ariskany_evan

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Posts posted by ariskany_evan

  2. Posted

    Prepare yourself, Deleric, for your turn is swiftly coming up!

     

    WILL we see another black-and-white feature?

    WILL it be European, Asian or American?

    WON'T it have hysterical people doing hysterical things again?

     

    Let's get CRITE(I)R(T)I(IC)ON(AL) about it!!

     

    Wait a second.... When I take out the parentheses:

     

    CRITEIRTIICONAL

     

    What sort of wizardry...

     

    Deleric, I am on the edge of my seat.

  3. Posted

    The days of owning games are coming to an end

     

    I am so tired of articles like this. Why do people have such a strong tendency to boil everything in the world down to an either/or situation. Tablets are going to kill off desktop PCs, digital distribution will kill off physical media, eBooks will kill off actual books, etc. It's amazing that we live in a world chock full of things that coexist in harmony and yet people still insist that humanity is so united in its tastes and preferences that thing B will inevitably lead to the end of thing A.

     

    It would be nice if articles like these could at least acknowledge the more likely possibility that both things will most likely continue to exist with one diminishing in popularity and one increasing in popularity. Especially in the case where there is a well reasoned argument for both things to exist.

     

    One-sided opinion pieces garner more of a discussion.  And discussions mean people stay on the page longer, and potentially come back to continue to contribute.  If he acknowledged the other side trolls would still go nuts, but the "more reasonable person" wouldn't have anything to contribute to the discussion.

  4. Posted

    Played the PvP with items and weapons carried over from single-player and got completely demolished.  Somehow, though, my last place finish won me a legendary ship.

     

     

    I think I'm sold on this game just for the explore mode.  The separation of the maps between story and explore makes it so much more relaxing.  I'm not constantly confronted by choice.  Go the blinking green light, do something that takes maybe 2-3 minutes.  Maybe take part in a group event.  So happy there's not an overworld map while on the ground.  Makes traversal less abstract.

     

    The Crucible bounties seemed pretty intense.  Get 9000 experience points without dying, etc.  I had hoped they'd be a set of semi-achievable daily quests for PvP, but they seem like they're made for skilled players.  If they had easier daily quests (with lower rewards) I'd be more likely to play PvP (though I suppose my legendary ship drop should be incentive enough, right?).

     

    Also, whoa, there's a lot of currencies going on.  Vanguard points?  Put on a mark, cloak, or something else of a certain type and you can level up the rank of a group of people that'll allow you to buy special weapons?

     

    Obviously they're there to whet people's imaginations, and the proper game will do more tutorializing, but having played both the beta and alpha I'm still a bit lost on that front.

     

    The only change from the alpha to the beta that I didn't enjoy was the added story cut-scenes.  They fell flat and lacked any sense of drama.

  7. Posted

    I agree that the film is a narrative of modernization to a large extent, with the decadent aristocracy of the past dying off to be replaced by the new bourgeois, which Jorge stands in for to some extent. I'm a little suspicious of the idea that Viridiana would be representative of capitalism (in part because I don't know how much Buñuel really operates on a direct symbolic level). Critiques of capitalism tend to view it as rapacious, rather than the object of rape. Viridiana is idealistic, pure, genteel. So how would that connect to capitalism? 

     

    At the same time, I wonder how much sense it makes to connect the film to the rise of the middle class, since that is often (at least in American and European contexts) seen as a late 19th century phenomenon. I wonder if instead the pessimism toward social change and might relate to the failed outcome of the Spanish Civil War and the continued power of the fascist Franco regime.

     

    That's perfect!  I know next to nothing of Spanish history.  Also, yeah, pretty easy to poke holes in my Viridiana symbolism.  I was just extrapolating the modernization thing and stapling it on top of of places it didn't belong (I do that a lot when I'm trying to work through something).

  8. Posted

    Allllright!  Finished this up last night.  I liked it but didn't love it.

     

    I liked the casual pessimism of it.  It was more of a shoulder-shrug, which made it seem like Buñuel didn't want us to leave the theatre emotionally devastated (ahem, Bresson).  I felt more ready to think about the film when it was over.  I wasn't "bullied" into feeling anything.  Felt more clinical.

     

    Totally agree on the shifting tone.  Felt like the film had 3 distinct acts.  prettyunsmart, I'd say it's more nihilistic than hopeless.  I guess this is tied in with the clinical feeling I got from the film.  Hopelessness really gets to my core, the idea of just being a person in the world is impossible.  The end of film is like what Boris says "If you can't beat 'em join 'em", which is more of a settling, rather than a point of despair.  "Viridiana, are you over your shock? the world is horrible, let's play cards."

     

    I thought the pauper party scene was interesting from a cultural standpoint.  By the '60s the middle class was fully established, right?  Cultural and art objects that used to be only for the upper crust could be consumed by everyone.

     

    In a lot of ways, the film seems to position itself between old and new.  There are horse and carriages everywhere, but then it's actually the '60s and there are automobiles.  The police wear uniforms like they're from the 1800s.  At the end Jorge is installing electrical outlets and light switches.  He implies that the farmland has sat fallow for years, the aristocracy having left it to rot.  Don Jaime's rape attempt is symbolic towards the crazy, muddled, poisoned Old Money of Europe.

     

    Does Viridiana actually represent capitalism/industrialism in some way?  She puts faith in the lower class to work and to work on what they love.  At first it seems ordered, but the lack of education, the misery of their physical ailments, their uncontrollable lusts, etc. couldn't be contained.  When left to their own devices, they're casting people out, breaking into the house, etc.  THEY DANCE HORRIBLY TO HANDEL.  Buñuel seems to say, well, this is what capitalism/modernism is going to do to our sacred works and to our religion.  We are now sharing the cultural/political world with the lower class and have to confront and acknowledge their existence, and that is going to cause a shift in our morality.

     

    So Buñuel seems to be saying that old way was bad (Uncle, aristocracy), but that the new way is just as bad (paupers, upward mobility of the lower classes).  We are not progressing as a society.  Everyone wants to rape Viridiana, old and new.

  10. Posted

    Started watching this last night!!  Forgot to check when it was made, thinking it was a '30s or '40s joint, and found the picture and sound to be a little too nice for that era.  '61!

     

    I've stayed away from Bunuel for the wrong reasons.  "Slicing up eyeballs!  Ha ha ha ho!  Girl is so groovy..." etc.  When someone occupies such a specific cultural notion (in this case, of bizarre, creepy imagery) I tend to subconsciously discredit the works.  I find people use Bunuel's name to evoke a style.  Rather than having a dialog on his films' interior meanings and forms, his name is referenced and mined for aesthetics.

     

    So I'm happy to be dragged into a later-period piece.  I find it beautifully shot and compelling so far.  That Uncle is one strange bird....

  12. Posted

    Just finished up NG+ this weekend.  Was surprised to find it was easier than the original run-through.  I held off on turning on limiters as I was expecting a difficulty spike at some point, so I suppose it was my own fault.

  13. Posted

    Edit: Actually, the more I think about it the more I'm bothered by this. Seems like a very ivory tower-style article to write, particularly coming from Polygon. The point I mentioned above would have made a premise for a more coherent, helpful article. Instead, I think it reads like a privileged perspective from a monolith media company. Some people don't have a choice but to use Patreon, because freelance is barely good enough for anybody let alone the less entitled members of society who are at a disadvantage from square one.

     

    It felt cynical.  Polygon just had their long-form writer leave, without another job in hand, and his blog post about it mentions the idea of it being a failure....  I seem to remember some writing staff being brought over to the "video side of things" in the last bunch of months.  Maybe Polygon as a whole is feeling a bit jaded about the whole writing part not paying the bills even at their established company?

     

    But really, the more I read the article the less it makes sense:

     

    Patreon pitches "largely cater to the interests of other writers and journalists"?  What does that mean?  Is everyone just pitching a project about journalism or writing, or is there some other interest that they all share as a collective?  (I'm being partially silly, but also curious if that's really the case...)

     

    "...Patreon is not the punk rock antidote..."  This article seems to be about how hard it is to make money as a writer/journalist.  What does punk rock, music that espouses the idea of anarchy, of expression over capital have to do with Patreon, a clear and simple platform with which people ask for money for services?  (Punk rock didn't really change the recording business, as much as it was an example of technology becoming more readily available to regular folks)

     

    I'm being nitpicky, sorry.  It's fun.

  14. Posted

    I just read an article that I think is confused nonsense. I want to leave a comment that says "This is a horrible article", but I think maybe my thinking wave-length is just completely different from the author's that I don't want to cast judgement. But I still have a need to express my confused dissatisfaction. If anyone wants to read it and explain to me how it is valuable, I may be able to grow an appreciation for it.

    http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/17/5909327/please-pay-attention-to-my-patreon-career

     

    Felt like a collection of thoughts that never quite adhered.  Inconsistent tone, too.  No need to point out that you don't like it, though.  Your silence says everything!

  15. Posted

    (also, The Stooges' Raw Power, but that is for a different post)

     

    First things first, Funhouse is better than Raw Power.  Now I guess you have to write your post.  :)

     

     

    Is anyone a fan of The Grateful Dead here? 

     

    I would say I'm a lapsed fan.  Was VERY into them and Phish, etc about 15 years ago.  My dad is a devoted Deadhead.  Saw his first show in '71 and saw them over 100 times.  He STILL cries about Jerry Garcia's passing.  It was a huge deal for his middle-schooler son to be interested in his passion.  I never got to see the Dead, but he took me to about 30 Phish shows between '96-'03.

     

    I grew disillusioned with the druggyness of the scene (not that I was a teetotaler) and my musical tastes were shifting to "cooler" things, so I moved on.  Still have a soft spot for early-to-mid '70s Dead lineup (no Mickey, no Donna, just Keith).  Dick's Picks 14 captures it really nicely (it's on Spotify!).  When they still had a really beautiful balance between americana, acid band, and creative jamming.

  16. Posted

    Codes are available now on you bungie.net profile BUT fucking PSN is currently undergoing maintenance? What? Could they plan this shit any worse

    Everyone who signed up gets three codes so I don't think your'll have to worry if your never pre-ordered, we're all getting in

     

    Oo!  I didn't pre-order, so I'll be brave and be the first to beg for a PS4 code if anyone has an extra....   :)

     

    edit: top of the page, where I will be forever shamed for my selfishness.

  18. Posted

    I'm listening to this while I read Trashgasm #2 and it works really wel with it.

     

    The description of Trashgasm #2 makes it sound like those two would go very well together.

     

    I usually bounce off soundcloud mixes real quick since they feel even more ephemeral than official releases (which is pretty damn ephemeral these days), but I'm getting to the point with this mix where I'm going to go through the hassle of downloading it onto my phone.  It's immediately comforting and familiar, almost taps into a nostalgic vein for me.  Like a gentle, glitchy, lo-fi, digital bath with just a pinch of implied violence.

  20. Posted

    KOTOR is a highly lauded and revered game because it's awesome and so is Star Wars.

     

     

    This post for some reason makes me sad that I didn't stick with Icewind Dale. I'm pretty sure I was put off by the graphics because they only supported ((low graphics resolution)) and I was a spoiled baby who needed the beauty of 1024x768.

     

    Icewind Dale was so good.  Except that I got to the final boss and died over and over again.  After not playing the game for months I finally put in some cheat codes to max out my characters' levels.  STILL COULDN'T BEAT HIM.  My 15 year old brain just wasn't up to the task.  This is why I am forever and always happy that youtubing an ending is possible these days, because wasting time being mad at being completely incapable of finishing a game is stupid.  So I suppose I just "finished" Icewind Dale as I finally just watched someone beat the final boss and play the ending cinematic.  Only took me 14 years!!  :D :D :D

     

    Tried out KOTOR about a year ago.  Seemed fine, but it really did seem like I needed to care about Star Wars to get into it at this point.

  21. Posted

    Yeah the undercurrents of the war are pretty interesting. There's these tangential conversations about sons being lost in the war (which kinda leads to the old guys getting drunk) or the comment that their hometown was spared bombing. I'd say everyone's still a bit shellshocked...maybe that's why the adults are so eager to get back to their day to day routines. They need that normalcy.

     

    That was probably a factor with financing films so soon after the war.  I would doubt that the Japanese public would be psyched to see something that reminded them more directly.

     

    Noriko's convo with Kyoko at the end may have been her wrestling with the idea of "letting go" of Shoji.  She seemed like a liminal character, the only one who wasn't set in her ways.  Haunted by her dead husband, living in poverty (I'm guessing maybe subsidized by the government?), yet she showed the greatest generosity and emotional honesty (though does maybe the MOST fake smiling of anyone in the film).

     

    So she comes to see the callousness of the siblings as a necessary hardening.  She suddenly sees her life as having been on hold while she wrestled to honor the memory of her husband.  Which could draw a parallel though to the Japanese people's necessary hardening and forced return to normalcy after the war.

     

    Kyoko not understanding makes sense because she would have been a child during the war.  The collective devastation that the Japanese felt after the war was already lost on a younger generation just 8 years after.  But Ozu shows that regular, everyday personal loss has a similar effect.   Noriko realizing that hardening, that turning away from was the best thing she could do for herself at the end of the film.  And trying to explain that to Kyoko is impossible.  You have to experience the loss to understand.  Which makes Tokyo Story's withholding of movement, of action so much more powerful!  Ozu doesn't wring out every last moment of the mother's death.  You either get it or you don't.

     

    (sorry that's a bit jumbled.  I was figuring it out as I was writing...)

  22. Posted

    Totally agree about our ambivalence towards the parents treatment of the grandparents.  We at least know that the elder children had to deal with father's alcoholism.  Shige's tantrum when he comes home blind drunk has a child-like whining to it, which I think shows that there are a lot of unresolved issues from earlier in their lives.

     

    Noriko's conversation with Kyoko at the end is killer.  "Isn't life disappointing?" "Yes, it is."  Smiling away.  The smiling in this movie!  Oof.  So pointed, so veiled.

     

    I had thought that the shots where they looked at the camera were supposed to be dialog shots (shot, reverse shot).  Agree that they were oddly framed and lit.  Really put you in the middle of their dialog so you could feel the awkwardness.

     

    Agree about the static shots, too.  And considering that what happens in the frame usually just involves two people sitting around exchanging pleasantries.  Almost all interiors.  Quiet, static, flat.

     

    The cadence of Japanese speech is so different from English that I worry I was a bit detached from the nuances of how they were communicating.  Hard to tell how much of the formalities were true and natural to the culture in the '50s and if any were played up to show the emotional barriers between the family.

     

    One of those movies that I find beautiful in thought, but the experience of it was hard (boring and depressing, mostly).  It stands in my memory as a real, true thing, as if it were a lived moment.  Loved it!!

  23. Posted

    Full disclosure, I haven't actually watched Satantango so I can't tell you whether its worth 7 hours of viewing, but in general I am a fan of leadenly paced stuff: Tarkovsky in particular, but also what Bela Tarr stuff I have seen like Werckmeister Harmonies and The Man from London. I think it's maybe a different kind of pleasure than that of being told a story.

     

    Satantango is rather highly regarded by respectable critics though. I mean you could maybe make the case that this is some kind of Stockholm Syndrome or sunk cost fallacy situation at work, but I dunno.

     

    Tarr has said

     

    Which I think is exciting in it's own way.

     

    Werckmeister Harmonies is much more manageable in length but from what I've read it's largely an expression of the same aesthetic. (it isn't, though, available in it's entirety on youtube from what I gather).

     

    Tarr's stuff is so good, though I tried watching his earlier films, the cross-talk of ordinary people speaking ordinarily made the subtitles almost impossible to parse.

     

    Turin Horse is his latest (and last?) from a few years ago.  It's on Netflix.  Only, like, 3.5 hours.  The absence of story/dialogue makes it much less boring.  Your sense of time slows and you really become a part of the world.  It's magical.  Also emotionally brutal, which is par for the course with Tarr.

     

    These sorts of things require a specific open, energetic, but focused mindset.  Not something that I come across in myself very often, so I completely understand syntheticgerbil's boredom.  Receptivity is a fickle thing.

  24. Posted

    I am almost done with Tokyo Story.  Had tried to watch it years ago but fell asleep.  During my first viewing recently I stopped to take a nap.  Definitely soporific.  Have installed the Hulu+ app on my phone for viewing right before bed, as I'm having trouble finding time to fit in the movie otherwise.  Kind of love that it's probably the worst way to watch these revered films.

     

    I'll post again once I'm finished, just wanted to bump the tread to remind people to watch!

  25. Posted

    Now that I've read through it a bit more the final paragraph bugged me:  His solution to the problem that game criticism struggles with talking about formalism is that more Mountains need to be made, as that will widen the scope of critical acceptance.  That seems crazy.  Some (most) people will always think that formalist art is stupid no matter how much of it there is in the world.

     

    So I don't think Ben's piece on Mountain is a problem that needs a solution.  You can't teach people to appreciate formalist art unless they're willing.  There's a lot of formalist art, music, books, poetry, etc. and that hasn't widened the discourse, it just displaces it elsewhere, to its own niche.  For now we should enjoy the fact that a formalist game touched so many people.  Enjoy this discussion because it probably won't last.