Best arts & literature biographies according to redditors
We found 3,934 Reddit comments discussing the best arts & literature biographies. We ranked the 1,642 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
12. Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality
20 mentions
Ships from Vermont
Well done OP. I am trying to make more and more people aware of the vile crimes of North Korea's Evil "God" Kim Jong Un (Kim III, it's essentially a kingdom) and the extermination camps that are based on Treblinka or Auschwitz.
It is SO important to bring attention to these vile crimes against humanity.
If I may trespass on your patience OP, I would take the opportunity to promote
"The Aquariums of Pyongyang" by Chol-hwan Kang, Translated by Pierre Rigoulot. A compelling account of the North Korean Gulag.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Aquariums-Pyongyang-Years-Korean/dp/0465011047
Yep, kids on the way; had to sell his home and move in on the couch of another silicone valley investor to finish the first rocket launch that landed his first contracts. Said he was days away from being negative. This is an amazing read <EDIT harmless joke out> https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X
Keep em' coming. She won't profit of this election, she failed.
https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1479254482&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=megyn+kelly
In a rather different vein from a lot of the suggestions I'm seeing here, I want to plug Michael Herr's Dispatches as an incredible piece of Vietnam literature. There's also If I Die in a Combat Zone by Tim O'Brien.
If you're willing to consider graphic novels, check out Maus, Persepolis, and Laika.
If you're interested at all in vampires and folklore, I recommend Food for the Dead. Really interesting read.
A history-teacher friend of mine recently gave me The Lost City of Z by David Grann. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, but it came highly recommended.
By the by, last year I required my students (high school seniors) to select and read a non-fiction book and gave them the following list of suggestions. Columbine was one of the really popular ones, and I had a bunch of kids (and a few teachers) recommending it to me, but, again, I haven't gotten to it yet.
I recently finished a book about that! The Professor and the Madman covers the lives of William Minor (the madman) and James Murray (the professor) while also providing an interesting look at the creation of the OED itself. It's about two hundred pages and flows by pretty quickly. Worth a read.
He is also a really good writer. His book, Kitchen Confidential is just so incredibly honest and forthright. I really connected with Anthony Bourdain after reading the book.
ouch
https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600
edit: cucked amazon is removing reviews as we speak
edit 2: the prologue is all about how she stood up to the bully, Trump, at the debates....... she was banking on his loss
For anyone wondering this is a real book and it is both hilarious and poignant. I'd highly recommend it.
Anyone interested in this topic should read Simon Winchester's The Meaning of Everything. He's also written a book called The Professor and the Madman about the relationship between the OED's editor and W.C. Minor, a prolific submitter that was actually imprisoned in a psychiatric ward because of a brutal murder.
Wow. Something I can talk to... I'm an engineer.
I'm going to guess that they mean "decimal place" or "place value". Arabic numerals have set places, based on their relation to zero, that define their meaning. The further from zero you are, the larger, or smaller, the value of the number is! Each spot further down the line is an order of magnitude smaller or larger!
Non-arabic numeral based systems don't have that constraint. Roman numerals, for instance, simply "add up" the value of each number but can have each number listed in the "numerical phrase" in various orders... and still represent the same number.
The advantage to having a system with place value comes in to play when you're doing complex, and abstract, math. Multiplication is an example of this. I don't even know how you would go about multiplying two numbers using Roman numerals... but, it's rather straight forward in Arabic Numeral/ Western Math... and even binary if base ten isn't your thing.
Also, while the Romans, and Greeks, had exposure to the concept of "nothing" they didn't really use "zero" in math (which is too bad, if they had, we might have gotten calculus a few centuries earlier) due to religious beliefs about the philosophical meaning between the concept of "The Infinite" and its opposite, "Nothing" (zero and infinity are both necessary for concepts for calculus... and the Greeks felt that Infinity was a Divine concept. And since Nothing is the Opposite of Infinity, it must be sinister and evil and not used).
Now, I don't know anything of Mayan math. But, if they had a positional, or place-holder, system, then they might have been able to do some very, very interesting math. Unfortunately, it looks like OP is saying that we can only show what the Mayans might have been capable off of the little we know of their counting method, and not actually what they could do...
Here's a link I found after a quick Google search
Here's one that summarizes the bit about Calculus (yes, it's pop-math history, but it's interesting and pretty decently written)
Black people wanting to know how be a black friend or how to be a better black friend, should check out How to be Black.
(Everyone who isn't black should also read it, but mostly because it is inspiring and hilarious)
Maus
Well... yeah. That pretty much his claim to fame.
This notion of "Elon Time" is actually discussed in his biography. To determine the amount of time something will take, Musk asks himself, "how long will it take me to code a line? How many lines will there be?" Then, multiply to get an estimate. These are the values we see in his tweets. His secretary then goes back to customers and gives them a more 'realistic' timeline.
But you have to look at what they have now and extrapolate. The ITS will not come by magic. If developing the FH is this difficult, why should the ITS/BFR or the V2 be any better right away? SpaceX will get there, it will take a lot of time, but we need to be patient.
Keep in mind that Tolkien was alive when movies of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were first being discussed, and was involved in early attempts at adaptation. He wrote on this very subject in several of the letters.
He seems to have changed his mind somewhat, becoming more protective over time. In letter 198, he seems rather blasé about it: he thinks it's impossible to adapt his work, but doesn't seem terribly bothered by it, and would be willing to let them try.
Letter 210, though, shows Tolkien responding much more in depth to a script of a proposed adaptation. I think it's interesting that he seems concerned not only about how the writers failed to understand crucial aspects of his story, but also about how their changes would make for a poor film. In particular, in several instances Tolkien proposes imply cutting certain characters or scenes from the book rather than bastardizing them.
Unfortunately it seems that you are the one "undereducated" on Socialism as you seem to fail to see its true nature and its ultimate goals.
The goal of socialism (as defined by Lenin) is Communism, and Communist regimes are responsible for more death and mass killings in the last 100 years than any other ideology. 100 million people dead is the estimate most often sighted.
Living in the "information age" does not make the ideology any less dangerous or destructive and you would be a fool to think otherwise. Human beings are too quick to forget the lessons of the past and it's clear to see that the thinking that lead to that staggering number of deaths is back in vogue.
>How much did the delivery of the baby cost in Australia? Close to zero. $3500 bucks on average for just the childbirth itself, just that one day, in the capitalist paradise of the United States.
In socialist systems someone always pays. I can tell you for a fact that the birth of my child, nor any healthcare I receive in Australia, is "free". I pay for it with an extremely high tax rate. It appears that you haven't thought very deeply about the realities of a socialist system if you think that things are "free".
I have thought deeply about these things and my conclusion is that the system is fundamentally immoral as the state is taking my property by force for redistribution. If I do not consent to the redistribution of my property the state will destroy my life with either prison or death (if I resist).
>dragging on American academics for pointing a finger at the oppressor culture that is the source of global strife and complaint.
It's interesting to me that I keep seeing this rhetoric about the "oppressor culture". You state that it is the source of global strife and complaint, but all I see is that your thinking is immersed in identity politics and this idea that everything should be seen through the lens of the 'oppressed and the oppressors'. I believe this is a kind of cult that has infected people's thinking and it has spread comprehensively in the Western world. Now I don't hold it against you because I too used to think like this. The elements of this post-modern, marxist thinking are highly pervasive and have infected almost every aspect of our society.
There is too much to unpack here and I need to get back to show research but I will say this; both Aaron and I do not subscribe to identity politics or the far left thinking that has become so prevalent in society. We will continue to talk (and joke) about whatever we find interesting on Mysterious Universe, and this might include things that cross over into political or cultural areas that some listeners do not agree with.
If you don't agree with our views and what we say then that's fine. You have the liberty to not listen to us whenever you please.
Recommended Reading:
Should have elaborated on her especially when lumping her in with Glenn Beck. I meant her book or her speaking out. Anything that is seen as remotely negative about Trump is washed out by the supporters that then go after these people. Look at her [book for example] (https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600). It has immediately been given 1 star reviews barely even discussing the book due to people from places like The Donald that said to brigade her book.
Anyone who disagrees is thrown under a bus.
I posted this down in response to someone else but yeah, it's very, very difficult.
>If anyone wants to actually see how hard this is, they should grab an Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3 and buy Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition on the digital store for about $15. The game has a Challenge Mode and as an homage to Daigo, they made one of the challenges this EXACT scenario.
> But I think you'll quickly realize how difficult what Daigo did in this video. If you're not familiar with the game, I imagine it will take you an entire night to do just 3 out of the 16 or 17 parry's Daigo strung together in that original video and several days to do it precisely as Daigo did. And back when Daigo did it, he didn't have the conventions of a PS3/360 to sit in training mode and practice. He literally dumped quarters into arcade machines at an arcade, set the scenario up by building the meter, having a friend execute the Super and then try to parry it. And on top of that, he did it in the heat of a high stakes tournament against the best American player at the time, Justin Wong.
This moment is iconic in Street Fighter. The Pro Players of today that play Street Fighter for countless hours and literally do this for a living, have practiced this "moment" just for fun. Some of them have practiced it so much that some can even do it without looking at the screen.
EDIT: I gotta say, Daigo is really an interesting dude and if anyone is interested, there's a lot of media about him out there. He recently wrote a book that had a huge impact on a lot of competitive gamers and how they view gaming and if you think yourself to be a competitive person, I'd suggest giving the book a read simply because its quite reflective to anyone that has a competitive nature. They have documentaries about the guy, he has a manga being written about him and in Japan, they literally sing tales of the things Daigo Umehara has done in Street Fighter over the course of 20+ years. In 2015, Daigo took second place at Capcom Cup 2015 and he took the entirity of his $60,000 prize and donated it to the NYU EVO Sholarship Fund:
>I would like to donate all my prize winnings from the Capcom Pro Tour Finals to the community. It’s simply because I would not have existed without community and I owe you.
The guy is really fascinating and a living legend.
Have you ever read The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls?
It is equally amazing, engrossing, and super hard to read.
Erwin Rommel (of WWII fame) served from the start. He has a memoir of his experience that, even while probably self-inflated, shows just how skilled he was as a tactician.
Edit: Crap, I forgot the even crazier one, Storm of Steel. This guy served almost the entire war on the western front, finally getting wounded (not for the first time) in August, 1918, 1.5 months before the war's end. No idea how he made it out, if his stories are even half true.
It's a real book, guys
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0062003224/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1478406941&amp;sr=1-1&amp;pi=SY200_QL40&amp;keywords=how+to+be+black&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=41F7kGUmSHL&amp;ref=plSrch
You think that you've just made a super intelligent point because you've pointed out the obvious fact that the US has issues with human rights and with over-criminalization. It isn't an intelligent point because you don't know jack shit about North Korea. You don't know dick about how people live there, and I know that because if you did, you would pull your head out of your ass and realize that the issues that the United States has are not even in the same order of magnitude as the issues that North Korea has.
I recommend that you read the following books to give you a better sense of life in North Korea, so that in the future you can be more educated on the subject:
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West
The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag
It's never too early to teach them to succeed: https://www.amazon.com/Will-Keep-Winning-DAIGO-UMEHARA-ebook/dp/B01JOEKKWU
Aquariums of Pyongyang is really an eye-opening book on how horrendous the atrocities are.
https://www.amazon.com/Will-Keep-Winning-DAIGO-UMEHARA-ebook/dp/B01JOEKKWU I heard this isnt bad.
Try The Gulag Archipelago. Can't recommend that book highly enough. The abridged version is the most palatable, but here is the full text of all three books for free if you don't mind reading in HTML.
Jordan Peterson talks about these ideas a lot, and about post-modernism/cultural Marxism and his clashes with the far-left. The Soviet Union is a huge topic of study for him and he touches on it a lot in his lecture. This one might be a decent place to start. It's quite a rabbit hole, but his YouTube channel is brilliant.
It's also important for you to read the works that are being criticized and understand how they led to these phenomenon. Marxists.org is a great resource with a huge library of writing. Try Lenin's The State and Revolution to get a primer on the kind of thought which went into executing Marxism in the founding of the Soviet Union.
Good luck.
LOL can we please tweet this to Megyn.
Edit: it's also on sale at Amazon, how can they call it a best seller is beyond me.
Short answer is that I don't know. A lot of it is history I think. In the old days, cook was a rock bottom position for ex soldiers and ex (hopefully) criminals. It was people who couldn't get jobs anywhere else. While the romanticism of the profession has grown thanks mostly to reality TV, it's still a place for refugees. You get a lot of people who have seen a lot of shit, for whom something like "quit fiddling with your balls and get me a chicken parm on the fly!" isn't going to hit them the way it would hit Diane from accounting.
About 2/3rds of the crew I work with (both front of and back of house) are recovering drug addicts. Five of them used to live in their cars, one of them still does. Most of them have been married, multiple times, I think only two of them still are still with their married partners. All the BOH are completely socially inept and the only leg up FOH has on them is that they've learned to fake it for the customers. Fake humping someone (as long as you're not groping) while they're bent over scrubbing under the griddle is probably just on the edge of what's considered inappropriate. And by on the edge, I mean just barely okay.
It was a shock to me, coming from the world I started my career in. But more shocking was finding out that it's not just the kitchen I ended up in.
I hate to use terms like "serious harassment" because all harassment is serious. It's only one step down from something as offensive as "legitimate rape". I also know more than well enough that harassment is in the eye of the victim. In fortune 500 land, I've seen people fired for doing things I found perfectly okay that someone else thought was harassing to themselves. But the people you're more likely to find in kitchens are the kind of people who are less likely to find anything offensive, and it creates that kind of environment.
I don't know if it's better or worse. I wasn't a big fan of the fear and self-censorship that went on back in office-land. And as a fairly trolly woman, I like the fact that I find that anything I'd do or say myself is well on the side of okay in terms of kitchen appropriateness, despite some of it being clearly not so in office-land. But I can also totally imagine someone who's not expecting it to find it to be a very harassing environment.
If you're really curious about the depths and history of the environment, shell out 12 bucks for Anthony Bourdain's book. https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Confidential-Updated-Adventures-Underbelly/dp/0060899220/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1484289595&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=kitchen+confidential
It won't tell you why it's the way it is, but it'll certainly give you a better idea of what the way it is actually is and maybe a jumping off point for more research and more pointed questions.
The following are some of my favorite books that I could think of off the top of my head. Hopefully you dig the list.
Two things:
Source: Tolkien's letters.
The Grubstakers podcast did two different episodes about him, I definitely remember this anecdote but I can't remember where the timestamp is. Ep1 Ep2 and they attribute this book as their primary source along with this Rolling Stone profile.
Reminded me of Haruki Murakami's book on running, "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running," except, you know, no pictures or purple drink and fairies with cake. I'm sure he's written about cake-bearing fairies in one of his novels though...
Elie Weisel's Night is an astonishing look at the horrors of World War II.
Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running covers mostly the ins and outs, mundane to nontrivial aspects of his writing career.
If you're interested in a graphic novel type of autobiography, there are two that are excellent:
Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and Yoshihiro Tatsumi's A Drifting Life. The former is Satrapi's account of a young girl growing up in Iran and the latter is Tatsumi's perspective on post-war Japan. Both are very good.
To add to this, two good books to read are:
Gulag Archipeligo - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin - Timothy Snyder
She also wrote a lot of "The Office" and this book:http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Hanging-Without-Other-Concerns/dp/0307886271/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1371160310&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=mindy+kaling Which is hilarious.
This book has everything you need to know.
For Korea in general I took a lot of East Asian history courses, including courses on relations with the west, in college. I studied abroad in South Korea for a time where I studied Korean history (ancient and modern) as well as Korean culture and sociology (mostly South Korea). I also had the pleasure of speaking with someone from North Korea.
But if you're interested to know more, these are some sources I can personally recommend...
Books:
And there's more that I have not read yet. If you only read one book out of these, I'd say Nothing to Envy is a great place to start. It gives the most complete picture, in my opinion.
Documentaries:
And there's a whole bunch more that I have not seen yet.
And there's a whole bunch of essays and journals/photo collections floating around the internet as well.
This was great, thanks for the link.
If you haven't read his book A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius I highly reccomend it. It turns its own pages.
Oh man, before you do that read The Glass Castle. It's not quite like your story, but crazy family is crazy family.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
Concise and level, inspiring. It's a memoir and really focuses in on the introspective part of running. Also the source of my favourite quote: "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is Optional."
While I'm busy expending my fifteen minutes of fame here in /r/mvis, this is the book that the author referred to: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. Elon is a pretty amazing guy, and I think Ashlee did a pretty good job of capturing what makes Elon tick. Highly recommended.
I’d highly recommend reading the biography by Ashlee Vance
It’s really quite fascinating, and confirmation that Musk isn’t just all hype.
Charles Seife wrote a book about this from a mathematical perspective (which is great, IMO).
He talks about a few cultures, and says that the Greeks, and thus much of the western world, were a bit twitchy about the concept of zero as a standalone number because it represented a void, which conflicted with the prevailing systems of philosophy. A lot of their math was based on geometry, like the Egyptians before them, and zero didn't exist in geometry. How can you think about a non-space?
There are interesting side effects of this - notably our calendar, which goes from 1 BC (-1) to 1 CE, with no zero, meaning it's very easy to mess up the arithmetic of time around then.
Nick Offerman has a book now!
Bringing up age to not adapt to a game is brought up in street fighter player (god) daigo umeharas Bible. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JOEKKWU/ its a good book! But yeah don't let age or losing get in your head. Life is always about the learning.. winning isn't everything.
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
> Yet, how is it any different from those of you who suggest that life is better than death?
What the hell is wrong with you? North Koreans aren't some alien race, they're human beings who also don't want to die. Read memoirs from NK escapees like The Aquariums of Pyongyang or Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. I attended a talk by the man written about in Escape from Camp 14, a man born in a NK prison camp who managed to escape.
These are not people longing for death; they're people longing for life.
>Why do you feel that it is fair to use your own experiences in this life to determine the value of life for other people?
We're not. You are:
"We shouldn't let people starve to death."
"But how do we know they don't want to starve to death!?"
You have absolutely no idea at all what you're talking about, your opinion is idiotic, and you're an awful person for having it.
Honestly, what the fuck is wrong with you? I hate this false "all positions are equal, teach the controversy!" charade.
> Although, I'm sure the film is more well-known than this band.
Or the book.
Now 92% Good work Centipedes!
Have you read Zero: The Biography of A Dangerous Idea by Charles Seif? It's fantastic: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140296476/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_uFfVAb277KQG5
> I've plateaued recently and I was hoping to take this time to take a step back and read up on the basics before I injure myself any further
May I suggest a different avenue? Maybe instead of delving to the science of running during your plateau, read about the why: https://www.amazon.com/What-Talk-About-When-Running/dp/0307389839
His book Kitchen Confidential is a good read.
Amazon's definitely trying to stay on top of it by deleting reviews:
http://reviewmeta.com/amazon/0062494600
"353 Reviews have been deleted"
Zero: Biography of a Dangerous Ideahas a pretty good start, and bibliography, on the church and zero. In short, it allowed them to monopolize accounting and taxation.
My 2¢ :
While a "discovery" may involve a lot of hard work (i.e. the discovery of DNA's double-helix), at some level it still seems to imply:
An "invention", on the other hand, implies a thing which was built to achieve a specific purpose, which is the case with Calculus.
Also, recall that Leibniz developed ("invented") calculus independently of Newton. They were both working toward a common goal to describe phenomena that they knew to exist. Calculus is the shorthand which was invented to solve this.
For an interesting take on this, I'd recommend reading: Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife.
Others have already answered this question, but I thought I might direct you toward a book on the the subject that I enjoyed reading: Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
She was a writer for a big portion of the series. And I feel like you're sort of meant to hate Kelly anyway. I just finished reading her memoir and it made me appreciate her even more.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers.
Please let me make this abundantly clear, I am not saying Tolkien is a racist in any way shape or form, simply that he did use race as an influence in his works.
“The dwarves of course are quite obviously, wouldn’t you say that in many ways they remind you of the Jews? Their words are Semitic, obviously, constructed to be Semitic. The hobbits are just rustic English people,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-G_v6-u3hg Its in the last few minutes of this interview
and
“I do think of the ‘Dwarves’ like Jews,” he writes (Letters, p. 229), “at once native and alien in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue.” From the Letters of J.R.R. Tolkein http://www.amazon.com/The-Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien-J/dp/0618056998
This one is pretty obvious to me, maybe not racist in a hatred, but definitely using a race as an influence. But the greed for gold doesn't really help.
Maus got me started. It has some violence (not a ton) in it - it is the Holocaust, after all - but it's not violence just for the sake of violence. It's a true story. If the Holocaust in general is too unsettling to her, then this ain't the book for her.
Black Hole is quite bizarre, which is typical for Charles Burns, but very good.
If she calls comics "picture books" then I'm guessing that all superhero books are out the door. That's the single biggest segment of comic sales, so if that's what she thinks of comics in general then she probably thinks the same of superhero books in general. That's not meant as criticism. To each her own. It's just my guess about her tastes.
Maybe the Sandman? I don't know; there's a lot of ways you can go with this. Good luck and merry Christmas, my friend.
Read a book dammit
http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Loathing-Las-Vegas-American/dp/0679785892
The Glass Castle is a great read
[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?] (http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Loathing-Las-Vegas-American/dp/0679785892)
I honestly can't answer your question thoroughly, but I do recommend this book, The Professor and the Madman, which is about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. It speaks of other attempts, but none quite as ambitious as the OED. Other languages, French for example, had already been done fairly thorough. The book explains the attempt to both standardize the english language(like spelling and definition) but also find the earliest uses of the word and trace its use over time. The project is probably the greatest experiment in the idea of crowd-sourcing ever over a century before the computer existed. So many anonymous lexicographers and philologists( both words I learned by reading the book) came together out of a collective and noble goal to accomplish such an immense feat. I loved it.
A pretty average New York chef who wrote several books about his experiences. His third book, Kitchen Confidential, became a cult hit based mostly on his 'no bullshit' descriptions of the service industry. It is one part autobiography, one part advice column (explaining for instance why you should never order fish on a Monday or go to a Sunday brunch), and one part philosophical screed (talking openly about sex, drugs, alcoholism, gender, race, and crime).
His notoriety from the book landed him a series of TV shows. The second of these shows, No Reservations, gained him a minor level of fame in the US. The show's popularity (among a certain audience) came largely from it's brilliant cinematography. Each episode is filmed in a different 'style' befitting the location and food. This is mixed with a propensity to visit dangerous locations and try exotic foods / experiences.
Now-a-day's Bourdain along with his crew from no reservations are doing essentially the same show on CNN (this time called Parts Unknown). The show does well among men aged 25-54 with either some college or a bachelor's degree. Unsurprisingly these demographics tend to line up with reddit's own so he's pretty popular on this site.
If you want to learn more:
Kitchen Confidential is actually a great read.
His talk at google gives a pretty good insight to his personality.
And if you're interested in filmography you should watch this talk from the producer of his show.
Her MSNBC show is in flames like a dumpster fire, and now she has to latch on to the guy she had formerly despised to kickstart what's left of her media career... SAD!
Remember her crappy book?
Zero had a long road before it was accepted as a rational concept. See the book Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea. It's not preposterous to assume someone was having troubles with 0 conceptually.
Salt: A World History
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Storm Of Steel by Ernst Junger is a memoir of a German Officer during WW1. It is overwhelming in it's bleakness and death.
Their tactics were better than decent. The Germans, Brits and French all developed effective tactics for seizing enemy trenches pretty quickly. That wasn't the problem. The problem is, how do you seize the first enemy line of trenches and hold it while you're under artillery fire and enemy infantry counter attack? You don't have effective radios and artillery is constantly cutting the phone lines you are able to lay. Signaling is difficult because of terrain, weather conditions, smoke created by fires and the fact that if you're visible enough to be seen by your support then you're also probably visible enough to be seen by the enemy. Even if the enemy doesn't counterattack immediately (which they would), how do you get to the second line of trenches under said conditions? How do you coordinate supporting fires and reinforcements when there is quite literally a wall of flying steel (barrage means wall/barricade in French, which is where the term comes from) between you and your start point?
The main issue was that the offensive technologies (communications, motorized vehicles, light supporting weapons, aerial weapons) hadn't caught up to the defense technologies (barbed wire, concrete pillboxes, heavy machine guns, massed artillery, rail-borne reinforcements). Even if you successfully seized line after line of trench, the enemy could always dig in behind their last line and pour in reinforcements via rail faster than you could break through. With all that said, strategically the allies were idiotic. Continuing to attack fortified German positions again and again and again with very little to show for it is just bad strategic judgement.
I've posted these links before, but if you'd like to educate yourself on WW1 infantry tactics/battle:
Stormtrooper Tactics
Infantry in Battle
To Conquer Hell
Infantry Attacks
Storm of Steel
PS. I know you can find the second one for free on the internet.
And then read Storm of Steel by Jünger.
From the top-rated review at amazon:
"Storm" has been continually denounced for the last 80-odd years as rightist propaganda precisely because it does NOT come to the conclusion of Remarque, Hemingway, P.J. Caputo or any of the other combat literati who escaped their own slaughterous wartime experiences to write antiwar novels. It says -- if I may presume to paraphrase Juenger -- that war destroys civilian hypocrisy and, if it makes a man's boot come down grimly and harshly, at least makes it come down clean. Juenger's unforgivable sin was, apparently, to conclude that it "was a good and strenuous life, and that war, for all its destructiveness, was an incomparable schooling of the heart."
The Professor and the Madman
http://www.amazon.com/Professor-Madman-Insanity-English-Dictionary/dp/0060839783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1398450830&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+professor+and+the+madman
The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Mistook-His-Wife/dp/0684853949/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1398450891&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+man+who+mistook+his+wife+for+a+hat
I don't know the article, but The Professor and the Madman is a fantastic book about it.
Best answer. Related: there's a great book about the creation of the OED, The Professor and the Madman.
Read. Read a lot. Reading can help prevent you from making dumb decisions in the future by learning about what problems lie ahead. Owning your own restaurant is not easy. It's really really hard. Celebs, millionaires, etc. fail on the reg trying to open up restaurants. The most you'll ever make working for a restaurant in management is $50k a year unless you have a trick up your sleeve that lands you a sweet gig (sommelier training, chef experience, connections, etc.). You also have to have a serious passion for pleasing people and hospitality. You put in hard hours for someone to be like "ew, this isnt what I want. You're inferior. You're bad at your job. Gross." Seriously, you get more respect in the military. But if you are a sick fuck who wants to try it. Be my guest. I was/am. There are some really cool aspects to it: you meet some crazy people, get to eat delicious food and drink great wine. But a lot of people cant take the stress for the more than a few years and resort to alcoholism or worse. It's difficult to explain restaurant management stress. It's like you're walking in the park and everything is perfect. Birds are singing and shit and then you see your dream girl coming towards you then BAM someone sucker punches you in the dick, she starts laughing at you, you're suddenly naked and everyone joins in the mockery.
Anyways. Read this: Setting The Table and this: Kithchen Confidential, BEFORE you even touch this dick stroking sensation: The Art of The Restaurateur. Read this shit before you lock yourself in to any deals. I'm serious. You'll thank me. Fuck these bus boys need to finish mopping the bar so I can go home and dream about P&Ls.
Ah, he's totally emulating Anthony Bourdain!
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
The first book that comes to mind is Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. As an entrepreneur, I found it very inspiring—it's all about hard work, perseverance, and doing something that hasn’t been done before. I like to think that’s what we’re doing at 1933, developing unique products for the cannabis market that help people live better lives. I also enjoy reading anything by Ed Rosenthal or Jorge Cervantes, as both taught me how to care for the cannabis plant.
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Great question!
His relationship with his second wife Talulah Riley still seems to be extremely friendly and supportive? As far as I can tell she’s had nothing but quite lovely things to say about him and their marriages, and vice versa.
“Elon and I are best friends. We still see each other all the time and take care of each other. If this could continue indefinitely it would be lovely. When you’ve been with someone for eight years on and off, you really learn how to love them. He and I are very good at loving each other…”
Link
She also rejected the idea he was the ‘alpha’ in their relationship:
“Elon’s ex-wife Justine has described how, while dancing together at their wedding reception, he told her, ‘I am the alpha in this marriage.’ Given his extraordinary power, wealth and the fact he’s 14 years Talulah’s senior, you might guess that this has been the case with her, too. Talulah bristles and for the first time fixes me with a stare. ‘Alpha is a phrase that gets bandied about in America but it’s not something I really thought about before I moved there. I wouldn’t apply it to Elon or myself.’”
Link
ETA: I also found this quote from Riley taken from a Musk biography:
”Elon doesn’t have to listen to anyone in life. No one. He doesn’t have to listen to anything that doesn’t fit into his worldview. But he proved he would take shit from me. He said ‘Let me listen to her and figure these things out’. He proved that he valued my opinion on things in life and was willing to listen.”
SHE HAS THE BEST REVIEWS, FOLKS
AMY SCHUMER'S BOOK HAS 4 STARS ON AMAZON. JUST SAYING.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CPR9DIU/ref=zg_bs_2445_5?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=1RXAB1V35TQA7T2211DM
and lena dunham's has 3.5
https://www.amazon.com/Not-That-Kind-Girl-Learned/dp/0812985176/ref=la_B00IHXCGJU_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1479262856&amp;sr=1-1
EDIT: and most importantly, Megyn Kelly:
https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Here is a really good ass book about the subject:
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
For those who are interested in such things may I recommend the following:
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
This is the first time I've ever been able to make this recommendation in an appropriate place.
Si eu am kindle si vad ca primele 30 carti din el sunt numai de design si ceva self-help (Confessions of an introvert is quite good), plus ebook-urile /r/nosleep.
Citesc mai mult nonfictiune, beletristica rar, si mi-au placut teribil Fast Food Nation, Zero: The biography of a dangerous idea si The man who mistook his wife for a hat.
Si va urasc cu profilele si recomandarile voastre ca am ales deja 6 carti de la voi pe care vreau sa le citesc si n-am timp.
All lives lost are irreplaceable.
As for whether WWI was the most dysgenic of modern wars, the answer is probably yes, all told.
When you look at the death toll adjusted for then-current world population, WWI doesn't look that devastating; even Mao's Great Leap Forward was worse, and that wasn't even a war (well, maybe a war against nature). But sometimes it's not about who dies, and still less often about how many die, it's about what dies.
Even if it is about who dies, the fact is that the cream of European society died during that war, and more so than most subsequent wars. By the cream of society, I don't necessarily mean the aristocracy which, as the war went on, revealed itself to be pretty degenerate (see Tsar Nicholas, Kaiser Wilhelm, etc). No, by the cream of society, I mean young men who had the physical fortitude that characterizes eugenia, as well as the virtuous character to stand up for their country. After WWI the type of people who would volunteer for wars were of an entirely different order--people were more likely to avoid service if they could after seeing the ghoulish levels of violence in WWI, and so it was a "take what you can get" scenario, often the dregs of society was all you could get, and it's gotten worse since then. It's unlikely that you'd find a soldier outside of WWI who was classically educated. Also, since WWI was the first war involving heavy, automated artillery, gas, and a number of other technological achievements, it was the most brave who couldn't wait to jump in, who died in the human meat grinder at the beginning of the war. After that time, generals became a lot more wary.
But it's not primarily about who died, it's about what died. And what died--seemingly forever--was the European culture of honour; this is WWI's most dysgenic effect, the worst of any conflict in human history. By the end of 1914, and probably even by the end of the first battle of the Marne, gone were the days of standing up in a doomed and heroic charge. Definitely by the end of 1915, gone were the days of dying for country, crushed by the tragicomedy of senseless horror, and giving way to the mere (though understandable) wish that the conflict would somehow come to an end, even if it meant the likewise end of one's civilization. Gone were those like Ernst Junger--or at least gone they were within a generation--who believed that war had an invigorating and healthy effect on mankind, and was thereby justified.
It seems doubtful that, having died, this classically influenced honour culture will ever return. Not without some serious pain, at any rate.
> So, the very fact that America became the dominant western country was a dysgenic thing.
I'm not sure America becoming the dominant culture was itself dysgenic. Europe at the time was more effete than America, and realistically still is. If we want to define eugenic solely in terms of intelligence, then perhaps yes this was dysgenic, but if you take the top 10 European scientists from 1914 and put them on an island with just enough to survive, they would undoubtedly perish in a month. Put pretty much any family of 10 from West Virginia on that same island, and I know who I'll put my money on. Eugenia is determined solely in terms of survival, and it's not clear that technocracy is very survivable.
I really like Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. It's not really a training book, more of a memoir in which he talks about the role running plays in his life.
If you want a serious training book I'd go for anything by Pete Pfitzinger. Even if you don't like his training philosophy he has great explanations of how your body changes as you get better at running, with actual science.
A lot of people will probably recommend Born to Run but personally I was annoyed by his tirades on the evil of Nike and shoes in general.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is really great, but be warned that the book lives up to its title.
Also, I love reading about Robert Kennedy (one of the last true American politicians IMO). I suggest reading The Last Campaign. Pay attention and learn from Bobby, and you'll live a good life.
I encourage, as always, everyone pick up The Aquariums of Pyongyang , Escape from Camp 14 , as well as Nothing To Envy as u/winginit21 mentioned.
Also David Hawk's The Hidden Gulag:Second Edition is a great resource. (PDF File)
I highly recommend reading his book, Paddle Your Own Canoe
As is his book on the Inklings. If you're looking for some of Tolkien's own insights into his writing or theology his letters are also a good place to look.
Thought I'd provide some Amazon links to these fine suggestions, along with a few of my own.
J.R.R. Tolkien Companion & Guide US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0008214549/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Jc.DCb1A3J8V6
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Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/000755690X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Qe.DCbHG7HWXM
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Art of the Lord of the Rings US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544636341/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_3f.DCbB8Y2ZNZ
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Art of the Hobbit US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0547928254/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_ng.DCbCX2CT65
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Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1851244859/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Vg.DCbSEH99RE
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Rateliff's History of the Hobbit US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CF6AZWK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Dj.DCbGWY7970
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Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-Earth US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618126996/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Kk.DCbC2XF6NT
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Letters of JRR Tolkien US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618056998/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_ml.DCbREBRZH4
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Carpenter's Tolkien: A Biography US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618057021/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_xm.DCbY976PAE
In The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, the man himself wrote:
> So Gandalf sacrificed himself, was accepted, and enhanced, and returned. 'Yes, that was the name. I was Gandalf.' Of course, he remains similar in personality and idiosyncrasy, but both his wisdom and power are much greater. When he speaks he commands attention; the old Gandalf could not have dealt so with Theoden, nor with Saruman. He is still under the obligation of concealing his power and teaching rather than forcing or dominating wills, but where the physical powers of the Enemy are too great for the good will of the opposers to be effective he can act in emergency as an 'angel'.
Gandalf the White is everything that Gandalf the Grey is, only better.
He wrote extensively on the subject of adaptations, movies, and how he'd like his work to be seen and treated in the future.
Folks discussing Tolkien's intentions and desires who have not read this book are doing both themselves and their arguments a great disservice.
Daigo Umehara did write a book on his experiences as a Street Fighter champion if you're interested in that.
Lmfao "Daigo fucking Umehara gave money away so Ricki Ortiz should too" - literally eat shit with that. Embarrassingly naive. This has got to be the most dishonest attempt at a comparison I've ever read on this website.
Daigo can comfortably afford acts of philanthropy and benefits from them because not only is he a celebrity in a way that Ricki is not (or any other fgc player who isn't Daigo), Daigo is his own brand. He does lectures, media events, he makes passive income as an author and even has manga written about him. It was beyond generous of him to give that money away, and is also indicative that he is living very comfortably. A child would understand that.
On top of that Daigo has earned more than twice as much as Ricki in lifetime tournament winnings alone, on top of being sponsored by Madcatz - and meanwhile Ricki probably isn't even getting paid a salary by EG.
Maybe you should send his agent an email and see how much Daigo charges to do a lecture at an event for your college?
I can't wait to hear your response about how Ricki got interviewed by a magazine or something. You are far beyond even attempting to be honest making a comparison like that - Daigo Umehara can afford to give away money so Ricki Ortiz should too lmfao. Holy shit.
don't pull an into the wild!
I'd recommend reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer before you do anything. It's a real-life story of a guy who really did go to Alaska to live in nature. He died fairly quickly. Wild by Cheryl Strayed is another book worth reading.
Living remotely in nature is great, and I get the appeal. But learn everything you possibly can about wilderness survival, and definitely take classes with other people, so you can have input from real experts on what you're missing. And read about where others went wrong, because nature is unforgiving and brutal. It doesn't care about you. It gives no shits about you finding your inner peace/strength/whatever. If you mess up, a painful death awaits. So if you're really going for it, be as smart and prepared as possible.
*Also see a doc about getting vaccinations. Tetanus is no joke, man.
This is a great book about a boy stuck in a North Korean gulag for ten years. I believe he did an AMA as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Paddle-Your-Own-Canoe-Fundamentals/dp/052595421X
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.
A few recommendations that come to mind:
Only one, but it's the most important one.
He wants to be a linguist--I think he would also enjoy the etymologies in the Oxford English Dictionary. I suggest taking him to a public library and sitting him down with a copy of the OED and going through a few definitions (penetrate would be a good start).
You've definitely got a linguist on your hands--if he also gets interested in computers and/or programming, he will have a lot of jobs waiting for him after he gets through college.
Please PM me if you want more help/advice.
Edit: He might enjoy these books:
http://www.amazon.com/History-English-Language-6th-Edition/dp/0205229395/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1377654532&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=english+a+history
http://www.amazon.com/Linguistics-A-Very-Short-Introduction/dp/0192801481/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1377654559&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=very+brief+introduction+linguistics
http://www.amazon.com/Professor-Madman-Insanity-English-Dictionary/dp/0060839783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1377654605&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+madman+and+the+professor
The 20th century kinda settled the debate on socialism.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn single-handedly decimated the ideology in The Gulag Archipelago.
Clinical Psychologist Professor Dr. Jordan Peterson lays out the argument pretty compellingly.
I can do better than tell you some, there's a whole book of them!
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future https://www.amazon.com/dp/006230125X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_J5OEAbQBEMRDA
Been loving the responses so far! My own preferences have been changing, and I've been reading a lot more non-fiction than I used to. It has really opened the doors to a lot of books I would not have considered reading before!
On my reading list:
The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley - this is what I'm almost finished with now. It has been a really insightful read on how little prepared society is for disasters, and the steps we should take to help fix that.
The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker - I've seen this mentioned on reddit a few times and it's in the same vein as the book I'm currently reading.
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Bruce D. Perry
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries - I'm currently working in the startup industry, and have read similar books to this.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz - same as the book above. This is currently going around my office right now so I should be reading it soon!
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. - this was recommended to me by a friend when he learned I was reading The Unthinkable and The Gift of Fear. Honestly really looking forward to reading this one!
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
Books I'd recommend:
Blink by Malcom Gladwell - all about the subconscious mind and the clues we pick up without realizing it. Pretty sure reading this book has helped me out in weird situations.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance - amazing read about how Elon Musk works and the person he is.
The Circle by Dave Eggers - just don't watch the movie :)
for all your shitposting needs
Edit: archived for shits and giggles
Edit 2: I now realize this link isn't the one you were talking about, my apologies
Charles Seife's Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
This is three very good books that I've read on WW1
Storm of Steel is a good book from the German Point of view, http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-J%C3%BCnger/dp/0142437905
Her Privates We, Hemingway said that he read the book every year to remind him how it really was. http://www.amazon.com/Her-Privates-We-Frederic-Manning/dp/8087888596
Unknown Soldiers: The Story of the Missing of the First World War, I really liked this book its complied from letters the soldiers wrote and the last few chapters are about what France, Britain and the US did to honor the Unknown. http://www.amazon.com/Soldiers-Story-Missing-First-World/dp/0307276546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1416969906&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=unknown+soldiers&amp;pebp=1416969916143
Ernst Juenger's "Storm of Steel". It is his experience as a German soldier in combat for most of the war, very different from "All Quiet on the Western Front".
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Murakami.
http://www.amazon.com/What-About-Running-Vintage-International/dp/0307389839/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
Murakami is an international bestseller. He also runs quite a bit. It's filled with great musings.
There are two ways to make dictionaries. The older and most common way was to copy what people have done before and make emendations based on one's interpretations of textual evidence. For example, a dictionary released in the 19th century and still often used by scholars of medieval Latin, commonly referred to by the names of its editors as "Lewis and Short", is a translation and revision of a Latin dictionary produced by a German scholar. This is how European lexicography worked until the very ambitious project of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which appeared in a large number of slim volumes (or "fascicles") over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This dictionary was made the other way, namely, completely anew, from a massive compilation of textual evidence. The OED worked by cataloguing enormous quantities of "slips", pieces of paper with a lemma (word to be defined), proposed meaning, and a quotation to illustrate this meaning. These slips were mailed in to the editorial office by thousands of volunteers, which could be anyone at all who wanted to contribute. Lexicographers then sorted through the quotations to devise an order for the definitions which they thought reflected the semantic evolution of the word. The OED was unique in its time for its ambitious scope, its method of arranging definitions, and its cataloguing of all the quotations used in it. Nowadays, slips are often replaced by electronic databases. And dictionaries of the contemporary forms of a language like the Oxford Dictionary of English (not to be confused with the Oxford English Dictionary, which is a historical dictionary of English from late Old English to the present day) use collections of both spoken and written language from very diverse contexts called "corpora" (singular form "corpus") as their sources. The result of this transformation in the methods of lexicography is that, where the glossaries of an earlier age were often produced by single authors or small groups of authors over a few years or decades, modern dictionaries of living languages require large editorial staffs and constant revision to keep them up to date. The second edition of the full-length OED was completed in 1989, for instance. The third edition is too incomplete for the editorial staff to want to give a release date, but some sources estimate it will be finished in 2037.
James Murray, the main editor of the first edition of the OED, has an interesting lecture called The Evolution of English Lexicography, which traces the roots of English lexicography from Latin glossaries, accessible here. Edit: If you're interested in the early history of dictionaries, this is the link that's going to be most interesting to you.
K. M. Elisabeth Murray, James's granddaughter, wrote a fabulous book about her grandfather and the publication of the first edition of the OED called Caught in the Web of Words.
A popular recent book that reveals a fair bit about the OED's history in entertaining fashion is The Professor and the Madman.
Some interesting info about the system of slips can be found at this website for Cambridge University's attempt to (finally!) produce a dictionary of Ancient Greek based on modern lexicographic principles.
On corpora, see this web page for the corpus on which the contemporary Oxford Dictionary of English is based.
That's some of the more significant stuff from English lexicography. If you're interested, I can probably dig out some articles on Latin lexicography from the middle ages/renaissance, but basically, the way it worked was that people made glossaries of words that were often arranged by subject rather than alphabetically. Such glossaries, unlike modern dictionaries, did not typically contain the very common or easy words (e.g., "eat" in English) that take up so much space in modern dictionaries. These glossaries usually only gave one-word equivalents rather than definitions, or simply listed words on a common subject together, so that you might have a glossary page for "the calendar" and find words for "week", "month", "Monday", "Tuesday", "June", "July", etc. together, or you might have a section on words for parts of the human body, or words for kinds of food. Alphabetical order only emerged over time. Another point of note is that most Latin texts were elaborately annotated in medieval/renaissance editions (why, check out Vergil's Aeneid with Servius's commentary even in something as late as this early modern edition), so one was as if not more likely to look for the meaning of an obscure word in the commentary, at least as a first point of reference, than in a separate glossary.
Some edits for clarity. I know this post focussed a lot on modern lexicography, but I hope you'll find what I've written of interest for your question.
What are your top five must-own books?
Mine, in no real order are:
(I'll put in links when I get home)
edit: with amazon links
I am a professional chef and while watching people prepare food is entertaining and sometimes also educating I actually recommend you to buy books and learn the basics first.
You can then use youtube pretty well in order to watch how to do specific things, like i.e. deboning a whole chicken for a gallantine, or how to trim certain pieces of meat.
Start with french cuisine. Once you have understood how things are connected you'll actually understand everything else.
If you want something simple and entertaining for the start I'd choose Anthony Bourdaine's Les Halles Cookbook. It's amusingly written and the recipes are fairly easy and they are all legit.
Then there is Paul Bocus. Living legend with three long-term girlfriends.
And of course you want to have Escoffier at your home. Doesn't get much more classic than that.
If you want to get a sense of what drives a top notch chef, watch In Search of Perfection by Heston Blumethal. Very very good stuff.
And finally, if you want to learn something about culinary history I highly highly recommend Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany and to learn about our lifes as a chef you need to read the (admittedly exaggerated) autobiographicly Kitchen Confidential by Bourdain.
All this provided, you won't learn cooking without actually doing it.
Edit: Depending on your budget, I also heavily recommend Alain Ducasse's Grand Livre de Cuisine.
Whether it is actually better or not, that's highly debatable and according to taste. But the cuisine in London/ UK is not neglectable and has a very rich background.
One of the most influential chefs in the world such as Heston Blumenthal (which is largely inspired by Harold McGee, an American), Marco Pierre White (he partly wrote modern cuisine, also an awesome person to hear) and Michel Roux (both senior as junior) have worked their careers in the UK. Each of them have defined a part of cooking/ cuisine in their way.
Not to forget the Commonwealth as well indeed, which brought a lot to the UK.
Really been watching too much MasterChef UK/ Australia and to one of my cooking teachers who really loves to read about history/ science of food. Then again, it's awesome to hear and to know as food is a way of sharing love, express your creativity and bonds and is such an important aspect of our lives/ society/ culture.
Some books which are awesome and I also have in my collection are:
Honestly, couldn't forget the latter of course.
How you defined it
> Nazism= fascism, ethnostate, genocide of anybody who is deemed “untermensch” including Jews, mentally ill, socialists, communists, gypsies, homosexuals. Authoritarianism.
>Communism = all production shared between an equal social class with no private ownership.
Boy oh boy. You’re a lost cause. I’ll send you some thing to read so you can get some enlightenment on what you think was simply an approach to “all production shared between an equal social class with no private ownership.”
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061253804/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1518215713&amp;sr=8-2&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=the+gulag+archipelago+volume+1&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=51TOjJwqD-L&amp;ref=plSrch
Read that and tell me if there weren’t massive amounts of innocents destroyed in the quest for equality. Jews, Latvians, Koreans, Japanese, repatriated poles, gypsies, the list goes on. The groups destroyed in the quest of equality are endless. You are horribly misinformed.
Edit: let me ask you this, were the millions killed and incarcerated any less innocent than the Jews killed under Hitler?
This book helped me understand what I've been doing wrong my whole life.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224
Yes, yes. This scenario is kind of the whole point of the title.
Anyway, If you like The Onion or The Daily Show, you'd enjoy How To Be Black (even if you aren't). Baratunde Thurston (the author) is a director and a producer of both, respectively. And, just to make absolutely sure the rest of us feel like unaccomplished shlubs, he's also a fellow at the MIT Media Lab.
This book was written by Baratunde Thurston, published in 2012. https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224
He has been an occasional guest on This Week in Tech, was digital director for The Onion, and is currently the supervising producer of original digital content for the Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
He’s also funny as fuck.
Actually sounds like an interesting book.....well there goes $12 to Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0062003224/ref=mw_dp_mdsc?dsc=1
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance is on Google Play Books and Amazon, but if you don't mind Piracy you can also get it on Library Genesis
Yes, that is a good point. That was also detailed in the book I read.
If anyone cares, I think it's this book (I read at least two so I'm not 100% sure): https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1475082388&amp;sr=8-5
You can read more in depth on all of this in Elon Musk's biography which he actually cooperated with. Like how his first son died of SIDs, his companies were close to bankrupt way more than once, how many arguments there were in the PayPal days, and how absolutely incredible the feats of Tesla and SpaceX really were given the small time frame they were working with.
I can't believe only 86% of her reviews are 1-star. It will by 95% by the end of the day.
https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600/
Also Dont forget to resubmit megyn cuckKelly reviews; they deleted at least 300 of the low star ones. I heard that you can buy it, write review, will show confirmed purchase, then delete purchase. I have not tried it this way yet.
https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600
Ok, which one of you did this?
Its illogical to be able to take anything (even zero) away from zero. zero is a weird little digit we use as both a placeholder and to represent 'nothing'. Zero is not a thing which can be broken into pieces.
There is a GREAT book I read a while back that goes into a whole lot of depth on the idea of zero. I found it very interesting, you might too.
found a link to it on amazon, maybe you could find it at a library... (or online if you're better at the internet than me)
Zero The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
The concept of zero is relatively new. If you really want your mind blown, read Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea.
Advanced in the sense that they had the number zero and Europe didn't.
It's such a huge deal, there are entire books on why it was such an advanced concept for the time.
Division by zero is just one particular topic. You may as well ask for a book about cross-multiplication.
There is a book about zero. I really enjoyed this book, but I haven't read it in a long time, so I don't remember much about it. But I'm pretty sure it discusses division by 0.
Great book
https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0142437905
Haruki Murakami What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. http://www.amazon.com/What-About-Running-Vintage-International/dp/0307389839
He writes very short and easy to understand sentences. The concepts may be a bit over her head when it gets philosophical, but if she's into that sort of thing she may get it. I've probably read the book 4 times now and it got me into reading his novels later as well.
Just a thought, may not be perfect but IMHO more age-appropriate than Born to Run. Also, an aside, Murakami could never fall off his godly pedestal in my mind so my response here may be a bit biased.
This is just a tip and can be applied to anything:
Haruki Murakami in his book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running said that you should only write until you recognize that you can still write more. That's when you stop for the day. The idea is that your mind will keep thinking about it and build new ideas and store the ideas until the next time that you sit down again to write. He also says that doing this makes it easier to get back into the groove of writing the next day because you're excited to get your ideas out. I have been doing this and it does help me.
Haruki Murakami - "What I talk about when I talk about running".
http://www.amazon.com/What-About-Running-Vintage-International/dp/0307389839
I'm sorry to hear about your dog. It's hard to lose them, as they grow up with you. I lost my dog two years ago and it's hard to remember I won't hear the jangle of her collar anymore. If you need to talk, I'm here for you. Feel free to PM whenever. I kinda like to talk a lot so if that cheers you up i'd love to help :)
http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Hanging-Without-Other-Concerns/dp/0307886271/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&amp;colid=MP4WCNL8A4OU&amp;coliid=I39SO4BFP7U5K8m Mindy Kaling is so funny, and I really want to read her book. You should watch an episode of "The Mindy Project" to cheer up as well. I guarantee you'll laugh. It's so great. <3
I change up the books on the non-fiction list every year and this one is no longer on the list. It's a good one though: here's a link to it on Amazon.
Students may enjoy looking into Dave Eggers' work. He's written another book I've considered putting on the non-fiction project list, Zeitoun, a wonderful fictionalized work of true events called What is the What, and he is the editor and founder of McSweeney's, which has spawned the cool sport's writing quarterly Grantland and a sister literary magazine, The Believer.
[Into The Wild] (http://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0385486804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1397008013&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=into+the+wild)
Picked it up on the fly at my local library in high school. I love non-fiction and the story of a boy deciding to drop everything and move to the Alaskan wilderness sounded amazing. And it was!
Bonus: the book turned into a movie, and it was actually really good!
Might I recommend you read "Into the Wild" by Job Krakauer...that should point you in the right direction...and also show you some mistakes to avoid.
well. A book that changed my life back when I was 15 was Walden from Thoreau. I threw away everything I owned. yeah I mean everything even my bed. I own nothing that dates from before I was 15. Would this have the same effect today? who knows.
back then, the book Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche had something to to with me ''taking a break'' from school, contributing too did: genealogy of Morals, into the wild, Adorno - dialectic of Enlightenment ( had no idea what that guy was talking about back then but made me real queasy about the world nonetheless.)
books that changed my life recently: Lying from Sam Harris. Steven Pinker - Enlightenment now made me pick a lot of fights with people who like to hate this world.
Insanity of Normality made me forgive some people I had real bad feelings toward, though I'm sceptical now of what is said in the book
unless you understand german you won't be able to read this: Blödmachinen , made me a snob in regards to media. Bernard Stieglers books might have the same effect in english
oh and selfish gene by Dawkins made me less judgmental. Don't know why. I just like people more
EDIT
oh lest I forget: Kandinsky - Concerning The Spiritual in Art made me paint my appartement black blue; Bukowski and the Rubaiyat made me drink more, Born To Run made me run barefoot, Singers Practical Ethics made me donate money and buy far less stuff.
Even though it is not directly about DN I can recommend reading into the wild (http://amzn.to/1NA0OAN) because I think it shows how being too dedicated to something can harm you in the end.
Other than that there is the four hour work week: http://amzn.to/1VqMekU
Several books about blogging if that's something you are interested in: http://amzn.to/23sLGAX
You might also want to read up on vehicles online,
www.desktodirtbag.com is a guy living in his truck most of the year and there are several good blogs about living in vans.
Rather than watch the vice guide videos (which only show you the propaganda that the DPRK wants you to see) you should go read books like these:
These and other books give you amazing insight into what it's like to actually live inside North Korea. May of the defectors who have been interviewed for these books do indicate that they do believe in the personality cult around the Kim's, at least at a certain level.
OP's book was the best of the ones I've read on NK and its policies and prison camps. I recommend it.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Aquariums-Pyongyang-Years-Korean/dp/0465011047
Watching him protest at the Women's March made me revisit some Nick Offerman books. Quality reads.
Paddle Your Own Canoe
Gumption
Strongly, strongly recommend the audio books as narrated by Mr. Offerman as well. Would love to get a crack at Good Clean Fun sometime soon (his newest book).
Have you read "Paddle Your Own Canoe" ? If Nick Offerman is your man crush, I highly recommend it.
(23 F bisexual, with a varied relationship history w/ men, non-binaries, and women)
I think a major issue with TRP is that they are determined to think of women as a hive mind. You can see how easy that mindset is to get into by looking at your search history - unfortunately, asking 'what do women want' is about as useful as asking 'what do men want' - we all know there is vast variation at the individual level.
The difference between you and them is that if a woman were to walk up to you and say 'i would like to be respected and not be subordinate to you', your response would not be 'you don't really mean that, because what women really want is [insert horrifying statement]', because at the end of the day you're aware that women are individuals.
Knowing that women are in fact people is not a magic bullet to getting the girl/relationship you want, and it's worth remembering that sexism is a systemic issue, which means that women can also believe it (I really liked someone else's comment about 'lizard brain' versus human brain) and gravitate toward it.
However, I really do think I am a person, and I only date men who I won't have to convince of that fact. If a dude makes statements like 'you're not like other girls', he goes straight out the window, because I am not going to date a man who thinks 'other girls' are a monolith of shit. However, no redpill dude is ever going to come close to me, which is why it's so easy for them to reaffirm their worldview.
You are on the right track to being a trustworthy and wise person, and I would encourage you to keep on your track. Maybe look for dating advice authored by women!
edit: I grabbed a link to one google drive that's (I think) totally authored by women, talking about 'emotional labour', which is a huge thing you can be aware of if you want to be a good partner: here it is!
another link is to Nick Offerman's book/audiobook, which I listened to with my old boss (I used to do leatherwork, very manly), which I think is a really good perspective on manliness. jordan peterson may tell you that women are 'the dragon of chaos', but nick offerman is actually a success in the entertainment and woodworking world, and it does appear he's had positive relationships with women.
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How about Nick Offerman's book? The paperback is £9, + free next day delivery if you get an amazon prime trial :)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paddle-Your-Own-Canoe-Fundamentals/dp/052595421X
amazon link
I've found them to give a phenomenal insight into Tolkien's mindset as he was writing LOTR during WWII. Also, if you're into that sort of thing, here's a great biography of his time spent during WWI
https://www.amazon.com/Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien-J-R/dp/0618056998
An Amazon link to The Letters of Tolkien
Unfortunately I can't help you I asked because I plan to do the same after I finish with the Witcher and I wasn't sure about the order
You may see it as such, but the Man himself did not wish it to be so. Rather than pull out my own copy of the Letters, I will instead point you to a post on another forum by one of the most knowledgeable Tolkien scholars I know of: see the second post in this thread.
Considering your user name this seems ironic, but never read Maus
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679785892/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_XzoQybCF1QY5T
I recommend:
These kids today just have no appreciation for the great literature of the '70s.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
I very rarely read Non-fiction, but this book was riveting.
My Lobotomy by Howard Dully is fantastic. The NPR piece that started it all. Amazon link. It's pretty much about what you'd assume, a man having a lobotomy as a child and what happens after that.
The Glass Castle is another really good one. If you ever thought your parents were weird or grew up without money, you need to read this. It's beautifully written.
There's a personal memoir that's pretty much all about this. http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Jeannette-Walls/dp/074324754X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1462804591&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=glass+castle
I suggest reading The Glass Castle It is about rising above family circumstances. You may find some inspiration here.
Think Daigo has you covered on the topic: https://www.amazon.com/Will-Keep-Winning-DAIGO-UMEHARA-ebook/dp/B01JOEKKWU
english https://www.amazon.com/Will-Keep-Winning-DAIGO-UMEHARA-ebook/dp/B01JOEKKWU
Buy the book and you can show everyone, friend. Wont you let the Lord into your heart?
I hate to recommend the opposite of what you're asking for, but Dave Egger's memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius definitely has that "hyperactive" rhythm to it.
Oh, it ain't mine--you've got some homework to do.
Check these out too.
Into the Wild
Emerson
Here is a great book on what not to do.
Desert Solitaire
Leaves of Grass
One Man's Wilderness
Into the Wild
Wilderness Essays
Call of the Wild
Walden Shocking huh?
I recommend you read Into the Wild if you doubt that it can be done. It can.
I enjoyed Ed Viesturs book: No Shortcuts to the Top, it was a self focused memoir, yet he shares his views and opinions in a way that came off genuine and down to earth. It is probably different than something you are writing since the focus of the book is entirely on something that made him very famous (First American to climb all 8000m peaks)
I like John Krakauer's books. Into Thin Air was a great firsthand account of a major disaster. It has some controversy, but like anything else firsthand accounts rely on the writers memory of events and those can change wildly from person to person.
Into the Wild is obviously another one of his more famous works. I liked it writing style and level of research, but I disliked the man the book was written about with a passion. Hardly the writers fault there though.
Try On The Road by Jack Kerouac (if you haven't read it already) and perhaps even Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. When I read that it really introduced me to the counter-culture movement.
My favorite book is Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. It is breathtaking, inspiring, tragic, and yet has a sense of accomplishment along with it. It's a beautifully written novel, and much better than the already great movie based off of it. I highly recommend it to anyone I can!
This book is only $2.99, and is an ebook (if that's okay with your contest rules), so it has free shipping.
Thanks for the contest! :)
I recommend three books:
Escape from Camp 14 - This book is most useful about life in the prision camp and the reasons why people are sent there. But its information on daily life is somewhat limited.
The Aquariums of Pyongyang - This is about a 10 year stay in a prison camp, but it has considerable information about daily life in NK, especially after the writer was freed from his camp.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Aquariums-Pyongyang-Years-Korean/dp/0465011047
A third book is by Charles Robert Jenkins, "The Reluctant Communist: My Desertion, Court-Martial, and Forty-Year Imprisonment in North Korea"
This is about an American who defected to NK. He defected impulsively in 1965. He was somewhat poorly educated. He was depressed and fearful of being reassigned to Vietnam. He impulsively defected while drunk, thinking he would be repatriated in 2 weeks. NK held him as a sort of prisoner for 39 years. In NK he was treated as part prisioner and part VIP, a bizzarre but fascinating situation. He had priveleges beyond the average North Korean, but great restrictions on his freedom He has much insight into daily living conditions there.
I read a in The Aquariums of Pyongyang that often it's not just the offender, but also his/her family that are sent to labor camps.
Is that true? If so, how was your dad's family able to escape going?
I bought Mike Kim's book Escaping North Korea after seeing that segment air and I must say I was extremely disappointed. The book seems very poorly constructed and he pushes the Christianity a little much for me. I recommend reading the 3 star and below ratings on Amazon, I wish I had before purchasing this book.
On the other hand, an extremely good book I read before reading Mike Kim's book was Aquariums of Pyongyang: 10 Years in a North Korean Gulag by Chol-hwan Kang. If you're interested in North Korea from the inside, especially the prison camps, this is the book to read.
For anyone wondering what it's like in a North Korean Prison camp I highly recommend The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag. It was written by a guy who spent 10 years in Yodok prison camp, then defect to South Korea. It contains some background info on North Korean government corruption and other stuff as well.
Anyone who enjoyed this might also enjoy The Aquariums of Pyongyang. It's a well done firsthand account of the North Korean gulag system.
Not read Escape From Camp 14 yet, but The Aquariums of Pyongyang was shocking too.
That looks like an interesting read, never got smitten by the Vampire/werewolf fantasy myself, but looking forward to hearing more about it.
I recently came across Paddle your own Canoe - Nick Offerman And its a great book.
Its written almost like an autobiography, but with so much humor and brilliant tidbits of information that I powered through it in a day or two, and immediatly started on one of his other books, Gumption.
oh! what about Nick Offerman's book? I haven't read it yet but it seems in line with some of the other ones you're bringing up. Or Neil Patrick Harris' Choose Your Own Autobiography seems similar, too.
I read David Cross' "I Drink for a Reason" and it was less personal analysis than light-hearted observation, but I still really enjoyed it.
Personal opinion: I read Amy Poehler's book and actually didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. There was very little humor...at least not of the caliber of Bossy Pants, and it felt more like a chronological listing of events in her life rather than any real reflection.
http://smile.amazon.com/Paddle-Your-Own-Canoe-Fundamentals/dp/052595421X?sa-no-redirect=1
http://smile.amazon.com/Neil-Patrick-Harris-Choose-Autobiography/dp/0385346999?sa-no-redirect=1
http://smile.amazon.com/I-Drink-Reason-David-Cross/dp/0446697710/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1420487957&amp;sr=1-1-fkmr0&amp;keywords=this+is+why+i+drink+david+cross
[This?] (http://static1.squarespace.com/static/51d30fe4e4b0276725bc61ff/t/52818e21e4b0217581623ae2/1384222242160/Nick+Offerman.jpg) It's the cover of [his book] (http://www.amazon.com/Paddle-Your-Own-Canoe-Fundamentals/dp/052595421X)
See my earlier comment which quotes from The Letters of Tolkien.
Here's the book if you want to support his legacy.
Some highlights;
>You will receive on Monday the copy of the 'Story Line' or synopsis of the proposed film version of The Lord of the Rings. I could not get it off yesterday.
>....An abridgement by selection with some good picture-work would be pleasant, & perhaps worth a good deal in publicity; but the present script is rather a compression with resultant over-crowding
and confusion, blurring of climaxes, and general degradation: a pull-back towards more conventional 'fairy-stories'. People gallop about on Eagles at the least provocation; Lórien becomes a fairy-castle with 'delicate minarets', and all that sort of thing.
.
>Z ( Morton Grady Zimmerrnan, who was trying to get a film adaptation of the trilogy off the ground as far back as the 50s) .... has intruded a 'fairy castle' and a great many Eagles, not to mention incantations, blue lights, and some irrelevant magic (such as the floating body of Faramir). He has cut the parts of the story upon which its characteristic and peculiar tone principally depends, showing a preference for fights; and he has made no serious attempt to represent the heart of the tale adequately: the journey of the Ringbearers. The last and most important pan of this has, and it is not too strong a word,
simply been murdered.
The whole 210: From a letter to Forrest J. Ackerman [Not dated; June 1958] letter is a scathing rebuke of attempts to convert the saga into film. Granted, some of them are dated (Tolkien in particular recognized the danger of convenient Eagles moreso than he had dared use in his own narrative), but a few still echo in Jackson's version...
>#9. Leaving the inn at night and running off into the dark is an impossible solution of the difficulties of presentation here (which I can see). It is the last thing that Aragorn would have done. It is based on a misconception of the Black Riders throughout, which I beg Z to reconsider. Their peril is almost entirely due to the unreasoning fear which they inspire (like ghosts). They have no great physical power against the fearless; but what they have, and the fear that they inspire, is enormously increased in darkness.
Also, one nice burn from the pen of the English professor:
> The Balrog never speaks or makes any vocal sound at all. Above all he does not laugh or sneer. .... Z may think that he knows more about Balrogs than I do, but he cannot expect me to agree with him.
The current print paperback is perfectly nice, for what it's worth. Very sturdy feeling. I have no plans to upgrade.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien-J/dp/0618056998
You might try getting your hands on a copy of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. There's a lot of great information on his work there, and I find them generally a little easier to read than the History of Middle-Earth.
I propose that you read Maus. It's a graphic novel about World War 2 and the holocaust, but at the same time about a man and his father. The father is the one who tells his son the story of the holocaust, and his son then tells us. Really, it's quite moving.
Also, Jews are mouses and Nazis are cats.
relevant
I would recommend [Maus] (http://www.amazon.com/Maus-Survivors-Father-History-Troubles/dp/0679748407)
1.Maus by Art Spiegelman. I know it is a graphic novel, but it is amazing.
2. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King, Including the newest one The Wind Through The Keyhole
Somewhat similar in tone and absurdity of Vonnegut is Tom Robbins, perhaps start with Jitterbug Perfume.
For Brautigan, I'd recommend perhaps Charles Bukowski, try Factotum,or Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a good place to start).
Based on the number of readings, I'd say Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson (if you're only going to read one Thompson book in your life, this is it) and The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien.
Aesthetics are simply important to me when I am buying a physical product, especially in this day and age. I can buy an ebook without any aesthetic value whatsoever, but if I decide I like something so much that I want a physical copy, be it a movie or a CD or a book, if it applies, attraction will play a factor in my purchase. I've been looking for a non-movie cover version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for ages, simply because I don't like the glossy, absently considered DVD cover version that is most common. It doesn't need to be beautiful, since I was more than willing to buy the 70s-esque commonplace cover of Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, and there are always exceptions to the movie cover rule. For instance, I bought the 80s movie edition of the Great Gatsby with the Robert Redford cover because it was comically cheesy. I can't even find a picture of it on the Internet.
Getting married seems to be traditional. Alternatively
It's more that it made me uncomfortable because I knew how people who never suffered from similar abuse would take it.
Similarly, The Glass Castle was... not received well. I had to read it in college. In a class where no one would know abuse if it slapped them in the face. Needless to say, when I explained my situation to the teacher, she gave me the option to sit out discussions.
I'll have to check out this book....it was close to 20 years ago that this happened. was it this book? http://www.amazon.com/The-Glass-Castle-A-Memoir/dp/074324754X i fail at links...
I understand it's used :) this is such a great giveaway!!
My favorite book that comes to mind is probably The Glass Castle which is one I randomly picked up in one of those bookshops that is overflowing with books. I also found out this week that it's possibly being made into a movie?! And I'm not sure how I feel about that.
I like to think I do at least one kind thing a day :)
Cowabunga!
The Glass Castle, by Jennette Walls was the last book I remember enjoying before school killed my love for reading. (They made us annotate purely Charles Dickens, making us ignore plot, but rather focus on rhetorical devices; and even then I wasn't too fond of his tales). As of now, my English AP class is having us read Narrative of the Life of a Slave by Frederick Douglass. This is the first book we are reading in-class this school year, but this is the first time I get to read without annotating and can actually enjoy the book!!
That one is a memoir by Jeannette Walls. It's about her and her family. She grew up in poverty, although I think those in poverty live better than what she and her brothers and sisters went through. WOW, I'll tell you It's a crazy story. The glass castle comes from something her father would say to her. I don't want to go into it too much in case you decide to read it. Here is the link on Amazon.
Absolutely. Brad Warner is an interesting example. He went from being in punk bands to teaching English in Japan to becoming a Buddhist priest. He wrote a great book called Hardcore Zen if you'd like to read more about his philosophy and experiences.
I think I heard of that before. Also, Buddhism teaches how connected we are...read a pretty good, straight forward book called Hardcore Zen.
This reminds me of another school of thought: that life is a projection of our minds.
and
What is real is just your perception. [7]
There are several popular 'flavors' of Buddhism, but unfortunately I have not read any general overview books covering all of the sects. Most of my generalized knowledge has come from podcasts like Buddhist Geeks and Zencast. Gil Fronsdal and Jack Kornfield are both enjoyable to listen to.
But back to books!
The most accessible Zen book I've read was Nishijima's To Meet The Real Dragon. Other overviews like Alan Watt's What Is Zen and Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind are good but a little obtuse.
And while I can't give it a general recommendation because the writing style isn't for everyone, I really enjoyed Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen and Sit Down and Shut Up.
Of those mentioned, I would go with To Meet the Real Dragon unless you prefer a much more informal style -- then I would pick Hardcore Zen.
Some good books about Zen, if you're interested in learning more:
Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality Great book, written by a modern Zen 'master.' Colloquial, not translated and thus easy for us westerners to understand.
Not Always So, Shunryu Suzuki
Moon In A Dewdrop, Dogen This guy is the real shit. Lived hundreds of years ago. You can go as deep as you want into this guy's writings, many levels of meaning (or none?). More metaphorical/figurative than the others, very poetic.
When/if you read this stuff, don't worry about understanding everything sentence. It's easy to get caught in the trap of reading and re-reading sentences and paragraphs to try to understand, but in doing so you miss out on the flow/stream of consciousness of the works. Just read it through, eventually the ideas will start to become clear.
Mediation itself sounds like a great idea but I have no interest in the spirituality or metaphysical aspects. A few years ago I found this book:
Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality by Brad Warner.
It's pretty good, and helped me get started on meditation purely for the empirical physical and mental benefits.
You stop giving a fuck about things like authority, or superficiality. But at the same time, you don't just turn into some rebellious prick. You cut out a lot of bullshit from your life, both external and internal.
It's from Hardcore Zen and the author devotes a whole chapter early on, and it becomes a theme of the book. This blog post gives a few of the highlights, but I can't recommend the book enough. It, and Dale Carnegie, are the only self-help books worth reading if you ask me.
> Question Authority. Question Society. Question Reality. Question Yourself. Question your conclusions, your judgments, your answers. Question this. If you question everything thoroughly enough, the truth will eventually hit you upside the head and you will know. But here’s a warning: It won’t be what you imagined. It won’t be even close.
Not necessarily my favorite book ever, but I'd want you guys to read it if you get the chance: Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner.
It is an incredibly approachable, unpretentious introduction to the idea of mindfulness and enjoying what you have. It's a casual way to shake up your world view and get you to try every day meditation without the whole trappings of mysticism that often get tied into the practice of zen. It brings it down to it's core... that when we get stuck in our own heads and worry about the future, we're not enjoying and taking full advantage of the present.
I was raised in a very strict Evangelical, Fundamentalist Christian household. I had a feeling from the very beginning that it was all bullshit, but I tell you what, I tried valiantly to hang in there. As I got into college, I had moved onto reading Kierkegaard and other Christian Existentialist in order to try to make my religion make any damn sense. Paul Tillich also figured in prominently. Honestly I still really like a whole lot of what both Kierkegaard and Tillich have to say.
Anyway after doing that for a bit, I realized that there was no point in all the mental gymnastics I was doing. I was clinging to this thing because I was raised with it, and that is a lousy reason. So I tossed that shit overboard. For about a minute I hopped onto the New Atheist train. Several things there immediately became obvious to me though. The first was that while I generally agreed with them, they were kind of dicks to everyone. That was kind of not cool in my book. Then there was fact that they seemed to be completely missing a part of life. There seemed there was a sense of mystery, I guess, that that kind of stark atheism just misses. That is not quite it. Maybe wonder or some other ineffable quality. The whole thing just seemed too mean, with a pat answer for everything. And it does a lousy job of answering the whole, "Ok, so what do I do now?"
It was about this time that my ex-wife (we were married at the time) gave me the book Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner. As a side not here, I think Brad is kind of a creeper, and a lot of his teachings strike me as a little simplistic these days, but he will always have a bit of a special place in my heart for bringing me into Buddhism. Anyway, so I read that, and stuff in there just kept ringing true for me. I have always been a little bit of a philosophy dork, and there were so many things things in Buddhism, specifically Zen, that struck me as applied philosophy. Philosophy taken out of the clouds and actually put into practice. Which, as it happens to be, had been one of my major critiques of philosophy for a long time.
"In relation to their systems most systematizers are like a man who has built a vast palace while he himself lives nearby in a barn; they themselves do not live in the vast systematic edifice. But in matters of the spirit this is and remains a decisive objection. Spiritually, a man's thoughts must be the building in which he lives—otherwise it's wrong." -Soren Kierkegaard
While the above quote was specifically about Hegel, it has much broader application.
Anyway, being that as it may, there were lots of things about Buddhism that rang very true to me. So I started reading everything I could put my hands on about it. In addition to this, I found that there was a temple near me, the Houston Zen Center. I immediately felt comfortable there, though it seems like I was the youngest member there by a decade or two. Then a couple of guys and myself wanted a more youth oriented group, so we sent out an email to Noah Levine and got permission to use the name Dharma Punx for the group. We have been meeting for a couple of years now.
My schedule is all messed up with work, so getting up to the zen center is kind of a pain in the ass, but I make it up there as often as I can. I sit zazen with some regularity. I have a fantastic teacher in Gaelyn Godwin. Not only is she brilliant and possible one of the most wise people I have ever met, she has got a wicked wit on her. She is constantly messing with me, but in a most perfectly loving and gentle way. She has been a profound influence on my life.
I have taken the lay precepts. I have been talking about here in another decade or so, when I reach retirement age, going into the practice full time, and taking the full monastic vows. We'll see. No definite plans, but that is one of the ideas I have floating around my head.
Plus Hardcore Zen's full title is excellent!
You were embarrassed to say it, weren't you? :)
I am currently reading Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality. I get the impression that in one view (Soto) people are born enlightened and only need to realize it (like Plato's dialog of Meno). The author seems to talk about enlightenment as a consistency of truths being realized--"solving the philosophical problems". But in that view, Zen masters say the experience of enlightenment should not be over-emphasized or over-valued. The author goes on to say that it is not retirement from the world, but really only the beginning of the hard work.
edit: like Nelstone's comment below, the author describes his enlightenment as looking at the sky and feeling recognition like seeing himself in a mirror.
This gem that mixes punk rock music, Godzilla, and Buddhism
It's been done.
nope. http://www.amazon.com/Hardcore-Zen-Monster-Movies-Reality/dp/086171380X
That's rough. The e-Book is available from the Amazon US store. You may be able to make an amazon account on it (assuming you use amazon.de), and then read the book through a kindle reader. (PC kindle reader is free and not bad to use).
USA Link: here
*Edit: Goofed up the link format
You probably know this but it's already happening now.
https://www.amazon.com/Will-Keep-Winning-DAIGO-UMEHARA-ebook/dp/B01JOEKKWU/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1OQB9YQFWXFNX&amp;keywords=daigo+umehara&amp;qid=1554746082&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=daigo+um%2Cdigital-text%2C213&amp;sr=1-1
They're not about Smash but they will help improve your mentality for competitive Smash.
List below:
------
Playing To Win: Becoming the Champion
by David Sirlin
Link: http://www.sirlin.net/ptw/
This is a book on how competition in gaming works and having a "play to win" mentality. This means taking responsibility and accountability for everything you do and not putting excuses that only hold you back. Very helpful for your mindset. You can find a free audio version that covers most of the book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y6KU7ZGeMs&amp;list=PLZbBoZgd9o1mVN2-CnS4yfbhIEbpJFrWp
------
The Will to Keep Winning
by DAIGO UMEHARA
Link: https://amzn.com/B01JOEKKWU
Written by one of the world's best Street Fighter players, Daigo, this book talks a lot about consistent growth, the benefits of staying humble, innovating, taking risks, and how to play with the mentality of learning and growing rather than focusing on just the win. Despite having the word 'Winning" right in the title, the book teaches the value of focusing less on the results and more on the process.
------
The Inner Game of Tennis
by W. Timothy Gallwey et al.
Link: https://amzn.com/0679778314
Don’t be deterred by the title. Yes, this is a book on tennis, but it has been highly recommended by many good Smashers and It helped me out immensely. It talks about the inner workings of your mind and how to get the best out of competitive performance and practice. You can listen to a summary of the book for free here: https://youtu.be/SUdTxXkecr8
-----
The Way of the Bow
by Paulo Coelho
Link: http://a.co/iR14a9T
I haven't read this one yet. i'll be honest. But I've heard many trustworthy Smashers recommend it. It is said to be about "how to overcome difficulties, steadfastness, courage to take risky decisions."
You reminded me of the story of William Minor, the American army surgeon who was one of the largest contributors of quotations to the Oxford English Dictionary.
It was many years before OED's editor, Dr. James Murray, learned Minor's background and that he'd been found not guilty of murder and declared clinically insanity. Minor had been a patient at Broadmoor Asylum for many years.
Minor's condition deteriorated and in 1902 he cut off his own penis.
You can read about the book here: The Professor and the Madman
Been reading The Professor and the Madman?
Dava Sobel writes about science in history, and she's fantastic. Longitude, in particular was great!
I also really like Simon Winchester's The Professor and the Madman about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary
I can't give a good explanation myself, but The Professor and the Madman, which I read not too long ago, gives quite a bit of insight to that question.
READ THIS
Atul Gawande - Better, Complications, and checklist manifesto.
Sandeep Jauhar - Intern
Jerome Groopman - How doctor's think
Michael Collins - Hot lights, cold steel and Blue collar, blue scrubs
Samuel Shem - House of God
Brian Eule - Match day
Paul Ruggieri - Confessions of a surgeon
Emily R. Transue - On call
Okay so I was in the same position you are in right now. I wanted to read as much as I could because I truly found it fascinating. I read these books and I'm glad I did. These books just give you an idea of how hard doctors work and what the life of a doctor is like. Another recommendation is Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. It has nothing to do with medicine but I read it and I think you should too. He talks about the life of a chef and how perfection and long long hours are demanded of him. I feel like there are some overlaps between the different settings. Chef/doctor and Restaurant/hospital. Anyways, This list should last you a long time. Hope you enjoy.
Edit: Added links.
At the very least, read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. I'm serious, there's nothing that could scare the shit out of you more than this book, and if you still are eager to go into the kitchen professionally, then by all means do it. (Also there's a fair bit of good advice about culinary school versus work experience.)
http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Confidential-Updated-Edition-Adventures/dp/0060899220/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1344405232&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=kitchen+confidential
If you want, message me and I'll send you a copy, it's on me. :-)
> never test for drugs.
After reading Kitchen Confidential this makes too much sense to me, otherwise they would have an even higher employee turnover.
I realize that these two stories are just anecdotes to you, and you will probably never change your mind that drugs are bad man, but I'm also basing my opinion on working for over 20 years in the F&B business. I've worked behind line, waited tables, bussed, parked cars, dish dogged, tended bar, and managed front of the house. I've known both people that used alcohol and weed (and coke) to get through a shift, and those who did not. In my experience, drugs and alcohol use had very little to do with whether someone was useful in a kitchen or not.
If you are at all interested in what a crappy job it really is, you should read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly sometime. It's a pretty no-holds-barred look at working in a restaurant in NYC in the late 80's - early 90's. It's changed some, but not all that much.
*Edited to fix link to book
>On what basis are we assuming a libertarian conception of freedom exists?
>How do you think we decide what should and should not be a right? I think we engage at least some degree of ethical reasoning to do this.
Easy, rights are natural and inherent to human beings. Going agaisnt that would be restricting what human beings are naturally capable of, whether through a state or through harm. Thus freedom exists.
Think of it like this. You have an island with no one else on it. Anything that you can do on the island is a right.
Oh and don't give me the "but people live with other people" nonsense. Obviously they do, but we're talking about a way to show what a right is and what a right isn't and in order to do that we must eliminate all other moral actors from the equation. You can't ask for a definitive way of showing rights and then deny any kind of scientific method in the process of finding it.
>However, what if the individual was raised to be religious, or raised in such a way that the outcome was decided for him (thus his autonomy violated).
He still has the ability to choose. I was raised christian, and although I still think religion is important, I consider myself atheistic.
>Then freedom of religion does not exist,
You severely misunderstand what freedom of religion is. This seems to be more of a problem with projection, because I only see this kind of argument from people who believe in social planning. Here's how the logic goes: I, as an individual, do not have freedom because I can be affected by the outside world, therefore the world is a battleground of people trying to influence each other as a zero sum game. Now you could be argumentative and say you don't believe that but that's the underlying logic that you're using. Essentially it's power politics, which is why a lot of people who believe in this also make statements like "everything is political." It's an attempt to legitimize their authoritarian behavior by claiming people influence each other anyway, so why not just have complete control over everyone' lives?
Freedom of religion is being able to choose for yourself which religion to follow and no one stopping you physically or practically from doing so. Freedom of religion is not having the right to isolate yourself and not be influenced at all. Although individuals do have the right to self isolate, they don't because that would be harmful for them. And they do not have the right to not be influenced because that's impossible.
>Then freedom of religion does not exist, and that which does not exist does not need protection.
Here, let's play that game. Whoever suppresses the other first wins. Oh, that game ends in people dying, sometimes in the hundreds of millions? Better not play that game then. I mean really, you're undermining liberalism and advocating for authoritarian societies, do you think there's going to be a happy ending for you? Or are you hoping that you'll screw over as many people as possible to make your life just a little bit better and gain some semblance of power that will be taken from you the second you are no longer necessary.
>Also, on what basis should we value a libertarian conception of freedom if we use to make our lives worse?
The problem with this is that you personally do not believe that. You think you're making the right choices in your life, you just don't think anyone else is. So what are you exactly? Some kind of special human capable of seeing the flaws in others and showing them the way to true enlightenment? It's a power fantasy that you've projected onto your politics. You're not better than anyone else, and stopping people from making mistakes will only end in you making mistakes for them.
>wouldn't the state be right to weigh into the private lives of citizens and prevent people from taking drugs
But what is too far? I drink coffee and smoke? These are bad things for me, but should the state intervene. You can't draw a line that isn't arbitrary. And plus, people take drugs because there's something else wrong. I know because I grew up in a town with a severe meth problem. The state intervened but all it did was drive them underground where they couldn't get help. You have no idea what these people need and neither does the government. Leave it to the local community to help them rather than trying to apply your stupid and short sighted ideas so that everyone suffers from your mistakes.
>subscribing to bad ideas (e.g. holocaust denial),
I consider your beliefs to be harmful, is that a line we can draw? Should I be able to suppress you? Any line you draw will be arbitrary because beliefs, although can be based in reality, will always have bind spots and thus will make mistakes. And who the fuck is even a holocaust denier, what, one out of every million people? We both know this will be taken much further, you just don't want to say that because you already know it will.
>being reckless with money, etc, etc.
How many bodies does socialism have to produce before you change your mind? We're at 100 million at least, 260 million at most, I think 100 million is enough for me. And sure, maybe you don't actually believe these numbers to be the case, but you just advocated for censorship of holocaust denial, shouldn't we, by your own logic, silence people who deny the horrors of socialism and attempts at communism as a bad idea that we need to repress?
Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccASsjhhgP8
You need to sit down and listen to this audio book. I know, it's long, but it's the best summery as to why the ideas you're promoting are not just wrong, they resulted in tens of millions of people dead. You want to be well read? You want to hear the best argument against authoritarianism? This is it. This book is the single most well constructed, well sourced, and well written argument against your ideology. I got through it, and I will never advocate in favor of authoritarianism. There is no argument that you could make because the results have been so terrible it's too great of a risk to attempt another instance of authoritarianism.
Edit: You can also find the abridged version here https://www.amazon.com/Gulag-Archipelago-Abridged-Experiment-Investigation/dp/0061253804
I can't personally recommend the abridged version because the book as a whole is pretty packed. You can't take away anything without losing some of the punch of the argument. But if you won't sit down and take your time with the full version, then at least read the abridged.
History is cyclical and it tends to repeat itself. Maybe you should be a little more concerned with educating yourself on what your side of the political spectrum was responsible for in the 20th century. I could care less about your personal experience fallacy, those tend to be extremely bias based on the worldview the person wants to portrait and they tend to ignore what statistics say, and in this case the statistics for Europe are quite damning.
If you don't think that it can happen again you are very naive. You live in a world where it is still happening. Socialism has destroyed Venezuela right before our eyes, plain as day, and there is nothing you or I can do about it and no government that cares to intervene, nor should they. North Korea is a relic from the 20th century and one big Gulag. China, a world superpower is a great example of a country that censors the data in/data out that you are referring to. Read The Will to Power by Nietzsche, The Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn (even if its just the abridged version, it is a masterpiece and changed my life), and Orwell's 1984. Read these and then cross reference what you learn with current political climate regarding political correctism, left wing authoritarian political systems in your countries over there that compel speech and ban certain idea's and criticisms, your governments collectivist policies and your firearm policies. After you read them you should be able to see striking similarities to your current political landscape and you will know just how close you are to the edge. At very least you will escape the ideological bubble you seem to be in.
I sent you a PM in case r/venting has a issue with posting links.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224
http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0062003224/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1479536118&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&amp;keywords=how+to+be+black
There you go
I read this biography about Elon musk. He is definitely an interesting person. While I respect him in many ways and he is certainly going to either directly or indirectly change the world, he is an asshole. For example, there was a story about an employee that was asked to take on an impossible task. The employee came back in defeat. Musk fired him and did the job himself. Musk's mind is amazing, his personal skills are surely lacking.
I read the biography about him, which is quite interesting. (https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X)
I don't recall the exact circumstances, but the author describes Musk as experiencing horrific bullying as a child, including one incident in which he was assaulted and thrown down a flight of stairs, resulting in him being hospitalized. One would think that the experience would predispose him to be sympathetic to us.
The biography paints him as a man on a mission to save mankind and the planet thru his business ventures. That's why he's so into electric cars and solar energy.
My previous comments here were kidding, but in all seriousness, if there is some reason I should hate him, please do inform me because as best I can tell, he's an astute businessman who is working hard to push innovation that the established players have been resisting for years.
His biography
Even books are being injected with unprecedented political rhetoric. I went to Barnes and Noble the other day, and guess what was the best selling book? Only Settle for more by the Kween herself.
Do you mean this book?
Here's the link if you want to rate it:
https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600
https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600
Snapshots:
^(I am a bot.) ^([Info](/r/SnapshillBot) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=\/r\/SnapshillBot))
First math book I read for pleasure was Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea. Its focus is more on the history side of things, which come to think of it makes it weird that I liked it since I normally am not interested in history.
But it's pretty amazing to imagine living in a society where zero was not was an accepted concept--in fact, it hadn't just not been thought of, it was actively denounced by the Church.
It's been maybe a decade since I read it, but I still remember the BS proof they used back then.
God cannot do evil.
There is nothing God cannot do.
Therefore,"nothing" is evil.
And with that, you were disallowed from using the concept of 0. Which makes a lot of math really difficult.
Kepler's Conjecture: How Some of the Greatest Minds in History Helped Solve One of the Oldest Math Problems in the World and Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea are riveting histories.
There's a nice book about it!
Foolproof is a good example of this. Lots of self-contained chapters on random fun problems. (My only large critique is that the first chapter is very out of place; being basically a history schpiel. Mischaracterizes the book.)
Then there’s math adjacent stuff like Zero: the history of a dangerous idea that look at the history of math development.
(Side note: the first chapter of Pinter’s A Book of Abstract Algebra is a top knotch example of that. And very much in place, unlike the foolproof chapter I mentioned.
Then there are things that aren’t quite “pop”, but make themselves more accessible. Like An Illustrated Guide to Number Theory, which is both a legitimate intro to number theory and a reasonably sexy coffee table book that guests can leaf through. (Though I’d like to see a book that pushes the coffee table style accessibility further.)
Read this book.
The author recants the history of the notion of nothing and how that notion shaped our current world. Or something. I was ordered to expand on my post so here I am doing that.
Assuming by "numbers" you mean the set of numbers {0,1,2,.....} (commonly known as the "Natural" numbers) you should first know that there is some debate as to whether or not to include 0.
Whether you decide to include 0 or not, no one knows where/when the concept of the Natural numbers originated. In some cultures, notably the Piraha, they appear to have never been developed so if you believe Kronecker's "God gave us the integers...", God appears to have forgotten to tell to the Piraha.
My own view on the origin of the natural numbers is that they probably arose from trade. A scenario, which may or may not be true but I find particularly appealing, is given in Eugenia Cheng's book "How to Bake Pi". As an example suppose that I want to trade 1 salt cake for each sheep you have. I could line up all the sheep and parade them by one by one. As each sheep passed I could hand over 1 salt cake. This involves lining up the sheep, which, having lived with sheep as a kid, I can tell you is not the easiest thing to do. So instead you could just point at each sheep and hand over a salt cake, perhaps, as Cheng proposes in a likely nod to her musical background, singing a song while doing so. Then the song itself becomes the counting mechanism. The reason I like this so much is that it fits well with Eeny-Meeny-Miny-Mo
If you want to learn more about the historical origins of zero you might try: Zero:The Biography of a Dangerous Number be forewarned that this is a pop-sci book and it's tone is a fairly hyperbolic, here's a review that I think sums up this up pretty well.
Zeno's paradox isn't really a paradox. it's actually REALLY simple to explain:
You take limit as the distance between two points reaches 0. This is the fundamental operation in calculus.
Why is it not a paradox now but it was back then? Because they didn't believe in the number 0. There is a really good book called Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea (http://www.amazon.ca/Zero-The-Biography-Dangerous-Idea/dp/0140296476)
A great read! I recommend it!
this fantastic book mentions the very same event http://www.amazon.com/Zero-The-Biography-Dangerous-Idea/dp/0140296476
One of the best courses I've had in college was the history of math. It was a one quarter class so it obviously couldn't cover everything but instead focused on the universal problem of measuring areas and volumes, starting roughly some discovered papyrus scrolls from Egyptians trying to measure plots of land to Newton and Leibniz inventing calculus.
As others have said, it didn't really teach you math. I had already taken several higher level math classes and calculus was a requirement, but it was really interesting to see how trying to answer that question was refined over time.
I think one problem with learning math along side the history of math is we have much better techniques for solving problems now. One of the touch things about the course was trying to figure out the various proofs because they went through very complicated steps which we now take for granted.
Not related to the course, but I really recommend the book Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea which talks about how the number 0 came to be, what problems it caused when people were coming up with the concept, and what ideas it continues to cause today.
You should check out Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea. It's an very interesting read.
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
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and
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The Golden Ratio
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[ Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea] (http://www.amazon.com/Zero-The-Biography-Dangerous-Idea/dp/0140296476)
Interesting. There is a good book on the history of the number zero but I honestly don't know if you'd like it or not. https://www.amazon.com/Zero-Biography-Dangerous-Charles-Seife/dp/0140296476/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1526496930&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=zero+book if you happen to be interested.
People have definitely run mazes end decks before but they certainly aren't common. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
If this interests you, I cannot recommend highly enough Charles Seife's "Biography of a dangerous idea":
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140296476/sr=8-1/qid=1142158680/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-5782921-8657710?%5Fencoding=UTF8
One of the most enjoyable books on science that I have read.
Required reading, Storm of Steel by Ernst Jünger.
The churned-up field was gruesome. In among the living defenders lay the dead. When we dug foxholes,we realized that they were stacked in layers. One company after another, pressed together in the drumfire, had been mown down, then the bodies had been buried under showers of dirt sent up by the shells, and then the relief company had taken their predecessor’s place. And now it was our turn.
Check out 'Storm of Steel' by Junger:
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-J%C3%BCnger/dp/0142437905/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1312171499&amp;sr=8-1
Also read Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger.
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0142437905
One you should definitely consider is Irene Némirovsky's Suite Francaise, about the German invasion of France, and told from the viewpoint of several displaced French citizens. Némirovsky herself died in Auschwitz in 1942 (little more than a year after the events portrayed in her master work!) and the book lay undiscovered until her daughter found it in the late 1990s. It's only been available in English for a little over three years, but it's already been hailed as a classic of the 20th century. It's also bound to be somewhat distinct from the other books likely to be chosen for a class like this because a) it's very much about the disruption of "normal" life rather than the immersion into war, and b) it's one of the few books that I can think of that deal with way not so much from the viewpoint of a woman (several of the main characters are men), but rather from the pen of a woman.
I'd also recommend Ernst Junger's Storm of Steel, a classic autobiographical depiction of WWI from the German side by a brilliant author who has tended to get short shrift in favor of (also brilliant) figures like Remarque. Steel is notable in part because Junger's use of language emulates the uncertainty of war -- it's percussive, assaulting, and unpredictable. Even in translation that comes through. It is, in effect, a view into the German side of the literary revolution that took place when soldiers in the war returned home and began writing about their experiences, and changing the accepted literary tropes in order to encompass the chasm that stood between their perceptions and those of the news-reading public.
If your friend can find enough copies of it, I'd also recommend Junger's On the Marble Cliffs, a kind of grim fantasia that seems to have predicted the Nazi rise to power and the fascistic impulse of the late 30s and 40s. It's eerie, beautiful and startling, but unfortunately it seems to have been out of print for some times now.
A lot of people have suggested science fiction books, and I think a lot of students would see a quick sci-fi read a nice reprieve from all of the historical material, but I'm surprised that no one has yet suggested Ender's Game, which better than just about any book I've seen makes a parable of the blindness war induces with respect to the consequences of our actions.
I highly recommend Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger. It’s a very non-political look at WWI from a German soldier’s perspective. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the war.
I would recommend Storm of steel for anyone who is interested in a German take on the experience. Remarque is not a bad writer and i do thoroughly enjoy All quiet. But he was on the western front for around a month before being wounded. Most of the things that occur in all quiet were collected from soldiers that Remarque met. Ernst Juenger's Storm of steel is, while perhaps not as linguistically beautiful, a true tour d'force of WWI. Juenger signed up in 1914 and fought on the front line until being wounded in the Kaiserschlacht in the middle of 1918. Unlike Remarque, Juenger does not try to make some emotional stance on whether war is good or not. He simply tells the story that he endured. If you want a good fictional novel then by all means read All quiet on the western front. But if you want a gritty factual story read Storm of steel.
If i could make make a comment on the Ernst Juenger in Storm of steel and Paul Bauemer in All quiet. I would say that Juenger was a warrior and Bauemer was a victim.
Storm of Steel
https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0142437905/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1499912314&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=storm+of+steel
Graves gives a good account of a personal experience of the the war from a British subaltern's point of view. Others giving the bottom up look are from the French soldier's perspective in the trenches 1915-1916 Under Fire: The Story of a Squad by Henri Barbusse free here, another from a German perspective Storm of Steel by Ernst Jünger. More graphically violent than All Quiet, but more a memoir than a novel. And unlike Remarque, Jünger was a combat soldier wounded 14 times, Iron Cross 1st Class, youngest recipient of Pour le Mérite (The Blue Max) and when he died in 1998, he was last living Blue Max recipient. From the American Doughboy's perspective, there's Toward the Flame a memoir by Hervey Allen who served in the "bucket of blood" the 28th Keystone Div in the Aisne - Marne offensive and leaves you contemplating being on the receiving end of a flamethrower attack. A harrowing compilation of vignettes running chronologically through each month of the war on the Western Front is The Hazy Red Hell Tom Donovan ed. It has been described as terrifying. I'll not dispute that. A more balanced view of the experiences of the fighting men is Forgotten Voices of the Great War: A New History of WWI in the Words of the Men and Women Who Were There I'm reading that right now.
Storm of Steel my Ernst Junger. This freakin' guy LOVED war. You could consider this the antithesis of All Quiet on the Western Front. It glorifies war. "According to Jünger, war elevates the soldier's life, isolated from normal humanity, into a mystical experience"
Check out Storm of Steel if you wanna read the memoir of a WWI German soldier who's not exactly apologetic for fighting in the war, just very straightforward about what happened. It's pretty insane to realize just how much bombardment the average front-liner went though for such extended periods of time.
http://www.amazon.com/What-About-Running-Vintage-International/dp/0307389839
Not sure if it's spiritual in the sense that you're looking for, but it's an interesting read. If you're interested in running and Christianity specifically, I'd check out Ryan Hall's blog. He's a very outspoken Christian and a phenomenal runner. He also has a book, here:
http://www.amazon.com/Running-Joy-Daily-Journey-Marathon/dp/0736944125
That might be more in line with what you are looking for.
I'm personally getting a lot of great recommendations who cares if Grey's assistant likes them.
[TLC: High middle ages]
(https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/high-middle-ages.html)
Really interesting professor does a very broad overview of the changes happening in Europe during this time period.
[Unfamiliar Fishes]
(https://www.amazon.com/Unfamiliar-Fishes-Sarah-Vowell/dp/159448564X) Actually most Sarah Vowell books are pretty interesting and entertaining. This one covers the time period of Hawaii from when it was a kingdom to a state, when it's soul is being fought over by missionaries, fruit companies and shipping.
[What I talk about when I talk about Running](
https://www.amazon.com/What-Talk-About-When-Running/dp/0307389839) I'm not a runner, neither is Grey, still a really interesting reflective book.
[Cod: The biography of the fish that changed the world](
https://www.amazon.com/Cod-Biography-Fish-Changed-World/dp/0140275010/ref=sr_1_1?
keywords=cod&qid=1566160678&s=books&sr=1-1)
You need to read this just for the charming cod wars Iceland engages in, also a ton of history and geography.
[Stephen King: On Writing](
https://www.amazon.com/Writing-10th-Anniversary-Memoir-Craft/dp/1439156816) Very nuts and bolts book about the physical act of writing and a lot of inside baseball about the state of mind King was in while writing some of his most famous books,
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Such a nice read, whether or not you're a (ultra)marathoner.
Have you ever read Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running? It's his memoir as a Japanese author who writes all of his books in English and his love of running. When he talks about running and writing it's all about endurance. He says that sometimes his running is probably slower than walking but he just keeps going.
Mindy Kaling's book is hilarious.
I wish i could eat cheesecake all day everyday....
in addition to these slutty brownies, they're the perfect combo!
Thank you
Happy cake day!
There are lots of options - I'm not quite sure if they all transfer over to Europe but I'll give it a try.
Hope this helps!
Honestly, if you are not passionate about library services, you should not be pursuing your MLIS. The job market is hard enough out there for people who are passionate about library services, tossing yourself in the mix (and adding to your debt while you're at it) isn't a great move.
That said, I'm also not sure about how realistic it is to pursue a career in writing for TV, but you seem pretty aware of that, and it sounds as if you've already been able to get writing positions, which seems like a good start. It sounds as if you already know what you want to do.
If you haven't read it yet, you might want to read Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. I personally don't know much at all about the business of writing for TV, but scattered throughout her book was her path through writing for TV, which I thought was super interesting.
I would love to be the creepy smiling girl from Insidious
I love her outfit, her story is so creepy and.. I just really like her part
Even though it was not important, she was scary!
Dresses similar to that are expensive. But I think that would be a fun costume to experiment with!
I would like a book a book or a way to make me prettier lol
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling.
She had a FA-ish youth, but the more salient point is the whole book is hilarious and uplifiting. I'd highly recommend checking it out.
Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius By Dave Eggers
In the modern literature category
Dave Eggers - What is the What. Or A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius by him is also pretty good.
A.S. Byatt - Possession
Also, someone else mentioned Neal Stephenson, I cannot second this recommendation strongly enough! Very fun reads that don't shy away from intellectual engagement. I read Cryptonomicon by him recently and loved it.
I also note you don't mention Don DeLillo although you mention many of his contemporaries. Check out White Noise by him and go from there.
I could probably make some more suggestions, but it depends what genre's and styles you're really into? Do you want hugely post-modern? Do you enjoy the classics? (I notice your list had no Shakespeare, his tragedies are as famous as they are for good reason)
It's hard to follow The Glass Castle - such a compelling read. I'm also a fan of memoirs and really enjoyed Her Last Death by Susanna Sonnenberg. I have mommy issues, so I identified with the author quite a bit. Also, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggars. Emotionally taxing at times, from what I recall (need to give this another read), but really worth it.
I know this is a little late, but you should check out A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. It's memoir-like, a true story, but it's written in a very light and readable way. The author lost his parents within a few months of each other and ended up having to raise his 8-year-old brother. As depressing as that sounds, the book is really brisk and often hilarious. It's a book I think everybody should read, but it sounds like it may be exactly what you're looking for as well.
While counseling definitely sounds like the best course of action, and while I doubt free time is limited, if you can get your hands on this book and read it, you might, at least, not feel so alone in the world. Who knows, you might even glean a few strategies from it:
http://www.amazon.com/A-Heartbreaking-Work-Staggering-Genius/dp/0375725784/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1413987586&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=heartbreaking+work+of+staggering+genius
tl;dr: famous author, david eggers in his early 20's, becomes guardian of his younger brother.
The "Oxford English Dictionary"
the story of its creation is a pretty good read, too.
A random selection of non-fiction recommendations for /u/MindOfMetalAndWheels:
I enjoyed the book, penis-lopping or not.
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (P.S.) by Simon Winchester http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060839783/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_2x2qtb18CP20J
Added reading suggestions
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies 1st Edition
by Jared M. Diamond
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Paperback – Jul 5 2005
by Simon Winchester (Author)
Simon Winchester is really good. I enjoyed Krakatoa and The Professor and the Madman.
My favorite book in a long time which I'm currently reading is A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. It doesn't have much to do with anything but it keeps me entertained. Definitely check it out.
Second favorite is A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Both are rather obscure of meaning but have a fun precedence (this possibly more comical than the other)
If you are looking for a semi-serious book I recommend The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. It does have to do with an ex-military doctor but it is hardly the focus of the book. It follows the creation of the Oxford American Dictionary, but it isn't quite what you'd expect. I don't believe I could give you in depth analysis for any of these nor if you'd like them. They are my favorite books (minus Calvin and Hobbs) and are worth a read.
Thought you might like this book I read once, about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary...
http://www.amazon.com/Professor-Madman-Insanity-English-Dictionary/dp/0060839783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1454012004&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+professor+and+madman
Have a great day!
Cool! Birthderp present from my Mom. Have your read these? I think they are great:
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
http://www.amazon.com/Professor-Madman-Insanity-English-Dictionary/dp/0060839783/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1290970608&amp;sr=1-8
The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
http://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Everything-Oxford-English-Dictionary/dp/019517500X/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1290970608&amp;sr=1-10
Apologies if these have been posted already, but I'd highly recommend Simon Winchester's work, particularly The Professor and the Madmad and Krakatoa.
Well researched, well written and thoroughly enjoyable.
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
Prior to reading, it never even occurred to me how difficult it must have been to compile the dictionary.
I thought the same thing when I was 22-26. Then I got older and the lifestyle wore on me. If you haven't read Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, do so. It may make you reconsider.
I believe this is artsy, I enjoy him very much as an author.
read this
I have a couple of books that are used and under $1, though I'd really like Kitchen Confidential.
The most random/interesting phrase/sentence I have ever heard in my life.: "I was in debate club so I'm used to sleeping next to random people."
[Kitchen Confidential] (https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Confidential-Updated-Adventures-Underbelly/dp/0060899220) by [Anthony Bourdain] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Bourdain)
I read this on Kindle on through their Lending Library (it might still be on there) and loved it. It's a great look inside kitchens and Bourdain is a good writer.
Edit: inserted title and author
Ramsay explains why well done steaks are bad in the YouTube video...but if that's not enough, you might want to read Kitchen Confidential if you're at all interested in learning what cooks and chefs think of well done steaks.
The short of it: By overcooking the steak, you remove all juiciness and tenderness of a good cut of beef. Beef is carefully raised and graded according to the level of fat distributed throughout the meat. When the steak is cooked correctly (medium to medium-rare) the proteins and carbohydrates on the outside of the steak caramelize and develop delicious flavor while the fat melts and becomes a carrier for the amazing steak-y goodness. The inside of the steak warms slightly but you still have enough intact proteins that you actually taste the beef.
With a well-done steak, you loose that contrast between the inside and outside of the steak and the caramelization process will have gone on too long on the outside giving you burnt charcoal instead of sublime flavor.
If you haven't tried a steak cooked medium or medium-rare, you should. I don't think you'll go back to ruined meat ever again.
Technology related would for sure be The Cuckoo's Egg, and Ghost in the Wires
Not tech related, Junky, American Psycho, and Kitchen Confidential
Ok, since no one has mentioned it yet, I feel compelled to recommend you read "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain, if you haven't already. Of course all experiences are different, but it paints a pretty vivid picture of what real kitchens are like (or at least were a few years ago). I love food and cooking as well and considered becoming a chef, but this book persuaded me otherwise. However, I think there are plenty of people that that lifestyle appeals to, so might as well check it out. Bourdain is also an entertaining writer, so if anything, you should just read it purely for fun and the love of food. (oh look, they released an updated version)
Read the old Bourdain book.
I'm about half way through Gulag Archipelago, and OP's comic is too true.
Add another one to the list!
-reiduh, parent
This subreddit and bot are not in any way affiliated with the moderators of /r/The_Donald. Direct questions about removal to them.
If it helps, I read the unabridged (Solzhenitsyn approved) version. Amazon link If you end up not wanting to continue unabridged, I might recommend going on with this one. Good reads!
Well of course the first place to start would be Wikipedia. You could look up:
1936 Soviet Constitution, Gosplan, five year plans, collectivization, kolkhoz, Gulags, the Virgin Lands campaign, TASS, Izvestia, Pravda, Elektronika, their incredible space program, etc. And of course the leaders. And the various republics (SSRs) would be good to know. In fact the country itself was CCCP = SSSR.
Read about all the post-collapse conflicts: Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, Chechnya, Transnistria, Russia-Georgia war, Ukraine Crisis. And about how turbulent the 90s were.
There are personal accounts of the gigantic conflict with the Germans, like those of Vasili Grossman and Marshal Zhukov. There are transcripts of interviews with Khrushchev and the books that Gorbachev wrote on Glasnost and Perestroika. Historian David M. Glantz writes almost exclusively about the Soviet military. There are the accounts of dissidents like Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov.
There are some classic pieces of literature like Master and Margarita and Dr. Zhivago. And music on YouTube by people like Shostakovich.
There are surplus stores like Soviet-Power.com that sell helmets, medals, coins, busts, and the like if that is what you are into. And blogs like English Russia.
r/history here on reddit probably has some articles to peruse. r/HistoryPorn often has old Russian photos.
And of course I've talked to several people on this forum who lived during Soviet times. I'm sure some here or elsewhere on reddit would be happy to tell you.
The go-to book is "The Cold War - A New History" by John Gaddis. http://www.amazon.com/Cold-War-New-History/dp/0143038273/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1/183-6028618-5185812
"The Gulag Archipeligo" by Solzhenitsyn is also excellent: http://www.amazon.com/Gulag-Archipelago-1918-1956-Abridged-Investigation/dp/0061253804/ref=cm_lmf_tit_20/183-6028618-5185812
"Truman" by McCullogh has some nice insight into the early years of the Cold War: http://www.amazon.com/Truman-David-McCullough/dp/0671869205/ref=cm_lmf_tit_26/183-6028618-5185812
The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
It documents the history of penal camps used by the Soviet Union to squelch political dissidents, terrorize the populace, and get slave labor.
If you've read read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and want to learn more, pick up The Gulag Archipelago.
Don't go for the unabridged version, it's another 2000 pages.
Yes it's a physical copy. This is the one I have
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0061253804/ref=sxts1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1491015250&amp;sr=1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65
Correct.
Book covers aren't allowed? Amazon site book
Either way...whatever :)
http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224
> The Onion’s Baratunde Thurston shares his 30-plus years of expertise in being black, with helpful essays like “How to Be the Black Friend,” “How to Speak for All Black People,” “How To Celebrate Black History Month,” and more, in this satirical guide to race issues—written for black people and those who love them. Audacious, cunning, and razor-sharp, How to Be Black exposes the mass-media’s insidiously racist, monochromatic portrayal of black culture’s richness and variety. Fans of Stuff White People Like, This Week in Blackness, and Ending Racism in About an Hour will be captivated, uplifted, incensed, and inspired by this hilarious and powerful attack on America’s blacklisting of black culture: Baratunde Thurston’s How to Be Black.
I see that word 'guilty' thrown around a lot on this issue.
I'll be clear, I think the systemic oppression of blacks in the US is an enormous crime and the ramifications will be felt for probably thousands of years.
That said, I don't want anybody to feel guilty. Guilty feelings aren't going to make anything better, it's a negative emotion that breaks you down as a person. Guilt isn't something you should feel, but you should be aware of the advantages you have and the disadvantages other people have. It's that blindness to the privilege that just makes people furious -- And even not having contributed to slavery in your past, your whiteness has led to you benefiting from racist society. Like this comic illustrates (someone else in the thread linked it already, good comic though.).
It's only natural that people get downright angry about it. Some people will be furious. Some people get so many doors slammed in their faces that they get bitter, and they start only seeing the advantaged as cogs in the system of oppression. That's not a good thing of course, but can you really blame them? A lifetime of being generalized and marginalized, those frustrations are going to go somewhere. I'm sorry if people are always venting on you, but a lot of people just want to see some awareness of that privilege -- some perspective on what it means to be white versus what it means to be black in this country.
That book reddit is always making fun of, 'How to Be Black', is actually a very funny but sometimes very painful book for anybody to read about racial issues in America. If Reddit would stop laughing at its hilariously over-repeated joke pretending it's an instruction manual and read it, they'd understand the title. I don't know, just an example of something I see popping up a lot that shows a lack of perspective. But anyway, good luck to you and thanks for the response.
Here you go
http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Black-Baratunde-Thurston/dp/0062003224
HERE
The book
Nothing to take creep shots over.
Personally I value how much of an effort he makes. Many CEOs just find one good company, make it as profitable as possible and just sit on their fortune. With all the companies he is creating, to me it really feels like he's trying to do good for the world. SolarCity and Tesla are trying to help the environment. Tesla, The Boring Company and Hyperloop are trying to revolutionize transport. OpenAI and Neuralink are trying to be a safeguard to make sure that computers don't kill us. SpaceX is for when the world can't fix it's problems and needs to go somewhere else.
Elon Musk has problems. Period. Anybody who tells you otherwise is an idiot. He sucks at relationships, he can be practically sociopathic at times, and he frequently sets unrealistic timelines for his most important projects. But on the other hand, his laser-like focus and drive in his companies which makes him practically sociopathic at times results in frequent success in them (albeit not necessarily on the original timeline but still,) which in turn allows them to bring newer, better technology into public knowledge (Who gave a shit about electric cars before Tesla? Practically nobody. Who gives a shit now? A lot of people + car companies). But most importantly, he tries. He truly believes that everything he creates could work, and some of it will. However, I believe that he has already succeeded. Even if his companies go bankrupt in the future, he has already inspired many people, and in doing so he has insured that more people will try to help the world just like him. And even if many of them fail, eventually someone will succeed and then maybe, just maybe, we can start to fix some of our problems.
Just a few notes before I end:
If you want to learn more about Elon Musk, this book is a very good biography.
Alternatively, this (free) blog series by Tim Urban is a great in-depth look at him and his companies, part 3 is all about SpaceX
yes.
It was shortly after he left Paypal if I remember right. He went overseas there with some people, met with them to try to buy rockets, they said he was crazy. The thing to keep in mind is, for that moment it was crazy. Spaceflights like this were always pioneered by governments because of cost, not companies, let alone individuals looking to make a company.
He pulled something off that is absolutely tremendous. He has his flaws... But I think we needed Musk; I bet he has inspired a whole new generation of scientists and engineers.
If you want to read more about this, check out the biography written on him, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. It was very good, and it puts into perspective some of his bigger goals.
In Cluj am vazut un model X, superb, culoarea nu prea, maronie/cacanie, dar e ok si asa.. are ECO la numar. Model S am tot vazut pe ruta Cluj-Alba-Cluj.. Si ca sa iti infrumusetez/ocup toata ziua: enjoy watching these videos
Edit: iti recomand si cartea asta, ca sa iti faci o idee cum au luat nastere companiile lui Mr. Musk :) Mie mi-a placut
> esqueci o nome
X.com
Recomendo a biografia do Musk, muito interessante.
https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1518191826&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=elon+musk
Explains a lot about him
> I highly recommend his Biography.
Are you referring to Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future? Or do you have a different recommendation? I haven't read a bio about him yet but I would like to.
in addition to waitbutwhy - imho the best (and slowest) blog on the internet - i'd also recomend reading his biography written by ashlee vance
The basis for his case is that earth will not be able to continue supporting humans b/c we will exploit all of earth's resources. If you read Ashlee Vance's biography, he gets into the topic pretty well since it's essentially what's driven Musk to do everything he's done with Solar City, Tesla and Space X. It's a fairly quick, easy read.
The episode recommended this book for more information about Elon Musk.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
>If there is less work to do, everyone can split the work up and work less. Those who work more or do more important work should be compensated accordingly.
How do you fairly define what is 'important work'? How is compensation determined from different types of of work?
>and decide in some democratic way in how to implement it and how to share the wealth. Unlike the totalitarian structure we have today.
What if the janitors in a big company collectively refuse to take any less pay then the highest payed scientist there? You can't get them out, it's collective ownership. Speaking of ownership, is it a 1:1 ratio by person? So said janitors would be the biggest voting block at Google? Is the ratio determined on prestige, skill, or even raw intelligence? How is that fair to those not endowed with said advantages?
>The space program has been driven by public institutions from the beginning. In fact it was the Soviets who started the space race by sending the first satellite and people into space. And we had to create a government program and plan our education around math and science to catch up with them. Capitalism wasn't going to cut it.
Yes! I am for this control of the market. Many pivotal technologies would not have come to exist were it not for government investment. But do you know what companies do to win those contracts? Compete. The government has an abundance of choice when choosing contractors, or simply investing/subsidizing sectors of the economy. While you could recreate this effect in a public system, why not let capitalism do what it does best? Competition.
>I mean, even at SpaceX, people know about Elon Musk but not Thomas Muller, who is the actual brains behind the company. He's an actual rocket scientist and its his work (along with his fellow engineers) that made re-usable rockets possible. Not some billionaire throwing his money around. Labor, not capital, gets things done.
Here is Musk's biography. While he undoubtedly gets help from others, he heads a lot of the technical development there.
>Labor, not capital, gets things done.
The new labor is robots, and the goal is to make people obsolete. Thus, day by day, as technology grows more powerful, human labor grows weaker. The very nature of technology implies immense existing capital. Look at semiconducters, where do you think most of them are built?
Thus, with a democratic means of production, where the labor is mostly robots, how do things even get done? With capital ideally being evenly distributed, everyone would have some of these labor saving machines, but organization into an economy would have to be run by the government.
Why not keep the free market system and give citizens a substantial monthly dividend? While $1000 is a start, I envision it getting much higher as automation truly comes into its own. Strong enough, the dividend would prevent massive capital accumulation, while still allowing all of capitalism's benefits such as inherent market efficiency, automatic, dynamic supply/demand adjustment, and innovation to manifest automatically.
We dont need to tear down the old. We just need strong adjustments to the existing one.
https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X
Either you don't understand Elon's objectives for any of his businesses, or you just don't care to see them through. Everything he's taken on he tries to find new efficiencies. Boring Company goal, improve tunneling efficiency, SpaceX goal, make a better, cheaper rocket. Tesla goal, make a more efficient vehicle that doesn't require as much maintenance, make production more efficient through new manufacturing techniques. Yes, the Tesla goals are extremely ironic at the moment.
Of course it's obvious the hell that they're in is of their own making - that's the cost of trying something new. He doesn't want business as usual, to just nibble away market share from other companies, he wants to change how the whole system works.
I really feel like people here should read this book about him: https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X
It is not overtly pro Elon, not even close. The book does a great job showing where he's screwed some things up, including being a dick for a boss. But I think it'd shed a lot of insight to his mindset on his businesses and why he is choosing to run them this way.
Marci Bianco writes: "billionaires' atmospheric ambitions are a 'desire to colonize' tinged with patriarchal undertones... The impulse to colonize, she writes, 'has its origins in gendered power structures,' including the 'entitlement to power, control, domination and ownership.'" But are these traits exclusively linked to men? Is entitlement exclusively a man-thing? Is she implying that these traits (power/control/domination/ownership) are positive or negative?
Bianco is very highly educated (with various degrees from prestigious universities, including an undeniable master's degree in women's studies) so I wished to give her a benefit of a doubt that maybe she's onto something. However, it is immediately obvious that she has not read Musk's biography (by Ashlee Vance) where it was made clear that Elon was interested in space exploration from early childhood (probably before he understood the meaning of the word "patriarchy.") Besides the usual extreme feminist rants about patriarchal pigs, I'm not sure what Bianco's point is. Is it a call for action for more women to get interested in the space program, and for billionaire women to start their own space exploration companies? Or for men to stop being interested in things that women are generally less/not interested in? In either case, Bianco's article appears to be tinged with feminist undertones.
In the case of space exploration companies (like Space X, or Virgin Galactic) the risks (financial, and operational) are enormous; so much so, that many people (regardless of gender) are not willing to invest in these programs. Women generally take on less risk in life (this is also evident in financial trading, where on average, women typically outperform men) and thereby would be less interested, and less likely to pursue such investments. But Bianco only considers three possibilities why someone would be interested in space exploration; and since it' not the "'nationalist' fervor of the Cold War nor 'the American spirit of invention'" (even though Musk is a naturalized American, and a long-time resident) it must obviously be the patriarchy. God forbid someone would think it would be really cool to go into space, and or feel that it's important for humans to have an escape plan.
Richard Branson's autobiography Losing my Virginity, Elon Musk, Shoe Dog.
There’s a book for that
https://www.amazon.com/dp/006230125X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_uycYCbRK1NCA3
Yes. There's a book written by Ashley Vance on Elon Musk's companies in large part dedicated to the subject: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/006230125X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1511139448&amp;sr=8-1&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=elon+musk&amp;dpPl=1&amp;dpID=5112YFsXIJL&amp;ref=plSrch
Besides that, the information has been largely available as Tesla is a public company and the roadster and approach to that/volume initially is not hidden. If you have not been following Tesla but still plan to invest, that's really a problem of not doing due diligence (not to be a dick but if you do plan to invest in a company, you should not put the cart before the horse and try to gather as realistic a picture as possible which takes into account positive and negative -- part of that is simply paying attention to the company's history).
It has been widely reported on. You're also commenting on an article that spelled it out in the article.
"In the Elon Musk biography by Ashlee Vance, it was revealed that Musk and Larry Page, the head of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), had a deal for the latter to purchase Tesla:
In the first week of March 2013, Musk reached out to Page, say the two people familiar with the talks. By that point, so many customers were deferring orders that Musk had quietly shut down Tesla’s factory. Considering his straits, Musk drove a hard bargain. He proposed that Google buy Tesla outright — with a healthy premium, the company would have cost about $6 billion at the time — and pony up another $5 billion in capital for factory expansions. He also wanted guarantees that Google wouldn’t break up or shut down his company before it produced a third-generation electric car aimed at the mainstream auto market. He insisted that Page let him run a Google-owned Tesla for eight years, or until it began pumping out such a car. Page accepted the overall proposal and shook on the deal.
It was during a brief difficult time for Tesla to ramp up Model S production and deliver cars to customers, but things turned for the better and Musk reportedly dropped the deal."
https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1479415098&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=kelly+megyn
https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062494600/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
GET IN THERE!
Fitting review
Everyone else has said great things to you. Here's my input.
http://www.amazon.ca/Zero-The-Biography-Dangerous-Idea/dp/0140296476
For some light reading (a term used loosely here, but hey, I found it entertaining in my off-hours), check out this book. Enjoy!
You should read the Biography of Zero. Great read.
http://www.amazon.com/Zero-The-Biography-Dangerous-Idea/dp/0140296476
Also, Western mathematics hadn't really incorporated the concept of zero when the calendar was formalized.
Here's one of the more interesting books I've read in awhile:
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
Absolutely. I got a real love of science reading various books through school. A few recommendations:
Achilles in the quantum universe
Absolute zero
Zero: Biography of a dangerous idea
I suppose Achilles and Zero are more about math than science or engineering, but I really liked them.
the actual boring stuff.. i dont do popsci crap click bait weak ass shit "10 ways the earth will end!".
This isn't theoretical physics but its ... mathish.. does stuff like this count as popsci crap?
https://www.amazon.com/Zero-Biography-Dangerous-Charles-Seife/dp/0140296476
not sure if I know what popsci articles are.. I assume its like some cute lil blog article about half a concept.. Shit I am not a scholar by any means. I just prefer to pass the night away in my bed reading this stuff while the calming sounds of snores wash over me. (wife snores every so slightly) and I am night owl.
https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/80067800/s this was on netflix for a bit.. that was an amazingly good series put together. Most would find it boring as hell. I watched that at least 4 times through before they took it off. (provided thats not reading...) I just don't know if i fall into popsci or not.
> Equations do not solve themselves.
Yes they do. The solution exists whether someone finds it or not.
> If some crazy religious group were to decide that mathematics is evil, and put a mathematician on trial for practicing mathematics, then you obviously would want to argue that mathematics is an extremely useful body of knowledge without which modern civilization as we know it could not exist. You do sometimes have to defend people by defending their ideas.
> You might say that this is a ridiculous hypothesis since no one has ever claimed that mathematics is evil
actually no, it isn't ridiculous for that reason, it just isn't logically consistent. Your conclusion doesn't follow from your premise.
(also several times in history, several mathematical concepts have been deemed "evil." One example is the concept of the number zero. see Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea which turns out to be an excellent example of why free thought (and free speech) is crucial to free society and progress.
> If mathematics was not discussed or written about by anybody, then it would be forgotten and would effectively cease to exist.
This is just silly. Mathematics exists apart from the symbols that describe it. 2 + 2 = 4 whether you those symbols or not. It doesn't require a person to discuss it or know it or agree with it. Just like other ideas.
> Conceivably it would be up to future scholars, if any still existed in our hypothetical world devoid of mathematics, to re-invent it or to re-discover forgotten texts.
The language to communicate ideas is invented, but ideas exist whether or not language has been invented to describe them.
I could say II + II = IV or 2+2=4 or communicate that idea in any number of ways, but even if there was no mind to think it, the concept would still exist, just waiting there for a mind to come along and discover it.
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Zero-Biography-Dangerous-Charles-Seife/dp/0140296476
Zero is a whole number, and pretty awesome at that. If you want, this book tells the story of zero. And explains why the phones and calculators are different.
My guess is Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife. Very interesting read. Not focused on programming, though.
as a math major, nothingness is zero. I recommend this book on the history of people trying to understand "nothingness"
I can post a few links from some books about numbers. I haven't read a few of them, but the history of some numbers like phi, pi, zero... all of them are fascinating.
Those six are all the history of the five most important constants in mathematics. If you're looking for the history of some of the most brilliant minds in mathematics, I'm afraid I haven't the resources or expertise to help you out.
I really like just about anything. I read Zero: A Biography of a Dangerous Idea and absolutely loved it. I took a stab at this Set Theory book but it was way over my head. I don't like it if the book is too technical, but I have a somewhat extensive knowledge of computers, mathematics (number theory mostly), computer science, physics, etc
There wasn't a year zero because zero didn't exist in the first number systems. This is because numbers were for counting so you didn't need zero. Also people didn't like zero because it suggested infinity (the opposite of nothing is everything basically) and that was a scary concept. If you're really interested, I recommend Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea which I finished recently. It's really well-written.
One of my favorites on the history of zero by Charles Seife. Short, interesting, and well-explained. Has some challenging math concepts later in the book.
http://www.amazon.com/Zero-The-Biography-Dangerous-Idea/dp/0140296476/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1346799685&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=zero+the+biography+of+a+dangerous+idea
I read Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea a few years ago and found it pretty fascinating. It's a really interesting mix of history, philosophy, math, and physics.
Please read [Storms of steel] (http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0142437905) I think you will have a second opinion regarding the pace of fighting.
Here's an amazon links for everything I can think of:
[The Burning of the World by Bela Zombory-Moldovan] (https://www.amazon.com/Burning-World-Memoir-Review-Classics/dp/1590178092)
[Poilu by Louis Barthas] (https://www.amazon.com/Poilu-Notebooks-Corporal-Barrelmaker-1914-1918/dp/0300191596/ref=pd_sim_b_22?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=08182FWK7NN6N9QSEAF7)
[Infantry Attacks by Erwin Rommel] (https://www.amazon.com/Infantry-Attacks-Marshall-Erwin-Rommel/dp/1607963353)
[Outside Verdun by Arnold Zweig] (https://www.amazon.com/Outside-Verdun-Arnold-Zweig/dp/1908754524)
[Storm of Steel by Ernst Juenger] (https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-Deluxe/dp/0142437905)
[Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves] (https://www.amazon.com/Good-Bye-That-Autobiography-Robert-Graves/dp/0385093306)
It's normally translated as 'Storm of Steel' in English:
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Steel-Penguin-Classics-J%C3%BCnger/dp/0142437905/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1382866437&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=storm+of+steel
First of all have you read Murakami's book on running? just curious, as a book nerd.
Surely you've read The Oatmeal?
Ok ok first question. Why do you run Raisin? What do you like about it?
Now a less philosophical one:
So, what kind of stretches do you recommend before running? And after? I've noticed alot of stiffness around my knees and the muscles on the sides of my legs so I'm thinking I'm not stretching properly.
There is a book for it called https://www.amazon.com/What-Talk-About-When-Running/dp/0307389839
New to the sub. I'm from China so I read him in translations mostly and however the translators differ from each other the author comes across as consistently a J type..the way he structures the story and sticks to a preferred structure over time.
Also, have you read his book on running? http://www.amazon.com/What-About-Running-Vintage-International/dp/0307389839
It demonstrated how J he is - 30+ years being a runner with strict training regime, daily schedule and diet.
TJ is the feeling I get from many of his writings, although he apparently has strong emotional capacity too. It's just that the thinking and logic are almost equally strong.
BTW Ryu is another Murakami that's very worth reading.
My two favorite running books are What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and Run Gently Out There. The /r/AdvancedRunning Book Club also has a good list.
You might enjoy this book by my favorite author.
http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0307389839
You might like the 4400 I loved that show... or Dollhouse... but you probably have seen that one... oh oh oh try "Persons Unknown"! It's so good... so so good...
I'm a workaholic too!! Yay!!!
I love books...
I don't know if you do.... but I thought you might like that one!
& I forgot my obligatory cat tax: he is no Tubbs but he's alright. The litter is his, obviously.
The Books are:
Can't and Won't by Lydia Davis, a pretty savage lady
Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans, here is a NYT review
Is Everyone Hanging out without Me and other Concerns by Mindy Kaling, who is basically a trollx mascot
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein, who needs no introduction!
I would like this book because I love Mindy Kaling and I think she's hilarious.
Mine!
On another note, has anyone read this? I'm super excited to find a copy.
Here are some biographies that have just what you're looking for! Biographies sound boring, but you won't be able to put these ones down I promise!:
IS THERE OLIVES IN IT!? (Somebody please get the reference or I'll be very sad)
I've wanted this book for a while now! Otherwise gift card is cool.
Strawberry Bubblegum
Hmm...well, the writer of The Circle wrote a memoir about his post-college days, with a really pretentious title. I have always really liked it, but the reviews are mixed.
The Stolen Child is pretty cool. It's a little different, I hadn't read anything like it before, and got through it quick.
My personal favorite is American Gods. Little weird, but if you're into it, it will really pull you in quick.
And if you're into something creepier, Heart-Shaped Box (not to be confused with the Nirvana song) is probably one of the scariest things I've ever read.
And then as far as YA is concerned, I just discovered Jennifer Hubbard last week - met her at a writing conference.
And then I had never heard of House of Leaves - but it looks SO cool, so thank you haha
Dave Egger's A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius; it's poignant, touching, and hilarious.
/u/rarelyserious just recommended me this book, and now I'm itching to read it. :3 It's a physical book!
Thank you for thisssss. I looove you.
Good luck, reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius might help you feel a little less alone:
Based on to the true story. At the age of 22, Eggers became both an orphan and a "single mother" when his parents died within five months of one another of unrelated cancers. In the ensuing sibling division of labor, Dave is appointed unofficial guardian of his 8-year-old brother, Christopher. The two live together in semi-squalor, decaying food and sports equipment scattered about, while Eggers worries obsessively about child-welfare authorities, molesting babysitters, and his own health. His child-rearing strategy swings between making his brother's upbringing manically fun and performing bizarre developmental experiments on him.
At 22, Dave eggers lost his mother, and began raising his 8 year old brother on his own. He wrote a book about his experience dealing with his loss: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: a true story Your post reminded me of it in many ways, including your reactions as you've described them. There is nothing Oprah about this book. Maybe it will help you work through things. Or maybe you should avoid it at all costs. I don't know.
Read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.
This link will lead you to one of the best books I've ever read. Written by a guy in his early 20's as well who also lost both parents almost simultaneously, in a type of English everyone in their 20's will appriciate. Absolutely hilarious and heartfelt. Seems like it would give a bit of peace of mind right now.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0375725784/ref=si_aps_sup_olp?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1311606199&amp;sr=8-1&amp;condition=used
The Talisman-by Stephen King and Peter Straub. The authors then continued the story with a second book called Black House. http://www.amazon.com/The-Talisman-Novel-Stephen-King/dp/145169721X
An amazing fantasy adventure for any age. A good bridge for you as well. Other adventure fantasy type books that I felt were ageless, A Boys life- by Robert McCammon. http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Life-Robert-McCammon/dp/0671743058 Anything and everything Jack London. Read Stephen King short stories then move onto Edgar Allen Poe. To kill a mocking bird- by Harper Lee http://www.amazon.com/To-Kill-Mockingbird-Harper-Lee/dp/0446310786 A Watership Down- By Richard Adams http://www.amazon.com/Watership-Down-Novel-Richard-Adams/dp/0743277708 Of Mice And Men- by John Steinbeck http://www.amazon.com/Of-Mice-Men-John-Steinbeck/dp/0140177396
Then you may want to move on to another type of adventure.
Into the Wild- by Jon Krakauer. http://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0385486804 Every book is a bridge to another and so on. I could name so many more, but each book will lead you to them.
Movie
Book
Now he's going to go "Into the Wild"
Here you go: the manual for suicide by bush
That's what you made it sound like you wanted
https://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0385486804
We were all 18 once...
Specifically, the problem with "go out to eat or go to a convenience store" is that both of those are going to basically nullify the benefit you have to backwoodsing it. Nearly anywhere in the US you can get a room to rent for something like $250/mo if you're willing to drive a bit. This doesn't apply to big places like New York or San Francisco... but if you're able to camp there, you can probably find a place to live for cheap. But if you're buying prepared food, I don't see that being less than $20 a day.
But look at dry goods like rice and beans. You can actually eat a 1:1 ratio of rice and beans and get a complete protein for a few dollars a day. A fridge (see above about renting a room) is going to be able to stretch your food dollars much further than if you have no refrigeration.
Regardless, you should use this summer as an opportunity to test-run some of this. Go find some dispersed camping sites, try camping for a week.
Also, I want to highly recommend you read Into the Wild: https://www.amazon.com/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0385486804 -- maybe A Walk In the Woods, too: https://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Rediscovering-America-Appalachian/dp/0307279464/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2165P9GZRK25U&keywords=a+walk+in+the+woods+bill+bryson&qid=1562608312
Read this.
Hey! This is my kind of contest. Here's my list:
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”
One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? (copied from the Amazon page)
My name is Kvothe.
I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.
You may have heard of me. (copied)
When his old friend and mentor, Salis, dangles a job in front of him that will get him an Ascendency pardon and let him clear his name, Cadell is ready to take it on. Armed with his constant companion, a strange alien symbiote named T.R.I.X. and his skills as an assassin, Cadell sets off to complete the strange job. ( A nifty book but a relatively new author, worth the read!)
also hold the movie close to my heart.)
This took me a good few minutes, I hope you find something you like through this contest :)
Have you ever read Jon Krakauer's "Into the Wild" ? Your story reminds me of the book.
Not a novel but "Lone Survivor" is a great book. As is "Into the Wild"
Read Into The Wild.
The movie isn't the same, but the book delves heavily into this subject.
here you go
> you have usage rights so long as no one else vetoes your usage rights of the claim. if someone does so, you cannot use that property. you are also free to veto any and all from the same claim, excluding him and anyone, or everyone, else from that claim.
So it's "I called dibs" vs "I called dibs first"?
> on a functionality note, i would say this veto for usage rights is done through giant computer system to manage such disputes in real time.
People are going to have to make sure that computer keeps running, and more are going to have to make sure that computer stays coded for impartiality. Getting them to sacrifice time needed to grow food so that they can keep the system in check will require compensation. Otherwise you'll effectively end up with "automated cronyism" or a dead computer.
And since the earth is not a homogenous environment and some areas are more lush than others, how will this system determine who gets the best plots? What if those who are stuck in places where natural disasters or droughts or harsh winters are common try to wrest control of land from those who are in a comparative paradise?
And if someone says "I don't care what the computer says, I'm willing to use violence to take your farm", then what? Does the computer have the capacity to violently enforce its decisions, or can it simply be ignored by those who don't like the answers?
You're describing a system that has the ultimate authority of land ownership effectively giving IT full ownership, a system that takes significant resources to run, a system that could be corrupted, and a system that would be worthless in the long run with an inability to use enforcement when those whose rights it dictates are challenged or attempt to subvert it. Sound familiar?
We've burned the Capitalist system! Live off the land!
>
> this actually allows for today's system to function exactly as is, so long as everyone participating consents to that distribution. which i don't think would happen, but it doesn't rule out the possibility.
By saying that you don't think it would happen, you are acknowledging that this either is an exercise in futility or will necessitate brainwashing and/or genocide unlike anything humanity has ever experienced. I'm going to assume that you don't plan on the latter. So given your general admittance of futility, what is the best alternative that:
Borrowing from Churchill, I'm of the opinion that Capitalism is the worst economic system except all the others.
To be fair, I have no idea what system you're implying other than "The system sucks, I want to live off the land and abandon modern medicine and have an omnipotent supercomputer dictate who can live where and have everything function identically to today's system other than these things and have everyone else also willingly live this lifestyle", which is hard to fit in the standard boxes.
Now if you don't want to change the system, and you just want people to leave you alone so you can go build your farm or go Into The Wild, what's really stopping you? Take the book for inspiration; or do as someone else mentioned and buy some land inexpensively in the southern US, even less if you look globally. Despite your insistence, there are many people in the US who have shunned society and found a little place to call home away from civilization. You can do that too, with enough determination. It's a free country!
No offense, but you are disillusioned if you think you can live alone in the wild. Into the wild is about an over-idealitic Christopher Mccandless who unfortunately died because he unknowingly ate poison berries after trekking into alaska. One chapter details the stories of other individuals who had "enough of the system" and sought out solitude in nature (many of which died).
I get the whole escape into nature, I used to think like that as well. but the more I think about it the more i realize my skinny white ass would probably get eaten by a bear.
Was this title on purpose? I read the book:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Aquariums-Pyongyang-Years-Korean/dp/0465011047
The author was a child from a 'more privileged' family in North Korea. One of the hobbies was fish collecting. I forget who it was exactly, but one of his fish jumped out of the tank and another little Korean boy stepped on it because he was jealous of the beautiful fish.
I would say that north koreans see that their country is run very poorly and show intense dislike for the system, but still love the dear leader, as this article, sadly behind a paywall, suggests. In addition, a survey of 297 conducted by seoul university, which I cannot find the original data for, only [this article ] (http://csis.org/files/publication/twq12winterchaanderson.pdf) that was without a paywall, apparently showed that about 75% of North Korean harbors no ill sentiment towards Kim Jong-Il.
Same story goes for the book [Aquariums of Pyongyang] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Aquariums-Pyongyang-Years-Korean/dp/0465011047), which I have to admit, might be slightly biased against North Korea, but even someone who spent 10 years in the north korean gulag, doesn't harbor any ill feelings towards Kim Jong-Il. I highly recommend that book if you're interested in an inside look into the gulags of North Korea.
A final note, I'm not disagreeing with you on the fact that many north koreans want to go back home, just adding my two cents because I find North Korea so interesting.
Aquariums of Pyongyang is one I just finished. The author was a defector who was sent to a prison camp as a child for 10 years because his grandfather got too grumbly about the government. It's a good look into the divisions in society there.
https://www.amazon.com/Aquariums-Pyongyang-Years-North-Korean/dp/0465011047
If you get a chance, read Aquariums of Pyongyang by a North Korean defector. Truly unbelievable stuff.
Also, Axis of Evil World Tour has an interesting North Korea section (in addition to its Iran and Iraq sections).
> bourgeois propaganda
Really?
So, a country that would create Kijŏng-dong, wouldn't even consider telling their citizens that they are required to stay indoors for the filming of something?
As to sources, sources for what? That NK is completely fucked? I needn't look that hard.
Why are enough people attempting to escape that this begins to happen?
"I had to be careful of my thoughts because I believed Kim Jong-il could read my mind."
["He controls his administration exclusively. It operates absolutely by his word. It's an autocracy."](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kim/them/defector.html
)
I'm all for defending the Soc\Com view and promoting it, but if you think that NK is working out great and simply being held down by the capitalist majority, you're being ignorant. Take the picture of a pitch black NK surrounded by the lights of Japan, China, and SK. You would have me believe that that's a propaganda job? That they've colored over the actual amount of lights? Who exactly benefits from that? It's not like NK has some vast supply of resources that are highly sought after. They provide nearly nothing to the international community. The Korean was is long over, and the only benefit that NK serves currently is a Buffer between The US and China, which is why China props them up-something that they are growing quite tired of doing if the rumblings are indeed correct.
Propaganda benefits someone or something. If it doesn't, it serves no purpose.
Furthermore, are you trying to say that The Famine which was documented by numerous aid groups, wasn't true? In that case, what leads the NK military to lower its physical requirements in a fitting time span for stunted growth patterns due to undernourishment? Just plain chance?
I mean, read some books about the reality of NK. Here's some good choices-
Rogue Regime: Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea
Nothing to Envy
The Aquariums of Pyongyang
Escape from Camp 14
Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite
If you honestly believe that his many people are part of some propaganda campaign to make a country that already looks terrible look worse, that's pure /r/conspiracy thinking.
The Aquariums of Pyongyang is a memoir about 10 years spent in a North Korean prison camp.
This is in his book, as is a plethora of other wise and interesting information and stories. I highly suggest the read.
Read his book paddle your own canoe, or listen to the audio book which he narrates. It gives a nice insight to him and is quite funny.
relevant
Just read this.
Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals To Delicious Living written by Nick Offerman.
Here you go. They're a gold mine. https://www.amazon.com/Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien-J-R/dp/0618056998
http://www.amazon.com/Letters-J-R-R-Tolkien-J-R/dp/0618056998/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1395195004&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=tolkien+letters
If you want to read it.
You might also enjoy two of my favorite short stories published in The Tolkien Reader, "Tree and Leaf" and "Farmer Giles of Ham." Tree and Leaf is always a great reminder read for me about the importance of spending your time in life on the things that are meaningful, and of devoting yourself fully to the moment rather than worrying about the past or the future.
Here for one. You could also check any libraries you have access to. I bought mine at a Borders several years ago (obviously before they shut down).
There is a book of 300+ of Tolkien's letters compiled by his son: The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.
If you're read or seen "The Fellowship of the Ring", you'll remember that when Frodo noticed they were being stalked by Gollum in the Mines of Moria he said to Gandalf, "It's a pity that Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance."
To which Gandalf replied:
>>Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death and judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.
In his letters, Tolkien writes concerning the "Passion" of Frodo:
>>Frodo ‘failed’. It is possible that once the ring was destroyed he had little recollection of the last scene. But one must face the fact: the power of Evil in the world is not finally resistible by incarnate creatures, however ‘good’; and the Writer of the Story is not one of us.
And in another place he wrote:
>>In this case the cause (not the ‘hero’) was triumphant, because by the exercise of pity, mercy, and forgiveness of injury, a situation was produced in which all was redressed and disaster averted. Gandalf certainly foresaw this. See Vol. I p. 68-9. Of course, he did not mean to say that one must be merciful, for it may prove useful later – it would not then be mercy or pity, which are only truly present when contrary to prudence. Not ours to plan! But we are assured that we must be ourselves extravagantly generous, if we are to hope for the extravagant generosity which the slightest easing of, or escape from, the consequences of our own follies and errors represents. And that mercy does sometimes occur in this life.
And just one more quote:
>>[Gollum] did rob him and injure [Frodo] in the end – but by a ‘grace’, that last betrayal was at a precise juncture when the final evil deed was the most beneficial thing any one cd. have done for Frodo! By a situation created by ‘forgiveness’, he was saved himself, and relieved of his burden.
What may we take from this?
One, that "pity" or "forgiveness", in order to be worthy of the name, must be something done contrary to prudence, contrary to our "best interests".
In Luke's Gospel, Jesus says:
>>If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return...Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
You write:
>I tell my friend that I can forgive people who honestly apologize (something my father never has) and who make a true effort to better themselves. I can forgive people who ask for help and seek help when their problems become too much for them or their family.
But that's just as much as to say you can forgive the forgivable--as if forgiveness, as if mercy (pity), is something that has to be earned. But is that forgiveness? Is that love? To love only the lovable?
And you write:
>From a humanistic perspective, I think there is very little reason to forgive my father for the decades of hell and unnecessary stress he has put us through. My mom has wished several times that he would die soon - but God must have other plans because he will be in his mid-70s in 2017.
Indeed. Plans that we can neither imagine nor foresee. But just as the pity of Bilbo created a situation in which the Cause (though not the "hero") was successful, so your own forgiveness of your father--even though he doesn't deserve it, even if he hasn't merited it through genuine repentance--may have positive effects that you can't predict.
None of this is to excuse your father's behavior or to minimize the consequences of the pain your father's behavior has brought upon you, your mother, or your family. But hopefully I've shown why maybe you should forgiven him--not that by doing so you might hope for some positive outcome in a utilitarian sense, but simply for the ultimate belief in the "value-in-itself of pity and generosity even if disastrous in the world of time."
(Quotes taken from The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien, and The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Yes, they were published as a book (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien), which I'm sure many libraries have copies of.
There is absolutely zero textual evidence within the written narrative or the reams of paper published in Tolkien's letters and other materials to support that. Though he began as an angelic spirit, he ended up as a tyrant.
>In my story Sauron represents as near an approach to the wholly evil will as is possible.
>
> The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 1995
If you could time Maus to work in with the history/social studies WWII/Holocaust module, it would work great. If anyone questions you...it won a Pulitzer, and made Time's Top 10 Graphics Novels list. Tell them to shove it.
Not as bad as these cats.
Don't miss the sequel!
http://www.amazon.com/Maus-Survivors-Father-History-Troubles/dp/0679748407/
To that claim, sir, I offer the gripping narrative of Maus.
No
Surprised no-one has recommended Maus I+II, by Art Spiegelman.
Read it, seriously. A graphic novel that won a Pulitzer.
My favorite book!
Beyond the obvious choices, Watts' The Book, Ram Dass' Be Here Now, Huxley's Doors of Perception, Leary’s The Psychedelic Experience, and of course Fear and Loathing (all of these should be on the list without question; they’re classics), here are a some others from a few different perspectives:
From a Secular Contemporary Perspective
Godel Escher Bach by Douglass Hofstadter -- This is a classic for anyone, but man is it food for psychedelic thought. It's a giant book, but even just reading the dialogues in between chapters is worth it.
The Mind’s Eye edited by Douglass Hofstadter and Daniel Dennett – This is an anthology with a bunch of great essays and short fictional works on the self.
From an Eastern Religious Perspective
The Tao is Silent by Raymond Smullyan -- This is a very fun and amusing exploration of Taoist thought from one of the best living logicians (he's 94 and still writing logic books!).
Religion and Nothingness by Keiji Nishitani – This one is a bit dense, but it is full of some of the most exciting philosophical and theological thought I’ve ever come across. Nishitani, an Eastern Buddhist brings together thought from Buddhist thinkers, Christian mystics, and the existentialists like Neitzsche and Heidegger to try to bridge some of the philosophical gaps between the east and the west.
The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way by Nagarjuna (and Garfield's translation/commentary is very good as well) -- This is the classic work from Nagarjuna, who lived around the turn of the millennium and is arguably the most important Buddhist thinker after the Buddha himself.
From a Western Religious Perspective
I and Thou by Martin Buber – Buber wouldn’t approve of this book being on this list, but it’s a profound book, and there’s not much quite like it. Buber is a mystical Jewish Philosopher who argues, in beautiful and poetic prose, that we get glimpses of the Divine from interpersonal moments with others which transcend what he calls “I-it” experience.
The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila – this is an old book (from the 1500s) and it is very steeped in Christian language, so it might not be everyone’s favorite, but it is perhaps the seminal work of medieval Christian mysticism.
From an Existentialist Perspective
Nausea by Jean Paul Sartre – Not for the light of heart, this existential novel talks about existential nausea a strange perception of the absurdity of existence.
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus – a classic essay that discusses the struggle one faces in a world inherently devoid of meaning.
----
I’ll add more if I think of anything else that needs to be thrown in there!
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a novel by Hunter S. Thompson, (made into a feature film).
Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer. Definitely not boring.
Also maybe some Hunter S. Thompson - try Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or The Rum Diary or Hell's Angels (if you're looking for something a little more in-depth and serious).
And if I can use your having picked up Fast Food Nation as a guide... I also recommend Mad in America (about the way the country has dealt with mental health in the past and how they deal with it now) and Say You're One of Them (fiction-but-could-easily-be-true short stories about Africa). That last one was really unsettling.
someone already did this one http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Loathing-Las-Vegas-American/dp/0679785892/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1331647335&amp;sr=1-1&amp;tag=acleint-20
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
To anyone unawares, the film is based on a book!
It's my favorite Depp performance!
Any particular video games/novels/tv? Which ones are you hooked on the most right now?
I've been hooked on R6: Siege lately, and just got Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, going to start reading that after I finish Cosmos
>Journalism demands briefness and articles have rigid schemes to follow, so creativity wasn't always welcome.
Fuck them.
Black Hawk Down, by Mark Bowden.
Seabiscuit, by Laura Hillenbrand.
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, by Hunter Thompson.
Roughing It, by Mark Twain.
These are four books--all creative, funny, dramatic, informative and beautifully written--by reporters.
Read them and study them. Copy the techniques they use, how they craft sentences, how they lead into the stories they tell, how they turn interviews into characters narrating their events.
And then practice. Over and over and over.
For a quick read: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Great story, hilarious, lots of layers, if you want to go looking for them. Fun read even if not.
Two excellent novels that you might identify with. Both long, but fantastic:
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes. Novel about a young officer in the Vietnam war (around your age), based on the author's experiences. Great book, long, but very engaging and entertaining read.
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts: Just go to the amazon page, can't do it justice here, fantastic book.
A cool part about these is that each could be considered a "Roman a clef" (should be some accents there), at least loosely, as both are based to some degree on actual events in the author's lives. Though liberties are certainly taken, still neat to remember.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson. Not 100% non fiction, but definately one of the funniest books I have ever read.
The first hour's all waiting...
and then about halfway through its second hour...
you start cursing the creep who burned you because nothing's happening.
And then... zang!
~hst, f+l
I will always suggest reading this. One of my favorite books ever. Trumps the movie by leaps and bounds.
NYT bestseller and it's very popular on Amazon. Might check it out.
http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Jeannette-Walls/dp/074324754X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310196193&sr=8-1
Have you ever read the book Glass Castle? You might relate in some (but not all) ways. http://www.amazon.com/The-Glass-Castle-A-Memoir/dp/074324754X
The Glass Castle https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Jeannette-Walls/dp/074324754X/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=glass+castle+book&amp;qid=1570769502&amp;sprefix=glass+castle+&amp;sr=8-2
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.
What I saw about your childhood made me think of this book. http://www.amazon.com/The-Glass-Castle-A-Memoir/dp/074324754X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1347259290&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=glass+castle
It's a good book, you should read it.
Closest is $7.29
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/074324754X/ref=aw_ls_2_2?colid=JVBSWDSMLOPX&amp;coliid=IJGLW3KATKXW4
relevant
This is the book that got me into zen meditation, you can probably get it for almost nothing off ebay. It's a really good book which isn't esoteric like many on meditation. I'd really recommend trying zen meditation, it's about as basic and easy as meditation gets and if you do it enough on a daily basis it will be the most beneficial thing you've ever done in your life. I has been for me.
I've enjoyed Hardcore Zen. It's a little tedious at times, but I feel it gives a fair introduction to a layman's version of Zen Buddhism.
Try Hardcore Zen sometime :)
I hope that you trying to finish off your goals will dissuade you from doing this act.
I am currently 29. When I was younger I had a family member kill themselves. Shortly after I graduated high school a friend of mine killed himself. A few years back a military buddy of mine killed himself. A girl I have care for dearly has on several occasions come to the point...
No matter how you go about doing it, those who care about you will always feel the impact. Most will always wonder if there wasn't something else they could do, why they did not see something.
When someone goes it is like tearing a point out of a spider's web, it is felt throughout the web. The web will always bear some reminder of the damage that was done.
If you have spoken to all of these people, have taken the anti depressants etc.. maybe you just need to spend some more time in introspection.. Grab some old philosophic literature, do some reading and think over what you read.
I don’t expect any one answer to fit for everyone.
I recommend reading this book, even if it’s not your answer it’s worth a read and it’s considerably less dry on the subject than others.
http://www.amazon.com/Hardcore-Zen-Monster-Movies-Reality/dp/086171380X
Though the unique events you've experienced up until this point have certainly shaped your neural-response mechanisms and brain chemistry... You're still a part of an evolving consciousness that is humanity and the universe. Likewise, as am I. The universe is experiencing itself through your existence, just as it is with my own and everyone elses'. Have you read much about Eastern philosophy? If not, I recommend you pick something up, start with Hardcore Zen.
>And that just doesn't cut it. That's what all religious people say about their beliefs. "Just go ahead and devote yourself to it for a while and you'll see what I mean!"
Yea, I know what you mean. Its unfortunate because religious fundies have made this argument so many times, its impossible to say it with out sounding like a tool. If any thing, I'd suggest reading Hardcore Zen, by Brad Warner.
Basically, all I can say is that I've been able to have so many insights and been so much calmer from doing zazen. Maybe its because I'm just naturally high strung, but I notice a dramatic difference when I'm doing zazen versus when I'm not. Its not a matter of 'just believe in god and some mystical thing will happen that probably has to do with him', its more like, when I practice the methods set down by ancient buddhist dudes, I feel a fuck ton less worse about my self, the world, and really life its self. Its not a matter of faith at that point. Its just the whole "why the fuck should I waste my time on this nonsense" part that requires faith.
Its like if you've eaten fast food all your life and you don't even know what feeling healthy feels like. Why would you believe that this magical "healthy food" would change any thing?
>All I want is to hear one bit of wisdom that Buddhism has provided to the world that is not arbitrary or an assumption.
Thats the problem... it IS based on assumptions. The problem for me was always that I was an extreme pragmatist.
However, the 'faith' in Buddhism is different then the faith in Christianity, like I said, in that you get ACTUAL results. You are calmer, happier, and better equipped to deal with life.
At some point, if you want to be a scientist, you have to have faith that learning science will help you get there. If you want to be a psychologist, you have to have faith that taking psychology courses will help you get there. My goal is to be centered and happy and productive. After much research and questioning, I decided to have faith that Soto Buddhism would help me get there.
>If that were reasonable then we'd all be spending all of our lives trying out the infinite list of religious ideas people claim to have veracity.
Not your whole life, no. And not even a huge chunk of it. But studying the worlds religions IS important to a lot of people. I did as much as a teenage, and found that 99% of them were silly as hell. I, like you, thought Buddhism was in the same group as well, but the western Buddhists always struck my fancy. But ya.. I felt like you do.. like they are just watered down pot heads. I'm glad I moved past that stigma.
If you don't like this stinking Buddhist stuff, try some Schopenhauer first. That guy is pretty sweet. His ideas are very similar and equally helpful., tho I tend to get on with Schopenhauer better then many others.
Remember to believe in and follow the LORD's teachings, and one day you too will achieve greatness and enlightenment as he has.
Praise be to the king of long sets. Amen.
https://www.amazon.com/Will-Keep-Winning-DAIGO-UMEHARA-ebook/dp/B01JOEKKWU
Ok, if this is a long the lines of what you were looking for Gootecks also has an ebook Kindle version still looks to be free, its mostly based around sf5. And so does Daigo I personally havent read either of these but might be up your alley as a look a the theory behind fighting games (admittedly skewed towards street fighter)
Ask Gllty
Nah, I'm kidding.
these guys need to check this one out fantastic piece
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;url=https://www.amazon.com/Will-Keep-Winning-DAIGO-UMEHARA-ebook/dp/B01JOEKKWU&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj11cT7hYPlAhXSwAIHHfuOCI0QFjAEegQIAxAB&amp;usg=AOvVaw1NHFQlBnlWyGr9RX8-rmna
Buy yourself a Daigo book.
I know the song. It was on the radio for like a year and a half. I believe that Hunter Thompson is the best (or at least most publicly exposed) example of a person that has taken this quote to heart.
That's why they wrote the song... the quote, plus the excerpt from Fear and Loating equals that song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8gAtTxWhUY
http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Loathing-Las-Vegas-American/dp/0679785892/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1373775814&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=fear+in+loathing+in+las+vegas
https://www.amazon.com/Will-Keep-Winning-DAIGO-UMEHARA-ebook/dp/B01JOEKKWU
Then explain this!
Google Mary Beth Brown, she was there step by step with him building his businesses from the start, she was his right hand. Then she asked for a raise to be paid like other executives, he refused, and not only that, he also crapped all over her, and fired her, she was basically described like Starks assistant, in fact Ironman inspiration was Elon musk and his assistant Mary Beth brown.
He is also a dirty pervert, super edgy, insane egomaniac. When someone is flattering you — you blush and feel uncomfortable. This motherfucker sociopath GLOWS when during interviews his ass is being kissed.
He has insane drive to overcompensate, loves to be the center of attention, while pretending to be sheepish. He throws BDSM style parties without sex just so everyone walks around all sexed up. He even visited the burning man and made himself the center of attention there as well by climbing some pole.
It’s all in his biography, go read it
Oh and his speech stuttering — not effects of childhood bullying, his brain works faster than he can speak. He is smart and hardworking, but he is also a huge piece of shit.
The author interviewed like the first dozen or so people from the company. The book has pages and pages of sources at the end. I highly recommend this book to others. And Elon Musk was not allowed to read the book until it was published.
I borrowed the book from a library but it's pretty cheap on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X
I recommend reading Elon’s biography.. might cut through some of the misinformation in the comments section ..
https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/006230125X
The gullibility and smarmy naivete in this thread is just pathetic. Yes. War is bad. What a revelation. Why hasn't anybody else thought of that before?
If you want to feel all warm and fuzzy inside go buy a Hallmark card or go browse /r/aww.
People living in the real world understand that geopolitics is a game of advantage that you can't circumvent by pleading for everyone to join hands and sing Kumbaya. When you appease dictators and cede ground to them you simply enable and embolden their behavior. Furthermore, the South Korean president is hugging and holding hands with a mass murderer who has enslaved over 20 million people, condemning them to a live a life of near starvation and physical/psychological imprisonment. You're the leader of an extraordinarily prosperous, democratic country; have some dignity. You're meeting a piece of human excrement who is feeling on top of the world right now. You shake the man's hand for diplomacy's sake. You don't hug and caress him.
It's just so god damned pathetic how naive people are. What's happening here is that South Korea learned to live under a nuclear DPRK a long time ago. What they can't abide is constantly ratcheting up brinksmanship that is eagerly stoked by a senile reality tv star with the strongest military in the history of the world at his beck and call.
China, RoK, and DPRK have cooked up this appeasement scheme to dupe Trump into thinking he's quelled the DPRK threat. DPRK will keep its nuclear weapons (the announcement that they've completed their nuclear weapons program and no longer need the facility they're shutting down should have been a good indicator of DPRK's intentions for people that were too blind to them up until now) and as we can see here, the Kim regime gets boatloads of photo opportunities, diplomatic prestige, increased security internally, increased legitimacy externally and inevitably sanctions relief. China will benefit from further DPRK stability and increased trade opportunities (and leverage on Trump as well). And South Korea gets to see the sabre-rattling cease and they receive the same benefits China does from prolonged security for Kim regime. They don't want to deal with that humanitarian crisis either. Trump gets a plaque on his wall that says "Best Negotiator Ever" and a polaroid of a North Korean testing facility with a "closed" sign on the gate.
But don't let me get in the way of everyone "awwwwww"ing over this like it's a picture of a cat hugging a golden retriever. Bunch of rubes.
edit: Can't wait to see all the memes come out of this. Kim Jong Un is gonna have his image rehabilitated the same way GWB did lol... But I don't want this to just a useless rant yelling at silly people. So, before you guys start memeing up KJU let me give you guys a short reading list of DPRK books I've greatly enjoyed (I've been fascinated with DPRK for at least a decade):
So yeah, check any of those books out then come back here and see if you're still inclined to "oooo" and "awww" and talk about how sweet this is.
If you'd like an intellectual discussion, I'm all for it, but you don't know enough about me to claim that I am bigoted or anything equally as reprehensible. If you think that you're going to change anyone's mind by typing "lmfao" as many times as possible, then you need to orient yourself and discover your true virtues as an individual instead of using manipulative language for dramatic effect.
> you literally tried comparing the guys 'intentions' to Stalin
Your critical thinking skills are lacking; I drew parallels between intention and action and used idealistic Marxist ideologies as an example of how they can be dangerous when misaligned.
> I'm commenting right now, to shut you the fuck up.
Your intentions are that you're trying to be as boisterous and obstinate as possible to attempt to shut me down without a single sound argument on your side. You lack fundamental understanding of the humanities and haven't educated yourself enough to present yourself as anymore than an uncompromising ideologue with weak rhetoric.
If you really want to sort yourself out, here's a quick reading list: