PelagiusSeptim's recent activity

  1. Comment on What's your favorite action scene? in ~talk

  2. Comment on 2026 United States midterm elections megathread in ~society

    PelagiusSeptim
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    I mean, they wouldn't have to confabulate too hard, the constitution explicitly disallows interstate compacts. There is disagreement over whether this qualifies as one in the way that is banned,...

    I mean, they wouldn't have to confabulate too hard, the constitution explicitly disallows interstate compacts. There is disagreement over whether this qualifies as one in the way that is banned, but it would hardly be the Roberts court's most ridiculous ruling

    3 votes

  3. Comment on Tildes Book Club Discussion - October 2026 - Dr. No by Ian Flemming in ~books

    PelagiusSeptim
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    I loved that Dr. No's final demise was that he was squashed by guano!

    I loved that Dr. No's final demise was that he was squashed by guano!

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Cars with offensive names in ~transport

    PelagiusSeptim
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    I will check this video out when I have time but this just made me think of the time I was walking through my neighborhood and was so shocked to see a cool looking car with the word "midget" typed...

    I will check this video out when I have time but this just made me think of the time I was walking through my neighborhood and was so shocked to see a cool looking car with the word "midget" typed on it. I assume that one is included

    2 votes

  5. Comment on Tildes Book Club Discussion - October 2026 - Dr. No by Ian Flemming in ~books

    PelagiusSeptim
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    Finished it a month and a half ago, so it's not super fresh in my mind, but I enjoyed this book! My boyfriend is a bigger fan of the Bond movies than I am, but I've seen and enjoyed a fair few,...

    Finished it a month and a half ago, so it's not super fresh in my mind, but I enjoyed this book! My boyfriend is a bigger fan of the Bond movies than I am, but I've seen and enjoyed a fair few, including the Dr. No film.

    One thing that surprised me in comparison to the films was that Bond kind of seemed like less of a pig in this. Not to say he wasn't a pig, but I think the interiority we get in the novel format gives a different perspective compared to his brash exterior. I think his view of Honey as esentially a child initially and coming to see her as mature and only sleeping with her afterwards is still a bit uncomfortable, but it's difficult to imagine Connery's Bond as even having second thoughts about whether to sleep with a 20 year old, so there's a bit of a contrast there.

    As far as Honey Rider herself, I liked her a lot! Bond treated her like a child, but I felt she was written as a capable individual and was well characterized throughout the novel. One thing that was a bit comical was the focus on her broken nose, her insecurity about it makes sense but it's painted as like this huge obvious flaw! I think people cared more about noses in the 20th century but I feel like I've never seen a nose, broken or otherwise, that made someone ugly? Idk, maybe others have different experiences.

    I also liked Quarrel a lot, I think the patois dialogue can certainly come across as offensive but I enjoyed his dynamic with Bond. Live and Let Die is one of my favorite of the movies, and since Quarrel appears in that book as well it is one I think will be worth checking out.

    I already mentioned the interiority of Bond, and I think that's one of the strongest parts of the novel. I like the slower and more introspective moments, there's a particular part where Bond is laying in the boat looking at the stars, and that's something that doesn't really translate well to a fast paced action movie. I also like the more procedural parts where it's focused on him doing his investigation, makes him seem more like a competent secret agent.

    There was a Raymond Chandler blurb on the back of my copy, and I think that's appropriate since my experience with this reminds me of his books, well done prose with a strong plot focus, although obviously a little more action oriented. Overall, it was an enjoyable book and I am definitely convinced it's worth reading more Fleming!

    3 votes

  6. Comment on Maybe there was an egg cartel after all in ~food

    PelagiusSeptim
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    As an egg lover, I am so grateful that Aldi has decided to use them as a loss leader and still has them under $2 to this day

    As an egg lover, I am so grateful that Aldi has decided to use them as a loss leader and still has them under $2 to this day

    8 votes

  7. Comment on How Ukraine uses precision drone strikes to hobble Russian oil refineries in ~society

  8. Comment on How Ukraine uses precision drone strikes to hobble Russian oil refineries in ~society

    PelagiusSeptim
    Link Parent
    The 50-66% number isn't in the article, is that your interpretation of "significant damage" or is that from somewhere else?

    The 50-66% number isn't in the article, is that your interpretation of "significant damage" or is that from somewhere else?

    1 vote

  9. Comment on Popcorn! What's the best way to make it? in ~food

    PelagiusSeptim
    Link
    I do stovetop with vegetable oil, I don't use flavacol since I don't really care about replicating theater flavor. I usually season with table salt, cumin, and chipotle powder, and shake well! My...

    I do stovetop with vegetable oil, I don't use flavacol since I don't really care about replicating theater flavor. I usually season with table salt, cumin, and chipotle powder, and shake well! My number one tip for stove top is to make sure it is high enough heat! When it's popping slower it's more likely to burn since the already popped kernels have more time to sit in the oil, gotta get it going fast!

    2 votes

  10. Comment on Donald Trump strikes deal with Vladimir Putin to get diesel in sharp reversal of US policy weeks before midterms in ~society

    PelagiusSeptim
    Link Parent
    I think "inept corrupt" covers both elements of it

    I think "inept corrupt" covers both elements of it

    14 votes

  11. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    PelagiusSeptim
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    Finished Dark Matter. This was not very good at all! Perhaps it's hurt by me knowing the premise going in and years of multiverse media making the idea stale since this book was released, but I...

    Finished Dark Matter. This was not very good at all! Perhaps it's hurt by me knowing the premise going in and years of multiverse media making the idea stale since this book was released, but I thought it took the main character waaaaay too long to figure out what was going on. I hate the writing style, tons of single sentence and single word or phrase paragraphs. I think plot is mostly okay, but so predictable, with exception of

    spoiler multiple Jasons returning to the original universe

    which was an interesting idea but ultimately not that well executed. Will not be reading any more Blake Crouch!

    Other than that, I have picked up a few things from library but not finished much. I'm enjoying the short fiction of Flann O'Brien, nice little 4 or 5 page stories so far and quite funny. The first 5 are translated from Irish, and they are apparently difficult to translate because the jokes are very much about the Irish language and make sense in the original, but the annotations do an admirable job and I found them entertaining. The English ones I have read so far have been great as well! Haven't gotten to it yet, but what's interesting about the volume is that Flann O'Brien wrote under many pseudonyms, (his real name was Brian O'Nolan) and some are believed to be undiscovered. The editors of the collection included one story by an author who they propose is another pseudonym, John Shamus O'Donnell, who wrote a science fiction story published in Amazing Stories.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on Tildes Book Club - Have you started Dr. No by Ian Fleming? in ~books

    PelagiusSeptim
    Link Parent
    Well that's disappointing! I think extended reading time for the next installment might be a good idea, but changing the date and even leaving the possibility that you'll delay again doesn't...

    Well that's disappointing! I think extended reading time for the next installment might be a good idea, but changing the date and even leaving the possibility that you'll delay again doesn't encourage my participation. I think it's important for a book club to have well defined timelines.

    2 votes

  13. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    PelagiusSeptim
    Link Parent
    If you want something a bit more compact for Pynchon, I'd recommend checking out The Crying of Lot 49! It's very short, similarly funny, and since you've been reading Shakespeare you'll be happy...

    If you want something a bit more compact for Pynchon, I'd recommend checking out The Crying of Lot 49! It's very short, similarly funny, and since you've been reading Shakespeare you'll be happy to know it contains a pseudo-Jacobean revenge play! I liked Vineland okay when I finally finished it this year, but it's the only Pynchon I dropped when I first read it, probably at a similar point in as you did. Most of his other work is better IMO

    2 votes

  14. Comment on ‘Game of Thrones’ movie ‘Aegon’s Conquest’ sets summer 2029 release date in ~movies

    PelagiusSeptim
    Link Parent
    The Dunk and Egg show is also based on an incomplete series, although it's divided into standalone novellas so it works well so far. They could easily disappoint us in the finale though if they...

    The Dunk and Egg show is also based on an incomplete series, although it's divided into standalone novellas so it works well so far. They could easily disappoint us in the finale though if they decide to end it with the events at summerhall (unrevealed so far) and do a bad job of it.

    6 votes

  15. Comment on Irreverent ads make me want to buy things even less in ~talk

    PelagiusSeptim
    Link Parent
    I think it makes a fair point about how even though the ad may have discouraged OP from buying at the moment, it can still be effective. This post has made me aware of both dbrand and fatty, two...

    I think it makes a fair point about how even though the ad may have discouraged OP from buying at the moment, it can still be effective. This post has made me aware of both dbrand and fatty, two brands I was unfamiliar with. That doesn't mean I'm gonna go out and buy something from them, but I am thinking about a meatstick now when I wouldn't have before!

    40 votes

  16. Comment on READFLIX – Free books from open libraries in ~books

    PelagiusSeptim
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    I like the idea, but I think the UI is poorly thought out, and the website somehow stopped accepting my scroll wheel every few seconds. Feels maybe vibecoded? Or just amateurish. Hopefully they...

    I like the idea, but I think the UI is poorly thought out, and the website somehow stopped accepting my scroll wheel every few seconds. Feels maybe vibecoded? Or just amateurish. Hopefully they improve things though!

    3 votes

  17. Comment on Everyday/week seems to fly by as I get older, how to change one's perception? in ~life

    PelagiusSeptim
    Link Parent
    What does it mean for the perceived length to be close to accurate?

    What does it mean for the perceived length to be close to accurate?

    5 votes

  18. Comment on Robert Eggers tackling ‘Romeo and Juliet’ adaptation as Focus wins bidding war in ~movies

    PelagiusSeptim
    Link
    Annoys me that the article said it will be in "Olde English", it's early modern English godammit! But I think the funnier linguistic move on Eggers' part would be to make it in Venetian to match...

    Annoys me that the article said it will be in "Olde English", it's early modern English godammit! But I think the funnier linguistic move on Eggers' part would be to make it in Venetian to match the setting.

    6 votes

  19. Comment on Paramount settles with California, other states over Warner Bros merger in ~movies

    PelagiusSeptim
    Link Parent
    This seems significant, although who knows if Paramount will follow that stipulation in good faith

    The settlement includes the creation of independent editorial boards for CNN ‌and CBS

    This seems significant, although who knows if Paramount will follow that stipulation in good faith

    13 votes

  20. Comment on Share your favorite live music performance recordings in ~music

    PelagiusSeptim
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    This performance by Cecil Taylor at the Montreux Jazz Festival is one of my favorites. I don't know if there's a longer filmed version of it, but the whole thing is on the album Silent Tongues....

    This performance by Cecil Taylor at the Montreux Jazz Festival is one of my favorites. I don't know if there's a longer filmed version of it, but the whole thing is on the album Silent Tongues. It's great to be able to watch Taylor in action, when I first started listening to him it seemed a lot like chaos, but being able to watch his hands move help to really understand what he's doing.

    1 vote