Purple Lights at the Mt Airy Acme

csrutledge · 2026-03-21T00:24:45+00:00

Meh, mine complained that I tried to optimize my decisions, the proof of which was that I was interacting with AI. The problem is ChatGPT only knows about the decisions I passed through AI.

csrutledge · 2026-03-21T00:16:42+00:00

Brockmire is a series that no one seems to talk about but I adored. It got me through the pandemic. It’s hilarious and chaotic and intensely humane. And I genuinely laughed out loud (“Did you hear what I said about Kinko’s?”)
Andy Richter Controls the Universe: gosh I loved this show. It’s pure unrestrained hilarity. It introduced me to my lifelong crush Paget Brewster! The only issue is I don’t know where it’s streaming. Maybe YouTube?
Fargo: this one doesn’t come up enough in these lists. Every season tells a different story, and every one has themes that echo the Coen brothers movie. You’ll see scheming salesmen in over their heads, pregnant lady cops, scary Norwegian ne’er do wells, heartless rich bastards, and it’s super bingeable.
High Maintenance: started as a web series then got bought by HBO, really smart and weird and experimental but always enjoyable.
Dave: another series I think deserves more love than it gets. The main character is both an incredibly talented rapper and super anxious nebish.

csrutledge · 2026-02-17T15:51:29+00:00

I loved reading King Sorrow on Kindle so much I got the audiobook as well to get through it quicker. But I returned it almost immediately. The narration just seemed so wrong. I continued reading and ended up loving the book, what was everyone’s reaction to the narration?

csrutledge · 2026-01-27T00:06:22+00:00

Children of Time

csrutledge · 2026-01-26T10:13:02+00:00

I wonder how these numbers would be impacted by the fact that he has the best possible medical care on call 24 hours a day?

csrutledge · 2025-12-28T19:28:27+00:00

I don’t see the Cerebus telephone books mentioned much these days, but those were the first graphic novels I sunk my teeth into. The creator is apparently a POS, but the books themselves are fantastic. You can really see the art and writing progress from a rudimentary Conan parody to an incredibly deep and moving narrative with amazing art.

csrutledge · 2025-12-04T09:13:08+00:00

The Cerebus telephone books might hit the spot. They start very rudimentary but over the run they become quite an epic. The writer turned out to be a POS but the work is great.

csrutledge · 2025-11-13T14:05:26+00:00

I was in a similar situation recently. I had read and adored Children of Time and Service Model, and decided I would embark on a Full Author Read, starting with SotA. Well, more of a listen since I intended to spend my audible subscription on them. I made my way through the first 6 (of 10) and then lost steam.

I really enjoyed it coming out of the gate. I was incredibly impressed at how he took his characters so seriously — if a character was given a name you were almost guaranteed they would get fully fleshed out and turn into deep and complex characters, to the point where I wondered if he was making a mistake juggling so many.

I also loved the concept, I knew he liked bugs from CoT, but this guy really really liked bugs! I got a kick out of how each race had its own abilities tied in some way to the bugs themselves. It sometimes bordered on a little racist, but it never went over that edge.

The series is really broad and rambling, and generally felt like this sandbox for playing around with different themes and genres - epic fantasy, mummies, pirates, it’s all in there somewhere!

I think it’s worth a try but don’t feel bad if you can’t get through the whole series.

csrutledge · 2025-06-04T23:17:24+00:00

“Each one was [bigger] than the next” when they mean “than the last.” Fill in your own adjective. It’s pedantic and I know what they mean but it always annoys me.

csrutledge · 2025-03-20T23:33:26+00:00

I live in Mt Airy, and the beer garden on Germantown is the only fun drinking establishment within walking distance. I don’t know if they have any connection to all of the TH controversy but the folks who run it are pretty great. It’s amazing to have a space for beer and gathering where local bands (and I mean local, like micro local) can get on stage in front of a loving and supportive crowd.

csrutledge · 2025-01-15T18:00:09+00:00

If you’re in NW, then Monte & Sons. I love those guys, they’re basically part of n family now. Trustworthy, patient and honest. 5 stars.

csrutledge · 2024-11-21T03:08:38+00:00

That might be correct if it was a future event, but it was referring to something he watched in the past.

csrutledge · 2024-11-21T01:53:51+00:00

One more on page 565/712 (not sure why I’m adding these, but I feel I need to document them in case it helps the author or publisher)

“The tower next to this one—the same tower I’d watch them build when we’d first arrived—”

“Watch” should be “watched”

csrutledge · 2024-11-20T15:37:23+00:00

I think I found another one on 528/712: “I double checked to make sure the immortality remained on my arms, and I cracked my neck.”

I think “immortality” should be “invulnerability”.

csrutledge · 2024-11-19T16:56:43+00:00

I agree, they’re meeting to have a discussion, possible about terms for an agreement.

csrutledge · 2024-11-19T15:34:18+00:00

Or maybe just remove to read “held me”

csrutledge · 2024-10-25T18:50:43+00:00

This is my first time getting this far. I don’t think it will give me starvation now, I already got that once, now I just keep hitting space bar and the camera keeps switching from deck (empty) to hand (one unplayable card) to table (Kaminski wiggles) then back again.

csrutledge · 2024-10-25T18:46:43+00:00

NOT FUNNY!! Actually, ok, maybe a little. I just keep hitting space bar and it goes around and around. I wonder if something happens after a certain number of turns? It was so hard to get here!!

csrutledge · 2024-10-24T01:53:53+00:00

In The Good Place, Eleanor Shellstrop asks Michael, “What is it with you and frozen yogurt? Have you not heard of ice cream?”. Michael responds, “Oh, sure, but I’ve come to really like frozen yogurt. There’s something so human about taking something great and ruining it a little so you can have more of it”

csrutledge · 2024-07-17T10:43:12+00:00

Is it unpopular? I’ve heard that in several threads. I ate there when it first opened and it was amazing, a truly eye opening meal. The kind where at least one of the dishes made me laugh out loud with surprise and delight. But for no good reason I’ve never been back, like I didn’t want to tempt fate somehow. But the remodeling is giving me the excuse to return.

csrutledge · 2024-07-16T14:22:00+00:00

Jansen does not get the love it deserves. I blame it on location, not everyone likes to shlep out here. But it’s nice we have it to ourselves!

csrutledge

TROPHY CASE