Random thing you love right now that doesn't deserve its own thread

I did love my time there.

Edit - I checked Google Maps, and wow, that area between FWB and Navarre has just grown incredibly. To me, I suspect it’s where “Where Y’At?” Seafood is now. There’s a building there that looks like it’s in the right spot, and the presence of a seafood market and restaurant fits, it means the zoning’s probably been that way for a while.

But I think if I drove out 98 now I’d be bummed at all the lost pine forest... It used to be kind of desolate and wild. Now it looks quite built up. Sigh. And it was only 30 years ago...

This weekend we’ve got Got Junk coming to take the last of our big bulk trash items (mostly furniture, but a few appliances and such that the dustmen won’t take and that i can’t bring to the dump because I don’t have a pickup anymore)

After this, our Garage can once again be a place for parking a car instead of a place for parking old junk.

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Robear wrote:

I did love my time there.

Edit - I checked Google Maps, and wow, that area between FWB and Navarre has just grown incredibly. To me, I suspect it’s where “Where Y’At?” Seafood is now. There’s a building there that looks like it’s in the right spot, and the presence of a seafood market and restaurant fits, it means the zoning’s probably been that way for a while.

But I think if I drove out 98 now I’d be bummed at all the lost pine forest... It used to be kind of desolate and wild. Now it looks quite built up. Sigh. And it was only 30 years ago...

Paradoxicly, it was revitalized when Hurricane Ivan completely steamrolled the whole area. brought in a lot of new businesses and growth. If it makes you feel better the forest went as much because of hurricane damage as it did to logging.

I figured it was development, but I do like to see people benefit from it, if it has to go away.

I wanted to share a lovely little indie "game" I discovered today, Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to). It's a great example of games trying to make a difference. It's a simple idea, you write an anonymous request; You detail a struggle you have, and that little message is sent out Into the Void.

Anonymous readers can then send some kind words back, along with a cute sticker to add to your scrapbook. I've sent a few, I've received a few, but these really touched me.

It's so nice to see a gaming community shine with positivity. It's pretty rare these days. It was just enough encouragement to really bolster my confidence and get me going today.

This was included as a Humble Monthly original, but it looks like it will be released on Steam soon.

Spoilers for the few nice letters I received

Spoiler:

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Congratulations on honours! Whatever the thing is, you're killing it.

That said, what's the game?

I think it's "Into the Void"?

Unicycle, keep going at it. I know it's hard, but frankly, it's harder than the real world. The more you go through now, the better equipped you will be when you get out and head out into the world. It's all grist for the mill.

That's fantastic. It's great to see positivity channelled so to bolster one another.

I'm guessing, because that's what he capitalized, but there is already a space fighting game called that on Steam...

Sorry all, the game is called Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to). I don't know how I managed to leave that crucial bit of info out.

If you weren't subscribed to Humble Monthly last month, you can get it for $5 when it's released.

Edit: just noticed...

I'm guessing, because that's what he capitalized, but there is already a space fighting game called that on Steam...

Woops, I use a Chrome addon which highlights Magic the Gathering cards with a neat little mouse-over pop-up. When I edited my post, it must have capitalized "Into the Void" because it shares a name with a card.

lol I thought it was a subtle point to the name. Sorry mate!

Cocktail tomatoes. I don't make cocktails and at $15/kg (AUD) they are twice the price of regular* tomatoes, but damn, the taste hasn't been ruined like for regular tomatoes. I only discovered them just recently. I grab one and eat it every time I walk past them on my kitchen bench.

Also, I have been watching Chefclub on those facebook ads, and I love that the French word for tomatoes is tomates.

* the two big supermarket chains here have the gall to call normal tomatoes "gourmet" tomatoes. They've been bred to be pretty big, not as big as a beefsteak one though, and the flavour has gone right out of them. In winter they're understandably sad, but for most of summer they seem to be pretty sad as well.

Smart(ish) AI in games. I’m often getting flanked in The Division 2. One ‘named enemy’ in particular was a flanking swine who I only just managed to survive. Whenever it happens part of me is horrified realising I’m in imminent danger of being taken down; another part of me is delighted to have been outmanoeuvred by them. Makes for more interesting/fun fights.

Found a good local gardener and hired him to do a big cleanup of our landscaping as well as ongoing maintenance, and the house looks better than when we bought it a year ago.

Previous owner fancied himself as having a green thumb, and just overplanted everywhere. Way more crap than my wife and I want to maintain. Gardener ripped out all the excessive crap, and now my blood pressure is much lower when I go outside.

Higgledy wrote:

Smart(ish) AI in games. I’m often getting flanked in The Division 2. One ‘named enemy’ in particular was a flanking swine who I only just managed to survive. Whenever it happens part of me is horrified realising I’m in imminent danger of being taken down; another part of me is delighted to have been outmanoeuvred by them. Makes for more interesting/fun fights.

You're totally selling me on The Division 2!

This is very funny and it reminds me of how much I enjoy good UI.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

This is very funny and it reminds me of how much I enjoy good UI.

Took me 43 seconds! Super hard but fun!!!

Seriously? It took me 5 minutes and 27 seconds. I'm sending that to the UI designers here. Too funny!

I did a short called Push Up (trailer here) that got into a festival I am super excited about (but can't announce yet) and also a different festival I can announce! We're screening in Chain NYC in August. Woot! We didn't submit to a ton of places because this started as an exercise for reel footage but it turned into a weirdly powerful film that I'm super proud to be part of.

My feature won a bunch of awards last year at Chain and since it is NYC based it was a good opportunity for friends and community to see the film. Looking forward to seeing people react to Push Up. Everyone who reads the script thinks that I've spied on their relationship and made a movie about it (seriously, everyone) so I'm encouraged.

RnRClown wrote:
Higgledy wrote:

Smart(ish) AI in games. I’m often getting flanked in The Division 2. One ‘named enemy’ in particular was a flanking swine who I only just managed to survive. Whenever it happens part of me is horrified realising I’m in imminent danger of being taken down; another part of me is delighted to have been outmanoeuvred by them. Makes for more interesting/fun fights.

You're totally selling me on The Division 2! :grin:

I had zero interest in playing it but they’ve refined the game tremendously. Very impressive.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

I did a short called Push Up (trailer here) that got into a festival I am super excited about (but can't announce yet) and also a different festival I can announce! We're screening in Chain NYC in August. Woot! We didn't submit to a ton of places because this started as an exercise for reel footage but it turned into a weirdly powerful film that I'm super proud to be part of.

My feature won a bunch of awards last year at Chain and since it is NYC based it was a good opportunity for friends and community to see the film. Looking forward to seeing people react to Push Up. Everyone who reads the script thinks that I've spied on their relationship and made a movie about it (seriously, everyone) so I'm encouraged.

What is the name of your feature? Is there a way for me to pay to watch a stream of your work? I’d love to see both the short and the feature, and anything else that you are proud of.

RawkGWJ wrote:
TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

I did a short called Push Up (trailer here) that got into a festival I am super excited about (but can't announce yet) and also a different festival I can announce! We're screening in Chain NYC in August. Woot! We didn't submit to a ton of places because this started as an exercise for reel footage but it turned into a weirdly powerful film that I'm super proud to be part of.

My feature won a bunch of awards last year at Chain and since it is NYC based it was a good opportunity for friends and community to see the film. Looking forward to seeing people react to Push Up. Everyone who reads the script thinks that I've spied on their relationship and made a movie about it (seriously, everyone) so I'm encouraged.

What is the name of your feature? Is there a way for me to pay to watch a stream of your work? I’d love to see both the short and the feature, and anything else that you are proud of.

Thank you - I appreciate the willingness to check the work out and support it a great deal!

My feature is called The Widowers and it is available for streaming on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon (I'll push for you to refrain from using Amazon services until tomorrow. Links to all services available through the website.) It got distribution and released in 2015 after a solid festival run.

Push Up is a short about to enter its festival circuit, but I'll keep you posted if it is playing anywhere near you or if it goes up online somewhere. Like I said, we didn't submit to many festivals, but sometimes these things lead to other venues. I feel like more people are starting to discover and be into Shorts as a form, so I wouldn't be shocked if we found some sort of streaming home at some point.

Here's a trailer for the feature:

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

My feature is called The Widowers and it is available for streaming on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon.

Or just PM me and I'll send you my torrent link!

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

My feature is called The Widowers and it is available for streaming on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon (I'll push for you to refrain from using Amazon services until tomorrow. Links to all services available through the website.) It got distribution and released in 2015 after a solid festival run.

Is it supposed to be available on Amazon in Canada? I can't find it in a search.

It isn't available internationally, due to music licensing issues, alas!

PM me though, and we can probably figure something out.

kuddles wrote:
TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

My feature is called The Widowers and it is available for streaming on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon.

Or just PM me and I'll send you my torrent link!

I know this is likely meant as a joke. But I spent ten years making this movie and pretty much all of my money. Artists in America are wildly underpaid, particularly independent artists. The movie costs $4 to rent and $7 to own on iTunes. I'm definitely up for sharing it with Goodjers who are international and don't have access to it - and I have some potential workarounds to make that doable - but the underlying joke here is rooted in not paying artists who put their time and talent into something (and something that, though by no means a huge hit, is artistically successful - going by our rating on imbd and the emails and messages I've received over the years from viewers.)

The Widowers is awesome! Watch it, buy it, love it. <3

Wow... So we have a Big Hollywood Producer among us.

Pool party at Harpo's mansion!

OMG. I am so getting that movie. That looks fantastic, Harpo.

What is a good way to find small, independent films like this or The Station Agent or films like that? Films that would fly under the radar, sometimes for years, but are often thought provoking and interesting? I get really tired of all the big noisy films.