Ironik
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Posts
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For totally brutal oh-my-god-I-can't-believe-he-went-there post-apocalypse goodness, I'll recommend the "Plague" books by Jeff Carlson. The guy pulls no punches and really makes armageddon seem like a genuinely horrible experience. The series is about the accidental release of a nanophage which consumes every warm-blooded biological thing below 10,000 feet, above which it self-destructs. As you can imagine, this has the nasty effect of wiping out nearly 99% of the world's human population, as well as *more than* 99% of the animals. Only people living near the top of mountains or who happen to be hiking/skiing/backpacking when the machine plague hits survive it. If you were in an airplane when it hit, you're fine... until you land. Then the miniature machines eat you alive.
Not only is it bad enough that everyone you know has been excruciatingly killed by things you can't even see, the plague starts World War 3 between the US, Russia and China because the most precious thing left in the world is the small amount of real estate that's above 10,000 feet.
I just started the 3rd book in the series and once again I can't believe how unflinching Carlson is with his story. He doesn't play favorites with his characters: they're caught in a hellish situation and have to deal with it as best they can. -
I have Lady Mechanika but haven't read it yet.
Survivor had an awesome season. (Man, Jeff *really* hates quitters, doesn't he?) Amazing Race was also excellent, so that'd be my runner-up in Reality TV. Although I have a strange fascination with Cake Boss. It's like if my family baked.
Looks like none of the many excellent documentaries I watched were from 2010, so I can't make a judgment on that category this year. -
Quote:It would be awesome to land in that stereotypical and way-cool pose.Originally Posted by SkarmoryThePG
Yes, but not nearly enough being dragged across the floor as you burn momentum in the three-point landing pose, knocking up dirt/sparks. -
In the ranged attack sets, I'd say a Fire Blaster with differently-colored attacks would look the most magical. Electric doesn't look very arcane to me, while both Rad and Sonic are mostly invisible in the "throwing bolts" arena.
Going a different way, I think the Kinetic Melee powerset looks like it could be magic. The animations are based on Tai Chi, but you can rationalize them as making sigils in the air. -
Quote:You big freak.Originally Posted by Twibbits
and I'll be the freak who likes both of them.
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Microwave weapons test.
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I haven't read it yet, just noting that the usual place to put these is in the Screenshots or Multi-Media forums.
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Here's my master magician, sorcerer supreme, way-cool warlock, Dr. Omen. Street clothes and then a formal go-to-meeting outfit (using the Magic Booster pack).
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Quote:This is true.Originally Posted by NinjaPirate
My take on Snyder vs. Bay:
They both love special effects.
But Snyder has a real passion and love for the source material of the adaptions he's done.
Bay has shown that he doesn't give a damn about the source material as long as he can blow stuff up.
-np
However, Snyder does need to get his head out of his rear when it comes to the "cool factor," because people *are* tired of it. Coincidentally, 300 was just on TV so I was flipping back and forth between that and ball dropping stuff, and Snyder included slo-mo in shots for no reason whatsoever. Use it as a storytelling device, not just to vary the pace of shots, man. The 2-second shot of the horse riding away from Leonidas' camp didn't need to be in slow motion. Should've used it for the coins falling from the traitor's belt. To me, that sort of thing is just an error caused by trying too hard to look cool rather than telling the story. That was my main issue with Watchmen, too: many of the slow motion moments didn't help the story or characters at all, they seemed almost randomly inserted. -
I missed the second one, but you already know I've "cooled" the first. So I guess I'm saying, "double-cool!"
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Happy new year, Alex. Also: Shriek!
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Quote:You can kiss me. I was with your mom.Originally Posted by Steelclaw
Happy New Year Everyone!
I'd give you all a New Year's kiss but... well... I don't know where you've been.
Aw, crap, broke my resolution already. -
I predict there will be no address, only a PO box.
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Quote:No.Originally Posted by Inazuma
I think the IDF pieces should be for sale for Vanguard Merits, since Vanguard is the organization responsible for dealing with Praetorian invasions.
By that coin, praetorian enemies should drop VMs, too, like Rikti (once you're a member of vanguard, of course). -
Quote:Although I liked Dawn of the Dead well enough -- it was no great shakes, but a passable remake -- and I enjoyed 300, I have to admit Watchmen bored the stuffing out of me. Granted, he did make a faithful rendition of the book and the changes he made didn't bother me much since the book should never have been filmed in the first place (it's like turning a Frost poem into a tap dance routine -- things are lost in the translation), but his excessive use of slow motion was gratuitous. Emulating The Wild Bunch isn't a good thing, in my opinion. Frankly, Sucker Punch looks like more of the same.Originally Posted by JeNeSaisQuoi
I'm repeating myself here, but here's my opinion of the two of them, so you know where I, personally, am coming from:Quote:Originally Posted by Lothic
Here's the basic problem I'm having with the "Snyder = Bay" position:
I think there are quite a few directors BETTER than Snyder. But because I believe Bay is one of the absolute WORST directors working today I'm willing to elevate Synder into a position somewhere in the middle of the overall list. On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being worse and 10 being best) I'd give Synder like a 5 or 6 and Bay a 1 (or less).
So while I don't think Synder is the best director ever I think it's grossly unfair to lump him in with the likes of Bay.
I'd bet telling a director "you're artistically just like Bay" would probably be taken as an insult in that industry.
There's a reasonable enough difference between Bay and Synder to make a very obvious distinction between the two.
Why you're not seeing it is anyone's guess. *shrugs*
Bay: Loves slow motion
Snyder: Loves slow motion
Bay: Makes films with poorly written scripts
Snyder: Makes films with poorly written scripts
Bay: Uses terrible actors
Snyder: Uses terrible actors
Bay: Loves to make things explode
Judging from his new movie trailer,
Snyder: Loves to make things explode.
And to be fair, and not being a film school graduate or anything, maybe I'm simplifying things too much. But that's how I see thier movies. I never claimed to have any special training or anything that made my viewing of movies any more insightful than anyone else's.
Snyder may have found his groove stylistically, but it's clear that style is polarizing: some like it, some don't. I don't have anything against it, provided he uses it sensibly. And yes, "sensibly" is a judgment call. Equating him with Bay, though... no way. Snyder may be veering into a Bay-like overwrought style, but he's merely verging on boring. Bay is actually offensive with his filmmaking. It's certainly worse to be boring than douchey, but Snyder hasn't descended into Bay's circle of hell yet. -
What are your choices? Here are mine.
Best graphic novel:
Irredeemable Vol. 4 by Mark Waid and Diego Barretto. Astro City: Dark Age 2 was the runner-up, but Waid's tale of "Superman gone mad" just kept ramping up the awesome as it went along and the latest installment was crazy good. Emphasis on the "crazy."
Best superhero fiction:
Ex-heroes by Peter Clines. Superheroes and zombies go head-to-head in an excellently-written and superbly-plotted story. Hands down the best superhero book of the year.
Best memoir:
Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern. Anyone who's read the bon mots dropped by Halpern's dad on Facebook or Twitter knows how cut-through-the-BS funny he is. But this memoir was not only humorous, it was actually quite touching and revelatory. But especially it's funny as ******* hell.
Best history/science book:
The Immortal Life of Henriette Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Also a superb year for books like this and this one narrowly edged out The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum, which I also heartily recommended. Although I disagree with his support of the IAU's retarded definition of "planet", Mike Brown's How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming was also quite good. But back to Immortal Life, this one has it all: an interesting detective story, a decent but terribly unlucky person who died never knowing how important she would be to the rest of humanity, conspiracies, people trammeled in the interest of greed and evil corporations.
Best movie:
The Social Network by David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin. 2010 was the best year for movies all decade, with great flicks like Easy A, Toy Story 3, Inception, How To Train Your Dragon, Shutter Island, Tron: Legacy, 127 Hours and The Town, but this one made self-absorbed, socially-retarded geeks seem interesting, which was a feat in and of itself.
Best soundtrack:
How To Train Your Dragon by John Powell. Not only was this my fave of the year, it's one of the best in many years. Just pure adventure fun, it got serious heavy rotation on my playlist. Several tracks made it onto my "Sturm & Drang" playlist that I often use for background music while playing CoH. Check out Dragon Training as an example. Let it play, because it builds slowly to the crescendo.
Best album:
The Sound of Sunshine by Michael Franti & Spearhead. Lots of contenders this year (Jamie Cullum, Joshua Radin, Bruno Mars, Cee Lo Green, etc.) but I keep coming back to this feel-good and positive album. It acknowledges that things aren't always great, but that they can get better. I mean, how can you listen to this and NOT be in a good mood?
Best TV show:
This is a tie: The Walking Dead and Supernatural. The latter brought the awesome again and again, culminating in an honest-to-God apocalyptic showdown with Satan that hinged on, of all things, a 1967 Chevy Impala. When Supernatural came back for season 6, I doubted they could equal the fifth season's amazing arc, but they've managed to bring it to a boil by maintaining both the scares and the humor. The Walking Dead is up there because it's probably one of the best serious zombie renditions ever, really underscoring how genre TV can tell us things about ourselves. Plus, you know, headshots. Runner-up: Human Target. Guerrero is easily one of the best characters on TV in recent memory, and if the show maintains its quality it will be one of the best ever. -
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What's IDF?
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I think the music in Pocket D should be replaced with Okey Dokey by the Incredible Bongo Band. The groove is epic.
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Quote:I like Drifter 118 bmp by Badam.Originally Posted by Dark_Respite
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I don't recall any of the details on this group at all, but I'd love to see some new elements added to the mix. A few weeks ago someone mentioned they are tired of reusing all the same big-name NPCs over and over again and while I'm not quite at that stage (because I enjoy the whole "alternate Earth" idea), I think it is played out. Going back to that particular well one more time would be too much. BBS and other enemy groups mentioned in passing throughout the years show up would be cool.
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Quote:I can't credit Snyder with creating a unique visual style for 300, since he was essentially copying Miler's comic the same way Rodriguez was doing with Sin City. His crew did an excellent job of interpreting the book's look and mimicking it for film, but that's not quite the same as originating it.Originally Posted by Local_Man
I think Snyder is a remarkable director, mostly based on 300 and Watchmen. In 300, he created a unique visual style ... And while I have never read the graphic novel upon which it was based, the Snyder's visual style in that film makes it seem almost as though you are reading the graphic novel.
Book v. movie comparison. -
Quote:Kids are part of the family, and you used to be a vector once, too. What goes around comes around.Originally Posted by Dark One
Every new year starts the same way for me...
Me being sick as a dog.
No, not from a hangover, but rather from family Christmas parties. See, my family has a tradition. No one can manage to keep their germ-ridden plague factories known as kids home. They insist on bringing them to the get-together regardless of whatever malady they've caught and want to share it with everyone else.
Now, this may not be a big deal to the other parents in attendence since they tend to have immunity to the variety of plagues those little monsters get, but to those of us without children, it means at least a week of head colds, sore throats, and aches that we don't need.
And this year was no exception.
Tips for next year:
Wash your hands a lot and for at least 30 seconds each time.
Eat before they do. They're little, push them out of the way. (Then wash your hands.)
Throughout the month before, eat plenty of garlic to boost your immune system.
Throughout the month before, drink plenty of orange juice to boost your immune system.
Take Zicam during the experience.
Suck on zinc lozenges throughout, as well.
And the best advice to avoid a cold next year:
Go to Hawaii and call them on Skype. -
Quote:I think a film that's true to the character wouldn't be very popular. It's fudged some in the books but Logan is supposed to be 5'3" tall, not the 6'2" that Hugh Jackman is. So in terms of actors, you're talking about Mickey Rooney, David Faustino (Married With Children) and Davy Jones (The Monkees). Interestingly, Robert Blake (formerly Mickey Gubitosi of the Our Gang comedies) is 5'4" tall, and in his prime I can totally see him as Wolverine. That's the perfect actor for the role, I think. Too bad about that whole spacetime continuum thing.Originally Posted by JeNeSaisQuoi
Looks like we're going to (possibly) be getting something alot better than that as Aronofsky is supposedly directing the next Wolverine film.