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Granny Weatherwax's summation of "evil is when you start thinking of people as things" is a pretty big component of my moral framework.
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Aug 15, 2023 22:31
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We are in the middle of reading Feet of Clay and I really got choked up when Dorfl saves Angua after being dispatched by the king. The image of them walking out onto the street after their reformation really stuck with me and felt inspired to draw a thing https://twitter.com/TheSkinnyMenace/status/1691585104085442894?t=6I-c14TW6LjWEQ3yXSmCrw&s=19 bit of a heraldic humor on the potters crest. Its a hand dropping a sphere of earth (hence its ridiculous shape) onto a wheel. They were going to keep the traditional disc shape of the earth but it seemed too similar to the pizza guilds own coat of arms albeit upside down
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Aug 16, 2023 02:42
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I love Dorfl, especially how he became an annoying atheist five minutes after being reforged with a tongue
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Aug 16, 2023 02:45
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thetoughestbean posted:I love Dorfl, especially how he became an annoying atheist five minutes after being reforged with a tongue Dorfl didn't become an atheist. He believes completely in the gods. He just doesn't believe that you should worship one specifically. Either all gods deserve worship or none do, and he doesn't know which yet. (And he doesn't consider "I'll smite you if you don't" to be a solid argument.)
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Aug 16, 2023 09:43
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Jedit posted:Dorfl didn't become an atheist. He believes completely in the gods. He just doesn't believe that you should worship one specifically. Either all gods deserve worship or none do, and he doesn't know which yet. (And he doesn't consider "I'll smite you if you don't" to be a solid argument.) He also got into an argument later about whether atheism is a religious position, the important part is the “annoying” part. Love him to death, living his best life
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Aug 16, 2023 22:10
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Jedit posted:Dorfl didn't become an atheist. He believes completely in the gods. No, he doesn't: quote:“Another priest said,"Is it true you've said you'll believe in any god whose existence can be proved by logical debate?"
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Aug 17, 2023 06:09
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Alhazred posted:No, he doesn't: That's Dorfl making a point. What he's saying is a spin on the religious argument that the existence of God cannot be proven because proof denies faith. Pratchett raised the same point in another book, though I forget which one, where he said that you couldn't believe in a god that you knew existed as it would be like believing in the postman. For a third reiteration: it's the same point as Small Gods, where everyone believes in Om but nobody has faith in him so their belief transfers to the church. The difference is that Dorfl is coming at it from the position of asking why we should believe in the gods if they don't inspire faith and their existence cannot be proven. It also comes in the same scene as him saying that if the priests want to grind him to dust to prove that they won't find a single speck of life then they can, as long as one of them is willing to undergo the same treatment. They decline, because of course this cannot be proven in this way - but again, that's the point. The whole scene is a confrontation between faith and reason, with Dorfl turning their own arguments against them. I admit that I misspoke when I said he believes in the Gods, though. He certainly knows that they exist, but he doesn’t believe in them in the way I implied.
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Aug 17, 2023 09:42
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Yeah Dorfl doesn't believe in the Gods in the same way people don't "believe" in weather. It's just weather! It exists! Sometimes it will kill you!
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Aug 17, 2023 10:02
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And if you are a golem, it probably won't. 
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Aug 17, 2023 13:07
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Fire and water, though? Well drat, say farewell to those plans of waiting for the universe to come around again to deliver your message on time this time...
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Aug 17, 2023 18:21
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Unseen Academicals has some beautiful writing on what being part of a football crowd is and why.
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Aug 18, 2023 09:31
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UA is not a great book, but it's still better than Raising Steam 
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Aug 18, 2023 09:53
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Total Meatlove posted:Unseen Academicals has some beautiful writing on what being part of a football crowd is and why. Which is pretty wild because Terry never had any indication of an interest in football outside of that one line in the biography of his early newspaper career.
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Aug 18, 2023 11:02
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The_Doctor posted:Which is pretty wild because Terry never had any indication of an interest in football outside of that one line in the biography of his early newspaper career. He wasn't interested in football, but he was interested in football fans.
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Aug 18, 2023 11:54
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Wingnut Ninja posted:Granny Weatherwax's summation of "evil is when you start thinking of people as things" is a pretty big component of my moral framework. Ditto. It's one of the foundational aspects of how I see the world. Pratchett was able to put into words something that I've always felt, and I love him for it.
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Aug 18, 2023 20:40
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Periodic reminder that the biography is incredibly good, and if you are a fan you should pick it up* * Also heartbreaking for obvious reasons, fair warning
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Aug 19, 2023 00:56
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Gravitas Shortfall posted:UA is not a great book, but it's still better than Raising Steam I disagree. For all it's fault at least Raising Steam has a plot. The ending of UA is also uncharacteristically mean for Pratchet: It's revealed that the "villain" doesn't really hold any real power. Everyone on his soccer team hates him and is only there because of his dad and after the match he's no longer a threat to anyone. And yet by the end someone slashes his face and pour lemon juice on his wounds. Compare that to the end of Small Gods where Brutha takes Vorbis, who arguably was a more evil person than Shank, with him across the the ethereal desert towards judgement. Alhazred fucked around with this message at 10:55 on Aug 19, 2023 |
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Aug 19, 2023 10:53
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Speaking of, I just hit Small Gods again on my reread binge, and man, it is just so loving good. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best of his Discworld books in terms of having something to say, and saying it well, without shying away from difficulty. It really showed to me how he was much, much more than a comedic writer. I think only Nation comes close for me out of his other books. What a writer, what a guy (and what a weird fellow, after reading his biography. It made me check how often people thank each other in his books. Not that often!
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Aug 19, 2023 11:39
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Total Meatlove posted:Unseen Academicals has some beautiful writing on what being part of a football crowd is and why. Which bits are you thinking of?
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Aug 19, 2023 11:39
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Alhazred posted:Compare that to the end of Small Gods where Brutha takes Vorbis, who arguably was a more evil person than Shank, with him across the the ethereal desert towards judgement. Might want to reread that ending again.
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Aug 19, 2023 15:02
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Osmosisch posted:Speaking of, I just hit Small Gods again on my reread binge, and man, it is just so loving good. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best of his Discworld books in terms of having something to say, and saying it well, without shying away from difficulty. It really showed to me how he was much, much more than a comedic writer. I think only Nation comes close for me out of his other books. Small Gods was the first Discworld I read, and it's still my favorite. The combo of the message, the captivating characters and still being really funny/lighthearted is a great one. If anybody wants to start reading Pratchett's books, that's the one I recomend as the first one.
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Aug 19, 2023 19:11
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https://youtu.be/RcN1wA-ZQDs?si=jrhF6YpdumX9xnMa Wasn't one of the characters in a later book a guy with duck on his head?
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Aug 24, 2023 07:18
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What duck?
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Aug 24, 2023 07:27
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I do wonder how he would have responded if someone asked that beggar what the thing on his head was - it may look like a duck and quack like a duck, but who knows, really? Funny old world, really.
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Aug 24, 2023 15:35
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Beachcomber posted:Might want to reread that ending again.
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Aug 24, 2023 17:14
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Bell_ posted:Ah, but which ending? I'm not sure. Just do all of them.
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Aug 24, 2023 19:15
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Just confirmed that Nation is available for me to put on my syllabus for this term. We'll be discussing it in November. I'll report on how it goes.
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Aug 30, 2023 18:33
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CommonShore posted:Just confirmed that Nation is available for me to put on my syllabus for this term. We'll be discussing it in November. I'll report on how it goes. What grade level? Nation is a fantastic book. It might be my favorite of all his works.
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Aug 30, 2023 21:22
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ConfusedUs posted:What grade level? First year uni. I'm teaching Robinson Crusoe in a different course at the same time, too
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Aug 31, 2023 03:50
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CommonShore posted:First year uni. I'm teaching Robinson Crusoe in a different course at the same time, too Awesome. I hope you make the assignments as much fun as the book.
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Aug 31, 2023 14:34
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Well the secondary learning objective for the course is essay writing so the fun is in class discussion. I just hope that the students enjoy it enough to chat.
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Aug 31, 2023 16:01
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dervival posted:I do wonder how he would have responded if someone asked that beggar what the thing on his head was - it may look like a duck and quack like a duck, but who knows, really? Funny old world, really. (presumably if you asked him what was on top of that you might get the answer you're seeking, but you know he'd go for "it's hair")
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Sep 1, 2023 15:16
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DACK FAYDEN posted:it's hair. the thing on top of his head is hair Why not both? 
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Sep 3, 2023 08:48
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Nation is out of print in Canada so RIP my plans. Probably going to do something by Kurt Vonnegut instead.
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Sep 8, 2023 16:14
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We are in the middle of The Lost Continent I like the jokes in this one, Dijabringabeeralong. The Wizard Faculty finding a god of evolution. it's so much fun The only real hard part while reading these to the kiddo is not making every "Australian" person sound the same. I can do an accent that ranges from Paul Hogan as Crocodile Dundee all the way to Bruce from Finding Nemo. Is there some kind of "how too accent" YouTube I'm unaware of so that I can get some Aussie variety? Oh also for Christmas, I'm getting the child The Fifth Elephant, The Truth and Thief of Time. I try to leave an inscription in the books. Previously it's been from Nanny Ogg, The Patrician or even Death. Any suggestions for this year's?
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Dec 3, 2023 07:09
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From Rincewind, with a reminder that half a brick in a sock can go a long way in an emergency (but even better is to be far, far away from the emergency)
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Dec 3, 2023 07:19
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thetoughestbean posted:From Rincewind, with a reminder that half a brick in a sock can go a long way in an emergency (but even better is to be far, far away from the emergency) Have the message end in a line that drags off the page like he had to run off in a hurry mid writing
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Dec 3, 2023 09:13
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Beer_Suitcase posted:We are in the middle of The Lost Continent Don't worry about changing accent. Just vary volume and pitch and it'll come across even if the accent becomes slightly off as a result. You can practice by saying "G'day" the way you normally would, then moving the "point of speaking" from the front of your mouth to the back. Then expand that out to "G'day Bruce, throw another shrimp on the barbie" and you'll hear how it sounds noticeably different. With a bit more practice you can also speak a bit faster or slower. That will bring you up to 12 varieties on the same accent.
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Dec 3, 2023 11:38
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Strange Cares posted:I just finished re-reading Reaper man last week and I burst into tears at the end. Really hits you different when you understand your own mortality. Reaper Man's fun because you can see him developing things he'll talk about in more detail later, like a couple things we've just gone on about : quote:Wizards don't believe in gods in the same way that most people don't find it necessary to believe in, say, tables. They know they're there, they know they're there for a purpose, they'd probably agree that they have a place in a well-organised universe, but they wouldn't see the point of believing, of going around saying "O great table, without whom we are as naught." Anyway, either the gods are there whether you believe in them or not, or exist only as a function of the belief, so either way you might as well ignore the whole business and, as it were, eat off your knees. quote:No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away, until the clock wound up winds down, until the wine she made has finished its ferment, until the crop they planted is harvested. The span of someone’s life is only the core of their actual existence.
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Dec 4, 2023 05:46
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Strange Cares posted:I just finished re-reading Reaper man last week and I burst into tears at the end. Really hits you different when you understand your own mortality. If only he had cut the sentient mall plot.
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Dec 4, 2023 06:09
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