ReallyActuallyFrankenstein

We've had one, yes. But what about second dip?

His Hitler hairdo is making me feel ill.

I responded to a similar comment above, but just thanking you for the response - I actually am taking what you say to reach the opposite conclusion (that I personally would probably hate the show because of the re-focus on the characters), but that's why it's so helpful that you explained why you liked it.

Thank you, this is very aligned with how I have been thinking of the books. It's really interesting to me, because the "Cixin Liu can't write characters" critique is legitimate, but I honestly didn't notice it that much while reading and more heard about it from others after.

I think the reason why is that I am very sensitive to "lazy" plot and character conflict - e.g., a character makes a stupid irrational decision and we spend 200 pages resolving it. That is not a trope that Cixin Liu ever engages in - his characters may make decisions I disagree with (like the misanthropic decision to respond to the alien signal that underlies the entire trilogy), but they are always coherent and not "cheap" plot devices.

So in fact, the Cixin Liu style of "character" creation, where characters are basically stand-ins for different pluralistic archetypal motives and "model" humans rather than believable humans with their own dramatic arcs, I actually strongly prefer, because it not only doesn't impede the sci-fi ideas, but elevates them.

So yeah...It actually sounds like I'd hate the show! The characters are the part I care about the least, and sounds like are spent more time/attention on, whereas the ideas sound like they're deemphasized.

The question and answer pairs are probably enough to diagnose a serious persecution complex or other mental disorder. He literally isn't even responding to the question, but like five layers deep of imagined subtext.

To Trump, not having every person's attention only focused on him at all times is a national emergency.

I liked the books too much to watch season 1. Should I reconsider?

I know it's already been said, but this is so messed up. It's increasingly looking like our Constitution is dead letter.

I think it's giving Trump too much credit to say this is intentional.

This is what it's like with an authoritarian leader surrounded by yes-men. Nobody is autonomous, everyone just sits and waits for a decree to take any action. Nobody will return these calls because there's no consistent policy to communicate.

It's completely ineffective and inefficient, and that's fine for Trump because he truly doesn't care about anything actually working, or losing opportunities for the country, or losing allies. It's just about the level of control he has, and whether he personally is being deferred to.

it seems like this was kind of planned so on July 4th he can flip the tariff switch back on and tank the market again to celebrate Independence Day.

This is so stupid it has to be true.

Well, certainly we can count on the republicans to vote to impeach and convict once they see him disregard the constitution.

Exactly. Trump is trying to pose as irrational chaos because he thinks people will back down because they're rational, and that's a disadvantage.

But he's got it wrong - whether irrational or not, he's an economic terrorist, any concession is just an invitation to repeat the behavior, and his schtick is obvious at this point. The rational response is to not negotiate with terrorists.