OT: Blues Forum Lounge (Home of All Things OT) - Part 2019

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

OH MY GOD ITS BACK

 

[ChicagoBlues]

“Continue without supporting us”

Excuse me, HF?!!

The main reason you have paid advertisers is because of the thousands of people who frequent the site which justifies a company’s advertising budget.

Rant over

 

[yogintheaveragebears]

The boys on amazon fire that is all

 

[Ranksu]

“Continue without supporting us”

Excuse me, HF?!!

The main reason you have paid advertisers is because of the thousands of people who frequent the site which justifies a company’s advertising budget.

Rant over

Does it help to whine about it here? You should post in to general area.

 

[Majorityof1]

The boys on amazon fire that is all

I'm 4 episodes in and so far it is really good. I always like the flip of the Super Hero as the bad guy. Indestructible do-gooders are boring. Superman, to me, is normally boring. I like the alternative takes where he goes bad, like Injustice and Red Son. How do ordinary people take down an essentially god-like being? The Boys isn't Superman; however, its Super Heroes are such a blatant rip off of the Justice League, I am not sure how they didn't get sued by DC. Its ironic that the rip-off is, so far, vastly superior to DCs actual extended universe films.

 

[Majorityof1]

Does it help to whine about it here? You should post in to general area.

Does it help when you whine about Jake Allen here?

 

[yogintheaveragebears]

I'm 4 episodes in and so far it is really good. I always like the flip of the Super Hero as the bad guy. Indestructible do-gooders are boring. Superman, to me, is normally boring. I like the alternative takes where he goes bad, like Injustice and Red Son. How do ordinary people take down an essentially god-like being? The Boys isn't Superman; however, its Super Heroes are such a blatant rip off of the Justice League, I am not sure how they didn't get sued by DC. Its ironic that the rip-off is, so far, vastly superior to DCs actual extended universe films.

I think the blatant rip off just adds more to the shtick... I mean its obviously a satire. A twisted dark messed up satire but still a satire. At one point in the comics they take on their version of marvels x-men. I’m a few episodes in and love it! Unfortunately I feel like if “superheroes” were real this is exactly how they’d behave

 

[Ranksu]

Does it help when you whine about Jake Allen here?

Yes, you guys get pissed.

 

[Majorityof1]

I think the blatant rip off just adds more to the shtick... I mean its obviously a satire. A twisted dark messed up satire but still a satire. At one point in the comics they take on their version of marvels x-men. I’m a few episodes in and love it! Unfortunately I feel like if “superheroes” were real this is exactly how they’d behave

Agreed that it is blatant satire. But I 'm not sure if it is a parody. It might be, but that is a fuzzy line. Parody is protected from copyright infringement, while satire is not. Anyway, it obviously passed whatever muster it needed to, as the comic has been around for over a decades and hasn't been sued into oblivion. *EDIT: Just researched this (ie checked wikipedia). The first 6 issues were published under a DC imprint. DC gave them the rights to take it to another publisher when they cancelled it. Hence, no suit.

As for being realistic, I don't think superheroes would bow to a corporation like this if they did exist. Some would be jerks and hypocrites, for sure. Would indestructible people kowtow to some corporate overlord for a paycheck? Couldn't they just take whatever they want? Or be heroes for hire ala Luke Cage. These heroes seem to be brow beaten by Vaught (or whatever the company is). It would be interesting to see backstory on how that one company came to own all the big heroes. I'd would think it was a parody of Disney if it hadn't been written before Disney bought Marvel.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Does it help to whine about it here? You should post in to general area.

Then ignore it.

 

[Ranksu]

Then ignore it.

No, I mean you get tour voice heard on there.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

No, I mean you get tour voice heard on there.

Ok thank you. I see what you mean. Not sure it matters either way.

 

[Falco Lombardi]

None of you can fully appreciate this most likely, but my god even the worst times of being a Blues fan in my lifetime (05-08) has NOTHING on what it’s like to be a Mets fan.

Good lord they have no clue

 

[Ranksu]

Ok thank you. I see what you mean. Not sure it matters either way.

Well I think your opinion about that case get lost in here.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Well I think your opinion about that case get lost in here.

I get it. It’s just that sharing my opinion with whomever is most appropriate would not matter anyway.
But thank you

 

[Ranksu]

I get it. It’s just that sharing my opinion with whomever is most appropriate would not matter anyway.
But thank you

You are wrong. Ofc it matters IF it goes Palace where site owners read it, not random Blues board and in offtopic thread.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

You are wrong. Ofc it matters IF it goes Palace where site owners read it, not random Blues board and in offtopic thread.

Ok. Thank you

 

[ChicagoBlues]

So, what is on everyone’s summer reading list?

Do people still read books?

 

[Majorityof1]

So, what is on everyone’s summer reading list?

Do people still read books?

I am an avid reader, although I have not done too much lately. This summer, I caught up on Michael Connelly books. He writes a series about a LA homicide detective named Harry Bosch (turned into an Amazon Prime series called Bosch). I read through his latest 3 books to catch up before the newest one hits in October. They are all excellent reads if you like the hard-boiled detective novel. Mixed in with those, I read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (author of Gone Girl). It was an Ok mystery/Thriller. Not as good as gone girl, but an enjoyable quick read.

I am currently 40% through "NOS4A2" by Joe Hill, Stephen King's son. Hill writes in the same vein as his dad, as horror/thriller. Its a very strange spin on a vampire story. A show based on it is airing this summer on, I think, AMC. I've been wanting to read it as I have read 2 other Hill books, and the episodes of the shows accumulating in my DVR gave me the kick in the pants to read it before watching. Hist stuff is good but I am struggling with this one. Its not bad, just the way it is written with short sections before jumping to other places or times makes it hard to get into it, and gives me an excuse to put it down and do other things,

After I finish that, I want to read the Witcher books. These are Polish fantasy novels that were made into a video game series. The 3rd game, Witcher 3, hit really big and got a lot of Game of the Year wins and sold a ton. So the success of the games inspired a Netflix series, but the Netflix series is based on the books. I always like reading the source material first, so I want to check out the books. After that, I will start my re-read of Brent Weeks Lightbringer series. Its a fantasy series that I really enjoy. It was supposed to be a trilogy, but stretched to 5 books and the last one is out in October. I want to re-read to refresh before the last one hits.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

So, what is on everyone’s summer reading list?

Do people still read books?

I am reading a couple things concurrently.

Wrapping up:
Seveneves by Neil Stephenson.
Epic sci-fi novel about the moon being hit by something, causing it to fragment, eventually destroying the surface of the earth. The human race creates an outpost around the International Space Station. The narrative spans 5000 years including re-terraforming the planet. Started strong, but it’s fading a bit at the end.

Death’s End by Liu Cixin.
Third novel of a trilogy by a Chinese sci-fi author. The first book won the Hugo Ward: Three Body Problem
I won’t say much about the plot other than to say its a sprawling epic. It has some fascinating hard science, including some applications of quantum entanglement. It’s not written by Western standards, with stilted characterization and minimal descriptive imagery. But the cultural perspective is unique to anything I’ve ever read. It’s been an interesting anthropological read, separate from the story itself.

Just finished:
The Vorrh by Brian Catling
Written by an artist who was primarily a sculpture and performance artist. It’s historical fiction / fantasy about an impenetrable quasimagical forest in Africa. The plot is unraveled slowly kind of like a troop of blind people describing an elephant. I bought the novel because it was recommended by Terry Gilliam and Alan Moore.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Wow! Some cool stuff that both of you are reading right now.

@Majorityof1 The Polish stuff sounds intriguing. Such an untapped reservoir of high-end talent from Poland. Glad to see them blossoming.

@Stupendous Yappi The Brian Catling book sounds right in my wheelhouse. Love historical fiction. Working on one myself.

Ok.....my turn.

I also read multiple books at the same time.

I am currently reading Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl. He was a Holocaust survivor of multiple camps who later became a psychiatrist focusing on helping people to identify a thread of something to hold onto. A big part of his work is to understand suffering and that no one suffers more than another person. Each person’s suffering is unto themselves.

Re-reading Brian Lumley’s first three books in the Necroscope series. The absolute best vampire stories I’ve ever read that deserve another pass. Has a nice blend of traditional vampirism and contemporary interpretations. Classic battle of good vs evil through a necroscopic (talking to the dead to unleash their secrets) lens.

Just started The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, who is famous for The Lottery. Published in 1959. It’s seems to be a classic haunted house, paranormal type of read of dark forces seeking to possess one of the temporary occupants who are there to study and measure the paranormal activity.

The other two I’m reading right now are religious in nature, so I won’t post that because it is against HF rules.

 

[Blueston]

Among other books this summer, I've been reading the Tess Monaghan series by Laura Lippman. With recent talk of Baltimore in the news this suddenly seems timely as the series is set in Baltimore. The author's husband, fwiw, is David Simon, whose portrayal of Baltimore in The Wire is likely why so many think negatively of Charm City.

 

[Majorityof1]

Wow! Some cool stuff that both of you are reading right now.

@Majorityof1 The Polish stuff sounds intriguing. Such an untapped reservoir of high-end talent from Poland. Glad to see them blossoming.

@Stupendous Yappi The Brian Catling book sounds right in my wheelhouse. Love historical fiction. Working on one myself.

Ok.....my turn.

I also read multiple books at the same time.

I am currently reading Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl. He was a Holocaust survivor of multiple camps who later became a psychiatrist focusing on helping people to identify a thread of something to hold onto. A big part of his work is to understand suffering and that no one suffers more than another person. Each person’s suffering is unto themselves.

Re-reading Brian Lumley’s first three books in the Necroscope series. The absolute best vampire stories I’ve ever read that deserve another pass. Has a nice blend of traditional vampirism and contemporary interpretations. Classic battle of good vs evil through a necroscopic (talking to the dead to unleash their secrets) lens.

Just started The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, who is famous for The Lottery. Published in 1959. It’s seems to be a classic haunted house, paranormal type of read of dark forces seeking to possess one of the temporary occupants who are there to study and measure the paranormal activity.

The other two I’m reading right now are religious in nature, so I won’t post that because it is against HF rules.

Haunting of Hill House is good. I also really liked Jackson's We have always lived in the Castle, which is more creepy mystery than the obvious horror of Hill House.. The Lottery is one of my favorite short stories. So I picked up those two books to read awhile ago. Don't know why I stopped reading her stuff. I'll have to put the rest of her stuff on the to read list.

 

[The Note]

I just finished Mindhunter and bought the Boys of Winter as a beach book. Mindhunter is incredible interesting, but given the subject matter, pretty dark. Boys of Winter is just a fun, easy read about the 1980 Miracle Team.

 

[Em etah Eh]

What We Do in Shadows is my new favorite show. It’s a mockumentary, like The Office, about a house of vampires. Co-created by Jemaine Clement from the Flight of the Conchords. It’s bizarre and hilarious.

This sounds like something I’d like but doesn’t look like it’s available on FX right now and I can’t find any future airings to record. Not sure I want to pay to rent or buy episodes. I’ll probably just check FX at later dates...