Esseintes
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User ID: 1280
Esseintes
Que sçay-je?
5mo ago
It's probably the best cocktail with Fernet included, I really like Fernet and coke but it's hardly a cocktail at two ingredients. A lot of the herbal liqueurs I originally purchased for mixing have become favorites for just sipping as well, honestly its almost a shame to use stuff like Chartreuse in a cocktail since they pack so many flavors on their own.
Esseintes
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5mo ago
FMA:B is probably one of the best examples of a shonen anime/manga that told its story and wrapped things up in a timely manner. Stuck the landing as well which is damn near unheard of in the anime world...
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5mo ago
I recently rewatched the whole thing after first seeing it 10+ years ago and it holds up really well. I would add a few more caveats than you but it is very well rounded. Definitely a show I would be happy to have my kids watch.
Season 1 is by far the weakest, just some dud episodes before they get into the flow of the story. Unfortunately I think the kid show vibes from the first half of season one turn off some older viewers. But it is ultimately a kids show so I can't knock it too much for that
I recently put together a gimlet mix that is pretty decent but I can't for the life of me find the recipe at the moment. I'm a fan of equal parts cocktails, the Negroni being the exemplar. Most people are probably familiar but the recipe is:
1oz each of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth
Stirred, poured over ice
Orange peel garnish, express the oils before putting it in the drink.
Bold juniper-forward gins work best, they get lost in the Campari otherwise. I'm a fan of the humble Cinzano for a sweet vermouth.
Another great equal parts is the Last Word:
3/4oz each of gin, Green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and lime juice
Shaken, served straight up
Garnish with a maraschino cherry
(replace the gin with rye whiskey and the lime with lemon juice for a Final Ward, which I honestly prefer)
And one more rec if you're feeling adventurous and since I love Fernet Branca, the Midnight Stinger:
1oz each of bourbon and Fernet
3/4oz lemon juice
little under a half ounce of 2-1 sugar syrup
Shake, serve over crushed ice
Mint sprig garnish
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7mo ago
The Ancient literature plan seems like a solid list, although I'm curious if you will just be doing readings from some of the longer works. Even for me as a fairly motivated reader, I found the Republic to be quite daunting just to get through, let alone begin to comprehend. At least for a intro class, a collection of Plato's shorter dialogues seems more optimal and a better introduction. Hard to go wrong with the classic Trial and Death sequence (Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo). Lots of good discussion to be had in those four.
Also interested to know why you went for Antigone instead of starting with Oedipus Rex.
Here are a couple cool websites for Dante specifically; commentary and illustrations that might be helpful for students: http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/ (this one has study questions at the bottom of each section) https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/ (commentary, side-by-side Italian/English)
Esseintes
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7mo ago
What guitar and amp did you get? Back when I was working on learning electric guitar I ended up just buying an audio interface and using a DAW with plugins to practice. Great for getting a wide range of tones, but ultimately pretty bad for just knuckling down and practicing since you spend more time fiddling with dials than playing. Plus you're stuck playing sitting at the computer.
I'm pretty sure the Motte has some poetry aficionados (poems seem to get quoted with regularity) so you might get some feedback here if you posted.
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7mo ago
I have to remind myself that it's something humans have been doing pretty successfully for forever. IDK if you could call it a lost art but it does seem like it's made out to be more complicated than it is.
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7mo ago
I'm using the Mayo Clinic Guide as my reference, and it looks like there are various different poses you can use to get the right angle as it were. Trial and error seems to be the word. On another note, sleep deprivation is going to be tough I think...my wife really does like sleeping.
Esseintes
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7mo ago
Congrats! How difficult is teaching nursing? I've been reading up on it a bit since my wife and I are planning on having kids soon, however it seems opinions range from impossible to as easy as breathing. Breastfeeding would certainly be my preference given the benefits.
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8mo ago
I'm a chain conveyor belt sushi pleb, although I will say quality varies greatly depending on location. As with most things in Japan, it's all better up in Hokkaido imo.
I have to push back on the chawan mushi, it's absolutely delicious in the winter. My mother in law makes it with chestnuts and chicken, really hard to beat. Natto-maki is the best way to eat natto.
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9mo ago
With this thread, I don't think I'm going to bother with this season. The only thing amusing to come out of this is Starlight's boggening https://i.4cdn.org/tv/1718365064375134.jpg (Actually pretty fucking sad to see)
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9mo ago
Within Japan, expatriate women from North America (US and Canada) or Europe are either: 1) Divorced 2) married to or the consort of a Japanese man. 1) Will be politically progressive 2) will be neutral, disinterested, or conservative
In my experience, the vast majority of North American expatriate men in Japan are also progressive, especially the ALT crowd. Which is hardly surprising since they are almost uniformly liberal arts college grads fresh out of school.
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9mo ago
While Houellebecq is undoubtedly an inveterate and unrepentant coomer with a possible predilection for hebes, I would say he looks on pedophilia with sort of bemusement more than anything. His characters are consumed by their jealousy for the young (which, as @BahRamYou's quote indicates, is specifically high school/college age), and regrets for what could have been in their own youth. And this ends badly for them. Jumping to your conclusion via this one passage is...well, a jump.
Esseintes
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9mo ago
I have to counter your quote (but agree with your last sentences!) with the following from Serotonin:
Everything was clear, extremely clear from the beginning, but we didn’t realise. Did we yield to the illusion of individual freedom, of an open life, of infinite possibilities? It’s possible; those ideas were part of the spirit of the age; we didn’t formalise them, we didn’t have the taste to do that; we merely conformed and allowed ourselves to be destroyed by them; and then, for a very long time, to suffer as a result.
God takes care of us; he thinks of us every minute, and he gives us instructions that are sometimes very precise. Those surges of love that flow into our chests and take our breath away – those illuminations, those ecstasies, inexplicable if we consider our biological nature, our status as simple primates – are extremely clear signs.
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10mo ago
Not even the Motte is invulnerable to the neuron activation that accompanies anything about sex
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11mo ago
As a former Hokkaido resident, I can at least advise you on some of the fun to be had there. As an aside, I personally don't enjoy Tokyo at all, but if it's your first time then it is fine. It certainly has the most stuff in general.
Cars are obviously the best way to get around Hokkaido, as trains are much more limited than in the south. I'm not sure how familiar you are with winter driving, but all cautions apply. The island gets extreme levels of snowfall at times.
For skiing, Niseko is the biggest one, very touristy but just as popular with the locals. There are a couple of ski resorts in the area, Grand Hirafu being the flagship. It's a fantastic mountain, good backcountry areas, spacious lifts, and mind blowing powder if you can catch it. Mt. Yotei is known as Hokkaido's Fuji and is available for backcountry tours, but it's a spectacular sight even if you dont ski it. Other favorites of mine (bearing in mind they are fairly out of the way) are Furano and Kamui ski links. Sapporo Teine and Sapporo Kokusai are good options right outside of the city.
Unfortunately hiking isn't an option in winter, but definitely look into snowshoeing if that's your thing.
For food, soup curry and jingisukan "Genghis Khan" are favorite Hokkaido specialties. Also, Hokkaido ramen is far superior to mainland stuff, especially if you like miso ramen. There is a "ramen alley" in Sapporo with a bunch of popular options. You can also get a great bowl at Chitose airport if you can't wait.
Susukino is the nightlife hub in Sapporo, but you might want to range a bit further out for a quieter izakaya experience.
Don't knock hitting the onsen after a long day of skiing, it's pretty unbeatable especially if you have access to outdoor baths which are wonderful in the winter.
Seicomart is the Hokkaido exclusive conbini so check that out for sure.
In general, Hokkaido is pretty spread out so be mindful of drive times compounded by winter conditions. If you have other specific areas in mind I can share what I know.
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, which is a narrative history of the Troubles following a lot of the big and small players in the (mostly Provisional) IRA throughout the duration of the conflict. I know next to nothing about the Troubles but it has thus far been a riveting and accessible introduction.
On an entirely different note, I decided to pick up a light fantasy read, and ended up with Kushiel's Dart, a...racy political intrigue set in alternate history France. The lead character is charming and while it is pretty schlocky in general, the plot and character interactions are a lot of fun. Some interesting worldbuilding at work as well.
I have a feeling this is a book that would have a rather harder time getting published today on account of the contents of the first hundred pages or so alone, but maybe I'm simply naive about the nature of the industry. The ringing endorsement from Robert Jordan on the cover gave me a good chuckle in any case.
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11mo ago
I just finished I Claudius as well. I was somewhat surprised by how little of a part Claudius plays in the grand scheme of the book, but I suppose the whole point is that he both a distant and all too close observer of the sordid goings on of the Roman elite. I can see how the Caligula parts might feel rushed, but I got the sense that at that point a lot of the big players that Claudius was closing following were just dead, leaving only Caligula's shenanigans to describe. You might know this already but apparently there is a sequel, Claudius the God.
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11mo ago
In my experience, dairy farmers (and beef cattle farmers) doing their own ultrasounding is very common... When you have herds of hundreds of cattle that you are regularly artificially inseminating, it's just not practical to have a vet out to the farm to do routine preg checks. I can't speak much to the culture war angle, but this really just seems like unnecessary bureaucracy impeding on extremely anodyne agricultural practices
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1yr ago
Really quite good, I'm about halfway through and its a page turner. Even for those not particularly interested in historical fiction, I think this is just a intriguing novel in its own right. Lots of 'easter eggs' for Roman history aficionados as well I'm sure.
In spite of my great fondness for Montaigne, I've not yet read his greatest (contemporary) muse, Boétie. What translation are you reading?
Working through I, Claudius at the moment. Very well written, although I cannot speak to the accuracy of the characters' depictions.
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1yr ago
If said masturbation is accompanied by porn usage, I've had great results by cutting porn out. YMMV but masturbation generally leaves me feeling lethargic, so no porn = less masturbation = more energy. Not to say I haven't found plenty of other ways to waste time at the PC.
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1yr ago
I think that while some certain simpler forms of poetry may be "superseded" by song, epic or longer form poetry provides the refutation here. Works like The Divine Comedy, De Rerum Natura, or Virgil's Georgics are pinnacles of the art form that would only be made lesser by the addition of music. And to take your example of I Wanna Be Yours, as soon as Alex Turner sings it in his dulcet tones, set to the idiosyncratic sound of the Arctic Monkeys, it has become something other than the original entirely. In fact, reading just the John Cooper Clark poem, it strikes me as distinctly corny in a way that the song version covers up.
Poetry's finest examples need no other assistance than the ink on the page. And they invite reflection that lasts longer than the allotted three minutes of a pop song.
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1yr ago
Also in the land of fake Christmas. My wife made the cake this year, infinitely better than whatever we ordered from Lawson last year. The main course was some A4 wagyu steak I picked up at Costco, which turns out to be a fantastic way to season your cast iron.
But it starts with him already being a master of Air, and once he has good teachers he learns Earth and Water near instantly. Fire is only a problem because he is reluctant to use it due to an incident.
Aangs arc has more to do with accepting his role and using his inherent power rather than getting stronger by beating progressively stronger foes.
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