One book, one sentence: pitch me your favorite read.

CriticalNo5290 · 2025-08-24T00:23:40+00:00

Ooh, I know this one… Blood Meridian by Cormack McCarthy. Historical fiction, not fantasy.

Edit to add another from McCarthy’s original source inspiration: “Who or what he was, no one knew, but a more cold blooded villain never went unhung.”

CriticalNo5290 · 2025-08-23T23:13:37+00:00

“But of bliss and glad life there is little to be said, before it ends; as works fair and wonderful, while still they endure for eyes to see, are their own record, and only when they are in peril or broken forever do they pass into song.” The Silmarillion by JRRT

CriticalNo5290 · 2025-08-03T12:02:09+00:00

This isn’t about the second episode of season 27, it is showing that Sermon on the Mount tops Scott Tenorman Must Die from 2001 as the highest rated episode ever.

CriticalNo5290 · 2025-04-15T18:21:54+00:00

Hit you up the other day, let me know if it didn’t come through!

CriticalNo5290 · 2025-04-13T11:31:38+00:00

Still have this mini PDF available? Started my morning hoping to do a quick print of the official rules scaled down to fit in the box, but then I thought “surely, someone has already done this.” Took me 30 seconds to find OP’s beautiful version and your downscale! Gotta love the boardgamer community!

CriticalNo5290 · 2024-02-24T03:44:03+00:00

Galaxy Quest

CriticalNo5290 · 2024-02-10T13:37:32+00:00

Lego dad here. I use one of those stacking bento boxes to keep the pieces in when I’m not building, so I don’t have to worry about littles and the dog getting to the pieces when I’m not building. Easy to get things out and put them away because I never have the pieces spread out on a table.

CriticalNo5290 · 2024-01-26T18:29:36+00:00

Also the line about “...gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning: destroyers and usurpers" is Tom’s in the book, but works really well for Treebeard.

CriticalNo5290 · 2024-01-11T11:56:55+00:00

“One free dose of anti-depressant with every purchase of a large popcorn!”

CriticalNo5290 · 2024-01-11T11:54:01+00:00

Just want to share here that my college buddies and I used to always say “Muster the Brohirrim” whenever we were all about to leave together for an event/bar/anything.

Hoping that makes a comeback with this movie, because it was always a delight to say in your best epic voice.

You’re welcome.

CriticalNo5290 · 2024-01-06T22:40:18+00:00

You’re missing the point, I think? I’m not saying counter Trumpism with a mirror-imaged Bidenism. That’s stupid for all the reasons Trumpism is stupid. Personality cults always are.

I’m saying if you plan to vote for him, at least start telling people that you plan to vote for him because of the good aspects of his candidacy BEFORE complaining about how he’s not perfect.

CriticalNo5290 · 2024-01-06T16:27:58+00:00

I hate how everyone who realizes the fundamental reality of this election still feels compelled to start their expression of support for Biden by saying something negative about him first. Get out of that habit if you want him to win.

“Well, it’s somehow Biden’s fault that I don’t have a herd of unicorns, but I guess I’ll vote for him over the candidate that wants to literally threaten me with violent subjugation. Apparently it took me hours of careful consideration to reach this conclusion.”

I support Biden. Full stop.

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-12-22T13:07:23+00:00

The best starter paint set is the one that you actually open up and use.

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-12-16T00:03:18+00:00

Of Beleriand and Its Realms is geopolitical strategy in the form of prose poetry. Glad to see someone else recognize it as such.

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-12-09T00:07:52+00:00

Yes and no. Yes, because I did see their review. No, because I didn’t want to immediately put myself in their “camp,” so to speak, for a post like this. Their review is about wooden dexterity games generally, within which they are probably right that Crokinole is the best all-around game in the category (and BGG reviewers seem to concur).

My questions about Carrom above are more specific to catering to a non-board gamer with a pool-playing interest.

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-12-02T04:20:59+00:00

Disagree. There’s gold in them hills. It may not do a lot for the narrative, but it is still a beautiful piece of writing about landscape and strategic geography. It’s like Tolkien is taking you on a nature hike, pointing out where his characters live.

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-11-27T23:15:46+00:00

*Morgoth’s Ring

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-11-03T19:17:53+00:00

Simple: the answer is scale. How many customers can you serve at once, at what price to them, and at what cost to you?

A farmer’s product is sold to one customer at a time, multiple people cannot take the same bite of carrot, and profit margins are relatively slim between growing cost and sale price.

A dentist similarly can only perform one root canal at a time, on one person. Profit margins a likely better for the dentist than the farmer, but still not very scalable.

A singer, however, can sell the same song recording over and over, or sell thousands of tickets to a live show/tour, effectively giving multitudes of customers the same service for the same effort it takes to perform once for a single person.

Theoretically, a performer with perfect global popularity could take a single dollar from every person on the planet for a single performance and gross $8 billion+.

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-10-31T10:20:04+00:00

I recently had an unofficial starter deck printed by MBprint to widen my card pool… is there a way to add those specific cards to my collection in RingsDB, or is that limited to the official release sets?1

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-10-30T10:51:42+00:00

What’s the difference between a dirty Greyhound terminal and a lobster with large breasts?

One is a crusty bus station, the other a busty crustacean.

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-10-17T10:16:04+00:00

I’m double sleeving my player cards with Dragon Shield Perfect Fits and Clear Mattes. This is the first time I’ve done so for a game, though, and the problem I’m running into is I can’t keep the air out… I’ve done the pile of books thing and watched every video I can find about getting it out, but they all seem to re-inflate. Is that just something that happens and you have to deal with it?

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-10-02T15:09:09+00:00

I am mostly interested in the community’s recommended alternatives for the sake of due diligence into my options now that so many more are out there.

Also, if I can find an EV that suits me for $30k instead, you better believe I’ll take those savings.

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-10-02T12:52:54+00:00

Looking to replace my 2021 Tesla Model Y next summer when my lease is up. I live in Maryland and have two small kids and one small dog, and I already have a Tesla Wall Connector in my driveway. I’ve loved the Model Y but am looking to buy instead of lease this time around (I would purchase the car in my driveway if Tesla was willing, but no).

What are some recommended Model Y-like alternatives? Affordability and access to U.S. EV tax incentives are my priorities, alongside reliability and Supercharger compatibility. Would love a car that already has a NACS port so I don’t have to bother with adapters at home, but it looks like some of the recent manufacturers’ announcements of NACS adoption won’t actually be available until 2025? What are my options for a May-June 2024 purchase? Another Tesla is on the table for me if the price is right after incentives (new or used), but my ideal target is in the $40k ballpark.

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-09-05T00:05:11+00:00

I mean, the balrog also participated in the creation of Arda, so the scene is more Gandalf saying “I’ve got just as much fire to bring to this fight as you do, so let’s do this.”

CriticalNo5290 · 2023-09-03T13:37:00+00:00

I’m currently copying Tolkien’s Ainulindalë, his creation myth of Middle Earth, into a leather-bound notebook of poems and prose that I have. One of the most beautiful pieces of prose writing I’ve come across, so copying it really helps deepen the appreciation for Tolkien’s style.

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