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Post by Youngster Joey on Jan 26, 2019 0:14:07 GMT -5
coming down the home stretch of game of thrones, finally. now halfway through season 7 i swear they look alike
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Post by Youngster Joey on Jan 26, 2019 16:01:27 GMT -5
i will reserve thoughts for later, when i actually finish, but i'm mad right now so i'm just going to put it out there that jon snow is a terrible character
so frustrating
asofhggkghdgh
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Post by Youngster Joey on Jan 26, 2019 19:41:13 GMT -5
okay. spoilers abound.
I enjoyed the show. The things that Game of Thrones does well, what vaulted it to fame, its execution—I think they’ve been discussed at length by others, and in general, I concur with said assessments. So I’m not going to wax poetic about why I spent more hours watching GoT than I’ve spent collectively watching anything else in the past 10 or so years. The fact that I finished the series (as far as it’s available) is testament alone enough.
However, the show isn’t without its flaws, which have become increasingly more evident as the series has gone on. Increasingly I feel like it is teetering on falling into generic TV trappings, wherein the perfect, wholesome characters you're supposed to like prevail against everything and come out unscathed. I'm told that the books end after season 5, after which point the show forges the path ahead. You can definitely feel it; the writing quality and intrigue of the show fell off precipitously after that point. It's still an enjoyable watch, but in large part because the set-up of the first few seasons was so good. I'm not sure those later seasons on their own would have catapulted the show to the success it's enjoyed to date.
How and why? The reason Game of Thrones got so popular, I think, is that it didn’t fall into typical Hollywood trappings. You have your good, moral hero, who gets himself into dangerous situations—always saved by a deus ex machine or implausible skill or some plot element or another, because he’s your main character and, well, you can’t kill off your main character, after all! Good will always prevail. Game of Thrones had that in Ned; then it chopped his head off. And it lopped off a few others’ heads, as well. Countless of them. Good guys? Bad guys? Game of Thrones killed them all sooner or later, because, tough shit, this is war and politics. Unlike regular shows, you could never think to yourself, “X won’t actually happen because it would ruin the plot.” X would happen, and the plot would march on. It’s gripping to realize nothing is truly sacrosanct.
Come season 5 or 6, however, and the killings stopped. Yes, some people died, in quite dramatic deaths. But—here’s the thing—they were all people you were supposed to want dead, like Ramsay Bolton. All of the deaths were universally satisfying. I can’t think of even one character I was horrified to see die after season 5.
If important characters weren’t being killed and disrupting the plot, what, then, filled the last 3 seasons? Deus ex machinas. Tense scenes that would have certainly led to a character’s death in earlier seasons were just that, tense. Invariably, the good guys would win, somehow unscathed. Jon was the worst of all, and him being brought back from the dead wasn’t even the worst part. How about him chasing out alone across a massive field as hundreds of arrows flying at him, and somehow not being hit by a single one? Or being swarmed by thousands of undead wights and making it out alive? That writing isn’t George R.R. Martin’s, certainly; that’s Hollywood writing. No matter how impossibly bad things look for Jon, he squeaks by. And, you know what? That’s pretty boring. It’s exactly not the sort of stuff that made Game of Thrones famous.
It’s obvious that Game of Thrones wants you to root for Jon and Dany. That’s okay; Jon is a pretty likable guy (although I can’t say I feel the same for Dany). But there’s a difference between a show encouraging you to root for a character and having them win everything like the Gary Stu and Mary-Sue they are. After how many impossible situations Jon has escaped from, and how many people fall their knees and kiss Dany’s feet irrespective of her actual personality (more on her later), I’m doubtful the show will end in a satisfying way. People will probably die in the upcoming season, sure, but it won’t be the kind of death I want. I want Brienne of Tarth to die because she was backstabbed or otherwise taken out in a plot-crucial moment; I don’t want her to die just because she fought valiantly against a bunch of wights. The show has long since picked its “people” and become scared of actually killing anyone in a meaningful way. It’s not about the fact that Jon or whoever will likely end up victorious; it’s about how. Having the good guys just win because they’re good and important to the plot is a waste to the strong foundation the first few seasons set up.
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Post by Youngster Joey on Jan 26, 2019 20:48:42 GMT -5
Now onto the characters. Less a critique and more my opinions. Jon: I'm going to start with Jon because Jon sucks. As I mentioned earlier, he's actually a very likable guy. But, let's be real, Jon Snow is the definition of a Gary Stu. The only differences between him and his "dad" are 1) Jon is pretty, and 2) he didn't get his head chopped off in season 1. After that, they're pretty much the same. They're doggedly focused on honor and do stupid crap constantly because of that sense of honor. Ned dies because he was dumb; Jon survives again, and again, and again. I really don’t mind Jon as a character, but I do mind the way the plot has chosen him as its immortal Jesus. I don’t like unrealistic scenes, where it’s super tense and things so palpably close to disaster, but the scene lasts forever... and you just know it's because they’re holding out and building out the tension until the deus ex machina is revealed. Jon is literally in every. single. one. of those scenes. Every one.
Making things worse for Jon, I don’t actually think he has any meaningful character development. He’s just a good guy all the way through. Again, I don’t dislike Jon, but when other characters are far more complex and do enjoy character development, it’s hard to really care that much about someone as static and perfect as Jon.
Sansa: If you want to talk about character development, Sansa hit it out of the ballpark. In the beginning, she was easily one of my least favorite characters—a petulant, snobby, selfish child. Then she got married to Joffrey, and her selfish, childish demeanor slipped away, as she realized what her crushing on Joffrey had been—naive and selfish. Was her family really so bad when she faced an eternity with a monster like Joffrey? Instead of kvetching as she had done as a Stark, she began to put up and shut up. Her childish naivety is still present when Littlefinger whisks her away, but it feels less selfish and more akin to the understandable desperate helplessness of a battered young teen whose entire world has collapsed in upon her. When Littlefinger betrays her by marrying her off to the sociopath Ramsay Bolton, she finally realizes that she’s been waiting all this time for people to make things better for her, and, in fact, it is up to her to make her life what she wants it to be. She stands up; she fights back; she finds her voice. She holds her own not just against rising up against Ramsay, but even after, as effective Queen of the North. In many ways, she is the best female lead in the show.
Arya: Arya, by contrast, started out as one of my favorite characters. She was everything Sansa was not—spirited, feisty, headstrong. As Sansa helplessly wilted under Joffrey’s rule, Arya was busy seeking revenge at any cost. But… then, almost in concert with Sansa’s ascent, Arya stopped. She got to Braavos to become a Faceless Man, and there her character, for all intents and purposes, died. The Faceless Man arc in and of itself was poorly written, as if the writers wanted to give Arya air time without advancing the plot. It was quite clear from the beginning Arya could not become a Faceless Man, because it required casting aside the very emotions that drive her continued existence. Arya should have failed once and the arc concluded; instead, it dragged on with her second chance until she finally realizes the Faceless life is not for her. It was clear after her first failure; there was no point in making viewers watch her predictable second failure.
Ironically, after she realized she could not become Faceless because of her rage, rage became all she was. The rest of the show is spent with her wordlessly killing others. The spunk that made Arya such an enticing character was entirely erased as she morphed into a cold, one-track-mind killer instead. Boring.
Dany: I’m supposed to like her, right? Yeah, I don’t like her. For the first five seasons, she was just flat-out boring. She conquered city after city, and everyone fell to her feet kissing away, like she was the best thing since sliced bread. (Hint: Watching episode after episode of someone effortlessly taking cities is really dull.) Granted, realistic cracks in her rule begin to appear before long, which I appreciated, but somehow, everyone still kisses her feet and oohs and ahhs over her. Dull. Then she gets to Westeros, and, Christ, did she ever get on a power trip. Why do people want her ruling over them again? She’s a kind, benevolent, non-power hungry person, apparently. But I don’t see it, aside from the show repeatedly telling me so. In fact, I see the contrary. She’s solely concerned with getting to the Iron Throne—all else be damned—and she treats her advisors like shit. She says she wants their advice, but she rarely heeds it and, more often, berates them for it. It’s honestly a wonder why anyone supports her at all. Jon, for all of his Gary Stu-ness, is kind and would make a good rule; Dany, hardly. I don’t like her at all. I hold a lot more respect for Cersei, who’s a female dog and gladly owns it.
Cersei: It took me a long time to appreciate Cersei. For several seasons, she just felt like a crazy, sociopathic female dog. And she definitely is one, don’t get me wrong. But—and it’s hard to articulate—she feels more complex than that? It’s not that she likes being in power or inflicting pain on others, like Joffrey or Ramsay; hardly, in fact. Cersei is, simply put, all about her and her “circle”. The rest of the world could burn for all she cares as long as her children are safe, and she’ll go to hell and back to ensure that happens. This is, in many ways, her greatest flaw; as cunning and intelligent as she is, she’ll cut off her nose in spite of her own face if she feels cornered.
Her evolution over the show is quite interesting as a result. Initially, her snake-like behavior is limited to being manipulative—snide comments and silent undercutting. Like the classic evil mother-in-law taken up one notch. Then Joffrey dies, and she’s distraught. But the enemy is Tyrion, a singular entity. A single person can be dealt with. But her snake-like ways begin to catch up with her, and backfire when the very man she puts into religious power strips her of her own dignity and power. Combined with the successive deaths of her children—each of which break her emotionally less and less—she hardens, becoming ever more certain that it is her against the world, no one to be trusted.
I don’t think Cersei actually lusts for power, in the same way that her father did. No, what Cersei wants is for certainty, for control—that her “circle” is safe, protected, hers. Being in power assures her of that safety; what happens to those below her is of little consequence or interest, insofar as her bubble remains intact. Is she easy to empathize with? In most ways, no, but, at the same time, it’s understandable, and, certainly, interesting.
Jaime: I’m of the strong opinion that people with slicked back hair like Jaime’s in season 1 look like automatic not a very nice person >(s, Jaime being no exception. He sure as hell acted that way for the first few seasons, too. It was only once he got captured by Brienne and his hand chopped off, I think, that he got a reality check. In large part, I think this is because Jaime had always been perfect and gotten whatever he wanted. He never needed to rely on others, and they became disposable as a result. Without his hand, he was humbled, stripped of what made him superior. In order to survive, he realized he needed to rely on and build relationships with others. The more he did so, I think, the more his worldview opened—in stark contrast with Cersei, whose world is slowly closing in. Their relationship dynamic is interesting at the close of season 7 as a result—Jaime was long part of that circle Cersei prized and wanted to keep safe, but Jaime is now one of those infringing on the sanctity of that very circle. She’s not ready to cast him aside yet, although she’s tempted.
Tyrion: Tyrion went from a sex-obsessed wino to a responsible, thoughtful politician who thinks rationally bout the world about him. He’s by far the most level-headed person in the show. I like Tyrion, but in a sense, he’s become too level-headed, as if his character development peaked too early. Compare him to Jaime—Jaime has changed tremendously for the better, but he still makes mistakes. When was the last time Tyrion truly fumbled on his own accord? It’s been a while.
more later maybe, there are a million characters
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Post by Friendly Person :) on Jan 27, 2019 18:19:59 GMT -5
Joey goes on a rant worthy of me. Nice.
As someone who has only read the books, allow me to provide some of my own thoughts/counter thoughts. I appreciate the spoiler tags, but personally I ain't spoiler-tagging sh*t because the only person who reads this board is Derman and he's had ample time to read the books (and Lee, but I don't think he cares enough). If anyone has a problem with that, make an account/sign in and say something (seriously, do it, I'll be happy).
In terms of the series going off the cliff-edge of quality, the same thing happened with the books after A Storm of Swords (3). I've said this a lot, but it feels like whatever creative force drove Martin suddenly vanished, leaving him three books into a nightmare cluster-f*ck he doesn't want to finish. The twists and turns dry-up, in part because the plot stops moving, in part because Martin himself seems to have lost a lot of nerve. Dead characters come back, fewer people die, and the whole thing begins to take on something more resembling generic epic fantasy than historical drama.
Case-and-point: Jon Snow. I liked Jon. He was my namesake, for starters, but also he was the underdog good-guy who got the sh*t hand. His rise to power was, if not predictable, commendable. As you said, it’s about how rather than the what. The problem settles in at book 5. I think showing someone struggling under the weight of administration and rule is commendable: it’s why Rand is my favourite fantasy character ever. However, Martin’s presentation of it is to keep circling the same few problems ad-infinitum over a 1000 page book. It’s effing boring, he makes a lot of stupid choices, and his redemption arc is far-too-late in the coming for me to give a damn.
Which brings us perfectly to Dany. FWIW, I don’t like her either. She vacillates between a naive little girl and a ruthless c*nt with basically no middle ground. Her entire crusade through the desert lands (I don’t care enough to remember names) is so drawn-out and so disconnected from everything we care about (i.e. Westeros) that every time her chapters show up the plot literally has to stop completely to change gears. To make matters worse, her administrative failings are not only a million times more moronic than Jon’s, but also a million times more boring.
The book is titled ‘A Dance with Dragons’. It should be titled ‘An Administrative Council with Retards’.
I think part of the problem with A Song of Ice and Fire – and maybe I’ll be the only one who sees it this way – is how it feels like the set-up betrays the conclusion. A Game of Thrones begins with the beheading of a deserter framed in the context of duty rather than morality. Eddard Stark, the typical good-guy and protagonist, dies at the end of the book for his belief in the good of people.
Why does it deny the narrative desire for a central ‘good guy’, then fall back to prophecies and destinies of messiahs? Why spend so long giving near-equal time to this ensemble cast when it can all be narrowed down to two "chosen ones"? Why does it spend three books in a world of grey, only to introduce a force of great evil and calamity which transforms everything into black and white? Why kill characters if you only intend to bring them back?
It feels like everything that made the series unique fell off in book 3. I think people continue reading/watching for the characters, which is a shame because when the world changes, the context of their actions change. Jon was a compelling character specifically because this was a world where merit meant everything. Transform the world into one of tropes, and suddenly his accomplishments become tropes as well. We’ve seen rulers far more competent than Dany fall from grace, so the continued suggestion that she’s somehow going to be a great ruler comes across as disingenuous at best.
Of course, it’s not like the others suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They were right there in the prologue, before we ever met any of these characters. However, for whatever reason, that didn’t become the story anyone (I’d wager this includes Martin himself) became attached to. An incomplete series is like a thought in process. Martin spent so long on the politics of Westeros, and too long to talk about anything else, that everyone went and filled in the blanks on their own. If what he had to say doesn’t match-up to what everyone else filled in for themselves... well... maybe the git should talk more quickly.
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Derman
Oracle Knight
I still don't have a knife tag on my golden birth knife
Posts: 194
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Post by Derman on Jan 28, 2019 12:01:44 GMT -5
So I guess it’s time for my annual post about how f**king cold Finland is in winter. Last weekend it was so cold that I had trouble getting inside my car, not only because the door was frozen shut ( had to use a crowbar to force it open) but because the keyhole was full of ice and I don’t have those fancy remote things. After that, it took me three hours to start the thing, since the battery was empty (because cold) and my car isn’t very good at turning on when it’s below -30 degrees. Once I got my car running I had to wait for it to warm up since the windshield was frozen from the inside, and no matter how much I tried to scrape it off the humidity in air froze it up again, so I couldn’t see s**t. All this, while I’m sitting in the cold wondering if I should’ve just taken the bus or called a taxi. I’m aslo wondering what giving Metroid Prime back to Retro means for the series. DKC:Tropical Freeze was a great game, and gives me hope that they know how to make a good sequel. But on the other hand, AFAK, Metroid Prime has been getting worse with every game, and I don’t think adding new locations and story/whatever will make for a good sequel. You’d have to fundamentally change something in the series. I agree with pretty much everything Joey brought up. I thought the first few seasons of the show were the best ones, up until Tyrion left in the box. Before that, the show felt fair for everyone. Everyone made mistakes, nobody was perfect, s**t went down equally on all sides. Because of that it was hard to predict who will end up dead and what will happen next. You can’t just bet on the ‘good guys’ coming out on top for every single conflict.
After season 5 though, you could easily see how each conflict will end, and aside from a few surprises (which are more like deus ex machinas than anything), you can already tell which characters will die and which will survive. Even the solutions to most conflicts aren’t as interesting anymore, and character’s mistakes are brushed off if they don’t directly serve the main story they are trying to push forward. They were building up reek for so many episodes, and when he finally meets Jon it’s almost like none of it matters. Sure they talked about it a bit, but it’s not what I was expecting. It’s like they didn’t want to introduce another character conflict into it at that point of the show. Maybe it’s just me though, since I haven’t seen it mentioned.
As for the characters, Tyrion and Jaime are both my favorites, even though I have to agree that Tyrion’s character arc did peak a bit too early. Jaime took his place in the later seasons. He was the only one where I couldn’t tell which side he’ll fall on, and he had some of the best character development in the whole show. As for the rest of the characters, I agree with the ones you brought up. Didn’t like Jon very much, I didn’t buy into the whole “Dany will be a great ruler”, I don’t like Cersei but I appreciate the character regardless. I don’t like the direction they went with Arya, especially since she was one of my favorites in the earlier seasons. They might pull a “she died in the Faceless Man arc, and the one in season 7 isn’t Arya” though.
Out of the ones you didn’t mention, I liked Bronn and Littlefinger. They didn’t have much character development, but I thought Littlefinger was a fun character to follow because he was so unpredictable. Bronn on the other hand was just such a likable character that I can’t complain. I think most of the characters are pretty good and part of the reason I still don’t mind watching the show after season 5
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Post by Youngster Joey on Feb 2, 2019 10:36:50 GMT -5
In terms of the series going off the cliff-edge of quality, the same thing happened with the books after A Storm of Swords (3). I've said this a lot, but it feels like whatever creative force drove Martin suddenly vanished, leaving him three books into a nightmare cluster-f*ck he doesn't want to finish. The twists and turns dry-up, in part because the plot stops moving, in part because Martin himself seems to have lost a lot of nerve. Dead characters come back, fewer people die, and the whole thing begins to take on something more resembling generic epic fantasy than historical drama. That actually does make some sense, as I'm told the show goes up to and including season 5, and season 5 was pretty dull. While I haven't read even a single word of the books, I get that sense, too, that he began writing this already-complex storyline with a million tendrils, then it got picked up by HBO and became huge, and, well, f**k, he got tired of writing it and is now on the hook. Frankly, with how many characters and subplots it has, I'd be overwhelmed wrapping up nicely, too. I felt the same way in the show. Westeros is cool and gritty, and then you switch to Dany and ZZZZZzzzz. Her events are completely divorced from everyone else's and aren't even interesting, so it's jarring to switch to her every time pre-Westeros. My friends and I were joking how hilarious it'd be if, once she set sail for Westeros, her ships simply hit a rock and sank. Finally, after 5 seasons of accomplishing basically nothing, she gets going and just dies. I'm told that the author actually does basically this in the books, wherein you follow a character not in the show around for ~400 pages, only for him to be burnt alive by a dragon. gg. I think this is really true and gets at the heart of why I liked the show and also have a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. The show pulls you in by quite ceremoniously demonstrating that your prototypical "good guy" isn't safe and can't save the world... but then, somehow, the same crap that got Ned dead, Jon is (literally) impervious to. He's the messiah that Ned was supposed to be and wasn't. The appeal of the show is that there is no messiah, and that everyone is flawed. I'm pretty sure that if the show had started out like seasons 5 - 7, I wouldn't have bothered watching it, because plenty of shows are like that. Of course, since the first few seasons were so good, I'm in for the end. I'm not expecting I will be satisfied by the last season, though. I'm fully expecting it to play out according to that messiah trope, where the "chosen" band of good guys surrounding Jon all somehow just make it through unscathed, and good prevails. They've set the past few seasons up that way, and the show is so close to ending that I can't possibly see how they could end it any other way. The ship's too set on its course to turn. They could try to end it differently, but I think that in and of itself would end up being jarring at this point. They've been so clearly hinting that Jon is the savior that to do otherwise would be a giant "haha just kidding f**k you" bad writing surprise. Definitely wouldn't be in a "wow I can look back on the show after the fact and see that I didn't pick up on subtle signs hinting this could happen" way. Yeah, I was never a fan of Theon/Reek to begin with, but his character just feels sort of wasted? They spent so much time torturing him and building him up by tearing him down. But he's just continually sh*tty with glimpses of redemption that are never realized. It feels less like an aspect of his character and more a reflection of uneven writing. Basically, I think they sort of ran out of time/interest and are now just using him to advance the plot. Sometimes that means he does something good, other times something bad, but I never feel like it's actually tied to his character development. Just the plot. I'd never thought of that. Hmm. Yeah, that would definitely help explain why I felt like her character's personality changed so much. I'm doubtful it's actually the case, but I'd feel better about her season 7 demeanor if it were true. I love Bronn. He definitely doesn't get any character development, but he's a nice comic relief. Littlefinger tried my patience very early on; can't say I was ever a fan. Varys is OP, though. Below -30 C? Jeez. Yeah, I'm glad I don't live in Finland, hah. It's about that cold in some parts of the US right now, although it's extremely unusual. I was told it was -50 F / -45 C with the wind chill in Chicago earlier this week. It's been anywhere from 10-20 F / -12 to -6 C here, and I'm miserable :< Normally it's around 30-40F / 0-5C this time of year... I moved apartments, finally. Out of the Financial District! Except I forgot to set up an appointment to get internet on Friday (I moved my stuff in Thursday), so... coffee shop squatting it is.
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Post by Youngster Joey on Feb 6, 2019 21:14:25 GMT -5
womp.
I moved apartments, but they couldn't give me an appointment for a week out.
you mean I have to do things other than stare at the internet all evening?
just kidding, I'm paying my $3 toll at a coffee shop next door, where I have the pleasure of sitting next to a man who is snoring loud enough to wake the dead. He was here last night with me, too, although at least he wasn't snoring then...
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Post by Friendly Person :) on Feb 6, 2019 23:17:08 GMT -5
Well, my keyboard broke, so I wasn't able to type anything for a few days. Got a mechanical to try, and I'm slowly falling in love with it.
Dunno how I'd survive without internet. I seriously get low-key anxious without it. Although, I suppose in the short-term I'd just do a lot of reading and writing, which might not be too bad if not for that anxiety.
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Post by Youngster Joey on Feb 10, 2019 10:17:04 GMT -5
Well, it has made me game more, because I'm not able to fall asleep before 1 or 2, generally, and obviously most decent places I can camp out at for internet have closed by then. I started up Slay the Spire, and I kind of love it. It's got a one-more-turn-esque quality, but in a sort of different way than, say, the Sims or Civ, where it can just go on forever. In Slay the Spire, runs aren't terribly long, and chances are high you'll die. But man, when you get on a good roll, you feel so freaking clever. You're not even upset you lost when you finally do--if anything, it's a giddy "holy sh*t that was a good run, I are so smart S-M-R-T!!!, maybe I can top it next run" feeling. Reminds me of playing Magic a little, except I paid like $10 for the game and not a dime more.
I did go without internet for ~6 weeks when I was studying in Greece a few years ago. My sleep schedule was actually probably the most normal and non-nocturnal t's ever been, for one. I beat Ys I&II, which was great, and then I spent several million years breeding for a competitive Mienfoo and Chansey. Several hundred hatched eggs later, I decided competitive battling was not for me, because the breeding alone was a soul-sucking endeavor. I doubt I'd have invested anywhere near that time had I had internet... 0/10, do not recommend. (I will say that the Chansey-that-became-a-Blissey was wonderful to use in battles against people, because no one likes Chansey/Blissey. Still don't think it was worth it the time I put in to get it, but at least I got some schadenfreude out of it.)
Mechanical keyboards sound kind of nice. I like keyboards that make a lot of noise when I type, although I doubt others share the same sentiment haha.
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Post by Youngster Joey on Feb 12, 2019 6:58:42 GMT -5
well, my coworkers bought me the domain name jonsnowisdumb.com while drinking to post my Game of Thrones rants.
I guess I better write a backend to the site or something, huh.
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Post by Youngster Joey on Feb 12, 2019 7:56:41 GMT -5
www.wsj.com/articles/majority-of-new-yorkers-support-amazon-project-in-queens-new-poll-shows-11549967400?mod=e2fb&fbclid=IwAR0ey0gtoGAjluDaToTm6CuHPLGngjtwwW-5tM-d6VhBof4_NfnI1n69oS8Shame. I am sure the local politicians here opposing will consider it a victory if Amazon backs out. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater. None of them seem cognizant of the fact that if Amazon leaves, the consequence isn't just Amazon not coming. It's the loss of jobs and investments that will follow Amazon if Amazon sets up shop here, and, perhaps more importantly, the tone it sets for any future business considering NYC. Why come here if the environment is clearly so inhospitable? I don't imagine the governor and mayor both fell over themselves offering incentives if they didn't at least realize the implications of Amazon coming. Well, good thing we have Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez here to impart her venerable business wisdom, I suppose. That lady is so f**king out to lunch, it hurts. Granted, Amazon shares a huge portion of blame here; they kicked the beehive when they made a huge spectacle out of their search. Their search was over-the-top, in my opinion, and they fed the media flames. When's the last time you heard about any other company making a spectacle about where to set up their secondary headquarters? Never. Had they not and quietly arranged incentives instead, I imagine there would be no brouhaha. But, even while admitting Amazon f**ked up, I would rather NYC not cut off its nose despite its face by disincentivizing future plans to set up here... just my two cents.
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Derman
Oracle Knight
I still don't have a knife tag on my golden birth knife
Posts: 194
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Post by Derman on Feb 12, 2019 11:51:00 GMT -5
I've had Slay the Spire on my radar for a while now, but I haven't gotten around to buying it yet. One problem I have with roguelikes like ADOM is that you either get some good stuff early on, or you spend few hours trying to survive with the little you have in hopes of things getting better. Short runs where you die early, don't feel very good, and long runs are not guaranteed to be that fun either.
Didn't know the game is coming for Switch, that might push me to buy the game.
"jonsnowisdumb.com is a totally awesome idea still being worked on."... I've never found website stuff particularly interesting, but that might be just because I haven't done anything with them. I actually know very little about how websites work, which is something I should change.
I'm currently looking for a job for next summer, and one place I'm considering is making cloud-based services for a car repair chain. I have personal connections to a few of the people in higher positions there, so I could probably just slide in with my connections. From how they've described what they are doing I'd probably hate working there. I'd be doing some python backend stuff, but I'd also have to work with 15+ year old code which isn't very well documented, which sounds like a nightmare.
I have a few other places as well which sound infinitely more interesting, but since I don't have any work experience and I've never actually applied for a job before, I'm not too confident I'll be able to get through without some leverage. So I guess beggars can't be choosers, right now it's just best to take what I can get.
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Post by Youngster Joey on Feb 13, 2019 8:51:02 GMT -5
Yeah, you sometimes tell if a run is just going to suck, but usually in that case, you end up dying early anyway. I don't mind those, really. I think it somewhat helps in that when you die, points are added towards a power-up that persists beyond playthroughs, so even if you die, it doesn't feel totally for naught. It would be a great game on Switch for sure, since it's easy to pick up and put down.
I'm decidedly not interested in things like front-end web design, mostly because I'm one of those people who can tell when something looks good, but it's really hard for me not to make a crappy design myself without a lot of iterating. Some people have a natural intuitive sense; me designing something pretty is blood, sweat and tears. (The plus side, I suppose, is that at least I recognize when my initial iterations look terrible. Some people's sense of what looks "good" is questionable at best.) But anyway, the rest of the stuff is interesting enough to learn. I don't want it to be my job, but it's good to know these things at a high level since so much does tie back to the internet. Anyway, writing a website wasn't going to be my next project, but I guess now it will be. I was planning on learning Go anyway, so it works out since Go is very good for backend work.
15+ year old code... I mean, on one hand, I find that working with other people's code can expose you to other styles and designs and actually make you a better programmer, since there are certain skills you just wouldn't naturally know right away unless exposed to them. But, of course, that's assuming the codebase is actually well-written. I wouldn't call myself "good," but I am certainly better than some people who have been coding for a long time at my company whose work makes me cringe... Some people are "get it done" types, which works when you just need a one-time-only solution. The problem is you can't have get-it-done code persisting in perpetuity... The good thing about my job, I suppose, is that there's no code maintenance--we are writing all of the code for the first time. So, I have no one to curse at for writing terrible legacy code, although perhaps in 10 years someone will curse me.
Good luck on your job search, though! Never easy...
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Post by Youngster Joey on Feb 14, 2019 20:03:08 GMT -5
Good job, guys! Amazon announced it was officially pulling out of NYC.
What a bunch of f**king morons we have for politicians.
Speaking of morons on the other side of the fence, I can't believe (should I just believe at this point by default?) that Trump declared a state of emergency over not getting funding for his stupid wall. You can say what you will about Republican politicians, but I truly have to believe that even the worst of them aren't this stupid. They have to toe the line because of party solidarity and the fact that they represent constituents who do think Trump's the real deal, but I don't think for a second that most of them actually support this bozo.
He's honestly such an embarrassment. I can't wait until he leaves office.
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