gryfft's recent activity

  1. Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music

    gryfft
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    I have had the songs from this half·alive music video (BILLIONS/THE WOLF/THE WONDER) stuck in my head. The choreography in these is also incredible. The video is very very very stylish and...

    I have had the songs from this half·alive music video (BILLIONS/THE WOLF/THE WONDER) stuck in my head. The choreography in these is also incredible. The video is very very very stylish and impressive (on seemingly a shoestring budget.)

    Also found the new-to-me band Thesaurus Rex, whose Buy Your Time I have already listened to several times this week.

  2. Comment on "Farpoint" S01E01: The Dream Police in ~tv

    gryfft
    Link Parent
    Your read is dead on. A touch of 'Stranger Things' too. For where it goes next, I would enjoy a bit of 'anomaly of the week with Lucas;' this show seems like it could make some hay with different...

    Your read is dead on. A touch of 'Stranger Things' too.

    For where it goes next, I would enjoy a bit of 'anomaly of the week with Lucas;' this show seems like it could make some hay with different "glitch in reality" tropes.

    Establishing more about the town and its residents would be a good first season. Also, I enjoyed the way our understanding of Mica and Gabi's relationship progresses: she comes to him for drugs, so is he her drug dealer? Then she invites him over and they're clearly close, but it seems like it's completely platonic. Then at the end, he tries to remind her that they're best friends, but she's clearly lost her memories of him (or they have been changed somehow.) So I could also see the series also being about rebuilding their trust and friendship as they try to work out what's happening to reality.

    There's a lot of potential here, I would watch the next episode for sure!

    1 vote

  3. Comment on You Can See Everything | Official teaser in ~movies

    gryfft
    Link Parent
    At the least, she does not seem to object to the framing. She linked the teaser on her Twitter.

    not taken out of context

    At the least, she does not seem to object to the framing. She linked the teaser on her Twitter.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on You Can See Everything | Official teaser in ~movies

    gryfft
    Link Parent
    This is the correct sequence of reactions.

    This is the correct sequence of reactions.

    3 votes

  5. Comment on "Farpoint" S01E01: The Dream Police in ~tv

    gryfft
    (edited )
    Link
    FARPOINT is an independent sci fi/fantasy TV pilot/proof of concept by writer/director Ethan Suess. The cinematography is gorgeous and the soundtrack is great. They got some really pretty shooting...

    FARPOINT is an independent sci fi/fantasy TV pilot/proof of concept by writer/director Ethan Suess.

    The idea is that the reality around us appears to be made up of countless separate things. [...] But when you really break it down, that separation is, to some degree, an illusion.

    This project, at its core, explores the nature of consciousness, and the idea that our beliefs create the physical reality around us.

    So, if someone, or something, wanted to manipulate reality, they wouldn't necessarily have to change reality itself. All they would have to do.. is change what the collective believes.

    The cinematography is gorgeous and the soundtrack is great. They got some really pretty shooting locations. The sound mixing is not so great in a few parts (recommend you watch with subtitles, there are parts where the soundtrack overpowers the dialog.)

    I appreciate the production BTS photos in the credits, it's nice to see the human effort that went into the production. Also, generally very high production value for something posted to YouTube out of the blue.

    Spoilery thoughts I enjoy the alternate-history shenanigans in play. President-elect Winfrey, alternate versions of Pirates of the Caribbean and Matrix movies. I like the chemistry between the lead characters; they do feel like best friends. I like the Alien Lady playing a sort of Log Lady archetype.
    thoughts on promotion/brandingit looks like they were calling this project "The 3rd State" for a while and recently rebranded. You can find a (official??) website for the 3rd State, but I'm not even going to bother linking it, as it appears pretty AI-generated and disappointing. It seems to show a lack of experience with promotion to make something like this and then just... Put it on YouTube with very little in the way of advertising or buzz? Or a distribution deal? The show itself seems to be a labor of love, so it's strange to see such an important element of production kind of missing. One more random aside, I *think* this Ethan Suess has no relation to the Walking Dead/Hillbilly Elegy guy. (Edit: I originally thought he had a separate IMDB page, maybe it actually is the same guy, I dunno.)
    5 votes

  7. Comment on You Can See Everything | Official teaser in ~movies

    gryfft
    Link
    I'm looking forward to this with extreme anticipation.

    I'm looking forward to this with extreme anticipation.

    6 votes

  8. Comment on US judge to baby: file an asylum application in ~society

    gryfft
    Link Parent
    Thank you for your kind guidance. That sounds terrible. I'll move on.

    Thank you for your kind guidance.

    That sounds terrible. I'll move on.

    2 votes

  9. Comment on US judge to baby: file an asylum application in ~society

  10. Comment on US judge to baby: file an asylum application in ~society

    gryfft
    (edited )
    Link
    Edit: Maybe the judge is a really nice guy.

    Edit: Maybe the judge is a really nice guy.

    4 votes

  11. Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books

    gryfft
    Link
    My friend Snuggle Squiggle writes stories that are pretty far from mainstream. Hard magic systems, deep worldbuilding, and a tendency toward xenofiction (nonhuman protagonists and societies.)...

    My friend Snuggle Squiggle writes stories that are pretty far from mainstream. Hard magic systems, deep worldbuilding, and a tendency toward xenofiction (nonhuman protagonists and societies.)

    https://serpentsquiggles.neocities.org/

    (She does all her own writing and coding personally by hand.)

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Albums based on a recurring musical phrase in ~music

    gryfft
    Link
    Bit of a curveball recommendation: the multi-volume soundtrack for the webcomic Homestuck is chock full of repeating leitmotifs and remixes/references. An acquired taste, maybe, but the rabbit...

    Bit of a curveball recommendation: the multi-volume soundtrack for the webcomic Homestuck is chock full of repeating leitmotifs and remixes/references.

    An acquired taste, maybe, but the rabbit hole goes deep. Incidentally, this is the true origin of the famous Megalovania (Toby Fox is one of the biggest contributors to the soundtrack.)

    1 vote

  13. Comment on Requesting resources for learning Ruby in ~comp

    gryfft
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    The poignant guide is, without exaggeration, singlehandedly responsible for my entire career. I did not think of myself as someone who could write computer programs, but I did think of myself as a...

    The poignant guide is, without exaggeration, singlehandedly responsible for my entire career.

    I did not think of myself as someone who could write computer programs, but I did think of myself as a writer. why's guide talked about programming as a form of writing that happens to have an audience of machines and people.

    Its surreal, it's silly, and it hands you this fully formed omnitool-- computer programming-- and treats it like a fun little toy you can play with in your garage. I'll always be thankful for the book and as time goes on I sympathize more and more with the complicated feelings he communicated about working in technology.

    6 votes

  14. Comment on Which covers did it better than (or put a fresh twist on) the original? in ~music

    gryfft
    Link
    For a ton of ska covers of many, many songs, check out SkaTune Network. Just click any of the videos, they're all great. (He's doing a polka thing for April, too.)

    For a ton of ska covers of many, many songs, check out SkaTune Network. Just click any of the videos, they're all great. (He's doing a polka thing for April, too.)

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Ring camera is getting more and more annoying in ~tech

    gryfft
    Link Parent
    I have a coworker who swears by Frigate.

    I have a coworker who swears by Frigate.

    4 votes

  16. Comment on The lost documentary about an impossible house in ~books

    gryfft
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Spoiler pieces-> pisces is a typo that recurs in HoL. The pieces/pisces 'mistake' occurs verbally in this video as well. The astrological grudge runs deep with the man!
    Spoiler pieces-> pisces is a typo that recurs in HoL. The pieces/pisces 'mistake' occurs verbally in this video as well.

    he said

    The astrological grudge runs deep with the man!

    3 votes

  17. Comment on The lost documentary about an impossible house in ~books

    gryfft
    Link Parent
    The book is about a "lost" documentary that never existed. It is pseudo-academic in tone, with multiple unreliable narratives woven together in meandering, often bizarrely-laid-out footnotes. This...

    The book is about a "lost" documentary that never existed. It is pseudo-academic in tone, with multiple unreliable narratives woven together in meandering, often bizarrely-laid-out footnotes. This video is part analysis, part adaptation of the work.

    4 votes

  18. Comment on The lost documentary about an impossible house in ~books

    gryfft
    Link
    You may already be familiar with House of Leaves. If you are, then you should have a pretty good idea of whether you'll like this video. I think it adapts the content and themes well for 2026 and...

    You may already be familiar with House of Leaves. If you are, then you should have a pretty good idea of whether you'll like this video. I think it adapts the content and themes well for 2026 and examines the subject matter critically. I'm glad to have thoughtful essays like this to watch when it can feel like everything's gone to pisces.

    If you aren't familiar with the source material, and you don't mind heavy spoilers, I think this may be an excellent introduction.

    12 votes

  20. Comment on The woes of writing markdown in ~tech

    gryfft
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Not necessarily, I think. If you can read the panels mostly left-to-right*, top-to-bottom, without having to put too much thought into it, it wouldn't count in my mind. Some comic books/graphic...

    Not necessarily, I think. If you can read the panels mostly left-to-right*, top-to-bottom, without having to put too much thought into it, it wouldn't count in my mind.

    Some comic books/graphic novels certainly are ergodic literature; Meanwhile by Jason Shiga is one excellent example. It's a supercharged, semi-looping choose-your-own-adventure connected by illustrated tubes and physical tabs on the pages.

    As a rule of thumb, I think if you ever have to hold the book upside down, hold it up to a mirror, or read sections in an arbitrary order based on your own choices, one is dealing with ergodic text.

    * or right-to-left in manga
    2 votes