Stopharage

3. The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers

Soon to be a BBC series, directed by Shane Meadows. Based on the true story of the Crag Valley Coiners, who created their own currency to avoid paying taxes to the King. It’s a tale of murder and grim existence in the 18th Century. Myers’ prose is sound throughout and he includes alternating chapters that are written in the dialect of the day. Works well and it’s an intriguing tale which illustrates how awful and barbaric life could be. 4/5

4. Rogues by Patrick Madden Keefe

A collection of his writing in the New Yorker. 12 different longform articles on topics such as Mexican drug wars, the exploitation of African resources and Anthony Bourdian. It’s very much hit and miss, which is largely down to the subject matter rather than any falling of his writing. 3/5

I'm really enjoying this so far; the intro sections really are the strongest part though which gives hope and optimism that we may see some decent TLOU universe stories coming about in future seasons. Whilst Netflix's Black Summer was a deeply flawed zombie series, it was also great at showing the zombie outbreak and how people survived it. It also wasn't scared of building up characters to then kill them off. That kind of approach to a TLOU off-shoot would be great. 

It is really closely sticking to the game at the moment and so I get the criticisms that some have made about it feeling overly familiar but I think they're unfair. I'm watching this with my wife and kids and they're absolutely captivated by it. They're already emotionally invested in the characters, were scared when the clickers turned up and are desperate for the next episodes. Coming to this with no knowledge of the series must heighten the enjoyment and expectation; I'm jealous that they have no awareness of what's to come. 

Also think our enjoyment and appreciation for this will grow as the relationship and bond between Joel and Ellie develops and we see them experience the events of the first game; it's that relationship development which is at the heart of what is best about the game. Whilst the game's prologue is memorable for the end scene, the game doesn't really flourish until we get to meet Bill. So I wasn't expecting to be blown away by these early episodes but am really impressed by them - in no small part because of what the  two prologues have brought to proceedings. I also think they've done pretty well with the quieter, more tender moments which are part of what makes the game so great; I can't wait to see how they do one of the most memorable scenes at the university, with 

24 minutes ago, JPL said:

Yep, I think it's a lot more nuanced that people are saying. I'm not sure why this game was picked on specifically, but I can imagine the funding companies for Mundfish are funding a lot of games that aren't being reported on. I'm also struggling to find out why it's being said they're a Russian company, when they're registered in Cyprus, as far as I can tell.

The game is developed by Mundfish studio. On the website of the studio, there is currently no mention of the fact that it is a Russian game developer. The story of the company begins with its launch in 2017 by a team of like-minded people in Cyprus.

At the same time, the studio was mentioned as a Russian one, with an office in Moscow, in Russian gaming and IT medias a few years ago. At DTF 2019, there was even a report from the Moscow office of the studio, where, according to the publication, about 30 people worked at that time.

On LinkedIn, you can find the profiles of the founders of the studio: Artem Galeev, Robert Bagratuni, Oleg Horodishenin, they are from the Russian Federation. Bagratuni is a former top manager of Mail.ru.

The investors of the studio are Chinese Tencent and Russian GEM Capital and Gaijin Entertainment. GEM Capital is a Russian fund founded by Anatoly Pali, who previously worked at Gazprom’s subsidiary, Gazenergoset. The studio raised investments from them in 2021.

Moreover, some internet enthusiasts found Paliy’s connection to other Russian state institutions, like RusAl of Oleg Deripaska and sanctioned “systemically important” bank VTB.

Mundfish studio never commented on the war in Ukraine and didn’t condemn Russia either. In a recent tweet, developers stated that they “do not comment on politics”.

From here. 

If you’re in two minds about picking this up, don’t. 
 

I spent 5 hours playing this yesterday. 🤦‍♂️

Babylon - Still Processing/5.

The first 30 minutes alone make this a worthwhile watch. Utterly decadent and a feast for the senses. The music is stunning throughout and further illustrates how the very best of Chazelle is based around strong musical pieces and performances. 
 

It’s overlong and there are some frankly bewildering scenes that I’m struggling to understand how they were included and not edited out. The cast are great and there are some lavish set pieces and poignant scenes which hit home. There’s also some really lewd and baffling scenes which are totally off kilter. 
 

Whilst the characters are fictional they are recognisable as amalgamations of celluloid stars of yesteryear. Robbie smoulders in pretty much every scene she’s in.

Definitely one to see in the cinema. 

Babel by R. F. Kuang is 99p today

New album is very strong too. Well worth a listen. 

Now the floodlights are off! This is great. 

Just now, dizogg said:

Is anyone watching the Wolves v Liverpool build up on BBC 🤣

It's hilarious. Are they working on the sequel to Untitled Goose Game in the same studio? 

I think Mudryk’s been badly advised here. Chelsea are all over the place at the moment and their scattergun approach to transfers this last year doesn’t look particularly well planned out. 
 

Whereas, Arsenal seem to have a pretty decent structure, strategy and focus in place under Arteta. Potter is a decent manager but Arteta seems to have done a really job in nurturing and improving the young talent at his disposal. Plus, you only need to see how those in similar positions to Mudryk have done in recent seasons at Chelsea and under Potter to have some concerns - none of Pulisic, Ziyech or Sterling have exactly impressed. 

We’ll sell you Harvey Barnes for £40m. 

As we all know, Chris Sutton only ever states the truth, so let this be the end of the matter. 

3 minutes ago, Chooch said:

I’m not sure kudos is deserved for showing Lampard up. 

I dunno, for a game in which a draw would probably be seen as a decent away result, Jones did make a number of attacking tactical changes which potentially opened them up a bit at the back. 

Been far more entertaining than Leicester's performance this afternoon. 

If Southampton see this out, kudos to Jones. His substitutions and tactical changes in the 2nd half have shown Lampard up.

2. The Every by Dave Eggers 

Second of my planned 2023 reads down. This is a sequel to Eggers’ The Circle, which was about the dystopian impacts of a behemoth social media site. I wasn’t hugely enamoured with that, although it was significantly better than the Netflix version. 
 

Anyway this is a sequel which ramps things up even more and I really didn’t get much out of it. The relentless spread of ever more inhumane apps and the slavishness of the employees made for a dispiriting novel. 
 

Eggers is one of my favourite contemporary writers but I don’t get on with these books at all. 
 

Think that will be tough to beat.

5 hours ago, Stejay said:

 

I am a big Seinfeld fan, but due to that I've probably heard most of the material on there already.

 

Is there any overlap between Stranger and Short History?  I bought the latter before I saw your reply.

I'd say not really. Short History is (from memory) much more focused on the science behind creation and beyond. 

Stranger Than We Can Imagine is a far more enlightening tome as it's the writer's explanation behind the events of the 20th Century. The book covers the subjects of relativity, modernism, war, individualism, the id, uncertainty, Science fiction, realism, space, sex, teenagers, chaos, growth, post-modernism and networking. 

It's brilliant, thought-provoking and genuinely had me looking at events from a slightly different perspective as a result. His 'The Future Starts Here" is also well worth a purchase. 

On 08/01/2023 at 23:10, Darren said:

It’s showing as £4.99 for me, do you have some special offer on it?

No idea, but was at 99p when I posted it. May have been a mistake and they inadvertently changed it, as today it’s one of the deals of the day

10 minutes ago, Stejay said:

My most recent reads have been Station Eleven, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, and I’m currently reading Project Hail Mary. I also ashamedly like throwaway stuff like the Alex Cross and Jack Reacher books. I’m guessing comedy or something non-fiction may be the way to go as more podcast like.

 

I’m currently tempted by Jerry Seinfeld’s Is This Anything? and @Timmo’s suggestion of A Short History of Nearly Everything.

I bounced off the Seinfeld audible offering, so couldn’t recommend that unless you’re a real fan. 
 

I’d go for John Higgs’ Stranger Than We Can Imagine. Far superior than A Short History for my money and helps you to reappraise how you look back on the 20th Century. 

33 minutes ago, pledge said:

Little surprised this is a fairly positive thread, I thought it was pretty dismal. The gimmick only worked in that it tricked me into watching it.

I'd agree. It's mildly diverting and full of inane plotholes with some astoundingly dumb decisions at some points. 

Stephen King's The Institute is 99p. 

36 minutes ago, christaylor said:

Watched the first ep of the latest Last Chance U yesterday. Definitely getting diminishing returns now, didn't feel like there was a single likeable character among them, not sure I'll take it any further. 

I watched the whole thing as it's ideal fodder for when I'm on the treadmill. Coach Rob is great and I think you'll rethink him by the end. The playing staff definitely aren't as memorable or easy to warm to this time around. I'd agree it's not as compelling as the first series though. 

Roberto Martinez is likely to be the next Portugal manager. With the degree to which he fails upwards, I’m surprised he’s not a Tory front bencher.