seamus2389

Phaedrus' Street Crew
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Everything posted by seamus2389

  1. Other podcasts

    On boardgames which is part of the dice tower network and the game design roundtable are quite good
  2. Books, books, books...

    I think that is my favorite of his Bas-Lag novels. Not sure why but the sword cutting with possible instance of it's existence is part of it. Cureetnly reading his newest short story collection - 3 moments of an explosion and it is a very interesting mix of "convential" short stories and shorter more experimental stuff like a story that timestamps of trailer about the war between crawling zombies and a human- walking zombie alliance
  3. Other podcasts

    I was catching up on it yesterday and in a 20 min podcast 5 were ad stuff the end but it's free and I can skip it so ok. I remember hating his son after a couple of occasion I let it run into the ads though. Also when I was listing history podcasts I forgot to mention history according to Bob. This how has been running since before 2006 when I started listening to it. Every day bob (a history teacher) releases a 10-15 minute episode on a particular topic so every Monday its the wars of Alexanders sucessors,Tuesday the history of Prussia etc 6 days a week. Well worth listening to especially since he lists he sources at the end of every episode if you feel like reading about the topic to learn more.
  4. Books, books, books...

    I fininshed radiant state the third and final volume of Peter Higgins fantastic Wolfhound century. This series is one the best and most orginal I have read in years. This review best sums up what is so good about the series. Higgins takes bits and pieces of 20th century Russian history in particular the unrest of pre-WW1 Russia, WW2 and the siege of Leningrad and the Space exploration of the 50's and 60's. He creates a nation known as the Vlast, ruled by an authoritarian regime engaged in a losing war and dealing with revolutionaries in particular the man known as Josef Kantor. Kantor is a revolutionary who wants to create a new Vlast whose purpose is to is fulfill his Futurist/Nietzshean goal creating a superior humanity who will spread across the stars leaving behind an obsolete world and people. Some passages in the book remind me of a Girl is a half formed thing or Gene Wolfe's book of the New Sun which Higgins cites as a major influence. The series as a whole reminds me of Red Plenty in terms of both being fables of the USSR where Red plenty (another influence and whose author reviewed it) is based in actual USSR history while Wolfhound century uses it's as basis for a very different yet recognizable state. This is a something about this series that reminds Moby Dick, the stars my destination and the Book of the New Sun (which Higgins lists as an influence). I think it is a feeling of unease or a feeling that what you are reading isn't "normal" or usual. Part of it is that all these books have a particular focus on people with a devotion to a belief/goal that they follow/seek regardless of the cost to others although how that plays out isn't the same in the different books. PS- The titles of the books - wolfhound century, truth and fear, radiant state (possibly one of the best titles I have ever seen) is also fantastic. They perfectly fit the particular books as does wolfhound century as a name for the whole of it and here is a short but interseting interview with Higgins
  5. RAW is shit but New Day gifs are gold aka wrasslin talk

    That is definitely an part of it's appeal for me. I realised that watching wrestling is kinda like watching Lost cause a fair chunk of the comments are speculation based on bakcstage going on or how a certain match or interview played out. I really like how things like tv shows and games are actually made and only in wrestling does knowing that actually feels like it matters.
  6. I Had A Random Thought...

    Articles that talk about streaming tv and movies but never mention illegal streaming sites and piracy have started to really annoy cause they are ignoring how alot of people actually watch tv/movies. The best streaming site isn't hulu it's whatever random website you found in a google search after the last one was taken down that has an alphabetical list of every show airing right now in the US.
  7. RAW is shit but New Day gifs are gold aka wrasslin talk

    A friend of mine has been doing the same thing with the RAW episodes. In addition to the attitude era podcast there is also the new generation project podcast recently covered King of the Ring 96 and how over the next couple PPV Austin very quickly put together his look/character.
  8. There is a podcast reviewing/recapping the attitude era pay per view by pay per view called the attitude era podcast. Listening to it earlier this year got me back to watching wreslting after having last watched wrestling in 2002 - not RAW just NXT and Lucha Underground You wish has been granted
  9. Share Exceptional Articles You Have Read

    Every couple months I read an article like this that reminds me how ahead of the curve Jeff Gertsmann was with how Giantbomb is run. Come for the reviews by Gamespot alums, stay for the podcasts and video. Also I think he is describing what 1up tried to do with people known for their writing being part of a stable of different podcasts except back than ad on podcasts came no where near 10,000 an episode cause they were so new and unknown.
  10. For the promotions that aren't WWE that is where you see alot of them. Ring of Honor had a show at a baseball field with the ring in the batters area a couple months ago. One of the best promotions - Pro Wrestling Guerrilla had one of their best matches of last year in what look like a school gym.
  11. Dan is now a wrasslin' manager, his character is a rich tech millionaire heel and he does a really good job of it. The GB segment on it is also very funny especially Jeff translating wrestling speak into Brad and Drew speak. PS - He is listed on the All pro wrestling wikipedia page as a manager as "Dirty" Dan
  12. Other podcasts

    That podcast is very good. Chunt has been giving Arnie such a doing the last month or so and I am loving it. There is a history of England podcast that might be more to your liking. Starts with a focus on the Wessex. Seems less pop history than British history or at least less slick and more dry
  13. Comics Extravaganza - Pow Bang Smash!

    I have the first volume of that from a humble bundle I have been meaning to read.
  14. Comics Extravaganza - Pow Bang Smash!

    Comixology had a sale on the Uber recently which is comic series where with the Soviets at the outskirts of Berlin Germany drives them back with superhuman soldiers who can take a tank shell to the face and fire balls of energy that can then blow up said tank. I really like the thought put into how these super soldiers would change how a war would be fought. In particular the idea seems to be that Germany is still going to lose cause the Allies get their hands on how to create their own supersoliders due to a british spy but alot more people are going to die especially the western allies. The narration is written like a history book from this world's future and there are some good suggestions for books to to with WW2 in the back. Picked up volumes 2-4 of the Viking comic Northlanders which I also enjoyed except for the arc involving the Vikings in Ireland which was painfully inaccurate in it's deception of the vikings as powerful overlords who are challenged by the insurgent Irish led by Brian Boru. It read like something by an Irish nationalist from the early 1900's. Finally I read the first two volume of the new Astro City and this comic continues to be the best superhero comic I have read cause it's realises that not every in a superhero comic has to be one, they can be a comic book writer, a doorman or a woman who uses her telekinetic powers to help make special effects movies who has no interest in being a caped crusader. This and Uber are the only two super hero comics being written I can think of that aren't just superhero v supervillian ad nauseum. Is there any other that are worth reading ?
  15. Other podcasts

    I think history podcasts work best when you already have some familiarity with the subject even if it is just the basic chronology. That makes it alot easier to take in all the information cause it's not just an endless stream of names of people and places particularly if those names are Chinese, Korean and Japanese and you aren't. There is an emperors of rome podcast with the host asking a historian about roman emperors. Talking Italian unification is also a two person podcast as were some of the early episodes of the When diplomacy fails podcast. Some episode of the Samurai Archive podcast is the host interviewing someone about a particular topic The Ottoman history podcast is the host interviewing someone about a particular part of Ottoman history they are studying/writing about. It doesn't follow any chronology and does require you to have some familiarity with Ottoman history but the range of topics covered is really interesting. The history hub podcasts tend to be similar just with a far wider range of topics and more lecturer style There is also an old podcast on Napoleon with a host (Cameron Reilly) talking with the former head of some global Napoleonic society. Very in-depth but also kinda one sided. Reilly is also currently has a podcast doing the same about Caesar. In Our time covers a fair amount of history with the host talking with 3 experts on the particular topic. Also Hightlights from talking history does the same. The Ancient warfare magazine does a monthly podcast with 3/4 people talking about a particular topic from a past issue. If ancient military history is of interest to you the podcast and magazine are worth checking out. I you have any interest in wrestling there is a range of multiple person history podcasts. How2Wreslting and Attitude era podcast are experts and non-experts covering the WWE attitude era and the history of various wrestlers more generally. Butts in seats is looking at the final days of WCW as it turns into an increasingly desperate dumpster fire. My History beats up Tour politics is a podcast focusing on using history to analyse current US politics as well as looking at the history of American podcasts such as the history of US-China relations and immigration policy and how the ruling that a child born in the US is a US citizen was decided on the case of a guy born in the US to Chinese citizens and how it could be overturned. He also did a two part series on Chamberlain and the Munich peace conference that was very enlightening in explaining why Chamberlain appeased Hitler.
  16. League of Legends - Road to Worlds Season 5

    I think Fnatic have a good chance. I worry about Huni going on tilt and Smeb getting out of hand.
  17. Other podcasts

    I stop listening before the end as well. The people (and in particular the host) on the show are under the delusion they have comedic talent which can be annoying as fuck in an otherwise interesting episode.
  18. International Politics

    Most of people fleeing Syria are middle class - doctors, nurses, engineers, mechanics. The ones who don't have money/ work low skill jobs don't have the resources to make it to Europe. They are either still in Syria or a refugee camp in Turkey, Jordan or Lebanon. Immigrants are rarely from the poorest parts of society cause leaving your country ain't cheap. Also Germany and Sweden need immgrants cause otherwise they won't be able to pay the pensions of their aging populations with the taxes of a shrinking working population.
  19. Movie/TV recommendations

    A book came out a few years ago called Lawerence in Arabia which look at him along with a German man, an American oil man and a Romanian Zionist Jew who were all in the Middle East at the same time trying to further their own specific ends. NTY times review is worth a read
  20. Movie/TV recommendations

    To me Sciaro was No Country for Old men with emily blunt playing the part of Tommy Lee Jones as someone who idea of who the law/crime works is woefully out of date in this modern
  21. League of Legends - Road to Worlds Season 5

    With Fnatic knocking out EDG the internet have been speculating as to why the region seen as number two in the world did so badly at worlds. The two things I have seen the most are : (1) Not adapting to the change in the meta as well as the other regions. (2) The communication problems of 3 chinese and 2 korean players talking to each other in English at this high level of play with the prevalence of double teleport that requires constant communication to know where the other team are and what are their cooldowns. Fnatic is an exception of sorts to this communication problem cause they come from a region of non-english speakers although Europe is a region that has used english as a communication language for years and are from countries where people spend alot of time learning it in school. Both Huni and Reginover also seem to have a far better English that any Korean player. PS. MonteCristo pointed out on tiwtter the last time an EU team beat a Korean one in bo5 was 3 years ago and KOO's greatest strength has been it's ability to figure out it's opponent's weaknesses given time and SKT are SKT so hopes should be kept in check.
  22. Movie/TV recommendations

    Girlhood is a great movie made better by this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJcYFGTvb4o This episode of comedy bang bang has 3 of the cast memebers of the movie on it and was pretty good.
  23. Share Exceptional Articles You Have Read

    NY magazine go from a shit interview Nikci Minaj to a great one with Rihanna
  24. Online short stories

    In the last couple years I started reading short story collections and listening to audio version of S&SF short stories from alot of the good online S&SF magazines. I am looking for short stories online that aren't S&SF. Right now I have started reading the fiction in the New Yorker and it's been ok but I assume there are alot of other and possibly better places out there. Any suggestions? PS - read Zadie Smith's dystopian short story in the New Yorker from 2013 which reminded me that she is meant to be writing so kind of sci-fi influenced by Ursula La Guin.
  25. Online short stories

    This podcast has a discussion about that particular short story and what is so good about it. This is what I was looking for. Now just got to make time for them in addition to the S&SF sites I read,