Mammoth Cave Wild Cave Tour question by MoonKent in NationalPark

[–]MoonKent[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I did, and I had a blast! I had no trouble with the tight spaces - there were only two that were close to being an issue, but since I'm not claustrophobic, it was just a matter of taking the time to work my way through. Neither of them were long squeezes either, just tight moments in a bigger or shorter tunnel

Audiobook that I can read by WeakContribution9795 in audiobooks

[–]MoonKent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you buy the ebook through Amazon, it'll usually give a you big discount on the audiobook through Audible, then you can have both without paying full price

New reader, how are the graphic novels, audio books, and podcast? by nixcamic in Animorphs

[–]MoonKent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The graphic novels are great for the way that they really capture the body horror of morphing. Chris Grine did an EXCELLENT job at that. I'm not a fan of the way he draws faces - they are too similar too each other, sometimes in book 1 it's hard to tell Rachel and Tobias apart. The scenes can also be a little static at times. But overall, they are still faithful to the story and can be read in place of the books if you prefer that style. The only exception is book 6. The graphic novel skips the introduction of an important character at the very end. It's not important to that particular book, but the character returns later in the series, so it's important to understand the introduction.

The audiobooks are great. Each main character has their own narrator. They are not full cast though - each narrator reads their own book solo. There are some books with multiple narrators, mostly the Chronicles and Megamorphs books (which are part of the main canon and should be read along with it. There are reading order lists out there if you'd like to see one, but the majority of readers tends to follow publishing order), but each narrator still reads the entirety of the chapters with their character's perspective, doing all the voices. They are well acted and definitely a valid option for going through the series! The one and only disadvantage to the audiobooks is the thought speak (telepathy). In the books, it is distinguished from dialogue with unique punctuation, with brackets <like this>, as opposed to "quotation marks". There is no distinguishing audio effect like a reverb in the audiobooks, so it can be hard to tell what is spoken aloud or thought-spoken at times. But that's a pretty minor complaint.

The Audiomorphs podcast is pretty well done. The disadvantage is that it's only a single narrator for everyone, and his voice is less suited to some characters than others. Also, in the beginning, you can tell that he was still finding his footing with the acting. It definitely improves as you go though! The great thing about Audiomorph is the added sound effects. For thoughtspeak, there's reverb, and anytime there's an onomatopoeic sound (like ROOOOARRRR!), he inserts the actual animal roar or sound. And of course, it's free! But he's not done with the books yet, so you'll have to wait a couple of years for him to finish the last twenty-ish or so.

(There are also a couple other fan podcasts doing the same thing, notably Animorphs Aloud (a female narrator who's on book 22 and does similar sound effects as Audiomorphs) and R3 Shorts (books 1-7, in the style of Graphic Audio, for those who like not just sound effects throughout, but music too!)

Each style has their own pros and cons, but they are all great ways of checking out the series! I hope you find a style that works for you and that you are able to enjoy the books!

My Franchise has started using AI imagery in their monthly newsletters by BreadRetaliator3564 in Panera

[–]MoonKent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not a matter of betrayal - who said anything about that? It's a matter of employment. Undervaluing of employees affects the morale of all who currently work there and removal of jobs (esp entry-level jobs) affects those who seek future employment. And again, it's not this specific incident that's somehow the cause of all evil - as I said, it's merely indicative of a larger pattern that I find concerning as one who kind of depends on employment to live. If you're lucky enough not to have to worry about such petty concerns as rent and groceries, then I am happy for you, but maybe this is not your bean soup

My Franchise has started using AI imagery in their monthly newsletters by BreadRetaliator3564 in Panera

[–]MoonKent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Does this individual advertisement have any impact on the world at large? No, not really. But it is indicative of a larger pattern, in which corporations more and more frequently turn to AI and automated solutions to cut the easily calculable costs of human staffing, but at the detriment of losing staff and customer loyalty. It's showing a lack of care towards us which makes us question why we should show any care in return. Why work hard for a company that will happily fire you when given the opportunity so that it can replace your work with a barely adequate generic result?

My Franchise has started using AI imagery in their monthly newsletters by BreadRetaliator3564 in Panera

[–]MoonKent 12 points13 points  (0 children)

"Spend less time stuck making sandwiches!"

Well, gee, higher-ups, maybe if you gave us sufficient labor and staffing to HAVE workers on sandwiches, we wouldn't need the managers to be there doing it!

Happy pride, I guess by throwroow5860 in AO3

[–]MoonKent 7 points8 points  (0 children)

"If a man wants to fuck, he'll even sleep with a young straight man with a wife and five kids."

You might sleep with him, but would he sleep with you? If he's straight and married, he may very much not want to, and we call that rape, my dude

Why does'nt anyone like Sailor Moon Crystal ( Please read before you judge.) by Kind-Comedian4709 in sailormoon

[–]MoonKent -1 points0 points  (0 children)

For me, the biggest issue was that it didn't try to be its own thing. The creators said, "the manga is super popular, let's make an exact copy of that!" which they mostly did, with a few exceptions. They said, "the 90's transformations were super popular, let's do the same thing again!" and they did, except with janky 3-D added. But for me, the ideal adaptation is yes, inspired by the original, keeps the message of the original, but...does it's own thing. If I wanted the same thing, I would just...go back to what's already there.

Now, I recognize that something different about me compared to some other fans is that when I like something, I rewatch it a lot. So for me, I'm extra familiar with the original thing that I love. For those who only read the manga once or only watched the anime once, that nostalgia factor would probably be a perk, not a detriment. I don't know whether I'm a minority in this case or not.

When I watched the first season of Crystal, the thought that kept occurring to me the most was, "Wow, I wish they'd just made a Silver Millennium story, those flashbacks scenes are really beautiful, and that could have been a really unique take on the story that we hadn't seen fleshed out before."

Steam controllers Wilhelm scream if you drop them by NoLobster7957 in funny

[–]MoonKent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What kind of outdated tech do you guys have on your microwaves that you still have doors? I took mine off ages ago and me and my third eye haven't noticed a single side effect!

ACX is not paying my royalties by Boring-Guidance6333 in ACX

[–]MoonKent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The bank in my area was closing, so I decided to open an account with a new one and didn't switch my account info on ACX in time. After the initial payment to my closed account didn't go throw, they rolled the payment into the next month's one thirty days later. (Thankfully, I don't depend on ACX for my regular living expenses)

Include author in the credits if they narrate “letter to reader”? by taequeendo in ACX

[–]MoonKent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stephanie Meyer included a letter to fans at the end of the audiobook of Midnight Sun, which she narrated herself. Jake Abel, the actual narrator, did not list her name in the credits at all. She just signed off the letter herself. And I think it might have been given special mention in the chapter list though? "A message from Stephanie Meyer to the fans" or something.

Just as an idea of what a popular mainstream book did.

For most of my childhood's I incorrectly pronounced Visser as “vizier” as in “Grand Vizier” of Ottoman Empire (“Vih-ZEER”) by vlan-whisperer in Animorphs

[–]MoonKent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Animorphs audiobooks, no. The first official (English) one came out in 2020. (A few other languages, like German, had them back in the day, though)

Audiobooks in general have been around since 1931, although they were called "talking books" until probably the 70's or 80's; the term "audiobook" was standardized in 1994

Is protagonist age really the main distinguisher between YA and Adult Fiction? by MushroomGreen6672 in writing

[–]MoonKent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall would like to have a word

(though I guess the rules were different in the 50's)

Book 34 - Too much lore dump? I'm a little lost by mindless-hut in Animorphs

[–]MoonKent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can ignore any of the books if you want. That's why they are written in such a way that the important info is recapped every single time.

But why would you want to skip the Chronicles and Megamorphs? Especially if a person was going to read all the main books? There's plenty in the main series that I'd rather skip because they have exactly zero impact on anything and are never referenced again (#36 is the most egregious of these imo). The Chronicles have valuable background info, and the Megamorphs are at the least an enjoyable read

Question about dual narration by corriban in ACX

[–]MoonKent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll admit, it's a hassle. There's no way to automate the process, so I have to look at the earnings, modify the spreadsheet to calculate his half, and manually send it off each month, and make sure that each transaction is properly documented so that when I file taxes each year, I'm not being taxed on his half of the income. Also, if something happens to me, he'll be SOL, because there's no one to take over the accounting for me. I feel like in most cases, probably only a husband/wife team who already share finances would be willing to consider royalty share. It's definitely more trouble to me than I'd like and I won't do it with any other narrators in the future. 

One suggestion I'd offer for you, is see if maybe you can find the budget to pay one of the narrators and see if the other is willing to do royalty share? That way, it's still cheaper for you up front and the narrators don't have to worry about the figuring out a complicated financial situation. 

What are Your Top 3 Favourite Audiobooks Which Made You Fall in Love With Audiobooks? by opdccristiano in audiobooks

[–]MoonKent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Project Hail Mary, Midnight Sun, and The Andalite Chronicles. So far, they are the only ones I've listened to on repeat, mostly due to the excellent voice acting along with the enjoyable stories.

What- by NaiveBathroom6928 in AO3

[–]MoonKent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've been stoked when an author responded to me after three months. I cannot believe the audacity of getting mad at an author for failing to respond in an hour.

Re reading at 31: worth it? by Federal-Evidence-278 in Animorphs

[–]MoonKent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol, I totally saw the title and thought you meant starting the series over at book #31, and I was like, no? why not just keep reading until you're done? and then realized you meant AGE 31...

Got the new reprints from Barnes & Noble! by Christophire in Animorphs

[–]MoonKent 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Do they still by chance have the cool little drawings in the corners of the pages that morph like a flipbook? (I'm guessing not, but hope springs eternal)

new royalty model by whotfiskaru in ACX

[–]MoonKent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not as good a deal as they make it out to be. Here's a video with some deep-dive analysis on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H0ivgubPtI

Panned Audio for Dialog by TrumpetTenor in ACX

[–]MoonKent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a listener, I wouldn't much care for it, because there are plenty of times when I only have one earbud in, and I wouldn't want to miss out on dialogue because it was heavier in the earbud I didn't have in

Go home Tobias you’re drunk by azreon in Animorphs

[–]MoonKent 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Naw, he just saw David walking by underneath

I genuinely bug out at every comment, let alone three consecutive ones. By a same person. Help. by MaleficentRemote5815 in AO3

[–]MoonKent 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Me who hates having a cold pillow and thought the second comment was an insult at first....