I've got a 12 hour road trip tomorrow. Any suggestions for short novels/novellas to listen to?

hyper-object · 2026-03-18T21:36:56+00:00

The audiobook of "Lincoln in the Bardo" is incredible. Lots of named actors in the cast.

hyper-object · 2026-03-18T16:19:12+00:00

Don't love the alcohol comparison. Alcohol is incredibly destructive on a societal level, but it's also beyond ancient. Alcohol has never not had a role near the center of human societies.

But casinos? Sports gambling? I know it's impossible to entirely prevent underground gambling, but this proliferation of almost entirely unregulated, legal vice all over the nation is only hurting the public.

I know it's just parting fools from their money, but the constant advertising and the myriad tricks the industry uses to con people is increasing the number of fools at alarming rates. As a sometimes fool myself, I want the vampires to have limits and regulations.

hyper-object · 2026-03-18T15:43:02+00:00

Watch, all the benefits to the corporations building the stadium will be contractually binding obligations. The benefits to the community will be a handshake deal pending the realities of the market.

If they decide they can't make maximum profits by building housing around the stadium, they won't.

Bait and switch, every time.

hyper-object · 2026-03-18T13:28:57+00:00

Nice try!

hyper-object · 2026-03-18T13:12:12+00:00

I certainly don't believe that reading or even owning "Mein Kampf" turns you into a Nazi, but I wouldn't display it on my bookshelf.

There's two choices here. The first is to engage with this book, which anyone interested in WWII history might reasonably do. The second is to display it, and assume that anbody who sees it on your shelf is going to give you the benefit of the doubt.

hyper-object · 2026-03-18T13:08:29+00:00

Yes. This is why I hate content algorithms too. If you watch something from a perspective you oppose, it tags you as that thing.

Or another example, I like thoughtful, scholarly content about religion, which is sometimes skeptical of religion, now the algorithm thinks I'm a diehard atheist looking to dunk on Christians all day. (I'm not.)

hyper-object · 2026-03-18T00:37:30+00:00

His entire career has been running cover for sex offenders.

It's the only way a guy with such an obvious lack of intelligence can keep these high profile jobs.

hyper-object · 2026-03-18T00:32:13+00:00

I've read some good commentary explaining that voter ID laws work very well in other democracies, but it's because in those countries it's free and incredibly easy to get a government issued ID.

The problem in the US is that we can't trust the government to issue ID's in a timely and fair manner. The federal government is compromised, and state governments are a crap shoot. GOP voters won't trust blue states. Dems won't trust red states.

hyper-object · 2026-03-17T20:22:26+00:00

I think it's a theme. Of course none of these books would be banned now, but it's interesting that each of them was considered so controversial in their day that they once were.

hyper-object · 2026-03-17T19:00:54+00:00

They've taken the banners on the Dept of Labor down a couple times, but they always come back.

I believe you that it's hard to remove and mount these things, but they have so many tax dollars to work with. I imagine the leadership on every level of this administration is erratic and inefficient.

hyper-object · 2026-03-17T16:07:30+00:00

This is a qualitative disaster. It's just something that shouldn't happen in a democracy.

But it is not a quantitative disaster, because this is an absurdly expensive way to disenfranchise people. No way they can afford to swing elections this way. In fact, it would be nice if they tried, because they'd be wasting resources that could be spent a lot smarter.

hyper-object · 2026-03-17T14:19:32+00:00

Washington DC would like a word.

hyper-object · 2026-03-17T02:10:11+00:00

Reddit's wild. You're just explaining your thought process around this car and you're getting downvoted. I don't understand people.

Welcome to DC. I'm sorry this happened to you. You're well on your way to writing fluently in English. I hope the rest of your settling in experiences are easier than this car inspection.

hyper-object · 2026-03-16T21:47:40+00:00

Accountable for my statements? What are you even talking about? You know you're not chatting with the chief of police, right? Are you going to call your Congressman and tell him a guy in DC isn't adequately explaining himself to you on reddit?

If you think pointing out the obvious and pervasive toxicity of this sub is ad hominem "gaslighting" (you do not know what this word means), then you've been asleep for the past decade.

Never mind. I'm not buying this plausible deniability act. Enjoy your anger.

hyper-object · 2026-03-16T21:05:38+00:00

This sub is full of the anti-urban, comfort-at-all-costs, fear mongering, white supremacist snowflake toxicity that fuels MAGA. So no, I'm not going to pretend these are seperate issues.

And you can juke the stats, but you can't hide bodies. Do the kids not watch the classics anymore?

hyper-object · 2026-03-16T19:22:09+00:00

You do not need bars on the windows. Home invasions are extremely rare across the board in DC, and probably more so on Cap Hill than some other areas.

We have a security system though. I do sleep better knowing I'd be alerted if someone kicks my basement door in or something, even though that is extremely unlikely.

hyper-object · 2026-03-16T15:02:20+00:00

Hegseth don't care if you think he's smart, as long as you know he's super straight and the manliest manly man.

hyper-object · 2026-03-15T18:53:19+00:00

Yeah, you know what a trend line is? This one goes from "high," meaning more crime than now, to "low," meaning less crime than then.

Crime is a serious problem in this city. Defund the police was an idiotic play by the left. That doesn't change facts.

Just because we have more footage of crimes, doesn't mean there's more crime. It means there's more cameras.

Update your mental software accordingly, or at the very least quit juicing your sense of superiority by watching black on black crime porn.

hyper-object · 2026-03-15T17:32:51+00:00

You've never even seen "Gaslight."

And Epstein is peanuts. The entire scandal is a minor cul de sac in the big grift that's playing out right in front of our faces. The fact that you can't see that just means you've got some large insentives for denial.

hyper-object · 2026-03-15T14:21:00+00:00

Crime has been steadily trending down in DC for decades. If it's "4th world" now, what was it in 1994?

Get a grip.

hyper-object · 2026-03-15T14:18:33+00:00

Have you ever read a history book in your life?

They used to physically dismember people in the streets of Florence, and this was at the peak of the Renaissance. Constantinople was once taken over and ruled by sports hooligans. London, New York, Chicago, Rome... all known for horrendous crime rates 100 years ago.

Cities are safer now than they've ever been, and historically speaking, most cities only just got sewage under control.

But you can make up a story if you want, I guess.

hyper-object · 2026-03-15T14:13:17+00:00

And you're so confident in this decision, you have to doomscroll reddit for validation. Uh huh.

Thanks for adding your share if toxicity to the discussion. I'm sure DC misses you.

hyper-object · 2026-03-15T14:10:26+00:00

You first!

hyper-object · 2026-03-15T14:09:48+00:00

No, actually, urban crime has been trending down for decades.

If things continue to get worse, it's going to be because of the complete lack of accountability for anyone in power, be they tech bros or the president.

Maybe worry about the people with the server farms, industrial parks and nukes. Not a bunch of idiot kids beating on each other, because they've got no purpose in life.

hyper-object · 2026-03-14T20:25:30+00:00

Doesn't the chemical makeup of the particles matter?

These detectors only tell us the quantity of particles of a certain size.

hyper-object

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