into a problem I tend to have with a lot of music, actually. For most music, I find that I can't really enjoy it unless it tells a story in some way. Otherwise, I'm just not very interested in the music, and I find myself tuning it out more often than not. It's why I like musicals. Speaking of which, Lin Manuel Miranda's In The Heights is just about the only rap I do like (I never saw Hamilton).

I'm a big fan of musicals myself. I find that different genres of music develop specific whines or styles that are easy to understand with sufficient training but are difficult for outsiders to hear properly. Getting into metal subgenres is like a rabbit hole where you develop an ear for understanding increasingly garbled vocals and detuned instruments, and I believe other genres work the same way.


Rhianna has a very deliberately nasal whine that seems common in her genre and to me feels like nails on chalkboards, but if I listened to that style of music more I would develop a taste for it. It isn't nearly as bad as Berzum, just not a genre I trained myself to listen to.

Edit: another example of this is free style jazz, which I believe people get into after listening to more accessible forms of jazz and start enjoying the technical nature of it. I think genres eventually eat themselves by overdeveloping towards inaccessible tastes (looking at you Jazz and Deathmetal.)

[Bartmanhomer]

Also, I think Nicki Vs. Cardi war is stupid. I'm going to eat my popcorn and sip coffee to see these two music artist obliterated each other.

[Comrade]

That gets into a problem I tend to have with a lot of music, actually. For most music, I find that I can't really enjoy it unless it tells a story in some way. Otherwise, I'm just not very interested in the music, and I find myself tuning it out more often than not. It's why I like musicals. Speaking of which, Lin Manuel Miranda's In The Heights is just about the only rap I do like (I never saw Hamilton).

I'm the opposite. I absolutely couldn't care less if the music is telling a story. I mean, I'll pay attention to that if the artist is particularly good at conveying a story through the music (Mobb Deep is real good at this in hip hop, although if gangsta rap ain't your thing, you can safely give 'em a swerve), and wordplay and poetry in music is another thing altogether (hip hop is great for the former, country and some assorted indie stuff for the latter). But for the most part, all I care about is the sound. The riffs, if it's metal. The flow and the beat, if it's hip hop. The vocal harmonies and instrumentation, if it's country. And so on and so forth. Some of my favorite death metal bands have absolutely the dumbest lyrics with not a hint of storytelling to them and it doesn't matter 'cause it's all about the riff.

[LaZodiac]

Ok. The rap world is meh these days anyway. I like G-Unit though. G-g-g G-Unit.

Old Town Road exists I highly recommend it, even beyond just "wanting to listen to good wrap music" reasons.

I think I'm going to take a break from trying to find a relationship. Finding people I'm actually attracted to (best described as 'nerds with androgynous or gender mixing features') is practically impossible, abs I don't want the low mood to get worsened by the anger of rejection.

I'll write a book or something instead. Without romance.

I think that's a good idea. You're clearly hurting from it, take yourself off that sorta **** and just live your life. Focus on friendships and making yourself feel good. Maybe look for any LGBTA spaces and ask them about being nonbinary and if there's any groups like that around you can become a part of.

Man I'm actually not sure I can write a book without some romance element in it. It's really hard!

[PhyrexianShovel]

Man I'm actually not sure I can write a book without some romance element in it. It's really hard!

Just make it super tragic. That's what I always do .

[Peelee]

Man I'm actually not sure I can write a book without some romance element in it. It's really hard!

The trick is to make it about cloned dinosaurs running wild on an island.

[DataNinja]

Man I'm actually not sure I can write a book without some romance element in it. It's really hard!

Clearly just write a book about robots and other artificial persons. No need for all that mushy stuff. Clearly.

[Algeh]

I'm not very fond of rap either, mainly because I have trouble understanding the words and the beat and melody aren't great, usually.

That gets into a problem I tend to have with a lot of music, actually. For most music, I find that I can't really enjoy it unless it tells a story in some way. Otherwise, I'm just not very interested in the music, and I find myself tuning it out more often than not. It's why I like musicals. Speaking of which, Lin Manuel Miranda's In The Heights is just about the only rap I do like (I never saw Hamilton).

I am also very story-focused in the music I like. It's probably one of the main reasons I got so into the filk community. My tolerance for slightly-out-of-tune banjo music telling a story of about someone in outer space doing something complicated is much higher than my tolerance for perfectly-in-tune pop music that doesn't seem to be about anything except vague relationship feelings.

I liked some rap back in the early/mid 90s when last I gave it a try - some rappers were definitely using rap to tell stories at that point. I just lost interest once "gangsta" rap became the prevalent type in the places I was trying to listen to it, and also that's when I got into several different varieties of local folk music and stopped listening to the radio, so I really have no idea what rap's been doing for the last 20 years I guess.

At this point, I basically have no idea what's up with music that people who aren't me listen to. I buy lots of CDs each year, but it's pretty much all just filk these days.

[factotum]

I'm the opposite. I absolutely couldn't care less if the music is telling a story.

I'm with you on that. As far as I'm concerned the lyrics of any song are just another instrument, and what they're actually saying isn't too important so long as they're sung well with a good voice.

[SZbNAhL]

I think part of the problem is that people conflate rap with gangster rap with all the inherent misogyny and violence glorification tied up therein. It'd be like if somebody really disliked The Ring Cycle and extended that out to all of classical opera. Anyway, I leave you with this.

[Anonymouswizard]

I think that's a good idea. You're clearly hurting from it, take yourself off that sorta **** and just live your life. Focus on friendships and making yourself feel good. Maybe look for any LGBTA spaces and ask them about being nonbinary and if there's any groups like that around you can become a part of.

Maybe, I'm still trying to get regular free days at work. It's really hard to meet people as an adult when you can't commit to attending a club every week, and hard enough to meet up with my existing friends, so maybe looking into something like a LGBTA/QUILTBAG/whatever the current acronym is group will help.

Man I'm actually not sure I can write a book without some romance element in it. It's really hard!

Not really, anymore than writing a story without dance numbers. You just need a story where the lack of it makes sense.

Clearly just write a book about robots and other artificial persons. No need for all that mushy stuff. Clearly.

I heard robots still had to insert tab A into slot B, but that the end result appeared in hours rather than months

I think part of the problem is that people conflate rap with gangster rap with all the inherent misogyny and violence glorification tied up therein.

A lot of the problem is that it's about 90% of the rap you get exposed to. I mean, I guess there's a lot more Grime these days, but the over-exposure to g-rap as the only rap when I was growing up really soured the medium for me. When I do like rap songs these days they tend to be comical and very much removed from that stuff.

[LaZodiac]

Maybe, I'm still trying to get regular free days at work. It's really hard to meet people as an adult when you can't commit to attending a club every week, and hard enough to meet up with my existing friends, so maybe looking into something like a LGBTA/QUILTBAG/whatever the current acronym is group will help.

Not really, anymore than writing a story without dance numbers. You just need a story where the lack of it makes sense.

Good luck!

And exactly my point. I keep on making stories where there kinda wants to be a romance! And to my credit they're good it's just also aaah, so much romance!

Of course that's always been An Issue with me. I tried to write a fluff piece post-book story for my first novel, and I ended up having half of it be some really heavy and cool pathos from some of the characters. Ooops.

[DataNinja]

I heard robots still had to insert tab A into slot B, but that the end result appeared in hours rather than months

Hey, that's all done in the name of logic and programming. ...which, I mean, in retrospect the second part really isn't all that different from humans, is it?

[Peelee]

Clearly just write a book about robots and other artificial persons. No need for all that mushy stuff. Clearly.

You don't read a lot of SMBC, do you?

[LaZodiac]

*in the distance, Neil Cicarge's "Two Trucks" plays, menacingly*

[DataNinja]

You don't read a lot of SMBC, do you?

No, I sometimes read it when I'm linked... but there's just so much, I never actually manage to make any appreciable dent in it. Which discourages me from dedicating time to it, which lets more build up...

(But, yes, I know there are lots of applicable SMBC. )

[FinnLassie]

The trick is to make it about cloned dinosaurs running wild on an island.

... that fall madly in love!

[Tvtyrant]

... that fall madly in love!

Clever girls gone wild???

[DataNinja]

... that fall madly in love!

Clever girls gone wild???

...I vote we go with robosaurs instead. Besides, who doesn't love robots+dinosaurs? What could go wrong?

[Anonymouswizard]

Good luck!

And exactly my point. I keep on making stories where there kinda wants to be a romance! And to my credit they're good it's just also aaah, so much romance!

Of course that's always been An Issue with me. I tried to write a fluff piece post-book story for my first novel, and I ended up having half of it be some really heavy and cool pathos from some of the characters. Ooops.

I tend towards the opposite, romance rarely makes sense in my stories (partially due to dense time scales).

Anyway, I think I'm going to focus on alchemy for this book, and that'll involve discussion of the pancea, elixir of life, and the philosopher's stone. I think I can get away with most of the alchemist characters considering antibiotics a rough first step for the pancea, the elixir of life is a massive pain with the alchemical rules I'm using (the physical transmutation for how to reverse aging is known, but nobody actually knows a good way to get the energy for more than a few minutes*), and I'm not quite sure what the stone will do. It's not going to be an energy store, this is very much not FMA, and it's not going to just transmute by itself. I might just make it a catalyst, but I'm thinking it might allow alchemy to operate on more immaterial things (light, souls, gravity...).

* You can get a few years by sacrificing somebody in their twenties, but energy leakage stops you from getting their full remaining lifespan.

Hey, that's all done in the name of logic and programming. ...which, I mean, in retrospect the second part really isn't all that different from humans, is it?

I hear you lot get it sorted faster, takes two or more decades of debugging per human.

[LaZodiac]

... that fall madly in love!

Dinosaur girlfriends~

[DataNinja]

I hear you lot get it sorted faster, takes two or more decades of debugging per human.

Uh, yeeeeessss… Absolutely. There are no bugs anywhere. None.
>.>
<.<

[Tvtyrant]

Uh, yeeeeessss… Absolutely. There are no bugs anywhere. None.
>.>
<.<

Decade three: The bugs are getting worse. Hormones out of whack, copious hardware problems from injuries, becoming more aware of bugs in social programming. Hoping to get a few patches by decade four.

[LaZodiac]

Anyone who thinks robot social issues would be easy to change have never encountered a program error before.

[Anonymouswizard]

Anyone who thinks robot social issues would be easy to change have never encountered a program error before.

I've tried interfacing with USB ports in C++, that took me two weeks after getting a pre-made library and an audrino as an interface. We'll be lucky if we can solve one robot social issue in two decades, let alone the two hundred fixing that issue generated.