Nostalgia Fatique

[Creamhoven]

5 minutes ago, CapitanClassic said:

if the nostalgic movies have taught me anything, yes.

I dont know this movie. What is it about?

[Lord Mushroom]

28 minutes ago, Creamhoven said:

Can the american/western empire successfully standoff against russia and china with garbage trash culture or will this be a problem further down the line?

While the quality of entertainment coming from the West (mainly the US) could have been better, it is still better than that of the rest of the world. While exporting high quality enterainment is useful in winning the hearts and minds of non-westerners, and has an impact on the economy, it is the economy as a whole which in the long term dictates ones power.

 

For decades to come, the limiting factor on how big a country´s economy can get is population. And China has more people than NATO + other allies of the US combined, so they will become the most powerful entity. But NATO+ won´t be far behind, and due to the existence of nuclear weapons, there is a very low danger of a big direct confrontation.

 

China will probably invade Taiwan at some point unless the US states that it will come to its rescue if they do.

 

India has roughly the same population as China, and will rival China in power in 40 years or something from now. 

 

Putin´s plan to restore the Soviet Union is failing, and it is unlikely the successor will attempt something like that. Especially if Russia becomes democratic after Putin. Russia is not a realistic threat to the West, except for a madman nuclear attack. Their economy, and even population, is too small.

 

The world is getting more and more democratic, and democracies are less willing to start wars. NATO is expanding, and will eventually cover the whole world, leaving international wars a thing of the past.

[CapitanClassic]

1 hour ago, Creamhoven said:

I dont know this movie. What is it about?

It’s about 120 minutes (ba, dum, bump) free with ads.

 

[Creamhoven]

2 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

While the quality of entertainment coming from the West (mainly the US) could have been better,

I agree.

2 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

it is still better than that of the rest of the world.

Okay, but dont underestimate evil Putin. I am sure he will see this weakness and exploit it.

2 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

While exporting high quality enterainment is useful in winning the hearts and minds of non-westerners, and has an impact on the economy, it is the economy as a whole which in the long term dictates ones power.

I have to disagree on this point. I think the essence of winning prolonged conflicts is the will to power. If you have a nice flute what is it worth if there is no will to play it. If you have a nice console what is it worth if you dont have the will to release it. What is a dreamcast worth if you dont have the power to play.

2 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

 

For decades to come, the limiting factor on how big a country´s economy can get is population. And China has more people than NATO + other allies of the US combined, so they will become the most powerful entity. But NATO+ won´t be far behind, and due to the existence of nuclear weapons, there is a very low danger of a big direct confrontation.

Okay, but NATO+ is incoherent and nuclear conflict becomes more plausible if there is no negotiation

2 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

 

China will probably invade Taiwan at some point unless the US states that it will come to its rescue if they do.

Oh no...

2 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

 

India has roughly the same population as China, and will rival China in power in 40 years or something from now. 

I dont believe that indians have the same consitution as the chinese. Im doubtful.

2 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

 

Putin´s plan to restore the Soviet Union is failing, and it is unlikely the successor will attempt something like that. Especially if Russia becomes democratic after Putin. Russia is not a realistic threat to the West, except for a madman nuclear attack. Their economy, and even population, is too small.

Maybe he will release a beautiful console and dominates the market and the minds of the world.

2 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

 

The world is getting more and more democratic, and democracies are less willing to start wars. NATO is expanding, and will eventually cover the whole world, leaving international wars a thing of the past.

What about afghanistan?

 

1 hour ago, CapitanClassic said:

It’s about 120 minutes (ba, dum, bump) free with ads.

 

Nice!

[Lord Mushroom]

50 minutes ago, Creamhoven said:

What about afghanistan?

I am not sure which point you are questioning, so I will answer from all angles:

 

One can argue that the NATO war in Afghanistan was started by Al Qaida, and Taliban for letting them do their thing. And I didn´t say democracies don´t start wars, just less often.

 

Afghanistan was not a member of NATO or a US ally.

 

While the long trend is that the world is getting more democratic, there are short term movements in the other direction. 

Edited March 10, 2023 by Lord Mushroom

[zzip]

19 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

While tobacco and social media companies have made their products/services as addictive as possible, I wouldn´t say the same about the food industry. They just try to make their food as cheap and delicious as possible.

No they know the science behind food cravings and purposely formulate the food to trigger cravings.   Look at the ingredients,  you'll find sugar (and HFCS) in foods where it it shouldn't be, extra salt.   They use the oils and fats they know people crave most.

 

When you cut that food out of your diet for a period, the cravings go away!

 

The human body is tuned for a world where food can be scarce or at least not always readily available.  Cravings happen because it's your body telling you "hey, get more of that calorie-dense food you just ate, it may be awhile before you eat again and I want to store it".   So when food isn't scarce, and you have food that's purposely formulated to trigger cravings but not particularly nutritious, it's a disaster.

 

And it's not necessarily easy to fix because on one hand you don't want to say people should never eat junk food,  but on the other hand ever rising rates of type-2 Diabetes and other diseases affect everyone.  It clogs the health care system up with preventable diseases and raises costs on everyone.

 

And the government isn't much help because they've pushed now debunked nutrition science on the population for decades, and the food pyramid gets skewed by lobbyists from the food industry.

 

19 hours ago, Lord Mushroom said:

it is difficult to stop. But yes, people should try harder to stop. Contact a doctor, or if you can´t afford that, some other health professional, and make a plan to stop taking them.

my understanding is it's hard to stop because the withdrawal symptoms are severe. 

There's different levels of addiction to different things.

With food, you may have to fight some intense cravings, but it's not painful.

With coffee, you may get some nasty headaches at first

But with narcotics the withdrawal can be a lot worse, pain, shakes, restlessness, fever, vomitting, even seizures

[Creamhoven]

1 hour ago, Lord Mushroom said:

I am not sure which point you are questioning, so I will answer from all angles:

I was wondering whether afghanistan is more democratic now.

1 hour ago, Lord Mushroom said:

One can argue that the NATO war in Afghanistan was started by Al Qaida, and Taliban for letting them do their thing. And I didn´t say democracies don´t start wars, just less often.

If democrats start a war, do they let the public vote beforehand?

1 hour ago, Lord Mushroom said:

Afghanistan was not a member of NATO or a US ally.

Under what conditions cam they join if it is possible at all?

1 hour ago, Lord Mushroom said:

While the long trend is that the world is getting more democratic, there are short term movements in the other direction. 

Ah I see. Yes I agree.

[Albert]

I'm going to put a stop to the political discussion before it goes any further.

 

Thank you,

 

 ..Al

[Creamhoven]

Fellow retro-gamers and enjoyers of old popular culture,

 

how do you see the tragectory of popular culture in the decades to come. Will the quality improve? How will things change. I am not happy about the state of popular culture these days maybe you see it differently.

 

Please share your thoughts.

[Lord Mushroom]

39 minutes ago, zzip said:

When you cut that food out of your diet for a period, the cravings go away!

Yes, if you reduce intake of sugar, you will crave it less.

 

40 minutes ago, zzip said:

my understanding is it's hard to stop because the withdrawal symptoms are severe. 

Yes, but with the help of a doctor, you can get a plan to gradually take less and less of it, until you are no longer taking it.