There's a limit to how many friends you need… seriously. It's the same for online as it is from offline apparently. I think the max is about 130 or 150 or something- that's the most that people can mentally keep track off. Over that it's just useless noise for most people.
They say that may have been an early evolution thing. I can't remember why… something about small self sustatining comminities and the max number of individuals you'd meaningfully interesct with.
-Of course you'll add more friends than that online though if you mainly want to promote stuff to them or they're fans or whatever.

I am watching the Adele concert special right now and I am questioning my sanity because it is sending me on an emotional roller coaster ride. Heart wrenching. Heartbreaking. Each song is like pouring salt into a fresh open wound and is reminding me of that pain. It also reaffirms that I am an emotional masochist and that Adele could possibly be the UK's ultimate secret weapon.

P.S. Never drive a vehicle while listening to Adele. I tried once and almost got into an accident because I was blinded by all the tears in my eyes.

ozoneocean wrote:
There's a limit to how many friends you need… seriously. It's the same for online as it is from offline apparently. I think the max is about 130 or 150 or something- that's the most that people can mentally keep track off. Over that it's just useless noise for most people.
They say that may have been an early evolution thing. I can't remember why… something about small self sustatining comminities and the max number of individuals you'd meaningfully interesct with.

Think extended family group of first and second cousins going back several generations, their spouses and children with their spouses and children with an average life expectancy of 35-40. The number crunchers averaged it out to be between 100 to 130 people. Which coincidentally was the maximum most people can mentally keep track of.

It also happens to be a typical village size going back to settled hunter gatherers. So some theorize that once you get to that certain number where everyone doesn't know your name you tend to move on to found your own settlement or marry outside the clan for genetic diversity or some such thing . A bunch of different variables that all intersect at a certain number of people.

kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
I am watching the Adele concert special right now and I am questioning my sanity because it is sending me on an emotional roller coaster ride. Heart wrenching. Heartbreaking. Each song is like pouring salt into a fresh open wound and is reminding me of that pain. It also reaffirms that I am an emotional masochist and that Adele could possibly be the UK's ultimate secret weapon.

P.S. Never drive a vehicle while listening to Adele. I tried once and almost got into an accident because I was blinded by all the tears in my eyes.

Adele is Endglands best torture device. Musically 2015 has been good for me. A lot of my favourite artists b#put something out that was some of the best of their career, and also Muse put out drones which was okay… But Iron maiden did their best album since the 80s with Book of Souls and Killing Joke's Pylon is stunning. Neither would likely appeal to a fan of Adele though.

It's the poor guy she's been singing about for years I feel sorry for. Doesn't he have a right to get on with his life without being lyrically stalked by a serial miserablist? If that was me I would be claiming a hefty slice of royalties.

—

I checked. It seems he already tried and failed after Rolling In The Deepression.

I bet the judge ruled that her lyrical wailing was so generic that anyone could have inspired them. The moral of the story is, he should have been a bigger asshole.

I love Rolling in the Deep, it's a good song. :)
I don't really get the backlash there.

If I put the work in and finish my colouring and lettering I'll have done FOUR pages of Pinky TA this year!
Time to get to WORK!

Music is a matter of personal taste and as far as I'm concerned, everyone should listen to what they enjoy.
That said, if you don't particularly enjoy something and the only way you can avoid it is to go and live in a cave, then I think you're entitled to complain about it with other like minded individuals! Decent caves are not that easy to find these days, what with all the geologists and archeologists making tv programmes. Then there's the potholers.

Aye, rolling in the deep isn't a bad song. In fact I've heard some covers which are excellent. The backlash is a result of the horrid over exposure of a good singer who produces seriously depressing radio fodder and having everyone swear it's the second coming.
Although, I'd rather have that that'll Justin Bieber rammed down my through the but that's like choosing between being gang raped by gorillas or baboons. Most popular music I'm oblivious to, but there is no escape from Adele at the moment. Guess that's how non star wars fans feel. Speaking of which I have tickets for Friday. Looking forward to that.
There's been a mass of new trailers released lately, I guess everyone wants to advertise in front of star wars. So having watched a load of them here is my brain farts on them.
Jungle book. I'll be taking my daughter to see this, I don't expect a master price but visually it's pretty tidy.
The Huntsman… hmm. I guess I'll take my daughter to see it,she liked snow white and the Huntsman. Looks like a vaguely entertaining kid friendly fantasy movie.
Tarzan… probably be a train wreck, but again my daughter expressed an interest. She might be disappointed it's not like the Disney one. Certainly looks like one for the ladies to ogle over the dude from true blood.
Independence day resurgence. I will definitely be seeing this. I loved the pure popcorn blockbuster fun of the original and hopefully theverything sequel will capture a fraction of that. Also my sons are dying to see it.
Star trek beyond. Hmm. The trailer seems designed to piss off a lot of so called star trek fans by being action packed. That said it's a two minute trailer that shows pretty much only action and one liners. Sure if that's all the film has to offer it will be disappointing, and given the director is best known for doing the fast and furious films it seems quite likely. But it's too early to judge. It's not like they would release a trailer that solely featured discussions about tachyon particles in a nebula.
Sigh, I have too much time on my hands at the moment.

I stopped listening to music on the radio back in the ‘90s. Initially it was the take-over of cheap dance/club music that drove me to Alternative and classic rock stations. If it’s meant for dancing it's usually not that great for listening.
Well that's been the dominant mainstream style ever since despite the other styles hanging on. All the biggest stars just do variations of dance/club: stuff with samples and mathamatically regular beats.

In the 2000s I quit trying to listen to pop music on TV and quit music on the radio altogther.

After that I only discovered new music through friends or by finding old tapes or CDs (I don' like records), and that sort of self discovery was WAY more rewarding than having it pushed at me through promotional chanels. Then mp3 file sharing came along ^_^

Now in this future era of the FUTURE friends share youtube vids and youtube is also great for self discovery or just throwing up random stuff you might like that's sort of related to what you already like etc.

No of course there was ALWAYS live music, but I've never really been big on that. I see bands occasionaly, big and small… but it's not really a passion of mine. Music tends to sound crap at big concerts so you only go to those if you're already a fan, at smaller venues it's usually a lot better but I haven't got much passion for the experience to follow it up.

… This is very nerdy: the only musical group that I kept on going to see whenever they performed was a mixed percussion group that was based out of my university: Marimbas, Vibraphones, Xylophones etc. I really got into those guys! Looking them all up, hanging out for the concerts etc.

I would want to hear a musical response from Adele's “ex” (he claims they were never officially a couple) in a song titled, “Girl, it is Over!”. I think I would buy that album.

Currently, I am a big fan of folk music from the 1950s and 1960s. I gravitate toward a lot of Indie Pop music and a lot of my CD collection has come from going to Amoeba Records in Berkeley or Los Angeles and discovering random artists based on their CD covers. Youtube has been a major factor in discovering new artists.

I still have all my STP songs on constant repeat. Nothing to do with the death of the lead singer- I was doing that already two weeks before he died. I don't know why but I don't feel like listening to anything else… Till I get sick of it this is all there is.

—-

I can't stand people calling Star Wars “A new hope” or “Episode IV”. It was never that crap, it was always just “Star Wars”. If you get confused with the name of the film and the “franchise” and really need something to differentiate it… well you're just an idiot and mordern life isn't for you. ^_^
“A new hope” and the “episode” number were not titles, they were just dramatic conciets to make the original movie look like an old timey space serial, the same stuff that Tarantino does with his Grindhouse things. It was a bit of fun. The fact that people have made this into an actual thing is a worse stain than the prequels.

I have really never liked the whole Roman numeral thing on movies. It used to be that each entry in franchises had a distinct title like “Sherlock Holmes and the woman in green” or “…. and the secret weapon” rather than Sherlock Holmes IV and so on. It's a cop out and just plain laziness on the part of all concerned from producers down to fans.
The first trilogy is Star Wars, Empire and Jedi. It is not Hope new or otherwise and I don't like seeing it abbreviated Star Wars :IV either.

We are in precise accord on this! I agree fully. That's the correct title listing.

I'm seeing Adele on the internet a lot, but not really hearing about her in my city. Probably because I go to a liberal arts school in the heart of downtown and no one would ever admit to enjoying a popular artist. :P

—

I'm almost done my secret Santa art! It's been a while since I had free time for drawing, so I've been taking my time on it. Didn't really factor in the background when planning though, so it might look a bit awkward. Is there a word for that effect, when the things in the foreground of a painting just look sort of “placed” there rather than being part of a cohesive whole? Anyways, that's what it will look like, but I'm pretty pleased with it otherwise.

I must be living in the proverbial cave…I think I've heard of Adele but never heard any of her tunes. Just noticed a parody of one of her songs on YouTube and thought “oh…this Adele must be popular.” (I didn't watch it though; I'm ok in the cave).

Good analogy with the Star Wars fans, Genejoke. Much as I enjoy movie forums, I don't care for the Star Wars online community…way too nerdy. And I LIKE nerdiness. But I'm psyched for the movie! Should be a good time.

I wanted a grey haired Chewbacca so much…but that's ok, haha.

EDIT: I don't mean the online community here; DD is the best! It's elsewhere where it's so nitpicky and…y'know…insane.

That's impressive Banes. I thought I was doing well but I have to bow to your superior caving skills.
I'm in something of a pothole as far as Star Wars goes on the other hand. I've seen the first three of course but nothing else and that is unlikely to change. I do know an ewok from ROTJ though, so I use that as an excuse - the franchise was never as good without her!

I might feel weird when (or if) i see this logo before Star Wars VII starts…

Are, cave living… It was years before I found out what a Kardashian was and even then that was only from parodies and it seriously took me a while to work of the difference between them and the Deep Space 9 aliens of the same name. It is a nerdy cave.

I've never listened to Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber, I still don't know any gaga songs apart from a snippet of pokerface I heard once… Oh and “Telephone” which I know from an amazing cover by Pomplamoose.
Actually I know more tunes and current popsingers through paroday and covers than I do from direct expereince! The comedy stuff is usually always better too which is telling.

For example, recently Wierd Al Yankovich did a whole bunch of comedy covers of songs I didn't know and they were awesome. Foil was my favourite. I since found out that was a “Lourde” song. I listened to it and was disapointed. :(
Also, stuff by The Lonley Island, who's comedy songs aren't direct parodies but often in the style of what's popular at the time. Theose are always very good.
Aaaaand Epic Rap Battles of History. Those sometimes have pop figures parodied. That's how I learned of that guy who does dubstep… Skrillex
(god I had to look up all the electronic music styles in wiki to find the name of that style and try and find that guy's name. The whole thing was wiped from my memory).

The fact that you rarely hear any Taylor Swift is actually a good thing. I used to get into close call accidents when Bad Blood was released because I was fumbling trying to turn off my car radio. The girl is whiny and the tunes are too catchy, I know most of the lyrics to her songs unintentionally.

“Christmastime is here. Happiness and cheer!”



I am getting into the holiday spirit, and I really needed it this year. It was really fun walking around searching for the right gifts. I picked out a cool set of Minecraft animal figurines for the girl I tutor. My coworkers are also doing a Secret Santa gift exchange this weekend, and Friday is the annual holiday party with a potluck and White Elephant gift exchange. I have been trying to figure out the best item to bring for under $5. Any suggestions?

Choclate is a good general gift. I got my Co-workers all choclate.

Though I was just now thinking that it would be HILLARIOUS if you sent everyone you knew Taylor Swift albums- mp3s, CDs, Records, Tapes… Oh god HAHAHAHA!

Nah, too expensive even as a joke and you'd be giving extra money to her for no reason.
Now a comic character doing that would probably be better. Penelope from Typical Strange! She has to do this. BANES! Get on the case man!

I did the whole Lindt chocolate for coworkers five years ago and those sweets add up! I ended up spending around $30 for ten people. (LOL)


According to the Gen Discussion/Rant Thread from last year around this time, it was just Bravo's birthday about two weeks ago. It must have coincided with the Caribbean cruise vacation. So once again, HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY, Bravo!!

I'll take all those Taylor Swift records as belated birthday presents. I love her. And I can listen to Adele without any side effects. It's a girl singing the blues with a great set of pipes. It beats the vast empty waste land of the remainder of the pop music scene. It's so bad that I find myself listening to Country -western because many songs are already a parody of themselves. Really a song about a plastic cup?

And then there's Classical. Ah such wonderful fulfilling music. And Opera is full of ladies singing the blues just in Italian or French and I don't know the words.

I know what you mean Bravo, but there's also a point where you get a bit cheesed off by stuff that's SUPER promoted at you through all chanels of the media so that it finds you out no matter how much of it you shut away from youself.

The thing is that a lot of the stuff that reaches that status and gets the promotion GETS there because it was actually pretty good to begin with. like Led Zeppelin, Cream, that sort of thing. Or it gets a really good clean-up job so it's made into something fantastic. Mo-town happend that way, the Beatles, Kate Bush and so on.

The stuff that tarnishes it are all the masses of crap that get pushed to the top and promoted because they look or sound a little like something that is generally popular, and the crap munching producers and promoters like that cockmonkey arsehole Simon Cowel can fake them into being hits using promotional tricks, money, and manipulation of the media - which simply cheapens ALL pop-music without exception.
-not the tricks and maipulation, rather the fact that something was faked into the same status as something great. Like:
“You like that awesome authentic band Orange? Well you'll LOVE this new band called Blorange that we're promoting, they're made up entirely of sexy models!!!!”

Everything popular, no matter how legitimately great and fabulous it is, gets indelibly infected by the hard to remove, persistent smell of catshit that the Cowelites smeared accross the industry.
From Pink Floyd to Leonrd Cohen the suspiscion of the smell is there almost imperceptably… “ewwww, popular, ewwwww, mainstream… EWWWW! People like it so it MUST be bad, it's all the same.”

Conversely, that makes things are are obviously less polished, stuff that's a bit rougher and cruder (singers that really aren't very good, musicians that aren't very skilled etc), seem SO much better than they are because they're more “authenic”, more “real”, less fake and artificial…
Which is mainly a psychological thing, but it works. And if it works well enough that TOO gets subsumed into the mainstream.

It gave rise to Punk, which got polished into Billy Idol… Rap, which got polished into horrible R&B, It gave rise to the Grunge and Alt rock movement, which got polished into Filter, Creed, Limp Bizket…

Yeah Billy Joel wrote a song about that and I say the same thing: it's all rock and roll to me. It's a business and that means promotion and promotion and popularity out quality nearly every time. When doing a pitch they always want to know what is it like and the first step is market research to figure out how to package and promote. Quality don't matter only catching a fad and riding a wave of popularity.

After all I have done so many things and been greeted by the chorus of crickets and someone else copies my idea and it's the most original thing ever.

True.
It's best not to bust a gut trying to make something you think people will like.
But also, you can't ever just sit back and expect people to realise how good somehing is and have them find it themselves.
What you have to do is learn to SELL the thing you've made in a way that's understandable and apealing, then get out there and promote the buggery out of it till you manage to grab that particular audience who LOVES that particular thing. :)

———————–

Drawing at the moment and getting very introspective.
I just saw the action packed anime Spriggan. The charracter arives in Istalbul by plane, but it's quite old fashioned there with people in traditional clothes and old cars and souks and… Well, let's just say that Istanbul hasn't looked that way since the 1940s. Very stupid version of modern Turkey.

But that reminded me of a guy I met there. He was one of those steely eyed people with a thousand yard stare who shakes your hand in a rock grip. looks right throuh you and doesn't say a word… till you get uncomfortable and start to bable a bit.

Thinking back on that, and then thinking of all the other steely eyed people I've ever known who do exactly that I realised something: All those people without exception were idiots. When I got to know them I found they never had much to say because they just weren't very bright. They were unreliable, foolish, and inept. Basically the steely look was all they had.
You automatically think they're judgig you with a wise, knowing mind, but the reality is hat they can't think of anything to say so they're just stalling for time while their brain tries to get around to understanding langauge again.
Same sort of phenomenon with cats: They stare with seemingly wise, knowing eyes, but in reality there's not much going on behind those looks. Much as I LOVE cats, they have no secret thoughts beyond the best way to steel your chair.

ozoneocean wrote:
Thinking back on that, and then thinking of all the other steely eyed people I've ever known who do exactly that I realised something: All those people without exception were idiots. When I got to know them I found they never had much to say because they just weren't very bright. They were unreliable, foolish, and inept. Basically the steely look was all they had.
You automatically think they're judgig you with a wise, knowing mind, but the reality is hat they can't think of anything to say so they're just stalling for time while their brain tries to get around to understanding langauge again.
Same sort of phenomenon with cats: They stare with seemingly wise, knowing eyes, but in reality there's not much going on behind those looks. Much as I LOVE cats, they have no secret thoughts beyond the best way to steel your chair.

Is it something like this?

–
or more like this?

tupapayon wrote:
ozoneocean wrote:
Thinking back on that, and then thinking of all the other steely eyed people I've ever known who do exactly that I realised something: All those people without exception were idiots. When I got to know them I found they never had much to say because they just weren't very bright. They were unreliable, foolish, and inept. Basically the steely look was all they had.
You automatically think they're judgig you with a wise, knowing mind, but the reality is hat they can't think of anything to say so they're just stalling for time while their brain tries to get around to understanding langauge again.
Same sort of phenomenon with cats: They stare with seemingly wise, knowing eyes, but in reality there's not much going on behind those looks. Much as I LOVE cats, they have no secret thoughts beyond the best way to steel your chair.

Is it something like this?

–
or more like this?

It's Blue Steel…!!
.
Or is it Magnum…?!!

My thought about that all knowing cat stare was always “you are just lucky you're so big or I ‘d tear you up. Rip, rip and munch, munch. I’m going to sleep now because I can get away with sleeping 23 out of 24 hours dumb human. And when I wake up my water dish better be full again. If you were rodent man i'd show you. I'm going to sleep now. Walk in a circle here to get comfy. ..”

Tupapyon- sort off! LOVE Zoolander too, can not WAIT for the sequel. Who cares about Star Wars? Give me Zoolander!

This is a better example:



There is noting going on behind that gaze. When someone looks like this it's likley they're contemplating a bowel movement… Actually very little babies sort of get a look like that before they crap themselves.

@Bravo- That's the sort of thing people atribute to cats but it's nothing so advanced really. Cats are the same as dogs. As they gaze at you with lowered lids they're thinking “Cushion is warm… I like warm. I sleepy now… I go sleep.”
Where cats are smarter than dogs is that they usually have a better sense of self preservation, and that's as far as it goes. I luv 'em, but your average raven or parrot is way smarter than a cat.