Mod Post: Off-Topic Tuesday

[icon_uk]

In the comments to these weekly posts (and only these posts), it's your chance to go as off topic as you like.

Talk about non-comics stuff, thread derail, and just generally chat among yourselves.

The intent of these posts is to chat and have some fun and, sure, vent a little as required. Reasoned debate is fine, as always, but if you have to ask if something is going over the line, think carefully before posting please.

Normal board rules about conduct and behaviour still apply, of course.

It's been suggested that, if discussing spoilers for recent media events, it might be advisable to consider using the rot13 method to prevent other members seeing spoilers in passing.

The world situation is the world situation. If you're following the news, you know it as much as I do, if you're not, then there are better sources than scans_daily. But please, no doomscrolling, for your own sake.

Dealing with a crap-nami at work following a client applying a software update (which we DID advise against them making.. repeatedly... and as strenuously as we were allowed), so must leave this VERY short, alas.

Comments

[numeronone]

HYDRATE, please. Heatwave is rising where I am, and I've already skirted dangerously close to heatstroke once this season.

[numeronone]

For those of you concerned about generative AI taking jobs and causing problems:

There is apparently now a rising industry for professionals who get paid to mindfully fix the problems that AI mindlessly causes;

Mainstream media institutions are beginning to openly discuss the unsustainability of AI tools;

And despite the meaningless blatherings of AI "leaders" in tech, the newest models are getting LESS intelligent with each new update, and the lie that an autonomous intelligent mind is "a few years away" is growing ever starker.

[leahandillyana]

My health has been getting much worse. I've had a surgery on Friday that hopelly will resolve some of my problems. I am now having my first week off this year (company forbade us from taking non-emergency days off between 12/25/2024 and 7/4/2025 due to a major fusion). I am slightly sad because for unrelated reasons my pay will be pernamently lowered by 10% and my disability group was lowered, which results in me losing most of my physical and financiary accommodations. Still, my pay is higher than a year ago and I wasn't using my accommodations at all, so it's not much of a loss. I just like to have some safety net just in case.
Somebody was selling a collection of 20 Re:Zero novel volumes dirt cheap (they were roughly an euro per volume, it would be a shame not to buy them even if I eneded up not liking the series) so I bought it to have something to do when fighting insomnia. The only things I knew beforehand was that the protagonist's sole superpower was the ability to mentally travel a few days in the past after he dies and a gif of two girls kissing. It's not a bad series, but it's not a good series either. I haven't found in it anything interesting that wasn't already done better in other stories. For those who are more familiar with it in me, did I correctly read the foreshadowing that the protagonist will eventually become a villain?
I am planning on writing a few meta/introductionary posts on extremelly controversial subjects/themes/subcultures in (mostly) manga, similar to the post I wrote on Fate series. All posts will be age restricted. I wanted to write them for a long time, but was always afraid of the backlash mentioning those things usually causes.

[mastermahan]

Personally, I would love to read some posts about manga drama.

I hope your recovery goes smoothly. Surgery is rough.

[tripodeca113]

oh good they officially announced their making RWBY volume ten.

Read Robin Year One. That was a good story (silly me I had Chuck Dixon mixed up with Chuck Austen)

Watched Adventure Time Distant Lands. A much better finale than season nine was.
It's nice to see them making up for lost time with Marceline and Princess Bubblegum's relationship.

Well that's Andor season two done. Yes they parred most of their plans down to the core character's and it mostly works, expect for the jarring gap and how they talk about how much the Rebellion has grown (something we didn't see)

I get that the first story arc involves him being separated from his loved ones, but the plot of him being captured by some incompetent Rebels felt a bit disconnected from the rest of the show.
I guess it was meant to show the issues with the more divided early rebellion, possibly with some comedy but I didn't find it very amusing.

oh good gurl yrg gur yrfovnaf bhg bs gur pybfrg.....sbe gur rcvfbqr va juvpu bar bs gurz trgf xvyyrq
guvf fubj jvyy abg or jvaavat nal TYNNQ njneqf.....

They felt the need to explain why certain details didn't quite line up with an episode of Rebels and I think that annoyed me more than the inconsistencies would have.

After episode nine I thought that it kind of felt like the show should be over. I assumed they'd use the last three episodes to get everything in place for Rogue One in a more or less competent way, and start lining all the character who weren't in that movie up against the wall.

I guess the last few episodes were okay, but they did suffer from having to introduce a lot of things here, rather than seeding them more naturally throughout the season. A limitation of 'three episodes per year' I suppose.

[iamrman]

I was rhinking of starting to post some Preboot Legion of Super-heroes but wasn't sure where to start. I have both volumes of the Superboy and the Legion trades (issue 234 onwards.) Should I start before that? Is the Jim Shooter run worth checking out? When does Cosmic Boy first go full chest out? I don't want to go right to the beginning as I have already read the Silver Age issues and didn't care for them. I can only take so much of the Legion gaslighting poor Superboy.

[skjam]

The Shooter run is definitely worth checking out, as he was indeed a child prodigy and he put actual effort into giving the Legionnaires slightly different personalities from each other, as well as keeping a bit closer track of continuity. That said, we're still in Silver Age wackiness.

[malurette]

Twenty years late to the party I've finally watched New Who's season #1! ...well, minus The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. Alas, search engines and Youtube's search function are proving difficult; is there a way to get a compilation of scenes where just Nine, Rose & Jack interact *without* any gasmask zombie in it? please pretty please? It took me years to get over that stupid phobia, I'm not taking any chance of reigniting it now.

[sadoeuphemist]

Got a story published, if anyone would like to read it:

https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/what-else-what-else-in-the-joyous-city/

[cygnia]

If anyone is in the Cleveland area, the short film I co-starred in ("Slapped") is finally making its debut on the 12th at the Larchmere Cultural Arts Festival :)

https://thelandcle.org/stories/larchmere-launches-1st-cultural-arts-festival-to-be-held-july-11-13/

[scorntx]

Had a bit of a splurge at the local comic shop. And a misunderstanding on the deal lead to getting... slightly more than I was after.
Oops.

A hero with a suit of powered armour, making unilateral decisions that inevitably backfire and piss off everyone around them.
... they had the Epic Collection of Armor Wars, finally. Woo!
Gosh, but 80s Tony is so... ... different from Modern Tony.
And I don't just mean the perm.
The Stratosfire story... oooft.
"She's gone rogue! She's causing property damage for a rapacious energy company who murdered her 'best friend', but still, she's crossed The Line! The Line! We have to kill her before she hurts anyone! Never mind depowering her or talking her down, kill her! But maybe... she has a point?"
(Seriously. She threatens a space shuttle, but is immediately talked down before she actually harms anyone, and yet Tony still watches her get straight-up murdered without batting an eye.
And then no-one ever mentions her ever again.)

also got a Hulk Epic Collection. Didn't realise it was just going to be more of... uggggh... the Pantheon...


Lego advertising upcoming sets for the next bit of Rebuild the Galaxy.
oooh, orange lightsaber. Oooooh, fuchsia lightsabers!
(oh and hey a set with asajj ventress.)


So. Um. That Ironheart ending.
Errm.
Errr.
Well, if that's the way you wanna go about it... but it's not really a good look.
Like, at all.
(I mean, if Riri said she had some sort of plan or something, that'd be one thing, but just going into it apparently assuming it will all turn out fine apart from anything else makes her look... kind of stupid.)

Ultimate Incursion 2 out th' morrae, with the solicits promising the secret origin of NUU Jan.
Presumably doesn't involve her dad being killed by a gamma powered monster from a micro-dimension, but you never know.
"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a giant woman."

[iamrman]

"A hero with a suit of powered armour, making unilateral decisions that inevitably backfire and piss off everyone around them."

That could have been any Iron Man story, so I appreciate you specifying it was Armor Wars.

[skjam]

Had a good time at ConVergence. My panels were all on the first day. One of my fellow panelists on "The Value of 19th Century Science Fiction" complimented me on my knowledge of the subject matter (she'd only started reading SF again recently as her social justice novel suddenly needed to be science fiction.) I also enjoyed my "Creating Memorable Characters for RPGs" and "I'm Not Reading That If the Dog Dies" panels. "Old School Anime" (pre-2000s) was surprisingly well-attended for being during the same time as Opening Ceremonies, and as a special treat, one of the panelists brought along a bunch of DVDs and toys he was downsizing to give away in a drawing.

Lots of other stuff done too, was glad I'd taken Monday off to recover.

Behind on updating my blog, so here's a List Challenge of Popular Movies: https://www.listchallenges.com/skjam-watches-popular-movies

[ladymidath]

I am going to see the new Superman movie this afternoon, so I am looking forward to that. I finished reading Stephen King's Never Flinch and I am still loving Holly Gibney.
That's about it.