calcifer's recent activity

  1. Comment on What are your hobbies? in ~hobbies

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    Are you independently wealthy or do you have some other means of survival?

    It's part of the reason I quit work.

    Are you independently wealthy or do you have some other means of survival?

  2. Comment on There was no committee in ~life

    calcifer
    Link
    This is a well written article about a difficult subject - how English, through a series of unfortunate incidents, became the default language of the world despite lacking many linguistically...

    This is a well written article about a difficult subject - how English, through a series of unfortunate incidents, became the default language of the world despite lacking many linguistically desirable properties, and how it effects non-English cultures around the world.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on For All Mankind | Official first look trailer in ~tv

    calcifer
    Link
    Meh, looks like another American exceptionalism propoganda pretending to be an alternate history drama, like Man in the High Castle.

    Meh, looks like another American exceptionalism propoganda pretending to be an alternate history drama, like Man in the High Castle.

  5. Comment on What it’s like to write a finale your fans hate. (Interview with Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ronald D. Moore in the context of the controversial Game of Thrones ending.) in ~tv

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    I'm the exact opposite. I loved the BSG ending when it aired, so this was a very interesting read for me.

    Eh, I wouldn't take advice from the person who wrote the garbage fire that was the BSG ending on anything to do with writing at ALL.

    I'm the exact opposite. I loved the BSG ending when it aired, so this was a very interesting read for me.

  6. Comment on I don't get all the love for The Orville in ~tv

    calcifer
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    As a big fan of the books, the show is a pale imitation really. Some of it is the inherent difficulty of adapting a novel to TV, but there are issues beyond that. Character development is almost...

    As a big fan of the books, the show is a pale imitation really. Some of it is the inherent difficulty of adapting a novel to TV, but there are issues beyond that. Character development is almost always skipped, sometimes with time jumps, to get us to the next CGI action scene. Major characters in the book are either entirely skipped, have their stories rewritten, or got merged into a single character.

    I still watch it, but that's mostly due to lack of great sci-fi TV nowadays.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on Two 'Good Omens' interviews: With writer Neil Gaiman, and with actors Michael Sheen and David Tennant in ~tv

    calcifer
    Link
    This was an excellent mini-series. David Tennant finally got to play a redhead :)

    This was an excellent mini-series. David Tennant finally got to play a redhead :)

  8. Comment on Long form visual storytelling - the best of TV in ~tv

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    Babylon 5 is the single greatest sci-fi show ever and nothing before or since came close to its sheer brilliance. I'm willing to die on this hill. We also have a small but friendly subreddit :)

    Babylon 5 is the single greatest sci-fi show ever and nothing before or since came close to its sheer brilliance. I'm willing to die on this hill.

    We also have a small but friendly subreddit :)

    3 votes

  9. Comment on Banned accounts should have their past comments visible in ~tildes

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    To semi-quote a certain movie I like, "It's not that I have anything to hide, it's that I don't have anything I want you to know".

    Why do people need not to see what happened?

    To semi-quote a certain movie I like, "It's not that I have anything to hide, it's that I don't have anything I want you to know".

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2 discussion thread in ~tv

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    Apparently it wasn't a double. She said this:

    Apparently it wasn't a double. She said this:

    David and Dan were like: ‘You can show as much or as little as you want’ So I kept myself pretty private. I don’t think it’s important for Arya to flash. This beat isn’t really about that. And everybody else has already done it on the show, so…

    3 votes

  11. Comment on Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2 discussion thread in ~tv

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    There was an interview about it and the guy said he was a tad uncomfortable since he knew her since she was 11, but also didn't want to patronize her since she is a grown woman now. The show...

    There was an interview about it and the guy said he was a tad uncomfortable since he knew her since she was 11, but also didn't want to patronize her since she is a grown woman now. The show runners apparently told her she can "show as much or as little" as she wants. She wanted little.

    3 votes

  12. Comment on 'Israel is the nation-state of Jews alone': Benjamin Netanyahu responds to TV star who said Arabs are equal citizens (Haaretz) in ~news

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    Green card holders are not citizens, Arabs in Israel are. Trying to equate them feels like an underhanded attempt to make Israel's actions and policies sound OK.

    But to get in the mindset, think of Arabs in Israeli politics like Mexican green card holders in US politics.

    Green card holders are not citizens, Arabs in Israel are. Trying to equate them feels like an underhanded attempt to make Israel's actions and policies sound OK.

    14 votes

  13. Comment on What are the best science fiction short stories, novellas, and novelettes you have ever read? in ~books

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    Looks very intertesting, thanks! Though the archives are a bit too long to ever catch up.

    Looks very intertesting, thanks! Though the archives are a bit too long to ever catch up.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on What are the best science fiction short stories, novellas, and novelettes you have ever read? in ~books

    calcifer
    Link
    Not exactly what you are asking for, but I can strongly recommend Compelling Science Fiction. It's a 100% reader funded magazine for sci-fi short stories, with a preference towards stories that...

    Not exactly what you are asking for, but I can strongly recommend Compelling Science Fiction. It's a 100% reader funded magazine for sci-fi short stories, with a preference towards stories that are self-consistent and scientifically plausible. Most are good, some are amazing.

    3 votes

  15. Comment on Razer closes its game store after ten months in ~games

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    Epic has definitely figured it out as they do have multiple super powers: For the developers, an unmatched revenue share from a major publisher and for the gamers, games that they want and can't...

    Epic has definitely figured it out as they do have multiple super powers: For the developers, an unmatched revenue share from a major publisher and for the gamers, games that they want and can't get anywhere else.

    I know people on reddit (and some here) rage about how store exclusives are this and that and so on but the simple fact is, most people don't care. They just want to play the games they want to play. That's why I think Epic will be very successful.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Razer closes its game store after ten months in ~games

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    ... wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't written with so much conviction (capitalized will, "period"). It makes the rest of your comment seem hypocritical as on one hand you criticise others for not...

    My quote that you seem to love so much

    ... wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't written with so much conviction (capitalized will, "period"). It makes the rest of your comment seem hypocritical as on one hand you criticise others for not having everything Steam has and in the same breath make it clear you wouldn't use them even if they did. Am I reading that wrong?

    Do you like having all of these different game launchers divided by publisher on your PC?

    It's not a matter of liking for me. I use whatever launcher that allows me to play the game I want. It doesn't offend me that a developer chooses not to support the existing monopoly. If it's a game I want and if the store isn't too obnoxious (weird DRM and such) I'll buy it and play it just the same.

    Of course, none of this changes the fact that most games I own are on Steam, but that's mostly due to historical reasons (I have a very old account). Nowadays, any platform is fine really.

  17. Comment on Razer closes its game store after ten months in ~games

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    Wait, now you are saying you don't use other platforms because they are not as developed as Steam, which implies you would use them if they got the features Steam has. Doesn't that contradict with...

    Wait, now you are saying you don't use other platforms because they are not as developed as Steam, which implies you would use them if they got the features Steam has. Doesn't that contradict with your statement below?

    If ever given the option, I WILL use Steam. Period.

    3 votes

  18. Comment on Razer closes its game store after ten months in ~games

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    You say this: but then also say this: Isn't a monopoly that controls nearly the entire PC gaming landscape much worse for the consumer than a multitude of stores?

    You say this:

    All of these different storefronts with their own logins, refund policies, technical problems, etc. are just bad for the consumer, and I'm sick of it.

    but then also say this:

    If ever given the option, I WILL use Steam. Period.

    Isn't a monopoly that controls nearly the entire PC gaming landscape much worse for the consumer than a multitude of stores?

    6 votes

  19. Comment on Razer closes its game store after ten months in ~games

  20. Comment on A four-year-old trapped in a teenager’s body in ~life

    calcifer
    Link Parent
    Can you tell homosexuality from an embryo?

    choice of parents to abort homosexual children

    Can you tell homosexuality from an embryo?

    1 vote