#like fuck me guess it's time to figure out if I can download an actual file for the books from amazon

[scribblingface]

hey so important heads up for users of amazon (especially if you have your ebooks through amazon):

if your account is locked (such as because of repeated failed login attempts from an unrecognized device, as an example), the ONLY way to unlock it is by providing information about your recent amazon purchases that have been made within the past year. if you have made no amazon purchases within the last year, there is no way to unlock your account.

in other words, if you have for example your entire ebook collection associated with your amazon account and that's your only way to access it, and you don't purchase something for a year, and amazon arbitrarily locks you out for some reason, you will permanently lose access to ALL your books with zero recourse.

I spoke to a customer service person at amazon today to try to unlock my account, who explained that in the system on her end there is NO other option to unlock an account except verifying the recent purchases, and if there hasn't been a purchase recently enough that option isn't available to them to access.

so uh. fuck amazon to hell for their ability to steal all your books at random and give you no way to get them back.

[neonghostcat]

Brain Overflow

You know how in my last 'state of the author' post I said I could feel the urge to write coming back?

Oh, it has.

It's terribly inconvenient too. I'm going to tell you a little about some of the things I've been thinking of and then whine/wibble a tiny bit if you click through to behind the cut. (You don't have to read the last bit!)

I've written down three different SVSSS (LiuShen) ideas in the last couple of weeks, added a few thoughts to older ideas, made a mental note of possible Cultivate extras, and just refused to write down others so as not to encourage rampant plot bunny breeding.

But let me tell you about a few of them because I'm hoping it reduces the urge to work on them better than just typing up notes.

The Lady Blackbird fusion Not sure what Lady Blackbird is? Well, it's a free tabletop rpg that you can download here. But the TL;DR is, "Sort of like steampunk Star Wars: A New Hope + Firefly + potential Jane Austen novel, if you want." I'll just C&P the pitch here: Lady Blackbird is an Imperial noble fleeing from an arranged marriage to be with her secret lover, the pirate king Uriah Flint. To reunite with him, she has hired a notorious smuggler and the crew of his skyship, The Owl. However, The Owl has been captured by an Imperial cruiser. How will Lady Blackbird and the others escape? What dangers lie in their path on the way to the pirate king’s lair? Can you see where this is going? (Actually, probably not your first thought, no.) We start with Shen Yuan transmigrated in a xianxia-by-way-of-steampunk gown, sitting in a jail cell with several men, a teenage boy, and a veiled teenage girl. System helpfully informs him that he is now "Lady" Blackbird, on the run to end up in the arms of Pirate King Mobei-Jun. His cell-mates are, as follows: Smuggler Captain Liu Qingge, Lady Blackbird's personal bodyguard Liu Mingyan who suggested her brother when LB said she wanted to escape, the ship's mechanic Shang Qinghua, the ship's doctor Mu Qingfang (or they pick him up later, I haven't decided), and "a goblin named BingBing". While SY is busy freaking out that System can't fool him - that's the Protagonist, Luo Binghe!!! wtf!!! System says "later, loser" and more-or-less abandons him (though still employing an OOC ban). So now you can probably see where this is going, lol. It involves at least a brief period where SY has to crossdress and pretend to be one of Binghe's future wives - a fiancée/wife of Mobei-Jun as Liu Qingge gets very conflicted feelings about his troublesome passenger. Featuring lots of Cumplane friendship, sassy MQF (as a treat), teenage smirking (likely aided and abetted by the adults), and space whales (naturally). I have not yet fully decided if the story Shen Yuan read was PIDW and now he has to figure out how the infiltration of "space with gears on it" into his xianxia has fucked up what he and Airplane know, or if the story was something like "Proud Immortal Starlit Way" and it was always like that. (Thoughts?) ---

The "SY Bodysnatches MQF" idea What it says on the tin... SY accidentally ends up in MQF's body instead of SQQ's. Only MQF isn't gone - he remains. This occurs directly before the Demonic Invasion and double qi deviation part of the plot and they rush back to the sect to deal with that. Then things get messy while they conspire to get SY his own body. Featuring: An extremely confused Liu Qingge, eventual Shenbros, and aro-ace MQF being very bemused at all times. ---

The "LQG Gets De-Aged/Age-Regressed" idea As you can guess: LQG gets age-regressed. This happens in Lingxi Caves instead of his death-by-deviation. He latches onto SY-SQQ and SY-SQQ is helpless to do anything but take the cute kid in. Featuring: BingLiu friendship, possibly Bing-other disciples friendship, but mostly establishing bro-code that makes Binghe switch his infatuation with SY-SQQ into family feelings as soon as LQG regains his adult body and it becomes clear that LiuShen is happening. ----

This is along with: Joint Custody (LiuShen), my SJ-SQQ second-chance redemption fic (LiuShen and LiuJiu, but different LQGs), a peak lords ascension fic using Cultivate's backstory (LiuJiu), a LiuShen timeloop fic, and at least another half a dozen fic ideas sitting in the hopper that aren't nearly as developed/that I am not burning to write yet.

I'd love to know which ideas you guys are most interested in. ;) Joint Custody is still next regardless and I'll probably not be working on either of the LiuJiu fics in the near future because they are definitely 100k+ territory and I'm still not ready for that. But knowing people are hype for something keeps me hype. ;3

I'll probably be in this fandom awhile, y'all. Please send help.

Sadly, I can't work on any of them yet, because I have over 2,600 messages in my inbox waiting for me to respond to. (This is not a humble brag - this is thousand-yard-stare territory. It was somewhere over 3000 for awhile until I started making a list of people who generally only left emojis or thanks and let them know that I was going to just thank them for all of them in one email so they didn't peppered by replies in kind.)

Not that I'm complaining about them, because I missed replying to comments so much (it's genuinely one of my favorite parts about writing fanfic), but it's still a lot and even if I could manage 100 replies a day (which for mental health reasons, I really can't), it's going to take awhile.

RIP.

More importantly - I hope you are well! 🌼

[iraprince]

god i feel u so much on the not being able to use fancy detail brushes thing, i also use a textured brush (idk abt you but it stops me from obsessing over the lines being 100% Absolutely Perfectly Neat & Even) and i cry every time i see a cool brush that would just look totally out of place in comparison lmao. i keep telling myself someday ill make a whole bunch of custom ones that match my main brush... someday.....

I REALLY THINK THAT'S JUST WHAT WE GOTTA DO.... i do feel like by slowly playing w other ppl's custom brushes (i have to really recommend @robogart, @inspiderwiht and @pharanbrush as artists who create custom brush packs that i REALLY love!), i'm starting to understand very gradually what all the different settings and tweaks and adjustments do, which helps a lot + does make me feel like eventually i can work my way up to tackling my own...!

when i first started out the brush settings panel was SO overwhelming, so it felt like any time i downloaded a brush it was like. either i like it or i don't, and one tiny gripe abt it could ruin my experience w a brush that could otherwise be super useful and fun for me!! bc i didn't really feel capable of really getting into the guts of it and fucking around (also esp when u are on deadlines and stuff it's like. bro i cannot afford to Find Out rn and also i simply do not have time to spend an hour trying to figure out if i can make the pressure curve on this thing play nice w me). BUT giving myself a little bit of time whenever i'm doing personal doodling or warmups or w/e to experiment and mess around has been really really good for making me feel like i can take more control over the tools :D

I GUESS i am rambling majorly and a lot of this has nothing to do w the actual point of ur ask (esp the kind of. stamp brushes or fully drawn stuff like clothing trim/buttons/etc where it really IS like okay either it can blend w ur art style or it can't) BUT my point is just. grips ur arm in solidarity. by fucking around a tiny bit each day. one day we will understand digital brush composition + function enough to make our own. and then it's over for all of you bitches

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

I’ve had Cabin Pressure saved on my phone for fucking ages by now. I downloaded it back in early July, I think. I had the idea that I had gone through most of my list of things to watch/listen to, and I wanted some new long-running audio thing. I asked people what they thought I should pick, and had multiple recommendations for this show Cabin Pressure, which is not long-running, people just said it’s good and only 13 hours so I should do that first. I didn’t know much about it, I knew that John Finnemore is one of those guys who was Footlights and Radio 4 so probably does the kind of vaguely pretentious humour that I like, so I downloaded it and figured that once I finish everything else on the list, I’ll quickly do the 13 hours of Cabin Pressure before starting some new long-running thing.

…That was months ago. It’s now mid-November, because I kept getting recommended other things. I did a Lee & Herring rabbit hole, followed by going through a whole bunch of Stewart Lee things that I didn’t get to last year when I just did his TV shows + DVDs. A similar thing with Josie Long, when I got my ahdns on a bunch of her stuff that went beyond her recorded shows that I heard/watched last year. There was a bunch of Robin Ince stuff and Michael Legge stuff. There were lots of recordings from the 2023 Edinburgh Festival throughout August. Then there was Alan Partridge, I listened to From the Oasthouse and liked it so much that I had to listen to all three of his audiobooks before I could move on from that. Turns out I missed out on a lot by only doing the TV/radio things + movie on the first go of that stuff years ago, the books and podcasts are better.

There have been other things too. I kept finding more stuff, to add to my “Comedy --> New” working folder on my phone, with the folder labeled “Cabin Pressure” always there at the top, never touched. But this week, I finally finished everything else in that folder, and all the episodes on my podcast app and in my Downloads folder on my laptop, and opened up this new thing.

I realized I’d been expected it to be a show about people trapped in an airplane after a crash or something – some sort of horror scenario like that. So I was surprised to learn it’s just a sitcom about airline pilots flying planes, and I had to retrace my steps to work out where I got my expectation. I think it came from the fact that the only thing I’ve seen John Finnemore do was be the guy who flew the escape pod in Avenue 5, so I guess I just assumed anything he does with flying is a dystopia.

I’m now two episodes in, and it’s not a dystopian nightmare. It’s Butternut Cabbagepatch and Peter Manion from The Thick of It being sarcastic at each other, and it’s great. It makes me almost nostalgic, the way it so perfectly captures the essence of the Radio 4 sitcom, of the sort that my dad used to often play in the car when I was a kid. Biting, sarcastic characters all talking with perfect diction and dry wit being sardonically annoyed about things. A bit like The Department too (which is another example of how I think this the exact type of slightly pretentious humour that you get when you combine Footlights with Radio 4). I love that shit.

Unfortunately, however, I’ve been sidetracked again. I’ve heard a few things of Nish Kumar’s recent stand-up, some of which can be seen in a post that’s been going around Tumblr, where he thanks Russell Brand for never making anything of value that is now ruined by the recent news. I think the version that got filmed actually didn’t mention Arthur, but in some other versions, he has said he specifically appreciates that the Arthur remake was shit so it’s not like anyone’s out there saying “Oh no, I can’t watch the Arthur remake anymore.” I hope the fact that he didn’t mention it on NextUp doesn’t mean he’s cut that line entirely, because I think it’s a good example.

I haven’t seen the Arthur remake. But I have seen Arthur, several times, when I was quite young. To be honest I don’t remember a lot about it, except that it had a main character who was kind of a dick, with a dry-witted sarcastic butler who at one point said “I’ll alert the media” when Arthur said he was going to take a bath. I remember that part because it became a running joke in my family for years and years. It still is, actually. Ever since I was a kid, my family will say “I’ll alert the media” to each other as a way to sarcastically suggest that whatever they’re doing isn’t that important.

When I was a teenager, I used to write a parody newspaper that would publish an edition during every family reunion, because that’s the type of annoying teenager I was (I say, as though I don’t now have a blog for writing similarly annoying things). I remember that one time, at such a gathering, my father told me he was going to take a bath. “I’ll alert the media!” I said, very pleased to have had an excuse to use that reference in its original context. As soon as I said it, I realized I was the media, and considered myself alerted. So I wrote an article in the family newspaper called “Your Very Local News – What Is Going on in Your Bathroom Right Now” about how my father was taking a bath, and the whole thing was a joke about how the media has to be alerted when people take baths, and it was a reference to a movie that no one in the family besides my parents/brother and I had seen. I was about to write that that’s the sort of annoying teenager I used to be, but actually, I stand by that, I think it was hilarious.

Anyway. I haven’t actually seen that movie since I was young. I remember so little about it. I know it stars Dudley Moore. I remember my dad first got me interested in it by telling me it stars one of the Beyond the Fringe guys, since I loved the Beyond the Fringe CD that he used to play in the car a lot (when he wasn’t playing mildly pretentious Radio 4 sitcoms, or his Goon Show tapes – you can see how my childhood influenced my current interests). I remember finding it very funny.

So, when I heard Nish Kumar fairly recently mention the Arthur remake (for anyone who doesn’t know, the original movie is from 1981, while in 2011 Russell Brand starred in a remake, I have never seen that remake and have no desire to do so), it made me think I should re-watch that original movie. Then I listened to two episodes of Cabin Pressure, where one of the main characters is named Arthur, and every time they say his name it makes me think I should watch Arthur.

So the upshot is that I have downloaded the (original) Arthur movie and I’m going to watch that. But I will get back to Cabin Pressure soon! That show is definitely going in the folder of Britcom that I’ll give my dad for Christmas this year, as I’ve spent the last few years repaying him for raising me on this stuff by giving him back a stream of more comedy than he could ever watch or hear (don’t worry, I’ll get him a proper gift too). I am, to be honest, surprising myself a bit by how much I’m enjoying it.

In the meantime, though, I’ll let you all know if the Arthur movie is any good now that I’m over the age of about ten. Some things I enjoyed when I was ten have really held up, and some very much have not.

[comeonblub]

i do this thing where i write notes about my knowledge of a new media before starting it, my experience during it, and then my perspective after (if i finish)

separately, ive also been losing my mind about Outer Wilds for well over a week now. ive decided i want to share it

(if you notice that it's been years since ive posted on here no you didn't)

also if you haven't played the game, i recommended you do not read this and instead go download Outer Wilds

spoilers below

NOTES: Outer Wilds / before playing

- has that one song with annoying whistling that i always skip when it shows up on Spotify

- that one person i follow on Tumblr absolutely loves it it's like their favourite game

- seems like it might be emotional or something?

- uhhhh space aliens? i think??

NOTES: Outer Wilds / start playing

- omg the controls SUCk

- oh IM the alien

- lag lag lag and very not keyboard friendly (yes im playing with a keyboard no i don't have a controller)

- ...

- okay keybind + graphics adjustments, and ive made it ever so slightly better

- i do not want to talk to you

- I DO NoT know what i am supposed to be doing what what what

- maybe i shouldve talked to people

- uhhhhh did I do that?

- the world explodes and dies. why. bc of me?

- UHHh

- oh hey the game references the fact i died lol

- okay Doing this again i guess and won't repeat the thing that killed me i think

- don't fucking TouCH that thing it explodes worlds

- okay okay im getting good info i think def don't want to die this time unless i can save

- do i save at that one statue? let's try

- WAIT FUCK FUCK The World's exploding again WHY

- BUHHHH

- "you're lucky im in a timeloop because otherwise I'd be super dead" – LMAO OKAY I MAY BE WON OVER

- okay so the explosions are independent of me. im going back to that thing and fucking around w/ it

- ...

- 15 Hours Into Game

- brittle hollow and i are besties now

- the lore is intricate ain't it. at times i feel like i understand everything. at others im completely lost. if there's a strategy here i don't know it. im just compelled to explore

- the Southern Observatory kinda went off tho with that visual and music combo

- the Fucking Moon

- i got stuck in anglerfish overlook w/ rising sand and just had to wait to die by being scrunched on the ceiling. absolutely worst way to go was awful and i hated it

- 22 min......

- reading explanations that completely recontexutalizes things i'd took for granted or previously ignored is a trip and a half

- my worldview gets shattered every other loop, millions dead but don't worry death means nothing

- like "the sun station",.. oh. "22 min interval"... OH

- i don't know what else to do here

- giants deep whomst ive ignored

- THERES ANOTHER PERSON WHO STUCK IN THIS TIMELOOP WITH ME?

- !!!

- gabbro my beloved

- hhhngg these puzzles.. am i missing something. should i know it now. will i learn it later. the stupid watery core and electricity...

- ...

- 25 Hours Into Game

- i know this galaxy

- i know it intimately

- but there are some places that are just so stupidly challenging to get to. i get there once. i never want to have to do it again. (giants deep core– once. sun station– once. coleus' lakebed quantum cave– twice. centre of the interloper– twice. the vessel– once. high energy lab– twice.)

- ...

- quantum moon whoag

- uh hm what

- YOURE ALIVE

- solanum i love u

- "think of you as a friend" PLS CAN I HUG

- ...

- 30+ HOURS INTO GAME

- i figured out the ash twin core

- i chickened out of taking the thing to do other things instead. achievement hunting.

- it's simply much too scary. no fallback. what happens if no core, no loop

- oh

- .. oh

- fucking hell i didn't realize how much id become dependent on the safety net of a timeloop. of like, functional immortality

- the fear of the unknown. of something new. of actual death

- ...

- well then

- FINISHING MAIN GAME

- i took the core. i left the ash twin project.

- music immediately begins kicking up into something new and emotional and anticipatory

- I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS MORE TO DO

- i panic and warp back to ask twin project. return the core to the machine

- what a wuss. but i feel better

- think think think think

- where Have I Seen that before. the core

- okay i have an idea of what to do but. fear

- I PRACTICE. Practice! i do 3+ runs to test getting past those Fucking FISH

- AND THEN DO IT FOR REAL

- screaming and crying

- BUT I SUCCEED

- whhhjhb whoaggh

- eye...

- HhhHhh quantummmm

- what

- what

- what

- a guy

- what

- ... euuuu cry mine friendsss

- ayy the fucking hell im emotional

- goddamn. What A Game. that music. holy shit

- ...

NOTES: Outer Wilds / post playing

- even as i did the ending there was still a small part of me that thought... i can save them

- ... (there will be a way to save them)

- there wasn't of course. and it hurt. but... not in a completely bad way

- it's like. the small flickering hope i felt at the end of all things, it still meant something. it still got me TO the end

- i know it was just a game but. it makes me think

- ...

- BONUS Saga of me accomplishing achievements: the fact that i later was able to break reality and also talk to myself in game was fun and cool and sexy

- i WILL be playing DLC but i need to recover

[truebluewhocanoe]

The Ten Doctors miscellaneous thoughts and reactions

I just finished reading The Ten Doctors by Rich Morris. Unfortunately, his site is down, but you can download it off the Wayback Machine here. Spoilers beware: it's not a quick read but I definitely recommend setting aside some time and reading it because it's super good. Recommended to me by @lurking-latinist (although I had previously also heard the youtuber Samuel Davis talk very highly of it as well.)

This is your last spoiler warning!

Just gonna put any thoughts I have in an awkward gush-mush here:

-This is a little embarrassing but I don't entirely know what the heck was up with Doctor 2.5. He's supposed to be a Watcher, I guess? But 2 taking him with him at the end made me think it was referencing something that I don't know. Dunno where he was supposed to end up.

-Not gonna lie I was a little disappointed that it didn't explain why Maxil looks like the Sixth Doctor (on an in-universe level, we all know why he looks like that on a Doylist level of course). Especially since the Valeyard was mind-controlling him... ah, wait, headcanon: the Valeyard was mind-controlling him since his previous regeneration, and either influenced Maxil into looking like the Doctor subconsciously, or purposefully, for use in Schemes(TM). If only I could figure out a way to transplant that from this comic to show canon...

-I'm kind of face blind so when the Doctors did this elaborate team-up sequence only for this guy to pop up all I saw was the hair, and my reaction was "What, that's just 8???"

Also, next time someone asks me who my favorite Doctor is, I'm just going to send this image and offer no further explanation.

(As an unnecessary side note, I this comic leaned way further into the "different Doctors are different people" side of the Doctor-incarnation-identity spectrum than where I sit, but fuck it, it did a great story with it so I'm 100% satisfied)

-We've had humans converted into Daleks, we've had Time Lords converted into Cybermen, but I think this is the first time I've seen Time Lords converted into Daleks. An absolute stroke of genius! And it immediately takes that idea all the way and does a Dalek Doctor! When I saw 10 in the chair I was immediately struck; that actually managed to unnerve me a bit in a story that is otherwise purely meant to be fun.

-Seriously the panel where Dalek!10 sheds a tear is actually super creepy

-On the contrary, I loved Sixie in this and thought he looked particularly great in Four's scarf (although the monochrome helps a bit there)

-...but the Four circlejerking at the end was a little gratuitous

-Any time a story has more than, say, 4 storylines going on a time, I lose track. I have infinite respect for anyone who is able to keep more than that many story threads straight. And this comic had like, 10???? At one point??? Or more?? And it came together very well???

Tomorrow I'm going to go snapshot every face Sixie made that made me smile and compile them

[thessalian]

Thess vs Release Dates

Still clearing out the demo folder. I feel this need to be careful about what I say on these, however, as if I seem to very much enjoy something and mention that I intend to purchase it but have not purchased it yet, there’s even odds someone’s going to throw it at my head. I mean, not that I mind my bestie throwing Lake at me, but that largely because it was on sale so we’re not talking sticker shock guilt like when some basically-brothers threw Total War III at me.

Anyway.

Grim Tides: This is the most basic RPG of RPGs, wtih some fairly interesting customisation options. I mean, it basically works where you have a token that represents your character, very basic skills and perks, click around a very basic square map to ‘explore a dungeon’ and a turn-based combat system that at its root is just “click the thing”. Except that it’s actually a lot more complex than that. Your skills and perks can be customised basically however you want; there’s no restrictions on what you can and cannot do with your build. The options screen lets you decide how big you want the dungeons to be allowed to get, whether you want permadeath or not, exactly how the turn-based system works (whether it’s one or two actions per round, with the latter allowing for more tactics and the former being more for simplicity), how tough you want the enemies to be ... all of that on top of the base difficulty setting. You want to plough through this thing easily while you figure out what build you like? No problem. You want a tactical bloodbath? They’ve got you covered there too. It’s not epic graphics (there are in fact hardly any graphics), but one thing you can do with this that you can’t do with most games is upload your own character token. You want your D&D character to run through this thing? Your Warden? Your Hawke? No problem; make a token (if you don’t already have one), load it in, and off you go. So yeah, this one’s cheap and cheerful and the only reason it is not in my library right now is because I am waiting until... Oh. They pushed back Cook, Serve, Forever’s release date until next week so I either wait until Pan’Orama comes out tomorrow to buy it and risk it also getting its release date pushed back or I buy it once I’m done clearing out my demo folder a little more. It will be mine, anyway. It and its predecessor, Grim Quest. The bundle together’s basically negligible cost and given I just spent two hours poking at the demo of Grim Tides even though I was restricted to one zone the whole time? Worth it.

Kitsune: The Journey of Adashino: This is another one I’ll come back to at some stage, if only because right now, it’s ... a bit of a mess. It doesn’t tell you what the keybinds are, it doesn’t tell you how to use them very clearly when they do tell you what the keybinds are, and it’s wnother one of those ones where the camera angle is at fixed points rather than following the character. That last I could live with if the rest wasn’t ... well, what it is. The demo itself needs some fixing,which I guess is fair given that the game isn’t supposed to be out until next year so the demo must be more sort of beta testing than anything else. Still looks interesting, though frankly I’ve got no idea what it’s about from the brief time I played it before it forced me into the grip of an enemy and then gave me some contradicting information about how to get out again. So it stays on the wishlist but I’m going to want to look at the demo again in a few months.

Pneumata: Another one of those ones where the demo is only temporary.and it ran out before I got a chance to play it, even though I only downloaded it a few days ago. Well, fuck a bunch of that, frankly.

Imagined Leviathans: This one’s a kind of really artsy looking walking simulator but also has a fair few bugs. When everything is literally black and white (mostly white), it can be hard to see any kind of path, and walking off the path can get you clipping into a mountain you can’t even see. So an interesting game, but not something I really want to poke at in the demo overmuch because ... well, bugs. This one’s only got “Coming Soon” as a release date, but that’s probably fine - it needs time anyway, Besides, Steam release dates can change with zero warning (see also two changes of release date for Pan’Orama and one really aggravating one for Cook, Serve, Forever, as it said a little while ago that release was today, literally giving the time in hours, and then changed to “next week” without so much as a note as to why) so I can’t really trust them anyway.

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie: This is an interactive novel on a whole other level. The mechanics involved are fascinating - imagine you took the various emotional / character type responses in a Dragon Age game, polished and refined them so that they actually make all the difference in the world instead of just some flavour, and then gave them centre stage. That’s what we’re dealing with. Also the kind of story that puts us in Neil Gaiman / Kieron Gillen territory. I had to stop playing this one because I didn’t know how far I could get in the demo without it cutting me off and didn’t want to get that “But I want more game NOW!” feeling when it’s not coming out until June (well, at least that’s what the store page says, but ... y’know, changeable release dates - I will stop bitching about that eventually, I swear).

That should do it for the time being. I swear, I need to stop doing this. My wish list is getting insane. Then again, so many of them don’t even come out until gods-know-when so I guess it’s not so bad.

[hello-jumping-in-puddles]

mid-year book freak out tag

tagged by @bloody-wonder, thank you!

1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2023? 

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente. i dont even know what to say. i want to sit raptly while someone smarter than me explains all the history and symbolism in this book that i missed. haunting.

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2023? 

partially just because i've read few sequels this year, The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik wins. I maintain that Orion is boring as hell after book 1 and I don't care about him but the rest of the book? Delicious. El is so snarky and dark. Ooooh im an evil witch princess im so scary my friends have to hold me back from committing evil (devotes her life to protecting other people) (refuses to live in an enclave because it feels like cheating) (shows up whenever people ask for help even if they suck). also the reveal with the mawmouths was just. such fucking 10/10 writing. the punch of understanding. the way the text gives the reader space to figure it out themself and just go HOLY SHIT.

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To?

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle. I have it downloaded. I am ready.

4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2023? 

I have no idea. I just find books when I find them, y'know?

5. Biggest Disappointment?

ironically, the sequel to question 6, The Return of Fitzroy Angursell by Victoria Goddard. after a book which is about a guy whose whole thing is "really good civil servant" this book was just...not what i wanted. it was about a classic singing robin hood style hero who is charming and cool and magical and does adventures and maybe otherwise i would have enjoyed it but how can i read a book set in the world of my favourite bureaucrat Kip and not read about bureaucracy??? only book so far this year i just straight up didnt finish. also, you can only tell the same vague story about how kip made a joke that one time without actually telling the joke before it stops being "backstory" and starts being "the author never actually figured out what the joke was".

6. Biggest Surprise?

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard. absolutely bizarre book. there is no real plot other than the emperor preparing for retirement. the first three hundred pages the emperor just. goes on vacation?? i was expecting political intrigue but the political intrigue is 90% just "the rich guys dont like it but our guy, Kip the bureaucrat, is the emperors specialist guy and also extremely stubborn so everyone has to go alone with UBI". the biggest conflict is literally just interpersonal miscommunication but good. i was so hooked it was ridiculous. where did the heterosexuality come from i am perplexed

7. Favorite New Author?

i was about to say catherynne m valente but i actually cant claim that because now i looked her up and ive read other work by her! she did The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and sequels which were extremely delightful also. so this one goes to Victoria Goddard on the basis of i have apparently read a lot of authors i already know this year

8. Newest Favorite Character?

Cliopher (Kip) Mdang my beloved

9. Newest Fictional Crush?

¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

💕Best Ship💕

¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

okay i guess maybe kip + the emperor? or maybe el + liesel because i was surprisingly a big fan of liesel by the end. though maybe thats just me wanted el to be with someone more interesting than orion.

10. Book That Made You Cry?

i can't actually remember if i cried but Driftwood by Marie Brennan was quite haunting and beautiful and bittersweet

11. Book That Made You Happy? 

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. now, all brandon sandersons are at least 30% power of friendship by weight but i really do appreciate that this one was like "yeah no we're saying that part out loud. people are heros because they love their friends anything else is just set dressing"

12. Favorite Book Adaptation You Saw This Year?

i...dont think ive watched any book adaptations this year

13. Favorite Review You’ve Written This Year?

don't write 'em, so n/a

14. Most Beautiful Cover?

im going to say Deathless tho i think i am biased because the book hypnotised me

15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of The Year?

so many. Ancillary Justice. I also really should read Nona the Ninth but book 2 was so...eugh. i ravenously devoured a bunch of Pratchett's last month and i am waiting on several more from the library. apparently theres a new murderbot out soon? i should check that out.

tagging @a-fish-bee, @foxsoulcourt if you want to do this one :)

[lilsnowpea93]

Essay time: I can pinpoint exactly why I’m frustrated w capitalism and this current system of how we work in the US. I’ve figured out my place in the world right, I figured out what my “work I should be doing” is (if that’s even necessary morally). But I’ve found the closest things to a typical capital earning career, things that I’m uniquely good at and have “something to offer society” (again just appeasing capitalists w this speak, I’m explaining how the system doesn’t work for some ppl who should be included in society actively doing their thing.) Ok so my shit is like, I do graphic design for friends, we make things. I also make affordable sliding scale art. I make music and encourage ppl to stream/download it for free. I make content online sometimes (way more of a hobby), and I also sell miniature skateboard decks for very affordable prices, or bartering. To summarize, I’m a creative person making stuff that handfuls of people enjoy. That is enough for me, I don’t care about popularity (now that I have other income thank you) and I just want to make neat things and be mentally and physically healthy. Not too much to ask you’d think. NOW, to make this all fit into the capitalist system we are in.. We can spitball, I would have to have so many design projects, from multiple wealthy clients. Or I would also have to somehow get lucky enough to become a somewhat recognized musician and/or artist. Maybe I would become a real content creator. Or I would make my hand crafted items full time. Probably a layering of constant monetary successes in these fields would have to happen for a livable income.

So let’s investigate my specific case. 1. my design caters to liiike, skaters, small brands, etc. You can’t invalidate those niches, they have influence on overall design and are where cool shit sometimes happens. So small doesnt equal bad, most of the time. But small DOES equal not having much money to spread around. 2. Getting famous from art or music is so bad. Trying to do it looks cringey, actually doing it probably sucks so much. Not caring about return is so much fuckinnnggg better !!! I cannot express this enough. U make better stuff. Maybe if u want to be creative, just making it and being proud of it should be the baseline, at least for me. And if a few friends like it, even better. There’s nothing wrong with aiming big I guess but, s2g if there was a way to know the likelihood of that shit, it’d be like wild disproportional. Fuck outta here with that “temporarily embarrassed millionaire” bs. And for me my art/music is kind of specifically me on purpose like I’m gonna do my thing and no one has to like it because I didn’t make it to be like other things or be palatable in a way we contemporarily think of as normal. 3. The content I make online is organic. It’s mainly centered around filmed skateboard tricks. I hope it’s entertaining, I try my best to come up with ones that I feel like doing and that not many people have seen before. I want to add to peoples inspiration when they’re choosing what tricks they want to try. Thinking up rare tricks isn’t something you can just “content” pump out, that would be so weird lol. Like ew being a content creator at shit ruins everything. It wouldn’t even be feasible to make money at that nuh uh. I did try YouTube art vlogs for a year or two but nahhh 4. Bruh do u know how many mini skateboards I’d have to make to equal even half a “normal” jobs pay? They take like an hour or two each no that’s not feasible. Especially the way I make them, more organic and less templates/fancy power tools. I prefer the result that way, it’s harder to get right and takes more time but it’s a skill I have and there’s an art to it so frick offff.

Ok having explained all that- I do believe what I do is a positive force in the communities I’m part of irl and online. I know for a fact that people interact with what I make and are happier because of it. That is very fulfilling. I make things to make them, typically, but that is a huge added bonus, and reason for living frankly.

U may also recognize the thread of affordability or free-ness that runs through everything I like to do. People don’t have random money for buying stuff that’s not for basic survival needs rn. Especially my friends. This is just realistic, like no one’s gonna buy my art if it’s over $50. They can’t afford it, hell I wouldn’t be able to afford it. I used to stress over this, now that I have a steady job I could care less. I’ll give things away for free idc. Cuz good creativity is worth so much and nothing simultaneously I guess lol.

Now, viewing all this from the American capitalist workforce etc perspective: all of these activities are difficult. I put a so much time and effort into each one. I’m kind of a perfectionist and I have very specific tastes. Not to say all my work is good or perfect, but just saying that typically I super care. So I’m passionate about my hard work that I do. A small but not insignificant number of people enjoy the work I put out. However, it does not make barely any income (not my motivation to do my life’s purpose lmao I just do the things I’m good at and like). SO, does that insignificant income part then mean that, I shouldn’t do this stuff? To certain people who understand creative careers they would say that my current path can be a stepping stone to a more real career. To that I say, I’ve been at this step permanently for 10 years, this is it. And also, how are people who are legit at the stepping stone thing supposed to survive?

Now, why I mention all this stuff super hinges on this reality: Currently I work a 30-35 hr full time job at 17/hr and that has made my life a bajillion times easier (I can’t express), but I can barely do the shit I actually want to do, and barely still have good personal and space hygiene and mental health and do easy hobbies like MAYBE sometimes playing a game. If I wanted my life to be upgraded like, having a car, buying a small house, being able to buy the clothes I want, eating out instead of only always spending time making food personally, etc., I would have to work 8 hr 9-5 and find a job that pays even better, but I doubt I could do that because my “real” skills are cleaning the floor/toilet and sometimes fixing things, I could easily get paid less for less hours. Working that 8 hr 9-5 job that’s in a different field I probably don’t like very much would 100% kill all the other things I do. I know this because sometimes I have to work that schedule. Nothing else gets done, apartment doesn’t get cleaned, I barely take care of myself, let alone express the skills that feel like my “purpose”. Maybe that’s a me mental health issue, it seems like some people can do it. Imagine having kids added on to that, this is why I won’t have kids. My past Christian culture really wanted me to have kids. Ur trippin. I regularly fail at taking care of myself.

So what all this tells me, is that my actual skills, which I am pretty good at due to years of experience, have succeeded at so many times in terms of people effected, measurable good done.. I kinda probably shouldn’t have done it, I’m getting good at the wrong thing, it doesn’t make money as its first goal. Meritocracy my assss bro. There’s worth in what I do. The things people like me do are part of the culture. Absolutely not saying I make any waves in that department lol, but I’m part of it, I add my two cents. The culture is what makes shit interesting, it’s what makes people happy, ppls days better, it’s human connection thru shared interests and progression of an art form. Like idk what to tell u I think it’s cool. But to the normal viewpoint, all my stuff is just hobbies. But they’re kinda more than hobbies right? Like I’m just trying to check the capitalist boxes, I don’t think everyone should have to hold their things they do to wild standards of almost fitting into capitalism like mine do. But still, I can’t do it in the way they want, even with the help of having the internet.. and I’m not about to ruin and taint what I love to make not even enough dollars to live from. I don’t even know what I want bro but all I know is that shit doesn’t woooork. Like for some people it does! But not for ppl like I’m describing, who are definitely worth having in society and letting flourish etc. To me creative ppl are a bajillion times more interesting than someone who works in business. Like they can do that sure, that’s probably their thing I guess, buuut idk what are u adding bro, when u die what will u have done. Better been like donating to charities or something. The ppl this system wants u to be are so boring and inhuman. It literally wants to suppress creativity. I hope I’ve proven that here, I know I’m a unique case w my weird shit I do that goes beyond music or whatever’s popular rn. Like I add to society in these ways.. and my regular job does too, I’ve always worked for non profits I like. But still, objectively trying to do both is really gnarly. If only I could be randomly famous for one of those things I like doing to support the rest, I say jokingly because it is not feasible and will likely never happen. Let’s be real there, for most creative people it does not happen. But they still add to their communities and are positive facets of life and society at large. They should be able to do their thing! I also recognize that this experience is very very common. Like I’m granularly describing mine but there are definitely so many ppl with similar things happening all the time. We’re not free to do what we want. The system tells u the opposite but eh there’s a big twist. Sure I could be less free. Literally hate that argument so much tho because it’s always in regards to human made systems like, yes, AND humans COULD fix the terrible instances where the poor people are mega oppressed. We should all be on a better page. We have the resources to be but we’re not. The system and ppl who control it aren’t interested in that I guess. Like, clearly, that’s the reason. Our lives are all a little or massively worse for it. Humans can’t human as effectively, society is less colorful and interesting. As humanity we have less to offer and show for our time on earth.. We don’t even have a clear reason to explain why we’re here or why we’re conscious entities. If I know one fact about reality, we’re not here to solely make money. I refuse to get obsessed with that. But we’re all coerced to be, and the system is built to clearly influence that desire, at the risk of punishment. Like, no, fuck u and fuck money. It’s so awesome that this attitude seems so worthwhile and also so antithetical to living within our system. Fuck all that man that’s terrible. Again, I’m sure we could figure out a way to fix this, but we don’t. We also have bigger problems we refuse to fix. Humans are so cooool hahaha I love us awwee. Sorry for cynicism lulz but it is worrying! Hard not to think about it all the time ya know.

[jucomx]

So I decided to participate in a casual bot competition hosted by some of my STEM friends right, and developing my bot for it made me realise so much about just HOW powerful programming actually is. All i get given is information about the board.

So i have to write a class that, given this information, gives back a move i want to do. Sounds simple enough to be relatively waterproof right?... right?!

Well they used the random module for controlling the dice, and you know what's funny about the random module? It is not random at all, it uses a process called a "Mersenne Twister", which has very nice properties for statistical simulations, but if you want actual unpredictable randomness it completely falls flat because it is a predictable deterministic process. So when the function is called to give back the move i want to make, that means my function has been called in the main loop. This means anything my function does here is executed on the host machine.

So I download RandCracker onto the machine operating the contest (which could have very well been something more malicious, watch out before running code). Then I ask for 624 random 32 bit numbers, which is something i can do since the random module exist on a global scale across the main loop. Except I asked for these numbers not to use them directly but to figure out what the state of this global random module is right now using the previously installed RandCracker.

Now every random event in this war is laid bare as the predetermined the outcome of the starting conditions. However it doesn't end at knowing future dice rolls, this means i can look at future dice rolls, and if i don't like them, simply roll some dice in my function to shift the state of the random module over, again and again, until i get a future dice roll i like.

Now after thinking about my move for half a second (which is like 2 days in human thinking time) the game master is getting somewhat suspicious. So I give them back the move i decided on doing half a second ago, but why would you think half a second just to decide to attack a 30 armies strong country with a single infantry unit?!

Oh well might aswell get it over with right, i got the only information i needed from this bot after waiting half a second so i can finally continue the game now. Where was I? Oh yeah the dumb attack. Roll:

Attacker: 4

Defenders: 3, 1

Oh damn the unit managed to withstand a hit, i guess that does occasionally happen...

Roll:

Attacker:5

Defenders: 2, 4

Wow another hit, we don't see that often around here.

Roll:

Attacker: 2

Oh they're done for now!

Defender: 1, 1

What in the actual shit is going on?!

Roll:

Attacker: 4

Defenders: 2, 1

That is 4 down, how the fuck did this happen?!

Roll:

Attacker: 1

Defender: 4, 6

Ah finally they died, though i suppose it is still the same player's turn, so player the country you just attacked (somehow) lost 4 troups, what do you want to do next?

Alright, give me half a second to "think".

*Half a second later

I think i'll send one unit their way again.

[selznick]

found the name of a dating sim i used to play when i was like 11 but got yeeted off the app store some time between me uninstalling it and now

so now i'm tryna figure out how i can play it again

so far my best guesses are either

Contact the company.

theyre still running and updating/putting out new games from the same genre so if i ask they might be able to put it back on the app store or link me to somewhere i can download it, with reasonable chance of me not getting a virus since it's the offical company

My old phone,

go fine my old phone, go through my installed on the play store libary and Hope i can then reinstall it from there (if it does actually show up)

questionable download

i get a virus tryna download it from some random online source. although idk where to go to even find any kind of download, nevermind for a discontinued mobile dating sim game that was clearly not that popular if it got took off google play :c

so im liked kinda fucked tryna find anything for it, especially since im shit with tech stuff

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

I’ve enjoyed Chris Flemming’s YouTube videos for many years now, they’ve been among the most consistent things in my re-watch cycle. Not every single one of them in order or anything - this is a rare case where I don’t follow some strict schedule that’s managed by a spreadsheet. I’ve seen them all at least once, and every few months, when I’m having an evening in which I drink whisky and watch silly things on YouTube, that evening will involve clicking through the Chris Flemming videos in whatever order I feel like doing. They always, always make me laugh. Doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen them or how long it’s been, there are a few that make me fall apart laughing every single time.

All of that means it’s quite weird that Chris Flemming has an entire stand-up show for free on his YouTube channel, and that’s the one video on that channel that I’d never watched before today. I guess I just hadn’t really thought of him as a stand-up, I just enjoy his short videos. But I’m going through some episodes of the Comedian’s Comedian podcast at the moment, have downloaded Chris Flemming’s and will get to it at some point, and realized they’re going to talk about his stand-up and I’ll get more out of it if I’ve actually seen his stand-up. Also, why haven’t I already seen his stand-up, when it’s right there and I know I find him hilarious?

Anyway, I’ve fixed that now, with a very entertaining 68 minutes that I highly recommend to anyone else who finds him funny:

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It had a few bits that covered stuff from his shorter YouTube videos, but also lots that was new to me, even though I’ve seen all those videos. It made me laugh an enormous amount. His ability to be laugh-out-loud funny via casual use of language is amazing. It’s not unusual for people to be funny with the words they casually throw into a sentence. It is unusual, I think, for humour of that type to be so fucking funny that it makes people lose their breath from laughing. The offhanded similes and metaphors used to describe people are legendary.

This had me re-watching a few of my favourite Chris Flemming YouTube videos, and I realized something upsetting while watching the Adventure Dad one:

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I’m currently in a job where I work with adults who have developmental delays, and I’ve just realized when I’m at work, I talk like the adventure dad from the Chris Flemming video. By which I mainly mean I call them “buddy” too much, I guess. I’ve worked in fields like this before, and I don’t like the way some staff members will infantalize the clients by talking to them like they’re children. Though I’ve also worked with disabled children, and for that matter non-disabled children, and I don’t like the idea of talking to children like they’re children either. But also, if I’m working with clients who understand less than I do and it’s my job to both entertain them and keep them in line, I have to let all those things seep into the way I interact with them somehow. So my compromise is the adventure dad. A lot of “Hey there buddy, what’s up, what’s going on, hey can you come help me out with this, bud, hey we’re getting this done, awesome, you rockstar.” All with, like, a vague layer of irony over it. Sort of. I think I do that a bit while coaching too. It’s a bit painful to hear Chris Flemming satirize it so effectively.

Also, I’ve heard twelve episodes of the Comedian’s Comedian podcast in the last week (I know the exact number because obviously I have a spreadsheet about that one: Paul Sinha x2, Chris Addison, Bridget Christie, Claudia O’Doherty, Mark Steel, John Lloyd, John Robins, Tom Ballard, Jo Brand, Alice Fraser, Hari Kondabolu, Michael Legge), have thoughts about all of them but have only written a post about one so far, am having trouble putting my thoughts about some of the others into words. I keep finding those thoughts changing after each episode, so I’m waiting a bit to put them together. Might put those together into some larger post, if I figure how to say what I want to, which may or may not happen. But I will say I’m really enjoying it and I’m glad I got back into it and it’s probably just as well that I took a break from it because I’m getting more out of it now than I would have last year, now that I’ve seen so much more stand-up.

[purplesurveys]

1767

Have you had more hot or cold drinks today? More of cold. I will say though(!!!) I've recently...turned a shift towards hot coffee? Like this is not bad at all??? I've been having hot mugs all week long and it may very well grow to become a new habit of mine.

What's a name you like that's similar to yours? There aren't a lot of names that bear a similarity to Robyn per se, but in the sense that it's unisex I am generally a fan of such names – like Stevie, Frankie, Dylan, Billie/Billy...

Where did you get the last plate/bowl you ate with from? I don't know, these were the plates we've had from the day we moved in here. I'm guessing they were bought by my parents at some mall.

How's your mental health today? It is very stable and I can tell you it's because I don't have to think about work until Friday.

What bands and artists did you listen to when you were a teenager? Mainly Paramore, but there was a lot of punk rock in there as well. Rancid, H2O, The Bouncing Souls, Against Me!, The Misfits...I don't listen to them nearly as much anymore but I'll always have a soft spot for each of them and for that phase in my life.

Do your feelings get hurt easily? Yes, I'm quite sensitive.

What sort of restaurant did you last eat at? Well it was a Chili's, so. American and a bit of Mexican in there if I understood their concept correctly lol? Anyway, it was my first time eating there too and tbh I had had a high standard because of its price range, only to not be impressed. Why is it even so expensive there? They serve exactly the same stuff you'd find everywhere else.

Do you have a friend who's always sending you TikTok videos? Do you actually watch them? Kata used to send me TikTok videos until she stopped because I never was on the app, lol. Angela would still send me some occasionally, though.

Have you ever seen a cougar in the wild? Never.

Will you attend a wedding in the next 3 months? Unless I get an invitation from today, no.

Are you good at following instructions? They have to be written/printed out otherwise I'd forget instantly.

What's your backyard or outdoor area like? It's clean and plain, but we don't really do things there. We prefer to entertain guests in the living room or at the rooftop.

Do you like your boss? (or your last boss if you don't currently have one) Bea has always been a fantastic superior and mentor to me from the day I stepped in the workplace, which is why I'm gutted that she's leaving any day now. My personal work morale has been low ever since she announced the news and I still haven't figured out how I'm supposed to manage everything and everyone once she's actually out the door.

When was the last time you took a selfie? Does it count if it's a mirror selfie? I took a few ones at the salon earlier this afternoon when I was getting my hair dyed.

What did you have for breakfast yesterday? Fried rice with egg and ham bits.

What do you do to entertain yourself on a long flight or journey? I would download several YouTube videos in advance so I can watch them while offline.

Where are you right now? I'm at the rooftop but I literally am gonna pack up and go back to my room after this question because holy fuck does my back hurt.

Have you ever done a hearing test? Continued a whole day after. I don't think I have.

Do you hate small talk? Depends on how it goes. I'm pretty good with small talk but you can only do so much if the other person is too shy or is stingy with their responses. If I sense that they're not into conversing then I stop.

What's the hottest temperature your current town/city has ever had? There's no confirmed record for the hottest temperature in my city. I'm gonna guess somewhere between 40-45ºC though as summers can get brutal.

What programs/applications do you currently have open on the device you're using right now? I have Chrome, Spotify, and Notes.

How many steps per day do you do, generally? Hahahaha. I work from home and don't exercise so the average is less than 100 a day, embarrassingly enough. It's a different story when I get the chance to be outside because I do like to catch up on my steps; for days like those I would average anywhere between 8,000 to 10,000.

Have you had any snacks today? Yeah I had a couple bags of my favorite sweet corn chips. It's not as bad as it sounds – the bags are *really* tiny so that's why I had to have two of them lol.

Did you have any exchange students at your high school or university and did you become friends with them? We probably had batches of them come and go in college but I never did recognize them. My university has a huge population and it would've been impossible to know every single student.

What's the next thing you'll tick off your to-do list? It's a holiday tomorrow but I need to do a bit of work here and there just so I'm not completely stacked by Friday.

Have you ever had a chia pet? No.

What's your favourite sandwich filling? Pulled pork.

Do you have any nieces or nephews? Nopes.

What was the last reason you saw a doctor? Dog bite.

Do you use light mode or dark mode on your phone? It's been on dark mode for as long as I've had it.

[adultswim2021]

VACATION

Oh, hello there. Oh, this? I'm just using this online shopping website to look at some birthday cards online. You see, it is my birthday on Thursday, and it's one of the ones where the number has a zero at the end of it, and I'm looking for the perfect card that I can demand my family and friends all buy for me, so I can have "one happening birthday". Finally!

I've taken some time off work, and I'm more-or-less going to dedicate the weekend to taking a couple of day trips and doing some other things I've put off for a while. And, I just realized, this would be much easier if I didn't have to worry about updating this while doing all that. So, I'm taking this week off, effective last night when I was GONNA do a post, but then I realized I didn't have all of my research materials handy, and it took all night to get those things downloaded, and then it was late, and also I wanted to watch seven episodes of "Tanner '88" instead.

So this is my announcement of my intent to not post, probably until next Monday. Some of you might say "that sucks dick", but it's a dick that we all have to suck.

So here's a big Mail Bag post:

In reference to my pondering about Marc Summer's absence in a Robot Chicken sketch about Double Dare:

apparently they did get marc summers for some later episode. i know this because i watched him interview tim heidecker on some webshow/podcast he has and i remember him bragging that he'd been on robot chicken and asking tim if he ever had, and tim kinda going "uhhh, no, i don't think so" lol

LOL. Tim & Eric couldn't be more at odds with Robot Chicken. I am going to guess that when they were younger and much more "punk rock" they probably shit talked them when being interviewed for cool magazines like Time or Zillions.

One time my job hired a guy with whom I had maybe one of the worst personality clashes I ever had (I am a demon from hell and I have zero ability to not show it when I'm annoyed or angry with somebody, sorry to that guy I wish I weren't like this okay), and he got it out of me that I liked Adult Swim and he immediately tried to talk to me about Robot Chicken, and I was like "I don't really watch that show" and he immediately asked "don't tell me you like that Tim & Eric crap!"

whats your favorite thing you bought at a second hand store to make yourself not look like a looky loo

I have a B&W video monitor I bought at a garage sale. It's beautiful, very flipable, but I paid 5 bucks for it and like how it looks. VHS tapes actually look amazing on it. I wanna figure out a way to rig it up with some kind of raspberry pi machine that just loops old cartoons on it or something.

did you do something to the banner? it seems more...expansive.

I tried to get it to display more "properly" because it bothered me how pixelated it looked but I think I sorta fucked it up. I tried to change it back but tumblr's edit feature sucks. I guess I should just do an AI upscale or something. But yes I shittily drew on it to make it look wider, you caught me.

Me love the way you walk sometimes The way you talk is so hot Now you know let’s have a shot of rum Then me can make you come With me to the ocean That would be phat You can be my bow cat Nice ital breeze Bring you to your knees We're jammin'

punani likers everywhere, this one is for us

That's Shenmue 3, dipshit

Dang it, you are right.

Brownies was probably the best episode they did that season and I was surprised they weren't willing to do that style of show for the entire series. It seemed more like what Adult Swim wanted from them?

Something for "da" stoners... as a weed-taker myself., I would have to agree!

When was the last time you POGGED off?

What bitch?

Lol I was being silly telling a stupid joke. Chapotraphouse has the ice cream as his sound bite now.

I tell you this guys, I had a weird dream that Toonami Tom said he would sponsor me I'd have to sell out and let him hold the Adult Swim 2021 brand. And I'd have to suck his dick. It was a disgusting dream. No Tom, I would never do that in real life.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 256

Alpha and Omega

Because I forgot to download today’s spn episode and because it’s Destiel’s 15th anniversary (of when they met), we’re just doing one episode today…and definitely not because I want to start the One Piece anime……….

“Alpha and Omega”

Plot Description: the team scrambles to form a plan that can stop Amara and preserve the universe, but one of them will have to make a big sacrifice

“Carry On Wayward Son” gets neglected again…fine. I’ll do it myself *opens Spotify*

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: no one died

Ok but why would Cas know where Lucifer went after Amara ripped him out? I didn’t know where my teeth went when I had to get a couple pulled as a kid. Frankly, I didn’t even know they’d been pulled, I thought the dentist had to go get bigger pliers

I have zero sympathy for god…..

Now might not be the time to ponder on canine eating schedules, but at least “I didn’t know dogs had breakfast” is the most solid proof that Castiel is in fact back

I don’t know what I’m supposed to be seeing in the sky there. It looks DIFFERENT, sure but I’ve literally seen worse. This year.

I swear if Cas never gets to confront god himself I’ll be so fucking mad

“If you got something for me to punch, shoot, or kill, lemme know, and I’ll do it. I’ll do it til I die, but how are we supposed to fix the friggin’ sun?” They really wanted me to take that line seriously and not laugh

Why are we in London all of a sudden?? Who is she?? And why is she after Sam and Dean??

Rowena and Chuck talking about parenting is a much needed moment of levity, especially paired with Crowley being thankful the world is ending, hearing about himself at one year old

I’m just confused what Sam wants them to ACTUALLY do. “Anything” is not a real counter

Where ARE Dean and Cas going?? Beer run? Joy ride?

Behold, the face of a man whose crush just told him “you’re our best friend” and “you’re our brother.”

What an interesting solution. And honestly, I should have seen it coming. You can’t have just either darkness or light. Both have to be in existence equally….but what if equally….meant none at all?

Rowena’s eye makeup is fucking gorgeous, but omg did she really just say “if you get me enough souls, I can build a bomb”??? I am equal parts “this is a ridiculous line” and “LET. HER. COOK!”

I can’t believe we’re gonna try to vacuum some ghosts out of an old mental hospital to get some souls

Oh I bet the person…….I was wrong. Omg. The Reaper that wants Sam and Dean dead. All she DOES is collect souls!

If this pigeon feeding old lady convinces Amara to not destroy all of existence, I’ll scream

I’m…unwell at the thought of Dean being the bomb. They’re gonna shove hundreds of thousands of souls into him……and half of what I’m thinking about is when Castiel took all the souls out of purgatory and the parallels and how they’ll be the only two with that kind of experience. The other half is don’t let Dean sacrifice himself!! Billie’s gonna take him to the Empty and he’s not the only one with a PERSONAL CONNECTION TO AMARA. Chuck is literally right there

One day, I’ll figure out how to put eyeshadow or more liner under my eye without it looking bad. I want to make this look work. It’s stunning

Oh are we getting the London lady again? For like ten seconds……

Take those souls out of Dean and do it yourself, you fucking coward

“I could go with you” CASSSSSSSSSSSS

Watching Dean say goodbye to Sam is so hard. After all the times they’ve fought tooth and nail to keep the other from dying…to have this air of acceptance because it’s for the sake of all existence

Why are all these family therapy sessions led by one or more Winchesters working so well??

Guess the sun’s back…so what does Dean do with all those souls now?

The way Cas’s first thought upon seeing the sun back was about Dean

So Amara heals Chuck, Chuck takes the souls out of Dean, and then Chuck leaves again

One, I can’t believe that lady just shot Sam, Two, I can’t believe Amara and Chuck just left Dean stranded……EXCUSE ME?!?! What I really am having trouble grasping is MARY’S BACK?!!

[theliterateape]

Revision for Comfort? Safety? What the Fuck?

by Don Hall

When I had a VHS player, I used to buy copies of the movies I loved. When it was a cassette player, I bought cassettes. CD player? CDs. DVD player? You get the picture. I like to own my music and film. I don't crave that ownership out of a hoarder's wish (I knew a guy whose house looked like a Blockbuster Video so complete was his collection) but stemming from the days when I couldn't simply summon the viewing of a favorite movie or album. I had to either wait until it was on or own a copy to be played upon demand.

Then came Netflix. Sure, I didn't own the movies but I could rent a copy and watch it five times in a row if I wanted to and that was the convenience I sought. Then it became a streaming platform and, holy shit, I had the entire video store at my will. With Amazon Prime and Apple+ you can even buy the music and the movies to download right on to your computer.

Except...

You don't actually own those purchased albums or movies. You own them as long as A) you stay with Amazon or Apple, B) as long as Amazon and Apple stay in business, and C) as long as the corporation that actually owns the music and film continue to lease them to Amazon and Apple.

This doesn't bother me. I've never been keen on owning a home because it's just renting from a landlord who doesn't fix your toilet if it's broken. I've rented my homes, all apartments, my entire life. The only items I own are my clothes, furniture, and of course my books.

Except...

“Words matter,” begins the discreet notice, which sits at the bottom of the copyright page of Puffin’s latest editions of Roald Dahl’s books. “The wonderful words of Roald Dahl can transport you to different worlds and introduce you to the most marvellous characters. This book was written many years ago, and so we regularly review the language to ensure that it can continue to be enjoyed by all today.”

Put simply: these may not be the words Dahl wrote. The publishers have given themselves licence to edit the writer as they see fit, chopping, altering and adding where necessary to bring his books in line with contemporary sensibilities. By comparing the latest editions with earlier versions of the texts, The Telegraph has found hundreds of changes to Dahl’s stories.

SOURCE

At the behest of sensitivity readers, a special class of censorious job category defined by pouring through a text to zero in on those words and phrases no longer in vogue or considered out-of-date in the current orthodoxy, the estate in charge of Dahl's cannon have edited and changed his words to reflect the tastes of a new secular morality at play.

Recently, I exhorted a young director to defy the limitations on Beckett's Waiting for Godot. This is different than actually changing the text of the play for future generations. One is interpretation; the other is revision. You know who else revises works of art to fit an ideological narrative?

China. You know, the communist dictatorship.

CNN Business and the BBC reported last month that the Chinese changed ending erased the entire explosive final scene [of Fight Club]. In this altered ending, the mayhem was replaced with text onscreen telling audiences that authorities arrived just in time to save the day.

"Through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding," the caption reads. "After the trial, Tyler was sent to (a) lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012."

SOURCE

I'd hazard a guess that when, in lockstep with a specific worldview, an industry adopts the practices of an authoritarian regime it might signal some alarm klaxons. Perhaps that's a bit overhyped and, in the most mild take, this represents less censorship and more vandalism. Whichever you buy into, it is still a bizarre and untethered practice to consider.

Among the changes in Dahl's works, according to the Telegraph, include removal of the word "fat," such as when it was used to describe the character of Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The word "ugly" was also removed.

Gender-neutral language was also added to describe certain characters, such as in reference to "mothers and fathers," which is now "parents."

In some cases, language was also added, such as in The Witches, in a paragraph about the witches being bald under their wigs. "There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that," a new line reads, per the Telegraph.

Slippery slope arguments are almost always fear-based. It isn't a stretch in this case, with major publishing houses cancelling books because of their progressive staffs on the regular, to see where this sort of revisionism leads. We start with children's books written by dead authors we find objectionable. Eeyore is no longer gloomy. He has PTSD and put on anti-depressants. The Grinch isn't just foul, he's an instrument of systemic racism. The little boy in the giving tree will be replaced with a gender fluid kid. The Big Bad Wolf will be rebranded as the Massive Misunderstood Wolf and his enemies will be known as the Three Height-Challenged Omnivorous Hoofed Mammals.

Eventually, any book released becomes a literary deepfake of what the author wrote. I don't read children's books. The issue is strictly theoretical for me. When the estates of Mark Twain's novels come for the insensitive language or the sensitivity readers object to the works of Bukowski or Ginsburg, I'm covered because I own those books. Not the digital versions which I can only ever rent, but the books themselves. In this wave what becomes of Nabokov? Henry Miller? Toni Morrison? Hunter Thompson might as well just be redacted.

So, go out and buy books. The Right are banning them, the Left are revising them, and at least when you buy a book—a real, made of paper and ink book—you actually own it.