WickedCestus

Speaking of Japan (a few pages ago), I just got accepted for an exchange program at my college to go to Tokiwa University in Mito for 4 months starting in September. I'm thinking of going a few weeks early and checking out Kyoto and Tokyo a bit as well. I'm very excited and nervous. If anyone has suggestions of good places to go or things to do I'm all ears! Or just general tips for not making a fool of myself.

Xinran is a great Chinese columnist, who used to be a journalist in China. Her non-fiction book "The Good Women of China" is a terribly, terribly sad look at gender and poverty in China. For music, La Sera is a cool group led by Katy Goodman. Their last two albums are pretty cool.

Bakemonogatari was weird for me because I really enjoyed the interactions between Araragi and Senjougahara, and then was subsequently disappointed over and over when Nise- failed to acknowledge their relationship at all. I feel like that whole thing had way more potential than any of the other characters and just never went anywhere. (Keep in mind that I didn't watch anything after finishing Nisemonogatari.) This was years ago also so maybe I'm just mis-remembering everything. But yeah, Sayounara Zetsubou-Sensei. Now that's a show. I started Samurai Champloo the other day because I saw it on Netflix. I'm about two episodes in, but it seems pretty cool. I don't know if I like the aesthetic as much as Cowboy Bebop, but I'm trying not to compare the two too much because Cowboy Bebop sets a pretty ridiculous standard.

I just finished the book a week ago, and even I sometimes hear people talk about characters and don't remember them. Probably because it took me 4 months to read the book, and I am super bad at remembering names.

Finished! Wow! I'm so glad I picked up the book again after almost giving up completely a few months ago. I'd been going pretty slowly since the start of the year, but after my spring semester ended I just went full bore and started reading 50+ pages a day. Once everything (well, most things) started clicking together and I got a better grasp on what was really going on, I started having a great time. Lots of the things I'd love to mention have already been talked about in this thread, but I just wanted to make another strong recommendation that people try out this book and give it a real shot. Amazing imagery and characters with perspectives and stories that will stab you right through the heart. I will admit that at the end, though I had a few clues of what was going on, I was pretty darn baffled until I read the interpretation linked earlier in the thread. While I had a decent idea of the characters' relationships, histories and intentions, the literal events of a lot of the plot escaped me. For whatever reason, I often have a lot of trouble following the plot of stories far less esoteric even than this. I am the sort of person who will just completely miss certain events because I won't remember characters' names, or I won't connect certain plot points, etc, so it makes sense that a lot of the ending wouldn't make much sense to me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, though it took me longer than it's taken to read a book in a long time. Definitely one of my favourites. EDIT:

Giant Bomb has always seemed to me like a site that doesn't like to be involved in politics or controversies, and generally takes a neutral ground on most issues. Gamergate is entirely about extremes vs extremes, so it made perfect sense to me that, as a site, they would not engage with it. Jeff talking with that GG guy just maintains that position. (I didn't finish the whole thing but I was most of the way through.) He was just trying to talk the guy down and make him consider it from both perspectives, instead of getting all crazy about the fate of his saturday morning cartoons and whatnot. The most reasonable thing for Giant Bomb to do in this whole thing is wish sympathies for all victims of threats and attacks, and leave it at that, which is exactly what they did. There's no use engaging most people involved. And yes, Brad has lost his passion. Just waiting for the announcement of his new Twitch show: Gamin' with Guineas, (Or, Playin' with Peegs).

Were you guys all using actual mics or would a laptop mic work OK?

I agree wholeheartedly. Love this scene so much. There's been so little of Cooper just being himself lately. And Gordon is always hilarious; I especially love his scene with Shelley next episode.

Oh man, I kinda wanted to join in but then I didn't look here for a bit and you guys already did a thing! Oh well. It might get a bit crowded but I'll try to keep tabs and see if I can join in next time. I like anime and I've been looking for an excuse to watch a bit more and have people tell me what's cool about stuff. Also I'm a big jerk who likes Evangelion too much so if anyone wants to talk about that I'm down.

I would agree with that. Even after only two books I can start to see patterns emerging. I think I read in an interview once that he knows this and likes it. I think it's kinda neat to be re-telling a similar story over and over, but on the other hand, his protagonists (at least in the two I've read) have been basically the same person. I'm fine with similar plot elements if the characters have different reactions to it, but reading the same sorta stuff happen to the same sorta guy becomes a bit much.

I've read Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Wild Sheep Chase. At times, I enjoy the pace and absurdity, but then there are points in each book where the whole thing completely falls apart. I've heard that he does not plan his books before he writes, preferring to make it up as he goes along, and boy does it show. Overall, I enjoyed the books though. Speaking of Japanese books, I'm just starting Kangaroo Notebook by Kobo Abe. I've heard very good things, and as a fan of both Kafka and Japanese literature I'm pretty excited. If anyone's interested in getting into Japanese books, I'd recommend anything by Soseki Natsume. Not only was he incredibly smart and well-versed in both Japanese and Western culture, but he was also damn hilarious in the way that only someone who is very smart can be. I've read "I Am a Cat" and "Bocchan" and loved them both.

I'm with LostInTheMovies, this is when the show starts to pick up again for me. Yeah, this episode has some dumb moments, but at least it sets up something of consequence, and there are some genuine character moments rather than just constant nonsense. I don't think Truman's actor does a great job, but I kind of like his scenes. He's hammy and dumb but it actually works for me in these few episodes. Also, after disliking Nadine and all her nonsense for the entirety of the show, I actually liked the scene with her and Mike at the hotel. It's just fun. Finally, I think we're past the point of saying, "just wait it out." I agree with you gormanate; these last episodes are not good in the same way as the original season. They're quite different, but I still find them entertaining in their own right. It might just be what they're following up, though. There are a lot of things that would look damn good after what we just went through.

About 350 pages in now. Damn, this book is very good. Took me around the 200-page mark to really grab me, but I am thoroughly enjoying myself. Still progressing slowly, because it's a very large book and therefore impossible to bring with me to work/school and read, but I'm trying to find time every night to read at least a few pages. What a book!

What a strange video to watch right after seeing the show. They're all growed up!

I'd be interested in appearing, but I don't really keep up with shows... I have seen a decent amount of anime, but I tend to watch it long after its released and then disagree with everyone. But I think this is a cool idea. I've never really listened or heard of any other anime podcasts, but I would listen to this one because people who like Idle Thumbs are cool.

VR scares me almost as much as Big Dogs. Hello cyber-dystopia. After going through the Kinect, I've realized that I really don't want these gimmicks. I like to sit down sometimes and play a game, but I don't want my entire life for those few hours to be that game. I want to be able to have a conversation or eat a bowl of cereal too. It also just seems really frightening to use. I get scared very easily playing modern FPSs, especially those with melee enemies or bug-type things jumping out at you. I can't imagine that in a VR experience; I would lose my shorts. Plus the lack of distance would make committing the acts of violence inherent to modern games far more disturbing than it already is to me. Combine that with the motion sickness I get with 3D, and I will be a sad sad man. I feel like a downer but honestly I'm just kinda scared :/ . I'm sure it'll all sort itself out though. I feel like one of those guys who decried the Wii because they felt like it was going to be the end of "their" games. While VR is big now, I'm sure there will always be a market for the games I like to play, especially since they are getting smaller and easier to create. I will try to be excited, because I don't like the idea of being that old man who hates/fears all technology, which is what I am slowly turning into.

What a great podcast. One of the all-time greats! Loved all the discussion of getting high, dumb kids, and terrible cities. I have never played a city-building game before and I am finding Skylines incredibly tough. I am always at the slowest speed and constantly pausing because I'm overwhelmed by all the systems. I also have found I tend to chat with myself while playing to keep myself focused. I have never been able to become any good at slower-paced strategic number-y games. I couldn't get into Civ or Total War either. But I really want to try for this game. It seems super fun!

So, this is the episode I have stopped watching on 2 of the 4 times I've gone through Twin Peaks. Funny, because I think the next episode might actually be worse? Anyway, this time through I basically skipped through most of this one because I remembered it well enough to know that I just don't care. At least we're only two episodes away from when I think the show gets good again! Not "Season One" good, but "watchable TV" good at least. I fell way behind on the podcast for a few months, but recently caught up and have now flown way ahead and watched the ending and Fire Walk With Me, so it's becoming an agonizing wait for them to get to the better parts and discuss them . In the meantime, I've been watching LostInTheMovie's great "Journey Through Twin Peaks" series. Be warned, it obviously has mad spoilers, but I definitely recommend it to anyone who's seen the show before or is ahead of the podcast! Other than that, pretty much nothing to say about this episode! Just dumb! Ben Horne's storyline, one of the few that kept me interested during the last few episodes, completely falls off a cliff here, and everything else either maintains its low, low quality or somehow gets worse. Also, as they mentioned last episode, there continue to be bizarre attempts to use directorial flourishes that existed in the good episodes, but they keep falling absolutely flat.

I fell off for about 8 episodes, so I've been going through quite quickly this week trying to catch up, employing my own system of abridging episodes. I've seen the show through 4 times, so I know what's going on, I just watch the first bits of each scene and if I remember it being anything good, I watch, and if not, I skip. Basically, this means skipping all parts with Bobby, Nadine, MT Wentz, Hank and Ernie, Dick Trumayne, James,etc. Funnily enough, probably due to this podcast, Ben Horne has emerged as my favourite character this re-watch; I love all his scenes. A funny moment I'm surprised didn't get mentioned in the podcast is when Ben gets arrested and screams "No! No! No!" in a cartoony almost Kermit-esque fashion. That had me in absolute stitches. I remember my first time through just considering Ben's stuff as just yet another dumb jump-the-shark season 2 nonsense arc, but honestly it's actually pretty good. His character is so good at combining the awesome cigar-chomping with just pure insanity. Onto this episode: - Man, that opening. That's up there with the owl at the end of Episode 17. Also, it is just me, or has Doc Hayward suddenly just started appearing at all meetings in the Sheriff's office now? I love him. He makes great faces, and his interactions with Donna in Season 1 were just so Dad-ish. - I love Shelly in this episode. I know the cast is obsessed with Norma, but I think I prefer Shelly as the best female actor in the show. Sucks that her entire character arc is just to be tossed around by two shitty dudes. - Also, is it just me, or did Harry seem kinda creepy in his scene with Josie? He barely even tried talking to her before he was just all smoochin' every which way. Really makes their relationship seem even stranger than it already was. I mean, are they ever even shown talking? All the scenes as far as I can remember are just them making out. - Donna has cool hair in her scene with Big Ed. - Bobby and Audrey's relationship continues to just be weird? It's hard to tell what either of them are getting out of this. I did like the "don't call me baby" line though. Even though I've tried to the show through 4 times, I've only made it past this part of season 2 on a couple of them, and only finished once. This part is really quite a slog. Because of this, I barely remember what happens next in any of these arcs, which is kind of fun. Also, my memory is stupendously bad so everything I say is subject to me completely remembering things.

Man, this is so weird. I was just listening to an Episode in the 60-65 range where the name "Bogost in the Shell" was recommended to them in a reader mail, and then I saw this and couldn't figure out what year I was living in.

I totally agree! I actually re-read this book a few months ago after not having read it since I was very little, and it holds up amazingly well. Very silly and very clever in just the best possible way. It's certainly a book I'd recommend to everyone, and especially those who enjoy wordplay. The book is almost entirely wordplay from start to finish. It's funny because even as a kid (I think I was six or seven when I first read all the way through the book), I absolutely adored it, even though most of it flew right over my head. It was just a whole ton of fun. I'm sure a lot of it subconsciously got through to me though, because I grew up to love words and wordplay. I think it's the sort of book that will make kids fall in love with reading. A lot of books try to "make reading fun" by making it easier or about Star Wars (or whatever the damn kids are into), but this book makes reading fun in the most honest way, by being challenging but immensely rewarding and showing just what words can really do when used by a creative, intelligent author. Seriously, parents buy this book for your kids. Also everyone else, buy this book! I think you're right about people reading this book in 2525. It's timeless.

I'm really struggling to make it through this book, after being extremely excited to read it. I love DFW's essays, and have watched interview after interview of the guy and think he's great. This is my first foray into his fiction, and it's a bit... off-putting. There are some parts about it I really love but honestly it feels so self-indulgent at times and the anti-consumerist motif seems a tad hamfisted. I know DFW is a funny guy from his essays but a lot of the humour here is just falling flat for me. I enjoy the idea of a scene where a guy answers a phone and trades Beatles quotes with someone for no reason, but on the other hand, what! Probably my main issue with this book is the amount of technical jargon. I don't think it's really necessary to explain the chemical formulas behind every drug taken in the book, as well as constantly referring to strangely named fictitious future-tech and corporations. I'm just under 100 pages in so take all this with major grains of salt, but I just wanted somewhere to vent about this book. I think I'll grow to like it more as I go but it's taking me a while to get into it (I started it in early January). I'm not trying to be overly negative; there are parts of the book I love. DFW's actual writing style is as always, excellent, and most of the characters are really neat and easy to relate to. (Maybe easier for me though since I'm a white guy of similar class/privilege to DFW.) PS I was about to give up on the book altogether until I found this thread, so thanks guys!

I'm imagining a short novel based on Waluigi's life in the vein of Grendel by John Gardner. Waluigi spends the story sneaking into various Mario Sports events but finds himself constantly rejected. A mirror of a mirror, he wanders the empty desolate Mushroom Kingdom searching for his true self. On one hand, the Nietzsche-ean Bowser is compelling him to rebel, but the allure of friendly relations with the Mario gang pulls at him from the other side. In the climactic final scene, Waluigi finds himself in last place in a Mario Kart race, and valiantly drives off a cliff after being hit by a green shell. A tragic hero enacting his final act of rebellion against the world? Or simply a monster driven away from society due to his mutated existence?

Wow, those are amazing. That's such a weird thing. Did they air just like that in Japan or did they dub them?

I loved this episode. So many weird/fun little things. Here's some I noticed: - At the end of the scene with Ben and Catherine in the motel, Ben pulls out an Elvis doll and says, "Little Elvis needs a bath", which then causes the poker chip to fall out of his pocket. What? - Hawk high-fives random biker guy at the gas station, while Harry plays with a lady's dog. Shows the small-town-y nature of Twin Peaks and the friendliness of everyone around (except, of course, every person involved in the weird heinous nonsense that makes up the main plot). - There is an oversized fire hydrant in the corner of the veterinarian's lobby. Focus is entirely taken away from it through the fact that it is right next to a llama. - During Donna's conversation with James on the payphone, her dad says "Who ever heard of diet lasagna?" What a dad thing to say!! -Toad, the gross diner-goer is introduced very briefly in this episode. These are the things that make me love Twin Peaks. Dumb background stuff that just makes me chuckle. Maybe some of you will find these interesting if you didn't notice them while watching.