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PaperclipPerfector  7d ago (text post)   1974 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for May 4, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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So, what are you reading?

Still on the Iliad and Lovecraft. Picking up Horkheimer and Adorno's Dialectic of Enlightenment.

I'm reading Man And Woman He Created Them (aka the theology of the body) by John Paul II. The intro on the version I have was a doozy, like 180 pages. But I'm finally into the work proper, and that is easier going (mainly because it's smaller chunks so easier to digest).

I'm also reading Modernist Cuisine, after my wife unexpectedly bought it for me for my birthday. Ironically, I rather despise "modern" movements (in art but also in cuisine), because I find they get up their own asses seeking novelty without ever considering whether they have made something as good as the tradition they seek to distance themselves from (and more often than not, they haven't). So in theory I should hate the book. But I appreciate the sheer level of autism that goes into making something like this, and I think the photography is beautiful. I also appreciate that they have recipes that aren't trying to be creative and shocking, but are using modern techniques to make traditional dishes even better than before. So I'm enjoying the book well enough.

Their classic recipes are quite good. I think it is more than 2/3rds of all of them. And sous vide is a game changer for select proteins.

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