Jov

Most forums will have new topics submitted on a whim: You wanna talk about something, you make a post. It gets a page or two or three or maybe even 9 pages of responses and then it peters off and/or is locked. This forum is nothing but old, gigantic threads. In my decade+ experience as an internet and forum user, this is not beneficial towards the health of a forum. Reason being, is threads are not really suitable for long ongoing conversations. Once a thread grows past a certain length - maybe around 200 replies - people start to not want to review the whole thread to see what's been said. At that point, the conversation begins to stagnate. Ideas are repeated. If you reply to the thread, chances are that only a handful of people will see it, until it has been buried under another few pages. The thread gets off topic and become bloated and meandering. In my opinion, it's best practice to have moderators on a forum whom monitor threads, keep them on topic, and automatically lock them once they become a certain length. Maybe it's just me and my neuroses, but as a newcomer to this forum, my first impression is that it feels cliquish and... closed (?). It's like I've got a very limited number of options of things I can talk about, all of which are huge threads where my response will be seen by a few, then buried. I imagine that if I submit a new thread, I'll get the "this topic exists already/do a search" response - which to me is a sign of a toxic (read: stagnating) community. Why is the forum like this? Does it need more subforums? More/better moderation? Would you argue that this forum has a unique dynamic due to its setup?

So, I've discovered I take the same bus home as Chris. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I've bumped into him twice in the the past three days. The first time (Tuesday night), I noticed him literally right before he was about to step off, and kinda mumbled to him "Chris Remo?" to which he stopped and said "What's up?". I was excited and shook his hand and told him I'm a fan and he said nice meeting you and got off. The whole exchange lasted about 5 seconds and I wasn't entirely sure it was actually him or just some random lookalike. I wanted to confirm, so I shot him a couple Tweets asking if it was indeed him, but he didn't reply. Just like thirty minutes ago I got on the same bus and he was already there. So I got to have a quick chat, confirmed it was really him, and tried to keep it casual, quick, and pleasant. He seemed a little uncomfortable though, and I was really worried that he felt cornered or something, so after a couple of minutes I excused myself. As much as I'd love having an occasional 5 minute chat on the ride home, I think I will leave him alone next time I see him. I consider myself a pretty even keeled and agreeable guy (vs being super socially awkward and neckbeardy or whatever), but the last thing I want to do is make the guy uncomfortable on his commute. This makes me pretty sad, though. After listening to the Podcast for about two years, and only having moved down to San Francisco two months ago (my wife got a job at Industrial Light and Magic) I'd be lying if I didn't totally daydream about running into Chris and the rest of the gang. I've daydreamed about playtesting at Campo Santo. Running into him after only being in the city for two months almost feels like a daydream manifested, but it's really hard to not feel like a creepy stalker. What do?

There are still posters available. Swing by and they'll probably hook you up.

Done. He continued walking for a bit while he processed what I said, then he laughed.

Every weekend, for the duration of this year, my wife is hosting an online movie-night featuring a female directed film. We use a service to synchronize the video, allowing us to enjoy the film simultaneously, and chat if you want to. Each show includes a relevant pre-show, a post-show, and discussion of the film is encouraged! Anyone interested in joining us?

Just finished listening, and with regards to the Robot News section, it didn't sound like it fully sunk in: the DARPA contract with Boston Dynamics has ended entirely. Big dog was too loud, and attempts at quieter versions were too weak to be useful. So, sorry, no nuclear dog or electric dogs are on the way. On the bright side, , and this recently blew me away (skip to 50 secs):

Oh man! Haha! I hadn't yet. Yes, that was totally me!

Haha, no. But that sounds amusing. My fans have all been running quite well for like 8 years now in my build. Go Cooler Master!

Well in that case, you got a new bus buddy! ...and thanks. This made me feel better.

I recommend Anomalisa! Don't watch it on your computer though, it's too pretty. It's also definitely not for everyone. I talked to a coworker who was also a Charlie Kaufman fan, and he was not impressed. For me it's my movie of the year, though - over The Hateful Eight, Star Wars, Ex Machina, and The Revenant. I loved it for the artistry, the novelty, and for how damn real it was.

Someone elsewhere make the astute point that actually the whole Bowcaster thing was to add significance to the blast Kylo takes from Chewie, and thus how much of a handicap he had in his duels with Finn and Rey. Also, Wookiee*.

I'm winning $2 by not buying any tickets like the rest of you suckers. My wife participated in a $350 office pool, though. I'll spend my $2 on half a cheese pizza slice.

Well. That's nice.

I watched the series finale of TNG last night. Great episode. Great series. Looking forward to watching the movies now. Wife and I are also considering starting Deep Space 9, but I'm a little sad because I don't see the characters even coming close to how likeable and awesome the TNG cast was.

Whaaaat another new thread? What is happening here? Who is this Jov guy? Who does he think he is? Huff puff! So I live in San Francisco now and I like the Idle Thumbs guys and I want to sit and watch them talk into microphones. Have they done this before? Is this conceivable?

If you want to give it a test drive I'd be happy to swing by the studio and sit in a corner for a cast.

Well, yeah... Sorry, I should have given more context. I was hoping to get a feel for you guys. Personally I say Black and I say White, but mostly I try to just say "Man" or "Woman" because I don't think race is (or at least should be) a necessary qualifier. But I really try not to say African American anymore these days because it GENERALLY just feels like a cringeworthy level of faux political-correctness and like a misplaced and undesired attempt at sensitivity. Maybe it's just me but I think we're in the 'people is people' time, and if I gotta say white/black or Asian or whatever it just needs to be said and African American is just too much of a mouthful and furthermore inaccurate - as Jentron or whoever said - I mean I'm not European American and goddamnit it's been long enough that black people are not African Americans. We're all American Americans. Amirite? Have I offended anyone? But yeah, mostly I was just dropping the question as a conversation-starter and to get a general flavor of the Readers. Edit: wat

I'm not basing this off research or anything, but I bet the low reviews are because the bulk of horror fans have come to expect a certain thing. In today's world, I feel like most people have shorter attention spans are find a film with motherfucking PACING to be challenging. See: Aziz Ansari's new show: Line, line, line... it has the look and writing of something cinematic, but feels so artificial and afraid to take a breathe. Anyway, The Babadook is the kind of horror that I (and Daniel Riendeau, I think) enjoy. A film with substance, and confidence, and most importantly an artist behind it who hasn't let money take control of the film.

Black or African American?

Totes psychological. I hate jumpscare movies.

Maybe just keep this one alive with 600 or so pages of posts?

I respect F2P games which exclusively offer cosmetic upgrades (pimp your avatar) and minor convenience options (login queue priority, etc). Examples of games like this would be Elder Scrolls Online (technically Buy To Play), and from what I've heard Rift (never tried it though). Some games like Mortal Online and Wurm Online give "unlimited trials" capping all skills at a lower level. This gives paying players a distinct advantage, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that. Games like Planetside 2 and Heros and Generals allow you to buy things that you'd otherwise have to unlock through a very VERY long grind. Many players think this style is acceptable, but it depends on the length of the grind needed to unlock things, and how much of an advantage the unlocked gear provides. Personally, I feel that in both of these games the unlock times are too long, and I do feel like paying players have a distinct advantage. See this video: On the other hand, non-paying players are still fully capable of making kills. Also, I've enjoyed playing both of these games very much, and haven't paid a single penny - and that doesn't seem right, either. I usually tell myself that after playing for a certain amount of time, that I'll throw some money towards the developers but sometimes that just never gets around to happening. Anyway, just some tangential thoughts. I've gotta run.

I just moved down to San Francisco (From Portland, OR) with my wife, because she got a job at Industrial Light and Magic/Lucasfilms. As a film geek, it's pretty awesome that she's working there. I was sad to leave Portland, but I'm quickly warming up to SF. Getting some damn fine authentic ramen in Japan Town last night didn't hurt. Living on the 15th floor of a building and got a fantastic view of the city. Got a couple interviews today and tomorrow for some low-level jobs that should be interesting at least. End entry. OH and I hope to stalk Chris Remo.

Sooo megathread. I'm not going to search to see if/how many times it's been posted before; I'm just gonna say what I wanna say: I finally watched Ex Machina the other night. Such a good film! (So good.) Man I love original Sci-Fi. Haven't had a treat like it since Moon. Other things that I've watched somewhat recently and loved: Black Rock, The Babadook. OH and I got to go to a pre-screening for Charlie Kaufman's newest film Anomalisa (Writer of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovitch, Adaptation) and it was GOOD. Maybe even great.

Thanks for your words, thoughts and welcomes. If this post came off as inflammatory it was because it was an expression of my frustration at wanting to participate vs. not feeling comfortable to. If you click on my name you'll find my first post here was from nearly 1.5 years ago and I expressed feeling the same way then. I returned today out of interest in the Winter Jam, which I hope to participate in (I've got a rather fun idea but historically have struggled to actually manifest my ideas). I'll try to get used to the megathread dynamic and insert myself where I can.