twmac

Phaedrus' Street Crew
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Everything posted by twmac

  1. Infinite Jest

    Thanks for the tip, the thing is, I live in Thailand and English language books are difficult to come across so Infinite Jest will get finished once I've finished the Ginger Baker Biography and 'Chronicles of a Liquid Society' by Umberto Eco.
  2. Infinite Jest

    After seeing people elsewhere be so positive about Infinite Jest, I was really worried that I was going to be alone on this. But Infinite Jest, so far, is a interestingly written, but utterly bizarre reading experience for me. I've given up on reading the end notes because I've found them to be largely uninteresting and do nothing but break up whatever flow the book has. There are some moments where I am utterly rivetted (like the section with the person talking about their addiction and how they attempt to hide it, or Hal clipping his toe nails as he talks to his brother) mixed in with pages and pages of writing where I know I am reading the words but no information is going in. I enter a sort of meditative state and the next thing I know I've gone through 3 pages but I have no idea what I have read. I usually go through books pretty quickly, but there is an emotional investment that comes with reading this book, much like picking up a JRPG, where you know you have to go at the author's pace and that pace is positively glacial. I don't hate the book, I just don't really know what I am doing with the book either. Glad someone mentioned the timeline, I had completely ignored that and just assumed it was not continuous but had no care for why.
  3. Idle Fiction Jam - Rumours and Hearsay

    You're absolutely right. Yeah, I did a light sweep but not enough. Glad you liked the THQ/Toys for Bob mash up. Also, this story is actually loosely based on a true story about a Pokemon tournament that an old co-worker went to, where she actually did that.
  4. Idle Fiction Jam - Rumours and Hearsay

    Sooo, took me a bit longer, and it is twice as long as the rules dictated, but I finally finished 'Dance of the Loot Goblin' https://medium.com/@twmac/dance-of-the-loot-goblin-6a0e8c022909
  5. They do Peggy so dirty though.
  6. Movie/TV recommendations

    I tried to watch Barry last night while I was drunk... I need to give the first episode another go because I am perplexed as to why people like it.
  7. Movie/TV recommendations

    I just finished a glut of films and tv shows in my regular binges: Burn Burn Burn A film about 2 women that decide to fulfil a friend's dying wishes and spread his ashes at different points in England. It isn't brilliant by any means but there are enough guest spots from English actors that dip in and out for snap shots of stories that intermingle with the main themes that it ends up being a solid if unremarkable film. The First Purge After listening to the Be Kind and rewatch it podcasts about the purge films I decided to take a dive and watch this one. I actually ended up really liking it and felt that it probably had more to say than the third film. Some strong performances and enough action to satisfy. Surprisingly good. Russian Doll So, according to friends Natasha Lyonne is just doing more of her OitNB schtick here, but having given up on that show after the first season, I am really enjoying this tale of a woman who keeps dying and waking up on her Birthday. I don't want to say too much but it was a fun spin on Groundhog Day and elicited more than a few laughs. Co-created with Amy Poehler and some of that shines through. Nightflyers Based on some G RR Martin novella, about a ship trying to make first contact with what they believe to be alien life. Earth is dying, everything is a mess, etc, etc. I was sort of into it at first, especially because of the opening that I thought was actually the last episode for a second. It then just starts getting way too convoluted in ways that are just all too much, the show introduces about 4 potential 'bad' guys and then spins shades of grey on them. Some gruesome deaths, people going insane, blah, blah, blah. Not good, not bad, just a thing.
  8. I actually didn't mind it, except for Kevin Hart's character who is just flat. I thought Jack Black was adorable, because they could have just had his character whine and moan about being a fat guy for the whole film but instead he does it for about 10 minutes and then just rolls with it.
  9. I'll check it out. I guess for me what I found compelling was what Sgt is talking about, the paradigm shift in how games like Rockstar's are viewed. I think Brad comes off as stubborn in that argument, sure, but he had already given a litany of reasons why he though RDR2 is great (I don't like it). Dan gave some good arguments too, that align with why I have never liked Rockstar open world games. I just thought he was being really cheeky but openly playing on previous strong-arming tactics to get certain games into the top 10 list and the like. Brad's venemous responses to that felt more like irritation at at the brazenness of Dan's schemes. The conclusion also felt like, others (Abby in particular) were not that happy with the end result. Still it made for great listening on my long drunken holiday in Cambodia. As a person whose top ten list looked like this: https://gamecritics.com/aj-small/ajs-top-10-of-2018/ It was nice to see the mixture of games being more interesting this year.
  10. Just finished the Giantbomb end of year deliberation, and I loved/hated Dan's doggedness at getting Red Dead Redemption 2 on most disappointing. He was completely gaming previous weaknesses on earlier years. Brad's irritation with it was a good counter point.
  11. Movie/TV recommendations

    Damnit - looks like I might have to look into borrowing it then
  12. Movie/TV recommendations

    Do you know where I would be able to find this, without borrowing it from the internet?
  13. Movie/TV recommendations

    Been bingeing lots of stuff recently: Insecure - I am sure someone has already talked about this before but, man, this show is sharp, funny and loud (as well as irrepressibly horny) Issa Rae is pretty brilliant. For those that don't know what it is, it is about two black women living around Inglewood. One works for a group of people aiming to better experiences for kids, while the other works as a lawyer. The way the show plays with the perception of colour and gender is fun and there were more than a few times where I winced at white characters and recognised my own short comings - but even though the show is unapologetic about its viewpoint it doesn't spend all of its time on a soap box and is just as much about the character's lives. Strongly recommend Bloodline - This came out early in Netflix and is about a family conflict taken to the most extreme. The first season has a good setup of the errant eldest son returing home and causing trouble, and then it just gets darker and darker. Kyle Chandler must have some kind of contractual obligation to always be able to wera shades. I still like it a lot in its 3rd season but it is pretty gruelling experience. Ocean's 8 - I don't think I've really, really liked any of the Ocean films, so this one was fun and forgettable, the whole cast is enjoyable to see bounce off of each other and if they made another one I would definitely watch it to see what they were going to do next. Crazy Rich Asians - This seemed to get a lot of hype, but if you strip the film of its setting and decor, it is an incredibly bland story of a woman meeting the family, the family don't like her and then the family do like her. I actually turned it off twice and did something else as the only character I was even engaged with was Awkwafina's weirdo character (who was also in Ocean's 8 - weird) and the rest of them could have been in a Hallmark film. I get that people were really happy that an all asian cast was a blockbuster hit, but I just didn't like any of it. Blindspotting - I really liked this film, again about two friends, one black, one white, pretty much trying to make everything work while being removal men. It reminded me a bit of Linklater in the way that the characters would drify in and out of different people's lives. The film very much had a message, I seem to recall it getting dragged by Fem Freq for it but for me it resonated quite a bit - a white guy who wants to be black and represent the hood he grew up in and a black man who can't do anything to escape it after an incident has landed him in jail and then on parole. It is a lot funnier than I was expecting too. IO - The world is running out of oxygen and everyone is heading to Jupiter. The film is set on earth and revolves around one woman trying to make the best of a bad situation, until a stranger show up looking for her father. The acting is fine and there is lots of attention to post-apolocalyptic day-to-day that I liked. However the film just sort of goes nowhere and offers no real surprises and not much in the way of anything outside of some very nice shots. Also the ending is goofball rubbish and feels like it was tacked on at the end.
  14. Movie/TV recommendations

    I hate Asa Butterfield, but yes, I really liked the show too. There are a few little cliches in there, however the writers desperately want to make something warm, kind and positive. I finished the last episode and was researching Andrew Dice Clay after some stuff I saw on Twitter and listening to Clay be the most homophobic piece of shit and then contrasting it with the Hedwig and the Angry Inch episode of Sex Education made me so fucking angry.
  15. Idle Thumbs Hiatus

    Cool, will sort that out tomorrow
  16. Idle Thumbs Hiatus

    I like all of this. Also, to add I threw in about 260 dollars on the original kickstarter, but wasn't a patreaon supporter due to not having a regualr job/income at that time. If the Thumbs did come back, and I get the job I am hoping for - I will definitely be backing them, even if it is only 5 dollars.
  17. Life

    Hhahah - I only saw this now, you never replied to my message so I figured you did your own thing. Khao San road is weird because it has always been a mess but now it is becoming popular with young, rich Thais as a place to slum it with crusty foreigners. I hate it there and only go if I am looking to get shit-faced or hook-up (and even then, at 38 years old it is an awkward thing to meet people on Khao San) China Town is really nice and I am glad you found a good place to sit and drink. I love Bangkok a lot and wish I could stay here forever, but I am already looking at jobs in Toronto, Edinburgh, London and Brighton.
  18. Psychonauts 2

    So, the T-Shirts were supposed to get delivered to my old place of work but never showed up. The company in charge is doing a bang up job of trying to redirect them. Also, this Starbreeze stuff is a little worrying
  19. Movie/TV recommendations

    Yeah, I also imagine that there are elements in the documentary that film isn't even going to touch. I won't say anything because the way it unravels in the documentary is what makes it jarring, sad and kind of beautiful.
  20. Movie/TV recommendations

    Watch the documentary instead - it is a way better story.
  21. Movie/TV recommendations

    Yeah - it is good and just what I needed this week.
  22. Movie/TV recommendations

    I watched Hearts Beat Loud and it is this sweet little story about a father (played with uncharacteristic softness by Nick Offerman) and daughter recording some songs together while dealing with their lives. It is almost a musical with the amount of songs that are played throughout but what I like about it is the way the film is into giving the audience an idea of how a song is manufactured and what some of the process is behind putting tracks together. There is nothing brilliant about it, it is just well placed as a generally kind and warm film - that also isn't too tacky. I would strongly recommend it in place of a cheesy Christmas film.
  23. Life

    For sure dude - I can offer all kinds of suggestions. I am going to Cambodia to renew my visa and also get drunk for a week as a means of celebrating Christmas