plutonic's recent activity
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
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Comment on Does Shawarma Law give a more definitive answer on whether or not a Hot Dog is a sandwich? in ~food
plutonic Link ParentThe last shawarma I had did have fries in it, but no lettuce. Another local place has shawarma with an option to get it 'Beirut style' I have no idea what it means but I always opt for it.The last shawarma I had did have fries in it, but no lettuce. Another local place has shawarma with an option to get it 'Beirut style' I have no idea what it means but I always opt for it.
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Comment on US Democrats are hatching a plan to reverse Donald Trump’s Canada tariffs in ~society
plutonic Link ParentIt was nice to see that vote overwhelmingly fail, what a waste of money and resources.It was nice to see that vote overwhelmingly fail, what a waste of money and resources.
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Comment on US Democrats are hatching a plan to reverse Donald Trump’s Canada tariffs in ~society
plutonic Link ParentI assure you we have learned our lesson and our relationship with the US will never be the same again. There is no chance of not being our #1 trading partner as you are right next door but we are...I assure you we have learned our lesson and our relationship with the US will never be the same again. There is no chance of not being our #1 trading partner as you are right next door but we are on a path of diversifying as much as possible, but this will take many years. Personally I'm not sure I will ever step foot in the US ever again, but that is something I will think harder about once MAGA is gone.
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Comment on California Gov. Gavin Newsom commutes all 548 death sentences in ~society
plutonic Link ParentCBC in Canada, which is solidly left, when I was listening to it everyday on the radio at work before I couldn't stand it anymore (I haven't tuned back in for years) constantly focused on Social...CBC in Canada, which is solidly left, when I was listening to it everyday on the radio at work before I couldn't stand it anymore (I haven't tuned back in for years) constantly focused on Social Justice issues that are not very relevant to the average Canadian. It was extremely performative in nature, I hate that stuff.
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Comment on California Gov. Gavin Newsom commutes all 548 death sentences in ~society
plutonic Link ParentDepends on the source, but the more conservative the source the more likely this is. The more left sources have their own problems.Depends on the source, but the more conservative the source the more likely this is. The more left sources have their own problems.
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Comment on California Gov. Gavin Newsom commutes all 548 death sentences in ~society
plutonic LinkAs a Canadian the idea of a death penalty is barbaric and to me that would have been the easiest decision of my career, but I am not Gavin Newsom. Great news and I hope in the future the entire...In an open letter to constituents, Newsom said taking this step is “among the most difficult of my career.”
As a Canadian the idea of a death penalty is barbaric and to me that would have been the easiest decision of my career, but I am not Gavin Newsom.
Great news and I hope in the future the entire country can move past this barbarity.
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Comment on Why are games about chores so popular? in ~games
plutonic Link ParentThere must be something that speaks to humans about bringing order to chaos. I do not like cluttered messes in my personal life and feel the need to organize and arrange things in both my house...There must be something that speaks to humans about bringing order to chaos. I do not like cluttered messes in my personal life and feel the need to organize and arrange things in both my house and my digital life. Maybe this is also why puzzles are popular?
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Comment on Halloween night! in ~talk
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Comment on Halloween night! in ~talk
plutonic (edited )LinkHalloween is alive and well here in Canada, and we also have a fireworks tradition on Halloween here in the Greater Vancouver area. In fact I was very surprised to find out as an adult the...Halloween is alive and well here in Canada, and we also have a fireworks tradition on Halloween here in the Greater Vancouver area. In fact I was very surprised to find out as an adult the fireworks thing was only here and no where else. It'll be a war zone outside tonight even though the pressure trying to end it is building, I'm a big fan of the fireworks. There is usually a small fireworks show at the local elementary school that I can watch from my living room window. Expecting ~100 kids that should be starting any time now. After that I'm planning to eat some edibles and build some Lego with my partner :)
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
plutonic LinkStill reading George Eliot's 'Daniel Deronda' Published 1876. 500 pages in. This book is way better than I hoped it would be. The 2 interwoven but separate storylines in this book are both...Still reading George Eliot's 'Daniel Deronda' Published 1876. 500 pages in. This book is way better than I hoped it would be. The 2 interwoven but separate storylines in this book are both fantastic. I read that some of the Deronda chapters could be dry when they got into the Jewish Zionism stuff but I did not find it so at all, great stuff! But I am also of camp 'More Whale Facts!' so experiences may differ. Should be done this thing in 1-2 weeks.
I posted this in another thread, from the book:
See, the sky, how it is slowly fading. I have always loved this bridge: I stood on it when I was a little boy. It is a meeting place, for the spiritual messengers. It is true - what the Masters said - that each order of things has its angel: that means the full message of each from what is afar. Here I have listened to the messages of earth and sky; when I was stronger I used to stay and watch for the stars in the deep heavens. But this time just about sunset was always what I loved best. It has sunk into me and dwelt with me - fading, slowly fading: it was my own decline it paused - it waited, till at last it brought me my new life - my new self - who will live when this breath is all breathed out.
A random line that caught my attention tonight:
He felt himself holding a crowd of words imprisoned within his lips, as if the letting them escape would be a violation of awe before the mysteries of our human lot.
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Comment on Reddit will require you to be logged in in ~tech
plutonic LinkHow does anyone even use Reddit without an account? If I can't make it show me only the subreddits I follow and nothing else then I'm out. Not having an account and browsing the main page is like...How does anyone even use Reddit without an account? If I can't make it show me only the subreddits I follow and nothing else then I'm out. Not having an account and browsing the main page is like walking into a hive of scum and villainy, it resembles what I would expect to find on a teenagers social media account: nothing but trash.
My Reddit experience:
Firefox with Ublock Origin
old.reddit.com
Set to only show subreddits you are following and nothing else.Any one of those stops working and I'm officially done. Mostly I'm using it for the local Country/Province/City subreddits and a few Literature subreddits also stuff like Askphysics, AskHistorians.
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Comment on What is your passion? And why? in ~life
plutonic Link ParentHere is something in Daniel Deronda that I came upon reading last night, a perfect example of what I love in literature and can only really be found in literature: Mordecai walking over a bridge:Here is something in Daniel Deronda that I came upon reading last night, a perfect example of what I love in literature and can only really be found in literature:
Mordecai walking over a bridge:
See, the sky, how it is slowly fading. I have always loved this bridge: I stood on it when I was a little boy. It is a meeting place, for the spiritual messengers. It is true - what the Masters said - that each order of things has its angel: that means the full message of each from what is afar. Here I have listened to the messages of earth and sky; when I was stronger I used to stay and watch for the stars in the deep heavens. But this time just about sunset was always what I loved best. It has sunk into me and dwelt with me - fading, slowly fading: it was my own decline it paused - it waited, till at last it brought me my new life - my new self - who will live when this breath is all breathed out.
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Comment on What is your passion? And why? in ~life
plutonic Link ParentTrying my best to retire as early as possible, was shooting for 50, but 55 is looking more realistic now to give myself the time I want to read what I want. People ask how I can retire so early,...Trying my best to retire as early as possible, was shooting for 50, but 55 is looking more realistic now to give myself the time I want to read what I want. People ask how I can retire so early, but when the retirement plan is to read and not go on lavish vacations it becomes much easier. Combine that with hopefully being able to move to a lower cost of living country in the EU (I've dreamed of living in the EU most of my life).
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Comment on What is your passion? And why? in ~life
plutonic Link ParentI don't worry too much about the plot, I always see it as secondary in literature, the real focus is on the inner lives of the characters. For example I'm currently reading George Eliot's 'Daniel...I don't worry too much about the plot, I always see it as secondary in literature, the real focus is on the inner lives of the characters. For example I'm currently reading George Eliot's 'Daniel Deronda' and the plot is your typical Victorian plot, fiercely independent girl (Gwendolen) meets boy (Grandcourt), boy is rich, girl not so much so, she marries for convenience and her independence is held back by controlling husband, she's intellectually interested in another man (Deronda) ect ect. BUT the inner world of Gwendolen and Deronda and the extremely complex relationships between all 3 of them is incredible, hundreds of pages focused on these peoples lives, their inner reflections and thoughts, I love that stuff and appreciate it on a level that just can't complete with the plot of the novel. If plot is what you want then I would stick to genre fiction (and there is lots of great genre fiction, but if the human condition is what you are after then it's literature that focuses on that.
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Comment on What is your passion? And why? in ~life
plutonic Link ParentCompared to most, I real a lot. Probably top 1% like you say, but when I look at the list of great books in front of me and start dividing my estimated years of life left I get this terrible...Compared to most, I real a lot. Probably top 1% like you say, but when I look at the list of great books in front of me and start dividing my estimated years of life left I get this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Let's say 50 books a year, I'm 45 now, I'm tall with a family history of heart problems so lets say 30 years remaining, 30 x 50 is only 1,500 books. 3500 in my collection, ~650 read and hundreds still on my list of 'wanted books' I'm on the lookout for. So what I really mean by 'terribly low' is that I wish I had more free time to be able to double or triple my rate.
I'm also a subscriber to Nabokov's idea that reading is re-reading and you've only really read a book after you've read it twice. Gotta be very choosy when it comes to that, only my absolute favourites.
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Comment on What is your passion? And why? in ~life
plutonic Link ParentNo, nothing I'm really proud of that I have in my collection, almost everything is from thrift stores or used bookstores so no fancy editions. I did once find This Dostoevsky Biography in mint...No, nothing I'm really proud of that I have in my collection, almost everything is from thrift stores or used bookstores so no fancy editions. I did once find This Dostoevsky Biography in mint condition for $5. That was a great score!
I think the books that had the most impact on me personally would be Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and Notes From Underground. One a novel of hope that made me re-think Christianity (I'm still a non-believer) and one a very hard look in the mirror.
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Comment on What is your passion? And why? in ~life
plutonic LinkReading Literature. I have a ~3500 library in my house which is my pride and joy, I've collected them over many years of hunting thrift stores and used book stores/book sales. I try and spend at...Reading Literature.
I have a ~3500 library in my house which is my pride and joy, I've collected them over many years of hunting thrift stores and used book stores/book sales. I try and spend at least an hour 5-6 days a week reading quietly by myself in my library. I also spend ~30-40 minutes/weekday listening to less serious Audiobooks on my morning commute. This allows me to consume somewhere around 50-60 books/year, terribly low but what can you do when a 40 hour/week job steals almost all of ones free time.
How did this start? I had a great uncle that I really looked up to, really smart guy and very well read. He had a personal library, much smaller than what mine is now but it was the first time I really saw a serious collection of books in someone's house and thought 'I want this in my life'. When he died I took almost his entire library and that was the beginning of mine, which I've now increased in size many times over.
I've been collecting and reading like this for ~15 years now. My total count of finished books from my library is around 650. So unless I can retire early (working on it) I will likely die before I can even finish what's in my library and until very recently the books have been coming in faster than I can read them. So many great books, so short is the human lifespan.
Why Literature? I seek a deeper understanding of the human condition. I haven't found anything that delivers that like serious literature. Each book is another piece of the puzzle, another insight, another type of personality, another way of life. Literature focuses on the human, the plot is very much secondary and sometimes non-existent. No matter the age or location humans are humans and we can find things in even the oldest books that speak directly to us today. The use of language becomes a high art, these genius writers crafting pages like they are a fine Italian renaissance painting, I revel in the how the greats use language as a tool of communication and in how deeply they can make us feel. That feeling is what is most important to me, to really FEEL a character, to understand their interior life, their motives, troubles, and passions is to understand oneself. To take what these great books have to offer and apply them to ones own thinking, understanding, and empathy towards our fellow man has enriched my life beyond what I ever thought was possible.
There is a great quote about reading from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me."
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
plutonic (edited )LinkStill reading George Eliot's 'Daniel Deronda' Published 1876. Nearing halfway! I love these giant Victorian tomes so much. The absolute pinnacle of novel writing: extremely high quality prose,...Still reading George Eliot's 'Daniel Deronda' Published 1876. Nearing halfway! I love these giant Victorian tomes so much. The absolute pinnacle of novel writing: extremely high quality prose, deep character building and analysis, huge scopes, dozens of fleshed out characters. Tolstoy is the GOAT but Eliot is right there. Genius.
Still listening to A. B. Guthrie Jr.'s 'The Big Sky' Published in 1947. About halfway through this one too. This book is all about the landscapes and the wildness and freedoms of that land. It reminds me a bit of John Williams 'Butcher's Crossing' in that way, where the land itself is a major character.
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Comment on The lucrative world of literary scams in ~books
plutonic Link ParentOh, definitely. I'm not blaming the internet directly, it has just globalized scamming and turned it into a huge industry.Oh, definitely. I'm not blaming the internet directly, it has just globalized scamming and turned it into a huge industry.
Got to see the legend that is DJ Shadow at the last show of his '30 years of Entroducing' tour. I can't express enough how important that album is. The first album made almost completely from samples alone. The first album to really show what HipHop could be, deeply emotional and cinematic. Beautiful stuff.
I consider it the greatest HipHop album ever recorded.
So why does HipHop still suck in '26? Same reason as always, it's the money!