CuriousCat Archive Page 121 of 202

  2. Does Ben Shapiro know he's courting dudes who are Nazis and KKKs or is he in denial?

    yes

  4. what'd you think of hbombs new video? I personally really enjoyed it

    It was good! Harry doesn't make bad videos.

  5. Did you play the original Prey back in the day?

    when the original Prey came out I had a Mac

  6. Are you at all interested in doing collab work with other leftists on YouTube?

    kiiiiiiind of? I've always been really possessive about my work, both in perfectionist ways and also because I'm pretty conflict avoidant and worry I'll just do whatever the other person wants rather than advocate for my own ideas. but there's a lot I want to do in this lifetime and I'd get through more of it if I didn't do it all alone, so I'm starting to dip a toe in collaborative work. got a couple things in the pipeline, but none are with "breadtubers" at the moment.

  7. What's the easiest book you've read?

    every once in a while one of those page-turners come out, like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime or The Alchemist that you can just burn through in an afternoon and enjoy but never think about again

    that's as easy as it gets

  8. Why are so many celebrities and public figures bad at apologies? How come no one is media savvy enough to realize that tweeting "I'm sorry if anyone was offended" will just make them look worse?

    wealth is correlated with decreases in empathy and they face no real consequences for giving bad apologies so why would they give a shit how it "looks"?

  10. What's the hardest book you've read?

    Dhalgren took me three tries

  11. (different anon) I think the important word here is "used." When you buy a game used the profit doesn't go to the creators. This makes it a different ethical question than just paying for things vs not paying for things.

    in response to Is purchasing video games used functionally identical to piracy?

    when you buy a game for $60 most of that money goes to the retailer and the publisher. the rest goes to the company and the shareholders. the actual creators are paid a flat salary regardless of how well the game does, and have no guarantee of not getting sacked even if it's a success.

    I'm not really coming down against piracy here. I like the idea of used games because I think products have value, and that, once you buy something, you should own it and have a right to resell it, and exchanging money acknowledges that it still has value even when it's used. I believe people should be compensated for their labor. but I also recognize that capitalism *doesn't* compensate people for their labor and that piracy can be a way of refusing to participate in that exploitation, or a way of experiencing culture you otherwise can't afford.

    but buying games used and pirating them are still different, even if they are different ways of dealing with the same problem. but this is all moot anyway, because, in the digital age, "used game" is an increasingly antiquated concept.

  12. Not Inside Out?

    in response to What is the best Pixar film of the 2010s?

    it's the other real contender. if Riley had more of a personality it would have won.

  13. Is purchasing video games used functionally identical to piracy?

    "is paying for something the same as not paying for something?"

  14. Unfun learning: have you seen that Avellone is apparently a sex pest? :(

    in response to Newest FUN thing you've learned?

    welp

  15. What is the best Pixar film of the 2010s?

    Coco

  16. How are you today?

    I have kept the fear at bay semi-admirably today

  17. [leading question to see if you agree with me about Discourse Thing]

    [deconstruction of question in lieu of answer]

  18. That sounds authoritarian.

    in response to Newest thing you've learned

    you must be new here

  19. Was Gorbachev a well-mentioned reformer or a traitor to communism ideals?

    I'ma go with "yes"

  20. Newest FUN thing you've learned?

    in response to Newest thing you've learned

    Chris Avellone co-wrote Prey

  21. Related, is a chickpea a bean?

    in response to Favorite bean

    garbanzo bean

  22. Who's hotter: Brian david gilbert or carlos maza?

    yes

  23. Horniest you'd willing to be on main

    I use this GIF a lot when my friends post attractive selfies. Feels like a non-creepy way to express appreciation.

  24. Your longest held opinion

    kindness is good, actually

  25. Newest thing you've learned

    I just learned Trump is floating the idea of delaying the election.

  26. Favorite bean

    black-eyed pea

  27. What I hate most about wokescold as a concept is that there is a legitimate(ly small yet loud) population of people in the Left who express their politics by telling you That Thing You Enjoy Is Terrible Actually And You're Terrible For Liking It, and we can't discuss how that's an unhelpful and counterproductive use of time without sounding like we agree with Ben Shapiro on some level

    in response to What does the term 'wokescold' even mean? It sounds like some right wing nonsense

    yeah, the same thing happened with "social justice warrior" and "virtue signalling." any term of internal critique will be hijacked to claim it applies to the entire Left.

  28. why does my face feel like you punched it?

    that's what good video essays do

  29. What does the term 'wokescold' even mean? It sounds like some right wing nonsense

    it was coined by Ben Shapiro so yeah

  31. When liberals use the term 'bernie bros' are they just referring to class reductionists or leftists in general?

    most liberals don't know what a class reductionist is. generally when a liberal says "bernie bro" they mean sexists who like Bernie primarily because they hate Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren, who were his nearest competitors. there is sometimes the implication that sexism is rampant among leftists as a way of softly dismissing leftism, though not always.

    it's deeply frustrating, because there *are* problems with sexism in leftist spaces, and there *were* people who unhealthily over-invested in Bernie, and some of the hate for Clinton and Warren *was* misogynist. but liberals opportunistically seized on that narrative, hugely exaggerated it, and spun it to write off the entire Left, in ways that legitimately hurt both Sanders' campaigns. and because liberals used it so disingenuously, it's now really, really hard, as a leftist, to talk about the legitimate problems without other leftists immediately accusing you of being an opportunistic liberal.

    basically it sucks.

  32. Idk, how else are we supposed to interpret the unicorn-dream/origami thing?

    in response to Is Deckard a replicant?

    Gaff just makes origami and happening to leave Deckard a unicorn shortly after Deckard dreamed of one wouldn't be a startling coincidence. If it were indisputable, OP wouldn't still be asking the question 30+ years later.

  33. Is butt legs?

    no opinion

  34. Why is changing to a proportional voting system not more popular among leftists? Most of them would rather just abstain or vote third party and act like it changes anything.

    not "most of them," just the ones you're paying attention to on Twitter

    I can't deny those ones are really loud, but I have to keep reminding myself they are not the whole movement and, in fact, rarely hold any position of power

  36. I'm never sure how to respond to white people saying that: "it's racist that black people are allowed to call each other the n-word but I am not". What should I do or say?

    I don't know what changes their mind, but I'd be curious in asking them why they want to say it so badly. Because it seems it's mostly because they don't like being told they can't. And I'd like to see them try to spin "I don't like that Black people have something white people don't" as not racist.

    I'm sure they will find a way to spin it. But I want to know how.

  37. Why Brie Larson or Elizabeth Debicki as Samus Aran?

    "Brie Larson for Samus Aran" just became a meme, and, while I adore Brie, Samus is canonically 6'3". Hence Elizabeth Debicki. Gwendoline Christie is also a fantastic choice.

    Brie Larson for Samus' girlfriend because Brie needs to be in the movie regardless to piss off shitty gamer boiz.

  39. What are your favorite open-world games?

    Breath of the Wild

    (haven't played many)

  40. Is Deckard a replicant?

    it is critical to the interpretation of Blade Runner both that you ask this question and that you not get an answer

  41. Is Captain Falcon the mascot of Smash at this point

    of Melee, maybe, but I dunno how central he is to Ultimate

  42. I'm I a coward for not hitting the streets in protest because I'm worried my parents would kick me out while I'm looking for work post graduation

    look, the idea of collective action is that we distribute the work according to our skills and ability. there are people hitting the streets; your personal attendance doesn't matter much. but there are probably ways you can contribute that *don't* fuck up your life. do that.

  43. Any good examples of stories that don't make carnivorous animals out to be villains for being carnivores? I don't think you'd be any kind of expert on this but just curious

    We're Back: A Dinosaur Story is weird in that it increases the T-Rex's intelligence to the point where he feels remorse for having been a predator towards the other dinosaurs, but they eat like MOUNTAINS of hot dogs.

  44. Thanks for the approval.

    On that note, what are your thoughts on the last two good Call Of Duty games, Modern Warfare 1 and Modern Warfare 2? From what I know, the former actually has some relatively smart things to say about the usage of the American military and warfare in general, while the latter’s plot is dumb enough and has enough of a character focus to be mostly harmless and inoffensive (to me, at least) and both are great, Hollywood rollercoasters.

    in response to Apologies. And unfortunately, I am arrogant enough to believe that I am capable of writing just that, or at least being Hollywood enough to not really have that problem (since it’s a fanfic based on JoJo that’s focused on a fictional organization of vampire hunters, a la Hellsing)

    and what elements in those games were so popular that they drove the rest of the series?

    jingoism and embrace of the military.

  45. Okay then. To what extent should a person be horrible to where you should stop giving money to them? Because while you DID consider buying Ion Fury, I imagine none of us are going to be buying a Ubisoft game anytime soon. So where’s the line?

    in response to To what extent does the maxim "separate art from the artist" hold up?

    you gotta draw that line yourself

  46. To what extent does the maxim "separate art from the artist" hold up?

    it's interesting how people say "death of the author" when they're talking about the theoretical tradition of prioritizing the reader's interpretation over the author's intent, but they say "separate the art from the artist" when they're talking about continuing to give money to a horrible person

    you can, to a degree, do the first thing, but the second isn't so hot

  47. Apologies.

    And unfortunately, I am arrogant enough to believe that I am capable of writing just that, or at least being Hollywood enough to not really have that problem (since it’s a fanfic based on JoJo that’s focused on a fictional organization of vampire hunters, a la Hellsing)

    in response to I hate to be an angry jack here, but since when are stories about soldiers, no matter what stance the story takes on their actions, so problematic that I should be sent to twitter jail?

    you do you, fam

  48. couldn't you just write a story about a cop and/or soldier who, in the course of the story, comes to question the systems and institutions they have devoted themselves to? perhaps with an end in which either they break ranks from and/or in some way subvert the system, or they remain a cop or soldier but it's made very clear that this decision is a bad thing

    in response to I hate to be an angry jack here, but since when are stories about soldiers, no matter what stance the story takes on their actions, so problematic that I should be sent to twitter jail?

    yes, you could, and it could be interesting, but look:

    that's what you'd do if you wanted to write a story about a cop but didn't want to be a dick about it

    but if you wanted to tell a story about how the cops are bad, you'd do better to write one about the people the cops are shitty to

    I'm not saying no one can ever tell stories about cops, but I am going to ask, "why do you want to center your story on a cop in the first place?"

  50. I hate to be an angry jack here, but since when are stories about soldiers, no matter what stance the story takes on their actions, so problematic that I should be sent to twitter jail?

    in response to So how does one write a story from the perspective of a soldier, Federal agent, or something similar, without coming across as excessively problematic?

    please don't invent reactions, ascribe them to me, and then disagree with me based on them; no one brought up twitter jail

    in the same way I question whether you can write a cop story that doesn't support the institution of policing, I question whether you can write a solider story that doesn't support the military-industrial complex

    this is me talking to a writer before the story is written, not saying what should be done with them after

  54. What do you think of the trend of kickstarter backed games promising to be retro games by well known devs (Might no9, Yooka Laylee, Broken Age, Shenmue 3) turning out really bad?

    the only one of those I've played is Broken Age, and, while it's kinda muddled, I wouldn't call it "bad"

    also shenmue was always bad

  55. "the reason liberals don't respond as much to phone calls and emails is because the Left doesn't do it as good as the Right does."

    Why do you think that is like that?

    in response to is calling/emailing your representatives ever useful? feels like they don't really ever listen so it'd be pointless to bother unless they're one of the Squad

    the Right's "only we are righteous and must win at any cost" mentality brings them together more than the Left's focus with process and diversity of thought (and establishment liberals would rather lose on their own terms than win by moving left)

  56. I live in Missouri can you help me out with getting people to vote for Democrats this election

    not really my department I'm afraid

  57. So how does one write a story from the perspective of a soldier, Federal agent, or something similar, without coming across as excessively problematic?

    you say that like this is a story you can't help but write

  58. Regardless of who wins in November, are you hoping the resurgence in socialist thought in the US continues full steam ahead?

    of course

    I've seen this enough times in my life so it's hard to feel hopeful that this one will lead to change, but I always want it keep going

  59. Do you think that Oscar Bait will go away as a singular concept as academy members die and are replaced or will the type of movie that is called Oscar Bait will just change?

    in response to Do you believe "Oscar Bait" is a real thing (as in, people behind are thinking "THIS will definitely get me that statue!"), or just sneering at certain movie genres?

    as long as awards exist, what the awarding body likes will color what gets made. it might be less significant in time, and what the Oscars like will undoubtedly evolve, but that's just how incentives work.

  60. What does one do with the knowledge that their fave is problematic?

    accept that all faves are problematic, decide where you draw the line, determine whether that fav is short of or past it, and, either abandon said fav or continue to like them while consciously engaging with the ways they are problematic

  61. the Democrats have to know that following the trajectory of the Republican Party in 2016 by nominating Bernie Sanders would have given them a decent shot at winning the election, right?

    they're not stupid

    in response to Do you think that, just as the Republicans have a "who else are you going to vote for?" attitude towards their super-racist base, the Dems have the same attitude towards their black/women/LGBT coalition?

    Well, let's restate, for the record, that "The Democrats" don't decide who the nominee is, Biden got the nom over Sanders because he got more votes. But, acknowledging that the Democratic establishment threw their weight behind Biden out the gate and clearly wanted him to win, let's talk about why.

    Most Dem politicians are fairly centrist. Yes, nominating Sanders could win them the election, but what happens if Sanders becomes the face of the Democratic Party? What happens if he actually passes some of his progressive, left-ish policy? You know, the stuff that most of them have been saying is too radical for their entire careers? What if he shows it's not? If that's the direction the Party goes, how likely are Democratic Senators and Representatives to get re-elected if they get primaried by the next Ocasio-Cortez?

    You're right: they're not stupid.

  62. Best and worst Danny Boyle movies?

    I'm gonna go with 28 Days Later for best, and I guess The Beach for worst? I still haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire or Yesterday, which both looked... pretty bad. And I have a soft spot for A Life Less Ordinary even though it's trash.

    Trainspotting was one of my fav movies when I was a teenager, because of course it was.

  63. is calling/emailing your representatives ever useful? feels like they don't really ever listen so it'd be pointless to bother unless they're one of the Squad

    yes, it's useful. one of the primary reasons politicians are so divorced from what the public wants is because they spend all their time talking to lobbyists. Lawrence Lessig talks about how frustrating it was talking to politicians about copyright law because they had literally never *heard* of Creative Commons, or the idea that some people don't *want* their material copyrighted. they only hear from businesses that try to defend copyright.

    also most politicians are genuinely afraid of their constituency and if they get the sense that lots of voters are mad at them they worry they won't get reelected. so, absolutely, call your representatives.

    the problem is, it requires a lot of people calling to influence policy, and it's such a gradual process that, when policy changes, you may not recognize you had anything to do with it. (certainly the politicians aren't going to say "flooding me with emails definitely changed my mind," they don't want to encourage people to keep doing it.)

    but literally the reason Republicans are so committed to defending gun rights despite the large majority of the country - even a large chunk of Republican voters - are in favor of gun reform is because gun nuts are *extremely* committed to phone tree and email campaigns.

    the reason liberals don't respond as much to phone calls and emails is because the Left doesn't do it as good as the Right does.

  64. Do you believe "Oscar Bait" is a real thing (as in, people behind are thinking "THIS will definitely get me that statue!"), or just sneering at certain movie genres?

    Well, there are movies studios produce knowing they probably won't do numbers at the box office but will increase the studio's prestige by getting awards, and they deliberately pick scripts that appeal to Academy voters. While this doesn't mean the directors, writers, and stars are tailoring the work towards that end, that's why the studio is bothering the make some dour weepy in the first place.

    And what Academy voters like is pretty common knowledge. Like, screenwriters must know that, if they set their drama in LA and instead of, say, Cincinnati, it'll be more likely to get produced because that's what the Academy likes and they can pitch it as an awards darling. And, while it doesn't mean actors don't believe in the film and *just* want awards, they can tell which films are more award-friendly, and obviously it's good for their careers if they get an award. Same for directors.

    While I'm sure there are some crass productions with people solely involved because they're chasing the statue, I don't think that's the norm. But awards are an incentive, and incentives influence how studios, filmmakers, screenwriters, and performers behave. So you end up with this certain type of film being common in December.

  65. Who's your favourite Joe? Mine is Shoeless Joe Jackson

    I'm gonna go with Versus the Volcano

  66. Do you think that, just as the Republicans have a "who else are you going to vote for?" attitude towards their super-racist base, the Dems have the same attitude towards their black/women/LGBT coalition?

    often

  67. favorite rhyme?

    if you like these rhymes, say "woo" and throw a penny
    how many do I have? heyyyyy, d'you know how many
    donuts fit into eight uhauls?
    I got so much new shit that I take two stalls
    -Jonny 5

  69. I think they mean pest control in cities such as using poison to control rat populations.

    in response to Sorry if you've answered this before, but as a vegan what's your view on the eradication of pests and introduced animals that can cause damage to local ecosystems?

    Ah, yes, I misread.

    I don't really know, I'm not super in favor of fucking up ecosystems with introduced species in the first place. I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all solution to that problem once it exists, though.

  70. I just wanted to say that your videos are always such a treat, and that I genuinely get so excited whenever you release something new! I was wondering if you have any content creators on youtube (or anywhere else!) whose work you often look forward to in this way?

    Well, my viewing habits are different lately. Many of the people I subscribe to make political videos, and lately the world has been so stressful and overwhelming that it's hard to feel *excited* for 40-minute dissections of racism and the horrors of capitalism. So I don't leap for joy at new Philosophy Tube or Carlos Maza videos like I used to. Even What's So Great About That, which I'm always thrilled to see an update from, still doesn't get watched for a few days because they're so dense with information and my brain is just so *tired* these days.

    My most reliable "yes I will watch this immediately" videos are still Errant Signal.

  71. Should we go back to Tumblr

    nah, we have onlyfans now

  72. Surely Ottomans, though

    in response to But Ian, Chairs???

    how dare you

  73. are puns truth? are rhymes truth? is communication for communication’s sake evil, and communication for elegance’s sake good?

    yes yes no yes

  74. Sorry if you've answered this before, but as a vegan what's your view on the eradication of pests and introduced animals that can cause damage to local ecosystems?

    I feel like you don't have to be vegan to think that destroying ecosystems to make a few more dollars on crop yields is a good idea...?

Anon commented:
Ian replied: