Esseintes
Que sçay-je?
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User ID: 1280
Esseintes
Que sçay-je?
2yr ago
Another Kobo chad checking in. I've had mine offline since I bought it, and use Calibre to load ebooks on. Long battery life (hardly unusual with ereaders) and actual page buttons instead of just a touch screen are pluses.
Esseintes
Que sçay-je?
2yr ago
Authentic, sure. Something I'd want to listen to more than once? Less so. In any case, I don't think we'll ever get political music quite like the Irish do.
Esseintes
Que sçay-je?
2yr ago
Regarding athlete IQ, while the average pro athlete may be above group level, their intellectual abilities are so singularly focused on sports that they often come across as unintelligent when it comes to just about any other activity.
Thus they are on the field making incredible plays that will be remembered for a long time thereafter, unlike their interviews/biographies which are generally devoid of any actual insight whatsoever.
I'm mainly lifting this theory from one of DFW's tennis essays, but I think it may hold true for sports in general.
Start with the Greeks. Continue with the Romans. The rest is just gravy.
I'm only partially memeing with the above advice, but here are some big lists that I would recommend picking and choosing from at least initially as they are genuinely lifetime reading lists. Fadiman and Major Bloom
As for your list so far, a few recommendations on translations + some resources:
Fagles for the Iliad/Odyssey/Aeneid (throwing this in here to round out the epic poetry)
A guide to Plato: https://www.plato-dialogues.org/plato.htm (DO NOT read the Republic first; common mistake. If you've never read him try the Trial and Death sequence of dialogues first: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phædo)
I would recommend the New Oxford Annotated Bible if you're approaching it from a literary/historical angle. Incredible notes.
For Dante, Ciardi is a good translation that keeps the terza rima format of the original and has extensive notes. That said, there are a lot to pick from, some comparisons here.
And a couple of cool websites to accompany you on your journey with Dante and Virgil: https://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/ https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/
Esseintes
Que sçay-je?
2yr ago
Do people not read in the Anglosphere ?
Ifonlyyouknewhowbadthingsreallyare.jpg
A quick google search reveals that she's actually decently attractive and not overweight (albeit most of the pics are 7+ years old). Old yes, but she could have certainly done better than whatever the hell she is doing now on this app.
Esseintes
Que sçay-je?
2yr ago
Even her "unexpected singleness" at 39 came after a relationship of only a few years. She mentions having lived through and used many of the iterations of dating apps thus far, leading me to believe that she started in on wanting a family way too late. Sad, but surely avoidable if it wasn't the outcome she wanted.
As an aside, this kind of aloofness in matters of sex necessary to use an app like this strikes me as the opposite of emotional maturity...it's just emotionally avoidant, no?
I could arrange an encounter in minutes. I would take a bath, exchange a few photos from the tub, and a date would be set up; once, a guy diverted his jog and ran to my house
Great for the guy I guess, but this just feels so cold to me.
Esseintes
Que sçay-je?
3yr ago
Finished American Psycho, which is both funnier and considerably more violent than it's film adaptation. Ultimately they did a really good job with the film, I think watching it actually enhances your appreciation of some of the more memorable scenes (the business cards etc.).
It has three rather interesting chapters were Bateman reviews musical artists, namely Huey Lewis and the News, Whitney Houston, and Phil Collins.
Which has led me to listening to Huey Lewis while doing some cooking recently. Peak boomer rock vibes.
Also continuing with Plutarch, currently on Pompey. Quality as with the rest of his writing.
And slowly working my way through Les Miserables, which hardly needs introduction. As with many titanic classic novels, I've found it to be considerably different than what I might have expected. Hugo takes his time with lengthy digressions, if you can call a full retelling of Waterloo that. He is also very much a bleeding heart kind of progressive thinker, anti-capital punishment themes and appeals to the plight of the poverty-stricken are very much at the forefront. I have my disagreements with his thinking, but what better way to extrapolate on such ideas than in a beautifully written novel?
Esseintes
Que sçay-je?
3yr ago
I finished Houellebecq's Serotonin over the weekend, it's easily my favorite of his novels now. It has all of his usual topics, atomization, sexual degeneracy, French cuisine, and an utterly defeated protagonist. This time on antidepressants. It's probably one of his most 'normie' protagonists, but one with concerns about missed opportunities and connections that feel more relatable than some of his others. I'm eagerly awaiting his latest novel to be translated.
After reading through some Plutarch, I'm stepping back for a broader overview of Greek civilization and culture with Kitto's The Greeks. I read through Herodotus earlier this year, and am planning Thucydides after this. Kitto's work seems to be tying a lot of the disparate threads together for me already.
a fellow happoshu enjoyer. I find it hard to distinguish from "real" Japanese beer, and it's quite a bit easier on the wallet for sure. Liquor being so cheap here is the real win though, I can get imported US bourbons for cheaper than in the states...
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