Lurker > ElatedVenusaur

Balrog0 posted...

Are you saying the DNC cares more about stopping Bernie than actually winning the presidency?

Precisely. The people who run the party are doing just fine right now. They would certainly love to beat Trump, but he doesn't challenge their institutional power in the same way Bernie did.
They couldn't come out and say that, of course(and probably some of them don't even like to admit it to themselves) so they couched it in the terms of "electability" and "tone".

shockthemonkey posted...

Im with Coffee on this one. I expect Kaine, Manchin, Jones, Feinstein etc to fuck things up. I expect Sanders to do his part as a Senator to prevent that. He failed.

I agree, this is really disappointing from Bernie. Voting this down would have been a big win for privacy and he just...didn't show up? That's really crappy.
I'm just wary of people scapegoating him to get the monsters who actually think this stuff is great off.

mehmeh1 posted...

Yeah, that irked me a lot when I saw the episode. My favorite moment from the episode was Steven's self-fusion

That bit was animated by Jaaaaames Baxter(the animator and also the horse).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Baxter_(animator)

I remember seeing a rumor somewhere that the execs gave Rebecca Sugar an ultimatum over the wedding(because, unfortunately, two women getting married is still considered controversial in a lot of places CN airs its shows): if she didn't cut it, they wouldn't renew the show, so they had to resolve the show in what was left of the then-current episode order.
You just have to love how devilishly cheeky it was that she switched the gender-coding on Ruby and Sapphire for the actual wedding scene, regardless.

In any case, the ending definitely feels rushed, and the series never quite recovers from it.

I mean, he already fulfilled his purpose, anything else that comes of Biden's nomination is just extra from the party's perspective.

Heehee, the last piece of the puzzle was a bomb all along!
Welcome to the final stretch!

The Brothers Karamazov is like 860+ pages, and I read all of that and liked it.
Oh, does historical fiction count? 'Cause I read Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and that was definitely 1,300+ pages.

AlephZero posted...

The government can pay for everyone's living expenses forever, they just don't want to.

Specifically, they would rather give bail-outs to any corporation that has ever made a donation to a super PAC, and their lobbying firms too!

DarkRoast posted...

"Eliminate all diversity, otherwise people will be different" is not very progressive for the "best" option.

Yeah, it's really garbage, because the subtext is that we cannot and will never overcome our differences. The only way is to make everyone the same.
It's gross as hell, and don't they passive-aggressively imply you made the wrong choice if you don't do that?

Really, IMO, even aside from the writing, the biggest problem is how little agency the player has. It's just "Oh hai, you made it this far, now pick a color!" There's no cool fight, no debate, no conversation, not even much is offered about the implications of your decision. They threw out the one possible purpose of the Reapers that could have made things interesting.
And yeah, the entire theme of nearly three games is that, "The Reapers brainwash sentients into serving them and annihilate entire galactic civilizations" and then at the end they go, "LOL it's cool now, you can trust them!" and you totally can and it's weird and lame.

Lastly, my problem with the Illusive Man is that 3 makes him an idiot. Where the hell did he get that Reaper from(it looks like the one from ME2. If so, how did he even salvage it?)? And why would he think it would be a good idea to keep it in his personal space station, given that Cerberus knows all about indoctrination?
I just think it would be much more interesting if he was being all "Humanity First" during the crisis, trying to develop ways to influence Reaper attacks patterns to humanity's "benefit", sending Cerberus raids into devastated areas to loot tech and research, and just generally being a pain in the ass to the Alliance and the galactic effort to unite and fight off the Reapers, rather than just him and Cerberus being indoctrinated mooks.

REMercsChamp posted...

He was trying to frame this as people don't care if they have money or not they want to put the health and well-being of the public first, to the detriment of themselves, with indefinite closures.

What the statistics are actually saying is that these are mostly low paid people in the services or unskilled manual labor industries who are actually having a better life for themselves now that they get paid more to do nothing and don't have to slave away at a job they hate for meager wages.

It's weird you think this is some sort of reality-shattering own rather than a reflection on how empty and unfulfilling low-wage work is.
Almost like it's something people would rather not die for?

Jeff AKA Snoopy posted...

I think it's kind of lame is that aquamarine is so overpowered. Like she could immediately stop alexandrite and force them to lose their Fusion.

Its the wand, but yes, the wand is powerful in a lame way and it makes Aquamarine a lame villain.
A shame, because a gem bounty hunter seems like it should be an interesting concept.

I lost most of my faith in government 10ish years ago. Didn't even vote for Obama in 2012.
The last four years have me thinking this country may be too far gone, honestly. Certainly there's not going to be much improvement in the short run.

LostForest posted...

This basically. I love sports and understand the luxury of it. But if you're a professional athlete and say "This is no good, I'm only going to be making $2 million this year instead of $5 million. I won't agree to it." about the epidemic, then you should be fucking excommunicated from this country lol.

Weird how this logic doesnt apply to the billionaires who own the teams.
Its the players who make the sport, after all.

I made barely $20,000 last year. Working part-time while going to school(again).
I at least have an A average so far.

Man, the OG is great! Me and my buddy say it was the only good thing to come from The Phantom Menace.
The best drivers are the ones who cackle like psychopaths when their pod explodes.

I usually go to bed between 1-1:30 AM.

Solar_Crimson posted...

Shin Megami Tensei games definitely buck this trend. In several games, each choice you make actually affects your hidden alignment, which ultimate affects how the game plays out in the end.

Shin Megami Tensei IV was notorious for this, because it was way too easy to put yourself on Law or Chaos because the window for getting Neutral was extremely small, so much so that you actually had to watch how you answered dialogue strings throughout the game until the alignment lock. However, SMT4 also had a fourth ending where you can literally wipe out existence.

The sequel did away with alignment-changing choices, and made it so you can outright choose what path to take when it comes up. You can even prematurely end the game by picking the Law or Chaos paths. You can also end the game at the very start when Dagda offers to revive you after getting killed, and you refuse him.

In IV, when you die and go to the underworld, you can get a game over by declining to bribe Charon and just getting into the impossibly long line to cross the River Styx. If you have previously bribed Charon without paying him in the meantime, he forces you to get in line, also triggering a game over.

Ogre Battle 64 has a few dialogue prompts, and two in particular are quite interesting.
When Hugo names Magnus commander, Dio gets mad and challenges Magnus to a duel. Whatever option you pick, Hugo appears and breaks it up(scolding you for being an idiot if you agree to fight or praising your maturity for refusing).
Towards the end of Chapter 1, youre confronted with choosing between two options during an important story event:
1) I cant
2 .....
This is a vitally important choice.
If you pick option 1 Magnus frees Frederick and Dio joins him in rebellion. If you pick option 2, Dio cuts Frederick free and orders Magnus to take him to safety. If you chose to fight Dio earlier, he abandons Magnus after this and eventually reappears in Chapter 4 as an enemy commander.

jeffhardyb0yz posted...

how long before more corporate bailouts

https://theintercept.com/2020/05/05/lobbyists-trade-groups-bailout/
Not just corporate bail-outs, but bail-outs for lobbying firms that lobby for corporate bail-outs!

Ok, Summer is awesome.

Balrog0 posted...

What's the difference between the two policy wise?

My understanding is that Joe Kennedy is to Markeys right. The latter supports a Green New Deal and is also a supporter of Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris relief proposal.

Joe Kennedy thinks people going through medical bankruptcies should get free legal aid.

Also, you know, dynasties are gross.

I went to work earlier. I'm an "essential" worker.

ScazarMeltex posted...

That's a perfect metaphor for how we've treated them since we got here really.

Pretty much. America expects them to sit in the corner and die quietly, and that's probably the nicest we've been to them.

mehmeh1 posted... yeah, heck, she technically debuted in season 2 in "The Answer"

We don't actually see her at that point though(unless it's in silhouette? been a while), not even in the stylized "this is an account of the past" animation.

This just reminded me that I encountered a shiny Lairon once.
It used Roar the first turn....

kirbymuncher posted...

oh man I love old game guides, they're always written in such a funny way

and occasionally have the most hilarious misinformation

I remember having one for Pokemon Red&Blue that suggested that it may be better not to evolve Exeggcute.
LOL Exeggcutor is literally one of the best pokemon in RBY.

Persia is cool, but Iranaphobia probably makes that unlikely. And the lack of surviving records doesnt help any either.
I would also love to see stuff set in the Bronze Age. Pretty much the first time we know serious diplomacy and international trade was happening on the reg.

Ill agree 1 was the best, but 2 had Music Plant and that was a great stage. I never really liked 3.

The Advance trilogy was pretty good, honestly. Not great, but good.
They had awful mechanics for special stages.

GreatEvilEmpire posted...

The point is that too much deficit is not good for the U.S. The U.S. government already gave over a Trillion away in the last couple months.

$2000 per month would easily add another Trillion to the deficit over 3 months. That's without anything else in the budget.

So? $2,000 a month would literally save homes and lives while bolstering the economy.
All this deficit concern trolling does is obscure the incalculable human cost of inaction.

nemu posted...

I still don't know if Ms. Monopoly is supposed to be serious or taking the piss at feminist talking points.

How would it be doing that, exactly?
I don't think we should be giving them the benefit of the doubt, in any case.

Hmm, let me try my hand at this...

1) You're you, and you know yourself better than anyone else does., so be honest with yourself, even if it hurts.

2) Don't let problems fester: acknowledge them, analyze them, discuss them, find a solution.

3) Money is important, but it's a means to an end. Our society requires that you have money to do fun things. Don't let pursuit of riches define you though: only evil and misery lie down that path.

4) Speaking of money: college is completely, unreasonably expensive. Unless your parents are rich, you're going to graduate in debt. So don't rush into it, look into starting at a community college, that kind of thing. If you work hard, stay focused, and get good grades, you can save yourself a lot of financial pain later on, and maybe even go to your dream school, even if it's just for two years instead of four.

5) Happiness is worth a hell of a lot.

6) Make sure to leave your comfort zone. You don't have to do it all the time, but you should do it. It's how you grow. Travel if you can. Try new things, eat food that seems weird, never let life become stale.

7) Don't worry too much about what others think. Again, you're you, and while you should listen to advice and concerns from others and consider it, at the end of the day, you're the boss. You'll always be able to find people who support you.

8) You're probably not the next big star or great artist or athlete or whatever. Don't give that up right away, but be mindful that that's probably not going to happen.

I mean, there were 10 years between Nocturne and IV.
So 2023?

Im definitely interested. The first game is janky, buggy, and falls off towards the end, but it is a brilliant game with excellent characters that threads the needle on making you out of your depth but realistically influential.

Also Chinatown was really bad.

Have some more video game music...
Dynasty Warriors 8 - Solo (Battle of Fan Castle)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znmy7RYtF3U&t=1013s
Betrayal, loss, dragons doomed to die in mud.

Dynasty Warriors 8 - Hopeful Pain (Battle of Wu Zhang Plains - Shu)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l35vE5uilqE&t=815s
Their dream is quickly fading away, but the warriors of Shu fight on.

I'll post some depressing video game music, for fun!

Secret of Mana - Fond Memories
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dhpIEerwng
The girl finally rescues Dyluck, only for him to die.

Fire Emblem - Shattered Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTu4EbifwZw
You only get this emotional gut punch if Eliwood and Ninian have an A support when he kills her. And yes, the dialogue lines up, she dies right when you would guess.

Final Fantasy VII - World Map Theme 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y4z04jQF8c
Meteor's comin' to put an end to all things. What can be done?

Chrono Trigger - Those Without the Will to Live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBwlYWQcLjc
HP and MP restored! But you're still hungry...

In 2006. Voted for then-Senator Hillary Clinton.

Work gives me masks, and theyll let us change them during my shift, so Ive stocked a few in my car for personal use. I wear one whenever I expect to be near people. As an essential worker, I am a potential super-spreader, and also I am personally a fan of not drowning in pleural fluid.

I live in a blue state, and I'm not going to vote for Biden.

Why wouldn't I, exactly?

What would my dream constitution look like?
-No Senate or electoral college
-Maximum district size(in pop) for House districts tied to the least populous house district
-Instant run-off voting and open primaries
-Automatic voter registration, no-excuse absentee ballots, early voting, mail-in voting, and Election Day as holiday
At least in terms of elections. Not certain how exactly to fix the problem of money in politics, but it certainly must be eliminated.

IShall_Run_Amok posted...

To be fair, if you're doing anything other than Dualcasting various magics with the Mime class, and Two Handed + Rapid Fire on a mastered Freelancer, you're just making the end of FF5 harder.

Mind you, all of that takes some work to achieve.

That's the fun of the Four Job Fiesta: being limited to four random jobs makes things harder.
I mean, unless you get something like White Mage/Summoner/Geomancer/Chemist, of course.
One run I got Knight/Berserker/Monk/Dancer. That...was a bad time.

It's an outdated document, yes. It was designed for an entirely different world by outdated sensibilities, and the sheer difficulty of the amendment process makes it nearly impossible to get anything passed. Arguably the only amendments that introduced big structural changes required a civil war to happen.
It is designed to curtail the power of voters. It privileges just about everything over them, and institutional decay has ensured even the part that's supposed to be the most democratic(the House of Representatives) is both less so than intended, and also by far the weakest part of government.
I'm honestly not sure it's fixable.

I sometimes participate in the Four Job Fiesta that happens every summer.
Really, the job system is great and is perfect for that kind of emergent gameplay.
Or just humiliating Omega with the right mix of job abilities.

The plot is competent enough, and Gilgamesh is incredible.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/28/lithuanian-capital-to-be-turned-into-vast-open-air-cafe-vilnius

Lithuanias capital, Vilnius, has announced plans to turn the city into a vast open-air cafe by giving over much of its public space to hard-hit bar and restaurant owners so they can put their tables outdoors and still observe physical distancing rules.
The Baltic state, which has recorded 1,344 cases of the coronavirus and 44 deaths, allowed cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating, hairdressers and almost all shops to begin reopening this week as part of a staged exit from lockdown.
But the health ministry has imposed strict physical distancing rules and safety measures. Shops must limit the number of customers at one time, masks will remain mandatory in all public spaces, and cafe and restaurant tables have to be placed at least two metres apart.

That posed a problem for many restaurateurs in Vilnius old town, Senamiestis, a Unesco-listed world heritage site whose narrow streets make it almost impossible to place more than a couple of tables outside prompting the mayors offer.
Plazas, squares, streets nearby cafes will be allowed to set up outdoor tables free of charge this season and thus conduct their activities during quarantine, said Remigijus imaius. Public safety remained the citys top priority, the mayor said, but the measure should help cafes to open up, work, retain jobs and keep Vilnius alive.
Eighteen of the citys public spaces, including its central Cathedral Square, have been opened up for outdoor cafes and restaurants, city hall said, and more are expected to be added as the summer progresses. The move has been welcomed by owners, with more than 160 applying to take up the offer.
It came just in time, said Evalda ikauskien of the Lithuanian Association of Hotels and Restaurants, adding that the measure would help members accommodate more visitors and bring life back to the city streets, but without violating security requirements.
Vilnius authorities have also given the citys public health workers 400,000-worth (350,000) of restaurant vouchers intended both as gesture of thanks for their work and a much-needed stimulus to the citys cafes.

Free of charge! The idea is to allow restaurants. bars, and cafes to operate while still maintaining safe social distance and mask use, preserving public health and the local economy.
Also, they've given the city's public health workers vouchers for free food. I don't know how many public health workers Vilnius has, but that sounds like a lot of free food.