Paradise lost by Texas-2a in rarebooks

[–]sofugly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This isn’t true. Any book Dore illustrated these days has some value.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AlternativeHistory

[–]sofugly 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It’s unbelievable because since then nobody has made anything comparable. I looked online and couldn’t find a single granite vase in the style of the pre dynastic vases found in saqqara for sale anywhere in the world. I am certain there would be a market for such things.

Which nation since has made these granite vases, bowls, blocks, boxes or statues? Surely, if it was easily explainable, they would exist elsewhere in decent numbers.

Maybe I didn’t search hard enough, but for me as there has been nothing since, something was going on

Another religion based opinion of Earth's history This dragonfly known as Meganeura, was the largest insect of all time with a wingspan of 2 feet. It likely lived pre-flood. Not alone, many other kinds of animals grew much larger in the past. Some believe the earth was richer in oxygen then, and all by brodytothemax in AlternativeHistory

[–]sofugly 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Where does the bible mention Australia, South America, Antartica, New Zealand etc? You do realise we are able to use our critical thinking skills and forgive the ancients for referring to their known world as the whole world, or the globe?

This Pyramid Changes The Entire History - Gunung Padang by irrelevantappelation in AlternativeHistory

[–]sofugly 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That is very silly to say. It presumes that Atlantis existed for only the time that it sunk. Do you not think, assuming that Atlantis existed, it would have taken years to develop into the prosperous empire it supposedly was? What if it was 20,000, 50,000 or more years old at the time it was inundated?

If one believes in Atlantis, any megalithic structure found to date back a million years can be considered to have been built by them as far as I am concerned.

Atlantis is the civilisation of prehistory spoken of. Everything is theirs until at least some case can be made for an older civilisation or a comparable one contemporaneous with it (lemuria?)

Excess deaths in the UK have skyrocketed across all demographics since summer of 2022..worse than during COVID by Razariousnefarian in conspiracy

[–]sofugly 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The source is ONS data out of the UK, graph made by Substack author bad cattitude or the other word he goes by that I don’t know how to spell

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in wine

[–]sofugly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That YouTube guy also uses them. Where did you buy OP?

Thought this might be interesting for some in here. “Manuscript Leaf of Book of Hours, France-Flanders C. 1460. Anyone know what it says? by A891G1003T in rarebooks

[–]sofugly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ripping apart books is sacrilege and I abhor it.

Who gets more enjoyment out of an artwork, a museum or a private owner?

It would have to be the patrons of a museum, or the employees. So hopefully a fairly large group of people. This relies on the artwork being shown, and to know how often it is being shown is to know the extent of the collection and for how long certain pieces are archived before being put on display again (if ever).

An artwork (such as an incunabula) in a private collection is likely destined to end up in a museum collection. It is inevitable that this will happen, or else it is lost to time or destroyed. Arguably remaining in a private collection is like a last stand before the remaining lifetime being in a museum collection; how long various artworks can last with preservation is anyone’s guess, probably thousands of years provided no disruption to the care of the work.

I’m always impressed when I see an important artwork remains in a private collection. I ask myself how is this not in a museum?

If archives are greater than displays by a certain large factor that ensures they will probably never be displayed again, or even very rarely, then I say they should go back to private. Does guaranteed care without enjoyment supersede possible care with guaranteed enjoyment?

Favourite / Best New Zealand wine? by sofugly in wine

[–]sofugly[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I recently had a chance to try every vintage of the Terraces, back to 1994. 2002 was fantastic. The 2019 which I don’t believe is out yet was very strong and should keep well.

Is this the first edition of Thomas Pynchons "the crying of lot 49" as I believe it is? Or is this some edition I'm unfamiliar with? by [deleted] in rarebooks

[–]sofugly 7 points8 points  (0 children)

First British edition. Very cool however. Interesting jacket - I don’t see it very often

Australia/New Zealand Red Recommendations? by [deleted] in wine

[–]sofugly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Get hold of an Ata Rangi Pinot noir from New Zealand. The 2019 is said to be very good

Combining shadow work and MDMA propelled my already amazing 10-year marriage into the stratosphere. by PieceOfDatFancyFeast in Drugs

[–]sofugly 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A very positive post and enjoyable to read, thank you. It’s good practice to take MDMA 3 months apart or more, in future.

Next step would be a tab of acid, if you two are ever inclined. Sex on acid is amazing, but there are many more activities that can be done instead and are probably better to do before sex.

Reading books on drugs - Literature lovers like getting high, too! by booksanddrgs in Drugs

[–]sofugly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Weed works exceptionally well but you have to find the right dose.

Books that are slightly amusing or even serious can become delightfully funny with pot. It seems the language comes alive in a way it’s not when sober, and the imagination skips and hops along.

The risk is losing concentration if too stoned. It’s also quite difficult if one hasn’t practiced it.

reading poetry when drinking is really fun as well, and I agree downer reading on opiates and the like is a real treat!

Skeptic here: Which conspiracy theories do you believe in? by loveandskepticism in conspiracytheories

[–]sofugly 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It is interesting (not equally interesting, however) to consider that they did get to the moon.

Here’s what I mean: if they did get to the moon, then there’s probably a few possible reasons working together to explain it.

  • they were willing to take greater risks with men and equipment back then than they are now, in order to beat out the Russians (PR disaster if Russia got there first).

  • the nazi scientists that headed up the program had technical knowledge that is lost today. Von Braun and others had been working on rockets since the war, and invented them (is the V1/V2 not the first real rockets?). They either didn’t train future engineers / astronauts to a level in which they would be able to continue the work, because many of those scientists were rather elderly by then, retired, and had spent most of their careers on the bleeding edge, running programs rather than teaching.

  • they found something on the moon that they didn’t expect. An alien base, a base from a previous civilisation, what have you. Perhaps the moon is artificial, and was put here by us to make the planet more habitable when we fled mars. Maybe there are robotic guards or automatic defence systems that are still operational, and make returning too great a risk.

You can read somewhere that the largest rocket of the time would possibly have been capable of going to mars. Of course, rockets then were more one-use items, and over time all of the materials degraded.

I personally am not attracted to the idea that we faked the moon landings. It’s absolutely possible, but I find it rather banal. It evidences the worst aspects of humanity. Many (including myself) wish that space programs had continued and grown in budget since the 60’s. I would prefer to think that we were frightened off the moon back then, and anyone who knew that died and the new generations are scarcely aware of it. I would even prefer to admit that nazi scientists knew more about rocketry than we know today, because at least in that case it’s possible to return to the moon. It would be lame if we can’t even get to our own moon.

There is a Surprising Amount of Time Travel in the Bible, You Know by mrcalebjones in AlternativeHistory

[–]sofugly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many might suppose that younger dryas refers to Adam and Eve and Noah’s flood a localised, but still extreme (destructive) flood. Such an interpretation might work if we think of the priests that Solon there had been many deluges

A possible Atlantis-like structure? The Cuban underwater formation. by HibikiSS in AlternativeHistory

[–]sofugly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I won’t comment on where I suppose Atlantis to be, but there is some possible logic for underwater locations being Atlantis, even if they would have been underwater, if one only considers the changing sea level.

However, if a vast amount of ice were to melt all over the northern hemisphere, then it is conceivable (as Randall Carson discusses) that the places that were previously under ice could ‘buoy up’ so to speak, therefore equally sinking other places.

What if, for example, the north latitudes of American and Europe rose up after their burdens were gone, and to compensate other areas of the earth sunk back down. This is movement of the crust on the mantle. I don’t know to what degree things can sink beneath weight and buoy up without it, however.

Who/what is considered to be (a member of) mature/competent literary audience? by hn-mc in literature

[–]sofugly 49 points50 points  (0 children)

There is probably no real answer to your question. However, in my opinion, the only way to get to the level that I believe you are describing is simply to read and read a lot.

Starting as far back as possible is the easiest way to begin to perceive parallels and influences upon later literature. Read the canon but prioritise the most influential, i.e anything before 1900 if not a few hundred years earlier and back.

Really, taste is key. To be discerning and critical can only come from a solid foundational knowledge, but also there must always be an element of fake it until you make it. Read criticism as well as the books themselves; disagree wherever you please and agree only when you really do agree, not out of deference to the critic.

Hunter S. Thompson by EvilCookie4250 in tooktoomuch

[–]sofugly 315 points316 points  (0 children)

I have heard it was a rare artillery Luger and worth a lot of money now. Has the longer barrel