MU Soapbox

Auspice

@Kestrel said in Well, this sums up why I RP:

Good Omens was written by two very talented authors and is largely from the perspective of two very enjoyable characters. I don't know how exactly they sat down and wrote it together, if they took turns giving each character a voice or what, but the finished project, which was collaborative, is spectacular and fun, and definitely feels like it contains elements of each author's usual flair and style.

I once worked with a guy who is a good friend of Gaiman's. Coraline was written, largely, at this guy's house. Gaiman mentioned him a few times on his blog back before he switched primarily to Twitter.

Aaaaaaaanwyay. Good Omens was one of the only times, from what I gathered, those two got to actually sit down and collaborate on something. They were very good friends, but their lives kept them from seeing one another very often. This guy told me a story once about a con (back in the days when nerdy conventions were still a very niche thing and authors didn't always have 'handlers' and very strict schedules and...) where he found out both of them were there. He said he grabbed Pratchett and led him over to Gaiman and just... sat back.

He told me seeing those two together was one of the most inspiring, enjoyable things for him.

Auspice

@Ghost said in Well, this sums up why I RP:

writing on this forum.

add the Creative group, n00b.

Auspice

As a writer (as in: writes for a living):

MUing is not remotely the same as novel-writing and I believe that's likely what the spirit of Lackey's comment was to @Ghost. I have met a lot (a lot a lot a lot) of MUers over the years who fancy themselves writers (penned with a flourish) because they RP.

They aren't. You're not.

With writing (as in novels, scripts, technical documents...) there come things like outlining, editing, having full creative control (which @Pandora hinted has somewhat changed in this shift for an obsession of 'my fun not your fun'). You're writing for an audience in professional writing. Yes, even someone writing a novel. You don't write a novel for yourself (after all it can just stay in your head). You write it to tell a story to someone else.

RPing, on the other hand, is like doodling. Sometimes you might come out with something really great you want to share, but 99.9% of the time it's just fun scribbles for yourself. There's no editing (not in the same vein), there's no outlining (in the grand scheme of things; if you outline your character's entire story and expect to see it happen you're gonna have a bad time), and the story is, arguably (and not in a negative connotation!) just for you.

I like RP because it's lazy and casual and not as structured, rigid, and demanding as professional writing. I also like RP as a test bed. A lot of the time I'm testing writing methods/styles or characters (in my current novel, my protagonist was once trialed as a PC on a game... she's not in the novel exactly the same, but elements of personality and background definitely exist).

Auspice

@Testament said in Favorite Youtubers?:

@Auspice For the record, I too have a massive crush on Claire from BA. I'm pretty sure it's the salt and pepper hair.

I admit I had a huge flare of sadness when she got engaged recently.

ALL MY DREAMS CRUSHED.

Auspice

@Testament I've recently (as of October I guess) begun watching How to Drink. I'm still not fully invested tho.

Auspice

@nyctophiliac said in Favorite Youtubers?:

Lofty Pursuits Greg makes hard candy the old fashioned way. There's something about how it's made and his voice that's ultra satisfying/soothing.

def on my must list.

Others I watch errtime-

Food:
Bon Appetit - it began with Claire and now I just watch ALL OF IT. They're my BFFs and they don't even know it.
French Guy Cooking - DIY + Cooking + Charming French guy. It's a win.
Binging With Babish - You should know about him. If you don't, watch.
You Suck at Cooking - most hilarious food videos you will ever watch

Educational:
Extra Credits - games, books, history. I don't watch EVERY series, but man their episodes on Dune are MUST SEE.
Lockpicking Lawyer - He picks locks. And he's humorous about it.
BosnianBill - Also a lockpick, has a great bromance with LPL
SciShow - Bite sized science, often about shit you wanted to know but never asked.
Isaac Arthur - His lisp is a bit awkward (and he makes jokes about it sometimes himself), but if you wanna go HARD into scifi and astrophysics? He's your guy.
Alec Steele - THE MOST UPBEAT BRIT EVER. Watching his journey in blacksmithing has been great.
zefrank - you know zefrank. You might not know you know zefrank, but you know zefrank.

Gaming:
MannShorts - their themed D&D episodes are fucking hilarious. Watch the 'Florida Edition' series RIGHT NOW.
Puffin Forest - this guy would be the best DM ever

Misc:
Dope or Nope - it's stupid but it's like brain candy
Mr. Puzzle - German puzzle solver. If you can handle half an hour looking at someone's hands, check it out.
Chris Ramsay - I watch for the puzzles, but stay for the magic nerd
Colin Furze - this guy would make a great WoD character. Another SUPER UPBEAT BRIT who makes insane inventions.

Defies All Convention
How to Basic - eggs
kiwami - cucumbers

Auspice

Westworld Season 3 on March 15th.

Auspice

@Darren said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

@Auspice said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

Currently within arm's reach on the coworker's desk:

Peanut Butter
Classic M&Ms
Peanut
White Chocolate Peanut
Crispy
English Toffee Peanut

;.;

Wow that's... a hell of a lot of candy to have on your desk.

That's just the M&Ms. There's also...

a big jar of random candy
a jar of Starburst
a jar of lollipops
a jar of pixie sticks

And a few misc. things here and there.

My coworker just finds joy in providing snacks for people. And people from all over the building will stop by to get their 'fix.'

....and they all ask me how I manage to sit here and not just eat candy all day and I cry a little because some days I do just graze.

ETA: forgot to add the big drawer full of bags of candy to refill the jars.

Auspice

Currently within arm's reach on the coworker's desk:

Peanut Butter
Classic M&Ms
Peanut
White Chocolate Peanut
Crispy
English Toffee Peanut

;.;

Auspice

Be mindful of medication/food/supplement interactions.

I'm on synthroid. It was years before a doctor explained to me that I needed to be taking it on an empty stomach and avoid dairy and anything high in iron for at least two hours after taking it.

If you have hypothyroidism, avoid raw vegetables (broccoli, spinach, kale) that are high in iron. Always cook them. Otherwise you can have a negative impact on your thyroid.

(Yes, this makes things hard on those who also have anemia -- like me! -- but an iron supplement with folic acid taken, say, in the evening can help a lot esp. since the folic acid helps with absorption.)

Auspice

don't tell me to use this term instead of that term because 'we're transitioning to this new definition' and then later review the material I've written and say 'oh no, use this term instead'

especially don't do this for three separate things.

Auspice

I guess that's why they call them rules lawyers.

rimshot

Auspice

@surreality said in The Crafting Thread:

@Auspice You have my empathy. Also, swear to gods the oatmeal/natural is the least crazymaking.

"Eh, instead of cutting something up again, I will just use this piece of black we got for this test run."

^ I regret this. This was stupid. I am definitely suffering for it. Still torn on whether I hate it more than the white, though, which felt like deck chair material.

I just bought more black the other day because I fucked up cutting some black.

Dear brain: add 3" border means per side. Not two sides.

So I have an entire thing of black only good for small shit now.

But hopefully the new one is big enough for two projects: my Pixel solar system and the Star Wars black work pattern I got my hands on.

I have talked myself out of doing the black work in shades of grey......except I went worse. Two metallics.

Haha
Danger

Auspice

@Derp said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

Handful of white chocolate ones + handful of caramel ones.

As someone with a pseudo-allergy to chocolate, it's worth the pain.

Keep it.
I am not a fan of white "chocolate." Blech.

Auspice

250x250 grid on 18 count aida.

Because the ladies I stitch with are all doing the Harry Potter SAL and gdi. I love how the house banners look from part one so..... here I go.

alt text

Auspice

@Kestrel said in Good TV:

American shows tend to be 20+ episodes a season

A lot of American TV is dumping this model and I think it's for the better. Look at recent seasons of Good Place, for example. 13 episodes per season with a winter break in the middle. It makes for a lot tighter TV.

That said.

I 100% agree on Elementary vs Sherlock. I liked Sherlock. Elementary, on the other hand, I tried one or two episodes of and it just felt bland. It felt like Yet Another Cop Procedural with a Sherlock set dressing haphazardly tossed on top.