Wavy Jones

Tartt

The audio book, read by Donna Tart is perfect.

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I think it is weak framing to focus on citizens. Non-citizens have a the same constitutional right to due process, even undocumented ones. I understand why it's narratively appealing to focus on citizens, but I think it's a corrosive habit. Either we all have these rights or no one does.

It amazes me that some writers wrote books as children in which I still find new depths as a near geezer. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, age 23. Pride and Prejudice, age 21. I was an idiot at that age, and may be still but less so.

I might not find some political activism that compelling but I try to keep in mind Kwame Ture's point:

"You don't criticize somebody who's doing something when you doing nothing."

I think you missed this one:

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Not about a gun being locked in a kid ?

LOL, thank you. I feel seen.

I laughed out loud a bit, then put it down part way through.

The Hobbit is the gem. My take on it is that it's the incredibly economic structure, tight pacing and perfect gradual arc of discovering Bilbo's abilities and then his common sense that make it great. It's brilliance has little to do with hobbits, dwarves, wizards, dragons, orcs and elves.

Sometimes it makes me sad to hear a great audiobook narrator and realize how much more to the text there is than I can find myself. I prefer reading, but wish I could do that too!

I also love the bit about deciphering the dark smudge of a painting at the Spouter-Inn.

Hell yes! It's so freaking obvious. Ishmael spying on Queequeg from under the covers, it's like a Will Ferrell skit or a bit from Young Frankenstein.

A bit tangentially, I think Tolkien's one weird trick was to make 30 year old hobbits into adolescents. So they are fully grown adults who can go off on adult adventures but they can be treated narratively like children because, well, because hobbits. It's stealth YA.

I have my own personal cult of great first chapters. It’s much more satisfying.

I love ‘The Son’ by Philip Meyer. It does this. I think it would be a good story told linearly, but it’s much better as is because the narrative arc is not the same as the chronological arc. Wish you could spill the tea on examples you hate.

Practical effects only

I don’t know who needs to hear this but the CDC is being eviscerated right now. America is not going to have any kind of outbreak response capacity after tonight. Americans’ health data is no longer secure. Say goodbye to federal public health in any capacity. It’s a disaster. We won’t recover.

Doing death threats the right way

Terminator 2 is one of the few perfect movies. Not a single frame out of place. This is not an opinion, it can be proven mathematically.

Someone should tell Gavin Newsome

Amy Winehouse, if you count writers who _should_ be alive

"Not even wrong," as they say

Picture of the character Gabrielle from TV series Xena: Warrior Princess.

I mean, everyone else is a colonizer. Decolonize the internet!

But people born before 1975 invented the internet!

How is the Kobo/libby library integration?

Wow, BBC In Our Time looks like an incredible resource, thanks! I also learned about Open University from you a few weeks ago. It looks great, although I wonder if it might be a bit of a solitary experience.

I am surprised too. It seemed like weak tea but it has broken through in a good way