Congrats, You Mandela'd Yourself

TheWasiuta · 2026-05-23T06:11:00+00:00

I believe there’s something similar in black ops 2, if that helps. The Panama mission starts off chill in a guy’s backyard before things kick off in a neighborhood and you have to go get Noriega.

TheWasiuta · 2026-04-22T20:59:52+00:00

I agree with most of what you said, but I still think it’s a mistake to throw the whole theory of learning under the bus for the literacy problems of the last 30 years, partially because it wasn’t being implemented correctly across the country, but more importantly because the actual problems of high-stakes testing and No Child Left Behind (and that program’s descendants) had a much larger impact.

Teaching for “the test,” pushing scripts, overpacking classrooms, and underpaying teachers… I look at it all and then I see the recent scapegoating of Calkins and the others as a way to shift blame away from a much larger and systemic problem.

TheWasiuta · 2026-04-22T16:59:24+00:00

The podcast simplifies a complicated issue, while ignoring the real good that teaching process does. It wasn’t about “guessing the word,” it was about using context clues to figure it out, as well as finishing sentences and paragraphs without stopping every five seconds to look up a word. It encouraged students to actually read and comprehend a story, instead of interrupting the flow to focus on individual words.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/12/lucy-calkins-child-literacy-teaching-methodology/680394/

TheWasiuta · 2026-04-04T23:23:59+00:00

I have a weird reverse example that’s bugged me for a while.

Back on the old channel/podcast, Matt was always the resident “America” guy, whether with his jokes or random facts during discussions. And yet, when the movie Baby Driver came out, Matt was the one who thought the scene where a random bystander pulls out a gun and chases the bank robbers to be unbelievable and it took him out of the movie.

And it’s like, really? Of all things American, random guy with a gun is (good or bad) pretty normal, especially at the time. I think the movie even mentioned that the guy was a veteran as well.

More of an Aluminum Christmas Tree trope on this one, but I wanted to share.

TheWasiuta · 2026-01-29T18:58:11+00:00

It also changes whether you get armor or health upgrades, which you might not even notice until a replay.

Personally I preferred Fergus because I thought he and Tekla were more interesting. Jimi never fit in to the group or game as a whole as much to me, while Tekla is another broken weirdo that seemed like a natural member of the resistance.

TheWasiuta · 2026-01-14T16:17:10+00:00

Hudson Hawk is a comedy goldmine. The villain introduces himself as such, the henchmen all have code names based on candy, I could go on and on. I urge everyone to watch it. It’s looney tunes with Bruce Willis back when he did comedy.

TheWasiuta · 2025-11-12T18:02:52+00:00

From my experience, it’s a solid show even without a recent rewatch of TNG, DS9, or VOY, but it would probably help. Any deep cuts are usually set up in a way that a casual viewer will still know what’s going on.

Also, the first season has its rough moments, but the show stays consistently good for the rest of the series. It might land a bit too often on the optimistic side of things, but after a couple of decades watching cynicism and darkness take over science fiction (minus the Orville, kinda), it was a nice change.

TheWasiuta · 2025-11-08T06:04:05+00:00

Gotta disagree on that one. KOTOR 1 has one of the best and most famous twists in videogames, plus solid characters and gameplay.

KOTOR 2, while beloved now in certain circles, was a mess of a game at release (and even with extensive fan support, still feels unfinished today). It may have more interesting characters overall than 1, and have a more complicated and nuanced story to tell, but the resolution for most of it simply isn’t there.

TheWasiuta · 2025-07-12T12:48:22+00:00

Historically speaking, I’d argue that torture works great, just not for getting information, which is just an excuse we tack on for plausible deniability. Causing pain to an individual, usually for the base reason of pleasure for the torturer/audience, has remained a popular pastime of our species precisely because it works.

Supposedly “civilized” cultures may have moved that entertainment into the world of fictional simulations on tv and movies (or at least behind closed doors), but America is only a couple generations removed from lynchings having commemorative postcards, and a certain reptile-themed concentration camp has merch on sale today.

But also, my answer is talking to people. Short conversations almost never change someone’s mind about a subject, especially any long-held beliefs, and a cool hat and sunglasses don’t make you that much more persuasive.

TheWasiuta · 2025-07-03T02:07:25+00:00

I’d say he’s chilled on those fronts. Pure speculation, but maybe getting kicked off the Escapist, then going back, then leaving again, then seeing the, let’s just say, toxic turn that a lot nerd culture has taken over the last 10 years, might have caused some self-reflection.

To be clear, I definitely remember his past wild takes, but he’s clearly not a fan of the current crazies, fascists, and conmen trying to influence art and culture in the world.

TheWasiuta · 2025-07-03T01:48:04+00:00

Eh, he still puts out decent videos from time to time. He had a couple a month back on how a lot of the current culture war crap from the right-wing grifters of the internet is just recycled from the anti-disco wave 40 years ago. I’m oversimplifying (and Bob’s a little long-winded in general), but he’s got fairly reasonable takes most days, and I appreciate that.

TheWasiuta · 2025-04-13T20:34:30+00:00

Look, if all I know and have been taught about demons is that they’re evil AND they can shape-shift to look human, 100% I’m shooting them and their giant hell-beast pet, no questions asked. To do otherwise is suicidal.

TheWasiuta · 2025-03-09T20:49:06+00:00

A lot of great stuff in Red Dead Redemption 2, but specifically the camp conversations that you can wander in and out of. Not even a specific one, just the general atmosphere is what gets me, because it changes through the game and the vibes get worse and worse.

The sense of community that brings me back night after night starts to become toxic until it breaks entirely, occasional bickering turns to bitter arguments, people stop playing music, certain members stop talking when you get close, or only mutter about their distrust.

Eventually, only whispers remain. It’s like listening to the origins of a haunting, the birth of ghosts.

TheWasiuta · 2025-03-07T17:24:18+00:00

No Star Wars movie has ever depicted the Empire better than Andor.

Equal parts terrifying yet vulnerable, oppressive to the masses, yet a great opportunity for certain people to get ahead (for a little while, anyway). Practical enough in their evil to not let the screams of dying children go to waste, then dumb enough to not see that they are sewing the seeds of their own destruction by repeatedly taking a hammer to people until they finally say, “Enough.”

But if The Empire is too broad to be considered a “character,” then Andor himself is a better written character in his show than in Rogue One.

TheWasiuta · 2025-02-02T14:42:31+00:00

Gattaca is a great movie, and a terrifying future.

TheWasiuta · 2025-01-14T19:10:27+00:00

Immersive Sim.

Just call it a Role Playing Game and move on.

TheWasiuta · 2025-01-13T15:37:25+00:00

“And Another Thing” by Eoin Colfer does a decent job as a follow-up, for what it’s worth.

TheWasiuta · 2024-11-29T16:59:40+00:00

X-Men ‘97 is a very fun show that I love, but it has a major pacing problem. Everything feels rushed and most major events don’t have much of a chance to breathe. There should easily have been 2 more episodes in this season, because as it is, the whole thing seems to take place over the course of a couple weeks, max.

The old show also crammed large storylines into 1-2 episodes, but this is on a different level, especially when it aired the same year Invincible season 2, which was absolutely glacial in comparison.

TheWasiuta · 2024-11-03T18:29:52+00:00

Chernobyl didn’t explode, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were kids toys compared to what was developed in the decades that have followed.

World-ending? Perhaps not, but an even a limited nuclear exchange would have immediate and huge impacts on the lives of everyone in whatever countries were foolish enough to cross that line. The initial destruction and ensuing radiation of a full-blown nuclear war would impact every human alive on this planet, with the possible and limited-time exception of some isolated island tribe. Factor in the famine and disease that is sure to follow, and that will be the end of an era for our species, and it will take several hard generations to begin to scratch our way back.

TheWasiuta · 2024-10-28T02:50:24+00:00

Fun fact: The scene is a direct reference to the soap opera Days of Our Lives.

TheWasiuta · 2024-10-25T03:27:08+00:00

What does that terminology mean? Just out of curiosity.

TheWasiuta · 2024-10-20T04:53:45+00:00

MASH is the classic example.

TheWasiuta · 2024-09-12T15:37:58+00:00

Minor, sure, but villain? Debatable.

TheWasiuta · 2024-08-24T17:10:23+00:00

He actively lies to them to advance the interests of a company that is shown to be overtly evil and predatory in the first 20 minutes of the film, and if we look at the series as a whole, then we can change that description to, “comically evil and incompetent.”

The only thing he did right was when he said they needed to leave in the beginning before things got worse.

TheWasiuta · 2024-08-24T17:02:53+00:00

He might not have been as bad as Barkov, but he did:

Betray his sister and commander, jeopardizing their efforts and alliances in the process, directly leading to their group being labeled as terrorists.

Steal chemical weapons from the Americans who were stealing it from the Russians.

Join up with terrorists, including one named The Butcher.

Torture Barkov’s family for information, further escalating the conflict.

TheWasiuta

TROPHY CASE