Backlog: Late September 2024
Books
- Rubicon, Dynasty, and Pax by Tom Holland: I read Holland's history of Christianity, Dominion, a while back and really enjoyed it. This summer I listened to audiobook versions of his Roman history trilogy and found them very enjoyable and effective at bringing the Roman world and perspective alive.
- La Batalla by Gustavo Gorriti: a short novelization based on his reporting of a battle in the Peruvian highlands between police forces and a small village against the Shining Path. Visceral with poignant tragic moments.
Shows
- Slow Horses: Season 4: So good. I recently described this show to a friend like this: I can’t think of a show that is better aimed to hook me. Spies, people who aren’t good at their jobs, political intrigue. And it’s so funny.
Links
- Translating Latin demonology manuals with GPT-4 and Claude by Benjamin Breen: A pretty great walkthrough of how to use LLMs for research. It doesn’t shy away from the challenges of hallucination but also demonstrates where these tools will likely be useful once the hype cycle dies down.
- New Nazca Lines! by Grace Ebert at Colossal (a great site for visual inspiration): I remember seeing the Nazca Lines as a missionary in 2004 when I lived in the small desert city for six months and being intrigued. Ever since I’ve been especially interested when I’ve noticed they appear in news or entertainment. This is a pretty cool discovery, which makes me think of the what LIDAR has been able to discover in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The ancient world is so fascinating and we understand so little about it. If you’re ever in Nazca, be sure to check out the lines, but don’t miss the aqueducts, which were essential to actual surviving in a place which rarely receives rain. Also, there’s a tasty chicken place to your right as you drive towards the town square from the highway, or at least there was 20 years ago. Also, you’ll get some Roswell-esque vibes regarding the lines, since some assume the lines were not made for the gods in heaven, but for someone a little more extraterrestrial. Fun thought for the beginning of spooky season.