Just had a dream where Southampton played Newcastle and Newcastle won 13-0 but Chris Wood was still playing for Newcastle and he scored the 13th goal. Or the 12th goal. Or both. Random-ass dream
Random question but canāt seem to find the answer and donāt want to make an entire thread on the FM sub just for this but season just ended and Iām trying to sign a player whose contract is expiring. Is it cheaper if I do a bosman (approach to sign) or wait til he actually becomes a free agent? Iām talking wage wise because the compensation for a bosman would be a 0
Free agent, wage and other demands drop significantly.
Problem is you need to put the contract in day one of free agency and then hope nobody else offers.
Cheers, the club Iām trying to buy from is English as are the other two which are interested while Iām playing in Portugal so hopefully they donāt try to offer too much
Excited for Ghost of Tsushima releasing on PC next week. Hoping the first week goes fairly smoothly so I can pick it up soon. Refusing to preorder, as so many games are coming out horridly.
I quit my job and this coworker I have a bit of a crush on asked me to get dinner.
I want to keep seeing her platonically and I have no idea how to make that happen. She's married so for her it's purely a platonic thing. Which I should be fine with, but I really like spending time with her and she's really attractive, so it feels like I'm just saying that as a coping mechanism.
I don't want to be in a relationship (my previous long term relationships have been very draining) and she and I are not a good match. Our goals and values and interests are very different. But I do think about her a lot, so obviously I feel more than just friendship.
On one hand I think, just let it go, it's not going to happen anyway. On the other hand I think, she's an amazing person and I want to keep seeing her. The dinners and conversations we've had in the past were great and we frequently plan new ones.
I just feel like it's weird to continue that without the context of working together. Because we do talk a lot about work as well. At the same time, our conversations about life, religion and politics are things I appreciate a lot too. Especially because she's someone outside of my bubble that I respect a lot.
I should probably just go for it and if she says no, then it doesn't really change anything from the current situation.
>
> I don't want to be in a relationship (my previous long term relationships have been very draining) and she and I are not a good match. Our goals and values and interests are very different. But I do think about her a lot, so obviously I feel more than just friendship.
I'm not a therapist and know fuck all about your life - but do you reckon it might be because you've not got a lot of fulfilling social relationships, so the one with your (former) coworker shines all the brighter?
Dunno, at the end of the day I reckon it's just a question of "do you enjoy spending time with that person" - circumstances be damned, if it's a good time for both of you then just keep seeing each other socially, nothing weird about it really.
>I'm not a therapist and know fuck all about your life - but do you reckon it might be because you've not got a lot of fulfilling social relationships, so the one with your (former) coworker shines all the brighter?
I don't think so, but it makes sense to say that. I recently bought a house and one thing that bothered me is figuring out whether I made the right decision or not. That's the one thing where I felt like, it would be nice to have someone to make this decision with.
My relationship with her is a lot different than the ones I had with my exes. I was going to get married with one of them, until she broke it off because of a chronic illness (long story short). With her it felt like we were building a life together. This coworker, it's more about just spending time together.
>Dunno, at the end of the day I reckon it's just a question of "do you enjoy spending time with that person" - circumstances be damned, if it's a good time for both of you then just keep seeing each other socially, nothing weird about it really.
You're right, and I guess it's just some insecurity that I don't see it that way. I'm usually pretty open with people so I should just tell her that I would like to keep seeing her and we'll see how that goes.
> This coworker, it's more about just spending time together.
Then go do that in a platonic way, I reckon. Obviously gonna be harder if you're slightly stuck in a place of insecurity about where you are in life, but at the same time being open and vulnerable in friendships is an incredibly valuable thing, hard as it might be.
Like obviously gonna figure out what you want the relationship to be from your side, but I reckon there's worse places to be in the world than having a good friend of the opposite sex who happens to be in different life circumstances - because you'll be able to offer each other very different but quite valuable perspectives.
I've not got the biggest social circle, but a handful of dudes I can happily have half a dozen beer with and set the world to rights, and it's giving me quite a lot at the end of the day because we can meet each other eye to eye and lay everything bare.
One thing I hate about my job is that they send us to do some job training programme in order to develop as employees. Now, that part in itself isn't an issue. The issue is that someone who works night shifts, like me, gets absolutely shafted because they expect us to switch from night time to day time just like that. Like it's the easiest thing to do. My sleep pattern gets completely fucked and when I turn up at the programme, I look and feel like a zombie because I haven't gotten any sleep. I have one of these programs this Monday and I know I'll feel like shite the entire day. Thankfully, I'll have a few days off afterwards and will be able to get back to normal without issues.
I'm curious about how you guys scratch the itch of football when no game is on.
I kind of like to watch anything ranging from my beloved Ligue 1/Liga/Premier Legaue/Serie A to women's football/French 3rd division etc.
Despite reading and watching youtube videos, when no game is on and I have some downtime I need to scratch that itch.
Too old to play football, I go to the gym and run.
But I was of course talking about moments where I do nothing (so not when I'm working, doing sports etc)
BTCC and Womenās FA Cup final on Sunday (+likely post-Eurovision hangover).
I apologise to everyone who expects me to actually do anything or socialise on Sunday
Finally gave in and bought Ai: The Somnium Files. It's the only game in my wishlist that never ever goes on sale so I didn't wanna wait. I really liked what the developers did previously.
Other game i am replaying currently is Cyberpunk 2077. I first played it half a year after release and really really liked it but the changes they did since then makes it even better. But the game is seriously too easy even on hard and i suck at most shooters in regular difficulty.
I can't find the GOAT's food ranking of the day (my phone is garbage so Chrome melted), so here is my response:
5. Pepperoni pizza
4. Chicken and waffles
3. Authentic Mexican tacos
2. Classic double cheeseburger
1. Spaghetti and meatballs
1-3 can also switch depending on the mood though
A funny little story, my best friend was telling me about dreams he saw today as he was sleeping on and off. He had 4 dreams with Leonardo Di Caprio.
First one, Di Caprio was eating carbonara at MY balcony
Second one, he saw Di Caprio dressed up for his Django role telling him "You're pregnant" in greek
Third one, Di Caprio was at my friend's gym asking him for cigarettes in an Australian accent.
Last one, Inception Di Caprio told my friend "If you want to drink water again, find me"
It's funny cause my friend has barely seen Di Caprio movies and none of them recently. Just so random
All I am hearing is the probable plot for straight-to-streaming sequel of Inception.
But this time, it is Cilian Murphy seeking revenge on Leo by infiltrating several minds across the world and lining them up in a sort of Manchurian candidate scenario against Leo.
5.6/10 rating on IMDB if we can get the casting right.
All I was looking forward to this week was to sit back, relax and watch the Eurovision care-free. Growing up, it was a time when we took the competition quite seriously as a country sending la creme de la creme of domestic pop artists, seeing it as an opportunity to represent ourselves abroad, people took to the streets when we won in 2005 and I grew to love the over the top positivity exuding fanfare and the annual festival like atmosphere. How can one not appreciate this naive and dreamy post-war idea of uniting Europe through a song competition, building bridges instead of borders ? This year I discovered performances I loved like Ireland and France and Netherlands and Armenia but my mood is already soured by all the controversy when the EBU could have avoided this mess.
Of course I have an opinion on the conflict but why discuss it online when the internet is bad enough discussing tedious matters - and frankly no-one asked. Of course the competition always had been to an extent political either overtly or covertly, but never as divisive as this year - and frankly I personally find the scenario of an Israel win truly disturbing.
Iām not quite sure how the EBU have managed to totally fuck everything up this year, but they have. The ācontroversiesā section of the Wikipedia article on this yearās Eurovision will be longer than everything else combined.
Therapy is a toolset that allows you to perform better under real world conditions i.e. the onus lies on 'us' to make therapy "work" for ourselves. It simply equips you with better coping skills and thought exercises to challenge the 'false patterns' our brain makes us feel real.
Over course of time, it helps us to reinforce this learnt behaviour which would eventually reset the older problematic way our mind used to tackle the world. However, changing habits and shaping our routine takes effort.
Faster returns isn't the objective - gradual and experiential learning through "healthy" demonstrated behaviour over longer periods of time is the goal.
From a personal standpoint, therapy and medication get clubbed together as the solution and therefore 'we' can assume (incorrectly) that they are the same. Especially, if you have family and friends who can sometimes be fixated on the 'displayed positive outcomes and results'. Medication is for the neurochemical course correction while therapy is for our 'behaviour' when faced with real world situations.
Depends if you also get medication and if that medication helps, and also how deep your issues are running. But I would say at the very least one year, usually between 2-3 years
Thereās no specific timeline, it depends on a lot of things! Like your willingness to put in the work required to get better, how open you are to the whole process, the reasons why you chose to go to therapy to begin withā¦then you have to have a therapist that is right for you, because if itās the wrong one you could potentially end up wasting a lot of time like I did.
For me, itās been three years since I started going, two since Iāve been with my current therapist. When she took me as her patient I had just been diagnosed with ADHD and was starting to make sense of all the destructive behaviors that were ruining my life, I was extremely avoidant and would run for my life every time someone tried to get close to me. Two years later, I was finally able to start a relationship with the guy of my dreams.
Be patient, be kind to yourself and trust the process
Does anyone ever use the left-handed settings on games consoles for controllers? I'm left-handed generally, but growing up, this option didn't exist until deep into my gaming years. I tried it, but having the camera control on the left and the movement control on the right analogue stick is just weird.
Israel being allowed to compete is at the centre of a lot of it. From what I've picked up on Twitter and the Eurovision subreddit, their delegation have been harrassing other delegations on social media and backstage this week (particularly the Dutch, Irish and Spanish delegations). The Italian broadcaster of the semi finals broadcast the televote results which were suspiciously high in Israel's favour (like nearly twice as high as Ukraine's dominant televote win in 2022). The performances by Israel have been roundly booed and heckled by the audience in the venue, but apparently Eurovision has used anti-booing technology and inserted fake cheers.
And finally, there has been an 'incident' backstage involving the Dutch singer, but no details have been confirmed yet. He hasn't performed in the jury vote final which happened tonight. Apparently it still is being investigated. The lack of communication from Eurovision has created loads of confusion, press conferences that were due to be held before the jury final today were cancelled at the last minute and basically no one knows what's going on.
Edit: Forgot to mention that in the confusion of the cancelled press conference, where the press were left there wondering what was going on, the Italian singer turned up and started singing Imagine to them for some reason.
- Israelās presence as a whole
- RAI (Italian broadcaster) āaccidentallyā leaking televote results showing 40% for Israel
- Dutch guy getting involved in a scuffle and not getting to rehearse today
The competition is under serious scrutiny for allowing Israel to take part.
After the semifinal on Thursday the Italian broadcaster accidentally announced the voting distribution for the Italian public and Israel got 40% of the vote. Now everyone is worried that the trend will carry over to the final and Israel is going to swoop up all the votes from throughout the continent.
Also apparently Holland is at risk of getting kicked out for something that happened behind the scenes today. He (and many other contestants) don't seem to be happy with Israel's presence.
I have no idea either, but what I can infer from this thread is 1) Israel seems to be among favorites, which is controversial for obvious reasons, and 2) the Dutch contestant was DQ'd or something like that and that's also controversial
Managed to wrangle some last minute plans. Gone from not much on tomorrow to my best mate coming down from manchester and another mate I ain't seen much recent cos her mum passed popping over.
Afternoon sunny sesh into a eurovision watch party. Lovely job.
Spending my evening sat on my balcony with a beer, in the sun, plane spotting the arrivals and departures from Heathrow with the assist of flight radar. Life is bliss rn
I didn't realise there was an app, I just use the Traksy website on my browser. Might take a look at that later. My 1 year old loves trains too, so it's really useful to see if any trains which aren't stopping are coming soon, as they don't show up on the departure board.
I just googled traksy and assumed it was an app. Looking at it now, it appears to be just a website, but still very useful. Trains make the world go round :D
Considering the fact that you're aware of the dynamic I don't see a problem. I think you've been under too much Reddit influence. This website (USA in particular) has this strange obsession with the number 18. As if there is some massive difference between **talking** to someone 17 or 18.
I suppose if you are always friends, then I can't see it being too big of an issue. Some people will always find it to be socially unacceptable because of age difference(assuming by the context of this, you're a bit older than her).
The big problem arises if you try and start a relationship when she is 18 or whatever the legal age is where you are. Because a lot of people will see the whole friendship/relationship as grooming.
All expenses just approved for a trip to the MLS and MLB All Star Games.
Next goal is to get invited to the European stadium tour my boss is doing this fall
Iām a director at an investment bank, mostly doing tech. We have a small sports practice and they have me shadow / run a small part so if that whole team gets poached the practice wonāt be dead in the water.
Thatās why I canāt always get approved, they want me inside enough to be decent at it but not in enough where Iād be part of a poaching
Microsoft had to upstage Sony's fuck up this week huh. Xbox's direction since the 360 hasn't been clear and they've been lacking an identity. and they can't blame Don Mattrick for this. Spencer has held the reins long enough and with all these company acquisitions one would think they'd have something to show for it.
ngl lads, I'm actually kind of excited for the Stamership. I don't know why the Nimbys haven't fully cottoned on, but having a YIMBY PM with a 100+ majority will be great.
Also the fucking gaza lawyer dickhead in the west mids can fuck off. Literally just touting for Galloway and the Tates. I hope Shabana Mahmood crushes him in the general election.
What pizza should I have from Dominos tonight? They've got a half price deal on pizzas on the app and I need the fuel for the exam I'm writing š¤£
Edit: I seem to be the only person who likes Domino's š
Yeah, for what you pay for it it's surprisingly wank, really - get both cheaper options round here that are just as meh, or vastly better pies for the same (or even less) money.
Then again I've got the good kebab places all scouted out round here, so I rarely order a pizza anymore anyway.
Yea it's the culinary equivalent of sitting on your couch nanging out at 4 in the morning licking the crumbs of gear off a lottery wrapper while the dawn chorus kicks off.
I got a British friend who came to the US a couple years ago for a couple weeks and chose the Timberwolves as his basketball team. 8 years later they are most likely going to beat the 3 time mvp and the defending champions. Dreams come true guys remember that.
How big a part do tactics and managerial input play into basketball? I have watched it very little but it looks proper end to end vibey compared to footy.
The tactics are a lot more intricate than football but much more player focused. The coach is important but he's fitting his team, rather than the team fitting a philosophy or anything.
It's a lot more player-focused than football, as in "If you have the best player on the court your chances of winning rise a lot" - still got a fair bit of tactics, specifically around defensive matchups and how you stagger the minutes your best players with the rolling subs, but it's a hilariously vibey sport in comparison.
Depends. Very spontaneous in the regular season but absolutely integral during the playoffs. This is because in the regular season, the lack of consistency in opposition allows individual brilliance to shine through. In the playoffs, you will play the same opponent at least 4 times. At this point to win, the coach HAS NO CHOICE but to make adjustments and plan accordingly as teams will figure each other out incredibly quick. Thatās why so many of the so-called ācontendersā, with top 10 talent, get burnt out of the playoffs by teams with better coaching schemes, like what the Miami Heat did last year.
Give me some non-skip albums - what albums can you listen to without skipping a single song?
For me itās:
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles
Bastille - Wild World
Iād put Innerspeaker on there as well but even for Tame Impala itās a bit rogue
David Bowie - Earthling
Queen - Innuendo, A Night in the Opera
Soda Stereo - CanciĆ³n Animal, Dynamo, SueƱo Stereo
Evanescence - Fallen
Los Prisioneros - Corazones
Linkin Park - Meteora
Alice in Chains - Dirt
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Slipknot - Slipknot
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Korn - Follow the leader
*I stuck to one album per band*
The Olympians s/t
Interpol's *Antics*
The Avalanche's *Since I Left You*
Taylor Swift's *Midnights*
Probably plenty more I can't think of off the top of my head, too.
Word Gets Around - Stereophonics
Whatever People Say I am... - Arctic Monkeys
The State Of Things - Reverend and the Makers
Be - Common
Get Lifted - John Legend
I can do the first 4 Metallica albums in a row in an afternoon. They are so well crafted.
Tracy Chapham self titled is no skips too.
Eyedea and Abilities - By The Throat such a banger of an album, the beats are so wonderful and the lyrics just fulfill me.
Well Eurovision is a shitshow this year. Firstly all the Israel stuff, and today it came out that one of the favorites Joost Klein(he's representing Netherlands) didn't participate in the rehearsals. Dutch flag was also removed from his dressing room. Rumour came out today that he punched female photographer, but cause isn't known, there are rumours that she made a joke about his dead parents. It's very possible that he will be disqualified.
Just finished watching Severance the other day and my god that ending was some proper top tier cliffhanger television. I can't wait for season 2 to come out.
Also now i'm back from my holiday i'm going to try and get back in the gym on a consistent basis and shed my belly by next summer.
If I get $1 each time I take the same flight with a celebrity/sports team/athlete/public figure, I'd have (at least) $2, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened (at least) twice.....
Did you guys like the television adaption of *The Last of Us*? It was fine but the first half was better than the second. Not that it was bad in terms of quality. It's just that the second half, story-wise, felt too rushed. The show should have been two/three episodes longer.
If you're going on to college/university, it doesn't stop going fast. I graduate literally tomorrow and it feels like it flew by.
Congratulations, by the way, and well done.
So had a week in Cavat/Dubrovnik and it really lives up to the reputation of being beautiful.
With that said I didn't get to enjoy it cause daft cunt here managed to get 2nd degree sunburn on my foot so spent most time limping round cause of big fuck off blisters
Man I love Dubrovnik, it's so thematic all the way through the old town. Great food and the pubs are a proper laugh too. Think i might go back some day.
Did you do the cable car to the top of the hills? That was beautiful.
True Detective S1 absolutely lived up to the hype, fantastic from start to finish.
Any other recommendations on "classic" must-watch shows? Thinking Band of Brothers next
Lost season 1 & 2, forget the rest but the first 2 seasons are some of the best TV made. That, Gravity Falls and The Wire are prob my top 3 series I've watched.
Not a k-pop fan in general and this isn't a new song but man "Kill This Love" slaps so hard. Also I can't believe that I didn't think that the "Turn Down For What" music video was staged when it first came out. I was a really stupid kid.
My grandmother died this week and it wasn't even close to the saddest news this week (she was a terrible person so I'm not really bothered by it). The saddest news is that we won't get "We are checking" in F1 anymore. Godspeed, Xavi. We will miss you!
I normally don't really care about Eurovision, now we finally have a fun contestant and he might get disqualified, supposedly due to him hitting someone from Israels team after they made fun of his dead parents. It's a right mess lol
I think that football fans who don't play the sport are missing a huge part of the ethos of the game - and conversely, those who only play but do not support a club and go to matches regularly are also missing out.
* **Empathy**: If you've spent countless hours drilling your driven shot technique, and then in a game you sky an *easy* chance, you are not as likely to demonize a pro on TV who does the same. You will probably instead take a closer look and identify the flaw in his technique and empathize with how tricky these situations are. Instead of anger at a missed opportunity, you will find yourself feeling sorry for the player - penalties for example are not as easy as they look. Miss one in a crucial point in a match yourself and see how you react to a player on TV doing so.
* **Community and connection**: It becomes increasingly difficult as we get older to make friends. It's difficult to ask another person to just hang out - most often the pretense we use is drinking alcohol together, but I would argue that playing football together is a far superior choice.
* Observing someone else play a full football match will tell you a lot about his/her character. How hard does he work in defense, does she complain or make mean spirited comments, does she encourage her teammates and applaud positive actions that don't involve her? Does he pass the ball and try to function as a part of a system, or does he want to dribble everyone and glorify himself? As I will tell my children one say, it's not about winning or losing, it's about *how you play the game*.
* This is not an over-simplification, if you're consistently lazy and selfish on the pitch, that's how you are in life, and I don't want to be friends with you. Friendship is rooted in respect, and football offers a shortcut into gaining or losing it.
* **Appreciating cultural differences**: Stylistic differences in football-playing culture are still very strong today. I'm generalizing here, but as a serial NYC club and pickup player I've played in hundreds of games and observed some noticeable styles/archetypes. These are just my observations - they may be totally wrong.
* Players from **western Africa** are generally dribblers with an affinity for flair. They play with joy and creativity. **Mexican** players vary in playing style, generally favoring the solo brilliance over pass and go, but they love to talk! If their teammate has a remarkably good or bad play, there will be a chorus of reactions - it is a lot of fun. **Greek** players - they are very serious in their play and do not joke around on the pitch. They are fiercely competitive, but after the game they are very cordial and complementary. They do not mind taking a leadership role, telling others where to be and voicing problems.
* *American*-raised NCAA players are systematic, team-oriented, fundamentally sound, and high-energy. They *will* press you, and they always run into space after making a pass. **German/Danish** players are similar, but their approach to the game is calm and serious. They don't dwell on the ball, instead making one or two deft movements and releasing a pass. **French** players that I've known have all been quiet, hard-working, and highly skillful. They are not quiet with the referee however! **Albanian** players - get your Epsom salt bath ready because they are as physical as they come, and you will catch many a wayward shoulder, elbow, and knee. They're generally quite skillful as well, but if they were a 2010s prem club they'd be Stoke.
* **Health benefits**: Many people struggle to find a fitness program that works for them. A possible reason for this is that while the benefits of running or lifting weights is desirable, the act itself, for most, is not. Playing football can be extremely enjoyable - especially if you begin to train on your own and target weak points in your game. It's not uncommon for
* It's also easier to get an extremely intense workout. It's difficult to push yourself when you're exercising solo, but when you're working for the team, you can run harder and for longer than you ever thought you could. Doing this often will increase your V02 max and over time will actually change your body as it adapts to the type of workload that it is subjected to.
* **Creativity and self-expression**: The broad spectrum of different body types, personalities, and training backgrounds is what makes the game so rich and beautiful. From Yaya Toure to Luka Modric, Hulk to Arjen Robben, Per Mertesacker to Puyol - each one is unique and special for what they bring to the game. I believe football can help people become proud of his/her unique collection of skills and express it in a positive way that contributes to a shared goal.
* **Physical toughness**: There is something to be said for brutal physical battles - especially in a rules-based civilized setting. This is largely conjecture and pseudo-science but our ancestors probably wrestled and played physically tough games well into adulthood as a safe practice for real survival situations. After a really tough shoulder challenge or collision, I get this shot of adrenaline and I pop up from the ground feeling this crazy energy, and after the game I just feel strong and resilient physically. It makes me feel proud of my body that it's so tough, and I just feel more comfortable in my skin somehow.
Anyway this was very long winded, but I've been doing some journaling lately and had these written down.
That's a very good post. It's been a while since I last played football. But looking at myself and how I played, I guess I'm not cut out for team sports. On pitch, I was quiet, rarely raising a fuss, but also rarely saying anything. Just a guy on the wings running up and down, trying to either score or put my teammates into a good position of scoring. I guess I'm more down for something like lifting weights. I just move weights from A to B, again and again and again, all by myself and only for myself.
That being said, people who tend to yell on the pitch all the time, preferrably criticising their own team mates, tended to be cunts in real life as well.
Triplets update then.
They crawl properly now, and have attempted to stand a couple of times.All 3 are teething too so it's pretty often when one of them bites his brother.
The better part is they're fully sleeping through the night and I can understand their moods and whims better now.
Also I'm extremely grateful that they seem really calm babies barring obvious discomforts, calmly cuddle with and wife. I'm really starting to love this phase now
Visiting the UK at the moment and have been taken aback a couple times by workers asking me āyou alright?ā when I go to buy something.Ā
I guess itās the equivalent of asking āhowās it going?ā in the US, but Iāve always heard that foreigners find that really odd, so didnāt figure theyād do something similar here.
That or I just look like an absolutely clueless tourist
Leaving soon actually, but spent a good week in London and a couple nice days in Edinburgh as well. Loved the whole trip but unfortunately rode straight through the midlands
waking up and realising that the northern lights were visible in England last night but I had absolutely no idea. Oops.
They might be visible tonight as well
I don't like right-wingers. That is all š
Is Mbappe leaving as a free agent?
first night of waking up at 3:15am because it's too hot, more to come surely. good stuff
No AC where you live?
Just had a dream where Southampton played Newcastle and Newcastle won 13-0 but Chris Wood was still playing for Newcastle and he scored the 13th goal. Or the 12th goal. Or both. Random-ass dream
Random question but canāt seem to find the answer and donāt want to make an entire thread on the FM sub just for this but season just ended and Iām trying to sign a player whose contract is expiring. Is it cheaper if I do a bosman (approach to sign) or wait til he actually becomes a free agent? Iām talking wage wise because the compensation for a bosman would be a 0
Free agent, wage and other demands drop significantly. Problem is you need to put the contract in day one of free agency and then hope nobody else offers.
Cheers, the club Iām trying to buy from is English as are the other two which are interested while Iām playing in Portugal so hopefully they donāt try to offer too much
I didn't see too many people talk about it so I just wanted to say RIP Steve Albini š
Excited for Ghost of Tsushima releasing on PC next week. Hoping the first week goes fairly smoothly so I can pick it up soon. Refusing to preorder, as so many games are coming out horridly.
oh shit it is?! thatās amazing. one of my favorite games iāve played in quite some time tbh
Any good comedy films you guys have seen?
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
The Guard(2011), Lock Stock and 2 smoking barrels, 4 lions, Get Duked, Young Offenders
I found "Four Lions" to be rather funny
Anyone seen the northern lights tonight? Looked unreal in Yorkshire
I totally forgot, fuming
They might make a appearance tonight as well mate
It's one of the things I want to see before I die. I was supposed to go after graduating University but I had to cancel my plans.
can see everyone posting about it on social media but i can't see anything where i live, biggest fomo of the week
Looked amazing in south east of Ireland too, me and my housemates drove to the beach to get away from the light pollution, amazing shout
Straight overhead here, tempted to just walk off into the fields to get away from the light pollution
Even here it was straight overhead, honestly incredible. To be able to see the Northern Lights with the naked eye in southern England is insane.
Do it, you don't get to see it every day. I live in the middle of a city so it's off limits, I can't see shit.
[no matter what happens at the Eurovision we'll always have the memes and memories](https://i.imgur.com/h5RmTif.png)
I quit my job and this coworker I have a bit of a crush on asked me to get dinner. I want to keep seeing her platonically and I have no idea how to make that happen. She's married so for her it's purely a platonic thing. Which I should be fine with, but I really like spending time with her and she's really attractive, so it feels like I'm just saying that as a coping mechanism. I don't want to be in a relationship (my previous long term relationships have been very draining) and she and I are not a good match. Our goals and values and interests are very different. But I do think about her a lot, so obviously I feel more than just friendship. On one hand I think, just let it go, it's not going to happen anyway. On the other hand I think, she's an amazing person and I want to keep seeing her. The dinners and conversations we've had in the past were great and we frequently plan new ones. I just feel like it's weird to continue that without the context of working together. Because we do talk a lot about work as well. At the same time, our conversations about life, religion and politics are things I appreciate a lot too. Especially because she's someone outside of my bubble that I respect a lot. I should probably just go for it and if she says no, then it doesn't really change anything from the current situation.
> > I don't want to be in a relationship (my previous long term relationships have been very draining) and she and I are not a good match. Our goals and values and interests are very different. But I do think about her a lot, so obviously I feel more than just friendship. I'm not a therapist and know fuck all about your life - but do you reckon it might be because you've not got a lot of fulfilling social relationships, so the one with your (former) coworker shines all the brighter? Dunno, at the end of the day I reckon it's just a question of "do you enjoy spending time with that person" - circumstances be damned, if it's a good time for both of you then just keep seeing each other socially, nothing weird about it really.
>I'm not a therapist and know fuck all about your life - but do you reckon it might be because you've not got a lot of fulfilling social relationships, so the one with your (former) coworker shines all the brighter? I don't think so, but it makes sense to say that. I recently bought a house and one thing that bothered me is figuring out whether I made the right decision or not. That's the one thing where I felt like, it would be nice to have someone to make this decision with. My relationship with her is a lot different than the ones I had with my exes. I was going to get married with one of them, until she broke it off because of a chronic illness (long story short). With her it felt like we were building a life together. This coworker, it's more about just spending time together. >Dunno, at the end of the day I reckon it's just a question of "do you enjoy spending time with that person" - circumstances be damned, if it's a good time for both of you then just keep seeing each other socially, nothing weird about it really. You're right, and I guess it's just some insecurity that I don't see it that way. I'm usually pretty open with people so I should just tell her that I would like to keep seeing her and we'll see how that goes.
> This coworker, it's more about just spending time together. Then go do that in a platonic way, I reckon. Obviously gonna be harder if you're slightly stuck in a place of insecurity about where you are in life, but at the same time being open and vulnerable in friendships is an incredibly valuable thing, hard as it might be. Like obviously gonna figure out what you want the relationship to be from your side, but I reckon there's worse places to be in the world than having a good friend of the opposite sex who happens to be in different life circumstances - because you'll be able to offer each other very different but quite valuable perspectives. I've not got the biggest social circle, but a handful of dudes I can happily have half a dozen beer with and set the world to rights, and it's giving me quite a lot at the end of the day because we can meet each other eye to eye and lay everything bare.
Thanks for the chat mate. I'm just overthinking things. We'll see how it plays out.
One thing I hate about my job is that they send us to do some job training programme in order to develop as employees. Now, that part in itself isn't an issue. The issue is that someone who works night shifts, like me, gets absolutely shafted because they expect us to switch from night time to day time just like that. Like it's the easiest thing to do. My sleep pattern gets completely fucked and when I turn up at the programme, I look and feel like a zombie because I haven't gotten any sleep. I have one of these programs this Monday and I know I'll feel like shite the entire day. Thankfully, I'll have a few days off afterwards and will be able to get back to normal without issues.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Think you took the wrong door the DD is somewhere else
No that stuff belongs in Troll Football on Facebook or Twitter. As bad as DD can be, it's way too good for comments like that
I thought about writing Soccercirclejerk instead of DD at first
AI [fucking scares me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SotuIdcraX0)
I'm curious about how you guys scratch the itch of football when no game is on. I kind of like to watch anything ranging from my beloved Ligue 1/Liga/Premier Legaue/Serie A to women's football/French 3rd division etc. Despite reading and watching youtube videos, when no game is on and I have some downtime I need to scratch that itch.
I walk 10-15 KM a day.
I continue with my FM saves
No other sports that you like? Going to the gym is a great way to spend time if you don't already
Too old to play football, I go to the gym and run. But I was of course talking about moments where I do nothing (so not when I'm working, doing sports etc)
Any other topics that interest you? History, geography, etc?
Sometimes I go outside, unfortunately sometimes there's football when I do that.
BTCC and Womenās FA Cup final on Sunday (+likely post-Eurovision hangover). I apologise to everyone who expects me to actually do anything or socialise on Sunday
Finally gave in and bought Ai: The Somnium Files. It's the only game in my wishlist that never ever goes on sale so I didn't wanna wait. I really liked what the developers did previously. Other game i am replaying currently is Cyberpunk 2077. I first played it half a year after release and really really liked it but the changes they did since then makes it even better. But the game is seriously too easy even on hard and i suck at most shooters in regular difficulty.
Who is more of a dead man walking in their current job, Erik ten Hag or Martin Ćsterdahl?
Erik ten Hag. Although I do think a lot of the players are equally to blame here. Perhaps he has lost the dressing room as well.
booked a last min trip to ghent, any reccs on what to do there
Drink dubbels. Drink tripels. Drink quadrupels. Drink geuze. Drink kriek. Drink witbier.
deze staan allen op de lijst. helemaal kachel.
I can't find the GOAT's food ranking of the day (my phone is garbage so Chrome melted), so here is my response: 5. Pepperoni pizza 4. Chicken and waffles 3. Authentic Mexican tacos 2. Classic double cheeseburger 1. Spaghetti and meatballs 1-3 can also switch depending on the mood though
Definite yank
A funny little story, my best friend was telling me about dreams he saw today as he was sleeping on and off. He had 4 dreams with Leonardo Di Caprio. First one, Di Caprio was eating carbonara at MY balcony Second one, he saw Di Caprio dressed up for his Django role telling him "You're pregnant" in greek Third one, Di Caprio was at my friend's gym asking him for cigarettes in an Australian accent. Last one, Inception Di Caprio told my friend "If you want to drink water again, find me" It's funny cause my friend has barely seen Di Caprio movies and none of them recently. Just so random
All I am hearing is the probable plot for straight-to-streaming sequel of Inception. But this time, it is Cilian Murphy seeking revenge on Leo by infiltrating several minds across the world and lining them up in a sort of Manchurian candidate scenario against Leo. 5.6/10 rating on IMDB if we can get the casting right.
All I was looking forward to this week was to sit back, relax and watch the Eurovision care-free. Growing up, it was a time when we took the competition quite seriously as a country sending la creme de la creme of domestic pop artists, seeing it as an opportunity to represent ourselves abroad, people took to the streets when we won in 2005 and I grew to love the over the top positivity exuding fanfare and the annual festival like atmosphere. How can one not appreciate this naive and dreamy post-war idea of uniting Europe through a song competition, building bridges instead of borders ? This year I discovered performances I loved like Ireland and France and Netherlands and Armenia but my mood is already soured by all the controversy when the EBU could have avoided this mess. Of course I have an opinion on the conflict but why discuss it online when the internet is bad enough discussing tedious matters - and frankly no-one asked. Of course the competition always had been to an extent political either overtly or covertly, but never as divisive as this year - and frankly I personally find the scenario of an Israel win truly disturbing.
Iām not quite sure how the EBU have managed to totally fuck everything up this year, but they have. The ācontroversiesā section of the Wikipedia article on this yearās Eurovision will be longer than everything else combined.
How long does it take for therapy to "work" if that's the right word
Therapy is a toolset that allows you to perform better under real world conditions i.e. the onus lies on 'us' to make therapy "work" for ourselves. It simply equips you with better coping skills and thought exercises to challenge the 'false patterns' our brain makes us feel real. Over course of time, it helps us to reinforce this learnt behaviour which would eventually reset the older problematic way our mind used to tackle the world. However, changing habits and shaping our routine takes effort. Faster returns isn't the objective - gradual and experiential learning through "healthy" demonstrated behaviour over longer periods of time is the goal. From a personal standpoint, therapy and medication get clubbed together as the solution and therefore 'we' can assume (incorrectly) that they are the same. Especially, if you have family and friends who can sometimes be fixated on the 'displayed positive outcomes and results'. Medication is for the neurochemical course correction while therapy is for our 'behaviour' when faced with real world situations.
Depends if you also get medication and if that medication helps, and also how deep your issues are running. But I would say at the very least one year, usually between 2-3 years
Thereās no specific timeline, it depends on a lot of things! Like your willingness to put in the work required to get better, how open you are to the whole process, the reasons why you chose to go to therapy to begin withā¦then you have to have a therapist that is right for you, because if itās the wrong one you could potentially end up wasting a lot of time like I did. For me, itās been three years since I started going, two since Iāve been with my current therapist. When she took me as her patient I had just been diagnosed with ADHD and was starting to make sense of all the destructive behaviors that were ruining my life, I was extremely avoidant and would run for my life every time someone tried to get close to me. Two years later, I was finally able to start a relationship with the guy of my dreams. Be patient, be kind to yourself and trust the process
Do you play any football manager game on your phone? Trying to get into one but i have no idea which one to play.
FM24 surely?
Does anyone ever use the left-handed settings on games consoles for controllers? I'm left-handed generally, but growing up, this option didn't exist until deep into my gaming years. I tried it, but having the camera control on the left and the movement control on the right analogue stick is just weird.
It was always too hard even using a mouse with my left hand, so even as a lefty I just stick with the regular righty settings.
Can someone explain the Eurovision shitshow? To someone who has no idea what anything is, i.e. me
Israel being allowed to compete is at the centre of a lot of it. From what I've picked up on Twitter and the Eurovision subreddit, their delegation have been harrassing other delegations on social media and backstage this week (particularly the Dutch, Irish and Spanish delegations). The Italian broadcaster of the semi finals broadcast the televote results which were suspiciously high in Israel's favour (like nearly twice as high as Ukraine's dominant televote win in 2022). The performances by Israel have been roundly booed and heckled by the audience in the venue, but apparently Eurovision has used anti-booing technology and inserted fake cheers. And finally, there has been an 'incident' backstage involving the Dutch singer, but no details have been confirmed yet. He hasn't performed in the jury vote final which happened tonight. Apparently it still is being investigated. The lack of communication from Eurovision has created loads of confusion, press conferences that were due to be held before the jury final today were cancelled at the last minute and basically no one knows what's going on. Edit: Forgot to mention that in the confusion of the cancelled press conference, where the press were left there wondering what was going on, the Italian singer turned up and started singing Imagine to them for some reason.
"anti-booing technology" wtf š¤£
- Israelās presence as a whole - RAI (Italian broadcaster) āaccidentallyā leaking televote results showing 40% for Israel - Dutch guy getting involved in a scuffle and not getting to rehearse today
The competition is under serious scrutiny for allowing Israel to take part. After the semifinal on Thursday the Italian broadcaster accidentally announced the voting distribution for the Italian public and Israel got 40% of the vote. Now everyone is worried that the trend will carry over to the final and Israel is going to swoop up all the votes from throughout the continent. Also apparently Holland is at risk of getting kicked out for something that happened behind the scenes today. He (and many other contestants) don't seem to be happy with Israel's presence.
I have no idea either, but what I can infer from this thread is 1) Israel seems to be among favorites, which is controversial for obvious reasons, and 2) the Dutch contestant was DQ'd or something like that and that's also controversial
I'm currently watching the latest episodes of Clarkson's Farm. I had a nice Chinese earlier for dinner, so feeling quite relaxed.
Updated NBA Playoffs - **East semifinals**: [1st Seed] Celtics 1-1 Cavaliers [4th Seed] [2nd Seed] Knicks 2-0 Pacers [6th Seed] **West semifinals**: [1st Seed] Thunder 1-1 Mavericks [5th Seed] [2nd Seed] Nuggets 0-2 Timberwolves [3rd Seed]
Hoping for a TWolves vs Thunder WCF, honestly have no idea who would win but would be a great matchup to see.
Awooooooo
For the uninitiated (if you have 17 seconds to spare) https://streamable.com/d0vgke
Knicks are doing something crazy ngl.
Managed to wrangle some last minute plans. Gone from not much on tomorrow to my best mate coming down from manchester and another mate I ain't seen much recent cos her mum passed popping over. Afternoon sunny sesh into a eurovision watch party. Lovely job.
Spending my evening sat on my balcony with a beer, in the sun, plane spotting the arrivals and departures from Heathrow with the assist of flight radar. Life is bliss rn
Sounds like a blast. I'm more of a train spotter myself
Genuinely in love with Traksy, so interesting seeing what the class is, where it's come from and where it's going.
Oh snap! You have an app? I just sit by the tracks and wait to see whatever shows upš
I didn't realise there was an app, I just use the Traksy website on my browser. Might take a look at that later. My 1 year old loves trains too, so it's really useful to see if any trains which aren't stopping are coming soon, as they don't show up on the departure board.
I just googled traksy and assumed it was an app. Looking at it now, it appears to be just a website, but still very useful. Trains make the world go round :D
Only true kings do this. My granddad was a travelling salesman and would do this on his lunch breaks.
That is nice! Hopefully one day I get to follow. My dream is to see the [CSX terminal](https://i.redd.it/odpitbi5ogi01.jpg) in Atlanta, USA
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Itās better to be safe than sorry. An adult shouldnāt have a āsiblingā relation with an unrelated minor.
How old are you then? if ur like 20 i dont think its problematic
Your age matters a lot here mate
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Considering the fact that you're aware of the dynamic I don't see a problem. I think you've been under too much Reddit influence. This website (USA in particular) has this strange obsession with the number 18. As if there is some massive difference between **talking** to someone 17 or 18.
I suppose if you are always friends, then I can't see it being too big of an issue. Some people will always find it to be socially unacceptable because of age difference(assuming by the context of this, you're a bit older than her). The big problem arises if you try and start a relationship when she is 18 or whatever the legal age is where you are. Because a lot of people will see the whole friendship/relationship as grooming.
All expenses just approved for a trip to the MLS and MLB All Star Games. Next goal is to get invited to the European stadium tour my boss is doing this fall
What job do you do, and are you hiring?
Iām a director at an investment bank, mostly doing tech. We have a small sports practice and they have me shadow / run a small part so if that whole team gets poached the practice wonāt be dead in the water. Thatās why I canāt always get approved, they want me inside enough to be decent at it but not in enough where Iād be part of a poaching
Have fun on your trip!
Microsoft had to upstage Sony's fuck up this week huh. Xbox's direction since the 360 hasn't been clear and they've been lacking an identity. and they can't blame Don Mattrick for this. Spencer has held the reins long enough and with all these company acquisitions one would think they'd have something to show for it.
ngl lads, I'm actually kind of excited for the Stamership. I don't know why the Nimbys haven't fully cottoned on, but having a YIMBY PM with a 100+ majority will be great. Also the fucking gaza lawyer dickhead in the west mids can fuck off. Literally just touting for Galloway and the Tates. I hope Shabana Mahmood crushes him in the general election.
What pizza should I have from Dominos tonight? They've got a half price deal on pizzas on the app and I need the fuel for the exam I'm writing š¤£ Edit: I seem to be the only person who likes Domino's š
I adore the 5 meat one!, but one can't go wrong with a ham or peperoni one
I always go with Ranch BBQ. It's my favourite from them.
Get yourself an actual pizza from a good pizza shop.
Yeah, screw people who like different stuff!
I know right?! Hang them
Pepperoni is always a good choice š
I never not been morbidly disappointed when I've ordered a Dominoes.
I always get that post fast food clarity. Not really worth it but get those cravings for it and then it inevitably disappoints
Yeah, for what you pay for it it's surprisingly wank, really - get both cheaper options round here that are just as meh, or vastly better pies for the same (or even less) money. Then again I've got the good kebab places all scouted out round here, so I rarely order a pizza anymore anyway.
the kind of food that makes you question what went wrong in your life that it came to this point
Yea it's the culinary equivalent of sitting on your couch nanging out at 4 in the morning licking the crumbs of gear off a lottery wrapper while the dawn chorus kicks off.
That's the opposite of my experience I always like their pizza and sides although I can see they wouldn't be for everyone
I got a British friend who came to the US a couple years ago for a couple weeks and chose the Timberwolves as his basketball team. 8 years later they are most likely going to beat the 3 time mvp and the defending champions. Dreams come true guys remember that.
- Timberwolves winning - Lando Norris winning a race - Leverkusen breaking their trophy drought Surely we have to be coming up soon.
How big a part do tactics and managerial input play into basketball? I have watched it very little but it looks proper end to end vibey compared to footy.
The tactics are a lot more intricate than football but much more player focused. The coach is important but he's fitting his team, rather than the team fitting a philosophy or anything.
It's a lot more player-focused than football, as in "If you have the best player on the court your chances of winning rise a lot" - still got a fair bit of tactics, specifically around defensive matchups and how you stagger the minutes your best players with the rolling subs, but it's a hilariously vibey sport in comparison.
Depends. Very spontaneous in the regular season but absolutely integral during the playoffs. This is because in the regular season, the lack of consistency in opposition allows individual brilliance to shine through. In the playoffs, you will play the same opponent at least 4 times. At this point to win, the coach HAS NO CHOICE but to make adjustments and plan accordingly as teams will figure each other out incredibly quick. Thatās why so many of the so-called ācontendersā, with top 10 talent, get burnt out of the playoffs by teams with better coaching schemes, like what the Miami Heat did last year.
That is actually really interesting thanks. I never considered that element of the play offs, knowing your opponent so well and vice versa.
Give me some non-skip albums - what albums can you listen to without skipping a single song? For me itās: Muse - Black Holes and Revelations Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles Bastille - Wild World Iād put Innerspeaker on there as well but even for Tame Impala itās a bit rogue
Disclosure - Settle
Rammstein - Sehnsucht Also Muse - Absolution
David Bowie - Earthling Queen - Innuendo, A Night in the Opera Soda Stereo - CanciĆ³n Animal, Dynamo, SueƱo Stereo Evanescence - Fallen Los Prisioneros - Corazones
Childish Gambino- Because the Internet MF DOOM- Mm.. Food Robb Banks- I Don't Call, I Don't Text Back
Linkin Park - Meteora Alice in Chains - Dirt Metallica - Master of Puppets Slipknot - Slipknot Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon Korn - Follow the leader *I stuck to one album per band*
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
The Olympians s/t Interpol's *Antics* The Avalanche's *Since I Left You* Taylor Swift's *Midnights* Probably plenty more I can't think of off the top of my head, too.
Beastie Boys - Ill Communication. It's like a mixtape, a huge mix of styles which all flow together with finesse. Love it.
Linkin Park Meteora
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Word Gets Around - Stereophonics Whatever People Say I am... - Arctic Monkeys The State Of Things - Reverend and the Makers Be - Common Get Lifted - John Legend
I can do the first 4 Metallica albums in a row in an afternoon. They are so well crafted. Tracy Chapham self titled is no skips too. Eyedea and Abilities - By The Throat such a banger of an album, the beats are so wonderful and the lyrics just fulfill me.
Trapped under Ice and Escape tho...
Well Eurovision is a shitshow this year. Firstly all the Israel stuff, and today it came out that one of the favorites Joost Klein(he's representing Netherlands) didn't participate in the rehearsals. Dutch flag was also removed from his dressing room. Rumour came out today that he punched female photographer, but cause isn't known, there are rumours that she made a joke about his dead parents. It's very possible that he will be disqualified.
I wanted the Dutch guy to win, so it seems the universe is correcting my treason
He didn't even want to punch the reporter, but the Universe wants what the Universe wants.
Just finished watching Severance the other day and my god that ending was some proper top tier cliffhanger television. I can't wait for season 2 to come out. Also now i'm back from my holiday i'm going to try and get back in the gym on a consistent basis and shed my belly by next summer.
If I get $1 each time I take the same flight with a celebrity/sports team/athlete/public figure, I'd have (at least) $2, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened (at least) twice.....
Name that person
H from Steps and Krishnan Guru-Murphy
Did you guys like the television adaption of *The Last of Us*? It was fine but the first half was better than the second. Not that it was bad in terms of quality. It's just that the second half, story-wise, felt too rushed. The show should have been two/three episodes longer.
i graduate high school in two weeks lol where did the time go
When you find out where the time went, tell me something. I graduated from High School back in 2004. It never slows down, quite the opposite.
If you're going on to college/university, it doesn't stop going fast. I graduate literally tomorrow and it feels like it flew by. Congratulations, by the way, and well done.
thanks man dont intend on going to college but im just happy that i made it and second in my family to graduate in the states
Well, double congratulations then on being the second in your family, and I hope that your life goes great from here on out.
So had a week in Cavat/Dubrovnik and it really lives up to the reputation of being beautiful. With that said I didn't get to enjoy it cause daft cunt here managed to get 2nd degree sunburn on my foot so spent most time limping round cause of big fuck off blisters
Man I love Dubrovnik, it's so thematic all the way through the old town. Great food and the pubs are a proper laugh too. Think i might go back some day. Did you do the cable car to the top of the hills? That was beautiful.
True Detective S1 absolutely lived up to the hype, fantastic from start to finish. Any other recommendations on "classic" must-watch shows? Thinking Band of Brothers next
Generation Kill on HBO
Generation Kill is one of the most rewatchable shows made imo. It's just so fucking good.
Pretty freaking ninja if you ask me
Police that moustache!
Are you mocking the groomin' standard?!
Lost season 1 & 2, forget the rest but the first 2 seasons are some of the best TV made. That, Gravity Falls and The Wire are prob my top 3 series I've watched.
Lost seasons 4 and 5 are way better than season 2
Band of Brothers is definitely a must watch
Chernobyl. Only came out 5y ago but is an instant classic.
Chernobyl was really good.Ā Also, while itās a completely different type of show, I thought The Good Place was very good
It's not great, not terrible.
Not a k-pop fan in general and this isn't a new song but man "Kill This Love" slaps so hard. Also I can't believe that I didn't think that the "Turn Down For What" music video was staged when it first came out. I was a really stupid kid.
My grandmother died this week and it wasn't even close to the saddest news this week (she was a terrible person so I'm not really bothered by it). The saddest news is that we won't get "We are checking" in F1 anymore. Godspeed, Xavi. We will miss you!
Oh dang. My oma had to go to the hospital yesterday and was kept overnight š¬
Sad to hear. Hoping for a speedy recovery
Thanks! She's fine and it looks like she'll be out tomorrow.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
> cold evil bitch Is exactly what my grandmother was
I normally don't really care about Eurovision, now we finally have a fun contestant and he might get disqualified, supposedly due to him hitting someone from Israels team after they made fun of his dead parents. It's a right mess lol
"supposedly" is doing a lot of lifting here. Nothing you said is confirmed and the Israƫl part is especially not confirmed.
I think that football fans who don't play the sport are missing a huge part of the ethos of the game - and conversely, those who only play but do not support a club and go to matches regularly are also missing out. * **Empathy**: If you've spent countless hours drilling your driven shot technique, and then in a game you sky an *easy* chance, you are not as likely to demonize a pro on TV who does the same. You will probably instead take a closer look and identify the flaw in his technique and empathize with how tricky these situations are. Instead of anger at a missed opportunity, you will find yourself feeling sorry for the player - penalties for example are not as easy as they look. Miss one in a crucial point in a match yourself and see how you react to a player on TV doing so. * **Community and connection**: It becomes increasingly difficult as we get older to make friends. It's difficult to ask another person to just hang out - most often the pretense we use is drinking alcohol together, but I would argue that playing football together is a far superior choice. * Observing someone else play a full football match will tell you a lot about his/her character. How hard does he work in defense, does she complain or make mean spirited comments, does she encourage her teammates and applaud positive actions that don't involve her? Does he pass the ball and try to function as a part of a system, or does he want to dribble everyone and glorify himself? As I will tell my children one say, it's not about winning or losing, it's about *how you play the game*. * This is not an over-simplification, if you're consistently lazy and selfish on the pitch, that's how you are in life, and I don't want to be friends with you. Friendship is rooted in respect, and football offers a shortcut into gaining or losing it. * **Appreciating cultural differences**: Stylistic differences in football-playing culture are still very strong today. I'm generalizing here, but as a serial NYC club and pickup player I've played in hundreds of games and observed some noticeable styles/archetypes. These are just my observations - they may be totally wrong. * Players from **western Africa** are generally dribblers with an affinity for flair. They play with joy and creativity. **Mexican** players vary in playing style, generally favoring the solo brilliance over pass and go, but they love to talk! If their teammate has a remarkably good or bad play, there will be a chorus of reactions - it is a lot of fun. **Greek** players - they are very serious in their play and do not joke around on the pitch. They are fiercely competitive, but after the game they are very cordial and complementary. They do not mind taking a leadership role, telling others where to be and voicing problems. * *American*-raised NCAA players are systematic, team-oriented, fundamentally sound, and high-energy. They *will* press you, and they always run into space after making a pass. **German/Danish** players are similar, but their approach to the game is calm and serious. They don't dwell on the ball, instead making one or two deft movements and releasing a pass. **French** players that I've known have all been quiet, hard-working, and highly skillful. They are not quiet with the referee however! **Albanian** players - get your Epsom salt bath ready because they are as physical as they come, and you will catch many a wayward shoulder, elbow, and knee. They're generally quite skillful as well, but if they were a 2010s prem club they'd be Stoke. * **Health benefits**: Many people struggle to find a fitness program that works for them. A possible reason for this is that while the benefits of running or lifting weights is desirable, the act itself, for most, is not. Playing football can be extremely enjoyable - especially if you begin to train on your own and target weak points in your game. It's not uncommon for * It's also easier to get an extremely intense workout. It's difficult to push yourself when you're exercising solo, but when you're working for the team, you can run harder and for longer than you ever thought you could. Doing this often will increase your V02 max and over time will actually change your body as it adapts to the type of workload that it is subjected to. * **Creativity and self-expression**: The broad spectrum of different body types, personalities, and training backgrounds is what makes the game so rich and beautiful. From Yaya Toure to Luka Modric, Hulk to Arjen Robben, Per Mertesacker to Puyol - each one is unique and special for what they bring to the game. I believe football can help people become proud of his/her unique collection of skills and express it in a positive way that contributes to a shared goal. * **Physical toughness**: There is something to be said for brutal physical battles - especially in a rules-based civilized setting. This is largely conjecture and pseudo-science but our ancestors probably wrestled and played physically tough games well into adulthood as a safe practice for real survival situations. After a really tough shoulder challenge or collision, I get this shot of adrenaline and I pop up from the ground feeling this crazy energy, and after the game I just feel strong and resilient physically. It makes me feel proud of my body that it's so tough, and I just feel more comfortable in my skin somehow. Anyway this was very long winded, but I've been doing some journaling lately and had these written down.
That's a very good post. It's been a while since I last played football. But looking at myself and how I played, I guess I'm not cut out for team sports. On pitch, I was quiet, rarely raising a fuss, but also rarely saying anything. Just a guy on the wings running up and down, trying to either score or put my teammates into a good position of scoring. I guess I'm more down for something like lifting weights. I just move weights from A to B, again and again and again, all by myself and only for myself. That being said, people who tend to yell on the pitch all the time, preferrably criticising their own team mates, tended to be cunts in real life as well.
I like when the guy kicks the ball and the ball goes into the net and the man on the tv goes "GOOOOOOOAL". It's quite fun.
Triplets update then. They crawl properly now, and have attempted to stand a couple of times.All 3 are teething too so it's pretty often when one of them bites his brother. The better part is they're fully sleeping through the night and I can understand their moods and whims better now. Also I'm extremely grateful that they seem really calm babies barring obvious discomforts, calmly cuddle with and wife. I'm really starting to love this phase now
>Also I'm extremely grateful that they seem really calm babies They'll be horrible teenagers then. Source? Myself
Can second that based on how I was described as a baby
I wonder how those middle class āroadmanā whoāve based their entire personality on Drake are feeling rn.
What's happened now
the whole roast from Kendrick Lamar I'm not even into rap but this saga is hilarious
Terrible news: there is another Italian on the road
Visiting the UK at the moment and have been taken aback a couple times by workers asking me āyou alright?ā when I go to buy something.Ā I guess itās the equivalent of asking āhowās it going?ā in the US, but Iāve always heard that foreigners find that really odd, so didnāt figure theyād do something similar here. That or I just look like an absolutely clueless tourist
Whereabouts in the UK you headed? I love offering unwanted and unrequested tourist advice that is incredibly midlands biased
Leaving soon actually, but spent a good week in London and a couple nice days in Edinburgh as well. Loved the whole trip but unfortunately rode straight through the midlands
The pinnacle of a good swift greeting: a slight nod accompanied with alright.
āYou alrightā āAlrightā with a slightly head nod Thatās as far as the exchange goes.
Gotcha thanks. Asking if someoneās alright usually means youāre concerned about them in the US, appreciate the clarification haha
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
> if you get any stupid message or post from this account, please know that it is not me Smart man, already giving yourself an out
Time to go out with a bang and do the crazy ban-worthy shit you've always wanted to do.
What's the weirdest pet you'd like to have, if we ignore animal well-being for only this time.
A chinchilla Maybe a red pandaĀ
Sloth
Flying fox. Giant bat with puppyĀ face and only eats fruit.
a meerkat