LadyCrimson

I was going to come here and say that. I liked that episode a lot, especially the 2nd half re: Gadling. I don't find much of the scheming and conflict aspects all that interesting and I wish there was more of that eps 6 type of thing. Oh well. One thing I didn't realize was that the TV series was going to feel so segmented - that is, chrs. who appear then disappear, never to be seen again. Nothing wrong with that, technically/artistically - and maybe some will actually come back in later seasons, no clue - but since I'm personally not finding the main lead all that compelling, it's occasionally a disappointment.

The Sandman - went to 5.5 episodes. For some reason I keep turning it off mid-episode v.s end of an episode, heh I like/d the crow, Lucifer (that was a good sequence, or at least, "fun"), and the exorcism woman (whatever her name is). Still find the main lead dull (and he's not my handsome type so there's not even that, hahah), although I can see he's supposed to get a little growth moment here and there. I wonder if Netflix will actually film all three seasons or cancel it. I think the show (for people who don't know the story/comic) can intrigue and grow on you some but many may not stick around past 1-2 episodes to discover that. Not sure what metric Netflix uses to determine whether they think it's worth continuing a series.

Postscript: I seem to use the word "detachment" a lot lately. I think my sense of detachment from a lot of tv/film these days is the massive overuse of green screen effect. I mean, even if it's good green screen, it still doesn't feel like actors reacting to actors or real environments... because often it isn't. Not just in fantasy either- scenery/buildings/cars/ppl in more mundane looking fare often isn't there either, especially in movies. I think even if my eyes are wowed, my brain senses it's not actually "live interaction" (aka, more like filming a stage play) so it has no weight or sense of grounding and the brain switches to analytical mode by default vs. immersed in a plot/world/chrs mode. It does make one admire the actors themselves, for being able to (sometimes) perform so well despite having to act against only a green screen "box" or maybe talking to/dancing with a stick, that they'll replace later in post editing. >.>

Carter on Netflix - all I saw was actor Joo Won's name, who was the lead in a few very-liked but not-quite-favorite K-drama's of mine. Wow he has changed style/acting persona for this movie, I almost couldn't recognize him. The movie itself is kind of a hot mess tho. Very stylistic violence/action, with one of those "mostly but not really one shot/take" conceits. Creates a very kinetic/wild cinematography style. But outside of that, rather dumb/predictable with no real core. And all the actors/scenes with the "CIA"/Eng. speaking chrs is not great, as is often typical with S. Korean fare. But if you like crazy excessively violent choreography/stunts...myself I'll hope he goes back into a k-drama. The Sandman - 2.5 episodes - hm. Something about the cinematography style I don't like that much. Too much ... vignette/outer edging blur? slight elongated pinching/distortion of perspective? I don't mind it when it's, say, a raven's eyesight perspective or an actual dream sequence for a surreal/alternate effect but it's used almost constantly, although sometimes it's very subtle. Anyway, that's tech/artistic decision nitpicking and some may not even notice it. The story itself - haven't read the graphic novel and the first episode is a little confusing and bland. 2nd episode was a little better, and the third episode looks like it's finally "getting to a point" and becoming more interesting. ...or maybe I just like the newly introduced characters by then, more than the previous ones, or the so far really boring/silent/stoic lead. In short, I do find it somewhat bingeable and it *is* intriguing. But as someone who doesn't know the story already, once again there so far is little reason to feel attached to anything/anyone, yet. So it's mostly just admiration for some of the world building. Feels more concept than story.

Black tea - can leave stains on almost any kitchen/home surface, but cannot remotely even temporarily stain your grey hair (it looks a bit darker for a hot minute then it dries, I assume residue dusts off and pretty much disappears/looks grey again). I think my grey hair is made out of stainless steel.

@Lexx Title should have been "Why Films Are Way Too Dark" ....although if you want some more serious reasons for underexposure in film/tv, this video talks about it. I've noticed a trend re: color/lighting on skintones/faces in particular, any budget, even in daytime scenes, which I always figured was at least partially because of too many potential viewing setups (theaters, PC monitors, TV's, dark rooms, light rooms, HDR or no HDR) to try to account for in post (kind of like audio). (edit: ofc it's always more complicated then one thinks...)

Your math is a little off. It's actually the 80's that were 10 years ago.

...which appears to be a DLC, where you have to know the actual URL in order to (maybe) be able to buy it for the non-enhanced version of the original game since it's no longer an official/listed product. >.> ...don't think I'd be into guard/bandit/family management either. I could just build a small "home" in the editor and plop it into the world somewhere.

When you see someone playing Skyrim and because he is a funny, mellow but satirical 'net persona, he makes it look hilarious fun...making you sorta want to try that game one more time (never got far), but you know you'll install it and then just ignore it yet again. That said, has anyone tried and is there any real gameplay/QoL reason to bother with the "Enhanced Edition" (I have the release version, which I guess isn't actually sold anymore), outside of fancy graphical improvements I definitely don't care about and the "copied stuff/ideas from popular modders mods" I also typically don't care about (I tend to prefer vanilla gaming, unless it's my own self-made small tweaks)?

The Adam Project - some Ryan Reynolds vehicle I've had in the Watch List for a while and finally wanted it out of my watch list. Even tho it's a light sci-fi/fantasy vs. big loud action movie, this sorta reminded me of Last Action Hero for some reason. Maybe the male child actor brought the other male child actor to mind. At any rate, nothing special, but tolerable if you're in the mood for something mindless but teenage action fluffy. Zoe Saldana was probably the best thing in the movie, but sadly she wasn't in it for long.

It does have a dimmer/darker palette then some but it was fine on the oled/ps4. But I do watch in a very dimly lit room w/black curtains since I'm a vampire. The oled would be horrible with window reflections for sure, if I preferred sunlit rooms. Maybe it all makes more sense/gets a bit more interesting later but...can't make myself care.

Terminal List (Amazon Prime) - first two episodes (out of six I think? maybe 8?). Military conspiracy and murder and stuff. Seems like many critics think it's not that great. Seems like many netizens think it's the current kewl 'net series. I'm going to agree with the critics. Not watching the rest. Even Chris Pratt was boring - his chr. feels flat and lifeless even when shouting and dispatching enemies with that TV "I'm an angry SEAL" action. Also, felt like an unreliable narrator type, but maybe that's just a big red herring among all the conspiracy stuff. The pacing feels off and the logic even within the paranoia plot was (at least initially) absurd.

So this late afternoon/evening I think I am going to unbox a lot of stuff and start arranging. The house/garage still looks like a massive storage warehouse because we're still afraid to unpack and end up just moving back etc. While my mood is generally content/good, I've been feeling (extra) rudderless re: day to day patterns. Maybe it's time to stop (mentally) living with that attitude and that'll help or inspire me to other small purposes. After all, I can just box it all up again right. Maybe seeing the house with all our "stuff" out will make hubby more comfy/decisive re: staying, too. Small (possible) victories.

My mother always broiled (vs. baking) salmon steaks, using your typical broiler pan a few inches below the heating element. I love the result of such and it's the only way I'll indoor-kitchen cook a steak/chops. I don't even like (flat surface) pan-fried/seared. I also liked broiling the last 5-10 minutes of any "pizza things" vs. only baking them the whole time. The for-smaller-items broiler function of a countertop toaster-oven is the main reason I have one of those too - I don't care about perfect toast (or any toast, these days). And actually, I'm one of those that likes "toast" to be mostly hot bread with butter, I don't like it all crusty/browned. I kinda gave up on general cooking tho, after trying and failing to find a larger variety in low-carb stuff that I would both like and doesn't bother my digestive system (and isn't an every-day hassle to make). I mostly just use a frying pan to make eggs, or some shredded-bit o' meat+extra vegie mix to go into the 50000000 large bowls of "spring mix" salad I eat. >.> Hubby does more cooking then me now, since he doesn't want to live on a hamster diet.

I don't even remember if I finished BG2. All I remember is ticking off the mage cops early when you reached some town and getting my butt kicked. And not really liking the graphic/map overhaul that made exploration feel ... smaller or more claustrophobic somehow. Something about map FoV maybe. ============== I keep thinking about Stray. The short "main plot" didn't bother me at all, but the game just needed a little more to do on the side, something to make lingering in the world/areas more interesting. More collectables to hunt for, extra side puzzles, simple quests (fetch or not, just something). After that first town the linearity became more all encompassing, with not even a "collect music sheets" type aspect for new areas. If they'd had more to do like that, to make it a tad more than just virtual tourism, I would've given it an 8.5 instead of a 7. Ah well...maybe they'll make another cat game with the lessons learned and improve it. I think Stray showed there's a huge indie market for a cat-game that isn't just a one-note pixely joke type of game.

I tend to ... not overly dislike most things. But that doesn't mean I like them, either. My main issue is the other thing - boredom or sense of detachment. I also tend to be bored by a lot of presentation styles of themes others may find meaningful or impactful, where I remain detached. And that leads into... ...I finally rented Everything Everywhere All at Once. For some reason I was expecting more of a light superhero movie with maybe some more chr. weight than typical or something. It is not that at all. What I got was just overt weirdness, with a heavy dose of "this is life-profoundness, don't cha get it." I neither disliked it nor liked it - it's one of those films where I keep watching because "how bizarre is this going to get" vs. "I enjoy this." And sure, there were chuckle moments, actors were all great/fine, fun short action bits and visuals. I was not bored, exactly, but I wasn't all that interested either. It failed to make me care about the chrs. even if I "understood" them - thus detachment. So I'm left with something that makes me raise an eyebrow, go "wtf," and chortle now and then. Maybe I'm some soul-less demon. I did, however, really like the brief bits with the rocks, especially with googly eyes. I think it reminded me of some stop-motion short I saw as a kid somewhere. That and I recently saw some video about those Pet Rocks from the '70's - which did not come with googly eyes.

I don't know how true it is but the early stuff I remember hearing was he originally didn't want them associated with Alien much at all or something but maybe was semi-forced (studio politics?) to include more of that direct connection. Maybe that's why it felt disconnected from itself, or ... not sure. I didn't hate it/them either (or Alien3 and 4) - there were at least small bits I enjoyed within - but they were pretty disappointing overall. For me personally, I think even in horror, or "pretentious sci-fi idea/rambling/techspeak etc", I need to feel at least some minor emotional connection to something in some way - even if it's just dread or knee jerk sympathy - and those four movies have nothing for me.

After finishing the cat game Stray, I've spent idle time watching other people play Stray, which is rather fun, their reactions. Apparently Jackson Galaxy (that "cat whisperer" guy) played the intro as a YT video and people loved it so much (it was great/funny, I saw it) that he's right this minute live streaming some more of the game via YouTube. the hilarious thing is he's so not a gamer, they're basically guiding him thru it at points. It's fun to watch him struggle thru it (to quote him, "probably doing something stupid (streaming)"). Also, cat commentary. I dunno if he's gonna stream very long but I hope it's a couple hours. *settles in*

At this point I barely even remember A: Resurrection. I do recall us sitting in the theater and for maybe the first 20 minutes, or the first third, or something, I was thinking maybe this would be at least a decent film. Then it went downhill from there. Alien3 isn't the worst movie in the world either, sure - I liked the alien-gestating from a dog (or whatever it was, I think it was a dog)=changing alien aspect for example. Made sense. The problems I had with both of those tho is that they weren't good enough for me to really like them, and not bad/cheesy enough for me to find it funny or just brainlessly entertaining. Mostly I sat and groaned, grimaced, or rolled my eyes. It's basically how I felt while watching Prometheus and its sequel, as well.

Ok, actually finished Stray. My ratings notions still stand. The campaign/story ending was a bit ambiguous in some ways, without real clear cut answers. Some won't like that but I don't mind. I don't think it's as deep as some might believe but considering it's ... y'know, a cat ... it was still good. In a way the story isn't really about the cat itself, either. Anyhoo...had fun, no regrets, probably the first game in a while that I actually kept turning back on and finished (yay for short games? )

I'm rarely logged into my YouTube account. Logged into it some days ago. Tried to go to a YT video link today. Got a page asking me to verify it was really me. I logged back in again. Got a page telling me there was unusual activity on my YT account and to please give them a mobile phone number so they could help me. Closed browser, wiping cookies. Can view YT videos again. Pffft. Looking at my account video page, my avatar is now a blank image with a line through it, maybe because it's on google security lockdown, or who knows. I can't imagine anyone would care about my almost never used, hardly any subscribers, non-monetized YT account and I'm suspicious Google just wants my mobile phone number. Maybe I'm wrong and some hack wants my cat and FO:NV videos. Regardless, whatever.

Stray - think I'm really close to the end, just a minor bit or two left probably. There's a long stealth type section (nothing serious but...) which might be stressful for those who just wanted a "cat simulator" since such is more than just zig zag running from zurks. At any rate, it's probably the most "gamey" gameplay section of the game, which some might like a bit more. The save system still annoys me, because while I'm playing I'm constantly pausing to see if I triggered a new save point, in order to decide if I want to stop or not, which is disruptive. I did test it, where I found a couple Memories and quit without a new checkpoint save happening - when I reloaded it set me back at the last checkpoint location/moment and I had to locate/click on them again. >.> Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and say I'd give this game a 7/10, but in terms of cats, including the great animation of stuff even down to the ear twitches, a 10/10. I'd have no desire to replay it per se but loading up a mellow chapter just to cat-sim for a few might be something I'd do, since I have no real cat anymore. lol. "Cat roaming around in Bladerunner" ... yeah, sorta felt like that at times.