mrbig's recent activity
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Comment on Gov. Gavin Newsom Will Halt Executions in California in ~news
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Comment on Avengers: Endgame Trailer #2 in ~movies
mrbig Link Parent One consequence of excessively "modern" editing is a loss in dramatic power. The sense of epic is diminished. The fighting scene at the end of 1976s Rocky is thrilling to this day. Other examples...One consequence of excessively "modern" editing is a loss in dramatic power. The sense of epic is diminished. The fighting scene at the end of 1976s Rocky is thrilling to this day. Other examples are Redbelt and Attack on Titan. In Pacific Rim, the Kaijus have weight, you feel their blows. Fighting scenes must take physicality into account. This is something people like Joel Schumacher don't understand: if you take drama, time and weight out of the equation, fighting ceases to be about the confrontation between characters, and what you get is nothing but mindless shapes and colors changing positions and connecting with each other.
2 votes -
Comment on Avengers: Endgame Trailer #2 in ~movies
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Comment on Avengers: Endgame Trailer #2 in ~movies
mrbig (edited ) Link I love action movies and super-hero comics, but I have a hard time watching recent super-hero movies. My major nitpick is that the editing of the fighting scenes is so fast that I barely...I love action movies and super-hero comics, but I have a hard time watching recent super-hero movies. My major nitpick is that the editing of the fighting scenes is so fast that I barely understand what is going on. This is especially true in the Avengers movies because there are lots of characters and a lot of fights happening at the same time.
I had a similar problem with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: good show, too many jokes per second (jps™).
Maybe I'm getting old.
2 votes -
Comment on Gov. Gavin Newsom Will Halt Executions in California in ~news
mrbig (edited ) Link Parent Considering issues with the judicial system (DNA is just a source of forensic data, the circumstances still need to be interpreted) and humans inescapable cognitive biases, I don’t think such a...I'm only OK with the death penalty given that the preponderance of evidence meets a very high bar
Considering issues with the judicial system (DNA is just a source of forensic data, the circumstances still need to be interpreted) and humans inescapable cognitive biases, I don’t think such a high-bar is possible. Besides, there is no evidence that the death penalty is a good crime deterrent:
- There's still no evidence that executions deter criminals
- 88% of criminologists do not believe the death penalty is an effective deterrent
- The Death Penalty and Deterrence
- The Death Penalty: No Evidence for Deterrence
And, because we're talking about the extermination of a human life, I would have to be very sure of the benefits of the death penalty in order to agree with it. That's just not the case.
4 votes -
Comment on Gov. Gavin Newsom Will Halt Executions in California in ~news
mrbig (edited ) Link Parent Because justice commits errors, I find illogical for it to put forth sentences that cannot be at least partially reversed during the condemned lifetime.Because justice commits errors, I find illogical for it to put forth sentences that cannot be at least partially reversed during the condemned lifetime.
7 votes -
Comment on What do you do about existential dread? in ~talk
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Comment on How can a broke dude who can barely code help Tildes? in ~tildes
mrbig Link Parent Thank you for the kind of words; I'm broke all right, but I do have the gift of time... And collaborating (non-monetarily) on a project such as this might even be helpful to my other goals.Thank you for the kind of words; I'm broke all right, but I do have the gift of time... And collaborating (non-monetarily) on a project such as this might even be helpful to my other goals.
3 votes -
Comment on How can a broke dude who can barely code help Tildes? in ~tildes
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Comment on How can a broke dude who can barely code help Tildes? in ~tildes
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Comment on How can a broke dude who can barely code help Tildes? in ~tildes
mrbig Link Parent I'm not in any of those places personally. With the possible exception of Discord, I suppose that's something Tilda Swintons™ have in common. Tildes is the only place where Emacs seems to be kinda...private trackers, phpBB forums, discord channels
I'm not in any of those places personally. With the possible exception of Discord, I suppose that's something Tilda Swintons™ have in common. Tildes is the only place where Emacs seems to be kinda universal (at least a lot more than elsewhere!). We like our neck-beards! :)
I don't really use Facebook or any other social network, but I mention Tildes on Reddit occasionally.
2 votes -
Comment on How can a broke dude who can barely code help Tildes? in ~tildes
mrbig (edited ) Link Parent Agreed. And I think it's a problem that right now seriousness is baked into Tildes. I mean, this is basically a site-wide comedy ban: I think everyone here wants great content, but, since...I get the feeling a lot of people are a bit reluctant to share because of all those threads we had about 'fluff' content
Agreed. And I think it's a problem that right now seriousness is baked into Tildes. I mean, this is basically a site-wide comedy ban:
Please avoid posting topics that are primarily for entertainment or that don't have discussion value.
I think everyone here wants great content, but, since "discussion" is most frequently not the primary goal of art, if we actually followed this rule ~creative would cease to exist.
And, except for writing of technical, scientifical or academical nature, ignoring the value of high-quality entertainment is, in my view, an excessively dry editorial proposition, which might prevent people from posting legitimately valuable content.
EDIT TO ADD: This is not Stack Overflow. Instead of banning everything non-serious, maybe we should welcome it while maintaining the same high-quality standards. I'm all aboard with banning lazy memes etc, but I don't think anyone would argue that the comedic works of people like Woody Allen, Rabelais, Shakespeare and Cervantes are inferior because of their non-serious nature.
@deimos, what do you think?
9 votes -
Comment on How can a broke dude who can barely code help Tildes? in ~tildes
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Comment on How can a broke dude who can barely code help Tildes? in ~tildes
mrbig Link Parent Up until now, I distributed my invites in batch after simple "background checks". But keeping an eye out for particularly cool individuals is a good idea.Up until now, I distributed my invites in batch after simple "background checks". But keeping an eye out for particularly cool individuals is a good idea.
3 votes -
Right now I'm not only utterly broke, but also don't have access to international payment methods (you may ask the reasons for this, but I probably won't answer :P). But I wanna give back to...
Right now I'm not only utterly broke, but also don't have access to international payment methods (you may ask the reasons for this, but I probably won't answer :P). But I wanna give back to Tildes somehow.
I know enough English to communicate and have a general understanding of programming (with a focus on basic Python and very basic C) but never did anything beyond book and class exercises. I'm also familiar with Regex, Vim (including patterns) and Emacs.
I also have some Inkscape skills (not a designer), and wouldn't mind working with documentation and other things actual developers usually find trivial or dull.
20 votes -
Comment on Your chosen theme on Tildes now carries over to the Blog and Docs sites in ~tildes.official
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Comment on The greatest of all novels: On "War and Peace", Tolstoy's masterpiece in ~books
mrbig Link Parent It’s actually from the TV show Friends, from when Monica calls Chandler “Mr. Big” in reference to a part of the male anatomy. I may be a film major but my personal taste is far from erudite :)It’s actually from the TV show Friends, from when Monica calls Chandler “Mr. Big” in reference to a part of the male anatomy.
I may be a film major but my personal taste is far from erudite :)
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Comment on The greatest of all novels: On "War and Peace", Tolstoy's masterpiece in ~books
mrbig (edited ) Link Parent Absolutely. If you're a critic or an academic, the classics are an invaluable resource, handy set of references that you can use to frame and describe other works. They're entirely optional...if you want a degree in Russian lit, you better read some Tolstoy. Otherwise, if his work doesn't innately appeal to you, you should be all set giving him a pass.
Absolutely. If you're a critic or an academic, the classics are an invaluable resource, handy set of references that you can use to frame and describe other works. They're entirely optional otherwise.
As a personal example, I'm a film major, was trained in film analysis and worked as a film critic in print newspapers and online. I studied the history of pre-film technologies, nickelodeons, the Lumière brothers, Pathé and Edison Studios, among others. I know Chaplin, Keaton, Grifth, Dreyer, Murnau, Welles, Ford, Hitchcock, Tarkovsky, Bergman, Lumet, Coppola, Disney, Kubrick, Spielberg and many others.
This repertoire did not come easily — I saw many movies for research value, without much enjoyment. I also learned how to make movies, from the screenplay to the final cut[1]. But I applied all that effort because that was my career, I would never chastise someone for not having the same degree of knowledge. Civil engineers don't think less of doctors because they're not able to make buildings, why should I do the same about everyone else?
[1]: Although you never fully learn things like that...
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Comment on Australian government backs down on banning Milo Yiannopoulos in face of backlash in ~news
mrbig (edited ) Link Parent While I agree that this particular application of the rule is favorable to certain values I hold, in the long run I think subjectivity in public policy should be reduced to a minimum, and the...While I agree that this particular application of the rule is favorable to certain values I hold, in the long run I think subjectivity in public policy should be reduced to a minimum, and the Racial Discrimination Act that you shared is a good example on how to address such issues in a more explicit manner. Thinking a single consequence of a policy is positive does not prevent me from worrying about its misuse in other cases.
In other words: by all means, ban dangerous Neo-Nazis, just create better legal justifications in order to do so. This would also avoid banning/unbanning people like that, which doesn't look good.
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Comment on Australian government backs down on banning Milo Yiannopoulos in face of backlash in ~news
In most countries, deterrence is the express purpose of imprisonment and capital punishment. Not because we're good, but because it's more effective than the alternatives.
And regarding the economic aspect, governments, companies and individuals invest a lot in education, healthcare and overall social structure and welfare. Each adult person you kill means a lot of resources down the drain. There's also the opportunity cost: that person could be actually generating returns to society. They could work inside the jail. Or be rehabilitated. It is possible. Look at Norway. You may think rehabilitating is too expensive, but don't forget that there is an economic cost to crime.