plutonic's recent activity
-
Comment on Don’t like joining in? Why it could be your superpower. in ~life
-
Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
plutonic Link ParentAbsolute masterpiece! Have you read any other Steinbeck?Absolute masterpiece! Have you read any other Steinbeck?
-
Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
plutonic LinkEmile Zola's 'Nana' published in 1880. The 9th novel in the 'Les Rougon-Macquart' series of 20 novels. I'm a big fan of French Realism, specifically Balzac and Zola, I've read far more Balzac so...Emile Zola's 'Nana' published in 1880. The 9th novel in the 'Les Rougon-Macquart' series of 20 novels. I'm a big fan of French Realism, specifically Balzac and Zola, I've read far more Balzac so figured it was time to pick up another Zola. This book is interesting because of its portrayal of the main character Nana who is a prostitute/stage actress. It was a pretty big deal to feature a character like that in 1880.
Took me a couple chapters to really get into it, there are a lot of characters to map out. Somewhere around halfway now, enjoying it so far.
-
Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
plutonic LinkI'm making a Kashmiri Lamb Meatball Curry tonight! My partner is out of town (she won't eat lamb) so I'm taking advantage of that to try a new lamb recipe. Huge fan of this guy's recipes and his...I'm making a Kashmiri Lamb Meatball Curry tonight! My partner is out of town (she won't eat lamb) so I'm taking advantage of that to try a new lamb recipe. Huge fan of this guy's recipes and his Curry Guy Bible is my go-to Indian cookbook. Indian food is my main interest in cooking and I'm always down to try a new curry.
-
Comment on Presenting... PrizeForge: a novel crowdfunding model for sustainable open-source and fighting enshittification in ~tech
plutonic Link ParentI really think the problem lies in the delegates, that's the weird part. Everything up to that makes sense to me.I really think the problem lies in the delegates, that's the weird part. Everything up to that makes sense to me.
-
Comment on Igorrr - HEADBUTT (2025) in ~music
plutonic Link ParentOne more recommendation for anyone who likes Igorrr: he had a side project that released one album in 2015 called Corpo-Mente that had more prominent Operatic vocals mixed with real drums and...One more recommendation for anyone who likes Igorrr: he had a side project that released one album in 2015 called Corpo-Mente that had more prominent Operatic vocals mixed with real drums and metal, but less in your face death-metal sound than he uses in Igorrr. It's an awesome album.
-
Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
plutonic Link ParentI'm still thinking about it. Definitely a book that sticks with you and keeps you thinking. Masterpiece.I'm still thinking about it. Definitely a book that sticks with you and keeps you thinking. Masterpiece.
-
Comment on Igorrr - HEADBUTT (2025) in ~music
plutonic Link ParentDetritus, Mothboy, Enduser, Bong-Ra, Cdatakill, Scorn, Funckarma, Somatic Responses, Broken Note, Matta, Niveau Zero, Subheim, Underhill. Honestly you can pick almost anything released on Ad...Detritus, Mothboy, Enduser, Bong-Ra, Cdatakill, Scorn, Funckarma, Somatic Responses, Broken Note, Matta, Niveau Zero, Subheim, Underhill. Honestly you can pick almost anything released on Ad Noiseam between 2000 and 2012+ and it will at least be interesting.
-
Comment on Igorrr - HEADBUTT (2025) in ~music
plutonic LinkLove me some Igorrr, been listening to him since the first album. Originally discovered during an era of listening to everything Ad Noiseam was putting out. The best combination of 'All Genres'...Love me some Igorrr, been listening to him since the first album. Originally discovered during an era of listening to everything Ad Noiseam was putting out. The best combination of 'All Genres' there is.
-
Comment on SpaceX's Starship completes successful test flight after a year of mishaps in ~space
plutonic LinkThey really needed this win, really great test flight this time! Very exciting to watch. Say what you want about Elon, I am a serious space geek and have been since childhood and this stuff is...They really needed this win, really great test flight this time! Very exciting to watch. Say what you want about Elon, I am a serious space geek and have been since childhood and this stuff is just amazing to watch!
-
Comment on Spotify is adding direct messaging to their music streaming app in ~tech
plutonic Link ParentYou could just not use the feature like all the other features you don't use. I don't listen to podcasts at all so I just ignore them on Spotify, no big deal. People complain you can't remove them...You could just not use the feature like all the other features you don't use. I don't listen to podcasts at all so I just ignore them on Spotify, no big deal. People complain you can't remove them from the main page, which I agree should be controllable by the user but it turns out I never look at the main page, so really I don't even see them very much. Probably going to be the same thing with this, I already have all the social stuff turned off in my Spotify.
-
Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
plutonic Link ParentCheckout what Harold Bloom had to say about Blood Meridian. To have him gush about so modern of a work is really rare and he is definitely worth listening to about anything related to literature.Checkout what Harold Bloom had to say about Blood Meridian. To have him gush about so modern of a work is really rare and he is definitely worth listening to about anything related to literature.
-
Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
plutonic Link ParentBlood Meridian is without a doubt a masterpiece. There are some books I finish and don't really think much about, others I think about a lot over long periods of time. I've been thinking a lot...Blood Meridian is without a doubt a masterpiece. There are some books I finish and don't really think much about, others I think about a lot over long periods of time. I've been thinking a lot about Blood Meridian over the last few days since I finished it. It's actually not that I'm thinking about the book as a whole too much, I'm thinking a lot about The Judge.
Some mythic Nietzschean Ubermensch living Beyond Good and Evil... and a fabulous dancer, what a character! I would have liked more of the judge but maybe that also would have spoiled it, maybe things like that are best left for Dostoevsky. Outside the judge I don't think the book is that strong, maybe I wish there was more than just the violence to ponder over?
I really enjoyed McCarthy's use of language, a dictionary is required for sure. 8/10 based on how great a character the judge is and how good the writing is. I need to think and read about this one a bunch more.
-
Comment on I wanna raise crickets for the sound in ~life.pets
plutonic LinkI love this idea and I think you should totally go for it!! I've always needed some king of background noise to fall asleep, right now I just use a fan but would really love a waterfall of some...I love this idea and I think you should totally go for it!! I've always needed some king of background noise to fall asleep, right now I just use a fan but would really love a waterfall of some sorts, something like the sound of rain.
-
Comment on Home book cataloguing suggestions in ~books
plutonic Link ParentThe library is an entire room, all walls floor to ceiling books on shelves. It's my pride and joy :)The library is an entire room, all walls floor to ceiling books on shelves. It's my pride and joy :)
-
Comment on Home book cataloguing suggestions in ~books
plutonic LinkI have a 3500+ volume library in my house. I just use a Google Sheets spreadsheet that I keep updated manually. Started it a long time ago and now it's grown a lot. I list Author/Title/Goodreads...I have a 3500+ volume library in my house. I just use a Google Sheets spreadsheet that I keep updated manually. Started it a long time ago and now it's grown a lot. I list Author/Title/Goodreads Score/Date Originally Published/Date of this Edition/Location in my library (Pre-1900, Post1900, Sci-Fi, Art, ect)/Publisher of the edition I have/Softcover/Hardcover/Have I read it?/Book Condition 1-5.
The advantage of using Google Sheets is that I have easy access to the list from my phone when I am out at used bookstores hunting, good luck remembering all the books you have when you have 3500+.
I couldn't find a real solution that I liked anywhere online, ISBN would be great, but a lot of my books are old enough that they have no such thing, or I wanted to be able to record the exact edition I have and that became difficult. I also wanted a very dense list I could scroll through when out shopping instead of having to search my collection. Since I'm collecting and reading mostly older literature (I have very little published in the last 40-50 years) the Goodreads scores are actually decently useful in the same way the ratings of older movies on IMDB are still useful.
Works really well for my use case but it's painful to setup, once you have it though it's easy to keep updated. HERE is an example of my Faulkner collection out of my spreadsheet.
-
Comment on Danish government has announced it will abolish a 25% sales tax on books, in an effort to combat a "reading crisis" in ~books
plutonic LinkI doubt this has much to do with a sales tax, people and especially young people do not read anymore due to being addicted to instant gratification via social media apps. Reading is an exercise in...I doubt this has much to do with a sales tax, people and especially young people do not read anymore due to being addicted to instant gratification via social media apps. Reading is an exercise in patience, the reward could be 10-40 hours away. The pacing is slow, the use of language becomes an art form, the goal isn't usually 'entertainment' (this is HIGHLY dependent on what one is reading, I'm referring mostly to Literature here). What can be done? Does anything need to be done? Does reading actually add something of value to the average persons life? Is reading 'young-adult romantic fantasy' any different from watching internet slop or brainless TV shows/movies? Those who want to seek out serious literature will still do so, but they have always been rare even among readers.
Losing the ability to understand what someone is trying to convey to you in writing is much worse an issue and will lead to large parts of the population unable to tell truth from fiction and being easily taken by swindlers.... sound familiar? It is already occurring.
-
Comment on Danish government has announced it will abolish a 25% sales tax on books, in an effort to combat a "reading crisis" in ~books
plutonic Link ParentTariffs are pretty much just a hidden sales tax on the consumer, this is US economic policy moving forward.Tariffs are pretty much just a hidden sales tax on the consumer, this is US economic policy moving forward.
-
Comment on AI is creeping into the Linux kernel - and official policy is needed ASAP in ~comp
plutonic Link ParentLike Microsoft and Office? Can you even picture a world without it anymore? When is the last time you saw a type-writer in an office? I feel AI will have the same effect on coding, making coders...Like Microsoft and Office? Can you even picture a world without it anymore? When is the last time you saw a type-writer in an office? I feel AI will have the same effect on coding, making coders hugely more efficient just as Office did for administration workers.
-
Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
plutonic LinkCurrently reading Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian'. I've previously read 'The Road' and 'All The Pretty Horses' and didn't really think much of either of them, sure, better than most things...Currently reading Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian'. I've previously read 'The Road' and 'All The Pretty Horses' and didn't really think much of either of them, sure, better than most things being written by a (at the time) living author but still not comparable to the literature of the past. Saw that 'Blood Meridian' kept being called his Masterpiece and that it was a relatively difficult read. I'm almost done the book now and while the very minimal punctuation is a neat concept I haven't found the book 'difficult' to read at all. The language is absolutely beautiful and dense, reminds me a little bit of Moby Dick (in reality, not even comparable) but it has that feel.
The novel is very violent and dark, but not gratuitously so? I've very much enjoyed the character of The Judge and wish we could have heard more from him throughout the book. Definitely the best book of his I have read so far, but I think it is still missing something for me, maybe he needs to spend more time in the characters heads? What is The Judge thinking? What is The Kid thinking as this violence envelops him? Not a lot of reflection going on here, maybe that's some of the point. The violence is presented as indifferent and constant, as if the violence is as common to life as breathing and it is done without thought or reason. I haven't really processed the book too much yet, going to have to think about this one more when finished. 8/10.
That is seriously grim. I would find a way to make myself sick to avoid the entire thing. Why do corporations try and push this bullshit? What concerns me even more is I think there are people who genuinely enjoy it.