Yeah I could very well be mischaracterizing ST’s fandom. Like I said, I barely know anything about the group beyond one song, their aesthetic, and some of the drumming highlights (thanks Drumeo). However, OP’s post smacked so very neatly of older complaints that Tool is over hyped and Bad, Actually™️, that I felt secure in conflating the two.

Totally agreed that there is an element of musician snobbery in Tool’s fandom, but I’d be shocked if that’s not also present in Sleep Token’s world. Like I’ve said, I’ve got a very limited pallette to draw from, and maybe The Summoning is nonreprestentative of their usual sound, but I don’t see how a band which produces that track doesn’t attract the same type of fan that can’t make it through a Tool song without mentioning the Fibonacci sequence (I say that with love, I’m often that fan despite my best efforts).

Sleep Token seems to be Tool for a younger audience. Not exclusively, of course (I’m positive there is a lot of crossover appeal), but they tick a lot of the same boxes that Tool did/does, without the baggage of looking like it was made by the hypothetical listener’s dad and his friends.

Now, I’m sure that this argument is reductive, and that mega fans of both bands could easily come in and explain how their music is worlds apart and yadda yadda yadda. I get it. In truth, I’ve not explored much of ST’s catalog (just focused on exploring other sounds at the moment) but The Summoning absolutely slaps ass, and I don’t believe anyone who suggests that they knew where that song was going when they listened to it the first time.

Mostly I’m invoking Tool because I feel like there are more parallels in their fandom than in their music. Alternative metal acts with progressive instincts who thread the needle between metal, rock, pop, and art to greater or lesser critical and popular acclaim. Both groups have a contingent of fans who won’t shut up about how much they love the band, which leads to a certain counter-argument coalescing around people who are more sick of hearing about the band than they are actually upset by the band’s music.

Yeah, I suspect some levers are being leaned on behind the scenes to promote these guys. The KEXP set hasn’t left my YT homepage since it dropped, and several of their performances and songs started appeaing in my recommendations even prior to that, not to mention one of their singles appearing in my Discover Weekly playlist this week.

It could very well just be my innate contrarianism, but feeling like they are being shoved down my throat does not engender curiosity to listen to them, rather I’m developing a pretty much unfounded hostility towards the group. It doesn’t help that, of the songs I’ve heard, their sound is nothing special (to me, at any rate).

Idk, seems like every couple years there’s a new alternative group with a very stylish front woman that surfaces on the strength of their image, and then sort of fades away if they don’t catch on. I guess for every Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or Hayley Williams and Paramore, you’ve got lots of bands like Pale Waves or Starcrawler. That’s almost certainly overly reductive and cynical, but, given what is known of the music industry, it sure seems plausible, if nothing else.

One hell of a stoike, though.

I don’t have time to peruse this in-depth at the moment, but, presentation-wise, this is a very nice product.

Admittedly, I’ve never played a ranger, so most of my info is second hand at best, but I’ve long heard that it could use some TLC. I had heard that Tasha’s optional rules and the 2024 update went some way towards addressing the common complaints, though clearly not far enough in this author’s opinion.

I do wonder if the denigration of the Survival / Exploration pillar of DnD has contributed to the ranger’s bad reputation among 5e players. It feels like a lot of the crunchy bits that come with wilderness exploration mechanics (travel speed, terrain type, consumable rationing, getting lost, etc) have fallen out of favor. Or, perhaps, such mechanics never been in favor with fans whose early DnD memories were Critical Role campaigns rather than filling out a map one hex grid at a time.

I don’t care to argue which style of campaign is better than the other (each has their own pros and cons), but it does seem like a table with a laissez-faire attitude towards exploration and survival doesn’t have much of a call for a ranger, unless, as OP indicated, you REALLY want to play the pet class.

This was listed as playing as part of its limited release at a local theater, but, by the time I assembled a handful of friends to go see it, they had pulled it from the schedule due to lack of interest. I’m more than a little butthurt I missed the chance to see Jurassic Platoon on the big screen, but I look forward to the home release.

I see, thanks for filling me in! I can imagine she does, she’s a dead ringer. At least at this resolution haha

Shit dawg, say less, that’s what my afternoon plans were anyway.

Casual Trek fan checking in: is that Linda Hamilton?? I know “they were on Star Trek” is a meme, but I thought I knew most of the big names that guest starred.

Without the ceiling being visible, this is just an unusual perspective of a highway underpass. With the ceiling present (and a liberal huffing of eau d’art school) it becomes something else, a juxtaposition of what experience tells us is an outdoor space with the evidence that this is not so. Everything our eye sees in the photograph is a simulacrum (intentionally invoking Baudrillard here), and the only tell that this space exists in hyper reality is tucked away in the corner, an unremarkable patch of gray industrial ceiling which belies the true nature of the image.

Less pretentiously, I think it’s a cool shot that makes me think of cyberpunk vibes, like this is an on-set photo from Blade Runner or something, and that’s enough for me to enjoy it.

I don’t know which article you read, but I can tell you straight up that you’re mistaken about what this photo is showing. Middle camo is holding a big thing of pepper spray or similar irritant, which IS designed to be deployed at this range.

This, of course, doesn’t change the fact that dipshit shouldn’t be in Chicago, let alone pepper spraying (presumably non-violent) priests, but we don’t need to invent misdeeds, there’s plenty real examples to choose from.

I don’t know if Frank is involving others in his fetishes without their consent (not cool), or trying to make a snack of Detective Bones (also not cool). Either way, get it together, Frank.

I’ve no idea what documentary you are referring to, but I can tell you that I’ll be referring to the theremin as the God Wand from now on.

I mean,isn’t that what a foreclosure sale is?

I’m honestly asking. The world of corporate raiding is a foreign and distasteful place to my arts and sciences brain. The world of home buying is also foreign to my arts and sciences brain, but that’s cause I leaned more into arts than sciences.

That being said, you put up 20 grand of your money for a down payment. The bank loans you 200k. You fail to make your payments. Bank forecloses and sells off the property to cover the remaining debt, or at least claw back whatever they can get from it. Would that be so different than what’s likely to happen if EA fails to pay JP Morgan back? Is it the liability of Kushner et al vs the liability of a homeowner that is the primary difference?

It’s an Albany expression.

Article speculates that the cancellation of Contraband, an Xbox exclusive announced in 2021, is likely the chief driver behind the layoffs. So, indirectly, Microsoft, I guess?

I understand this look may not be what you’re gonna be for, which can be disappointing, but I have to say that I think what you have is super cool. I’m not sure if there is a formal term for this look, but it reminds of various digital paintings I have seen employed as concept art or book jackets. Sort of like a painterly sketch.

This is a pretty good example of the style I feel your mini evokes right now, and I think it’s rad as hell. If I were in your shoes I’d be proud to set that down on the table, blending or no.

Star Wars is not exclusively listened to EA anymore. The original deal between Disney and EA was slated for 10 years of exclusivity, signed in 2013. However, after several PR disaster (mainly the Battlefront 2 controversies), Disney apparently terminated the exclusivity contract when they announced Star Wars: Outlaws would be published by Ubisoft in 2020. Of course, that game released in 2024, so, I guess EA technically got their 10 years?

I don’t know of any other projects pending, though I’ve fallen off tracking gaming news that closely in recent years, so I could be mistaken.

Thank you so much for validating my brain rot. This was my immediate thought as well.

if you like that, you’re probably gonna love this

Whenever I hear people complaining about people taking videos or pictures at concerts, I think of this footage. Now, I get it, it’s not a 1:1 comparison, but, still, I find so much value in this as a historical artifact, and even as a bit of art in and of itself. The zoom in on the shadow dancing on the wall? Perfection. Scorcese could never. God bless you random 80s punk / early home video enthusiast.