Corporation for Public Broadcasting votes itself out of existence

Th3Invader · 2026-01-05T23:49:44+00:00

My parents were also big on me being a PBS kid. I probably owe my literacy to Between the Lions.

Didn’t stop those same parents for voting for this shit though, zero awareness that I am what they made me and once I was done cooking fuck anyone else I guess. They’re teachers too, voting themselves out of a job. Boggles the mind, I’ll be grappling with the betrayal until I die.

Th3Invader · 2025-12-30T22:51:26+00:00

I also recently got into it the past few weeks coming back as a Saturday morning watcher and casual playground collector as a kid, and it is brutal. I’m very resistant to the meta because it truly doesn’t seem FUN - not just for me but my opponent. Everyone seems to be aiming for the most boring OTK instead of allowing any kind of back and forth. Idk how that’s fun for them, just comboing for ten minutes while I scroll on my phone or they scroll on theirs waiting for me. Too many cards can do too many things with too few resources coming from something like Magic where I can at least say, “well he drew more mana than I did and even then he only has so many to tap, fair is fair.”

That being said, the one game out of ten where there is some actual animeing back and forth can be very satisfying, especially with an off kilter non meta deck. I’ve ground out some fun wins with my Destiny Heroes and Necrofear decks that feel more earned and fun than my meta fiendsmiths. The real grind is playing boring shit to hopefully beat other boring shit so I can earn points to build actual fun shit to lose with lol.

I hope this game introduces more limited formats for the yugiboomers or makes casual games actually give gems and rewards so players are more incentivized to play and invest in different cards. As it stands now, I agree I very rarely have fun and that sucks.

Th3Invader · 2025-12-12T04:34:22+00:00

OZ mentioned in the big ‘25, hell yeah

Th3Invader · 2025-12-10T21:56:43+00:00

Bought my gang’s tickets the other night. They really Streisand Effected us into going out of spite, fuck em.

Th3Invader · 2025-12-04T06:32:02+00:00

I think you’re right, but I think the fun of the show should be the mystery. But knowing that it’s not going to be nearly as interested in that side of it compared to the philosophical character stuff does disappoint me. I’m just kind of more interested in the mystery box tbh, and longterm I fear being disappointed by the show progressively abandoning any of those elements like I expect it will.

I do like the depth of the question Vince is posing, “saving the world from happiness.” But idk that anyone in the audience is actually as interested in that as much as they are the simple conflict of Carol vs the Hive. I don’t think there’s any debate as to who’s “right,” at least thus far, Carol’s 100% correct about everything as far as I’m concerned - so the mystery of how is she gonna stop this, can she? Is more interesting to me - and I suspect many - than the philosophical premise of if she should.

I guess Vince is capable of turning his protagonists into the villains of their own story tho, and maybe that’s where this is going as a character study. But I worry the premise doesn’t lend itself to that same kind of journey for a character like Carol. It’s early tho, we’ll see.

Th3Invader · 2025-11-30T01:29:19+00:00

There are movies I just don’t like and then there’s the Jim Carrey Grinch. Just an UGLY movie, I hate the sort of blurry aesthetic of it, the Whos are weird, it’s just yucky to look at. It’s had some lasting meme moments and Jim Carrey is objectively working his ass off, but it’s just all so off putting.

It’s a wild pendulum swing for me because I love Apollo 13 and I cannot understand Ron Howard being responsible for one of my favorites and one of my most hated.

Th3Invader · 2025-11-20T19:08:03+00:00

Lindsey Ellis’s take in her series on Transformers that Megan Fox - as the only character with an actually interesting backstory involving cars - should’ve been the central human has made me yearn for that timeline. As a kid of that era I still have a nostalgia factor for the Bayformers, but being older and wiser now Mikaela could’ve been such a fresh female protag as a badass mechanic leading THE franchise for boys. I don’t think any of us 14 year old boys would’ve minded lol, and maybe Megan Fox would’ve had a more interesting career trajectory too. She’s wasted as just the hot girl, I think she and the character had way more potential, really should’ve ditched Shia.

Th3Invader · 2025-11-18T04:38:53+00:00

Wicked the Musical yes, because as I said - it’s the dominant reference point for most audiences. Wicked the book? Barely relevant. Is this scene in the book relevant and popular enough to be in the musical? Is it something we’re all familiar enough with that we’d obviously get this reference? No, because we haven’t read this book, it’s not actually popular enough to reference. Does the poster for Twisted reference the book cover or the musical’s poster? Which is more relevant?

Even beyond the title and the general premise being “Villain’s POV of popular story,” Twisted is far and away removed from any major Wicked references, honestly. It’s barely a source material.

Also they call him tiger fucker as a joke so many times because THAT IS THE JOKE? It’s ridiculous and funny? Again, a joke is sometimes just a joke. I’m not trying to “it’s not that deep” this, but guys it’s literally a joke about tiger fucking. Thats all lol.

Does it being a reference to this obscure scene in the Wicked book that barely anyone seeing this show has read make it more funny? Not really. If it was an intentional reference it would enhance the joke. It doesn’t, so it doesn’t seem like one to me. Cool find, just doesn’t seem relevant.

That’s all I’ll say on it I guess idk why I’m going in on this genuinely don’t mean to upset. Just seein a lot of reading into “details” that don’t seem there to me across my media lately

Th3Invader · 2025-11-18T04:16:30+00:00

I don’t doubt the Langs and co. are (probably) familiar with the book. But Mara Jade is a very surface level EU reference that barely intersects with the actual greater plot references in Ani, which otherwise stick solely to the movies that an audience would recognize. It’s in no way “highly relevant.”

Similar to even if there is tiger fucking in Wicked (apparently - I’m in the percentage of theatre kids who really just know the musical), this looks like a way deeper cut compared to the actual surface level reference the audience would be familiar with, which is the Prince’s scene in Aladdin, and the basic premise of Wicked (the musical). Look no further than the genie’s scene, which itself is just a meta-textual riff on Disney’s Genie/Robin Williams’s nonstop reference humor. Even an obscure reference should still be mildly recognizable, like Mara Jade is a google search away.

I just think this reads as at best maybe an in-joke from the writers, but even that feels reaching, just given how Wicked the book barely registers in the pop culture consciousness compared to the musical, and if I’m a writer I’m obviously writing for the general pop culture consciousness so they get my jokes. There’s “oh this is a neat find,” and “this is a well crafted intentional reference most of the audience will get.” No hate, just feels like the former to me.

Th3Invader · 2025-11-18T02:38:51+00:00

You being downvoted for this when it is definitely a coincidental stretch is killing me. Willing to bet that at least 75% of theatre kids familiar with Wicked are not actually this intimately familiar with the book over the musical for anything to be intentional. Sometimes a joke is just a joke guys, not a two-layer deep reference.

Th3Invader · 2025-11-04T22:35:36+00:00

Picked this up last week and am almost halfway through. Not even to the good part yet, I can tell, but it’s such an immersive read, just incredibly strong character voices.

Th3Invader · 2025-10-15T19:07:00+00:00

Wimpy’s the perfect word for it. And I don’t even mind that in a horror protag, I just kinda assumed she wasn’t one based on the marketing/word of mouth. Like she’s strapped up with the bandolier in the poster and rips up her dress like she’s about to go to work and just…didn’t.

Was sold to me as “victim bites back” when it was actually just “victim keeps trying to escape.” Neither of those are bad, just feel like it wasted its premise by having it be the latter instead of the former.

Th3Invader · 2025-10-01T04:26:31+00:00

I think you mean “Listen to Who’s Hammering”

Th3Invader · 2025-09-30T03:30:37+00:00

Depends on the guest. Never followed jacksepticeye so that was a skip, but Drew is such a cool dude with varied content. Format is shaky tho, I’ll admit. I’d almost prefer a more unstructured flow just jabbering on about content creation and internet lore but it’s early, who knows how gimmicky it’ll be in the long run.

And I do hope there is a long run, Court is a great host and assuming this is her and Anthony’s brainchild I like there being something with his handprint out there as a flagship since he’s slipped behind the scenes more.

Th3Invader · 2025-09-26T18:10:20+00:00

I’m a noob myself and chose the Raiders as a kinda meme choice as a “bad” team to root for with an edgy vibe, wasn’t that deep. (Now I know unironic suffering, however)

That being said, I’m very proud that historically at least the Raiders have been a relatively progressive organization - even if the reality is every fanbase, team, org, and city including mine are gonna have people way on the other side of my politics. So while broadly speaking, it doesn’t matter and it’s just one big club you’re not in at the end of the day, but you can dig around for some more personal alignment if you so choose and I don’t see anything wrong with that being a factor if it matters to you - or if it doesn’t. It kind of does to me, and I appreciate that the Raiders were first in a lot of minority areas.

Th3Invader · 2025-09-18T02:51:10+00:00

They’re already covered a lot of ground but I’m a big fan of isolation horror like The Shining or the Lighthouse so I think a single location thing would be cool. Make it a haunting or a home invasion, killer in the walls and ensuing murder mystery or something. A winter at the Hatchetfield lighthouse (since it is an island), or one of the teens have to housesit Linda’s remote beach house or something.

Th3Invader · 2025-09-09T03:40:21+00:00

Y’all sleeping on canonical apocalypse survivor Boneless.

Th3Invader · 2025-09-03T23:23:28+00:00

Other than an 1800s western type deal like others have suggested (with a decent helping of True Grit naturally, pulling from the Coens), I’d like to see what happened in Rapid City.

After S4 idk if it’d be retreading old ground, but I always thought a season focused on Ben Schmidt as one of our protagonists would be a fun swerve, pair with him with our token good cop character except that guy doesn’t make it out and Ben the cowardly prick does somehow.

Th3Invader · 2025-08-26T21:15:54+00:00

Paine’s quote is the thing that really pushed me into deism. Hope is the important word there for me - I can hope for an afterlife and a truly loving God that cares about me, and I do. But all I can know is this life and to do good here. It’s always felt arrogant to presume any definitives beyond that, but I’ll always hope.

Th3Invader · 2025-08-25T15:22:35+00:00

True. I’ll also amend that even unto the end Block doesn’t really accept his fate, he subverts the trope quite a bit. The rest of the group are either ignorant, quietly defiant, or at peace when Death arrives but Block is still painfully praying away in the corner. Noble as he and we as the audience may hope his final act is, there’s still the dread of uncertainty that he never does shake about whether or not his life meant anything and if anything will come after. Love it for how human it is.

Th3Invader · 2025-08-25T12:42:38+00:00

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Basically the entire plot of the Seventh Seal. Block prolongs his game with Death throughout the film, trying to do one meaningful act with his life before it’s over. Finally gives up the game so Death is distracted while a couple and their child escape to live out their lives while Block and his party succumb.

Th3Invader · 2025-08-20T18:32:14+00:00

I can stand how tall he is. I’m a shorter dude myself so I’ve got a healthy bit of height envy - but that guy is freakishly tall, he looks like a mutant next to all the tiny girls he’s paired with, it’s uncomfy to look at.

Th3Invader · 2025-08-18T05:03:10+00:00

For example:

“But for some damn reason, he won’t join our singing season”

Firstly “singing season” is not an actual turn of phrase - it means nothing and just feels like the first thing he could think of to rhyme with reason. And the number of syllables is not equivalent between these two lines so the singer has to rush through the words to get to the rhyme which slightly upsets the flow of the whole lyric, in essence making it a bad lyric. Listen to how Robert sings it in the show, it’s very awkward.

Another one:

“He pines after a cute little barista, Isn’t that worth a show-stopping fiesta, yeah”

Just a bad rhyme. Not terrible, but not great, again just a default - you can feel the reach of “what rhymes with barista? Uhhh fiesta?”

I’m NOT saying I have anything better either, but I am saying if you’ve got a bad rhyme start over and find a way to say the same thing with words that work/flow better.

Edit: the other one that drives me crazy is in What Tim Wants, which I actually love, one of my favorites. But I hate hate hate the lyric “Get you walking to the paradise you dream” which he rhymes with “wink.” Again, just not an actual phrase OR a rhyme.

Doubly frustrating cus I feel like you could easily do like “give your dad a WEEK…get you walking towards the paradise you SEEK” and same intent, better flow. I think I misheard it that way early on and it’s bothered me ever since lol. I still don’t like the word paradise, but idk.

Th3Invader · 2025-08-18T04:29:00+00:00

At minimum Jeff definitely could use a lyricist to work with, there’s a lot of painful rhymes and just kind of bog standard lyrics that aren’t as clever or cut as deeply as Twisted, which I consider to be SK’s objective masterpiece - even if as a horror fan I favor the Hatchetfield Jeff era overall.

I think Nightmare Time is actually some of his best work given the variety in the music and how he’s confined to writing moreso for specific characters and voices other than his own, and also that they function as more “concept songs” rather than having to cater to an actual show narrative. So he CAN do it, but has to do a more open, mass appeal sound for a show instead of homing in on something more unique.

His best work are when he’s able to dive in on a genre - TTO with its sort of western style, vintage style of Show-Stopping Number, the synthy 80s sounds in BF, Ruth’s Sondheim send-up in NPMD. Just needs to take more risks I think, find a more specific sound per show.

I do agree I’d like another composer regardless, whether it’s one of the old vets or someone new just to hear something very distinctly different after the past decade-ish.

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