SpruceWillis's recent activity
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
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Comment on What video game mods do you play, or have played in the past? in ~games
SpruceWillis I can see a lot of great games and mods have already been mentioned so I'll go with something a little more niche. Back in the early 00's, The Dark Mod was released for Doom 3. It was a total...I can see a lot of great games and mods have already been mentioned so I'll go with something a little more niche.
Back in the early 00's, The Dark Mod was released for Doom 3. It was a total conversion mod that turned Doom 3 into, essentially, a Thief game, that gave users the tools to create their own levels and play those made by other people.
In the early-mid 10's the game became completely standalone so is technically no longer a mod but it's how it got its start. It's very good fun to play and there's a ton of user made levels to play through, and it's free and open source.
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Comment on What are some books for which the critical/public opinion has flipped over time? in ~books
SpruceWillis Jessie Popes patriotic poetry during WWI was widely distributed in newspapers and collected in books and sold throughout Great Britain during the war years to pressure men to go off to fight while...Jessie Popes patriotic poetry during WWI was widely distributed in newspapers and collected in books and sold throughout Great Britain during the war years to pressure men to go off to fight while war poets like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon were largely ignored.
Now Owen and Sassoons writings are the gold standard in exemplifying the horrors of World War One while Popes writing is largely forgotten, and dismissed as jingoistic and distasteful.
Owens famous poem "Dulce et Decorum Est", regularly taught in high school English here in the UK, was originally dedicated to Pope as Owen disliked her pro-war poems.
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Comment on Can you recommend tv shows with themes of grit, endurance, survival under hostile circumstances? in ~tv
SpruceWillis "The Americans" fits the bill I'd say. Two Russian spies, living undercover in the US as spies during the 80's. Features gritty violence and espionage, survival with enemies all around and..."The Americans" fits the bill I'd say.
Two Russian spies, living undercover in the US as spies during the 80's. Features gritty violence and espionage, survival with enemies all around and endurance to maintain the difficult facade of pleasant, suburban Americans while balancing their real jobs as highly trained intelligence agents.
Great show, a slow burn for definite with great characterisation, tense plotting and quick violent bursts of, at times, very brutal action.
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Comment on GOG resurrects Dino Crisis and Dino Crisis 2 on PC in ~games
SpruceWillis This is great. Me and a couple friends play a "game club", kind of like book club but for games instead, and Dino Crisis is on the list. Least I know I can get it through GOG now.This is great. Me and a couple friends play a "game club", kind of like book club but for games instead, and Dino Crisis is on the list.
Least I know I can get it through GOG now.
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Comment on What are your favourite let's plays? in ~games
SpruceWillis I very much enjoy HCBailly, he's been Let's Playing for like 14 or 15 years. Mostly JRPG's but he does play other older games. His playthroughs of Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Majora's Mask,...I very much enjoy HCBailly, he's been Let's Playing for like 14 or 15 years. Mostly JRPG's but he does play other older games.
His playthroughs of Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Majora's Mask, Final Fantasy 6, 7, 8, and 9 are fantastic.
His playthroughs are well practiced, he knows a ton about the games, how to beat them efficiently, along with a lot of secrets and Easter Eggs.
He's a bit of a nerd, his humour can be hit or miss but he's an old school LP'er and I still like coming back to his content now and again.
Another one I've recently started watching is Mapocolops. An Australian LP'er who does Blind Playthroughs.
He's a decent gamer and he tends to get through most games without too much issue (although he seriously sucks at stealth games). His strength lies in how involved he gets in game lore, he really dives into appendices, codexes, ingame books, newspapers etc.
His playthrough of Deus Ex is great (although any attempt at stealth generally ends up a failure). His playthroughs of the Soulsbourne games are fantastic, and his playthroughs of the 3D Zelda games, which he's recently started, are great.
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Comment on David Lynch, visionary filmmaker behind 'Twin Peaks' and 'Mulholland Drive,' dies at 78 in ~movies
SpruceWillis A shame, I enjoyed a few of his films and Twin Peaks was great! I first looked into him in my late teens when he interviewed Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, my favourite band. I'd heard of...A shame, I enjoyed a few of his films and Twin Peaks was great!
I first looked into him in my late teens when he interviewed Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins, my favourite band. I'd heard of him but that interview was what got me to look into his work.
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Comment on An update from Nintendo (Nintendo Switch 2 announcement) in ~games
SpruceWillis Yeah, I'm cool with this, nice to just see an incremental upgrade for once considering how much I love what the Switch offers. The backwards compatibility with Switch games is nice as well....Yeah, I'm cool with this, nice to just see an incremental upgrade for once considering how much I love what the Switch offers.
The backwards compatibility with Switch games is nice as well. Haven't played my Switch in about a year since my daughter got sentient and grabby enough to find it interesting so I'll grab the Switch 2 and finish Tears of the Kingdom on it I reckon.
Also, I love Mario Kart so I'm excited for that.
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Comment on Awesome Games Done Quick 2025, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs January 5 - January 11) in ~games
SpruceWillis This Batman Forever run is incredibly fun! Gotta love when the runner and their couch knows a game is just pure insanity and just has a ton of fun with it. It was Wild Guns at SGDQ 2023,...This Batman Forever run is incredibly fun! Gotta love when the runner and their couch knows a game is just pure insanity and just has a ton of fun with it.
It was Wild Guns at SGDQ 2023, definitely Batman Forever for me at AGDQ 2024.
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Comment on Awesome Games Done Quick 2025, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs January 5 - January 11) in ~games
SpruceWillis Been waiting for this to start, always a good way to start my first week back at work after Christmas and New Year, stick it on in the background while I get on with my job.Been waiting for this to start, always a good way to start my first week back at work after Christmas and New Year, stick it on in the background while I get on with my job.
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Comment on Integrate? Europe’s Muslims are damned if we do and damned if we don’t. in ~society
SpruceWillis Yeah, growing up in Scotland it's very obvious to everyone here how much of a shitstain Sectarianism and sectarian violence is, especially in Glasgow. Protestants and Catholics, villifying, hating...Yeah, growing up in Scotland it's very obvious to everyone here how much of a shitstain Sectarianism and sectarian violence is, especially in Glasgow.
Protestants and Catholics, villifying, hating and committing violence against one another because of what flavour of Christianity they follow/if they're Republicans or Monarchists/whether they support Rangers FC or Celtic FC. (I can tell you a majority of the sectarian violence in Scotland is due to what football team people support).
It's ugly, kids being raised to think the other side are worse than animals, areas of the city you wouldn't dare set foot in wearing blue or green.
I've even got a friend who makes cakes for a living and she had someone request a cake for their 4 or 5 year olds birthday. They wanted an icing likeness of their child playing football on top of the cake and asked for the icing grass to be blue because they're a Rangers house and they can't have the colour green on a birthday cake, it's bonkers, these people's brains are mush.
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Comment on Happy new year! in ~talk
SpruceWillis Happy New Year! Last night was the first Hogmanay in a long, long time that I didn't make the bells. Me, my partner and daughter have all managed to catch this horrible flu thing that's doing the...Happy New Year!
Last night was the first Hogmanay in a long, long time that I didn't make the bells. Me, my partner and daughter have all managed to catch this horrible flu thing that's doing the rounds so I was asleep by half eight last night and now I've woken up feeling a lot better but with no voice whatsoever so I'm struggling to catch a break.
Kids are horrendous germ factories.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
SpruceWillis I've been reading Project Hail Mary and I've been enjoying it. Wasn't expecting the... Second extraterrestrial race ...so that's been cool. I'm always a bit gutted to hit a flashback as I want to...I've been reading Project Hail Mary and I've been enjoying it. Wasn't expecting the...
Second extraterrestrial race...so that's been cool. I'm always a bit gutted to hit a flashback as I want to get back to the present day.
I do find the main characters dialogue a bit stilted at times, it's got that "I'm a super intelligent school teacher but don't forget how nerdy AND cool I am as well." vibe to it.
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Comment on Christopher Nolan’s next film is an adaptation of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey,’ Universal reveals in ~movies
SpruceWillis I'm very much into this. I've been running a Greco-Roman D&D campaign called "Odyssey of the Dragonlords" for the past couple of years with a couple of groups and I've been having a blast with the...I'm very much into this.
I've been running a Greco-Roman D&D campaign called "Odyssey of the Dragonlords" for the past couple of years with a couple of groups and I've been having a blast with the Ancient Greek tropes.
I also love Nolan's films, have done since I first saw Batman Begins, so I'll always look forward to his future projects.
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Comment on What are your favorite special kitchen ingredients? in ~food
SpruceWillis MSG Furikake (amazing lightly sprinkled on some buttered toast) Dashi powder Mirin Zaatar Dukkah Rose Harissa paste Home grown garlic (incredible in comparison to store bought and it keeps for...MSG
Furikake (amazing lightly sprinkled on some buttered toast)
Dashi powder
Mirin
Zaatar
Dukkah
Rose Harissa paste
Home grown garlic (incredible in comparison to store bought and it keeps for months and months)
Nutmeg
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Comment on What are your Christmas movies? in ~movies
SpruceWillis Die Hard is my number one, me and my partner both love it and we tend to watch it once over the Christmas period. We also watch Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone 1&2, and Muppets Christmas Carol. I...Die Hard is my number one, me and my partner both love it and we tend to watch it once over the Christmas period.
We also watch Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone 1&2, and Muppets Christmas Carol.
I also enjoy watching non-Christmas Christmas movies, those films that were always shown over Christmas and New Year that aren't Christmas films but I've got great memories of watching on Boxing Day while eating an entire Terry's Chocolate Orange or Cadbury's Selection Box.
Films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Hook, the Connery, Lazenby or Moore James Bond films, Groundhog Day, or the first few Harry Potter films.
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Comment on What's something new you started doing this year? in ~talk
SpruceWillis Yeah, the NHS may currently be on its knees and it can take months to see a dentist or doctor but even when you have to pay for certain treatments it's heavily subsidised and relatively cheap.Yeah, the NHS may currently be on its knees and it can take months to see a dentist or doctor but even when you have to pay for certain treatments it's heavily subsidised and relatively cheap.
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Comment on What's something new you started doing this year? in ~talk
SpruceWillis Not every day but most days, it really helps scrub those gaps in my teeth, maybe gets some of the stuff the water flosser doesn't.Not every day but most days, it really helps scrub those gaps in my teeth, maybe gets some of the stuff the water flosser doesn't.
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Comment on What's something new you started doing this year? in ~talk
SpruceWillis How strange, I also went to the dentist for the first time since before Covid. My dental hygiene is pretty good, I brush twice a day, rinse with alcohol free mouthwash, and floss a couple times a...How strange, I also went to the dentist for the first time since before Covid. My dental hygiene is pretty good, I brush twice a day, rinse with alcohol free mouthwash, and floss a couple times a week but even with all that you can't really avoid build up of crap over time.
Covid really did a number on my dental routine as I normally went for a check up along with a scale and polish once a year but I just kept forgetting. I eventually went back after 5 years of no dental checkups in February this year to find out that my incisors were thinning at the edges, and I had very mild tooth decay in hard to reach places so I needed multiple bouts of dental work over 6 months and fillings to sort my mouth out which cost me £300 in total.
My dentist also suggested an electric toothbrush, interdental brushes and a water flosser to help keep my teeth as clean as possible so I've been using those for around 6 months now and my mouth feels so much cleaner than just using a normal brush and floss.
Otherwise I've started collecting Magic cards, my poor wallet. I played Commander with a couple friends a few times earlier in the year and enjoyed myself so decided to buy cards and build my own Commander deck over time.
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Comment on What possession(s) do you have that continue to delight you every time? in ~talk
SpruceWillis They're quite common in Europe, me and my partner had one in our old house which was quite small. I think unless you splash out they don't dry as well as a dedicated dryer but it always did a...They're quite common in Europe, me and my partner had one in our old house which was quite small. I think unless you splash out they don't dry as well as a dedicated dryer but it always did a pretty decent job for most things.
I'm going to see Pantera next Tuesday so been spinning their old records in anticipation. Outside of the usual suspects like Walk, Cowboys from Hell, and I'm Broken I hope they play stuff like Revolution is my Name, Domination, and Suicide Note Pt 2.
I also grabbed tickets to go see Bilmuri so I've been listening to the albums American Motor Sports and 400LB BACK SQUAT as well. American Motor Sports was one of my favourite albums last year so I'm excited to hear some of the tracks live!