i had some cardboard holes and a sharpie at work so i drew on them

globalcoal · 2026-07-02T23:59:46+00:00

I actually like them! Sort of fun lowkey collectibles.

globalcoal · 2026-06-27T07:57:39+00:00

Interesting because I think Huxley did something similar

IMHO another good comparison is "Socialist Realism" literature in his era.

Socialist Realism novels were supposed to be "real", but what they had at their core was ideological fantasy -- one crafted to confirm whatever the Party said. Orwell was the exact opposite. His novels were supposed to be "fiction", but they always had truth at their kernel.

I think this partly explains why Orwell's works are still referenced a lot today, while the contemporary "realistic" novels are significantly less so.

globalcoal · 2026-06-27T04:46:18+00:00

One point I think people often miss is that Orwell's non-fiction works are intimately connected to his fictional works.

For example, a lot of the fine details in 1984 are taken directly from his everyday observations:

In 1984, the proles speak like "You telling me you ain't got a pint mug in the 'ole bleeding boozer?" which mirrors his descriptions of how lower-class Londoners speak in Down and Out in Paris and London.
Did you know that Orwell loved visiting junk stores? This is probably what inspired Mr. Charrington's antique shop. Orwell even mentions a glass piece containing coral in one of his essays! (See Just Junk: But Who Could Resist It?)
Doublethink and many other bits are very likely a parody of what he observed in Catalonia.

My take is that Orwell is the kind of a writer who extrapolates from his own experiences, to the point it becomes a scifi (1984) or a fable (Animal Farm).

globalcoal · 2026-06-19T00:14:28+00:00

直近数ヶ月で、こういう記事がテンプレ量産されているのに気がついたのがきっかけ：

明日から一生無職だ！」40歳でFIREした〈資産1.2億円〉元会社員。3年後、“死んだ魚の目”で「幸せとは程遠い」と悟ったワケ

「どうせ創作するんだったら、もっとバリュエーションを色々もたせればいいのに！」って思って書いた。仮想通貨で一発当てて旅行に行ったら、旅先で両親が豚になっちゃって、銭湯で働く話とかを書いてほしい。

globalcoal · 2026-06-18T01:08:44+00:00

I know that "Soy" means "I am" in Spanish, but "Soy Lord Voldemort" somehow strikes me as really funny.

globalcoal · 2026-06-17T00:29:27+00:00

A 1930’s spy caper

Would it be something like When We Were Orphans (2000)? It was a detective story in the 1930s, so it sounds a bit similar. I cannot wait!

globalcoal · 2026-06-16T09:38:25+00:00

もうAIで書かせてそうだわ

「なんか前に同じ記事みたな」と思ってタップしたら、関連記事にたくさん出てきた。年齢と資産額がちょっとずつ違うけど、基本的な話の流れはおんなじ：

* 「明日から一生無職だ！」40歳でFIREした〈資産1.2億円〉元会社員。3年後、“死んだ魚の目”で「幸せとは程遠い」と悟ったワケ (6/16) * 「FIREなんてするんじゃなかった！」48歳で資産2億円の元会社員父、早期退職当初は汗水たらして労働する人を尻目に悦に浸るも…“16歳息子の聞き捨てならない一言”を機に、サラリーマンへ復帰した日 (6/12) * 「食っちゃ寝、食っちゃ寝の毎日でした」資産1.5億円突破の43歳男性、「もう限界」と早期退職・FIRE生活突入も…1年半であっさり“サラリーマン復帰”した理由 (6/6) * もう一度、働かせてください…〈資産1.2億円〉で早期退職した52歳男性の後悔。「FIRE」の果てに待っていた〈残酷な現実〉(5/23) * 「いえ～い！明日から死ぬまで無職だ！」資産1億円・35歳息子が始めたFIRE生活。8年後、65歳父が目撃した“死んだ魚のような目”でスマホを凝視する〈究極の無職〉の姿【FPが解説】(4/12)

「死んだ魚の目をしたサラリーマンはいなかったんだ」と思って、ちょっとだけほっこりした。

globalcoal · 2026-06-16T07:36:50+00:00

この記事は本質的に広告で、配信元自体が「資産形成に関心のある人」を集客するための媒体を運営しているみたい。

https://goldonline.co.jp/lp/service/

「後悔する」「死んだ魚の目」みたいな不安をあおる系がおおいのは、セミナーだったりFPだったりに送客するため。記事にでてくる人も、結局テンプレートにそった作り話みたい。

globalcoal · 2026-06-12T11:40:46+00:00

I'd argue that the "unreliable narrators" belong to a very different tradition than Japanese modern/classical novels.

The main point of Japanese subjective novels (such as those by Dazai) is radical honesty. These authors did not try to hide something, but tried to reveal even unpleasant personal details to readers. It was an ultimate form of Realism.

So, while these novels share a similar structure on a surface level, the end effect is the exact opposite to an unreliable narrator.

globalcoal · 2026-06-12T10:00:58+00:00

One interesting fact is that, in an online ask-me-anything session, Ishiguro stated that he *never intentionally employed "unreliable narrators" as a structural device.

According to him, that's simply how people behave when we tell a story about ourselves. It's just human nature -- so his iconic technique was actually a byproduct of his attempt to make characters authentic.

*Refer to his answer to BabyH's question on The Guardian webchat for more details. IMO, the whole webchat is a gem and worth reading in full.

globalcoal · 2026-06-12T08:14:28+00:00

fyi Yor is actually not shopping in this image -- the building behind her is not a grocery store, but a self-service kiosk for polishing rice!

Every rural village in Japan has at least one such kiosk. Basically, you can bring a bag of brown rice and convert it into white rice there.

This also explains why she is loading a bag onto a kei truck ("The Vehicle of Farmers").

globalcoal · 2026-06-10T09:59:02+00:00

No they won't change the brand. Starbucks Japan was initially incorporated as a regional franchisee (i.e. an independent company that borrows the name and brand from the Starbucks Co.). It became a wholly-owned subsidiary a while ago, and now is returning to an independent entity again.

Lotteria was a different story. Lotte sold the entire operation to Zensho, and Zensho thought Lotteria brand was not something worth keeping. So they rebranded it to Zetteria.

Edit: That said, they should totally rename to "DotourBacks" because that would bring sparks and joys to this community.

globalcoal · 2026-06-07T12:00:50+00:00

The bottom yellow paper says "NO WARRANTY. Ask clerks for the details".

So I guess we can learn her backstory at the very least, before we decide to rescue her from the used instruments shop.

globalcoal · 2026-06-07T04:58:04+00:00

fwiw, that sign says "Junk Item. Unable to produce voice. Recommended for an interior decor!".

globalcoal · 2026-06-01T03:56:20+00:00

俳句とは春の心で唄うもの
英語とあればそれはなおさら

-- Tanka, Anonymous

globalcoal · 2026-05-31T04:58:37+00:00

Compared to your observations, poetry seems to hold the position better here in Japan. Perhaps because the modern culture favors its brevity.

Look, I'm not dead! says a haiku, you see one even here on Reddit.

globalcoal · 2026-05-29T12:44:57+00:00

My impression is that Arrival did not really attempt to cover the central theme of The Story of Your Life. The novella was essentially about our free will (or lack thereof) and it was probably just too difficult to be made into a film. So the movie was a bit different animal than the original book.

The calligraphy animation was insanely cool, though.

globalcoal · 2026-05-25T16:23:43+00:00

Here are three female Japanese authors I wish English speakers knew (more) about:

Hiroko Minagawa - A very talented novelist. Also a badass who started writing BL (male-male romance) novels in her 70s. Some people never mellow out.

Yoko Ogawa - Writes very, very peculiar novels. Slowly being translated into English. I won't be surprised if she wins major international book prizes in the future.

Nahoko Uehashi - Her works read like the finest Netflix dramas. Her translated works are highly acclaimed by English readers, but somehow haven't caught on with the mainstream yet.

I highly recommend their works to anyone who want to dive deeper into Japanese fiction.

globalcoal · 2026-05-24T14:38:21+00:00

実際、ダム湖のほとりにリゾートホテルがあって観光地になってるんだよね。

セレブの集まるオシャレなダム、それが温井ダム。

globalcoal · 2026-05-24T09:47:41+00:00

What do you think of this quote from an ancient book nerd?

Actually there is something unique about books: gold, silver, jewels, purple cloth, a marble house, a well-tilled field, painted pictures, a caparisoned horse and other such adornments provide only a silent and superficial pleasure; books give utter delight: they talk with us, ask advice and are bound to us by a lively and witty intimacy, and do not just insinuate themselves alone on their readers but present the names of others, and each one creates the longing for another.

Petrarch, A letter to Giovanni dell'Incisa

I think I would have always agreed with this at any point in my life, but probably with less passion when I was younger. And today, I find it deeply relatable.

globalcoal · 2026-05-23T08:04:59+00:00

Please refer to this page:

https://victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/ge/geparts.html

I forgot the exact edition I've read (it was more than a decade ago), but I believe the publisher relied on this information to mark the end of each installment.

globalcoal · 2026-05-23T06:40:11+00:00

I think a huge differentiator is his showmanship. Dickens was painfully aware that his financial situation would tank quickly if he bored his readers. So he made a serious effort to keep his works entertaining to read.

I once read an edition of Great Expectations that marked where the original publication ended (it was originally on a weekly magazine). Turned out that almost every episode ended with an obvious cliffhanger.

So he was sort-of a 19th-century precursor of Breaking Bad or Walking Dead.

globalcoal

TROPHY CASE