The Gamer's Quarter

dhex · Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 12:34 pm Post subject:

it's very good.

it's not like 1984 though.

edit: here's a pan of the movie and a celebration of the original moore work.
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

It's also hand-lettered, all six hundred pages of it.

So, Eddie Campbell, holy shit.

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

He wrote The Watchmen, which in part helped to the "maturisation" of comic books by its deconstructionist approach towards the superhero myth. It's the work that seems to receive the most recognition, but I still think From Hell is better.

Hell, I even think V for Vendetta is better than The Watchmen, to be honest. Batman: The Killing Joke is another one of his classics.

As far as his current works go, I have The Courtyard and Yuggoth Cultures, both of which are inspired by the Cthulhu mythos, and Hypothetical Lizard, all three of each I have yet to read, though. A Small Killing was fairly interesting, as I recall, and Top 10 and its derivatives made for a solid read, even though I generally don't like superheroes much at all. It really takes a particular breed of writer and writing to get me interested in them, and even then, they're usually the ones without powers, like Batman or Garth Ennis' run on The Punisher. Generally, it would seem, Grant Morrison manages to get me interested because of his somewhat Philip K. Dick, surreal approach.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

seryogin · Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:23 am Post subject:

I can't stand Watchmen. It's got ugly art and a freshman philosophy level of un-sophistication.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

dhex · Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 1:05 pm Post subject:

alan moore is probably so fun to hang out with it's nearly un-fun.
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

What I got out of the V for Vendetta movie:

George Bush's evil war for oil spills into the UK, which becomes a fascist state by killing off its people (JUST LIKE KATRINA AND 9/11!) with a super-virus made on the back of dead Muslims, homosexuals and black people.

Also, it is not the people of England's fault this has happened and anarchy is really, really cool and anyone can do it right.

It's basically a liberal nightmare and lacks any degree of subtlety, and further confirms my belief that the Wachowski siblings are one-trick ponies.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

dhex · Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:14 pm Post subject:

for no good reason and probably bad ends, has everyone here read "the redneck manifesto" by jim goad?

it is a better gift than read on its own, if you know what i mean.
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Swimmy · . Joined: 16 Sep 2005 Posts: 990 Location: Fairfax, VA

seryogin · Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:22 pm Post subject:

I am currenly rereading Aleksandr Prokhanov's "The Red and Brown." And it's impressing me all over again. I can flip to any random page and find something to amuse me.

As he's never been translated into the West, I can only approximate his style as being depraved and purple, and at the same time profound as well. Imagine the hyberbolic, sentimental poetics of Ray Bradbury and the precise, clean language of Nabokov pressed into the service by a lunatic fascist/ communist writing novels about the dogged KGB agents, Spetsnaz officers and revolutionaries fighting to resurrect the might of the Red Empire. It's one hell of a toxic mix.

I just wish that that he'd spend more time writing about the events he describes as he knew them (Prokhanov, pushing seventy, has led an amazing life, from working as a lumberjack and air mechanic to becoming one of the Soviet Union's premiere war correspondents, travelling all over Africa, Asia, and Latin America) instead of making up fanciful jew-freemason conspiracies. And "The Red and Brown," has plenty of those, treating each racist diabtribe as if it were a speech from Plato. What makes me love this book is that it's the only novel that's ever been written about the 93 Red and Brown Rising, when the radicals occupied the Parliament and demanded the president's resignation. The whole thing ended gorely. The thing, though, is that the liberals and intellectuals fullly supported the government's harsh measures "to crush the Red and Brown scum," which means that if there are any mentions of the event in the Russian literary world, it's only to deride the thousands of "simple-minded fools" that were gunned down by the government's tanks and special forces. The only other Russian writer to support the radicals was Edward Limonov, and he devoted a chapter of one of his books to it, he describes quite well how special forces carriers machine gunned the radicals massing at the TV center. Prokhanov was there as well, tossing a Molotov cocktail at the special forces from the roof of an adjacent building (he was sixty five at the time).

He's the only writer I've read who treats war so poetically, as if it were liturgy. There's something downwright fascistic about him (and I mean that in a good way), something sincere and insane and downright hypnotically compelling. He's also a lunatic, completely inconsistent and illogical and makes sense only on an emotional level, but, well, what great fascist isn't?
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

GSL · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:58 am Post subject:

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

GSL · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:09 am Post subject:

I didn't mind the first Matrix too much because it was relatively new and fresh--for a bastard child/ripoff of Ghost in the Shell and Neuromancer. I think I would love the movie a lot more if it were the only one in the series, but after seeing Reloaded, I lost all faith in the Wachowskis and the franchise. I have yet to watch Revolutions; I know that I ought to finish out the trilogy but I can't quite make myself feel that masochistic. I know if I were faced with, say, Matrix Revolutions or The DaVinci Code, I'd definitely watch Matrix, but I don't know anybody cruel enough to force that decision on my.

I did, however, enjoy The Animatrix.

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

GSL · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:14 am Post subject:

Hugo Weaving constantly impresses me. He's such a versatile actor, and his range of accents and voices is absolutely incredible.

And on British stereotypes, I found the liberal use of 'bollocks' as a substitute for 'fuck' to be endlessly hilarious. I think the MPAA should make that substitution a new requirement for all films made or shown in America.

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

sawtooth · . Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 419

I'm afraid I don't see as much of the invisbles in the matrix as you do. Maybe I need to revisit the comics and thee movie again, but after all that I've heard over the years I'm afraid to watch the last two movies or even the first one again. I liked it enough the first time around (stylish action, explosions, and a plot that isn't boring is pretty much all I ask from a Hollywood action film).

The animatrix was good for the most part.

Swimmy · . Joined: 16 Sep 2005 Posts: 990 Location: Fairfax, VA

sawtooth · . Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 419

also, the wachowskis made a script for a plasticman movie. I read an excerpt I saw online, and I can only hope it's never made.

dhex · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 8:07 am Post subject:

i'm not sure i see much hayek in v for vendetta.

TheRumblefish · . Joined: 29 Jan 2006 Posts: 258 Location: Florida

I finished "Real Ultimate Power, The Official Ninja Book" by Robert Hamburger. It was given to me as a gift, and to fill in some time I decided to read it. The sad thing is, it's quite funny, but not only that it's also pretty sad. It's really about escapism for a very troubled young kid who fills in all of his pains with Ninjas and false "best friends" because he is possibly stunted socially and psychologically. It might be reading a little bit to much into it, but the footnotes in the book point the reader in that direction.

An autobiographical story that is actually quite competent. Weather it is real or not, doesn't really matter. I am just shocked that it was such a good read. It was short and full of some really stupid humor (for the l33t crowd), but the rest of the book really had something.
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dhex · Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:59 pm Post subject:

paul auster is far better than i thought he'd be.
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dessgeega · Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:03 pm Post subject:

it is a shame underdogs is down.

they host a scan of the brilliant comic book graphicnovelization of city of glass.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

GSL · Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:06 pm Post subject:

dhex · Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:52 pm Post subject:

i don't think winston is cowardly. he's human. we'd all break eventually.

v is a great story - the prison note is brutally raw - but it's not the same kind of allegory.
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dhex · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:38 am Post subject:

confessions of a mask is fucking awesome.

sergei: you must read black spring by henry miller. the similarities are creepy. they apparently corresponded through the guy who was running new directions for a while.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I finished The Sound of Waves. That entry does not entail that I finished "The Sailor" which was fantastic. I also picked up Confessions of a Mask and the first three books in Sea of Fertility.

Currently I am reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. It is very good, and has much more relation to Blade Runner than I had been led to belive. Also, I see more connections with Snatcher in this than with BR the movie now that I am reading it.

I also figured out why P.K. Dick sold poorly while he was alive: he can't title a book for crap.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

seryogin · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 12:24 pm Post subject:

God!

So my unceasing recommendations are finally paying off. I now have both Shaper and dhex reading Mishima.

And I've always liked PKD's titles.

I'll discuss both topics at more length when I am not as sleep deprived as I am now.
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dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

You know what's strange about Mishima? This.

And apparently he's one of the human statues in Black Lizard.

seryogin · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 12:35 pm Post subject:

Fukasaku and Mishima were apparently on very good terms and Mishima was a big fan of yakuza movies.

He even starred in this.

Which has one of the most ridiculous lines ever spoken by an introverted novelist.

"Ore ka? Ore wa yakuza sa!" (Me? I'm a yakuza!)

Edit: I thought that dark was linking to Black Lizard. My mistake. And I don't know if you've seen it, but it's not a very good movie despite having Takashi Shimura in it. The greatest thing about it is watching Mishima play a role that he's utterly unsuited for.
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seryogin · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 1:41 pm Post subject:

Mike!

I'd certainly like to read Black Spring; I'd prefer if you'd lend me a copy.

I had no idea that Mishima and Miller corresponded. It seems strange as they are very different writers. Though I've read very little Miller, perhaps I need to give him more of a chance.

I've also discoverd just now that Miller has actually written a book called "Reflections on the Death of Yukio Mishima," which seems to be very rare. Now I'm definitely curious.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Seryogin... I realised just how fitting your avatar is now. Even thought it was fairly randomly picked at the time... I mean, hell. I can't imagine you with out it now. Also, this is relevant to the thread.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

seryogin · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:08 pm Post subject:

You know, I've always wondered where the hell it's from? I mean, you assigned it to me one day and I never bothered to change it, plus I liked it anyway.

And how is it relevant?
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

It is from Goemon for the NES. Also... Japan, fields, you. It just works.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

dhex · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 2:20 pm Post subject:

1) i will loan you one of my many copies of black spring.
2) i just found a copy of that miller book on mishima on half.com. i'll give it a shot and see what the deal is. (it's quite possible that like with other books on other authors, hank just talks about himself)
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Mr. Mechanical · Friendly Stranger Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 1276

GSL · Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:24 pm Post subject:

Seryogin: I recently found a copy of The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea at a local bookstore and purchased it in a two-for-the-price-of-one deal with a collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald shorts. I shall begin reading it (in the hopes that it will redeem the frankly unpalatable stories from Death in Midsummer) as soon as I'm finished with my current undertaking, all five books of Roger Zelazny's Amber chronicles. I'm on book two, The Guns Of Avalon, and I must say I'm really, really enjoying the series. I never thought the combination of hardboiled narration, high fantasy, and a very basic (though magically appropriated) allusion to quantum physics could ever remotely work, but it does in the most enjoyable manner. Highly recommended.

By the by, did my package ever arrive? If not, we must begin negotiations for a replacement at once! The Gibson book won't be terribly hard to reaquire as the local Goodwill ALWAYS seems to have a copy in stock, but I'll have to do a bit of scouting to get Domu--no worries, though.

seryogin · Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 6:04 am Post subject:

Sadly those vile dogs at the US Post Office have somehow hoarded your package for themselves. So no I have yet to receive it.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I finished "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" and I liked it. I feel that the ending was fairly weak (with Mercer fusion), but the rest is really excellent.

The first half or so is basically Blade Runner. Then when Decker gets to the Opera house the book really fucks with your head and this is where Blade Runner stopped being a PK Dick movie.

Honestly the part where Decker gets arrested at the Opera House blew my mind. I was trying really hard to put the peices together and figuring out what the hell was going on. Unfortunatly the book goes a little down hill and is fairly anticlamactic after that, but still.

I read the first chapter of Confessions of a Mask after I finished it, and I don't know if it was the time of night or the whiskey sour, but it seemed heavy handed and the train of though that you have to follow is a winding path of confusion. I hope that it gets a little more organised after this (as in, I hope this is a set up). Then again, I could have just been expecting to be blown away like The Sailor (which will probably never happen in the first chapter of a book ever again). Thinking back, the first chapter of The Sound of Waves is a throw away chapter too.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

seryogin · Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 1:14 pm Post subject:

I first read Confessions of a Mask in teh Russian and I'll have to admit that the Russian translation is much superior to the English. Still, Confessions of a Mask is a very interesting book.

I told you Shaper to not expect the mind-blowing goodness of "The Sailor." Mishima wrote Confessions of a Mask when he was twenty-one and his second novel. And, well, it isn't going to be a set-up. That's all there is to it. It's just a curious look into the mind of a strange young man. There are some very good moments coming up, especially after the war starts.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

So, I figured out the subtitle of Confessions of a Mask: The first live journal of a gay man.

Also, dhex, do you know about The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea? Because, I kind of wish I had read this first. Well, perhaps not, I might not have read THe Sailor then.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

dhex · Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 6:36 pm Post subject:

i haven't read that yet. i'm going to go find it.

see, i have this plan where i'm going to allow our natural tendency to horde books in my household to force television right out the window.

i call it "plan a"
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

seryogin · Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:51 pm Post subject:

The last time I watched TV was my daily douse of Detective Conan and then I lost interest. That was two years ago. I still ocassionaly see television, but that's only because my father is constantly watching the Russian channels.

And I shall not stand for any more insults of Confessions of a Mask. I demand that Mike say something good about it now.
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