CuriousCat Archive Page 21 of 202

  1. Are you saying there's a chance a vote for Trump ISN'T a vote for genocide, whereas a vote for Biden definitely, for sure IS one?

    in response to Is a vote for Biden a vote for genocide?

    Trump is embedded in a much more overtly genocidal politics than Biden, but has also proven in many ways dysfunctional when in power. given that his party is being pretty explicit in how hard they would support the genocide of Palestine, and is outlining how they would fully destroy democratic institutions if back in power, and Trump himself has THRILLED at the idea of being a dictator, I don't think "let the Republicans win and hope they fuck all that up" is a great strategy. but, yeah, I have to acknowledge that, if Biden wins, and feels emboldened by that to continue in his practice of supporting the genocide of Palestine, I will always wonder if Trump could have been as EFFECTIVELY genocidal. however it plays, we won't get to see the alternate timeline and see which was worse.

  2. Are your hate boners more justified than the one for Second Thought? I don't think Peter Coffin for example has nearly a big an audience as Second Thought. Is this a false premise?

    in response to how do we deplatform second thought

    I'm trying to politely cover my hate boner with a napkin, please don't ask about it

  3. What do you think of Brianna Wu's politics today? (Not trying to stoke drama or anything, I'm genuinely curious)

    they're bad, and very, very ignorant.

  4. Do you think the reason tankies don’t like Orwell is because he was a socialist who was critical of the Soviet Union? Like, I doubt they would dislike Orwell if he was a fascist because then he would have written Animal Farm and 1984 just to disparage socialism rather than critiquing authoritarianism, and no leftist would have taken him seriously.

    I mean, yeah

  5. If Israel dropped a nuke on Gaza today, would that be considered a genocide? If so, then why aren't the atomic bombings of Japan considered a genocide?

    in response to Is a vote for Biden a vote for genocide?

    genocide is not about bodycount, it's about the destruction of a people. the Holocaust was a genocide not because it killed 6 million people - more than 4x as many Russians died in World War 2. it was a genocide because it was an attempt to eradicate the European Jewish population. 27 million Russians died out of a total of 170 million; 6 million European Jews died out a total 9.5 million. that's nearly 2/3. I think that was something like 1/3 of all Jews in the world at the time. the loss of culture is immeasurable. that's what makes it genocide.

    when the US nuked Japan, it killed between 150,000 and 225,000 out of a population of 70 million. if Israel nuked Palestine, it would be the end of Palestine. this is why bombing universities and forced relocation are defined as genocide, even if the body count were low (which it is not), because it's the destruction of culture. genocide is the destruction of a PEOPLE, and when you displace a whole culture and destroy their museums and libraries, you take their culture from them. that is genocide no matter how many die.

    but, also: Israel is killing almost all of them.

    the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a war crime and one of the greatest atrocities ever committed. the genocide of Palestine is a different war crime, a different atrocity. only one is a genocide.

  6. Any games you are looking forward to?

    here's the current hype list:

    GAMES:
    Selaco
    Core Decay
    Radio the Universe
    Skin Deep
    Loco Motive
    The Drifter
    Dead Horizon
    Fallen Aces
    Disdain
    Where Birds Go to Sleep
    Captain Wayne
    The Last Exterminator
    The M/S Cornelia II Incident
    Ghost Reaper
    Tiny Money
    Tobin's Tale
    New Game+
    Leilani's Island
    The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo
    Old Skies
    Savior
    Environmental Station Alpha 2

    DLCs/EXPANSIONS:
    ProDeus: The Elder Veil
    Cultic: Chapter 2
    whatever is in the works for Blasphemous II

    IN EARLY ACCESS:
    Ultrakill
    Supplice
    Project Warlock II
    Fortune's Run
    Oirbo
    Viscerafest

    HOPEFULLY NOT VAPORWARE:
    Lionheart Drive
    To Azimuth
    In the Valley of Gods
    PiAwk

    AND, AS ALWAYS:
    Silksong

  7. ARE they supposed to cope with death?

    in response to How are atheists supposed to cope with death?

    "supposed to," I dunno. most of us would LIKE to, as death is pretty freaky, and I would like to not be freaked.

  8. How many on Controller Designs, Remakes, and Countries You've Not Been To?

    in response to How may questions have you received about Daylight Savings, Mar10 Day, and the Oscars?

    controller designs - mostly the same question, asked maybe 2x a year, about best video game controller, which always leads to riffing on the GameCube

    remakes - I dunno, I guess these are semi-periodic, especial w/r/t video games, but I rarely answer so I don't register them for long

    countries - in the context of "which countries have you been to?" I get that now and again. in the context of "please weigh in on [current event in a country I've never been to]," that's pretty constant. people kinda expect me to be plugged into every discourse. all of them are discourses I would benefit from being plugged into, mind! and it's not UNFATHOMABLE that I wouldn't be, or have something interesting to say about it, and how do you know until you ask? so I get it. but it adds up, and, on my end, it seems like an anonymous mass of The Public is mad that I don't know everything about everything. this is a structural issue more than any actual human being's fault.

  9. How many people are telling you that this guy is called "Kingpin" in spidersman world?

    in response to best spider-man villain

    you can't fool me

  10. Dunno why you're waffling on this. Why would you think Trump isn't going to be an enthusiastic supporter of Ukrainian genocide? Heck, has there BEEN a vote for US president that HASN'T also been a vote for genocide? We're kinda always doing or supporting a genocide.

    in response to Is a vote for Biden a vote for genocide?

    no, actually, it is very rare for the United States to be actively funding genocide, even rarer to be in the position of "primary financial and munitions supplier for a genocide and sole vote blocking UN sanctions." your general sentiment that the US operates in a unilateral, imperial role worldwide and is often executing or contributing to atrocities is correct, but please do not take that so far as to normalize what is happening right now. this is EXCEPTIONALLY bad.

  12. best superman villain

    in response to best spider-man villain

    bobby

  13. What kind of character would you be in a fighting game? Do you have high or low frame data. Are you a Zoner or Rushdown

    I'm a fastfaller

  14. best spider-man villain

    Lex Luthor

  15. okay i'm glad that i'm not the only person who thought that at some point in my life, but in my defense i was eight years old

    in response to What do you think of Steve Irwin?

    this is the same partner who thought Guillermo del Toro and Benicio del Toro were the same person

  16. Is a vote for Biden a vote for genocide?

    yeah. unfortunately a vote for Trump might also be a vote for genocide.

  17. Low alcohol tolerance anon here: I know we're doing funny ha-ha stuff, and I know self-medicating and self-care are part of the same skill set and toolbox, but part of the reason I'm so "out of practice" is that more than zero of my friends and family (and now, I guess me) over-indulge in drink. Frowny emoji here.

    Sorry to be all joyless about it.

    in response to Diff. Anon., I am struggling to feel joy as strongly as I did just five years ago. I'm not even thirty.

    fair.

    I don't actually drink and I'm not a licensed therapist and I don't know your life enough to tell you what might make you happier.

    when I'm depressed I spend time with friends and eat as many desserts as I want.

  20. What do you think of Steve Irwin?

    I recently had the joy of explaining to my partner that The Crocodile Hunter and Crocodile Dundee are different people

  21. Between Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, whose directorial efforts do you prefer?

    of their respective outputs, Noah has made the movie I like the most, but he has also made the most movies I dislike and I overall vibe with Greta's sensibility more

  22. Diff. anon., I'm curious how ya know so much on this. ...or is this basic stuff and I'm just that out of the loop?

    in response to How is Islam related to Christianity and Judaism in any way other than Abraham? They're not strongly connected historically or similar culturally from my knowledge.

    a mix of being just barely old enough to engage with politics when 9/11 happened, knowing a few Muslims, and having read a few books. (embarrassed to admit one of those books was Habibi.)

  23. (diff anon) Fun fact, it ended up that way because the third games story got leaked and they decided to change it at the last minute. They patched in better endings post-launch that were better and more complex.

    in response to Have you played the mass effect trilogy, and if so, which ending do you think is the most morally defensible?

    does a semi-transparent little boy still show up and ask you which Instagram filter you want on your ending cinematic?

  24. how do we deplatform second thought

    in response to Do you like platformers?

    I have enough hate boners of my own, please stop assigning me yours

  25. Could you expand on that?

    in response to Imagie a story wherral the evil people are hypercompetent and the good people are all chronic screw ups and the scree ups win the day because they just keep bashing their heads against the wall untill they Kool-Aid Man it and none of the evil hypercompetents planned for that because they all figured the good screw ups would need talent and skill to manage anything not just numbers and stubbornness.

    zombies: dumb but unstoppable, cannot be reasoned with, override all our systems of control and civilization through sheer numbers and means of spread

  26. favorite minigame in gaming

    I really liked the Solitaire game in Eliza

  27. Do you like platformers?

    yes but I also support deplatforming

  28. Imagie a story wherral the evil people are hypercompetent and the good people are all chronic screw ups and the scree ups win the day because they just keep bashing their heads against the wall untill they Kool-Aid Man it and none of the evil hypercompetents planned for that because they all figured the good screw ups would need talent and skill to manage anything not just numbers and stubbornness.

    in response to Is it possible to write a Walter White-type character without him getting Fight Club'd?

    so a zombie movie

  30. Help! I am having trouble tolerating alcohol the way I did when I was 20 years younger!!

    drink less bud

  31. Is it possible to write a Walter White-type character without him getting Fight Club'd?

    in response to which show did you prefer, breaking bad or better call saul? how did watching walt's story compare to jimmy's?

    depends on what you think makes Walter White Walter White. for "protagonist you can care about without defending their behavior," Bojack Horseman. but the crucial difference is Bojack isn't actually GOOD at anything. I'm not sure you can do that with characters like Tony Soprano, Walter White, Rick Sanchez, or Jordan Belfort, who are bad people who are also EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED at the bad things they do. I'm curious if you can get an audience to root against a protagonist who is BAD but TALENTED.

  32. PS1, PS2, or Wii U?

    GameCube

  34. Have you played the mass effect trilogy, and if so, which ending do you think is the most morally defensible?

    that's the one where the ending is a semi-transparent little boy shows up and asks you what Instagram filter you want on your ending cinematic, right?

  37. since you like half life so much you should really try out resident evil 4. It’s not even that scary at all and gas similarly linear chapters with fps gameplay.

    who said I like Half-Life

  39. To be fair capitalism was a progressive movement in society at the time of Adam Smith. Feudalism was significantly worse.

    in response to What's a person that, if you could go back in time, you would punch (or however many people)? To me, I'd go back in time and shake Adam Smith because his ideas are what got everyone into this whole "world ending climate change apocalypse caused by unrestrained late capitalism" thing

    it rose to prominence at the same time the public started demanding democracy, feudalism wasn't the only other option and capitalism was the main way the aristocracy maintained power after the fall of monarchy

  40. What do you think of his quote "the government is not the solution to the problem. The government *is* the problem" and also "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help."

    in response to What's a person that, if you could go back in time, you would punch (or however many people)? To me, I'd go back in time and shake Adam Smith because his ideas are what got everyone into this whole "world ending climate change apocalypse caused by unrestrained late capitalism" thing

    his new quote will be "the government is not the solu- OW, YOU JUST BROKE MY NOSE"

  41. What is your actual serious opinion of The Beatles?

    uh. my opinion is not interesting. they were really, really good.

  42. What's a person that, if you could go back in time, you would punch (or however many people)?
    To me, I'd go back in time and shake Adam Smith because his ideas are what got everyone into this whole "world ending climate change apocalypse caused by unrestrained late capitalism" thing

    Reagan

  43. Is the Bible pro-slavery?

    the Bible contains slavery and has provisions for how slavery should operate. I'm no Biblical scholar and can't even say how much "anti-slavery" was even a thing at the time.

  44. Not i Utika, no, it's an Albany expression.

    in response to You’re right about underfunded infrastructure in majority Black cities, but I’m guessing you don’t know Baltimore very well. The Francis Scott Key Bridge was built in part to help white suburbanites avoid driving through Baltimore’s inner city. The bridge itself was in good condition, it’s just that its most important support was rammed head on by a massive ship. No bridge of its type could have survived it.

    ^Utica

  45. which show did you prefer, breaking bad or better call saul? how did watching walt's story compare to jimmy's?

    both are great for different reasons. I find Better Call Saul a more thematically coherent narrative and Breaking Bad an overall more thrilling work of art.

  46. You’re right about underfunded infrastructure in majority Black cities, but I’m guessing you don’t know Baltimore very well.
    The Francis Scott Key Bridge was built in part to help white suburbanites avoid driving through Baltimore’s inner city. The bridge itself was in good condition, it’s just that its most important support was rammed head on by a massive ship. No bridge of its type could have survived it.

    in response to saw your post on the baltimore bridge collapse and im confused about it having to do with racism

  49. How is Islam related to Christianity and Judaism in any way other than Abraham? They're not strongly connected historically or similar culturally from my knowledge.

    "other than through Abraham" is a weird thing to say given Abraham is not shared by any other religion. but also many of the stories in the Torah are shared in the Quran (the story is Isaac and Ishmael is PRETTY PIVOTAL), and Jesus is one of the major prophets of Islam.

  50. saw your post on the baltimore bridge collapse and im confused about it having to do with racism

    infrastructure being horribly underfunded in historically Black cities is A Thing

  51. why do leftists go after white nationalist fascists so much more than islamic fundamentalist fascists.

    I don't know what angle to tackle this from. do I mention how the United States - with the largest military in the world - has been targeting Islamic extremists for twenty-three years now, wtf are "leftists" supposed to add to that equation? do I get into how that's not what "fascism" means? do I talk about the way the West fixates on Islam is, itself, white supremacy, or how much of the state of the Middle East has been steered by Western and Soviet interests throughout the 20th Century? or do I talk about how Islamophobic leftists ARE A THING, and in fact an rather serious problem, so plenty of leftists DO "go after" Islamic fundamentalists, which, when you look at it, is pro blatantly driven by racism rather than antifascism.

    just nonsense.

  52. Would you move to Cuba if you didn’t have friends and family left behind? Be honest.

    probably not, I don't speak Spanish very well

  53. Are you canon?

    absolutely not

  54. What's up with "filler episodes"? Are they by definition bad or can they actually be good? What qualifies as a filler episode - feels like a bunch of folks say that even if the plot of a story isn't advanced, as long there's character development, it's not a filler episode, but that makes it sound like no filler episode could ever exist?

    I don't think there are absolute values for "plot relevance" or "character development," I think it's "plot relevance/character development relative to the standard established by the rest of the show."

  56. I saw someone say that conservatism really hates sociology - why is that? Is it just cuz sociology proves them wrong?

    the only thing conservatives hate more than hard science is soft science

  58. when was the last time you squished one of your gf's boobs

    which gf

  59. This kinda feels like a Thermian argument (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxV8gAGmbtk). To me, the bigger question is, why did the screenwriters write it this way at all, so that the only perceived choices were submission or anarchy? Kinda feels like something someone would write if they wanted to justify Gary's "fuck-the-rules" worldview, but couldn't make it work within a realistic setting, so they resorted to a strawman sci-fi sophie's choice to make it a more believable option.

    in response to bruh u think gary should have accepted the aliens? they literally exterminated 97% of the town, they were space fascists. sure they can look a bit like the EU if you squint your eyes, but they’re also literally the forces of capitalism - genocide, starbuckification and soulless consumption - destroying people’s lives. and gary at the end continues punching nazis

  60. If you were in charge of cutting one (1) character from Smash's roster (in any game) who would it be and why?

    Mario, because I choose violence

  61. Gelato isn't vegan?

    in response to Sugar isn’t vegan?

    milk and eggs bitch

  63. Your video’s argument about Gary drinking water only works if you ignore the fact that it’s a callback to Andy’s story about true courage. He has learned from Andy to take the truly courageous option instead of the immature kid’s idea that not drinking alcohol is sissy.

    sure, and that's interesting, but in no way counters my argument that the adult world he turned to alcohol to escape was literally destroyed

    like, yes, you win the argument if you ignore major parts of the text, but...

  64. Why do you feel the need to justify your videos with a "why it matters?" I mean, it's a good question to ask, but even before you got to that part in your Cornetto trilogy video, if it had just ended there, it still would have been a funny, entertaining, and well made argument. I wouldn't mind more videos like this from you. And you said this is why the Co-vids came out so fast, but among them you talked about the Gandhi trap, and that one seemed to matter in the vein of the ARPB series insofar as recognizing right wing rhetorical traps. The Daria video was also an insightful look into mellenial attitude towards cynicism. It seems to me these are all worthwhile, even without a dedicated 'why it matters' section.

    that's a tough question, honestly.

    in this specific case? I just felt like there was more to say. me asking myself "why do you care so much" was a sincere question - why HAD this been bugging me for most of a decade, and why DIDN'T simply ending where the old draft left off feel complete? and, because I kept digging at it, I realized that my frustration with Gary wasn't a side note but was core to the overall thesis, AND it made me actually appreciate the ending of The World's End as a proper and brave thematic conclusion to the trilogy, even as I don't like it. it helped me consider that "Gary did a bad thing" might be an interpretation the filmmakers were okay with, rather than me disagreeing with them.

    but broadly? I DO often feel the pressure to make a grand statement with each video, and it DOES mean video take more and more time and effort and leave me more exhausted. the CO-VIDs were fun because I released that pressure, but, as I kept doing them, it crept back in - I'm VERY proud of the Daria video, but it spiraled out into a whole treatise on 90s nostalgia and neoliberalism and I love that about it, but it's also why the series slowed down. same thing happened with the Semiotics of "Cuck" video - these faster, looser videos got slower and more laborious.

    I'm not sure what the balance here is. because it isn't sustainable for me to go THIS HARD on every project, but, also, every time I've GONE HARD on a video it's turned into something I'm proud of. I'm trying to find ways to streamline production so I can indulge my writing impulses and save time elsewhere, because the threat of burnout is very real.

  65. What's something old you wish was new again?

    my lower back

  67. Did Bush lie about intel of WBDs in Iraq?

    Weapons of Bass Destruction is the name of my trip-hop band

  68. hey ian just wanted to keep you posted: you gained three pretension points by pronouncing the three colors in French but lost them by saying “and” instead of “et,” let me know if you want to file a dispute or anything

    sorry, I was not speaking in French, I was speaking English but using the French titles of the films, so it would have been improper to say "et."

    not sure if that is more or less pretentious.

  69. So I started watching your new video this morning before going to work and now it is not available anymore, did something happen?

    got a copyright claim, so it's blocked in Canada. I'm disputing it. here's a mirror of the Nebula version in the meantime: https://vimeo.com/926040057

  70. Regardless of whether or not you'll see it, do you think it's neat that Philosophy Tube got cast in a Star Wars project?

    fuck yes!

  71. Have the Actor and Director ever shared a project?

    in response to Have you watched Steve McQueen?

    well, the actor died when the director was 11, so I'm guessing no

  72. anything behind the art style of the latest video? seemed a bit different than your usual, or maybe it's just been a lot of alt-right playbook lately

    I've been letting myself stray further and further from the "doodles on paper" aesthetic outside of ARP. the CO-VIDs didn't use that look at all, for instance. just trying to stretch my graphical skills, keep things interesting.

  73. Is there actually an ethical argument against eating Honey? Bee Keepers that extract Honey are good for the environment, and they benefit from Honey Bees thriving.

    in response to Do you have a vegan cheat meal (a food thats not vegan but you love so much that you occasionally indulge yourself)?

    large-scale honey producers kill the hives every winter because starting over in the spring is cheaper than keeping the bees alive while there's no flowers in bloom

  74. What do you do when Mormon missionaries knock?

    in response to Would, then.

    that doesn't happen either

  75. Just watched your scansion video on Nebula, and it made me remember that a minor character from Season 2 of Apple TV's Foundation speaks exclusively in anapestic trimeter. Thought it would amuse you.

    hell fuck yeah

Anon commented:
Ian replied: