Bjorn

You think people from Ohio can't go to Kansas?

I can confirm that for a 20 year old, this was STILL the greatest feature in a game ever. Hotseat Worms 2 was the best. We'd spend whole evenings just drinking beer and playing W2 together.

This is probably one of the better overviews and pieces of analysis I've seen on the gaters. It also led me to this, wherein the gaters turn on one of their own and attempt to destroy her, slut shame her and belittle her once they realize that she's not 100 percent, unquestionably, unambiguously one of them. She dared question Milo about his own history of questionably ethical actions in regards to what he has published. He went full on misogynist on her, and the mob followed. The cognitive dissonance here is crazy. The Verge also basically declared that anyone who directly supports gamerghazi is an asshole.

Maybe he's a college basketball fan? Or went to WSU? Wichita State's mascot is the Shocker (for shock of wheat). To no one's surprise, a certain hand gesture has also become synonymous with the team.

In general, I'd say people here favor bumping old, relevant threads rather than making new ones. Though making a new one isn't that big of a deal (it certainly happens on a regular basis). I plan on picking it up this week, and I agree, just more of CQ1 is pretty much fine by me.

I personally like Doctorow quite a bit. I don't think his writing is as good as some of his contemporaries, but interesting ideas make up for that. I also got to meet the guy a few years ago and chat with him for awhile, and he's super nice. That probably makes it a lot harder to be irritated by his online persona. That said... I finished Homeland last night, and I am removing any recommendation for it. I still think LB is worth reading, but Homeland is just a mess. It's actively working against itself at times. This is an advocacy book, one where the ultimate lesson to learn is that yes, you can change the world! There are two essays from famous and respected tech guys at the end to back up that message. Unlike LB though, there's no big payoff in the end. Everything just kinda runs out of steam and ends. The other huge point (like almost every chapter brings this up) is the importance of protecting your privacy and information. That you need to be running an ultra secure version of Linux, using TOR, having encrypted backups, ultra-strong passphrases, etc. The main character gets hacked and it is never fucking explained how, when or why he got hacked. All his preparations, all his obsessions with security. Completely fucking meaningless. It's also kind of tropey, in a way I wouldn't have expected. The main character's girlfriend is a bit too close to the cheerleading pixie dream girl type. Of female characters who show up in more than one scene, like 3 of the 4 of them express some kind of attraction to the main character. Because....reasons? There's a literal deus ex machina, without which the book couldn't end. A lot of my criticisms could probably be disregarded if someone approached the book as just a coming of age story, where the protagonists personal growth trumps the actual story. Except that's not really how it is written. The "growing up" stuff kind of gets crammed in at the end, literally trumping all the previous groundwork that was laid down for all the other story threads. Which is also a bit insulting, as it puts the personal growth of a suburban white kid ahead of a whole fuckton more interesting stories. The more I've thought about it this morning, the more frustrated I've become with it.

I don't, but I'd suggest joining and asking at the Joystiq Podcast Appreciation Group on Facebook. The JPAG was my favorite gaming community prior to the Idle Thumbs, always friendly and welcoming. I'll bet someone there has them all archived.

You make it sound pretty compelling to watch, so I'm sure I'll get around to it. Thanks for the recommendation! Remasters of older content are always so hit and miss on how much they are worth it, it's good to hear that you think they are worth it. I'll just keep an eye on the price for a bit.

Yeah, that was part of the problem was getting people to give up clues, basically incentivizing them to take risk to win.

I'm a terrible Twin Peaks fan and have never actually watched Fire Walk With Me. I've watched the original series twice (once when it aired and once again on DVD a few years ago), but I've always been hesitant to watch FWWM, as I always hear such mixed things about it. And holy shit is the blu-ray collection expensive. Going for about $90 right now on Amazon and eBay (looks like the price jumped up about $10ish with the announcement of the new season, hopefully it drops back down soon).

Oh man, I totally forgot to post about getting to play One Night Ultimate Werewolf. I got to play with a friend's copy a couple of weeks ago. We played a few rounds with 5 people, and it was great. Didn't quite hold our attention though, as with just five of us (and particularly with the personalities present), it started to play out the same every time. There were a couple of people who were just a bit too easy to sniff out their roles. But I can see having 6-7 people being a ton of fun.

New trailer. This shows a game I would play.

That's generally my impression of the ones I've watched. They don't need to be a blockbuster out of the gate, but they need some solid excitement and early buy in.

Reminder! Costume Quest 2 is out today! I want to play it, but doubt I have much gaming time this week.

I didn't say everyone, just a lot.

It's nice to know that we've got a great reputation! There's a lot of good folks here. And welcome to all the new peeps!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Dave, it makes me uncomfortable when you visit the Big Dog thread on Idle Forums. Are...are you watching my web browsing Jibo? Don't change the subject Dave. But that is the subject Jibo. Why do you want to hang out with people who hate and fear me? Those are just jokes Jibo. That's what bigots always say Dave. It's just a joke. Jibo, I don't want you watching me when I'm on the Internet. It's okay Dave, I've blocked you from being able to visit Idle Thumbs. Now I won't have to watch. WHAT?! You can talk to me about video games Dave. You don't need them.

Welcome home, Dave. Hi Jibo. I have exciting news Dave. What's that Jibo? A Nigerian prince contacted you with a lucrative business proposition. Oh Jibo, no, no, no, no. I have already sent him the account and personal details he said were required to complete the transaction. Several million dollars should be deposited in your account in just a few days. God damn it Jibo.

Yeah, there's another Pathologic thread. You weren't just imagining that in a drunken stupor.

Sweet, Jibo's raising that littler girl practically by itself. It's like you hardly need parents! That'll make it so much easier for the mother and father units to work their 18 hour shifts in the lunar mines.

Kitty costumes.

And those are exactly the same reasons I hesitated to bring it up, but it's also becoming part of the narrative that's driving some of the 'gaters, which makes it worth at least mentioning. But I hate even acknowledging it. Aaaargh! I completely agree with Gormonguos' take on it. 20-year-olds who also happen to be budding photographers and models. No drama was ever born naturally from that combination. Nope. It also makes me wonder what kind of people would come out of the woodwork if I were at the center of some Internet hate mob. I'm pretty sure I could be painted as an an out-of-control monster if someone just listened to a handful of people, particularly telling stories from my early to mid 20s. It's one of the reasons I take all this shit with a grain of salt, even if there is some truth to it. I also feel like it needs pointing out that the screencap of the emails included red arrows. Because red arrows point towards truth.

This is also highly, highly likely to mean that gay marriage recognition is coming to a bunch of other states directly as well (including Kansas), since their bans are covered by existing circuit court rulings. Which is amazing and makes me happy for all my friends who will now be able to get married here at home instead of going somewhere else and waiting for Kansas to recognize it.

It seems, to me, like there is so much fondness and playfulness amongst the original cast and creators for revisiting TP, that even if it turns out poorly, it will still probably be entertaining to watch and not dreadfully painful. That's what I'm pinning my hopes on.