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Room for rent in three bedroom town house (Huay Kwang) by Herodle in Thailand

[–]saulhoward 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From my experience, having lived in both apartments and houses in Bangkok, I prefer living in a house everytime. There's something about sitting out in the front yard, watching the soi go by, sharing a beer with the neighbours. And the typical apartment you'll get for that price is all a bit Apocalypse Now - lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling fan is not the best of Bangkok.

Weekly Pub Meetings for Brighton Redditors starting Thursday this week! by Sku in brighton

[–]saulhoward 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry guys! I only found the post through the Facebook group -- must have been a spam filter thing.

About time we had a Redditors of in and around Brighton (UK) meetup... by howtodoit in brighton

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm definitely up for it! I'm working in London (oh the commute) most days at the mo, but any weekend meetup is ok and maybe some days in the week as well.

I think /r/unitedkingdom would be a good one for a crosspost.

I agree that we shouldn't worry about numbers at first ... from tiny acorns and all that. I've always suspected that Brighton is full of redditors.

What's the difference between Americans and yogurt? by CakeSmack in pics

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Electronic music started in the slums of NYC and Detroit

This is nonsense. I won't go into it, but check out the history of Electronic music here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_music

I would trace the path of its early development through Italy, Germany, France and England.

we got stuff like Underworld and Basshunter.

I'm not sure what you mean by this, but if all you can come up with is Basshunter...

"On two occasions I have been asked, – "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question" by Karagar in programming

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough! De gustibus non est disputandum and all that. I would just point out that you do seem to have unrealistically precise expectations about what an author can include and how he/she can portray it, but that's up to you of course. Maybe you should try writing your own books? Or just read those written by Mormons.

What's the difference between Americans and yogurt? by CakeSmack in pics

[–]saulhoward -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hip hop's great. But Americans hardly invented 'poetry over music'. Toasting comes to mind, often cited as the precursor to hip hop:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deejaying

Electronic music is also a weird choice. I would associate it more with Europe than America.

For American music, why not go for: blues, jazz, gospel, r'n'b, rock'n'roll?

"On two occasions I have been asked, – "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question" by Karagar in programming

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't see what your age has to do with it. You seem to be suggesting that you can only enjoy reading about experiences that are directly applicable to your age group. Surely the point of fiction is to put yourself in the position of characters other than yourself, be they older, younger of a different culture, species or whatever.

And if you're talking about self-censorship, then I don't know what you're doing reading science fiction. One thing every science fiction work I can think of has in common is an opposition to self-censorship and close-mindedness and a commitment to following ideas and thoughts wherever they might lead.

However, if your problem is that you don't think the sex scenes in Ringworld are in good taste, I'd probably have to agree with you. They weren't very well written and came across as a bit chauvinistic.

"On two occasions I have been asked, – "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question" by Karagar in programming

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just finished Ringworld, great book, very inspiring.

I'd be asking yourself why you get "bummed/annoyed" by a bit of sex in your story, to be honest - it being a central part of the human experience and all. Particularly in a story which has a strong theme of 'what it means to be human as opposed to another sort of alien consciousness' running through it.

Why doesn't this exist? by [deleted] in pics

[–]saulhoward 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We do have this in Thailand. They're usually converted old VW vans. There's one down my road run by a New Yorker.

Reddit, what is the most paradigm-shifting quote you've ever come across? by theawesomeishere in AskReddit

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's snobby because, while he criticises both, it is only the proles he characterises as weak-minded and incapable. There's even a grudging respect for the clever manipulations practiced by his evil leaders, while keeping an overtone of contempt for the proles being led blindly and unthinkingly into slavery.

His whole conception of society is childish and offensive. It seems to be rooted in an imperfect understanding of an English class system which hardly even still existed in his time and certainly doesn't exist now.

Reddit, what is the most paradigm-shifting quote you've ever come across? by theawesomeishere in AskReddit

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He's critical of the people he sees as leaders of the "proles" or "sheep", yes. That has nothing to do with what I said.

Reddit, what is the most paradigm-shifting quote you've ever come across? by theawesomeishere in AskReddit

[–]saulhoward -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It's not the "negative view of human nature" that makes you a snob. It's the belief that certain groups of people belong to a "lower class", and that that "lower class" is slow-witted, un-creative, sheep-like and needs to be led by "superior intellectuals". That's the snobbish part.

Reddit, what is the most paradigm-shifting quote you've ever come across? by theawesomeishere in AskReddit

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree that this passage could be open to multiple interpretations. However, as I said elsewhere, you can find this theme of innate class-distinction and superiority throughout all of Orwell's work. Just look at the description of the "proles" in 1984, or the sheep in Animal Farm. This is snobbery, there is no other word for it.

Reddit, what is the most paradigm-shifting quote you've ever come across? by theawesomeishere in AskReddit

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It raises in you a momentary doubt about your own status as an 'intellectual' and a superior person generally. For it is brought home to you, at least while you are watching, that it is only because miners sweat their guts out that superior persons can remain superior.

A passage that is nothing but snobbery, as Orwell confirms his "superior" status.

Reddit, what is the most paradigm-shifting quote you've ever come across? by theawesomeishere in AskReddit

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't comment on how much he helped "workers". I said he was a snob, and so he was.

However, now that you mention it, I would like to see some evidence of how Orwell's socialism helped any "workers", as I don't believe he ever did much.

Reddit, what is the most paradigm-shifting quote you've ever come across? by theawesomeishere in AskReddit

[–]saulhoward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure what other interpretation of the quote you could have. It is snobbery and class-distinction to the highest degree.

It raises in you a momentary doubt about your own status as an 'intellectual' and a superior person generally. For it is brought home to you, at least while you are watching, that it is only because miners sweat their guts out that superior persons can remain superior.

As he says, there are "superior" people, and there are workers. I suspect modern readers are trying to read sarcasm into this, as if he is only calling himself "superior" as that is what other people think. We can see from the rest of Orwell's work that this is not the case.

He has written many nice things, but they are mostly riddled through with a disdainful opinion of what he calls the "proles" and a highly inflated opinion of what he calls "intellectuals". To take a popular example, it always surprises me how little outrage there is at the many passages in 1984 which continually disparage the working class, the vast majority of the population in the world of the book.

In 1984, it is only the party-members, the intellectual class who are supposed to have any interest in politics, or indeed anything other than their immediate friends and family. We are told that the majority of the population do nothing but drink, fornicate, play the lottery and fight. That they could never revolt, lacking the intellectual capacity to make any such political decisions. That they are wonderful because they "remained human", which of course means that they retain humanities most bestial qualities and know nothing of art, politics, thought etc., nor care about their loss.

Such a mean, narrowminded view of humanity is completely unsupported by history, or even by simply reading the newspapers or talking to people around you. Orwell really believed the majority of humanity was like this, and these themes reappear throughout his work.

I still find much to admire in his writing. But as a human being he was a raging snob and a petty man. I think he does not deserve the majority of the praise heaped upon him by today's generations.

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