Flother's recent activity

  1. Comment on Erika Vikman – Ich Komme (2025) in ~music

    Flother
    Link
    Eurovision continues to never disappoint. This and Miriana's entry "Kant" are the only songs I've listened to for this year, and I'm loving it.

    Eurovision continues to never disappoint. This and Miriana's entry "Kant" are the only songs I've listened to for this year, and I'm loving it.

    2 votes
  2. Comment on a/s/l? Tildes user survey question. in ~tildes

    Flother
    Link
    28/M/UK Working in tech support for an ISP.

    28/M/UK

    Working in tech support for an ISP.

    3 votes
  3. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    Flother
    Link
    Recently finished A Clockwork Orange (incl. the 21. Chapter) and Schachnovelle (Chess Novel, Chess game etc.). Now working my way through another German play - "Der zerbrochne Krug". Trying to...

    Recently finished A Clockwork Orange (incl. the 21. Chapter) and Schachnovelle (Chess Novel, Chess game etc.).

    Now working my way through another German play - "Der zerbrochne Krug". Trying to alternate on and off with German and English.

    I'm on a really good streak for reading lately, and trying to keep building it up to the point where I can tackle Don Quixote (in German :v) without abandoning it again.

    1 vote
  4. Comment on Lady Gaga - Abracadabra (2025) in ~music

    Flother
    Link Parent
    Definitely agree! My friend first mentioned this song to me as I haven't really been on top of new music much for the last few years, and she couldn't decide if she liked it at first. She had...

    Definitely agree!

    My friend first mentioned this song to me as I haven't really been on top of new music much for the last few years, and she couldn't decide if she liked it at first. She had listened to it before seeing the music video and I think that made all the difference, because my jaw almost dropped watching that red-and-white throwdown scene for the first time.

    1 vote
  5. Comment on Lady Gaga - Abracadabra (2025) in ~music

    Flother
    Link
    Posted this purely for how well done the choreography is. Easily one of the best music videos produced in recent years IMO.

    Posted this purely for how well done the choreography is. Easily one of the best music videos produced in recent years IMO.

    14 votes
  6. Comment on What's a song that you initially didn't enjoy, but it grew on you over time and is now a favorite? in ~music

    Flother
    Link
    As a Brit I almost feel ashamed1 to say that I did not like Sweet Caroline for a very long time. There's a group of three songs that always come on at a local bar - Sweet Caroline, West Virginia,...

    As a Brit I almost feel ashamed1 to say that I did not like Sweet Caroline for a very long time. There's a group of three songs that always come on at a local bar - Sweet Caroline, West Virginia, Proud Mary - and I hated all of them.

    Sweet Caroline I have come to love a lot, West Virginia is alright, but I still cannot stand Proud Mary.

    1 You'll often hear this song here after a team / the national team win a sporting event.

    5 votes
  7. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    Flother
    Link
    I'm currently reading Slaughterhouse Five. Never knew much about the book and had only heard of the name and opening line, but grabbed it as I knew it to be a classic and one that I keep my...

    I'm currently reading Slaughterhouse Five. Never knew much about the book and had only heard of the name and opening line, but grabbed it as I knew it to be a classic and one that I keep my attention on.

    I'm nearing the end of it and I can only but commend the writing style and narration. The humorous remarks interlaced through such a traumatic story are a difficult feat to pull off.

    1 vote
  8. Comment on Bearblog: A privacy-first, no-nonsense, super-fast blogging platform in ~tech

    Flother
    Link
    Thank you for sharing this. I've been considering getting back into blogging purely because it helped me maintain a longer-term interest in my hobbies before, and allowed me to document progress...

    Thank you for sharing this. I've been considering getting back into blogging purely because it helped me maintain a longer-term interest in my hobbies before, and allowed me to document progress over time with studies.

    This seems like a simple interface with a decent community, will definitely give it a go.

    3 votes
  9. Comment on Your theme for 2025 in ~talk

    Flother
    (edited )
    Link
    This is a wonderful idea and I'm grateful for you for continuing this each year! I think the theme I've chosen will be best be summed up as the Year of Commitment. I did initially write...

    This is a wonderful idea and I'm grateful for you for continuing this each year!

    I think the theme I've chosen will be best be summed up as the Year of Commitment. I did initially write discipline, but I think this has gives rigid an impression.

    I've chosen this to encompass several broader goals I want to achieve, many of which are due to me not having follow through with them before. This includes finishing reading as many of the books that I currently own which have accrued over the years as I bought more. It also includes a commitment to being financially more responsible and building up a larger savings pot.

    In a broader sense, it means committing to improving knowledge to help me progress at work, as well as wider cultural knowledge out of pure interest.

  10. Comment on What were your favorite games that you played this year, and why? in ~games

    Flother
    Link
    Still trying to form an opinion on others, but for definite: Poetry Pigeon. Beautifully simple concept to learn some poems. Flappy bird, crossed with poetry. You type each letter from a short poem...

    Still trying to form an opinion on others, but for definite:

    • Poetry Pigeon. Beautifully simple concept to learn some poems. Flappy bird, crossed with poetry. You type each letter from a short poem ensuring you don't hit the obstacles, increasing in difficulty for each poem. Oh, and it's free.

    • GTA: Vice City. By far the game I played the most. There's something about the atmosphere, the music, the design that just pulls me back in, every time. Just driving around with Flash FM on is a great way to kill an hour.

    • Cards With Cats. Feels like I'm cheating here, but this is one of only two game apps (the other being Tripeaks Solitaire) I have on my phone. Play Spades or Hearts, but with a cute cat theme.

    I would also probably mention "World of Art", but the jury is out on whether it'll hold my attention. 1200 art piece jigsaws, with four difficulty levels (and the choice to have pieces orientated randomly or all in the correct position). There's a mini trivia-quiz, and some DLC for 3D puzzles.

    4 votes
  11. Comment on What were your favorite books that you read this year, and why? in ~books

    Flother
    Link Parent
    I think the aim is to expose us to literature in the wider anglosphere, but Of Mice and Men was the only novel by an American author that I recall having to study. There's not a tremendous amount...

    I think the aim is to expose us to literature in the wider anglosphere, but Of Mice and Men was the only novel by an American author that I recall having to study. There's not a tremendous amount of focus on truly classic works from the UK in English schools imo, as they often opt to study a Shakespeare play instead.

    I managed to find the current list of possible set texts per exam board here - https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/gcse/. The schools will select an exam board, and then select one of X possible books per category usually.

    It seems the Welsh (WJEC) and Northern Irish (CCEA) exam boards offer more American Literature options.

    3 votes
  12. Comment on What were your favorite books that you read this year, and why? in ~books

    Flother
    (edited )
    Link
    I've come to accept that the likelihood of me finishing full-length novels is low, so I've focussed more on novellas and poems this year. I've most likely consumed more non-fiction than fiction,...

    I've come to accept that the likelihood of me finishing full-length novels is low, so I've focussed more on novellas and poems this year. I've most likely consumed more non-fiction than fiction, but as this is usually from reference books I've mostly disregarded them here.

    • Biedermann und die Brandstifter, "The Arsonists" by Max Frisch. Quite a clever and thought-provoking play about how easily the average person can be manipulated into subscribing to extremist views (here: fascism). Gives similar vibes to Die Welle/The Wave, without being as direct.

    • A Happy Death by Albert Camus. Put Camus on anything and I'll like it. One of his earliest works and certainly reads more 'optimistic' than others. I found it quite slow to start off with, but it certainly left a lasting impression when I'd finished. You'll find no scarcity of beautiful quotes in this; a personal favourite: "What matters — all that matters, really — is the will to happiness, a kind of enormous, ever-present consciousness.".

    • The Fall by Albert Camus. I found this harder to get into and enjoy than other works, admittedly. It's not one I'd be fane to re-read, but the narration technique and the storyline is somewhat interesting. Again, heavily quotable. I think it's worth reading alone purely for his reflections on life, so I won't spoil any quote in toto here, but the brief passage on "Friendship is less simple" has lingered with me.

    • The Pearl by John Steinbeck. My only experience with Steinbeck before this is Of Mice and Men which I may have enjoyed had I not been forced into it at school, and then East of Eden which I never finished due to its length. I picked this up for 50p in a second-hand shop and didn't regret it at all. Reading it was a visceral experience and I then purchased Cannery Row afterwards just to get more of Steinbeck.

    • Out of Your Mind by Alan Watts. Sort of cheating as it's a collection of transcribed lectures. My most recent read. It's, beyond doubt, one of the few things this year which has lead to a serious shift in my perspective of life.

    • The Nation's Favourite Poems, misc. Just felt like becoming more acquainted with other types of literature so picked up this little gem, which has sparked a small interest in poetry. My personal favourite is Silver by Walter de la Mare.

    • The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope. Picked this up with Paradise Lost (yet to finish), both Oxford Notes editions and without the notes it'd be a struggle. A pleasantly satirical poem about a faux-scandal amongst the upper class at the time. The amount of extrinsic references is enough to make you feel like an idiot.

    • The Earliest English Poems. Wonderful insight into the extant poetry we have from Anglo-Saxon times with brief but detailed commentary on each poem.

    • It's On Me by Sara Kuburic. Quite a nice bit of easily comprehensible 'existential' therapy, though I would not read it purely for reference to existentialism. It could have been shorter, but it definitely had some nice takeaways, mostly the analogy of the burning room.

    Honourable mentions that I have yet to finish:

    • Der Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse. I've had to re-start this as I left it too long to continue. I remember the earlier pages vividly due to Hesse's poignant description of a wolf/man and the "gotcha moment".

    • The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and Sophists.. Incredibly concise, well-sourced, and easy to flick through when you have a spare few minutes.

    • Wilhelm Tell by Schiller. This is either the second or third literary work I own by Schiller, and the only one I reckon I'll finish anytime soon. I find Schiller oddly challenging to read compared to Goethe, and German is not my native language so it adds another layer of difficulty.

    I could write about 20 more on here but the list will never end. I've come to accept that I just like to flick back and forth between books, and that's okay.

    7 votes