Random Rants 92 - Not Enough Snerk

[Synobun]

What's Stossel-Randian libertarianism?

John Stossel is a libertarian mouthpiece in the US. I know your friends are in the UK but the libertarian youth pipeline is similar in both countries, I imagine. He pushes kids with money into economic rabbit holes about the church of capitalism and how a Randian free market without constraints would cure all ailments of society and the human condition. Turning everything in a money equation is not only the goal but also a moral imperative. Any kind of regulation or constraint is tantamount to a grievous assault on one's innate rights. These high schoolers go on to private schools that have curricula strongly biased toward conservative economics. Then those college students develop into either libertarian fundamentalists or your average run-of-the-mill conservative, depending on how their "radicalization" goes.

 

[Ajidica]

He pushes kids with money into economic rabbit holes about the church of capitalism and how a Randian free market without constraints would cure all ailments of society and the human condition.

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/366635-there-are-two-novels-that-can-change-a-bookish-fourteen-year

 

[Takhisis]

I argued with a bunch of strangers on the internet today and none of them told me I was right

How about I tell you that you're wrong?

Because that would mean that some did tell you that you were right. Which would then mean that none of them told you that you were right. Which…

 

[Chukchi Husky]

John Stossel is a libertarian mouthpiece in the US. I know your friends are in the UK but the libertarian youth pipeline is similar in both countries, I imagine. He pushes kids with money into economic rabbit holes about the church of capitalism and how a Randian free market without constraints would cure all ailments of society and the human condition. Turning everything in a money equation is not only the goal but also a moral imperative. Any kind of regulation or constraint is tantamount to a grievous assault on one's innate rights. These high schoolers go on to private schools that have curricula strongly biased toward conservative economics. Then those college students develop into either libertarian fundamentalists or your average run-of-the-mill conservative, depending on how their "radicalization" goes.

That's the odd thing. They don't have money. They only want enough money to live by and don't know why anyone would want more money than they need. They never went to a private school but they are university educated. They are probably closer to a traditional conservative, they vote for the Conservative party and have mentioned that they want a more limited democracy, more power to the monarchy and a return of the British Empire, but the term they use for their politics is "centrist". They've said that the role of government is to protect the privileges of the wealthy and the elite. They also complain when people talk too much about politics. I know that they've complained about government regulation but they blamed at least some of that on the EU, but there are others they've complained about, things like environmental protections and giving people that they consider wrong protections and mentioned something they call "positive discrimination".

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/366635-there-are-two-novels-that-can-change-a-bookish-fourteen-year

I have heard them once talking about reading Atlas Shrugged. The one that's starting to go the other way doesn't read many books, but one of the books they have read is The Lord of the Rings.

 

[Ajidica]

I have heard them once talking about reading Atlas Shrugged. The one that's starting to go the other way doesn't read many books, but one of the books they have read is The Lord of the Rings.

Atlas Shrugged is a pretty terrible book. Ignoring its philosophical elements it is badly written and meandering, with flat characters. I've read some of her serious essays and they are full of ideas either so basic as to be uncontroversial (people tend to find happiness by doing things they want to do), absurd (charity is purely to make yourself feel good), or plain incoherent.

Though I'm willing to bet with Lord of the Rings they have put absolutely no thought into its themes or what Tolkien was trying to say.

 

[Chukchi Husky]

Though I'm willing to bet with Lord of the Rings they have put absolutely no thought into its themes or what Tolkien was trying to say.

According to Phillipa Boyens, Tolkien never used themes.

 

[Hygro]

My wordle score reset on my phone again, but cfc still gives me Xmas smilies

 

[Ajidica]

According to Phillipa Boyens, Tolkien never used themes.

I don't possibly see how that could be a true quote.

 

[Takhisis]

Atlas Shrugged is a pretty terrible book. Ignoring its philosophical elements it is badly written and meandering, with flat characters. I've read some of her serious essays and they are full of ideas either so basic as to be uncontroversial (people tend to find happiness by doing things they want to do), absurd (charity is purely to make yourself feel good), or plain incoherent.

And yet its followers seem to be on the rise, you know. I listened to the local representative (mentioned in the article) last night and the night before when he was interviewed live on TV. Bloody hell, the same type of uber-simplistic idiotic messaging of the allegedly-progressive ‘left’ of other would-be dictators like the Chávez or Castro (crime) families. They are complementary and mutually necessary.

Things such as ‘we shouldn't have an education ministry’ and ‘if everybody has a firearm at home, gun violence will decrease’.

I don't possibly see how that could be a true quote.

It can be a true quote without the message quoted being true.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Fan works are something else that makes them angry. They take the same position as Nintendo, that all fan works are copyright infringement. They also claim that people who make fan works lack talent, because if they were any good, they would instead make original works so that they can charge money for it.

Then let them be angry. There are many professional authors out there now, who are publishing original works in part because writing fanfiction is one of the ways in which they learned the craft of writing.

And by the logic "they" use (I've forgotten who "they" are), everyone who ever wrote a tie-in novel has no talent, regardless of whether they ever went on to write in an original setting.

So Alan Dean Foster, who has written many tie-in novels throughout his career, has zero talent even though he's gone on to write several SF/F series and numerous standalone novels.

Whatever.

Some people have their noses in the air. Others are having fun. And there are some fanfics that are a hell of a lot better than the source material it's based on.

 

[Synobun]

That's the odd thing. They don't have money. They only want enough money to live by and don't know why anyone would want more money than they need. They never went to a private school but they are university educated. They are probably closer to a traditional conservative, they vote for the Conservative party and have mentioned that they want a more limited democracy, more power to the monarchy and a return of the British Empire, but the term they use for their politics is "centrist". They've said that the role of government is to protect the privileges of the wealthy and the elite. They also complain when people talk too much about politics. I know that they've complained about government regulation but they blamed at least some of that on the EU, but there are others they've complained about, things like environmental protections and giving people that they consider wrong protections and mentioned something they call "positive discrimination".

So they're anarcho-monarchists? People like that actually exist?

 

[Synobun]

Oh, and as for a rant: It turns out I've had the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap this whole time. Cilantro has always been very bitter to me, but I could ignore it in a dish and it wasn't that big of a deal. I figured that was just a taste bud difference and nothing else. This year, it's started tasting distinctly like soap instead—and this is a taste that I can't ignore. It overpowers every other flavour. Even a tiny leaf is noticeable.

Upon looking up people's descriptions of how cilantro tastes, I saw that there was a significant percentage of people with the gene who also described it as more of a bitter taste than a soap taste.

So for whatever reason, my sensitivity to/perception of cilantro has switched from bitter to soap.

This doesn't actually change much for me since I so rarely eat cilantro, but I've been eating more Lebanese and Vietnamese cuisine lately and they use it A LOT. I feel like a douche asking them to omit the cilantro every time.

 

[thetrooper]

Had to look up cilantro. Koriander in my book. Yeah, never liked the taste. But not like soap.

 

[Hygro]

I argued with a bunch of strangers on the internet today and none of them told me I was right

All joking aside, this turned not to be true. One was a gentleman, probably had the most opposite position, and said I made interesting points. He had led with something mature, so I was like, wow, you're cool and that was really honest, rather than hammer him with facts. The others had come in swinging. It was ugly :yum:

 

[Snerk]

I love koriander, but my sister can't eat anything that it's touched. She goes on about that gene thing too.

 

[Farm Boy]

Meh. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers, and Gates Of Fire are better anyhow.

For generally 'wrongthinkish' books.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Oh, and as for a rant: It turns out I've had the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap this whole time. Cilantro has always been very bitter to me, but I could ignore it in a dish and it wasn't that big of a deal. I figured that was just a taste bud difference and nothing else. This year, it's started tasting distinctly like soap instead—and this is a taste that I can't ignore. It overpowers every other flavour. Even a tiny leaf is noticeable.

Upon looking up people's descriptions of how cilantro tastes, I saw that there was a significant percentage of people with the gene who also described it as more of a bitter taste than a soap taste.

So for whatever reason, my sensitivity to/perception of cilantro has switched from bitter to soap.

This doesn't actually change much for me since I so rarely eat cilantro, but I've been eating more Lebanese and Vietnamese cuisine lately and they use it A LOT. I feel like a douche asking them to omit the cilantro every time.

My wife loves cilantro. It tastes like turpentine to me. I do love coriander seed though.

 

[Snerk]

After a lot of back and forth it seems I can finally start some sort of legal actions against my upstairs neighbour who refuses to fix a damage to some pipes that is causing some water damage to my ceiling. Got a lawyer, and insurance will be covering most of the fees. Still a right bother though. Bleh.

 

[Zkribbler]

... feel like a douche asking them to omit the cilantro every time.

Why?? As restauranteers their goal is to please you. Kayla'a knows my aging stomach can no longer handle salsa. When I call in for takeout and forget to say, no salsa, they call back to see if that was intentional.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I wonder if genes related to taste could be why I absolutely cannot stand even the slightest taste of Brussels sprouts and green beans.

Dunno about cilantro. If I've ever had it, nobody told me.

Raw basil is a HUGE problem, though. Instant migraine just from a whiff of it. I literally ran out of someone's house when she started sprinkling it over her salad.