I clicked the link.

Me too.  I lose.   

 

But, for the most part, old school art is about trying to make things look beautiful or provoke a happy response. 

Sometimes art is supposed to provoke a negative response.  dismissing anything that doesn't make you feel happy and warm inside only serves as a great injustice to yourself.  My favorite painting is Edward Hoppers' Nighthawks:



However, when I see it I don't feel happy or see it as beautiful.  Instead, I feel intense sadness and a sense of isolation.  But it haunts me.  It's the same reason I watch films like Alien and enjoy them:  I appreciate (sometimes) the ability to provoke a reaction from me...and not necessarily a happy one.  I'm not saying I take it to ridiculous extremes (hoping for someone to make a snuff film or watching german porn) but I also understand that the human condition encompasses more than just happiness and contentment.

$75 and a cheese puff shaped like Elvis.

i couldn't help but notice your offer.  i run another site called "www.kingshapedsnacks.com " and i'm interested in your item.  could you please describe what stage of elvis' life you believe this cheese puff depicts?

I think you just have to figure out what you like and zero in on stuff like that, like you would with music or cinema or even games.  

I think what bothers me about art is this: there are those who would tell you that you're less-than simply because you don't "get" it; they themselves don't "have" it, they simply gravitate to a BS piece and give it false depth.

the technical term for those folks is "a$$holes" and they can be found flitting around pretty much anywhere in life.   

Every time I hear Trump on ANYTHING, I'm immediately reminded that he has the single largest ego on the face of this planet.  He really is one of the most obnoxious humans to ever walk the earth.

...now we return to our regular scheduled program.

Years ago I briefly dated a woman who was convinced she was a great artist.  She quit her day job to paint and to work in a gallery.  I never had the heart to tell her that her "Me As A Young Girl" painting was the single creepiest thing I'd ever seen.  It was like a set piece for a Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie.  I had to endure looking at the thing for the few months we were together and I swear it scarred me both emotionally and mentally.  

Somehow she was able to eventually get a small gallery show.  From what I heard from friends, it was primarily due to the unsettling nature of her work.  To each their own, I guess.  As I said, art is truly subjective.

I blame Marcel Duchamp.

I actually consider learning about the 1919 Paris Armory show to be one of the highlights of my brief tenure as an art major in college (I eventually dropped it to a minor and then dropped it altogether when I couldn't shade that goddamn tennis ball in Intro to Drawing).  Introduced me to the full effect of Dadaism and "Found Art".

The general feel I'm getting from some of the posts in this thread is that some folks only like "photo realism" in their art.   

Put simply, her work is AMAZING.  And that isn't bias speaking:

not trying to be rude, but in this you can't help but be biased. 

I think we're exposed to so many mediums and so many styles at this point that it's easy to dismiss all modern art with an exasperated shrug.  However, it doesn't mean that art itself has degenerated.  It just means we have more to search through in order to find what appeals to us as individuals.  I, for one, enjoy having the option to decide what catches my fancy.

<drool>

Man, I've missed this series.  Can't wait for this one!

If it must be defended... it's not art.

all art has had to be defended from at least one critic at one point...ergo, art does not exist. 

WE ARE LIVING IN AN ARTLESS WORLD!

(except for that "dogs playing poker" painting...that thing just takes the imagination to new realms)

I absolutely loved Gothic 1 and 2.  I have 3 but never got more than a few hours into it.  I really need to apply the community patch and get back to it one of these days.  Just to be a "completist", really.

On the other hand, imagine my delight if I were to open up my web browser to GT as I do every morning...but instead of being greeted by gaming information and random discussions of Canadian beheading incidents, I was instead met with "CHEERLEADERS WHO DO IT ALL!" and "GROW 4 INCHES OVERNIGHT!". 

thanks for taking that away from me, KD.  just...thanks.  i needed that 4 inches.  






 

Crap, i thought Too Human was coming out this week. 

Oh well, maybe Space Siege, depending on how well it's received around these parts.  Oh, and the pub games for Fable 2, most likely.

All art is subjective.  To argue its merits is a fool's errand. 

argh!  i got so tied up in other crap that i forgot to play this weekend.

please forgive this poor lout!  i'll be at gencon next weekend, but i'll try to log in this week for a bit.

Getting back on topic 

i'm about one level away from the final boss battle and the only other annoying thing i've found is that sometimes the "puzzles" you have to solve to advance to the next area are a bit obtuse.  i've had to run to the gamefaq guide for this one about 4 times so far to figure out how to defeat an enemy who seems invulnerable or figure out how to get rid of an obstacle that has no real world counterpart for context.

but man, combat is still a blast.  i love some of the powers you receive later in the game. 

This might not be a movie I hate, but I certainly had a different reaction to Silence of the Lambs than most people.  I laughed all the way through it.  It wasn't a mocking laugh, because I genuinely enjoyed the movie, and yes it was scary.  I just thought it was hilarious.  Does that make me a bad person?

thanks...now i will always see this when i see your name on these boards:

Picked this up for the 360 for 17.95 used at GameStop (it just underwent a price drop to 19.99 new).  I'm almost finished with it as it's pretty short.  I really enjoy combat in the game, but would it have killed them to include at least a halfway decent story?  Other than the really flimsy excuse to go out and kill things with the incredibly fun glaive, I would recommend it for a cheap FPS gaming fix for the 360.

i'm pretty sure even raimi's not a big fan of Spiderman 3.  From all accounts, the studio made him shoehorn in venom for the teen crowd over his objections.  it muddied the story to the point that it just fell apart.

i've never seen pi.  however, i do like pie.

okay, some of the wording in the article made me chuckle. 

Florida cops are searching for members of a girl gang that attacked two teenagers with high-heeled shoes, including an eight-inch brown stiletto. The assault occurred early this morning outside Club Crunk, a Fort Pierce nightspot that had refused admission to the victims, sisters aged 18 and 17 (the pair was out celebrating the older sibling's birthday). According to a Fort Pierce Police Department report, the sisters told cops that the girl gang "approached them...and began punching and kicking." The sisters, who identified their assailants as members of a group known as "The Rock Star Girls" and "The Cheerleaders," reported that three of the assailants removed their shoes and began beating them with the oversized heels. One attacker, swinging a silver shoe with a six-inch heel, remarked, "B, I am gonna kill you." The report adds, "'B' is street language for the English noun 'Bitch.'" The document, a copy of which you'll find below, notes that the mother of the victims had called 911 after her daughters were battered and told responding officers, "Look at my babies, they were beaten at the club by like 30 hoes." (3 pages)

"B" is street language?

"30 hoes"?

"Cheerleaders...come out and plaaaayaaaay."

I think it's important to remember not to judge someone for their movie likes and dislikes.  It's our individuality in taste and opinions that we should be celebrating.

...except in the case of Ceekay.  He's obviously got "issues".

 

 

i thought "warning" was an odd way to tell me he was having trouble with my character's name!

Perhaps this is the place to ask this question, given the nature of the thread:  is there ANYONE out there who thinks the movie "Meet the Spartans" is even remotely funny in any way, shape or form?   

It literally pains me to see the commercials (I'm not nearly brave enough to rent this one) for it as it seems to operate at a level I don't think I've encountered since 4th grade classrooms...yet it appears to be marketed at adults/teenagers. 

It also seems to be part of a larger trend with such films as Epic Movie and Date Movie (part of the Aaron Seltzer and writing partner Jason Friedberg era, I guess) seemingly doing well enough at the box office to merit more and more of these movies.

Clerks II.  Everyone always talks about how insightful and funny it is, but I found it to be a juvenile attempt at displaying "30 something ennui" by a filmmaker from whom I expect more.  Even the fart jokes were stale.

High Fidelity.  I thought it was an annoying attempt at trying to tell me how cool it was.  It was like being locked in a room with a New York party scene hipster for 90 minutes...and they just HAD to tell me how provincial I was the whole time.

donation sent.  Here's to kato's safe return to our gaming shores!

hepcat, I sent you an invite late last night! Warning, I tried to send you an invite but it tells me that none of your toons exist (?). Are the toons active and did you spelled their names correctly?

hmmm...I thought that was the correct spelling.  I'll double check tonight after work and post it again.

thanks for the heads up!

I do believe I'll fire up my copy this weekend.  Pound for pound, only the Elder Scroll series has seen as much game time out of me in the last 10 years.   

i'm ONE mission away from finishing the first game.  plus, i'd like to get some more time in with my assassin/dervish in the expansions.

hepcat, when you reload the game this weekend, post your main here so we can send you an invite into the new guild.

rittchard, I do believe ArenaNet is indeed addressing the issues you posted on GW2. The world PVP aspect, specially, sounds enticing.

thanks, i just loaded it up to get the updates (man, i have been away a long time...that took forever) and my main is Thulsa Darkchylde.  If i recall correctly, getting that one into the guild will also put my others into it as well. 

whoa...let's not get crazy

I remember how ticked off I was at Knightshade when I first registered with GT all those many moons ago.  I honestly felt he went too far.

I remember it like it was yesterday:

GT:

Name

Birthdate

Location

....What are you wearing?

Me:

what?

GT:

What are you wearing...right now?

Me:

I don't see how that's perti....

GT:

Are they tight pants?  Jeans, maybe?

Me:

Wait...what?

GT:

Just answer the questions. 

You doing anything tonight?

Me:

Seriously, this is creeping me ou...

GT:

Shhh...don't type.  You're going to ruin this moment.

Me:

.... 

I would have to agree that the critics kind of overreacted.  it was funny, but not in the same league as movies like  Animal House, Caddyshack, or Back to School.  Those are classics. 

I do believe I'll fire up my copy this weekend.  Pound for pound, only the Elder Scroll series has seen as much game time out of me in the last 10 years.   

i'm ONE mission away from finishing the first game.  plus, i'd like to get some more time in with my assassin/dervish in the expansions.

and i'll continue the unanimous praise 

I didn't really think that the first Harold & Kumar was particularly good.

Pineapple Express is up to 70% on RT now that more reviews are coming in.  We're going sunday. Stoked.

was it a great comedy?  no.  but i did enjoy the stereotype breaking that was, i suspect, the primary reason for the film.

plus...NPH.  the man is comedy gold no matter where he shows up.   

I'm not a huge fan of anderson, but i did enjoy Event Horizon.  i literally cannot think of one uwe film i enjoyed in even the smallest measure.

in other news, i saw that doomsday was available to rent from one of those $1 a night movie kiosk thingies in the grocery store.  you might try looking there corrupt.

ya know, i just saw one of those devices at my local grocery store.  pretty nifty!

I suppose it is enough to keep comic book geeks comfortable on the long cold nights without a date but it is nor really a valid moral distinction.

did you really need to go down that tired old road to make yourself feel superior?  i expected better of you.   

Don't call him out like that, hep.  He has higher morals than us 'comic book geeks'.  Plus, he can get a date and we can't.

lining up sock puppets around my living room and giving them the names of the 2007 Chicago Bear's cheerleading squad is most certainly a "date", damnit!

I have a dvd collection in the THOUSANDS now, and between renting and buying I've given plenty to the movie industry.

I personally feel that this is perfectly reasonable.  I've purchased thousands and thousands of dollars worth of goods at retail stores all over this great country of ours and I feel I've done my part to support these stores.  From now I'll be doing my shopping via the ol' "five finger discount". 

I'm actually currently undergoing an intensive drug treatment program designed to help me block out memories of Tara Reid trying to pronounce "Newfoundland" in "Alone in the Dark" and Burt Reynolds as a good ol' boy King in "Dungeon Siege: In the Name of God, WHY!?".  Hopefully, God willing, I'll be a whole man once again...someday.

I suppose it is enough to keep comic book geeks comfortable on the long cold nights without a date but it is nor really a valid moral distinction.

did you really need to go down that tired old road to make yourself feel superior?  i expected better of you.   

[bad movie]

after watching harold and kumar escape gitmo, i think i'm beginning to move away from stoner humor movies. 

That's because Harold and Kumar escape from Guantanimo Bay was a bad movie. It lacked the whimsical fun and smarts of the first movie -- two stoners going to white castle = road trip movie; two stoners running from guantanimo bay = insult to intelligence. They were running from the dumbest villain ever to grace the big screen (even worse than will farrell's character in J&SBSB). There were too many scenes that were groan inducingly bad that by the end of it I was bored. It ultimately failed because they tried to do too much with simple characters.

There were some great moments though. The scene with the moronofficer talking to NPH's about his role in starship troopers... completely genius.

The Pineapple Express, I have high hopes for - because I find Seth Rogen consistently funny. Thug life.

i actually agree with that assessment.  even NPH couldn't save it, unfortunately.