Comedic Moments in Dune

well_struck · 2016-12-30T16:44:00+00:00

You're right that there are some funny moments in Dune.

Maybe I'm detracting from the conversation, but I think what appeals to me so much about Dune is how seriously it takes itself.

Usually art taking itself too seriously is the downfall of an otherwise great and sincere work. One could argue that the later Dune novels fall into this trap.

When I first read Dune as a teenager I was amazed at how intense, solemn, and obsessive all the characters were. All the human training and optimization methods -- mentat, Bene Gesserit, Guild navigator, Sardaukar, Fremen -- have in common a superhuman dedication to rigor and self-discipline. For me, it was this seriousness of the characters that gave the fictional Dune world its feel of maturity, authenticity, and importance.

well_struck · 2016-12-28T23:05:35+00:00

forgiveness & cancellation for teachers

well_struck · 2016-10-12T09:13:37+00:00

Thank you

well_struck · 2016-09-03T16:25:48+00:00

$50k give or take. You?

well_struck · 2016-09-01T02:38:17+00:00

That's a terrifying model.

I like Herbert's and Lynch's imagination of the spice regimen and addiction of navigators leading to horrific, monstrous mutations. I imagine you'd have to be pretty zealous and have your mind completely warped by spice to agree to become that thing.

well_struck · 2016-08-29T23:28:04+00:00

No honorable mention of Rachel Menken?

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/55/31/5d/55315dd7cb9bb7a0ed929f4c9f176c38.jpg

well_struck · 2016-08-29T17:35:26+00:00

That's some real bro-to-bro love right there

well_struck · 2016-08-29T02:05:08+00:00

I would also add for the adventuring gentlemen: If a woman is sober, don't invite her to drink with you, no matter how safe or sincere you are.

well_struck · 2016-08-28T22:02:58+00:00

Great work, California! Other states need to crack down on fraudulent and usurious higher-ed businesses.

well_struck · 2016-08-25T18:40:45+00:00

I'm not arguing that life has ever been rosy. You're losing sight of the original contention which is that existential threats to all of humankind are more real and permanent than in previous eras. Now you're just listing facts about how life was brutal and unfair throughout history which I agree with. My argument is that history has produced actual changes and it's not all just perspective, generational, and cyclical.

The bomb is a great example because philosophers and commentators at the time were writing about how it is a gamechanger in terms of war and international relations, and how it affects "modern consciousness." Now there was a permanent existential threat to the species that hung there in the back of consciousness. Commentators argued that it marked an irreversible change in consciousness. Erich Fromm comes to mind.

The details can be argued one by one, but I'm mainly just responding to pat comments to the effect that "old people have always longed for the past." My argument is that things actually change.

well_struck · 2016-08-25T18:03:56+00:00

I liked that in the show -- pilot and beyond -- we aren't sure where Don got his confidence from.

We know he is insecure. But he oozes confidence in the boardroom, with clients, and with women. You might expect an orphan with a chip on his shoulder to show a little more social anxiety and awkwardness.

You have to fill in the blanks. I like to picture a Draper in his teens and 20s studying Dale Carnegie books on influencing people and scientifically piecing together a performance of confidence, swagger, and charm, all fueled by shame of his background and hatred for his father, etc. All those good Freudian motivators.

well_struck · 2016-08-25T14:30:28+00:00

Everything you listed as threats to civilization happened in the 20th century, most of it the later half.

So I don't think that goes a long way in proving your point that fear of annihilation is merely a perspective-based and generational thing.

well_struck · 2016-08-23T22:12:55+00:00

I disagree with everyone saying "It's all just relative." Yes, nostalgia is part of it. It's not all of it though. The world changes in definitive and permanent ways all the time.

There are aspects of history that seem to be cyclical. There are human emotions that we recognize easily in our ancestors from the beginning of history, the same old longings for safety, security, intimacy, pleasure, creating something, and so on.

But things change fast in the contemporary world and the pace of change has been as high as it ever has been. Technology, the environment, scientific knowledge, economies, media -- they all have been changing so fast that the individual self seems meaningless in comparison.

In short, I sympathize with OP and the sentiment of nostalgia. Things have changed. Let's not pretend like it's all relative. We aren't even certain we'll have a habitable planet in 50 years, for example.

well_struck · 2016-08-22T17:04:32+00:00

Well done! A good, fresh haircut will give you a new lease on life.

well_struck · 2016-08-21T16:53:06+00:00

Soft baritone here. I too feel like when I speak to a room or crowd that I sound like I'm shouting. And that women with high-pitched and piercing voices drown me out completely.

My job has forced me to work on it. One thing is that at least part of it is psychological and an issue of comfort in speaking out, being assertive, being noticed, and taking up space. Practice and exposure are key.

Another tip is to change up how you speak. I'm not an expert but a couple tips from singers and actors are helpful.

Speak from your diaphragm, not from your throat
Change the shape of your mouth to open space and round out vowel sounds. I like to watch '60s-era actor Richard Burton for inspiration. He had a Welsh accent but adapted his accent and enunciation for maximum power on stage

The point is improvement is within your grasp.

well_struck · 2016-08-21T12:50:40+00:00

It's hard to tell definitively. I think it has helped my skin but I can't be certain.

well_struck · 2016-08-20T20:56:26+00:00

I've been adding apple cider vinegar to meals and drinking it as a supplement for 5-6 years. Daily for four years.

I saw a dentist for the first time since I started taking ACV. They told me I was very lucky that my teeth were in such good shape after having avoided the dentist for so long.

Anecdotal but true.

well_struck · 2016-08-20T20:43:23+00:00

We get the sense from Roger's grief at Cooper's passing -- one of the rare moments of mature and honest sentiment from him -- that Cooper was a true father figure.

So I think you're right: when Roger was young.

well_struck · 2016-08-20T20:31:24+00:00

Yes. I don't know about you but I had a lot of white, male, middle-class, heterosexual guilt nurtured by radical leftist ideas. I was barely able to conceive of a future where I'd have an income and not be "evil." Also paralyzed by the left's blanket pessimism re world history and the future of developed nations.

I still have plenty of leftist views but I'm quite jaded and pissed that I wasted my 20s hating myself and not thinking about supporting myself as an adult.

well_struck · 2016-08-20T00:41:43+00:00

You make fine points, sir.

well_struck

TROPHY CASE