33888 replies to this topic

[pokari]

5

Ominous to leave that message by itself, Pit >.>

[Rainingforest]

6 lol. welp. I did get an interview. At least I know which direction I should be pointing myself in?

[PItiful Boar]

7 best of luck with the interview

[pokari]

Good luck :'3

*hugs*

8

[Rainingforest]

9 Thanks you two!!!

 

Anonymous (at least fairly) internet companions for the win!

[pokari]

10

>w<

<3

[PItiful Boar]

11 i think i need to get a new job as well tbh

but my nihilism gets into the way

[themantarays]

I just read a post from 2013 where I said Tower of God was the best thing ever written.

 

 

Sigh.

[pokari]

1

11 i think i need to get a new job as well tbh
but my nihilism gets into the way

My sleep deprivation and executive dysfunction get in the way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I just read a post from 2013 where I said Tower of God was the best thing ever written.


Sigh.

The me from 2013 would have more or less agreed with you. I mean, not literally, but I'd been happy with it as mild hyperbole (more like "one of the best comics ever written", but with sincere conviction) or as someone else's respectable opinion.

The combo of the at-the-time fairly newfangled and exciting colored strip format being done well, the faintly spooky intriguing weirdness of it, the super-immersive worldbuilding, the characters that I loved to death...

I doubt it's aged quite as well (I've never gone back and reread or finished it after it did it's sudden "surprise, it's time for everything to go horribly wrong" turn), but I would argue that that was 100% respectable enthusiasm in 2013. uwu. Ahh, nostalgia.

Edited by pokari, 21 May 2023 - 07:53 PM.

[Rainingforest]

2 Tower of God is still pretty solid, just... confusing unless you're super invested.

 

It was good until mid way to end of season 2, where they added in a multitude of new characters, world buildings, background stories, and powers. The powers got ridiculous, which makes sense but I don't think was executed very well. First, I never really got over the mixture of magic vs tech. Second, like most power leveling stories, the little guys end up having no chance while the big guys fight so basically there is never any point to having a large army engage another large army. You just need a couple ultrapowerful people to do all the killing for you.

@feishy, that sucks. it's hard to dust off the old resume when you are making just enough to get by and have some savings but not enough for retirement. Curse capitalism!!!!!

Edited by Rainingforest, 22 May 2023 - 04:28 PM.

[PItiful Boar]

3 nah it's more deeper than that

[pokari]

Hmm... "more deeper" is grammatically suspect, but that isn't fair at all, because "most deepest" is I think fine, if archaic. :/

English, man.

*hugs*

4

First, I never really got over the mixture of magic vs tech. Second, like most power leveling stories, the little guys end up having no chance while the big guys fight so basically there is never any point to having a large army engage another large army. You just need a couple ultrapowerful people to do all the killing for you.

I mean, the "becoming transcendentally powerful" part seems thematically consistent. People sure seemed darned desperate to climb that tower, and it's rather grandiosely named...

I never had much problem with magic/tech mixes in stories, though. Actually, what bothers me is when (without explanation) they're seen as opposed and exclusive to each other. Yes IRL science says magic is bunk—but that's because it actually is; if it weren't, science would be extremely interested in studying its rules!

Then again, the definition of magic at this point is pretty much "something that operates contrary to the laws of nature and science," too, so maybe it is fair. Which raises an interesting 3 AM question: If your party's mage can cast fireball reliably by performing certain actions, does that mean it is (in their world) axiomatically not an effect due to 'magic' but simply the laws of the natural sciences in that world?

[PItiful Boar]

5 there's no really good way to changing our current state of affairs... unless you can take control of the means of production. but what's the means of production in a financialized, digitized economy? more marvel movies? more derivate trading? 

not sure what's worth it any more tbh

[pokari]

6

I will point out that at present we live in a democracy and more or less all we need to do to distribute wealth in some different manner is to have a solid majority agree to doing so.

That's actually freakishly hard, mind, but it's totally doable. No need to apply the means of production directly to the workers' foreheads—Marx's proposed approach, whether good or bad, was pretty narrowly tailored for the industrial age; he was, at the end of the day, just a dude living in his time.

Edited by pokari, 25 May 2023 - 10:41 PM.

[PItiful Boar]

7 first, we don't have a democracy... we have an oligarchy where most of the capital is concentrated in the hands of several major families, and they send out representatives to work out the conflict amongst themselves. Second, redistribution is vulgar socialism... it's vulgar because it does not invogoriate, it sedates.

 

And finally, even if you somehow manage to wrestle control from the major families, and somehow obtain a solid majority to agree where to spend that money, you still have to work hard, and innovate. The difference is that you will work hard and enjoy working hard. It's not work hard/play hard but play while you work... but that's only a conceptual paradise at this point. There's still inborn genetic differences , talents, values..

[pokari]

As for the U.S. being controlled by a few ultra-powerful families: No, it is heavily influenced by a several such, but it is not actually ruled by them outright, not while the democracy is still by-and-large functioning, which for the moment it is. The difference is salient; to the extent that it can be posited that we have a de-facto ruling caste, it's one that has to bow to the prevailing winds of the zeitgeist to retain that power (even if it might have a lot of leeway to do what it wants within those constraints).

8

Anyway. I'm not really convinced about this whole "work is invigorating, having everything you need will make you depressed" angle. It smacks of Christo-puritanical reverence to suffering and "being a good little serf" to me.

I'm reminded of a story about how the natives in this valley didn't do very much by the standards of the time because food was plentiful year round (this is before we depleted the water table you understand) and the weather was mild and it and by all accounts that they were generally quite happy and got along well and so forth and then... The missionaries showed up and were horrified by all this slothful sinful behaviour and (enslaved them and) put them to work immediately! For their souls!

Even without that, though, I'm not sure there's much point worrying about whether work is inherently satisfying or freeing or anything. It seems it's about to all be run by AI anyway. It's just the choice of whether you have wealth or not, period. Controlling "the means of production" when the means of production are robots really doesn't carry quite the same meaning.

[You]

9

[pokari]

10

X3

[PItiful Boar]

11 i need to kick my iseikai habit

[pokari]

Makes it sound like you're getting isekai'd on the regular X'p How enviable!

12

I enjoy isekai series with the explicit understanding that they're (almost) all blatant wish-fulfillment. Come escape your corporate job, and get your ego boosts, your magic spells, your best-buddy pet wolf or dragon, catboys, harem of adoring monsters, whirlwind romance, easy money, and a loving supportive family (biological and/or found along the way).

(...Mind, also slaves, rape, and/or free license to violence, in other series. Some people's fantasies I never really wanted to know about, alas.)

Either way it's basically the modern weeb equivalent of a beach read.

But I personally come from a philosophical background of "naw escapism is great, fam; it's bargain-bin happiness". That, however, presupposes one is left happy! Which isn't always how it works. If you feel they're eating at you, stopping seems wise :3

Edited by pokari, 21 June 2023 - 09:34 AM.