winther's recent activity
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
winther Link ParentEnglish or Italian dub is an interesting thing to play around with, as it can be very hit and miss which dub is the best, but also give the film a new light. I used to only watch spaghetti...English or Italian dub is an interesting thing to play around with, as it can be very hit and miss which dub is the best, but also give the film a new light. I used to only watch spaghetti westerns in English, because it made sense setting wise for the old west, but recently I have quite enjoyed revisiting some of them in Italian dubs. Some are just way better, as the Italian actors seems to be more in tune with the style than some of the "phoning it in" English actors. Especially Sergio Corbucci's film have much greater Italian dubs (Django and The Great Silence for example). For giallo or poliziotteschi I tend to go for the Italian first, but it is of course very actor dependent what works best.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
winther Link ParentThe Bird with the Crystal Plumage is not top tier Argento, but still solid in my opinion. If you haven't already, for peak Argento giallo, then Deep Red is a must see. If you want a more bloody...The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is not top tier Argento, but still solid in my opinion. If you haven't already, for peak Argento giallo, then Deep Red is a must see.
If you want a more bloody slasher vibe giallo, then I can recommend Torso from 1973. That is pretty bonkers.
For something that is bit of a mix between giallo and poliziotteschi then I can highly recommend The Suspicious Death of a Minor from 1975. Very cynical police procedure.
What Have They Done to Your Daughters? from 1974 takes the route of child murders leading to political scandal with underground pedophile networks.
For very disturbing rape and revenge film then Late Night Trains from 1975 really surprised me, as it seems like what Michael Haneke would do if he was an Italian genre director.
Italian genre films have so much to offer. It is fun to explore the wider depths of spaghetti westerns, poliziotteschi and giallo as they all share not both actors and directors, but also themes and whole narrative structures.
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Comment on What are the genuinely worst films of all time? in ~movies
winther Link ParentHonestly can’t tell them apart as they sort of blur together, but since that is from 2001, it likely was one of the better ones before the trend was ruined.Honestly can’t tell them apart as they sort of blur together, but since that is from 2001, it likely was one of the better ones before the trend was ruined.
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Comment on What are the genuinely worst films of all time? in ~movies
winther LinkIn my opinion, the 00s "spoof" movies. I love good spoof movies, like the classics Hot Shots! and The Naked Gun, and the first Scary Movie was actually decent, but then it went completely off...In my opinion, the 00s "spoof" movies. I love good spoof movies, like the classics Hot Shots! and The Naked Gun, and the first Scary Movie was actually decent, but then it went completely off rails and stupidly unfunny with the likes of Extreme Movie, Epic Movie, Disaster Movie, Not Another Teen Movie, Date Movie and all the Scary Movie sequels.
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Comment on Where do we go from here? (Regarding AI) in ~tech
winther (edited )LinkI am more angry than worried so far. Mostly at politicians and lawmakers to be so slow to respond to how these big tech firms just go rampant without any responsibility. If your AI starts hacking...I am more angry than worried so far. Mostly at politicians and lawmakers to be so slow to respond to how these big tech firms just go rampant without any responsibility. If your AI starts hacking other systems, then you need to go to prison. It is not an excuse that the AI systems are too complex to understand. It is still software at the end of the day, and the people/companies running it still have full responsibility. But as usual, the tech sector has gotten away with doing basically everything they want without regulation, so we will probably have to wait a while before consequences hit the right people.
I work in software development and AI at work is of course a thing. I am just not seeing the massive revolution yet so far. It boosts things in one place, but also creates a myriad of new problems that takes time, and mainly just moves the bottleneck to other steps in the big complex process that is the eternal continuous work on software systems with decades of legacy. In short, I find AI tools to be pretty helpful in starting things, but not at finishing. The 80/20 rule of software development still applies (the last 20% takes 80% of the time).
For society in general, outside industry specific good use cases, so far I see it as a net negative to society. The amount of noise, slop, scams, misinformation, erosion of peoples ability to think for themselves, amount of money piled into it, far outweighs the genuinely useful uses of the technology. Just an example of small things, like now birthday party invitations or yardsale flyers are now ugly AI generated. It is just doing a poorer job of what we didn't had big problems doing ourselves before. AI is being used a whole lot to do basically just make a poorer crappier version of what we could do ourselves before. Now just using more energy. That is hardly progress in my book. Maybe that will change, but I am mostly just dumbfounded what so called average people are using AI for. It is very minor things that barely needed a solution.
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Comment on Denmark is a cycling nation, but our research shows rates are declining – here's why in ~transport
winther LinkFor me cycling to work is just a perfect life hack to get daily exercise. With fulltime job and kids, getting time to go the gym or whatever can be hard to find, but I have a 30min of daily...For me cycling to work is just a perfect life hack to get daily exercise. With fulltime job and kids, getting time to go the gym or whatever can be hard to find, but I have a 30min of daily commute, each way, to work on my bike. That adds up to 5 hours of moderate cardio every week. Of course every persons situation is different, and you need other forms of exercise too, but the extra time spent on biking to work instead of driving or public transport, could be reframed as time also saved not having to go to the gym to sit on a exercise bike. Getting a job where I would need to drive 30min to work would in my mind be a big loss, because then I will need to find extra time for exercise.
I would also like to see some geographical distribution of those numbers, because it certainly doesn't feel like less people are biking here in Copenhagen.
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Comment on LG smart TVs caught logging audio with screen off and snooping on local devices in ~tech
winther Link ParentBaffling to me as well, but I think it really is just an abstract threat to most people. There is no immediate visible negative side effects as such, and unless we start seeing peoples private...Baffling to me as well, but I think it really is just an abstract threat to most people. There is no immediate visible negative side effects as such, and unless we start seeing peoples private conversations being posted on billboards, then I don't think it will really be seen as a big deal for many people.
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LG smart TVs caught logging audio with screen off and snooping on local devices
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Comment on Summer US box office hits all-time $4.76b record: how audiences surrendered to moviegoing in ~movies
winther LinkSeems like you have been reporting on this for years now, and it is either the best year ever or certain doom for cinema. Guess it just comes down to whether they release good stuff or not.Seems like you have been reporting on this for years now, and it is either the best year ever or certain doom for cinema. Guess it just comes down to whether they release good stuff or not.
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Comment on What workplace absurdity are you forced to live with? in ~life
winther LinkMaybe it is because I don't speak finance to understand this properly, but the whole schism around "We grew 10% last year, so that is great, but our target was 20%, so we have to do layoffs". Of...Maybe it is because I don't speak finance to understand this properly, but the whole schism around "We grew 10% last year, so that is great, but our target was 20%, so we have to do layoffs". Of course it is something do to with betting to be a bit forward on the growth, so you can actually absorb it with investing before it actually happens, but it is still weird and sucks to be in the middle of it, seeing both several hires and layoffs within a single year.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
winther LinkI have been having fun with some really trashy and sleazy 80s b-movies, or borderline soft-core. Forbidden World (1982) is a blatant rip-off of Alien, just with a dumber, and hornier, crew....I have been having fun with some really trashy and sleazy 80s b-movies, or borderline soft-core.
Forbidden World (1982) is a blatant rip-off of Alien, just with a dumber, and hornier, crew. Despite the low budget, it does have some pretty impressive set design. The plot is mostly just Alien, and we see the alien's POV looking the at female crew getting undressed.
Deathstalker (1983) is an outright distasteful misogynistic Conan-ripoff. The "hero" rescues women from rape, but in his logic his reward for the good deed is that he gets to have sex with her. Consent seems optional. Almost all the woman are topless and look like Playboy models. It is a terrible film by practically every standard, but I was sort of fascinated by its very existence and how wild 80s fantasy films were.
The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) is by far the best of the bunch and the title is the whole plot. A serial killer on the loose killing high school students at a slumber party. His weapon of choice is a very large powerdrill, used to penetrate his victims. The phallic symbolism is impossible to look past. Obviously also plenty of scenes of the female high schoolers taking showers and undressing. Its redeeming qualities comes from it feeling like it is really self aware satire, in a Verhoeven kind of way. Originally the film was written as a parody of the genre (both writer and director are women by the way), but apparently the studio wanted it more straight forward. But some of the original intent shines through.
Body Count (1986) was the most disappointing. A very straight forward slasher in the woods, but despite a cool score by the giallo master Goblin, there are too many characters and almost no attempt at building a narrative around all the killing. I liked the setting though. Reminded me of First Blood.
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Comment on The 2026 Hugo Award winners! in ~books
winther Link ParentNot a series. Neil Clarke is the editor of Clarkesworld and that magazine has had many short story winners the last couple of years.Not a series. Neil Clarke is the editor of Clarkesworld and that magazine has had many short story winners the last couple of years.
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
winther Link ParentGlad you liked it! I think that really is what makes Egan work. I feel like it doesn't matter that much that I can't follow all the math and science, as long as the characters excitement for their...Glad you liked it!
I'm far too stupid to understand even half of the mathematics, but I get the gist enough that I can understand the progression of knowledge and the parallels that are being drawn.
I think that really is what makes Egan work. I feel like it doesn't matter that much that I can't follow all the math and science, as long as the characters excitement for their discoveries comes through and I understand the general gist of what is going on.
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Comment on The 2026 Hugo Award winners! in ~books
winther Link ParentNeil Clarke and Clarkesworld are really on a well deserved roll these last couple of years. Not surprised that the Thomas Ha story won, it is definitely worth reading.Neil Clarke and Clarkesworld are really on a well deserved roll these last couple of years. Not surprised that the Thomas Ha story won, it is definitely worth reading.
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Comment on What are we in a golden age of? in ~talk
winther LinkFor my own primary pastime timesink, I would say film restorations and availability. Don't have to go back that many years where massive parts of cinematic history was out of reach for the regular...For my own primary pastime timesink, I would say film restorations and availability. Don't have to go back that many years where massive parts of cinematic history was out of reach for the regular consumer, and what existed outside the big titles, was old poor quality transfers. Now we are constantly getting new 2K and 4K restorations of obscure genre films, releasing on smaller labels such as Arrow, Powerhouse and 88 Films. Not a surprise that Ben Hur recently got a big 4K restoration release, but when niche genre films like Lucio Fulci’s Murder Rock or Aldo Lado’s Short Night Of Glass Dolls are getting full restorations from original negatives, then that is a sign that the process has become cheap enough to warrant future proofing a much wider range of film history.
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Comment on Are others finding themselves spending less and less time online? in ~tech
winther LinkProbably not in the strictest sense, as I am still plenty online, but definitely leaning more into "old school" web use. I read blogs, RSS feeds, my newspaper subscriptions and forums like Tildes....Probably not in the strictest sense, as I am still plenty online, but definitely leaning more into "old school" web use. I read blogs, RSS feeds, my newspaper subscriptions and forums like Tildes. The only "social media" would be Letterboxd. I think there is still plenty of good stuff to engage with online, it never left, just a bit out of sight from the big platforms.
But in general I can relate to the "ick"-factor. It is hard to find genuine passion that isn't just a front for selling something. But I also think we should acknowledge that we can't expect everything for free. Good journalism still exists, and it is worth paying for. That online news sites have paywalls is not inherently a bad thing, but they should of course also earn that price they are selling for.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
winther LinkI watched Wild at Heart and it is a movie that feels like a battle between Nicolas Cage and David Lynch. For most of the runtime it is almost two parallel films. Nicolas Cage and Laura on an...I watched Wild at Heart and it is a movie that feels like a battle between Nicolas Cage and David Lynch. For most of the runtime it is almost two parallel films. Nicolas Cage and Laura on an absolute wild road trip, Cage being Cage turned to 11. Literally sex and rocknroll all the way. Then there is a separate narrative that is all Lynch. A grotesque Twin Peaks-like Wizard of Oz inspired crime plot. For me, Cage won. Whenever the movie turned to the Lynch-ian world, I mostly just wanted to get back to Cage and Dern. Of course the two narratives need each other and it does sort of come together in the end, though of course in the acid tripping kind of way you would expect from Lynch. This confirmed that I like Cage more than Lynch at least.
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
winther LinkI was hesitant to answer this at first, because I probably took the "lesser known" a bit too strict. I scrolled through my old Goodreads list of novels and selected some I think are worth...I was hesitant to answer this at first, because I probably took the "lesser known" a bit too strict. I scrolled through my old Goodreads list of novels and selected some I think are worth mentioning in addition to all the great recommendations already mentioned here.
Contact by Carl Sagan. Not only is it a great film, but the original novel is fantastic as well. That Sagan was a scientist and known for bringing interest for the cosmos to the masses with his tv series, also shows in his writing. It is filled with passion and love for the field, and it is all around a very positive feeling novel.
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson won the Hugo in 2005, so hardly lesser known, but in my opinion it is one of the greatest examples of a good hook of a premise. Starts with all the stars in the night sky disappears from one moment to the next. Makes for a perfect intriguing mystery and the fantastic story rolls from there.
Everything by Alastair Reynolds really. His Revelation Space series is his magnum opus. Really hard sf with slower than light space travel, making for a very atmospheric dark space opera. For good standalne novels I can recommend Pushing Ice and House of Suns.
Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars-trilogy is often mentioned with good reason, but I want to highlight two probably slightly overlooked novels. The Years of Rice and Salt is an alternate history set in a world where the black death in Europe was somewhat more effective, leading to a world without any European influence. Should be noted it is also builds its narrative around reincarnation, which might put some people off. I would also highly recommend Aurora, which is a generation ship type of story, but without spoiling too much - it takes an unexpected approach from the usual in that subgenre. It is also a novel that seems to divide readers for that reason. I personally think it comes with a very important message.
For something older, I need to mention Clifford D. Simak and Way Station. Simak has a very unique style of what could be called cozy science fiction. His stories a almost calm and serene, but still with a great sense of wonder for the big universe.
Now I mostly read short stories though, I can recommend looking out for short story collections by Ted Chiang, Robert Sheckley, Sean McMullen, Greg Egan and John Varley.
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Comment on Danish authorities tracked and killed a wolf after a string of close encounters with residents – reignites a bitter debate over how a small, densely populated country should live with wolves in ~enviro
winther LinkOh wow, this is international news now. It is really weird how divided this topic has come. I think one of the source of conflict is that many like the idea of having more wildlife in Denmark, but...Oh wow, this is international news now. It is really weird how divided this topic has come. I think one of the source of conflict is that many like the idea of having more wildlife in Denmark, but those living close to it are less enthusiastic. Problem is that Denmark really has very little wild nature. Most of our land is either farm land or cities. So any wildlife here really don’t have a whole lot of area to live in without becoming next door neighbors to humans. And that we don’t really have any experience for generations with actual dangerous wildlife isn’t helping either.
Men Without Women, a short story collection by Murakami, has been sitting half reading for quite a while. This weekend I picked it up again and read An Independent Organ and Scheherazade.
As the collection in general, both deal with estranged odd relationships between men and woman, and when it becomes obsessive. I especially liked Scheherazade about this housewife looking back at her 17 year old when she became addicted to breaking into a boy's home to just roam around his room, steal his pencils and leave behind small clues that she was there - such as an unused tampon. Murakami has a simple yet poetic language, that can make the most mundane, yet somewhat bizarre, little story become very engaging.