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Cake day: February 22nd, 2024

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  • I would just like to take this moment to suggest people find a comfortable place to sit with a stiff drink, spliff or whatever and listen to the first chapter of the audio book - and I mean really listen, actively visualize the story and everything being described, let yourself really emotionally connect with the events as much as possible - it’s a really powerful and well written bit of action sci-fi.

    It’s on YouTube read by Christopher Hurt, first chapter is about 40 min, I’ve read a lot of sci-fi and it’s without a doubt in my mind the strongest and most thought provoking opening to a Sci fi. It gets you pulled into the characters, the world, and emotion without a break in the action - and for a book punished in 1959 the action is unbelievably believable, it’s hard to imagine better high energy action sci-fi combat – someone needs to make a real gritty anime of it.



  • It’s all people who don’t read much or only read modern stuff, heinlein was an author who explored ideas he wasn’t someone who believed that his job was to tell people what to think. People who think the book is trying to be pro or anti anything are honestly borderline illiterate, they certainly haven’t read his other work.

    The movie is just a dumbed down action movie directed by someone who didn’t really understand or enjoy the book - is a great movie for an action movie but it’s not very well thought out and it’s certainly not deeply thoughtful.

    The film misses all key moments - the first scene, Zim throwing the knife, etc and everything subtle that really makes the story and emotion work - for the film the ending makes no sense, in the book it’s really powerful.

    The movie isn’t really about much, the book is about everything - along side Friday and Stranger it’s a fascinating insight into the evolution of Americanism and cultural ideals pushed to absurdity. That’s not to say it should be read expecting answers, prime golden era sci-fi wasn’t about giving answers it’s about posing questions - hence foundation, the laws of robotics series, Stainless steel rat, etc - ‘We must be as stealthy as rats in the wainscoting of their society’ it’s not about telling you how to live or how not to live it’s about showing possibilities you probably haven’t thought to explore.




  • VirtualOdour@sh.itjust.workstoMemes@lemmy.mlKnow the difference.
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    4 months ago

    I think this is a more significant point than most people want to admit, it’s not just iPhones, people choose status over fairness pretty much every time - they’d rather pay more to feel better than others.

    The car market, computers, clothes, food - literally everything. It’s true in all the porest and richest circles even when like iphones and a lot of fashion the more expensive product is objectively worse.

    It’s not capitalism inventing this it’s always been a thing and capitalism simply leverages it. I move in probably the least capitalist circles as an open source obsessive and dev, people choosing to share their work free so others can benefit but the mentality is there too, its in the eco obsessive communities too - I don’t think it’s totally universal amywhere but it’s prominent everywhere.

    I’ve come to belive that the Marxist ideals don’t cover enough of what people really need, they’re idealistic and somewhat how we’d want to think of ourselves but it’s similar to dieting, deciding in a serious mood to eat only kale and beans feels like who we want to be but when we try and live that way we realize that we’re not that person.

    We need to focus on achievable steps in the right direction which allow us to feel good about the change we’re making while also letting us fill our needs, even those lazy and embarrassing ones that the idealized version of of lacks.

    We need to learn to understand and enjoy other forms of status but also we need to learn to reward those status symbols in others just as we reward economic status symbols even if we pretend to ourselves we dislike them. People in expensive clothes get treated better because it symbolizes the power they have to make an economic difference - even the fact iphones are feature restricted money milking machines only plays into this, it signals that you’ve got enough money not to worry about them adding $500 to the price for no reason or stinging you for a dozen subscriptions and this makes it seem like you’re the most likely person to be able to help them if they’re in trouble or give them things they xouldnt otherwise have.

    Yes this is bad greedy nasty thinking and no one wants to admit it’s part of them but this is how the math in our brain works. We can’t help it, and when we ignore it or pretend it doesn’t exist or that we can wish it away that doesn’t change reality.

    I don’t know what the solution is, I’d like to hope we can at least shift it from being solely economic to respecting skills too, I dont know but we need to make it socially rewarding to be a benefit to society rather and make good choices.


  • Yours is too, its posting a silly link at the bottom which makes you look like you’re a Facebook mom in 2003.

    Dear Mark Zuckerberg

    With this statement, I give notice to Facebook it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, or take any other action against me based on this profile and/or its contents. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute. NOTE: Facebook is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this. If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once it will be tacitly allowing the use of your photos, as well as the information contained in the profile status updates. FACEBOOK DOES NOT HAVE MY PERMISSION TO SHARE PHOTOS OR MESSAGES.