@eoinyk In Paris I love the Pantheon and the crypt with the revolutionaries. Check out Puy de Fou on the way down to La Rochelle (you need a full day) and Ile de Re is fab for a beach day. Not sure any of them are 'hidden' but stand out memories
@adrianweckler Hubby got one purporting to be from Prepay Power with a new installation date for our meter (which is absolutely not something we are waiting on). There were no links or anything in the text which I think is unusual for a scam, so maybe just a wrong number?
@hynessl@TullMcAdoo Sarah, I am so sorry for your loss and for having to put up with all the toerags in your replies. I hope your MIL is ok and may your mother RIP. x
@Cynic_Housewife@travisakers Our school has been doing this for years but now every school in ireland has to, by law, implement something similar. And you know what - it works.
@Cynic_Housewife@travisakers School rules - Phones off in my kids school from first bell to last or else they are confiscated for a few days. Works a treat. If i need to contact them urgently I call the office, if I need to text about something random its there when they finish school. Its a no brainer.
Iโve been seeing clips from the new Netflix documentary ("Inside the Manosphere") where Louis Theroux interviews influencers like Justin Waller and Myron Gaines.
One idea that keeps coming up is โone-sided monogamy,โ where the man sleeps with whoever he wants while the woman must remain completely monogamous.
And they present this as strength, dominance, and the natural order of things. They almost brag about it.
But if you actually understand masculine psychology and power dynamics, itโs the opposite. Itโs one of the clearest examples of what Jung would call phallic masculinity, which is a shallow, performative imitation of real masculine power.
Phallic masculinity is obsessed with proof: proof of status, proof of dominance, and proof of sexual conquest. It constantly needs to demonstrate itself because itโs fundamentally insecure.
So these men collect women like trophies and frame indulgence as power. They portray a lack of restraint and discernment as freedom.
But real masculine authority doesnโt look like that.
Real masculine power is generative. It builds things. It creates stability. It commands respect voluntarily rather than forcing submission.
A man who needs sexual asymmetry written into the rules of his relationship is not demonstrating strength. Heโs revealing that he cannot inspire loyalty without coercion.
A woman who genuinely respects and admires you doesnโt need rules to remain loyal. She chooses it. And another uncomfortable truth follows from this.
High-quality, feminine, self-respecting women do not voluntarily enter dynamics like this. These arrangements tend to attract women who are young, insecure, struggling with attachment wounds, or seeking validation from a dominant male figure.
In other words, the system selects for the weak feminine, not the strong feminine.
A truly empowered feminine woman is one who knows her value and expects mutual respect, and she would laugh at that proposal and walk away.
The irony is that these arrangements reveal the opposite of what is being advertised. Instead of a powerful man with a devoted woman, what you often see is a man demanding loyalty while refusing to embody the behaviors that inspire it.
Disciplined masculinity has always been admired across cultures for a reason. The man who can command himself commands everything else. The one who cannot control his appetites rarely controls much of anything.
Historically, the most formidable men were not the ones enslaved to their impulses, they were the ones who ruled them.
@tomdoorley@tcddublin I was chatting to a psychotherapist who works with teenagers and she said that a huge majority of her clients reference irish as a specific cause of anxiety.