The Anti-Election Thread 2008

The Core RPGC Main Forum
21

Well, I supposed I should answer my own thread, which so far is way more successful than I expected :stuck_out_tongue:

<b><u>Books:</u></b> I’m about 4/5 done Eragon right now. Quick Review: Probably the only reason I’m still reading it is because the author was 15 when he started writing it… which makes the fact that it’s a predictable, poorly written, high fantasy version of Star Wars a little more forgivable. But in spite of it’s flaws, I’m still really into it. I’ve been reading about 100 pages every day and I’m thinking about checking out the sequels. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a light-hearted fantasy novel.

Aside from that, I’ve never read anything by James Clavell I didn’t like. “King Rat” might be my favourite book of all time, and I recommend it to anyone.

<b><u>Bands:</u></b> I always have a lot to say about music. I don’t want to list every one of my favourite bands here, but I do wanna throw out a few specific songs I can’t stop listening to lately:

The Cat Empire - Two Shoes
Menomena - <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BXr_4g0o9M”>Evil Bee</a>
Radiohead - <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6uaTYjCWvY”>High and Dry</a>
The Postal Service - <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMOkfI7wCrI”>Such Great Heights</a>
Pearl Jam - <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFVlJAi3Cso”>Black</a>
Radiohead - <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_n3JHqLUGo”>Nice Dream</a>
Muse - <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtmV5qiNRvY&feature=related”>Map of the Problematique</a>
Death Cab - <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtZq0Y3JMXQ”>Brothers On a Hotel Bed</a>
In Flames - <a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGVJY_wraM8”>Pallar Anders Visa</a>

<b><u>Art:</u></b> Even if you’re not into art, I think everyone should check out <a href=“http://www.kurthalsey.com/”>Kurt Halsey</a> at some point. He has a simple emotional style that almost anyone can look at and say, man, this is some good shit.

Also, I agree that DeviantArt kind of blows. It has a few good things here and there but 90% of it is furries and softcore porn these days.

That’s all for now!

22

Yes, I like the Act I Prelude in “Die Walkuere.” I suppose I shall have to go see it, and possibly watch a video recording of a performance in the meantime.

23

I actually do use the top screen, but so far (I’m in the second chapter) I’ve found that just mashing Left or Right does what I need it to do 95% of the time. I follow the light puck rather than the lower screen. I don’t bother trying to get fusion stars all the time, but they happen often enough.

24

Books - From the last ones I read, A fairly honourable defeat by Iris Murdoch was rather good (it could stand to have 100 pages being cut though) and James Baldwin’s Go tell it on the mountain was all in all his best that I’ve read (still doesn’t beat the second half of Another country). I’ve found cheap second-hand Pratchetts, so I’ll be reading many of these in the close future.

I just remember I read the first part of Lucien Leuwen. It’s one of the almost-forgotten books of Stendhal and partly for good reason, but after the first half, the protagonist’s actions and thoughts were enough removed from a modern man’s condition, so that I was heartily laughing frequently. It had some (about 6-7) brilliant descriptions, but it’s definitively a library book.

Workout: I’ve been hard pressed for time, so nothing done there. Not enough time to eat XD I’ll be starting again soon with compound movements.

Favorite Bands - Well, bands. I’ve gone through the Dwelling of Duels archive since the last time it came up, I’ve been listening to some Robert Johnson, some prog metal, saw At The Gates live and I’ve been listening to some Schubert and Scriabin on the side.

Games - I’m waiting for my new copy of DQIV to ship. I almost beat Cave Story, but I have to backtrack to exchange a weapon and I’m bored to do it. I haven’t seen if you can’t start a hard mode game w/o beating the easy mode first. If yes, I’ll be doing that. I’m also waiting for Fallout 3 and hoping one of the pcs I have access to will fit the requirements.

I got powder btw, a roguelike with a graphical interface for the DS.

Art - There’s an Escher exhibition opening in a couple of weeks, so I’ll be visiting that one. I generally don’t care about art if I can’t see it live. Wrong impressions lie that way.

Cid, will you update your Pratchett page? Following the puck in TWEWY is indeed a good idea, unless the enemies are too weak to bother. It’s useful though with the shadow noises and bosses.

25

Now that’s what I’m talking about.

26

I haven’t updated any of my RPGC pages in a very long time… I barely have enough time lately to work on the FFC, let alone anything else. 8-( FFTA2 info has been a long time in coming, after which I need to work on FF4DS and (I guess) those bloody FFCC games I can’t stand. I’ve decided I’d rather spend as much of my free time as I can actually playing games rather than writing about them.

By the way, I have one very burning question regarding TWEWY. How the hell does Shiki’s miniskirt stay up? Seriously, one more millimeter and I’d be seeing some very private information. There’s also at least one store clerk who begs the same question. O_o

27

And most of the furry/porn is of fanart characters. It’s not even original anymore.

So I just have the few people I watch and don’t bother with others.

Also: Radiohead rocks.

28

I actually don’t mind his middle period of work. His early work, in my opinion, simply lacks anything notable or seperate from most other opera composers who have since been forgotten. In his middle period, he evolved in style and wrote far better, and more original, operas. His late period saw a somewhat parallel flaw to his earliest works, I think, where instead of being largely dull and staid for their adherence to previous operatic convention, they were largely dull and staid for their adherence to Wagner’s own convention. Additionally, the only opera I really find the thematic content of to be both well-done and sincere is The Flying Dutchman (Der fliegende Holländer); Wagner dwells thematically too much on romantic fad issues I don’t feel he had an honest concern with or anything interesting to say about, especially sacred and profane love.

I prefer even the diatonic operas of Verdi, because their melodrama feels authentic and passionate. Jean-Philippe Rameau is not notable in general, but his use of harmony is masterful, which makes his work stand out. Dvorak’s staging has a unique and lovable extravagancy, an intricate detail that stands in contrast the almost children’s story simplicity of his narratives.

My favourite opera composers are Alban Berg, for his atonal experimentation and brutally tragic libretti, and Sergei Prokofiev, with beautiful, neo-classical instrumentation and bizarrely bitter, sometime humorous, libretti. Stravinksy is still one of my favourite composers, though I don’t know if it would be fair to categorize him with opera, here, since his works are simply so different.

Thinking of amazing singing, and since the music question asked earlier, I’ve been on a hard Roy Orbison binge for about a week.

29

Books:
I just picked up the first two books in the dark tower series, so I’ll be re-reading that. Still missing 3 and 4 though.
Games:
I’m working on Mass effect, Uncharted:drakes fortune, and Age of empires 3 now, with the odd match of COD4 or Warhawk here and there.
Music:
Just started getting into SOAD and deftones. I never really liked them before, but they’ve grown on me. :slight_smile:
Art:
Don’t really follow art or know many artists, but I’ve playing around with making some 3D models if someone is interested.

30

Well… ok:

Books: Contradictory to the point of the thread, I’ve been captivated with books written by the current US Presidential candidates. I’ve read id Faith of My Fathers and now I’ve attained copies of Obama’s Dreams of Our Fathers and the one I’m currently reading [u]The Audacity of Hope/u]. I’ve also been reading [u\Into The Wild[/u] by John Krakaur (the book the movie was based on) as well as several goofy stupid Star Trek novels.

Games: Well, thats a big one as well. Mass Effect, Halo: Combat Evolved, Fable, TF2, Kameo, GTA4 … and a few others I guess.

Music: Hmm… lots of Jazz. Coltrane mostly. But I’ve been listening to the new Metallica album intermittently as well as the new Young Jeezy and I’m looking for that new T.I.

Art: Kind of redundant, I thought thats what I was already talking about.

31

I actually checked him out just now and yeah, he’s good. I’m using <a href=“http://www.oilpaintingshop.com/friedrich/friedrich1.jpg”>this</a> as my background now :smiley: He seems to do a lot of really detailed landscapes. I like it.

Deftones are pretty good. Make sure to check out Digital Bath if you haven’t yet. It’s my favourite by them.

32

Politics: Schadenfreude. First debate made me drink.

Books: Re-/read some old fantasy a month back. David Eddings, some Forgotten Realms (not Salvatore, meaning purely juvenile). Read a great new sci-fi book by the title Implied Spaces. Swift-moving, some fun ideas. I recommend it. Finished Transmetropolitan. Went on an HL Mencken kick. Currently reading his The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietschze. Also read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein. Intermittent trouble composing complete sentences since.

Workout regime - start the day off with some pushups/situps. Go running at dusk at the track. Alternate between long distance and wind sprints. Some nights, do half and half. Do five or six miles when doing long range alone.

Bands: Polka things you god-damned philistines know nothing about. Also recommend Sibelius’ Intermezzo from the Karelia Suite.

Games: A few hours of DQ4. Otherwise, only Soul Calibur IV at friend’s place. Like Ivy, Voldo. Use Sophitia to great effect, Yoshimitso for kicks. Seem attracted to characters with mental problems. Miss Berserker (starting quote: “Gaaaaaaaa”).

Art: Screw you, hippy. Painted garage so it now matches house. Got paid for a couple day’s of painting at a relative’s house. Had fun using power washer at other times.

33

I’ve only read the first novel and the first chapter of the second one, but I promise you that they are an excellent read. Bloodlust is based off of the 3rd book.

Anyone read Guin Saga?

34

Politics: I’m still rooting for Obama if for no other reason than to avoid the risk of Palin taking the office. Regardless, this will probably be the last time I vote. No more Douches or Turd Sandwiches for me.

Books: C++ is probably the only thing I have time for these days. Though I really should finish Dune up one of these days (if I can ever remember where I left off).

Workout? What’s that?: Actually my regiments usually consist of either me randomly performing about 50 twists or randomly going out to walk 5 [STRIKE]hundred[/STRIKE] miles in the middle of the night.

Favorite bands: Right now I’m just listening to a bunch of VGM collections off of Youtube. Also Phantom of the Opera.

Games: I’m currently on break from MM 9 and finishing up Kirby SSU, and I’ve got to say that my memory must be failing me as I don’t really recall Kirby administering mouth to mouth to share the healing powers of the various Dream Land cuisines with his Helper at the moment (or vise-versa), but then again I don’t remember Meta Knight doing the same with one of his lackey either. Once I’m done it’s back to either DQ 3, LoZ: WW, or Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 for me (or one of the other unfinished games in my backlog like BoF 3, VP 1, SO 2, ToS, Lufia 3, BK, Legacy of the Wizard, Lunars 1 & 2, Dark Wizard, Granstream Saga, Beyond the Beyond, Phoenix Wright 3, Front Mission First, Heroes of Mana, ect).

Also, while not a game that noone knows about, an under appreciated classic that I still from time to time break out is Disney’s Aladdin (the SuperNES one from Capcom). While it’s pretty much cake now it used to own my ass hard back in the day (though the Genie’s Lamp still breaks out the occasional expletive every once and awhile).

Art: I’ve tried my hand at it but I wasn’t very good at it. Also, that had to have been the hottest [STRIKE]summer[/STRIKE] spring ever. Otherwise, aside from a crafts festival that I drove really close and slowly by yesterday, I haven’t done anything of arting consequence lately.

35

Aladdin for SNES was great, yes. The Mega Drive game felt more like a chore, but I can see why some people might prefer that one.

36

Yes, the old SNES game did have that “mouth to mouth” animation.

37

Books: I’ve been all over the place with different genres. I discovered BMV books downtown so I’ve been picking up cheap books whenever I’m in the area. Lately I’ve read Perfume:Story of a Murderer, Schindler’s List, Pretties, Uglies, Specials, The Red Tent, and I’m just starting Anansi Boys

Work out: I started karate a few months back to get the stress out after work. I go three times a week plus I try to hit the weights and elliptical twice a week. I’m starting to get into non-weight workouts like different ways of doing push-ups and crunches.

Bands: Been checking out some classical concerts for a change of pace. I saw the Lang Lang piano solo performance last Friday, which I must say was excellent.

Games: Finally using the 360 after playing WoW for 6 months. Bioshock and Ninja Gaiden 2 are getting a lot of use.

38

Books - I read 90% of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road last month… I’ve been meaning to finish off the last 15 or so pages for a while now. It’s a pretty fun book, as I’m a fan of the beat generation novels. Other than that though it’s been school text books…

Workout Regimes - I’ve been lifting weights (nothing ridiculously heavy, just light stuff) very infrequently, and of course running a lot. I really enjoy running, and walking as well.

Favorite Bands - Well I saw one of my favourite bands last Monday: Carcass. They did a reunion tour. Hot damn that was a good show. Other than that I’ve been listening to a shit load of Pink Floyd, since Richard Wright passed away, and caught a local show last Friday with a band from Victoria, BC playing. They’re called Mitochondrion, they’re blackened death metal and they’re fucking great!!
http://www.myspace.com/mitochondrion Check out “…Into The Pit ov Babel”!!

Games - Haven’t been playing many games lately… I finally picked up Shadows of the Colossus for $10 used back in August. Also some GBA games here and there. I’m mostly waiting until the semester is done so I can pick up some DS games and try them out, particularly The World Ends With You (since there’s been so many good things said about it).

Art - I checked out a fellow classmate’s art show last week. It was a three artist show with a few main themes. The first of which was the materials: they were all paintings done on wood. The styles were oddly similar too, in how they’d be mostly lighter tones/values with some graphics put on. One artist had insects painted on, which I really liked. My friend had women painted/transferred on, as well as some other things. I think the overall theme of the show was class status and gender roles in today’s society. That’s pretty damn vague considering the majority of post-modern art deals with that, so there’s probably a better description of the show somewhere else.
I’ve also been meaning to renew my student membership to the Vancouver Art Gallery. Damn I’m lazy. Or busy is more like it.

39

Politics (I am talking about beaver land here): I am tempted to vote for the Liberals, simply on the basis of Dion’s proposal/promise to reverse Jim Flaherty’s move to implement new tax rules for the royalty trusts as of 2011. This would affect my cash flow.

Entertainment-wise, I am in the “Back in the USSR” phase lately.
Reading: after an overload of business/finance/investment data, a little bit of Pravda and Komsomolskaia Pravda is a pleasant, relaxing read.

Workout: Gym once a week, including a trainer named Natasha.

Musik: I love to [STRIKE]listen[/STRIKE] watch a pop chick band appropriately named Via Gra. Over the years, the group membership changed a few times; the most important prerequisite to become a member of Via Gra is the look of course. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PM4-9W0MHE
These ladies sing in Ukrainian and Russian (mostly), and their song are composed by a Georgian. I prefer their native Ukrainian material aesthetically.
Something like Govorila chista voda: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo0tHsHjs5U

Gaming: DQ4 DS, I love the Alena part obviously, Tetris, and the latest GTA (cool accents).

Art: I love my Dad’s collection of Soviet propaganda posters. There is something poignant about them from historical point of view: a colorful, dramatic and original form of the propaganda machine.
And I am going bananas over Soviet cinema, in particular, the 60s and 70s comedies – the Golden era of post-Gulag humor, when the brilliant trio of Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov (the Soviet equivalent of the three stooges) ruled the silvers screens across the “Indestructible Union of freeborn republics”.