CanofWorms
3mo ago
No harm no foul
CanofWorms
3mo ago
Just a heads up George, Edenic typically posts this in the Small Question Sunday thread.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
Still running through King Rat. It’s a page turner for sure.
Perhaps slow is not the correct description. Bloated is probably more accurate. I thought it had a very Game of Thrones-esque style, that is, lots of characters, lots of side quests and plot tangents, while not clearly delineating the main plot.
The other issue I had, was the unrelenting machismo of the main character and the overdone honor-culture of the Japanese. I’m not saying it’s a bad book, it just didn’t suit my tastes.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
I finished up Beloved, which I thought was an astonishing work of literature. The main theme is about how slavery obliterates everything it comes into contact with, and specifically, the identity of the enslaved.
It’s a strange, metaphorical book. There is so much that is open to interpretation that a reader could spend hours thinking about the books true meaning. I see now why it was so popular in high school English classes; it’s an endless ocean for critique and analysis.
I’m onto King Rat by James Clavell. I tried reading Shogun a couple years ago, got about 50% of the way through it, and gave up. I found the plot very slow and the tendency of the Japanese to commit sepuku at the drop of a hat off-putting. King Rat seems much tighter and more interesting so far.
Did you ever finish Monte Cristo?
CanofWorms
3mo ago
What was your Hamilton reference?
CanofWorms
4mo ago
I finished Dreamland, I found it quite good though I wish it would have gone into more detail on the pharmaceutical companies and their internal machinations. I suppose a lot of that didn’t come out until a few years after the book was published.
Started Beloved. It’s not as slow as I originally thought and the writing is quite beautiful. Morrison crafts similes and analogies that are so striking and descriptive, it creates wonderful imagery in the minds eye. Looking forward to finishing it.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
It can’t be explained because it’s not a blue tribe signal at all. The people who wear masks in the US are those who really don’t want to get a cold, flu, or COVID. I see it mostly with Asian-Americans (who masked at a much higher percent prior to COVID), but present day maskers come in all shapes and size.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
This is well said and the advice OP should follow. I’ll just add that if OP starts getting more into the suit game, you can order nice suits from eBay and take them to a tailor. This is a great way to get really nice suit for pennies on the dollar.
But OP, definitely get your suit tailored. This is a non-negotiable and makes a night and day difference from something off the rack.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Can you expand on what philosophy you think he's advocating for? My takeaway is he was advocating returning to a time where politics wasn't treated as entertainment or reality TV. Shows like Crossfire have a financial incentive to treat politics as a battle royale, a sporting event, to keep their viewers eyeballs glued to the screen. This has made it more difficult for politicians to have rational conversations and rational debates, because everything is spun and amped up and taken out of context. Politics doesn't need to be a form of entertainment or culture war; it can be a boring, grinding process, whereby serious people make serious decisions about the future of America.
I think about this pretty frequently. It's unfortunate in the US that today's politicians are those who look good or are entertaining on TV. We used to have scholars leading the country, men like Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, or Thomas Jefferson. Whatever these men's faults were, they were incredibly intelligent writers and thinkers. They made their bones via fighting in war or through consistent and intelligent writing. Today's political landscape has been so changed by TV and social media, it seems impossible to return to that style of politician.
Anyway, that's a bit beside the point, but I am curious how you think Jon Stewart's political advocacy has harmed America more than Tucker Carlson's.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Even if that was his debate tactic, his point came off quite clearly. His point being, shows like Crossfire and pundits like Tucker Carlson are harming political discourse in America. It’s a debate style the hosts were not accustomed to and I think it works to good effect.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Stephen Colbert correspondents dinner: https://youtube.com/watch?v=IJ-a2KeyCAY
Jon Stewart in Crossfire: https://youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE
Both of these men have largely become more vanilla, but these clips really highlight their young brilliance.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
I feel for you buddy.
I broke up with my girlfriend of 7 years for largely the same reasons. My reasons were based more on the physical chemistry between us; I had largely lost physical attraction to her and, really, I wanted to have sex with other women.
This breakup was two years ago, and I still think about her often. Part of the reason is that we still talk from time to time so it hasn't been a complete break in relations. She was and is a wonderful woman and there were many things I admired about her. But I just wasn't sure she was the right one, and, like I said, I really wanted to mess around with other women.
Do I regret breaking up with her? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. When I was in the relationship, I felt largely unfulfilled. I would see a beautiful woman walking by and be filled with negative feelings about my own relationship. It was a major sticking point for me and, honestly, if I'd stuck it out, I would have lived with a lot of regret. At the same time, my ex adored me and treated me incredibly well. I don't think I will find another person who will treat me so well and who's intellect and work ethic I admire so much.
So...give it time. Six years is a long time to be with a person. It's good that you have cut off communication, this should make things heal more quickly. Just make sure you find things to do with your time and minimize time spent by yourself. I've always found alone time is what brings on the thoughts of rumination and regret. It's hard to break up with someone. It's especially hard to break up with someone, not because of anything they've done, but because it just didn't "feel" right or because you wanted to sleep around. Good luck to you.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Can he be unbanned?
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Looking forward to your thoughts on Monte Cristo.
I’m almost done with Dreamland. Been enjoying it so far.
I just ordered a book of Kafka stories from eBay. I read The Metamorphosis in high school and recall enjoying it. We’ll see if his stuff is a bit too…grey for my liking.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
What an interesting prompt, I'm sure you will get a lot of feedback on this one.
For some context, I have always been a very competitive person myself. Where other people enjoy hiking, creating art, or unstructured socializing, I always wanted to play sports and games. Something with some level of competition with a clear winner and loser. I've lost many such contests over the course of my life, in soccer, tennis, golf, baseball, board games, card games, poker, debates etc. And every time, I have been unhappy to lose. This doesn't make me enjoy the competition any less, it just makes me want to play again and win.
One of the interesting things about this aspect of my personality is I don't enjoy games where I don't have at least a fighting chance to win. For example, I don't terribly enjoy basketball, it's a sport I've never been good at, and I lose frequently. So I don't play it. I've never been good at chess, and I don't particularly like being overmatched intellectually, so I don't play it. So my recommendation (if you could call it such) would be to find a competitive event where you have potential and are actually interested in. This might be something as simple as a card game like Hearts, or it might be something more nebulous like debating. Do you have any interests that have a level of competition? If so, I would focus on those activities and see if it can be transferred to other areas of your life.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
I enjoyed Rise and Fall, but also found it a bit…un-journalistic. If you have the chance, I really recommend Ian Kershaws one-volume Hitler Biography. I still maintain that is the best biography I’ve ever read. It focuses not just on Hitlers life, but the world context that allowed him to gain power. The parts on 1920s Germany and the power, influence, and independence of the German generals is particularly interesting.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Not sure if this is up your alley, but Stephen Kings short stories are some of his finest work. His stuff from the 70s and 80s is great; he had a bite to his writing that sort of dissipated over time. Check out Skeleton Crew it has a few of Stephen Kings best short stories, The Raft and The Jaunt.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
The fact that Dumas was able to make 500 pages of conversation semi-interesting is indeed a feat. I just found myself unable to read long chunks at a time. I would fall asleep.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Part of it has to do with the code of violence on the street corner. Taking a guy out from 200 yards away with a rifle does not show your manhood, swagger, and fearlessness. These men and boys on the corner want to be known and feared and you don’t get that from an assassination.
Now if we’re talking about the Marlo scenes where he is hanging out in the middle of an open park, I can’t say I’ve ever considered that before. It does seem fairly trivial that a gangster could get a rifle and take him out from one of the buildings.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Bless me, I have finished The Count of Monte Cristo. I really admire the writing and vocabulary of Dumas (and, moreover, the anonymous translator), but I cannot in good conscience recommend this book. The imprisonment, escape, and discovery of the treasure are terrific, but the remaining 600 pages, comprised of palace intrigue, upper class French political and financial discussions, page-long descriptions of gardens, and all the rest make for a bit of a slog. I understand now why there are so many abridged versions of this book. I do like how the book ends, and I do like Dumas last sentence. He specifies two words that all humans should live their life by: Wait and Hope. Interesting bit of wisdom from the French master.
So. I am happy to be moving on. I have a handful of books that have been in my backlog. I plan to start with Dreamland which is a chronicle of the opioid epidemic. The opioid epidemic is a bit played out in the sense of literature and documentaries (it reminds me of the flood of books and movies about the Great Recession), but I always enjoy a good book about rich aristocrats taking advantage of the poor and vulnerable. Hoping it goes a bit faster than Monte Cristo!
CanofWorms
5mo ago
I cannot speak to the efficacy of therapy. I myself have seen a therapist for the last year and a half and been involved in a men’s group for six months. I actually just quit doing my individual therapy, but will absolutely continue my men’s group.
My thoughts are that therapy really doesn’t work, but it offers at least some placebo effect. That is, it gives me some peace of mind that I’m doing something to try to fix my negative mental health. But I still have a deep rooted belief that therapy is not all that helpful. Which is interesting. Because when I posed this belief to my men’s group, all the men in the group strongly agreed that therapy was helpful to them. I, myself am not convinced. Really, the main reason I like men’s group therapy is that I get to shoot the shit with men for two hours a week without phones. The sessions are therapeutic, but I don’t feel like I take much with me out into the real world.
My opinion on SSRIs is that they also don’t work. At least not for me. But I do have good experience with other, stronger drugs, particularly those prescribed for bipolar or stronger mood disorders. You may consider giving those a try. And you don’t need to see an in-person psychiatrist for those. Depending on where you live, you may be able to find a virtual doctor or nurse practitioner. Ive found this to be low to medium helpful.
CanofWorms
5mo ago
Stalling out on the Count of Monte Cristo. I’m on page 640 out of 900 and I’m moving through it very slowly. It’s surprising to me. I’ve seen so many people recommend this as one of the greatest books of all time, and I just feel like…it isn’t? The first 180 pages of Dante’s false imprisonment and escape were enjoyable, but since then it’s been 500 pages of upper class French parlor room conversation and gossip. Now to be fair, the gossip, conversations, and side storylines are interesting, but I can’t help but feel that this book could have been half the length and double the entertainment.
Part of it is that it was released in chunks, something like 12 serialized releases. And it really reads that way. I’m going to finish it, but it’s been a bit of a slog.
CanofWorms
5mo ago
Basil is indeed a sweeter bourbon, but that is my preferred taste. I don’t dislike bulleit, but if I’m going for something without the sweetness, I would tend toward whiskey.
Does anyone have a book recommendation about the history of policing in the United States? Looking for something that covers post American Revolution to modern day.
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