Yes, I also really struggled with his writing style. It felt like he was layering in additional degrees of obfuscation by creating meta-characters and framing his philosophical points in the form of fictionalized conversations from this road trip he took. Like, bud, you’re already talking about abstracted concepts like Platonic Good. Do we REALLY need more abstraction?

To which Prisig, author of the most (financially) successful book on philosophy in America, would say, “Evidently, yes.”

At least Thoreau came by his difficult to parse writing style honestly, being a product of the 19th century and all.

Could very well be. Similarly to Walden, I read it for school, and did not much care for it. One of the few concrete points I remember being discussed was a comparison between a character that rides a rickety old bike, but knows how to keep it running, and the character who rides a new bike, but relies on mechanics when things do inevitably break on it. That sort of rumination on a man who can fix things being happier than a man who can’t is basically the entire premise of Walden.

Furthermore, in refreshing my memory of what subjects Prisig touched upon, I see/vaguely remember his attempts to reconcile rational empiricism with intuitive understanding, which is also very Thoreau.

However, as I’ve said, I didn’t particularly enjoy my brush with either text, and it’s been 15+ years since I last looked through either. So, it’s entirely possible that they are actually philosophical polar opposites and my C- in Philosophy 101 was well earned.

This comes from the introduction to “Walden, or, Life in the Woods”, in which the author gets fed up with modern (1840s) society and fucks off to the woods of Massachusetts for a little over 2 years. During this time he attempted to be fully self-reliant, building his residence from the ground up and eating only what he could hunt or gather. It is emblematic of the American transcendentalism movement, which emphasized connection with nature, self-reliance, and intuitive knowledge of truth. It was, in essence, the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance of its day, if you’re aware of that book.

I read it in high school and I did not think much of it at that time. I think, perhaps, it would find more fertile ground in my thoughts now, were I to revisit it. Certainly in the decades since first reading it, I’ve become more sympathetic to the idea of pissing off to the woods and minding my own business until I expire.

I haven’t seen a Jesus allegory yet, so it can’t be.

This retrospective/review may be of interest to you if the series holds nostalgia value.

Would you care to make a case for Lady in the Water? I don’t recall a huge amount of that movie, but what’s there is not positive. Admittedly, his gall in writing a character who is destined to save the world through his art, and then casting himself in said role, left a pretty sour taste in my mouth, but I shouldn’t let that affect the other aspects of the film.

For some reason I always figured CCP was an independent outfit, based on how they’ve handled EVE over the years. I know there were some rumblings about the business model a few years back, but, by and large, everything seems to be done with a fairly hands off ethos.

Well, now I can only think of being Sherlock Holmes battling bioweapons, and I fear you’ve set me up for disappointment!

Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me by Elton John and George Michael. Favorite might be overstating it, but it’s what jumped into my head immediately, so maybe not.

Not wholly accurate to say I don’t know the lyrics, as I’ve since gone through and found a translation, but it’s not at the fore of my mind while listening. Lo Vi by Amanda Miguel (particularly this live performance) is a stunner of a song.

Dis u?

I’m not comfortable with companies using any kind of marketing tactics.

Now, I felt like I was fairly gentle in pointing out the absurd nature of that statement. I even readily acknowledged what I assumed to be your intent, i.e. there are absolutely marketing tactics which go beyond the pale. But, as I, and others, have pointed out, you’re the one operating on your own personal definition of marketing here, which is in contradiction to what that concept actually is. Any intro to business class will tell you that marketing is, essentially, ANYTHING an entity does to inform people of its services. It’s an enormous umbrella, which includes tactics both odious and innocuous. It is as readily applicable to the gal who posts on Facebook that she’ll do your hair for $20 as it is Facebook selling that information to a third party so she can be served targeted salon equipment advertisements.

All I’m saying is, if you say “all marketing is bad”, you need to be prepared for people to call you out on the hyperbole of that statement. Therefore, you might consider arguing the point you actually intend to make (which is good and I agree with you about!), instead of leading with a statement which you don’t actually believe.

Calling you Chicken Little was facetious, but meant to be a gentle dig at the hyperbole. Still, I shouldn’t have said it, and I apologize.

Take it easy there, Chicken Little. “I’m uncomfortable with any kind of marketing” is so hyperbolic, it’s almost parody. Putting the name of your business above the door? Thats marketing. Creating a website where customers can find and engage your services? That’s marketing. A minority-owned business proudly owning that status? That’s marketing. A friend telling you about the great meal they had the other day from a local restaurant? Believe it or not, that’s marketing.

Marketing is not evil in and of itself. Unless humanity returns to a tribal social structure where you can count the number of non-related acquaintances you know on your fingers, it is a necessary component of operating a business. Of course, you’re 100% right that there have been dubious applications of the principle, but again, you’re throwing the baby out with the bath water, and it hampers the salient point that you’re trying to make.

I didn’t even realize that there was another strike ongoing until yesterday, when I watched this Maggie Robertson (Vampire Dommy Mommy from RE8) interview. She even mentions that word wasn’t really out there about it at the time of the interview. Glad to hear it resolved enough that the union was willing to end the strike.

Link to the interview, if you’re curious. She’s very funny.

I can see where they’d get the idea, though they really ought to realize that rat tails do not necessarily mean rodent. Trans folks are obviously marsupials.

I figured, but I’m incapable of letting an opportunity to make a bad pun pass me by.

Tangentially related book recommendation for folks wandering through the thread who are disappointed that AOC isn’t announcing she’s taking over the role of Storm for the X-Men: The Power by Naomi Alderman. They turned it into a TV series, though I don’t know anything about the adaptation. The premise is that women across the world all of a sudden develop the ability to generate electric fields (like an electric eel) powerful enough to stun or kill. The book then details, through a variety of narrators, the social and political ramifications of this across a variety of cultures. I thought it was a fun yarn, at any rate.

A picture really is worth a thousand words. Nailed my exact impression haha

I feel like I just leveled up my descriptive abilities for RPG DMing purposes.

Did AOC get bit by a radioactive electrician recently?

Zack Snyder, not JJ Abrams.

Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)