Ask a Question Game - Backwater Thread

Creamy or crunchy peanut butter?

Q: Creamy or crunchy peanut butter?

A: We call it smooth, rather than creamy, Down Under but it's the same thing and personally, I prefer crunchy for the texture. Peanut butter is so good, both kinds - you've made me want to go buy some and have it in celery sticks.

Peanut butter and pickles are really good together, I think. An American suggested that to me, some years ago. I was dubious but yes, they were right.

Q: Have you ever ditched on Christmas?

A.) Depends on what 'ditched on' means. If it means "completely failed to acknowledge", then no. I'm not sure that's really possible anymore unless you spend the entirety of November through February in the Yukon or something, and even then there'll probably be some punkass in a pontoon plane flying overhead blaring Christmas carols at the wilderness.

There have, however, been a couple of years where the money situation meant I 'celebrated' Christmas by taking my work-granted days off to flake out and fail to Christmatize anything. Didn't give any gifts, didn't go to any Things, didn't binge on Christmas movies, just...took my days off and did me. Family's always tried to do a little bit and I appreciate it, but often that's around Christmas rather than On Christmas. So in that essence, yeah - have ditched on it once.

Did not like it, honestly. I count sending cheeky gifts to my little stable of close online buddies as a tradition worthy of upholding, and I honestly enjoy dressing the house up a bit and indulging in some holiday cheer. Halloween is more fun but as trite as it is, Christmas holds a special place in my heart. Heh, there's one singular memory I have from my early youth that is synonymous with 'Christmas' to me, and everything I do since is trying to recapture that single perfect moment of sublime spirit. It's not about presents or carols or cheesy movies or fruitcake or Santa or any of that junk. It's about that one moment at night, quietly watching the candlelight reflect off the ornaments in the tree while soft music plays and your parents reminisce. It's about that one moment of serene contentment and quiet celebration, a memory you only realize years later has become a dear treasure you'll cherish to your dying day.

.
..
...SO YEAH.

Q.) Continuing in this vein: what does Christmas mean to you? Is it an annoying yearly circus of consumerism and tired snow-covered tropes, or do you have something that lets you get past the corporate idiocy of it all too?

"

1453R wrote:

Q.) Continuing in this vein: what does Christmas mean to you? Is it an annoying yearly circus of consumerism and tired snow-covered tropes, or do you have something that lets you get past the corporate idiocy of it all too?

It is the time of year when Fox News fabricates a war; and also a time to spend with friends and family.


Question: Since we're on this topic...What pagan holiday(s) existed at the same time of year, and were appropriated in the creation of Christmas as a holiday?

Question: Since we're on this topic...What pagan holiday(s) existed at the same time of year, and were appropriated in the creation of Christmas as a holiday?

Answer: According to Wikipedia, there is no single myth that was celebrated on or around that time that is universally accepted to be the origin of what we now call christmas. There are many different theories, though. Among them, there is the celebration of Sol Invictus, a roman god, whose depictions I probably would have attributed to some christian saint, as it included a nice halo.

Considering that christianity spread in the roman empire which included many a people, each with their own believes, the uncertainity sounds reasonable to me and probably will not be solved - maybe even because there was no single origin, too, but a multitude of origins that merged into these days' christmas.

Question: Have you already bought and eaten the usual christmas time specialties? (like gingerbread, dominostein, stollen or whatever sweets are special to that time of the year and your home)

A.) Nope. My family has an ironclad rule - no Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving. We'd decorate the day after Thanksgiving, do our holiday cheer then, but until then Halloween had its turn, and so did Thanksgiving. It's a rule I've internalized myself; it helps keep the Holiday Frenzy in check to a degree as well and slows Christmas burnout to not celebrate it for five months at a stretch.



Q.) If you got to be the God of Video Gaming for a day, how would you fix Mass Effect: Andromeda to make it the game it fucking should've been instead of the abortion it was?

"

1453R wrote:

Q.) If you got to be the God of Video Gaming for a day, how would you fix Mass Effect: Andromeda to make it the game it fucking should've been instead of the abortion it was?

A.) I thought Andromeda was fine and had fun playing it, what more can I ask for from a game? I tend to acknowledge that these things aren't simple, and know that I'm not an expert at game design. Though I have heard from people who have worked on previous Bioware games that they have a team they put people on when they're trying to make them quit, and guess who made Andromeda.

Q.) What object is most immediately to your left?

A magazine

Q: If you could only listen to music from one country, which country would you choose? Bonus points for listing bands.

A: But ... Music knows no borders

Bonus points scored for a song link :p

Q: Favourite cover song right now and why?

Always going to be Psychostick's cover of Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. It's perfect in every way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om0KOWbOkCk


What's the craziest thing you've seen first hand?