Lurker > BlueCrystalTear

FoolFantastic posted...

I like exploring new music, but it starts to be too much if we have several unknown records in a row. I occasionally need a breather week where it's something familiar that I can take a deeper look at.

Which is what balances this out. Like I said, I like using this to discover things I may have missed or to appreciate the musical craftsmanship, even of records I already love (i.e. Guns N Roses). If you're going to do it the way you describe, and you're going to start this in January, I have no qualms with it. I much prefer the integrated cycling - you can engineer it so someone will never be featured in a poll twice in a row as well. I like it with it switching up as it goes. This way, we can balance things out. It won't be seven straight weeks of albums I have heard songs from before and then 20 weeks of albums that are for the most part new to me. I think having seven weeks of the more known albums in a row would strongly encourage people to nominate more obscure things for their personal week. I also would like to suggest that you don't say which user nominated what in those polls - because that way, people will vote for the music as opposed to the user.

I can submit a choice alongside my three albums for 12/18. But unlike with those three, which are pretty well-known at this point, I'm not gonna say what it is (I do have something in mind).

ZaziGuado posted...

I don't think the point of the series was to discover new, obscure music.

It's not just that. Like I said, it's to both appreciate musical craftsmanship as well as discover new things - things that may not necessarily be obscure, mind you. Having a variety between things you know vs. things you don't is huge. This is also why I vary up what my nominations are. My first set of three was early '80s classics by well-known artists (Phil Collins, Queen, and Foreigner). My second set of three was as indie as indie gets, with the intent for people to discover local bands I enjoy. My third set is based solely on timeliness (thanks for letting me keep that, FF) and for something fun and cheery. My fourth set... well, we'll see what happens when that comes up in July or whenever.

P.S. Congrats on the little one, btw.

Wordle 469 4/6

CATER
LEASH
LEAKY
LEAVE

Sorry, gotta make like a tree.

FoolFantastic posted...

Maybe every other cycle, instead of everyone getting a week, everyone gets a single nomination for a three-way vote. That way, people have to choose albums they think will beat out other's choices. This will stop what sometimes feels like forced weeks.

I don't like this. How would people discover new music this way? We'll just get a bunch of nominees with big singles that people recognize because those are the ones that win polls. I would expect "classic" albums from artists everybody recognizes would dominate anything newer with more limited appeal. People would probably just pull from the Acclaimed Music Bot list anyway, and the three people whose choices are up would all just vote for their own nomination, thus giving the power to everyone else. This kinda takes away the point. This project isn't really about judging which tracks are best - it's about appreciating music, both from a standpoint of artistic appreciation by more intent listening and a discovery perspective. I mean, I wouldn't have made a Sunspot fan out of Seanchan without this, now would I?

I also like making thematic choices, like me doing extremely indie stuff that people would have never otherwise experienced, or my upcoming Christmas theme. We wouldn't be able to have something timely like that with something completely randomized. At the same time, we also wouldn't get a boy band week from someone who's hardly participated. Is that a trade-off? Possibly.
~~~
Anyway, we swept their asses in volleyball, so I got a listen in! YouTube is being obnoxious and playing a political ad before each song; usually ads only play every other song (I listen to these incognito so the artists get ad revenue, unless I own the album, and so some of them don't appear in my history... like this one), so... ugh.

(Below paragraphs for next week's topic)
...and yeah, I only needed to do one. There are some legitimately good songs here but it gets redundant, and doesn't really offer that deeper appreciation I mentioned. It's just shallow boy band pop that makes the girls go crazy. Some of these try different things - some work, some don't. But there's a reason why I only remembered the first four songs: Only one other was a sweeping ballad that really worked for me.

I like my ballads and all, but this album was too rife with them, and the fact that they're ALL centered on vocal harmonies kind of takes away from the heartstrings being pulled. A lot of great ballads were written by the performers - and someone who's singing their heart out of their chest like that puts more emotion into it. Yeah, the harmonies are great here, but they make some of the songs devoid of emotion, which can't compare to one guy singing about the woman who completes him. Each dude here is thinking of somebody different, and they didn't write these songs for the most part so it's much less personal. Like the closer could've had a lot more impact had the same harmonies not happened eight times earlier on. Why not have a different guy take lead vocals

1. I Want It That Way
2. It's Gotta Be You
3. Back to Your Heart
4. Larger Than Life
5. Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely
6. I Need You Tonight
7. The Perfect Fan
8. The One
9. Don't Wanna Lose You Now
10. Spanish Eyes
11. Don't Want You Back
12. No One Else Comes Close

Ocarina of Time

Kyland was petty on The Challenge too, not only toward Xavier, but also whining that Cayla (TAR) & Dom (Ghost Island) sending him into the arena was "emotional" since Kyland had put Dom into the fray earlier - but it was 100% by Cayla wanting to take a shot at one of the "big dogs" so she wanted to gun for either Kyland, Tyson, or Angela. Dom said Kyland since Dom wanted to take out a threat to him... and he was aligned with Angela and Tyson. Taking out his strongest enemy was 100% the right move. Kyland, being so self-centered, failed to see that. He sucks.

I didn't watch CBB3 so can't comment there. But it sounds like I didn't miss anything particularly enjoyable like I might have with Tough As Nails.

Theaters are showing the first Avatar because they're struggling and need to remind people of certain things you can only experience on a 2000" TV. The original Avatar is, simply, cinema porn. It's gorgeous but unmemorable outside of the visuals - the perfect thing to remind people of something they can't quite get with streaming.

Avatar 2 is probably the same thing: A studio wanting to make a big movie to try to lure people back to theaters so they can make that cinema ticket money again. I'd think those movie companies are struggling just like theater companies. It's probably a shallow movie just like the first. I doubt I will go see it, unless I can get a cheap matinee ticket if anyone still does that.

MetalmindStats posted...

If it is indeed a problem in need of a solution, however, perhaps we could impose a new rule kicking out users from the queue if they don't show up to rank their album?

I think that, to maintain their spot in the queue, users should have to show up for more than just their week. I see people on here that I haven't seen rank jack shit in a while. Or even post comments. I've been pretty disengaged from this as of late (this week is no exception), and yet I still try to make time to give albums a listen at minimum. That counts for something.

I think that users should have to submit a ranking at minimum three times during a cycle - as in, between each of their nominations - to keep their slot in the queue. This can be dropped to two if this disqualifies too many people. Just looking at the queue... I can count at least six people still in the queue I hardly ever see participate at this juncture. Ones who probably only do their own weeks, and don't even bother to comment otherwise.

Also, gotta say that I admire TheArkOfTurus for being fucking honest and being asked to be taken off the queue due to a lack of time/energy/desire, as well as Jesse Custer for requesting he be skipped this cycle for likely similar reasons. If my commitment dropped off even further than it has, I may request the same in the future (not my next one, which I've already discussed my choices for). I expect to get a ranking in tomorrow - may listen tonight depending on how late volleyball goes (may be over in 15 minutes, may be another hour - who knows? It's volleyball!) - but if I don't, I'm sorry.

Of course if we were to remove people from the queue right now, that would kinda ruin my thought to do a Christmas album the week leading up to the holiday, wouldn't it? I think we need to put some people on notice: Rank albums that aren't yours, or you lose your spot, and you can't get it back until you show a desire to be active at least once a month. I get having a life. But we know albums two weeks out, so if you wanna submit an early ranking, you can.

Also, I have another per the above:

Drummers

Hey, what's coming to mind is fine! That's what this is meant to be.

Reasons I should actually make and wear a Halloween costume this year

Leonhart4 posted...

The issue is the people who own the site now don't see the need to fund one

Does a contest need money to be run, though? Rewards can be things like private boards on the site or 500 karma.

Maybe we should write them an essay explaining how a contest drives up site traffic. Unless it doesn't any longer. CBS at least would've given it a chance, but AFAIK Red Ventures is cheap. Not sure why they bought this site if all they were going to do was leave it for dead.

I've heard the "big three" described as thus: Tobey Maguire is a perfect Peter Parker but a weak Spider-Man. Andrew Garfield is a badass Spider-Man but an awful Peter Parker. Tom Holland is the happy medium between the two who is good, but not great, at both sides of the coin.

swirIdude posted...

No damn bracket any time soon, based on what Allen told us

I don't get what the issue is tbh

If WE were to be like "Hey Allen, we'll handle the contest for you. We can take care of the nomination form, the stats, the leaderboard, the art for each match, the metadata, etc. - all you need to do is input the matches as the polls." it could feasibly happen. He's extremely busy, what with being made to do the work of four people, so I think it's the least we could do to show him some gratitude for busting his butt and selling his soul for us.

There's gotta be a way to make it so we can get access to a "Contest Portal" of sorts that we can then run twice a year or something. I mean, if we put our heads together, maybe we could get it to happen without Allen having to do much work.

Apparently, even employees at The Google were #blindsided by this move. No warning. They found out just before the news went public.

https://9to5google.com/2022/09/29/stadia-employees-shutdown-meeting-harrison/

Needless to say, this is not a good look for the company, and never again will it be a player on any level in the video game industry. Nobody will want to work for The Google and nobody will develop games for any platform they may put out.

Wordle 468 4/6

React
Crisp
Scour
Scorn

Streak back up to 37 but technically at 204.

Final Fantasy VII

Things you would've enjoyed more if you weren't spoiled on them

Yeah... it was less of a satire than I thought it would be, honestly, and felt more like a societal commentary than anything parodying the zombie genre. I do think expectation played a great part in why I was ultimately let down, even though I fully enjoyed the movie's message. It does make a very good point about human culture - something that's only gotten worse this year with the "return from the COVID" nonsense. People are expected to be zombies. Me, I rebel against that. I fucking hate being a cog, and that's why jobs burn me out. Hell, I've been playing some Sims 4 lately and my current Sim hates that too, since she comes back home every other day hating her baking job, and having to regain passion for it. Spoiler: She's about to quit, since I no longer need her to have that job for anything. I hope I can make such a thing happen in reality.

Will watch another (TBD) come Saturday or Sunday, followed by Mean Girls on Monday, by virtue of that being October 3rd. (Don't know why I didn't schedule that earlier, but there ya go.)

banananor posted...

i think it already does work if you are lucky- i.e., a PC player hooked up to an ethernet cable living in an area with strong internet reasonably close to the service's data centers. for slower paced or even turn-based games it works just fine for other users, too

Yeah, and that's a very small percentage of the population. I would not be able to stream such a thing without serious lag, given my 30 mbps connection. It's sufficient for what I need it for - they upgraded from 20 mbps when the COVID hit - but that only includes streaming video, not interactive games.

azuarc posted...

My entire knowledge of Stadia was periodically seeing commercials for it pop up on YouTube that just went "Sta-dee-uh!" and ended after 5 seconds.

Back to my point: That's just a word. Their advertising left a lot to be desired, because nobody recognized how new and different it was since The Google didn't explain.

RikkuAlmighty posted...

Then the lost switch showed up on my doorstep a few days later. Not sure what happened. When I told Target they said just to keep it. P cool of them.

I used to work at Target. This is normal. My experience with that was just a $13 stuffed animal, where there hadn't been any delivery updates in a week (even though this was a post-Christmas clearance so there was New Years' to deal with). I just asked "what gives?" and got another sent. I now have two, and my store's GSTL said "Just keep them both, that's the standard procedure."

To answer the topic: No. It's only ever been inexpensive stuff. A more recent example was ice trays from Amazon, where it said it was delivered when it wasn't. Turns out their delivery driver had dumped it off at the wrong place, and the original turned up a week later. I now have 8 ice trays instead of the 4 that fit in my (rather small) freezer. Rotating 5 at a time.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Written by: Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran
Previous status: Never seen

"What do you mean by that?"

In retrospect, it was probably a mistake to not watch Dawn first, because any references were lost on me. In fact, there was a lot of disjointed storytelling early on - mostly about things that didn't matter, mind you. There was a lot left on the table that never got eaten here. Also worth noting: When I hit "Play movie" on the DVD menu, it operated like a first-person shooter. Loved that.

A big problem I noted also was how fucking braindead the characters were - and no, I'm not talking about the zombies. I couldn't tell you who had more brains between the zombies and Shaun's crew, given how many downright stupid things they did. They took forever to realize that something very, very weird was going on. They had no urgency. They failed to improvise weapons on countless occasions (like... fence posts? HELLO!). They fought pointlessly after talking about cooperation. Ed crashed the car for no reason whatsoever other than wanting to drive the Jag. Like... to call him an idiot would be a compliment.

I am curious if all this was done for intentional comedy, because it certainly didn't feel funny, just frustrating. It would've been funny if he'd done some idiot things that somehow caused a miracle to occur - or if the movie did more things like the records scene, which was the only time it actually felt like it was mocking other movies for their characters' lack of urgency. I would've thought there'd be more. But no, they just... did stupid shit that would've ordinarily gotten them killed, and survived because they were supposed to, at least until the end. I did not find this humorous. If you're going to parody a genre where people survive only because the writers want them to, take it a step further than that instead of just doing the same thing. Mock it with ridiculous divine intervention.

I also had thought this was a comedy, but I found it hardly funny for the breadth of it. Funny moments include the following:

• All the throwing of junk comically bouncing off the zombies, and then them taking the time to decide what records were expendable. This was the kind of satire I expected throughout the rest of the movie: Doing stupid stuff, yet miraculously surviving. Nothing after this accomplished the same.
• The rehearsing of multiple versions of "The Plan" to "get everyone to safety"
• The party acting like zombies amid a horde of them to avoid garnering attention... some of them doing better than others.
• Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" playing during a fight (shades of Reservoir Dogs)
• The final scene

That's about it. Perhaps I missed numerous references due to my lack of experience with horror in general - largely because I don't like excess blood and gore. I can handle people bleeding reasonably, but not things like David being ripped apart. I couldn't watch. Honestly, everything in the climax after the jukebox fight felt too normal. The Shaun/Liz relationship also felt too normal. Dianne didn't get enough credit for being the smartest person there, at least until her emotional reaction to seeing her husband get ripped apart.

Things I liked included Philip saying he loved Shaun like his own son in his final moments (Bill Nighy just nailed this) and that the commandos just showed up and killed all the zombies. My favorite thing, however, was the commentary about the zombies being retail wage slaves in the end - this tied it all back together to the beginning. It's asking a question: Are we already zombies? Are we soulless wage slaves who have no brains and are just cogs? It's a highly agreeable commentary from me, and I like how it was tied in without being so overt that it was obnoxious. I can also see how this compares to COVID, given how... I worked Fulfillment at Target during the worst of it.

But, honestly? Of the movies I've seen so far, I probably enjoyed this one the least. Perhaps it's because I missed things. Perhaps it's because I couldn't appreciate the references. Perhaps it's because I expected something more satirical than this. Perhaps it's because it's not my genre. I still liked it for what it was but I can't say I'll be revisiting it any time soon (even with this being a "Halloween season kickoff movie"). I'll still give it a 3/5, because it gave me some laughs, even if it didn't quite live up to my expectations. That feels high in some aspects but just right in others.

Sorry if my write-up doesn't live up to your expectations, guys! @Snake5555555555 and @MetalmindStats , you both get new nominations!

4

Google is refunding all Stadia purchases

Yeah, that's... bad. A sign of how colossal a failure this was.

I think part of it was the marketing. There weren't enough ads explaining how this was new and different. The name "Stadia" sounds too sporty, since it's the plural of "stadium." And I think part of it is that people weren't ready for it. I like the idea, but it needs more development before it can work effectively. I feel that consoles are a necessity because those localize the GPUs - I don't know how long it will take for a remote graphics streamer to actively work.

The Google could've committed more to advertising and showcasing the advancements and how it works so people were less apprehensive.

SeabassDebeste posted...

yeah, i skipped scaly but got hit with scale and scalp

more confusing actually is spald - like what?

...you took until your third word to guess an E?

My strategy is pretty simple. The opener of CATER/CRATE/REACT/TRACE - which one based on what I'm feeling, despite them all having the same five letters - gives a wealth of information. There are three consonants that are easily combo-able and the two most common vowels. If none of these are in the puzzle, I go with SOUND - because this does the same thing with the next set of 3 and 2. If there's still nothing, MILKY is my third.

It's easy enough to find words that work for whatever you get using these words, and it practically guarantees, anomalies like PARER aside, getting the word in four or fewer guesses. A C may not be as common as an S, but whether the word has a C or not - and its potential positions - is important information. Today, for instance, getting the A in the middle position plus a C that's not in the 4th slot means there are very, VERY few possibilities, especially once I tried CHASM to ensure I got it in three.

I do hope that helps some of you get half of them in three or four words like I tend to do.

Yup, time manipulation would be my #1. Or, specifically, the ability to freeze time around you, choosing what moves and doesn't move. This means you can turn aging off for yourself and your partner, as well as give yourself infinite time to finish projects and such. Infinite Money Glitch and Teleportation would be my personal #2 and #3, respectively.

Tabs you have open in your browser right now (or ones appearing in your "recently closed" history)

Wordle 467 3/6
(TRACE)
(Chasm)
(SCALD)

SeabassDebeste posted...

that was annoying!

How so? This was an easy word...

Blaziken posted...

My God, watching Claire slowly die inside is amazing.

what happen

Though... I don't really care for Amazing Race anymore. Honestly, watching just the recap, the fact that they're equalizing teams even further now isn't helping - unless of course they combine this with the "no NELs" and allocate one task's difficulty on each leg based on which group they were in.

My problems with TAR are:

1. The locations are more redundant than ever and COVID certainly made that even worse
2. They seldom cast interesting people with interesting stories, and when they do there's hardly a focus on them. Rarely do we get teams with an evolving relationship.
3. The editing is annoying with how many "race to the finish" endings they falsify (often twice an episode, for both first and last place) - when the teams are over an hour apart, and it's obvious.
4. The leg design is so formulaic, and the fact that equalizers are so commonplace really takes away from it feeling like a "race."
5. There's a focus on menial tasks over culture, and what made the show "Amazing" for its first seven seasons was partly the way teams' eyes were opened to the world.
6. It's really just a timewaster. I would get more out of it if it felt like they were really racing OR really spending time appreciating the culture, but it does neither. So, without the "Race" and the "Amazing," the show is really just "The."

We're all spendin' most our lives....

RIP.

(IIRC, he and Weird Al patched things up, and he admitted he was young and dumb back then so I don't think he'd have gotten mad)

FarmFox posted...

I dont really watch sports. I might catch the Super Bowl every year, and I watched a few soccer games with the US womens team. Im the type to prefer to play sports than to watch it.

Are you dressing up as anything for Halloween?

I can understand that. Some sports are particularly boring to watch, and others are redundant. American football is fun when the game is close and the ball is being moved. If it's low-scoring and nothing's happening, it's a snorefest. Lately, I've found volleyball to be the most exciting. Every point is exciting. But I hear ya about playing sports. I'm just so unathletic and lack the stamina.

I don't have any costumes. Never really been big on dress-up - it's partly comfort, partly a lack of occasion. I don't go to parties or bashes. Really, the only costume-wearing occasions I attend are anime cons, and in those cases it can be an issue of practicality, and finding the right characters to impersonate. I overthink all of this, naturally, but part of it is the money too. Spending money on a costume I won't ever wear for one of the above reasons doesn't seem like a good idea.

Instead of a question, here's a request: Change my mind.

Pokewars posted...

That seemed super anticlimactic.

Yeah, this. No reason to have an ad before the vote reveal if it's gonna be like this, and then another one immediately after.

This was a bad episode, and still would've been if it were 60 minutes since very little happened. I think part of the issue is the small tribes, and the way this was cast. These people get along too well. Survivor is at its best when there are people who don't like each other.

Sucks to see that nobody saw through Cody's shit. Sucks even more to see Justine go.

And yeah, I was wrong. I admit it. Sue me.

A commercial now? Well, thanks for spoiling it: This is a tie. No reason they'd do this otherwise.

Suikoden II

I think Noelle recognized that something smelled with the beads. Trying to see if she's still wearing them at Tribal, and I'm not sure if that's the same bracelet or not. (I think so?)

Finally caught up.

Elie is getting a LOT of content despite the potential "spiral out of control" with her edit.

Justine is hot.

Nneka looked like she was throwing that challenge. She legit did NOT CARE. What a tragic display.

Cody is a nimrod for just opening that advantage instead of re-hiding it deeper in the same hole and coming back to it in the morning. And, if somebody's voted out and takes their bead with them, does that mean he's idol is forever powerless?

I like this is 90 minutes but I expected more intrigue with that. What's about to transpire at Tribal?

SantaRPidgey posted...

sup andy! Sounds like business as usual~

I'm doing really well! Getting married in 37 days and I've been taking plant classes so now I know about all the edible plants in washington and how to prepare and store them!

Yeah, I've done that a lot, haven't I? I always feel the need to find a reason to post here, even though this community has many people who are similarly weird to me.

Ooh, congrats on the wedding! And botany sounds interesting - I'd probably just watch a couple YouTube videos regarding what plants I have access to (there aren't any right now). Hope that works well for you! Me, I'm... trying to figure out what the hell to do with my life. May want to do several small things at once. ..got any advice there? lol

Inviso posted...

The other problem is that I think the producers believed (and not unrightfully so, based on anecdotal evidence from speaking with other show-watchers) that by painting Sarah as opposition to the dominance of Tyson and Angela, she would come across as the more palatable option for casuals to latch onto. She was the "underdog" and Angela/Alyssa were the "bitches".

Boy did this backfire. Every snarky comment that Angela or Alyssa said was 100% warranted, and also 100% awesome, and that got me to root for them. Why anyone would root for an "underdog" who says completely untrue things (she said Angela, the strongest female on the season, "sucked at challenges" - like what, what does that make Karen?), whines when she doesn't get her way because of people trying to play the game, and acts superior to them when she's not is beyond me. Anyone rooting for such trash must be a Karen themselves, and thus I find it a blockable offense on social media.

If there's anything I hate most, it's people who whine a lot while asserting a superiority complex over others - self-centered spoiled brat bullies. Karen Lacina is one such person. Nicole Franzel is another. It's a horrendous combination. Cody surprisingly evicting Nicole led to great schadenfreude, but sadly we got the opposite this time: True misery. And thus, I'm never watching The Challenge again, because this left an indescribably bitter stench in my mouth. I know I'm not the only.

Underleveled posted...

For what it's worth on Jonathan I think he's an absolute lock for the next full/half returnee season as long as he isn't auto-excluded by the theme itself so he could very well change my mind.

You're being too hard on him. I'd probably put him above a few others on S42, namely Jackson (the lithium), Marya (secondbootitis), and Drea (her racist remarks getting me to reevaluate her entirely). He's about even with Zach. I'd also have Daniel Strunk (who I expect to see soon) relatively high because he was like a completely unintentional parody of the Charlie Brown superfan types, and that amuses me greatly, especially since he didn't last so long that he became obnoxious. At least he didn't treat others like shit or mope around endlessly despite all his self-inflicted misery.

CBS has been trying to have a fucking-centric reality show for years and years without success. I think they scrapped Love Island, which aired several nights a week, for this based on a theme they could run with and a more manageable runtime for the sweeps season.

Like Inviso so perfectly (and sarcastically) put, it will get more viewers than their last attempt due to it airing during the fall as opposed to the summer, but it's still going to fail since it will have actual competition. Perhaps CBS is hoping this will be successful enough for a second season, after which it moves to Paramount Plus. That's something they didn't want to do with Love Island due to its number of episodes, but NBC took it from them anyway. They might have regretted that.

What gets me is that the early advertisements for Love Boat were so vague that I didn't even realize it was a reality show until the later ads aired, at which point I'd already deemed myself uninterested. They didn't need to film the show before they could tell people what it was. Much like with Love Island, I don't expect anybody here cares about this one. It's a good hour to spend playing a game or streaming a better show.

Hi. Welcome back! How have you been?

I'm doing okay. Been using the board mainly to push me to accomplish backlogs (one is in my sig). Is that anything different?

*clap clap*

That was all spot on, Vis. You articulated why I despised her so much - and how she single-handedly convinced me to never watch that show again. The story was completely ruined by her fluke of a win; it would have been so gratifying for Angela to own the shit out of her after what happened with Alyssa, but production was shit and made terrible decisions that destroyed the product. Tyson quit half due to what they did to Angela, the other half for outright lying to the cast about the prize (which is illegal, I believe, even for an unscripted show). That finale was the worst I've ever seen and it's because a whiny, narcissistic Karen who deserved an epic comeuppance after all the gloating she had done despite accomplishing nothing somehow won.

There was nothing satisfying about it. That second hour was the most miserable hour of reality television I've ever seen - yes, it was even worse than the Caramoan reunion and the second half of the HHH finale, and worse than any of Big Brother's lows. And now, that "World Challenge" thing on Paramount Plus will fail because *gasp* nobody in their right mind wants to hear Karen Lacina bitch and moan every week. Enough is enough. If the producers were going to pull some bullshit, they should have rigged it to give the most unlikable person ever a comeuppance instead of things that favored her. And poor Desi, losing because cats can't swim... I would have loved that to be Karen instead. It would have been a hilarious way for her to go out.

I might've heard someone use the term before but I never really looked into what it referred to.

I still have no idea as this is an incredibly vague topic worded in a way that presumes I automatically know everything posted to the Internets.

Wordle 466 3/6

(REACT)
(SPURN)
(USURP)

Looks like I'm not the only one with a lucky second word.

Played a bunch tonight. Not much to update. I explored a little and found a shrine underneath what used to be Reneed. Only one thing of note here: The gold key. Fucking finally. I can open gold chests with this dumb mechanic!

I took a walk in the woods - they're decaying just the same as the town (even the walls aren't there, which is odd considering the lay of the land makes it obvious) - and ran into way too many daemons. Sometimes they even lined up for their executions... which was annoying and gave me no room to breathe. I finished up in here and intend to head to Lohgrin (the town around the tower of Lohringen) next time.

Joker
-
abstain
Jaws

Jonathan being this low baffles me. He was at least interesting - and I didn't see anything he did that was particularly misogynistic or racist, but there must've been something not shown that gave context to his confused, ignorant remark at Tribal. That said, Drea is full of shit for calling the Omar/Jonathan/Lindsay group "racist" - they were on a starting tribe together, and that means a lot for building trust.

My personal dead-last would be Sarah Lacina, of course. I RARELY despise people to the same extent these write-ups so far have been since I try to examine them as three-dimensional, but... man, was she absolutely insufferable.

Steiner posted...

wait what

You don't remember how pathetic cell phones were before the RAZR? And how people didn't exactly want to take their bricks around? By "dedicated" I meant just that: Something you always take with you. The number you give people.

Wordle 465 3/6

Crate
Sound
Soggy

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Superpowers you wish you had

BetrayedTangy posted...

The overbearing parent is so well done its scary and I love that they actually showed the psychological effect this had on Nina. That kind of trauma can really effect your growth and maturity and it ended up hitting pretty close to home

Yeah, I feel this 100%. I was never able to grow, or to "live a little" - though I don't look for hookups at bars. Not my speed. I want a long-term relationship, not a pity fuck.

Most of her injuries were caused by either herself or were just in her head as a result of anxiety. What she pulled out of her back was actually a feather that hasn't fully grown yet. I believe her alter ego was scratching at her back to try and get them to grow faster.

Also I definitely recommend you check out Aronofsky's other work as well. The Wrestler and Requiem for a Dream are both Top 25 movies for me and he's even got one coming out in December starring Brendon Fraser

That's... interesting. And the alter ego must've been... the swan? She was definitely seeing things, including a doppelganger that wasn't actually one. Lots of confusion with that, but hey, it was a beautifully done movie, and definitely something I want to watch again relatively soon. It will probably end up in my top 25, given all the things it did well.

Unfortunately, with PrePlayed now closed, I don't know if I can acquire those movies. I have zero interest in wrestling anyway. Requiem for a Dream might be worth a look but... THE LIST is plenty long. EDIT: Found it for free. Adding it, with that being your next vote.

Snake5555555555 posted...

NICE write-up! The imagery definitely is striking, still sticks out in my brain 12 years on. ESPECIALLY the toe-nail.

Thanks! And yeah... lots of visceral imagery perfectly juxtaposed with the hotness of two very, VERY gorgeous women. I looked away from the toenail to check my own in response; I can handle some blood, just not the guts (that's why you don't see many horror movies on here). The timing is very, very eerie to me given how my nail's gonna fall off tonight or tomorrow. It's also Murphy's Law since the pool just closed at my building and that was what was preventing me from swimming, since it was like a "flap" that was super painful. Thus, I can kinda understand how painful that injury was. But yeah, enough on toenail injuries.

Really, Natalie Portman played the role of Nina perfectly. She sold the schizophrenia really well, and that made for a fantastic psychological thriller. She's a great actress so this does not surprise me. Mila Kunis also did a fantastic job - and I could tell the difference between Lily's "real" self and the hallucinations. I think she recognized that she had to treat those as two separate characters - think Persona 5, where there's someone's real-world self and the cognitive version in a Palace (this isn't a spoiler for P5, really).

This is probably the kind of movie you have to watch a second time to fully appreciate. And probably more context from having actually seen Swan Lake instead of just knowing the gist of it.

Maybe I should have done "before 2005" since more people got their first long-term mobile number earlier than I thought. Until I got my MotoRAZR, I had a Tracfone where I didn't get to choose the number, and it changed once or twice.

I don't get calls for people who had this number before me anymore - I used to get people asking for a Shameka but that stopped a few years ago. What inspired this topic, however, was me getting a wrong-number text and that got me thinking about things like this.

Black Swan (2010)
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Written by: Andres Heinz, Mark Heyman, John McLaughlin
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel
Previous status: Never seen

"Was I good?"

Yes, you WERE good. Seriously, this one had it ALL. It was not only a visual masterpiece, but there were so many intricacies in the plot that made it one hell of a psychological thriller. Even if there were parts that were a bit gross to watch - when there was excess blood and gore, anyway. First thing that made me jump a bit was the bloody big toe - I had to check that mine wasn't bleeding, given how that toenail's hanging on by a thread (I injured it months ago and the toenail started to fall off in June). It wouldn't have been that bad otherwise, but the gashes and stuff - I'm not squeamish like my dad, but I still don't like the guts.

The most interesting things here were as follows:

• Using Swan Lake as metaphor for Nina's life, with her character offing herself like... she ultimately did. The dichotomy is also interesting: Mila Kunis's Lily was a more bubbly, upbeat and carefree personality that embodied the dark, seductive Black Swan better in dance, while Natalie Portman's Nina was dark and disturbed, yet her dancing embodied the pure White Swan.
• The way this started off normal but unraveled as it went along - it became impossible to tell what was real and what was imaginary after a certain point, and I'm struggling to figure out what that point was. Probably the ecstasy in the alcohol. This started feeling like Inception after a point, with multiple layers of Nina's subconscious we were going through - each more emotionally complex than the last, with increasing distortions. A schizophrenic mind is... scary to think about there.

Speaking of that ecstasy, that was ALSO when this suddenly became a porno out of nowhere. Lily just wanted to be friends with Nina. Even though "I feel shitty for what I did, so I stalked you" made no sense.... I do think it was because Lily actually gave a shit. She saw Nina as someone troubled and someone friendless, probably because of Helicopter Mom. BOY do I know that feeling. My mother refused to see me as an adult for the longest time and had to reevaluate things when it was pointed out to her. I can relate to Nina's plight a lot, though I'm glad I never tried drugs. She has hallucinations that distort her reality; me, I just have fantasies that blur with actuality. They're conscious and I know they're not real, and I can distinguish life from dreams.

Something I have to mention is the artistic camera shots, with close-ups, shaky camera, strobe lights, motion shots, and all that used to great effect. Shaky camera sucks in an action movie but here, in a psychological thriller about a schizophrenic dancer, it works wonders. There's still something I don't fully understand, and that's what was causing Nina's injuries. What was that on her back that she pulled out? I don't see any way she could have gotten that in there herself. It became clear that she'd stabbed herself at the end thinking Lily was her doppleganger (they do look like sisters), but it was another hallucination. Like many before it, probably including what happened with Beth in the hospital. And maybe even her inheriting "little princess" from Beth in the eyes of Vincent Cassel's character. Even though... yeah, he character was a prick who sexually exploited his dancers to bring out the best in them. He changed his mind on a dime just because Nina bit his lip. But I think he has good intentions - if it works and he has consent, great. If he doesn't have consent, fuck him.

I also have to say: This was hot. Seeing two actresses I've said many a time are among the hottest dance like this is arousing. The oral sex ecstasy dream was oddly kinky, and the "Was I good?" when Lily found out about it was hilarious. Her tattoo was never explained, though I don't know if it needed to be - or if it was even actually there. I don't know if the other dancers were actually worried about Nina at the end or not, or if that was a hallucination. Her eyes were red, she was losing her mind, and it was insanity. And then, as her character killed herself, she bled out, dying as the film closed. Quite the ending, let me tell you, but it HAD to end there. One thing that was great: This was all from Nina's perspective, so when that perspective no longer can exist, neither can the story. I hope Lily was just as "perfect" in as the Swan Queen.

Overall... a visual masterpiece. A psychological masterpiece. It was HOT. And frankly, I had to take a LOT of notes for this one. Just... look at this:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/2/8/AAR0ZFAADt8k.jpg

This means I give a shit. This means I am engrossed. All this writing means I liked it. I wouldn't trouble myself if I wasn't enjoying it, and I do expect other movies on THE LIST will have very, very short write-ups. This one did not. 5/5. May watch again.

@Snake5555555555 @BetrayedTangy you each get another nomination!