I saw some people on Reddit discussing whether someone was being orientalist, and I agreed they were simply by using the phrase "zen-like concentration". I'm not offended by them using this term, I just find it stupid. "Zen-like" has absolutely no meaning, but gives an air of eastern spirituality and mysticism. I personally think you should only be able to use that phrase if you can give a detailed and verifiable explanation about the differences between zen-like concentration, huayan-like concentration, mahasthabir nikaya-like concentration, and chan-like concentration, as well as recognize that the last one is exactly the same as zen.

And why is it only ever "zen-like"? I'm sure everyone would find it strange if Asians suddenly started to use the terms "seventh day adventism-like" or "independent fundamentalist baptist-like" to refer to the elements of American culture they find exotic.

Someone posted about language barriers in music yesterday, and it reminded me of a time I experienced the opposite.

I bought a compilation CD released by the record label Avex when I visited Japan in 2006 with no knowledge of the language. It included the song Yatsu Revolution (don't watch it in public or in front of other people BTW) by the A-BOYS. It's obvious from the video that the song is very strange, but with YouTube being less than 2 years old at the time, the music video wasn't easily available online, so I just thought is was supposed to be tongue in cheek. There was also a dance group that has worked with Avex and are called A-Boys, so I assumed the song was by them.

I started studying Japanese a few years later and eventually went to a language school full-time. I found the album it was on along with a bunch of others buried in my hard drive around 2020. My understanding of it going from 0 to 100 all at once was a surreal experience. I'd assumed it was just a silly song by some dancers with no professional singing experience, but it was actually a bawdy song about Japanese geek culture.

I discovered what appears to be the only bar in my current country of residence that specializes in Peruvian pisco in December 2022. At first I went just to try a pisco sour, which I've long been interested in. After getting the chance to revisit it over the holidays, I experimented with different varieties and ways of serving it, and realized a short tonic is my favorite way to drink it without masking its natural flavor.

Previously, I mainly enjoyed cocktails and didn't have any particular favorite spirit, so this is all very new to me. Should I be taking every opportunity I can to inform people of my fondness for pisco and how my refined tastes are beyond the comprehension of the plebs who enjoy lesser drinks like beer, wine, or vodka? Just how far should I go? Am I now required to be a dick to Chileans and go out of my way to remind them that their pisco is shit, an opinion that I certainly have come to after extensive research and experimentation to form my own judgement, and am absolutely not parroting from opinionated reply guys? Are there any gender studies scholars who can help me with this?

Climate change is making the Middle East uninhabitable. This can only lead to two different outcomes for the state of Israel. We will either see a second holocaust by Israelis choosing to remain in their unsafe homeland, or their citizens will have no choice but to flee and once again be dispersed among other states, undermining the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.

Do not be fooled by so called pro-Israeli American Jewish conservatives who receive funding from fossil fuel companies. There’s a very good reason Ben Shapiro defends Israel from the comparative safety of America, all while enabling the fossil fuel industry to bring about the downfall of the Jewish state. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

My textbook got really woke on me all of a sudden.

How come you guys have a house speaker but no techno speaker? Isn't Detroit's legacy just as valid as Chicago's?

You may wonder what lead to this, so I must confess that I made the mistake of claiming that Palestinians deserve basic human rights (my exact words were "I support an end to the occupation.")

I used to think human rights were unconditional, but then someone told me that Palestinians are actually homophobic, so as any rational person capable of critical thinking and nuanced thought would do, I abandoned all of my values and pivoted to support for apartheid.

They made an excellent point, namely that I should support the murder and displacement of homophobes, which is why I propose the following.

Every queer person in North America will come together and form a milita. I'll assume George Soros will pay for everything. For your first mission, you'll take over the state of Florida. I have it on good authority from Conservatives that the US military has gone woke, so I expect them to cooperate with you.

To any Floridians reading this, you have 24 hours to leave before you are crushed under the high heels of the Pink Army. You brought this on yourself by voting for Ron Desantis. Do not resist. Bigots deserve bombs. Anyone who is opposed to this is a homophobe who supports Hamas and is literally worse than Hitler.

QUEER PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES!