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T3551ER

Knob Twiddlers
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Posts posted by T3551ER

  1. Black Widow. I .... it was fine. A lot of good elements (acting, humor, direction, themes, etc.) that somehow combined into an end product that felt bland and devoid of anything memorable. Felt like a slightly higher budget episode of agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

    10 Scarjo hair flips / 13 questionable russian accents 

    • Like 3
  2. 16 hours ago, beerwolf said:

    Cheers. It’s been a fairly depressing episode for me, but I’ve refused to give a full report in the First World Problems thread. Mainly because I have support around me and I’m getting better and there is light at the end of the tunnel. I think I regarded the first few weeks as a bit of a hoot (I don’t mind work but yeah I don’t jump out of bed with joy either!) that seemed to wear off after a while and then one starts wishing and reflecting upon returning to full fitness. Appreciate your words.

    Veering back on track, yes I definitely read about Locke & Key on watmm. I’ll probably start tomorrow. 


      

    Well, really glad to hear things are looking up (and that you've got a good support network - that shit's crucial, particularly in these very trying, very weird times). I remember being laid up w/ hernia surgery a few years back. I figured I'd just be popping pain pills and catching up on anime, which did happen, and was kind of cool for a while, but the pain and the just not being able to get up and do shit got to be realllly frustrating. It's amazing how much you miss really simple shit (like, real basic things, like walking 15 feet without feeling exhausted) when you can't do it. Glad you're on the positive side of recovery, don't forget to take it easy on yourself!

    Back OT - hellz yeah, just saw this post on Facebook where Neil Gaiman got a special edition Key model from the Locke and Key Sandman crossover going on (I'm a HUGE Sandman fan, so this puts L&K even more on the radar). Still on True Detective which is seriously threatening to A-bomb my sleep schedule because first season is SO. Friggin. Good. 

    • Thanks 1
  3. On 9/26/2021 at 2:17 PM, Cryptowen said:

    i'll acknowledge at the outset that my perspective may well just be a product of my particular worldview (ie, as someone who's been irrationally wary of any sort of authority figure since early childhood, and tends to gravitate to emotionally intense experiences as if their intensity alone gave them authenticity), but...I basically view the psychiatric apparatus as largely being used to enforce social normativity. There's this idea of the "well-adjusted" individual who fits comfortably into the existing social structure, and with that comes the implication that any negative reaction to the existing structure is a defect to be treated. The individual is made to see his negative feelings in terms of his isolated experience, his personal history, his egoic desires etc. The content of the negative feeling is to be deconstructed, or expressed within the "safe" confines of mainstream discourse. The possibility of a large number of individuals recognizing that they share these negative feelings, and could in fact fight in the name of these feelings (rather than simply making vague allusion to them in socially-permitted conversation) is stymied.

    I typically see people online responding to eccentric or angry outbursts with "seek help!"...the question is, seek help doing what? seek help becoming comfortable with a world that makes you uncomfortable? seek help learning to watch the news without gagging? seek help learning how to be "chill"? imo the implication in all this is that the primary purpose of life is to just be comfortable, to fit in, to accept the hand that's been dealt to you. for me this is not the purpose of life at all. for me the purpose of life is to work to uphold an ideal - be that ideal aesthetic, moral, political, social, etc. (i'm not saying it should be the same ideal for everyone). for me there's a sense of wanting to be true to an inner feeling - whether or not that means my life is comfortable, or accepted by others, or financially viable. in fact i'm pretty sure that most things i've accomplished that i'm actually proud of, most things that i look back on fondly many years later, were the product of tremendous inner tension & emotional malaise. Periods of my life where i've just been "chill" felt like a year, two years, five years going by as a blur, until i reached a point where i just got frustrated with the artificiality of it all

    But! I also recognize that simply wanting to stare unblinking at the sickness of lfie isn't going to bring about massive social change (or even meaningful artistic output). i recognize that there's a certain kind of individual (myself) for whom these states hold quite an appeal. You're always going to have your dissidents, your would-be revolutionaries, your hermits, your malcontents etc who will naturally gravitate to these outlier positions, whether or not their efforts succeed in bringing about any kind of social or personal transformation. You're also going to have a certain kind of individual who really does just want to be normal, to fit in, to have a good time - and there's nothing shameful about that. I think for that kind of individual something like psychiatry probably makes a lot of sense (heck, maybe they even make better art when they feel more "stable" and not bogged down by their emotions). Then you also have a great number of individuals who are somewhere in the middle - they recognize that their might be some deeper truth to their discontent, but at the same time they recognize that there's something to be said for making an effort to fit in, and to get over yourself. For them, it's a process of determining to what degree they indulge their eccentricities, and to what degree they attempt to conform to an imperfect social machine. imo this is what most people are doing most of the time, and it's only on rare ocassions that things tip over, and a large number suddenly feel compelled to FIGHT DA POWAH

     

    also i more or less agree with most of what Deleuze & Guattari have to say on the matter. Nick Land as well, but he's also a case study in how trying to rise up & strike the lightning can have some unintended ripple effects on a person's life

    Just wanted to say that my personal experience with therapy, as well as friends who have been involved with it both as providers and receivers doesn't really mesh with the portrayal here? With the massive caveat that I feel like some of the complexities of the philosophical discussions in this thread are beyond me, I do feel like I understand the above and it just doesn't jive with what I've seen/experienced. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are a lot of psychotherapists that are trying to push people into a certain set of standards and boxes that could be labelled as normative but I've actually actually found the opposite is true - a lot of therapists I've talked to have even discussed society (well, at least our society) as being severely unhealthy and, in a lot of ways, the cause of a significant amount of our suffering. I distinctly remember one saying to me "it's hard to be immune from all of societies' signals" which I thought was fucking SPOT ON and holds true to this day. 

    I don't know, just my experience, but I've absolutely never felt like any therapy that I've experienced ever pushed me towards "fitting in" and "being normal" and  "being stable" and "not bogged down by my emotions." 

    That being said, my issues (and, of the people that I know who have done therapy) are generally of a trauma-related/PTSD nature - a few of my friends have legitimately had severe bipolar which I think is a bit different. ... but I also don't really know that their experience has been described as all that different. Most people that I know who provide therapy frankly don't really seem too keen on society or what constitutes the promulgated idea of "normalcy," and in fact often say things that most "normal" people would probably do a triple take at (e.g., hey, maybe taking drugs isn't actually a bad thing, depending on how and why you are doing it). 

    My 2 cents, probably not even worth that much. Though, I guess this is the "pointless thoughts" thread so maybe I'm just uber OT .. 

    EDIT: Wanted to correct something here. I was discussing this with my wife last night and she pointed out that bi-polar and schizophrenia are different diagnoses. She also let me know that several of her close friends (5 actually) were clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia, and their experience may mirror what you're talking about here to a degree - i.e., they felt that the medications and focus of their therapy was aimed at removing something that they felt was integral to their identity so they could "function better" in the world we live in. I.e., their schizophrenia felt like a huge part of who they are, and attempts to modify or change that felt like giving up a part of themselves for the sake of existing in a world they felt was not for them. 

    I still hold the intent of therapy, in my experiences, is often not to enforce becoming dulled, chill, fit in or become "normal" and accept society without question (and would say the opposite is actually true). But I can understand why someone who deeply identifies with their condition and the way that causes them to function might feel like this is the case (I also get the argument that in another time/place, people with these disorders might be seen as holy prophets/shamans/visionaries instead of being shunted to the periphery of society, and there might be better societal ways of dealing with these issues than we are using now). 

    • Thanks 1
  4. 7 hours ago, beerwolf said:

    Soz for slightly hogging this thread but this is my fifth week off work with a bad back. So I’m kind of limited in what I can do.

    Similar to the feeling of finishing a really good book, I’ve hit that low lull after Brand New Cherry Flavor. Returned to and tried a bit of Lucifer, and though it’s really entertaining, it’s not ticking all the boxes for me, and not something I can sink my teeth into. Also tried a few episodes of Orange Is The New Black (don’t ask why, I don’t have an answer ?) which is okay but yeah not exactly something that interests me.

    I think it might be time for

    C74E1B28-16B4-4339-8CB9-AB59174B8A76.jpeg

    Very interested to hear your thoughts on this - it's been on the radar for a while and from what I hear it's pretty great. Actually think a few folks around here have given it high praise? Might just be making that up tho...

    I just started watching the first season of True Detective last night. I had watched 5 minutes of it maybe 3 years ago and for some reason turned it off. what is wrong with me? holy crap the first 50 minutes are better than like 98% of the trash I usually watch. Stoked to see more... 

    EDIT: sry, forgot, was going to say "hope you feel better soon!" Back problems are no fun at all - good luck getting vertical when you can!

  5. 14 hours ago, usagi said:

    that one? how? it wasn't that dramatic or sentimental from what I remember.

    most depressing for me would probably be another Australian gem, The Rover. had me feeling a type of way for basically the rest of the year and then a bit more. it's a movie of bigly personal significance to me.

    Mm, Rover looks good. Thanks for mentioning. 

    This horror flick about aging/dementia I thorough enjoyed. Not necessarily a reflection on the topics per se, but a pretty crackin' found footage horror film

     

  6. On 9/17/2021 at 6:37 PM, Squee said:

    Everyone needs to watch Malignant. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s brilliant. 

    What... what a STRANGE movie. It's either awfully brilliant or brilliantly awful. My opinion vacillates between these two on an almost moment by moment basis.  

    On 9/10/2021 at 5:10 PM, Squee said:

    Malignant

    All the various emotions I went through in chronological order:

    Screenshot 2021-09-10 at 23.03.44.png


    Screenshot 2021-09-10 at 23.04.00.png


    Screenshot 2021-09-10 at 23.04.15.png

    billede.png

    billede.png

    Screenshot 2021-09-10 at 23.05.50.png


    Screenshot 2021-09-10 at 23.07.28.png
     

    billede.png

    billede.png

    Screenshot 2021-09-10 at 23.10.23.png

    ^ This is perfect. Spot friggin' on. 

     

  7. 4 hours ago, Silent Member said:

    This looks like a well executed fan film, and my gut is telling me this show is going to be the worst of all time.

    Yeah, I'm worried. Been trying to figure out why and "well executed fan film" is spot on. It's weird, b/c the Sandman clip looks so well polished whereas this looks like... I don't know, something obviously filmed on a sound stage. Hard to tell until actual footage gets release though, Cho sounds fully committed which makes me hopeful....

    • Like 1
  8. On 9/21/2021 at 9:14 AM, Himelstein said:

    On the topic of Disney Marvel and Star Wars:

    The nostalgia factor is probably what the writers are trying to hit us with. I think that the MCU is definitely not on par with my favorite artsy films. I am a pretty die hard Lynch fan, and like a lot of you I also am into Kubrick, Aronofsky, Nolan, blah blah blah. But- the MCU really has done something unprecedented with the interconnections and how it compares/mirrors the comic book universe formula. Nobody else has ever done something like that leading to the Infinity stuff and whatnot. I read a lot of comics, mainly trippy sci-fi, but some super hero stuff, and I think they do a good job of capturing the essence of what makes them great. 

    I don’t really know if some of these big deal directors are super hero, or comic book fans, so I really don’t care about how they feel about those movies. Just like I don’t care about how Stan Lee felt about Aphex Twin.

    All that being said- it’s mainly about my son, and family- and going thru a lot of this stuff with them. I mean- the second season of Mandalorian was really awesome after going thru all the Star Wars stuff with him, and I do read some of the SW books and comics and have been a pretty obsessed fan my whole life. Just, basically I’m trying to say that that seeing these things come to fruition thru Disney, like with marvel: Thanos, Drax, Kang, Celestials…..these were things I never thought I’d see on film when I was a kid. My son has played these games and watched all the shit, and knows it, as well as most of his friends. It’s like “their” original Star Wars trilogy. The average elementary school kid knows who Thanos is? That’s pretty fucking cool IMO. 

    Yeah, gonna +1 this. The MCU stuff, in particular the most recent Disney+ shows (Wandavision and Loki) really feel like actually excellent sci-fi/fantasy, and show a willingness to start to dig into some deeper themes (Wandavision is a meditation on grief and loss, Loki on growing the fuck up and being an adult). Although some of this stuff is definitely cookie cutter origin story/hero's journey third act bombast, I'm pretty much fine because... it is what it is. It's popcorn movie fare, but over time it's also been infused with heart, interesting direction, and like @Himelsteinnotes, a really excellent handling of interconnectedness across media.

    I'd actually argue that one of the reason's why the Star Wars sequels failed is because there wasn't a singular vision at the helm. You compare the three sequels that always seemed to be tripping over themselves with something like the Mandalorian, which was confident, had it's own feel, but still remained ineffably Star Wars and you see how having someone like Dave Filoni involved (who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject matter and is involved in many arms) can really help make something both cohesive and still unique. 

    Maybe it's age (and having a kid) but .. I guess I'm less critical about this sort of thing than I used to be. Part of that is taking things on the face of what they are - I don't go into Thor expecting Shakespeare (though, ironically, some undertones there with Branaugh directing), I don't go into a Billie Eilish album expecting microtonal scales. 

    Don't get me wrong, definitely hear the criticisms and agree with some of it. Black Panther sadly felt so very Marvel origin story roadmap and I fear Shang Chi will have similar issues - but also think Marvel continues to expand its flavor palate with things that are weirder, stranger, and more nuanced, and really should be applauded for continuing to take risks with indie directors that bring a different slant to things. 

    I guess, for me, it's like this: If someone were to ask me what my favorite movie is, I'd probably say Twin Peaks Season 3. It's the magnum opus of Lynch, combining everything that came before and adding new bits, a meta-commentary on wanting to be satisfied with resolution, a horror movie, an abstract comedy, a set of musical performances, a tone poem, a work of staggering genius. However, if someone were to ask me what movie I watch every year and enjoy thoroughly all the way through, it's probably Guardian's of the Galaxy. It's by turns heartbreaking, hilarious, weird, sad, and joyful, beautifully shot, directed, and acted, and the soundtrack is killer to drive to. 

    Sometimes you wanna 50$ filet mignon with a side of organic greens and homemade garlic aoli, sometimes you just wanna fuckin' big mac with fries and a  McFlurrie. 

     

    • Like 2
  9. Deathloop - sort of up and down about this one. Reviews kind of skyrocketed expectations and the first few hours lived up to it. Got a little frustrated for the next few hours, but I think that's mainly because I kept trying to force a "guns blazing" approach when I really wasn't powered up enough for it (and the game seems more structured to be a "stealth while you can, then blow shit up when it goes to hell .. but stealth first")

    Hit a crest last night where some things finally clicked, including getting some slabs and infusing some weapons/trinkets, which makes everything a lot more forgiving. Other thing that started to click was getting familiar with the levels - and then discovering interesting, hidden things. Initially the amount of info seemed just overwhelming but have sort of accepted that it'll make more sense as time goes by (haha). 

    Some weird LOD issues also where things will remain blurry until I'm right up on top of them (PS5) - emailed support but that will probably do fuck all. 

    I know this sounds like a pretty meh response but really it's been a great gaming experience. I actually look forward to the point where I really know/understand the levels - the whole thing is like one very elegant puzzle, with multiple ways of solving individual situations, and even solutions that cross locations/times of day. The actual story/what's going on is also fascinating - the game oozes atmosphere and a sense of legitimately lived in spaces. I spent a while in Frank's complex last night and the music/psychedlia etc. was just stunning. Kind of hoping they release the soundtrack for this one. ...

    EDIT: This song in particular *swoon*

     

    • Like 1
  10. A buddy and I took a crack at doing a VR startup at the beginning of the resurgence in VR (our focus was on educational opportunities in VR). We used to lug around our rigs to schools and do demos of Titans of Space mainly (this was back in the DK2 days, before the retail version had launched, and well before standalone models). 

    Even back then, this stuff was very compelling (I mean, not this program per se, but the idea of VR - the chance to do things in a virtual space and, for me, particularly the promise of artistic expression). Things didn't ever work out with the startup (turns out ... running a business is hard, and there isn't a lot of $ in the educational space for VR, or at least there wasn't at the time) - but I still carry this love for VR that I've had basically ever since I read Neuromancer etc. and it lit my brain on fire as to the possibilities. 

    @ignatius I hear you - my last experience with VR was admittedly not the most ideal, as it was on devkits and even back then unless your had a god tier rig you weren't ever going to even be hitting the FPS you need to start to mitigate sim sickness for those who are sensitive. I'm about halfway sensitive - I don't immediately get sick, but after a certain amount of time I found myself getting nausea that lasted well beyond taking the goggles off. It's funny - I've actually very willfully held off on trying any new VR - mainly because when I do, I want to be blown away. Basically, like the jump from playing a game on the OG nintendo to a PS5.  

    Stuff like this is kind of the same - pretty crude but interesting glimpse at what things may end up being down the road. At the beginning, I think we all thought "oh, I'll throw on this headset and live inside Quake forever" but then you realize there are all these things that need to be sussed out first. A main one really is the movement/space issue - if there was a functional way to trick the brain into believing the legs/body is moving without actually having to move around a game space, that would go a long way towards solving a huge hurdle of VR. Right now, you're either confined to a box/limited play space or using teleporting or some other non-natural feeling solution. 

    Anyway, appreciate this for what it is - not something I will ever actually use to make music, but a great proof of concept/seed for what might be amazing down the road. Look forward to what the future brings!

    • Like 1
  11. 5 hours ago, beerwolf said:

    I actually watched a season and a bit of Lucifer and loved it but for some reason dropped it (maybe, as you say, it felt like a OTT guilty pleasure) for Better Call Saul, which felt like a wise move. Because of your well written positive words, I think I’ll return and watch some more. The main man (forget the actors name) was indeed brilliant and funny.

    Cheers M8. Tom Ellis is the guy, you'll see him start to exercise his acting chops more as the series goes along. It does remain a bit OTT (it's a lot of drama that definitely swings into melodrama). I know for me, though, it ended up being this really amazing meditation on love/loss/sacrifice and some very deep themes that were carried off perfectly within the context of this sort of pulpy action/drama - in particular, you see all of the characters actually grow, change, and mature - something which is actually reflective of the show itself (starts off as procedural monster of the week, ends up being something much more). Hope you enjoy!

    • Like 1
  12. Lucifer, final season. I bawled and blubbered like a little baby through almost every episode, particularly the last few. The rare show that somehow started off good and then just got better and better and better. I thought Season 5 couldn't be topped and I was so very wrong. Season 6 tore my heart out and provided an ending that was hard but felt totally earned/correct for everything the series has ultimately been about. I'd call it my pinnacle of guilty pleasure shows but I'm not even guilty about it so I guess I get to escape my hell loop ?   

  13. 15 minutes ago, onecaseman said:

    Beat boss three and almost beat boss four on Returnal. I may be able to beat this game!

     

    Unrelated, Death Loop is getting 10/10 review scores. Looks dope. I loved Dishonored 2 and Prey.

    Yeah, pre-ordered Deathloop last night. Woke up this AM to see the 10/10 scores which has me hyped (I enjoyed Dishonored 2 but not as much as I thought I would, so trying to temper expectations going in on this one...)

  14. ^ Yeah, man, MIndhunter (particularly S1) is pretty fucking flawless. I heard a rumor he's thinking about going back in for another season but we'll see. 

    I'm throwing caution to the wind and just holy fuck I'm hyped for this. To support the whole "meta" idea check out this still from the trailer where it's clear someone is watching the Matrix (or, at least a scene from it) in the world of the film: 

    E-2Ms3FX0AYZnRg?format=jpg&name=large

    • Like 1
    • Big Brain 1
  15. 20 minutes ago, diatoms said:

     

                                                                    what if i told you

                                                                       bring on

                                                                           the matrix

    I literally can't *heart* this post enough. Bring it on!!!!

  16. Matrix news and Radiohead news in the same day? Sign my nostalgic ass up. 

    Less stoked about this than the OK NOT OK release (and those leaked cassettes omfg that was a treasure trove) but still stoked. Follow me Around from this era should make most Radiohead fans go apeshit though I'll probably go gaga of the How to Disappear strings. 

     

    • Like 3
  17. 9 minutes ago, chronical said:

    This legit made me yell awwwww yeaaaaaaaaaaah at the end, thanks for sharing. Is there any word on it being the last movie in the series?

    hahah IKR?! No idea - very little has been said/revealed about it up to this point (which is crazy given how long it's been in production and how close to release). Would suspect this would be a one-off though... something about these clips feels awfully "final" to me... 

  18. On 9/4/2021 at 2:07 AM, webby said:

    I really like your use of piano in both pieces, maybe the really long tail reverbs on it are taking up a lot of space in the mix however. I'd say ditto to ArtificialDisco's words about The Forest, great track.

    Thanks Webby - the comment about the reverb tails is helpful. Trying to pinpoint where things are getting mushy has been a challenge, will go back and take a look/listen to this in the mix. Appreciate it!

    • Like 1
  19. On 9/3/2021 at 8:43 PM, ManjuShri said:

    I had last read his A Night in Lonesome October, which is from the point of view of Jack the Ripper's occult companion dog as his master goes about his business which I greatly enjoyed. His fantasy series The Chronicles of Amber is his most commonly recommended series, at least the first six books out of the ten at any rate. Lord of Light is his most recommended standalone novel, however the lack of accuracy in the Indic religions he depicts turned me off, but only because that's a pet subject of mine.

    ?

    • Like 1
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