The Syndicate

Owner of a Lonely Heart, what’s the best Halloween costume you’ve ever had?

Zephyus, of the t-shirts that you own, which is your favorite?

Zephyrus, do you have a favorite book?

colonialbob, let's talk ASOIAF theories!

Lunalee, if you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Kites, what's your go-to pizza order?

What's your favorite joke to tell?

Iron_Dwarf, where does your username come from?

Like a really old Christopher Plummer. Like, even older than he looks right now.

dunya wrote: ↑Tue Feb 27, 2018 1:09 pm are you tall?

what color is your hair?

what's your horoscope? do you believe in those?

are you emotional or logical?

what's your myers-briggs?

I'm average height and have brown hair

I'm a Virgo. I don't put any stock into it whatsoever, but if people get something out of all that, more power to them.

Emotional or logical, tough to say. I think under pressure I begin as emotional but I always try to be logical and I never make decisions without a lot of thought, overthinking, actually. I think generally humans like to think they're rational but the best we can ever do is aspire toward rationality without ever fully getting there. Every person has bad beliefs that they don't have adequate support for, blind spots, but trying to figure them out is admirable.

INFP

And I've decided I would rather remain mysterious, so my scary mustache and all other pictures will go unseen for the time being.

If that happened to me I'd probably just throw in the towel, obviously the universe doesn't want me getting home that night. But you beat the universe, so kudos to you.

I have a beard on and off and can grow a pretty good one, but I prefer being clean shaven (or just after) and having a mustache by itself, tbh, I grow a pretty great mustache but then I look like a murderer so I don't do that too often.

The parrot doesn't say anything; he's a man of few words, or, I guess none.

dunya wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2018 1:33 pm do you drive Colin? if you do, what's the worst thing about driving?

what is your favorite means of transport?

if you could visit one country for free right now, which country would it be?

Yeah, it's impossible to live where I do without having a car to get around. I'm not a great driver but the worst thing about driving is definitely other people who are undoubtedly much worse than I. Or having to clean my car off in the winter because 3 ft of snow has piled on it. Or when people don't turn their high beams off and they're coming from the opposite direction, or riding behind you. Getting pulled over sucks. I have realized typing this that there are a lot of bad things about driving!

I really like flying, tbh. It's peaceful and I usually pass out. Although nothing is more convenient (for most things) than driving yourself and being able to play music or podcasts, so I'll have to go with that, despite everything I just said above.

I'd love to see Iceland, I've heard really great things about it from many people who went. Going back to England would be a lot of fun. There's not too many places that I wouldn't be interested in visiting, tbh, so I could probably spin a globe, put my finger on it with my eyes shut and be satisfied.

Lunalee wrote: ↑Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:41 am @ColinIsCool , do you have any pets? And if so, can you share pictures?

Yes, two dogs and we also have a parrot. I'll try to remember to get pictures later

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:46 am Hey, [mention]ColinIsCool[/mention]! Welcome (again) to the site!

Here are some more music-related questions for you:
- Do you know how to play any musical instrument(s)? If so, which, and for how long have you known?
- If you could instantaneously learn any musical instrument (that you do not currently know how to play) without any effort, which one would it be and why?
- Favorite concert (or top 5 or whatever is easiest)?
- Favorite concert venue?
- Do you have any esoteric album recommendations that people should check out?

I don't know any instruments, I've tried a few over the years but I didn't have the patience or aptitude for it at the time. I would probably choose to learn the guitar or piano since those are two I've tried before and I think they'd be fun once I got good enough.

The best concert I've been to has definitely been Bruce Springsteen on the second leg of the River tour in 2016, but I've been really fortunate to see some incredible shows. Modest Mouse was a big one for me and they played my favorite song which I never thought I'd see. Neutral Milk Hotel was a really surreal, great experience. I don't live in a place that allows me to see shows regularly enough to have a favorite venue, but the Town Ballroom in Buffalo is cool. I used to go to Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, NY for a while and that place was great too.

And for an esoteric album recommendation, hmm ... I have pretty "mainstream" taste but there's a few that come to mind. The soundtrack to Twin Peaks by Angelo Badalamenti is phenomenal, even if you haven't seen the show. I've been listening to Stars of the Lid's And Their Refinement of the Decline and it's an awesome album to just put on.

Kenway wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:11 am You're a legend, you know that? Who are your favorite Mafia players from RYM?

Yeah, not so sure about being a legend anymore, but thanks.
I really liked playing with all the people here actually, dunya and Mac and JJJ and RDW and everybody else, so it's fortunate that they're all here. Mungbean, Choutas, TheProf, ProFiction, Madluke, telephone_junkie. We had a lot of good people. dunya was probably the scariest, I think she had the biggest part to play (along with Mungbean) in seeing through my old Mortal Kombat gambit, so props to those two.

Spacedaisy wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 2:28 am [mention]ColinIsCool[/mention] 1) What is one thing that I (someone who has never played a mafia game with you as yet) should know about you as a mafia player?

I'm really not as good as people say, lol. My days of being an alpha cop are behind me ... but I'm working my way back up

What's your favorite memory (non-mafia related)?

There are a lot of things that come to mind, but the best day of my life (in some respects) was probably when I took a trip to see Bruce Springsteen (for the 4th time). The concert was incredible and it was a great time with my then-girlfriend.

Most embarrassing moment you are willing to share?

I got a girl's number at the bar last night and I'm so out of practice (and was so inebriated, and kind of cold) that I was literally shaking like a fool at one point in the conversation, it was the SMOOTHEST shit you've ever heard of.

Favorite color?

Blue

Favorite food?

I love a nice steak. Medium, but the rarer the better generally.

Favorite season?

You know, I always find myself appreciating spring more than I think I will. Something about the snow melting and the sun finally coming out — well, George Harrison was right, I suppose.

Last book you read?

Pinball, 1973 by Haruki Murakami. I'm a big Murakami fan and while the early novels weren't released in the U.S. for a long time because he didn't like them, I took to them (this book and its companion prequel, Hear the Wind Sing) quite a bit. They capture this really particular post-grad, early adulthood sort of malaise that I feel heavily these days.

Last movie you watched?

Nocturnal Animals, dir. Tom Ford. I didn't like his previous film (A Single Man) but this one really gripped me. The cast is all great and it was genuinely terrifying at some points. It's kind of like a David Lynch trip stripped down to the most primal parts. I think it got a polarizing reaction but I'm definitely in the "love it" camp.

lapluie wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 3:50 am What genre of books intrigues you most?

I'm a sucker for post-modern lit, whether it's the canon of Vonnegut, DeLillo, Heller (and so on) or relatively newer writers like Chabon and Foer (maybe that "new sincerity" label applies). But if by intrigue you mean what I'm most curious about, I love learning about philosophy (which is super broad, I know, my bad), I'm just not smart or patient enough to sort through most original texts unabridged though.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:54 pm

dunya wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:47 pmhey JaggedJimmyJay, wanna tell Colin about the Bengals?

The Bengals are shite, but the end of the year was fun. The Bengals put Colin's Bills in the playoffs and ended their drought. I suffered through a 15-year playoff drought, so I know how it feels when it ends.

Andy Dalton is a Buffalo legend after that, he's more popular than our own quarterback. That play was probably the best moment in Bills history I've been alive to see and they weren't even playing!

I campaigned for Bernie in 2016 a little so that's where my politics lay. I really liked Obama when he was president, I think he's a thoughtful and intelligent leader, although I wish he had been more forceful in his first term and on some issues all around. I think he ran as a progressive but governed mostly from trying to establish a left-leaning center and so he's more corporate than I would prefer, more of a hawk military-wise than I had hoped too. I think history will show that his biggest mistake was putting his support behind Hillary Clinton instead of Joe Biden, but who knows how we'll feel in 20 years. Overall I think he was a good president but had the potential to be, and do, much more. On the "cool person" front, he has great taste in music and oozes charisma, and he's an uncommonly good writer, so yeah, I'll give him that.

When people ask me what I listen to I just say "indie," rock or pop, and it doesn't get much more complex than that. I like really hooky stuff but also artists with really dense lyrics like Los Campesinos! or Modest Mouse. As far as a least favorite genre ... most metal isn't my thing, although I love Sunbather, so yeah, I'm that guy. I don't really want to say hip-hop because there are plenty of rap songs I love but I've learned with time that I just don't have the attention span for most full albums in the genre unless they do something outstanding. Mainstream country radio, contemporary pop country, whatever you want to call it, definitely not my thing, but gothic country and sometimes the older stuff (aka Johnny Cash) is fun. I don't think there are any genres that I outright hate, it's just a matter of finding the right artist a lot of the time.

dunya wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:25 pm @ColinIsCool, if you could interview one president (living or dead) who would it be or why?

what made you major in journalism?

do you care for sports at all?

1) That's a tough one. There are some who I think would be the most interesting to talk to — both Roosevelts, LBJ come to mind. But I wouldn't be very equipped to do any of those having been alive until the 90s. I'd love to see someone really hold Trump's feet to the fire but sitting through that would kill my brain cells. All things considered I think I'd have to go with Obama because I think the conversation would be interesting and there are some issues where I think he should be made to answer more than he has. Even better if it's off-the-record and we can talk about his successor.

2) I wanted to be Lester Bangs really badly when I was 13, hence why I used to be a much more prolific RYM reviewer. Then I realized that writing about music is hard and I didn't want something I enjoyed that much to become a burden in my life. Then I sort of felt like I was going in a general professional writing direction but I liked the program enough to stay in it even as I became certain that being a reporter kinda sucked. Being a copy editor would be kind of sweet but those jobs are hard to break in to and growing scarcer by the day.

3) I never played sports in school or otherwise but I follow the NFL pretty closely. Sadly, I am a Buffalo Bills fan, but they could be contenders in a few years if all goes well. But considering that they've won one playoff game in the entire time that I've been alive and lost four consecutive Super Bowls beforehand ... we're used to things not going well around here.

dunya wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:39 am

ColinIsCool Interrogation

@ColinIsCool, to get things started: tell me 2 places you've lived, including where you're from originally and what you love/hate the most about each

I've lived in pretty much the same area my whole life sort of near Buffalo, New York, but I did study abroad for a spell in London. For my hometown, I like the peace and quiet and the summers are really nice, but I am pretty far away from anything. For London, I loved being in the center of all that culture (not to mention that many great pubs) but it was expensive.

MacDougall wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:41 am

Yep, if you've got any cute friends let me know.

dunya wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:41 am Are you drunk right now?

No, I haven't been good and drunk in a minute ... maybe a week or so actually. It's 10 a.m. but I might go on an out of town bender this weekend, because that's healthy!

dunya wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:46 am If you had to choose only one activity you could do for the rest of your life: would it be listening to music or watching TV/movies?

Hmm. I think I would have to choose music, it's much more elemental for me, you know? Like it's hard to imagine what my life would look like without it and it serves a different function for me personally and socially and both are important. I love film and TV, almost minored in film in college, but I think books are a lot closer to film than they are to music as far as comparable experiences go so it would be missed a little less. Music is an easier hobby to be into too.

Kylemii wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:18 am [mention]ColinIsCool[/mention] are you cool, as your name implies?

is your real name colin?

I used to be cool, but I've changed, man. The username was thought of in .1 seconds by me in 8th grade when I signed up for RYM and it's kind of funny so I keep it there. It is my name!

Iron_Dwarf wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 10:22 am [mention]ColinIsCool[/mention] If you could have dinner with any 5 persons living or dead, who would they be?

I realized when asking this question earlier I had no idea how I would answer, but let me try...

Bruce Springsteen, I'm a huge fan and he is a brilliant storyteller so he would probably be in there.
Quincy Jones, because those profiles that were put out a few weeks ago about him demonstrate that he has the craziest life.
Larry David, because anyone who has seen Curb Your Enthusiasm knows he's a professional dinner guest and would offer up something funny if the conversation goes dry (or if there's anything extremely minor to complain about).
Ol' Dirty Bastard, because I get to resurrect people and I think he'd be great to talk to.
And I guess the Zodiac Killer so that I can turn him in and go down as the greatest scumhunter in the history of the world.

Kylemii, do you have a favorite comedian?

My guess is that you weren’t in a science club?

The heat is on!

...not that I've ever asked an interview subject to play two truths and a lie, but, you know what I'm getting at.

My journalism degree is good for one thing, and it's this thread

Kylemii, let's play two truths and a lie, I'll try to guess which one is which.

That’s okay, I’m glad you shared it anyway.

Kylemii, tell us about your favorite t-shirt.

Kylemii, are there any people you’re particularly inspired by?

I agree about Lost, I really liked the ending as I watched it but a week or so later I started to get this creeping feeling of, "Wait ... that's really what they went with?"

And I love the Spider-Man 2 game! I always point to it as an example of a movie tie-in done right, there are few fantasies I've held onto longer in life than being Spider-Man.

Kylemii, who was your favorite character on Lost? How do you feel about the finale or the last season as a whole?

Do you have a favorite book? What was the last really good book you read?

If you could eat dinner with anybody living or dead, who would it be and what would you want to talk about?