Roderick

I only Capitalize the wrong Words when I'm posing as a Nigerian Prince.

I cannot get over how bad they messed up Scorpius' look in Peacekeeper Wars. There was apparently no time in the run-up to production to create new molds for actor Wayne Pygram, so they had to wing it by othe rmeans. The result is that he looks thoroughly different, and a lot less scary and authentic. It's kind of a bummer =(

You know what? You know what? Lemme just lay it out here for you, I don't care. I like goofy season 1. I like weird ass space vampires. It's a throwback to the silliness of Star Trek TOS. Put those guys in a goddamn labyrinth and have kooky vampires hunt them down. But Danielle's right of course, things get interesting as soon as the aurora chamber hits and Scorpius gets his claws into Crighton's brain. Season 3 IS a stellar run of ideas, concepts and execution. Notably once the three-parter about the heist hits, and the two-parter in the Peacekeeper flagship... holeeeeeey shit.

'Coal is the future of energy' is an astounding thing to say. Here in the Netherlands we're still talking about becoming a major gas hub for Europe, which, you know, gas isn't the same thing as energy, but talk about betting on past resources. Not to mention increasing dependency on Russia. Wait, this is the 'good news' topic!

Incredible! It's not the same thing as cold fusion, or is it? In any case, a magnificent, promising energy revolution is just around the corner. Combine this with renewable energy and the world will indeed be a different place. Most exciting is the idea that the stars will have come a little more into reach again. Humanity must spread out over the galaxy!

Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel instantly jumps to mind. If you're into biology things, Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene is a classic, as is Desmond Morris' The Naked Ape. For straight up science, maybe Michio Kaku's books? I also had tons of fun with Descartes' Error by Antonio Damasio.

Very interesting first episode, Chris and Jake. I listened to it at work and it was good listenin'. I especially like to hear all the crazy stories about how Lynch made it and the intricacies of the production. It's been a while since I saw the show, but I can still picture a lot of the broad strokes (not so much the details of all the plotlines).

Good Afternoon. I am a Nigerian prince, and I would Like to Offer you the opportunity to be a Video game expert on Al Jazeera televised shows. Please and godspeed, Nguntu Awari

I might join in purely to finish my next novel in time for the launch window next year =_____+=====----__OOOO;;;; Never actually done it though. I once started in the spirit of the thing, which is just going with a flying start and little preparation, but I quickly hit a dead end when I ran out of ideas and things to talk about. In my experience, you need a hundred ideas before you can even start to figure out where to go. As a writing excercise it might be great though, but the format is better suited to short stories, which are more easily frontloaded in full into your brain.

Wow, that was NOT how I read The Boxtrolls and the crossdressing therein at all. I saw it as criticism aimed at the vapid men who at first would fawn over her as the sheerest object of femininity, and then be repulsed as soon as they saw she was a man. The majority of the jokes are aimed at that horribly myopic group of men with white hats. True, the crossdresser is depicted as a hideous creature, but that's because the person behind it is hideous. That sort of adds to the joke that the men are tricked by a bit of lipstick and a wig? Beyond that, the whole world oozes with the grotesque. I understand how you could interpret this as problematic, but I read it quite the opposite way, as a critique of shallow appearances (which is one of the central themes of the film; with the bad guy lusting after superficial status symbols).

The Boxtrolls is pretty great, you guys! A big fat freakshow, at times downright disturbing and gross, so pretty much everything you'd want from a stop motion feature.

Yes, now that you mention it! It reminds me of Goblin Commander on the Gamecube. I love that games like these are still made, after all the reports of games either having to be AAA or small indie.

At the same time, I watched that 4 minute video and it was over before I knew it, so apparently they're doing something right. I like the animation of the little dude, though I can already see how the moves might be a little gimmicky and repetitive. My biggest fear would be that the environments are elaborate parkour test courses rather than areas that feel real and purposeful.

The analogy is a little off though, since I heard about Styx wayyyy before I heard about Shadows of Mordor. I think it's legit. May still be terrible, but it looks pretty fun at the very least!

Heh hnn eheh rr rnrng I like what you've done here

I would love to. Now all I need is a teleporter back to the years I actually had time to spend (and the desire to spend them). I mean, I LOVE World of Warcraft, but I just can't commit to spending those hours anymore. There may never be a moment again in my life where I would willingly do that. It's a sad thought.

Today, I couldn't take it anymore after seeing the umpteenth GamerGate atrocity show up on my Twitter feed, and posted a long diatribe about it on Facebook. I really don't want to get into a discussion about it there, but there was this angry knot in my stomach and it had to be excised by words. I expect mostly support, but probably also a few unfortunate turns among my contacts.

It is perfectly unacceptable that we can't rewatch Danielle playing The Vanishing of Ethan Carter on Twitch in Her True Voice. Somebody turn back the goddamn hands of time.

I agree with you Ozzie, it was a fun episode. Less time-warpy, more about a real human decision. On another topic. If you have the stomach for J-drama and have the remotest knowledge of manga/anime, you might seriously enjoy Aoi Honoo / Blue Blazes. It features the sort of physical comedy and facepulling that western comedy has shied away from and is filled with hilarious retro references to cassette decks and Captain Harlock. Expect many things like this:

Wow, Geena Davis really took a turn there on that poster. That's just unflattering.

Alright, I've done the terrible thing, I've just finished Broken Sword 3: The Sleeping Dragon, and it was a HUGE MESS. What on Baphomet's green earth was wrong with Revolution? I'm just going to pretend Broken Sword 3 never happened. What a disastrous game. Bad crate puzzles, bad character animation, bad design, bad writing, bad controls, bad puzzles, bad voice acting. It's horrible in every way except its symphonic soundtrack. Of course, then the credits roll and it has a metal song that couldn't possibly miss the point more if it tried. I just don't understand any of the decisions they made here. None. Nothing. Throughout its entirety it feels more like a badly written fanfic than something by the relatively competent hands of those who made the first two games. Especially the difference in the way George is handled is subtle but palpable. He suddenly makes rather sexist remarks about ladies (which the original George would rarely do), and he's just generally more judgemental and snappy. At one point in the game he enters a mystical shop (this is before the hilarious, unironic visit to a freaking Jamaican voodoo lady, GOOD LORD) and is super skeptical about ley lines and ancient myths. Can someone remind him that six months prior he witnessed the resurrection of a goddamn Mayan god? UGH, it all feels so lame and generic 'bad adventure game', I hate it. And it insists on revisiting characters and locations from the first game in a desperate attempt to tie it together, but only comes off as unimaginative. This game is just awful. By the way, I also replayed Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror in between (obviously), and I really loved it, Director's Cut included. They animated the portraits and the style is just generally a lot better suited to the game. The puzzles are more difficult and plentiful and the environments are just lovely. Little vignettes like the two ladies on the island or the smiling El General character in Quaramonte city - flourishes that really liven up the game. Again, a bit of a quick ending, but I liked the pacing and the sense of atmosphere. I'm actually really, really impressed they made this in a single year after the release of the first game. It just doesn't show at all, it's an impeccable adventure game. The way this series devolves as it proceeds is nuts though:

The Master is somewhat hard to watch, but then grows better in your mind as your forget the movie and remember the moments and actors. Inherent Vice looks good, but then it's so a no-brainer to go see anything PTS makes that I don't even watch the trailers.

LOVE the Batgirl redesign. It's killer. Also tons cuter.

I'm generally quite uncomfortable during fancy dinners. What's funny is, unknowingly I totally accepted the standard thing to do during a first date: let's have a drink together. Even though that's absolutely not what I'd normally do or even want to do! So when a potential date (hopefully next week) proposed to meet up and asked 'is it OK with you if we do something active, like go on a hiking trail?' I was stunned. Of COURSE I want to go on a hiking trail! That's all I want to do! I got roped into this 'let's have a drink' tomfoolery because I thought that was the most noncommittal, casual thing to do, but all this time there've been people who actually want to do something I want to do. So that's it, the bar has just been raised. Minimum requirement for the first date: take a walk with me.