I respect George a lot and hope he's more involved with Star Wars moving forward. With that, I find his ideas of the force and the jedi are hard to relate to. To focus on the dark side and light side as selfless VS selfish to be good but somewhat hard to approximate because I really don't think wanting things is ultimately bad. I find the black and white thinking of the Jedi in the prequels to be very off putting, dangerous and one of the hardest parts of organized religion. You take good things, like being selfless and putting others ahead of yourself and translate that to certain actions and dogma which are entirely wrong.
It's not bad to be afraid your Mom is a slave on Tatooine. It's not inherently evil to be scared. It doesn't make you space Hitler to have a dream where your wife dies and that shakes you. It just makes you human. Fear doesn't mean you have an evil heart. The Mandalorian as seen with a certain character seems to espouse this too, in that baby Yoda is afraid therefore scary because he might be evil. I don't really think fear means much more than we contain human emotions and those emotions come up. I don't think the most evolved form of humanity is the abandonment of emotion I think it's accepting what we are and making good choices anyway. When the Jedi distance themselves from hard emotions they give more power to them because accepting our humanity is the best path to disarming out unfortunate tendencies. The worst strategy is to hype up "bad thought" and try to pray it away or whatever the heck the Jedi do.
I appreciate Star Wars a lot but when you boil down religion and attempt to organize it and make a creed of it I think things tend to get hard which is why I frankly have a hard time with the Jedi. If they existed in our world, I'd try and get as close to their power and abandon the core mindset and if that made me a Sith then so be it.... Jedi.
I think Lucas is saying it's more than black and white. There needs to be balance to the light and dark side. It's not a good thing to be fully selfless, as then you will never look out for yourself, and at the most extreme would end up quickly dead, as you'd be giving up everything of yourself for others. Also, being selfish is important, for the same exact reasons. There needs to be balance, not a domination of Jedi or Sith.
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I used to play a lot of fantasy sports. You'd generally pick a team of players (football, basketball, baseball, etc) from all the guys playing that day, and then as they compile stats (points/rebounds/steals/etc in basketball, passing yards/catches/touchdowns in football, just to name a few), you get a cumulative point total for your team.
But now there aren't any sports being played... at least no sports being played by humans.
In the video above you'll see 2 virtual NBA games being simulated by a Playstation. No one is playing the characters, it's just a simulation. (My wife thinks this is the dumbest thing ever lol) On the various fantasy sports apps, before the games, you can choose lineups, just as if they were real games, and then watch along and root for "your" players. The website https://www.awesemo.com/ has been running both NBA and NFL simulations, and I've found it really fun to watch along with. And really, I don't see much of a difference in passively watching real players play games, or simulated players play games (my wife strongly disagrees and thinks this is the dumbest thing ever lol)
I'm not really into NASCAR, but today I stumbled upon eNASCAR/iRacing, and I might become a full-time fan. Actual NASCAR drivers race virtually against each other, using realistic multi-monitor simulators on their computers. The graphics of the simulation look really, really good. Here's an example of what a race looks like (this was on FOX, and had real racing commentators) https://youtu.be/g75HghckIyY?t=474 And here's an example of what their racing setups look like: https://youtu.be/nHDH0pL_qBM
There are a ton more Esports/Virtual Sports out there. I've seen Virtual Golf (sometimes there are simulated players like Happy Gilmore and Shooter McGavin lol), Virtual Baseball in addition to various Virtual basketball and football simulations. And fantasy apps are venturing into Reality TV as well. You can create a "team" of players for the show Survivor, and you get points for things like Wins Immunity/Cries on camera/Catches Seafood.
Almost all the Virtual/ESports contests are free to enter, and many allow multiple entries, so you can try different lineups and see how they score. It's a fun thing to fill the time with, and occasionally you can win 5-10 cents lol. My favorite app is FanDuel, which you can download from any app store, or go to this website https://www.fanduel.com/
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 02/14/2020 at 01:46am
I wasn't really interested when I found out about who would be the next Batman, but I do like this video. I like the music as well. From what I've read, it seems Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler will be in the new movie. I think we've seen enough of those characters, but perhaps we've also had enough Batman movies. I guess we'll see how it goes.
I'm very hopeful for this. Ignore the Twilight stuff and Pattinson is pretty good at what he does. Now that the DC movies are kinda uncoupling and they're shying away from the shared universe formula, things seem to be getting better. I mean... The Joker, wow. It seems they're taking a hands off approach and letting people make their own takes on things so there's the gamble of quality but that gamble is also pretty exciting. You know what you're getting with a Marvel movie.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 02/15/2020 at 08:20am
Since speedrunning is often topic on Cheerful Ghost, and we run Speedrunning competitions at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo, I figure this is a fitting video :)
It covers the history of speedrunning, from the super old school "demo" days of Doom to the current Games Done Quick.
I'm still a little worried that this will suffer a similar fate as Rogue One and Solo for (prequels where we know the ultimate outcome, thus making the stakes for the main character not as high, because ultimately they live), but I am more excited for this than I thought I would be.
Maybe because I'm in the middle of a Winter Soldier rewatch (as I'm rewatching it, I honestly wonder if I ever actually saw it? It feels like the first time I'm seeing scenes in it lol), but I'm just lately getting into Nat's character. Endgame was sad for her, but wasn't *that* sad to me, but I bet next time I watch Endgame, it'll hit even harder after watching Black Widow.
Enjoy the trailer! It has Hopper in it!
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 12/03/2019 at 03:39pm
Awesome! The only thing that's always bothered me about Black Widow is that I always thought she was from Russia (or the area), but she doesn't have a fitting accent. The other characters in the trailer from her past do, I wonder if that ever gets explained.
There is the Endgame question, too. Didn't Cap return the soul stone? If so, does that mean Nat comes back? Maybe Tony's sacrifice brought her back. Although, she could be "back" but only in an alternate timeline. Maybe some of the characters she reunites with return in later movies and (Disney+) shows.
Thanks for sharing the trailer! I recently got caught up w/ the MCU movies and have been watching a YouTube channel called New Rockstars, which analyzes these movies (and more like Star Wars, I wrote a post about it in the forums).
Greg this takes place after Winter Soldier, so well before she died. Thus Adam talking about it being a prequel where you know the character’s eventual outcome.
I’ve always just assumed that she’s a super spy so she has to blend. Actual Russian spies lived in the US in the 70s and 80s and spoke with a perfect American accent so they could blend in.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 12/03/2019 at 08:26pm
Yeah, when it takes place wasn't a question. I expected it to take place then, probably because of New Rockstars. As for the accent, good point, Travis.
Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member
wrote on 12/03/2019 at 09:34pm
"I’ve always just assumed that she’s a super spy so she has to blend. Actual Russian spies lived in the US in the 70s and 80s and spoke with a perfect American accent so they could blend in."
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 12/03/2019 at 11:30pm
I realize that for sure, Travis. I was just speculating on a "what if" post-Endgame thought. I think it was New Rockstars that said it should take place just after Civil War. This was before the trailer was released. I guess the question of this movie is, why? Why are they showing us this? Does it some how connect to past or future MCU movies and/or Disney+ shows? Or does it just fill out the character, letting us get to know her better. Maybe I'm looking too deep into it.
Yeah, Jon, well yeah, Adam did kind of put a spoiler in the post, so I've kind of gone with the assumption that all of us here have seen Endgame. I think you're joking, though, it's hard to be sure. LOL Still, I'm glad I just recently watched Endgame. Although, I knew of Tony's fate before I watched it, I some how caught a spoiler, but that didn't make it any less dramatic, I just didn't know how it happened or when.
What if everything about Black Widow taking place in the past turns out to be only the first half of the movie, with the second half being in the MCU present day, with Belova fighting as a good guy? Perhaps Nat captures Taskmaster, but somehow he escapes in the present day, and Belova is recruited by Fury to hunt him down?
Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member
wrote on 12/05/2019 at 04:02am
All characters will be played by skrulls.
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1. I don't consider this scene from a New Hope to be bad. Perhaps that's nostalgia blinders? I've heard people say it's hokey and even George Lucas seems to dog it when he talks about it. That said I've always considered it to be fine, if not a bit bland which this fixes but with a few downsides and not a lot of upside.
2. I always viewed the old New Hope fight as Obi Wan not really trying to kill Vader and it seemed like Vader was holding back too. Like Vader and Obi Wan were just talking and not really trying to kill each other. At the point in the story, Obi Wan wanted to stall Vader and let Leia, Luke and Han escape. The fight was on his terms and at no point did Vader ever "get Obi Wan" or hurt him because he couldn't. I'd argue because Obi Wan was so powerful, Vader couldn't have but winning in that way wasn't Obi Wan's goal. Frankly I think this makes Luke's last stand in the Last Jedi even more powerful it's a direct mirror of this fight in a New Hope. Luke exiting the scene just like his teacher. And this video doesn't seem to revel in that, it's just Vader being a badass and Obi Wan getting knocked around and seems to imply he's Vaders lesser, which I think isn't how I look at it.
3. When Obi Wan loses in this version it has less weight because he's simply a less talented Jedi, not because he chooses to save anyone. I think this is a repeat of 2 but it's important.
I also think something else is going on in this scene. As Obi Wan is trying to stall Vader two things are happening. Firstly Vader is thinking he's toying with Obi Wan and chides him as being weak. Obi Wan stays on message and calls Vader evil, and that he failed as a teacher. I think what Obi Wan is doing is playing weak or not trying to get Vader to focus on toying with him to get him to lose interest in Leia, Luke and Han who are escaping (I didn't forget Chewie, R2 or C3PO). When he realizes they are going to be ok Obi Wan lets go. I don't read this scene as Vader is more powerful, but Obi Wan has a different goal and he's not trying to "out lightsaber Vader" and Vader actually thinks Obi Wan is weak, which I think is a trick Obi Wan is playing on Vader.
After Revenge of the Sith, Vader would have an axe to grind in this way too BUT I imagine that wasn't as well formed when this scene was written and I still think if it wasn't my read makes sense.
Oh and I misspelled Obi-Wan a lot so apologies to everyone reading that dying a little inside. My son has been acting up a bit today and I had to type fast to get this out.
That's always been my read on the scene, and I think Revenge of the Sith strengthens that interpretation. But the fight has always been janky, even if their intentions were stalling/toying with each other. The first time I saw it I interpreted the fight the same as you but chuckled at the choreography a bit. As I have said before I don't have any childhood nostalgia for Star Wars so that may be a factor. The first time I saw it was the special edition in the theater and I actually fell asleep for about 30 minutes in the middle. I've come a long way :D
But I don't think anyone involved said they were trying to fix the scene at any rate, just reimagining it.
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I like how it pulled from all the films in a really fun way. The trailer also really focuses on Han Solo and uses the music and some footage from Solo, which I thought was a fun touch.
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I'm guessing Captain America's plan isn't going to work (possibly time jumping through the Quantum Realm with Ant-Man?). "Because I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't" probably will lead to a sacrifice that he has to make to save everyone else.
Also, when Tony is making his recording for Pepper, he says the word "rescue," which there's speculation could be Pepper's hero name with her own suit :)
This does make me wonder how Scott got out. I was kinda assuming someone from the Avengers would get him out but they seem to be surprised that he’s alive.
Someone posted a comic that all Scott would need to do is get small, fly into Thanos’s butt, and get big again and we’d be done. So... I doubt they’re going that direction.
The THANOSRECTUMANUVER needs to be a thing. Travis, why are you not a Hollywood writer?
Also, someone said at the end of Ant Man there are two dust clouds and that The Wasp wasn't directly shown to be dusted therefore she might not be? Could be a fun surprise that she is in Endgame.
Also makes sense they are gonna push back this movie, it's huge and they had a year to finish it.
I guess tone doesn't do well over text, or I'm bad at telling jokes. The way they left it seemed like he was totally stranded, and I was riffing on that, poorly apparently.
Another wild speculation: Cassie (Ant-Man's daughter) isn't dusted, and somehow she finds the van and is able to pull him out of the Quantum realm. He and Cassie then drive cross-country to Avengers HQ, but no one is there. They do find Shuri and Hawkeye and form the Secret Avengers. Then there's a time jump, a new bad guy shows up to earth and Captain America and Scarlet Witch try to fight him "This will work because I don't know what else we'd do," lose, then find out that Ant-Man is still alive from the archive footage, then track him down, finding Hawkeye/Ronin and the rest of the Secret Avengers.
I believe the Russo brothers (or someone else close to the movie) confirmed that Shuri survived the snap, but we now know that they lie about upcoming movies occasionally, so who knows lol. In the trailer it looks like Scott Lang, Peter and Shuri are listed as "missing." I think they're all unaccounted for and probably assumed dusted, but not confirmed.
Between her missing and claims that she's still alive, that's where I'm guessing she has gone underground with other former Avengers.
Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member
wrote on 12/14/2018 at 10:59pm
Did Howard The Duck make the cut, or is he dust? Maybe he shows up in this one.
I respect George a lot and hope he's more involved with Star Wars moving forward. With that, I find his ideas of the force and the jedi are hard to relate to. To focus on the dark side and light side as selfless VS selfish to be good but somewhat hard to approximate because I really don't think wanting things is ultimately bad. I find the black and white thinking of the Jedi in the prequels to be very off putting, dangerous and one of the hardest parts of organized religion. You take good things, like being selfless and putting others ahead of yourself and translate that to certain actions and dogma which are entirely wrong.
It's not bad to be afraid your Mom is a slave on Tatooine. It's not inherently evil to be scared. It doesn't make you space Hitler to have a dream where your wife dies and that shakes you. It just makes you human. Fear doesn't mean you have an evil heart. The Mandalorian as seen with a certain character seems to espouse this too, in that baby Yoda is afraid therefore scary because he might be evil. I don't really think fear means much more than we contain human emotions and those emotions come up. I don't think the most evolved form of humanity is the abandonment of emotion I think it's accepting what we are and making good choices anyway. When the Jedi distance themselves from hard emotions they give more power to them because accepting our humanity is the best path to disarming out unfortunate tendencies. The worst strategy is to hype up "bad thought" and try to pray it away or whatever the heck the Jedi do.
I appreciate Star Wars a lot but when you boil down religion and attempt to organize it and make a creed of it I think things tend to get hard which is why I frankly have a hard time with the Jedi. If they existed in our world, I'd try and get as close to their power and abandon the core mindset and if that made me a Sith then so be it.... Jedi.
I think Lucas is saying it's more than black and white. There needs to be balance to the light and dark side. It's not a good thing to be fully selfless, as then you will never look out for yourself, and at the most extreme would end up quickly dead, as you'd be giving up everything of yourself for others. Also, being selfish is important, for the same exact reasons. There needs to be balance, not a domination of Jedi or Sith.