The Syndicate

alexa -

Who's a mafia inspiration for you and why?

What's your favourite type of headphones and why?

dyachei wrote: ↑Mon Apr 18, 2022 9:11 am And when i was younger, i never expected to get married. I thought I was too weird to find someone that fit with me.

dunya wrote: ↑Mon Apr 18, 2022 9:42 am im 33 and still believe this

Sometimes it's a matter of finding someone who loves the weirdness specifically.

dyachei wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 6:29 pmi do like keeping a certain group that will not be named away though

Yeah I suppose they kinda ruin the flow of games, so to speak.

dyachei wrote: ↑Sun Apr 17, 2022 9:22 pm A wrinkle in time by L'engle. Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury

Solid choices.

dyachei wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 6:28 pm

osieorb18 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 4:20 pm

dyachei wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 12:12 pm

dunya wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 12:10 pm

dyachei wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 12:08 pm

dunya wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 10:38 am what's dya's signature dish if dunya was coming over for dinner

homemade mac and cheese - usually about 5-6 cheeses, with a penne pasta.

you know the key to a happy dunya

what's the best thing food-wise you took from japan since you lived there that isn't sushi ?

mochi is my favorite. but not like ice cream mochi - that's an abomination. Hand made festival mochi

Red bean paste or no thanks?

i prefer the sakurambo flavoring but red bean is good

Hmm... I had some matcha white bean paste the other day; might try to get that in mochi one of these days. Homemade ftw lol.

My favourite filling was probably chestnut paste because YUMMMMMMM, but I could be down with sakura-based stuff. Cherry-flavoured items are usually either amazing or terrible for my tastes.

What are three achievements you've managed that surprised you?

How much HYPE right now?

What are the largest and smallest animals you have treated?

Is there anything you are looking forward to consuming now that you're no longer pregnant?

Can you think of any worse food travesty than adding pickles to Mac n cheese?

What has been your most fulfilling moment as an MU moderator?

dyachei wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 12:12 pm

dunya wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 12:10 pm

dyachei wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 12:08 pm

dunya wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 10:38 am what's dya's signature dish if dunya was coming over for dinner

homemade mac and cheese - usually about 5-6 cheeses, with a penne pasta.

you know the key to a happy dunya

what's the best thing food-wise you took from japan since you lived there that isn't sushi ?

mochi is my favorite. but not like ice cream mochi - that's an abomination. Hand made festival mochi

Red bean paste or no thanks?

Why "Scotty"?

What is your favourite dish to have on a cruise?

How do you stay in shape while working on a cruise?

dunya wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 2:16 pm

osieorb18 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 1:58 pm Any anime you've been watching lately? (You might enjoy Sabukui Bisco if you have the chance to watch it.)

no, havent watched a series in ageees. i'll check it out some time! wats the genre/plot?

A plague-like wind blows across the arid, sandy expanse of a post-apocalyptic Japan. As it sweeps over the living and nonliving alike, rust is all that remains in its wake. The cause of the catastrophic state of the world is believed to be mushroom spores. Bisco Akaboshi, known as the "Man-Eating Mushroom," is a wanted criminal archer whose arrows instantly grow mushrooms wherever they land. However, he is in truth a "Mushroom Protector," a person who spreads fungi in order to enrich the land and return it to its previous state.

Alongside the crab Akutagawa and young doctor Milo Nekoyanagi, Bisco ventures through the wastelands of Japan searching for the legendary "Sabikui"—a panacean mushroom said to devour all forms of rust.

The doctor is (sorta) a panda, the world is beautiful and surreally animal-forward, and the anime feels like a show from the 90s, in a good way. Like Bebop/Trigun good way.

Is Hollandaise a derivative of Mayonnaise, vice-versa, or neither?

What is the meaning of life?

Would you consider Italian or Japanese cuisine to be more developed? Why?

Are you planning on staying unretired from Mafia?

Would you rather encounter 1 hippo-sized tarantula or 12 tarantula-sized hippos?

What's your top 3 favorite desserts?

What are your thoughts on the history between France and Lebanon?

Any anime you've been watching lately? (You might enjoy Sabukui Bisco if you have the chance to watch it.)

Mango or Mint?

Can I have a hug?

How many pandas does it take to change a lightbulb?

How low do you usually let your phone battery get before charging it?

What's your favourite pickled food?

If you have gotten or were to get a tattoo or piercing, what is it or what would it be?

dunya wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 6:33 am thanks for sharing, osie. those are all painful memories.

do you have a good relationship with the concept of death and people you love leaving earth before you?

I didn't grow up with any form of spirituality so it's mostly a "Death is part of life; it's what makes life worth living."

Syn wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 10:41 pm

osieorb18 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 10:04 pm

Syn wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 5:34 pm

osieorb18 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 5:06 pm

Syn wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 4:53 pm Did you enjoy being put under a microscope by your peers?

Didn't feel like a lot.

Describe your first heartbreak.

I think I was always too mature to really feel something I'd call heartbreak. I also haven't had many romantic relationships over the years. I got rejected once by someone I'd had a friendly chat with for a while and things were just sorta awkward after that. No ill will, just not much interaction. But I think that would have happened anyways.

This is interesting. What is the connection between maturity and experiencing heartbreak?

In that someone more mature (at least emotionally) is less likely to take a relationship setback as something quite so devastating? Something to that effect.

Syn wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 5:34 pm

osieorb18 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 5:06 pm

Syn wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 4:53 pm Did you enjoy being put under a microscope by your peers?

Didn't feel like a lot.

Describe your first heartbreak.

I think I was always too mature to really feel something I'd call heartbreak. I also haven't had many romantic relationships over the years. I got rejected once by someone I'd had a friendly chat with for a while and things were just sorta awkward after that. No ill will, just not much interaction. But I think that would have happened anyways.

dunya wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 6:04 pm What is your most painful memory?

One of these, probably, though not sure. My mind sometimes sorta mutes the direct pained elements and leaves the "low self-worth" and general sad/upset elements.

- Getting lost in my hometown, panicking, and nearly getting hit by a car, 2007ish. (14ish years of age)
- Rock-bottom depression, mostly earlyish 2013 and slightly earlier. (19-20 years of age)
- Learning my aunt had stage 4 cancer, 2016. (23 years of age)

Syn wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 4:53 pm Did you enjoy being put under a microscope by your peers?

Didn't feel like a lot.

Syn wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 4:54 pm What is your favourite animal?

Spoiler: show

Snake-Panda Chimaeras.

Syn wrote: ↑Fri Feb 04, 2022 9:39 pm What is your favourite animal?

Still pandas though clearly dunya might make that change to snakes.

dunya wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 9:45 am do you have any bad habits?

Procrastinating on tasks, not contacting people for a long time, not folding my laundry.

dunya wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 9:45 amdo you have a good relationship with your parents?

Probably not by most people's standards, but I don't think it's a bad one. I only talk with them once or twice a month.

dunya wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 9:45 amare you scared of spiders? any other fears?

"Hey Osie, open up about your fears on the internet." Heh.

Spiders are fine. I don't care for overly large ones, but I recognize that at any realistic size, they're more scared of me than I am of them and they fulfill an important role to keep away things that carry diseases.

- Slight fears of heights and germs.
- Fear of losing close friends and loved ones by not being good enough.

dunya wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 9:45 amif you had the chance to go back in time (in your lifetime), would you do it? where would you go?

Only if I knew how it would affect things and probably only if I could take 1-4 people along. The problem for me though is that I wouldn't want to go back to a time of high enough risk, and life expectancy generally goes up over time... So probably something relatively minor, like within the last 50 years. Definitely not far before the birth of my parents (1960s).

dunya wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 9:45 amgot any planz this weekend?

What's a weekend? The days all blur together.

I kinda want to go to a farmer's market. Cooking some hotpot on Sunday.

Once I get out of the shower, I'm headed for a walk.

Syn wrote: ↑Fri Feb 04, 2022 7:27 pm Do you prefer mountainous or role madness?

Usually role madness, but I sometimes get the itching for a mountainous game.

Syn wrote: ↑Fri Feb 04, 2022 6:47 pm Hot dogs... with icing?

Icing... on hot dogs?

It's pretty much just butter and sugar, which is a little less crazy to imagine.

dunya wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 8:04 pm what is your favorite condiment mix to add to a sandwich that i can make and enjoy tomorrow?

Hmm...

The last sandwich I had was a vegan reuben. Reubens are probably not my favourite type of sandwich, but I do like getting them occasionally.

In terms of something a bit more exciting, I think I'd go for putting romesco sauce and charred scallions on a sandwich, but that feels a bit naughty.

Hummus + Arugula/Sprouts/Cress + Sliced Almonds + Cucumber + Lemon Zest gogogo.

Syn wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 8:09 pm what is a food combo you enjoy that others typically find strange?

- Hot dogs with Vanilla icing.
- Celery, Peanut Butter, and Sriracha. (Until they try it)
- Broiled Salmon, Strong Blue Cheese, Pasta, and Lemon Zest (Again, until they try it)

Syn wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 5:42 pm Favourite nature place within Portland city limits?

I've been going for walks a bit lately and I liked the Mt Tabor neighbourhood and Laurelhurst Park, but I also am partial to the strip of park in downtown which hosts the wednesday farmer's market. I still want to check out the Chinese garden at some point, but this is probably a bad week for doing that.

dunya wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 5:34 am do you enjoy tv shows outside of anime? what's the last tv show you binged?

I don't watch a lot of live action stuff, but I binged most of Blacklist semi-recently.

dunya wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 5:34 amdo you think actors are overpaid?

Some actors definitely seem overpaid. On the flip-side, most production crew members are underpaid.

dunya wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 5:34 amwhats a really unpopular (nonfood) opinion you hold?

Uhhhhhhhhh... Smoking cigarettes in public should result in death by burning at the stake?

It is difficult to think of a good answer here...

Anyone who desires to enact legislation in regards to prisons should be required to stay in a relevant prison as a prisoner for a year?

Kennedy was one of the worst US presidents?

"People who act edgy or memetic on the internet are compensating for an inadequate sense of self-worth." is a good one, albeit probably not that unpopular.

DaughterOfOmega wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 6:21 amMy question/demand, recommend me a few anime that have come out the last 3 years. I've not been as much of an avid watcher of anime as my young self.

Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song
So I'm a Spider, So What?
Jujutsu Kaisen
Akudama Drive
Fire Force
Dororo
To Your Eternity
86: Eighty-Six
SK8 the Infinity
Shadows House
Mushoku Tensei

Syn wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 6:21 am what's a really unpopular (food) opinion you hold?

Most food items sold in some form by McDonalds are usually overrated when cooked or sold by anybody:

Fries, Chicken Nuggets, Burgers, Ketchup, BBQ Sauce, Ranch Sauce, Big Mac Sauce, Buffalo Sauce, Honey Mustard Sauce, Sweet-and-Sour Sauce, Breaded Fried Chicken, Breaded Fried Fish Filet, Milkshake (I like malts though), Iced Coffee, English Muffins, Biscuits, Breakfast Burritos, Sodas, Smoothies, American-style Pancakes, American-Style Sausage Patties, Hash Browns, Soft Serve, Apple Turnovers, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Blueberry Muffins, Cinnamon Rolls...

DaughterOfOmega wrote: ↑Tue Feb 01, 2022 3:04 am I'm fat, and I have a hard time losing weight. It's mostly stress driven in my life, but do you have any kinds of food that I should make that can be filling without making me hate my body?

Hey, me too!

I tend to go for bitter greens, personally, like Kale and Arugula. Having a simple salad at least once a day makes a bit of a difference.

I also like having Celery and Peanut Butter. It feels childish, but especially adding Sriracha to it makes it a great snack for me.

I avoid eating a lot of bread in a day; at most something like a bagel and maybe a small roll, at which point I don't have more than the latter on the following day.

Beyond that, limiting proteins to fish, chicken, and the occasional egg can help. I have duck or lamb every once in a while as a treat.

Cutting sugary drinks and carb-heavy snacks out of one's diet entirely is a big step. Similarly, my personal sugar and alcohol rules for this month plus are 0-3 days with dessert and 0-2 days with alcohol in a week.

Another thing that I personally find helpful is to have a rigorous set of rules for some of the basics. Here's at least some of the ones I try to follow (and at least sometimes succeed at).

• All technology off by midnight, if not sooner.
• First tasks when waking up are a drink of water, then a shower, then a 30-60 minute walk, followed by breakfast, in that order.
• When you feel hungry, first have a drink of water, then wait a bit. Usually it's your body saying it's thirsty, not hungry.
• Make sure the snacks you have around the house are low in sugar/carbs. Having a snack or two at some point in the day can be fine. I personally am partial to a small handful of unsalted cashews.
• If water feels boring, get the zero-sweetener flavoured waters like La Croix/Soleil/Waterloo/(Some San Pellegrinos). They can be an adjustment, but are worth it in the long run.
• Have one, moderately full, plate of food for a meal.
• Take at least an hour break from technology at some point during the day.
• Don't eat between midnight and 7 AM. Those are sleeping hours. Your metabolism is slowed, so your body saves calories as fat.

Scotty wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:18 pmIs there a trick to cooking the perfect salmon?

Quick-grilled or broiled to Jelly Bean texture, IMO. Though you can even just throw salmon in the microwave for 4-5 minutes with a bit of lemon juice and olive oil.

Scotty wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:18 pm How do you know when white fish is cooked enough (and not overcooked)?

Internal temperature of 135-145ºF, depending on personal preference. As a general rule, I avoid undercooking white fish since it's generally riskier than salmon (despite the similar name to a certain foodborne illness).

Scotty wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:18 pm What’s the best way for an amateur home chef to cook a hefty piece of chicken breast?

Breast? I like baked in olive oil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. About 30 minutes or to an internal temperature of 165ºF

That said, thighs are usually superior.

Scotty wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:18 pm Would you rather fight a human sized marmot or a marmot sized human?

The latter, easily. Heck, I'd generally just rather fight a human than a marmot any day.

dunya wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:29 pm are you a cat or dog person or both?

Both. I find cats slightly more enjoyable but have more respect for dogs, I think would be the way to put it?

Urist wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 2:12 pm are your legs longer than your arms? if so, by how much?

About 3 inches longer, on a guesstimate.

dunya wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 2:13 pm do you make sourdough? any tips for me as i've never made any and wanna try!

I've only done so in a very controlled environment, but it seems like a fun experiment at home. The main thing I would recommend with any of those sorts of things is to designate location/equipment for it and make sure you'll remember it. I tried making injera batter over lockdown in 2020 and it stunk up the whole house. Smelled like sewage.

Syn wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 6:09 am What is your number one communication tip?

Osie's Version of Hanlon's Razor: "Never assume malice when any involved parties may be an unreliable narrator."

DaughterOfOmega wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 5:00 am What is something you participated in that you regret?

Not much; I made some insensitive jokes and was a bit of a brat at times as a kid. But anything I've done in my life has gotten me to this point, so I don't know that I would change anything. I suppose there were a few moments when I lost my temper that I would have preferred to have weathered through, potentially. Finding ways to avoid hitting rock bottom when that happened would be a thing, but again, it helped me grow into who I am today.

DaughterOfOmega wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 5:00 am Is there a person you ended a relationship with, that you regret not trying to work out issues with? (friend, family, partner, etc)

Nah. Most regret of that sort usually comes in the form of forgetting to communicate with people.

Syn wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 2:23 am What languages can you speak?

English is my first language.
Estoy mas o menos fluente en Español. (I'm more or less fluent in Spanish.)

- "points to self"
- "right index finger rolling counter clockwise around left index finger"
- closed fist w/ thumb on the front, closed fist w/ thumb tucked after third finger, closed fist w/ thumb on the side, index finger and thumb forming a 90º angle with index pointed up, index finger and thumb forming a 90º angle with index pointed up
- closed fist w/ thumb on the side, closed fist w/ thumb after third finger, open hand w/ thumb and other fingers forming a circle, fist w/ index and middle finger up, fist w/ thumb tucked after second finger, fist w/ thumb tucked after first finger.
- (I know a small amount of basic American Sign Language.)

Je parle francais petit peu. (I speak very little French.)

Syn wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 2:23 am Can you play any instruments?

I learned piano for 10 years, violin for 6. I can also struggle through playing on a few others based on general musical knowledge (and some degree of perfect pitch).

Syn wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 1:49 am What did you want to be when you were a kid?

In high school, a computer programmer. Prior to high school, probably an interpreter or pianist.

Comparable, yeah.

Syn wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 1:08 am Is your girlfriend from Malaysia or did she move there? Do you plan on moving there?

From Malaysia.

Not looking likely in the long run, but possibly for a short period of time.

Syn wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 12:10 am Do you pick your nose?

Not by any habit. The nasal cavity acts as a filter for debris from wherever one goes in a day.

Syn wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 12:11 am What's the first place you want to visit once it's safe to do so again?

Malaysia; I was seeing my girlfriend for the first time in person in March of 2020 and had to cut the visit short to get back to the US while I still could.

Syn wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 12:11 am Are you from Oregon? How'd you end up in Portland?

• I was born in Chicago, IL. (1993)
• We moved to New Haven, CT.
• We then moved to near Sacramento, CA (With possibly a bit of time in Berkeley along the way), the area in which I grew up. (1996-2010)
• My family went for sabbatical for a year to Ithaca, NY while I was still in middle school. (2005)
• After I graduated from High School, I went to college for Math near Albany, NY. (2010-2014)
• After I graduated from college, I then lived in Madison, WI for a couple years, during most of which I worked for a corporate culinary group at the headquarters of an insurance company. (2014-2016)
• I then went to culinary school in upstate NY (between Albany and NYC). (2016-2018, with an internship in Boston, MA during the summer of 2017)
• After I graduated from culinary school, I then lived in Denver, CO for a while, near the beginning of which I started a long-distance relationship with another mafia player. (2018-2020)
• In August of 2020, having returned to Denver about a month or so prior, I left Denver to avoid being around for a covid surge and chose between Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle. A buddy of mine in the Portland Metro Area offered me a couch on which to crash for a bit, so I stayed there for a while (read: until March of 2021), then worked in the area on and off over the rest of 2021. (2020-Present)

Syn wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 8:24 pm Have you traveled much?

I have been in a handful of European countries (including Spain, France, UK, Italy, Sicily, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Poland), two Asian countries (Malaysia, Tokyo Airport in Japan), most US states, Mexico, Canada, and Chile.

Syn wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 7:52 pm What is "So I'm a Spider, So What"?

Light Novel/Manga/Anime series about a high school girl who is reincarnated as a spider in a video-game-esque world alongside the rest of her class (seemingly not spiders).

Syn wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 7:51 pm Do you watch any television or movies? What's your favourite for both for 2021? All-time favourites?

I watch a lot of anime.

Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song is up there as probably my favourite anime of 2021.

In terms of live action, I've been watching Blacklist, which has been fun, and I enjoyed watching at least some of Into the Badlands and Iron Fist.

In terms of movies... I don't know that I watched any movies in 2021 that I hadn't already seen. I've been intending to watch Shang Chi and Encanto.

In terms of all-time favourites...

Castle
Good Omens
Sherlock

Hellsing
Trigun
Trinity Blood

12 Angry Men
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Triplets of Belleville

A Silent Voice
Paprika
Your Name

Syn wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 7:19 pm How many books did you read in 2021? Do you have a Goodreads?

I read the first couple books of the Lost Years of Merlin series, 12 books of "So I'm a Spider, So What", and 2 books of the Ringworld series, as well as rereading The Cyberiad (Stanislaw Lem) and Catch-22. Been reading a lot of HP fanfiction as well (insert comment about the concept of death of the author).

I do not have Goodreads; I tend not to maintain those sorts of lists very well.

Syn wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 7:11 pm Do you write fiction?

Not often, outside of flavour for games. I used to write restaurant reviews for a short time when helping out with the newspaper in college (the first time). Funnily enough, I do read a lot and could see myself writing a fiction story, but it'd probably be some kind-of surreal insanity.

Syn wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 6:33 pm How do you have so much energy to write so much all the time?

Hahaha.

I don't know, actually. I tend to try to have a decent number of thoughts about anything, though.

This reminds me of Victoria Coren Mitchell on QI:

dunya wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 6:28 pm cooking is my fav hobby, cleaning up after cooking ehhhh not so much. that's why i'm a "clean as you cook" type of person. never ever a clean everything after!

that would be my tip

also invest in a big dishwasher, it's worth it.


also blue is also my fav color! inb4 osie is the male version of me with better cooking skills.

My rule at home when cooking for someone else with whom I live is "if you cook, another person has to clean."

But when that context isn't relevant, I just buckle down and clean sooner rather than later.

nutella wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:19 pmwhat's your number one tip for casual home cooking?

Cooking takes time and attention. A lot of people get frustrated and/or give up because they don't want to spend one or the other. Patience is a virtue.

nutella wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:19 pmdo you have a favorite "celebrity" chef?

Rene Redzepi.

nutella wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:19 pmwhat subfields of math/cs did you focus on /what was your thesis about?

I wanted to do bioinformatics (e.g. indexing the human genome) when I first started college. My thesis was on Kasteleyn's Theorem; which in one real-life form can be stated as "The number of ways you can tile a chessboard with dominos can be expressed as the permanent (a slightly complicated sum of the elements) of a matrix." (A part of Graph Theory, and relevant to crystal structures and flow rates.)

nutella wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:19 pmhave you ever blended your hobbies of cs and cooking in a single project?

Sorta in that I have used my ability to use a computer well to be more effective in menu planning and research. I've had some morbid curiosity in the "Neural Network creates recipes" experiment, though.

Syn wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:46 pm What is your favourite colour?

I'm gonna be a bit basic here and say blue as an overall answer, but realistically it absolutely depends on context.

Syn wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 4:44 pm What is something you believed as a teenager that you no longer do as an adult?

The first thing that comes to mind is a degree of belief that all members of organized religions were comedically stupid and/or disturbingly evil. That was quickly disproven by actually interacting with people. Turns out that critical thinking helps to dispel prejudice. Who woulda thunk it?

dunya wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 4:54 pm do you like music? what sorta music does osie listen to?

I listen to a lot. As somewhat of an audiophile, I've found myself using Amazon Music nowadays since most music is in some degree of HD quality.

My go-to genres include but are not limited to: classical music (since a young age), musicals, trance/dance, anime music, latin pop, asian pop, eurovision music, a bit of "adjacent to whatever my friends and family listened to at some point", and relatively acapella/drums-and-bass music. Also a lot of random comedy stuff.

A handful of Repeat Listens in each category:

Pas de Deux (Coda) - from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker"
Anitra's Dance - from Grieg's "Peer Gynt"
Ein Vogelfanger bin ich ja - from Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte"
Danse Macabre - Saint-Saëns
Hut on Fowl's Legs - from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition"

Non, je ne regrette rien - Edith Piaf
I could have danced all night - from "My Fair Lady"
Rewrite the Stars - from "The Greatest Showman"
Infected - from "Repo: the Genetic Opera"
Brand New Day - from "Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"

Kill the Lights - Birthday Massacre
Integral - Pet Shop Boys
Butterfly - Smile.dk
Lone Digger - Caravan Palace
The Riddle - Gigi D'Agostino

Shinjo to Uta - JUNNA, from "Fena: Pirate Princess"
Friends - Aiko Nakano, from "Dance in the Vampire Bund"
Mediational Field - Susumu Hirasawa, from "Paprika"
Fluorite Eye's Song - Kairi Yagi, from "Vivy"
Sparkle - Radwimps, from "Your Name."

A Dios Le Pido - Juanes
Taboo - Don Omar
Waka Waka (Version Español) - Shakira
Bailando - Enrique Iglesias

Usseewa - Ado
Dancing King - Taeyung
Love So Sweet - Arashi
Excuse Me - AoA

Yodel It - Ilinca
Husavik - My Marianne (Okay, this doesn't really count.)
Maps - Lesley Roy
On Fire - The Roop

Propane Nightmares - Pendulum
Squeeze Box - The Who
Papaoutai - Stromae
Bad Day - Daniel Powter
Fire Coming out of the Monkey's Head - Gorillaz

Hallelujah - Pentatonix
Bard's Song - Van Canto
We are Pirates - Orden Ogan
Vater Unser - E Nomine

Death Death - Voltaire
Birdplane - Axis of Awesome
I'm OK - Little Big
7th Element - Vitas
Shake Your Euphemism - Blue Man Group

My current music library has about 430 songs in it, and that's not including the massive amount of stuff I couldn't find on the platform or just haven't thought to add.

Syn wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 4:05 pm What was your favourite subject in elementary school? College?

- In elementary school, comfortably literature, though it shifted into math/CS later on.
- When in college for Mathematics (originally Computer Science), probably my undergraduate thesis by a decent margin; I got pretty bored with a lot of the bureaucracy in the introductory classes.
- When in culinary school, my favourite subject would be either Cuisines of Asia or Food History.

dunya wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 3:01 pmwhen did you decide you wanted to cook as a profession?

I was finishing a bachelor's degree in mathematics and was doing food service on the side both as a job and a hobby. I started out in front of house, waiting tables, then shifted into back of house, cooking food. I've always enjoyed cooking, and had some degree of inspiration from my maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother.

dunya wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 3:01 pmdo you remember the first dish you prepared from scratch? what was it!

No idea in the long run, but a few dishes I prepared prior to graduating high school include:

Tuna Pasta Nicoise (a concept from my dad) - Macaroni and Canned Tuna with Green Olives, Scallions, Mustard and Vinegar
Tummytickler (from Roald Dahl) - A 2-layer quesadilla, again with olives and scallions in addition to mustard and mayonnaise, pan-fried
Pizza Bagel - Bagel with tomato sauce, cheese, onions, stuck in the microwave

The first dish that I prepared FULLY from basic ingredients (not counting something like scrambled eggs) would arguably be one of these three:

Cold Noodles and Cilantro-Peanut-Soy Sauce - Somen Noodles with a ton of cilantro, scallions, fresh tofu, and cilantro-peanut-soy sauce.
Bokkeumbap (Korean Fried Rice) - Rice with Shrimp, Lap Cheong Sausage, Garlic, Ginger, and Oyster Sauce
Mushroom Stroganoff - Linguine with Mushroom-Cream Sauce

dunya wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 3:01 pmdo you have asian heritage/background?

Heritage? Not unless you count 1880s Soviet Russia (Which is now Eastern Europe).
Background? I have an aunt-in-law, girlfriend, and many close friends who are of Asian heritage. Most of my interest in Asian cuisines comes from personal experience. Despite the rest of my body rejecting it sometimes, I've always had more of a palate for Asian and Latin cuisines. (And while I still usually find them enjoyable to cook and/or eat, most non-Latin non-African Western foods, be they American or European, don't usually EXCITE me in the same way.)

fingersplints wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:16 pm What has been your favourite game of mafia you have ever played?

I usually design or host instead, but I think I'd have to go for... Lights Out 3 where I won the game for Town. Though that's only sort-of Mafia... Hmm. For something more traditional, let's go for Zero Escape Mafia since despite all of the insanity it provided a lot of good memories.

fingersplints wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:16 pm What is a mafia ability you have not received that you would like to?

Creepy Doll (Role): The Creepy Doll passes a doll to someone on Night 1. Whoever has the doll can pass it around as a Night action. The Creepy Doll wins the game if a person holding the doll dies before the Creepy Doll.

fingersplints wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:16 pm If you could be any animal what would you be?

Panda. I even enjoy the taste of bamboo!

fingersplints wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 12:16 pm What is the best kind of pie?

Poached Pear and Marzipan Tartelette

I'm down to clown. Message me on Discord when I should have eyes on things!