I would just about tolerate the fuss of a resin printer if I didn’t have to think about fumes. That alone puts it out of reach for me.

I agree. It does seem like media literacy vis a vis video games is not as generally strong as it ought to be, and if people did have a deeper understanding of game design, art, and writing in general even a brief look at gameplay would be enough for most people to make up their minds. If you have an even somewhat strong understanding of games I think it’s not too hard to sense at a glance how the game you’re seeing is trying to contribute to the conversation in game development. Between that, weighted reviews, and even the thumbs up or down from one familiar reviewer is usually enough for me to tell if I will get my money’s worth. I almost can’t remember the last time I bought a game on this basis and wasn’t happy - it was Nier: Automata actually, and that was basically because I didn’t like the feel of the combat, which is hard to spot. Didn’t even get to all the bleak philosophy stuff I was looking forward to, I just bounced off it hard.

Haze them, I beseech you

Indie games have never been better, there’s no problem here that doesn’t solve itself if people just stop buying bad AAA titles

I miss the days when Europeans would justly laugh in our faces about the size of our trucks.

Unhung traitors kill republics

The electoral college was a compromise with slavers. Since 1800, more than 700 proposals to change or get rid of it have been introduced, and we’re the only constitutional republic in the 21st century that still uses one. Direct democracy works fine.

RCV would be an improvement, but with FPTP the bar is a tripping hazard in hell. I’d prefer something like STAR voting or some implementation of Condorcet, with mandatory voting and a day off to do it.

Hahah, people don’t see it right away. Here you’ll get trashed for not saying it with your chest. Honestly, I’m happier than a pig in a donut shop

The American system is not designed to be kind to those who want to change the American system. It’s cool that he even said it, even though it was just an off the cuff sound bite

Theoretically yes, but you should probably consult your local tarsier monkey for specific guidance

I only really come here to say such things. Megustalations

Once I quaffed a queef, inhaled a clunge that had beefed, I just belched for relief and resumed the great feat

It’s because fingers are really good. Legs don’t have fingers, it’s basically the only difference if you think about it. Fingers make everything better. Find someone with really long toes and ask how their leg day goes, see if I’m wrong

Without wanting to ruffle anyone’s feathers, I will submit queef, which would be worth a chuckle even if it held no meaning

I tend to be pretty sensitive about that kind of thing, and it doesn’t get my hackles up at all. Not familiar with the character though either. If there are people who you can trust, do a test run of the cosplay and show them pictures, see how they feel. It’s going to depend on the exact vibes, yanno?

He likes oatmeal and fresh fruit. I once showed him a 70s slinky commercial, after he’d just gotten an original quality steel one, and it blew his mind. He’s a Gorrilaz fan, and knows all their MVs. He reads for pleasure, including Calvin & Hobbes. His childhood is a complete contrivance of my own devising, a hothouse flower cultivated purely for the beauty of the thing that could not possibly survive in natural conditions.

So no, I feel no allegiance to the original experience as it was lived. The 90s had its charms, but it was largely a cultural wasteland.

Hope so. I was showing Reading Rainbow every week for a good while, but he turned against it. Breaks my heart, but I guess there’s no accounting for taste. At least he loves to read, for which I hope Levar would pardon us.

For the last several months I’ve been creating Saturday morning playlists of cartoons for my kid to recreate the phenomenon for him. It’s a fun little hobby and I’ve learned a little video editing along the way. I even have a spreadsheet where I track everything so we have a good amount of variety and consistently progress so there’s no repeats and it’s always fresh. I even mix in “commercials” in between, in the form of random video memes and short indie animations, as well as appropriate music videos. Wish I could make it available to other parents, but I can be a lot more dialed in with an audience of one.

Honorable mention must be made of Anna’s Archive. It’s a little slow, but you can probably download the books faster than you can read them.