Yeah I stopped doing it in High School after realizing that it’s some North Korea level bullshit. Got a few other kids in my homeroom to stop too, which really angered our teacher. She was a military spouse and would actually yell at us for refusing to participate. In the end, we compromised by standing but not reciting it. Was the begining of my political and social awakening.

TNG and DS9 are the only two series that I really know well enough to make these recommendations for.

I would highly recommend watching TNG before DS9, even if she likes DS9 better. TNG and DS9 work best as companion shows, with TNG building up a lot of DS9 plot-lines in its latter seasons. I would also highly recommend against starting with any episodes involving Q or the Borg, or any of the series “highlights”. Let those plots build, and you don’t want to spoil some of the best episodes in a sampler. My go-to TNG introduction picks are:

-Cause and Effect

-Darmok

-Measure of a Man

DS9 can be harder to pick introductory episodes for. Its more serialized nature means that a lot of later episodes have a lot of spoilers. I would highly recommend against picking any episodes that highly involve the Dominion or the Dominion War, let that plot build itself up. That does however, leave us with a lot fewer options. My DS9 introduction picks are:

-Duet

-Past Tense

-Bar Association

I mean what are we supposed to do?

I’m working class. I live paycheck to paycheck. I don’t have much charisma. I do my best to raise awareness among my peers, with little success. I voted. I support organizing, but unless the strike happens on a weekend I’ll be looking at homelessness.

I’m thinking of just going blackout on media, because the constant barrage of the encroaching fascism has wreaked my mental health. I know where this is all heading, and I feel powerless to stop it. I’m a victim of the whims of history. Does that play into the fascist hands? Absolutely. What the fuck else am I supposed to do? Throw my life away in a suicidal attempt at positive change that has a incredibly small chance of success? I need to have a few less things to lose before I’m at that point.

I see people all over social media asking, why aren’t you doing anything? Where’s our next Luigi? Acting like their provocative online discourse makes them into some revolutionary badass. Well… what the fuck are you doing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGvux7w1Ea4

Song goes so hard, and the lyrics are timeless.

I won’t stand for this “Ode to Spot” slander. It’s Data’s underrated masterpiece!

I attended a top 100 public high school in America, where we were taught Greek and Roman mythology. The problem wasn’t that the subject wasn’t offered, it was that a sizable portion of students weren’t paying attention. Even among those who did, few retained the knowledge beyond the next exam. The real issue with American education isn’t just what’s being taught but how it’s being taught. Subjects aren’t presented in a way that truly engages students or encourages long-term retention.

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This definitely applies to a good number of gay couples in Texas too. Hetero Women do have it worse in this regard though. Progressive Southern woman’s options are pretty much:

A) Be celibate

B) Move somewhere else

C) Settle for the Most Racist Man Alive

Single Hetero Progressive men are unicorns in the American South, and them being Progressive is no guarantee they will treat a woman any better. They often come with their own batch of issues and a lot of them are fuckboys.

100%. The graphics may be dated but gen 2 is peak Pokemon aesthetic. Peak sprites and soundtrack.

So they’re all at least 5 months old? Must be bringing their girlfriends.

Maybe Christianity wasn’t misogynistic enough?

The alternative is going to be driving on neglected highways that will destroy your vehicle or taking toll roads. Traveling across America is about to become a lot less safe and a lot more inconvenient. I wonder how passenger railways are doing?

I definitely agree that DS9 is the most consistantly good Star Trek. TNG and VOY reach the same highs, but there’s a lot more lows in between them.

I would definitely recommend finishing TNG! Seasons 5 and 6 are peak!

I think an attachment to the characters, nostalgic or otherwise, is necessary to enjoy all of TNG. That way even in bad episodes, it’s character you enjoy just doing silly things. Without that attachment A LOT of TNG can be hard to get through.

I tend to play random TNG episodes when I’m doing chores around the house. If TNG is what’s playing on the P+ Star Trek Channel I’ll usually just put that on. Did some early Spring cleaning this week and had a very random selection of TNG episodes playing. Can’t believe Paramount put Code Of Honor in the mix there, but maybe it truly is random.

Been on a Trek rewatch kick again, to combat the depressing reality we live in. Rewatched the begining on DS9 season 6. Ep1 A Time to Stand through Ep13 Far Beyond the Stars. I’d argue that this might be the strongest string of Trek episodes in any series!

Rewatched my favorite Voyager episode too, Counterpoint. I tend to hate on Voyager a bit, but there are some really fantastic episodes mixed in with all the mid ones. Counterpoint would easily make it to my top 10 Trek episodes of all time list!

As someone who loves TNG, it’s a very mixed bag of a show. It has very high highs, and very low lows. It’s a product of its era of television for better or worse.

DS9 is peak Star Trek. Its far from perfect, but so is TNG. It’s the last Trek series to truly have vision. Subsequent writers unfortunately took the wrong lessons from the show, but we can hardly blame DS9 for that.

The TNG films and Voyager are what began Star Treks downward spiral. Poor creative decisions and studio meddling doomed the TNG Films. Meanwhile, sloppy writing and a flawed premise that was poorly executed combined to make Voyager the most mediocre 90s Trek show.

ENT was just the final nail in the coffin. A complete regression of the series that nobody asked for. A desperate attempt at revival by a creative team that was out of ideas.

Hence all the ifs. But hey, the competition isn’t fierce! Put the slightest effort into being self-aware, respectful, and charming and you can easily get her attention.

Lil tiddy supermarket goth girl sounds cute tbh, or maybe I just have a type.

Anyway, girls like this can be a real gem to find if you’re a gooner. Their small fan base means if you’re not a creep there’s a chance of genuine interaction. She’ll probably take request and if she likes you might even send you free content.

Seems like a win tbh. Meta stops influencing people and collecting their data, while dumbass corps waste money on ads nobody will see.