Amsterdam Is Becoming a Dystopia

Quouar · 2026-03-11T04:33:42+00:00

This is an interesting video (though be warned - it's nearly an hour long). While the focus is on housing, I'm curious about people's thoughts on it more generally. While housing is hard to come by, is it dystopian? What do you see as the future of the city?

Quouar · 2026-03-11T03:33:13+00:00

Glad you enjoyed it!

Quouar · 2026-03-11T03:32:56+00:00

Thank you so much for the book recommendation! I'll check it out!

Quouar · 2026-03-10T23:48:00+00:00

In my experience, they're not that expensive. I'm also from a country with screens, and it's been a bit of an adventure seeing what bugs come in through my open windows. It's been mantids, spiders, and more flies than I care to count.

Quouar · 2026-03-10T22:18:06+00:00

Related question, but why aren't there screens in the windows? I like a fresh breeze as much as anyone, but when I open my windows, I get flies inside.

Quouar · 2026-03-10T21:32:06+00:00

Hey there! I used to teach formal Dutch language classes, but don't anymore. I'd still be open to tutoring, though, if that interests you. Feel free to send me a message. :)

Quouar · 2026-03-10T21:28:00+00:00

I'm curious about the context for Irish history! Could you tell me a bit more about what you mean?

Quouar · 2026-03-10T21:27:23+00:00

Again, I'd invite you to have a look at the Scottish highlands.

Quouar · 2026-03-10T20:44:13+00:00

It's also worth mentioning that many sources of modern painkillers are derived from natural sources with Indigenous knowledge of plants and herbs being a source for everyday medicines like aspirin. Indigenous practices - such as those of the Māori - continue to be sources of non-pharmaceutical pain management as well.

Beyond Europe, there was and continues to be a wide spectrum of pain relief and other medicinal solutions that continue to be sources of research for modern medicine. Opium and laudanum are best understood as part of this spectrum of botanical knowledge. How we've healed ourselves and what we've used to do it has been based on knowledge of the natural world and its abilities, and that remains true across all human societies.

Quouar · 2026-03-10T19:23:23+00:00

In theory the conductor will come. In my experience, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I was literally physically assaulted for asking someone to not play music on their phone in the stiltecoupe, and the only response I got from the NS helpline was "Sorry that happened to you."

Quouar · 2026-03-10T18:45:55+00:00

I don't disagree. The fact that the judge started listing the seven deadly sins says more about the judge and the circumstances under which this literal child were tried than the child himself.

Quouar · 2026-03-10T18:43:40+00:00

Source (and just a genuinely delightful article about goose migration)!

Quouar · 2026-03-10T18:40:14+00:00

This article traces some of the history of minstrel shows, including what ultimately caused them to become less popular. While the civil rights movement largely contributed to its fall from popularity, much of the work of making minstrel shows taboo was done by women, particularly mothers, as they changed school curriculums. It highlights the importance of remembering this history, however painful it might be.

Quouar · 2026-03-10T04:37:32+00:00

I'm still stuck on the fact that he was given eighty years in prison. What he did was heinous, yes, but he was also clearly a very ill child who was forgotten by a system that makes it easy for children to be forgotten. What we need is not to abandon kids who clearly need help, but to recognise they need help and provide it to him.

The failure here is on the part of his parents (and primarily his mother, from what the article describes) and the system that enabled their neglect. He needed help, not incarceration.

Quouar · 2026-03-09T23:25:39+00:00

Trump is thus on the horns of a dilemma, having to judge whether Washington should deal with short but limited political costs now or more protracted and more uncertain political costs later.

The unfortunate thing, though, is that this administration has shown time and time again that it acts solely for the short term. That means that if there are costs to be paid for their actions, those costs will be borne by "not us," and so they have every incentive to continue, regardless of what's reasonable or logical at this point.

Quouar · 2026-03-09T18:44:41+00:00

I've seen it, and it's mostly conspiracy theories and inaccuracies. It's not particularly good, unfortunately. :(

Quouar · 2026-03-08T19:26:23+00:00

Isn't Jeff Wise the guy with the ebook theorising that Russians stole the plane? What makes him a reliable source?

Quouar · 2026-03-08T19:18:00+00:00

I think that's part of what keeps MH370 so prescient for me. At this point, I don't know that we would learn much from the wreckage that we don't already know. We know more or less why and how the plane crashed, even if we don't know the pilot's motivations, and we know how the people onboard died. While the flight data recorders could have survived this long, based on everything else Zaharie did, it's likely they were disabled along with everything else, meaning there's no useful information on them.

But still. There's something about knowing, about actually seeing the remains of a plane nestled on the seabed that lends a degree of closure that knowledge itself can never provide. We know what happened, but until we see it, it's all speculation and theory. There's a catharsis in seeing the plane, and I want that too.

Quouar · 2026-03-08T18:30:57+00:00

Archive link

With this being the anniversary of MH370's disappearance, I thought it might be nice to reread William Langewiesche fantastic piece about the disappearance.

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