That last sentence sums it up for me.

2010

Yeah, but it's still very much based on a straight white whatever-else-you-want-to-add mentality, or at least it was when I got out in 2011. As an example, my all-male brigade showed porn footage before a sexual assault prevention presentation. I had a psychotic sergeant who, when I was first put in his squad, said he…

I was at the Ranger Training Brigade in Ft. Benning. All male garrison. They opened a presentation on sexual assault with a video of a huge-breasted topless woman jumping up and down.

...having served in the military, yes. In garrison, the maturity level tends to waver between 14 year olds at summer camp and frat bro pledge week (year-round).

suddenly you feel like you're in a relationship with Mussolini — or at least an unpredictable, shouty, farty, weepy, complainy hosebeast dictator.

Have you considered that perhaps they genuinely want it there for what it represents to them?

What struck me most about the whole thing is the scene before it where Moses pleads with Ramses one last time. That scene is just perfect. Solely through the language of visual metaphor, they manage to morally justify one of the most questionable acts of the old testament God, and put the blame for all the firstborns'…

That part isn't entirely odd. Egypt was kinda big on historical revisionism themselves. They tried to erase pharaohs they didn't like, for example. The great monuments of Egypt and their inscriptions that proclaim the glory of Egypt were almost universally built during times when Egypt wasn't really doing all that…

I found this while doing research. This one is practical German trench armor from 1916.

I'm not an expert...on anything, really, but I write and thus I research a lot. If the police subpoenaed my search history, they could implicate me in anything from terrorism to bestiality. So take everything I say with a grain of salt no matter how certain I might sound.

Well, as a modern example, when the navy decided they wanted digital camo too, they went for one that was in ocean colors instead of ship colors. Because ship colors would look too much like the Army's camo, and they really had no use for camo but everyone else was doing it. The colors they chose are actually…

Actually, those pot-bellied ones were likely women. It's an idealized form, and since bellies were a sign of prosperity, women with pot bellies were considered attractive. The historical irony here is that, as they were in excellent shape as befitting warriors of their station, it's more likely they had a six pack…

You're just jealous you weren't invited.

There are surviving examples of bronze armor for women, mostly from India where female bodyguards were a tradition in several empires. The reasoning was that a king had the most to fear from his own bodyguards, who could assassinate him and take the throne (just look at late imperial Rome), so since women couldn't…

Yeah, totally ridiculous. Bonus: At least two of these were actually worn by women.

I thought that at first too, until I set aside the time to keep watching. Keeeeep watching...

Personally, I think it's the tradeoff for the degree of cooperation we can also achieve. The more social an animal is, the more violent it can be against its enemies. Look at social insects for an example of creatures that are cooperative as humans, if not more so. You will find slavery, kidnapping, war, torture, etc.

Long ago, for reasons too stupid/insane to go into, I named my future sons "Rocketbilly Redcadillac Fishburne" and "Zoroaster Precambrian Fishburne." When my girlfriend asked me "What about daughters?" I answered "Something normal. Girls have it hard enough." She kissed me.

I wonder if it counts as bonus points or as a strike against you if you had a woman who was your One True Love, and then she died tragically? I could see it going either way.