Richard Hostetter
5K posts
@rihostetter
Macro/Japan specialist ranting about many things. Tottenham Hotspur fan. Apples. Cider.
If Trump is upending just about everything we’ve grown used to, directly or indirectly, I’d say the global monetary policy regime of the last generation is probably in for a rough ride.
I feel like most of the nerds simply don't understand the inherently murderous logic of humanity.
Why is my timeline full of absolutely bonkers and frequently AI-generated influencer-type content about how crucifixion is really painful and unpleasant, and that's why Jesus was truly the hardest saviour? Even the very normal historian off the famous history podcast is doing it!
The average mid-priced Italian lunch place in Japan is better than the best Italian restaurant in San Francisco
japan is a fascinating experiment of a society that simultaneously has some of the most ridiculously extreme public decorum norms on earth & some of the most interesting anon content along with it. they may have optimized so hard for social conformity & reduced coexistence friction that they inadvertently built a culture where the authentic self has nowhere to go except underground. perhaps not having kids is prolly another form of this too.
The best part is that the America that Japanese people adore the most… is the same one that coastal elites call “flyover trash” They’re not autistically LARPing NY cynicism or SF polycule / LA wellness culture. They’re drawn to the heartland of the American South and all its trappings - the jacked-up trucks, backyard BBQs, country radio, big skies and the friendly "yes ma'am" drawl.
The best part is that the America that Japanese people adore the most… is the same one that coastal elites call “flyover trash” They’re not autistically LARPing NY cynicism or SF polycule / LA wellness culture. They’re drawn to the heartland of the American South and all its trappings - the jacked-up trucks, backyard BBQs, country radio, big skies and the friendly "yes ma'am" drawl.
My copy of Volume I of The Golden Thread arrived. Wow! I was not expecting this... absolutely beautiful book, all 1200 glorious pages. It's comprehensive, it is filled with maps and pictures, and is put together better than any History textbook that I've ever seen. These two volumes should be required reading for all high school or college students! Hume, Macaulay, Churchill, Gibbon, eat your hearts out! Congratulations @JamesWHankins1 and Professor Allen Guelzo Looking forward to getting Volume II (Guelzo's work) next.
@jimgeraghty I rather daresay, Jim, it's Trump's "excursion" in the Middle East that has shown our allies the limits of *our* power. Unless we can open the straits, that's the lesson. And no, that does not mean I'm in favor of boots on the ground to open the straits. On the contrary.
“International law doesn’t exist.” Maybe the most midwit take there is?
