Chatbox log - 2008-07-16 - Zelaron Gaming Forum

[21:13] Chruser: the only Civ 3-related aspects I disapprove of are the laggard turns once you start to accumulate vast armies, and the fact that the game ends on a particular year

[21:13] Synthfrisyr: I do enjoy that you can employ "fascism" - mostly since you always can use communism...

[21:14] Chruser: Alpha Centauri is my favorite game in the Civ-esque series. It lets you sandbox your own governmental systems.

[21:15] Chruser: it's a more... gritty game than the conventional Civ games, which lets you do fun things like detonating singularity planet busters that turn almost everything on screen into a large, square-shaped ocean

[21:16] Synthfrisyr: I've tried Alpha Centauri to little I'm afraid.

[21:17] Synthfrisyr: but the gritty feel and the freeform options are very interesting, a sequel would be nice

[21:17] Chruser: the customized unit creation is nice, too, although it generally implies you end up with some monstrous thing called "Photon Antimatter Singularity Gravship MK-II"

[21:17] Synthfrisyr: I mean, you can try to create a "solaris"

[21:17] Chruser: very much so

[21:18] Synthfrisyr: ah, a weapon with the same danger as the weapon in "plan 9 from outer space"

[21:19] Chruser: hah, impressive.

[21:20] Chruser: who is your favorite filmmaker? (writer/director)

[21:22] Chruser: Solyaris sounded like a more reasonable track than the latter ;)

[21:22] Synthfrisyr: David Cronenberg

[21:22] Synthfrisyr: But Terry Gilliam is very, very close. Hard to really compare them in a way

[21:25] Chruser: Gilliam has produced some of my favorite movies (Brazil, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Twelve Monkeys is nice as well, but I like La Jetée more)

[21:26] Chruser: I should probably rewatch Time Bandits sometime, hmm

[21:26] Synthfrisyr: Brazil is my absolute favorite movie ever. Number one.

[21:26] Chruser: Why do I get the impression that you're very familiar with other aspects of cyberpunk as well?

[21:27] Synthfrisyr: Time bandits is well worth a second look. I do look forward to his coming project with Christopher plummer as well

[21:27] Synthfrisyr: you get that aspect since I am an avid sci-fi reader. Read most of William Gibsons work, a lot from Bruce Sterling as well

[21:28] Synthfrisyr: and as much as I can get read by Philip K. Dick who might not be "true" cyberpunk" but still a genius

[21:29] Chruser: Sadly, I haven't read as much of Gibson's work as I should have, governing his role as the farther of cyberpunk.

[21:30] Synthfrisyr: well, try "pattern recognition" i you haven't.

[21:31] Synthfrisyr: it's mandatory reading.

[21:31] Chruser: I'll look into it. As for Philip K. Dick, I would definitely call him a cyberpunk author.

[21:32] Chruser: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep... BLADE RUNNER!

[21:32] Chruser: I own quite a few of Syd Mead's publications. He worked as a concept artist/illustrator for Blade Runner, Tron, Aliens (Alien 2) and 2010

[21:33] Chruser: Unfortunately, this whole "art endeavor" has taken quite a lot of time away from me I could have spent reading instead

[21:33] Chruser: In retrospect, I can't really say I regret it.

[21:33] System: Synthfrisyr has left the chat

[21:34] Chruser: I picked up Raymond Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near" some time ago. While not cyberpunk per se, it provides a multitude of rational arguments for what kind of future we're likely heading into.

[21:35] System: Synthfrisyr has joined the chat

[21:35] Synthfrisyr: there...

[21:35] Chruser: Real life's Stand Alone Complex should arrive soon

[21:35] Synthfrisyr: well philip k dick is cyberpunk but blade runner as a movie is radically different form the novel

[21:36] Chruser: I just hope I won't get field of vision popups, argh

[21:36] Synthfrisyr: the movie is very "gritty" and the novel more "hippie" but both are just amazing... I have the 5 dvd collection box

[21:36] Chruser: ooh, which one is that? Final Cut?

[21:36] Synthfrisyr: visions are interesting...

[21:36] Synthfrisyr: the ultimate cut

[21:37] Synthfrisyr: 2007 directors cut

[21:37] Synthfrisyr: and the 1992 directors cut, both cinematic 1982 versions

[21:37] Synthfrisyr: and the workprint version...

[21:37] Synthfrisyr: plus more extras

[21:37] Synthfrisyr: as for art, art is -always- worth putting energy into

[21:38] Chruser: heh, that's strange

[21:38] Chruser: I ended up growing obsessed with Syd's artbooks mostly thanks to his Blade Runner illustrations

[21:39] Chruser: I ended up bidding $1680 on eBay for two of his books, which I did not win

[21:39] Chruser: Bastards

[21:39] Synthfrisyr: them bastards.

[21:39] Chruser: I have six of them now. In retrospect, it was not a financially viable thing, but yes, I agree with your statement

[21:40] Synthfrisyr: oh, there is some artwork in the collectors edition too.

[21:40] Chruser: thing -> action

[21:40] Synthfrisyr: well you did gain inspiration from the artworks?

[21:40] Chruser: definitely so

[21:41] Chruser: what kind of artworks? Colorful city depictions of almost photorealistic qualities?

[21:41] Synthfrisyr: unfortunatly no, mostly just still photo shoots

[21:42] Chruser: Syd's depictions of gray, mundane environments in Blade Runner (e.g. Deckard's home) are wonderful

[21:42] Chruser: some Spinner replicas used in the original filming were sold on eBay some time ago

[21:42] Synthfrisyr: disc 4: "audiovisual mosaic of more than a dozen segments"

[21:43] Synthfrisyr: "focuses on syd mead"

[21:43] Chruser: I can't say that rings any bells

[21:43] Synthfrisyr: there are som still workprint art in the box too, in pen

[21:43] Chruser: hmm

[21:43] Chruser: any originals?

[21:44] Synthfrisyr: no, only reprints

[21:44] Synthfrisyr: deckards apartment is just... despair

[21:44] Synthfrisyr: also JF sebastians apartment building

[21:45] Chruser: a friend of mine mentioned that Deckard's apartment was reused for a number of other Hollywood movies, retaining some of the original interior items

[21:45] Chruser: I didn't bother to investigate that claim further at the time

[21:46] Chruser: I'll have to procure Final Cut or Ultimate Cut. I haven't watched Blade Runner for almost a year.

[21:46] Synthfrisyr: well that is quite likely

[21:46] Synthfrisyr: it could have been used for such films as "twins" so...

[21:47] Chruser: DO NOT WANT

[21:48] Chruser: hmm, all of this reminds me I have to finish reading Dune already... Yes, yes, it's not cyberpunk, but really. DUNE!

[21:49] Chruser: then again, Nietzsche seemed to gain more from spending 10 years on a mountain in solitude than from anything else

[21:50] Chruser: ignorance is wit... Or something like that

[21:50] Synthfrisyr: I want to read nietsche and the original texts.

[21:50] Synthfrisyr: well, translated to english/swedish preferrably but still

[21:50] Synthfrisyr: as for dune, you should read the whole series.

[21:51] Chruser: I have "Så talade Zarathustra" on my desk at the moment

[21:51] Synthfrisyr: "dune 7" which is two seperate novels is based on Frank Herberts original work and outline

[21:51] Synthfrisyr: not as good as Dune 1-6 but as good as the first prequel

[21:52] Chruser: who completed the final one, anyway?

[21:52] Synthfrisyr: and better than "the butlerian jihad" and the other first novels in the stories

[21:52] Synthfrisyr: dune seven is completed by Brian Herbert, Frank's son and Kevin J. Anderson

[21:52] Chruser: I have a tendency to reflect upon most sentences I read, causing me to pause enough to make my reading process very slow

[21:52] Synthfrisyr: they also wrote all the prequels

[21:53] Synthfrisyr: I won't sleep so I get hysterical

[21:54] Chruser: I see, I didn't know Frank Herbert received help with the ideation for his first books in the series. Interesting, not that it matters.

[21:54] Chruser: Not in any feasible, pragmatical way, at least.

[21:54] Chruser: So what's with this dance thing?

[21:55] Chruser: Techno? Are you into beatless music as well (e.g. ambient and its various sub-genres)

[21:55] Synthfrisyr: Frank Herbert had no help with dune 1-6 at all. he wrote them wholly himself

[21:55] Chruser: +?

[21:55] Synthfrisyr: brian herbert and kevin J anderson wrote three books as a prequel to dune

[21:56] Synthfrisyr: and then three books that took place -before- their own prequels about the butlerian jihad

[21:56] Synthfrisyr: I dance everywhere I get the chance or feel like it - aka very often

[21:56] Synthfrisyr: mostly techno but also ambient

[21:56] Synthfrisyr: Stadium House is my favorite genre in music. But I am a techno man

[21:57] Chruser: Stadium House? Hmm... The KLF?

[21:58] Chruser: The KLF essentially revive ambient

[21:59] Chruser: you're not familiar with FAX +49-69/450464, are you?

[21:59] Chruser: or Namlook, which is perhaps a slightly more famous name than his label

[22:00] Chruser: revived* So much for striving for impeccable grammar.

[22:01] Synthfrisyr: never heard of Namlook

[22:01] Synthfrisyr: The KLF are my absolute favorite music group and also I enjoy the members art projects

[22:01] Synthfrisyr: as for groups that still -make- music I enjoy The Orb, Kraftwerk, Human League, And One

[22:01] Synthfrisyr: Combichrist

[22:02] Synthfrisyr: Chill Out by The KLF is trully ambient...

[22:04] Chruser: Kraftwerk and The Orb are lovely. DI.fm

[22:04] Chruser: Sigh.

[22:04] Chruser: DI.fm's ambient station plays The KLF fairly often.

[22:05] Chruser: Beatsystem, Zoviet France, Bass Communion, Ionosphere and Land:Fire end up on there as well.

[22:06] System: Synthfrisyr has left the chat

[22:06] Chruser: The KLF and Biosphere are responsible for almost all the semi-happy ambient music they ever play.

[22:07] System: Synthfrisyr has joined the chat

[22:07] Chruser: (Although Brian Eno appears somewhat jovial on occasion, I guess.)

[22:07] Synthfrisyr: DI.Fm is very much used by me, also slayradio

[22:07] Chruser: Anyway, FAX has some interesting techno releases.

[22:07] Synthfrisyr: Brian Eno has a very nice soundtrack to dune!

[22:07] Chruser: Oh yeah?

[22:07] Synthfrisyr: zoviet france... ever tried muslimgaze?

[22:08] Chruser: I procured "Dune: Spice Opera" some time ago

[22:08] Chruser: no, I can't say I have

[22:08] Synthfrisyr: yup. the soundtrack to David Lynch's dune is made by Toto and Brian Eno

[22:08] Synthfrisyr: Spice Opera is the Jeff Wayne of the Dune musical universe...

[22:08] Chruser: ah, very nice

[22:09] Synthfrisyr: muslimgauze is in the similar artists of zoviet france

[22:09] Synthfrisyr: at last.fm

[22:10] Chruser: Virgin Entertainment released a first-person RTS for the Mega CD console and PC in 1992. Stéphane Picq made its FM synthesizer soundtrack (which is very, very nice), along with Dune: Spice Opera (a collaboration between him and another artist)

[22:10] Chruser: What's your name on last.fm, assuming you've signed up?

[22:11] Chruser: And, do you use soulseek?

[22:12] Synthfrisyr: http://www.lastfm.se/user/Slaggprodukt/

[22:12] Synthfrisyr: soulseek - I used to try that like... 3 years ago

[22:14] Chruser: it works pretty well now

[22:15] Synthfrisyr: I mostly use dc++

[22:15] Synthfrisyr: something with the word "soulseek" annoys me

[22:16] Chruser: hmm, it appears difficult to find ways to the hypothetical conclusion that our shared interests in cyberpunk and encounter on this site are purely coincidental

[22:16] Chruser: A friend of mine moved to Västerås last year, whom I have reason to suspect

[22:17] Synthfrisyr: say no more, say no more. wink wink, nudge nudge

[22:17] Chruser: I'm not sure to what extent he was aware of my direct interest in such matters

[22:17] Chruser: so what's the deal?

[22:17] Synthfrisyr: deal or no deal

[22:18] Synthfrisyr: well I have recieved some info about this forum from a friend

[22:18] Chruser: INXP?

[22:18] Synthfrisyr: and decided to join

[22:18] Synthfrisyr: INXP - never heard of

[22:19] Chruser: http://www.personalitytype.com/quiz.asp

[22:19] Chruser: most interesting

[22:20] Chruser: there aren't as many intellectually stimulating members around here as what I would appreciate

[22:21] Synthfrisyr: are there intellectually stimulating members (enough of them any way) on -any- forum on the internet?

[22:21] Chruser: touché!

[22:21] Chruser: INTPc has its moments

[22:22] Synthfrisyr: somethingawful.com is also hilarous anyway

[22:22] Synthfrisyr: and sometimes surprisingly intellectual

[22:22] Chruser: agreed

[22:22] Chruser: I advertised on there five years ago or so

[22:22] Synthfrisyr: I'm ENTP but it's more complicated

[22:23] Chruser: Zelaron ended up with a number of interesting members

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