bogdugg

@bogdugg@sh.itjust.works

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨New ‘Star Trek’ Movie in the Works at Paramount from ‘Andor’ Director⁩ ⁨⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve held off rewatching Rogue One until Andor season two finishes, so the former isn’t fresh in my mind, but there is plenty of character development in Andor. He’s the “guy who gets shit done” but at the beginning of the show, he’s reckless and only in it for himself. In that season he sees first hand how the evils of the Empire affect his life, recognizes how his selfishness negatively impacts those around him, sees what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself, and is able to (sort of) move on from a life that revolves around his missing sister. The Rebellion gives him something to focus on and be apart of.

  The ending of episode 6, exactly halfway through the season, is also a perfect midpoint for this arc. He’s approached by somebody that’s in it for themselves, and the reckless, reactive part of Andor reflexively shoots him. He’s refuting the selfish part of himself that would have done the very same thing, but the reckless “shoot first think later” part of him is still alive and well.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨What are some other sites like Lichess for tabletop/board games?⁩ ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  A couple years old, hopefully most of the websites on here are still alive:

  drive.google.com/file/d/…/view alinachin.github.io/onlineboardgames.html

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Quizzle – Can you guess the word in fewer than twenty questions?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  It might be because they are part of the Order ‘carnivora’, so in that sense they are carnivores even though they are omnivorous.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Quizzle – Can you guess the word in fewer than twenty questions?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Managed it in 5 somehow. Very cool.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Would you prefer if games had a separate difficulty setting for boss fights?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Maybe you’ve read it before and you want to skip to the good parts. Maybe it’s non-fiction and you’re only interested in something specific. Maybe there are parts of the story that make you uncomfortable, but you’re enjoying it overall. Maybe a page is missing. Maybe it’s an abridged version and it’s not up to you, that’s just what was available.

  And to the original point, what of translations? Maybe the original author is dead, and somebody translated their book. Are you ‘circumventing’ the author’s original intent to ‘gain an advantage’? I mean, yes. Does that mean you’re ‘cheating’?

  What about audio books? Was the book intended to be read on a page? Are you cheating by having the book read to you?

  Calling these things ‘cheating’ is silly and unnecessarily loaded, and they assume that the goal of a work is completion. That the only reason you would start a thing is to finish it. I don’t believe that’s the case for any art. One might say that the challenge in a game is the point, but that’s only sometimes true, and challenge is relative. If something comes naturally easier to you, is it ‘cheating’ to use mods to make the game more difficult, because you’re gaining the advantage of improving your experience, against the original intent of the game? I don’t think so, so I don’t see why it is any different the other way around.

  To think about it another way: if you subtract that paragraph from that book, does it cease to be a book? No, it’s just a different book, and that can still have value to people. You’re not ‘cheating’, you are making a new experience for yourself.

  I could go on and on so I’m gonna stop myself here.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Would you prefer if games had a separate difficulty setting for boss fights?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  Is it cheating to skip a paragraph in a book?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Am I strange for not loving Everything Everywhere All At Once?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  I loved Swiss Army Man, the directors’ previous film, for its weirdness, charm, music, humour and visual flare. Everything Everywhere was an improvement over all of these aspects so I absolutely loved it, such that I can overlook the pacing issues. They never lose the very human story through the madness.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Are there any reputable independent gaming sites left?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  I have two podcasts in my rotation currently:

  • Remap Radio; previously Waypoint Radio, sometimes their politics feel overly dogmatic, perhaps as a reflection of the audience and culture they have cultivated, but the vibes are good and they have insightful things to say. I’d say they are currently in a transition period so they’re still finding their rhythm.
  • 8-4 Play; Started by a localization company based in Tokyo, you’ll get a unique perspective of life in Japan, Japanese games, and industry connections that you can’t really get anywhere else, at least not in English.

  Used to listen to the Bombcast, but none of the splinters from what it was appeal to me much. New Bombcast, Nextlander, solo Gerstmann, are all flawed in different ways imo.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Curated Watch Lists?⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  There are tons and tons of lists on Letterboxd, a social network built around movies. Sounds like exactly what you’re looking for.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨‘The Bear’ Feasts in Streaming Rankings⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩:

  There are moments of calm, but the show is very much about the chaos of the family and the kitchen.