I listened to Molyneux’s analysis of Zootopia (video here and audio here)—which sounds like a terrible movie, by the way—when he mentioned the white feather phenomenon from World War I. A tough time for pacifist or “other principled” guys, for sure. Being rejected by women romantically is traumatic enough, so much so that most men … Rise of the Dude Raiders
Pale Blue Scratch is available on Amazon for free…right now. Go get it! Edit: This applies to the ebook version only. Whew. Giveaway is over, but it will happen again soon…
In honor of me level-capping Lara Croft in Rise of the Tomb Raider, here’s a video of me doing a headshot chain in expedition mode. Sometimes the Xbox One native recorder will capture things like this autonomously. While I didn’t have auto-aiming enabled, you’ll notice big head mode is, so it didn’t seem recording-level noteworthy … Melon Shooter
Graham, aka: Azure Ides-Grey, bought Pale Blue Scratch and sent in some glorious photos. Since he sent in two photos, I get to plug his two blogs: the hesitant telos and The Christian Philosophy Cafetorium. Send in a photo of you with a copy of the book (paperback or ebook version), and I’ll post it … Graham Got Scratched!
Mind-Altering Quantum Experiment Shows Time Has Never Existed As We Think It Does – “You totally can’t trust anything about the universe, except the results of my experiment. Trust me! Science.” Study warns that science as we know it is evolving into something shoddy and unreliable – Bring back natural philosophy and engineering-as-research! How to … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 17
Despite the high quality of Xenoblade Chronicles, there’s no denying that Shulk, the main protagonist, is the biggest Marty Stu (of the Purity Stu variety) in recent memory. Aside from his barely-perceptible romance with Fiora, there’s no reason for him to pursue the hero’s quest other than pure altruism, and altruism is a lousy motivator … The Marty Stu Chronicles: Shulk
“I think that when in doubt about the truth of an issue, it’s safer and in better taste to select the least numerous of the adversaries…May I have the salt, please?” – Kira Alexandrovna Argounova, We the Living (Ayn Rand)
If you’re ever in the Pittsburgh area, you can now buy a real, genuine, dead tree version of Pale Blue Scratch at the Mystery Lovers Bookshop in scenic, famous golf-coursey, Oakmont, PA. * Unnecessary side bar: is there a name for this linguistic phenomenon, where two causally unrelated things are grammatically linked together? The fact … Pale Blue Scratch Now Available in Oakmont, PA
This stuff can be hard to write this kind of subtlety. There’s few who can pull it off well. Bradbury was one of them, as is Jill Domschot. Scott Adams went overboard in a fine way, in this regard; you could tell he was trying to drive the jokes home with an elephant gun. Forster … E.M. Forster’s Humor
Buy here.
Moore, especially from his insider’s view, sees the writing on the wall. And the writing is getting bigger: “I think I have done enough for comics. I’ve done all that I can. I think if I were to continue to work in comics, inevitably the ideas would suffer, inevitably you’d start to see me retread … Alan Moore Bails Out of Comics
Saw this on Reddit and found it too good not to post it in its entirety, because I can. Enjoy responsibly. Second-to-minutes: major insanity within minutes at the emergence of Great Cthulhu all along the pacific region. Massive earth quakes in some regions. Madpeople world wide scream, some die, others attack their staff muttering strange … Cthulhu in Real Life
Feminism As Mental Illness – Jill throws down a gauntlet. And another one Reviewing Darkness 03 – Ed throws down a gauntlet, too: “So no one should be surprised if we suggest that the major flaw with Western Christian religion in all its forms is the insistence on subjecting faith to human reason.” The Christian … Links of Possible Relevance, Part 16
I’ve added a few more online outlets where you can buy Pale Blue Scratch. I’m working on getting it on Smashwords now, too. Please enjoy responsibly.
Certainly provides a good hit of nostalgia. My favorites were the non-linear, story-heavy, point-and-click type of logic games, like Myst or Maniac Mansion, though this is a bit before that era. Deja Vu, #76 in the video, is that kind of game. I liked pretty much anything I could afford with a teen/pre-teen’s disposable income, … 100 Amiga Games
It’s not the sex of the president necessarily that I’m wary of, since, if I voted in the first place, I’d vote for a solid libertarian lady much more readily than a normal state-loving dude. That’s possibility is not the in the cards this season, regardless. What I’m more concerned about are the aftereffects of … I Don’t Want a Female President
I don’t pay attention to literary awards, so the Hugos are off my radar unless someone I listen to already sends a signal through. Hence, Jill on the 2016 Short Story winner, “Cat Pictures Please,” about a self-aware search engine that tries to help people with their problems: See, the AI helps people by meddling … Zero Cat Pictures, Please
Interesting conversation between Scott Adams and Stefan, in the early minutes before they get into the politics. I like Adams, but he’s inaccurate in the self-assessment of his childhood religious beliefs, which he describes at around the 1:20 mark. He didn’t necessarily decide to not believe. He didn’t believe in the first place because he … You Don’t Believe in the First Place
Check the trailer below. We know that Darth Vader dies in Return of the Jedi, so he’s out. Vader’s outfit is completely black and he’s voiced by a black actor, so I’m not even sure he counts in the first place. There’s K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk, but he’s in dark metallic plating, and Rebel-affiliated … Star Wars: Spot the One Rogue White Dude That Will Be Killed Off
When a prequel is made with ultra-modern filmmaking technology—CGI and the like—the visual effects are “held back” when illustrating the in-universe technology to match its look and feel. This only seems to affect prequels, not sequels or reboots, since prequels necessarily take place in the in-universe’s past. I tried Googling some things, but I’m coming … Someone Give Me a Good Phrase For This