Selfsurprise

This week, I've been reading a hefty amount of writings related to the Cynics.

I'm often impressed with the directness and succinctness of language a great many early philosopher utilized, assuming contemporary translators can be counted upon to interpret their words accordingly. We might have understandably negative connotations to the word cynicism but in the case of capital C "Cynics" of Ancient Greece proffered a lifestyle without hierarchical pretense, embraced hardship and promoted surprisingly modern ideals in regards to equality. It's an initially bizarre mixture of misanthropy and irreverence tempered by more humane sentiment and self-effacement than the former qualities usually inspire. I think of all historical figures they ought to be the ones we aspire to be most like.

It's remarkable to consider that their legacy hasn't had more of an overt effect on the way we structure of society and our personal lives, given the openness and clarity of what they espoused. They may of took their principles of simple living and moral interrogation to loincloth wearing, barrel habiting, aristocrat harassing, public masturbating extremes - but I feel if most strived to live a single iota of their principled standards we'd all be slightly better off and less neurotic. And even if their beliefs don't inspire you, their crazy anecdotal hijinks, barmy individual biographies and acidic one liners surely can't fail to amuse.

"Law is good, but philosophy is better. Law uses force against wrong action, philosophy uses persuasion to show us why an action is wrong. It is superior to the same degree that acting willingly is preferable to acting under compulsion. Which is why I study philosophy and stay out of government. Knowing how people are taught good behaviour is a finer thing than knowing how to keep them from breaking the law." - Crates of Thebes (attrib.)

"Listen to your enemies, they are the first to point out your faults." - Antisthenes

"But astronomers he thought the most ridiculous, because they overlook fish lying at their feet on the seashore but claim to find them in the sky." - Diogenes Laertius, on Bion

EDIT:

I like them, sometimes they're a nice change of pace after playing stuff like Fallout 4 or Europa Univeralis 4. Stuff that requires you to be active or constantly thinking what your next move should be.

Having attempted to play a little bit of Europa Universalis myself, I think most things would be a nice change!

I like Dear Esther because while it really is just walking around, you're basically playing a poem. Not really much of gameplay in any way but the narrative always gives me chills.

That's a really good description of Dear Esther. If that game is like an extended metaphysical poem, then I suppose the same studios later game Everybody's Gone To The Rapture is like some succinct science-fiction novella. It seems like these various "WS/INE" games seem to be an attempt at emulating other mediums through gaming. I think reviewers and gamers alike need to develop a new modus operandi in regards to experiencing games like this, and I think it helps to bring along other influences and interests (particularly literary or visual art tropes) when playing them.

@Rarity I want to get into the Dark Souls games but I don't know where to start. From what I've heard 1 is good, 2 is bad and 3 is good again. So should I play 1 and then jump to 3? There also seems to be a monstrous amount of lore. What's the best way of tackling all of this for someone who has never played any of the Dark souls games?

I absolutely bum the monsters and enemies in that game (and on a related note, Bloodborne), but in order to appreciate them I need to watch playthroughs or read articles on Bogleech. I tried playing the first game on the PS3 and I genuinely couldn't get over a bridge with some undead blokes on it after I picked up by a giant crow and talked to some arsehole knight.

Ugh, this week in World Weary Retail Assistant: The Real Life Series. There are too many things to gripe about, but I will single out this one nugget of abject tumour fuel...

I have a lovely two-and-a-half year old cousin that I regularly babysit. One of his absolute favourite things to do is to rummage through his box of plastic animals and ask me what they are called, what noises they make, and recently even asking where they live and what they eat. He has loads of these Schleich figurines at his house, all kinds of stuff, from generic farm animals to really odd stuff like a Sawfish and a Pangolin. Obviously when I'm looking after him I don't have access to these animal toys, but I do have a big box of Monsters In My Pocket and Mighty Max stuff I procured from my childhood home once I began looking after him, "playing with my baby cousin" being my ostensible excuse for playing with my rad old skool toys ;p

But in all seriousness I've grown up obsessed with monsters, so I have a plethora of monster related stuff for him to play with, and plenty of picture books filled with animals and other things if he is in the mood for reading - I even have a modest amount of children's books on standby if he just wants to be told a story. In other words there's no shortage of stimuli for his rapidly expanding mind to absorb. Clearly all of this talk of monsters and aliens has filtered through to his dad, a somewhat conservative Greek gentleman that my sister married. He apparently doesn't want me to allow his son to learn about and play with anything monster related. He feels it's "not right" for his child to learn about monsters. It really really depresses having to converse with his father, as much as I love my cousin and my sister and can't fault the aforementioned guy for being a decent, hardworking, kindly person. But to not put too fine a point on it - what in the living fuck, man?

This kind of thing isn't worth falling out with extended family members over and I'm no avowed anti-religionist (I lean far more towards the agnostic/ignostic spectrum, if anything!) but what exactly is fundamentally wrong with learning the names of a few fictional creatures? I'm not sat in my flat delivering an occult sermon to the kid, we're playing with multicoloured toys made in the likeness of the Loch Ness Monster or a Yeti. What is it about organized religion as opposed to a personal interpretation of spirituality that all too often forces limitations on its subscribers? My cousin's interest in the monster paraphernalia was borne partly out of necessity (I have little else for him to play with, unless his dad would rather he goofed about with my unusually large number of tin openers I own for some reason) and partly out of his own entirely innocent curiosity.

I'm not totally insensitive and naive, I'm not exposing him to traumatic and obviously frightening material, and even if his father absolutely insists upon this my cousin is more than welcome to come around my house - I won't bar him due to his father's ignorance. But ever since my sister met him and set up home with him, I've never been able to shake the feeling that he would rather we all unanimously convert to his nation's orthodox church. He's well within his right to practice those tenements according to to his cultural traditions, thats his right. But if I was feeling like an unfair arsehole I might be tempted to point out that the Manticores and Cyclops his son occasionally singles out of my pocket monsters are equally part of his (and his children's) heritage. But like I said before, this isn't worth familial drama if it means my cousin can have a happy and contented childhood with his myriad relations.

Whatever I've suggested to him so far (like lending me some of his older animal toys, promising to read animal books exclusively, etc) his dad doesn't seem overtly pleased with the reality that, sometimes, I'm looking after him. It's purely to do with work commitments and the fact that I always have Wednesday's off - so usually I'm the only legit or convenient person to look after him on that day of the week. He's never been able to have a civil conversation with me without resorting to some archly critical comment of some book or imagery I have on my person or around my home. Life was just so much easier when I could (politely, I should say) inform him to either accept my idiosyncrasies, or failing that, not come and visit me. It's less simple now there are wholly blameless children involved, including my cousins several month year old little sister. I haven't looked after her yet but I figure it will come up eventually. I dread to think how Mr. Mount Athos is going to respond to my flagrantly queer liberalism when babysitting her - assuming he even lets me. If you've ever been made to feel that you should justify your secular attitudes and lifestyle you probably know how I feel at the moment.

P.S. My sister (the little boys mother) said I should go right ahead and keep playing with the monsters when I looking after him :3 Given that she loves the aforementioned father, she is vastly more at ease around him then I'll ever be.

Escuela De Las Americas by Genocide Organ

Just a quick idea for a thread that occurred to me a minute ago. Given the amount of potential new companions the imminent release of Fallout 4's G.E.C.K. will likely spawn, I thought I should start a topic for folks to post their zaniest and coolest fantasy concepts for companions. Here's a couple of individuals I could conjure up at a moment's notice...

• A sentry bot hippy with a deep but kindly african-american voice. Despite being a hulking death-dealing machine of war, this guy wears a garland of daisies and has numerous flowers and peace signs daubed all over his chassis. He refuses to attack or kill anyone due to his commitment to peace, tolerance and "not being heavy, brother". He will create charms and dream catchers for you in abundance, which you could always sell.
  
• A goofy but loveable duo consisting of a Deathclaw and a Molerat - who sits on top of his larger comrades head - that just so happen to be able to talk. The aforementioned deathclaw is extremely friendly but somewhat cowardly, whilst the latter cited Molerat is extremely gung-ho and utterly fearless. Their origin story explains that the Deathclaw used to run away from conflict and other members of his species, meaning he survived relatively unscathed but was depressed because he was so lonely. The Molerat felt equally alienated from his fellow burrowing brethren due to their lack of ambition - he'd tirelessly campaign to organize sieges of raider fortresses, but his contemporaries were more interested in gnawing on dead logs. Then one day whilst the Deathclaw was busy running away from a Glowing Super Mutant Behemoth, he bumped into the Molerat who was equally busy running towards said Behemoth. After a brief conversation both parties realized that they had found what they were looking for, and vowed to join forces in the name of friendship and justice.

That's all I have for now, but please feel free to post your own concepts. And if there any budding modders out there willing and eager to appropriate any of these concepts, you go right ahead.

"If it has a pulse, and isn't Selfsurprise, I'm game..."

disclaimer: Too perverted?

Hehe.. nope...

Thank goodness for that!

Three/syllables

:3

Don't worry about it. I wasn't really all that offended.

Did I specify young, at all? I'm just saying the most fervant homophobes tend to secretly be gayer than Doogie Howser in a field full of dicks.

I'm not sure what I did to warrant so hostile a reply, especially given that I was agreeing with your point. But then again I'm on the internet so maybe I ought to have known better.

@SelfSurprise: Oh yes, I think... The game only really decides who lives, rather than what happens. I'm pretty sure there is only one ending. But it's who survives is what your choices matter for. I like that game though. The story was intriguing, and I liked the characters.

Not a bad game at all, I'd give it a decent 6/10, for all its shortcomings.

[PLOT SPOILER, LIKE SERIOUSLY, BELOW]

Fallout in Switzerland would be pretty boring considering the country has enough bomb shelters to shelter more than the entire population. Then again I don't know much about Fallout lore, so maybe that doesn't exist in the universe.

I've always stereotyped the Swiss as being pretty resilient and always prepared for the absolute worst case scenario, they held out as a neutral state in WW2 bordering on Germany, who were constantly threatening some sort of annexation and violating Switzerland's airspace - no mean feat in of itself and a miracle of international diplomacy. Perhaps a Fallout: Schaffhausen game could take place from a fully functioning and populated vault filled with working 2077 technology (which functions as the player's home base to which they frequently return) like a European version of Vault 81 in Fallout 4. You character and other inhabitants of the vault make numerous foray onto the surface to discover what took place over the years and to scavenge for materials.

Forever Grey by Bus

I turned on the TV while my internet was out, flipped through channels, and what did I find on three channels in a row? THREE televangelists. And what are they all talking about?

 

"Them gays is so harrible, they's destraying ar cuntry, an' gawd'll hellfire and flame and brimstone all o'er them there, and we look at Sodom and Gomorrah, because that's why gawd burned them thar cities, had nothing to do with raping an angel or anything, it ways tha gays! It's so disgusting, but people do it because they're lustful and too weak to resist tha pleasures of the body, because it just feels so good... Standin' behind him, guidin' his hands to the bed as you bend him over, leaning in close and watching him grit his teeth as you... *AHEM* Disgusting! DISGUSTING, I say, I SAY! ...Don't look at my internet history."

 

Because, you know, we totally can't see what's going on with half of these guys. Methinks that perhaps thou doth protest too much. Fucking hypocrites.

I personally don't think the televangelists are wholly exclusive to young men, they prefer younger prey on either persuasion, ideally both simultaneously. And maybe throw a few farm animals into the mix, while we're at it. I love how easy you can wind up homophobes with the whole "Who are you trying convince? Everyone else or yourself?" routine. You don't even have to really believe in the psychological compensation it cites for the accusation to annoy the living daylights out of them.

I don't think the devs for Fallout are ever going to introduce Japanese-style content into the game. (and this is a good thing IMO) They might however introduce the area, and include some somewhat plausible events/creatures/people. (a christian resurgence would definitely be in the vein of the game)

I can see why having a game thematically anchored on the nuclear annihilation of life on earth as we know it set in Japan would be an international narrative faux pas. Still, I try not to limit myself to corporate and cultural ramifications when posting on this thread. I still want to see hardcore Christian resistance cell battling magma dinosaurs.

My Middle Name Is The Blues (Abner Jay Cover) by All Them Witches

I've downloaded a few albums, but I don't remember the names. Most of the stuff I hear I find on YouTube, I'm focusing more on stuff I haven't heard yet. Most of the popular stuff has become played to death, and I need something that's evolved from its circa 2013 model into a 2016 form.

 

My musical tastes are extremely wide, but there's always a calling towards the bottom echelons of the following chart:

 

 

I love that image, I don't mind admitting that I identify with the level 6/∞ guy to an inordinate degree.

No longer in need of contact with the material world.

"If it has a pulse, I'm game..."

disclaimer: Too perverted?

Kim Jong-un is my favorite fat dictator.

 

Oh, you said "fascist."

 

BTG took the words right out of my mouth with regard to Genghis Khan (everyone's favorite murderous Mongol!), so I'll reply with my second favorite, which was Shaka Zulu: purely for how utterly crazy he was. After his mother's death, he issued a three-month mourning period during which no one was allowed to eat anything whatsoever. Afterward, he proceeded to slaughter several cows so that the calves would feel the pain of losing their mother. To top it all off, he executed over 7,000 people who "didn't look sad enough."

This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping this thread would bring up, overlooked historical figures (I certainly hadn't heard of him) that were utterly and unrestrainedly bananas. It's hideous yet utterly fascinating to behold, like a literary car crash.

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^ Sometimes, when I'm watching music videos, I feel like an alien scout that has come across the remnants of a long dead civilization that sank into a terrifying dark age from which it had no hope of escape.

Amusing overdubbing though...

In The Eyes Of Nature by Swans (link)

Mr. Handagote by Tomas Dvorak (

Dog and his Master by Marcy Playground (link)

Rebel Rebel by David Bowie (

BULMA ブルマ by ｍ aｉ t ｒ o (

Let's Make Friends by Puerto Rico Flowers (

No Twilight Within The Courts Of The Sun by Steven Wilson (

Ancient Echoes by Eternal Tapestry (

Smile Like Sword by Iron Fist Of The Sun (

Streams Through Thick Air by Komodo Haunts (

When The Dog Bites by Tropic Of Cancer (

You Suffer by Napalm Death (

^ 7/10, when in comes to punk music I tend to prefer the filthier, angrier and lo-fi strains of the genre. That being said I do enjoy a more energetic and "cleaner" sounding stuff from time to time. Reminds me a lot of the band Millencolin, which is never a bad thing.

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I think it was the first time I ever went to an art gallery by myself, which wasn't a family trip or whatever. I recall it being a Martin Boyce exhibition at the IKON Gallery in Birmingham. It had something to do with that feeling of genuine independence and suddenly knowing what I wanted to with my life, at least in terms of my free time. It probably sounds trivial to some people but it was a real confidence boost for me. Being from a working class background you are assumed by many (expected in some quarters) to be ignorant of higher minded pursuits and in need of guidance when brought into contact with something like modern art. For me it was affirmation that I needn't feel too base to enter into the hallowed "white cube" of art, and that in fact I could understand and interpret what I was looking at, a great big middle-finger to sneering haughtiness that is especially prevalent in some of the smaller London galleries.

Which song by your favourite band or musician do you like the least?

"I'm not sure what anyone is thinking. How did I get here?"

@Meelis: I'm gonna be a jerk and state my opinion. XP Life is Strange is a good game, but I don't think it's the game that it tries to sell itself to be. From what I've seen (just watched a playthrough of every episode), the whole idea of; "actions have consequences" is flawed when you have the abilities that you have.

 

I agree it's a great game! But I feel like it was wrongly advertised. People were stating it to be like a sort of Walking Dead type game. But it's not at all. The choices you make seem to have no real influence because usually you're FORCED to go back and change what you decided. And some things seem rather pointless, like, deciding what breakfast you want. But other than that, it's good.

 

Feel free to disagree with me here.

It sounds like it's very similar to another recent adventure game, the horror title Until Dawn. I really enjoyed it, the first playthrough especially gives a distinct impression that your choices have a real impact on who get to survive and that your choices result in differing fortunes and consequences. Unfortunately the game's weaknesses become apparent after playing it for a second time, third time or more. You can even go back and start from one of the games ten chapters upon completing it for the first time. You start to realize that despite your choices and despite which characters perish or survive in the narrative, many of the game's pivotal events and plot high notes play out in exactly the same way.

[POTENTIAL PLOT RUINER BELOW, YOU'VE BEEN APPRAISED]