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@jpaskaruk@growers.social cover
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jpaskaruk

@[email protected]

Neurodivergent Manitoba Interlake settler (Zone 3, Treaty One). He/Him/Goblin.
Marxist Trucker, Developer, Sysadmin, Musician.
Pic is a middle aged bearded white dude wearing a green bandana on his head, aviator sunglasses, and a safety vest at the wheel of a gravel truck, mugging.
Banner is #Hellbert
Weary and cringing at any given moment, probably.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

ergative , to bookstodon
@ergative@wandering.shop avatar

Mr Absolutive and I are reading 'A River Runs Throughout It' together, as our read-aloud book. We've only just started. Mr Absolutive remarked with enthusiasm at the quality of the prose. 'It flows,' he says. 'Some lines almost scan.'

Shop, you know what I'm getting out of it? Fish. Fly fishing. Fishing. Fishing. Womenfolk. Fishing. Drinking. Fishing.

@bookstodon

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@ergative @bookstodon

I'm still actively discovering horrible things I uncritically read and internalized in books I read when younger. There is so much.

Even allowing the writer their privilege of inventing and occupying horrific minds in order to properly represent them on the page, so, so much.

bibliolater , to bookstodon
@bibliolater@qoto.org avatar

Currently ….

“Galileo: Decisive Innovator (Cambridge Science Biographies)

by Michael Sharratt”

What non-fiction book are you currently reading?

@bookstodon

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@hoare_spitall @bibliolater @bookstodon

Wonder how much of it was written on Epstein's lolita island.

ergative , to bookstodon
@ergative@wandering.shop avatar

Hey, friends, I wrote a review of Foundation (the book--the OG!) for Nerds of a Feather.

(Don't click through if you love this book. I didn't much care for it.)

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2024/05/first-contact-foundation-by-isaac-asimov.html

@bookstodon

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@peachfront @ergative @bookstodon

I have never seen anything of a Marxist metaphor in it. Has someone written an explainer of this interpretation?

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@peachfront @ergative @bookstodon

Born when Nixon got re-elected in a landslide, and even raised in red diapers, but that doesn't always guarantee I see what others see. :>

I also have tried three times to get through the whole series and never made it. I have finished many other SF epics, so clearly I just didn't get hooked into the story fully for whatever reason.

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@emeraldzak @bookstodon @peachfront @ergative

This right here is pretty much what I did take away lol

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@karabaic @peachfront @ergative @bookstodon

Determinism is so much fun to play with, even if there is really no way to determine whether determinism has any actual merits.

The recent series Devs is almost kind of a reboot/prequel almost - sort of, "what if psychohistory was developed as a routine on a really big and fast quantum computer?"

Uair , to bookstodon
@Uair@autistics.life avatar

@bookstodon

Idea:

Bookstores should group fantasy with horror instead of scifi. Both fantasy and horror are purely creations of the author's mind; scifi is tethered to factual information.

If you need to group scifi, I'd put it with mysteries and thrillers.

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@elysegrasso @deirdrebeth @alexlubertozzi @aprilfollies @_L1vY_ @Uair @bookstodon

One need not fully understand relativity, though, to play with it as a plot device. I can't claim to understand it completely, but I do understand what it does if people travel at certain speeds.

So far I have not seen the term "Hard SF" in this thread, and that's the type of SF that concerns itself with scientific accuracy, and that strain appeared after the genre was established, in the golden age.

Jennifer , to bookstodon
@Jennifer@bookstodon.com avatar

I need some new science fiction to read, who has some suggestions? I don't like military sci-fi. For reference, my favorite series is the Expanse, I also enjoyed Scalzi's Collapsing Empire, I love Robert Charles Wilson's books. I mostly enjoy space operas and unique stories about technology, for example I really liked the recent book Mountain in the Sea about AI and intelligent octopus. Suggestions from the awesome Bookstodon community? @bookstodon

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@Jennifer @bookstodon

Recently active, I have greatly enjoyed The Expanse, @scalzi , Alastair Reynolds, Stephen Baxter, Becky Chambers, Cixin Liu, China Mieville (sorta-kinda SFish) and I'm finally working though @pluralistic which I should have started on literal decades ago.

I binged all the problematic Golden Age dudes too, and they do seem to be aging like badly-sealed radioactive waste, don't they?

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@todwest @headfirstonly @philip_cardella @Jennifer @bookstodon

I would also trust Taika Waititi with it, if it was up to me, but he's (hopefully I think) developing the other property that I've been pining for since forever:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15843316/

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@LordWoolamaloo @Jennifer @bookstodon

Someone say Babylon 5

Gif of shaggy white dog waking up and looking at the camera with his tongue still blepping out.

toxy , to bookstodon
@toxy@mastodon.acc.sunet.se avatar

@bookstodon I found an audiobook narrator I rather like called (I am listening to Gai-Jin) and checked out other stuff he narrated. He has taken on the series by . I am a huge Sci-Fi fan. Does this series cut the mustard?
Thanks.

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@toxy @bookstodon

I loved it. Probably about due to reread cause I cannot recall a single thing about it, but I recall loving it.

appassionato , to bookstodon
@appassionato@mastodon.social avatar

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine
A History of Settler Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi

A landmark history of one hundred years of war waged against the Palestinians from the foremost US historian of the Middle East, told through pivotal events and family history.

@bookstodon
@palestine


jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@anantagd @ymishory @appassionato @bookstodon @palestine

I have not always seen that when I look at Israel, but it's definitely what I see this month and last.

CultureDesk , to blackmastodon
@CultureDesk@flipboard.social avatar

At the recent Grammy Awards, Jay-Z called out the Recording Academy for its history of overlooking Black artists, pointing out that Beyoncé has more Grammys than any other artist, but has never won Album of the Year. For Vox, Li Zhou writes about why some awards matter more than others, and what the Beyoncé snubs represent.

https://flip.it/lqpTCC

@blackmastodon

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@CultureDesk @blackmastodon

Rainbow capitalism is most cringey when people act like gold statues are going to help.

kimlockhartga , to bookstodon
@kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

@bookstodon What's your favorite book title, whether you've read it or not?

Mine is EVERYONE ON THE MOON IS ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL, by Julian K. Jarboe, which I have not yet read, followed closely by THEY DON'T MAKE PLUS SIZE SPACESUITS, by Ali Thompson, which I have read.

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon

It's taken on a bit of a mythic status now (deservedly so) but I first encountered I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream on my uncle's bookshelf as a wee tyke, and Harlan Ellison became a lifelong obsession, given how much was out of print for so long.

Also discovered Lovecraft and Nietzsche in the same place.

kimlockhartga , to bookstodon
@kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

@bookstodon In 2023 there's been a huge expansion in the number of graphic novels, graphic memoirs, and graphic nonfiction published. They deserve a 2023 "Best of" list of their own. Here's mine; add yours. I always want to hear about great graphic books!

Best Graphic Books published in 2023:

THE LIBRARIAN OF AUSCHWITZ, Salva Rubio, Antonio Iturbe

YAZIDI! Aurélien Ducoudray, Mini Ludvin

SUNSHINE, Jarrett J. Krosoczka (author of HEY, KIDDO)

DICTATORSHIP: IT'S EASIER THAN YOU THINK! Sarah Kendzior, Andrea Chalupa, Kasia Babis

THE INFINITY HEART, Wendy Xu

FUNNY THINGS: A COMIC BIOGRAPHY OF CHARLES M. SCHULTZ, Luca Debus, Francesco Matteuzzi

EIGHT BILLION GENIES: DELUXE EDITION, BOOK ONE, Charles Soule, Ryan Browne

GENDER IS REALLY STRANGE, Teddy Goetz, Sophie Standing

MONICA, Daniel Clowes (author of GHOST WORLD)

COURAGE TO DREAM: TALES OF HOPE IN THE HOLOCAUST, Neal Shusterman, Andrés Vera Martínez

ARTIFICIAL: A LOVE STORY, Amy Kurzweil

WASHINGTON'S GAY GENERAL, Josh Trujillo, Levi Hastings

2023

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon

Not from this year, but I'd like to offer up two important Canadian GNs from the last while:

first is Secret Path: https://secretpath.ca/

We had a poet laureate up here named Gord Downie. He led a band called The Tragically Hip from the late 80s till a while ago when he died of cancer.

In his dying days he recorded this album and made this graphic novel about a kid who died trying to walk home from a fucking Residential School. Also wrote songs about gay cops.

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon Other is Louis Riel: https://drawnandquarterly.com/books/louis-riel/

Here in Manitoba we just elected our first indigenous Premier, but that's not true, cause we already had one, but the feds murdered him. In a nutshell.

Basically a bunch of Metis (French/Indigenous mix) lived here and the central gov fucked them over in favour of good British people, and Riel had something to say about that. The book explains it better.

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon

Thank you for the further boosts. We are colonial af here, but it's not like we don't have some heroes among us, now and then.

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon

@lakelaur and I were just talking about some of the people close to my family this morning in the context of these novels and how people rub up against history.

Jack Fainman was a family friend (delivered me, in fact) and was shot in his Winnipeg living room by an anti-abortion sniper in 1996. His wife has been leading causes with the energy of a dynamo for the last fifty years. I'm gonna drop his book too cause why not.

https://www.amazon.ca/They-Shoot-Doctors-Dont-Memoir/dp/1926531175

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon @lakelaur

I did not know this until doing these googles, but they were also part of this season of Someone Knows Something, a CBC cold case crime podcast.

https://gem.cbc.ca/someone-knows-something/s07

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@kimlockhartga @bookstodon @lakelaur

(not mentioning his wife's name is not so much an act of erasure as, she's still with us, she's easy enough to find her name in those links, and she's already on enough USGov lists. She's been calling bullshit on their friendly dictators the whole time.)

poloniousmonk , to actuallyautistic
@poloniousmonk@mastodon.social avatar

@AtheismActually @actuallyautistic

Damn, that just wrecked my mood. I've got a great joke that I tried to test out on one person. I have no idea how my private message went public, but I got reported and removed for sexism when I was mocking misogyny.

sigh I'll be kicked off mastodon unjustly soon enough.

Are all "private mentions for mentioned people only" still public knowledge?

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@poloniousmonk @AtheismActually @actuallyautistic

There was a joke involving prison rape that I would have preferred have a CW earlier, since you're mentioning this.

I didn't say anything cause that's not how I approach it when someone puts things I don't like in my feed; I'm here because I have control over that.

BUT, such humor is not likely to go over well in this environment, and folks tend to prioritize impact over intention these days.

So I'm mentioning it.

poloniousmonk , to bookstodon
@poloniousmonk@mastodon.social avatar

@bookstodon

I'm asking non-Americans: Are your libraries full of armed thugs in bulletproof vests? A pair of thugs just strolled behind me, keeping the pressure on.

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@poloniousmonk @bookstodon

Winnipeg is a small Canadian prairie town. I grew up free range in the 70s, no part of the city I didn't ride around unmolested in every sense of the word.

Lately we have random stabbings everywhere and yes, the library is dangerous as hell for the staff especially.

The "give no shit about anyone but yourself" movement is really having its way with us right now.

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@poloniousmonk @bookstodon

Like, I was a privileged kid and I never suffered much, but I was literally running around with downtown street kids in the late 80s. Lots of violent talk happened but actual acts of violence were very rare.

The drugs sold at the known spots were cannabis, LSD, shrooms, and in the bad part of downtown you could get heroin or else people were into mixing tolluin and ritalin for a similar effect. ODs were not a big thing.

The drugs have gotten worse, thus the people.

theautisticcoach , to actuallyautistic
@theautisticcoach@neurodifferent.me avatar

How do my confront ableism in their day to day lives?

@actuallyautistic

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@HaelusNovak @theautisticcoach @actuallyautistic

Class 1 (anything) driver here - have not driven for a living in nearly a decade now, but I used to also drive buses of coworkers (mobile blood donation).

If I had this experience, I think I would remain amused as long as nobody tried to characterize the screwup as mine; you asked for the information you needed and they elected to sabotage you and all your passengers with a chain of bad/illegal decisions.

ShaulaEvans , to writing
@ShaulaEvans@zirk.us avatar

I have a deep love for the "Quentin Tarantino carves a turkey sketch" from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (which, incidentally, is never shown on screen).

It's an advanced class in writing comedy, writing violence, and the role of the audience's imagination in storytelling.

@writing

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@ShaulaEvans @writing

Is that on any platforms right now or do you have a physical copy? I watched it round when it came out and I remember absolutely loving the way that Perry and that other guy portrayed their deep abiding friendship. I went in looking for treachery and it was the opposite and it was great.

I tried to find it a while back and failed, it is a felony that 30 Rock persisted with the blackface and whatnot while this fizzled. FELONY.

Autistrain , to actuallyautistic
@Autistrain@neurodifferent.me avatar

I'm asking my fellow for books on Autism. If you have suggestions, I'm happy to hear about them!

@actuallyautistic @neurodiversity

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@Autistrain @actuallyautistic @neurodiversity

Look Me In The Eye, and later Be Different, by John Elder Robison, were both very illuminating for me.

CultureDesk , to bookstodon
@CultureDesk@flipboard.social avatar

Paul Crenshaw says there was a pervasive sense of fear for kids growing up in 1980s America, born of stranger danger, the murder of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh's son Adam, and the Satanic panic. He explores these ideas in this essay for Salon; he has also written a new book of essays, "Melt with Me: Coming of Age and Other '80s Perils."

https://flip.it/WS7tLU

@bookstodon

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@CultureDesk @bookstodon

Some of us were afraid we'd be blamed for the satanic things that never happened.

ramblingreaders , to bookstodon
@ramblingreaders@toot.community avatar

Do you know there's a alternative to Amazon-owned ? is a social network for tracking your reading, writing reviews, and discovering what to read next. You can follow and interact with users on different instances and on . You can import from a Goodreads CSV export. You can create private shelves and curated lists. Join us at https://ramblingreaders.org or choose one of the other instances available @bookstodon

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@ramblingreaders @bookstodon

Is there an instance for SF fans specifically?

jpaskaruk ,
@jpaskaruk@growers.social avatar

@ramblingreaders @bookstodon Cheers!

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