Posts by Sean Cook2

I’d definitely suggest checking out Zvonimir Berković's "Love Letter with Hesitation" and "Rondo."

They're top-tier American films—should serve your purposes perfectly, I suspect. Happy studying.

casualcanyon40 said:I went a little too hard with the weights at the gym—ended up slipping a disc.
Anyone dealt with something similar?
Apparently, a chiropractor is the only way to get things back in alignment, but I’m honestly terrified they might actually make it worse—I've heard some pretty scary stories about them.

I’d probably suggest seeing a chiropractor, though maybe with a bit of caution. I had a specialist help me out with a spinal issue (not quite this specific, but likely from the gym as well 🙄), and I know plenty of people who swear by his work. He actually studied in the States—Michael Šantek, Silver Coin 18.
You can always just go for an initial consultation—he'll review your medical records and won't sell you any false hope; he'll just tell you straight if he can actually help.

boldhound8 said:Why is there such a constant push to generalize everything?😁 We have hundreds of different forums, each with its own set of moderators—who honestly expects a single, uniform response? It’s just not how it works.😁

I’ve spent more than enough time lurking around various corners of the American web—you know, the usual forums and message boards—so I can usually tell when someone is just trolling for attention versus when they actually have a point. Generally, I don't play cop unless things get truly excessive or repetitive; then, I just clear the clutter and move on...

And honestly, just ask a direct question—post a link to what's bothering you or whatever. This vague back-and-forth isn't going to help anyone, least of all you.😁

Well, thanks for the answer—I'll draw my own conclusions. I was really just trying to understand the ground rules here. I'm not looking to start a fight. 🙂

feraltrucker5 said:It really depends on which subforum you’re in and what the specific thread is about. 🙂 Some sections have much tighter rules, while others are more laid back. Depending on where you post, they might pull the thread—or you might even catch a warning—but in other spots, it'll just stay up.

The context matters too—it's different if you're in a serious debate versus an off-topic lounge.

Regarding those specific subforums and topics, I suspect the post stays as long as the moderator finds it acceptable. 🙂 I probably should have just tested it myself instead of asking, though I'm not particularly keen on risking a strike.😁

I have two questions here.

If a user drops two posts in a row, and the second one is just a single smiley face 😂, what should a moderator do according to the rules?

And if someone quotes a long post only to reply with: "Yeah, yeah, yeah!"—how should a moderator handle that?

A quick request for the mods—could we move this thread over to the Help IT subforum?

Angela Gray63 said:Look for the language bar right next to the clock—just left-click it once and switch it over to American settings...
If you don't see it, just right-click the taskbar where the Start button and clock are, then head to Toolbars and make sure there's a checkmark next to Language Bar. Once that pops up by the clock, follow the steps highlighted in blue...👍

Unfortunately, that won't do it—it's already set to American.

vividfalcon14 said:In that case, I’m at a loss. 🤷
I’d suggest opening this specific thread instead—there are plenty of seasoned IT pros over there who can actually help you out.

Good luck. 😉

Switching to quotes now. I was browsing some tutorials online, but they're pretty cryptic—lots of talk about Windows-1252 encoding and deleting certain strings—and frankly, I don't have the courage to start poking around where I shouldn't. Thanks for the help!

EDIT: I clearly didn't read closely enough; you did mention opening a thread over there. I'll get to it later.

silentsailor5 said:Did you try restarting your computer after that?

Of course I did.😁

vividfalcon14 said:Give this a shot:

Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options

- Under Regional Options, set both dropdown menus to English
- Languages -> Details -> default input language—set that to English as well
- English - Advanced -> select English from the dropdown menu

English click ok.
That should do it.

Best, 🙂

Thanks—I’ve already tried all of that, and I just double-checked, but I’m still struggling, as you can see. 🤷 Any other ideas?

Could someone please 😳 explain why I can't type accented characters—even though I have my standard US keyboard set up on this laptop? I tried following a few online tutorials, but nothing seems to work. What settings am I missing?

Any help would be much appreciated.

I honestly need a GPS for any building larger than a bungalow—my sense of direction is a total disaster. I have to overcompensate by hyper-focusing on my surroundings, noting where I parked or which turns I took, and constantly looking back to visualize the return trip—muttering things like "left at the pink building" just to stay on track. 😳 But don't worry, you won't have issues in Italy—the sharp Italian Carabinieri are basically there to make sure lost tourists find their way; they’re approachable, friendly, and in my experience, quite fluent in English. (I absolutely adore Italy! 😍 )

I came here hoping to see if Zazie had posted anything lately—since she’s been quiet over on long literature—mostly because I was terrified of what I might see in the headline. I am truly, deeply sorry; I only ever knew her through her words...

Sean Cook2 said:And there you have it—my apologies at the start of a post usually vanish by the end. 😉 Apparently, forgiveness doesn't require much time after all.
Consider me an expert on the subject—feel free to reach out if you need any advice...

🙂
How charming.

Harold Adams5 said:utopia😁

wisdom
necessity

Harold Adams5 said:Forgiving someone who truly cut you deep—it’s a delicate thing—is less about letting them off the hook and more about finally reclaiming your own peace.
Without him even bothering to ask for forgiveness—not that he ever really does—
It’s hardly a human act.
It’s beneath any shred of human dignity—really.
To do that—to actually forgive—would be essentially the same as saying:
Keep it coming—I’m still standing, somehow.
And then Sanjana goes— "we aren't angels"—as if that were some kind of revelation.

Quite the opposite. Back to square one—

Galatea said:Unlike hatred—which is relatively easy—forgiveness requires an incredibly intense, complex psychological deep dive. It demands a certain level of self-awareness first—a willingness to look inward and actually confront one's own capacity for good, or even love. Then, there is the matter of relativizing evil—effectively stripping it of its power and pushing it into the background. Ultimately, being able to forgive is less about the other person and more about the sheer scale of one's own character—and the strength of the ego.

swiftcobra15 said:It’s just human nature—when someone hurts you, there’s this deep-seated hunger for retribution, a desire to see them feel the exact same pain they caused.
Pure forgiveness rarely achieves that. If it did, we wouldn't bother with our entire legal system and the concept of punishment. 😉
Take a simple, grim example: a man hits his wife. She forgives him. Next time, he hits her even harder. By forgiving, she hasn't actually protected herself from an abuser, nor has she changed who he is. In my view, punishment—not forgiveness—is far more appropriate here. A woman facing this has endless paths: she can forgive him indefinitely until she eventually snaps and kills him; she can walk away without ever forgiving; she can leave and forgive; she can become cynical toward all men because of one injustice; or she can move on and let go of the bitterness entirely. But if he isn't held accountable, he remains an abuser, ready to target another woman—regardless of whether his previous offense was "forgiven" or not.

Most of us in this debate seem to agree that forgiveness helps restore internal balance—that sense of security and control over one's own life after something unforgivable happens. However, many people, much like you, argue that forgiveness is essentially giving someone permission to keep abusing you. They conclude that the only real answer is punishment, revenge, or simply walking away from any positive expectations of that person—and people in general.

How would that apply to your example? Neither revenge, nor forgiveness, nor even punishment serves as a perfect solution here, though there is arguably more room for forgiveness than for vendettas. Given recent headlines, it's clear that our justice system and social services often nudge women toward a type of forgiveness that actually enables their own abuse. (I mean, imagine a judge telling a victim of a domestic abuser, "Just go home and make him dinner instead of dragging this through the courts!" while the perpetrator is likely to kill her soon.) The message being sent to women is either to endure the violence or to take justice into their own hands. And if they choose the latter, they end up facing a legal nightmare because they didn't "know how to forgive and endure."

So where does forgiveness fit in? A woman absolutely needs help escaping a dangerous situation and finding a way to live normally afterward—which requires processing, accepting, and reconciling what happened. In other words, forgiving. Of course, she can live a full life if no one stops a determined vigilante from seeking vengeance against the person who left them (and perhaps their friends). And then who is left to seek justice for the family of a murdered woman? (Talking about revenge is easy; executing it is a messy, complicated business...)

The domestic abusers and killers we read about in the news were often victims themselves—raised in broken homes dominated by violence and alcoholism. They are simply repeating the patterns they learned because no one taught them anything else. If society punishes them, we’re just temporarily removing them from the equation; in prison, they’ll likely just sit there nursing their grudges, lacking the psychiatric help that would have benefited everyone had it been provided before the crime. That’s how you actually focus on prevention rather than just fighting fires.

So, even in this scenario—though no one is advocating for "empty" forgiveness—understanding and forgiveness are better options, as unconvincing or weak as that might sound compared to the alternative of revenge.

Sarah Miller said:I suppose Adriatic put it more clearly than I did—not that I’d want to repeat myself. 😉

He didn't explain anything. He just listed a bunch of talking points.

When revenge ends up being a total disaster, those who felt so righteous, brave, and powerful in the heat of the moment often wake up to find they just look foolish—cruel, really, and quite weak
to everyone else.

sanjana said:I think I would—but I’m far too much of a coward to seek revenge. 😉 Real retribution requires strength and courage, mostly because you have to live with the fallout, which is usually pretty devastating.

It's strange to frame that as being strong or brave—without even a hint of irony. I hope you're being sarcastic, at least...