fledermaus

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov I wanted to start a thread because it is one of my favorite books of all time, and with spring coming it feels time for a re-read. Here's the TLDR version - This is the book that inspired Mick Jagger to write "Sympathy for the Devil" (look it up) It starts when one Mr. W, a professor who says he from Germany, visits the city of Moscow in the pre-Stalin late 1920s. It is a tragedy, farce, romance, political satire, magical realism and existentialism rolled up into an amazing whole. It is loosely based on Goethe's Faust the same way O Brother Where Art Thou was based on the Odyssey. There is a large talking cat and pranks involving telegrams, burned novels and a magic show. Also the last days of Jesus. Trying not to be too spoilery here. History So (cribbing from the wiki) this is a novel written by Bulgakov, a Russian writer from the Lenin days. He had mostly done plays before. He wrote this from 1928-1936 (and you thought George RR Martin was bad). A censored version was eventually published but it largely remained unavailable in full until the 1970s. Translation: I read the Diana Burgin, Katherine O'connor (red/black cover with a silhouette of a cat). It has really good chapter notes. I've never read any other translations, I'm curious if fans have preferred translations?

You missed one advantage of knowing all future Oscar winning movies: working as an agent. You'll know all the best actors before they are famous and get them signed up and know which movies to sign them on to. You'd look like a genius!

I am really enjoying this game. The music is fantastic. Best music of the year in a game.

Maybe it is just me, but that "pan pan pan" line sounds like Wallace Shawn from Princess Bride

I have really enjoyed it. I agree with starting as Rome. I have fought off an early rush from Scythia. Boy were they surprised when 4 piddling warriors turned into 4 Roman legions. I do really love the opening cinematic though

If anyone hasn't picked up the expansions you can get all of them for less than three bucks right now until 10/17 (and the game + expansions is $10). I picked up all them during the summer sale and they are absolutely worth it. I have fallen right back into this game. The best part is that most of the new systems are optional for optimum play. And the winters are much more interesting with the addition of pearls to collect.

Really enjoyed the Duelyst discussion. After bouncing off hearthstone after a half hour, I have put in 20 hours in the last two weeks on Duelyst. I love this game! It has tactical depth that was missing from HS. Plus the one turn daily puzzles/challenges remind me of the chess problems from the newspaper way back in the day. It is one of those "I have some time to kill let's play Duelyst. Hey, where did the last 4 hours go?" Also the 3MA bridge episode sounds awesome

I can't believe I looked up an article on the pizza making robot. The thing I don't see is a pizza dough tossing machine. I guess that's fine if you trying to compete with Domino's or Papa's John's craptastic pizza but please don't try to tell me it's "artisan" "We created her to spread your sauce perfectly, but not too perfectly, so the pizza still looks like an artisan product," Garden said. Oh just shut up already you three-eyed warp sick hyper slug

If you haven't looked at Kingdom lately, last week the devs put out Kingdom: New Lands as a free update it adds more stuff and progressively difficult islands to travel to. If you already have Kingdom, just go to the store page for Kingdom: New Lands and click the play now button, it will download the new version.

I remember having to look up letters on the paper manual in the original micropose Pirates! (And you kids think DRM is bad ) Still one of my favorite games. I had played civ when I first found pirates and I was taking AP European History in high school. I loved taking sides and despite general opinion, I really liked the land combat. I enjoyed the beginning of each stage, would you go recruiting for a big army and take down Havana or go slim and track down treasure. It was Grand Theft Auto before there was a GTA.

"The Culture books are amazing. I've been working through them from the start," I just read books one and two! Player of Games was really fun read. Reminds me of the times when sci-fi was just a playground of ideas.

As someone who played the first europa universalis, this is Christmas, 4th of July and Flag Day all rolled into one. I have been waiting on a paradox space grand strategy since CK2

What a great game. I had been thinking about buying the tabletop version, but this one is good substitute. I still haven't beaten it yet but after 5 games I think I found my footing. The last game was so frustrating. I took total control of Europe as the US on turn 6. "Great" I thought, "Now just to maintain control until the Europe scoring card comes back around on the reshuffle next turn." On turn 9 (still no Europe card yet) USSR plays the wargames card and wins by 2 points. I love the atmosphere of this game, the ambient noise and speeches between turns. It really feels like the cold war.

I loved the Silent Hunter 3 talk. I loved that game, it still sits on my wish list not for lack of money, but if I want to go down that rabbit hole again. But yeah, stalking convoys was really fun.

Those are the exact words I use to explain the plot when I am trying to get a friend to read it.

I'm surprised when you were discussing alternative civ formats that no one brought up colonization (Both civ 2 and civ 4 versions) Those mods actually solved the boring late game slog because you were building up to this one thing (independence) and the end game was "hey, ya know that thing you have been working towards all game? Well it's here and it's going to be glorious."

I love how Chris talks about how the title "In the Name of the Rose" just caught his attention. I ran across it in high school, and I loved historical fiction, the older the better. And I was immediately drawr to it when I saw it. It has such a slow yet increasing rhythm. A gumshoe monk investigates a crime, in a medieval monastery.

If you are reading a translation know that the older ones have to work from the censored version. I've never read the censored version, I admit I am curious as to what was left out. The later translations, Burgin/O'connor and the penguin classics people are both good with translation and bring the humor and satire through. As a novel it was so ahead of its time.

If you're really starved for content you could talk about the PAX South grey goo tourney With regard to Life and match fixing, no competitive event is immune from it. And it's usually the lower tiers where it happens the most. It's wrong to do, but I always feel kind of bad for the poor players that get caught up in it. There is a great 30 for 30 documentary on netflix "playing for the mob" about college basketball fixing/point shaving.

I knew there would be a thread about this here. I just got it a week ago and already have 30 hours in. Like everyone else, I am amazed by this game. Every part is done sooooo well. Music? Atmospheric and never annoying. Crafting? yes please I was so happy when I made duck in a plum sauce for my expedition crew. There is even a leveling system for the god you choose, you gain experience and bonuses by having longer games before starting a new one, or dying. Last night I played it until 1AM and then reluctantly went to bed. I can't remember the last game that did that. All for $20. Fallout 4? What's that? If you're even a little bit interested take the plunge, you won't buy another game for months.

I'm still considering this is all might be some organized PR stunt. Yes advertising has made me that cynical. I agree that Showtime is being penny-wise and pound foolish. The season long story arc is one of the best things going for cable TV if it can be done well. There's the rub. Netflix, Amazon and others are also producing some really good shows. What's showtime got? No, seriously I'm really curious, I don't have cable. Really, this entire series of events has only convinced me that for good or for ill I want Lynch to direct whatever he came up with, budget be damned - within prudent amounts. I do think it is fun to see Lynch go old school, direct to the press (or, well Twitter) to force a studio's hand. Reminds me of Gilliam's fights with Universal Pictures over Brazil.

I know. But even if it wasn't good it would still be something you've never seen before. I think that's one of my favorite things about him, his films and other work are all something new. Even the man himself, I remember re-watching Twin Peaks in college in the 90s during the Bravo marathon. One of my friends pointed out that Gordon Cole was David Lynch, I my response was "That's ****** David Lynch??!?" It was such a complete shattering of whatever placeholder image I had of him in my mind.

You forgot the almost incest. I agree that Ben Horne is the only thing that makes these episodes bearable, if that. I agree that the guy is such a jerk, but he does love to scheme, and I find that irresistible. Even when Katherine gets one over on him, he can't help but admire a well played scheme. His "save the weasels" idea is even better when you know

Holy cow! Whoever found those old usenet posts from 1990, you're amazing. Truly the internet is forever. I love this one from the end of the first season from a guy who figured most of it out, to the extent that's possible, in May 28, 1990.