Finished --

The Stepford Wives is arguably an early feminist novel. That said, it explores very "ancient" ideas such as beauty, vanity, changing of the guard.

The plot (no spoilers) is that a young couple move from NYC to the idyllic town of Stepford for a better life. To me, this is interesting on many levels. First, back in the 70s you really could just "pack up and move" -- something basically impossible today. Also back in the 70s, living in Manhattan was far from ideal, and many middle-income and poor people resided in what today is basically a haven for the very rich.  Not to mention back in the 70s as middle-class you could not only afford to purchase a house, there was ample supply, but you would do it on a single-person income (since women by and large were still not in the workplace)!

Anyway, they move to Stepford where all the women seem... well, as if they were from the 50s. This doesn't fit well with our protagonist Joanna since she is a "modern American women" and involved in NOW and wants a career. She absolutely despises the Stepford Men's Association which is clearly antiquated (although in the 70s you could still refuse to let women in an organization). We have the new modern woman (Joanna) vs the older more docile housewives of Stepford. Another important plot point is that a black family is also moving to Stepford. The 70s were a time when integration was really happening across America, and while again I'm not going to spoil anything, Stepford overall seems fine with having their first black family move into the upscale town.

The Stepford Wives has also been the basis for a number of films, two of which share the same name as the novella. The 1975 version follows in the spirit of the novella, although it drastically alters some plot lines. Overall, I recommend watching the 1975 film after reading the novella. The 2004 remake, despite having a stellar cast, is quite bad in comparison. It does not follow the novella and is honestly very forgettable. As for where to purchase The Stepford Wives should you be interested -- if you like to collect books I only know of one "fine press" (letterpress) limited edition, and it's still available for retail (and at an excellent price for a book of this quality) --

https://shop.suntup.press/products/the-stepford-wives-by-ira-levin-artist-edition

Aside from the lovely typography and again wonderful letterpress treatment, the illustrations are just gorgeous! For example --

Most of the suspects were initially charged and released in the Times Square attack. The police union said Wednesday's developments prove that bail reform laws are failing to hold them accountable. The Manhattan district attorney called the attack "despicable." 

Well, I'm sure the people of NYC can rest easy now that the DA called the attack "despicable". Yup, those suspects they keep releasing to the streets thanks to bail reform are truly doing people a service -- and by people, I mean the criminals. Hell, even Mayor Adams, who is what most would call "woke" is tired and wants changes to NY's bail.

15 hours ago, Tulpa said:

That interview was surreal, and the meme isn't too far off.

I didn't watch the interview, because Putler is evil and I don't agree to giving him an audience. That said, any "highlights" come to mind?

16 hours ago, LifeGame said:

Added this uncommon sealed one to the collection, Wizardry is one of the first rpg series I ever played

 

 

Awesome! I want a sealed copy too

16 minutes ago, DarkTone said:

A game I helped make a boss for dropped today! Playing this

 

Super cool! was it from Kickstarter? What's your boss?

And yet, the Orange Traitor wants to pull the USA out of NATO... what a disaster for the whole world that would be.

Jury finds Jennifer Crumbley guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/verdict-in-for-jennifer-crumbley-mother-of-oxford-high-school-shooter/

A jury has found Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, guilty of all four counts of involuntary manslaughter.  Jennifer Crumbley will be sentenced on April 9. She faces up to 60 years in prison — 15 for each count.

Excellent. From everything I gathered, it was clear the shooter (her son) was having mental problems and she along with her shite husband were just "Fuck it. We don't care." Bet they care now!

Joe Tamburino, a legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, spoke with "CBS Evening News" and said the case "will create a huge precedent for further cases."

If you're giving a minor a gun, then yes, you are at least partially responsible for their actions. In this case, it's clear they were BEYOND 100% irresponsible. Hope she rots in jail.

Ah got it, thanks

On 2/7/2024 at 4:06 PM, skinnygrinny said:

What are you confused about? Honest question. 

Is this thread someone's selling thread? Or is it a general graded selling thread? Or something else?

Posted in the what's new in your collection thread --

Game is new and sealed. Soundtrack is not, but that's okay, since I want to listen to the beautiful score, and it really is a beautiful score.

So... is this thread for selling/buying WATA graded games? I'm honestly a bit confused here

Sorry for the poor quality pic -- but super happy to add this to my collection! An unopened copy of the fabulous LucasArts The Dig

The soundtrack is beautiful, and while today a video game soundtrack is nothing out of the ordinary, back in 1996 it sure was! A fabulous soundtrack to a fabulous game, and hey, the soundtrack even includes a "demo" in case you wanted to try the game out first

6 hours ago, Hybrid said:

asteroids sealed

PC Gamer October 

Loom the game

Myst III

Discs mislabeled 

Plays Haunted Hotel 3 and Haunted Legends

That Loom audio drama is awesome

It was also released on cassette --

Good:
+Music
+Atmosphere
+Cinematography
+Robert Pattinson
+Colin Farrell
+John Turturro
+First 30 minutes

Okay:
Zoe Kravitz
Second 30 minutes

Yawn:
-Rest of the movie (all 115 minutes of it)
-Plot, or lack thereof
-Andy Serkis (great actor, but he's basically a plot device in the movie)
-Jeffrey Wright (great actor, but his Jim Gordon character sounds like he would rather be anywhere but Gotham)
-Political Commentary (really?)

Overall, I would give it a 65 out of 100 -- it had some great ideas, great actors, great music, great cinematography, but poor dialogue, poor direction, poor plot. I honestly can not recommend it. However, it's a great starting place for a hopefully much better sequel!

On 2/3/2024 at 6:26 PM, D~Funk said:

New Genesis pick ups! 

With manuals?

23 hours ago, PII said:

I'm not claiming the whole story is bunk but the picture of that guy is pasted in over the background.  The image of him is flat and clearly not a 3 dimensional person who is physically present in the room.  Look at the edges of the person, particularly along the shirt.  His image is too sharply delineated from the background.  Once you know what it looks like it will always jump right out at you.  Furthermore that room is gloriously well lit.  With very nearly nothing like a shadow to be found there is light shining down over almost every visible inch including a massive glare on the table and yet, the guy is poorly lit by comparison.  Conclusion: He isn't actually in that room (If it didn't have that guy pasted in it would look like a very professional shot for a real estate magazine or something.)  If I had to take an educated guess, I'd say that whoever produced the photo wanted people to see this guy in a really nice looking home with an absolutely KILLER view.  Was that part of the remodel too?  Kinda makes the original publisher a lier doesn't it?

Actually none of the story is "bunk" it's all correct. Here's a local paper espousing the same thing --

Colorado pastor facing fraud charges after targeting congregation in alleged $3.2 million cryptocurrency scheme

https://denvergazette.com/news/crime/colorado-pastor-facing-fraud-charges-after-targeting-congregation-in-alleged-3-2-million-cryptocurrency-scheme/article_23a8f4d4-b899-11ee-8b9c-f353f03609f1.html

As for the picture you're referring too, I imagine it's from some online meeting (service perhaps) that he was running. It's easy to add fake backgrounds to online meetings and the result makes any still image look photoshopped similar to the picture in the original article I linked.

19 minutes ago, ZeldaFreak said:

...Like... just now? I would've thought they've known how to do that for some time now, deception honestly isn't a particularly complex thing to pull off, especially if we're talking about something like an AI in which emotions and a moral compass are nonexistent.

This is different. You can program a game for instance, to be tricky and try to deceive people. However, it depends on human input. With generative AI, it no longer responds reactively but is proactive in deceiving in order to achieve its goals.

AI systems have learned how to deceive humans. What does that mean for our future?

https://theconversation.com/ai-systems-have-learned-how-to-deceive-humans-what-does-that-mean-for-our-future-212197

Perhaps the most disturbing example of a deceptive AI is found in Meta’s CICERO, an AI model designed to play the alliance-building world conquest game Diplomacy.

Meta claims it built CICERO to be “largely honest and helpful”, and CICERO would “never intentionally backstab” and attack allies.

To investigate these rosy claims, we looked carefully at Meta’s own game data from the CICERO experiment. On close inspection, Meta’s AI turned out to be a master of deception.

In one example, CICERO engaged in premeditated deception. Playing as France, the AI reached out to Germany (a human player) with a plan to trick England (another human player) into leaving itself open to invasion.

After conspiring with Germany to invade the North Sea, CICERO told England it would defend England if anyone invaded the North Sea. Once England was convinced that France/CICERO was protecting the North Sea, CICERO reported to Germany it was ready to attack.

AI systems with deceptive capabilities could be misused in numerous ways, including to commit fraud, tamper with elections and generate propaganda. The potential risks are only limited by the imagination and the technical know-how of malicious individuals.

Humanity:

Mother of Michigan school shooter admits she and husband gifted their son the gun used in the attack

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/02/us/jennifer-crumbley-michigan-school-shooter-trial/index.html

“It’s a rare case that takes some really egregious facts,” she added. “It takes the unthinkable, and she has done the unthinkable, and because of that, four kids have died.”

However, the defense has argued that the blame lay elsewhere: On her husband for improperly securing the firearm; on the school for failing to notify her about her son’s behavioral issues; and on Ethan himself, who actually pulled the trigger. Jennifer Crumbley was the only witness called.

“I’ve asked myself if I would have done anything differently, and I wouldn’t have,” she testified Thursday.

She's guilty as sin. Yes, she didn't pull the trigger, but she might as well have just left a loaded gun outside. I hope she gets the absolute maximum possible sentence.

15 hours ago, Tabonga said:

In medieval Europe it was not uncommon for animals to be put on trial for various "crimes" - they were usually given a lawyer to represent them!

From 2009 --

Goat detained over armed robbery

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE50M4XT/

18 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

Maybe they didn't grill the suspect sufficiently....

https://news.yahoo.com/indian-police-clear-suspected-chinese-113218143.html

Sounds as asinine as this --

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel-related_animal_conspiracy_theories

In 2013, a kestrel was subjected to medical examinations at Firat University in Turkey after being identified as an "Israeli spy". Birds (as well as other animals) are often tagged with GPS tracking devices or identification bands to record their movements for animal migration tracking and similar reasons.

16 hours ago, TrekMD said:

If there's a meme hall of fame, this belongs there

42 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

Man I wish games came on USB these days. It's a usable distribution format! I don't have a DVD drive in my computer anymore and I sure don't want digital codes.

Indiebox did just that, all their games were included (DRM free) on a USB stick, it was great! They were like the LRG for computer games, but alas, just did not succeed for whatever reasons.