I'm about halfway through Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth (author of Day of the Jackal). It's flat out fascinating - a complete manual of how to overthrow a small African dictatorship, going into insane levels of detail over every facet of such an operation. For research the author met with mercenaries and arms dealers, posing as an interested party in throwing a coup of New Guinea. The balls on this guy.
There's a movie with Christopher Walken that's also pretty good, though it's less interested in the actual mechanics of throwing a coup.
Job postings. I am reading job postings.
Good luck.
Thank you. I'm pretty demoralized with my current gig and it's bad enough that it's affecting my confidence with applying for a new one. A far cry from my previous gig where I was effectively carrying two teams.
For me its age that has affected my confidence, all they want is POCs and not even local ones; they have to be imported.
At my age and with my skin colour chances of me being able to change my job are slim. At work stuck me in crap jobs no young Indian would stick around to do ax they would see it beneath them.
Wish I'd nevef become a software engineer.
Have you talked to a recruiter, especially one that specializes in your field?
I just started Reflections of a Russian Statesman by Konstantin Pobedonostsev. It's touted as an excellent critique of liberalism.
Interesting. Went immediately on the list and I picked up the epub from Archive.org. What gravitated you to that?
I was looking for an antebellum defense of the Tsars to evaluate the state of Russian political theory from which Lenin arose.
Russian history has sort of perpetually floated in that "I'll get around to it later" spot for me. If you come across any really compelling nuggets lemme know.
If you haven’t read propaganda by Edward bernays yet I’d add it to the pile. I’m currently doing the Stephen Fry read books on mythology, because the only way to make Greek mythology better is by having an excellent orator read it.
Propaganda is now on the list. Thanks!
Heinlein. Read Door to Summer, then decided to start at the beginning. Finished Rocket Ship Galileo and Space Cadet since then.
I have been translating Five Star Monogatari: Traffics 3... slowly.
How do you pick what series to translate?
Because nobody else is doing it and I want to know who John met and why they got attacked, and why artbook 6 has Sopp and Lachesis helping Minogshia and Palsuet is in a NSUA uniform. I want to know wtf is going on and the internet is giving me no answers so my only choice is to plow through it and learn how to read japanese.
Everyone dropped FSS when Nagano went on hiatus for a decade and then came back and said Gothicmade was now just part of the canon.
I guess I don't read a lot of manga so I don't have any context. Do you read a lot in Japanese, then say "Hey, I bet some English audience would like this?"
Pretend like you're talking to your dad.
Uh, no.
This is my first attempt at forcing myself to learn to read it, although like any gaijin who's watched it for decades I've picked up enough spoken to follow a conversation.
SInce the coof hit I picked up the Genki 1 2 books (the nominal "standard" for introductory japanese for english speakers) and have been leaning on google to deal with the kanji.
The Bible. I’ve just decided to convert back to Christianity.
The mapping of Terra Australis by Robert Clancy. It's about $30 bucks on amazon but it's a fascinating read on how my country was mapped. For instance, in the 1750s for instance there were really only 2 areas that hadn't been mapped yet. Terra Australis and Northern Canada with all the ice. You had the occasional Dutch explorer like Abel Tasman make a pass and draw a rough map but it wasn't till Matthew Flinders in 1760 charted the southern coastline and much of Tasmania. His map were used by the local British Admiralty establishing the penal colonies in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney till about 1820 when more detailed maps of coastal features started to be made.
Fanfiction. It's cheap and there's a variety enough that you can find something for everyone. I mean everyone. Rule34 people even.
This will sound drab but manuals related to acquisition of a new skill. Won't get any more specific since this in the internet and all. Can never have too many useful skills.
Picked up "The Prince" after putting it down sometime ago. Still a slog but still good enough to keep reading.
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane.
Just about to finish off The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Destroyers, Frigates & Submarines by Bernard Ireland and John Parker.
"Metaphysics of Power" by Julius Evola.
I've always been skeptical of modernist attacks on monarchy but Evola is the first person I've seen wholeheartedly defend the concept on its own merits and I have to say I find it quite convincing.
Is it as dense and arcane as Metaphysics of War was? I find the concepts Evola lays out compelling, but his writing is very difficult to parse.
I haven't read war yet - it's next on my list - but most likely yes. There are some books you can breeze through fifty pages in an hour and some where you need the same amount of time for five, and Evola is certainly closer to the latter type.
Dune, I'm enjoying it more my second time through.
Recently finished:
“Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America”, Jill Leovy
“Sixty Years of Rifles: A Personal Odyssey”, Paul Matthews
“Big Game and Big Game Rifles”, John “Pondoro” Taylor
Trying to decide what next. I’m thinking about “Live Not By Lies” or “Once an Eagle”, but the latter is a huge book that’s going to take a lot of time. And I need to start working on taxes soon…
Just finished Wrinkle in Time and now reading a book of Essays by Milton Friedman. Next book after this is A Scanner Darkly
The original one? That was my favorite book as a kid. Blew my mind.
Yep the original.
Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.
Golf Monster by Alice Cooper. He's one of my favorite musicians, and he's had a pretty interesting life. I have a lot of respect for him for kicking his addictions and being very open about his Christianity.
The Vision of the Anointed.
Thomas Sowell lays bare the bullshit of detached, pseudo-intellectuals who have influenced policy this since the sixties. It's shockingly relevant, frustratingly so, for today. Especially the Covid crap.
It's worth it. I still reread some favorite dialogues, notably the Gorgias and the Apology. Don't feel bad about breezing through some of them. There's one where Socrates speculates about the origin of words. It goes on forever and I just couldn't find anything meaningful in it.
Edit: Also, if you have the same edition I do, pick up an epub and read it with an adjustable font. Save your eyes.
Leadership Strategy and Tactics by Jocko Willink and ill probably be on it next month to at the rate I read