retr0's recent activity

  1. Comment on 12 Young People on Why They Probably Won’t Vote in ~misc

    retr0
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    I get the sentiment, and hey, it's not your individual job to take on every issue...but that seems like it isn't going to make them any more likely to vote or engage politically. I'd suggest that...

    I get the sentiment, and hey, it's not your individual job to take on every issue...but that seems like it isn't going to make them any more likely to vote or engage politically. I'd suggest that instead of shutting down otherwise politically unengaged people when they try to engage with politics, you welcome them doing so and help guide them to seeing the necessity behind political action.

    13 votes

  2. Comment on What does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez think about the South China Sea? in ~misc

    retr0
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    Don't let the bad title throw you off. The subtitle reads: And the article is about what a left foreign policy might look like. It's actually a good read.

    Don't let the bad title throw you off.

    The subtitle reads:

    The rising left needs more foreign policy. Here’s how it can start.

    And the article is about what a left foreign policy might look like. It's actually a good read.

    5 votes

  4. Comment on What is a favorite book of yours, and why should people read it if they haven't? in ~books

    retr0
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    Cat's Cradle is incredible as well and for all the reasons you list. Another favourite, for sure. I also really love Breakfast of Champions.

    Cat's Cradle is incredible as well and for all the reasons you list. Another favourite, for sure. I also really love Breakfast of Champions.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on What are you reading this week? #1 in ~books

    retr0
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    Don't feel like you have to read around too much prior to reading any particular philosopher. If you find something you're interested in, pick it up and give it a read - you can Google/Wikipedia...

    Don't feel like you have to read around too much prior to reading any particular philosopher. If you find something you're interested in, pick it up and give it a read - you can Google/Wikipedia anything that you're not 100% on and work your way through. You won't understand everything but you will pick up some things. And then if you want to touch base with mainstream interpretations for reassurance (and further learning) I'd recommend that pod (Philosophize This!) or a similar YouTube video that explains generally the ideas being discussed.

    Good luck! Wanting to learn is over half the battle, and you've got that covered, so now just go forth and learn! :)

  6. Comment on What is a favorite book of yours, and why should people read it if they haven't? in ~books

    retr0
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    Alright, you've made me wanna' read them. I probably read the first 20-30 books when I was younger, and I think I re-read The Andalite Chronicles a crazy amount of times just because I loved the...

    Alright, you've made me wanna' read them. I probably read the first 20-30 books when I was younger, and I think I re-read The Andalite Chronicles a crazy amount of times just because I loved the story and how it perfectly folded in so much context to the main series. They're YA novels, and the do read like that, but they're very adult in theme and content. Tons of violence, sometimes extremely graphic, serious psychological issues are addressed and in very real terms, the whole thing is very intense from what I recall.

    Great suggestion!

    1 vote

  7. Comment on I am part of the resistance inside the New York Times opinion desk in ~misc

    retr0
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    Alright, I'm not too big on drama, but I can jump in on some New York Times hate now and then. I'm not sure what I make of this piece as a whole but I love these final two paragraphs.

    The bigger issue is not what is happening to the world’s most important Opinion page, but rather what is happening to you, the reader, as your mind loses its most vital nourishment. Like the impossibly complicated Italian sandwich that terrified David Brooks’s working-class friend, these pages have always contained a thoughtful mixture of intellectual sopressata, idea capicola, and thought mortadella. Our current leadership wants to replace such a complex delight, as Brooks did, with a common plate of nachos — to concede ground to the masses. We will resist.

    Sen. John McCain explained our Opinion pages best in his farewell letter. “We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history,” he wrote — and our support for the liberation of the Iraqi people was indeed one of this page’s finest moments. “We have acquired great wealth and power in the progress,” he wrote, and we are, indeed, rich and powerful.

    Alright, I'm not too big on drama, but I can jump in on some New York Times hate now and then. I'm not sure what I make of this piece as a whole but I love these final two paragraphs.

    7 votes

  8. Comment on What is a favorite book of yours, and why should people read it if they haven't? in ~books

    retr0
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    The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut I think we all know and have those times and places where everything is up in the air and you're just not quite sure of where you are or where you want to be....

    The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

    I think we all know and have those times and places where everything is up in the air and you're just not quite sure of where you are or where you want to be. It happens a lot when you're younger, of course, but it's a constant in life, I think. Sometimes you reach a goal and for a short time everything feels up in the air and you're just looking for any sign of what direction to go next. That was happening to me when I found this book.

    Vonnegut is just an absolute master, in my opinion. He has a quirky style of writing, but more importantly he has an excellent grasp of characters and how their stories and momentum can intertwine. Each character in Sirens is unique and has emotional depth to them. I found myself compelled by everyone's individual story and where they were going. I also love the way the story plays with the concept of free will too. I love seeing each character struggle with how their circumstances are and struggle to comprehend and understand it.

    A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.

    Vonnegut is the perfect mix of a crotchety but deeply loving old man. :)

    10 votes

  10. Comment on What are you reading this week? #1 in ~books

    retr0
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    Sorry, I should have mentioned Hegel! You're absolutely correct. I haven't read Hegel and had to do some research more than a few times while reading The Sublime Object of Ideology. Zizek is all...

    Sorry, I should have mentioned Hegel! You're absolutely correct. I haven't read Hegel and had to do some research more than a few times while reading The Sublime Object of Ideology. Zizek is all about Lacan and Hegel.

  11. Comment on What are you reading this week? #1 in ~books

    retr0
    Link Parent
    Hmm, well, there are so many options! A name you haven't mentioned that I would have immediately thought to suggest is Nietzsche. If you wanted to do some "pre-reading" before you got to Nietzsche...

    Hmm, well, there are so many options!

    A name you haven't mentioned that I would have immediately thought to suggest is Nietzsche. If you wanted to do some "pre-reading" before you got to Nietzsche I would recommend Schopenhauer, and perhaps Kant. Nietzsche is notoriously subject to bad readings - far too often people walk away from reading him having become full blown angsty teenage nihilists, which is almost exactly the opposite of the message Nietzsche has. Pre-reading might help contextualize some of his work and help avoid some of the usual pitfalls with his work. However, I think you could also easily just be mindful when reading him and be sure to check in with some of the mainstream understandings and interpretations.

    I think good starting points for Nietzsche are either Twilight of The Idols or Beyond Good and Evil, I think I'd recommend the latter as your first read. From there you'll have gotten used to how he writes and thinks and can check out On the Genealogy of Morals, and Human, All Too Human. Finally, Thus Spoke Zarathustra is incredible, but you'll need to have read some of the stuff from before it to really grasp what's happening.

    Honestly, there isn't a bad Nietzsche book to pick up and parse through if you've got the time and a desire to learn. Take all my advice above only as suggestion, and if it all seems too complicated then please ignore every word of it and just pick up the first copy of something by Nietzsche that you see and read it! So much of later philosophy builds or uses Nietzsche. He really shook up philosophy and changed things!

    If you're looking for other suggestions, just a few quick ones of the top of my head:

    Discipline & Punish by Michel Foucault
    The Death of The Author by Roland Barthes
    The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
    Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

  12. Comment on What are you reading this week? #1 in ~books

    retr0
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    What's your philosophical background like? And beyond that, what are some of your interests? I'm definitely into modern philosophy, but it all stems from my interest in Anthropology, so a lot of...

    What's your philosophical background like? And beyond that, what are some of your interests? I'm definitely into modern philosophy, but it all stems from my interest in Anthropology, so a lot of the material I would have to suggest stems from an Anthropological/Sociological background.

    If you're into podcasts at all, I have to recommend Philosophize This! It's a good starting point for getting into a particular philosopher or philosophy, and from there you could always pick up their work and read it for yourself.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on What are you reading this week? #1 in ~books

    retr0
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    A friend gave me the first 3 volumes of One Piece to read. I'm not particularly into manga, or even Western comics in general, but I've been enjoying it. It's a really light read and mostly just a...

    A friend gave me the first 3 volumes of One Piece to read. I'm not particularly into manga, or even Western comics in general, but I've been enjoying it. It's a really light read and mostly just a bit of fun. I've got a pretty short deadline before that friend moves for work/school and so I'm trying to rush and read as much of it as I can so I can return it. Definitely not my usual read, but it's enjoyable.

    Prior to that (other than the numerous articles I read online) I've been reading Zizek's The Sublime Object of Ideology. Certainly much denser material than One Piece! I'm relatively familiar with Zizek already so I'm familiar with where the book is heading and what it's trying to get at. I think it'd be very useful for anyone thinking of picking it up to brush up on their Lacan, at least, before reading. Otherwise I highly suggest!

    I think up next I might re-read Deleuze and Guattari's Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism & Schizophrenia. It's been 5+ years since my last read through and I've been regularly thinking of it lately.

    4 votes