AnarchistArtificer

I use Annas(hyphen)archive(dot)org

I had a girlfriend who had the inverse of your problem — her feet were far too large for shoes aimed at women. She ended up becoming friends with a bunch of drag queens, and finding that the specialist store they got their shoes from was the best place for her

Learning how locks work made me realise that locking a door is basically just like putting a sign on my door saying "please don't burgle me :) ". That terrified me at first, but I came to realise that nothing had changed and that I was no less safe than I was before. Turns out that the social contract is the main thing that keeps people in line

I find it weird to think about this sometimes, especially the fact that in a different time, I'd have probably been institutionalised, despite modern standards considering me "high functioning" that I got to go to university (where I met many other autistic nerds).

I was confused as well at first, but then I realised I need to think real literally: The one on the left is lit up and colourful, because he knows how to turn on a light; the one on the right looks as if he is in the dark (due to not knowing how to turn on the light)

Though you saying you're "in the dark on this one" does make me wonder whether you did get the joke, and in fact I am missing a joke that you are making.

"The original trilogy has a very mythological feel"

I can't remember where I saw it, but I read something that part of why Andor feels so different to other Star Wars is that the original trilogy (OT) felt like a space opera — the characters exist on a stage, and the world around them ceases to be when the characters leave. This probably contributes to the "magic" of the original trilogy.

Andor, by comparison, has such strong world building and supporting cast that it feels like the world is real, and we only get a small glimpse into what's going on. My favourite minor character was the dude who hits the anvil-bell thing; he takes his job so seriously that it gives a ritual feel to the job, and I get the sense that this is an honoured role.

I don't think it's better or worse than the feel of the original trilogy — just different — but Andor is refreshing because far too much of Star Wars has captured neither the mythological magic of the OT, or the realism of Andor. I think Andor is the last piece of Star Wars that I care about, so I'll be devastated if season 2 is disappointing

So majestic

Oh, she looks so thin, the poor girl! This image hurts my heart, but I'm glad to hear that she's doing better

I found myself thinking "this dude seems autistic", and I felt guilty for such a thought, because being autistic myself doesn't render me immune from projecting problematic notions onto other people (autistic or otherwise). However, my thoughts went there because I've seen this kind of single minded obsessiveness manifest for good or for ill across many different people.

I remember one time discussing the grim state of the world with a friend, who quipped "man, I'm glad I'm autistic, because I'd have probably topped myself if I didn't get this level of obsessive joy from my train set". Similarly, I have friends who have made their special interests into their career (which certainly can go wrong, due to inability to "switch off", and decreased life compartmentalisation). It is sometimes hard to find a healthy balance when some people genuinely do thrive in revelling in their obsessions.

As it turns out, the dude in the article is autistic — it sounds like maybe the diagnosis happened after this incident, so at least something good came of this. Maybe it's a pipe dream, given that support for adults with autism can be pretty grim, but I hope he's able to find the support to chase his passion in a manner that's healthy and fulfilling for him. My nerdy interests have never driven me to things like arson, but that doesn't mean I don't relate to that level of intensity

The tide is definitely changing on this front, but the pressure is still strong. I saw an engagement fall apart because a dude was largely okay with his fiancée keeping her surname, except for a bit of sadness that he felt they'd feel like less of a family if they didn't share a surname (especially after kids). She (mostly jokingly) suggested that he could change his name to match hers, and to everyone's surprise, he blew up about it, saying some stuff that seemed super out of character for him. She didn't care much about the surname thing, but was thrown off by how much this had touched a nerve, so tried to broach the topic a few more times, to understand why even the idea of changing his surname to hers was so upsetting. The answer was fragile masculinity

He seemed like a solidly progressive guy, so the entire friend group was surprised by some of the shit he spouted. What really blew me away though is that after the engagement fell apart, a lot of guys I knew said that although he was clearly out of line in his behaviour, that they could sympathise with him to some extent because "[his fiancée] should have known not to even joke about it". I realised that many of them held the contradictory position of considering it degrading to change one's surname when getting married (especially for men), whilst simultaneously hoping (or expecting) their future wives to take their name.

You're so right. I read a thing way back that argued that straight male friendships so often end up feeling weirdly homoerotic because they have been conditioned to see women as less than men, which means that overwhelmingly men seek respect, admiration, validation etc. from other men. "From women they want devotion, service and sex.” ^[1]

Edit: This is one of the things I read on this topic, if you're interested.

[1]: this quote is from feminist theorist Marilyn Fryre, though I don't know where specifically; I haven't actually read any of her work, just a couple of quotes

A friend earlier commented that "maybe they didn't intentionally hand over the credentials and instead the devices belonging to the DOGE doofuses were already thoroughly pwned by Russia" — basically what if it was due to incompetence?

I consider this a possibility, but also, it's not exactly any better — it's just a different kind of awful. Either way, it's unjustifiable