There’s been all kinds of get-to-know-you threads here, and I like them. I also like recommendations. So tell us what your favorite things are:
1.) IF game
2.) Non-IF game
3.) Book (You could break this down into fiction and nonfiction and poetry if you like)
4.) Movie
5.) Band (and/or composer)
Picking favorites is difficult, and favorites change from day to day sometimes. But try to pick just one in each category that is your favorite thing today.
Mine:
1.) IF game: Counterfeit Monkey (I suspect we’ll see this a lot in this thread)
2.) non-IF game: Monument Valley
3.) fiction: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry; nonfiction: The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas; poetry: Emily Dickinson
4.) Movie: Harold & Maude
5.) Band: The Talking Heads; composer: Mozart
[1] This was hard. I don’t really connect with movies very well. This choice didn’t really mean “omg this is the greatest movie ever”; more like “I actually enjoyed this movie, which means a lot, as I don’t really enjoy movies in general”.
[2] I thought it was obvious that Brand was taking a moment to be poetic when talking about the power of love. Everyone complaining about that is completely missing the point, and taking her way too literally, as she’s trying to make sense of things. The movie literally holds the viewer’s hand about this exact line, and people still miss the point. At this point I think they just expect the characters to magically know what’s happening at all times.
[3] This was really hard, as I’m very passionate about a lot of genres of music. There artists that have had a deeper emotional impact, but only for maybe one or two songs. However, as of January 2023, I love every single song that Comaduster has released, and that’s no small number! Therefore, if we’re going by highest percentage of 5/5-star personal ratings, then I’m picking Comaduster.
1- It’s been almost a year and I haven’t replayed it, but I still can’t take Computerfriend out of my head honestly…
2- Yakuza 0 (coding is making me into a fighty mood, otherwise Stardew Valley/Slime Ranch)
3- it’s hard to choose here too… Wild Swans by Jung Chang (non-fiction) really broke me when I read it. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers (fiction/sci-fi) was a REALLY good book I read last year.
4- I saw Everything Everywhere All At Once (finally) last Sunday. It was an amazing movie. I was completely empty at the end of the movie.
5- Composer: Debussy, Band: Muse (it was on the radio today in the car, I’ve been diving back into it. I forgot how good those albums were…)
First, I’d like to second Harold & Maude, Talking Heads, NetHack and Elvis Costello. All outstanding choices. “Weird Al” and Tom Waits ain’t so bad either.
IF game. This is the easy one for me. Trinity.
Non-IF game. Rogue. The original roguelike. Still play it.
3a. Fiction book: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Yes, I like this even better than the Hitchhiker’s books (which are great).
3b. Non-fiction book: Gödel, Escher, Bach (which I’ve read like a dozen times and hope to fully understand some day).
Movie: I don’t really watch these anymore, and I’m very tempted to select Harold & Maude, but since that’s already been said, I’ll go with something completely different: WarGames.
Band/composer: Well, I could happily list 25 or more here, but if limited to one, I’ll go with Ben Folds.
Thanks, Amanda!
Edit: I don’t know why the numbers are messed up. That’s not how I entered them (I typed: 1,2,3a,3b,4,5). In other words, I’ve been falsely autocorrected!
My list, though I could have chosen something else in all categories:
1.) IF game: Worldsmith
2.) non-IF game: Trials Fusion
3.) Book: Mostly Harmless
4.) Movie: Imaginary Heroes
5.) Band: Diamond Head (especially “Death and Progress” album)
1.) Planetfall
2.) Skyrim or System’s Twilight by Andrew Plotkin
3.) Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
4.) Brazil
5.) Rush, Camper Van Beethoven, Wire, etc.
IF game: “The Shape You Make When You Want Your Bones To Be Closest To The Surface” by Porpentine
Non-IF game: Fallout: New Vegas
Book (Fiction): “Taipei” by Tao Lin
Book (Nonfic): “When the Dead Arose No One Saw Them” by Patrick Loughnane
Book (Poetry): “Autobiography of Red” by Anne Carson
Movie: “Dead Ringers” dir. David Cronenberg
Composer: Sufjan Stevens
I tried to do “all time” favorites but some of these change too often… I haven’t opened New Vegas in years, so is it really correct to say I like it more than Valorant, which I play almost daily? But I would trade Valorant for NV in a heartbeat.
The one other note I’ll make is that Tao Lin is a complete crank and I don’t recommend that anyone support him financially.
it’s hard to choose here too… Wild Swans by Jung Chang (non-fiction) really broke me when I read it. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers (fiction/sci-fi) was a REALLY good book I read last year.