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A pile of For Dummies books. They really do seem to be the five-minute course on everything. I particularly liked Nonprofit Kit for Dummies, as recommended by Lukeprog.

bramflakes13y00

What is the general quality of X For Dummies books? Is there a lot of variance?

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5 June 2012 Media Thread

by RobertLumley

1st Jun 2012

1 min read

5

This is the monthly thread for posting media of various types that you've found that you enjoy. I find that reading the sequences makes me less likely to enjoy some entertainment media that is otherwise quite popular, and finding media recommended by LWers is a good way to mitigate this. Post what you're reading, listening to, watching, and your opinion of it. Post recommendations to blogs. Post whatever media you feel like discussing! To see previous recommendations, check out the older threads.

Rules:

Please avoid downvoting recommendations just because you don't personally like the recommended material; remember that liking is a two-place word. If you can point out a specific flaw in a person's recommendation, consider posting a comment to that effect.
If you want to post something that (you know) has been recommended before, but have another recommendation to add, please link to the original, so that the reader has both recommendations.
Please use the comment trees for genres, which I was apparently too dumb to do.
If you have a thread to add, such as a video game thread or an Anime thread, please post it to the Other Media thread for now, and add a poll to the Meta thread asking if it should be a thread every month.

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[-]RobertLumley13y20

Meta Thread

[-]RobertLumley13y20

Other Media Thread

0RobertLumley13y

Similarly to last month, I'm going to ask for opinions. Windows 8? Has anyone tried the release candidate? I loved Windows 7, but I'm afraid that 8 is too geared towards mobile devices to be any good on my desktop and laptop.

0Zaine13y

I'd also be very interested in an informed answer to this question, but perhaps it is yet too early.

[-]RobertLumley13y10

Music Thread

5Alicorn13y

I feel like plugging filker Julia Ecklar. Here's a song of hers LWers may like. I couldn't find that one in particular on Youtube or I'd have linked there.

1praxis13y

This song is fantastic if I imagine that it's from a post-apocalyptic universe where Yahweh returned to punish free-thought and established the "Kingdom of God".

3fortyeridania13y

As I wandered through the Web I came across the one AI I would not mind letting out of the box: Weird Al, of course.

3Emile13y

Some more filk, in the "Yay Space!" category: * Fire in the Sky, by Jordin Kare * Surprise!, by Leslie Fish * Space Girl (not really filk, but still nice music) A lot of stuff can be found here.

0David_Gerard13y

* Two box sets of Factory Records: Palatine, which I had already, and the new(ish) set on Rhino. This is the stuff that hooked me at sixteen, therefore I will like it forever. (This appears to be true for a worryingly large number of music fans, even people like me who've been listening to new stuff for decades. I wonder if there's been any actual studies or if it's just critics' cynical anecdote.) * Capsule Stereo Worxxx (new album, just out). Straight-up '90s disco, pretty listenable and catchy. Nothing like as annoying as World Of Fantasy. * Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Pamyu Pamyu Revolution. Yasutaka Nakata would have written the Capsule album and then this straight after. * Everything else by Nakata, including lots of Perfume and MEG. Mostly not bad, but often even more irritating than Kyary. The guy writes too much stuff too fast, but I like it often enough it's worth checking. * I am just about to go on a week's holiday, introducing the small child to her grandparents. I have put more music on my phone than I could actually play in a week.

2Rain13y

Where do you procure your music? I can't find any cheap, legal means of getting most of the music you list.

[-]Alicorn13y100

cheap, legal

Awwwww.

6Rain13y

[-]gwern13y150

The legal risk these days is pretty minimal, copyright is a diseased institution, the savings are substantial*... As rational as any other suggestion I know of.

* I have 1851 tracks currently; this would cost, at a minimum, thousands to acquire legally, and worse for me, because so many of them are Japanese doujin music, I would have to pay major premiums for international shipping or simple rarity of the physical release.

3Rain13y

I guess my reason is so I can say, "I am the sort of person who follows the rules."

7gwern13y

An expensive preference; wouldn't it be cheaper to cultivate a liking for hookers & blow? But de gustibus, non disputandum est...

3Rain13y

It feeds a martyrdom complex. ("I was right; see how much it hurts?")

1David_Gerard13y

Here's "Feelin' Alright" from said new Capsule album.

[-]RobertLumley13y00

Non-fiction Books Thread

4Morendil13y

Reading Graeber's Debt: the first 5000 years. One interesting take-away early in is that the standard story told about the origins of money is poorly supported by available evidence, and told the way it is for mostly ideological reasons.

2D_Malik13y

If you know nothing about statistics but would like to engage in comprehensive self-tracking, this book looks good.

1gwern13y

I read that; it's pretty good for beginners, although I'm not sure how useful the focus on Excel is.

2David_Gerard13y

A pile of For Dummies books. They really do seem to be the five-minute course on everything. I particularly liked Nonprofit Kit for Dummies, as recommended by Lukeprog.

0bramflakes13y

What is the general quality of X For Dummies books? Is there a lot of variance?

5David_Gerard13y

Where I know anything about the field, they look good to me. The nonprofit one made me go "AAAAAAAA WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS 25 YEARS AGO (because I was too young and stupid to even think of asking)" which made me think well of it. There exists Reiki for Dummies, which is of course a how-to for a comprehensively bogus field; I haven't cracked it open. They started as software manuals and branched out into everything. Um, give them a spin, I'd say.

0[anonymous]13y

I picked up Derrida's Specters of Marx today. I have high hopes for it.

[-]RobertLumley13y00

Fiction Books Thread

2gwern13y

Per Shalizi's fantastic post, I'm reading Red Plenty. It's so far pretty good - if I had to compare it, I'd compare it to Dos Passos's USA, Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars books, and Carter Schulz's Radiance (which incidentally I recommend to LWers with literary bents).

0[anonymous]13y

Similarly to this comment from the April thread, which unfortunately got no replies, I am also interested in opinions of The Hunger Games so that I can decide whether or not it's worth reading. What are the books like? Edit: seems I should have also checked the May thread. Duh.

[-]RobertLumley13y00

Movies and Television Thread

9David Althaus13y

Triggered by recommendations from Will Newsome and Gwern I watched all episodes of Death Note in like 3 days and it's by far the best series I know of. I only comment here 'cause I feel really sorry for all the folks out there who haven't watched Death Note yet. Here's a short overview by Gwern (spoiler warning!): And here the beginning of a short plot summary (again by Gwern):

5Sly13y

I would just recommend stopping after a certain critical point in the show. There will be a big event that introduces several new characters, the show really goes downhill from then on.

1gwern13y

But then you miss the ending and pondering over what it means! Although I'll admit my essay probably means I am unusual in finding the ending so interesting...

0Rain13y

I still clench my teeth thinking about the ending. So wrong and contrived.

0Sly13y

I just read your essay and found it more entertaining than the actual ending itself. I think the end of season 1 was honestly a perfect ending. N as a character was a boring L clone+.

0David Althaus13y

IMO it goes from uber-awesome to good, but you're right, it was somewhat disappointing.

7baiter13y

I thought Jiro Dreams of Sushi was a really great documentary. Yes, it is about sushi, so for anyone who loves sushi it's a must-see (and I know there are a lot of general Japanophiles here...). But much more than that it is about two things: dedication to your craft and father-son relationships. Jiro Ono exemplifies the concept of conatus. I always thought and was taught to be well-rounded and know and be good at a lot of things. That still holds true, but only recently I've realized that, at least professionally, you should probably choose one thing and just become the best at it. Watching Jiro really inspired me to figure out how I can go on a similar path myself, even though all my impulses tell me to be a "generalist." (After walking out of the theater I was inspired, but I also truly felt like shit because I was hit with the realization that I'm good at a lot of things but not AMAZING at anything). The film also made me think a lot about father-son relationships. I want to write at length about this it's difficult without spoilers...

4gwern13y

I just watched it. I don't think we should worry about spoilers, especially with non-fiction documentaries - there's no twist ending. Anyway, I thought it was a very nicely done documentary with many delicious images, avoided the obvious mistake of putting Jiro on a pedestal & ignoring his staff, and did a good job of highlighting the double-edged nature of being a shokunin (great term). I found very true a comment from The New Yorker: One does wind up feeling sorry for the kids - and while Jiro may be happy, are they? Why did he have kids if he wasn't going to do a good job, one wonders, and was just a stranger? (He says he convinced them to not go to college (so they could work for him immediately!); one wonders how loud that conversation was...) I was shocked when he spoke of his wife in the present tense because we hadn't seen hide nor hair of her, and I had assumed she simply died a few years or decades back. I was strongly reminded of the passage about professional athletes from David Foster Wallace I quoted in my subcultures essay. Sometimes a sacrifice may just make one lesser. Still, Jiro Dreams of Sushi provoked some interesting blog posts: * Robin Hanson takes the expected tack of defending Jiro as a proto-em. With Hanson, if a workaholic comes up, you can expect him to either say that as an em, he would have a life worth living; or you can expect him to say that we should praise him because he is producing so much value for other people and consuming so little himself (possibly with some half-baked evopsych theorizing that any criticism is due to the workaholic perhaps being a less valuable ally). Personally, I found interesting someone's observation that women appear only as consumers towards the end. And why wouldn't they? Jiro is not a life one really envys - think of all the also-rans. Wouldn't it be better to be an non-autistic women who can instead enjoy the finer things in life? Sort of like Greenspun's defense of the gender gap in STE

2NancyLebovitz13y

Why would you expect Jiro to be a good father? That wasn't what he was focusing on. If everyone is an em, who would appreciate the em's work? I saw the movie in a theater, and had trouble with the subtitles. Maybe they were improved for the DVD.

3gwern13y

Of course it wasn't, and that's the problem. No one stole Jiro's semen and presented him a year later with a fait accompli of a bunch of babies: he chose to have kids, knowing that he would deliberately spend little time with them until they became useful to his monomania. They are means for him - towards cheap family labor (he thinks he is generous in letting them go to high school!), and then the restaurant succession. Yes, ignoring them may have enabled him to make slightly better sushi than everyone else - but is this something to laud? That's the question here about Jiro: was mutilating his life and family worth it? I'm not sure I can answer 'yes'. It's just sushi. (And before you shoot back 'well, he certainly considers it worth it', remember that a heroin addict or a wirehead could say as much.)

0Zaine13y

While I can't attest to the quality of Jiro's sushi, the quality of the sushi served by a sushi bar at Tsukiji market (you can see the front left facade of the restaurant in the scene where Jiro's son is departing from the market, and the camera is behind him, leaving only his shaded back visible - I can't recall the name) was at least two orders of magnitude* better than any other sushi I have ever had; I have consumed much sushi. *An order of magnitude here being three octaves of "Mmm!"

6baiter13y

At the risk of sounding like a sappy old grandmother, I really enjoyed Faces of America and the current follow-up series Finding Your Roots. You can watch them for free on PBS. They're both done by Henry Louis Gates (the Harvard professor that famously got arrested entering his own house).* The show features extensive research into the genealogies of a whichever celebrities are on that episode. We learn interesting details about their ancestors but it's much more about the historical context in which those ancestors lived. Once the paper trail runs out (for some it's a few generations, for others a 1000+ years) the show turns to genetics. A few cool things so far: * about 40% of Ashkenazi Jews can trace their mDNA to just 4 women living somewhere in the Levant about 2,000 years ago (these were probably some really smart gals ;-) * many African-Americans have a LOT more white ancestry than I previously thought * thanks to a researcher that recently went around Western Africa taking genetic samples where the slave trade was prominent, many American blacks can now know which exact tribes they descend from * I got to see Samuel Jackson's face when he saw a photo of his white ancestor *Funny story: the officer that arrested him said that Gates told him "yo mama." He really said he was coming back from a recording with Yo-Yo Ma (who was featured in Faces of America).

1Emile13y

Razib Khan has some criticism of that show (a consultant for 23andme who worked with Gates for the show shows up in the comments).

5[anonymous]13y

On AngryParsley and probably gwern's advice, I watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It starts out as a monster-of-the-week magical girl anime but quickly takes a turn for the absolutely bizarre, intersecting a few LW tropes on its way out. I also watched the first season of Kore wa Zombie desu ka? (which I think would be better translated as "This is supposed to be a zombie?" or "This is what it means to be a zombie?"). It's also a memetic mutation of the magical girl genre; the main character is turned into a zombie and quickly gathers a harem of supernaturals, while accidentally draining the magic powers of the harem's token magical girl. I wouldn't watch the second season until all of it is available; Hulu has a bad habit of giving up on a show halfway through (e.g., of all things, Serial Experiments Lain... facepalm).

6Kindly13y

One criticism I've heard of Puella Magi Madoka Magica (from my family; I think it's great) is that it "has too many little girls crying". So I guess if that's not your cup of tea, that's something to watch out for.

1MarkusRamikin13y

I had more trouble with the early parts where they were just being normal little girls. Once things got creepy and tragic I was at home. ;)

0Multiheaded13y

See above for redundant comment about the incredibly fucked state of copyright. Pirate away, really; I can't imagine how perverse you'd have to be to obey such laws!

4Bill_McGrath13y

Prometheus is to be avoided.

4beriukay13y

Agreed. The way I put it (and have seen similar comments): I will not rule out a friend's invitation to watch it on their Netflix account (for example). Upcoming Star Trek and Cloverfield 2 are on my list.

3[anonymous]13y

7Bill_McGrath13y

Yes. After the film, my friend and I were so incensed that we filled out a full A4 page with things that annoyed us, in small handwriting. And half of the reverse side. I'm glad I saw that movie, because though it was the worst film I have ever seen, I got so much entertainment out of criticizing it.

3[anonymous]13y

0Bill_McGrath13y

Eh, I know this is 6 weeks late, but I have it on my computer now if you're still interested. In the meanwhile: Maddox

0[anonymous]13y

0beriukay13y

I thought that was my particular quirk, I'm glad I'm not alone.

3Raemon13y

I've been watching Prison Break, which I don't really recommend as "great", but is extremely gripping (at any given moment, everything is about to go wrong - they maintain ridiculous tension for almost all of Season 1). The main character is not particularly interesting, but demonstrates a lot of competence, intelligence and agency. So many shows have "reactive" heroes, and I've developed a particular appreciation for heroes that set themselves big goals and then go out and achieve them in a comprehensible manner.

0RobertLumley13y

I think you accidentally deleted the name of the show...

3Kindly13y

I'm guessing Prison Break based on the description.

4Raemon13y

Heh. You are correct. You'd think there'd be more than one show matching the description "intelligent, competent character" and "tension", but apparently not.

2RobertLumley13y

I've recently started watching Modern Family, and it's really good. It's a comedy, somewhat a la Arrested Development, about a strange family, although the humor is somewhat different - it's not nearly as dry as AD was, but it's still dry.

0Bill_McGrath13y

I've seen a fair few episodes, I'd second the recommendation. Notable for having a non-traditional family presented as being completely run-of-the-mill.

0Raemon13y

I actually am most disappointed with the fact that all three families (including the gay couple) turn out to have a completely straightforward dynamic (working "dad", stay at home "mom") That said, the show is incredibly funny and well constructed, as far as family sitcoms go.

0Bill_McGrath13y

I hadn't picked up on that, I thought the blonde mam had a job. Interesting point, I'll remember that.

0Raemon13y

I actually did too for a long while - Claire seems so tough and together that, apart from not having a job, she feels more like the stereotypical 'Man' in the relationship. But that toughness mostly gets applied to maintaining the household.

0wedrifid13y

Mom or "mom" that doesn't sound all that modern to me!

1beoShaffer13y

I very strongly recommend Avatar: the Legend of Korra. Great plot, strong characters, amazing worldbuiling and terrific art. Also, its very realistic in the sense of avoiding conservation of ninjutsu and several other fiction fallacies.

0Sly13y

I have seen two episodes, and they were both incredibly low quality for something that so many of my friends recommended.

0Alicorn13y

The prior series (Avatar: The Last Airbender) is better-written. I was very surprised to learn that the Korra episodes are written by the same people - one ep was so clumsy I indignantly looked it up to know who to mock and, nope, same folks.

0[anonymous]13y

I've also started watching the first season of Fate/Zero; about six episodes in. It is fantastically better than Fate/stay night, if only because we can finally see the full power of Saber supplied with a sufficient quantity of prana. However you'd probably want to watch Fate/stay night (or read a recap) anyway to learn how the Holy Grail Wars are supposed to work, because the first episode is a really bad recap.

0[anonymous]13y

The Creation of the Humanoids is a scifi film from 1962 regarding AI and uploads, primarily dialog rather than action. It's excellently done.

0[anonymous]13y

Here is a Monty Python sketch you might not be familiar with: Theory on brontosauruses by Anne Elk In future, when I have the urge to write a post here I am going to ask myself if my idea might be an 'Elk theory'

0aelephant13y

《舌尖上的中国》 seems to be translated to "A Bite of China" in English (bad translation in my opinion). I have found a few HD torrents and it also seems to be up on YouTube and other video sites. This is an amazing documentary about food in China. It is beautifully filmed, so even those who don't speak Chinese might enjoy it. For Chinese language students, it is packed full of excellent prose.

0Emile13y

My (Chinese-born) wife has been watching all those quite avidly, it seems very popular across the Chinese-speaking internet. I gotta admit that's one recommendation I didn't expect to run into on LessWrong.

-2David_Gerard13y

The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists - known as The Pirates! Band Of Misfits in the US, because scientists apparently don't sell (and that's quite apart from Charles Darwin being a main character). An Aardman Animations film for kids. UK-made, the US financial contribution only added a small amount of gratuitous pseudo-irony and one Dreamworks smirk. Edit: I didn't actually say if it was any good. It is. Go see it :-)

2Emile13y

... but is it any good?

2David_Gerard13y

We (two adults, parents of a small child) laughed like drains, so I'll say "yes" :-)

2Raemon13y

Just lost about 45 minutes to TVtropes. Warning. However, knowing that "Pirates!" was originally subtitled "In an Adventure With Scientists" increases my interest in seeing it.

0David_Gerard13y

I figured it was a reasonable hazard in a media thread.

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