Samantha
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Why do the Brits do mysteries so much better… in the forum Small Talk 1 year, 8 months ago
There’s an English county called Somerset, which is quite rural and pretty. No-one knows what it’s named after, but it might be “summer farmstead”, or a number of things.
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Why do the Brits do mysteries so much better… in the forum Small Talk 1 year, 8 months ago
Unseen wrote:
A recent count I saw was 334Yes, it’s been a running joke in this country: don’t move there or you’ll get murdered.
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Why do the Brits do mysteries so much better… in the forum Small Talk 1 year, 9 months ago
In this situation, if Reg says “3 please”, the barman knows he means Guinesses.
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Why do the Brits do mysteries so much better… in the forum Small Talk 1 year, 9 months ago
Before pubs, in the middle ages or whatever, there were ale houses run by individuals who may have been brewing their own beer. I don’t know, probably a number of brewing companies started their own pubs. Apparently these are called tied houses, but we don’t call them anything. The opposite of a tied house is a free house where there is no re…[Read more]
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Simon Paynton posted an update 1 year, 9 months ago
@regthefronkeyfarmer – I want to mention the Catholic mother and baby homes scandal in my book. I think the Catholic Church in Ireland was a classic example of where patriarchy has taken advantage of an existing power structure. In this case, it’s taken over the Irish Catholic Church entirely. That’s been its downfall, in addition to the kiddie…[Read more]
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Simon is there anything peculiar about patriarchy? Or is it simply the case that wherever power resides abuse occurs?-
Patriarchy is a system of domination and control that is always looking for a host (according to the theory). So it’s not a system of abuse, but it encourages abuse. Also there’s paedophilia, always looking for opportunities for abuse. So the second has piggy-backed on the first in my opinion.
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Why do the Brits do mysteries so much better… in the forum Small Talk 1 year, 9 months ago
Unseen wrote:
BTW, for the Americans, what’s the difference between a pub and a bar?A pub is a public house – a whole building dedicated to meeting and drinking. A bar is technically a counter with a rack of bottles behind it. A bar is more like a facility where they serve you drinks, than a public house, a comfortable home from home full of…[Read more]
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Sunday School August 4th 2024 in the forum
Sunday School 1 year, 9 months agoIf anyone wants in-depth impartial analysis of the US election campaign, it’s all here:
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Sunday School August 4th 2024 in the forum
Sunday School 1 year, 9 months agoReg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
The idea that evolution is a linear progression from “ape to angel” is flawed.Unseen wrote:
The truth, I believe, is that what natural selection is good for is for over time gradually eliminating things that are dysfunctional, and that’s about it.Yes, I presume that every organism is adapted to its niche. But th…[Read more]
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Watch Trump lose the election by just being himself in the forum Politics 1 year, 9 months ago
Unseen wrote:
Wake up! a) NK doesn’t need anyone’s permission to have nuclear weapons and b) NK already possesses nuclear weapons.You’re right, I didn’t get the story quite right. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0jqjwdyl1ko
The nuclear state will never get rid of its weapons, Mr Ri says, and would probably seek a deal to freeze its nucl…
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Watch Trump lose the election by just being himself in the forum Politics 1 year, 9 months ago
unapologetic wrote:
Apparently he is more useful to Putin if he stays in the USA.NOTE: this is a joke, no basis in fact
North Korea have said they want Trump to win so that he will let them have nuclear weapons.
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Sunday School July 28th 2024 in the forum
Sunday School 1 year, 9 months agoReg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Two thinkers who overcame the philosopher’s curse(s).This article says that the philosopher’s curse is thinking that the world ought to match up with one’s intellectual creations. That would include ideological thinking and group-think – forcing the mind to accept a certain view of the world, and ignoring facts th…[Read more]
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Sunday School July 21st 2024 in the forum
Sunday School 1 year, 9 months agounapologetic wrote:
Does this happen to anyone else?It never happens to me. It’s a mystery.
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Sunday School July 21st 2024 in the forum
Sunday School 1 year, 9 months agoUnseen wrote:
I’m not proposing a college-level course, but rather one that talks about the justification of one’s actions in terms of balancing benefits against consequences and the harm one does not just to society but to oneself through bad moral/ethical choices.At the end of the day, I think that’s probably the most important take-away fro…[Read more]
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Sunday School July 21st 2024 in the forum
Sunday School 1 year, 9 months agoUnseen wrote:
Nobody ever decided not to murder someone because they remembered a placard on display in their classroom.I agree with you. People have to reason it out. But cultural norms must have a big influence.
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Sunday School July 21st 2024 in the forum
Sunday School 1 year, 9 months agoUnseen wrote:
I’m not proposing a college-level course, but rather one that talks about the justification of one’s actions in terms of balancing benefits against consequences and the harm one does not just to society but to oneself through bad moral/ethical choices.That would be a good thing to teach. But it’s quite simple to teach. It’s the p…[Read more]
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Sunday School July 21st 2024 in the forum
Sunday School 1 year, 9 months agoReg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Why France is banning the Hijab for their Olympic athletes but Amnesty International is not happy about it.I don’t think that France should ban the Hijab for Olympic athletes. It’s too much interfering in individual rights. But
the report argues that the Olympics weaponizes laïcité by imposing restrictions dis…
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Sunday School July 21st 2024 in the forum
Sunday School 1 year, 9 months agoWhat can I say? The average in the US is 98.
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic Sunday School July 21st 2024 in the forum
Sunday School 1 year, 9 months agounapologetic wrote:
Yeah, but we’re talking about Louisiana. They have been undereducated for generations.I’m sure the people in Louisiana are as intelligent as anyone else.
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Simon Paynton posted an update 1 year, 9 months ago
@popebeanie – I am reading an interesting book called The Human Career by Richard Klein. I picked it up for £3 on Amazon (older 2nd edition). On human culture, it says
Before the emergence of modern people [some time between 200,000-50,000 years ago], the human form and human behavior evolved together slowly, hand in hand. Afterward,…[Read more]
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That’s nice, I like the language he’s using to describe the process.To be honest, I don’t read enough, so I’m less informed than I should be. I learn the most from summaries of books, and interviews of authors. I like speculating on how the human form, or at least some physiology could keep evolving to keep pace *somewhat* to our…
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Simon Paynton replied to the topic The future of assassination is obvious in the forum Politics 1 year, 9 months ago
Well, the Israeli army has taken out rivals a few times, using drones. For example,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/07/baghdad-drone-strike-iraq-iran-militia
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