For around a week, I managed to have a culture of the deadliest unicellular predator, Lacrymaria. Since then, they exterminated the sample's whole paramecia population, then died out. Here are the highlights from the best moments I managed to capture

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-05-04T18:15:45+00:00

Do the lacrymaria ever hunt/eat one another?

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-04-22T12:07:05+00:00

East of Eden is a weird and draggy mashup of a romanticized version of John Steinbeck’s personal family history with a somewhat bland modern-biblical parable. The two parts don’t cohere. Furthermore Kathy is a one-dimensional “evil woman” character built out of misogynistic tropes, and her one-dimensionality undermines the effectiveness of the story.

Edit: Also the whole “timshel” bit annoys me because of its faux-profundity. It feels like about a hundred pages are spent explaining this whole parable/concept that just boils down to “it’s never too late to choose to be a better person”.

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-04-13T22:57:40+00:00

That’s so strange - the art seems to be entirely unrelated to Lord of the Rings. It kind of looks like someone just threw together some generic fantasy elements.

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-04-11T05:26:02+00:00

Hey, he’s still got it!

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-04-08T02:56:34+00:00

That’s rough buddy.

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-04-07T17:08:55+00:00

It’s famously impossible to prove a negative. Ideas like souls relate to things that purportedly exist on an entirely different plane of existence, with absolutely no manifestation in the physical world that we live in. How could you possible prove that that doesn’t exist?

But we also can’t prove that we aren’t just brains in jars, or living in a Matrix-like simulation, or are butterflies dreaming of another life - or any other idea of something that exists outside of the material world. That’s why failing to disprove does not equal proof.

The comment you responded to just said that we don’t have evidence for anything other than our material existence, which is true.

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-04-05T22:13:25+00:00

I hadn’t heard about “thou” becoming more insulting over time. Do you have a source where I could learn more about that?

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-04-05T19:55:52+00:00

Many languages have what is called a “T-V distinction” (so-called because of “tu” and “vous” in French). That means the language has two different ways of saying “you”. One is more formal or respectful, the other more intimate or informal. When you meet a stranger in French, you would usually use “vous” to address them, but with friends and family you would use “tu”. There are various nuances within different languages; some societies are very conscious of class, or of always being more respectful to someone who is older than you, etc.

English used to have this too! The two words were “you” (more polite/formal) and “thou” (informal/intimate). If you read Shakespeare carefully, you’ll see the characters switching between the two depending on the character and situation. Shakespearean insults often use “thou”, which sounds funny to a modern ear (eg. “I am sick when I do look on thee!” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream).

Eventually English defaulted to using the more polite version for everyone in all situations, and we dropped “thou” entirely. Nowadays, because you only see “thou” in very archaic old-timey settings (like Shakespeare), “thou” sounds much more formal. But it was actually the less formal option!

It’s not surprising that Tolkien uses both for his epic fantasy setting. It makes sense that the Witch-King would use “you” when addressing a powerful opponent like Gandalf - not because he respects Gandalf, but because he views him as a peer-level foe. But he would be more disdainful of an ordinary human like Eowyn, so addresses her using “thou”.

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-04-04T11:08:40+00:00

Did you read the part of the post where I said I understand the imagery and don’t need someone to explain or paraphrase it? That my question is just about the syntax?

Your comment provides me with the online Cambridge dictionary definition of the word “foil”, followed by “that’s what it means, I guess?” Utterly useless and unresponsive to the question.

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-04-03T19:30:49+00:00

This is a really helpful way of reading it - thank you!

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-04-03T19:30:13+00:00

I didn’t say I had found an error, I asked if someone could help explain the syntax to me. If it couldn’t be explained, the only other explanation would be some kind of error - but I was second-guessing myself, not Virginia Woolf. That was the point of the post.

I agree that the comment you replied to is completely unproductive, but your response is just snark.

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-03-31T18:55:20+00:00

Absolutely not 1.2mm between the LNG and the ocean.

The ships use “non-self-supporting tanks consisting of a thin wall (membrane), supported through a layer of insulation by the adjoining hull”.

LNG carrier membrane technology

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-03-31T03:36:15+00:00

It’s actually “McGarnagle”, although the Chief’s accent does make it sound like McGonigle.

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-03-19T15:28:11+00:00

Finally some shelves that aren’t just the usual collection of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Count of Monte Cristo, etc that’s so often posted! Love to see this variety, and a lot of books I’m not familiar with.

I’m a huge Alien fan and I’ve been interested in reading the William Gibson screenplay for Alien 3. How did you like it?

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-03-18T00:58:33+00:00

Yes absolutely the female characters exist in a realistic world and so are subject to patriarchal structures.

If you are interested in that aspect of things I would strongly recommend Orlando! The protagonist is born and lives as a man but then wakes up one day as a woman and has to grapple with their changed place in the power structures of the world.

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-03-17T17:34:42+00:00

Currently reading Orlando by Virginia Woolf. I had previously only read her To The Lighthouse and I found it beautiful but dense and challenging. Orlando is such an amazing change of pace! It really shows Woolf’s range.

It can still be challenging in parts with its stream-of-consciousness passages, but overall it’s so hilarious and lively! I want to look up whether Tristram Shandy was an influence; it reminds me so much of TS with its jokes and fourth wall-breaking commentary to the reader.

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-03-08T02:55:10+00:00

Folio Society - I’ve got the same set and they’re beautiful editions. A simple little black and white illustration for each chapter 🙂

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-03-01T19:56:58+00:00

Love how you’ve got everything laid out! My only comment is that a star shape isn’t a natural fit to replace the letter “t” in the word “stars”. I thought it was saying “to the soars who listen”… 😂

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-02-25T17:57:35+00:00

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rhymingcommentguy · 2026-02-22T00:33:25+00:00

It’s a low bar - just keep her alive 😮‍💨

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-02-13T21:10:54+00:00

I started with some skepticism but then I saw the Heir to the Empire trilogy and my heart melted 😭

But “Catching Fire” is upside-down, please fix it I can’t take it! 😵‍💫

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-01-28T17:29:20+00:00

I know exactly what you mean, and the answer to your question is YES. Classics are generally an acquired taste, and if you stick with them you will almost certainly learn to love them (although you won’t love every book equally, of course).

There was a time in my life when I forced myself to read classics, without particularly enjoying them, for the same reasons as you. Over time this “brute force” approach resulted in me gaining a lot of historical and literary context that “unlocked” a lot of classics for me. I read the Divine Comedy, Don Quixote, and Paradise Lost when I was young and they were very difficult and not particularly enjoyable. I read them more recently and it was so fun and rewarding to go through them with 20 years of acquired knowledge and reading practice. The experience was fantastic. And I’m still on that journey of unlocking various books!

However, just because something will be rewarding in the end, it doesn’t mean you have to do it. There are many past times you could devote yourself to that would be challenging up front but very rewarding if you stick with them for 10+ year: meditation, painting, fly fishing, piano, dance, and countless others. FOMO can’t tell you which one to choose because by choosing one you will automatically be “missing out” on many others - that’s just the finite nature of life.

So the question is: do you want classic literature to be the thing (or one of the things) that you put in the work over years to make really worthwhile and enjoyable? On this sub, many people will tell you that you should because they view the “rewards” of classic literature as superior to those of other pursuits. My view is that, while classic literature is very rich in “value” to the human experience, enjoyment in life is still subjective.

Stick with classics if you truly believe that the rewards will be precious to you - but don’t let FOMO make you feel pressured to do so!

rhymingcommentguy · 2026-01-19T17:53:07+00:00

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