ThaOGDreamWeaver

Kylie Minogue - Aphrodite

Well, he's a comic, he's a hero to many... but is he the villain in his own story?

Not mine, but some clever chap created an Ambient ScotBeats mixer: https://www.matteason.co.uk/scotbeats/

I'm testing out my Symphsonic Dom (keep an eye out for "Selene Dyonne"). It's certainly fun and varied: and IMnpHO, what brings you fun is better than minmaxing down to the nth degree. Tips: If it gels with your build and concept, you may find the Sorcery Pool very helpful at lower levels. A nice ranged damage, a combo Fly/TP, a really handy status and damage resist clicky, and a couple of team buffs. Once you're strong enough, decide whether to respec it out or keep it. Once you can afford the inf and slots, the Devastation +Hold proc is your friend. It's only a 15% chance to hold, (and only 50 Merits if you buy the recipe), but once it's on all your single target attacks then you'll have plenty of bonus holds. See also: Lockdown +2 for Chords Of Despair and Deafening Wave. End is a problem, but 3-slot your inherent Stamina and use any proc you can apply to other powers to get more: and step right up to that full Domination bar for free refills.

Thing I learned today: Encephalitis Lethargica, the Sleepy Sickness, is real. And has nothing to do with bottling naked goths. (Not that that's a wise idea. We don't like it much. There will be glowering.) It's also the disease Oliver Sacks treated at Beth Abram in the Bronx, which became the book and then rather good movie Awakenings. Didn't make that connection at all, but now.. We don't know much more about it - like the precise cause - since there hasn't, thankfully, been another major outbreak since the one that came on the heels of "Spanish" Flu in 1917-1921. Mr. Gaiman does seem to be very well read.

Electric Dragon - Kara's Theme (Salvia Remix) Complete soundtrack on YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n3n4co6UNQcD7VV0AfZdt2s3GVM31mncI&feature=share

Well, I've learned something today. And am probably going down an internet rabbithole.

We didn't see Hulk and Caiera in Ragnarok, unless he's just discovered he's an absentee dad from a one-night-stand. For one possible bet, I'd have Hulk (and Korg!) head back to run the other half of Planet Hulk: an assault on the people of Sakaar by the Red King. Hulk comes back to the fight, deals with the King and hooks up with Caiera. For the other, this is a set-up for the Secret Invasion series. As the Skrulls are good (or at least some of them) in MCU continuity, some of the action might happen on Sakaar. Side note with big reference to the series and a possible spoiler:

Shulkie ep2 and related stuff: The verdict: one or two failed gags and a minor plot hole aside, feels like it's settling into a groove, and a good one.

I'm not forking out for Sky Atlantic (HBO's UK partners) - and TBH, I couldn't even grind past GoT Series 5 on DVD. If I'm encouraged by anything I've read, it's Matt Smith's interview - in that at least for this first season, it's focussing down on a tighter group of characters. (Well, tight by GRRM standards.) https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/matt-smith-house-of-the-dragon-1235188619/

Raphael Lake & Aaron Emery - We Are Golden

That exists here in the UK: all the majors can be bought with the long-dominant player Sky - not just bundled, but integrated into all the menus and such on their boxes and branded TVs. I think we've just come out of a "gold rush" stage where everyone's trying to grab land, and now they're finding not every one of them thar SVOD hills is rich in the stuff. So much as in 1848, the real winners wind up being the service providers. But instead of shovels, picks, jerky and whisky, they provide discounted or more convenient access for users in return for a cut. The shakeout and verticalisation will come: I think one of P+, HBO-D and Netflix will get eaten, and Hulu need to formalise their friends-with-benefits relationship with D+. Apple TV will just wander on until they get bored with it. It's everything between seasons 8 (1976) and 35 (2004), and large swathes of the earlier ones. Which is odd, as - not giving away my age - if I was a parent, aunt or grandparent wanting to watch with smol nerds, I'd want to go to the years I remember. Allegedly this is to do with withholding residuals to a specific group of actors - and, well, that crew would still mostly be alive and in need of rental payments for that big MPTF retirement village in Calabasas. (Though given Zaslav's coterie of friends, that era does include all the "Ronald Grump" episodes...) Rags say: good story, good supporting cast, and Miller's on-screen persona fits the bill well. If the audience can forget about the off-screen issues, could be good. If they can't - think the Depp/Fantastic Beasts situation - maybe not. (Didn't help that the second flick was not great to start with.) Plus... Bat-Spoilers ahoy: Side note on the business end of SVOD: those of you who are Very Online might have noted Lucas talking about why Star Wars probably wouldn't get made today for business reasons. Here's Matt Damon putting into hard numbers in 1'40". And no, SVOD rental or access payments don't pay anything like what DVD sales and rentals did. It's not as bad as Spotify vs CD or vinyl sales for music - but makes Apple's swingeing cut look tame.

Bert & Ernie (and Friends) - Put Down The Ducky 🦆

Muse - Won't Stand Down

Rezzing this thread for some new Bat-news. The HBO Max pre-tax-deadline purge continues... Batman: The Caped Crusader (similar idea to X-Men '97: effectively the return of Batman:TAS, with Bruce Timm, Conroy and more due to return, plus some new fella called JJ Abrams in the writer's room. So, Batman with more lens flares). 2x Looney Tunes specials: a Porky/Daffy/Marvin sci-fi adventure and a full-length Bugs Bunny musical in the style of What's Opera, Doc?. A Steve Urkel animated special... let's gloss over that for the moment... Gumball live action/animation crossover All new kids' and family-oriented series and films for the foreseeable future - the entire development department's gone 200+ archive episodes of Sesame Street removed from the platform to avoid paying residuals to actors and crew. (B***ards). Anything that's currently in production will be shopped to other networks, but could wind up in the same IRS-sealed vault as Batgirl if they don't find a potential home in the next eight days. Side note: according to the Variety Media In A Bear Market report, almost as many folks are cancelling SVOD subs with budgets being tight - it's now at the same rate as new subs. D+ is more-or-less holding its own, Netflix has a problem, HBO is suffering a bit... and Discovery is haemorrhaging subs. So, naturally, the HBO-D execs punt on a stripped down, GRIMDARK version of their cape properties, no kids' stuff (I may be an adult paying for the streaming, but I'll admit to needing a babysitter now and again), and slapping it on the much-hated but much cheaper Discovery platform. The only thing I understand in this madness is why they're sticking with Ezra Miller for The Flash. Test scores are in now and they're good. Really good. No Way Home good. Unless Miller goes full supervillain in the interim, it should be a proper summer tentpole movie like we haven't seen in years.

Rudy Raw & Phlocatalyst - Cosmic Nights Or if you prefer your beats with a shot of whisky... https://www.matteason.co.uk/scotbeats/ ...or you're doing a crime scene investigation... https://somafm.com/sf1033/ ...or if you want to feel a bit more spaced... https://somafm.com/missioncontrol/

Waking up this thread: if you've finished Sandman already, Netflix sorta-by-accident dropped the bonus episode early. It was supposed to be a treat for fans later in the year (Halloween or Christmas), but Still Watching got hold of the wrong preview clips. So...

Slight detour for one I'd like to play if it wasn't PS-only. Intensely stylish, pared-back visuals optimised for frame rate and smoothness, wears its movie inspirations on its sleeve. And the soundtrack, of course.

In the superhero justice system, the law is represented by two separate but equally important groups. The heroes, and the lawyers who deal with the collateral damage. Only one can be both. This is her story. (FX/GRAMS: DUN-DUN) So, Episode 1. For balance purposes: this episode was watched both by myself (Marvel fan), and my partner H (Marvel-tolerant, but devotee of Every Damn Lawyer Show Going. Not just for work purposes.) And now to the disclosure part of the case: Our verdict: great Marvelly bits so far: lawyer show has potential too, but we haven't seen enough of it yet. Some of it's a tiny bit too obvious, but they're playing for a show anyone can pick up and watch and it works. Also, felt like two or three too many loose threads that needed to be picked up later in the series, or another show, and might just get casually tossed aside: and no central plot core yet. Very much the cautious pilot episode, which seems odd when you know you've got a full series order. But so far, we very much like. EDIT: this just in - the end creds scene is 100% canon per Feige. And this guy.

Christopher Cross ft Michael McDonald - Ride Like The Wind Christopher Cross ft Michael McDonald* - Ride Like The Wind: Making Of *Rick Moranis

Knowing the fondness Filoni has for rezzing even the smallest of characters, he might do. The role of a just man in an evil organisation could fit with this kind of storyline rather well. (Thinking the Fatherland novel - haven't seen the Rutger Hauer version or the sadly short-lived SS-GB BBC series that... borrowed heavily from it.) BTW - odd but interesting bit of trivia. This series is a bit more expensive than Mando or Obi-Wan because they chose to go full live action and practical sets, not the Volume (aka StageCraft once you count the full suite in these days.) Filming in grim British quarries is a long and honoured sci-fi tradition, but even I think that's taking gritty realism a little too far...

Perturbator - Humans Are Such Easy Prey

Those two showing up or even cameoing would be awesome. (Mind you, I like Ocean's 11. Even Don Cheadle/Basher's accent, since it's fun trying to guess what the hell it's supposed to be. Awight?) I get the feeling it could be good or enjoyably terrible*, not unwatchably terrible, and right now I have zero idea which. Also - and please yell at me if this would be very very wrong... ...would anyone else be up for a Tiny Tina's Wonderlands movie? *For calibration purposes - enjoyably terrible: Flash Gordon (saved by Brian, Ornelia, Max & Queen), Xanadu (💓ONJ), Ishtar **Unwatchably terrible: the original Whalin/Wayans D&D movie, Jupiter Ascending (Eddie Redmayne's amazing scene-chewery aside), Cats, Nic Cage's Wicker Man (NOT THE BEES!!!).

Right. We may finally have an answer as to who the mysterious red-and-blue folks are. They're Imp- LUCASFILM PR: Whoah there honey, this isn't released till September. We have top men working security, how do you know? Er... just saw it on Twitter? LUCASFILM PR: Top... Men. Seen that movie too, and I've felt the fear induced by the Disney assassins. Stop the growling, it's out there now. LUCASFILM PR: We demand to know how you came by these plans.. LEGO PR: er... hej guys. Ve heård shøuting. Is something wrøng? Oh hi there. This you? LEGO PR: yes, this is right good, is it not? LUCASFILM PR: oh hell not you lot again DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WORD EMBARGO MEANS?? LEGO PR: Toy buyer deadlines are different - and vell, we just vild og crazy guys, ja? The set was first revealed - though not full details - in May at Celebration. The chase ship - a "Tac-Pod", which does look like a dinky Fiat 500 version of Imperial Assault craft - looks both mean and slightly pathetic. Doubling on that is the name of the Imp on board it, one Syril Karn. (I, for one, ain't scared of anyone called Cyril, mean frowny face or not.) However, we finally get an answer as to what the red-and-blue types are. Syril is listed as Deputy Inspector Karn - so Imperial police. We've not seen those around before in SW, but it does make sense in this new context. - Places that are occupied would have a metric ton of troops around, heavy visible presence, and military running the show. - Tatooine is theoretically Empire but a trade and tactical backwater, and pain in the backside. Give that s*** detail to a few unfortunates you don't like. - A place that's either fully annexed or willingly joined an Empire doesn't need occupation forces full time - they just need to keep on top of the daily rote of actual crime, keep a weather eye out for any signs of rebellion (which at this point are only bubbling under), and indulge in a little light corruption and profiteering on the side. Probably. Hence, cops. Hence, Gestapo-type storylines. However, I'd bet that if Cyril has chased our heroes off-world, he ain't gonna get much help from the proper Imps. Outfits like these like their hierarchies and entitlements. The only other thing this tells us is that Lucasfilm are charging more for the branding than before. This fairly small set is an eye-watering €70 - considering the vastly fancier anniversary edition Galaxy Explorer set I just got suckered into buying is only €100, t'would appear fans are not terribly happy.

One for all the budding film editors out there.