Trump (and Biden and Harris) are/were little more than mouthpieces. Policies are created by wealthy elites/“deep state”/lobbyists and the politicians just sell the thing to the public by lying and making big theatrical carryings-on.

Life is hard and stressful whether you’re kind or unkind, so be kind. I don’t mean be a doormat, but don’t be a dick.

Feng shui was originally presented as a mystical, “wive’s tale” system exactly because of this. If a sage told a young person to keep their windows clean because then your house will be full of “clean” light instead of “dirty” light, and this will improve your mood, the young person would tell him to shove off. But if he says cleaning your windows invites the lucky spirits to enter your home, it plants a seed in the person’s mind and they might actually try cleaning their windows.

The Curse of the Golden Flower. I never get tired of watching it.

Lantana, burnt diesel, petrichor, mango sap.

As a fellow lactose intolerant who was raised on soy “milk”, I say it should be cheaper just by virtue of how horrible it is.

A liquid isn’t milk if it didn’t pass through a nipple. Soy, oat, almond… they’re OK, but they’re not milk.

The Russian movie The Idiot (released in 1960) had an actress (Yuliya Borisova) who repeatedly had a wildly maniacal laugh. The look on her face when she does it matches perfectly.

Usually when I buy groceries, I’ll buy a snack to eat on the way home. A packet of crisps, a chocolate bar, something like that. I got tired of chocolate and crisps, so now my snack is a piece of fruit. Cheaper, healthier, tastier. It’s a simple thing but it makes a big difference.

She was just a nutcase. Hit my scrawny little arm with a ruler and crack. She did get fired, so that was funny at least.

Yes.

Teacher broke my arm for writing left-handed.

I used to have a lot of things that brought joy/happiness, but the only one I have now is nature. Birds, trees, soil, bugs, lizards, rocks, clouds… Endlessly fascinating.

I get that POV, but ultimately, water finds its own level. There is always going to be so much out of your control. It’s like “play the hand you’re dealt”. In a poker game, you don’t get to decide your hand. You can only play it as well as you can.

Life is hard whether you’re ignorant or not, whether you’re kind or not. There’s no way to make life simple or always comfortable. So I think you’re better off choosing to be not ignorant, and to be kind.