Random randomness

[Daehawk]

I picked Jungle Juice because it was like a berry flavored kool aid and it was a larger size than the milks so I got more of it.

[em2nought]

It was in the lunch room that I learned to never try to hold milk in your mouth when someone tells a joke so funny that you can't help but laugh. The milk shoots out of your nose, and eight seats suddenly shoot backwards from the table screeching across the floor and drawing the attention of the whole room that has suddenly gone silent.

[Isgrimnur]

Root beer through the nose is worse because the bubbles that get stuck in there don’t pop as quickly as those in soda.

[Unagi]

Root beer through the nose is worse because the bubbles that get stuck in there don’t pop as quickly as those in soda.

connoisseur

[stessier]

Root beer through the nose is worse because the bubbles that get stuck in there don’t pop as quickly as those in soda.

connoisseur

[Blackhawk]

Root beer through the nose is worse because the bubbles that get stuck in there don’t pop as quickly as those in soda.

...

...

Root beer is soda...

[Unagi]

Root beer through the nose is worse because the bubbles that get stuck in there don’t pop as quickly as those in soda.

...

...

Root beer is soda...

Everyone knows he means 'cola'

[Sudy]

Root beer is pop, you mean....

[gilraen]

Root beer is disgusting.

[Isgrimnur]

Root beer was originally made with sassafras root and bark which, due to its mucilaginous properties, formed a natural, long lasting foam, a characteristic feature of the beverage. Root beer was originally carbonated by fermentation. As demand and technology changed, carbonated water was used. Some manufacturers used small amounts of starch (e.g. from cassava) with natural surfactants to reproduce the familiar foaming character of sassafras-based root beer.

[Holman]

You've probably all seen memes featuring Tiktaalik, a lobe-finned fish from the Devonian period that represents a clear case of a transitional species in the process of moving from aquatic life to life on land. Upon its 2004 discovery, it was recognized as a hugely significant representative of evolutionary development. It is an ancestor of most large land-dwelling vertebrates, including you and me.

I work at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and this week it was announced that Ted Daeschler, the paleontologist whose team first discovered and analyzed Tiktaalik, is retiring. I've been very happy to have known and worked with him for about seven months, and his farewell address to the staff was a really emotional moment. If there were a Nobel prize for paleontology, he would probably have it. He's also a very nice guy.

It's worth watching his funny appearance on The Colbert Report.

[Skinypupy]

Took the kids to the Salt Lake ComicCon today.

Last time we went (2018, I think), it was all about Marvel. Marvel was everywhere you looked, from the booth merchandise to the cosplay to the panels.

This year, I would guess it was probably close to 90% anime. Everything was anime, as far as the eye could see. It was interesting to see the pop culture shift.

[Sudy]

I wish I understood and appreciated anime. It's not a get off my lawn thing... whatever the wave of the anime underground that was active in the late 90s/early 00s was huge when I got online, and I was surrounded by teens and young adults who were into it at my culturally diverse high school and in the online gaming communities I hung around. I appreciate it artistically and there are a few movies/series I've really enjoyed (there were a couple dubbed kids' series I loved as a child before I knew what anime was), but for the most part, despite a lifelong fascination with Japan, the tropes and cultural oddities fall so flat for me.

But everywhere I look online that has any gen-z population, it's anime, anime, anime. In the Discord communities I frequent (18+ obviously), half the profile pics are anime characters.

[Isgrimnur]

What, in general, are your tv show genre preferences?

[Kraken]

It's worth watching his funny appearance on The Colbert Report.

He handled Colbert quite well. Hope he enjoys retirement.

[Blackhawk]

Root beer was originally made with sassafras root and bark which, due to its mucilaginous properties, formed a natural, long lasting foam, a characteristic feature of the beverage. Root beer was originally carbonated by fermentation. As demand and technology changed, carbonated water was used. Some manufacturers used small amounts of starch (e.g. from cassava) with natural surfactants to reproduce the familiar foaming character of sassafras-based root beer.

So... soda.

[Blackhawk]

I wish I understood and appreciated anime. It's not a get off my lawn thing... whatever the wave of the anime underground that was active in the late 90s/early 00s was huge when I got online, and I was surrounded by teens and young adults who were into it at my culturally diverse high school and in the online gaming communities I hung around. I appreciate it artistically and there are a few movies/series I've really enjoyed (there were a couple dubbed kids' series I loved as a child before I knew what anime was), but for the most part, despite a lifelong fascination with Japan, the tropes and cultural oddities fall so flat for me.

But everywhere I look online that has any gen-z population, it's anime, anime, anime. In the Discord communities I frequent (18+ obviously), half the profile pics are anime characters.

I've tried anime, several times. Some was OK, but aside from Studio Ghibli (which is fantastic), I always felt like I was missing something.

[jztemple2]

It is the start of the third week of my birthday month and my wife surprised me with another appropriate tank top:

Start of the fourth and final week of my birthday month and today I got a couple more tank tops:





And she gave me a clever card as well:



The 28th is my actual birthday so I expect the grand finale that day

[Sudy]

Love it, especially the flamingos one!

Happy early birthday!!

[coopasonic]

Love it, especially the flamingos one!

Wearing a shirt with a spelling error would bother me endlessly. Of course, so would wearing a tank top so I think I am safe.

[Max Peck]

Root beer through the nose is worse because the bubbles that get stuck in there don’t pop as quickly as those in soda.

Some manufacturers used small amounts of starch (e.g. from cassava) with natural surfactants to reproduce the familiar foaming character of sassafras-based root beer.

So... soda.

Is this one of those things that people are going to argue about for the sake of arguing? If so, maybe it should move to Pictures and Videos for R&P where that sort of thing belongs. Apparently.

In any case, though...

[Blackhawk]

But always argue that language isn't concrete, even with a Sicilian.

[Sudy]

What exactly is the argument here? Isn't modern soda fountain root beer considered pop/soda/a soft drink/a carbonated beverage? If not, why not?

I'm ready to be outraged, I just need to know why.

[Max Peck]

What exactly is the argument here? Isn't modern soda fountain root beer considered pop/soda/a soft drink/a carbonated beverage? If not, why not?

I'm ready to be outraged, I just need to know why.

It's hair-splitting. Modern root beer is a soda, but because at least some brands include an additive to replicate the longer-lasting foam characteristic of traditional root beer, it is reasonable to differentiate it from typical sodas which do not, at least in the context of nasal bubbles taking longer to pop. Blackhawk is going for the "technically accurate" victory condition on the basis of a broad definition of soda, but I'm not convinced that his flavor of technical accuracy wins out over Isgrimnur's flavor (and texture) of technical accuracy, which is based on root beer being a specific variation of soda. I'm a fan of specificity.

And if this keeps up much longer, I'm going to start talking about root beer's mouth feel, and then everyone will lose. Nobody likes to hear about mouth feel, not when it comes to food and especially not when we're talking about beverages. Mouth feel deep dives are one of the reasons that foodies are so insufferable.

[Blackhawk]

Blackhawk was actually going for, "I've never met anyone who would see root beer as anything other than another soda/pop/soft drink flavor."

Well, never met anyone until yesterday.

[Unagi]

I absolutely have -different- mental containers for:

-Root Beer (it’s got special qualities)
-Cola/Soda/Pop (Coke/Pepsi) ….caffeine
-Sprites/7-Ups. …. Rarely my choice
-Ginger Ale … for when I have the flu as a child
-Crush/Fanta/Daehawks … always way too sweet for me.

To me, they are not just ‘different flavors’ any more than tacos and spaghetti are just ‘different flavors’.

I realize they are all sold in the same aisle.

[Jaymann]

When you go to one of those beverage dispensers in a fast food joint, they all just spit out soda water with different flavors of syrup.

[Unagi]

or how about just 'different syrups', where syrup is just the word used here for anything mixed with the soda.


I could probably make a machine that mixes 'different flavor powders' and hot water, and it could make chocolate syrup or bearnaise sauce.

[Smoove_B]

I don't know the exact time and date, but sometime this week OO crossed over the Andy Rooney line. Welcome to old age my friend.

[Unagi]

I don't know the exact time and date, but sometime this week OO crossed over the Andy Rooney line. Welcome to old age my friend.

Ha!, yeah... well, if you wonder what anyone thinks of you, consider what you think of them.

[Jaymann]

or how about just 'different syrups', where syrup is just the word used here for anything mixed with the soda.

I would contend that "flavor" is the key element that differentiates the various syrups. I'm sure in Canada they have hundreds of "different" syrups that are all maple.

[Sudy]

The time maple sap is tapped or whatever makes a lot of difference in terms of flavour, viscosity, and value. Source: my aunt's family used to operate a sugar bush in New Brunswick and I also googled it once.

Anyway, I dig the root beer and have sampled various true root beers in my day, even that weird Aussie one everyone hates. I still consider it whatever "soda" is, but it's not an argument I'm invested in at this point in time. I can be a hell of a pedant though, so I retain the right to change my mind with no warning.

[Daehawk]

Ive only ever loved two rootbeers in my life at different times. Barqs and Virgils. They've changed both now days and I dont care for either. If I had to choose Id pick Frosty to drink and IBC for floats.

[Sudy]

Barq's is a root beer that wants to be a cola, but I love it in terms of a drink I can find at any Coke fountain.

[Daehawk]

Barq's is a root beer that wants to be a cola, but I love it in terms of a drink I can find at any Coke fountain.

The last time it was great and different was early 90s. I stood out...really did have bite. Now its just like the rest. Too sweet too flat.

[Blackhawk]

I don't know the exact time and date, but sometime this week OO crossed over the Andy Rooney line. Welcome to old age my friend.

[Isgrimnur]

I will cede that the modern consumer landscape of root beer lies 98% within the Venn diagram circle of soda.

[Holman]

I wish I understood and appreciated anime. It's not a get off my lawn thing... whatever the wave of the anime underground that was active in the late 90s/early 00s was huge when I got online, and I was surrounded by teens and young adults who were into it at my culturally diverse high school and in the online gaming communities I hung around. I appreciate it artistically and there are a few movies/series I've really enjoyed (there were a couple dubbed kids' series I loved as a child before I knew what anime was), but for the most part, despite a lifelong fascination with Japan, the tropes and cultural oddities fall so flat for me.

But everywhere I look online that has any gen-z population, it's anime, anime, anime. In the Discord communities I frequent (18+ obviously), half the profile pics are anime characters.

I think that every generation is looking for something new. The US is all but globally hegemonic, media-wise, so to find something truly new and niche you have to step outside of US mass culture. Combine this with the way that even US "nerd culture" (from comics to role-playing games) has gone totally mainstream, and you really have to step outside of it to find something different.

Plus, once you open the door to anime, you suddenly have *decades* of high-quality curated stuff to dive into.

[LordMortis]

I wish I understood and appreciated anime. It's not a get off my lawn thing... whatever the wave of the anime underground that was active in the late 90s/early 00s was huge when I got online, and I was surrounded by teens and young adults who were into it at my culturally diverse high school and in the online gaming communities I hung around. I appreciate it artistically and there are a few movies/series I've really enjoyed (there were a couple dubbed kids' series I loved as a child before I knew what anime was), but for the most part, despite a lifelong fascination with Japan, the tropes and cultural oddities fall so flat for me.

But everywhere I look online that has any gen-z population, it's anime, anime, anime. In the Discord communities I frequent (18+ obviously), half the profile pics are anime characters.

I like cartoons, so when I started streaming I started doing anime. Adult Swim pulled me in initially with One Punch Man and then Attack on Titan. Since then I've seen a lot of the longer series and some more modern hit or miss shorter series that have been hit or miss. Sometimes I might have to watch a good ten episodes before figuring out if I want to walk away from a longer anime. I've done all of Naruto but walked away from Boruto . I'm current on One Piece dub (I only do dub, I can't watch anything and read subtitles as the same time) but I've walked away from other long running shows. Both Naruto and One Piece have long stretches of watch while doing something else episodes and if I ever watched again, that is what I would do.

Some of the generic tiring tropes or memes or whatever you want to call them are generic and tiring for me, especially in shorter run series. Much like with reading a novel, the key for me is to figure out early if I'm not interested and then to set it down before it becomes work. I'm currently watching Bleach and just went through a long stretch of filler and I'm trying to figure out if it's time walk away.

Some of the ones I've liked aside from the marathon stuff, One Punch Man season 1, Classroom of the Elite, Attack on Titan, ZERO:Staring Life in Another World, That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime. None of it is literary masterpieces. It's cartoons and I'm a fifty something man child who never grew up.

I don't try to keep up with what's out there and am not really knowledgeable. I just know what I like. As far as I can tell there is a lot formula following by Light Novel (and then manga and then anime) writing and right now the formulas are all reborn to live life over in a fantasy world, or died and mysteriously became an RPG video game protagonist. I've enjoyed a few of them (Zero, and That Time) but I don't need to see the same 12 episodes in a different overlay over and over.

I don't really do other social media than here and FB, so my interaction with Gen Z and younger isn't a thing. I am seeing lots of One Piece and Naruto swag out there beginning this year, probably because Lions have Naruto fan on their roster and One Piece is doing live action on Netflix.

Plus, once you open the door to anime, you suddenly have *decades* of high-quality curated stuff to dive into.

This was the case for me. Though I find I can't go back before the mid to late 90s and if it's not a super long series, I often don't go back before 2010.

[Jaymon]

The Root Beer Store, has had a rough history. they used to be in the Seattle area, and then California, and now it seems they are in Utah.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-root-beer-store-sandy


But, they had somewhere between fifty and a hundred different brands of root beer, and I went there a lot (when they were near Seattle), so I tried a lot of different kinds. I eneded up really liking Birch Beer more than traditional Root Beer, something about the extra sour hit me just right.