Brian C. Veteran Bookseller

Andy Serkis' upcoming autobiography is called "My Pressures" which, despite his recent wrong turn on AI, I have to say is inspired. 👏 It might replace "One Sinha Lifetime" as favourite memoir title.

Just been to see Wildwood. Man, what a work of art. I love Laika studios. Travis Knight is the only good billionaire.

My younger colleague ordered in Mists of Avalon for themselves because they love Arthurian mythology, and I made the deliberate decision not to piss in their cornflakes. 🤐

@lucasartsmemory.bsky.social

Being happy take a lot of effort & maintenance. Much easier just to be slightly miserable all the time.

Brian C. Veteran Bookseller reposted

LucasArts Memory

[Thread] Super Bombad Racing and Peter McConnell's Excellent Reinterpretations of the Star Wars Soundtrack People generally missed out the only Star Wars kart racing game, developed by the team at Lucas Learning. And for good reason: the game was released only on the PlayStation 2 in...🔽

Ginger beer is not the right drink to soothe a sore throat.

The strangest part of a head cold is the way your nostrils take turns being the blocked one. 🤷‍♂️

One advantage to audiobooks is that you learn the pronunciation of words you've only ever seen written down. Today, thanks to @travisbaldree.bsky.social and @silverliningsrr.bsky.social I learned how to pronounce "geis", which is *not* what I thought - I'm quite proud to have even recognised it!

smithsonianmag.comTraces of 13,000-Year-Old Beer Found in IsraelAccording to the authors of a new study, the discovery marks the earliest-known evidence of beer production among ancient peoples

Beer: The cause of, and solution to, Human Civilization.

c0nc0rdance@c0nc0rdance.bsky.social

Raqefet Cave in Israel was a sacred burial site for the hunter-gatherer culture known as the 'Natufians' around 13,000 years ago. More recently, we've also discovered here the earliest evidence of BEER BREWING from grains. Even more remarkable because these people HADN'T INVENTED AGRICULTURE YET.

Kudos to whoever translated this line of dialogue...

So I've been dipping my toe into various LitRPG audiobook series recently, and I've just devoted two whole hours to The Wandering Inn, aaaand ...does it get better at any point? Somehow the MC has spent 3 nights in an abandoned inn without actually managing to sleep in one of the beds.

I guess it's refreshing not to have an OP main character who instantly adapts to isekai life, but I find her incompetence baffling and irritating. Plus she's walking around just fine with a dragon-burned arm and legs sliced up by goblins, but a slice to her palm causes incapacitating agony.

I'll give it a bit longer since it's apparently a classic of the genre, but it's not given me any other reason to continue so far. /rant over.

She collected rainwater to clean the tables(?) after spending an eternity of book time looking for a dust-rag, but forgot to drink anything for over 2 days and ignored a kitchen full of knives and ironware despite being chased by goblins on day one and then setting out to gather food.

22 Sept

This is part of the "canary in the coalmine" metaphor that I didn't know - when the canary collapses you don't just go "Oop! Better save ourselves!", you also *bring out the canary*. This feels like something Terry Pratchett could've made a great point out of.

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19 Sept

I see the new "Meta Luna" smart-glasses don't have a camera, but do they include an Interocitor? Or do you have to build it yourself? (This is an extremely niche tweet)

17 Sept

If kids today aren't seeing broadcast advertising jingles, and are skipping the opening title songs of their shows, where are their lifelong earworms going to come from? (Thought comes after singing "Nescafé, Nescafé, a better way to start the day!" to myself while making a cup of coffee)

youtu.beNescafe the better way to start your day . Gareth hunt advert 1987YouTube video by Throwbacktvads

17 Sept

..."Isn't it time that you woke up, to a richer, smoother-tasting cup? Start you day with Nescafé, coffee at its best!" youtu.be/1oiZD94do6E

15 Sept

I don't have a great deal of experience with the format, but I'm beginning to think that the difference between a bad audiobook and a good audiobook has less to do with the quality of the writing and more to do with the talent of the narrator.

15 Sept

Also a great novel with beautiful prose might not necessarily mean a great audiobook. I think there's a kind of rambling, informal, unadorned style that lend itself to oral storytelling, like a real person is talking to you, but that might just be my preference.

14 Sept

I've been making this comparison (mostly to myself) The notion of a capricious and hugely unfair universe in which individual lives are crushingly insignificant feels very Adamsian. The difference being that in DCC its a socio-economic construct rather than natural law and Carl is very mad about it.

John Scalzi@scalzi.com

If you want to look to find the bit of science fiction culture of today that is likely most similar to the slot that Hitchhiker's fit into in the 80s, I might suggest Dungeon Crawler Carl to you. It's NOT a 1:1 fit, so settle down, but for humor/absurdity/weird melancholy, it's in the neighborhood.

Brian C. Veteran Bookseller reposted

Elle Cordova

@ellecordova.bsky.social

8 Sept

I am the very model of a modern day typographer A font take on the tune “Modern Major General” by Gilbert & Sullivan #typography #fonts #graphicdesign

4 Sept

It really seems like most officially licensed screen-print T-shirts are just garbage quality these days; tacky to the touch and start to disintegrate in a matter of weeks. I've got T-shirts from decades ago that look better than some recent purchases. Is there a way to fix or treat them at home?

4 Sept

Seriously considering baking any new t-shirts I buy in the oven for an hour.

19 Aug

Complete this sentence. I own a ridiculous amount of: Books Star Wars Lego Fantasy B-Movies Ahsoka Tano Funko Pops DC-Animated blu-rays

Ginger Coffee Creams of Horror@gnofhorror.com

Complete this sentence. I own a ridiculous amount of: Books Knifes Messenger bags Dog leads

I started to comment on this thread and it turns out I have a LOT of thoughts about Dungeon Crawler Carl - a series I'm really enjoying fwiw - so I thought I'd better make my own thread instead. 👇

Esme Weatherwax 📚🧶🦉🌳🔬📸 🌈 ally@esmeweatherwax8.bsky.social

Carl and Katia's platonic, healthy, love-filled friendship is part of what drives my endearment for Carl and the DCC series in general. Its so refreshing to see a m/F friendship that never dips its toes into romance. Carl never to feels he was "friend zoned" - Hes an actual true friend

...that, and the fact that despite being 27, Carl has the cultural tastes and formative experiences of someone 20 years older, almost as if the author was a middle-aged child of the 80s. 😏 With all that in mind, as I said at the top I'm still really enjoying the series. 🤷‍♂️

It's intricately plotted, with (as mentioned) complex characters & compelling world-building, and just a really enjoyable read. It's worth mentioning that I've exclusively listened to the audiobooks, and I listen to each one twice-over, both to embed the story in my brain and slow my progress. Fin.

I started to comment on this thread and it turns out I have a LOT of thoughts about Dungeon Crawler Carl - a series I'm really enjoying fwiw - so I thought I'd better make my own thread instead. 👇

Esme Weatherwax 📚🧶🦉🌳🔬📸 🌈 ally@esmeweatherwax8.bsky.social

Carl & Donut both have their less-than admirable qualities. There's a lot of vulgarity and negative stereotyping, some of which you can justify in-universe as "anti-Earth propaganda" by a psychotic AI, but it's still a choice that will put a lot of people off, and that's ok.

My biggest problem with the series is that I suspect if the amount of casually misogynistic caricatures throughout the books was replaced by say, homophobic tropes, everyone would have consigned it to the bin. Maybe I'm blind to the male-bashing rants by the AI that balance it out, but I'm not sure.

I started to comment on this thread and it turns out I have a LOT of thoughts about Dungeon Crawler Carl - a series I'm really enjoying fwiw - so I thought I'd better make my own thread instead. 👇

Esme Weatherwax 📚🧶🦉🌳🔬📸 🌈 ally@esmeweatherwax8.bsky.social

It's easy to see why the series offends a lot of readers. The AI's misanthropic descriptions of cultural stereotypes, Donut's vicious cattiness, repulsive demonic harem-members called Slit, Gash and Minge. Carl is a tolerant & accepting guy, but there's not *much* positive queer or alternative rep.

We mostly get Donut's prudish takes on things like tattoos, piercings, appearance, sexuality & gender, which Carl occasionally pushes back on. But, it's maybe ok to have complex, flawed main characters with casual prejudices, without the author continually signposting "this is bad btw"?

I started to comment on this thread and it turns out I have a LOT of thoughts about Dungeon Crawler Carl - a series I'm really enjoying fwiw - so I thought I'd better make my own thread instead. 👇

Esme Weatherwax 📚🧶🦉🌳🔬📸 🌈 ally@esmeweatherwax8.bsky.social

And *all that* is the male fantasy wish-fulfillment; to be perceived as basically kind and decent, even if you aren't good at the interpersonal stuff, to be respected and a little feared for your strength & cleverness; to have a righteous target for your anger, and problems that call for violence..

It's worth saying that a lot of Carl's antagonists are women, he's surrounded by manipulative, emotionally unstable or outright evil ladies; Beatrice, Odette, Maggie, Hekla, Eva, Loita, Cascadia, Samantha, Huanxin Jinx, Shi Maria. Male chars (Skull Empire aside) tend more to be just regular dudes.

I started to comment on this thread and it turns out I have a LOT of thoughts about Dungeon Crawler Carl - a series I'm really enjoying fwiw - so I thought I'd better make my own thread instead. 👇

Esme Weatherwax 📚🧶🦉🌳🔬📸 🌈 ally@esmeweatherwax8.bsky.social

DCC is a really interesting series to critique. Carl is a square, straight, pretty conservatively-minded dude; strong, competent, decisive, good at fixing things, and at fighting & killing in a world where it is necessary and justified. An abusive childhood has left him emotionally closed off...

...but also given him a survivor's outrage against bullies, cruelty and injustice. He's caring, but mainly shows it through his actions and desire to protect, which is also how he judges his own worth. He's reckless with his own safety, and underestimates how much his friends care for him...

instagram.comInstagramCreate an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

12 Aug

I try to avoid scrolling Instagram, but this little chap is the highlight of the whole app. His name is Acer and he's a whiz at numbers! 10/10 parenting by his dad also. It was hard to choose a clip to share, but then he showed up as a member of the 501st... www.instagram.com/reel/DbWLnza...

@moviessilently.bsky.social

10 Aug

Huh, interesting. I never bothered verifying my age on XBox Live because I'm not interested in using its "Social Features", so I just ignored all the reminders. And I've just had a notification to say "Due to longstanding account activity, we accept that you're an adult, there's no need to verify" 🤷‍♂️

Brian C. Veteran Bookseller reposted

Movies Silently

31 July 2024

"I Noticed That You Mentioned Silent Films So I Wanted to Come Over and Explain a Film I am Sure You Have Never Seen Called METROPOLIS" by Berthold Woltze

9 Aug

I was really puzzled as to why this article was accompanied by a photo of a young lady in a tartan micro-miniskirt and black top, bending over to adjust her thigh-high rainbow stockings...

6 Aug

My bank emailed to ask - based on my recent use of their in-branch cash machine - how likely I am, on a scale of 0-10, to recommend them to a friend or colleague. And then sent a *follow-up reminder* when I didn't respond. It's zero, ok? No-one regales their friends with tales of great ATM visits!

@keithwdickinson.bsky.social

1 Aug

Perception of value is an interesting thing. I have scores of movies on blu-ray that I'm in no great rush to upgrade to 4K UHD, but this was an insta-buy at full price as soon as I saw it..

Brian C. Veteran Bookseller reposted

Keith W. Dickinson

30 July

Replying to @louiestowell.bsky.social

On a slight tangent, I noticed in the Loki TV series there are as many alligator Lokis as there are female Lokis.