CuriousCat Archive Page 85 of 202

  1. How far left are you in the political spectrum?

    depends on what you consider "far left." I think capitalism should be eradicated. about where does that place me?

  2. I dunno why im telling you this but it remained me my group of friends uses "baz silvermilk" as a generic term for "that guy we all know and Aren't Talking About" like a comedy John Doe and that you are the origin point for that Lots of people think it's hilarious

    in response to Silly question about a 3-yo video, but: why'd you call him Silvermilk when talking about Barry Goldwater? I don't get the joke and it baffles me every time.

    Ha!

    ...why Baz?

  3. (Different anon) Do you think there’s an argument to be made that QAnon is a secular religion of sorts?

    in response to (different anon and this is a thread from a while ago I came across) What are some good things about religion that you can think of? And how come you don't think religion is stupid as an atheist? (I'm not trolling, I'm being serious)

    QAnon believes the Democrats are worshipping Literal Satan, I don't think it's secular at all

  4. Thoughts on Carl Sagan?

    I literally just bought a print with a quote from Pale Blue Dot on it

    I like him

  5. Do you like 1984 as a leftist?

    yes. 1984 was about totalitarianism and was written by a socialist.

  7. That's actually a really liberating way to think about it, thanks.

    in response to I've read part of Bob Altemeyer's "The Authoritarians," which you've cited in your videos. Having been raised in the Evangelical South, a disturbing amount of what he discussed regarding conformity and aggression towards the outgroup hit really close to home. As I've moved further into leftist spaces, I've found that much of the conversation surrounding oppression focuses on capitalism as the root cause, but I have a sinking feeling that oppressive instincts are just baked into the nature of a huge percentage of the population, and that political and economic changes won't fully address the root issue. Is this a reasonable fear? and if it is, is there any useful lesson to learn from it?

    cheers!

  8. So you want beef of a different consistency?

    in response to How would you know that they're gummy?

    not particularly, but if you're gonna tempt me to break vedge, you'll have to do better

  10. (different anon and this is a thread from a while ago I came across) What are some good things about religion that you can think of? And how come you don't think religion is stupid as an atheist? (I'm not trolling, I'm being serious)

    in response to Religion is so stupid, maybe you should stop supporting it

    Religion has existed for millennia because it serves important functions in human life. It's a means of passing down moral lessons. It's a form of communal engagement. It's a sharing of culture. It's a set of rituals. It's a philosophical engagement in what it means to be "good." In a lot of ways, the spiritual beliefs are the least important part. In some religions it's not even required: Jewish atheism is common, and Confucianism is a largely secular religion. Some of the deepest philosophical conversations I've had have been with practicing Christians, who were far less interested in converting me than in talking about doing right by others, how to care for your community, and what it takes to improve oneself.

    I don't believe in God or anything supernatural, but I don't think those are the reasons religion persists. And, yeah, it's a goofy and unsupported belief, but, hell, I was raised Christian, too. Most people didn't get to choose. And I haven't found any evidence that atheism makes one any more intelligent or moral; I've known too many atheists for that.

  11. I've read part of Bob Altemeyer's "The Authoritarians," which you've cited in your videos. Having been raised in the Evangelical South, a disturbing amount of what he discussed regarding conformity and aggression towards the outgroup hit really close to home.

    As I've moved further into leftist spaces, I've found that much of the conversation surrounding oppression focuses on capitalism as the root cause, but I have a sinking feeling that oppressive instincts are just baked into the nature of a huge percentage of the population, and that political and economic changes won't fully address the root issue. Is this a reasonable fear? and if it is, is there any useful lesson to learn from it?

    Well, I have no patience for people who claim capitalism is the *root* cause of in-group/out-group problems. But, understand: humanity has a MASSIVE plurality of natures. Humans are intensely competitive AND intensely cooperative. Humans are self-interested AND generous. Humans invented the scientific method AND cults. Humans have logical minds that expect to be convinced AND are easily swayed by groups or individuals they have faith in.

    An issue we have now is, in many ways, 99% of the world is one monoculture. Everyone lives in nation-states. Everyone uses money. Almost everyone is capitalist and the non-capitalists have to trade with capitalists. Every culture is supported by agriculture. Every culture is either industrialized or in the process of industrializing. Everyone is expected to work a job in order to make a living.

    But humanity has had MANY forms before this particular model spread across the world. There are studies into the handful of tribal cultures that still manage to live apart from the modern world, and they span a HUGE gamut. Some are incredibly peaceful and communitarian, and some are brutally militaristic. Humans are adaptable. Cultural habits develop in different directions based on a mix of 1) what suits the local environment and 2) random chance.

    So, then, it's worth asking: what about this monoculture pushes people towards THESE SPECIFIC TRAITS - authoritarianism, bigotry, oppression, greed - and what changes to our culture would bring out different traits? Capitalism is not the cause, but there's a reason capitalism is such an optimal strategy in this culture.

  12. A person wakes up from a 20 year coma, and you are offered $1000 to explain to them why people are consuming horse paste in the year 2021.

    What do you say?

    "you ever think 'I bet these people would eat horse paste if George W. Bush told them to'? well, guess what..."

  13. (Different anon still) Do you think it is a problem that "leftist" content creators are pulling their audience's time, attention, and money in their direction, rather than using their platform to push their audience towards any actual socialist projects. Why is Hasan's audience compelled to give him millions of dollars? Why are they compelled to spend hours a day watching him? Why is a "leftist" content creator using his platform to direct his audience's energy in such a way? Do Hasan's actions, and by extensions, the actions of most online leftist content creators, move us any closer to building a socialist project? Is that even the goal, or is the goal simply to capture a market demographic?

    in response to (diff anon) I'm actually curious about this and not trying to attack you. Do you think it's immoral for leftists to spend money on big luxuries instead of putting it to something more productive?

    leftist praxis and garnering attention as a streamer are in no way antithetical, not for the streamer nor the audience. public figures discussing leftism and introducing it to their audience is part of the work. it's not the whole of the work - no one thing anyone can do is the whole of the work - but it is useful. putting the burden of the entire movement on the shoulders of any single person, or any single type of work. and it's dodgy logic to assume none of Hasan's audience is engaging with any leftist work besides simply watching his streams.

    the issue we're butting up against here is, yes, there is more important work than streaming, and it's unclear what the road towards more comprehensive socialist projects is. and that issue is that none of us know what the road is. which projects are worth doing? what leads to a more leftist society? what role should streaming play in that work? what are our shared long-term goals?

    I don't have an answer and I'd bet good money you don't either. I'm working on it. meantime, we have to at least TALK about the failings of capitalism, and Hasan is doing that much. if you're bothered that he makes so much money doing it, your beef is with capitalism, and I recommend not making individuals symbols for your anger at systemic problems.

  14. do you ever have creative droughts, and if so, do you have any strategies for getting out of them?

    I don't get creative droughts in the sense of running out of ideas. I started putting out work in public in my late twenties, so I have a decent backlog of projects I want to do, and a long list of video topics. I'm probably adding to the list slower than I'm ticking things off of it, so theoretically I would, EVENTUALLY, run out, but it would take a long time at this point.

    But in the sense of being burnt out and not WANTING to work on anything? Yes, I deal with that more and more as the years go on. There's also the constant frustration of not having time to work on projects outside of videos, which is not exactly burnout because I'm FULL of creative energy for everything BUT the thing I'm SUPPOSED to be working on. A lot of times this means taking a little time off to watch movies or play games or read books - flip to input instead of output - or give myself room to work on a passion project instead of whatever thing I'm burnt out on. But, when there's a thing I NEED to be working on and I don't want to be, I usually need to remind myself why I wanted to do it in the first place. That often means some journaling, rereading notes, looking at any work that's already been done, maybe discussing it with a friend. I rely a lot on inertia, and just getting myself from zero to one is enough to get going again.

  15. Silly question about a 3-yo video, but: why'd you call him Silvermilk when talking about Barry Goldwater? I don't get the joke and it baffles me every time.

    The mainline Alt-Right Playbooks have a soft policy of not naming names. This comes from a combined desire not to platform reactionaries and to not direct harassment towards anybody. This is why all the opening examples, though often based on real events, are slightly altered or amalgamated, so people who don't, for instance, know a lot about Anita Sarkeesian is, can hear the story without being immediately biased against based on the tidbits they've heard, no attention is given to her shithead detractors, and Anita is less likely to see a spike in harassment because of my video.

    I break this rule in the Endnotes, and occasionally if I feel naming a name is necessary (e.g. I didn't want to share all this stuff about what queerness in the 50's was like without acknowledging I learned it from Samuel R. Delany), and I think I used a couple names in the early videos before I'd settled on the rule (Ronald Reagan and Joseph Welch).

    I recognized that following this rule for Barry Goldwater was silly, but I also found the name "Barry Silvermilk" hilarious, so I decided to stick with it. This work is difficult and time consuming; you gotta make your own fun.

  16. How do think the world would be different if most politicians/world leaders were women?

    abortion wouldn't be under threat for one

  17. How could CuriousCat improve?

    functional search engine, less cumbersome interface, option to answer questions privately, better GIF library, more tools for filtering questions/blocking askers

    glitter text

  18. But you agree that Spider-Verse movie was leftist?

    in response to Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I recalled in one of your CC answers here as to why you liked Spiderman Into The Spider Verse was because it's unabashedly leftist? Why and which parts of the movie would you think is leftist leaning for a blockbuster, highly profitable movie? Or you'll end up making a video essay on that soon?

    I'd be interested in hearing the argument

  19. Do you have a funny “time I shit my pants” story?

    my "shit my pants" stories are dead serious

  20. (diff anon) I'm actually curious about this and not trying to attack you.

    Do you think it's immoral for leftists to spend money on big luxuries instead of putting it to something more productive?

    in response to Do you seriously think that lefties who make a fortune preaching for leftist causes don't have any obligation to do something productive with their money?

    I think expecting rich people to do good things with their money is based in the conservative idea that people with power and privilege will save us through charitable donations. I don't want the patronage of millionaires. I want to expropriate their money and use it collectively. and I think Hasan would be a lot more ready to turn his wealth over in exchange for a post-capitalist economy than most millionaires. until such time, I care when rich people use their money to multiply their wealth; I care when they use it to lobby politicians away from environmentalism; I care when they don't pay their taxes. I don't give a shit when they buy houses.

  22. Lab grown stuff that's not meat?

    in response to Lab grown meat?

    penicillin is good

  23. "He creates his audience, but he is also very much created by them" sounds a lot like the "radicalizeling and being radicalized by" line from How To Radicalize A Normie

    in response to Don't know if you've seen that Trump got booed while telling people to get vaccinated, but do you think it's a case of something he helped inflame getting out of control, or that Trump was only along for the ride with his supporters and they will abandon him if he strays the line, both, or neither?

    yeah, well

  24. Where might such a podcast be put?

    in response to After Co-Vids and TARP, what are your series plans?

    I dunno, I'm not doing it just yet so I haven't sussed out the details. I'll probably at least upload them to a secondary YouTube channel, but I'll need to investigate what podcast services to use.

  27. Just a matter of not liking it or any special reason for it? Like is it kinda nasty for you, as it tries to simulate real meat?

    in response to Lab grown meat?

    yeah, I've been a vegetarian for 24 years, I don't have meat cravings anymore. certainly not craving meat that comes from muscles that were never used. enjoy your gummy chicken wings!

  28. Shaun came up with this idea on twitter:

    "the best short-term fix i can think of for US vax hesitancy is to have nancy pelosi and hillary clinton put out a joint statement saying they are happy so many conservatives are foregoing vaccination because that means there's more vaccines for liberals and immigrants"

    This struck me as an unironically genius idea. Do you think the democrats ought to try this in the hopes that it might raise the vaccination rate in the US?

    did you see my replay? https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/1431290979223494659

  29. What would we do about carnivorous pets (e.g. cats) in a vegan society?

    pet them

  30. Since you seem generally very well-read & have strong opinions about sex work, do you have any papers you'd recommend about the representation of sex work & sex workers in contemporary mass media?

    I'm not well-read in sex worker rights, I just support them because I'm not an asshole

  31. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I recalled in one of your CC answers here as to why you liked Spiderman Into The Spider Verse was because it's unabashedly leftist? Why and which parts of the movie would you think is leftist leaning for a blockbuster, highly profitable movie?

    Or you'll end up making a video essay on that soon?

    nope, that wasn't me.

  32. can you articulate the battle between "not wanting to make fun of cultures because many cultures are oppressed, and making fun of them can easily turn into an extension of that" and "the italian voice is funny, imma gonna do it"

    um... white Europeans are not oppressed?

  33. We know you’ve been mugged but have you ever been NUGGED? It’s when someone steals two or more of your chicken nuggets.

    my jaw was broken in two places and swiveled out like an ant mandible. I have permanent nerve damage in my lower lip. but, haha, chicken nugget joke.

    I'm vegan.

    [kissy face emoji]

  34. How to stop feeling anxious about wearing your influences too brightly in one's creative works

    not sure how to help with that, I'm not a good mimic and every time I try to copy someone else it just comes out sounding like me

  35. I'm horny but lonely and nobody thinks I'm cute ;(

    no, you just aren't aware of which people think you're cute

  36. How badly was your jaw broken when you were mugged?

    pretty bad

  37. Rebecca Ferguson or Ingrid Bergman?

    yeah

  38. lmao, you're leaving us horny people high and dry, aren't you?

    well, ok, dating app rule #1: don't sent pics of your genitals unless someone asks for them

    rule #2: make sure your photos aren't all the same angle of your face with the same expression

  40. It seems like CC added a bunch of new features, like blocking users. That makes your experience on this site more bearable, doesn't it?

    I've always had that option. No idea if it works.

  41. Do you seriously think that lefties who make a fortune preaching for leftist causes don't have any obligation to do something productive with their money?

    I'm not sure which statement I've made that you're interpreting that way. I'm assuming it's to do with Hasan? You've framed your question as an accusation, which isn't gonna facilitate an open exchange of ideas, and, if that's not what you're looking for, I'm probably just gonna drop this thread. No offense.

    But if you want to tell me your concerns, I'm happy to discuss them with you.

  42. What's the COVID situation where you live? Have things gone back to "normal"?

    Massachusetts is doing better than most states, which means significantly worse than most of continental Europe. The mask mandate is lifted, but a lot of shops are still requiring them, and a lot of people are wearing them even when they technically don't have to. 65% of the state is fully vaccinated, which is above average for the country. Most restaurants have outdoor seating, and a lot are doing limited occupancy indoors with 6-foot spacing between tables. But we keep fucking reopening before it's time, and we keep getting spikes in hospitalizations when we do, and every time it's a bad idea that has to be walked back, but here it is, Fall again, and they're planning to open the schools. Some people are even having to work in their offices again, despite having functioned perfectly well remotely.

    It's just nonsense.

  43. What do you recommend for people who want to meet local people online to later make contact with in person? I'm skeptical of dating apps because of issues I've read about security breaches and anti consumer practices. Going off of your "the semiotics of 'cuck' " video, you have some experience in this area.

    sorry, fam, I use dating apps. for poly people there are also munches and various facebook/meetup.com/fetlife groups, but I'm not sure that's what you're looking for.

  44. Is there any way to know on smaller scales if its possible to or worth it to talk with conservatives about their ideological problems? In GG video you talked about how conversation served to semi-legitimize them and only empowered them more, because winning a debate was impossible and they knew that. is there any way (Even a vague vibe check method) to recognize with family members and friends whether they'll ever be responsive or if their defensiveness and attachment to conservatism as an identity override reasoning? Or say no and free me from an obligation to talk with them.

    I would not say you have a moral responsibility to convert people in your life. If you converted every single conservative you know it wouldn't have much impact on society at large. So, if you're feeling guilty, absolve yourself.

    BUT: if you care about these people and want to have a better relationship with them, or want them to be happier, it is possible to convert people, though it is long and laborious work and the success rates are spotty.

    I livetweeted Bob Altemeyer's The Authoritarians a while back, here's his advice: https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/958537870058426368

  45. Lab grown meat?

    no thanks

  46. Do you plan to do a video on noir games or movies?
    Of course people like you shouldn't feel obligated to turn everything into "content", I was just curious

    I've been kicking the idea around for a long time but have never found a structure or a point I was happy with. Had an idea recently the might work, so we'll see.

  48. What do you think happens after we die?

  49. I was already starting to see a chewing at the edges of the internets collective memory ragarding GG, lots of people saying "but how could THAT have been how it started, clearly there must have been SOME real issues" to try and set a narrative that GG wasn't the prototype for the alt-right, and also that it was justified and good somehow

    Anyway thanks as ever for clearing away the cruft and giving me an authoritative chronology of events to point others to, you do wonders like always

    oh and question right? have you tried/do you like marrowfat 'mushy' peas?

    I'm afraid I have yet to

    (•_•)
    ( •_•)>⌐■-■
    (⌐■_■)

    give peas a chance.

  50. Hi Ian! Do you like tickle fights?

    I like winning tickle fights.

  51. if lies are the first thing to come to my head, is telling the truth dishonest?

    well, if you think the value of speech is not in the content it communicates but it whether or not it expresses your authentic self, then, in a sense, yes? but that'd be an odd way to define honesty.

  54. So is this Hasan thing the dumbest online drama on the internet so far?

    …and what’s your take on it?

    it's just, like... people know, if he didn't buy the house, he'd still be rich, right? do they want him to hoard his wealth? they know that their fandom is what's made him rich, right? do they want him to live as though he doesn't have the money he has? do they want socialism that is full of rich people adopting the aesthetics of people with less money than them? I feel like no one knows what they're angry about, and they're scapegoating Hasan for systemic issues he is a very tiny part of.

  55. In your neo noir tumblr post you wrote about The Onion Field: "[...] the performances all seem a tad melodramatic [...]".
    I have never seen acting being described as "melodramatic", does that mean a kind of overacting?

    it's a kind of broad acting that is sometimes appropriate in melodrama, but not so much in regular drama. colloquially, yes, it tends to mean overacting.

  56. While depiction does not equal endorsement, does depiction always equal commentary? For example, does every work of fiction featuring characters with genders implicitly have something to say about gender, does every work that features police have something to say about police, or could a work of fiction simply present an element without saying something about it?

    Yes and no. Every work that depicts gender, the cops, capitalism, whatever, is saying something about those things. This doesn't mean it's saying anything *intentionally*. But these things have meanings in the real world, so they're going to carry meaning into fiction. In lieu of overt commentary, depiction reinforces the status quo. The default belief in our society is that gender is binary, cops are good, and capitalism is normal. Depict any of those things, and that's what you're saying unless you intentionally say something else.

  57. Don't know if you've seen that Trump got booed while telling people to get vaccinated, but do you think it's a case of something he helped inflame getting out of control, or that Trump was only along for the ride with his supporters and they will abandon him if he strays the line, both, or neither?

    Trump has always just said things he's heard and seen how people react to it. If they react badly, he doesn't bring it up again. If they react well, he decides it's a core belief. So, in a sense, he creates his audience, but he is also very much created by them.

    It's possible some of his audience would abandon him if he strays from the path, but he's almost certainly not going to do that. He typically changes his position to anything his core audience wants.

  58. I think it's a bit silly to be principally opposed to a collab because it would benefit your brand and channel more than those of the marginalized creator you would work with. Your content is good and has a positive impact on the discourse, and if a collab elevates another creator even just a little while allowing you to grow, that's just good in my view.

    At least ask the other creator their opinion on the collab idea.

    I wouldn't call it a principle opposition, more a discomfort? There are ways around it, I'm sure, but the issue is, primarily, that I don't desperately want to *make* these videos, I want to *watch* them. I might look for collaborators if I were invested in doing it myself.

    In honesty, this is one of the things that I don't like about discussing this stuff. Now people are invested in something and have opinions on whether I should or shouldn't do them.

  59. Would you say among more religious conservatives that some of the antivax sentiments for COVID and generally stem from “getting the vaccine=not trusting God” as a thought process?

    in response to Why do you think so many conservative minded people are refusing the vaccine now but had no problem receiving the Polio, chickenpox, MMR, all the regular ones we’re required to get. Where was their “my body my choice” mentality then?

    I think it's a rationalization. They may believe it when they say it, but there are dozens of other parts of their lives that would be read as "not trusting God" (e.g. I assume they wear their seatbelts) and they do those all the time.

  60. Is 'I Hate Mondays' applicable to conservatives who refuse to get the vaccine simply because it is not 100% effective in preventing covid despite it reducing the severity (harm reduction) or is there something else behind the mindset altogether?

    there's a bit of that in there, but it's mostly: https://curiouscat.qa/InnuendoStudios/post/1233741301

  61. Maybe you could make one of those video as a collab with someone from one of those communities?

    in response to Do you ever have an idea for a video that you know would be *clever* or *interesting* but you’re not sure if it would make a good video for your channel? How do you tell whether the former is or isn’t the latter?

    I've considered it, but it's still, like, my brand and my channel that's going to benefit most from it. I don't like that.

  62. Also re: the lateral violence thing - if you're curious in marginalized perspectives on this, me speaking as a white trans woman: imho it's less hypervigilance and more that when the water rises, it's the marginalized who get wet. You see this with the Attack Helicopter thing - Isabel Fall, a trans woman, got harassed off the internet for writing a short story; but when her treatment was called out, it just resulted in N.K. Jemisin and Neon Yang, two non-men of color, getting harassed themselves. Imho I see it less as a "we've been burned" thing and more that when violence happens it happens to marginalized people.

    But then, this coming from someone who doesn't like Natalie Wynn, who thinks her defenders don't understand why people don't like her. So, just my cent-and-a-half.

    in response to Do you ever have an idea for a video that you know would be *clever* or *interesting* but you’re not sure if it would make a good video for your channel? How do you tell whether the former is or isn’t the latter?

    I mean, things don't have only one cause.

    And I've heard every argument under the sun for why people don't like Natalie, so please consider the possibility that I understand and disagree.

  63. I guess I’m asking because. I see a lot of, usually white, usually men, get a lot of attention for things that I think are like, *clever*, but not actually that good. Like Inception or Pulp Fiction or Fight Club. And the term is much broader than this, but is there no better example of white-male mediocrity? White men commended for having one clever idea at the expense of women of color having careers at all. So I was curious if you had any insight on how much space it is appropriate to ask for, how much I should risk more marginalized, more talented creators being pushed out of the market, when I have an idea that is *clever* but am not actually sure how talented I am.

    in response to Do you ever have an idea for a video that you know would be *clever* or *interesting* but you’re not sure if it would make a good video for your channel? How do you tell whether the former is or isn’t the latter?

    Until such time that you are a multi-million dollar filmmaker, the effect that making or not making something has on marginalized people is functionally nil. If you get successful, use your influence to elevate other voices.

  64. Why do you think so many conservative minded people are refusing the vaccine now but had no problem receiving the Polio, chickenpox, MMR, all the regular ones we’re required to get. Where was their “my body my choice” mentality then?

    "My body my choice" was never honest. It was a cover story. They don't like the vaccine because Trump's official stance was COVID was going away on its own and they have to stand by that regardless of all the counter-evidence. They're don't like the vaccine because they are anti-science and can't start making exceptions. They don't like the vaccine because its success is attributable to a Democrat. They don't like the vaccine because it feels of a piece with wearing masks and social distancing, all of which prioritize human lives over the economy.

    There are no deeper meanings. There is no internal logic. They are governed by fear and spite. They don't like the vaccine because fuck you.

  65. How can I convince my black coworkers and peers to get the vaccine when they’re very conspiracy minded and are distrustful because of past government experiments on blacks that weren’t ethical?

    I am not qualified to answer that, but I highly recommend you not refer to them as "blacks." Black is an adjective.

  67. Do you ever have an idea for a video that you know would be *clever* or *interesting* but you’re not sure if it would make a good video for your channel? How do you tell whether the former is or isn’t the latter?

    Not exactly? I've put a lot of work into making the Innuendo Studios brand flexible enough that I can talk about pretty much whatever. But there are subjects I think would be inappropriate for me to discuss. Like, I really want someone to make a video about Clementine from the Walking Dead games through the lens of passing privilege, how her racial ambiguity means she can pass as "anyone's daughter," just as believably Lee's child as Kenny's. But obvs a white guy shouldn't make that video. Similarly, I would like to see a video on lateral violence among minoritized groups through the context of hypervigilance, i.e. why having been burned by people they trusted before makes people look for evidence that figures they admire are secretly awful and then attacking them for any perceived transgression no matter how tenuous... but, again, not something a person who isn't part of those communities should do.

  68. Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the greatest books I’ve ever read. I highly recommend you check it out.

    oh ok!

  70. What do you mean by muddled themes? Why didn't the themes of questioning and unmasking systems of power, understanding that comes with walking in each other's shoes and forgiveness not work for you?

    in response to Come to think of it, what were your thoughts on "Broken Age" as a whole? I can infer from your "The Death of the Adventure Game" essay that you thougt it not really innovative in form for an adventure game.

    walking in each others' shoes doesn't mean anything because a) they don't know each other and have no preconceptions about each other's lives, and b) they slot perfectly into each other's worlds with no meaningful culture clash. questioning and unmasking systems of power is pretty standard video game fare that I don't think it elevated. and it seems like they painted themselves into a corner where Shay rescuing Vella makes narrative sense, but they don't want to do a damsel trope, so they have her save herself at the last second. which, good, I don't want a damsel, either. but then Shay's presence doesn't matter. like, his function in the plot is more or less over after Act 1, since he spends all of Act 2 trying to get to Vella and then doesn't accomplish anything. like, ok, he still brings them a ship, but spending half the second act setting up a busdriver is weak plotting; it would be more efficient for Vella to just steal a ship or something. and the character arc they seem to be setting up was built around saving her, too. he has a PURPOSE for the first time in his life, and needs to make amends for a mistake! which he doesn't end up doing in a satisfying way. similarly, Vella doesn't have a character arc to speak of, either - she's tough and no-nonsense from the beginning. literally her first act is refusing to be a damsel. so, like, they've set up a fairly traditional arc where Shay needs to have a meaningful purpose and care about another human and Vella needs to either learn to trust another person or empower herself, but both are stock scenarios they want to avoid so they just... don't do anything. the issue isn't that Vella should've been a damsel, it's that they should have written a completely different arc for both characters, because a weak, last-minute reversal of a trope just doesn't work.

  71. I just played Tacoma and stumbled upon this tweet of yours from last year where you critizize Steve Gaynor's writing in LIS2 (https://twitter.com/InnuendoStudios/status/1233944982677049346?s=20), of course way before we recently found out that he's a shitty boss. What do you dislike about his writing/artistic output?

    P.S. I really liked your tumblr post on Tacoma! It resonated with my own feelings on the game when I was bit underwhelmed after recently playing Gone Home for the first time.

    I don't criticize Steve Gaynor's writing, I'm saying the episodes got bad as soon as he STOPPED writing them.

    I think Gaynor is a good writer - or, at least, gets credited with good writing that may be the result of team effort. I'm disappointed to hear about him being a tyrant of a boss who chews up and spits out employees and seems to do it worst with women. I want to support the rest of the team but I'm really questioning whether I'll enjoy Open Roads now.

  72. Would you ever go to an Ian convention? (Yes, they exist and it’s exactly what it sounds like)

    do I get swag?

  73. Highly suggest looking into Brazilian Quilombos, self-sufficient communities built by fugitive slaves who welcomed natives and poor whites alike. Palmares, the biggest one, is estimated to have comprised 30,000 people at its height.

    in response to LeftTube could definitely use more historical content. Especially geared towards the history of socialist action. So that is really exciting. Any particular revolutions you are excited to research/ speak on?

    dang, I just learned about that because I'm playing Dandara!

  74. wait so if poly people have polycules would a monocule just be a monogamous relationship? is a monocule just one person?

    a monocle is a corrective lens

  75. How do you deal with getting older

    poorly

Anon commented:
Ian replied: