Moonside
Moonside wrote
Reply to comment by devtesla in game of the decade by devtesla
I respect sequels that do that.
Moonside wrote
There's all sorts of theology that's has been appropriated into support for Trump or his policies, like the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This has totally been ignored imho by the political opposition of Trump admin and a big part of younger folks against him are too secular to be familiar with this.
Moonside OP wrote
I just realized that the story of Adventure Time and the emotional tones of this piece parallel each other a lot. Maybe Adventure Time was an allegory of growing up in a world of posting?
Moonside wrote
Reply to comment by toasthaste in 0.5 A presses by emma
Yeah I was interested in the 0.5 A press phenomenon in general rather than this one video but thank you, this was helpful.
Moonside wrote
Reply to 0.5 A presses by emma
I really don't get what the point was, is it the challenge or just that it's kinda stupid?
Moonside wrote
Reply to comment by Moonside in tell me what podcasts yall are enjoying! by skookin
Offtopic suggestions:
- More "podcasts" - turn Youtube videos into mp3s and listen to the files. Lots of talking head content really is that.
- Audio books are in practice like tightly edited and narrated multihour single episode podcasts. Many are freely available on Youtube (piracy or not) and libraries have more you can loan (or stream). There's only so much time I want to or get to spend sitting at home which is how I read paper books so I'm glad to steal some commute back to me.
Moonside wrote
Reply to comment by Moonside in tell me what podcasts yall are enjoying! by skookin
Honorary mentions:
- Citations Needed. A leftist debunking show. It's generally good stuff, but the debunking angle is inherently limiting imho.
- History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps. The last three words are the central gimmick, really. It's quite common to skip from Aristotle to Descartes in popular treatments of the topic so the treatment here is an ambitious corrective. The reason I hesitate to recommend it so strongly is that listeners who really want to learn should probably spend the time studying a paper history of philosophy instead. But it is still the best educational podcast I've listened to. There are also similar shows on Africana and Indian philosophy, which I can recommend with less hesitations as there is a lack good quality introductory material on those topics.
Moonside wrote
Reply to tell me what podcasts yall are enjoying! by skookin
- My favorite podcast at the moment is BBC Radio 4's In Our Time hosted by Melvyn Bragg. It basically makes most infotainment look bad. Its self-described focus is on ideas, which in practice means that the topics include history, arts, science, philosophy and religion and they are discussed by relevant experts as guests in the studio. Melvyn is very no-nonsense type of a host who gently guides the discussion for the benefits of the listeners. I've given a chance to a lots of podcasts and honestly it's professional stuff like this that demonstrates how much dead air they can contain.
- Finding Drago - a podcast about discovering the origins of a fan fiction novel about the iconic, though criminally underdeveloped, Soviet boxer character Ivan Drago from Rocky IV.
- Kubrick's Universe - The Stanley Kubrick podcast. I've listened to four episodes so far, which have featured really knowledgeable guests, my favorite so far being the one on Kubrick as a New York jewish intellectual. The hosts are not ridiculously enthusiastic, which is good for a fannish podcasting.
- Talking Simpsons is the best pop culture podcast I've listened to, though I can understand why someone could have a difficult time listening to a 2 hour episode on a 22 minute cartoon episode. It's frequently hilarious and the hosts actually do their job in contextualizing the episodes. The episode on The Simpsons Spin-off Showcase is a good entry point.
- Heidi Matthews on Demand Podcast. She's a law professor who occasionally drops a podcast on whatever she's fancying from a leftist perspective. Leftist online content often has the problem of turning their energies into campaigns, taking potshots at current events or discussing praxis and strategy like the revolution was coming any second now.
Moonside wrote
Reply to i need a favour: people who have been driving for less than five years, please answer two questions for me by neku
I've never driven an inch. I kinda feel it's inapproriate for me to answer, even if it probably doesn't matter, but good luck!
Moonside wrote
They could freshen things up with a new battle royale version
Moonside OP wrote
Reply to comment by voxpoplar in Pathologic is Genius, And Here's Why - If you have two hours and nothing better to do, this video is a good enough window into what games could be. by Moonside
Honestly my condolences, that sounds genuinely awful fun ruinage.
Moonside OP wrote
Reply to The case against summer camp by Moonside
I am impressed that someone upvoted this within a single minute.
Moonside wrote
Reply to please say hi to hector the bug by Dogmantra
hell yeah
Moonside wrote
Reply to comment by neku in Robert Mueller by emma
This sounds like a fascistic children's cartoon?
Moonside wrote
Reply to Researchers challenging the popular interpretation of Libet's intention experiments by BIG_RAIN_THUNDERSTORM
Tbh my ignorant ass opinion is that free will is real, but the mind is more contingent on outside factors than people generally think.
Moonside wrote
V spooky
Moonside wrote
Thoughts:
- Is there enough representation from hand held gaming? There's some good stuff there too!
- 13 games from 2001? Tbh, why? I wonder if it's a combination of recentism in list authored in 2000's and the games aren't old enough to be forgotten in 2010's.
- Do modern gamers actually like Myst or is it feature on the lists just because it was such a phenomenon in its own time?
- I'm not super into action-role playing and action-adventuring games, which probably explains why I haven't been that big of a gamer with recent titles.
Moonside OP wrote
Reply to comment by twovests in Can someone succinctly explain what's special/interesting about Homestuck? by Moonside
I have not seen Adventure Time, so I can't make any comparisons.
I hugely recommend it as it's possibly the best TV cartoon series of all time. (It makes me envious that we adults can't have TV animation that compelling.) I think it scratches a bit of the same itch as Undertale does. They're both deceptively simple as their visual style signals (correctly) that they are often comedic and light-hearted, both examples of that being cute and compelling aren't mutually contradictory. Both of them were game changers in their own mediums in that they make you view their mediums in a new light. They both also have genuine themes, which while perhaps aren't unprecedented, are treated in a novel way, like Undertale does with the theme of preconceived notions. There are characters, much like Alphys, who have way more meat to them than you might think at first. There's a ton of lore and basically any detail might turn out to be significant in the end, yet many things are left unexplained, which I as a habitual overthinker find very satisfying. Both have clear queer themes, as well.
One way to describe Adventure Time on its own terms would be as the growing up story of Finn the Human, the last human to live on Earth after apocalyptic events, living in an odd ball world of monsters and candy people. The show matures with him, starting out being a zany and eccentric spin on fairy tale tropes, yet grows up a ton while developing an unique blend of episodic and serial storytelling over the seasons. It still retains its gentle and sympathetic core onto the end, distinguishing it from most adult fare, but it's a lot more sophisticated than children's stuff usually is.
Hayao Miyazaki's works occupy a similar place in film world. There's plenty of empathy to go around, things are rarely black and white and taken as a whole seem to propose an appealing attitude towards life, warts and all. Continuities between the episodes that reward observant viewers, metaphorical treatment of things such as dementia and memory and gradually deepening characters and their relationships hold up to adult standards (IMO), but children kept tuning in for 11 minute episodes thanks to their plots, voice talent, comedy and clear emotional moments.
That said, Homestuck definitely revolves around certain themes, many of them emotional. I don't want to spoil things too much, but a lot of these things are pretty timeless. I recently re-read Homestuck (i.e. in the past year), and it holds up well.
I'm very OK with spoilers, actually. Give me some of that delicious spoiler juice, if you want to, just don't tell me (much) about the latter half of the plot.
I will admit, there's definitely a value to having had been there to discuss, speculate, and theorize with others. It gives one time to digest and metabolize each update, a forced pacing that one might not get when reading it straight through.
Well, on the other hand I can read through it as fast as I want to, thus catching up is pretty fast.
If you're interested in Homestuck, I wouldn't want "being late to the party" to be the reason you don't read it. I was late to 17776 but it was (and still is) a great read. (BTW, if you like Homestuck, you might like 17776.)
When I put effort into consuming media, I'm often doing so in an attempt to understand other people better. Watching or reading something lets me enter conversations I wouldn't otherwise have had, which is cool and rewarding. Besides, Hussie seems to be pals with people I like from different circles (web comics people, indie game developers, cartoonists etc.). In fact Hussie's pal Ryan North has written Adventure Time comics.
I'm actually a huge fan of Jon Bois, though I have yet to read 17776.
Moonside OP wrote
Reply to comment by twovests in Can someone succinctly explain what's special/interesting about Homestuck? by Moonside
Is there some sort of emotional core and/or themes to this? For example (and to sound pretentious), Adventure Time is about best friends living in a post-apocalyptic, post-human world, but it has themes like cyclicality, creativity, the dangers of obsessions and other of stuff that you wouldn't guess from a description (and which basically betray the branding of the show).
If you do get into Homestuck, let me know, I can find you the mirror that hosts the flash animations.
It's gonna take a bit, but I'll write a literal note about this so I don't forget. Honestly it seems like it was a generational experience among the internet creators I follow so I feel like I'm missing a joke or something and it seems like it's cutting a bit deeper than any mainstream pop culture sensation of my teens did among the wider generation. Well, I guess that's the power of fandom, really.
Moonside OP wrote
Reply to comment by hollyhoppet in A GOTY is in making by Moonside
It killed me how well he nailed the characters - of course it would be important for Hank that he has a lawn and not a garden.
Moonside wrote
Reply to Summary of the Stallman controversy (CW: Gross dudes, Epstein controversy, pedophilia) by twovests
I've vaguely been aware of bizarre behavior on his part and his weird views on pedophilia, but I'm genuinely surprised that it was the Epstein affair that took him down.
Moonside wrote
Can't wait for the inevitable Funko Funko Pops
Moonside wrote
Reply to Frederic Rzewski - Coming Together by mm_
Gonna just say I have loved Rzewski's works in the past and will give this a listen later. Thank you for reminding me.
Moonside wrote
Reply to comment by voxpoplar in game of the decade by devtesla
Same, but honestly these best of the decade lists also show how out of the loop I am with arts and media. For example I'm currently playing through Fallout 2 (1998) and on the fourth season of King of the Hill (1999-2007). I don't regret it as it's fun to go back to old things that are out of the zeitgeist and see that they're good too, still.
I don't really know where to get introduced to good contemporary stuff in a way that doesn't bore or revolt me. Fannish hype of social media is a turn off, like I absolutely don't want to know anything Star Wars related unless Hbomberguy lands a video defending the prequels. I don't want to know about what MCU or Disney+ means for diversity/contemporary politics/whatever, not as a blanket dismissal of a topic, but I don't need to know about it. Criticism is an industry and has long been one, but now I can't be arsed to consume it.
I mostly post to unburden my mind of the things it's been bothered by, so let just this be the occasion to say out loud that I will ignore all podcast, streaming and TV recommendations next year and clear my to be read and watch later lists as well. I'll cultivate my Library of Stuff (because the decade taught me that physical media is occasionally very good) instead and go out to events more.