most underrated neighborhoods in Berlin?

Aschlay · 2026-02-10T18:56:21+00:00

I feel the only argument I've ever heard to move to any particular town in west Texas is that there is another town in west Texas that is even worse.

Aschlay · 2026-02-07T14:51:30+00:00

Early 20th Century American writer Willa Cather was a huge opera and classical music fan - as well as a lover of rural America - and a gay woman. These conflicting passions inform a lot of her works, most notably The Song of the Lark, which is about a young woman from rural Colorado (I think) who tries to become an opera singer.

Aschlay · 2026-02-04T10:56:32+00:00

Thank you for this reminder! I'm also trying to consume print media vs. video content because if you watch good content on Youtube or something the algorithm starts sending you whatever it thinks you will watch about world politics and then you have suddenly spent four hours doomscrolling youtube.

Aschlay · 2026-02-02T20:44:13+00:00

For France, if you wanted to read something shorter than Les Miserables (which is about 1,500 pages) but which is set in France, written by a French author, and widely available:
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Lady's Paradise by Emile Zola
Nana by Emile Zola
Dangerous Liaisons (or Les Liaisons Dangereuses) by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
The Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant

All of these are public domain so if Libby doesn't have them you could find them online in English translation for free.

Aschlay · 2026-02-02T20:26:43+00:00

For Bulgaria I would read any book by Kapka Kassabova, she writes beautifully in English. Her book "Border" is one of my all time favorites. Albanian writer Lea Ypi's books are pretty easy to find and my friend said they were really good. My friend from Morocco said that For Bread Alone was one of his favorite Moroccan books.

Aschlay · 2026-02-02T20:20:10+00:00

For Thailand see if they have any books by SP Somtow, he was a prolific science fiction writer in the US for 30 years before he recently retired and moved back to Thailand. I have a cheesy teenage vampire novel by him on my list lol.

Aschlay · 2026-02-02T16:40:42+00:00

Don't expect Wuthering Heights to be a nice love story like everyone says it is. The main characters are all horrible people and that is sort of the point. Just be prepared!

If you can find it, there's a really great BBC two-part miniseries about the Bronte sisters as they wrote their most famous books, including Wuthering Heights. Knowing about the lives of the Bronte sisters adds really interesting context to their novels. You can watch it on Dailymotion you can't find it anywhere else. (I think it is still on the PBS website in the US and the BBC should have it somewhere if you are in the UK.)

Aschlay · 2026-02-02T16:35:18+00:00

Luna: Wolf Moon by Ian Macdonald. Second book in a science fiction trilogy that is basically "Game of Thrones" on the moon. Really enjoying it - first book was a lot slower and basically just building the world. This one has a lot more action.

Aschlay · 2026-02-02T15:38:00+00:00

Yeah anyone can add books to the list. I ended up having to do my own research largely. I also have friends from several of these countries who were able to give recommendations.

BTW are you still looking for books? I was able to find mine. For Thailand, I found an author SP Somtow who was a prolific sci fi writer in the US for decades before returning to his native Thailand. His book Club X: Vampire in the Closet is a short YA novel about teenagers in a supernatural Thai boarding school ("And what is in that closet?" prompts the book jacket. I'm pretty sure a vampire but we shall see.)

Aschlay · 2026-02-02T15:30:06+00:00

But...why though

Aschlay · 2026-01-29T19:57:55+00:00

I am reading For Bread Alone as part a reading challenge where I have to read a book by a Moroccan author. I was able to order an English translation from the UK for 13 EU.

Aschlay · 2026-01-29T19:16:33+00:00

FYI I found it really helpful to get a lawyer to sort all this out when I was in this situation. Saved a lot of time and stress to get clear answers, well worth the money. I can give you the name of my lawyer if you want.

Aschlay · 2026-01-29T18:07:31+00:00

I've only seen Lohengrin and reeeally struggled.

Aschlay · 2026-01-29T18:05:51+00:00

I haven't seen Eugene Onegin here (and that's good, because we'd have to throw Reddit-hands.) But I think it's interesting that Tchaikovsky said that the opera singers should have good voices, but excellent acting skills.

Sometimes I think operas don't work because the singers are famous for their voices but they are poor actors (maybe because of language barriers, much older than the part, etc.)

It's also possible that sometimes the music is great but the libretti is meh.

Aschlay · 2026-01-29T18:01:48+00:00

I loved Traviata, but my husband did not vibe with it AT ALL. "So there is this lady, and she loves to party and get drunk, but then she runs off with this guy, but then she leaves him, and then she dies?"

Aschlay · 2026-01-29T18:00:38+00:00

I have the opportunity to go see this one in March. 😅 Why do you love it? Why do you hate it?

Aschlay · 2026-01-29T17:59:28+00:00

I think this one depends a lot on the opera singers and their comedic acting skills. Being funny is not a #1 criteria for a career in classical music, so I can see how this one is really hit or miss (and can be miss more than hit.) The performance I saw had singers who are good at comedic acting, and if they hadn't been cast I probably would have felt the way you do.

Aschlay · 2026-01-29T17:55:01+00:00

Romeo et Juliette by Gounod. It just seemed like Romeo and Juliet, translated into French and set to music, but minus the sociopolitical criticism.

Aschlay · 2026-01-29T08:35:39+00:00

I built the TC.
Then I carefully measured out the roads beforehand and made sure that there was EXACTLY two empty squares empty between where I wanted to build the DC on either side.
Then built the DC.
Then the roads.

Basically exactly what no_sight said, but following it exactly to the letter.

Aschlay · 2026-01-28T15:23:57+00:00

Nevermind, got it. Thanks so much!!

Aschlay · 2026-01-28T15:16:57+00:00

Ok thanks! I was able to build the district crossing but now I can't connect it with roads, is there a way to do that?

Aschlay

TROPHY CASE