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406
Reality, Real-World Connections, and the Supernatural / Re: Meaning behind the name Janus
« on: January 28, 2011, 12:28:25 pm »
Whoa, I didn't know Hecate was Janus' counterpart. That's incredibly fascinating (and makes sense, as Hecate was supposed to have multiple faces as well? and Wiki says she guards entrances too, which is also not something I knew). Magus seems quite Hecate-like.
407
General Discussion / Re: Stuff you hate
« on: January 28, 2011, 12:18:53 pm »
Hurray for Blake! His poetry mythology is a constant source of mystery and wisdom to me. I've hardly exhausted his catalog, but I feel that's kind of a life project of mine-- his cosmos is a dense one. I haven't touched him in awhile, though-- I need to get through The Four Zoas; it's just so damn hard to absorb everything he's saying.
One of my dearest memories was the first time I took a certain hallucinogen, back in 2007 when I was taking my first class on Romanticism. I loved the Romantics before, but that class took it to a new level: it was basically a religious conversion experience. I had brought this book to a friend's house: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23910.William_Blake
I was in the middle of a conversation with said friends, beginning to feel the effects, when I suddenly turned to look at the book.... and it had, as you may expect, become quite literally illuminated. It was fucking awesome. WB was amazingly onto something, poetically, philosophically, and artistically.
(I'm really pleased that the Romantics have such a presence at the Compendium, btw, though given the themes of the Chrono series that's hardly surprising.)
And I love his political poetry! He was not afraid of the cost of liberty. What impresses me the most about that though I think is that he was so wholly in support of the American revolution. My prof mentioned that he may have even foreseen that it would inspire the French, in certain ways.
BTW, if you like Tarot, you may be interested in this deck: http://www.facade.com/tarot/william_blake/ It's reworked based on his mythology-- the images are a little subpar for copyright reasons, but it's really extraordinarily well-done. I bought it awhile ago and it's actually the only deck I actively use anymore.
<- can talk about WB all day long. This should not be in the stuff you hate thread!
One of my dearest memories was the first time I took a certain hallucinogen, back in 2007 when I was taking my first class on Romanticism. I loved the Romantics before, but that class took it to a new level: it was basically a religious conversion experience. I had brought this book to a friend's house: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23910.William_Blake
I was in the middle of a conversation with said friends, beginning to feel the effects, when I suddenly turned to look at the book.... and it had, as you may expect, become quite literally illuminated. It was fucking awesome. WB was amazingly onto something, poetically, philosophically, and artistically.
(I'm really pleased that the Romantics have such a presence at the Compendium, btw, though given the themes of the Chrono series that's hardly surprising.)
And I love his political poetry! He was not afraid of the cost of liberty. What impresses me the most about that though I think is that he was so wholly in support of the American revolution. My prof mentioned that he may have even foreseen that it would inspire the French, in certain ways.
BTW, if you like Tarot, you may be interested in this deck: http://www.facade.com/tarot/william_blake/ It's reworked based on his mythology-- the images are a little subpar for copyright reasons, but it's really extraordinarily well-done. I bought it awhile ago and it's actually the only deck I actively use anymore.
<- can talk about WB all day long. This should not be in the stuff you hate thread!
408
General Discussion / Re: Stuff you hate
« on: January 27, 2011, 04:10:11 pm »"the world tells me I'm not working hard enough if I have to achieve my goals whether I like it or not, but my soul tells me I'm working too hard and that I should chill out and enjoy the fruits of life. Art demands patience, but I'm not really rich enough to stay patient and think things over with calm mind. No matter how much time I make, I still keep getting distracted and frustrated, which eventually resulted in destroying my focus and capabilities to remember things well.
I feel you here, with the distractibility and the need for time you don't get to develop your art. I also struggle a lot between goalseeking and chilling out -- not just in the whole "the world wants me to spin my wheels" kind of way, though the world certainly does; but even in terms of my own goals... I have so many dreams and aspirations, but sometimes they feel cumbersome. What's the point if you aren't enjoying those fruits of life? I don't want goalseeking to get in the way of living-- but life doesn't feel complete or fully worthwhile without those goals.
Even if I wanted to be focused on achieving goals, I would be too distracted by my love of life to do so; even if I wanted to be completely content with everyday life, I'd still be restless as hell. Not precisely what you guys are talking about, but I think it's related.
This lecture on everyday happiness vs. satisfaction crystallizes it all for me--
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/779
But perhaps this is okay; in the words of William Blake, "without contraries there is no progression."
And yay for life-as-a-masquerade-- I quite agree! Perhaps the key is to enjoy it all for the roaring, messy, blistering drama that it is. The Hindu model of life as a cosmic play makes more and more sense to me these days.
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@Syna: Sorry, I just got a bit worried. XD Although I do know some awesome stories outside cinemas starring chicks, almost any "movie" I've known of the same kind actually was a chick flick, so I'm sorry if I unintentionally offended someone. I'll take a look at this Black Swan.
It's no problem, it was just worded a bit unfortunately. ^^ From what you've said, I think you will enjoy the movie!
409
General Discussion / Re: Stuff you LOVE, baby
« on: January 27, 2011, 03:41:39 pm »
Hurray for you! Maintaining and cultivating love for that long is no small feat.
Four years is a long time! Think of how many people have married and divorced within that period! At least that's what I've been doing.
Four years is a long time! Think of how many people have married and divorced within that period! At least that's what I've been doing.
410
Lavos, the Planet, and other Entities / Re: Lavos & the Dragon Gods
« on: January 26, 2011, 01:44:59 pm »
Does Lavos want to secure the Frozen Flame? I didn't have that impression, though it's possible given the "backup plan" theory of the TD. I thought it was moreso that the Arbiter was somehow key to the evolution into the TD.
Apologies if this has been settled.
Apologies if this has been settled.
411
General Discussion / Re: Stuff you LOVE, baby
« on: January 26, 2011, 01:46:29 am »Quote
@Syna: The way you described this Black Swan kinda made me wanna look into it, coz those psychological interpretations of something generic and innovative are right up my alley. But did you mean a movie about a woman? Hopefully not a chick flick?
XD Because the obvious responses have been posted...
(And Mr Bekkler, that is the most grotesque and shameless ripoff of Robert Rodriguez I have ever seen in my life)
It's just a movie with primarily female character. There is one male. Apparently, that is so rare that the immediate response is 'chick flick.'
Anyone who likes their thrillers on the more-subtle side will enjoy it, as well as anyone who is interested in psychology (especially depth/analytic psychology). If you are an artist, male or female, you may relate to it.
412
General Discussion / Re: Stuff you hate
« on: January 26, 2011, 01:41:18 am »Quote
Knew that. I think that's pretty common knowledge. Contrary to popular belief, I know quite a few women who do the same thing when they meet men.
Pretty much!
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But too many people fall under the fairytale assumption that love is easy and nice and safe, and then are in for a rude wake up call when they realize they're wrong. Love is great. It's fantastic. But it isn't easy.
Yeah, it's like Thought's quote: everything is so much scarier and darker and more frustrating and difficult than you could ever imagine; and why would you want it to be any differently? If you're going to grapple, really grapple, with the presence of the soul of another person in all its complexity, struggle is inevitable.
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Every moment for my happiness is one stolen from the illumination of humanity.
Those are intertwined goals, I think. You make humanity better by living a meaningful life. But maybe that's my copout answer; I think about that dilemma a lot myself. But I do believe that improving the world at the expense of a meaningful life is tragic, not a grand sacrifice.
413
General Discussion / Re: Stuff you hate
« on: January 25, 2011, 11:47:50 am »But wouldn't that just be intuition at first sight? I wouldn't say it was "love" at first sight, because I don't like using the word "love" lightly. It is such a deep and moving feeling-that-isn't-really-a-feeling that ages and matures with time and does not happen in a matter of moments.
Oh, yes, I certainly agree that "love" is deserving of a more lasting and deep connection, and needs to be earned, kind of.
That instantaneous recognition of the possibility of love is a really amazing (and sometimes alarming) experience in its own right, but it's just that-- the possibility of love.
I think people jump to the word love because they desperately want to experience the most meaningful and intense experiences life has to offer, and that's understandable; but IMHO that's because infatuation gets a bad rap. It's pretty fucking awesome when you're infatuated with someone! It's just not love yet.
(I admit to being a bit biased here because my own boyfriend of almost 4 years claims up and down that it was love at first sight for him, but I think he ultimately agrees with what we're saying. "Love at first sight" just makes a good story to tell friends maybe. ^^ And for my part, I experienced what you did, "wow this is someone I could really be connected to." )
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Not to mention that part of being in love is truly knowing another human being, something that cannot happen quickly.
On one hand, I definitely agree with this, but to extend the discussion a bit, I tend to think mystery is a crucial aspect of love. Not that you don't know the person, but I'm inclined to say that part of what you know is how deep and, in certain ways, unknowable they are. Having an SO for this long, I'm in no hurry to know everything about him. I enjoy the process of discovery. Just idle thoughts, though.
414
General Discussion / Re: Stuff you LOVE, baby
« on: January 24, 2011, 05:35:37 pm »
I love Black Swan. Love love love love love. I love the way it plays with cliches so daringly. I love the way it plays with the doppelganger folktale as a dark or moral double. I love the way it doesn't fucking care whether anything it portrays is actually real or not-- it's all about the psychological content.
I love that it is utterly unrepentant about showing dedication to art: the horrifying OCD self-mutilating aspects of it and the transcendent peak. This movie doesn't care to be a morality parable, it cares about portraying the intensity of experience.
I love that it is a movie about women, for once. I love that I can relate to it in terms of my female experience-- I don't know if that's ever happened before.
I saw it a month ago and my dreams are still fucked (and I love it).
I love that it is utterly unrepentant about showing dedication to art: the horrifying OCD self-mutilating aspects of it and the transcendent peak. This movie doesn't care to be a morality parable, it cares about portraying the intensity of experience.
I love that it is a movie about women, for once. I love that I can relate to it in terms of my female experience-- I don't know if that's ever happened before.
I saw it a month ago and my dreams are still fucked (and I love it).
415
General Discussion / Re: Stuff you hate
« on: January 24, 2011, 05:27:47 pm »I'm not even going to go into that whole "the two characters knew each other for about three weeks and fell head over heels in love" fairytale bullshit.
You know, I agree with you, and to extend your rant a bit, I wish people were more realistic about this. The truth is, I think, that so-called "love at first sight" does kind of happen, but it's more like this: you see someone, and you interact a bit with them, and your intuition tells you that you can forge a connection. It's more like "I could love this person" than "I love this person." And because you can be very, very wrong about this, it's not easy and straightforward and it does often take ages to sort out what it all means. It's a beautiful experience and it really does occur, but it's just as convoluted as any other romantic relationship or friendship.
See, to me, a story where people do feel and instantaneous connection but muddle through the quagmire of doubt and awkwardness and general weirdness sounds way more compelling than bam bam hearts and flowers. (ETA: Or, optionally, it's bam bam hearts and flowers and then she gets sucked through a time gate. ^_~) But some people aren't too fond of real complexity, I guess.
416
Kajar Laboratories / Re: Chrono Trigger Original Characters : Your Thoughts
« on: January 24, 2011, 12:55:38 pm »
I completely agree regarding formatting -- I've seen places where fanfiction in non-indented post form has worked successfully, in a flash-fiction sort of way, mostly on livejournal communities; but ff.net is just exceptionally bad, and it doesn't help that there is a general reviewwhoring system there (I liek your fanfic plz review mine). That said, I've read some really beautiful work at ff.net, and a few of the longer stories I watched throughout the years actually developed quite a following from the time I discovered them to their end. So good work does find its audience there, I think. For that reason, if I were to write fanfic, I would likely give it a chance, if only to reach a bigger audience -- but really, they DO suck.
I guess the challenge with creating any kind of original character in a fandom setting is to make it relevant to the reader's experience of the original work. The reader wants to hear about the original world and characters. That's why they're reading. It's an inherently different premise from a reader's approach to an original story, where they come to the work more openly, have fewer assumptions about what they want to take away. But if an original character does fill that need for the fanfic reader to experience more of the world they're interested in learning more about, it can certainly work very well. The most successful original characters I know of have been foils for other characters or been vehicles for exploration of parts of the story that weren't told, not so much distinct individuals in their own right, at least at first. The individuality came later.
I guess the challenge with creating any kind of original character in a fandom setting is to make it relevant to the reader's experience of the original work. The reader wants to hear about the original world and characters. That's why they're reading. It's an inherently different premise from a reader's approach to an original story, where they come to the work more openly, have fewer assumptions about what they want to take away. But if an original character does fill that need for the fanfic reader to experience more of the world they're interested in learning more about, it can certainly work very well. The most successful original characters I know of have been foils for other characters or been vehicles for exploration of parts of the story that weren't told, not so much distinct individuals in their own right, at least at first. The individuality came later.
417
Kajar Laboratories / Re: King Zeal - WIP
« on: January 19, 2011, 02:20:22 pm »
He's got that wonderful family resemblance going, glare of absolute insanity in his eyes and everything. Awesome job.
418
Chrono / Gameplay Casual Discussion / Re: Is Magus really all that cool?
« on: January 19, 2011, 02:16:15 pm »...As powerful as Magus is, he needs to join forces to win against Lavos.
Totally not true. At least, when he's level **, as proven by these two videos. Yeah, the guy did a hack, but still. If Crono can do it, so can Magus.
Oh yeah, from a gameplay perspective, sure - any of the characters could I would imagine. But from a plot perspective, no.
419
General Discussion / Re: Video Game Discussion Thread
« on: January 19, 2011, 02:12:08 pm »Quote
The DLC era may even be an enormous bank heist.
I'm in the game industry, kinda, so I want to balance this out a bit by saying: thanks to Gamestop, used games are a strong market, and game companies tend to make some absurd percentage of their sales through preorders and immediate purchases. They need extra revenue. Believe me-- it's in the best interests of the gamers AND the developers for games to have more methods to bring in income than just those first sales. If they don't have those methods, publishers will ONLY invest in safe blockbusters.
DLC can be done WELL. A lot of the DLC I buy is for games that were already massive in scope, and so I don't mind buying "extras." I have definitely bought DLC that was not worth my money, but I've also bought some truly phenomenal additions. The DLC presents a new medium for developers to work in; it's like a "short story" addition to the main game.
I'm not saying you shouldn't buy used games, but nobody's forcing you to buy DLC, you know? Games are self-contained without it-- if they aren't, you have every right to complain, but I've seen no game with DLC that was necessary to continue forth the main story. It's all gravy. Sometimes delicious, delicious gravy.
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Indeed, scaling-back graphics in exchange for content is a possible solution, but the gaming press won't look very kindly on it.
It's absolutely true, but there's hope. Take Fallout New Vegas, a game whose merits mostly lie in its story and atmosphere and characters. That game was panned for being backward in terms of graphics and full of more bugs than an ant's nest, but it still made numerous top 20 lists, often with reviewers saying that the game was important in spite of its technical failings. That's progress, I hope!
420
General Discussion / Re: Video Game Discussion Thread
« on: January 19, 2011, 02:10:49 pm »So that's what it was, lack of unified vision. Pressure from the committee of leader-men to get the game out "on time" anyway. Why make obscure pointless deadlines if it works adversely on the quality of your product, and worse, why stick to them when you see what you're doing isn't getting finished on time?
I'll leave the subject alone now.
This is what I deal with every day of my life.
Game developers, games are like anything else: you get fast, cheap, or good. Pick two already!! :/