hrimfaxi_work

Hey there! FYI I really appreciated this comment. The response to my comment here convinced me that Lemmy isn’t really the place for me. I popped back today to look something up, and I wanted to make sure you got a friendly hello after seeing your response.

I totally agree with everything you said. Having shared practices for remembrance and an established “typical” way to demonstrate care for deceased people is a significant part of maintaining social cohesion and so useful for giving individuals an outlet for grief.

The way an entire industry has emerged to capitalize on loss and paij sickens me, but that part is a whole different conversation.

My education is in archaeoligy, and my primary interest was American deathways. I’ve probably spent more time thinking about contemporary death rites and remembrance than I’ve thought about anything else as an adult.

Anyway, I hope you’re well! Keep on being a cool person.

Ritual and ceremony are deeply important aspects of the human experience. What cultures do with their dead is way, way up there with foodways and adornment when it comes to cultural significance.

The increasingly common view in the West that elaborate death rites are unimportant is really new when compared to the rest of human history. It’s probably a postmodern thing? If I’m right about that, that would mean the less reverential attitude towards traditional deatg ceremony is like 110ish years old.

Compared to the 200,000-300,000 years Homo Sapiens have been around (or 45,000 years ago if we only want to discuss the length of time that Northern European-style deathways have most likely been practiced), 100 years isn’t a lot to change that cultural inertia.

Sorry, I know this is a Wendy’s. Just a frosty, thanks.

I’m a light sleeper with a loud mind, as well, so this kind of thing has always been a problem for me. The two main things I find helpful may not do the trick for you, but here goes:

First, trying to force myself back to sleep always just ramps my brain up worse and makes it more difficult than it already was to fall back asleep. I stopped trying to force the issue, which has counterintuitively sped up the time it takes me to fall back asleep. I don’t get up or engage my mind with anything significant, but if I’m awake, I’ll put soft music on my earbuds or scroll on my phone set to the dimmest setting. I may not fall back to sleep immediately, but I’ve found that lowering the pressure on myself to fall back asleep makes it happen more readily than when I spend 2 hours and 45 minutes being like “if I fall asleep right now, I can still get another 3 hours. go to sleep. fall asleep. sleep will happen… now!”

Second, I’ve increased my oversell magnesium intake. I know you said no substances, but I feel like this is different. There have been a few studies–popular science type stuff, nothing peer reviewed that I know of–indicating that magnesium improves sleep quality and the ability to return to sleep if woken up. Might be the placebo effect, but I don’t care because I’ve noticed an improvement.

Sorry you have to deal with this flavor of insomnia, too. Super sucks.

I worked in grocery stores for several years in my 20s. That was 10 years ago, but I still remember so many vegetable PLUs and fly through self-checkout most times.

I’M HIT

powpowpowpowpowpowpowpowpowpow

Yes.

I already ate more sugar than I should have. I’m not going to drink the runoff. I also don’t drink the mostly-salt broth from instant ramen.

Not to be dramatic, but I’d rather die.

My wife and I have done White Castle table service every year since we’ve been together, except for the year they didn’t do it because of covid.

It’s a lot of fun, but I don’t think there will be tables available on this short notice.

When I’m really stressed out, I’ll put on repetitive beep boop music and draw floor plans on graph paper.

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I love their recipe for no bake cookies, though! Just 12-15 minutes at 375°, and you’re good to go.

Here’s why that’s a [evaluative adjective] thing.

Every now and then, there’s an article about some dumb shit a person on The View says. My reaction is always surprise that The View is still even a thing.

Paths of Glory is a very good movie.

I noticed on paragraph 3 of this policy-mandated letter that literally no one but me will ever read–and it’s mind-boggling that even I read it–that you referred to “December 2022.”

As it is December 2023, and December 2023 is referred to multiple times elsewhere in the aforementioned letter, can you please clarify to which month this document refers?

Thank you in advance.

Being from Minnesota, USA, this question just sounds so odd to me.

Clearly, there are regions where it doesn’t snow and that lots & lots of people live in those regions. But reading the question is so jarring!

This was the dumbest fucking take even before everyone had an always-on pocket computer with them at all times.

Outside of insane scenarios during which you would have everything you need at your immediate disposal, the option always existed to say “I need a calculator for this, brb.”

Chocolate milk.

I don’t get it often, but I get psyched when I decide it’s time.

I microwave at lower power settings for longer times, and I stop to stir and taste at regular intervals. My microwaved food is usually the temperature I want it to be.

The closest shoe repair place to me is 60 miles away these days 😔 It’s not like I live in a small town, either! I remember when there was one in every second or third strip mall. It’s not like it’s tricky to order a bottle of Obenauf’s online, but I miss being able to just be like, “I better swing off at this random place to pick some up while I’m thinking about it.”