Grayscail's recent activity
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Comment on Slop and guilt in ~talk
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Comment on The physics of dub techno — a musicologist explains in ~music
Grayscail Link ParentI guess that makes sense, Im just used to "-ologies" sounding more exotic.I guess that makes sense, Im just used to "-ologies" sounding more exotic.
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Comment on The physics of dub techno — a musicologist explains in ~music
Grayscail LinkThey really call the study of music "musicology"? Theres no greek or latin root that means music?They really call the study of music "musicology"? Theres no greek or latin root that means music?
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Comment on She graduated from high school with honors but can’t read or write. Now she’s suing. in ~society
Grayscail LinkGood thing she can hire a lawyer to draft the lawsuit.Good thing she can hire a lawyer to draft the lawsuit.
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Comment on What are your architectural hot takes? in ~design
Grayscail Link ParentI dont know how Id feel about mound type landscapes where the earth has totally reclaimed them, but I think itd be cool to have something like mayan pyramids or terraced hillsides, where the sides...I dont know how Id feel about mound type landscapes where the earth has totally reclaimed them, but I think itd be cool to have something like mayan pyramids or terraced hillsides, where the sides are concrete but the tops have plants and stuff. Standing from the top itd be like youre just seeing grass and plants, but from the base it looks like a brutalist building.
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Comment on What are your architectural hot takes? in ~design
Grayscail Link ParentI see what you're getting at, but I think that look still is tied to our culture, if not cultural heritage. The aesthetic is certainly very modern and eschews the kind of embellishments you might...I see what you're getting at, but I think that look still is tied to our culture, if not cultural heritage.
The aesthetic is certainly very modern and eschews the kind of embellishments you might see in an old European town, but thats because America is a modern country which was shaped by modernist ideals.
Back in the 50s or whenever this style developed America was building lots of cheap affordable housing and suburban development because thats what the society of the time saw as their ideal of the American dream: a simple goal of a humble home for you and your family.
During World War II America emerged as a leading world power through mass production and logistics, and so started applying that same philosophy to peacetime development as well.
When people talk about the past now they romanticize that time when you could support a family and buy a house off a grocery clerk salary. That was the case back then because society went out of its way to prioritize simplicity and efficiency, and the minimalist aesthetic of suburbia is a reflection of that.
Granted, you might not like McDonalds, but its undeniable that its a part of American culture. Its one of the most recognizable cultural exports in the world.
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Comment on What are your architectural hot takes? in ~design
Grayscail LinkI like it when all the buildings in a place have a consistent aesthetic. When I see a neighborhood where all the houses look the same I dont think its dystopic or depressing, I just think its a...I like it when all the buildings in a place have a consistent aesthetic. When I see a neighborhood where all the houses look the same I dont think its dystopic or depressing, I just think its a pattern, and sometimes patterns can be appealing.
Conversely when a neighborhood is filled with houses that are all trying to look unique and distinctive it can come across as gaudy and discordant.
It also gives the area as a whole a distinctive look that emphasizes cultural unity instead of individualistic style.
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Comment on Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen releasing February 27th on Nintendo Switch in ~games
Grayscail (edited )Link ParentYes, thats true. I will admit that the later games have done a better job of having some differences between versions, but Im thinking more about the overarching theme of the games. Ruby and...Yes, thats true. I will admit that the later games have done a better job of having some differences between versions, but Im thinking more about the overarching theme of the games.
Ruby and Sapphire having two antagonist teams is relevant because the teams are superficially opposites but are bad in the same way, in that they are both recklessly meddling with the environment based on their own arbitrary preferences. The fact that the bad guy in one game is your ally in the other highlights how this stems from narcissism, Archie can recognize the flaws of this mindset when Maxie is doing it and vice versa, but they both fail to beleive they themselves could make such a mistake. Having this parallel between them adds something to the theme.
What happens in all the other games?
In Gen 1+2 you are just fighting a crime syndicate with no differences.
In Gen 4 Cyrus is either capturing the Time or Space pokemon, but his overarching goal is to eradicate all spirit, which apparently is something you can do with their time or space powers, so the distinction is meaningless.
In Gen 5 you choose between Truth and Ideals, but regardless of which you choose N picks the opposite and comes to the same conclusion either way. This is the one time where its ok that the difference is meaningless, because the resolution of the plot comes from N recognizing how arbitrary it is and realizing he was manipulated into his conclusions.
In Gen 6 Lysandre wants to make him and his gang immortal and kill everyone else in PokeFrance. To do this he either captures the Life pokemon or the Death pokemon. But the Death pokemon still makes you immortal, and the life pokemon still kills everyone, so theyre basically the same thing.
In Gen 7 Cosmoem either evolves into a Sun pokemon or a Moon pokemon, but Cosmog already had dimensional travel powers before evolving, so which one he evolves into has no bearing on anything.
I didnt play the games after this point, but from what I understand in Gen 8 one legendary Pokemon has a Sword and the other has a Shield... and thats it. I dont even know if they matter to the plot that much?
In Gen 9, you either get a Futuristic motorcycle pokemon or a Prehistoric motorcycle pokemon, and beyond the fact that thats dumb and makes no sense, I dont actually know what the plot is because I didnt play this one either.
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Comment on Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen releasing February 27th on Nintendo Switch in ~games
Grayscail LinkGeneration 3 was close to peak in my opinion. The Pokemon games have their peak at different times for different game aspects. I think the Generation 4 era was the peak in terms of gameplay, as...Generation 3 was close to peak in my opinion.
The Pokemon games have their peak at different times for different game aspects. I think the Generation 4 era was the peak in terms of gameplay, as that is when they incorporated physical and special attacks of every type. Generation 5 is arguably where Id say the peak in terms of narrative is, with N being a cool character and team Plasma having a genuinely reasonable goal, even though it was a lie.
But Generation 3 is special because Ruby and Sapphire are I think the only games in the whole franchise to do something even remotely interesting with the whole "dual game" concept. I know this is a post about FRLG but I am particularly fond of this generation for that reason.
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Comment on ‘Sonic 4’: Kristen Bell to voice Amy Rose in ~movies
Grayscail Link ParentThe Unraveled episode about Sonic mentioned his old name. And some other stuff. Theres actually a ton of stuff on youtube about the Sonic comics. Real insane stuff out there in the canon. Mostly...The Unraveled episode about Sonic mentioned his old name. And some other stuff.
Theres actually a ton of stuff on youtube about the Sonic comics. Real insane stuff out there in the canon. Mostly coming from Ken Penders, apparently.
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Comment on Even when youre right, you lose in ~humanities
Grayscail (edited )LinkThis showed up on my youtube feed today and I think it closely parallels my own thoughs on the matterThis showed up on my youtube feed today and I think it closely parallels my own thoughs on the matter
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Even when youre right, you lose
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Comment on Liberals who were formerly far-left (communist, anarchist, etc.), what led to you coming to liberalism? in ~society
Grayscail LinkWhat led to changing your mind? I gained an increased appreciation of incrementalism. I decided that trying to decide how society ought to be organized was a pointless exercise, because I was...What led to changing your mind?
I gained an increased appreciation of incrementalism. I decided that trying to decide how society ought to be organized was a pointless exercise, because I was ignoring the obvious fact that lots of people in society wanted totally different things than I did and would never want to go along with any plan I came up with, no matter how good it might be. Engaging with the political landscape as it is seemed like a more relevant way for me to understand contemporary politics.
-How has this shift shaped your view of contemporary American politics?
I have come to think of most forms of public engagement as a waste of time. Most people who are into politics have zero interest in changing their minds on anything, and getting into arguments about that stuff will most likely push people away from your positions rather than drawing them in. I have come to think that the most effective way to effect positive change in the world is to just be kind and try not to introduce unneeded stress into peoples lives.
-What was the impact to your social circle or community?
Little to none
-What lessons do you think being a leftist taught you, or in what ways has it shaped you that you are appreciative of?
"Leftist" thought helped introduce me to the idea that there are multiple completely different lenses or narratives by which you can view society, and not everyone is looking at the world the same way you are.
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Comment on What are your food aversions? in ~food
Grayscail LinkI dont like olives. They have a strong taste that stand out when they are added to anything.I dont like olives. They have a strong taste that stand out when they are added to anything.
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Comment on What do dreams mean? in ~science
Grayscail LinkI have no idea if theres evidence to supoort this, but I always thought dreams were like Google's DeepDream program. It uses neural nets to try and change one picture into another by working...I have no idea if theres evidence to supoort this, but I always thought dreams were like Google's DeepDream program. It uses neural nets to try and change one picture into another by working backwards from a trained model.
So like, if you train a model to produce human faces, and then feed a picture of a landscape through the model backwards, it will start changing the picture to try and make eyes and noses and stuff out of shapes in the landscape. In other words its trying to force the picture to look like a face, even when its not.
So I imagine that your brain is doing something like this. Your subconsicous mind is doing some sort of maintenence stuff with your brain, and that causes a bunch of random neural activations which come across as a bunch of random disjointed sensations or memories. Then your conscious mind tries to make sense of those random inputs by stitching them together into a somewhat coherent experience.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentThat does ring a bell. I seem to remember there being a lot of exposition that took up a lot of time in 3. I was thinking of playing some of the rest of the series after I finish this game, but Im...That does ring a bell. I seem to remember there being a lot of exposition that took up a lot of time in 3.
I was thinking of playing some of the rest of the series after I finish this game, but Im not sure which one I would want to play next because the series has a reputation of having fallen off as time went on. I know the most recent game AC:Shadows is about ninjas, which sounds like exactly what I wanted an assassin game to be, but Ive heard very mixed reviews on that one.
I was thinking I might play Odyssey or Unity next, as those seem to be pretty well regarded games in the newer style.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentI remember doing the same when I played the games as a kid, but now I can hardly remember what it was I disliked about AC3. I just knew that the series started diverging farther away from the...I remember doing the same when I played the games as a kid, but now I can hardly remember what it was I disliked about AC3. I just knew that the series started diverging farther away from the stealth action stuff I liked.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Grayscail LinkI have been playing the Assassins Creed: Ezio Collection which consists of the 3 games in the Assassins Creed II trilogy(confusing, right?). I finished ACII a couple weeks ago and just finished...I have been playing the Assassins Creed: Ezio Collection which consists of the 3 games in the Assassins Creed II trilogy(confusing, right?).
I finished ACII a couple weeks ago and just finished AC:Brotherhood, which means Im onto the final game, AC:Revelations.
ACII was very fun and I enjoyed it a lot, but I felt the plot was hard to get into. Ezio wants to get revenge for his family, which is a good motivation, but most of the game is following breadcrumbs to unravel a conspiracy that you dont really understand the meaning of until near the end. So most of your assassination targets kind of end up not mattering much.
AC:Brotherhood was better in this regard, because you have a clear upfront goal of going to war with the Borgias, and everything makes sense in that context. I also liked how they fleshed out the side plots better. The stories concerning Ezios sister joining the assassins and Machiavelli being suspected as a traitor were interesting mini plots. I also liked the new ability to train assassin recruits, although I found myself not using the feature often.
The biggest change in AC:Brotherhood was the new kill streak mechanic, which allows you to rapidly chain kills if you manage to do a counter, which is made much easier in this game by widening the timing window for a counter. On the one hand, this does kind of trivialize combat, as even without most gear or armor you can easily take out a whole army with just the hidden blade. On the other hand, it really does amp up the badass factor for Ezio as an unstoppable master assassin. Plus it makes sense narratively, AC:II was Ezios story of learning to be an assassin, but Brotherhood is Ezio in his prime as the leader of the Order.
So far in AC:Revelations I havent seen much gameplay improvements. The hookblade and new bombs are decent additions but dont really feel like they add that much. Im still early on though, so more may come.
As it stands now I think Brotherhood is my favorite of the games, but AC2 still has good appeal with the older combat system, and I really like the aesthetics of the first one the most.
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Comment on Make everything okay in ~life
Grayscail LinkCompletely unrealistic. That loading bar went smoothly from 0 to 100% instead of going to 87% really quickly and then hanging there for 2 minutes.Completely unrealistic.
That loading bar went smoothly from 0 to 100% instead of going to 87% really quickly and then hanging there for 2 minutes.
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Comment on Minnesota's general strike on Friday Jan 23rd, 2026 in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in ~society
Grayscail LinkI mean its -20 out, I wasnt really planning on doing stuff today anyway.I mean its -20 out, I wasnt really planning on doing stuff today anyway.
People often feel pressure to do something important or productive with their time no matter what theyre doing. But recreation is just for fun, you shouldnt have to feel bad for not challenging yourself. If you feel like you enjoyed yourself watching the show, you have successfully recreated.