The even randomer thread

[josie]

I really enjoyed The Ghost Map.  It describes a cholera outbreak in 1850's London and how a Priest and a government official tracked down the source of the outbreak.  It was an event that began our understanding of microorganisms and their impact on our health.

They forced us to read that book for orientation at RIT. We were then asked to write a paper about it in groups in one of those useless freshman intro classes. 

 

In one of my high school classes senior year, I'd done an "senior thesis" AP 4 month research project on that cholera outbreak/Dr. Snow/epidemiology/everything Ghost Map is about.

 

I read that book and kept feeling like I was having deja vu. I dug out my research notecards and found entire passages in that book lifted out of scientific journals/other books. Didn't even bother to reword or paraphrase. Just straight up plagiarized without citing source. I mean, it's all accurate, but I didn't even get halfway through it before I got mad and refused to read the rest. 

 

 

If you're into epidemiology, I highly recommend Dr. Snowden's course on Open Yale Courses- Epidemics in Western Society Since 1600. He's kinda dry, but incredibly knowledgeable. His wife was a nurse in the beginning of the AIDS epidemic and her lecture is heartbreaking. Good book on that- And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts. 

 

Lately I've been trying to get more into documentaries and books. I feel like I've been in a bit of a rut where I waste too much time watching SportsCenter/sporting events I don't care about, surfing social media, etc. I'm attempting to spend more of my time absorbing information while still entertaining myself, rather than mindlessly passing the time with trivial things.

 

So, any recommendations for documentaries? Any books that you'd consider a must-read? I'm most interested in natural things, and tend to stick to non-fiction. But this is the internet, so who am I to be picky? Fire away!

I am a documentary junkie. Nonstop. Every day. I also pretty much only read non fiction. I don't have time to read books much, so docs are how I "learn" now. 

 

My top constant rewatches:

You really can't go wrong with most anything by HBO or ESPN 30 for 30 (they have a podcast now!!). 

so:

When the Levee Broke (4 parts, about Hurricane Katrina. Really hard but important watch- it's on youtube)

Going Clear (expose on scientology- gotta dig to find it)

Blackfish (yeah yeah everyone's heard of it- it's good.on netflix.)

Glory Daze (about the Club Kid scene in 90s NYC, great/dark/fascinating book on it by James St James- Disco Bloodbath. renamed Party Monster, about Michael Alig murdering another clubkid)

When We Left Earth (NASA. the entire history. It is SO SO SO SO good. Hard to find right now.)

Inside Mega Tornado El Reno (Nat'l Geo. About an incredible weather event in 2013, the storm that killed pro storm chaser Tim Samaras. If you like tornado/storm chasing stuff, I have a storm chaser's channel I can recommend. He's not a screaming idiot, but calm and informative)

Secrets of Great British Castles with Dan Jones (was on netflix. Guy is such a history nerd, you can't help but get excited about it with him. Good stuff)

Bunch of different animal docs on netflix with Martin Clunes. They're fun and informative.

Senna (doc on legendary formula one driver)

OJ: Made In America (one of the best docs I've ever seen. Incredible comprehensive on the culture of the era. high recommendation)

 

Anything by PBS Frontline. Bush's War is really good. Any of the docs about the 2008 financial collapse. 

 

Can't lose with Planet Earth or Human Planet. All amazing. I can't work with them on, though. Too much to look at.

 

Check out anything by Werner Herzog. Happy People: A Year in the Taiga is fascinating. He did a rather artsy but dark piece on the Kuwaiti burning oil fields- Lessons Of Darkness. Also has one on scientists in the Antarctic. He's an acquired taste but really solid work.

 

Check out r/documentaries, but look at their categories. It became a default sub and is overrun with loads of crap right now. Lots of sh!tty conspiracy theory/Hitler's gold type BS. 

 

 

Keep in mind with any documentary that there is an agenda. There are a lot that I can't get through because they're just... kinda cringey with their aims. I like to find docs on both sides of major issues whenever possible. 

 

Books- if you want to read anything on mountaineering/arctic/polar exploration, let me know. I've got... loads. It's my latest obsession. I have loads of war/battle books, surgery/medical history books, too. 

Edited July 31, 2017 by Josie914

[WildCard]

Well I tried reading IT like I do any other book, in bed to fall asleep to.

 

I'm now instead sleeping on the couch with the TV on. Lesson learned

[Winston]

Thanks for all the recommendations, Josie! I don't think I've seen any of those besides a couple of the 30 for 30s.. I've got some catching up to do!

 

And thanks for the anti-recommendation, WC :P I've never been into scary movies or books. I am reading another King novel now, though: Under the Dome. It is extremely long, so we'll see if I have the attention span to get through it.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Well I tried reading IT like I do any other book, in bed to fall asleep to.

 

I'm now instead sleeping on the couch with the TV on. Lesson learned

 

Just like I told ya, eh?

 

Extra clean underwear everywhere ... words to live by.

[TrueBlueGED]

This really deserves to be in the complaint thread, but I'm too triggered to wait. The following is an explanation of the major conflicts and compromises at the Constitutional Convention. Even granting that it's a 100-level class, I don't know if I'm angry or depressed.

 

[Sabel79]

This really deserves to be in the complaint thread, but I'm too triggered to wait. The following is an explanation of the major conflicts and compromises at the Constitutional Convention. Even granting that it's a 100-level class, I don't know if I'm angry or depressed.

 

15016373645711309586543.jpg

Oh.  Oh no. 

[WildCard]

This really deserves to be in the complaint thread, but I'm too triggered to wait. The following is an explanation of the major conflicts and compromises at the Constitutional Convention. Even granting that it's a 100-level class, I don't know if I'm angry or depressed.

 

15016373645711309586543.jpg

How did they even get into college?

[Weave]

This really deserves to be in the complaint thread, but I'm too triggered to wait. The following is an explanation of the major conflicts and compromises at the Constitutional Convention. Even granting that it's a 100-level class, I don't know if I'm angry or depressed.

 

15016373645711309586543.jpg

 

You are a stronger man than I.

[darksabre]

This really deserves to be in the complaint thread, but I'm too triggered to wait. The following is an explanation of the major conflicts and compromises at the Constitutional Convention. Even granting that it's a 100-level class, I don't know if I'm angry or depressed.

 

15016373645711309586543.jpg

[Sabel79]

I love that movie so much...

 

My younger sister, in her undergrad days (Geneseo) worked in some sort of writing lab thing helping what I can only assume were the freshman non-English majors with their papers.  Not sure if it was voluntary on the part of those coming to her or not.  She'd occasionally call me with some of the gems.  Hoo boy.  On par with, at most, the above. 

[shrader]

I'm not even sure where to start if I were to rank what irritates you with that.

[That Aud Smell]

How did they even get into college?

 

Sadly, I don't imagine that's even the bottom of the barrel.

[ubkev]

How did they even get into college?

Dude, I got into UB...it's really not an accomplishment ;)

[Samson's Flow]

Dude, I got into UB...it's really not an accomplishment ;)

Imagine my displeasure when our class valedictorian settled for UB. :nana:

 

then again my HS class had more people who had two+ kids at graduation than we did commitments to ivy league schools, so that may be telling... 

[ubkev]

Imagine my displeasure when our class valedictorian settled for UB. :nana:

 

then again my HS class had more people who had two+ kids at graduation than we did commitments to ivy league schools, so that may be telling...

I graduated with 365 others. I remember where, like 5 of them went to college. And I didn't really start hanging out with single moms until after UB.

[Samson's Flow]

I graduated with 365 others. I remember where, like 5 of them went to college. And I didn't really start hanging out with single moms until after UB.

I would say I am in a similar boat, but I would guess 40% of my HS class went to UB, since we all grew up on UB's north campus it was a matter of convenience more than anything else. Personally, i wanted to get as far away from that place as possible.

[ubkev]

I would say I am in a similar boat, but I would guess 40% of my HS class went to UB, since we all grew up on UB's north campus it was a matter of convenience more than anything else. Personally, i wanted to get as far away from that place as possible.

I went as far away as my parents would let me. UB was 180 miles.

[WildCard]

Even UB has to have better standards than that ###### nut 

Edited August 2, 2017 by WildCard

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Even UB has to have better standards than that ###### nut 

 

Obviously not, eh.

 

The new motto for all Canadian Universities, since the big shift from the focus being on higher education to higher profits ... 'D is for Diploma'.

 

They don't even need to be able to read and write so well, so long as their wallet, or their parents wallet, is fat.

[LGR4GM]

This really deserves to be in the complaint thread, but I'm too triggered to wait. The following is an explanation of the major conflicts and compromises at the Constitutional Convention. Even granting that it's a 100-level class, I don't know if I'm angry or depressed.

 

15016373645711309586543.jpg

"This allowed the slaves to get equal representation"... I might have just given them an F and lit the thing on fire.

[WildCard]

Obviously not, eh.

 

The new motto for all Canadian Universities, since the big shift from the focus being on higher education to higher profits ... 'D is for Diploma'.

 

They don't even need to be able to read and write so well, so long as their wallet, or their parents wallet, is fat.

This is most likely it. Good point

[shrader]

Most of my high school class seemed to go to either Canisius or Geneseo.

[josie]

I graduated with 365 others. I remember where, like 5 of them went to college. And I didn't really start hanging out with single moms until after UB.

My class was 360. I was mumbled about because I chose to leave the state for school. I was made fun of for going to "the wannabe MIT for art, what a waste". Oh well, still think it was the right choice. 

 

It's so odd- my sister graduated in 2002 and most of her class is just now starting to have children/get married/buy houses, and the vast majority moved away. Several have actually found their way up here to Buffalo. 

 

My class of 2007- a good 70-80% are married, on their second or third marriage, have 2-3 kids (or more, the mormon girls have about 5 now), all live in the hometown, living that NW Ohio dream... Quite a few went to ivy leagues, they all just moved back. Most went to BGSU or OSU. I'll consider myself a failure if I end up in that tiny little stepford wives town. 

[Randall Flagg]

Imagine my displeasure when our class valedictorian settled for UB. :nana:

 

then again my HS class had more people who had two+ kids at graduation than we did commitments to ivy league schools, so that may be telling...

My class valedictorian went to UB and got to decline grad school offers from Harvard, MIT, and Northwestern (he's a chemist).

 

I will always push people I know to go to UB and I regret not doing so.

[ubkev]

My class was 360. I was mumbled about because I chose to leave the state for school. I was made fun of for going to "the wannabe MIT for art, what a waste". Oh well, still think it was the right choice.

 

It's so odd- my sister graduated in 2002 and most of her class is just now starting to have children/get married/buy houses, and the vast majority moved away. Several have actually found their way up here to Buffalo.

 

My class of 2007- a good 70-80% are married, on their second or third marriage, have 2-3 kids (or more, the mormon girls have about 5 now), all live in the hometown, living that NW Ohio dream... Quite a few went to ivy leagues, they all just moved back. Most went to BGSU or OSU. I'll consider myself a failure if I end up in that tiny little stepford wives town.

People ask me if I'd ever move back home. I always tell them that the minute I become independently wealthy I would be on the phone with a builder and a real estate agent to find me some land back home in the country to build my dream house on. There is nothing in my hometown. I just love it there. It's home, after all. Besides, it's hard to get good Italian food here.