Click the like button at the top or the bottom of the page to like this entry. Use the share and/or re-stack buttons to share this across social media. Leave a comment if the mood strikes you to do so.
News:
I will be in NYC later next week where I will be filmed by a team surrounding a very well-known and public figure in these circles. I think it will be part-interview, part Anthony Bourdain walk around and see what happens. I’m looking forward to this, but not as much as many of you are looking forward to seeing how I actually look in real life.
FbF Book Club:
For those who missed it, we’ve started the latest entry in the FbF Book Club. In this iteration, we are looking at the history of Alcohol Prohibition in the USA, with a focus on the actual period itself that lasted from 1920 until 1933. The book is Daniel Okrent’s “Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition” (1920). A bestsellter, it’s written in a popular style.
For those already subscribed, I will do my best to put out the next entry of the FbF Book Club tomorrow. For those on the free plan, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and if you do celebrate, try and forget all the stuff that we talk about and read about here, and spread some joy with your loved ones.
I will also ask the latter group to kindly please consider subscribing to my Substack as I do put a lot of work into producing the content that you already enjoy here. By doing so, you will get access to all the rest that is currently hidden behind the paywall.
Of course Poland is going to resemble neocon Ireland, with the blessing of Brussels. Of course PO is going to ignore the law in doing so, of course Brussels and Washington will turn a blind eye.
I really enjoyed this except from Kirn’s piece: “‘Have nothing in your home,’ wrote Morris, the father of the Arts and Crafts movement, which aimed to elevate the lives of the working and middle classes, ‘that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.’”
If there’s any consolation to be had from this generation’s rising consumer product obsolescence, it’s the potential joy of following that dictum. Of course it’s more difficult to find a hardwood dresser from an antique market, let alone build one, than using one-click purchase on Chinese Wayfair, but the reward of doing so is far higher. I believe there are many small companies that have sprung up in the last two decades to fulfill this exact purpose: producing small batch, quality everyday objects. An extreme example: https://www.townsends.us/
I’d welcome a 21st c. Arts and Crafts movement. Maybe it’s already happening. It’s just drowned out by all the noise.
P.S.
If you want to see the confluence of every bad incentive in consumer spending/producing/marketing, turned up to the highest dial imaginable, see the Iraqi-owned “Flip” app.
Dec 23, 2023·edited Dec 23, 2023Liked by Niccolo Soldo
I doubt someone born in what is currently Bosnia-Herzegovina would know much about the difficulties of forming a functional government across sectarian lines... :P
Unfortunately I forgot to get my interlibrary loan of Okrent's book yesterday and the library is now closed for winter, stupid me.
When saying goodbye for the break to two different colleagues, one Muslim and the other Jewish and both in their late 50s at the youngest, both said "Happy New Year" only. Not even "Holidays" now. Wonder if this is a new thing.
The liberalization of Poland and Ireland is going hand in hand with the collapse of Christianity in those countries, particularly among young people. So I need an explanation for why all Christian countries when they become remotely wealthy, completely abandon their millenia long ideology in favor of the liberal secular one.
You look at the Gulf Arabs, they are fabulously wealthy but they remain Muslim. Sure they might not always act according to Islamic law, but they all still identify as Muslim, something you cannot say about the Christian West. You look at Thailand, they all remain Buddhist. Again I am not concerned if they follow Buddhist theology perfectly, just if the population identifies itself as "Buddhist".
Every other religion in the world manages to hold on to their percentage shares except for Christians. Even the poorer Latin Americans are rapidly de-Christianizing. I don't think the beliefs or institutions of Christians are more outlandish or corrupt than any other religion, so don't understand why Christianity is the only religion that is taking the hit.
It is truly alarming how fast the left goes mask off after winning an election today. Would it be fair to say being a democracy today means being a province of America? I can think of very few exceptions to this, India, Hungary(sort of).
Re Generation Junk, the declining quality in many consumer goods is a corollary of the hollowing out of the Western middle classes and the gradual, but seemingly relentless, convergence in living standards between the West and the Third World.
Dec 23, 2023·edited Dec 23, 2023Liked by Niccolo Soldo
Fellow readers, this is not keeping with Monsieur Foucault's topics of the week, but I am not an academic and wanted to ask this: Is it normal among academics to share datasets when requested, or do they keep them under lock and key?
Because one Dr. Claudine Gay, president of one Harvard University, seems to have been rather stingy with her datasets in the past:
"These scholars asked Claudine Gay for her data. She said no.
''We were, however, unable to scrutinize Gay’s results because she would not release her dataset to us (personal communication with Claudine Gay, 2002).''
I have to say the Italians are being a bit unfair to Brussels. I mean they've been a political disaster since the early Roman Empire and an economic disaster since the Medicis left the scene. Rightly or wrongly, and I think mostly rightly, the rest of Europe views them as a perpetual money sink that always threatens to bring the rest of Europe down with it. I think all sides would be happy with an EU Italy divorce except that they can't. The EU's political stability would be in serious questions and Italy would immediately default on its immense debt. It's similar to the UK's intense desire to dump Northern Ireland, but it's political impossibility means they are soldered together for a long time to come.
Merry Christmas Nic ☃️ 🍻
Click the like button at the top or the bottom of the page to like this entry. Use the share and/or re-stack buttons to share this across social media. Leave a comment if the mood strikes you to do so.
News:
I will be in NYC later next week where I will be filmed by a team surrounding a very well-known and public figure in these circles. I think it will be part-interview, part Anthony Bourdain walk around and see what happens. I’m looking forward to this, but not as much as many of you are looking forward to seeing how I actually look in real life.
FbF Book Club:
For those who missed it, we’ve started the latest entry in the FbF Book Club. In this iteration, we are looking at the history of Alcohol Prohibition in the USA, with a focus on the actual period itself that lasted from 1920 until 1933. The book is Daniel Okrent’s “Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition” (1920). A bestsellter, it’s written in a popular style.
Link - https://niccolo.substack.com/p/prologue-and-chapter-1-thunderous
Christmas:
For those already subscribed, I will do my best to put out the next entry of the FbF Book Club tomorrow. For those on the free plan, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and if you do celebrate, try and forget all the stuff that we talk about and read about here, and spread some joy with your loved ones.
I will also ask the latter group to kindly please consider subscribing to my Substack as I do put a lot of work into producing the content that you already enjoy here. By doing so, you will get access to all the rest that is currently hidden behind the paywall.
Of course Poland is going to resemble neocon Ireland, with the blessing of Brussels. Of course PO is going to ignore the law in doing so, of course Brussels and Washington will turn a blind eye.
What is anyone going to do about it?
Bon Natale I Felice Nouevo Anno!
I really enjoyed this except from Kirn’s piece: “‘Have nothing in your home,’ wrote Morris, the father of the Arts and Crafts movement, which aimed to elevate the lives of the working and middle classes, ‘that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.’”
If there’s any consolation to be had from this generation’s rising consumer product obsolescence, it’s the potential joy of following that dictum. Of course it’s more difficult to find a hardwood dresser from an antique market, let alone build one, than using one-click purchase on Chinese Wayfair, but the reward of doing so is far higher. I believe there are many small companies that have sprung up in the last two decades to fulfill this exact purpose: producing small batch, quality everyday objects. An extreme example: https://www.townsends.us/
I’d welcome a 21st c. Arts and Crafts movement. Maybe it’s already happening. It’s just drowned out by all the noise.
P.S.
If you want to see the confluence of every bad incentive in consumer spending/producing/marketing, turned up to the highest dial imaginable, see the Iraqi-owned “Flip” app.
Comfy, smug, ideological bureaucrats... just how high is the global misery quotient for which they are responsible?
I doubt someone born in what is currently Bosnia-Herzegovina would know much about the difficulties of forming a functional government across sectarian lines... :P
Unfortunately I forgot to get my interlibrary loan of Okrent's book yesterday and the library is now closed for winter, stupid me.
When saying goodbye for the break to two different colleagues, one Muslim and the other Jewish and both in their late 50s at the youngest, both said "Happy New Year" only. Not even "Holidays" now. Wonder if this is a new thing.
The liberalization of Poland and Ireland is going hand in hand with the collapse of Christianity in those countries, particularly among young people. So I need an explanation for why all Christian countries when they become remotely wealthy, completely abandon their millenia long ideology in favor of the liberal secular one.
You look at the Gulf Arabs, they are fabulously wealthy but they remain Muslim. Sure they might not always act according to Islamic law, but they all still identify as Muslim, something you cannot say about the Christian West. You look at Thailand, they all remain Buddhist. Again I am not concerned if they follow Buddhist theology perfectly, just if the population identifies itself as "Buddhist".
Every other religion in the world manages to hold on to their percentage shares except for Christians. Even the poorer Latin Americans are rapidly de-Christianizing. I don't think the beliefs or institutions of Christians are more outlandish or corrupt than any other religion, so don't understand why Christianity is the only religion that is taking the hit.
It’s fun sometimes to compare/contrast the quality & longevity of household appliances in my grandparents’ home to the ones I’m amassing now lol.
It is truly alarming how fast the left goes mask off after winning an election today. Would it be fair to say being a democracy today means being a province of America? I can think of very few exceptions to this, India, Hungary(sort of).
Have a merry Christmas Niccolo!
Re Generation Junk, the declining quality in many consumer goods is a corollary of the hollowing out of the Western middle classes and the gradual, but seemingly relentless, convergence in living standards between the West and the Third World.
Fellow readers, this is not keeping with Monsieur Foucault's topics of the week, but I am not an academic and wanted to ask this: Is it normal among academics to share datasets when requested, or do they keep them under lock and key?
Because one Dr. Claudine Gay, president of one Harvard University, seems to have been rather stingy with her datasets in the past:
"These scholars asked Claudine Gay for her data. She said no.
''We were, however, unable to scrutinize Gay’s results because she would not release her dataset to us (personal communication with Claudine Gay, 2002).''
https://www.dossier.today/p/these-scholars-asked-claudine-gay
Merry Xmas and thanks for the all-year-round edutainment via the substack
Fresh plagiarism charges breaking now...
https://twitter.com/aaronsibarium/status/1738645599346380817
As always, masterful and fun. I'm surprised you're not on Urbit, I think you'd get along with people there.
(happy to help you get on the network if you ever want to)
I have to say the Italians are being a bit unfair to Brussels. I mean they've been a political disaster since the early Roman Empire and an economic disaster since the Medicis left the scene. Rightly or wrongly, and I think mostly rightly, the rest of Europe views them as a perpetual money sink that always threatens to bring the rest of Europe down with it. I think all sides would be happy with an EU Italy divorce except that they can't. The EU's political stability would be in serious questions and Italy would immediately default on its immense debt. It's similar to the UK's intense desire to dump Northern Ireland, but it's political impossibility means they are soldered together for a long time to come.