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ThomasdelVasto

Κύριε, ποίησόν με ὄργανον τῆς ἀγάπης σου

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joined 2025 May 20 19:37:18 UTC

Blogger, Christian convert, general strange one. https://shapesinthefog.substack.com/


				
User ID: 3709


				
				
				

			

		

	














	


		


			



	

		

			

			

				

					

						

							
						

						

							
							

								
ThomasdelVasto


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
Κύριε, ποίησόν με ὄργανον τῆς ἀγάπης σου

				
				
				

				

					0 followers  

					follows 0 users  

					joined 2025 May 20 19:37:18 UTC
				


				
					

					
Blogger, Christian convert, general strange one. https://shapesinthefog.substack.com/



				

				

				

				

				

					

					

					
					
					

					
User ID: 3709


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
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	 Hot Bump Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
	



		

	






	

		
		

		
		
	

	

  







		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yeah I stayed checked in a little longer, but not too much. You make a good diagnosis of his problems as an author I think.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 14, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
About to finish Worth the Candle. It started off incredible, getting a bit lame by the end. Too much focus on narrative, and the relationships / characters are too cringey. It's a shame because it had a ton of potential but I'm still enjoying it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Rise of the Steel Minds
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks! I read that recently and liked it.


Yeah I’ve always been a sucker for fantasy stories wrapped in even a bare suggestion of sci-fi feasibility. I think it leads to some really fun worlds.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Florence and the Machine.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks for the writeup. This is probably my favorite movie of all time, or at least top 3. Incredible story, incredibly acted and directed and scripted. Love it so much.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for June 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Got a lot going on but doing well despite it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for June 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Any advice for cooking restaurant quality Chinese food that isn’t too terribly unhealthy?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
There is plenty to be done about it. The ideal scenario would involve prestigious magazines not writing glowing hagiographies about whores, for a modest start.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I consider sex work to be fundamentally anti social and defecting,  we probably disagree.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
My point is I am tempted do something low trust that makes me a lot of money instead of work a normal job. Trade off for myself at the expense of the commons. I’m not comparing these jobs to prostitution necessarily. Only in that they’re all antisocial to some degree.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
This would be difficult to achieve with a hybrid job that requires me to be in office multiple days a week. If I were full remote I’d consider it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
What space? And do you have plans to try and fix things in society as a recompense for the harm you caused? Just curious, trying not to judge.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Well, a lot of it is that I have close family and friends here that I care about. I live an hour from where I grew up and I am the type of person who cares about roots and really knowing a place.


As I said it gets more attractive, but ultimately my relationships with other human beings are the most valuable and irreplaceable thing in my life, so that weights quite heavily in favor of staying put.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I appreciate it. I am a bit surprised at the amount of vitriol and "duh you idiot" I am getting in the replies, but it is what it is.


I agree that surrendering to sadness and despair isn't the way. Despite my frustrations above I've found a lot of meaning and goodness in life outside of work. I do a job that I don't hate, that doesn't destroy me with stress, and focus on other areas of my life.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Have you spoken to RNs? One of my close friends is one. It's extremely menial, if by menial you mean physically demanding and focusing on servicing other people directly.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
If I thought this had even a 1% chance of working I would try it. Alas...


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Please use periods. We have standards here on proper grammar, dangit!


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
As @KMC said, you are being a bit disingenuous here. The vast majority of actual job growth has been menial healthcare jobs.


I do work in the service sector in a way I suppose, but I mostly do onsite product marketing. Depends on how you define "service."


I'm not necessarily saying it's an apocalyptic scenario, though it may well turn into one if we don't course correct somewhat soon. What I'm saying is that my personal experience and outlook on economic participation is getting more and more bleak.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Ok, fair. I'm aware it's not necessarily anything new under the sun. I suppose it just feels extremely brazen at the moment, but hey what do I know. Apparently it used to be pretty much the same.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Who is trying to catch her? These women are getting glowing hagiographies in Forbes, for Christ’s sake. They are not in serious danger of going to jail for breaking the laws around prostitution in California.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Can you unpack some of the context here for me? You’re just saying women suck essentially?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
What a pleasant comment! No actually, I do not think marketing is equivalent to prostitution. I admit that it has moral qualms but I do mostly on site a/b testing, so I don’t lose sleep at night.


Someone does indeed have to do the disgusting jobs, but we can still comment on the state of society and the market based on the policies and general cultural values we have enacted. Once again your approach here, as always, is extremely defeatist.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Healthcare jobs are, uh, real jobs and as a society gets richer the demand for healthcare increases.




Yes they are real jobs, but they're also extremely menial and service focused. I suppose you can take a certain pride in your work, but there's also the fact that young people are already being taxed a huge proportion of their income going to elders. So you're being taxed so you can get the money recycled back to you serving as a servant basically to old people you don't know. Pretty dark if you ask me.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
An article is making the rounds on rat-adjacent twitter entitled "The Nerdy Escorts Cashing In On Silicon Valley’s AI Boom."


I can't bypass the paywall, but someone posted on X:




Five years ago, it was rare for escorts to charge more than $1K per hour. Now, a handful of women charge much, much more: $3k, $5k an hour. $23k a day.  $30k a weekend.
Inside the shifting economics of intimacy in Silicon Valley...




I know that aella, the famous rationalist whorelord, popularized this niche of pseudo-intellectual prostitutes appealing to rationalists and other tech nerds for extreme amounts of money. It's obvious that aella has become obscenely wealthy and gained a ton of social status from her pursuits, but I'm still somewhat shocked at the sheer amount these women are making.


I work a pretty boring, standard corporate marketing job, and apparently these prostitutes are taking home almost my entire after-tax yearly income in one weekend.


Even regardless of the moral aspect of the situation, the fact that a prostitute can make so much money is a huge slap in the face to people working hard for a living. That, combined with the fact that close to 18% of the economy is now in healthcare, has got me a bit depressed on the economy.


Also, Tyler Cowen had a bit of a viral moment yesterday saying he wouldn't be surprised if 15 to 20% of all jobs in the near future are elder care. This of course sandwiched in a talk where he insists AI is great and making jobs not losing them!


Anyway, all of this recent discourse combined is making me feel more and more like a retarded schmuck for working a 'real job,' as opposed to just leeching off the government, doing some sort of NGO/media grift, or even just getting a random remote job and going to live cheap in Thailand or some other extremely cheap country. And this is someone who has a pretty chill office job where I don't have to work too hard, and get to work from home a few days a week. I can't imagine how people who actually bust their asses in physical labor and make less than me feel!


Either way, the optimism from the pundit class around AI and the economy is feeling more and more hollow to me by the day. If the numbers keep going up but everyone is employed wiping the asses of boomers and sexually pleasuring tech AI millionaires, have we really improved society? How will things go otherwise without some sort of relatively radical disruption? I try not to be a 'doomer' about AI, but I'm increasingly finding it hard to be optimistic on the impact of it on society.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 7, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Ahh man thanks for the reminder. I didn't even know. I'm not sure I will do anything, got a lot of really tough personal stuff going on at the moment.