PicoBlog

Hi. Arrow recently lost one of its OG crewmembers, David McLean (not to be confused with Arrow storyboard artist Dave McLean). Stephen Amell has graciously recorded a video about David and — more importantly — established a GoFundMe to raise money for the family that David leaves behind. Links to the video and the GoFundMe site follow below. Please consider even a small donation. Every dollar truly helps. Be good to each other.

(Memories of My Misguided Youth is a new feature in which I reflect on a pop culture moment that insists on occupying space in my brain even decades later) NOTE: Yes, I know this was a running gag with both Howard Stern and Opie & Anthony, none of whom I ever listened to, but credit where credit is due (I guess). When the time comes to crowdfund a Museum of Cringe, an entire hall will be dedicated to public declarations of love.

Lately there has been some discussion and advice on Substack on romantic relationships, containing quotes like the following: “Women marry hoping their husbands will change; men marry hoping their wives won’t change. And they’re both usually disappointed.” Different varieties of that quotehave appeared at different places during the 20th century. It is a popular saying for a reason: There is something in it. I have an (equally anecdotal and unscientific) theory why things are this way: Because for women, romantic relationships are work, aimed at achieving things, while for men, romantic relationships are leisure, aimed at relaxing and having a good time.

There are a lot of cringey red-pill, pick up artist social media pages out there that talk about the importance of a man having “masculine frame”. These pages talk about things like the power of persuasion, the importance of your body language, and how to “trigger her imagination.”  Let me start by saying, we won’t be discussing any of that today. I think that the concept of masculine frame is vitally important for a man to understand, however there is so much garbage information floating around on this topic that I wanted to offer a clear and grounded perspective on it that isn’t based in manipulation or strange woo-woo esoteric beliefs.

“You are not special. You're not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else. We're all part of the same compost heap. We're all singing, all dancing crap of the world.” Fight Club is the epitome of a filmbro movie. Other than Marla, it features no women, and tells a story about men. It’s the movie that the weird guys who don’t know how to talk to women in college watch.

This post is about two things. They may not seem related, but they are. And they’re in the same Substack, so they’re at least related that way, okay? Stop giving me grief. It’s longish, too, and important — so go make a coffee and come back. COME BACK. The first thing is to mark the passing of Jimmy Buffett. English readers may have little idea of who I’m talking about, as he didn’t make a mark there even with early chart hit Margaritaville, but after Buffett died tributes came in here last week from everybody from Paul McCartney to Joe freakin’ Biden.

“YUCK, mouthwash!” That was my husband’s reaction when I let him have a sip. It was a sweltering August afternoon and we were enjoying much-needed drinks at the bustling town square, Place Pélissière, in Bergerac. He was sipping a Pastis, and I was chugging down a menthe à l'eau. I admit, the emerald-green drink has a rather breath-refreshing taste, but I promise, menthe à l'eau has nothing to do with oral hygiene.

Hello, my name is Conansson, you might know me from the Path Database, the Path Ratings or the unofficial Legends of Runeterra Rulebook. I’m going to walk you through this week’s Path adventure featuring Viktor, Caitlyn and Swain. Since last article, I noticed that the non - boss fights are randomized. That’s why we’ll be focusing on the Special Rules and the bosses. The first Special Rule is another Ethereal Remitter Power and quite an interesting one in that.

Merrill MarkoeMerrill Markoe has created theoretically humorous writing, videos and other stuff in assorted media for (ahem) 40 something years. She has also published 10 books. To see her lengthy resume, check her website. And when I say 'her' I mean 'me'. ncG1vNJzZmirpZfAta3CpGWcp51kja6x0augpaSdlr%2Bsu8Q%3D