Posts made by Warma Sheen

2-0 on both sides.

Who loses first? Warriors or Bucks?

@Arkandel I disagree actually. I think in a different series that they've controlled the entire time, you get a different result. Or at least a more predictable one. What we see now is basically very well-financed fan fiction, and as many people are seeing, it shows.

And I've also loved seeing the many seasons that were good, so not saying they suck completely. But the end hasn't been worthy of the journey, imo. Whatever they do next, if it is their own, I think will be better because it is their own from start to finish... and because of this experience. I'm certain the current reactions will not be lost on them.

@Arkandel said in Game of Thrones:

@Lotherio Let's not be too judgy guys. I can see how producers might be burned out after working on the same project for eight years. They probably rushed some things to wrap up this massive beast with so many characters and plotlines, but to their defense they also always expected Martin to have written the books by now, too.

That's not a good defense for rushing an end, though. The producers were honest about being given several more seasons if they wanted it. They didn't. If you know you don't have the core of what made the show good in the first place, why rush through to an end if you really care? And didn't they skip a whole year before the final season?

Nah. No excuses. Be judgy!

@Ganymede said in The Basketball Thread:

The Warriors are tired. Curry and Thompson have miles on them after being in deep in the post-season so often, and it shows. Durant will be coming back from a leg injury. No Boogie.

I don't believe in the theory that playoffs take an extra toll, but even if they did, the Warriors have let Durant carry the weight for the last two years. Curry and Thompson showed no signs of slowing in the first game. If it goes to 5 I'll be a little surprised. If it goes past that I'll be shocked.

But I've been wrong before...
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26758769/raptors-not-named-lowry-go-0-15-4th
I thought the Bucks would handle the Raptors easily, but that first win sounds ooogly. Now I didn't watch it but when you win by 8, it shouldn't be because only one person on the other team can make a basket in the clutch quarter. But the Bucks lost big to the C's in their first game before running the table. Maybe they just start slow...

@Thenomain I agree with most of that breakdown. But I also think writers sometimes fall in love with their own story and their own characters too much. I think that happened here and the transition from scripting the written material and taking control of the characters themselves hasn't been as fruitful as they hoped.

@Lisse24 talked about the after-episode interviews and I totally agree, but what I get from those is how passionate the creators/writers are about what they want for these characters they've been stewarding for years. However, what they want for the character isn't the same as what makes sense for the characters based on where they've been heading for the previous 7 years. And that's what I feel like I'm watching. What the creators want, rather than what the characters would do.

@Ganymede said in The Basketball Thread:

No one wants to play in Toronto. Those fans are rabid beasts for basketball, now that the Leafs are out of the playoffs. I thought they were going to set the Scotiabank Arena on fire yesterday.

Dem Bucks gon be scurred of Drake.

But they'll still win. Toronto just has that 'always the bridesmaid' quality to them. I'll take the Bucks in 5. I just don't think they match up well. I thought Toronto should have handled the 76ers much easier than they did. Butler is overrated, especially for the discord he brings. Simmons needs to be more aggressive - he's better than his play, like he doesn't believe in himself. Embiid has the classic big man case of old joints in a young body - he can't sustain through a game at 100 percent and looks lethargic at times towards the end of games. It came down to a game 7 very... slow... bounce... to get the win and it shouldn't have even had to go to 7 games much less that closely. If they can't play the 76ers better than that, I think they'll be exposed quickly by the Bucks who will exploit the same weaknesses, only better. If they couldn't handle Embiid better than that, Giannis is gonna tear them apart.

I'll say Bucks in 5 and people try to cushion Toronto's "collapse" on the toll of the 76ers series.

@Testament Its as true as with anyone. One superstar, no matter how good, can't win it by themselves. Definitely not against the Warriors. Lebron couldn't. He needed Kyrie at his best. Problem for the Bucks is that Lopez at his best is no Kyrie Irving. And as much as people want to say Giannis is the next Lebron, he isn't there. Not yet, anyway.

So the Bucks don't match up to where they need to be. Again, not yet.

That was disappointing. Such a sloppy game. Warriors win, technically. But the Rockets gave it away with horrible preparation. Did they just not know how to play a Warriors team without KD? No one knew what to do once they didn't have KD to plan for?

I had to watch the game twice cause I couldn't believe what I saw. Even when it seemed like the Rockets were solidly outplaying the Warriors, I kept looking at the score and thinking 'that can't be right, the Warriors have to be way behind'. You would think the Rockets would smell blood in the water and attack with killer instincts. But no.

Here's the lineup at the end of the first quarter: Thompson, Bell, Cook, Looney, McKinnie. Who? I've never even heard of the last four and the announcers explain that Bell has played all of 11 seconds in the playoffs... On the bench is Curry, Iguodala, Green, Bogut, Livingston. and rather than take advantage to build a big lead the Rockets starters actually go down a point.

How bad were the Rockets? Curry scored 0 points in the first half, sat much of it in foul trouble and the half ended tied. He finally woke up in the 4th quarter (kind of), but its like the Rockets forgot who Curry was. Granted he was invisible most of the game before that, but still. And it wasn't like the Rockets just played bad. I remember in game 7 last year they just shot horrible. I think they missed 23 3-pointers in a row. So on this one, I blame the coach for not having a better game plan ready.

At one point near the 4th quarter D'Antoni goes irate on the sideline because Clint Capela (the center) doesn't press Curry when he has the ball 8 feet from the arc. Rather than switch back, or being upset at your guard for not avoiding the screen, you throw a hissy fit at your center for not pressing the opposing guard as far away from the basket as possible? That would be giving a free drive to the basket, which is exactly what happened 3 separate times previous to that. And 1 after.

One perfect example of bad planning/execution: Curry hasn't missed a free throw in the 4th quarter or overtime since 2015. They intentionally foul him 4 times in a row at the end of the game instead of forcing the ball away and fouling someone else. (He made all 8). Even if you put Klay Thompson on the line, anyone but Curry. I understand that sometimes you have to pray for a miracle, but generally you don't put yourself into the position of having to pray for the biggest miracle possible. Go big or go home just seems like very bad praying strategy.

I'm kind of floored that that the Rockets let an opportunity to bury the Warriors at home get away so easily. It was bad game on both sides. Not what I was hoping for. Now we'll see if anyone else out there stands a chance. Bucks maybe?

I was a big fan of the Warriors before KD joined up. They literally changed the game of basketball and they did it without just throwing money at Superstars from other teams. After they pissed all over their own legacy with KD, though, it just made the sport boring. Watching anything before the Conference finals became a complete waste of time. And I don't wish ill on anyone but I'm suddenly much more interested in the series, even if it is only for two games. I really want to see what the Warriors can do without him against the Rockets. I would love to see the Splash Brothers step up and take the series without KD. Otherwise, just like last year we'll never really know which team is better.

But regardless of what happens, basketball will be exciting again.

Also, Boogie has always been irrelevant for me because another long term injury was just a matter of time.

P. S. I don't think enough has been said of Curry's complete lack of drama on and off the court in letting KD take over the Warriors the way he has. I love Steph. They don't make very many sports stars like him anymore. I wish they did.

Listen to Arkandel. Avoid Mage.

I started watching Legacies on Netflix and had no idea it was a Vampire Diaries spin off. I've never seen Vampire Diaries or any of its other spin offs, of which there are a few, apparently (and have never had any desire to). But as I'm watching this show that is not very good in terms of writing or story or anything resembling traditional entertainment, I find myself thinking:

"OMG, I finally understand WoD MUs/MUers..."

Its got a monster of the week.
The monsters usually come to the characters without having to be sought out because the characters are basically ignoring all the huge threats around them to spend time on far more mundane and inconsequential tasks, like finding someone to hook up with.
Its got teenage supers who are the most powerful things around despite other, older things just like them that certainly have to be out there.
The "bad guys" basically just stand around waiting to be killed by the "good guys" with pretty predictable results every week.
Its got cliques...
Despite the powers and the responsibilities the characters primary motivations are took up with and that drives most of the interactions.
Its got boring, uninspired dialogue and interactions wherein the characters try to be so insightful with each other, but just end up pointing out cliches and tropes in the most ham fisted way possible.
Most mortals are seemingly oblivious to the supernatural despite the characters tendencies to throw around magic every chance they get, even though they aren't supposed to.
The characters are always forgiven with little to no consequences for breaking those all important "no powerz" rules.
Cliques...
Its got "that one guy", the character that min maxed their sheet and plays the brooding badass loner who only breaks his eternal skulking to show up in every combat scene to steal the show, but wonders why none of the other characters don't like them.
Its got a guy who started out strong and dove into the plot, took a leadership position then stops logging on except for every once in a blue moon for no discernible reason, except that he got what he wanted so now is bored/boring.
Also, cliques...

And despite many of these being applicable to other shows, I've never seen one that has them all together in a way that is so MU*-like. These are just off the top of my head. Sorry if I'm late to the party. I'm sure someone else has noticed before but I never watched any of the Vampire Diary series and it kind of blew my mind that I was basically watching a live action WoD MU*.

It suddenly became so much more entertaining.

The truth is that it wasn't "Endgame" itself that we're experiencing, but the whole 22 movie, 11 year story that we all went on which was so spectacular. "Endgame" itself is great, but it isn't a fraction of what it accomplished if it is just some movie on its own. This was a monumental marathon of storytelling and commitment from (most of) the actors involved that just created something so beautiful it can't even be described well (at least not by me).

My favorite Marvel group was always X-Men and there's no comparison to that Fox franchise. And I only wish Star Wars would have been done half as well. But I do agree, we probably won't be able to experience anything like the Infinity Saga for a very, very long time, if at all in our lifetimes.

Apologies if this has come up in another forum (if so, feel free to delete) but I'm reading about this uproar about the New York Times an a pulled cartoon that was said to be anti-semetic.

After having looked at the cartoon, I'm having trouble seeing what the issue is. It seems to me to be a political commentary about how Israel is leading Trump around blindly. However, I've got no connection to the Jewish state or the Jewish people so I could be missing something very important and I'd like to know what it is. Because currently I feel quite ignorant and I figured you good people could help fix that.

Thanks.

Agreed. I actually wanted more.

I'm picturing a lot of Solo and less all the other SW movies. It sounds lot of planetary government politics and capitalism with a good bit of opportunity by subcontracting Imperial and/or Rebellion jobs. Sometimes you know who you're working for. Sometimes you don't. Everyone has an agenda. You don't always know the full extent of it. Lawmen and criminals are not the same as good and evil.

The number of potential stories seem pretty limitless. I'm just a little confused/doubtful on the idea that being in the same faction will limit conflict. In other games most of the players are focused on being Imperial or Rebel. Or Sith or Jedi. Fighting the other side. That's the focus. That's where staff focus is and Indys generally left to fend for themselves. Other orgs have their own built in controls and restraints for limiting conflict in their own org. "Independent" isn't really an "org" though. Most of the "Indys" aren't organized. There's no constraints on internal conflict, if you can even call it internal. Pirate Indy's rob trader Indy's. Police Indy's arrest criminal Indy's. There's a lot of ways and reasons for Indy's to go at each other, especially once people start taking sides.

Its all setting up to be a great big ball of fun for everyone, so long as everyone understands the expectations involved. I'm sure the theme will outline where the staff wants the conflict directed, though. It is up to the players to work with the staff towards keeping the focus where it is supposed to be.

I'm definitely in. The FFG system is by far the most fun of all the SW systems I've played. It inspires and appreciates creativity rather than stifles it. It makes for more variation in scenes than other games where everything pretty much every scene is handled the same way every time.

I think this is awesome and and you're awesome and I don't think it is at all unnecessary.

I want his for my game! I don't actually have a game, but I want to make one just so I can have this in it!

I been saying this for years and its a shame that even his message isn't getting out to the mainstream. Its tucked away on some youtube channel with no reporting on it. I am lucky to come across it off a fucking MU Soapbox post...

Hip hop has been such a huge disappointment to me. I used to love music. Now I listen to books on tape in my car instead of the radio.

I hear the same shit in every song. How much money someone makes. How many girls they fuck. How they are the best rapper evar. Same three things. Over and over and over. The only thing that's changed in the last 5 years is that now you can't understand what the fuck they're saying and you have to go online to look up their lyrics to find out they are talking about the same three things everyone else has been talking about for the last 15 years.

For those who say hip hop has always had similar things, the difference is that hip hop used to be a about the struggle of daily life involving those things and now it is glorifying those things as something to strive for. Its like someone completely missed the messages about how that was the unfortunate result of what people had to do to survive and just heard 'drugs, guns, violence' from someone they admired as an artist and thought it was something to aspire too.

Yes, there are a few songs here and there that aren't about that, but they just don't have the power that inspire and/or endure like they used to. Its super gimmicky and commercial and ultimately forgettable. Or in the case of Childish Gambino so subtle that most people don't even realize it is a satirical message until they read an article online about it.

I remember when Tupac - Changes came out and it was so different from his other stuff that I was shocked it was Tupac. But the message was straight up and powerful in your face and advising completely the opposite of what his image had been about. He even talks about the consequences of living that life and he ultimately suffers the exact fate he talks about in that song.

And of course the topper to all of this is that it isn't artists that are the major cause of this problem. Its the producers and record labels who prefer a certain type of song and whenever there might be a new sound, they suddenly flood the market with 10 other artists who sound just like them. And then they pay the radio stations to play certain songs and of course with the decline in radio popularity, radio stations are just whores now like everyone else, trying to squeeze out a profit so they just pander and pander to try to make some revenue.

SO many things wrong in this world. It makes me sad. But this is one of the hardest things to deal with - to watch an art form created from social change and empowerment corrupted into catchy tunes that give young people the mentality to want to voluntarily throw themselves into the gutter, sometimes literally.

Its not enough to be the first to post about a death. Now you gotta foretell it. Everybody knows...

I usually explain it as a writing group. None of the people I've ever dated were into RPing, so it was all weird for them. I explained how I like to write and that MU*ing was a writers group. I explained more accurately as I got closer to the person and the weird stuff was less likely to send them running to the hills. Time is not nearly as abundant as when I was single, but that's just priorities. The gf moved up the list over many other things, not just rp.

But that process served me well. I'm married now and everything's good. I still find time here and there, just not as much as when I was single. But I'd much rather be in a good relationship and rp sparingly than single and rp all the time.