Venting thread

[rotting bones]

Umm... here in America there are no off-the-grid Maoists - and those who claim to want to live "off the grid" are invariably right wing, often far right wing (emphasis on "claim" because in reality they're too busy listening to Alex Jones' podcasts and buying "survival" products, supplements, and bitcoin).

The internet is global. Why do you think it makes sense to only look at Americans?

[Travis B.]

Right-wingers have been claiming the complete opposite this whole time, complaining about "liberal elites" and "liberal academics" and that the everyman is really right-wing at heart.

The smart people who spread these ideas are blatantly lying for political gain. Their followers are often naive, hero-worshipping innocents who are ignorant of history.

Of course these are lies, but the fact is that there are two types of right-wingers - rich, powerful right-wingers and middle and working-class right-wingers whom the former take advantage of for their own political gain.

[rotting bones]

Of course these are lies, but the fact is that there are two types of right-wingers - rich, powerful right-wingers and middle and working-class right-wingers whom the former take advantage of for their own political gain.

Usually, the most vocal proponents are not extremely wealthy themselves. They are hoping to be hired as PR agents. The very presence of extreme wealth distorts reality around it.

---

My favorite anime is probably Kaiji from the E-Card arc onwards. (Google says season 1 episode 15) This show has no fanservice, only the thrill of high roller gambling and the occasional physical punishment of inhuman brutality.

My favorite arc of this story was never animated IIRC. It's the Mahjong arc in the manga after the anime ends. You can probably read it for free online using a manga reader site/app. (Google says: Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji (賭博堕天録カイジ Gambling Outcast Kaiji) Minefield game "17 steps")

[malloc]

My favorite anime is probably Kaiji from the E-Card arc onwards. (Google says season 1 episode 15) This show has no fanservice, only the thrill of high roller gambling and the occasional physical punishment of inhuman brutality.

My favorite arc of this story was never animated IIRC. It's the Mahjong arc in the manga after the anime ends. You can probably read it for free online using a manga reader site/app. (Google says: Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji (賭博堕天録カイジ Gambling Outcast Kaiji) Minefield game "17 steps")

I had the impression you were some kind of socialist. The celebration of gambling, the pursuit of affluence without even the fig leaf of hard work, seems quite contrary to that.

[rotting bones]

My favorite anime is probably Kaiji from the E-Card arc onwards. (Google says season 1 episode 15) This show has no fanservice, only the thrill of high roller gambling and the occasional physical punishment of inhuman brutality.

My favorite arc of this story was never animated IIRC. It's the Mahjong arc in the manga after the anime ends. You can probably read it for free online using a manga reader site/app. (Google says: Tobaku Datenroku Kaiji (賭博堕天録カイジ Gambling Outcast Kaiji) Minefield game "17 steps")

I had the impression you were some kind of socialist. The celebration of gambling, the pursuit of affluence without even the fig leaf of hard work, seems quite contrary to that.

The story has a proto-leftist frame. It's about a group of friends sticking together despite internal betrayals, and defeating perverted elites to collectively escape debt.

Although leftists have appreciated it, I wouldn't say Kaiji is the most leftist anime. It's not perfect only because it's not about all the poors escaping debt. But that would turn the story into an explicit revolution.

The one anime I can think of whose leftist themes no one could possibly miss is probably Promised Neverland. Telling you anything about it would be a spoiler. Suffice it to say that it contains zero fanservice.

[fusijui]

Japan's right-wing environment was artificially constructed through state violence.
[...]
Anime is also a marker for Communists on the internet. Because right-wingers tend to be more financially secure than left-wingers, there are more right-wingers than left-wingers wasting time on the internet.

All political extremists are united by social alienation, a condition that's also prevalent in Japan. I'm not sure trying to forget one's sense of alienation is necessarily more beneficial than fortifying it with a rigorous analysis of material conditions. Eg. I've read extensive political analyses written by a left-wing self-described "incel", and it had nothing to do with curbing women's rights.

Cool conworld, bro.

[rotting bones]

Japan's right-wing environment was artificially constructed through state violence.
[...]
Anime is also a marker for Communists on the internet. Because right-wingers tend to be more financially secure than left-wingers, there are more right-wingers than left-wingers wasting time on the internet.

All political extremists are united by social alienation, a condition that's also prevalent in Japan. I'm not sure trying to forget one's sense of alienation is necessarily more beneficial than fortifying it with a rigorous analysis of material conditions. Eg. I've read extensive political analyses written by a left-wing self-described "incel", and it had nothing to do with curbing women's rights.

Cool conworld, bro.

Enjoy your simulated reality, normie.

[Moose-tache]

To honor Vovin's legacy, I decided to remind myself just how bad Altaicist can be. Here is a tid-bit from a paper from 2015:



Some highlights:
Driving instructors agree: 10 and 2.
What happened to six? Is six OK?
(nana + nilgop) / 2 = naj
Yetulp: "Dear Diary: the Japanese still haven't noticed I'm an eight."
How many? Three. The answer is always three.

[malloc]

The one anime I can think of whose leftist themes no one could possibly miss is probably Promised Neverland. Telling you anything about it would be a spoiler. Suffice it to say that it contains zero fanservice.

That was definitely a good one. Too bad they never made a second season...

[zompist]

To honor Vovin's legacy, I decided to remind myself just how bad Altaicist can be. Here is a tid-bit from a paper from 2015:

I dunno, doesn't linguistics say two words are related if they begin with the same sound?

Though even with that leeway... ya and ta < *ja? Though a glance at the list suggests that the principle involved was "I like Japanese better."

[jcb]

Though even with that leeway... ya and ta < *ja?

From Francis-Ratte's dissertation: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_e ... 1460644060 , section 3.9.4 :

I propose that in initial position, glides *w and *j underwent the following
sound changes in Korean:
5) pKJ *w > *b / _a, e > MK p
pKJ *j > *d /_a > MK t
pKJ *j > *c / _ɨ, u > MK c

[...]

This is a novel theory of Korean consonant shift, but the evidence for a sound
change to initial glide consonants in Korean is significant. First, there are many Middle
Korean words beginning with ye-,

[...]

However, other vowels following word-initial y are suspiciously absent.

[...]

In sum, word-initial ye (*jə, *je) is commonplace in the Middle Korean lexicon, but
word-initial ya (*ja), ywo (*jo), ywu (*ju) are suspiciously absent from the general
lexicon, and yu (*jɨ) is not even a possible combination. This points to the possibility that
shifts to *ja, *jo, *ju, *jɨ are responsible for this distributional gap. The evidence from
comparison to Japanese further highlights the distributional gap in Korean,

---

Some highlights:
Driving instructors agree: 10 and 2.
What happened to six? Is six OK?
(nana + nilgop) / 2 = naj
Yetulp: "Dear Diary: the Japanese still haven't noticed I'm an eight."
How many? Three. The answer is always three.

10 = 2 * 5
8 = 2 * 4
(Btw, numbers are explained in section 5.2.3.)

[Raphael]

Minor, trivial vent: you know that time when you've gone to bed and you're already too tired to do anything else than wait to fall asleep, but at the same time, you're not yet tired enough to actually fall asleep? Yeah, I really don't like that time period. Especially when it goes on and on.

[Travis B.]

Minor, trivial vent: you know that time when you've gone to bed and you're already too tired to do anything else than wait to fall asleep, but at the same time, you're not yet tired enough to actually fall asleep? Yeah, I really don't like that time period. Especially when it goes on and on.

Yeah, that's really annoying.

[malloc]

Minor, trivial vent: you know that time when you've gone to bed and you're already too tired to do anything else than wait to fall asleep, but at the same time, you're not yet tired enough to actually fall asleep? Yeah, I really don't like that time period. Especially when it goes on and on.

You said it. Happens to me all the time, especially when I have to get up for work at five in the morning.

[Linguoboy]

Honestly, I don't think this is so trivial. I waste on average an hour or two a day in this state. When I absolutely hate it the most is on a weekend when I've specifically cleared my morning to sleep in because I have plans that evening and I want to be well rested and I just cannot sleep, not matter what I do, but I'm still too sleepy to do much else. It feels like a very subtle form of torture (and of course sleep deprivation is one of the most widely-used form of torture in the world).

[fusijui]

To honor Vovin's legacy, I decided to remind myself just how bad Altaicist can be. Here is a tid-bit from a paper from 2015:

Thank you. It made me laugh, and Vovin would have enjoyed it too.

[alice]

Minor, trivial vent: you know that time when you've gone to bed and you're already too tired to do anything else than wait to fall asleep, but at the same time, you're not yet tired enough to actually fall asleep? Yeah, I really don't like that time period. Especially when it goes on and on.

You said it. Happens to me all the time, especially when I have to get up for work at five in the morning.

It happens to me all the time too, whether I have to get up for work or not. Even worse is when I wake up halfway through the night and spend an hour or so unable to get back to sleep again.

Sleep is funny stuff; I've never understood it. I know you're supposed to lie down, close your eyes, and get eight hours, but I doubt anyone's ever actually done that.

[Raphael]

Sleep is funny stuff; I've never understood it. I know you're supposed to lie down, close your eyes, and get eight hours, but I doubt anyone's ever actually done that.

If only it would work the way it does in The Sims...

[rotting bones]

The one anime I can think of whose leftist themes no one could possibly miss is probably Promised Neverland. Telling you anything about it would be a spoiler. Suffice it to say that it contains zero fanservice.

That was definitely a good one. Too bad they never made a second season...

They actually released a second season in 2021. I haven't watched it, but from the manga, I don't know if the story after the first season is worth watching if all you want is concentrated leftist vibes.

Minor, trivial vent: you know that time when you've gone to bed and you're already too tired to do anything else than wait to fall asleep, but at the same time, you're not yet tired enough to actually fall asleep? Yeah, I really don't like that time period. Especially when it goes on and on.

I realized that I don't actually fall asleep unless I give it my best shot. Recently, I've been staying awake for more than 24 hours in a row. This silences my inner critic and subdues my anxieties, giving me more freedom to work. (Hence the recent poorly written posts I've been submitting.)

Alcohol would probably be less damaging in the long run.

[malloc]

They actually released a second season in 2021. I haven't watched it, but from the manga, I don't know if the story after the first season is worth watching if all you want is concentrated leftist vibes.

That was an attempted joke, actually. The second season was notoriously awful and I was pretending that it never existed.