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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 23, 2020 20:10:53 GMT -5
I have learned over the years, despite what I consider to be a crappy adolescence, I actually had a really good childhood. I had a brother who was a bully and dealt with a lot of crap because my father was a teacher in my school system and I was a smart kid; but, that was pretty minor compared to people I have met and known over the years who went through some real @#$%. While I was in the military, I encountered a young female recruit, fresh out of bootcamp, just 18 or 19, who was a severe alcoholic, because she was horribly abused by her father, who at one point held a gun to her head and threatened to kill her. Low self esteem because people picked on me seemed rather trivial, in comparison. Thankfully, she was channeled into a program to get assistance.
I listened to a variety of music growing up, because you would hear a variety on local radio, back when they programmed their own material. Our local station tended to stick more into the pop/light rock world; but, you could hear some prog rock (in the lighter vein), country, soul, funk, R&B, pop disco, country and such. There were other stations if you wanted more mainstream rock and roll and WLS from Chicago played a lot fo the early New Wave bands, which is where I started finding more and more that appealed to me. MTV was also a big influence, as I am a visually oriented person, as can be judged by a love of comics. Music videos often shaped some of my taste in music. If the band had a cool video, I would often listen to more of their work.
I have a few bands or singers whose work I liked so much I collected a lot of their catalog: David Bowie, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Blondie, Fine Young Cannibals, English Beat, INXS, Concrete Blonde, the Police, Dire Straits, Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Pet Shop Boys, Los Straitjackets, Laika & The Cosmonauts, Weird Al Yankovic, Devo, Asia, Yazoo, Simple Minds, U2, B-52s, The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Damned, Dead Kennedys, X, Go-Gos, XTC...to name a few. As interest in contemporary music waned, I tended to go backwards or into more cult stuff (like the surf revival stuff, rockabilly, glam rock, more soul and funk, rhythm & blues). I find that I like stuff that is bold and creative, upbeat and epic in sound, with smart lyrics and real musicianship and great voices. After going to training at another B&N, with a music department, I left there with CDs for Booker T & the MGs, Petula Clark and Twisted Sister....you couldn't get much more eclectic than that. Book T had the musicians, Petula Clark the voice and Twisted Sister the epic sound and smart lyrics.
Concrete Blonde is probably the band I love the most, though they really only had one mainstream hit and album; the song "Joey," from Bloodletting. Fantastic album and great song, but I liked their two earlier albums and the subsequent ones. They never quite broke out for a lot of reasons (fighting with Miles Copeland, at IRS Records, drummer's drug issues, timing of what was popular vs their unique style). They had great lyrics, Johnette Napolitano has an amazing voice, Jim Manke is one of the best guitarists out there that few have heard of, and their songs cover a wide range from introspective and longing, to joyous, to angry, to goofy, to just lyrical. Napolitano has a great vocal range and can do a great cover of Janis Joplin and then something dreamy, and something fun, like Ghost of a Texas Lady's Man (a song about a spectral romance).
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Post by The Captain on Jul 23, 2020 21:34:55 GMT -5
Pretty Hate Machine was released in October 1989, just two months after I turned 16. I was, no surprise, a loser in high school due to reading comics and playing D&D, while dealing with an alcoholic father and an emotionally-neglectful mother at home. It didn't simply speak to me; it yelled louder and stronger than anything had before. It took every pent-up emotion I had, every bit of anger and fear and self-doubt and self-loathing, and gave it voice. I would listen to the song "Something I Can Never Have" at 2:00 in the morning after listening to my father yell at my mother for hours in one of his drunken rages or after enduring another day of being bullied, or, even worse, completely ignored at school, and while the song itself seems to be about a lost love (although some people have interpreted it as Reznor coming to grips with his broken relationship with God), what I wanted that I could never have was peace, a sense of normalcy, a day when I didn't want to kill myself. I listened to NIN heavily for about a decade (saw them in concert three times), and while they aren't at the top of my playlist today, I still put them on every now and then. More of the recent stuff (Year Zero is particularly good as a whole, as are a handful of tracks from the various other LPs and EPs) than the first few albums, although there is something to driving down the highway at 70 mph with "Closer" or "Head Like A Hole" blasting from the speakers. I have no words to express my sadness that you had this type of childhood to deal with. I wish everyone could have loving caring parents like I had as a child. That is what drives me to be the kind of parent to my daughters that I never had. I want them to grow up knowing they are loved, they are safe, they are special to me, and they are valued.
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Post by Batflunkie on Jul 23, 2020 21:41:19 GMT -5
I have no words to express my sadness that you had this type of childhood to deal with. I wish everyone could have loving caring parents like I had as a child. That is what drives me to be the kind of parent to my daughters that I never had. I want them to grow up knowing they are loved, they are safe, they are special to me, and they are valued. I often struggle with the idea of being a father. I had no real good fatherly parental figure until my grandfather during the latter half of his twilight years when he mellowed out by finding faith in god through mormonism.
I think I would like to adopt though
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Post by The Captain on Jul 24, 2020 5:26:12 GMT -5
That is what drives me to be the kind of parent to my daughters that I never had. I want them to grow up knowing they are loved, they are safe, they are special to me, and they are valued. I often struggle with the idea of being a father. I had no real good fatherly parental figure until my grandfather during the latter half of his twilight years when he mellowed out by finding faith in god through mormonism.
I think I would like to adopt though
It's not for everyone. There are days, even now almost 15 years in with my older daughter, when I wonder what the hell I'm doing or if I'll ever get it right. Thankfully, God blessed me and my daughters with their mother. She is a woman of patience, kindness, and grace, which all of us need on a daily basis (being honest, I'm not always a picnic to deal with). My wife is an amazing role model for them, a professional in her field (orginally social work, now mental health service management for those on public assistance), an woman of faith, and an advocate for social justice long before it became a thing. Right before we met, she had served two years in volunteer service through her church, working at a homeless shelter in California; she got room and board (sharing an apartment with other volunteers in the program, and meals at the shelter) and a monthly stipend of $34 for personal expenses. She is humble, caring, and generous, and if our daughters turn out anything like her, the world will be a better place for it. Don't get me wrong; being a parent is not easy. There is crying and screaming and door-slamming and silent treatments, but there are also hugs and kisses and laughter (lots of it around here) and snuggling on the couch during movies and fist bumps when someone makes an awesome comment. It's terrifying and comforting all at the same time, and it just might be the most rewarding thing in the world.
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Post by Duragizer on Jul 25, 2020 17:36:33 GMT -5
What I wouldn't give to be a husband/father myself. But I've been socially isolated for sixteen years, and my success with the opposite sex was nonexistent even before then, so I don't see myself being either in the future.
Yeah, count me in as another NIN fan.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 25, 2020 18:28:29 GMT -5
Wisdom for the ages, from the late Terry Pratchett.....
"The enemy wasn't men, or women, or the old, or even the dead. It was just bleedin' stupid people, who came in all varieties. And no one has the right to be stupid."
Monstrous Regiment, 2003, page 353 (Harper Collins Hardcover edition).
Thank Om he never lived to see how big the enemy has grown.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 28, 2020 10:48:42 GMT -5
Hey, Googlebot!
You know, those clip-on sunglasses I was looking for on ebay and amazon? I got them from a local store for ten bucks. No need to bombard me with sunglasses ads any longer; one pair is enough. Ditto for those mocassins I bought two years ago: they're still fine, and I'm not going to buy another pair for at least a decade, I hope. Enough with the targeted ads. Oh, and since we're talking about ads... You know those atheism youtube videos I subscribe to? Yeah, I get that your algorithms will tag them as "religion-related" or whatever... but the word "atheism" should really tell you something about the likelihood that I will contribute money to build a mosque in the Netherlands, so it's pointless to have that kind of ad right before a video.
There. I said it!
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Post by beccabear67 on Jul 28, 2020 15:33:14 GMT -5
Is that what goes on? I must have enough ad blockers and tracking disablers or something (Decentraleyes, Privacy Badger and uBlock work well for me too). I hate to think what I might be getting bombarded with back from when I researched depends for an elderly family friend!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2020 18:06:51 GMT -5
Hey, Googlebot! You know, those clip-on sunglasses I was looking for on ebay and amazon? I got them from a local store for ten bucks. No need to bombard me with sunglasses ads any longer; one pair is enough. Ditto for those mocassins I bought two years ago: they're still fine, and I'm not going to buy another pair for at least a decade, I hope. Enough with the targeted ads. Oh, and since we're talking about ads... You know those atheism youtube videos I subscribe to? Yeah, I get that your algorithms will tag them as "religion-related" or whatever... but the word "atheism" should really tell you something about the likelihood that I will contribute money to build a mosque in the Netherlands, so it's pointless to have that kind of ad right before a video. There. I said it! Gosh, I hate targeted ads. I regret buying an iron online years ago. One iron is usually enough, but got bombard with ironing ads for an eternity. And, please, Instagram, the fact that I looked up one mystery crate, and followed it, doesn’t mean I want constant ads for Loot Crate and countless other crates. How about surprising me with an ad for a change?
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jul 30, 2020 7:31:43 GMT -5
Because I'm cheap (and stubborn) I don't pay for youtube but have play lists on it for the drive to and from work. And invariably have at least two ads for Warframe each time while I'm listening to music. It's like, I already own Warframe youtube! I already know about the newest update!
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Post by impulse on Jul 30, 2020 9:20:26 GMT -5
It is really annoying and creepy when you search for something on Amazon one time and start seeing ads for it on totally unrelated websites and services.
Also yeah, Amazon, I understand that I bought a big TV, but see, I only need to buy one every decade or so, so please chill.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,627
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Post by Confessor on Jul 30, 2020 18:18:53 GMT -5
It is really annoying and creepy when you search for something on Amazon one time and start seeing ads for it on totally unrelated websites and services. I know! No matter what website I'm on, it's ads for haemorrhoid cream, sex dolls, and high explosives everywhere I look. So annoying.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jul 30, 2020 18:31:11 GMT -5
It is really annoying and creepy when you search for something on Amazon one time and start seeing ads for it on totally unrelated websites and services. I know! No matter what website I'm on, it's ads for haemorrhoid cream, sex dolls, and high explosives everywhere I look. So annoying. And carrots , don't forget the carrots.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2020 18:48:36 GMT -5
Saying it...
The trend of making movies with whatever absurd aspect ratio it is that's en vogue right now needs to die. I can't believe any movie that does this isn't universally panned for this reason alone, but I don't hear anyone else even remarking on it. This world is a madhouse! An actor has to be at least 50 feet away from the camera, or maybe a little closer but with crouching or leaning, to get the majority of their figure in the frame. And close-ups? Fuhgeddaboutit. The actor's eyes are always in danger of exiting the top of the frame. How is this not supremely distracting to everybody else? I play a game - guess what they're hiding on top of the actor's head? You'll never know! I can't watch ten seconds of this garbage. It's one and a half to two hours of stupidly cramped visuals. I'm guessing some idiot said "Well, widescreen is cinematic, so if I go super-wide, I'm super-cinematic!", and then a legion of idiots followed his example.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 30, 2020 19:43:02 GMT -5
Saying it... The trend of making movies with whatever absurd aspect ratio it is that's en vogue right now needs to die. I can't believe any movie that does this isn't universally panned for this reason alone, but I don't hear anyone else even remarking on it. This world is a madhouse! An actor has to be at least 50 feet away from the camera, or maybe a little closer but with crouching or leaning, to get the majority of their figure in the frame. And close-ups? Fuhgeddaboutit. The actor's eyes are always in danger of exiting the top of the frame. How is this not supremely distracting to everybody else? I play a game - guess what they're hiding on top of the actor's head? You'll never know! I can't watch ten seconds of this garbage. It's one and a half to two hours of stupidly cramped visuals. I'm guessing some idiot said "Well, widescreen is cinematic, so if I go super-wide, I'm super-cinematic!", and then a legion of idiots followed his example. I haven't been in a theater in a decade; no idea what the aspect ratio is anymore. I rarely watch many new movies, as very few interest me much, these days. I stopped being a target demographic at the end of the 90s.
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