LadyCrimson

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day. ...I still very much miss mine.

I've just been farting around in 7 Days to Die again. The next Alpha is going to radically change some game systems - AGAIN - and this time I'm not sure I like them. Course it could play a lot better than it sounds so we'll see. At any rate, at least up to A20, with zombies turned off, modded to rain 24/7 in the game and a rainstorm track playing in the background, I still find this game a chill experience for just wandering, building, and repairing/restoring/converting the POI buildings already in the game (I often cheat building blocks in, because I'm not into spending 100000 hours to reconstruct a whole city). Passes the time really well, at any rate. Like yesterday I found a POI that was a riff/homage to the hotel/house from Psycho and started restoring it...and 4 hours were suddenly gone. Every day I can walk a while in the map, find some new terrain spot or cluster of buildings that makes me go "I could do something with that" and go to town. Repeat.

Since there's no concrete definition of what makes a "classic movie" you could (technically?) say many of his movies are, if one uses the broadest of a film simply of high reknown that holds up (or even becomes rated higher than at initial release) after repeated viewings/many years. I probably like In the Line of Fire more then Air Force One but neither are even close to the league of Das Boat. At any rate, RIP. As well as, Olivia Newton John ... yeah, Grease will always have a place in my heart.

I do like (white) rice, but I wouldn't consider that a mushy food. I suppose the texture is soft but it's not all mushed together or porridge like. It's about the only thing I liked as a meal filler/extender (pastas, potatoes, starchy roots etc not my thing), maybe because I felt like it had almost no flavor on its own to interfere with or over dominate whatever I was putting over it. Sadly I can't really eat/use it anymore. It's odd how I can love something like a total junk pizza (3-4 meats, veggies, onions, olives etc) with all the flavors but in most things I don't like too many strong flavors to mix. Terikyaki marinated something? Great. Dipping that in mustard or ranch? Nope. Or ... I'd be very picky re sandwiches. "Junk" sandwiches like subs don't work, I only want a single meat type and (on cured meats) a few condiment toppings or (on fresh meats like roast beef) no condiments at all.

I misread that as "plain girls" and personal hilarity ensued. ...on topic, I don't like grits. Only starchy mush I like is mashed potatoes with lots of butter and garlic (homemade mashed, not the super smooth/blended, hardens into a mountainous lump purchased kind).

Short answer - well, not really - like any strategic sort of game (or any game really) once you've mastered mechanics, a map's terrain/resources, or developed a town/city past a certain point, it's just going to be a sense of "grinding" for completion or personal goals. Longer answer - it also depends on exactly why you like the games/genre. I do not personally, for example, like stuff like SimCity or Civilization. I don't care about making alliances or politics for resources/peace, outside of simple "pay open a trade route/place docks for trading", for example. On the flip side, the reason I played Banished as long as I did was because it had a random map generator so I could create/try new towns without already knowing the map/terrain, and an obsession with trying to achieve the highest population before it either PC-lagged to a stop or the AI mechanics just couldn't handle it anymore and it would all fall apart due to buggiess, haha. I do not tend to long term enjoy the ones where you keep working on/adding to/upgrading the same city forever and ever as time and eras pass. I don't care about playing the same city "forever" because yeah, that gets boring even if you're unlocking new "tech" or whatever. For me the fun is the challenge of efficient designing and utilizing that against new terrain/maps. Also, map editors. (all the Impression's ones had those IIRC). Patron had some other minor problems but the main issue for me was the lack of random maps or map editor - experimentation/layout challenges dried up fast. What I started with is the early Impression's "city builder series", where their motivator was their fixed and increasingly difficult map/city goals and once you achieved those, you'd move to the next campaign scenario and have to start all over, on a totally different map, with different resource/terrain challenges, each one being quite different for layout challenges. If you haven't give Casear 3 a try (GoG has it), if you can put up with some of the old wonky AI challenges (which to me is part of the fun but...) The only "city builders" with official campaigns that I ever finished - or came very close to finishing - are Casear 3, Caesar4 (not as good), and Pharaoh (altho those monuments took too long/were aggravating).

I don't think I'll try/buy it until they've patched/updated it a couple times first - these kinds of games can change a lot between updates after first EA-release, imo - but eventually I'm sure I will, while it's still in EA. Maybe a couple months from now or early winter. The food always spoils thing turns me off but I am curious about the rest/what else they'll bring to the table, if anything. I suppose outside of graphics I'm not really expecting anything super exciting re: town builders since I'm quite familiar with the genre already but man I'd be happy with a new one that I simply like enough to play/revisit for more than 2-4 days. >.>

Uncoupled (Netflix) I love Neil Patrick Harris in general, so of course I had to check this out. There are aspects that are ok, some chortles, but overall it feels too ... dry? dull? self-indulgent? I'm not sure. I watched all the available episodes and it's not that it's bad, but it never really gets going. It's not funny/30min. sitcom enough nor dramatic/"deep" enough in the sense of feeling committed to either. Also, it eventually built up to having a few chr. side stories as well as the main chr, and every single one of them ended on a "stay tuned until next week/year!" cliffhanger type thing in the last episode, which was aggravating. I guess they're confident they are going to get a 2nd season. >.> Anyhoo - again, not horrible and if there is a 2nd season maybe it'd find its footing better, but for 30 min dose of Neil, I'd rather watch him eat hot wings instead.

I was thinking about buying Farthest Frontier (it's Early Access), another town builder/management type game...made by Crate Ent, ppl who did Grim Dawn. I like the folks of that company and figured even if it took them 5-6 years to finish it, it'll at least be decent. Most things early on sounds good, with farming being more interesting mechanics wise and other such things. Then I read food storage ... spoils. There are things you can do to make food last longer, but it's "likely" most of it will spoil in the long run. eg, no giant food stocks for your burgeoning township making food management maybe a huge chore. Which is probably more realistic but I'm not sure I'd enjoy that as a city-management game mechanic. Maybe someone will mod it out. >.>

Never had anything "exotic" like that but I would've been willing to try at least a small bite out of that can. I'm always willing. It might be that after that first bite I'll swear off the thing forever (like "plain/fresh" poi, gag)... but hey, don't know unless you've tried it that one time, so... ...I always hear poi described as being starchy and a tiny bit sweet. But to me it tasted like that white crafts putty/paste from elementary school (which yes I tasted) mixed with moldy dirt. Course I also think black coffee (any quality) tastes like bitter/acrid dirt, so, YMMV. ...I still don't understand why I think brewing coffee smells so good but tastes so horrible. Isn't smell a large part of taste? Ah well whatever.

We used to have something like this, that we used to play music tapes in the car cause it was easier/cheaper than a car stereo, until it started eating tapes too often. >.> Eventually I had one of these things instead, except mine was black. I loved that thing. Until it also started eating tapes.

I think Oingo Boingo "officially" gets coined into the broad New Wave classification (probably because it's hard to define them), but they went through quite a few musical sound changes over the years, from musical theater to punkish to more melodic. Although they were always ... eclectic? re: sound, instrument use, and style. They were best seen live on stage, that type of band. Saw them twice, both smaller venues. Best experiences ever. Somewhere I still have the Farewell Live concert VHS tape (and music CD set). I was this close to going to one of those Farewell tour concerts but in the end they cancelled the San Fran one so... It at least somewhat captured Danny Elfman and the band's energy. I like those song versions better than the studio ones, imperfections and all, at this point. When the giant xylophones (whatever they're officially called) came out for Grey Matter, the crowd would go nuts. Ah, memories/nostalgia...

Yes, although I think in modern times it translates more into social status stigma and what is seen as shameful, like education/quality of education (vast vast pressure in that regard), employment, marriage issues (divorce is still seen as a bit of a social-shame), single parenthood. Obviously the younger generations aren't quite as strict/deeply into it but traditions/attitudes remain. They are really big on hierarchy of respect vs. age and social status. Like the turning of the head in particular direction if taking a drink in front of an elder/higher status, and their language has all kinds of "proper" honorific, formal/informal address, based on older or younger than you, friend or stranger, social situation, stuff like that.

I'm one of those few ppl on the internet that isn't all that enamored of Predator even as an action film. Both hubby and I are "it's ... all right. Has moments." But we didn't see it as kids (mid-late 20's maybe) and have no nostalgia. I like action movies but for some reason Predator (the alien itself and the film) didn't do it for me. Kinda how I feel about all the Rambo stuff too, including First Blood. And I still liked Adrian Brody in that one film. The film itself wasn't special but for some reason I really liked Brody in it - it wasn't his usual type of role and I liked him better outside of his typical box. Also, I liked that it wasn't set on Earth. The less said about Predator 2 the better. The only reason I saw it was Danny Glover was in it and I remember wondering why he'd taken the role. I suppose I'll see Prey someday, out of curiosity, tho.

I think that one is in my watchlist but I haven't gotten around to it yet. And yeah, a lot of the more youth oriented/highschool-college k-drama's have most of the cast as best friends or friends of relatives or they knew each other growing up but haven't seen each other/remembered in years etc. I think it's one of those watered down leftover makjong aspects, to create rapid emotional stakes/conflict/scenarios. More "youthful" kdramas these days are going to have a fair number of pop stars (or were wanna-be pop stars). Most of the kdrama actors I've been following for 8+ years were never in music but ....with so many youth-dramas and now web-series intermediate stuff, they do crossover more and more. At least that truck-o-doom trope has almost disappeared. Almost. Noble idiocy will still abound. And I wouldn't mind if they would all stop acting like the smallest cut on a finger/scrape on the forehead is a reason to pull out the giant first aid kit/go to the hospital.

Mmm, can't disagree, especially if one is mainly using Netflix for an exposure metric - I appreciate Netflix keeps getting more, but they mostly focus on certain newer ones that they think will "appeal" to non-S. Korean audiences, and don't have most of the best ones, imo. It wasn't that long ago that it was a struggle (sometimes a not so savory site struggle...) to get to see almost any of them in the US, at least. And to be fair, one could say that most shows made in any country are garbage. >.> A lot of it is just culture differences (and sometimes bad subtitles), in terms of what is expected/desired or good/not good tropes or humor. For a long time most K series/TV was largely aimed at women, as well, hence such a huge focus on romance/family/melodrama and "makjang" (birth secrets!), a lot of the time. I don't think film/TV actors (that aren't shoved over from kpop industry) have mega "factories" ala the pop music industry, but they do have powerful controlling agency groups which are much more contractually strict re: what they can and can't do re: public image. Although even that is very slowly changing I think. On the flip side, because of that they are somewhat better at protecting/keeping private lives separate. I think the main thing I like about the kdramas (the ones I like, anyway, ofc) is I feel like they're much better at the emotional side or building up of characters - especially in recent years where I feel like that's missing from a lot of US stuff. The serious chr. attachment where you may overlook a lot of show/plot flaws and ridiculousness because you simply like the characters so much. Although, the more S. Korea seems to try to emulate (a little) US series styles here and there, the more that is being lost, a little bit.

I think I got to Episode 8 of The Sandman, and I'm still (mostly) entertained enough by it. But this week I was more in the mood for something more dramedy (less broody or apocalyptic) and thus went back to my K-drama's. I'm falling behind again and my Viki list is going to soon be longer than my Netflix (lists contain favorites as well as not-watched titles). They churn out so many of them, with so many of my fave actors/actresses, and I rarely keep up with the new/upcoming kdrama "news", so I lose track. Currently making my way through Kkondae Intern, a comedy-drama re: surviving/working in the fast food industry. No romance. So far pretty good and I love the dynamic between the main characters (older/younger, generation gap).

Not to make light of anyone's misery, but sometimes I've wished I couldn't taste anything, because then I wouldn't like chocolate/cookies - or "bored eating" - etc. anymore. And it'd be super easy, barely an inconvenience to stay no/low carb then. Different topic: not that anyone cares but me probably, but Jackson Galaxy is going to do another Stray live stream on YouTube today (Fri) at noon. Or it'll be a reg. upload at some point the next day. (Sat) I can't wait to see him "suffer" some more trying to play the game. Plus I have nothing better to do then watch a cat guru play a cat game.

The first 30 seconds. I like how near the end of those seconds, you see one cat who's a little confused trying to figure out where the last unclaimed bowl is - it's a little random and they do not, apparently, always use/grab the same bowl/step every time. Edit: when I had 9 cats, they were nowhere near this "polite" about many dishes of food put on the floor at once. >.>

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...)