papasquat's recent activity

  1. Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games

    papasquat
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    I mean, Fallout 4 was set in Boston. Massachusetts isn't the coldest state in the US, but it's certainly up there, right alongside New York.

    I mean, Fallout 4 was set in Boston. Massachusetts isn't the coldest state in the US, but it's certainly up there, right alongside New York.

    3 votes

  2. Comment on Of course viewers are giving up on Netflix shows in ~tv

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    Honestly? I don't agree. A lot of people had a huge problem with the Sopranos because the ending was basically the sentence fragment you just posted. At that point though, so much had happened in...

    Honestly? I don't agree. A lot of people had a huge problem with the Sopranos because the ending was basically the sentence fragment you just posted.

    At that point though, so much had happened in the series that there's no satisfying conclusion. It was just a glimpse into the life of mobsters dealing with modern problems. There's no resolution there. The mobsters keep doing mobster stuff, they still have problems that are unresolved, and they keep causing problems for other people. It wasn't one story, it was dozens, all packaged as a glimpse into the lives of these characters.

    Its kind of the central thesis of the show, the cycle of temptation, crime and justification grinds forward just as it always has.

    It ended because that's where it ended, not because there was some grand narrative to be wrapped up. The glimpse into the lives of mobsters just ended, because it has to end at some point.

    In a way, it's a really honest ending, and the way that most long running series probably should end. These are long running dramas with hundreds of little twists, grey morality, and character shifts. They're not tight hour and a half stories with a clear beginning, climax, and end like Star Wars or something.

    3 votes

  3. Comment on Of course viewers are giving up on Netflix shows in ~tv

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    Its difficult, and sometimes impossible to write a satisfying ending if you don't already have it in mind from the beginning. The longer a series runs for, the less likelyhood there is for the...

    Its difficult, and sometimes impossible to write a satisfying ending if you don't already have it in mind from the beginning. The longer a series runs for, the less likelyhood there is for the author to have a cohesive idea for an end. You need to build up more and more story threads as a series goes on for it to remain interesting, which becomes debt you have to pay back in the form of a resolution. If you don't manage it, that debt constantly grows, and will become increasingly difficult to deal with.

    If a book series or tv show has more than 5 or so entries/series, it's best to just make mental peace with the fact that it probably won't resolve in a satisfying way. The point of a story isn't the endjng though. Its the whole ride. People have become way too focused on the endings of tv shows recently in my opinion. If you enjoy the show, keep watching it, but you shouldn't keep watching a show you don't enjoy in the hopes of a big payoff, because the longer the show goes, and the more convoluted the plot is, the less likelyhood there is that that's ever going to happen.

    2 votes

  4. Comment on Of course viewers are giving up on Netflix shows in ~tv

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    I've heard this opinion before, and it's just weird to me. It seems like people are just watching a show for its conclusion. I've enjoyed lots of shows despite terrible endings, or bad final...

    I've heard this opinion before, and it's just weird to me. It seems like people are just watching a show for its conclusion. I've enjoyed lots of shows despite terrible endings, or bad final seasons, and am glad I watched the shows despite the bad season.

    I've seen The Wire all the way through 3 times, but I've never been able to make it through the final season because it's terrible. Its still one of my favorite shows. Same goes for Battlestar Galactica.

    I really loved the first season of severance, but the second season sucked. I'm still glad I watched it though.

    Shows rarely start with any idea of how they're going to conclude anyway, why cut yourself off from otherwise good shows that may or may not end well?

    2 votes

  5. Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    All of that stuff, the FOMO and momentum is historical context though. There are dramatic stories behind the Mona Lisa, thefts, conspiracies, etc. it all adds to its allure. Its context is why...

    All of that stuff, the FOMO and momentum is historical context though. There are dramatic stories behind the Mona Lisa, thefts, conspiracies, etc. it all adds to its allure.

    Its context is why it's such a famous piece of art. The only difference is that it's one of the few pieces of art where the general public is aware of that context, instead of just people in the art world.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    I'll give a counter example. The Mona Lisa, by modern standards, is not a particularly technically impressive painting. It's good, but there are literally millions of more realistic looking...

    Unlike a more classical painting: even without knowing the artist, the historical context, the techniques you can still get what it represents and appreciate the little details in it.

    I'll give a counter example. The Mona Lisa, by modern standards, is not a particularly technically impressive painting. It's good, but there are literally millions of more realistic looking paintings of people.

    Despite that, 10 million people pay to see it in person every year. It's the most famous painting in the world by a massive margin, and none of that has to do with how technically impressive it is. Almost none of those people have any real history with art.

    It has everything to do with the historical context, the artist, and the techniques.

    The only difference is that with the Mona Lisa, almost everyone knows something about the context. With most other art, they don't.

    So clearly, even with classical art, the actual technical skill on display is not the entire story, or even a significant part of the story for some pieces.

    15 votes

  7. Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    I'm going to push back on this, because I hear it a lot online (I'm sure there's some sort of fallacy someone already named after it but I'm too lazy to look it up.) We all share a lot of opinions...

    I think there is value to reflecting on this from the mindset of "my opinions on this topic are shared by fascists"

    I'm going to push back on this, because I hear it a lot online (I'm sure there's some sort of fallacy someone already named after it but I'm too lazy to look it up.)

    We all share a lot of opinions with fascists. That doesn't mean you're a fascist, or your opinions come from the same place, or that they're negative. Facists believe that strong families are good. Ok, so do I, so do most people. Facists believe that preserving wilderness is good. Okay, me too. Facists like food, drinks, music, and so on and so forth. Hitler was a vegetarian. Having the same opinions facists have isn't worth examining.

    Having the same opinions facists have about how to rule a country is.

    8 votes

  8. Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    So are associations between colors, and texture and emotions/concepts/etc. I don't see how a major chord signaling happiness, and a smooth color yellow signaling happiness are not the exact same...

    So are associations between colors, and texture and emotions/concepts/etc.

    I don't see how a major chord signaling happiness, and a smooth color yellow signaling happiness are not the exact same level of abstraction.

    In western culture, dark colors = gloom, sadness, shame, fear. Light colors = openness, happiness, hopefulness, purity. Warm colors = belongingness, familiarity, cool colors = sterility, professionalism. Clean lines = uniformity, cohesiveness, order. Messy lines = chaos, self expression, emotion.

    There's nothing more abstract about a painting that just conveys raw emotion using color and texture versus a random EDM song you'd hear in a night club conveying raw emotion using sine waves and distortion, for instance.

    4 votes

  9. Comment on Give me your culture clash stories in ~travel

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    Also, the further south you go. A lot of southern cities have ripped up their walkable infrastructure and paved over entire blocks to build more parking. In Florida especially, even a lot of the...

    Also, the further south you go. A lot of southern cities have ripped up their walkable infrastructure and paved over entire blocks to build more parking. In Florida especially, even a lot of the older cities have completely gutted their downtowns for more parking which usually sits empty.

    6 votes

  10. Comment on Give me your culture clash stories in ~travel

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    Honestly if someone said it to me, I'd assume I'd been scowling or sniffling.

    Honestly if someone said it to me, I'd assume I'd been scowling or sniffling.

    7 votes

  11. Comment on Give me your culture clash stories in ~travel

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    Car? Surely you mean lifted pickup truck.

    Car? Surely you mean lifted pickup truck.

    5 votes

  12. Comment on Give me your culture clash stories in ~travel

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    Weirdly enough, everyone in the US will think you're weirdly interested in the well being of a total stranger if you say "you alright?", but won't bat an eye at all if you said "how's it going?"...

    Weirdly enough, everyone in the US will think you're weirdly interested in the well being of a total stranger if you say "you alright?", but won't bat an eye at all if you said "how's it going?" or "what's up?" to them. Both equally rhetorical questions though.

    11 votes

  13. Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    I think this comment is art in it of itself

    I think this comment is art in it of itself

    8 votes

  14. Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    Taped a banana to my wall a little earlier. Stayed stuck. Don't have Sistine chapel available to paint, my drawing of it didn't look accurate though.

    Taped a banana to my wall a little earlier. Stayed stuck. Don't have Sistine chapel available to paint, my drawing of it didn't look accurate though.

    12 votes

  15. Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    Sure, but taping a banana to a wall takes a lot less skill than painting Sistine chapel.

    Sure, but taping a banana to a wall takes a lot less skill than painting Sistine chapel.

    3 votes

  16. Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    I understand the point they were trying to make, even though I wouldn't have jumped to a Nazi comparison to do it. Criticism of modern art was basically part of Hitler's appeal to populism. It was...

    I understand the point they were trying to make, even though I wouldn't have jumped to a Nazi comparison to do it. Criticism of modern art was basically part of Hitler's appeal to populism. It was "degenerate" because it supposedly wasn't produced by hard working blue collar German men. It's the same playbook Trump is running now; highlighting things they view as elitist or decadant and holding them up as examples of a society in moral decay.

    It's a very, very popular opinion that modern art is self absorbed naval gazing wankery done by kids with trust funds who haven't worked a day in their lives. Thus, for a fascist, an easy way to score brownie points with your base is to denigrate it and instead point to real art done 500 years ago with mostly Christian themes.

    The reason why it works is that most people think modern art is bullshit though. You can't really call someone Nazi adjacent because they share a belief that most people share. After all, the Nazis jumped on it because it was popular. It's not the other way around.

    16 votes

  17. Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    It really depends on how a person views art. If you view art purely as a medium for conveying human meaning, then you won't have any issues with abstract modern art. If you view it as a...

    It really depends on how a person views art. If you view art purely as a medium for conveying human meaning, then you won't have any issues with abstract modern art. If you view it as a demonstration of human skill, you'll have problems with many examples, because there are many modern art movements that intentionally de-emphasize the role of technical skill in art.

    10 votes

  18. Comment on Vatican declares Society of St. Pius X in schism, excommunicates bishops in ~humanities

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    I don't see how. Theres a lot of philosophy that was first postulated by people who have extremely different world views from most people today. Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates all came from a...

    I don't see how.

    Theres a lot of philosophy that was first postulated by people who have extremely different world views from most people today. Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates all came from a society which was famously perfectly ok with slavery, and they defended the practice on philosophical grounds.

    That doesn't mean that the basis all the philosophical work that rests on them is somehow invalid.

    In the same way, you can rely on all the good scientific and philosophical work that the Catholic Church has done over the years while also disavowing God. There's nothing tone deaf about that at all.

    You don't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

    3 votes

  19. Comment on Did Kamala Harris's silence on Gaza cost her the White House? in ~society

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    As @eji1700 says below, that becomes past the point of reasonableness. Potentially coordinating with one guy to miss the president intentionally is kind of plausible I guess? You'd need someone to...

    As @eji1700 says below, that becomes past the point of reasonableness. Potentially coordinating with one guy to miss the president intentionally is kind of plausible I guess? You'd need someone to cook up the scheme, someone to handle the shooter, maybe someone else to secure access to the site. We've already covered why that is not realistic though.

    Rigging up a squib to damage Trump's ear though? Now we're talking about a whole other thing. Coordination with the secret service, Trump's makeup people, everyone around him that would have clearly seen a device on his ear, all the doctors and medics that would have examined him afterwards, anyone who happened to be standing behind him. It's completely beyond any level of plausibility, and you'd still need the shooter, because people really did get shot and killed, including the shooter himself.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Vatican declares Society of St. Pius X in schism, excommunicates bishops in ~humanities

    papasquat
    Link Parent
    Oh, I don't disagree with you, that's not what I was trying to say. I think calling anyone's spiritual beliefs silly is pretty rude if they're not hurting anyone. I was just saying that an atheist...

    But what's frustrating is to see an atheist with a Protestant worldview pretend that liturgical languages (a practice going back to Sumer and Akkad) are obviously silly, and vernacular languages so obviously better. Neither is better than the other, it's just different religious traditions.

    Oh, I don't disagree with you, that's not what I was trying to say. I think calling anyone's spiritual beliefs silly is pretty rude if they're not hurting anyone. I was just saying that an atheist can still have a worldview, ethics, culture and so on that is derived from Christianity and Christian societies and still be entirely logically consistent. You don't have to throw out all of Christianity to count as an atheist. Just the god parts.

    5 votes