Thanks Dostoyevsky is one of my favourite Russian authors. I didn't 100% agree with everything this video said about Crime and Punishment, but it was still interesting, and certainly provided some insight into his other works like The Gambler, which he didn't even mention.

Why are vegans obsessed with making things taste like meat? It's like a priest binge watching porn.

"We are against the raising, slaughter and consumption of animals, but we will concede that they are in fact delicious."

I like animals too, but I would crawl over ten dead pigs to get to a B.L.T.

“Drive nature out of the door and it will fly in at the window”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I had a relatively pragmatic view of the death penalty until I read The Idiot.

http://www.3waystolive.com/2008/06/dostoyevsky-on-capital-punishment.html

Also, no "natural rights"? That's really dangerous. I'd love to see some material rationalizing that.

Ok, first of all let me say I'm actually not a big fan of off topic comments and I really should've left my comment on radx's profile, not here... my apologies. But I will defend myself here...

@rgroom1 | You start off by calling me a cunt, and then say you didn't know who "the bitch" was either... I really didn't read anything further than that, but I assume it was all just as classy. So, well played I guess.

@radx | Neat, we get to do the number thing. (1) You're right, you didn't "brag" about the fact that you are ignorant. You were just pointing out how wrong they were to say "everyone" knows her, when in fact there are people out there who are unfamiliar with her work. This is a good point, people should stop saying "everyone" unless they've done a poll and it truly applies to everyone in the known world. (B) You're right again, most people have no idea and simply don't care what the source material is for the movies they watch. Unless of course it's a comic book movie. Anyone who does know more than what makes it through the Hollywood filter should just shut up, if it wasn't in the trailer it must not have been important. (III) After re-reading your comment, you are again correct. Your post doesn't have anything to do with Anne Rice. Really, you're just saying, "Man guys, if you don't know who Anne Rice is and go look it up on Wiki you'll get some surprising information from the author of said article. And that is totally a comment worth posting.

@NinjaInHeat | I'm fairly well read, and I know who Rice, Tolstoy, and Dostoyevsky all are, I think you got confused somewhere.

@gorillaman | You can't compare this foolishness to the epicness that is Jon Peters Buys a Volvo

I stand corrected guys. I'll try to keep my opinions on individuals and their comments out of the video's comments section from now on. Move along...

1) I didn't "brag" about being ignorant, I simply insinuated that not everybody has heard of her - including myself and what I'd assume to be the vast majority of people on this very continent - the same majority who have never heard of Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky either.

2) I do know about a particular movie called "Interview with a Vampire" and until earlier today, I didn't have the slightest clue - nor interest - as to who wrote the story it's based on. The same applies to hundreds of other movies, while we're at it.

3) I have no opinion of her, since I don't care about her. The purpose of my ocmment was to mention the odd impression one might get while reading the summary of the respective WP article - since she was born "Howard Allen" and is an "author of gothic, erotic, and religious-themed books". That is no reflection on her, but on the information revealed about her by the author of said article.>> ^mizila:

What a useful and constructive post, I like the part where you brag about being ignorant. Yes, most people recognize the name Anne Rice because she wrote a few vampire books including one called Interview with a Vampire... a book which was made into a movie starring a couple of little known thespians from a little town called Hollywood named Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. So yeah, most people over 20 have heard of Anne Rice.
Sorry, I'm not a fan of hers either, but what a stupid comment. "Oh somebody I've never heard of, why don't I look them up on wiki, scan the page for a couple seconds and tell everyone what opinions I've formed!!"

-Le Petit Prince by de Saint-Exupéry, because it permanently shaped the way I look at (and interact in) any and all attachments.
-Vinnie the Pooh, because in it's simplicity it provided unique and oh-so-valuable insights on social norms and the psychology of friendship.
-The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, because it gave me the final nudge to become a true bookworm. I like to boast - at age 5 or 6, I read it cover-to-cover in about 9 hours (refused lunch and dinner until I'd finished ).
-The Catcher in the Rye - I guess the most straightforward and requires no explanation.
-A Hero of our Time by Lermontov, because it presented me with a fatalist byronic hero and gave me a clear idea of someone I was very much like and I DID NOT want to become.

and last but definitely not least:
-The Lord of the Rings to which I practically exclusively owe my English skills - I started Book 1 in 1999, I think, with the thickest available dictionary in hand, which honestly, at first had to utilize for practically every sentence but finished Book 6 (not a month later) having clearly surpassed my English teacher in vocabulary and speech fluency.

It has happened before and it will happen again (I mean this kind of Sift Talk), so I guess it was just a matter of time before I participated.

I only stated the couple of books that actually altered my life somewhat (I'm saying this because I always somehow got the impression other people made their lists based on how artsy/fancy their titles sounded, which I really hope isn't true in most cases among Sifters).
Anyway, I guess it's also worth saying that I read every one of these before the age of 15, which helps explain why and how they have influenced my life to some extent.

It's funny though - by the time I was 16 I'd also read and re-read Hesse, Huxley, Orwell, Dostoyevsky, Nabokov, García Márquez, Rand, Joyce, Vonnegut, Fitzgerald, Kerouac, Burgess, Hemingway, Rushdie and other "classics", but most some of these managed was to entertain me mildly (Vonnegut, Hesse, Huxley, Joyce - yes, I really did enjoy reading Ulysses), while I actually hated having to finish some of them (Orwell, Rand, Burgess).

P.S. Oh and I think I speak for us all when I say - Sagemind - WHAT. THE. F*CK??

>> ^Sagemind:
I have to give two lists!

FICTION:
Clive Barker - Imagica
David Farland - Runelords
Dan Millman - Way of the the Peaceful Warrior
Frank Hurbert - Dune
John Fowles - The Magus
Alexander Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo
L Ron Hubbard - Battlefield Earth
Jack L Chalker - Lilith: A snake in the grass
Jacqueline Carey - Kushiel’s Dart
Jack Kerouac - On the Road

This makes me think that Dostoyevsky was right. In so many words he says that in order to be a truly intellectual, righteous and reasonable man, you must be a coward. Honor is for idiots.

Hi, my name is Arvid, and I live in Oslo, Norway. I have just finished a degree in physics from the University of Oslo, but I can't seem to let go of the student life just yet. I enjoy sifts that mess with my head, such as these.

I discovered VideoSift because Fedquip kept referring to it on his old AOL blog. I lurked here for over a year before finally signing up this autumn. For a norwegian, I have an almost unhealthy interest in american politics, and I deeply regret the decline and death of http://newsbloggers.aol.com.

On my freetime I am a musician. I have played the Euphonium since I was eight, but have in recent years switched mostly to Trombone. I mostly play and listen to jazz, first and foremost in a Big Band. I was a member of a now dead 30's swing band, and I am soon starting a new band to play some more modern jazz. I sing in a choir as well. My muscial heroes are among others Bach and Bartok, Carla Bley and Steve Swallow, Pink Floyd and Steely Dan.

I read both fantasy and classics, and my favourite authors are Kurt Vonnegut jr., George R. R. Martin, Tolkien, Dostoyevski and Gert Nygårdshaug. My username is a witness to my geeky past, as it is the Sindarin translation of my real name.

I catch onto minor hobbies sporadically as well. I used to game a lot, but this has cooled off lately. I was an avid Guitar Hero player, and got to be pretty good. I have been into sailing. I have been into fencing. I enjoy walking and skiing in the majestic norwegian mountainscape. In the summer I play with the Diabolo. My latest fad is Origami, which I used to do when I was a teenager and have just now picked up again. I have also been an extra in some norwegian music videos and minor film productions. I am the emo-looking guy playing accordion in this video.

I follow both norwegian and international politics with interest, and I have a blog in norwegian about politics and science which I update very sporadically.

Oh, and I am the older brother of Haldaug, who has a higher integrity as a sifter than me. That is why I have higher ranking than him, even though he has been a member longer than me. So go to his pqueue if you want to find some musical/thoughtful/absurd gems.

edit: Forgot to mention my favourite beverage, Brakspear Oxford Gold organic ale. Try it out.