Underwaterbob

u/Underwaterbob@sh.itjust.works
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Star Trek Voyager. Hilariously I see I'm not alone in here.

The plan is to then move onto post-Voyager shows none of which I've watched at all (this is probably my third time through everything up to Voyager, though.) I started with TOS maybe three years ago? Taking my time.

Maybe Gravity's Rainbow? It runs the gamut from repulsive to laugh-out-loud funny. It's also very long, bizarre, and frequently difficult to parse. Truthfully, I did not enjoy reading it a whole lot, but I did get all the way through and some of it very much stuck with me. It probably deserves a re-read, but I'm not sure I have it in me.

I bought an Edwin Jagger DE89 10-12 years ago when I got tired of chasing the XX number of blades shaving dragon, and I use Dorco double edged blades which are about $10 for a hundred. A decent shaving brush and whatever soap is lying around. Works for me!

It's not always survivorship bias. Lupins grow everywhere where I grew up, but many people couldn't get them growing in their gardens until it was discovered that putting the seeds in a bag of sand and shaking it a bit emulates the rocky soil they prefer scratching their seeds which makes them germinate.

I finally got around to Animal Well. I went in blind, and I'd highly recommend anyone else interested do the same. Don't read anymore if you don't want gameplay spoilers.

::: spoiler spoiler I thought it was a fantastic puzzle platformer up to a point. It does a very good job of hinting at what you need to do rather than outright telling you. I thought it was perfectly balanced right up to the first time you see the credits roll.

I probably should have stopped at that point because much of the post-game content (of which there is a lot) just got too obtuse. We're taking La Mulana levels of insanity. I ended up using a guide to get all the eggs, and I decided to not even bother with a whole bunch of other stuff.

There is an abyssal depth of content here for anyone who wants to make a 2D puzzle platformer their lifestyle for a significant duration. Keep in mind I guess there are some puzzles that are even unsolvable on your own and were only deciphered by a community effort. :::

Whatever your thoughts, there is no denying this game is an achievement.

A couple from from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series have always stood out to me:

The Infinite Improbability Drive is used to propel a spaceship by means of increasing improbability to infinity. It ramps up improbability at your departure point until you are literally everywhere at once since everything is possible, then ramps it back down leaving you at your destination. The offshoot being a whole lot of highly improbable other things happen in the vicinity.

The Total Perspective Vortex is a machine that upon entering gives one a perfect sense of perspective of the entirety of existence (which it derives from a piece of cake.) No one emerges sane. It was invented by a guy to get his wife to stop nagging him.

One is impossible.

  • Rush - Grace Under Pressure (Moving Pictures is fantastic and the cliche choice, but there's something about this one I love.)
  • The Knife - Silent Shout (Some reviewer called it "Haunted House" and that is the perfect descriptor. Eerie and intriguing electronic music.)
  • The For Carnation - The For Carnation (What became of Slint after Spiderland. This one doesn't get anywhere near as much recognition, but I think it's the more mature work overall. Groovy, minimalist post-rock.)
  • The Delgados - The Great Eastern (Hard to choose between their albums, too, but I think this one was a perfect straddling of their rockier bits and their symphonic dreampop that they leaned hard into later on. Great band!)
  • R.E.M. - Life's Rich Pageant (This one or its followup: Document which won them more accolades, but I think is slightly less consistent. Their peak-songwriting, IMO.)
  • Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children (I know a lot of people love everything they've done, but I think they've never really topped the atmosphere of this one.)
  • Cocteau Twins - Treasure (At the time there was nothing else like it. There still isn't quite.)
  • The Afghan Whigs - 1965 (One of their less-popular albums, but I think Dulli and co nailed the RnB rock formula with this one. Their newer stuff is also pretty great.)
  • Basement Jaxx - Rooty (I'm torn between this and Kish Kash. Rooty is maybe slightly more consistent. Wall-to-wall banging big beat pop tunes. Fantastic production.)
  • Vektor - Terminal Redux (I went through a metal phase for some years, and this one still stands out. Amazing thrash-prog with a vocalist who sounds like a banshee from outer space. Amazing stuff!)
  • Skeletonwitch - Devouring Radiant Light (Gonna catch hell for this one. They were a very popular thrash band, then they fired their singer and went black metal. It was an unpopular decision with most of their fans. I think they knocked it out of the park. They haven't made an album since, though..)
  • Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot - The Son of Chico Dusty (The [somewhat] underrated member of Outkast. This album goes hard. Lots of interesting collabs, too.)
  • Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow (Peak alt-hip-hop IMO. RIP Gift of Gab)
  • Glenn Gould's recording of the Goldberg Variations.

I'd better stop...