@seanbala@mas.to
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

seanbala

@[email protected]

Currently in #Chicago - former religious studies student interested in #religion, #philosophy, #ethics, #culture, #environment, #ecology, issues of #community and belonging. Additional tags: #episcopal #ecotheology #books #folklore #nature #travel #literature #fantasy #history #solarpunk #sciencefiction #sff #bookstadon

Love exploring new cultures, interesting ideas, and meeting new people!

"If only I may grow - simple, firmer, kinder, warmer."

Dag Hammarskjold

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

srijit, to mastodonindians
@srijit@akko.chir.rs avatar

The presence of Indians, from India, in Fediverse is insignificant as on today. Most of us are happy with X and social media tools from Meta. Even the number of posts from existing users, in India, is very low though many of them seem to be active in the above mentioned social media sites.

What can be done to improve the situation? There are no carrots here.

cc: @mastodonindians

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@jjude @nitin @tokyo_0 @kshah @srijit @mastodonindians

Not Indian but an OCI and lived in Delhi for five years: I think inertia and networks are real. During the WhatsApp controversies a couple of years ago, really wanted my families Indian and American to move to Signal. Just could not do it. They had established networks already and did not want to loose them.

1/2

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@jjude @nitin @tokyo_0 @kshah @srijit @mastodonindians

I wonder if more Indian instances could help? Especially some in local languages. I don’t think there are that many. You really have to dig. But a few well-run, friendly places might help. While I am on a general instance, I love the idea of regional ones or even ones for cities. Could give a good entry point.

Lastly, I don’t think Mastodons politics is a factor.

2/2

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@ajkelkar @ChunkieRamos @srijit @mastodonindians

Same. I've kept the hashtag but I have muted most of the news bots. There is one Indian server but it seems to be made entirely of news bots.

Scroll.in used to be here but their account has been dormant for a while.

seanbala, to random
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

Wow , thanks for the help! I am genuinely surprised at how close the results were. It looks like the recommendation is to try out the ( and / or ) first - but only by 1.8% over ! Y'all must know that I've been getting frustrated with lately. I also appreciate the recommendations for other things to explore.

Now the question is Kbin or Lemmy? Or both? (any thoughts?)

https://mas.to/@seanbala/111541402571836032

seanbala, to bookstodon
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

Maybe a question for the hive -mind of !

@bookstodon

(Trying out quote posts on @IceCubesApp for the first time - hope it works!)

From: @Pheebsdw
https://wandering.shop/@Pheebsdw/111495903637658170

Pheebsdw, to random
@Pheebsdw@wandering.shop avatar

Question: what books are really effective at body language or the different little beats in long stretches of dialogue? My current novel is dialogue-heavy, and I'm looking for more examples of how other writers make these scenes memorable.

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@Pheebsdw

Maybe a question for the hive -mind of !

@bookstodon

seanbala, to histodons
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

This was a truly masterful collection from @FediFollows

Thanks for all your hard work and making me hopeful about Mastodon and the wider Fediverse!

https://social.growyourown.services/@FediFollows/111450074338729847

@histodons

seanbala, to random
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

I made a pledge on Kickstarter for "Solarpunk Magazine" 2024 with only a few hours to go - I've loved reading the magazine this year and am really happy to support them!

Got waylaid by all the great perks but
ended up going with the collection because I loved the short story "Midnight Serenade" by @jendiagammon (@jendiagammon) and I wanted to read their novel "The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern" - very excited!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/solarpunkmagazine/solarpunk-magazine-2024/

pluralistic, to random
@pluralistic@mamot.fr avatar

"The Canadian Miracle" is a short story published today by #TorDotCom; it's set in the world of The Lost Cause, my forthcoming #TorBooks novel:

https://www.tor.com/2023/11/01/the-canadian-miracle-cory-doctorow/

I'm serializing it on my podcast! Here's part one:

https://craphound.com/news/2023/11/01/the-canadian-miracle-part-1/

#CliFi #ScienceFiction #ShortStories #HopePunk #Climate

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@pluralistic

The novel sounds fantastic - I'm defiantly adding it to my queue!

@bookstodon

LincolnRamirez, to bookstodon
@LincolnRamirez@mstdn.social avatar

I loved A Wizard of Earthsea, will the second in the series - The Tombs of Atuan live up to expectations?

#Books #Reading #BookReview #Bookstodon @bookstodon

https://conversationsaboutbooks5.wordpress.com/2023/10/27/the-tombs-of-atuan-ursula-k-le-guin/

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@LincolnRamirez @bookstodon

Hope you enjoy the series! Honestly, Atuan was probably my favorite of the series but I know I'm in a minority. Overall, I LOVED all the books and I wish I had read them as a kid.

MichaelEMann, to random
@MichaelEMann@fediscience.org avatar

"Climate Doomism Disregards the Science -- Climate change is a highway, not a cliff, and we can still take the exit ramp" | Excerpt from , courtesy of @apsphysics: https://aps.org/publications/apsnews/202310/backpage.cfm

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@MichaelEMann @apsphysics

Thanks for sharing!

It feels like Doomism is more philosophy than science, rooted in a view of humanity as driven only by greed and baser impulses. We can't and won't stop because humanity is so warped, corporations so powerful, and societies so weak. It implies that human nature is inherently incapable saving itself.


seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@chidi_anagonye @MichaelEMann

It could be encouraged by those interested in slowing things down but I think that is from deeper in our societal and collective minds. I heard a podcast once from NPR's Throughline arguing modern Western thought can be broken down into whether you follow Hobbes or Rousseau's view of human nature: are humans naturally selfish and need strict authority or are we naturally cooperative and need complete freedom?

@philosophy

seanbala, to mastindia
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

Out of all the great punny restaurants in India, Burger Singh is probably my favorite. I wonder if his moustache looks like a crown.

A few years ago, Delhi had a coffee chain called "Sardarbaksh" with a logo suspiciously similar to a certain Seattle-based coffee empire. They were sued and changed their name to "Sardar-ji Baksh." I think they closed in the Pandemic.

@mastoindians
@mastindia

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@Rob_l @mastoindians @mastindia

But it makes no sense - ROFLMAO

This reminds me of McDowell's in the film "Coming to America"

https://youtu.be/djI_ret3S9g?si=tN8SnvJgtfPXV03j

seanbala, to mastindia
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

Rules of Moral Living according to the Delhi Development Authority….

#India #MastIndians #MastoIndians #Delhi #NewDelhi #Signs #Morality #Ethics #Philosophy

@mastindia
@mastoindians

LifeTimeCooking, to wfpb
@LifeTimeCooking@mastodon.au avatar

An interesting book has made an appearance. Certainly going vegetarian means more attention to balance in your diet to get all the essentials. ALSO i keep pointing out to people that plant-based "meat" is highly processed food. This book is probably worth reading, but may not be all the story. The author has an agenda too.

The blurb says " But what if the pervasive message that the plant-based diet will improve our health and save the planet is misleading - or even false? What if removing animal foods from our diet is a serious threat to human health, and a red herring in the fight against climate change.

In THE GREAT PLANT-BASED CON, Jayne Buxton demonstrates that each of these 'what-ifs' is, in fact, a reality. Drawing on the work of numerous health experts and researchers, she uncovers how the separate efforts of a constellation of individuals, companies and organisations are leading us down a dietary road that will have severe repercussions for our health and wellbeing, and for the future of the planet.

THE GREAT PLANT-BASED CON is neither anti-plant nor anti-vegan - it is a call for us to take an honest look at the facts about human diets and their effect on the environment. Shocking and eye-opening, this book outlines everything you need to know to make more informed decisions about the food you choose to eat."

@wfpb

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@ttshred @LifeTimeCooking @wfpb

I feel like the spun the conspiracy wheel and made sure to cover all of them. Point three about the Church - what year is this for us to induldge in anti-Catholic dog whistles? 😂

seanbala, to bookstodon
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

Hey - Currently in India and purchasing to bring home. Planning to buy "The Priory of the Orange Tree" by Samantha Shannon. I've been wanting to read it but the library waiting list is 1,000 miles long. My question is whether it is worth also buying it's sequel "A Day of Fallen Night" as well. Both are CRAZY cheap but quite thick. I also don't usually purchase both books in a series before reading one. Thanks!

@bookstodon

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@carturo222 @bookstodon

Don't worry, I'm doing that, too!

So far, I've bought:

  • "My Name is Radha" by Manto

  • "The Moon has Blood Clots" by Rahul Pandita

  • "Never To Have Gone" by Akash Kapur

  • A non-fiction essay collection about Tibetans in Indian.

  • "Remnants of a Separation" by Aanchal Malhotra

Your point has definitely been on my mind - get things I can't get elsewhere. I'm going to research on some translated books from Indian languages before coming back to the US.

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@carturo222 @bookstodon

This also does not include the 150-200 books I've already got here that somehow have to get back to the US 😂

seanbala, to bookstodon
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

On Vacation in #India with some good #books. Excited to finally read the next book by @szattwellauthor. Good to be back in #Delhi - more photos to follow over rhe next few weeks!

#Bookstodon

@mastindia
@bookstodon

image/jpeg
image/jpeg

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@uriel238 @cerement

I feel like we could go on -

Octavia E Butler: A Special Destiny will Save Humanity.

Ayn Rand: Special Rich People will Save Humanity.

Any others? 😂

seanbala, to anthropology
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

I read Guha's biography of Verrier Elwin years ago. Elwin was a British anthropologist who chose to become Indian (the first European after 1947) and who worked to lift up the Indigenous peoples of the Northeast. Highly recommended.

I'm saddened but not surprised that he would be caught up in the latest problems in the Northeast. When you can fix the present, you blame the past.

https://scroll.in/article/1054940/ramachandra-guha-a-fact-check-for-assam-cm-as-he-blames-a-long-dead-scholar-for-north-east-problems

@histodons @bookstodon @mastindia @anthropology

seanbala, to random
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

Some pages for - on

@BuddhismNow - online magazine

@ReadingFaithfully_org - online posts from tradition

@obu - AMAZING comprehensive FREE online courses on a variety of topics. I'm doing one on the words of the and I am loving it.

@zenartcenter - and

@dharma - Buddhist Resources

And some groups:

@dhamma

@buddhism

Please share any groups or people to follow in the comments!

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@TheDailyBurble @BuddhismNow @ReadingFaithfully_org @obu @zenartcenter @dharma @dhamma @buddhism

I can understand your concern. Many Buddhist schools are aware of the perception and imbalance. There are inequalities, as there are in many religions. People much more familiar with Buddhism than I can speak to this but I would note a a couple of things:

1/n

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@TheDailyBurble @BuddhismNow @ReadingFaithfully_org @obu @zenartcenter @dharma @dhamma @buddhism

In , special attention has been given to reviving female monasteries, and female monastics in exile have been receiving Geshe status (like a super PhD indicating the highest level of learning) the first time in millennia. This is a project very close to the the Dalai Lama's vision for the future of Tibetan Buddhism.

2/n

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@TheDailyBurble @BuddhismNow @ReadingFaithfully_org @obu @zenartcenter @dharma @dhamma @buddhism

Especially in the West, I think you see many communities led by female priests, and there are many gender-friendly zendos. One of my favorites is Domyo Burke who hosts the Zen Studies Podcast:

https://zenstudiespodcast.com

I'm not a Buddhist but I've learned so much from her.

3/n

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@TheDailyBurble @BuddhismNow @ReadingFaithfully_org @obu @zenartcenter @dharma @dhamma @buddhism

And as @zenartcenter has noted, there are female Bodhisattvas within the tradition.

This is not to say that there are not problems. But I've always thought religious communities are so diverse. Consider - you can have hardcore Christian nationalists in the US and you can have radical peace churches like the Quakers, Mennonites, and Amish within the same tradition.

4/n

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@TheDailyBurble @BuddhismNow @ReadingFaithfully_org @obu @zenartcenter @dharma @dhamma @buddhism

The key is to not see religious traditions as monolithic and to understand that there are many traditions operating simultaneously within the larger umbrella and which can become more important in certain places, times, societies, and contexts.

@religion

5/5

seanbala, to mastindia
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

Happy Independence Day to India! May you continue to show the world your beauty, strength, and wisdom.

Photo taken at O.P. Jindal Global University at Sonipat, Haryana, India on 15 August 2015.

Every year, the university would have a ceremony to raise the flag (one of the largest in India). The flag area was the center of campus and frequently had events and ceremonies for the university.

#India #SouthAsia #JaiHind #Travel #TravelPhotography #mastindia

@mastindia

Peternimmo, to theology
@Peternimmo@mastodon.scot avatar

Dietrich discussed on In Our Time on Radio

@theologidons @theology
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fy7qmx?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@Peternimmo @theologidons @theology

Will give this a listen. Bonhoeffer's "Life Together" is a book that has had a big impact on my faith.

liminalfiction, to random
@liminalfiction@mastodon.otherworldsink.com avatar

What's your fave period in the past for alt history or historical fantasy? Why? Authors?

@bookstodon

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@liminalfiction

Oh goodness, one of my favorite genres! I love "The Years of Rice and Salt" by Kim Stanley Robinson. The story looks at a world where Europe is destroyed by the Black Death. What makes it so fascinating is that Robinson shows how world history would have unfolded in roughly the same fashion with some new locations or focuses. For example, a Renaissance takes place in Samarkand and many cities in our North America are in the same place.

@bookstadon

1/

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@liminalfiction @bookstadon

"The Years of Rice and Salt" is definitely not perfect. I did not like the ending. And I don't think all the chapters are equal. But I really liked its premise, and Robinson's view of alternate history is intriguing. I loved a lot of small details. For example, electricity being called qi or climate change being called "balance with nature" reflecting a world more rooted in Buddhist concepts. I'm currently reading "Ministry of the Future" and am liking it. 1/2

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@liminalfiction @bookstadon

I'd like to read his Mars and California trilogies. But now that I've read two of his, I feel like he great on concepts, ideas, and details, but perhaps not so great on plot. Do you have any other books of his that you like or would recommend? 2/2

tishkova, to bookstodon
@tishkova@mastodon.scot avatar

i Howards End by E. M. Forster and he's like the meme "but he can hurt you in other ways":

The feudal ownership of land did bring dignity, whereas the modern ownership of movables is reducing us again to a nomadic horde. We are reverting to the civilization of luggage, and historians of the future will note how the middle classes accreted possessions without taking root in the earth, and may find in this the secret of their imaginative poverty.

ouch!
@bookstodon

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@tishkova @bookstodon

This is one of my favorite novels from one of my favorite novelists. As one of those "State of the Nation" novels, I really like the carefulness with which Forster unpacks the nuances and complications of English identity at this inflection point.

I'm also a really big fan of "A Passage to India," which is in my mind the single-best contemporaneous examination in fiction by a Western voice of the contradictions inherent in British colonialism.

1/2

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@tishkova @bookstodon

Another favorite contemporaneous piece written in the West along similar lines is George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" (it is disputed if it is fiction or non-fiction, probably a mix of both)

[Of course, this is not including works written by people who were colonized like Franz Fannon's "The Wretched of the Earth"]

I also love how Forster basically wrote 6 novels (some of the best in the 20th century) and then said, "I'm done" and lived for another 50 years. 2/2

BBCRadio4, to random
@BBCRadio4@social.bbc avatar

Who was Rabindranath Tagore and why is his work and teaching still so influential today?

From the archives, a special programme celebrating the life and work of the Nobel-prize winning poet, musician, and reformer who died in August 1941. Listen on BBC Sounds https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b012wckp

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@BBCRadio4

One of my absolute favorite thinkers and writers!

Someone firmly planted in his native soil but adept at working on a global canvas.

Tagore is someone who has so much to say about the way we live today. His philosophy on nationalism, education, and aesthetics are deeply engaging.

He really went to his own beat (a bit like Gandhi in that he is politically unclassifiable) and he remained true to his sometimes idiosyncratic visions.

@bookstodon @philosophy

seanbala, (edited )
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@prabirkc @BBCRadio4 @bookstodon

Thanks for your question. I say that because I think both Gandhi and Tagore had a mixture of ideas, philosophies, and thoughts that do not fit neatly into a left-right binary. Gandhi was for non-violence and against technology but he also saw a role for the caste system in Indian life (the problem according to him was not that people were in castes with defined jobs but that lower castes were not given respect as human beings for doing essential jobs). 1/3

seanbala, (edited )
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@prabirkc @BBCRadio4 @bookstodon

Gandhi's views on caste were one of the big reasons that B.R. Ambedkar disliked Gandhi's politics so intensely. Tagore had distinct conceptions of nationalism that are, in my opinion, a bit sui generis. For him, nationalism is an organizing principle that crushes creativity and vitality. Nation is something more cultural, philosophical, spiritual. Again, similar to some thinkers but he combines the elements in a way that makes them unique. 2/3

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@prabirkc @BBCRadio4 @bookstodon

I would add that I think both Gandhi and Tagore are thinkers that challenge a reader from all sides. I've always thought if you are reading a thinker and you agree with them completely, something is wrong. I can only think of handful of philosophers and writers who can do that type of discourse well. 3/3

Private
seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@ryanpendell @bookstodon Read this in high school and I really enjoyed it. Opened me up to the idea of non-European history and made me interested in the Axial Age theory. Recommended!

Private
seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@hawksquill @bookstodon This was a such a life changing book for me. I read it only about 2 years ago but I wish I had encountered it 20 years ago. One of those books you should read when you are younger.

Private
seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@Helen50 @bookstodon

Winner! And a book I have been wanting to read, too.

liztai, to random
@liztai@hachyderm.io avatar

I don't know about you, but Big #Tech seems determined to make everyone hate them.

I mean, they've been the best promoter of the #Fediverse so far. Keep it going, guys!

#Google #Meta #Twitter #Reddit

seanbala,
@seanbala@mas.to avatar

@liztai What I'm finding so interesting is all of the sites seem to be imploding at once. Like they all lost their collective minds at the same time.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • uselessserver093
  • Food
  • aaaaaaacccccccce
  • test
  • CafeMeta
  • testmag
  • MUD
  • RhythmGameZone
  • RSS
  • dabs
  • KamenRider
  • TheResearchGuardian
  • KbinCafe
  • Socialism
  • oklahoma
  • SuperSentai
  • feritale
  • All magazines
    •