Asked a girl out on a date. She invited me over to watch a movie with her at her parents house (we were in our late teens). I arrived; her recently deceased family dog and incredibly distressed mother were both in the kitchen. Dog was a really big golden retriever that had been euthanized, and the mom had bought him home? Not sure why? Maybe to bury in the back yard or something? Idk

Anyway I offered to leave but she was insistent that we watch the movie together, which we did, on the couch, with her mom crying in the next room. Halfway through the movie the mom screams he’s still alive, he’s still alive. Go into the kitchen, she’d gone to move the body and it had expelled air and made some noise. I had to explain, with my best year 12 biology, what had happened. Five minutes of this woman losing her shit with grief out of her beloved companion dying.

Girl insisted we watch the last 10 minutes of the movie, it finishes with us watching in silence, I get up to leave and said something stupid like hey I’d love to do this again sometime and she says “I have a boyfriend”

I’m like alright well that’s that then and didn’t put in any more effort. Stupid me, she was hot and I really liked her. Being a dipshit I wrote a song about it, using the three guitar chords I knew, which takes me to act ii…

…five years later, I’m at a party, exchanging worst first date stories with friends and fellow partygoers including a cute blonde. I wait my turn, tell the story, she laughs her arse off and then goads me into singing the song, accompanying myself poorly on the guitar. I absolutely fucking nail it, everyone is in stitches, sit down next to her and the night goes from there. We end up leaving the party for a walk down to the local beach, made out on the beach, things get frisky, jump in a cab back to my house, in bed together, have drunken sex…which results in a broken condom. She lives literally the other side of town so we have to wait till (a) I’m sober enough to drive and (b) pharmacy is open to get a plan b, then have the most awkward drive back to her house. Get there, offer to walk her to the door, she says no, kisses me goodbye in the car, then texts me…to say she has a boyfriend.

Tricky, theirs is a cover version, so the original would still exist.

There’s a movie about that scenario with the Beatles. Called yesterday.

Wtf

No, Pele

Huh. Never knew that was his full name.

The qualifier base is exactly right. Like we use base as a pejorative, but it is what we are. That is our base state.

You know what itd take to drop us back to this level? I would say about a week without electricity. If you said to any given group of what, 50 people. Pick numbers out of a hat. The person with the dot dies, but the electricity comes back on. That would be enough.

It’s supposed to make you feel very weird because it is innate tribal behaviour that is not very far from the surface. Individual vs group, traditions, rituals, sacrifice, and the perverse gratitude that you are the survivor etc.

Read it then go read Facebook for a bit…you start to see people for what they are. Panicky, social, tribal animals.

I remember that. Either Ray Bradbury or Isaac Asimov.

Hunting party goes back in time to hunt dinosaurs right.

Anything that you can think of has already been thought of, modelled, and done by international actors who have more resources, technical capability and time than you, and have far fewer morals.

You want a specific outcome to this election? So do Russia and China. They’re a lot better at this than you are and are orders of magnitude more invested in it.

It’s easy to get hung up on words, eh.

We do “submit”, daily, to a higher power or thing beyond our control.

It’s pouring with rain, I need to be three blocks away for a coffee catchup, I don’t have an umbrella and I have to walk. I don’t have control over time, my coffee date or the weather, so I’m going to suffer. I can’t argue with the weather or time, and while I can negotiate with my coffee date, this impacts them.

Somewhere in that I have to accept I’m either going to be late or going to be wet. I can worry about it, beat myself up about not bringing an umbrella or checking the forecast - or I can submit to the factors beyond my control and accept I’m going to be late or be wet.

That is one end of the “give your free will over” stick. The other end of it is a shorthand to saying the above, which is that God or Allah or fate willed it that way therefore there’s no point getting hung up upon being wet or being late. It was always going to happen, chill, someone else has this under control.

There is a peace to that thought. Nothing I do matters, it’s all pre ordained, therefore I don’t need to care. When I read the linked quote I think - oh, you’re worried about the kid thinking they can change everything just by fighting back. It doesn’t happen kid, best you accept the things you can’t control, and get on with a happier life.

My 2c etc etc

Insomnia in my ass

Sigh

Women are more than happy for a walk while the girls were at the moment as they were a couple of weeks ago but I did really have the chance for them in my family

Don’t threaten me with a good time, baby

Old bloomers are in their late seventies man. They’re not doing much at all these days.

Check out Camping with Steve. It’s the antithesis of drama. Dude just wants to sleep weird places and have a quiet beer, as far as I can tell.

How are your knees?

It is heartbreaking watching how further divided America is becoming.

Hey - very much feel this one.

It will likely come from your kids in the future, the validation doesn’t come from society. They get to a point where they recognise what you did and say thanks.

You’re doing well, keep it up mate.