General Discussion Thread

[SeaAngel]

I'm from an earlier generation

Random philosophical question: what is defined as the 'current' generation? I mean, I get it that at 70 years old you are... well, old, but what is the 'current' generation? 10? 20? 30? 40? Anything from 13 to 40? At which point should I start thinking I belong to an earlier generation?

[Fimbulvarg]

Random philosophical question: what is defined as the 'current' generation? I mean, I get it that at 70 years old you are... well, old, but what is the 'current' generation? 10? 20? 30? 40? Anything from 13 to 40? At which point should I start thinking I belong to an earlier generation?

I think you should ask this question in general discussion since it's not art-related.

It's not really clearly cut since people are born continually rather than in segments, but people often talk about the younger, information age generation as millenials and the older, post-war generation as baby-boomers - and then there's all the people in between.

[Sunflower]

Random philosophical question: what is defined as the 'current' generation? I mean, I get it that at 70 years old you are... well, old, but what is the 'current' generation? 10? 20? 30? 40? Anything from 13 to 40? At which point should I start thinking I belong to an earlier generation?

Mmm... I'm old enough that I could have kids in college if I'd thought about it in time. 

I was thinking more that I came of age in the '80s, recently enough to take advantage of second-wave feminism in the U.S. -- i.e. opening up a lot of opportunities previously available only to men -- and the Sexual Revolution (birth control, "Our Bodies, Ourselves," first-wave gay liberation, etc.).  (That's not to say I personally took advantage of a lot of that, but at least I wasn't going to be reported to the authorities or my parents if I wanted to.)

But there's been a lot more change from the '80s till now, in terms of people being a lot more flexible and comfortable about varying gender roles, choices you can make with your body or lifestyle, feeling empowered to speak up when other people are jerks... that sort of thing.  (I'm not going into details 1) so as not to exceed our content standards and 2) not to pull the discussion too far off-topic.) 

It seems to me that people whose ideas were formed in the last 20-or-so years are a lot more flexible about things.  And not just, uh, NSFW topics.  Rather, adding to the no-longer-new idea that women can do things and act in ways that used to be thought of as "men's" areas, the still somewhat new idea that men can also be and act in ways that used to be thought of as "women's" areas. 

For example, my mother sometimes talks about my younger brother "babysitting" his two small children when his wife is out of town.  And I say, "Mom, it's not 'babysitting' when it's your own children -- it's simply *being a parent*."

And the idea that if you like things traditionally associated with your home gender (in my case, cooking and cute fluffy things), that doesn't mean you have to take all the limiting aspects of that "traditional" gender as a package deal (being stuck as a housewife, expressing yourself only in a passive-aggressive way, etc.). 

This works for the guys too -- I see plenty of members of this forum who identify as male, are into computers or explosions or great big trucks, and are perfectly comfortable talking about their kids or their fears or cooking or who looks cute in the comic, without any self-consciousness.  And I think that's really cool!

All right, time for me to stop hijacking this thread.  You folks just rock on with your bad selves.   

EDIT:  Fimbulvarg made a good point re: off-topicness.  I will move SeaAngel's and my discussion to GD, at which point Fim can delete her request if she likes. 

[John Candlebury]

Form a purely superficial perspective, I remember reading somewhere that 20 years are often called "generations" with people aged between 20 and 40 being the "current"(as in working) generation.

That said, this doesn't apply much to the topic in hand, ideas on societal roles and society in general has been changing, in general, much faster than that. In fewer words: why am I even typing.

[starfallz]

I recommend spaghetti as a good first meal to learn how to make.

[Oskutin]

I'll have to do some public speaking on thursday for like 300 people :/

[Oskutin]

I recommend spaghetti as a good first meal to learn how to make.

Or just fry someting on pan.

[John Candlebury]

Scrambled eggs are pretty good for starting as well

Fish is surprisingly easy as well, as long as you put it on the pan for less than a minute, someone on the planet would consider it a fine delicacy.

[Silenter]

Or just fry someting on pan.

Or perhaps stir-frying, but that might get tiring, depends on the amount, I'm assuming.

[OrigamiOwl]

I recommend spaghetti as a good first meal to learn how to make.

Or just fry someting on pan.

Or perhaps stir-frying, but that might get tiring, depends on the amount, I'm assuming.

Scrambled eggs are pretty good for starting as well
Fish is surprisingly easy as well, as long as you put it on the pan for less than a minute, someone on the planet would consider it a fine delicacy.

I agree!  Fish is the only meat I'm confident to cook in a pan.

I think I'll suggest mashed potato (because >_> that's totally a meal <_<) also steamed vegetables!

[Lenny]

Sushi is surprisingly easy to make. Really really easy. The hardest thing is the rice, and only if you have some sort of barrier regarding cooking rice (seriously, it exists, my mother couldn't cook it properly for years because of that). And of course, getting the ingredients can sometimes be challenging if you don't have the right sort of grocery store nearby.

Also, pizza is another easy food (basically, the trickiest is the base, and you can get pre-made bases if that's a barrier - the rest is just a tomato-based sauce (which is really easy to make if you just whizz up a can of tomatoes and add spices) and lots of topping). And also nachos: Doritos chips (corn chips), some sort of meat (mince is good), salsa, avocado, carrots, tomato, sweetcorn, cottage cheese, and whatever else you think will be good... top it all up with cheese, melt it in microwave or oven, and done.

But since I am above all a believer in making food with as little effort as possible, my most best food is rice noodles. Or ramen. Yeeees. You just let the noodles/ramen soak in boiling water for a few minutes, drain them, and add whatever is in the fridge. Bacon and mushrooms are good, as are olives, and tomatoes, and chutney, and carrots, and leftover curry or something (yes, you read that right, that's all of that together). But, WARNING!, this is a Len-only recipe, I don't believe I've actually met another person who likes it. (I do.)

[Sigrid Marie]

I still have no idea who it is we're suggesting recipes for (and why) cx

[Lenny]

I still have no idea who it is we're suggesting recipes for (and why) cx

I think it was mainly for Piney and Eich's benefit, but now it's more a free-for-all.

(It's just fun listing recipes. Mhmm.)

[Dane Murgen]

Wait, should we move this to the food thread? Or are these suggestions too vague to move?

Anyway, I suggest when you get better at cooking, you make bread, moussaka and yoghurt cake. It's quite hard, but it's doable even for a high school student, like me even though I only do this during the holidays.

[Koeshi]

I'd recommend fajitas.  Like with stir-frying its simply a matter of frying different ingredients in stages, so long as the chicken isn't under done you can't really go wrong.  Plus there is the added bonus of you not being expected to make the tortillas yourself so just get those from the shop and go.

Another easy one, that I used a lot when I first lived by myself, is a tomato/canned tuna sauce for pasta, easy to make in large amounts (so you can make several meals worth in one go) and none of the ingredients are going to harm you if they are undercooked.