Esseintes
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Esseintes
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5mo 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.
Esseintes
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5mo ago
Not even the Motte is invulnerable to the neuron activation that accompanies anything about sex
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6mo 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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6mo 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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7mo 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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8mo 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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8mo 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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10mo 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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10mo 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.
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1yr ago
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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1yr 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.
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1yr 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.
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1yr 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
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1yr 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
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1yr 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.
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1yr 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
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2yr 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.
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.
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