European guy, weird by default.

You dislike what I say, great. Makes the world a more interesting of a place. But try to disagree with me beyond a downvote. Argue your point. Let’s see if we can reach a consensus between our positions.

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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: August 19th, 2023

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  • My country allowed foreign cinema “only” with subtitles because most of the population was illiterate and the idea was to keep viewership of such media low without resorting to very harsh censorship, although it existed at the time.

    It backfired so bad the general population developed a knack for acquiring foreign languages, through those media. Being a latin language country we score very high on the domain of english as a foreign language. Many of us also speak a bit of french and a large majority knows at least how to curse in spanish to return the love.

    It was a common recommendation when I was a kid to expose children to non-dubbed media to develop foreingn language and reading skills.

    And I can personally vouch for this, as I started developing basic english domain very early through cartoons and movies and the need to follow the subtitles helped me develop my reading skill and speed.

    Regarding the quality of dubbing, I can only say something always gets lost in translation. More recently, I’ve followed a couple of series, both subtitled and dubbed, and the end result is completely different. Subtitled, you can follow the emotions in the original actors voices and postures. No lag, no difference, no adaptation. Dubbed, it often feels like watching a completely different show. And the voice over actors are professionals, obviously. But it is common for the voice over team to take some liberties.




  • Many brazillians I know have defended that hypothesis. Brazil has a very strong and inwards turned cultural production industry. They cater to themselves and keep 95% of the population satisfied.

    I’ve heard a few songs, originally in english, being performed by brazillian artists, with varying degrees of success on the lyrics translation. But most music passes unadultered. Most people only cares about the sound, not the story in a song.

    There’s a meme of guy calling a local radio station to request a song. He wanted to hear a song he called “Anteontem fez frio” (literally “yesterday was cold”). No band, no other reference. The DJ asked him to sing a few words, as they did not know such song. He does. It was Queen’s “I want to break free”.

    And what is the concern regarding the “th” sound being absent in portuguese?




  • Months ago someone shared a link to a study by a swedish or norwish institute where they had done those calculations.

    Our species will top around the 11bn and slowly fall back to the 9,5/10bn, with optimist expectations. Lower numbers would be in 8/8,5bn.

    Biggest problem? Resource sharing. We are able to feed our species two fold and then some. Just eliminating bad commercial practices and food waste, would nearly double the available food, as is.

    Before, it was the rise of living standards cutting the birth rate down. Now, with poverty, inequality and automation on the rise, people have another reason to not raise families.

    Our species will shrink and fast. Faster than anyone expects. Korea, Japan, Italy, even my country, are showing fast signs of aging.

    What will they try to do? Conscript women’s uterus like Russia is, supposedly, debating? Even China is doing the math and the numbers are not good.

    We owe nothing to governments. They are our servants. People forgot about that. Allowed megalomaniac interests to takeover our lives.

    Will things get grimmer? Yes. No doubt about it. But I hope I will live to see things get better.













  • In my country, jury duty can be refused and is deemed as a role, not an obligation. It is an honor, as it is very rare to have such added role in court; takes very complex and often serious crimes. People called for it often accept but I have heard of situations where people object from personal or moral values.

    And, again, in my country, voting is not an obligation, nor legal, nor moral. It is a right and the duty to vote is considered a matter of respect towards the right that was acquired through a revolution and the individual right to be part of the political destiny of the nation, no matter how small.

    Maybe I’m splitting hairs, here, but I don’t care.

    A duty arises from a personal sense of necessity to do something. Call moral obligation if it is easier for you. Being moral relative… Obligation is determined, enforced and enforceable by law.