Paul Sanders5 said:Man, the way Josephine absolutely butchered the anthem... yikes. I mean, she’s definitely got her own unique vibe, but that was just painful to listen to.
I just went back and watched it, and yeah, she really overdid it this time. 🙏 The backup group wasn't helping much with Vuk, either.
It’s honestly pretty idiotic that we’re tearing each other apart at this level just because of some debate over dogs in restaurants.
I mean, sure, "vulgar" is just a Latin term, but let’s be real—you can't exactly use it as a compliment. Nobody is ever going to use a phrase like "typical American commoner" in a positive light. Trying to hide behind semantics here is just plain stupid. Everyone knows exactly what you're implying when you label someone as just another typical guy from the suburbs combined with that "common man" label; I’ve never seen anyone use that description unless they were trying to call someone a caveman, a primitive, or something equally insulting. Anyway, it doesn't even matter.
I get that this whole thing started because certain cult-like types have specific views on dog lovers, but I honestly don't understand why anyone in this thread felt personally attacked when the criticism was meant to be general. And honestly, it’s not like those zealots don't share plenty of other annoying traits besides just bringing their dogs into a restaurant.
The defining trait of a fanatic isn't just one single belief; it's their absolute, stubborn inability to take any kind of criticism.
A true fanatic will walk a dog on a ten-foot leash, or no leash at all, in places where it’s completely inappropriate, then turn around and attack anyone else because they're annoyed by the constant barking of poorly trained pets, or yell at kids for setting off a few firecrackers once a year, all while having brought these animals into a crowded urban environment in the first place.
brightpilot6 said:He might not be the most brilliant mind on the planet, but if we're looking at the contenders for the top spot in the city, he’s certainly the one with the cleanest intentions.
And honestly, if anyone is actually going to embrace Hrebakov’s approach to transparency, it’ll be him.
In a place like this, a populist is basically anyone promising instant fixes, mass layoffs, or sweeping structural reforms. Given the actual state of affairs and the legal constraints we're working under, those things are simply impossible to pull off. This isn't some small town in the Midwest or a tiny rural county.
Wait, so now a populist is someone who promises layoffs and fiscal responsibility in the finance sector?! Are we really talking about this in a country where political cronyism is practically a national pastime? Where is everyone acting all outraged over the poor school staff or the workers at the local shipyard? If someone is only appealing to maybe ten percent of the voters, they aren't a populist.
Give me a break. Seriously. And who exactly do you think was responsible for bringing in all those legal frameworks and collective bargaining agreements that are basically killing the environment?!
Why is everyone acting so incredibly high-strung? Honestly, we all know these discussions always spiral into debates about things that don't even matter in the real world. I’m practically sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the inevitable thread about welfare benefits for two transgender women in the US. I already know ZZ will be leading the charge on that one. 😁
Look, Tomasevic is a total leftist moron, but I still have respect for him. If the situation called for it, sure, I'd probably vote for him. 🙂
Once I actually find a spare moment, I'll mess around with the poll and let you guys know what the results look like.
Look, Byron, look at what they've done to us—they've stripped away every single thing we could actually joke about. You can't make a harmless crack about gay people, you can't say you support the Air Force, you can't even mention the FBI without someone getting twitchy. You can't even bring up minorities, even if it's just because some guy from a small town in California you disagree with has a name that sounds suspiciously Italian. You can't tease certain groups about their symbols, trans issues aren't even really a thing here yet (thank God, I'm holding onto hope there), you can't even send your kid to Sunday school because there's a higher chance a professor from a liberal arts college will step in and lecture you, and you can't even enjoy a steak without worrying some Oscar winner is going to call you out for being emotional about baby cows. They’re even pushing those cropped jeans because they're terrified people might actually see their ankles.
What is even left for us?! Dogs in restaurants? But now you can't even complain about those smelly, hairy little beasts sniffing butts on the way to the bistro and peeing on everything in sight. Maybe you can still subtly poke fun at a crest with a white stripe. That's basically it. These people are more invasive than a virus spreading through a cruise ship.
Sure, they act like Real Madrid—not exactly the brightest bulbs in the box, but they always seem to come out on top. The problem is, they're also a bunch of fossils. We don't have a future.
If they decide to take over the economy too, we'll all be walking our dogs to restaurants. Only we'll be stuck using the side entrance meant for delivery drivers. 😁
Larry Fox5 said:I don't know what kind of crowd you run with, but honestly, nobody I've ever met has ever told me they feel awkward eating at a restaurant just because there's a dog around. So, we aren't talking about some small percentage here—it's literally zero percent. And look, in all my years on this planet, I’ve never had one single bad experience with it—doesn't matter if it was my dog or someone else's...
I’ve overheard people mentioning it before, though it’s hardly ever the main topic of conversation for me. Honestly, it’s just basic logic to assume a decent chunk of the population feels this way.
I'm genuinely stunned by the disbelief here; your little circle of friends isn't exactly the gold standard for proving my point that plenty of people would rather not have dogs hovering near them while they eat. No offense intended—you're clearly an intelligent guy—but I truly don't get why you're surprised that a significant percentage of people share this sentiment.
I realize these links aren't exactly high-brow academic journals, and they'll probably just get swarmed by Byron bots anyway. 🙂
Larry Fox5 said:The dog isn't sitting in a chair or licking plates—it’s under the table, literally out of sight. Honestly, I have no clue how any sane person could be bothered by that, whether they love dogs or not...
And why even bother complaining about "badly behaved" pets when we should probably be talking about certain people instead?
I mean, what’s the real difference between sitting next to a dog that keeps bugging its owner to get into their food, versus some guy at the next table who farts every thirty seconds?
Personally, I don't have an issue with smells or how a pet owner decides to feed their animal under the table—whether it's specialized food in a bowl or scraps from their own plate. I don't find dogs gross, period.
My real issues are things like barking, loud noises, obnoxious kids, or someone driving by with a blown-out muffler.
On the flip side, there are plenty of people—a pretty significant chunk, actually—who just don't want to eat or hang out in a cramped space with animals, so I think restaurant owners should at least try to be considerate of them, since a dining room is supposed to be a special kind of place.
If at least a third of the people you know hate eating in the same vicinity as a dog, it probably shouldn't occur to you to bring that dog into a restaurant in the first place. It’s not like it's mandatory; most people can easily figure out where their pet will be while they're out grabbing a meal.
brightpilot6 said:At the end of the day, everything really boils down to the individual—their upbringing and their level of social intelligence. Someone who constantly irritates everyone else through sheer clumsiness, shouting in public spaces, littering, letting their kids run wild, or parking illegally is likely going to treat their dog with that same lack of consideration. They won't keep it on a leash, they'll tolerate its unruly behavior or let it crowd strangers, and they won't bother buying decent food for it. Dog owners who fall into this category of inconsiderate people aren't any worse than reckless drivers or negligent parents.
It’s simply another symptom of the ongoing decay of our established social norms.
I can see most of the arguments, though I must admit I don't quite grasp why so many of you find the presence of a dog in a dining area to be such a hygienic catastrophe. It isn't exactly licking your steak, is it? Honestly, a waiter exhaling onto your food while carrying it to the table presents a far greater health risk. But, whatever.
I'm with you on the first two paragraphs.
Personally, I don't mind a dog in a restaurant, provided it isn't barking its head off or constantly weaving through my legs.
I realize a good chunk of people just can't stand eating in the same space as animals. So, in my opinion, owners should respect that and just not bring their dogs into restaurants.
Dogs have certain smells, they shed hair everywhere, they're sniffing everything in sight—people have a natural aversion to that when they're sitting at a table. When I was staying with an aunt during summer vacation, she had dogs that were allowed inside the house; I ate right next to them and even tossed them bits of food, and I didn't mind at all because I love animals. But others find it annoying in a restaurant setting, and I totally get why.
Of course, in a mountain lodge, a rest stop, or one of those pet-friendly specialty restaurants, I think having a dog inside is perfectly fine. If it bothered me, I simply wouldn't walk through the door in the first place, and then there wouldn't be a problem.
Larry Fox5 said:I honestly don't know what kind of backwater towns you people live in if this is even a debate... Where I'm from, it's just common sense—waiters at a restaurant should automatically bring out a water bowl for my dog, and honestly, it’s rare to find anyone who doesn't stop for a second to give him some pets.
Every once in a while, I get a real nice reminder of why you should just steer clear of this entire country.
Well, you know, those backwater towns where half the dogs are just as poorly behaved as their owners.
Look, I don't have a problem with dogs being allowed in, especially if they're actually trained—I wouldn't walk out or start a protest over it—but I do think it's just plain bad manners to bring a dog into a space where other people are trying to eat.
If we're talking about hiking trailheads or mountain lodges, then sure, that's fine by me.
William Gomez5 said:I will honestly never wrap my head around this—what kind of logic made this so freaking mainstream?
You’ve got people just strolling through the local mall or an artsy downtown spot, and nobody says a damn word. 🙏
So, a buddy of mine—he works at this IT firm in downtown Chicago, pretty chill setup, good vibes, you know?—well, they let people bring their dogs into the office. One day, this dog starts barking and whining like crazy, and nobody can get anything done. But here's the kicker: you can't even say anything to the owner! Then, to top it all off, turns out the dog had some "stomach issues" and just straight-up crapped right there on the floor. 🙏
Look, maybe that's an extreme case, but seeing this crap in retail stores and restaurants happens every single day.
It’s like these business owners have turned into some kind of weird little cult.
Look, if you actually try to ban them, you just lose customers, plain and simple. A huge chunk of urban dog owners are basically a cult, and they’ll come for your neck online acting like total SJWs. Even if they aren't actually bringing their dogs into the high-end shops, you still end up getting trashed by that whole crowd for "bad publicity."
And let's be real, most people working inside those stores probably don't want dogs running around their workspace either—regardless of how much everyone else loves them—but they just have to sit there and suck it up.
Honestly, seeing someone walk into a shopping mall with a dog is a perfect litmus test for spotting an idiot; it's that whole "it's technically allowed, but it's just not appropriate" vibe, so if you're an idiot, go ahead and walk right in.
The second those owners step through the door, they immediately get lumped in with the weirdos wearing black shirts with extremist slogans on them.
Parasite was totally deserved 👍 Even though it’s been an incredible year—I mean, Ford vs Ferrari was such a killer movie, and I absolutely love Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Parasite was just brilliant, Jojo was pretty charming, and Joker was good, though honestly, it felt a little too heavy for my taste personally.
I’m planning to catch 1917, The Irishman, and that one with Scarlet next, though for some reason, Little Women just hasn't really grabbed my interest. I also checked out Pedro Almodovar for something international, and it turned out to be a really solid piece of work.
Not to mention those fun ones like Knives Out, which is that new Ritchie flick I’m aiming to see soon. Plus there's Clint, that intense one about the bombing in Atlanta.
It’s definitely been a great year for movies, all things considered.
Jessica Gonzalez said:I think I see where you're coming from with your perspective and everything you've said. It makes sense that people (somewhat irrationally) get attached to specific individuals, groups, or nations they happen to sympathize with. But, if you think about it, that’s mostly a fiction—kind of a mental projection shaped by the media. For most people on this forum, Kobe Bryant is essentially a fictional character, maybe not much different from someone like Indiana Jones or Batman. It wasn't an NBA superstar who passed away, but rather Kobe Bryant the man—the father, husband, son, and friend. And he was only that to a specific group of people who actually felt his loss personally. To the rest of the world, his life and death are just a spectacle used to trigger certain emotions, similar to how people react to purely fictional movies or novels. Seeing folks on here saying they've been crying for two days because Kobe died... I guess I find that hard to wrap my head around. It seems like a bit of an exaggerated reaction to me.
It's the same way with places like France or Vienna; they might feel culturally close to Americans, but in reality, they aren't that close at all. The media basically decides who matters and who doesn't. For instance, some major news stories that shook the US over the last year—like a six-person homicide in Atlanta or shootings in Miami—barely made any noise in the global news cycle. I don't really believe in mourning every single death or spending 24/7 posting flags on social media; if anything, I tend to feel the opposite. There’s probably no need to post flags or write intense tributes for people we don't know and whose deaths we can't actually impact. Ten or fifteen years ago, before social media really took off, this kind of thing didn't even exist in this format. If there is something you can actually do about an issue, then go ahead and do it. If not, I guess it's better to skip the flag posts on Facebook since it doesn't really change anything. Sometimes I think it helps to step back and try to see the bigger picture, which is rarely just black and white. That's sort of what I try to do in every discussion, even something simple like talking about pets. We live in a world where almost every belief, moral stance, or idea of "normal" is somewhat arbitrary and manufactured. I try not to take rigid stances on anything; most ideological topics are so layered that debating them usually just turns into picking one of two sides. So, if I ever accidentally offend someone, I suppose it's only because I'm trying to prompt a look at things from a different angle. There's hardly any topic where any of us can say for sure that we are 100% right. Whether it's laws, religion, nations, football corruption, or social media...
People who spend two whole days literally weeping for Kobe when they didn't even know him should probably go see a psychiatrist, because they clearly have some deep-seated trauma or unresolved issues in their own lives that Kobe just happened to trigger. It’s definitely not normal behavior.
It’s pretty stupid to try and comment on someone else's psychiatric state, though.
Since you brought up Batman, who would have guessed the conversation would end up in the gutter like this? 😁
Everything checks out, except you can't honestly argue that Vienna or Paris aren't closer to the average American. In every sense of the word, they’re right there.
You take your annual vacation to Paris, wake up in the morning, grab a quick croissant, knock back an espresso, swing by a local betting shop, and run into some guy acting like he's a big shot who got signed by a major club in Groningen for pennies, all while feeling like you just woke up on a Saturday morning in a typical American suburb. 😁
Technically speaking, the distance from the US to Tehran is roughly about the same as the trip from the US to Ponta Delgada.
If we’re strictly talking road trips, I can get to Paris in maybe 15 hours if the highways are decent and I avoid any major conflict zones, whereas trying to drive to Tehran would involve rattling along for days on end. When I'm heading toward Paris, no matter where I stop to refuel or grab a bite, I never really feel like I've stepped into a country that's fundamentally different from home.
A ton of local folks make their living working over in Vienna. And if you head there for Christmas, it feels like you never even left the same country, given how much history we share.
If you spend your time renting out apartments, you’ll end up meeting thousands of Austrians and maybe ten Iranians.
There is absolutely zero chance you'll see a woman walking around in a miniskirt in Tehran. It's just not happening there. I mean, sure, I can wear a miniskirt at home, but that’s about it.
Obviously, people living in Tehran are more liberal than folks in the tiny rural towns, but let’s be real—it’s nothing like it is in Europe.
If a woman showed up in a miniskirt there, it would be like walking through a public square here completely naked, jerking off and catcalling women as they pass by. Except, instead of our local exhibitionist getting sent to a psychiatric ward or just slapped with a $300 fine for indecent exposure, a woman in a miniskirt would end up straight in prison.
Everyone I've talked to who has actually been to Iran says the Shia are way more chill than the Gulf states; the people are genuinely kind, hospitable, and you'd actually want to visit Tehran, unlike some of those other spots in the region. It’s pretty ironic that when you look at the stretch from Greece down through North Africa and the Middle East, the only two places left that aren't total chaos—now that Syria and Morocco have been completely torn apart—are Iran and Israel.
Honestly, human reactions are perfectly logical, so I don't really get why everyone is making such a huge deal out of this, unless we're talking about it from some deep philosophical angle.
Anyone who jumped on the NBA bandwagon during that massive basketball boom from the nineties through the peak of the early 2000s is somehow tied to Kobe. You have entire generations born between the early eighties and late nineties who live for basketball, and they all grew up watching Kobe. It’s almost like we wouldn't be seeing these exact same scenes right now if Ronaldinho were the one passing away.
That idea that a hundred people dying in Baghdad or Vienna means the same thing is technically true—they all had families, lived lives, and were just like us—but it isn't weird at all that people react differently. And it's not because people are hypocritical pieces of shit; it's just that it would be a much bigger shock if something like that actually happened in Vienna.
In Baghdad, bombings or mass casualties have basically become part of the daily grind, whereas in Vienna, the last time a hundred people died at once was during an Ottoman siege city.
Besides, here in our neck of the woods, we're still culturally tied to places like Vienna; it's close, we travel there, and our late grandmothers used to cook the exact same specialties they eat over there.
Theoretically, you've got a point, but humans just aren't rational creatures.
Plus, do you seriously think the average person has the stomach to process everyone else's suffering across the globe? Should a random social media profile really look like the obituary section of a daily newspaper?
Of course, the situation with those elderly folks in the nursing home 50 miles shook me way more than Kobe did, and probably most people too. But people don't know anything about the elderly; they know everything about Kobe. They can post about his 81-point game or whatever, but when it comes to the elderly, all they can do is write some depressing stuff about how social services or oversight allows helpless people to be left alone overnight to freeze or burn, and then it just blows over.
We're all just fed up with the constant gloom in this country. The average person can't exactly be a Goethe, soaking up all the world's misery; if they tried, they'd end up puking.
It drives us all crazy when individuals use every single tragedy as a chance for virtue signaling to show how righteous they are. But honestly, those playing moral police aren't much better, attacking people in the comments of a tragedy by saying, "There was an earthquake in Iran and 20 people died, but now everyone's making a fuss about 7 Frenchmen, blah blah blah."
How twisted are those people? They're just tactless sociopaths.
Naturally, this doesn't apply to you; this is actually a decent discussion.
Jessica Gonzalez said:I guess there are plenty of spots for outings like that in Tehran; it seems a bit silly to think a massive city of over 10 million people in a developed nation is some backwater. Even if that were true, it doesn't justify saying someone's death matters more because of their lifestyle. Maybe bluebison47 is actually more similar to an Iranian or an Iraqi in terms of socio-economic factors than they realize, rather than being closer to a Frenchman or a Swiss person. It’s easy to get carried away by appearances. Ultimately, I think it's just the media that dictates whose deaths are prioritized. Since we Americans sit somewhere in the middle of everything, maybe we can just move past this whole debate about restaurants and sports matches.
I mean, if we're being real, the average Kuwaiti is economically much more aligned with someone from Singapore or Canada, so they’ll probably find way more common ground with a Palestinian.
It shouldn't be a shock that we feel a closer connection to the French, considering it's their movies, sports, and music we're all obsessed with, and it's where we head for our big graduation trips.
Trying to justify things or hunt for hypocrisy in certain situations just feels incredibly stupid.
Paul Sanders5 said:You can eat just about anything, honestly, but you gotta prep for it properly. Don't go in unprepared, let it drain you, and then just sit there and soak up the loss 🤣
It’s not even a big deal when guys like that crash and burn; the real fun is when we absolutely wreck them 😁
The real issue isn't what people are eating, it's how they go about it. Honestly, I'm pretty sure folks down in the Deep South know their way around grilling a brisket just fine.
Have you guys seen that video where a Vietnamese person is eating live baby mice? Just absolutely horrific.
Just a few tomatoes and some meat, and honestly, who knows what that's going to cost these days. 😁
brightpilot6 said:Well, at this rate, any kind of banter directed at Barca fans becomes nothing short of harassment, especially when you consider that everyone else on this forum holds all the intellectual high ground compared to them.
😁, since most of them aren't even old enough to be fifteen, we're basically looking at a case of intellectual pedophilia here 🤣
It's a good thing they finally upgraded to the iPhone