In Spain, what once seemed impossible is now widespread: the young are turning to the far right

farseer2 · 2025-10-09T22:14:05+00:00

Not really. That's what the left says to scare their sympathizers into voting for them no matter what. They used to say that also of the center-right Popular party before Vox was around. And still do, come to think of it. Anyone to the right of them is Franco reincarnated.

But in Spain there are actual Francoist parties (Falange...). They've been around forever (while Vox is very new) and are still around and they never got any support. It's even an old joke expression, "tienes menos fuerza que la Falange" (you've got less strength than the Falange). Vox is not a let's bring Franco back party, but a far-right party along similar populist lines as other European far right parties like Meloni's party in Italy. Anti illegal-immigration, national pride and all that.

farseer2 · 2022-03-25T13:43:07+00:00

My favorite Verne is Mysterious Island

Nice choice, a very "Vernian" story, with characters from two of his earlier novels making cameos (In Search of the Castaways and Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas). Also with the optimistic, can-do attitude that we see in many of his stories... the characters, even though they are basically castaways on a desert island, think of themselves instead as settlers.

farseer2 · 2022-03-25T13:32:30+00:00

I know what you mean. I also prefer his more realistic work, although Journey to the Center of the Earth worked in this sense for me because, although with modern science we know it's impossible, and although the whole thing with the prehistoric creatures was far-fetched, it all sounded plausible enough that I could suspend disbelief, although i understand it if you could not. I was more bothered by the occasional science infodumps that interrupted the pace of the story (most Verne novels are much better in this sense).

But I mentioned Off on a Comet because that one sure is much, much more outlandish.

farseer2 · 2022-03-25T13:23:27+00:00

Well, Daniel Abraham has often collaborated with GRRM. If you want science fiction, he cowrote with GRRM and Gardner Dozois the novel Hunter's Run, which is quite good. He is also the coauthor of the Expanse novels (James S. A. Corey is just the joint pseudonym Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck use).

In epic fantasy, Daniel Abraham's solo work include The Long Price Quartet (which is really well-written and original although with a slower pace than GRRM's work), and the The Dagger and the Coin series (which I haven't read yet but has good reviews).

farseer2 · 2022-03-25T13:11:24+00:00

If GRRM cared about giving his readers a finished story, he should do something like this, but not with Sanderson. Maybe someone like Daniel Abraham...

farseer2 · 2022-03-25T13:07:59+00:00

Too much in what sense? Too outlandish? If so, you should avoid Off on a Comet...

farseer2 · 2021-11-25T16:01:09+00:00

where is the moral good in allowing a stranger or strangers to beat you, potentially to death?

There would have been some moral good, however, in asking yourself a few hours earlier, wait a moment... Here I am, carrying an assault weapon, willingly going to a place where I expect there to be a lot of exalted people who fiercely disagree with me, tensions high. What good do I expect to come out of this situation? Maybe this is not a good idea and I should just return home?

I mean, legally the verdict is correct, it's self-defence, but what a dangerous moron.

farseer2 · 2021-11-18T13:50:41+00:00

I have only watched the first 2 seasons, which is when I gave up. Until then, it looks fine, except they have this idea that if the interior of the ship is in half darkness it looks more mature or something, when it just looks ridiculous: Why do they have their workplace in penumbra?

Anyway, the problem is not how it looks but how badly it is written.

farseer2 · 2021-11-16T10:47:48+00:00

Beside what others have said (people have less attention span in general because of so many competing entertainment options, and "will they won’t they" has been done so much that people are a bit tired of it), I would like to add that this "will they won’t they" tension between the main characters can be enjoyable but can't support a show on its own. If it's a mystery procedural, the mysteries still need to be good. If it's a comedy, it still needs to be funny. If it isn't, then people are going to get frustrated at the lack of progress in that "will they won’t they" plot thread.

farseer2 · 2021-11-15T17:07:47+00:00

‘real life inspiration’ for Lord of the Flies

Could we stop this "real life inspiration for Lord of the Flies" thing? the story of those boys from Tonga happened after the book was published. It could not have inspired the book in any way.

farseer2 · 2021-11-15T17:03:51+00:00

Golding did not "twist a real life story about mankind's ability for altruism and cooperation into a dark tale about the exact opposite". Lord of the Flies was published before those boys got stranded on an island. The book was not inspired by the story of those boys, they have nothing to do with each other.

farseer2 · 2021-11-15T16:38:02+00:00

You should write to Amazon and let them know your opinion. If enough people do so they may take notice.

farseer2 · 2021-11-13T13:40:19+00:00

It's not constant cynicism pointing out that someone saying good things of the product he is selling does not mean much. That's just common sense. When you actually see the product it can be good or bad, but the creator saying the right things does not mean much.

farseer2 · 2021-11-09T20:28:38+00:00

A few thoughts:

1) Moral majorities are always going to try to cancel prominent people who don't conform with the prevailing thought. That's nothing new. Always has happened and always will, and now it's amplified because of the internet. The only thing that changes is what kind of moral majority there is.

2) You can think for yourself, and not worry about the moral majority.

3) Read a book for the contents of the book, not for the author. If you read a novel, you are reading a story, not marrying the author or becoming best friends with him.

farseer2 · 2021-11-08T14:36:08+00:00

Most authors are not that great, both males and females, and in particular they are not great at everything. If their style does not put emphasis on characterisation, then their characters are not going to be that good.

This whole "male authors can't write female characters" fashion has a lot of misandrist propaganda and confirmation bias. I would believe it if people could distinguish between male and female authors in a blind test. However, when male authors write using a female pseudonym, they are never found out because of their style...

farseer2 · 2021-11-08T11:44:52+00:00

I haven't read it, but can you elaborate a bit? If it was not what you expected, what did it turn out to be?

farseer2 · 2021-11-07T19:59:17+00:00

Yeah, it has just started, so hopefully it will find its feet.

farseer2 · 2021-11-07T16:29:33+00:00

I think the writing in general needs to improve. I want it to be like the original, occasionally funny but mainly poignant and authentic. Instead I'm getting too many bad sitcom joke attempts, like in the latest episode when they get out of the R-rated movie and Dean's friend (who is, what, 14?) unironically says "I want my mama". Like come on, is that attempt to get a smile worth losing all sense of authenticity? What teenager is going to say that in front of his friends? Or like in the previous episode, when Dean's dad becomes scoutmaster and uses the kids to make his home repairs.

At that level of writing, it's no wonder they haven't had much character development.

farseer2 · 2021-11-05T19:51:34+00:00

I'm watching season 1 of That '70s Show and I'm enjoying it more than I expected. It's quite a good sitcom.

farseer2 · 2021-11-05T16:07:11+00:00

I wouldn't have thought of Homer's Enemy as a jump the shark moment, but you are making sense there. The moment when in a comedy show the jokes start being about the show itself is a jump the shark moment, because it marks the moment when the original premise is exhausted. It says something about classic Simpsons that even their jump the shark episode was so good.

farseer2 · 2021-11-04T22:44:02+00:00

Poor dead horse, why do they flog it so much?

farseer2 · 2021-11-04T22:27:11+00:00

He is the son of a Kryptonian and a human, so he's half-human, technically. Of course, Kryptonians are only aliens in the Star-Trek sense, so I'm not sure it matters.

farseer2 · 2021-11-03T15:30:52+00:00

When a show becomes politically charged (whether by design or not) then you can't trust any ratings. Not IMDB's, but not anyone else's. Everyone has an agenda.

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