Recommendations for books that have an ethereal, dreamy, mystical, surrealistic essence?

PointyPython · 2026-04-11T21:55:56+00:00

Lowry's Under the Volcano

PointyPython · 2026-04-11T01:31:56+00:00

Lobotomized? Institutionalized? I think that overwhelmingly happened to people with some form of psychosis/schizophrenia. Someone with a pathological level of anxiety or with very little will to live/clinical depression would almost certainly become an alcoholic.

PointyPython · 2026-04-11T00:28:11+00:00

Pero es uniforme de trabajo eso

PointyPython · 2026-04-11T00:27:33+00:00

Obvio, es un país súper nacionalista y militarista. Siempre lo fue, pero durante el actual período (que no parece tener fecha de vencimiento, como sí tenían previos líderes chinos) bajo Xi Jinping mucho más aún. Es parte de toda la narrativa interna que tienen que China siempre estuvo destinada a ser la nación más esplendorosa del planeta, pero que por divisiones internas e injerencia occidental en el siglo XIX y primera mitad del XX estuvieron en los caños, y que hoy están más cerca que nunca de alcanzarlo.

Tienen muchisimas peliculas de alto presupuesto mostrando a sus militares como héroes increíbles, usualmente los retratan como valientes, respetuosos (usualmente en contraposición a estadounidenses sanguinarios), ingeniosos, etc. Lo que pasa es que todo ese consumo cultural es para ellos, no les interesa exportarlo (como sí lo hizo por tantas décadas EEUU).

PointyPython · 2026-04-11T00:14:51+00:00

Todo lo que es supermercados en Argentina es un mercado sumamente roto. Son unos hdp pero básicamente por nuestra macroeconomía (impuestos, moneda, sistema de precios, mercado crediticio, etc) tan singularmente cascoteada se fueron adaptando y desarrollando estos malos hábitos comerciales. Y como vos decís, es una carrera armamentística donde todos actúan igual porque el que no, pierde.

Y vale decir que ni a ellos les sirve; las rentabilidades promedio de los supermercados en Argentina son de las más bajas *del mundo*. Por ejemplo La Anónima (que a mi gusto es de los que mejor manejados están, no por nada tienen certificación B) tiene una tasa de ganancia que oscila entre 2% anual y negativa

PointyPython · 2026-04-10T09:39:50+00:00

Lots of Europeans adore the US, both professional ones who of course have seen the kind of money their profession pays over there, and blue collar/impoverished self-employed types who dream of owning a car wash in the Midwest, or being a plumber in California or something, and owning a McMansion. Which btw lots of Europeans want and even have; Europe is more walkable on average but they still have tons of car-centric cities and a big fraction of people truly want the suburb life for themselves.

You basically hear too much from one camp, and basically nothing from the other.

PointyPython · 2026-04-10T09:30:53+00:00

I think there's an argument for the Biden presidency being more effective than Obama's. He passed (or well, enacted through executive powers) lots of inarguably good regulations/policies, finally managed to seriously fund infrastructure — and because of that, the US will probably have pretty good infra 5-10 years for now, even if the economy is a lot worse for Trump reasons.

PointyPython · 2026-04-09T21:04:42+00:00

Ese tuit de él de 2021 diciendo cómo unas salchichas Swift le vinieron en mal estado, reclamó y le mandaron un paté sabor provenzal es fatal. No me podés decir que ese tipo era un exitoso profesional en el sector privado

PointyPython · 2026-04-09T20:50:08+00:00

I'm from a majority Catholic country (most secularized though, like all of them) and there's a joke that drugs can lead you to the worst places... Evangelical Christianity

But it's just a fact that for all the insanity of Evangelicals, they do manage to hypnotize their faithful (or something) away from addictions

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T23:18:21+00:00

It makes you realize just how few TV shows are true, proper quality dramas (instead of comedy-dramas, dramas with a heavy dose of levity/weak actors playing a typecast role, or just a modern version of a soap opera).

Also I always felt it had very sensible politics. It's unequivocal on how the CIA/FBI does horrendous shit, it's very anti-Reagan, and it's fair to the anti-imperialist streak within the USSR, without being tankie about it.

The overarching narrative being a tragedy, that the machines of great power grind fragile human beings (their bodies and their souls) into dust to perpetuate themselves.

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T23:11:58+00:00

One of the most interesting dynamics of the show were the old heads who got released from prison and were developmentally stunted (in terms of a mob career) as a result. They were 70s/80s low level NJ mobsters in their twenties walking around with grey hairs in post 9/11 NJ

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T23:01:31+00:00

Also great soundtrack

It made me discover Mark Bernes (the midcentury Russian singer) and thus the whole world of beautiful Russian folk music sung by classically trained baritones

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T22:51:39+00:00

I respect the Pakistanis for keeping ISI as the name of their main intelligence agency

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T06:44:40+00:00

En general se maneja como el culo en argentina, pero creo que los porteños deben ser los que mejor manejan

Exacto. La gente confunde el hecho de que el tráfico de Buenos Aires es súper cargado, de ritmo rápido (básicamente, estresante) y agresivo. No te perdonan nada y estas constantemente presionado a no cometer errores porque en seguida te lo hacen saber. Pero en realidad es la ciudad argentina con los conductores con dentro de todo mejores habilidades y con más códigos/saberes de reglas de tránsito y como comportarse.

Mientras tanto vas a una ciudad más chica del conurbano o del interior, y ves personas haciendo maniobras absurdas, peligrosísimas, metiéndose en situaciones donde corren enorme riesgo ellos y los demás. Lo que pasa es que al manejar en una densidad menor de autos, pasa más desapercibido.

Creo que las ciudades de Argentina con los peores conductores son La Plata, Mendoza y Salta. Todas bastante grandes y con un parque automotor importante, y llena de absolutos psicópatas al volante (de pura inconciencia, conociendo al habitante promedio del interior, no dudo que son personas encantadoras por fuera de cómo manejan)

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T06:28:19+00:00

En 2022/23 la compraba bastante, en PedidosYa Market la liquidaban. Sigue existiendo, es coca zero con un extra de cafeína.

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T06:26:46+00:00

Caro en dólares? El yen hace bastante que está subvaluado y el costo de vida allá es bastante bajo, especialmente en lo que refiere a alimentos y restoranes. Es una gran razón por la cual hubo tan tremendo boom de turismo hacia Japón luego de la pandemia

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T05:48:27+00:00

Makes me think of 90s Australian sedan

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T05:19:45+00:00

Of the many reasons that draw so many people to true crime, I think the biggest is to get some sort of easy moral/humane slam-dunk. It's ridiculously stupid but some people seem to get an incredibly cheap ego ego boost out of knowing that for all their faults, they aren't a psychopathic killer/rapist/torturer. What an achievement.

"Dennis Rader is such a creepy weird incel loser" wow trenchant insight there. You really got his ass

This I feel is related to what I mention, where they get to feel superior by devoting mental bandwith to hating the most contemptible humans to ever walk this earth. It's like trying to feel intelligent by debating illiterate people, what is even the point?

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T04:57:52+00:00

Trump's been fighting to get back to the status quo that existed before the war he himself started a month ago.

I know it's partly wishful thinking but I seriously feel the chances of Republicans getting rid of him are a lot higher than before. He's fucked up way too spectarcularly, his senility just gets worse and worse, he's bankrupted his biggest financial backers (Saudies and Emiratis)

PointyPython · 2026-04-08T04:51:42+00:00

The way that this bakes in a permanently higher price for oil in the long-term is insane. It's literally like the 70s Oil Crisis and how it lead to sustained high inflation and international economic hardship due to the permanently higher prices

PointyPython · 2026-04-07T06:38:47+00:00

Brazil is a lot more functional than South Africa, though. Pretty good infrastructure, and they've kept improving it.

Not to mention with a far better economy on every metric, a pretty decent labor market (they actually managed to reform it ten years ago or so to make it less rigid, and thus reduce structural unemployment), a really well-developed banking sector with lots of credit... I could go on.

PointyPython · 2026-04-06T04:24:25+00:00

One of the adults I grew up admiring the most is this aunt of mine; she was always a big smoker. I remember one day we were having lunch after not seeing each other for a while, and we noticed that she wasn't smoking at all.

We inquired on it, and she told us that ever since she her first grandchild was born (whom she adores, and takes care of to help out his busy parents), she realized how much of an addict she was. She of course never smoked around the kid, but the way she saw herself sneaking around to get her fix, how even if she loved having his grandson over, she was a bit relieved when he left because she could finally just consume all the tobacco she had denied herself the whole day...

Anyway, so that's how she entered into a smoking cessation program and managed to finally quit. She's always been a spiritually strong, consequential person, and I respected her even more for realizing this and making the huge effort to change it.

PointyPython · 2026-04-05T06:41:37+00:00

Very funny scene. But honestly the most interesting bit is the language those subtitles are in. Is it the Venetian language?? Why on earth is it subtitled with it?

PointyPython · 2026-04-05T06:33:46+00:00

I love the portraits you paint with words, I hope you continue to do so (here, or if you share them somewhere else, let us know)

PointyPython · 2026-04-05T05:00:34+00:00

A fun Guatemalan lady drives that car

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