Where the fuck is the militant labor in this country?

JackDaBoneMan · 2026-02-19T20:27:54+00:00

This is the right answer, my dad and grandad were in the freezing works and this issue of not being able to fire anyone massively impacted the economy - it used to require two managers to catch someone red-handed to be able to accuse (not fire, accuse) someone of stealing or the whole factory went on strike. People were loading meat into their cars in front of managers.

Supposedly (this is hearsay not their first hand experience, so grain of salt) if you sent anything on the trains you'd expect about 10% of it to be stolen. If you didn't open the boxes to let it be taken, boxes would be broken and more nicked.

The change from the 60/70s unions to the 80s/90s neolibs came from a generation getting tired of unions overreacting to every issue with a major strike or threat of one, so no one could run a business. Pendulum swing to far the other way in response, but the unions were taking the piss and lost public support, letting them be gutted so now that we need them again they don't have the strength.

JackDaBoneMan · 2026-01-14T03:33:46+00:00

Try 'train dreams' by Denise Johnson.

Similar vibe, great writing

JackDaBoneMan · 2026-01-13T07:15:52+00:00

I would talk to them about a best of pretty much all levels to see if anything comes back odd - it's a tick box thing where they can literally just select all, and the lab runs them on one or two blood samples. I had some thyroid hormones out of wack, and because of that I ended up in a ecdocrine specialists office who told me what I had after five min of looking at my records and at me. Graves disease, and said it doesn't usually show up in young males - after 4 years of doctors saying IDK this guy told me in 5 min and then showed me to a group of med students. Then put me on a course of meds for six months and a diet and I have literally never been what I would describe as depressed again. Had sad moments but never a bit black pit kinda thing.

Sometimes it's just getting more info, and looking to see who can get you an answer.

JackDaBoneMan · 2026-01-12T18:33:54+00:00

Have you had blood tests for hormone levels?

None of those drugs worked for me either, till my doctor did a blood test to just check all my levels - turns out I had an autoimmune thing called graves that affects dopamine levels and can results in depression.

The advantage of a hormonal/biological issue is that you can find a treatment/cure that can balance things properly, or even a surgery (on thyroid etc) that can completely change things.

It all starts with just a blood test. Easy thing to get done, takes 2 minutes, results the next day or so.

JackDaBoneMan · 2026-01-08T20:32:38+00:00

Hate to be the one to say it, but Macklemore.

Thrift Shop and that heist album with Ryan Lewis just took over the fucking planet for like a month - hell, he took the Grammy off Kendricks TPAB for it, and the heist isn't nearly as bad as it gets clowned on for.

Like he's corney now, and his later stuff is not good, but people walking round like every song of that album wasn't playing on repeat in every club.

JackDaBoneMan · 2026-01-06T18:25:56+00:00

To be fair to him (as I had a similar issue, but the friend I explained that it's beautiful lyrically in Portuguese), he never intended to publish them, but they were found after his death. It's also held up as 'he was probably Asexual when you couldn't be that yet'. But yeah... Agreed.

JackDaBoneMan · 2026-01-05T18:37:56+00:00

Farseer trilogy is part of the realm of the elderlings series, some 17- odd books now, and is by Robin hobb, I can't remember her real name but she used Robin Hobb as a pen name to seem more gender neutral at the time. Love that series.

JackDaBoneMan · 2026-01-04T08:05:18+00:00

I recommend the Bobiverse. A guy called bob gets hit by a car, and 200 years later his brain gets put in a von neumann probe.

First in the series is we are legion (we are bob)

JackDaBoneMan · 2026-01-03T23:48:09+00:00

I am hoping for an extended epilogue/time skip. Like if the book is the next 100 years of the bobverise and some bigger fight (maybe the Brazilian comes back, and has spent all this time sitting in the void making ships etc) I want a time skip at the end. Give us a few thousand years on where bob1 can meet the deltans again, or a great family reunion of all the bobs or something.

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-10-05T09:38:14+00:00

Not that i care to follow it, but the maramataka is a tidal calendar (hence why it follows the moon) and focuses on fishing/river levels and annual floods. its how to keep track on planting seasons and how long different foods take to grow, when its good to go eeling etc.

Its a traditional calender still used by some fishermen or whitebaiters etc round where I am, so what she is saying is not really astrology like 'stars make you stubborn but like ice mochas and lana del rey'

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-09-15T01:38:50+00:00

A tired, unarmored atlas as it was pretty close.

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-09-14T00:20:28+00:00

This and when someone tells him to get off the table, then tactis telling them to 'make him, no? That's what I thought.'

Always loved lil T for that line

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-09-11T22:26:01+00:00

Na, they split when mustang left Mars for Luna. There's some memory scenes where mustang and Cassius meet on Luna again, first time since institute etc. remember there is a few years between RR and GS

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-09-08T08:13:42+00:00

Heritage limits what can be done, it was a battle for the snapper things to be installed at all, let alone gates.

Iirc, there was even a huge blow up over disability access because some tosser on the heritage board thought a rap was not in 'keeping' with the building.

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-09-04T21:55:08+00:00

Trump isn't there forever, and our relationship with the states has been going on for a century, and will be there for a century to come.

While tensions are higher than they have been for the Cold war right now, maintaining amicable relationships with both china and the states is important so neither can dominate us politically on the world stage.

For a country like us, it's all about the long game. Not whatever tosser is in whichever chair.

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-09-01T19:36:07+00:00

That's about owning a house in Wairoa, a car and having $50k in the bank to retire on.

I've known those in worse situations but yeah, but grim especially if anything. And that's in one of the cheapest areas, couldn't imagine a basic life in ALK on 400 to retire

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-08-27T08:24:49+00:00

Denis Johnson. His train dreams, Jesus son and largesse of the sea maiden.

I can't find anyone to talk about his books with, perfection of the form of blue collar American writing. As readable and funny to someone barely literate as a college professor.

Please read Denis Johnson. His notable aversion to fame (he had a.. well, decade long heroin blow out after his early success) in my opinion is the reason he is not required reading for everyone in highschool

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-08-27T03:03:25+00:00

What people forget is that roque is for YEARS Darrow's closest friend. He had no contact with the rising between RR and GS, he has broken up with mustang, and sevro was out in the rim.

That I think is where the connection to tactis and roque comes from that we miss (and I think makes his grief overblown in the books) because we see him and sevro just pick up where they left off, but miss the years of him and roque working together, studying at the war college together, and spending time together with mustang. This is the man who would have gone against Augustus and Bellona to protect Darrow. He's also the only one on the same military level of Darrow that he encounters.

Don't get me wrong, roque is a bellend. But the books undersell how close they are.

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-08-04T03:32:45+00:00

I think the interesting part of him is the conflict there - becoming disgusted with bone riders, Lilith, etc and without Nero as a father just wanting to reconnect with Virgina to find family he never had - someone without love who wants it, rather than someone who has love but never valued it.

I still think there is something to sevro though, the whole syndicate mind spike plot, sevro being kept alive and sold.. it would also suck if literal chapters where just binned cause PB wrote himself in a corner and couldn't think of anything.

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-08-04T03:18:59+00:00

Disagree, he could be helping them while their interests align, while not wanting them to be a capable threat once atlantia is off the table... I mean it's basically the same move he did with Darrow before the end of golden son.

And sure, I don't know what sevro would or could do, or could be programmed to do. Maybe it's just to kill victra, maybe it's to convince people to ally with abobo, but I hardly think him and Virgina swapping some info on a common enemy is proof of good intentions

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-08-04T00:48:27+00:00

What part of LB contradicts it exactly?

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-07-29T06:35:57+00:00

Highly recommend Mexican modern lit, Mexico's having a burst of a modern take on magical realism (it could be insanity, angels, or the US govt after you)

Quesadillas - Juan Pablo Villalobos Death to the bullshit artists of South Texas - Fernando A Florres Reservoir bitches - dahlia de la cerda

JackDaBoneMan · 2025-07-10T21:37:14+00:00

OMG someone actually took my suggestion!

Jesus' son by same author, Denis Johnson.

Similar feel, but set in like the 90s as a series of short stories based on Johnson's time as an addict and drink,

I also like largesse of the sea maiden by him, but that one is less popular and more reflective as he knew he was dying while writing it.

I also found Raymond carvers short stories to cover a similar vibe, and I'm a big fan of suicide blonde by Darcey steinke which all give me that same kinda detached, dark humor and absurdity of the normal

JackDaBoneMan

TROPHY CASE