winther's recent activity
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Comment on What workplace absurdity are you forced to live with? in ~life
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
winther LinkI have been having fun with some really trashy and sleazy 80s b-movies, or borderline soft-core. Forbidden World (1982) is a blatant rip-off of Alien, just with a dumber, and hornier, crew....I have been having fun with some really trashy and sleazy 80s b-movies, or borderline soft-core.
Forbidden World (1982) is a blatant rip-off of Alien, just with a dumber, and hornier, crew. Despite the low budget, it does have some pretty impressive set design. The plot is mostly just Alien, and we see the alien's POV looking the at female crew getting undressed.
Deathstalker (1983) is an outright distasteful misogynistic Conan-ripoff. The "hero" rescues women from rape, but in his logic his reward for the good deed is that he gets to have sex with her. Consent seems optional. Almost all the woman are topless and look like Playboy models. It is a terrible film by practically every standard, but I was sort of fascinated by its very existence and how wild 80s fantasy films were.
The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) is by far the best of the bunch and the title is the whole plot. A serial killer on the loose killing high school students at a slumber party. His weapon of choice is a very large powerdrill, used to penetrate his victims. The phallic symbolism is impossible to look past. Obviously also plenty of scenes of the female high schoolers taking showers and undressing. Its redeeming qualities comes from it feeling like it is really self aware satire, in a Verhoeven kind of way. Originally the film was written as a parody of the genre (both writer and director are women by the way), but apparently the studio wanted it more straight forward. But some of the original intent shines through.
Body Count (1986) was the most disappointing. A very straight forward slasher in the woods, but despite a cool score by the giallo master Goblin, there are too many characters and almost no attempt at building a narrative around all the killing. I liked the setting though. Reminded me of First Blood.
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Comment on The 2026 Hugo Award winners! in ~books
winther Link ParentNot a series. Neil Clarke is the editor of Clarkesworld and that magazine has had many short story winners the last couple of years.Not a series. Neil Clarke is the editor of Clarkesworld and that magazine has had many short story winners the last couple of years.
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
winther Link ParentGlad you liked it! I think that really is what makes Egan work. I feel like it doesn't matter that much that I can't follow all the math and science, as long as the characters excitement for their...Glad you liked it!
I'm far too stupid to understand even half of the mathematics, but I get the gist enough that I can understand the progression of knowledge and the parallels that are being drawn.
I think that really is what makes Egan work. I feel like it doesn't matter that much that I can't follow all the math and science, as long as the characters excitement for their discoveries comes through and I understand the general gist of what is going on.
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Comment on The 2026 Hugo Award winners! in ~books
winther Link ParentNeil Clarke and Clarkesworld are really on a well deserved roll these last couple of years. Not surprised that the Thomas Ha story won, it is definitely worth reading.Neil Clarke and Clarkesworld are really on a well deserved roll these last couple of years. Not surprised that the Thomas Ha story won, it is definitely worth reading.
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Comment on What are we in a golden age of? in ~talk
winther LinkFor my own primary pastime timesink, I would say film restorations and availability. Don't have to go back that many years where massive parts of cinematic history was out of reach for the regular...For my own primary pastime timesink, I would say film restorations and availability. Don't have to go back that many years where massive parts of cinematic history was out of reach for the regular consumer, and what existed outside the big titles, was old poor quality transfers. Now we are constantly getting new 2K and 4K restorations of obscure genre films, releasing on smaller labels such as Arrow, Powerhouse and 88 Films. Not a surprise that Ben Hur recently got a big 4K restoration release, but when niche genre films like Lucio Fulci’s Murder Rock or Aldo Lado’s Short Night Of Glass Dolls are getting full restorations from original negatives, then that is a sign that the process has become cheap enough to warrant future proofing a much wider range of film history.
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Comment on Are others finding themselves spending less and less time online? in ~tech
winther LinkProbably not in the strictest sense, as I am still plenty online, but definitely leaning more into "old school" web use. I read blogs, RSS feeds, my newspaper subscriptions and forums like Tildes....Probably not in the strictest sense, as I am still plenty online, but definitely leaning more into "old school" web use. I read blogs, RSS feeds, my newspaper subscriptions and forums like Tildes. The only "social media" would be Letterboxd. I think there is still plenty of good stuff to engage with online, it never left, just a bit out of sight from the big platforms.
But in general I can relate to the "ick"-factor. It is hard to find genuine passion that isn't just a front for selling something. But I also think we should acknowledge that we can't expect everything for free. Good journalism still exists, and it is worth paying for. That online news sites have paywalls is not inherently a bad thing, but they should of course also earn that price they are selling for.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
winther LinkI watched Wild at Heart and it is a movie that feels like a battle between Nicolas Cage and David Lynch. For most of the runtime it is almost two parallel films. Nicolas Cage and Laura on an...I watched Wild at Heart and it is a movie that feels like a battle between Nicolas Cage and David Lynch. For most of the runtime it is almost two parallel films. Nicolas Cage and Laura on an absolute wild road trip, Cage being Cage turned to 11. Literally sex and rocknroll all the way. Then there is a separate narrative that is all Lynch. A grotesque Twin Peaks-like Wizard of Oz inspired crime plot. For me, Cage won. Whenever the movie turned to the Lynch-ian world, I mostly just wanted to get back to Cage and Dern. Of course the two narratives need each other and it does sort of come together in the end, though of course in the acid tripping kind of way you would expect from Lynch. This confirmed that I like Cage more than Lynch at least.
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
winther LinkI was hesitant to answer this at first, because I probably took the "lesser known" a bit too strict. I scrolled through my old Goodreads list of novels and selected some I think are worth...I was hesitant to answer this at first, because I probably took the "lesser known" a bit too strict. I scrolled through my old Goodreads list of novels and selected some I think are worth mentioning in addition to all the great recommendations already mentioned here.
Contact by Carl Sagan. Not only is it a great film, but the original novel is fantastic as well. That Sagan was a scientist and known for bringing interest for the cosmos to the masses with his tv series, also shows in his writing. It is filled with passion and love for the field, and it is all around a very positive feeling novel.
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson won the Hugo in 2005, so hardly lesser known, but in my opinion it is one of the greatest examples of a good hook of a premise. Starts with all the stars in the night sky disappears from one moment to the next. Makes for a perfect intriguing mystery and the fantastic story rolls from there.
Everything by Alastair Reynolds really. His Revelation Space series is his magnum opus. Really hard sf with slower than light space travel, making for a very atmospheric dark space opera. For good standalne novels I can recommend Pushing Ice and House of Suns.
Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars-trilogy is often mentioned with good reason, but I want to highlight two probably slightly overlooked novels. The Years of Rice and Salt is an alternate history set in a world where the black death in Europe was somewhat more effective, leading to a world without any European influence. Should be noted it is also builds its narrative around reincarnation, which might put some people off. I would also highly recommend Aurora, which is a generation ship type of story, but without spoiling too much - it takes an unexpected approach from the usual in that subgenre. It is also a novel that seems to divide readers for that reason. I personally think it comes with a very important message.
For something older, I need to mention Clifford D. Simak and Way Station. Simak has a very unique style of what could be called cozy science fiction. His stories a almost calm and serene, but still with a great sense of wonder for the big universe.
Now I mostly read short stories though, I can recommend looking out for short story collections by Ted Chiang, Robert Sheckley, Sean McMullen, Greg Egan and John Varley.
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Comment on Danish authorities tracked and killed a wolf after a string of close encounters with residents – reignites a bitter debate over how a small, densely populated country should live with wolves in ~enviro
winther LinkOh wow, this is international news now. It is really weird how divided this topic has come. I think one of the source of conflict is that many like the idea of having more wildlife in Denmark, but...Oh wow, this is international news now. It is really weird how divided this topic has come. I think one of the source of conflict is that many like the idea of having more wildlife in Denmark, but those living close to it are less enthusiastic. Problem is that Denmark really has very little wild nature. Most of our land is either farm land or cities. So any wildlife here really don’t have a whole lot of area to live in without becoming next door neighbors to humans. And that we don’t really have any experience for generations with actual dangerous wildlife isn’t helping either.
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Comment on I'm not ready to let this place go in ~tildes
winther Link ParentI think it really just comes down to being swarmed by LLM requests from spammers according to this comment. I highly doubt us using our own invites to invite people we can reasonably vet as not...I think it really just comes down to being swarmed by LLM requests from spammers according to this comment. I highly doubt us using our own invites to invite people we can reasonably vet as not spammers will be seen as problematic.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
winther LinkThis was the first week back to normal as the kids started school again after 6 weeks of vacation. We have been back to work for a couple of weeks, but it still felt a bit like vacation as we...This was the first week back to normal as the kids started school again after 6 weeks of vacation. We have been back to work for a couple of weeks, but it still felt a bit like vacation as we didn't have to think of getting up early for school, make their lunchboxes and so forth. On Wednesday there was a partial solar eclipse here in Denmark, and we all ventured outside too see it along with practically the rest of the city in the green area where the low sun was visible. It was fun, but admittedly also somewhat anticlimactic as the eclipse was about 85%, so the effect could only be observed through our solar filter glasses. The sun is so bright that even with 85% covered, it didn't really get noticeably darker and I am sure that if you didn't know about it, you wouldn't have noticed anything being off. Hoping to see a full eclipse some day, though that will require some travel as the next one in Denmark is in several hundred years.
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
winther Link ParentYes with Dichronauts Egan definitely started to dive into the very deep end of high concept, and he also lost me along the way, but thankfully he still writes short stories for the various...Yes with Dichronauts Egan definitely started to dive into the very deep end of high concept, and he also lost me along the way, but thankfully he still writes short stories for the various magazines and they are always worth reading. And easier to understand. For example Understudies published in Clarkesworld is very on point the current complications of AI in education.
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Comment on What lesser-known sci-fi reads do you recommend? in ~books
winther Link ParentI second all three. Of course lesser known is relative, but any chance to recommend Greg Egan to more readers is one I take. He is definitely an acquired taste with how integral math is to his...I second all three. Of course lesser known is relative, but any chance to recommend Greg Egan to more readers is one I take. He is definitely an acquired taste with how integral math is to his writing. Though I personally think his stories can enjoyed even though most of the math and science is above my understanding. His stories still convey the excitement of science and discovery. My favorite is Orthogonal trilogy, though his short stories might be a better introduction to his writing in general.
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Comment on Olsen Banden - Elverhøj in ~movies
winther (edited )LinkSimply wanted to share this short clip from the Danish national movie treasure. Olsen Banden was a long running franchise of comedy heist movies running from the 60s through the 80s, and I think...Simply wanted to share this short clip from the Danish national movie treasure. Olsen Banden was a long running franchise of comedy heist movies running from the 60s through the 80s, and I think most Danes of almost all ages have some sort of relationship to these characters. This clip stands perfectly on its own, as it is almost dialogue free, and it is probably the most well loved single scene in the series.
I would be curious if anyone from other countries have something similar from the film culture that comes to mind - something almost everyone knows but doesn't reach much outside the borders. I would love to see it.
Edit: This is actually a longer more complete clip of that scene
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Olsen Banden - Elverhøj
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Comment on Why normal people aren’t using AI agents in ~tech
winther LinkIt sounds like a solution trying desperately to find a problem. I am genuinely struggling to find any good usecase for where AI agent could be really useful in my personal life. The examples we...It sounds like a solution trying desperately to find a problem. I am genuinely struggling to find any good usecase for where AI agent could be really useful in my personal life. The examples we see from the tech gurus are always bonkers, like Altman creating a podcast of his kids’ interests. Instead of talking to them ?
Compared to just a few decades ago, our lives are already heavily optimized by digital solutions. Do we really need more ?
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
winther LinkHaven't been to the cinema by myself in a very long time, only for seeing things with the kids like Toy Story and Super Mario Galaxy, but yesterday I caught a special event showing of Teenage Sex...Haven't been to the cinema by myself in a very long time, only for seeing things with the kids like Toy Story and Super Mario Galaxy, but yesterday I caught a special event showing of Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and will be the highlight of the year for me. With that title and starring Gillian Anderson, it is tailormade for me personally. Sort of thematic/interpretive(?) spoilers below.
This film is made with so much love for the 80s slasher films like Halloween and Friday the 13th, but the good thing is that offers so much more than mere fanservice and references (though it has plenty of those too). You don't get a slasher pastiche, but a wild satirical sexual awakening story wrapped in a double meta-narrative reaching directly to the viewers (or me at least) own relationship with these type of movies. Katie Welsh writes in a review:
... a sharp, playful, sexy and surprisingly warm Hollywood satire about repressed millennials who have outsourced their sexual desire to the movies. The film is a loving send-up of film nerds who’d rather intellectualize and compartmentalize than truly feel in any sort of sensual or embodied way.
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The message here is to get out of our heads and into our bodies, and it’s OK if we need movies to do that.(hangs my head in shame)
The film is screaming its metaphors from the rooftop. The killer in this fictional franchise is literally called Little Death, acknowledging the established interpretation of slasher films connection between death and sex, and the le petite mort concept of orgasm being a little death. Part of the main idea in the film is the two female characters that can only find their own true sexual desire and get an orgasm through the killer, called Little Death, as they get stabbed to a bloody death by an enormous fishing spear.
There is enough self awareness in the film to make it genuinely ambiguous whether the over analyzing is really just an excuse to find an artistic reason to like seeing skampy clad teenagers screaming while they are "penetrated" by big sharp phallic objects. It really hits a personal nerve, as my wife is often looking at the tv and puzzled asking what the hell I am watching (I am not making it easy by being a fan of Italian giallo and Verhoeven), and there is undeniably elements of eroticism in these films. The screaming in terror and final breath as death occurs are eerily close to the sounds of pleasure, making these films sit in a conflicting place in your body when you watch them. What makes the film brilliant in my mind is that it refuses to give a definitive resolution to these of questions. There is a core message about going back to basics, "flesh and body fluids" and stop overthinking, but there is also enough self aware mocking satire of its own discourse, pulling the rug on the whole analysis, that fans or slashers are not given a completely free pass.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
winther Link ParentRun of the mill Hollywood are probably not good examples of many things, but what I am advocating a bit against is the notion of whether sex in movies is "necessary". Necessary for what? Plenty of...Run of the mill Hollywood are probably not good examples of many things, but what I am advocating a bit against is the notion of whether sex in movies is "necessary". Necessary for what? Plenty of things in movies can be deemed unnecessary on some parameters, but movies are a visual medium that convey more than just plot. You can communicate two people having sex by having a long explicit sex scene, or do it like they did in the 1930s by showing the couple embracing, panning the camera to the window and cut to breakfast the next morning. Or everything in between. I would say the movie landscape would somewhat boring if every depiction of people having sex would be reduced the 30s version. Same could be applied to many other aspects of movies. Like you can show someone getting shot completely offscreen or with full on blood brain splatter. Cut to the core, it communicates the same thing, someone is shot dead, but in general we accept that - "unnecessary" - violence at various levels of explicitness, is one element among many that makes a complete movie. The same can be said about depiction of eroticism in general.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
winther Link ParentDepends on the director of course, but it does seem like the concept of eroticism in film is becoming a lost form. Eroticism is different from porn, and maybe because hardcore porn has become so...Most movie sex scenes are just gratuitous with no chemistry. I'm not sure not wanting to see it is puritanical.
Depends on the director of course, but it does seem like the concept of eroticism in film is becoming a lost form. Eroticism is different from porn, and maybe because hardcore porn has become so easily accessible, the concept of proper erotic sexuality on screen is becoming harder to even accept as a possibility for viewers these days. Or filmmakers don't know how to do it anymore.
Maybe it is because I don't speak finance to understand this properly, but the whole schism around "We grew 10% last year, so that is great, but our target was 20%, so we have to do layoffs". Of course it is something do to with betting to be a bit forward on the growth, so you can actually absorb it with investing before it actually happens, but it is still weird and sucks to be in the middle of it, seeing both several hires and layoffs within a single year.