Author Topic: EP435: Made of Cats  (Read 16429 times)

Thunderscreech

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Reply #25 on: February 24, 2014, 05:31:20 PM
I was thinking photoshop at first, but with the lighting, I'm thinking maybe 3D software.
What app did you use?
PS I use Blender alot.
Nothing that fancy, just photo editing an actual New Coke can, but thanks!



slic

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Reply #26 on: February 25, 2014, 06:12:43 PM
...as a bonus make them live 70 years...
  I kinda forgot about that.  It makes me wonder how many people would want their pets to live that long.  Not that I'm necessarily against it, but take the case of parrots.  People have to make arrangements for them when the die since they live so long.
I'm pro-pet (we have 3 cats, a dog, a guinea pig and a fish), but the idea of taking on a pet for pretty much my entire life is intimidating.



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Reply #27 on: February 25, 2014, 08:28:54 PM
Any story  that mentions Hello Kitty cant be all than bad. I am a big fan of the cute one  and have more Sanrio / Hello Kitty stuff a guys should not allow  (but who say I can,t) to have.

The weakness in the story and rending for me is the aliens came across very unbelievable immature and childish.
On another side of the story is the aliens,  in the study of  the internet,  could have thought Humanity needs...... more porn (The song The internet is for Porn is going though my mind)   



Devoted135

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Reply #28 on: February 25, 2014, 09:14:48 PM
Internet = cats was a big joke in 2011 perhaps.

Well, you can feel proud in that you've hit the nail on the head. This story landed in my inbox (from Daily Science Fiction) on June 10, 2011! ;D


I enjoyed this story as a fun romp, and agree that you can probably feel free to insert the current fad into the place of cats. I mean, how horrible would it be if the aliens gave us real life angry birds! Light-hearted, and FUN! :)



Listener

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Reply #29 on: February 26, 2014, 01:49:54 PM
Internet = cats was a big joke in 2011 perhaps.

Well, you can feel proud in that you've hit the nail on the head. This story landed in my inbox (from Daily Science Fiction) on June 10, 2011! ;D


I enjoyed this story as a fun romp, and agree that you can probably feel free to insert the current fad into the place of cats. I mean, how horrible would it be if the aliens gave us real life angry birds! Light-hearted, and FUN! :)

More like real-life Flappy Birds. Or Doges.

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mb

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Reply #30 on: February 27, 2014, 06:26:09 PM
I liked this one... It made me smile.
Yes it is not deep, nor exceptionally surprising. But it has some very sweet moments, great characters and good worldbuilding. I also like the attitude of the heroin / humans (I guess) towards aliens. It's all a bit like 'ok - here we go again'.
A good alternative to all those blood sucking, brain eating aliens we encounter so often...

Also: absolutely perfectly read. Love the narrator.
Best popcorn entertainment in a while :)

And yes, it is a bit like those cat pixx people are posting: very cute, makes u smile, but can be annoying if not consumed in moderation ;)



ArbysMom

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Reply #31 on: February 27, 2014, 11:04:58 PM
I know many of you wish to analyze the story, opine as to whether or not it was believable (this is science fiction; must it always be believable?), and pick apart the likelihood of the aliens choosing cats vs. porn (again, this is sci-fi....). But I loved it because it was silly, funny, WONDERFULLY narrated (perfect choice!) and succinct enough to not be boring in the least. I really enjoy fluffy, silly pieces like this, no matter how improbable. I look to these stories for entertainment, not to pick them apart (though, if that's your thing, don't mind me). This one definitely entertained me.


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Reply #32 on: February 28, 2014, 02:15:47 PM
I know many of you wish to analyze the story, opine as to whether or not it was believable (this is science fiction; must it always be believable?), and pick apart the likelihood of the aliens choosing cats vs. porn (again, this is sci-fi....). But I loved it because it was silly, funny, WONDERFULLY narrated (perfect choice!) and succinct enough to not be boring in the least. I really enjoy fluffy, silly pieces like this, no matter how improbable. I look to these stories for entertainment, not to pick them apart (though, if that's your thing, don't mind me). This one definitely entertained me.

I hear ya.  If I'd thought it was funnier, I'd be right there with you.  :)



PotatoKnight

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Reply #33 on: March 07, 2014, 07:20:27 AM
This story was a joy for me.  To the extent it lacks things the rules say a story needs to have, that is an indictment of the rules rather than the story.

For those mentioning pornography, the story addressed the issue, albeit obliquely:
Quote
“You studied the Internet. To find out what humans want.”

“Yes!” the negotiator said. It was a wonderfully happy shade of purple, bobbing in its bubble, trilling like the blasted thing in the carrier. “What they want is each other, too. But humans do that so well themselves. The other thing, we could give. We could make even better.”

Also, "what [humans] want is each other" is about the most affirming way of referring to internet pornography I've ever heard.



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Reply #34 on: March 10, 2014, 01:47:42 PM
This story was a joy for me.  To the extent it lacks things the rules say a story needs to have, that is an indictment of the rules rather than the story.

For those mentioning pornography, the story addressed the issue, albeit obliquely:
Quote
“You studied the Internet. To find out what humans want.”

“Yes!” the negotiator said. It was a wonderfully happy shade of purple, bobbing in its bubble, trilling like the blasted thing in the carrier. “What they want is each other, too. But humans do that so well themselves. The other thing, we could give. We could make even better.”

Also, "what [humans] want is each other" is about the most affirming way of referring to internet pornography I've ever heard.

Ah!  I had not picked up that reference.  It even makes a sort of sense--"what humans want is sex with humans, but humans have humans for that.  Instead, we give you supercats!"  Although, it seems that the aliens dismissed very easily something that could've been more widely well-received--sex sells, after all, for a reason, and ties into lower and more-inherent parts of our brain than cat-love.



adrianh

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Reply #35 on: March 10, 2014, 02:42:35 PM
Listened to this last night while doing the ironing. Giggled my arse off. Generally splendid.

Yes it was silly - but sometimes a dose of silly is just what I need ;-)




Toasty_Ohs

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Reply #36 on: March 10, 2014, 08:59:58 PM
I did like this story for it's light-hearted tone.  It is a nice balance to some the more serious intellectual stuff that Escape Pod runs.  Even better, it really was not a kiddy story like Squonk the Dragon.  The lack of real conflict was the only real downer for me.

The part that really intrigued me was how much first contact with an alien race felt like a PTA meeting.

BTW - The logos for both Coke and Ford use the same style of writing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencerian_script



Fenrix

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Reply #37 on: March 13, 2014, 02:08:55 PM

This story was a joy for me.  To the extent it lacks things the rules say a story needs to have, that is an indictment of the rules rather than the story.

For those mentioning pornography, the story addressed the issue, albeit obliquely:
Quote
“You studied the Internet. To find out what humans want.”

“Yes!” the negotiator said. It was a wonderfully happy shade of purple, bobbing in its bubble, trilling like the blasted thing in the carrier. “What they want is each other, too. But humans do that so well themselves. The other thing, we could give. We could make even better.”

Also, "what [humans] want is each other" is about the most affirming way of referring to internet pornography I've ever heard.


It also nicely covers social media in all its flavors.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


Trelbee

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Reply #38 on: March 31, 2014, 10:38:10 PM
I enjoyed this quite a bit, and probably because I didn't really care too much about the internet stuff or even what I could call the "main plot," but loved the super casual references to a completely alternate, and very interesting future.  It's the little things: for instance - what the heck was up with the relationship dynamics in this future?  Perhaps it's an implied side effect of "world peace"ishness, but did I hear some polygamous, or at least polyamorous overtones?  And I'm always a fan of casual bisexuality in futuristic stories as well.  Maybe omnisexuality would be more applicable here.  Because the aliens are right, what humans want is each other.  So well done.  A light hearted story that didn't offend me by being boring or poorly read (well done there too, by the way), and had enough subtle sociological "NEAT!" that I had to smile.

Please forgive my typos and grammatical errors. I'm probably using swype on my phone, or god help me, holding my iPad aloft over my head while the baby sleeps in my arms. Believe me, the errors bother me waaaay more than they bother you...


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Reply #39 on: April 09, 2014, 12:41:18 PM
This story was a floon. Short and cute and amusing and wonderful if you like floons.
Some people like their stories to be cats: funny and complex and full of conflict. Without going into the while cat-person dog-person thing, I liked this story because even though I usually like my stories more catlike, sometimes you need an ocasional floon.

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Reply #40 on: April 16, 2014, 02:37:23 PM
This story was a floon. Short and cute and amusing and wonderful if you like floons.
Some people like their stories to be cats: funny and complex and full of conflict. Without going into the while cat-person dog-person thing, I liked this story because even though I usually like my stories more catlike, sometimes you need an ocasional floon.

I'm a dog person.  Should I have liked this story or not?



tibbi

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Reply #41 on: April 16, 2014, 04:25:50 PM
Good story.

The sound was fine. I've heard worse and still enjoyed whatever the story was.

I liked this glimpse into the MomNet. I've always suspected it existed.  :D



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Reply #42 on: April 23, 2014, 01:12:15 AM
I found two elements of the story very interesting, but haven't seen them mentioned here, so here you go!

First, I thought the narrator's intimacy with powerful figures was interesting.  The back and forth on MomNet, Calling out the aliens at their first meeting, and eventually becoming an ambassador.  It seems that the speaker is very close to the representatives and leaders of earth, but at the same time seems very average.  One idea was that the population was such that it does not really require a leading plutocracy.  Earth is more like a large neighborhood, making this somewhat post-apocalyptic.

Additionally, I thought the inverted gender roles was interesting, as it was repeated numerous times throughout the story.  Female characters in power, references to "househusbands", ect.  I thought this was a really interesting aspect of the story, how would a matriarchal society deal with aliens.  For me the silliness and relentless positivity is part of the commentary regarding issues of conflict and distrust (or lack thereof, in this case) that is a part of so many alien encounter stories!



matweller

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Reply #43 on: May 02, 2014, 06:51:08 PM



Listener

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Reply #44 on: May 06, 2014, 12:55:02 PM
I liked this glimpse into the MomNet. I've always suspected it existed.  :D

As someone who once worked for momslikeme.com and is dating someone who used to run an "adult" group for moms... it exists, and it is powerful.

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Reply #45 on: June 19, 2014, 08:26:55 AM
I liked it: light-hearted, fun and full of clever little twists if you pay attention.



CryptoMe

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Reply #46 on: August 20, 2014, 05:12:00 AM
For me, this story didn't deliver on it's promise. It started on the right track, being sort of cute and cat-like (but not too much), but then did a weird thing at the end, which just didn't work for me.