It’s more than a little on the nose, but Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollility by Holst, especially this abridged arrangement, is something I reach for at the end of a rough day. Usually stops me from going to bed mad, or in a thought spiral.

That it’s a relic of the flash mob fad from however many years ago doesn’t hurt, either. A spoonful of ironic nostalgia helps the medicine go down.

Sandman asking if he can come in or not, you keep stopping short.

However it’s also worth noting Jagex did do this for a reason. The in-game economy of RuneScape has been hyper-inflated for a while now, making the process of creating a new character and progressing through to the endgame a daunting progress due to gargantuan prices. For example, a Bond (exchangeable for a month of premium membership) sells for 11.2m coins on Old School RuneScape. On regular RuneScape, a bond sells for 141.3m coins.

Idk, sounds at least a little broken to me.

This is arguably the least practical advice in here, but also the funniest. Bonus points if you can do it to the same stranger multiple days in a row.

Probably.

Agreed. A funny and entertaining story in one medium does not necessarily translate 1:1 to a different medium. However, there are things that cinematic storytelling does differently (arguably better, though that’s a personal preference) than experiential storytelling. One area that an adaptation of Portal could focus on which was (intentionally) de-emphasized by Valve is the potential for mind-bending visual trickery and bonkers shot compositions. Not that these things were totally absent from the game, but Valve’s longstanding refusal to move away from a limited first person perspective put a hard ceiling on what they could accomplish visually. A filmmaker who doesn’t have that same bugaboo could probably do some pretty cool stuff with the concept.

Of course, interesting visuals don’t mean the adaptation will be good, but at least there’s an avenue for doing something with the property that the games did not explore.

I wanted a specific example more than a general one, so I’m going to go with Alamo Drafthouse. The company built its brand on being the theater chain for movie geeks, people that like the theatrical experience, but wished for something better than what megaplexes were offering. The company rode that identity until 2024, when Sony bought it out. Not coincidentally, 6 months later, they announced that they were mandating the use of QR codes to order food and drinks during the showings. Imagine my surprise when I showed up to a screening and had to dig into my phone, download their app, reset my password, and then navigate a hastily slapped together system just to request a glass of ice water at the start of the 3rd act.

That’s, admittedly, not a huge deal on the face of it. But it’s such a betrayal of the entire reason that I had preferentially chosen to see movies at my local Drafthouse that I haven’t returned since. It does not help my attitude that the underlying reason for this change in policy seems to be cost-cutting and union busting.

While the refusal to change course seems to indicate my aversion is the minority opinion, my mind still boggles at Sony’s willingness to cut off their nose just to spite their face.