Lurker > BlueCrystalTear

This season has done a poor job of explaining what's really going on. I thought the plan was if James got the boot, they vote out Cassidy so they could control Karla. I'm just... left confused by that second vote.

First vote was great, though. James was the kind of villain I've missed having on Survivor. It was great to see him get his.

Mewtwo59 posted...

Did Noelle get too big brained there?

Advantage meta is the norm now. Survivor SA proved that.

Sami also got too small-brained. He just blew up Noelle's plan, and in the process he's gonna get Karla and/or James dubious of him.

Challenges like this are annoying, because they're so boring to watch given how we get 82 of them a year.

James' excessive celebration at the challenge is easily one of the dumbest things yet this season. He just advertised who his F2 was, and that he doesn't trust Sami. Sami and Owen are gonna vote him out, and Noelle will be 100% down for that.

I'm just happy this is an album I own so that means I've heard it before. Because this is good shit. Yes, there are a few songs that are a bit redundant of each other, but there are a few different blueprints here. And the attitude permeates throughout the album. But, really, the album is divided between the singles and the non-singles - the album tracks do many of the same things as the singles, but for the most part not as well.

1. Head Over Feet - Among my favorite love songs ever - this is what we call a "healthy relationship" since this couple is friends as well as lovers. Easy #1.
2. You Learn - A catchy title track that ripped up multiple Billboard charts for a reason.
3. All I Really Want
4. You Oughta Know
5. Mary Jane
6. Ironic - The most ironic part of this song is that it's hardly about irony. I don't know how intentional that was. But, while this is distracting, at least Alanis makes fun of herself for it. The music is awesome here too.
7. Hand in My Pocket
8. Forgiven
9. Right Through You
10. Perfect - Forgettable.
11. Wake Up - By the end of the album, I'm starting to get a little tired of everything this song is offering, and its internal repetition doesn't help.
12. Not the Doctor - This does nothing that other songs on the album don't already do better, and it thus feels like a filler track. The album would've been even better without it.

wrong topic Genny

changmas posted...

Tales of the Abyss - Congratulations, you have lost! I've played and beaten this game, though I only remember a few major plot points now that it's been about 12 years. I don't anticipate replaying this game since I no longer have my PS2, although I enjoyed it the first time around. The music is banging and the major plot points I remember are great.

Awesome! I'm happy to hear that. Hopefully, with the Symphonia reremaster dropping, they'll give TotA the same treatment. It's a masterpiece that deserves a wider audience.

Anyway, now to play to "not lose" this time (I haven't played many obscure games that aren't those this board introduced me to):
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm (the prequel)

Underleveled posted...

The quest itself might not be dumb, but in Tales of the Abyss, obtaining Natalia's best move has an insanely small window of availability and requires the player to go somewhere that they have no other reason to go at that point in the game and with no hint that they should go there at that point. Once you see the very next cutscene, it's gone forever. In fact, for a long time players wondered how to get this move and it was ultimately discovered by a player fucking up and going there by accident during the window of opportunity. THAT is dumb.

I love Tales of the Abyss, but my mind went here too. One of the few nitpicks I have is just how stupid the side quest setup is at times and this is easily the worst example of it.

I'm hoping for an HD remaster similar to what Symphonia is getting and that they rectify this by putting that quest in a logical place.

Hard. I like a challenge. I only pick an easy difficulty under one of the following situations:

• I hate the game and am ready for it to be over, but I still want to say I beated it
• I'm doing some stupid kind of grinding and want the process to not be excruciating; this is only if easier difficulties have better drop rates or other boosts (it has to be a game I enjoy enough to want to grind in, plus it depends on game mechanics - ergo, this is rare, and also temporary)

Worth noting that I'm playing Zestiria still and haven't changed the difficulty, even though I am so ready to be done with the game. I'm getting to the point where I'll drop to normal soon, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I don't think I'll ever change it to easy mode since normal would be a cakewalk given my levels.

Wordle 515 3/6

TRACE
SPEAR
BAKER

Not hard.

Inviso posted...

Oh shit. Dan Lembo from Survivor: Nicaragua passed away.

Ugh, RIP. That's two in one week (after Roger Sexton). Damn.

I guess we have to get used to this. It's going to get more and more frequent with so many contestants and many of them aging...

(EDIT: Apparently this happened two months ago but we're only just finding out about it... odd, but still, RIP.)

Tales of the Abyss

(I want to "lose" tbh)

Watching Price Is Right... and they just had a "Real Love Boat" showcase presented by the host of that show. Without any disclaimer that this was episode filmed over a month ago and that the show has since been canceled. I'm laughing - they've typically done this kind of thing on TPIR for premiere days of new shows, not as a desperate, too-late attempt to salvage one. They weren't even subtle with how Drew Carey had to dub himself to say the show is being burned off on Paramount Plus!

I thought you guys would find that funny, too.

Wordle 514 4/6

CARET
SHARK
SWARM
SNARL

Thanks, Zoroark.

RoseChevalier posted...

wow it still smells the same

Twitter doesn't, I take it. Was the musky smell too much for your olfactory organs?

P. S. Welcome back!

Wordle 513 6/6

CRATE
SALVE
LADLE
FABLE
EAGLE
MAPLE

@____@
I legit thought I'd found out each time and that there wasn't more than one other possibility. Welp. At least I got it... eventually...

jcgamer107 posted...

I'm not presuming that everyone knows these artists, I figure if people are curious enough they can do a quick google/wikipedia search

To elaborate further, I can Google easy, but I want whoever's nominating to presume I only have time for an elevator speech and one track, and I think people often forget the part about selling their choices. When I don't get explanations, I don't vote. I have to listen and rank, plus I have other things to take care of. Researching what to vote for in this project is an extremely low priority, even within the project itself. I appreciate your explanations - it helps me understand why you picked them. Thanks.

so which team wants to win less

Gonna tag this one - should just listen once since I'm familiar with this (obviously). Also gonna get my nominations to Fool a week ahead of time, because I feel like it.

Seanchan posted...

Got any info on your noms for us?

I second this. I have no idea who any of those artists are and I absolutely hate it when someone nominates bands and presumes that everybody else immediately knows them. I always include explanations because I'm making the opposite presumption.

I was too @___@ the other day to do anything with this. Let's try this again. For Alanis, I'll do it earlier in the week - that's an album with which I am familiar!

This one is... okay, I guess? Definitely reeks of the mid-00s alt-punk scene, and it's very good for that. I note that some of these have Steinman-length titles, but none of the songs have the length to match; it's quite obvious that the shortest song was given a ridiculously long title for irony's sake. But I am getting at an issue here in that most of these songs are under three minutes, and since many of them sound similarly enough, this doesn't serve well for their memorability. They don't last long enough to deliver upon hooks, repetition which gets me disinterested quickly, until the album delivers "Riot Van" - a pace changer sorely needed, a standout because it does something different, and just as well. I've faulted several albums for not having something to balance their sound, to get the other tracks to stand out more. I really can't explain why I put certain songs in certain places here - I only had time for one full listen. And I don't intend on going back to this. Not really my speed.

1. Riot Van
2. When the Sun Goes Down
3. Mardy Bum
4. Dancing Shoes
5. Red Light Indicates Doors are Secured
6. Fake Tales of San Francisco
7. I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
8. A Certain Romance
9. From the Ritz to the Rubble
10. Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Strong But...
11. You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me
12. The View from the Afternoon
13. Still Take You Home

Wordle 512 4/6

REACT
SHADE
PLANE
INANE

Took me a while to see it! But at least I hit par.

plasmabeam posted...

The recent results have been baffling to say the least.

This one's even worse. For my favorite game ever to lose to something that bored me with how generic of a shooter it was is insulting to the point I'm considering closing my account and disappearing forever.

I certainly won't be voting in this contest again. That much is for sure.

Also Abyss is criminally underseeded, and the fact that the best game of all time is losing is hugely disappointing.

For shame, B8.

Tales
Mario

Wordle 511 4/6

Crate
Tamed
Latex
Valet

I saw both words 3 and 4 and guessed wrong. Ah well.

Body parts, by how they make someone attractive

Great_Paul posted...

I started watching with Fiji, so there aren't any classic seasons here.

Understandable. I started day 1 and am still doing it for whatever reason, even though the current season is quite bad.

Survivor seasons

Topics on the board right now

Wordle 510 4/6

Trace
Alien
Pedal
Medal

Dragon
Zelda

I need to play the Shenmue games >_>

Wordle 509 3/6

React
Stone
Unite

Wasn't expecting that, but I'll take it.

I've come around on Jesse's move since he got an idol off of Dwight. You take that chance if it means you get treasure, especially if nobody could even fathom that you have it. That's gonna be a potential game-winner if he plays it right, but I don't think he's gonna.

The edit is certainly building Jesse and Cody up as cocky SOBs, but it's also trying to make Sami look like he's a Spradlinesque player when in reality he's just another cocky jock. Shocked nobody caught on and suggested his name to go when he was clearly trying to protect Jeanine. I do hope his story is being built up so he sees himself as unstoppable, only for him to get blindsided viciously and epically. I am so here for that. If he wins, this will be my least favorite season ever. This cast is so boring.

Also was boring to see Owen win immunity after they'd already said Owen was dead to rights. That happens multiple times a season these days, it feels like. Made the challenge less interesting.

But yeah, despite the lack of advantages present in this episode, it was still only marginally better than some of the others this season. Not enough Noelle, for one, and she's really the only person there that I particularly care for. Ryan was funny with how clueless he was thinking he could get everyone on the same page in 20 minutes and then go out fishing for three hours and expect nothing to change. Ryan being the only real comic relief is unfortunate; Gabler's eccentricities are fun but not funny. Sooo many gamebots who do nothing for me.

Wordle 508 4/6

Cater
Marsh
Rabid
Rainy

If Suprak were in the MCU, he'd be Superak.

TheSultanOfSlam posted...

Someone just put up a sign up lol

Give Suprak a couple days. He has to flavorize his setup.

I might play depending on how my appointments these next few days go. But I have an Anime con next weekend (the 19th)... that's gonna be a problem for my activity for a few days. (I'd presume most of you know how that is)

Wordle 507 4/6

CRATE
FIEND
SHELL
SPELL

Lucky 1-in-3 guess there. If there had been more than three, I'd have come up with a throwaway word.

I took Han off the Discord queue list. If anyone else wants to join:
https://discord.gg/GP4XBbX4

Also I don't really want to play right now. Just had a meltdown the other day and I need a little more time to recover. Mafia ain't good for me right now.

RyoCaliente posted...

13. Still Take You Home

Funny how this used to be my favourite track off this album.

What changed, if you don't mind me asking?

(Tag, will do a first listen today)

MZero posted...

You're 100% right but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase it that fit in the topic title character limit

But I'd say the Houston Oilers and Montreal Expos certainly count, even though both teams just changed their name AND location and still embrace their history. The Washington Commies don't count since they didn't move, just rebranded twice. And people there still call them by their old name because "Commies" is just... come on.

Basically, it counts if the league or team folded or if the team changed both its location and its name.

Oh, and to answer the question, I don't believe I have. I attend minimal pro sports since I have easier access to college sports that are just as entertaining for a lower price.

Wordle 506 4/6

Crate
Field
Neigh
Begin

Streak back up to 75, but add the 167 from before my browser crashed and it's at 242.

tcaz2 posted...

FWIW I never had any issues with the motion controls at all and thought they worked really well.

I had frequent issues on the Wii. Had to recalibrate frequently because everything got wonky, and I went through way too many bombs whenever I had to go bowling. They didn't design them the right way, which causes them to mess up. No idea what Blur is talking about.

I have numerous problems with the game and consider it among the worst I've ever played. Take away the Zelda coat of paint and nobody cares for it. Yes, there are some good dungeons. Yes, there are a couple of good characters. But there are just too many problems with the motion controls, Fi being annoying, dowsing, redundant Bozoblin skull cracking, poor pacing that kills momentum as soon as the game gets it, ridiculous padding that makes absolutely zero sense and doesn't reward you, fetch quests galore that don't add any world building or make anyone memorable, a lack of exploration, predictable writing, and the terrible ending. The Switch version can only polish a turd so much. I could rant for hours about how bad it is.

Unfortunately I only get one listen. I've had a strange past week!

This album is equally strange. I don't even know what it's supposed to be. This album excels when trying to simply be jazz, which is Duke's forte. However, it fails when he tries to make it a jazz/world music crossover, largely because Duke is trying to convey Eastern sounds with Western instruments. I'm left wondering what I'm supposed to be feeling, particularly because I don't sense anything "Far East" about this (the track titles imply Iran and India, save for #9). I too don't like ranking this - this was meant to be a single entity, so ranking each movement "from start to end" is tough since it's meant to flow together, which it does. I have no idea what I'm left feeling here. Just... groove, maybe? And I couldn't even tell you which song was which, but I only listened once. So... yeah.

1. Mount Harissa
2. Amad
3. Isfahan
4. Ad Lib on Nippon
5. Depk
6. Tourist Point of View
7. Bluebird of Delhi (Mynah)
8. Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues)
9. Agra

Seanchan posted...

Also listening to more Sunspot. Gotta make sure theyre in my year end Spotify list!

I'm still happy I made a Sunspot fan out of you!

Wordle 505 2/6




What an insanely lucky second guess considering all the possibilities left.

what

like seriously... what

He's my age, was famous at 10 y/o, was someone I remember from my childhood, and now he's gone? What happen?

(reading what TMZ said, he apparently drowned himself in his bathtub, but it's TMZ so it may not be totally verified)

Who cares about how their athletic shoes look? Only vain people. I care about comfort and Nike's never fit my abnormally wide feet.

But, seriously, what? We're not talking about dress shoes here.

I answered games - would've answered films before COVID. Women have more of a foothold in the movie industry now even if there are certain dirtbags who still treat them poorly. In the gaming industry, a lot of rubbish has been exposed where they can't even get a foothold due to many women being ostracized.

How many big-name female game developers can you name?