We Are Not Saved

In which I engage in an extended, and somewhat clunky Star Wars metaphor. And eventually conclude that clunkiness is sort of the point.

Hamlet by: William Shakespeare Gods and Generals (The Civil War Trilogy, #1) by: Jeff Shaara We Solve Murders by: Richard Osman Stop All the Clocks: A Novel by: Noah Kumin Pyrebound by Brayton Cole Grunge (Monster Hunter Memoirs, #1) by: John Ringo and Larry Correia Sinners (Monster Hunter Memoirs, #2) by: John Ringo and Larry Correia Saints (Monster Hunter Memoirs, #3) by: John Ringo and Larry Correia Fever (Monster Hunter Memoirs, #4) by: Larry Correia and Jason Córdova Target Rich Environment (Volume 1) by: Larry Correia Target Rich Environment (Volume 2) by: Larry Correia Monster Hunter: Siege by: Larry Correia Monster Hunter: Guardian by: Larry Correia Monster Hunter: Bloodlines by: Larry Correia The Monster Hunter Files by: Various

A review of Douglas Murray's "On Democracies and Death Cults" with broad discursions into Sam Kriss' article "Douglas Murray, gruesome toady" and the entire Israel-Hamas-Gaza Mess.

Hannah's Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth by: Catherine Pakaluk The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities by: Mancur Olson This Kind of War: A Study in Unpreparedness by: T. R. Fehrenbach Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House by: Jonathan Allen Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again by: Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson Meditations by: Marcus Aurelius The Gap and The Gain: The High Achievers' Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success by: Dan Sullivan and Benjamin P. Hardy

People are worried about a lot of things at the moment, but one thing near the top of everyone’s list is a war between the US and China over the fate of Taiwan. What most people have forgotten is that the US already fought a war with China. It’s easy to overlook this previous conflict because we called it the Korean War (and initially it wasn’t even called a war). This is understandable given that it took place in Korea. As such, it’s forgivable to overlook the huge Chinese involvement. But for most of the war the Chinese were our primary opponents. (At its peak 80% of enemy troops were Chinese.) Can we draw any lessons from our last war with China when considering the possible outcomes of a future war with the same adversary? There are certainly worse places to look for information. The first thing we might look at is the outcome. How did we do? How did the war end? This part, at least, most people remember. It ended in a draw. After costing the lives of at least four million people (soldiers and civilians)

A Rumor of Angels: Modern Society and the Rediscovery of the Supernatural by: Peter L. Berger The Four Cardinal Virtues by: Josef Pieper Analects by: Confucius Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious by: Ross Douthat

Someone needs to point out the potential problems with superforecasting. For some reason it as fallen to me.

The movement is called anti-aging, not anti-injury. How do people who believe they have a real shot at immortality interact with the phenomena of safetyism?

The Moral Sense by: James Q. Wilson The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 2]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation (1918-1956) by: Alekandr Solzhenitsyn Stalin's War: A New History of World War II by: Sean McMeekin Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's by: Charles Piller How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain by: Peter S. Goodman Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by: Sarah Wynn-Williams Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by: Dan Sullivan

Getting people to have more children may be as difficult as getting people to abandon their four-door sedan for a horse and buggy.

Three translations of a classic, high brow literary fiction, a great book from a friend of and mine then a whole lot of pulp. Also something that might be the beginnings of a book by Neal Stephenson.

Audio for the keystone chapter (Chapter Zero) of the book I'm working on.

If integration is straightforward how is it that the former East Germany is so different ideologically from the former West Germany?

Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification by: Timur Kuran Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism by: Scott Horton The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Volume 1 by: Alexander Solzhenitsyn Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet by: Gernot Wagner & Martin L. Weitzman The Vertigo Years: Europe 1900-1914 by: Philipp Blom The Lion's Gate: On the Front Lines of the Six Day War by: Steven Pressfield

Things are changing. Hopefully in good ways.

In which I decide that I am not going to read "Wind and Truth". And also that 63 hours on audio is just ridiculous.

The Evil Creator: Origins of an Early Christian Idea by: M. David Litwa Existential Kink: Unmask Your Shadow and Embrace Your Power by: Carolyn Elliott The Ballad of the White Horse by: G. K. Chesterton American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology by: D.W. Pasulka Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences by: D.W. Pasulka Undreaming Wetiko: Breaking the Spell of the Nightmare Mind-Virus by: Paul Levy

A method for making better decisions should you ever find yourself in Kathmandu, or paying for SEO, or hoping to see the Supreme Court.

Self-Help Is Like a Vaccine: Essays on Living Better by: Bryan Caplan Anaximander: And the Birth of Science by: Carlo Rovelli The Social Conquest of Earth by: Edward O. Wilson The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class by: David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by: Donald Miller The Power of Having Fun: How Meaningful Breaks Help You Get More Done by: Dave Crenshaw The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change by: Yoram Bauman and Grady Klein The Little Book of Aliens by: Adam Frank

You have probably heard about Rotherham, and the child sex abuse rings that existed there (and may still be operating). As with so many things these days, this story entered the public discussion when Musk tweeted about it. For many people I’ve talked to, this was the first they’d heard of it. I actually spoke about about it in 2018. At the time I felt I was late to the game, but apparently I was six years ahead of most people. Given the story's re-emergence I thought it might be worth dusting off that old piece. I think it holds up pretty well, particularly the part about the woeful lack of reporting on the topic. I have lightly edited it, smoothing things out in a few places, adding commas, that sort of thing. Temporal references have not been updated, so when I say “a week ago” I’m referring to 2018. Even if you’ve already read a lot about these horrific crimes, there are a few takes in here that I haven’t seen elsewhere