u/OkWriter7657

I recently watched *Backrooms*. I loved the movie, and a couple scenes hit me harder with dread than a movie has in quite some time. There is something about being trapped in an endless maze that I find particularly horrifying.

What books would you recommend based on this movie?

(I've already read *A Short Stay in Hell*, and I have unread copies of *Cipher* and *House of Leaves* on my tbr)

Has anyone tried a Tonewood amp on a flatback mandolin or OM? I recently got a Yamaha TAG3 and am enamored with the transacoustic effects. I know Tonewoods provide similar effects designed for guitars, but I have a flatback OM, and I wonder if a Tonewood would work with it.​

I've recently picked up a 12-String, and I'm naturally very enthusiastic about playing some artists music, especially Gordon Lightfoot.

I've been messing around with *Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald*. For whatever reason, I couldn't figure out the chords on my own, so I turned to the internet.

I'm having a bit of an issue with the D chord in the G-D-A turnaround. If I play a basic D shape 0-2-3-2 (or 0-2-3-0) it just sounds off, like the lower D doesn't belong The only thing I can play that sounds OK to me is 4-2-3 or 4-2-3-0.

If you play this tune, what kind of D chord do you use in the turnaround?

I just watched *The Green Knight* from 2021. I thought it was brilliant, the best trippy medieval fantasy movie I've seen since *Valhalla Rising*, which was my favorite since *Excalibur* from the 80s.

Can you suggest to me a good weird, trippy medieval fantasy movie?

I know these guitars have been around for a bit now, but they just came to my attention. The self-contained effects, I can't decide whether I'm intrigued or whether I think it's a gimmick, although I generally have a positive opinion on Yamaha acoustic guitars. Have you tried one? What did you think? Are they worth seeking out to try?

I've been playing 12-String, and noticing a pronounced jangle on the super-tense high-G on the G-pairing. Is there anything to be done to mellow it out a bit? I don't mind the sound per se, but on no other string is it the jangle that pronounced, so it sticks out.

I saw a video where a 12-string player said he takes off the high-G string altogether just due to the tension. I don't want to go that far.

I'm in the market for a 12-String acoustic. With trade in on another guitar I have, I'm dealing with a $1500 budget at the very top, but am totally open to spending alot less if it sounds and plays great.

I don't gig live anymore, so I'm ambivalent to onboard electronics.

There aren't many 12-Strings at stores in my area, however, near my mom's town there's a shop with a bunch: a couple Yamahas, a range of Alvarez models, a couple of the fake-Brazilian Martins, and a couple Taylors in my budget. Also a Fender, Washburn, Takamine, and Ovation.

Is this a good cross-section to try out? Are there any other guitars in my budget I should keep an eye out for?

(There's some cool in-budget stuff on fbmp, but I'm a horrible judge of age issues with guitars, and I've been made paranoid about 12-string age issues)

I know pickguards look good on acoustic guitars, and that we're so used to seeing them there, something looks missing when a guitar does not have one.

However, do pickguards actually do anything in practical terms? I can't remember a single time in 40 years of playing that my pick actually hit the pickguard area (or anywhere else on a guitar's top).

Just wondering...

I'm really into historical fiction, as well as horror. Can you recommend a book that might classify as both?

I've had a guitar and a mandolin I haven't been able to sell online, but a music shop expressed interest in a trade. I've always wanted a 12-string (big Gordon Lightfoot fan). The shop has loads of them, mostly brands I'm not too interested in, but they do have a bunch of Taylors and a couple Martins.

The thing is, all the solid-wood 12-strings they have in stock are likely $1K+ over the trade value of my instruments. They do carry several Taylors and a Martin​ in my price range, and these all have laminate back and sides (or "layered", if there's a difference). Are these Taylors and Martins worth checking out?

I wouldn't bother asking if the store was close by, ​but its about 3 hours drive for me.

I've been on a "caveman movie" binge, and would like to read a "caveman book". The only one I'm aware of is "Clan of the Cave Bear". I read it decades ago, but it was a memorable book, and I recall that I couldn't put it down at the time. But rather than rereading it, I'd rather go for something new (to me).

Can you recommend a novel about prehistoric humanity for me?

I'm on a bit of a "caveman movie" tear. It started with "Out of Darkness" on tubi, which inspired me to rewatch "Quest for Fire" and "Clan of the Cave Bear" from the 80s. I like each in its own way, even if these kind of movies can be pretty cheesy with the "ooga-booga" language and flamboyant physical acting. ​

Can you recommend any similar​ movies to me that are worth checking out?

I have been playing in a weekly/bi-weekly in-person D&D game for over a year now, and it's been a long time since I was having any fun with it. All of the people are friends, people I play non-RPG tt war games with. Life is short, and I don't want to spend my leisure time with an activity I don't enjoy. Is there a nice way to quit a D&D game?

I recently picked up an octave mandolin, and I'd like to try it with bouzouki-style string pairings on the G and D strings. Should I expect that the nut and bridge string slots will be too wide for an unwound G and D string?

When it comes to novels about vampires, I've read Bram Stoker's *Dracula*, which I enjoy the various film adaptations much more than the book itself. I appreciate its place in horror history, but for me that book was a total slog. I read several Anne Rice novels way back in high school. I really enjoyed them, but it's been a while, and they all sort of blend together. One thing I thought was cheesy as hell was the "vampire as rock star" angle,​​ but in general I enjoyed her stories.

I'd really like to get into a good vampire book that takes place totally in medieval or ancient times. Not a modern story with flashbacks to origin stories, but the origin stories themselves. Anything you could point me to?

I became a huge fan of historical fiction after reading *Sinuhe the Egyptian* by Mika Waltari. I have since read all his books, *The Etruscan* being another stand out.

I have tried some other historical fiction set in the ancient or medieval world, with mixed results. I loved *Julian* and *Creation* by Gore Vidal, *I Claudius*, *Claudius the God*, and *King Jesus* by Robert Graves, various other authors as well. I tried to get into Colleen McCullough's huge *Masters of Rome* series, but after 3 books, it really didnt set the hooks, and there's just so much of it to read, so I gave up.

Can you recommend any ancient or medieval historical fiction books I might enjoy

I'm about 5 seasons late to the party I knowx but I'd be interested to hear other Catholics' opinion on The Chosen TV series. I think it's OK as a drama, but the characters are a little bit thin and seem juvenile. I like the costumes and sets; I would have no idea if they were authentic.

However, the show does offend my sensibilities in one major regard. They put words in the mouth of Jesus that he never spoke. It might not bother​ me much if it were a bit of creative license, but the majority of what's in the script is non-biblical.

I can't even think of any major objection I have to anyth​ing in the script, but it just seems blasphemous to me, or at least presumptous, to put words in the mouth of God.

DNA analysis shows that many modern Europeans and Middle Easterners carry Neandertal DNA, while Denisovan DNA shows up in populations in Asia, Oceania, and among Native Americans. I don't think any non-racist would suggest that a modern human was any less of a member of the human race if his or her genetic makeup included contributions from Neanderthal or Denisovan ancestors. And I don't think any non-racist Catholic would suggest that a modern human with Neandertal or Denisovan ancestors was anything less than a human in terms of having a soul.

But it does beg the question, does the Catholic Church take a position on the "ensoulment" of non-Sapiens humans? If a modern Sapiens with 5% Neandertal DNA has a soul, what about an ancient Neandertal who had 5% Sapiens DNA?

Just curious. I've tried having this discussion with evenagelical Christians, but they seem convinced that Neandertals and other non-Sapiens humans, DNA analysis etc, is all some grand conspiracy, so the discussion is a non-starter.