SpruceWillis's recent activity
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
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Comment on Let's build a playlist! in ~music
SpruceWillis Link ParentDinosaur Pile-Up are great! Saw them at Leeds Festival in 2013 (I think it was 2013 anyway) and loved them ever since.Dinosaur Pile-Up are great! Saw them at Leeds Festival in 2013 (I think it was 2013 anyway) and loved them ever since.
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Comment on Let's build a playlist! in ~music
SpruceWillis LinkCherub Rock by The Smashing Pumpkins Win on Win by Hawk Eyes Unfamiliar by Currents Earth is a Black Hole by Teenage Wrist I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song...- Cherub Rock by The Smashing Pumpkins
- Win on Win by Hawk Eyes
- Unfamiliar by Currents
- Earth is a Black Hole by Teenage Wrist
- I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me by Fall Out Boy.
I could add loads but these five are solid choices I've been listening to recently and Cherub Rock is probably my most listened to song that ever will be. Must be well over 10k listens now!
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Comment on Let's build a playlist! in ~music
SpruceWillis (edited )Link ParentYardcore or Y'allternative I've heard it called.Yardcore or Y'allternative I've heard it called.
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Comment on Let's build a playlist! in ~music
SpruceWillis Link ParentAll solid choices, love Bilmuri as well, been CRANKIN' MY HOG TO HIS LATEST RELEASES!All solid choices, love Bilmuri as well, been CRANKIN' MY HOG TO HIS LATEST RELEASES!
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
SpruceWillis LinkI read Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer which I loved, finished it in two sessions. The setting is creepy, super alien and fun. I loved the movie and went into the book knowing that the film was a...I read Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer which I loved, finished it in two sessions. The setting is creepy, super alien and fun. I loved the movie and went into the book knowing that the film was a loose adaptation but I still really enjoyed it.
I enjoyed it so much that I've ordered Authority and Acceptance and pre-ordered Absolution!
I've now moved on to Tender is the Flesh and wow, I've generally got a strong stomach for shock, horror and gore but this book is pushing the boundaries and I'm only 50 pages in, it's horrifying! The connections it's making between butchery, the modern meat industry and capitalism are about as subtle as a brick to the face and while it's not gonna turn me vegetarian it's definitely a horrendous read.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
SpruceWillis Link ParentJS and Mr N is in my to read list so I'm glad you enjoyed it, looking forward to getting to it when I eventually pick it up!JS and Mr N is in my to read list so I'm glad you enjoyed it, looking forward to getting to it when I eventually pick it up!
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Comment on Spotify is no longer just a streaming app, it’s a social network in ~tech
SpruceWillis Link ParentYeah, I love using Last.fm, gotta get my scrobbling stats! Also it's a cool way of documenting gigs and events and looking back on them in the future. Fun way to feel nostalgic about going to see...Yeah, I love using Last.fm, gotta get my scrobbling stats! Also it's a cool way of documenting gigs and events and looking back on them in the future. Fun way to feel nostalgic about going to see some band that doesn't exist anymore back in 2008 or something!
I don't use the social aspect of Last.fm though.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
SpruceWillis LinkI finished Snow Crash last night and I must say, I'm kinda disappointed. There was definitely stuff I enjoyed and it's not a bad book at all, I just think that having loved the Sprawl trilogy I...I finished Snow Crash last night and I must say, I'm kinda disappointed.
There was definitely stuff I enjoyed and it's not a bad book at all, I just think that having loved the Sprawl trilogy I figured I'd love Snow Crash as well so I definitely overhyped it a bit.
The characters are fun, Hiro and YT are cool and Ravens a proper bad ass villain. They'll definitely stay with me for a while, pizza delivering samurai-hacker, futuristic Amazon delivery skateboarder that surfs highways, and a biker with a hydrogen bomb set up with a dead man's switch.
The setting is cool, it's like a parody of cyberpunk, that kind of dystopian anarcho-capitalism taken to it's satirical extremes.
The themes of linguistics, human development, history, and philosophy are all very interesting and it all comes together in a fun way with the last 140ish pages being pretty incredible, non-stop action. Reason is one of the coolest weapons I've come across, a rail-mini gun!
The book is almost prophetic in describing aspects of the future, artificial intelligence, Google Maps, delivery gigs, digital avatars, the metaverse, virtual reality, data gathering through analytics and video, Wikipedia, all in a book written in 1992, crazy.
It's a shame though that the preceeding 300 pages ranged from good to meh in my opinion. There's a lot of world building which I generally don't have an issue with but I feel like Stephenson loves doing it, he explains the quasi-autonomous burbclaves, franchulates, remnants of the US Government and political relationships between the different sovereign corporations like 3 or 4 times. Feels like he throws detail after detail at you so it really starts to drag a bit and feels like the plot takes a backseat to the setting for a good chunk of the novel. Also, YTs sex scene is gross, I'll leave that at that.
I'm glad I finally got round to reading it but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped.
Now onto Annihilation!
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Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
SpruceWillis Link ParentThey definitely seem to have hit the ground running which is great but my issues with Labour aren't their manifesto ideas which I'm generally pretty happy with but what they were saying about...They definitely seem to have hit the ground running which is great but my issues with Labour aren't their manifesto ideas which I'm generally pretty happy with but what they were saying about trans people before and in the run up to the election wasn't great, especially when they announced they were in discussions of a sort with J. K. Rowling.
I'm hoping now the election is over and Labour seem like they'd rather just get on with things they and the media can just leave the LGBTQ+ community alone, especially since I have family members who are gay.
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Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
SpruceWillis Link ParentI'm actually agreeing with you. My point was that Starmer is far more favourable than Corbyn, although the "get the Tories out" sentiment still delivered Corbyn a win in that scenario. I'm also...I'm actually agreeing with you. My point was that Starmer is far more favourable than Corbyn, although the "get the Tories out" sentiment still delivered Corbyn a win in that scenario.
I'm also suspicious of that sort of polling as well but it's as close as you're going to get to an answer to the question on how Corbyn would've fared in this election.
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Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
SpruceWillis Link ParentI believe YouGov or one of the other pollsters, about a week before the election, asked their usual "Who would you vote for?“ question but with the caveat that Jeremy Corbyn rather than Keir...I believe YouGov or one of the other pollsters, about a week before the election, asked their usual "Who would you vote for?“ question but with the caveat that Jeremy Corbyn rather than Keir Starmer was Labour leader.
I'm sure the Labour vote dropped, however it still lead to a Labour victory, but with a reduced seat count.
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Comment on The most profound cosmic horror or weird lit stories you've read that are not Lovecraft or Ligotti in ~books
SpruceWillis (edited )LinkI can second or third Mieville, The City and The City isn't really Lovecraftian but it's absolutely weird lit, a lot of fun as well. I've got Kraken, another Mieville novel to read. King has some...I can second or third Mieville, The City and The City isn't really Lovecraftian but it's absolutely weird lit, a lot of fun as well. I've got Kraken, another Mieville novel to read.
King has some really cool cosmic horror, The Mist is fantastic, and rather short as well.
I'm nearly finished with Snowcrash (not Cosmic Horror) but I'm planning on reading Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer next. I loved the movie which was very Lovecraftian so hoping the book has that same vibe.
I've also got House of Leaves to read, the book was quite expensive so fingers crossed I enjoy it, certainly seems like it'll be a journey anyway.
I forgot, I've also got The Raw Shark Texts in my bookcase, have yet to get around to reading it but it certainly seems very weird. Think it's meant to be very meta with there also being "un-chapters" found outside of the book in the real world and online which build on the world of the novel.
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Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
SpruceWillis Link ParentIt was the first referendum I took part in as a voting adult at 20 years old. I remember those mental pink-themed adverts about the soldier and the baby. I voted Yes because I figured AV would be...It was the first referendum I took part in as a voting adult at 20 years old. I remember those mental pink-themed adverts about the soldier and the baby.
I voted Yes because I figured AV would be better than our current system and might've prompted further voter reform given time but those adverts really did the trick, considering it was a resounding No from the electorate.
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Comment on BBC exit poll predicts Labour landslide in UK in ~news
SpruceWillis LinkStayed up as long as I could (a 2 year old and work today made this particularly dangerous) but saw the first few constituencies being called, all for Labour. I live in Scotland and have typically...Stayed up as long as I could (a 2 year old and work today made this particularly dangerous) but saw the first few constituencies being called, all for Labour.
I live in Scotland and have typically been an SNP or Scottish Green voter but voted Labour this time to try and keep the SNP out of the seat (a new one after changes to constituency boundaries) as punishment for their monetary issues leading to party members, including ex-leaders, being arrested, and petty party infighting over the past year. It also worked, our constituency is a Labour gain with a roughly 6500 vote majority.
I'm not particularly happy with Labour, but Keir at least seems like a good man, I might not agree with everything he's said socially but that's okay, he doesn't seem like a narcissist or sociopath like some of the Tory PMs we've had and I'm not going to let perfect be the enemy of good.
Great fun seeing Truss, Mercer, Rees-Mogg, Mordaunt, Fabricant, and Schapps losing their seats though, absolute bloodbath.
Hopefully we can get back to boring politics now and fingers crossed our lives can get a little bit better over the next 5 years. Otherwise I fear Reform will sweep over more seats in 5 years time because they might've only gained 4 seats but some of those swings were quite scary, Reform came in second in quite a number of constituencies. Maybe dragging these MPs into the sunlight will show the public how mental and swivel-eyed they are but I'm not entirely hopeful.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
SpruceWillis LinkI finished Cyberpunk Edgerunners over the weekend, it was pretty good. I'm a big fan of the setting, played a little bit of Cyberpunk 2020, a fair few sessions of Cyberpunk Red, and I also enjoyed...I finished Cyberpunk Edgerunners over the weekend, it was pretty good.
I'm a big fan of the setting, played a little bit of Cyberpunk 2020, a fair few sessions of Cyberpunk Red, and I also enjoyed the game. However, I don't really enjoy anime much, less the animated part, I've no problem with adult cartoons but it's more the tropes and clichés that come along with anime that I find a bit cringey.
Think I'm gonna watch Scavengers Reign next, heard good things and it's another short one.
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Comment on Summer Games Done Quick 2024, a week-long charity fundraiser featuring speedruns, is live (runs June 30 - July 6) in ~games
SpruceWillis LinkExciting, I love tuning in all week, although being in the UK I tend to miss the big hitters but I do generally catch the awful block, which is always great fun.Exciting, I love tuning in all week, although being in the UK I tend to miss the big hitters but I do generally catch the awful block, which is always great fun.
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Comment on Innerpartysystem - Don't Stop (2008) in ~music
SpruceWillis LinkWow, what a blast from the past! I loved these guys back in the day, a shame they didn't do much more after this before splitting. Saw them live at the Glasgow Barfly in 2008, they were very good....Wow, what a blast from the past! I loved these guys back in the day, a shame they didn't do much more after this before splitting.
Saw them live at the Glasgow Barfly in 2008, they were very good. Played with the lights behind them so they just looked like dark silhouettes most of the set and then the guitarist crowd surfed at the end of Don't Stop, which they played as their last song. Chatted with the lead singer for five minutes at their merch table, really nice dude.
Then when we left, me and a couple of friends who were there with me shared a joint with the support band before we went back to the station for the train home, good memories.
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Comment on How Embracer's cuts killed a potential Red Faction sequel and gutted a promising studio in ~games
SpruceWillis LinkI love the Red Faction games, they're a great laugh and the geomod technology was pretty groundbreaking back in the day, still very cool actually. I used to speedrun Red Faction 1 on PC, such a...I love the Red Faction games, they're a great laugh and the geomod technology was pretty groundbreaking back in the day, still very cool actually.
I used to speedrun Red Faction 1 on PC, such a fun title to blast through (literally) in 50 or so minutes. Haven't run through it in a few years now but still check in with the community now and again.
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Comment on Before smartphones, an army of real people helped you find stuff on Google in ~tech
SpruceWillis LinkThere used to be telephone numbers for directory enquiries providers in the UK that would do this sort of stuff, one of the more famous being...There used to be telephone numbers for directory enquiries providers in the UK that would do this sort of stuff, one of the more famous being [118-118](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/118_118_(UK\)) whose adverts were incredibly popular due to the marathon runner characters in them (you were guaranteed to see duos going out for Halloween parties dressed up as the 118-118 men in the early-mid 00's).
I recently finished Tender is the Flesh and it was a rough read, pretty grotesque vision of a dystopian future, but a fairly short read either way. I'd suggest staying miles away from it if you're not a fan of body horror.
Started reading The Raw Shark Texts and I'm having a lot of fun with it, about 3/4 of the way through it and really enjoying the crazy story. Although I will say I find the love story to be a bit eye-rollingly cringe, very late 00's manic pixie dream girl type of thing.
I noticed though that it's the second book I've read in as many months that's super focused on language, with Snow Crash being the other.
Edit: Okay, I just finished the Raw Shark Texts and...
I get it now, the love story between Eric and Clio, and Eric and Scout was purposefully written that way. He specifically mentions how he couldn't remember the real Clio after she died and his brain filled it in with a quick witted woman from a soap opera or Hollywood film rather than a bickering couple who talk about their bowel movements too much and Scout is his conceptual reimagining of Clio, different but quite clearly meant to be Clio.
Quite a bittersweet ending actually, I imagine it's up to interpretation, but I read it as Eric finally forgiving himself over what happened to Clio, came to terms with his past, accepted his death and now lives in some sort of conceptual afterlife on the island of Naxos, the place he was happiest, with Scout and his cat Ian, nearly brought a tear to my eye.