smiles134's recent activity
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Comment on Pam Bondi ousted as US attorney general in ~society
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Comment on Jeopardy! YouTube Edition | Teaser in ~tv
smiles134 LinkSurprised they only did one round. I was listening while working on other things and when they went to Final Jeopardy I thought I'd blacked out an entire round of the game somehow.Surprised they only did one round. I was listening while working on other things and when they went to Final Jeopardy I thought I'd blacked out an entire round of the game somehow.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
smiles134 (edited )LinkI watched two movies this past weekend: Roofman and Twelve Monkeys. I'd been wanting to see Roofman ever since I learned they were making a movie out of this story (which I'd first read about a...I watched two movies this past weekend: Roofman and Twelve Monkeys.
I'd been wanting to see Roofman ever since I learned they were making a movie out of this story (which I'd first read about a couple years ago and became fascinated by). I also love Channing Tatum. I'd say this is a solid 7.5. Tatum and Kirsten Dunst are great. They made some changes to the story for dramatic/narrative purposes but one change toward the end flipped the order of some events and it made Tatum come off as a little impulsive (if I'm remembering how things played out), which didn't really vibe with his intelligence that had been established consistently throughout the movie. I very much enjoyed this overall.
Twelve Monkeys is one I've been wanting to see for a while but could never find it available on streaming services I subscribe to, so when it popped up on Prime the other day, I put it on almost immediately. Wow, Brad Pitt was incredible in this. I got a little lost in the plot for a minute and went to verify something and accidentally spoiled the ending for myself, so the reveal about the zoo didn't hit quite as well as it should've, but overall I thought this did time travel really well. I started to believe halfway through that Bruce Willis really was inventing things in his brain, and so it was nice to have the psychiatrist start to try to convince him of the truth he'd been certain of in the first half of the movie. (A lot of the hitchhock references went past me, but they're clearly important with how piled on top of one another they are at the end.)
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Comment on TV series suggestions in ~tv
smiles134 Link ParentBrockmire is great. The last season takes a pretty big leap and it doesn't always pay off, but I appreciated that they went for it.Brockmire is great. The last season takes a pretty big leap and it doesn't always pay off, but I appreciated that they went for it.
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Comment on TV series suggestions in ~tv
smiles134 Link ParentReservation Dogs is incredible. Definitely check it out.Reservation Dogs is incredible. Definitely check it out.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentManchester by the Sea is one of the most gutting movies I've ever seen. My wife and I went to see it in theatres and she came out and said she'd never watch it ever again lol I don't think I've...Manchester by the Sea is one of the most gutting movies I've ever seen. My wife and I went to see it in theatres and she came out and said she'd never watch it ever again lol I don't think I've gone back to it before either, but I have rewatched a couple scenes, like the one in the police department after the fire.
Incredible performances by Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentThe Creator sucked so hard. I was extremely disappointed by it. The plot made next to no sense in the end.The Creator sucked so hard. I was extremely disappointed by it. The plot made next to no sense in the end.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
smiles134 LinkStill working my way through some palette cleansers before diving into my next long game (which is looking like Divinity: Original Sin). Right now, I'm about halfway through Islets, a kid of cozy...Still working my way through some palette cleansers before diving into my next long game (which is looking like Divinity: Original Sin).
Right now, I'm about halfway through Islets, a kid of cozy metroidvania. Gameplay reminds me a little of Ori and the Blind Forest. I think the upgrade approach is interesting -- there are specific abilities you unlock in a certain order, but you can improve things like health/damage/ammo by collecting upgrades, upon which you have a choice of 3 options to upgrade. That said, the upgrades feel a little marginal and I don't notice a huge difference. I had my first difficulty with a boss last night and kept dying mostly due to my bad timing with attacks and dodges.
I've finished LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. I haven't played one of these in a long time, and I didn't like this one as much as I liked the original but that might be me getting older. I did think the narratives were incredibly rushed, though, and sometimes the gameplay skipped over parts I actually wanted to play through.
I beat Lost in Random the other week. I liked this one a lot. Very cool gameplay loop, though the deck building aspect could've used some work. I never found a use for some cards, so I prioritized cards that did lots of damage or increased my rolls/drew more cards and that seemed like a fine approach. It seems like the sequel abandoned everything interesting about the game and went with a Hades knockoff for some reason, so I won't bother with it.
Also beat Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania a couple weeks ago. I liked this though I got extremely frustrated with one particular world. It took me like 3-4 hours to beat those ten levels, and like half as long to beat the entire last 20 levels that came after it.
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Comment on I think Tildes moderators and admins may need to make a decision regarding how to handle Harry Potter related posts in ~tildes
smiles134 Link ParentYeah, but this doesn't work when the artist is still alive and profiting from their art, and using those profits to further a mission of hate.I believe in the separation of the author from their art
Yeah, but this doesn't work when the artist is still alive and profiting from their art, and using those profits to further a mission of hate.
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Comment on The End of Oak Street | Teaser trailer in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentI don't remember if I posted this in the movie thread about a month ago, but I watched Under the Silver Lake for the first time knowing absolutely nothing going into it, based solely on the bumper...I don't remember if I posted this in the movie thread about a month ago, but I watched Under the Silver Lake for the first time knowing absolutely nothing going into it, based solely on the bumper trailer because I like noir and Andrew Garfield.
I think that it's the most baffling movie I've ever seen. Even reading the plot summary on Wikipedia makes no sense. Like each individual sentence makes sense in isolation, but there's no way to determine how they connect to one another.
The conclusion I came to about 2/3rds of the way through was that he was in the midst of a psychotic break, but we were seeing the world through his eyes where he's normal and all the conspiracy theorist addled connections he's making to random events are just imagined.
Anyway: weird fucking movie and I agree, I have no idea if I enjoyed it or not.
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Comment on Wild Horse Nine | Official trailer in ~movies
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Comment on 'Buffy' reboot starring Sarah Michelle Gellar dead at Hulu in ~tv
smiles134 LinkThe (alleged) pilot script leaked, and if it's legit I can't even believe a pilot was filmed. What I've read is pretty awful.The (alleged) pilot script leaked, and if it's legit I can't even believe a pilot was filmed. What I've read is pretty awful.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentIt wouldn't surprise me if this finds its audience sooner rather than later and becomes a kind of cult classic. But it could've been more than that. The idea is so good!It wouldn't surprise me if this finds its audience sooner rather than later and becomes a kind of cult classic. But it could've been more than that. The idea is so good!
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentThat's such a bummer. I love Christian Bale and the idea of a Bonnie and Clyde retelling of the bride of Frankenstein is such a cool idea but all the reviews I've of this are saying it's just a mess.That's such a bummer. I love Christian Bale and the idea of a Bonnie and Clyde retelling of the bride of Frankenstein is such a cool idea but all the reviews I've of this are saying it's just a mess.
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Comment on New York Times quiz: Who’s a better writer: AI or humans? in ~tech
smiles134 Link ParentRight now, we're just sending out regular/lowest-tier rejection note. I don't think that will change unless AI fingerprinting becomes readily available/reliable in the future. Those AI-detectors...Right now, we're just sending out regular/lowest-tier rejection note. I don't think that will change unless AI fingerprinting becomes readily available/reliable in the future. Those AI-detectors are, in my opinion, like snake oil salesmen. There are too many false positives for me to really trust them, so we're using our gut right now, too. And since we don't (usually) have any hard proof, it's not really worth getting into an accusatory position when declining the work. So, what I've been advising our readers is if something feels off about the submission, still evaluate it on the merits. Usually the work isn't up to par anywhere. But there have been some that stand out that have required a deeper look. At that point, I'm starting to do investigations about the submitter: Have they published elsewhere? Where, if so? Do those pieces also have AI indicators? Are they posting AI generated artwork on their social media pages?
There was an essay we were considering not very long ago that our early readers loved, but when my assistant editor and I examined the piece closer and tried to verify biographical details about the author, it was clear the person being described in the essay was not the author. That's enough for us to say no to the piece, too.
So, I don't have a great answer for you except that we've basically had to add another layer of verification into our acceptance process, which sucks.
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Comment on New York Times quiz: Who’s a better writer: AI or humans? in ~tech
smiles134 Link ParentSure, always happy to talk more about literary mags!Sure, always happy to talk more about literary mags!
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Comment on New York Times quiz: Who’s a better writer: AI or humans? in ~tech
smiles134 LinkSo, I run a literary magazine. (Actually, a couple.) But in the last 9 months or so, the amount of LLM generated writing that's been submitted has been appalling. It's so, so frustrating to me,...So, I run a literary magazine. (Actually, a couple.) But in the last 9 months or so, the amount of LLM generated writing that's been submitted has been appalling. It's so, so frustrating to me, because I can never be sure unless the submitter leaves in their prompts (which absolutely has happened and continues to happen), and I want to give strangers the benefit of the doubt, but there are particular structures that LLMs just LOVE to follow. Lists of three, which I think everyone knows by now, but it also just loves to do this:
[Thing]—not [this thing], but [this other thing]. "Not, but" seems to be its favorite rhetorical move to try to create some kind of comparison. It shows up in the example that @stu2b50 included in their message, even. It's like nails on a chalkboard to me now.
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Comment on Kristi Noem removed from position as Secretary of US Homeland Security by Donald Trump in ~society
smiles134 LinkMarkwayne Mullin is Trump's chosen successor who sucks hard in his own ways But for now, let me just say: lolMarkwayne Mullin is Trump's chosen successor who sucks hard in his own ways
But for now, let me just say: lol
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentI think I need to give this movie another shot. I see people rave about it all the time, but I saw it in theatres on release and thought it was awful. That was back in high school though and I...I think I need to give this movie another shot. I see people rave about it all the time, but I saw it in theatres on release and thought it was awful. That was back in high school though and I remember very little about the movie, so maybe I'll feel differently now.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
smiles134 LinkLast night I finished Dragon Age: Inquisition -- shout-out to whoever it was who told me not to waste my time in the Hinterlands, you definitely saved my ass from my self. But man, after three...Last night I finished Dragon Age: Inquisition -- shout-out to whoever it was who told me not to waste my time in the Hinterlands, you definitely saved my ass from my self. But man, after three games: I've never seen so many cool, interesting narratives in a compelling world just get completely squandered by baffling gameplay choices. I was not a fan of Origins's tactics system, but at least that was a unique choice. It didn't work for me, but I know that the people who loved it really loved it. By the third game, combat is completly unrecognizable. Their approach to just hold down left mouse and then spam abilities when your stamina recovers is... Odd.
Now that I'm through all the Dragon Age games I own, I think I can move on from the series. I don't feel any pull to play the new one, which from what I understand even watered down the world which was the only thing interesting about the games by this point. Disappointing.
Well, now that I've finished my big game, I'm turning to smaller ones for palette cleansers. I'm halfway through Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, a few levels into Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4, and I've got these games installed and ready for me to dip my toes in as I finish the others up:
- Islets
- Mad Max
- Lost in Random
- LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga
- Sifu
As I said when Noem got fired:
lol