Ask Drew.

[Chozon1]

Are you going to pre-order mah face?

[epsons]

Talking Heads?

[Strider]

Favorite RAtM and Audioslave albums?

[Orodrist]

Book recommendations?

Preferably old enough to be public domain....

[Drewsov]

Ah.

Gonna preorder FFXIII? <_<

Maybe. I was given the opportunity the other day... and chose to preorder Splinter Cell Conviction instead. It's just that Splinter Cell is more important to me. And also, I want FFXIII on the PS3. XD

Are you going to pre-order mah face?

Now that you asked, no.

Talking Heads?

Girlfriend is better and I listen to these guys all the time, instead of once in a lifetime. Also, I see houses in motion and nothing but flowers.

So yes. >.>

Favorite RAtM and Audioslave albums?

RAtM is... Battle of Los Angeles. I know Evil Empire may technically be better, but Battle has more songs I love.

And Audioslave... my favorite is probably their debut. Their sophomore and third albums are both really impressive, and I feel like they hit their stride with Revelations, but their debut is what made the initial impact on me, and what really provided much of the soundtrack of my 2002. And 2003. And 2004. And part of 2005.

No joke. I listened to that album for four years. XD

[Drewsov]

Book recommendations?

Preferably old enough to be public domain....

Demons, or, The Possessed by Dostoevsky. It was a massive novel that showed the author's dislikes of socialism, and his fears regarding it. Pretty essential.

Notes from Underground. Again, Dostoevsky. This is one of the first existentialist novels, and massively influenced literature to come.

I'm going to try to get off a Russian lit kick now.

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. One of my favorite books, it exemplifies suburban desperation and the waste that people fall into. Yes, waste.

If you're into Yates, I'd recommend checking out Bret Easton Ellis. He gets too sexual and too violent, but his books carry the same sort of bleak existentialism that Yates held so well.

The Deerslayer - James Fenimore Cooper. I mean, it's in the same series as The Last of the Mohicans. Crazy good story... just really dated.

If you want more suggestions, let me know. I'm not entirely sure what kind of books you're into.

[Lazarus]

Well, Drew, my wisdom teeth are now in tiny fragments in a doctor's waste can. Got any tips on the recovery?

I've got meds, I've got painkillers, and I've got some liquids that should keep me from becoming malnourished until I can open my mouth wide enough to insert a Big Mac, but any advice you could offer based on your own experience would be appreciated.

[Strider]

Would you say Mass Effect 2 is better than the first?

[Orodrist]

Grazie.

Managed 3/4 of those...unfortunately the imbeciles at the nearest library don't so much as carry Revolutionary Road....


Nathaniel Hawthorne?

[Chozon1]

Can you explain to me why existentialism is a good thing?

[Drewsov]

Well, Drew, my wisdom teeth are now in tiny fragments in a doctor's waste can. Got any tips on the recovery?

I've got meds, I've got painkillers, and I've got some liquids that should keep me from becoming malnourished until I can open my mouth wide enough to insert a Big Mac, but any advice you could offer based on your own experience would be appreciated.

Don't suck anything through a straw until the doctor says you can. It will very likely remove the scabs on your gums, and will then cause dry sockets. I went through that, and it's not a pleasant thing.

Would you say Mass Effect 2 is better than the first?

Absolutely.

I've read one review where the reviewer criticized Bioware for their choices regarding combat (removing RPG elements) and characters (too many characters means a lack of development), but I fail to see any of that. The combat is streamlined and a joy to play through, and the characters are all memorable and involving. Even their individual strands of plot are a blast to play through.

I'm compelled to search out everything in this sequel. The original - as much as I loved it - could not do that for me.

Grazie.

Managed 3/4 of those...unfortunately the imbeciles at the nearest library don't so much as carry Revolutionary Road....


Nathaniel Hawthorne?

Excellent author... with some massive problems in terms of literary critique. His influence is astounding, given that.

Can you explain to me why existentialism is a good thing?

Well, it depends on if we're talking about existentialism or Christian existentialism.

Dostoevsky was a Christian existentialist.

Existentialism - by itself - is not an anti-Christian philosophy. It focuses on the purpose of life, in regards to emotion, an individual's actions, and his or her thoughts. An existentialist will create meaning in life, because that is the purpose of existence.

Christian existentialism, likewise, is very much the same, and holds the same originator (Søren Kierkegaard). Kierkegaard argued that the universe is a paradox, and that Christianity is a paradoxical religion. He argued that God becoming man and dying for our sins was the greatest paradox of all. Religion, to Kierkegaard, was higher than any ethical or moral standard one could subscribe to. The philosophy goes on in greater detail, but it essentially asserts that the Bible is only an authority in someone's life if they recognize it as such, and the existential reader will see that God is communicating to him directly through the Bible, as opposed to the Bible being removed from the reader on any number of levels.

Both philosophies are related to absurdism, which holds that there is no such thing as a good person or a bad person, but that things happen and that they happen at all is an absurdity. To the absurdist, the only logical response is suicide; once you get past that, the absurdist realizes that life in and of itself is absurd, and the very act of living is in staunch defiance to an absurd world.

But is existentialism a good thing? That depends on your personal philosophy. To me, absolutely; it serves to find meaning in an otherwise meaningless world. It strives to find purpose in the individual life, as well as in the group life. And Christian existentialism exists to better belief, to revert to the early days of Christianity, where grace, humility and love were key. Something important to remember when we have rich men preaching to us about how their version of God is punishing a Satanic island.

[Strider]

Would you say Mass Effect 2 is better than the first?

Absolutely.

I've read one review where the reviewer criticized Bioware for their choices regarding combat (removing RPG elements) and characters (too many characters means a lack of development), but I fail to see any of that. The combat is streamlined and a joy to play through, and the characters are all memorable and involving. Even their individual strands of plot are a blast to play through.

I'm compelled to search out everything in this sequel. The original - as much as I loved it - could not do that for me.

Even the characters are better? O_o

[Drewsov]

Would you say Mass Effect 2 is better than the first?

Absolutely.

I've read one review where the reviewer criticized Bioware for their choices regarding combat (removing RPG elements) and characters (too many characters means a lack of development), but I fail to see any of that. The combat is streamlined and a joy to play through, and the characters are all memorable and involving. Even their individual strands of plot are a blast to play through.

I'm compelled to search out everything in this sequel. The original - as much as I loved it - could not do that for me.

Even the characters are better? O_o

They are.

Somehow, Bioware even made me like Tali to some degree (or at least care for her), where before I couldn't stand her.

[Chozon1]

Existentialism...seems to focus more on the singular, than the group.

Too, how would there be an absolute truth?

More concerning, would it even be worth it to get Double agent on the X-box? The GameCube version disappointed me seriously. Especially the lame ending. Is it a different game on the Box or should I just wait until I can get a 360 and get the "real" version?

[Drewsov]

Existentialism...seems to focus more on the singular, than the group.

Too, how would there be an absolute truth?

More concerning, would it even be worth it to get Double agent on the X-box? The GameCube version disappointed me seriously. Especially the lame ending. Is it a different game on the Box or should I just wait until I can get a 360 and get the "real" version?

If you can get Double Agent for cheap on the original Xbox, then do it. As usual, it was the was core platform for Splinter Cell. Sadly, I remember seeing the Cube versions review scores... most of which were at least ten points below the other systems, simply because it was a subpar port.

And then get the 360 version.

Existentialism... is hard to explain. Absolute truth is defined through the eyes of the existentialist.