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Everything posted by Argobot
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I can't believe that it took someone until the third round to use the name 'Phaedrus.'
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Mantel wrote this really great article on her experience writing Wolf Hall, specifically on how Cromwell ended up being represented in the novel: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/dec/07/bookclub-hilary-mantel-wolf-hall It sounds like she went into writing the book with no agenda to portray Cromwell as sympathetic or not, more that she wanted to write something on the life of an interesting historical figure. Of course, when you write a book entirely from one perspective, it's hard not to sympathize with the main character, which is one of the reasons why Cromwell comes off so well in these novels. I agree that as people living in the 21st century, it's much easier to identify with Cromwell than More, but I found myself wondering how often Cromwell's progressive values were played up to make him more palatable for modern audiences. Mantel is literally the only source I have for what Cromwell might have been like, so for all I know he was as much as a progressive as he comes off as in the the books, but there were a few instances where I found myself questioning if Cromwell's ideals were overexaggerated. The most glaring being in his relationship with his daughters and his wife: Cromwell is depicted as being fairly egalitarian regarding gender roles -- at least for someone living in the sixteenth century -- and I understand that this is meant to contrast More's disdain for his own wife and daughter, but sometimes even I had a hard time believing that Cromwell would really have been that open-minded. It's not necessarily a criticism against Mantel, this book is still fiction and she has absolutely no responsibility for being 100% accurate in her portrayal of Cromwell, it's just something I noticed while I was reading.
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Fortunately, the game stays paused until all 8 members sign in, so you don't need to worry about immediately logging in.
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Idle Book Club Episode 5: The Great Gatsby
Argobot replied to Sean's topic in Idle Book Club Episodes
oh my god whaaaaa??? -
Idle Book Club Episode 5: The Great Gatsby
Argobot replied to Sean's topic in Idle Book Club Episodes
Related: The NY Times has an interactive on the history of Gatsby covers over the past 83 years http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/04/14/t-magazine/14document.html?_r=1& My personal favorite -
"Under Microsoft's current guidelines, which may still be changed, the decision of whether a game will require an internet connection to work and if that is a one-time authentication or a constant connection, will be left up to individual publishers." If true, that seems like an easy way for Microsoft to avoid any blame or anger for the 'always online' requirement.
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Ok, second game is finally set up. Here are the forum members: 1. Laxan 2. Irish John 3. Rosewell47 4. Wubbles 5. toblix 6. gregbrown 7. Wikipedia Brown 8. brkl Everyone should have received their fake name from me in PM (if I somehow missed you, please let me know!). One of you will actually have to set up the galaxy and send out the password to all the other players. Anyway, godspeed, have fun ruining each other.
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Here's another write up on Gone Home. The more I read about this game, the more impatient I get to just sit down and play it. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2013/apr/26/gone-home-telling-everyday-stories
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Idle Book Club Episode 5: The Great Gatsby
Argobot replied to Sean's topic in Idle Book Club Episodes
The NY Times has an article today about the movie tie-in book cover for Gatsby http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/business/media/new-great-gatsby-book-carries-a-hollywood-look.html?hp&_r=1& I just love all the elements that are packed into this one quote: -
His wife's name was Sara, so that'd be my first guess. (Unrelated: Based on my completely biased opinion Sarah > Sara)
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Still waiting for two people to submit their fake names for the second NP game. If I don't hear from them by tomorrow morning, I'll move down the list.
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An email notification woke me up at 5 AM this morning telling me the game had started. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I immediately logged into my laptop to start building my fleets (I am embarrassed to admit that; this game is turning me into a monster and it's only been a few hours).
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Idle Thumbs 103: A Person-Shaped Thing is a Person
Argobot replied to Jake's topic in Idle Thumbs Episodes & Streams
There are so many fantastic things about this picture, but my favorite is that if you look at context free (without knowing it's an ad), it really just looks like this guy is super happy that a wizard randomly showed up on his screen. Ugghhhhh, I love it. -
Idle Thumbs 103: A Person-Shaped Thing is a Person
Argobot replied to Jake's topic in Idle Thumbs Episodes & Streams
Wait, do publications like Entertainment Weekly and USA Today really cover E3? Weird. I know it's a huge conference, but I always assumed that it was still niche enough to not really justify mainstream press coverage (unlike say, ComicCon). -
I'll offer to organize a second round of Neptune's Pride for interested parties. Based on earlier posts in the thread, the next group would be: 1. Gormongous 2. Irish John 3. Wubbles 4. Wikipedia Brown 5. brkl 6. roswell47 7. toblix 8. gregbrown Possible third group (three spots still open!) 1. laxan 2. illeria 3. cleinhun 4. niyeaux 5. chajusong If you're in the first group and want to play a game, message me your fake name and I'll redistribute them. I won't be satisfied until everyone is ruined by this game.
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I do crosswords regularly, but I have never been a huge fan of the iOS app. The screen on my phone is just too small for me to comfortably finish a puzzle (it's sad, but pretty much the only reason I buy print newspapers anymore is for the crossword puzzles).
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Related (?): Darius Kazemi has the best response to the formalist vs zinester debate http://tinysubversions.com/game/formalism/
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Idle Thumbs 103: A Person-Shaped Thing is a Person
Argobot replied to Jake's topic in Idle Thumbs Episodes & Streams
I KNOW. -
The Idle Book Log: unofficial recommendations for forthcoming Idle Thumbs Book Clubs.
Argobot replied to makingmatter's topic in Books
This isn't a book recommendation, but people may find it interesting: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2013/04/oprahs-book-club-mccarthy-franzen-television.html The article specifically deals with Oprah's Book Club and its role in the literary world, but it also goes into detail about the history of literary clubs. Worth reading. -
Um, how exactly do we join the game?
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I had one of the most uncomfortable experiences playing this game, and it was purely because of how well the mechanics are integrated into the story. The specific moment was:
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Gross.
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To be fair, I feel like some of Nick's failure was due to musical sabotage. Pretty sure Chris started playing 'Space Asshole' before one of the later, failed launches. How can anyone expect to succeed when their musical accompaniment is basically begging for their ruin?
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I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this game. After seeing that it was set in a fictional Eastern Europe with bastardized versions of Slavic names, I was worried that the game's tone would largely be, 'let's laugh at those wacky Communists,' but thankfully, the game takes its subject matter pretty seriously. It's on Greenlight now too, really worth playing. Also, on the Papers, Please site you can submit your name and there's a chance it will be used in the game. Not sure if the names will be modified to fit the Slavic aesthetic, but if they are, that will add another layer enjoyment to this game for me. (When my grandfather came to the US from Greece, he had to change our last name to something more recognizably 'American,' so the possibility that my last name might now be retooled to sound more Slavic so it can be used in a game about immigration is absurd/hilarious.)
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The Idle Book Log: unofficial recommendations for forthcoming Idle Thumbs Book Clubs.
Argobot replied to makingmatter's topic in Books
Yeah, once I actually played Infinite the World's Fair/Devil in the White City connection became much more apparent. It's weird that Against the Day was so quickly seized as a comparison with Infinite. I really got the sense that people wanted Infinite to be smarter than it actually was, so they tried pulling Pynchon in as a possible influence. Which is frustrating, because a game doesn't need to reference big works of literary fiction to be smart and trying to make a convoluted connection between a game and a book doesn't somehow retroactively elevate the original intention of that game. But that's just my own personal gripe on how books are used to discuss video games.