That would be a nightmare for tattoo shops.

(For those that don’t know, many tattoo shops have Friday 13th deals with specific flash you can get for multiples of $13 depending on complexity. The quality ones have new cute Friday 13th flash a couple of times a year and lines around the block.)

That’s kind of what they argue, so they’re halfway there.

If you’ve got any questions you can message me or reply to me here. I’m not a stylist (I’m a software engineer), but I’ve worked with several.

There are a couple of replies with good advice here. I’m going to add to them. First, remember that you don’t have to get everything at one go. It takes time to build style (notice I say that instead of fashion).

Not all body types can get a good fit off the rack, but having your clothes fit is probably the most important thing you can do. It’s not expensive to have shirts tailored. I have a long torso and narrow shoulders, so any of my work clothes or going out clothes are purchased a size too large and taken down to this very nice Chinese woman who takes them all in for me. It runs me about $25 per shirt to do it but I get a lot of wear out of them so it’s worth it.

Build a capsule wardrobe. A couple of nice plain white T-shirts (I happen to like 3 fit theory because of their range of sizes, but if you can buy off the rack almost any decent T-shirt will work) and a few different colors that you can swap between create a base to build around. Get a couple of dress shirts, one in white (my other go to is blue, but I’ve really gotten into a pink dress shirt under my sweater for cooler weather). Get some good fitting jeans, charcoal slacks (or a charcoal suit), and some brown, khaki, or olive chinos and have them hemmed. From there you can get casual button up shirts, a cardigan, and a nice sweater. You’ll also need casual footwear (I wear skater shoes), dress shoes, and maybe some brown leather boots (I wear Western boots but I don’t recommend it unless you are either very comfortable in them or are somewhere that they’re common…get some reasonable lace up boots).

Mix and match everything. At this point you’ll never look like you’re wearing the same outfit twice. You’ll look put together and you’ll have style. Layer your casual button up over one of the T-shirts. Layer the sweaters over any of your button up shirts. Tuck in if the occasion calls for it. Layer the sweater over a T-shirt.

This advice obviously isn’t for everyone, but you’ll look good. I get compliments about how put together I always look and honestly I rarely stop to think about what I’m wearing because almost everything in my closet goes with everything else and it all fits. With mixing and matching everything I probably have a ton of ways I can put things together with less than 20 items of clothing, 3 of them being shoes.

On any given day it’s easy for me to go from my desk job, to giving a demonstration to executives, to the ranch to ride some horses, then out to any bar in the city. Of course not all of these will apply to you. But if you take your time over the next several months you can get one item on payday and build things up and have something to wear anywhere.

Making music got easier by decade and it’s around 500$ to have all kinds of tech and instruments better than what Radiohead used in Kid A, and it’s way more accessible to access to learning resources.

People forget the part. The garage bands who couldn’t possibly make it in the 90s can now release their own music without a label. I’m just a drunk and I’ve got music out there that was mostly recorded in a closet. Anyone can put stuff out and try to find their audience.

The other thing a lot of folks forget is that most bands never made much from album sales. Only the top tiny percent did, even among a lot of famous bands. Musicians have always out there killing themselves on the road to make money on ticket sales and merch.

I know, I was asking more out of exasperation. And you’re absolutely correct.

Why are so many departments suddenly doing shit that should have been done years ago?

I use that power. I say things ranging from “Dude, that’s not ok” to “Are you fucking stupid or something?” if I’m looking to get their attention.

I’ve also pulled out “You know my cousin is black, right?” (true statement) and “That’s my sister” (untrue statement). When you make it personal they get real uncomfortable and start apologizing.

Also USA. My teachers ran the gamut from not letting anyone to treating us like adults. My school was VERY white with only a handful of black kids across all of high school. One of the teachers was well known for never letting the black kids go until one of them went and peed in his trash can to prove a point.

The ones who treated us like adults got treated with the most respect. Weird how that works.

I feel that. I’ve got a very serious redneck thing going on. I hunt, fish, dress like I just got off work at the ranch (that’s true sometimes), and raise a lot of hell. I know why they think I’m one of them. It’s depressing some days because it’s almost like people can’t wait to say fucked up shit as soon as they meet me.

Might I suggest Motel of the Mysteries? It’s about a future amateur archeologist excavating a modern day motel room and absolutely being 100% correct about everything he sees.

If you had a business that boiled down to “corporate mercenary” don’t you think it would be incredibly convenient to have a reputation as a villainous bulldog?

There are very few companies who get to pretend they don’t give a flying shit about people. This is one who will thrive on that reputation. Pinkertons and whatever Blackwater is now.

Don’t forget government death panels.

While you and I may give a shit about ethics you can’t expect everyone to hold themselves to the same standards unless you want your heart broken every day for the rest of your life.

People also seem to somehow believe that free speech in the US means that private instances can’t deplatform you for the things you say.

I have no idea why anyone thinks that extends to anyone besides the government censoring speech or why they think free speech means freedom from the consequences of that speech.

If you look at my original reply you’d see that I never condoned tolerating him or his bullshit. I personally don’t like prison rape jokes. I didn’t say you couldn’t make them. I didn’t police you even a little. The fact that you’re so set on justifying rape jokes that no one told you to stop making tells me something about you.

If you’re that bothered by what an anonymous drunk thinks of the kinds of jokes you make maybe you should take a look at why you feel that way. I’ll give you a hint: it has nothing to do with the piece of shit this story is about.

It is. And he’s an absolute pile of fucking garbage. I’m not defending him.

Aside from not liking rape jokes, this is a pretty bad take. People aren’t generally getting violated in county. That’s generally happening in more long term facilities like state or federal prison.

I hope he gets the book thrown at him. I hope his time teaches him just how wrong he is, or at least terrifies him into shutting his stupid fucking mouth. Hell, I hope he inexplicably disappears while he’s on the stand, baffling scientists for decades. But I’ll never wish for the rape of anyone.

If I’m defeated at night: Three bottles of bourbon, a guitar, two tacos, and a beaten up cowboy hat.

If I’m defeated during the day: Bad code, a cup of coffee, and a gallon jug of water.