What have you purchased recently?

[Chimpzy]

So today I've made my final purchase from Game Mania, our local, less shit Gamestop equivalent.

Final because they're deep in debt and currently basically operating under the Belgian version of chapter 11 bankruptcy and their chances of finding a buyer are very slim. Their website still lists upcoming games all the way to 2025 for preorder and such, but honestly, unlikely that's happening.

I'm not going to say I loved them, they definitely had their flaws, but also their upsides. Guess I'll never get that 25 year customer badge then. Will also need to find a new way to spend my eco-cheques.

Anyway, on to what I actually purchased. I got a 15€ Switch eshop card. Half off, since I also still had a 7.5€ voucher left.

 

[Worgen]

So today I've made my final purchase from Game Mania, our local, less shit Gamestop equivalent.

Final because they're deep in debt and currently basically operating under the Belgian version of chapter 11 bankruptcy and their chances of finding a buyer are very slim. Their website still lists upcoming games all the way to 2025 for preorder and such, but honestly, unlikely that's happening.

I'm not going to say I loved them, they definitely had their flaws, but also their upsides. Guess I'll never get that 25 year customer badge then. Will also need to find a new way to spend my eco-cheques.

Anyway, on to what I actually purchased. I got a 15€ Switch eshop card. Half off, since I also still had a 7.5€ voucher left.

Pour one out for the old brick and mortars. I remember going to GameFellas or Electronic Boutique and getting new or used games, back before gamestop bought them all up. Although there is still a gamefellas around here somewhere, too bad I don't do consoles anymore.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Pour one out for the old brick and mortars. I remember going to GameFellas or Electronic Boutique and getting new or used games, back before gamestop bought them all up. Although there is still a gamefellas around here somewhere, too bad I don't do consoles anymore.

GameFella sounds like "legally distinct" GameBoy knockoff in a TV show.

 

[Chimpzy]

Pour one out for the old brick and mortars. I remember going to GameFellas or Electronic Boutique and getting new or used games, back before gamestop bought them all up. Although there is still a gamefellas around here somewhere, too bad I don't do consoles anymore.

Yeah, kinda sucks. There are still a couple stores around, but they're all retro specialty stores. Usually not much good for newer games. Usually also expensive.

 

[Gordon_4]

I mean it’s technically a purchase. I checked my rewards points with my telco and saw I had enough to get a legit Pro Controller for my Switch. So I cashed them in and did just that. So that’s $100 actual cash I didn’t have to spend beyond what was already spent on my phone bills.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I mean it’s technically a purchase. I checked my rewards points with my telco and saw I had enough to get a legit Pro Controller for my Switch. So I cashed them in and did just that. So that’s $100 actual cash I didn’t have to spend beyond what was already spent on my phone bills.

100% worth it.

I hate the joycons with a passion, but the pro controller is actually quite good.

 

[Gordon_4]

100% worth it.

I hate the joycons with a passion, but the pro controller is actually quite good.

We’ll see I bought a Pokémon themed controller when I got the Switch but it can’t turn the console on like what happens with an Xbox or PlayStation and it wasn’t wireless so using it was…a challenge. That’s on me for not doing my due diligence though and it works on my PC so it’s not like the third party unit is useless. It’ll just be nice to have the full experience is all xD

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

I'm pretty over physical media, with two exceptions: Vinyl records and books.

Long story short, I bought an an entire omnibus version of a japanese light novel series on the vague notion that it sounded kind of interesting and that the anime based on it is supposedly a pretty poor adaptation. Why? Because look at it:

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I'm pretty over physical media, with two exceptions: Vinyl records and books.

Long story short, I bought an an entire omnibus version of a japanese light novel series on the vague notion that it sounded kind of interesting and that the anime based on it is supposedly a pretty poor adaptation. Why? Because look at it:


View attachment 11744
View attachment 11745

Having tried to watch that anime I can say with great confidence that it fucking sucks (on the other hand, A Certain Scientific Railgun, which is the sister series is great). Nice looking book though.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Having tried to watch that anime I can say with great confidence that it fucking sucks (on the other hand, A Certain Scientific Railgun, which is the sister series is great). Nice looking book though.

Yes, fans of the series make a point of telling people not to watch the anime and just read the novels. I took that advice to heart.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Yes, fans of the series make a point of telling people not to watch the anime and just read the novels. I took that advice to heart.

There's a saying that there's no such thing as a bad story, just a bad telling. Even the best most interesting story can flop if told poorly, and even a bad and boring story can be made interesting with a good storyteller. Having said that...Magical Index did not have a story or characters that I could see myself enjoying in a different context. I have a hard time seeing how it would be good even ignoring how cringy the anime adaptation was (unless the characters in the book are completely different from how they're presented in the show).

It might just be one of those things that light novels are basically "young adult" books in Japan, and most of those aren't very good (with some notable exceptions) but the target audience doesn't know any better because they've had limited exposure to literature. Like there's nothing wrong with liking The Hunger Games, or Harry Potter, but it's not exactly challenging high literature (not that everything has to be).

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

It might just be one of those things that light novels are basically "young adult" books in Japan, and most of those aren't very good (with some notable exceptions) but the target audience doesn't know any better because they've had limited exposure to literature. Like there's nothing wrong with liking The Hunger Games, or Harry Potter, but it's not exactly challenging high literature (not that everything has to be).

I like to think of myself as a postmodernist, someone who doesn't believe that media should be seperated into "high brow" and "low brow".

Primarily, because it gives me an excuse to read fantasy novels and watch action movies into my thirties without feeling like a manchild. But also because traditionally, a lot of great works have been overlooked and dismissed because they didn't meet the superficial standards of what "mature", "sophisticated" art is supposed to look like and I don't ever want to be one of those people.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I like to think of myself as a postmodernist, someone who doesn't believe that media should be seperated into "high brow" and "low brow".

Primarily, because it gives me an excuse to read fantasy novels and watch action movies into my thirties without feeling like a manchild. But also because traditionally, a lot of great works have been overlooked and dismissed because they didn't meet the superficial standards of what "mature", "sophisticated" art is supposed to look like and I don't ever want to be one of those people.

There's nothing wrong with that view point.

Sherlock Holmes was basically supposed to be fun pulpy shlock when it was released, and now we consider the collected short stories great works for fiction mainly because it's old rather than because it's just smart and well written.

The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo were essentially fun action epics at the time they were written, and are now considered high literature.

Shakespeare wrote his plays for common audiences and made up words. Many of his works were rather crass for the time (like in Othello when Iago stands outside Brabantio's house yelling about how his daughter is getting hard fucked by a big black dude loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear).

I don't agree with you that works shouldn't be split into high-brow and low-brow, but I think that there's nothing wrong with enjoying and even celebrating low-brow works, as they can be just as compelling as high-brow ones (though typically for different reasons).

 

[mirbrownbread]

Now you got me thinking with this high-brow/low-brow topic. I just purchased the Neapolitan Novels as a birthday present for my cousin (my darling is crazy about these books, so she suggested them). No clue how they rank or if they're considered this or that. Either way, I generally agree with this:

I don't agree with you that works shouldn't be split into high-brow and low-brow, but I think that there's nothing wrong with enjoying and even celebrating low-brow works, as they can be just as compelling as high-brow ones (though typically for different reasons).

 

[Gergar12]

Subway slashes footlong prices for 2 weeks; some subs will be nearly $7 cheaper

Subway has joined a wave of fast-food restaurants trying to cater to customers struggling with inflation. Others include McDonald's and Taco Bell.

www.usatoday.com

I used them so much that they blocked my IP after 3-4 uses.

 

[Dreiko]

The fifth stormlight archive book is up for preoder and at a significant discount too on amazon, so I jumped when I saw it. Also damn it's huge, over 1300 pages. Fitting end to the first half. And the cover has Dalinar on it.

 

[Worgen]

Actually purchased the house. Am now landed gentry.

 

[Gergar12]

Actually purchased the house. Am now landed gentry.

Welcome to the club.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Actually purchased the house. Am now landed gentry.

Congrats!

Where and how much (if that wouldn't dox you).

 

[Drathnoxis]

(unless the characters in the book are completely different from how they're presented in the show).

It's not beyond the realm of possibility. If there's anything I've learned from Netflix's Dirk Gently series, it's that having entirely different characters, plot, humor, themes, time period, and, in short, having nothing absolutely to do with the source material other than the main character's name is no reason not to market something as being an adaptation of any particular work. (Also see the Count of Monte Cristo movie from 2002.)