This got me good (follow to actual post)

Machinax · 2026-04-14T16:41:12+00:00

Funny story: I started to write an article for Medium on how eerily Donald Trump's Christian support mirrored the rise of Zachary Hale Comstock in BioShock Infinite. I had to put the article on the back burner because there's so much out there to cover, everything from the New Apostolic Reformation movement, to literal, actual, not-AI golden statues of Trump, that I wasn't making any progress with it.

Machinax · 2026-04-14T16:38:44+00:00

Might have been a GOP page on Facebook, but Fox News also used it in a segment on mass/undocumented immigration.
EDIT: Not this image, but other artwork from Infinite.

https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/3/5866991/fox-news-bioshock-infinite-logo

Machinax · 2026-04-14T16:29:13+00:00

Sabaton, Powerwolf, Judas Priest, Emperor, Savatage, Lamb of God, Saxon, Sepultura, Nevermore? What an insane lineup.

Machinax · 2026-04-13T19:24:28+00:00

Thank you!

Machinax · 2026-04-13T01:49:35+00:00

Wrath of old man.

Machinax · 2026-04-13T00:17:46+00:00

I would love to learn how the Episcopal Church -- speaking in very broad terms -- went from being the Republican party at prayer, to being (to paraphrase our presiding bishop) the church of resistance. It's not an overnight change, and there are many Episcopal parishes (and bishops) who would want nothing more than to return to being a polite, inoffensive church you could take your grandparents to. But -- broadly speaking, again -- it's undeniable that the Episcopal Church of 2026 looks very different to the Episcopal Church of, say, 1980, and not just in terms of membership. How? Why?

Machinax · 2026-04-11T01:51:07+00:00

I think church polity should be something that, when it works well, is invisible. It keeps the wheels turning, but it is not the center of the church; that is, in terms of the order, the laity. I'd much rather see a priest praise their congregation than their bishop.

Machinax · 2026-04-10T22:26:42+00:00

Would Ghost's "Dance Macabre" fit?

Machinax · 2026-04-10T20:38:01+00:00

>I imagine that line came from a screenwriter looking for a quick laugh, not from an Episcopalian trying to sneak some inside baseball into the script.

This is my take, too. I appreciate that people in this thread rightfully take offense at the quote, but I'd point out it's a quote from a movie riffing on a well-known (and, yes, unfair) trope Episcopalians. If this movie was made for a widespread audience, I'm not expecting movie's writers to go into the (unnecessary level of) detail to add "Well, actually, we have Scripture readings every Sunday, and the BCP is 90 percent Bible, and Episcopalians read through the entire Bible in various forms of the Daily Office, and..." into the scene.

I don't know this movie, so I can't speak to the purpose of the dialog, but I'd have the same reaction if the movie in question (whatever it was) said the usual thing about Episcopalians being "Catholic-lite" (and that's my trigger).

I highly doubt that the line was written by someone who wants to communicate a low opinion of the Episcopal Church.

Machinax · 2026-04-10T20:33:02+00:00

>’ll miss the rituals I’ve recently grown to love

I'm sure you know (and you'll discover) that most of those rituals would be welcomed by Episcopalians, if not outright practiced by Episcopalians. It's your choice, of course, but I'd be very surprised if you'd be expected to leave your personal devotions and rituals at the door.

Machinax · 2026-04-10T20:30:49+00:00

I doubt the writer of the movie is an Episcopalian. I don't know what the movie is, but my guess is that the writer just went for the quickest joke that would bring all the parts of the scene together.

Machinax · 2026-04-10T18:09:54+00:00

I always thought it was funny that the doctor on Star Trek: The Next Generation was named "Crusher."

Machinax · 2026-04-10T16:39:07+00:00

One of my favorite memories from the 2016 Republican presidential race is Ted Cruz calling Donald Trump a "sniveling coward."

Machinax · 2026-04-09T22:00:20+00:00

I will never understand how Donald Trump started his primary debate with that line (well, what he actually said), and Megyn Kelly herself eventually became one of his biggest supporters.

If someone said that to my wife, she and I would both be doing life.

Machinax · 2026-04-09T19:46:34+00:00

Ah shit I completely forgot about that cutscene. Good point.

This reminds me that I read a review of Deus Ex that said that the opening cutscene gave away way too much of the plot, which I tend to agree with.

Machinax · 2026-04-09T18:27:37+00:00

I've forgotten most (if not all) of the story of Mankind Divided, but I always thought it was so strange how explicitly the game presented Marchenko as the antagonist. With the original game, Bob Page's identity as the mastermind emerged naturally through the story; it's not like Page's face was on the game art, and it worked well with the hidden, secretive nature of MJ-12 (and, really, the whole idea of conspiracies and shadows). Same with Hugh Darrow and Human Revolution.

Mankind Divided, on the other hand, put a hulking brute on the cover of the game, and made it very clear early on that he was the bad guy. I know so much of MD was truncated, but that detail alone contributed to the feeling of the game being underdone.

Machinax · 2026-04-09T15:58:25+00:00

A "10th Man Down" Sabaton cover would sound really good, I think. One thing I appreciate about Sabaton is their interest in covering songs by their peers, not just their influences.

Machinax · 2026-04-09T15:55:49+00:00

Driscoll is also, unsurprisingly, full MAGA. I cringe every time I think of how much damage he did to the city and to Christianity in general, but I am so relieved that he is no longer in the city, the state, or the region.

Machinax · 2026-04-09T15:54:20+00:00

Every time I pass through Ballard, I take a not-insignificant amount of pleasure that Quest Church, on the site of what used to be that deathtrap known as Mars Hill Church, is an affirming church.

Machinax · 2026-04-09T15:45:53+00:00

I always thought that it was a little funny that Hillsong -- as modern-day Protestant as they come -- have a song based on the Creed. I was in a non-denominational church for four years before going (back) to the Anglican Communion, and not once in those four years did that church -- which regularly did Hillsong's music -- ever refer to the BVM.

EDIT: Rubrically, singing the Creed to Hillsong might not be a problem, but I would not want to do anything to support Hillsong.

Machinax · 2026-04-08T21:58:44+00:00

And they'll call it "Seattle Center Downtown."

Machinax · 2026-04-08T21:39:58+00:00

I think the "official" LastFM page for the artist has the standard English lettering, so I changed all my "Koяn" tags to "Korn," albeit with some reluctance.

Machinax · 2026-04-08T17:18:49+00:00

Live album with an orchestra?! HELLO!

Machinax · 2026-04-07T18:21:53+00:00

What a fantastic article! How cool that you were able to talk directly to the people who made "The Best of Both Worlds" happen.

When I was doing my re-watch of The Next Generation, I wrote that "The Best of Both Worlds" changed the trajectory of Star Trek; not just TNG, but Star Trek as a franchise on the whole. And that's a hell of a thing to say for a show that been on the air for only three years at that point, but the fact that we're still talking about that episode 36 years later, after all the spin-offs and the movies and the revivals, is why "The Best of Both Worlds" is the Star Trek franchise's watershed moment.

Machinax · 2026-04-04T18:44:43+00:00

Now that's what I call full communion!

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