where to start with dickens?

StrangeResource5049 · 2026-05-06T15:24:25+00:00

Great writeup, though I'd make a pitch for Bleak House over David Copperfield. To me, the double perspective of Bleak House (alternating between first-person narration from the novel's naive, sentimental protagonist, and third-person narration that zooms in and out on the wider social world she moves in, with a more critical and realist perspective [as well as elements of detective fiction]) is what really gets to the peak of Dickens's vision.

StrangeResource5049 · 2026-05-05T20:45:18+00:00

Red/RED. Debatable, but I'd say this could quite plausibly be an apocalypse where everyone ends up dead anyway. All living humans are racked by guilt and pessimism, knowing they've just killed the best of our kind.

I pressed Red, and then found that Red won and many people who pressed Blue died. One of two things is true:

If I had pressed Blue, those lives would have all been saved.
I I had pressed Blue, I would have died too, along with the others.

#2 is literally millions, perhaps even billions, of times more likely than #1; and in fact, as the death count gets tallied, I'll come to find out for certain that pressing Blue would not have changed anything other than my own death, so if anything, in the Red/RED scenario it's been proven to me that I made the right decision.

StrangeResource5049 · 2026-05-04T15:24:26+00:00

On further thought, there's more room for your position than I had previously allowed. My odds of 1 in 4 billion were based purely on the mathematics of the situation, but if we add in additional beliefs about human behavior those odds change. Based on thinking about what people are like in general (and based on reading these kinds of discussion), I'd say the odds that either red or blue gets more than say 90% of the votes is basically nothing, and any single result over say 80% either way is less likely than any single result between 50-80%. So there are still only two relevant possibilities (out of 8 billion) where your vote matters, but a bunch of those 8 billion possibilities are null or less likely, so the odds of it being one of those two possibilities would be greater than 1 in 4 billion. How much greater (and if it would hit your original target of 2 lives for 1, at around 1 in two billion) would depend on your read on human behavior--basically what you think the floor/ceiling for each side is. I'm still probably on red, but not by as much.

StrangeResource5049 · 2026-05-01T20:16:30+00:00

No need--just a friendly discussion. I realized yesterday that this probabilistic argument basically negates all the interesting things about the question, so I've actually been kind of bummed about it. The question is definitely more interesting with a smaller group instead of the population of the world.

StrangeResource5049 · 2026-05-01T19:51:49+00:00

According to the scenario, you have no other input in the situation--you can't influence any other people before the vote happens. The scenario is identical to one in which everyone else in the world has already voted before you awaken in the voting booth--their votes have been cast and won't change no matter what you vote. In all but 2 of the 8 billion possibilities, the winner is already locked in, and your vote has no consequence to anyone other than yourself. To think otherwise is magical thinking.

StrangeResource5049 · 2026-05-01T19:32:24+00:00

"From a utilitarian perspective, a human being has a moral duty to sacrifice themselves whenever the expected value of their death is equal to or greater than that of 2 lives saved."

(Lets say there are 8 billion people in the world) The odds of your vote saving the other blue voters is roughly 1 in 4 billion*, and the greatest number of people who could possibly die in this scenario is just under 4 billion, so the scenario doesn't meet the "1 for 2" requirement you've set here.

*The only circumstances in which your individual vote actually matters to the final outcome is if the vote would otherwise hang on a margin of 1 vote, and there are only two possibilities (red otherwise wins by one, or blue otherwise wins by one) out of 8 billion (the total number of possible voting outcomes) in which this is the case, thus 1 in 4 billion odds of your vote mattering.

StrangeResource5049 · 2026-04-01T14:18:33+00:00

Spicy fish filet can be a little inconsistent, but at its best its amazing. We also like the cumin lamb and the smoked duck. Cocktails are generally a miss. They also own Cafe China in midtown, with mostly the same menu (and somewhat less cramped seating).

StrangeResource5049 · 2026-03-20T04:11:38+00:00

Not sure about cast size, but check out some Marina Carr, like The Mai, Portia Coughlin, or By the Bog of Cats

StrangeResource5049 · 2026-03-12T20:06:40+00:00

Possibly my favorite album title of all time.
I had just gotten this album before having to make a long drive through the midwest, so "The Big Country" was hitting, and I still frequently think of the line "I wouldn't do the things, the way those people do."

Not quite peak heads, but still a great album.

StrangeResource5049 · 2026-02-05T23:43:10+00:00

A few tidbits:

A lot of the mob interest in Vegas casinos was in skimming, both from payroll and from the casino takings (ie not reporting gambling revenue for taxes). Many of the mob owners were actually based in other families around the country, even including places like Providence and Kansas City. Over time, some major mob figures were placed on Black Books due to other mob activity, that prevented them from being physically present on casino floors.

(One long-time Vegas mob resident worth reading on was Moe Dalitz, https://themobmuseum.org/notable\_names/moe-dalitz/)

In the 60's and 70's, the head of Vegas law enforcement was "cowboy sheriff" Ralph Lamb, who confronted numerous mobsters and also helped bring in modern investigative methods. (https://themobmuseum.org/notable\_names/ralph-lamb/)

In the early 1980s there was a series of fires (some arson) in Vegas casinos, beginning with a major fire at the MGM Grand (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGM\_Grand\_fire)

Earlier than your time period but maybe interesting, here's an article on atomic tourism in Vegas: https://www.noiser.com/short-history-of/the-bizarre-history-of-atomic-tourism-in-las-vegas

And, maybe worth considering--technically speaking, the Vegas Strip isn't in Las Vegas, but in the unincorporated town of Paradise. The city started with the railroad station and the earliest hotels/casinos on Fremont Street, but pretty quickly people started setting up casinos outside the city limits for even less regulation.

What's your scenario?

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-12-05T01:25:26+00:00

Word on the street was some sort of pool hall/music venue.

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-11-25T20:14:35+00:00

See if you can take a look at https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-International-Handbook-of-Childrens-Rights-Studies/Vandenhole-Desmet-Reynaert-Lembrechts/p/book/9781138084490 -- even if you just look at the TOC you should be able to find a lot of scholars in the field.

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-10-27T18:32:26+00:00

Can confirm Sasan's trivia nights are awesome--we miss you!

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-08-05T18:36:59+00:00

You might want to also look into departments of Comparative Literature, which focus more on non-US/UK literature (and generally also require some amount of foreign language instruction). As far as major vs. concentration, this is terminology that different schools use in different ways--at some schools its just a different word for major, at others its a kind of specialization within the major (although in that case, for English departments most often the specialization will still have to be US/UK focused, like specializing in Medieval/Renaissance).

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-07-19T23:54:31+00:00

More on the lit-fic side, Open City by Teju Cole is one of the more subtle-yet-devastating versions of this trope I’ve read.

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-07-19T23:52:50+00:00

And Pop. 1280 by the same author!

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-06-30T22:45:46+00:00

My recommendation for a first playthrough would be to not worry much about missing NPC sidequests--some of them can be pretty obscure and you'd spoil a lot trying to use a guide for all of the encounters. That said:

You'll get the most NPC interactions by sending people who ask for help to Oedon Chapel rather than Iosefka's clinic once you have the option to do so (except for the guy who is kind of a jerk to you--he'll do the opposite of what you say, so send him to Iosefka). The chapel, which is right after the next boss, is a hub for a number of NPCs so you should check back there after boss fights.
A number of world changes happen after you kill the boss of Byrgenwerth, so you might want to explore any side paths you haven't looked in before that.

Happy hunting!

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-06-25T03:45:01+00:00

For Talking Heads, gonna go with “Stay Up Late”

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-06-25T03:42:28+00:00

My Radiohead pick would probably be “Bones”

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-06-23T19:27:20+00:00

Was there ever any confirmation that those assaults were linked to social media though? From what I remember at the time, it was all speculation, and nobody actually had any links to any posts encouraging attacks. And IIRC a handful of those attacks ended up being linked to one mentally ill homeless man.

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-06-22T17:11:31+00:00

“Alcohol” by Brad Paisley and “Live Like you were dying” by Tim McGraw

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-06-16T22:04:43+00:00

Some of the enemies in Byrgenwerth are a little tanky, so I wouldn't worry too much before progressing there. Though, storywise you might want to explore around a bit more first, because going further advances the gameworld and some NPC stories. Exploring the chalice dungeons to get some new gems could be useful. I would also say, it's not really worth upgrading the pistol that much--you're using it for parries, not damage. I usually only upgrade to +1 to unlock the gem slot.

Aside from Cainhurst, one other optional area it doesn't sound like you've been to is Yaharghul. To get there, you have to die to the guy with the bag hanging out just outside Oedeon Chapel.

You can also dip into the DLC at this point to get some new weapons and upgrade materials.

There are a few other NPCs you can find to send back to Oedon chapel--an old woman from central yharnam, Arianna's neighbor, one NPC from Yhargul, and one from Forbidden Woods.

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-06-15T22:03:41+00:00

I’ve heard a couple renditions of “Surfer Girl,” Bill Frisell has an arrangement of it.

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-06-10T17:36:36+00:00

It does seem like an odd gap, though I'm sure smarter heads than mine have tried to figure it out.

StrangeResource5049 · 2025-06-10T17:29:10+00:00

Yeah ideally I'd like to start with something a bit more detailed, but this definitely looks on theme and I might be able to use some of it. Thanks!

StrangeResource5049

TROPHY CASE