Fierce_LiNk

So, you're not the least bit concerned about the validity of it? You're just happy to roll with any set of numbers thrown in front of you and come to your own conclusions, which aren't necessarily linked? Well, testosterone is just a part of it. Masculinity is not a synonym for testosterone. Ok, then what is your definition of "men being more feminine"? And how does this link to the findings of this study?

I'm questioning the "truth of the matter", namely the validity of the stuff, the conditions in which it was conducted and whether the source is reputable or not. There are several red flags that need to be addressed first. Not entirely what I was asking, which was whether there was a link between masculinity and stress. Your opening post talks about the study in question and then talks about men becoming more feminine. I believe that you're arguing many separate things and are trying to artificially link them together. I do agree that lifestyles, busy environments, money worries, lack of social housing, access to jobs can lead to more stress. Well, the article talks about many factors, such as obesity. Obesity, stress from work, family life, jobs, lack of social housing, busy lifecycles can have an impact on your health and I can see how that could cause a drop in fertility. But, I still think you're trying to argue two separate things, with busy, stressful lifestyles on the one hand and "men acting feminine" on the other. I'm not sure that there is a link. Sure, there is merit. But again, the validity of the study is questionable, imo. I just don't feel that the information that we've been given and Grazza's opening post link up, particularly the notion about "men being feminine".

Whaaaat? You didn't like Transistor? I think @Eenuh said that she preferred Transistor to Bastion. Xcom looks really interesting and it's been on my radar for some time. I'll definitely give it a try at some point.

I'd like to know if it is possible at all to have access to the sperm count numbers before 1973, to at least give us a baseline. I'd also like to know how this sample was selected. Also, the source link from the Daily Mail website doesn't work. From the article itself: And: Colour me sceptical about how this data was collected and collated. Are these reputable sources? To me, overpopulation of our planet is a bigger issue than falling fertility. If we're sticking with the article, then what is going to cause these falling sperm count rates? The article suggests it's based on chemical exposure, and they also link it to obesity, smoking and stress. Are you saying that there is a link between masculinity and stress, etc? I don't quite get how you've linked the "the fall in masculinity" to sperm count rates.

The different lettering system is a barrier. But, the benefit is that once you've conquered that, it'll be a huge obstacle out of the way. After that, you're left with verbs, adjectives, nouns, conjunctions, word order, sentence structures, etc, which you'll find in all languages anyway. The different alphabet just adds another layer to it. I could read Arabic as a child and would be interested to see how I'd do with it now.

I read somewhere that Norwegian is apparently quite accessible if your first language is English. I don't know how true that is, but it could be worth looking it. If you don't fancy another romance language, you could challenge yourself by looking at something like Russian. I'd like to start learning that one day. There's also the option of languages such as Mandarin Chinese or Japanese. I've started doing a bit of Japanese and it is haaaard, but very rewarding. It's great being able to look at a poster or text for example and, whilst not understanding what any of it means just yet, being able to at least recognise the symbols and the sounds that they make. Challenging due it to being completely different to languages that we're used to, but potential for huge reward, too. There's also the option of Dutch, but if you're not feeling German, I'm not sure if you'd be keen on that.

I've just noticed that spoilered posts appear blank on the right hand side of the main forum page. That's a really cool feature. Just noticed that the latest posts for Game of Thrones appear blank there. Little things like that are great. Love the notifications that appear when somebody quotes you or likes a post. On the whole, think the upgrade has been awesome.

I'll definitely get it at some point, but I've got quite a bit of work to do. I'm trying to be good and am restricting my gaming time to the evening, which is mostly taken up by Overwatch. It'll go on the list. I adored Transistor, so will 100% play this. Just maybe not for a while.

Pyre's soundtrack is better than Transistor's?

Hmm, tempting. I feel guilty as I've got enough to play atm and just bought Elite Dangerous, The Witness and a few other games here and there. Will think about it. Quite a good selection of shooters, tbh. Loved Battlefield 4, so would definitely be up for BF1, as well.

Is the Switch Skyrim game the enhanced version or the 360/PS3 version? Did that even come out? I guess they could just port over the old gen version of GTAV if they want to do it with the least amount of effort as possible.

Good episode, again.

Would the game even be able to run well on the Switch?

I'm tempted to play them...but I know that they just won't get a look in due to Overwatch.

With regards to your bit about tenses, I think it depends on how your mind works and how you interpret the information. The way I do it is that I think of the language like a skeleton and the identify which parts need to go where. So, when translating from English to Dutch or Dutch to Engish, I know that you can't always do like for like. I have watched tv today would become I have today tv watched. So, in my head I'm moving the word order around first and then translating it that way. For me, being able to see stuff written down really helps, so I've learned toooooons in terms of word order, structure and tenses from Duolingo. It depends on what you need and how best you learn. I'd say that my reading is pretty good, but my weakness is definitely the listening part, partly due to the speed of certain languages. So, I know I'll end up doing what you do and will watch films in other languages. Or even English language films with the subtitles from Dutch or Spanish, although sometimes things aren't always translated like for like. Duolingo is my main way of learning the language. Again, helpful because I can actually see the stuff written down and it's also a good starting point. If there's an area that I'm struggling in, e.g. with tenses, I can then jump onto another website and look at conjunctions. SpanishDict is another site I use. Learning another language is time consuming and it can be exhausting. Your brain is doing a lot of work. Consistency is what matters and training your mind to think in another language is going to help you become more able in that skill. So, if you're having success (and enjoyment) doing one thing, then do that.

Thank you to @ArtMediocre and @Cookyman for the helpful posts. I'll take another look at it later.

I eventually got around to starting this yesterday. I'm really enjoying it! The game has the right balance of pretty much everything. The turn based gameplay is interesting, for starters. The tuturial at the beginning lays down the foundations and shows you how to approach the game. After that, you are given quite a bit of freedom in terms of how you then achieve your objectives. The "3-day" system seems pretty cool and I imagine that there would be a lot of replayability here if you wanted it. Overall, really enjoying it and would recommend, especially if you enjoyed games like Transistor.

Has anyone here got any helpful advice to get started with this? I've played for the last hour and didn't achieve anything. Not finding it enjoyable at all.

That has a massive risk attached to it. Fans are only just getting used to certain actors in certain roles and being a specific way. It could have potential to confuse some of the audience. A big criticism of Batman vs. Superman was that it was too confusing and the audience were critical of Lex Luthor's portrayal.

Part of the reason why the first season of this was soooo good was because of the interplay between the characters. I'm glad they've stuck with them! Apparently we're getting nine episodes, whereas the first season had eight! Three months to go.

Yessssss. Really excited to see how they plan to move the story forward in season 2.

Hmm, not sure how to take that then. Of all of the new films, The Flash is the one I'm excited about the least. We've got an on-going tv show (with an already established Flash...but that's another argument) to satisfy us. Wonder if it'll be like a 'doorway' where they introduce The Flash and Flashpoint universe and then introduce the other DC heroes (Batman, etc) into it in a second movie? I dunno.

Here's what I think that they should have done. Keep the 'Discovery' name, but drop all of the 'Star Trek' references. Make it something brand new with its own lore and allow it to survive on its own merits. There's potential there for a good show and I'd probably watch it.

Quite excited about the (potential...has it been confirmed for sure?) Flashpoint film. Hope that it can be pulled off as it's a story I'd love to see in a live action movie format. Trying my best to not watch these Justice League trailers...not long now.