It really is. It’s crazy how the manufacturing mindset really is all of industry.
LGOrcStreetSamurai
joined 3 years ago
I think about this all the time. Before I got laid off from my MEGACORP software gig, we always had time for stupid bullshit, but never any time to fix the core issues in our software that was like years old. Delivering new things is the only thing that matters in most firms. Fixing existing things is a negative which is so goddamn backwards.
"AGILE"™®© wouldn't be so bad if any of it weren't a manager tool. Like all "project management" paradigms AGILE™®© is driven by sales, marketing, and business types. There is a lot of worthwhile "Project management" frameworks and tools, but because of the stupid profit motive and other capital-driven nonsense all of them turn into them into eternal sprints into oblivion.
No time for retrospective analysis, to build quality worthwhile solutions, no time to do the “Agile” stuff really.
It's really stupid that software has been MBA'ed into whatever the current abomination it has currently become. "Agile" assumes that developers have autonomy to create great software, build meaningful relationships with stakeholders, and even have the power to say no. Of course, AGILE™®© removes that on purpose. AGILE™®© is a tool for managers and bosses, not for the actual people who do the actual work.
As always, the capital holders and their minions love to wear the skin of systems or frameworks "benefit" workers but as always they are just the skin of the thing not actually a thing that would help workers.
Oh one more thing, the rise of AGILE™®©/SCRUM™®© has created so many "Bullshit Jobs". David Graber really nailed when he described "Duct tapers", software development in most shops is just duct taping problems because there is "never time" to actually fix the problem or address the root because we have to sprint on to something else.
Only a stupid system like neoliberal capitalism would allow for the creation of "Agile Industrial Complex". The amount of branding and certifications and all that nonesense is such a waste of time and resources.
It's why I feel Midnighter and Apollo's relationship works, which adds depth to their characters
Agreed! It's a bit of a shame the two of them were born out of what I would call a low-point in Wildstorm's edgy history but they are objectively a interesting couple. Yes they are "What if Batman and Superman... but gay?", which is reductive and lame but there are much more than that. They are two people who have complex and nuanced feelings for each other and their relationship has WAYYYYY more depth that most of the mainstays of the genre. Which is crazy because If I recall Midnighter correctly we was like the precursor to Billy Butch creatively speaking. Which is an odd thing to think about.
I haven't been keeping up with whatever the modern incarnate of the character is,
Allowing her lasting happiness with Poison Ivy means something might lastingly change and the hogs can't have that.
As a comic dork I always hated how comics treat relationships. Outside of some comics like Saga (which is a great read), most comic relationships traditional/atypical/gay/straight/committed/flings/whatever are treated more as plot devices rather than things that make a character interesting. Which is a shame because love and relationships when they mean something is what makes them cool. For good or bad, it's just a good place for storytelling. There is nothing worse than seeing Ivy and Harley hinted at knowing that it will be dissolved in like next month's issue. That sort of eternal tease of a relationship is just so wack to me.
Fuck man that's part of the reason Mr.Freeze is a such a good character to me because that he is defined by the love his wife. Literally a wife-guy but the good platonic ideal of it. That's just a cool character trait, like being motivated by love in a world of super-people and all that insanity really gives a wonderfully human. Which
Part of what I hate about lazy "multiverse" crossover gimmicks is they just about require default state or even Flanderized versions of such characters.
Exactly man. Fuckin' exactly. A "multiverse" creates a boundless space for exploring what makes a character a character. What are their defining traits, what is their core identity, what are the things that make them who they are across all versions of themselves. What are the things they think are a part of them but happen to just be cicumstance. Would they be different if things were different? Would they always find a way to create the version of themselves we know?
Really plainly cool writing space if you ask me, but because that involves risk, they don't really show characters or ideas explore outside of "What if Character X, but with a mild cosmetic change or different background". Which is such a bummer because you can really do some cool stuff, you can explore the very idea of identity cross the infinite expanse of the multiverse.
Yeah I think about that all the time. Which is a shame to me, in the sense that it's really reduces these comics' respective histories to "whatever is poppin' in the box office these"/"whatever our marketing plan for movie release for Quarter X" is. I'm not saying all these comics have super great histories but they do have rich and dense histories, which are worth respecting and reading.
I love comics and I think he is 420.69% correct. Fandom in comics specifically has utterly stagnated the medium. There are so many titles that can't go forward or when they do they are reverted back to a status-quo. Indie comics are really the only things worth reading right now. The big publishers are just re-packaging nostalgia back to you and selling it a huge mark up.
I have always found the high cost of "FANDOM©®™" really off-putting. Getting "Official" merch or limited-editions, special editions, limited-release exclusives, all that sort of stuff to be really sad to be frank. I feel like that is all the "nerd culture©®™" is at the moment. Buying stuff, not enjoying stuff. Buying it and showing it off, not really engaging with it. It's about having the most stuff and flexing it on other and being seen flexing it. Having all your figures and statues in the background of your webcam as you rant about X character not giving you a boner.
I really think the only way forward is the whatever the hell is going on in independent streams of creation. I think it's infinitely better for culture for us to create things inspired by the things we love/loved rather than endless consuming whatever the market puts out. I really think supporting independent artists/creators/authors/makers of things that are rad is the only way to heal this utterly broken mess of a "culture".
There are, of course, entirely benign fandoms, networks of cooperative individuals who quite like the same thing, can chat with others sharing the same pastime and, importantly, provide support for one another in difficult times. These healthy subcultures, however, are less likely to impact on society in the same way that the more strident and presumptuous fandoms have managed.
Yeah I think that sort of thing is probably the best way forward.
Buy indie games, buy indie comics, buy indie music, enjoy your werid-o shit you think only four other people know about, all that enjoy. Share it, promote it, create your own. Engage with the arts in a meaningful way.
Don't be a fan, be someone who like a thing.
They are going want daps and pounds for such a bold statement too.
SF6 has some of the best new/original characters in a fighter entry in general if you ask me. I think in general the whole cast of new characters is really damn good. A lot of them are remix/modded versions of existing characters but in general I think they really nailed with creating new interesting characters.
It's not often in an established fighter that I want to try the new folks rather than sticking with the arctypes I know and love. Kimberly is a bushinryu ninja so I rock with her, but I find myself really enjoying Jamie, Marisa, and Lily.
Personally I don't care about "tiers" I rock characters who appeal to me and feel good to play. Jamie for example, while "low-tier" fuckin' rules and has swag for days so when you get the win you know you played better. Which is a good feeling for me.
I genuinely dig the idea that new characters have that sort of "draw"/"appeal" that would break me away from my traditional picks. I think they're doing something right from a design standpoint.
I do not however dig the stupid monetization of modern games and it's a bummer that SF6 has the same issue as just about any other modern game.
Thematic content that is inaccessible to the incurious viewer may as well be an invitation for the clever clogs who picked it up to pat themselves on the back for all the influence it will have on The Discourse.
Good point and well said.
Stay safe Palestinian from Gaza. I pray there is a day you and your love ones don't have to worry about this insanity and can just live your lives fully.
A former co-worker once joked "we should find a way to make fixing infrastructure a new feature". Fixing the giant holes in our code-base as a service.