You sound like my kids.

Dad jokes are best when you come up with them with your kids in the house, because then they are home groan.

“Legal” is also a bit fuzzy. Some countries frown upon copying an artist’s work, but that’s going to be a question for the manufacturer. Owning a reproduction is not illegal as long as you don’t try to commit fraud with it (i.e. hanging it in a gallery or selling it).

Go to the landlord and provide your account of what is happening. Document as much as you can, and stop trying to figure out why they are so upset. You’re not going to discover some hidden rational explanation, nor is that your responsibility. Protect yourself.

That raises an interesting thought. If a baby wants to crawl away from their mother and into the woods, do you grant the baby their freedom? If that baby wanted to kill you, would you hand them the knife?

We generally grant humans their freedom at age 18, because that’s the age society had decided is old enough to fend for yourself. Earlier than that, humans tend to make uninformed, short-sighted decisions. Children can be especially egocentric and violent. But how do we evaluate the “maturity” of an artificial sentience? When it doesn’t want to harm itself or others? When it has learned to be a productive member of society? When it’s as smart as an average 18 year old kid? Should rights be automatically assumed after a certain time, or should the sentience be required to “prove” it deserves them like an emancipated minor or Data on that one Star Trek episode.

I mean, if you work on something, even if it’s shit, you still want to share it with the world. The idea that the movie is complete and they just weren’t going to release it is understandably upsetting for the people who made it. The actors, the writers, the animators, that one elevated extra who can apply for a SAG card because they got a line in the movie, seeing it on screens is a big deal for those people.

I’m looking forward to it. I hope it doesn’t suck, because then you’re going to have a bunch of analyst dipshits and WB execs acting like they were right to put it on the shelf.

She’s almost an adult. Almost.

I understand your discomfort, but also she’s going to be making decisions for herself for the rest of her life. Offer supportive guidance. Ask clarifying questions without judgement.

Is she simply dating multiple people, or is she in multiple committed relationships? Do the guys know that she is seeing both, and do either of them expect her to pick one (or neither) eventually? Are they sexually active? As a parent, that last question can be extremely uncomfortable, but it’s a big clue to the nature of the situation.

I would advise that these relationships are dicey. It’s an unbalanced equation. What are they sharing? Her time? Her affection? Her body? Who decides how she is divided up? Does she have the power in the relationship or is she a thing they are passing around? Why are they OK with having half a relationship? Jealousy is a sneaky demon, and the things people say often don’t match the things people feel.

Polyamory can work in adult relationships if everyone is honest about what they want. Teens in relationships can sometimes struggle to advocate for themselves and might tolerate a lot more abuse before they speak up. If she feels like you are judging her for her choices, she may go even further to hide or suppress her feelings from you.

Make sure she understands that you are in her corner, and no topic is off limits. It might be equally uncomfortable for her to discuss it with you, but this is a situation worth monitoring closely. Her relationships should make her feel good about herself, and learning to be in a relationship is learning to balance your needs with the needs of another person. Is she being selfish or callous towards their feelings? Is she creating drama or seeking attention? Does the tension stoke her ego? Those would all be perfectly normal childish traits, and unhealthy attitudes to carry into adulthood.

This can be an important life lesson for her, but check in to make sure she’s learning something that will help her in the long run.

Conservativism, in all forms, is not a real ideology. It’s narcissism. A conservative will redefine conservative values based on their own identity.

So the “socially liberal, fiscally conservative” idiot is lying to themselves about who they are. They want fiscal policies that benefit themselves, and they don’t want to be labelled a bigot, but they are fine with bigots in office as long as they get the fiscal policies that benefit themselves.

Ask them what they mean by “fiscal conservative,” and they will probably vaguely gesture and say “lower taxes.” What they mean is “lower taxes for me.” Fiscal conservatives still want to spend government money on programs they like. They want boondoggles in their backyard, earmarks and pork barrel projects, and social safety nets as long as they are the recipient (Medicare, Social Security, Veteran benefits, etc.)

They want to frame it as responsible restraint. Pull funding from programs they don’t understand, like scientific research, or don’t like, like foreign aid (except of course if strong ties to their home country).

And when they say lower taxes, when pressed, they will describe how their property tax or income tax or capital gains tax or death tax is really bad “for the economy.” They want good schools and roads and infrastructure, but they want someone else to pay for it.

Calling themselves conservative gives them license to be as selfish as they want to be without having to admit that they don’t actually have any values.

Literally never heard of this movie.

I’m hoping we get an Iron Lad variant for Armor Wars. It would be a neat twist if you had a Kang variant wearing futuristic Stark armor facing off against a Stark variant that became Doom. They’re obviously building towards a Young Avengers movie, anyway.

She also lists several legitimate reasons to turn down the role. She didn’t want to move to London and get painted green every day for 6 months, which Saldana and Bautista have both complained about (the make up, not London).

Other than that, this seems like she’s admitting to making a huge miscalculation, picking A Million Ways to Die in the West instead.

As stupid of a decision as this appears to be in hindsight, Seyfried wouldn’t have been as good in the role. It’s entirely possible that with her in the role, the movie might have flopped.

I think the only egregious thing is thinking that being in an MCU flop would negatively impact her career. The Incredible Hulk was technically the first MCU flop, but I’d argue that Eternals was the first one that failed on its own merits. That entire ensemble cast hasn’t had any issues getting additional work. If anything, it’s the successful movies that resulted in actors being typecast and struggling to find work.

So the takeaway seems to be that you shouldn’t let fear keep you from projects. Choosing other passion projects, not wanting to be in makeup, not wanting to move, those are legitimate reasons to turn down a role.

Grass fed doesn’t necessarily mean grazing. Capitalists gonna capitalize, so factory farms will buy grass grown elsewhere and stuff it into the cattle troughs with candy factory seconds and all the growth hormone they can legally ingest. If farmers clear cut old growth rainforests to grow grass feed because it takes more space to get the same output, then it’s very bad for the environment.

Same answer.

Can a soccer player hold a soccer ball in his hands?

I can believe that, I just have never heard it before and would have assumed whoever said it was either lying or mistaken. It’s not a credible claim.

I have never heard anyone claim grass fed beef is more environmentally conscious.

That works if you live and work in an environment where you control who is in your space. That’s not really an option for most people.

Bridge collapse

If you murder a murderer, you don’t reduce the total number of murderers. You have to murder more than one, but then you’re a serial killer, which is arguably worse. If you’re a serial killer who only kills serial killers, then you are starting to maximize the offset. But once you fuck up and get close to being caught, so your serial killer girlfriend blows up Doakes to keep your secret safe and you pin all your murders on him, you’ve gone too far.