This felt brutally honest at points. I'm really surprised at some of the stories he tells.
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Computer programmer living in Exeter, UK.
Loves open source, retro video games, food, and anxiously watching the unfolding UK political catastrophy.
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Daniel Keast finished reading Surprisingly down to Earth, and Very Funny by Limmy
Daniel Keast started reading Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Daniel Keast started reading Talking to My Daughter about the Economy by Yanis Varoufakis
Daniel Keast started reading Surprisingly down to Earth, and Very Funny by Limmy
Daniel Keast finished reading Go Big by Ed Miliband
Daniel Keast finished reading Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart
This is a very depressing read. Stewart clearly has a deep love of the UK and it's institutions, but describes his experiences of how its politics have been completely hollowed out. All the incentives are wrong, power is not truly in the hands of either the people that claim to have it or should have it. People are only interested in their position, and no one seems interested in the actual improvement of people's lives. It ends with the rise of Boris Johnson and populism arriving in the UK.
I guess the only way this stuff can be fixed is people actually being honest about the situation so in a sense is hopeful to have things like this written.
Daniel Keast quoted Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Hiro puts his head in his hands. He’s not exactly thinking about this; he’s letting it ricochet around in his skull, waiting for it to come to rest. “Wait a minute, Juanita. Make up your mind. This Snow Crash thing—is it a virus, a drug, or a religion?”
Juanita shrugs. “What’s the difference?”
Daniel Keast commented on Go Big by Ed Miliband
This is the first time I've heard of B-Corporations, and the campaign to change the companies act. That actually sounds hopeful, a small thing that could have a long term beneficial impact.
Daniel Keast started reading Go Big by Ed Miliband
Daniel Keast started reading Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart
Daniel Keast finished reading Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday
If half of this book is true Billie Holiday had an extraordinary life. I'm guessing William Dufty is the author, but her voice shines through this.
I couldn't stop reading this book. The sheer amount of trauma, anger and racism she faced is overwhelming but over that she never stops being insightful and funny. She could give as good a she got, had some serious troubles, and a real violent streak too.
Daniel Keast quoted Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday
People on drugs are sick people. So now we end up with the government chasing sick people like they were criminals, telling doctors they can’t help them, prosecuting them because they had some stuff without paying the tax, and sending them to jail.
Imagine if the government chased sick people with diabetes, put a tax on insulin and drove it into the black market, told doctors they couldn’t treat them, and then caught them, prosecuted them for not paying their taxes, and then sent them to jail. If we did that, everyone would know we were crazy. Yet we do practically the same thing every day in the week to sick people hooked on drugs. The jails are full and the problem is getting worse every day.
— Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday, William Dufty, Billie Holiday
This was written in 1957.
Daniel Keast quoted Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday
Content warning More of a content warning, a description of a young girl experiencing the death of a loved family member.
Finally I spread a blanket on the floor and helped her stretch out. Then she asked me to lie down with her because she wanted to tell me another story. I was tired too. I’d been up early that morning to scrub steps. So I laid down with her. I don’t remember the story she told me because I fell asleep right away.
I woke up four or five hours later. Grandma’s arm was still tight around my neck and couldn’t move it. I tried and tried and then I got scared. She was dead, and I began to scream. The neighbors came running. They had to break Grandma’s arm to get me loose. Then they took me to a hospital. I was there for a month. Suffering from what they said was shock.
— Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday, William Dufty, Billie Holiday
Daniel Keast started reading Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday
Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday, William Dufty, Billie Holiday
Lady Sings the Blues (1956) is an autobiography by jazz singer Billie Holiday, which was co-authored by William Dufty. The …