u/sat5ui_no_hadou

Didn’t love it. It kind of felt like Dick just talking shit about past lovers and self-inserting himself as someone more handsome and wealthy while simultaneously being persecuted. The writing was very good, and the setups were enticing, but it ultimately felt like it didn’t go anywhere.

Some of the sci-fi elements he foresaw in this book are impressive, especially because of how real they’ve become. There are a lot of really cool elements that can be picked out of the book à la carte, but as a complete work, it’s not something I’d want to read multiple times like I do with some of his other books.

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Would the Rugged SUB 9 have any issues running 9mm NATO super safely versus 9mm Luger?

I really enjoyed this movie. The Kubrick and Lynch elements made me feel very nostalgic. One of the first things I did was hop on Reddit to read other people's analyses of the film. I think the theories are very interesting, but they mostly revolve around Sam being an untrustworthy narrator. Him being the Dog Killer, having schizophrenia / being caught in a delusion.

But the feeling I got immediately after watching the film, which I guess is a hot take, is that most of what we see on screen is literal.

Who is the Dog Killer? A person in the area who kills dogs.

Who is the Homeless King? An eccentric but skilled operator working for the elites.

Who is the Owl? Probably a rotating cast of female assassins who have been MK-Ultra'd / Manchurian Candidate'd into the role.

Who is the music producer? Exactly who he says he is.

Who is Sam? A guy who fell in love, and that became the most important thing in his directionless life.

I don’t think the clues should be dismissed as paranoid pattern recognition. I think Sam genuinely stumbled upon something large and ominous. It’s straightforward: he’s a noir detective looking for a dame.

The finale of the film could come off as nihilistic because, as stupid as the idea of ascending into the cosmos after running out of food in six months is, there’s a valid point that spending your life working a 9-to-5 to make car payments isn’t necessarily better.

And ultimately, what really matters is that Sam succeeded. He found Sarah, he got to say goodbye, and he got the closure that, even if the choice Sarah made wasn’t a great one, it was her choice.

That’s the theme I took away from the film: free will is a greater power than whatever influence shadowy forces may try to exert over you. “Never give up. Trust your instincts.” — Peppy from Star Fox

Is this the correct interpretation of the events that happened on screen? I highly doubt it, but the film gives you the free will to make that conclusion. There’s enough ambiguity that, if you want to believe that a naked woman in a bird mask is knifing down grown men in Los Angeles, that’s a totally valid interpretation of events. And that’s how I enjoy this film most.

When Bear first makes the wish, Freaky Nikki says, “I did just lose my cat.” I think this is an indication that the entity inhabiting Nikki’s body is not a demon or a tulpa, but maybe a manifestation of Bear’s own subconscious. Freaky Nikki’s bizarre behavior might have its roots in Bear’s own insecurities and misunderstandings about what love is and how it works. As he becomes more emotionally unstable, so does she. The wish is a projection of himself.