“This book has been debated for ages,” said Nguyen, a bookseller on Hanoi’s Nguyen Xi book street, who gave only his first name for fear of inviting backlash against his store.

Funnily enough, this could be more identifying than if he gave his last name. There are more Nguyen last names than first names.

Never went to the big cons but I recently went to a small local anime market. Went with a friend who goes to a bunch of those events and had a lot of fun!

Some tips if you go

• Bring water. It gets hot in there and I couldn’t find any vending machines so I was dehydrated
• Eat first. The venue had two food places and both were super crowded. Was like a 30 min wait for mall food court food
• Be prepared for the smells. The stereotypes are true. Some people smelled so bad there. I wore a mask but I could still smell some people
• Go with a friend. It was a lot of fun and way less intimidating
• Start small. Same as going with a friend. Less intimidating and more doable.

Frank to Dee: There is nothing more threatening to a man than a woman who is smart and attractive. We have to pretend you’re both!

I love my 8Bitdo Ultimate controller. It’s comfortable to use and holds a decent charge. Having a charging stand is really useful too. If you have multiple non-PC devices, I would recommend getting the Pro version so that you can use Bluetooth. Otherwise, the USB one will work well.

Only other minor negative is that the d-pad is a little mushy so I will occasionally hit the wrong direction accidentally. So not the greatest for fighting games.

If you don’t need the charging stand, there are cheaper USB only controllers too.

Lastly, if you want to try to improve your posture, my family bought some chair restraint straps for my grandma who kept tilting in her chair. The ones I linked aren’t what we got her but they were the cheapest I could find. You may also want to get your eyes checked. Could be the reason you’re leaning forwards so much is because you can’t see as clearly as you think.

Never heard this song before but it looks like “Don’t Hurt Yourself” by Beyoncé fits the bill.

I bought a Sony Blue Ray player back in 2014 and though it doesn’t see much use now that I have a Plex server, it still works over a decade later.

Michelle Rodriguez usually gets typecasted into those types of roles. She was really good in the latest Dungeons and Dragons movie. Actually that movie had several badass female characters.

Other movies that could work are:

• Mad Max series
• The Matrix series
• Wanted
• The Terminator series
• Supercop 1+2

No problem! Try not to fall too far down trope rabbit holes. It’s a fun and addicting thing to look up.

Without trying to spoil too much, these movies (loosely) fit your request:

• The Dark Knight
• The Godfather
• Lord of the Rings

The trope you’re looking for is either Fallen Heroes or Corrupting Influences. TVTropes and this Fandom wiki are good sources.

I’d disagree on Pedro Pascal"s performance. I thought he did an excellent job as Joel. He was nominated across multiple awards for that role.

As for the movie/character you mentioned, I had never heard of it but will check it out. I’m assuming you mean the 1984 version which seems to have better audience reviews than the 2024 Netflix TV series adaptation.

Fair. I’d say the bond between Joel and Ellie is wholesome in a world that everything and everyone is out to get them.

Wrote this in another thread but I love the found family trope and Spy x Family totally fits that bill. I wrote a few other examples below.

Movies

• Logan
• Ice Age
• Wild Robot
• Up
• Despicable Me

Shows

• The Last of Us
• The Mandalorian
• The Witcher
• Daddy Buddy (this one is an anime on Crunchyroll. I highly recommend this if you liked Spy x Family. Revolves around 2 assassins who accidentally wind up with a 4 year old)

• When I’m in command, every mission is a suicide mission.
• [introducing himself] I am the man with no name. Zapp Brannigan at your service.
• Brannigan’s Law is like Brannigan’s love: hard and fast.

Dear video game developers,

There are too many video games nowadays. Please eliminate three.

I am not a crackpot.

This didn’t really explain anything. The wiki notes that multiple people were called Reverse Flash so we don’t know which one the meme is referencing. And most of the descriptions don’t explain why he hates Barry so much.

Seems like she’s going for the Kate Bush vibes but it doesn’t sound nearly as good

From what I understand based on Colbert’s monologue, their motivations for suspending Kimmel is completely monetary based. ABC affiliate company Nexstar made a $6.2 billion deal to acquire TEGNA Inc and Disney which owns ABC made a deal to get some NFL assets in exchange for a 10% stake in ESPN (valued at around $3 billion).

Both of these acquisitions will need FCC approval to go through. Take a guess at what they’re willing to do to get that approval.

If you’re looking for fictional accounts that would be easy. Witch Child by Celia Rees was a book I liked a lot when I was in middle scool. Another one we had to read for school was The Crucible by Arthur Miller. What’s cool about this play is they use some actual historical figures as characters.

But as for true, first hand accounts from the accused’s perspective I think you may be out of luck. Primarily because you assume there were actually witches in the Salem Witch hunt to begin with. Though there were many factors leading to the witch hunts, one of the primary causes seems to be that witches were scapegoats for the Puritan leaders to maintain control. In fact, many who were killed were just the most vulnerable of society, hence why nearly 80% of the convicted were women. The link also states that the definition of a witch has changed since then. Today most witchcraft is associated with Wiccan and Pagan beliefs but back during the Trials, a witch was someone who served the devil. Basically all of the convicted were just normal people.

This blog by a historian/journalist has some really interesting examples of first hand accounts of the Salem Witch trials. I didn’t go through the whole thing but it’s a good starting point if you want to learn more about primary sources.

Oh right, sim card compatibility was not something I had considered. Thanks for the tip!

I tried using the browser site for my bank but unfortunately it doesn’t allow depositing checks. Will have to think about that when choosing a phone.

Still, I appreciate all the helpful information you’ve provided. Lots to think about