Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - Sidralma

Pages: [1]
1
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 25: Discussion
« on: June 28, 2010, 12:38:15 am »
I'm really sorry this recent story arc in particular seems to have struck a sour chord with you, Anuran. Personally, I liked it and thought it was well written. Clearly I can see that you would have preferred it had been written differently. But I enjoyed the way it is. To each his own I guess...

2
I just finished Time Gentleman, please! the hilarious, silly sequel to Ben there, Dan That! They're both 2D, point & click adventure games in the vein of Monkey Island only British and with a good bit of adult humor. The puzzles weren't too shabby although like every other adventure game I've tried I've had to turn to the FAQ at least once to get past an obstacle. But a quick Google search will easily provide walkthrus for both games if you too find yourself stuck at some point. The real fun of the game is really in the absurd dialogue the developers wrote and the zany situations they come up with. And they put a ton of it in there - just about everything you do/try will bring up a unique bit of dialogue. You can download the former for free on the developer's website, Zombie Cow Studios. And the sequel can apparently be purchased there as well although I personally picked both of these oddball gems from a $5 bundle pack at the game store/service Steam. I really recommend them. Well the games that is. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I like Steam which it would seem you must use to play the games you purchase it through it and apparently cannot run without the internet on.

3
Pop Culture / Re: What Are You Reading Right Now?!?!?! :)
« on: April 26, 2010, 01:16:44 am »
The Unwritten an ongoing Vertigo/DC comic series written by Mike Carey with art by Peter Gross. It's an odd one.. and the first trade paperback collecting it's beginning issues has come out giving anyone bored & with a Barnes & Noble/major book retailer/comic shop a chance to flip thru it. Odds are it'll be there. I hear it's gotten good reviews as well as an Eisner nomination. Describing it is tough.. mostly because I realize I've developed an irrational love for it and can't objectively recommend it, lol. I recommend taking this peek of "On the Ledge" - a Vertigo blog where the writers describe their work & some of the their thinking in, well, their own words.

http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/news/?nw=13062


Speaking of comics this upcoming Saturday (May 1st) is free comic book day. If you're a comic fan and you live in the U.S. consider stopping by your local comic shop. Most shops will offer a sizable stack of freebies as well as good discounts on their inventory. :)

4
Flipside Discussion / Re: Maytag's characterisation over Book 1
« on: April 26, 2010, 12:40:08 am »
That's an interesting observation. Looking over the comic I have to agree that we're looking at some significant differences from the original character concept and the way it's playing off now. And our awesome author's "no comment" has got me scratching my head. Though regardless I'm a fan, am very much enjoying the work (this current arc included) and looking forward to more updates.

5
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 23: Discussion
« on: November 21, 2009, 12:50:42 pm »
Hmm...so if Maytag has overcome her previous weakness, does that mean Moss will see another kind of weakness when he next beholds her?  Provided she HAS any weaknesses anymore.  ::)
(Bah, "promiscuity".  You call THAT a weakness?!)

I think you might be right.. granted I see Maytag as having many weaknesses. She strikes me as a passionate person, someone who feels things very deeply - whether it be love, lust, pain or even fear which leaves her open to many weaknesses. But she has the unusual ability of acknowledging these feelings in such a way that they lose their hold over her. It's like she can say "Okay.. I am feeling this.. I acknowledge this.. and now I am going to move past it." And she actually does. Granted she can certainly be killed, or out smarted, crippled, ect.. but there may be almost no situations where she can't subsume the emotions that would overwhelm a different person and then regain her mind to intelligently deal with the situation.

6
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 23: Discussion
« on: November 14, 2009, 03:26:57 pm »
Perhaps the reason that Bern isn't among the options overtly discussed is that this has been - as others have pointed out - a test to see if they can crack Maytag's biggest weakness. Granted, her feelings/commitment to Bern kinda counts as one but it seems like they really want her to be unfaithful. To have May break her resolve to be monogamous even in the face of her deep set desire to be otherwise. In that case pretending to be Bern wouldn't really accomplish that goal.

7
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 23: Discussion
« on: November 05, 2009, 02:10:26 pm »
If this is the real Regina she must be a pretty powerful sorceress by now... insecurity, lack of self confidence & intimacy issues kept her from becoming level 2 before. Clearly she's gotten past all that if this is really her.. .I wonder if she's even managed to become level 3? I would love it if she's somehow managed to become even stronger than Moss.

8
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 22: Discussion
« on: October 09, 2009, 07:41:20 pm »
So who thinks it's the real Regina? I keep going back and forth..

9
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 21: Discussion
« on: June 25, 2009, 09:23:49 pm »
Yeah, but there's a difference between minding your own business and getting accosted, and deliberately and willingly giving up your sense of judgment and then making a bad decision that you regret when sober.

Besides, what if the man is drunk? Does that mean you raped him if you have sex? If you're both drunk, did you rape each other?

But the thing about rape is that it's NOT your decision. Having too many beers? Totally your decision. Having the cute frat guy you were flirting with sneak you into his room & then rape you & possibly invite his buddies to join in - not something your drinking absolves him (and/or them) of. Even if he threw back a few his impaired judgment does not excuse him from committing a crime. As for a gender reversal yes, I would not bat an eye at a woman being charged of rape although the logistics of it would be far against her (one of the ironies of consuming large quantities of alcohol is that it makes it very difficult for even a guy who 'wants to' perform be able to) compared to the traditional scenario. As for two drunk people having sex with each other, well, if neither one of them wanted to have sex with the other person & both were so wasted that they were unconscious and/or physically unable to escape the scenario due to the motor f!#$king up effects of excessive alcohol, well, I just don't see how sex could possibly have happened between them in the first place, lol. I don't mean to say that drunken one night stands are non-consensual sex. A woman going to a bar to seek a sexual encounter, using alcohol to help her ease into the situation & then feeling awkward about it in the morning is not rape. I'm sure proponents of stricter rape laws don't mean for what was previously called "embarrassing sex" to be considered rape. But if the only reason you got to have sex with that girl was because you bought her drink after drink until she couldn't even walk out of the bar w/out help & then you decided to have sex with her while she was passed out then I'm sorry but I think that's not only a terrible breach of trust but a crime. Having sex with unconscious person is just not cool. I would no more condone it for the coma victim than the petite blond who doesn't know it's one tequila, two tequila, three tequila shots & then floor.

10
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 21: Discussion
« on: June 25, 2009, 08:45:45 pm »
Maybe they're just trying to save people from incredibly bad and embarassing sex, which is often the result when alcohol is involved? Y'know, kinda like drunk'n'driving.

Hey, they knew the risks when the consumed alcohol.

I agree that some behavior puts you more at risk than others. And it is certainly the case that if you're passed out or just generally incapacitated because you've drunk an ompaloompa's weight in alcohol you might leave yourself open to some bad situations. But I would want the man who shot you in a dark alley to be prosecuted just the same as the one who slipped into your bedroom at night and shot you in your sleep. The act of rape itself is still reprehensible & rapists should be held accountable. Moreover, the statistics show that it's most often not the creepy villainous looking stranger who's most likely to commit that damnable act but the men the victim knows. This advantage gives them openings that wouldn't be allowed to strangers in a heartbeat - and to me at least it's all the more heart wrentching when the person you thought loved & respected you shatters your trust in not just them but the world in general by deciding that if you can't say no (or at least say it without slurring) then it's okay to fuck you. After all, you're buddies/dating/neighbors. That gives them the right to do whatever the fuck they want with your body while you're at your most vulnerable.  :(

Oh yeah, I should probably comment on the comic. This being the comic thread and all. Great work Brion! I'm shocked, confused, and totally hungry for more. Please keep it coming. I can't wait to see what's behind that curtain that has May looking so surprised.

11
Hall of Games / Re: Good Idea, Bad Idea
« on: May 22, 2009, 01:43:44 am »
Good Idea: Eating the sharp glass that's in them as well.
Bad Idea:  Washing it all down with an especially potent glass of lemonade.

12
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 21: Discussion
« on: May 22, 2009, 01:30:16 am »
I agree. I wonder what now ranks as Bern's greatest weakness? Likewise I wonder if Moss' old assessment of Maytag's biggest weakness is now different too. After all, the whole 'slut' thing probably revolved around her fears that her promiscuity was #1 - not something she wanted to/could totally contain #2 - something that would tear her relationship apart if it ever got out in the open....


13
Pop Culture / Re: What are you currently listening to?
« on: May 22, 2009, 01:17:07 am »
Ben Franklin's Death Ray.

Nope, it's not a band although I would totally steal name if I had a sliver of musical talent. It's a random two minute commentary done by one of NPR's reporters. It's funny, witty, bite-sized & as best as I can tell - true! XD Ben Franklin is sooo my hero now, hehe.


14
Pop Culture / Re: What Are You Reading Right Now?!?!?! :)
« on: May 19, 2009, 12:12:51 am »
Right now I am reading a book titled This I Believe which I dashed to get at my local library after I couldn't put down the sequel This I Believe II. Imagine trying to pin down one of the core, guiding principles in your life right now. Now imagine explaining it through the context of your own personal life story. And keep it at roughly 500 words. The result is really amazing. This all stemmed from a radio program that NPR ran which got something like 50,000 responses. So what you get in your hands in the cream of the crop. You get a collection of wonderfully written bite-size essays whose message, although one you may deeply disagree with, is expressed in such a candid, heart-felt way that you'll at the very least come away feeling like you can understand where the writer is coming from. Reading these essays feels like holding someone's heart in your hands. And the authors range from average joes to famous types who've had a real impact on the world. If you do pick up either volume I recommend not checking to see who the author of the essay is until you're done reading. It's much more fun that way :) Anyway, it's a really good read. If you get a chance, check it out.

15
Free Talk / Re: Shrink's sofa
« on: May 18, 2009, 02:21:05 am »
One of my old psych professors once said that much of the trouble we have is that we often don't recognize what the feelings are that we crave behind the things we seek. For example, we'll pay $40 for a concert ticket. Later on, when the time for the concert approaches we suddenly realize there's something else we'd really rather do. But the ticket's been paid for so there's this feeling of obligation, like we have to get our money's worth, otherwise we're stupid and we've thrown that money away. What we should realize is that we bought the ticket because of the positive feelings we thought we'd get from attending the show. That's what really matters, not the show. You won't get your money back going to the show, just like you won't get it back if you do something else. So seeing how you're out $40 either way why not do the thing that you think will make you happiest?

I see the vacation problem the same way. It's not the vacation that matters, but rather the positive feelings you think that you'll feel by going on vacation. Think deeply on what it is that you hoped to gain by going on vacation. If you can isolate and articulate your motivation(s) for wanting the vacation you can probably come up with some pretty good alternatives to gain a similar level of satisfaction. You might find upon closer inspection, for instance, that you're really sick of your daily routine. Just shaking that up may go a long ways to boost your mood. Or you may find that the idea appeals to you because you crave a new fun, stimulating challenge. Consider taking up a new hobby, your local library can be an excellent resource on how-to books to get you started. The more you narrower down what it is you really seek the more options open up to you as you realize that odds are that feeling(s) can be achieved in more than one way.

16
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 21: Discussion
« on: May 04, 2009, 05:22:11 pm »
Lol, you guys are terrible! Glyph wouldn't do anything like that. While sneaking peeks at the girls in the carriage is underhanded, it's underhanded in a really juvenile sort of way. Groping Suspiria while she's weakened crosses the line into real asshole territory & sets him up to get his tush handed to him when she gets her powers back. Plus if Bern caught him doing anything untoward he'd, like, loose a limb! He's horny, not stupid... right? Plus, it may soon turn out that this particular bed & breakfast knows how to really treat a lonely guy who's got an itch to scratch which is why he stopped here and also add more reason for him not needing to cop a feel off of his fellow passengers.

17
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 20: Discussion (Part 2)
« on: April 02, 2009, 11:54:15 pm »
Wow.. this was so touching. It's all the more poignant, I think, when the revelation is compounded by the reader's knowledge that this is not some silly phase Maytag is going through. It's part of who she is - as evidenced by her own admission on the beginning of the journey that her love for Bern was enough to inspire her to cut off a piece of herself. But that's got to weigh down May the longer she tries to keep it up.. and while Bern's clearly been willing to wait even her patience is going to have it's limits. Something is going to have to give here. I don't like using the word "compromise" because it implies that both partners are sacrificing something in relative equal measure. In this situation I don't really see that kind of "compromise." Either Bern will have to fundamentally change her feelings/attitudes towards sexuality or Maytag will have to. Granted there's certainly a spectrum of sexual behaviors and one could envision a situation where after one particular viewpoint gets it's way the person who "won" concedes something. For instance, if the relationship remains "closed" then Bern agrees to be even more open to new ideas in how they express their sexuality with each other to help keep May from feeling unsatisfied. Or in the event that May's preference "wins" & the relationship becomes "open" then they only include as a third a partner(s) someone/persons that Bern feels emotionally attached to/trusts enough to be comfortable being intimate with. But all these scenarios - in my mind at least - are compromises that stem from an original decision that isn't one. The relationship is open or it's closed. I just don't see a middle ground there... :\

18
Flipside Discussion / Re: FLIPSIDE ACTION FIGURES
« on: March 27, 2009, 02:35:36 pm »
t
I would NEVER buy one just because I don't do collectibles...

Ditto. Sorry!  :(

19
Flipside Discussion / Re: Chapter 20: Discussion (Part 2)
« on: March 27, 2009, 01:05:22 pm »
I had both really hoped & really dreaded revelations of Bern's inner self during this latest chapter. I really admire Bernadette and was worried that like other characters I've admired it'd turn out that her seemingly better qualities would simply be a distracting veneer from some real ugliness underneath. I know it makes for more exciting drama when a seemingly nice guy suddenly pulls back the mask and goes "Ah HAH! And you all thought I was your sappy friend. Behold! I have been pulling the strings of {insert dastardly deeds & villainous monologue here}." I really like how Bernadette has turned out to be flawed but still feels like her self. She didn't take the moral high ground and try to leverage this new, irrefutable (as far as we know) proof to force May to make some kind of penance. She only slapped Suspiria when I bet she could have punched her hard enough to do real damage.

I guess the big question I have now though is how Bern & May will work this new knowledge into their relationship. Bern's obviously got a big enough heart to forgive these past infidelities but I doubt she has it in her to jump into threesomes with her lover just yet. Bern strikes me as the kind of girl who needs to feel an emotional connection with someone before she can feel comfortable being intimate whereas May is so into the excitement of new sexual encounters that her requirements are, in a sense, probably much lower. Will Bern be able to let May openly seek out & bed other people? I mean it's one thing to forgive the past & another to help lay the ground work for this being the norm for the future... It just seems a huge leap forward from "yes, people can draw you naked for the sake of art" to "yeah, you can totally bang that hot guy there.. and his girlfriend.. and their kinky roommate.. and their pet goat. I mean so long as you're sure the goat is into it."

20
Pop Culture / Re: What Are You Reading Right Now?!?!?! :)
« on: March 19, 2009, 01:35:22 am »
*Gets out notepad* I'll have to jot some of these titles down for my next trip to the library.

Well I'm like 2 pages from the end but I'm reading The Lucifer Effect by famed psychologist Dr. Philip Zimbardo. It's been pretty fun and sobering. One of those books that makes you want to take stock of your surroundings and watch them very warily, heh.

I also recently finished a fantastic comic series I'd recommend to, well, pretty much anyone. It's called Y The Last Man. It's a neat, well written "what if" venture into a world where suddenly all the men and male mammals drop dead - well almost all. As the title pretty much gives away, there's one small vestige of testosterone left & boy do things get crazy really fast for that poor guy & his pet monkey...

21
Flipside Discussion / Re: What do you think of the new forum?
« on: March 17, 2009, 03:04:37 am »
Not a huge fan of the skin. I'll miss the old intermission Maytag with the cards. This picture makes me feel like I have to hide the window whenever anyone walks into the room.

I agree. I don't want to step on the toes of the people who like it but would it be possible to work in an alternative for those of us who'd rather have a more neutral skin?

22
Flipside Discussion / Re: What do you think of the new forum?
« on: March 17, 2009, 12:35:03 am »
I'm worried that some of the folks who don't post every day will miss out.

That problem can likely be fairly easily remedied by simply changing which forum the main Flipside homepage links to when the appropriate time comes. Users who do not regularly post on the forums almost certainly reach it by going through the main site page - and if they don't then odds are it will occur to them to try the link from the Flipside homepage when they discover that their bookmarks no longer take them to the proper place. :)

Pages: [1]