28
Nov
Saturday Night Open Thread
Doing the movie thing tonight- have Angels and Demons and Star Trek, made some pad thai for dinner that was probably the best I have ever made, and am just loving Star Trek. I don’t know how the purists reacted to the remake, but it is a lot of fun.
I love these long weekends when the only time I have to leave the house and possibly run into people is when I walk the dog.
PurpleGirl
I’m a Star Trek fan back to the original broadcasting on NBC. I even worked on the first NYC Star Trek conventions… There were plot elements I didn’t like but overall I liked movie and thought it was fun.
El Tiburon
Good luck with the Star Trek, have not seen it.
But Angels & Demons – just could not care any less and stopped watching after 20 minutes or so.
Funny People is available on Pay-per-View, thinking about giving it a shot.
Also, Anti-Christ is very, very disturbing and leaves a taste in your mouth. Of something.
Corner Stone
I’ve had it here from Netflix for a coupla days without getting the chance. Maybe tonight.
Been watching Twilight over and over.
wvng
We watched the first two episodes of “Slings and Arrows” last night at my brother’s house, and I just now ordered the full three seasons. The evening before we saw “Outsourced”, prepared to fall asleep after a very large meal. We didn’t. It is a wonderful movie.
But Star Trek is good too.
Corner Stone
That dude and Michelle look exactly alike in the face.
Corner Stone
Weirded me out til I figured out you deleted the dupe by gwangung.
mcd410x
Mmm, chipotles in adobo, green chiles. Stanford going to wallop NDame, USC-UCLA, Bolts-Stars … and Star Trek, just in case.
snowsim
As with almost everything except Blade Runner, the book is always better, but Angels & Demons was a decent night out for my (senior) father & I. Still haven’t checked out Star Trek, probably because I was always a TNG fan, not TOS.
Site question: is the link to Amazon.com good for Amazon.ca too? I know the World Wide Words commission URLs are different for each version of Amazon. I’d like to support BJ through my Amazon shopping, but I only use the .com site for my epic wish list.
JenJen
Star Trek was without a doubt my favorite saw-it-in-the-theater movie this year. I can’t wait to see it again, and I’m not in the least bit a Trekkie and had to have a lot of the backstory explained to me.
Enjoy, Cole!
SiubhanDuinne
John, could we please have a picture of Tunch sometime soon? I’m asking as nicely and politely as I know how.
Currently watching Casablanca on TCM. As many times as I’ve seen it, I never ever tire of it. Will probably make a huge tuna-and-olive salad and have it for a light supper along with a few glasses of red wine. I think that all goes well with Bogie and Bergman and Henreid and the crew at Rick’s American.
valdivia
I am watching Casablanca on TCM and when that is over will switch to the Criminal Minds mini marathon on A&E. Then I will read one of my Swedish crime novels. Perfect do nothing day!
srv
I’ll say that I was expecting far worse, and managed to enjoy it.
That it was filmed largely on location and not a 100% cgi fest is a good sign. Scotty’s Anheuser-Busch brewery engine room gets a star.
valdivia
@SiubhanDuinne:
LOL. another BJ mind meld.
apistat
Can you post the pad thai recipe? I’ve been looking for a really good one so I can make it at home.
JK
The newest Star Trek movie was great, although I wish they could have a found a way to include Shatner in a cameo via a rupture in the space time contiuum.
Tom Snyder interviewing DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, and Walter Koenig
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P32wGXbNMbo
pika
Star Trek was awesome. Hard to believe that the guy who plays McCoy was the same guy who played Eomer in LOTR. I only had one request: moar John Cho, please. If you don’t understand why, just see this photo:
CalD
Microsoft has gone and built the computer keyboard that I designed for myself (in my head) maybe two years ago, down to pretty much the last detail:
http://www.microsoft.com/hardw.....px?pid=016
How often does that happen?
I just wanted to share that.
pika
Crap. No link appeared:
http://img2.timeinc.net/people.....hn_cho.jpg
khead
Don’t love it too much. I work from home now, don’t have a dog for an excuse to leave the house, and my wife is afraid I may become a recluse. My wardrobe now consists of bathrobes, boxers, and Kleenex boxes for shoes.
We’ll take the Spruce Moose, Smithers! Hop in!
Napoleon
I have my local NBC news on and they go to a story on the WH gatecrashers and part of it has a reporter who pretends to be doing the story for the local station from Washington. Part of it he cuts to a tape of an interview of Glenn Kessler of the WaPo, who did a book on the Secret Service, and in it Kessler says “they could have brought antrax in or grabbed a knife off the table”. So either Rep. King got his ridiculous idea from a WaPo reporter or the reporter found a transparently silly idea of King’s creatable.
JWeidner
@wvng: Just saw Outsourced on Thursday night. Enjoyed it myself as well. You might also like Bottle Shock. It’s a story about Napa in the 70’s, a British wine enthusiast who discovered the wines being made there, and the contest he set up between French and American wineries. Based a true story, although I can’t vouch for much of the story beyond the actual contest and the wineries involved…
Also, it stars Chris Pine, who struck me as a much less polished actor in this film than in Star Trek. But it could have just been his ridiculous long hair distracting me too. Either way, it was an enjoyable film.
Max
I loved both Angels and Star Trek and watched them on Tgiving Day. I’ve got Doubt recorded on the dvr, GI Joe on dvd, and The Wrestler is on HBO tonight.
Not sure which direction I’m going to go.
Took the dog for a hike on a trail that was new to me and the loop was a little longer than expected, so I’m looking forward to a few hours on the couch.
Have to work tomorrow. Busy time of year for retail.
A Squirrel
Angel’s & Demons? Say it ain’t so. You were able to sit through Da Vinci Code? Those are examples of the movie being better than the book, but only because the book takes slightly more time out of my life to get through.
Now I sound terribly elitist, but goddam, Dan Brown is a hack. Ack…the dialogue makes me choke. Star Trek is actually purdy good, though.
I know I don’t de-lurk enough to chime in and be a dick, but christ, do I think Dan Brown sucks at writing stuff. Sorry, I needed to get that off my chest.
Punchy
What happened to those loose women?
freelancer
I’d like to go see “The Road”, but apparently Omaha’s media market isn’t big enough to warrant screenings.
Instead I get to choose from 2012, A Cristmas Carol (I wish Bob Zemekis would find better projects to direct), Old Dogs, New Moon, and some other garbage (Though Fantastic Mr. Fox look entertaining)
It’s another Netflix night for me, I suppose.
San
Have to finish the turkey. And it wasn’t even a huge bird (12 lbs).
Taking the child to see Fantastic Mr. Fox right after dinner. The nice thing is, our local theater allows you to buy reserved seats online (for an extra change, ugh) so we won’t need to get to the theater way early.
khead
And go Hokies.
VT 42, UVA 13
JK
@Napoleon:
I think you meant Ronald Kessler instead of Glenn Kessler.
Ronald Kessler was a Washington Post reporter who is now a correspondent of Newsmax and the author of In the President’s Secret Service and many other books.
Glenn Kessler is a Washington Post diplomatic correspondent.
Regardless of the fact that they posed no actual threat to Obama, if they prove to have been gate crashers, the Salahis are arrogant fucking assholes and would be deserving of some jail time.
Comrade Jake
@A Squirrel:
Seconded on Dan Brown’s writing. It’s terrible.
The guy knows how to craft a puzzle/story but write? Not so much.
Fencedude
Star Trek is awesome, and this is speaking as someone who once described themselves as a “Trekker”.
As for Angels and Demons, I barely managed to finish the book without throwing it across the room in disgust, so I never even bothered with the movie.
Notorious P.A.T.
I liked the new “Star Trek” though I thought the plot was terrible.
SPOILER
Something horrible happens to the bad guy, so he travels back in time not to prevent it from happening, but to take “revenge” on the people he blames for it—before—it happens??? That’s just stupid.
END SPOILER
jeffreyw
Watchin Denzel in “Fallen”. Thinkin about makin another sammich.
Fencedude
@A Squirrel:
My preferred genre is slightly trashy military sci-fi (think David Weber or basically anything published by BAEN) but goddamn Dan Brown’s a shitty writer. After I read The DaVinci Code I had to go and reread Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco to get rid of the bad taste.
Dork
@SiubhanDuinne: Just picture a morbidly obese white cat with a bad-ass attitute sitting on an ubiquitous futon scowling at the camera.
Morbo
Looking forward to watching the Irish get plowed down to .500; like I said earlier in the year schadenfreude is all I’ve got this year.
JK
@freelancer:
The Road = America under President Sarah Palin
I sent you an email a few days ago recommending that you check out Democracy Now with Amy Goodman and GritTV with Laura Flanders given your expression of support for Rachel Maddow.
General Winfield Stuck
Just came back from Wally world and picked up King Kong for 5 bucks. The T-rex KK fight was just spell binding F/X the firs time I saw it several years ago. And Jack Black plays a splendid lout.
arguingwithsignposts
@khead:
That was a late blowout. it was 14-13 in the third.
And the remake of Star Trek is great, especially on the big screen. From what I understand, Shatner was being an egotistical dick and that’s why he didn’t have a cameo. YMMV.
Corner Stone
@khead: Stop bullshitting us.
We all know you mean this Simpson’s episode:
Working from home
MBSS
cole, i also make thai food. i am convinced that the only ingredient i am missing is msg to make a really authentic dish. lime, peanut bits, bean sprouts, i have gotten fairly close.
Svensker
@Comrade Jake:
Thirded on the Dan Brown. The guy stinks. Jeez. There are so many good writers out there, and Brown gets the millions. Poopy.
And second the request for the Pad Thai recipe. Craving me some Thai food.
Corner Stone
@Dork: That is just harsh.
Accurate, but harsh.
L. Ron Obama
@JK:
No thank you. I like Shatner, but the parts with Nimoy were the weakest in the movie.
Now if they found a way to include DeForest Kelley via a rupture in the space time continuum…
Napoleon
@JK:
Duh, I guess your right. Isn’t Newsmax a wingnut publication? Then maybe King and Kessler are spitting out wingnut talking points
khead
I’ll take it.
I also wish Al Groh the best on his upcoming return to the NFL.
Napoleon
Star Trek was a good movie.
Watching Election and making Paella.
Morbo
@Dork: @Corner Stone: Hey, it’s after Thanksgiving; he’s festively plump now.
General Winfield Stuck
Maybe as an Altheimers Kirk, shouting Denny Crane over and over.
I loved the remake, and hope for an upcoming syfy series.
freelancer
@JK: I should probably check my email then.
IndyLib
I don’t particularly like thai, but I do like the filipino version - Pancit Bihon..
meh
just watched a 10 minute highlight reel on barry sanders – greatest. running back. evah.
MBSS
@Svensker:
here is one version of pad thai: http://www.thaitable.com/Thai/recipes/Pad_Thai.htm
here is an another version: http://www.epicurious.com/reci.....hai-240960
a lot of ingredients.
JK
@Napoleon:
Yes, Newsmax is a wingnut publication.
The Salahis are scheduled to be guests on the Larry King Live on Monday.
khead
I could handle the muumuu – it was the cap Homer wore that troubled me.
I’m no Dom DeLuise.
Violet
I’m doing Christmas cards tonight. Ugh. Probably catching up on Daily Shows on the DVR over a dinner of Thanksgiving leftovers.
My life is just a thrill a minute, I tell ya!
valdivia
need some help—for a few days now, all of a sudden my internet connection has slowed tremendously. everything connected to the net is slow, my laptop through wireless, as well as a roku player which is wired to the router. things I used to do easily—watch netflix on my laptop, I cannot do anymore and the roku doesn’t work either. I have rebooted everything and nothing helps. I checked for malware as well and nothing. any ideas? someone suggested I should switch wireless routers. thoughts?
JK
@General Winfield Stuck:
The great thing about science fiction is the limitless possibilities it offers.
Star Trek meets Boston Legal has win written all over it.
I wish someone would have done Star Wars meets The Sopranos. I’ve always liked the idea of Christopher Moltasanti as a Jedi Knight and Tony Soprano bringing in Darth Vader on the Esplanade Project.
arguingwithsignposts
Here’s my pitch again, since this is an open thread:
I’ve started a collaborative novel modeled after the screwtape letters
about how lobbyists can control politicians. Title: The Politape
Letters. I’ll be adding content as I can. Anyone have suggestions for some possible ways lobbyists/influence peddlers can game the system, just let me know.
mongo
As a diehard trekkie, I liked the movie but thought they bent over backwards to appeal to the diehards. Like the very first trek movie, they ended up with a plot that was trash IMO. Too much deus ex machina twists and not enough plain old fun.
The best trek movies, Khan for the old folks and First Contact for the newer folks, each amounted to a very long episode with rocking special effects and I thought that they were great as a result.
This newest ensemble has promise, provided that the directors and producers worry less about making a tribute pic and more about giving us a good escape.
freelancer
Cole, just out of curiosity, I was wondering what kind of a percentage do you get from Amazon? Say for instance, I spent $88.51, well, I’ll round up. A $100 purchase on Amazon nets you how much for the link?
Corner Stone
@Napoleon:
So, we exit the interstate and make a right on…?
arguingwithsignposts
@valdivia:
are you on cable internet? sometimes the cable usage can affect the internet usage. Other than that, I’ve had luck getting a new router from my ISP. Call them and check and see what’s happening.
Darkrose
I saw Star Trek five times in the theater and pre-ordered it from Amazon. I haven’t actually watched the DVD yet, but I did watch the gag real. For some reason, hearing Bruce Greenwood say “fuck” is really, really hot.
Also, I would totally have John Cho’s babies.
Corner Stone
@jeffreyw: I think you mean “Manwhich” if Denzel is involved.
Punchy
@khead: Your pseudonym intrigues me, as this is my real name (w/ initial). Actually, I’m a bit disturbed.
Fencedude
@valdivia:
Possibly your cable modem is going, possibly your router.
If you can, hook a computer right into the cable modem, if that solves it, you need a new router. If it doesn’t, its probably the modem or something on the cable company’s end.
valdivia
@arguingwithsignposts:
yes it is time warner. I will check with them. thanks!
SiubhanDuinne
@valdivia: I know, LOL. Tell me, do you always cry or at least tear up during the great “Marseilleise” scene? I’ve seen this movie about eleventy gasquillion times, and that scene never fails to start the waterworks.
Svensker
@MBSS:
Thanks for the recipes. Have you tried either of them? I do have a recipe but it’s kinda meh.
JK
For non-movie fans
C-SPAN 1 – Forum examining upcoming Supreme Court cases.
C-SPAN 2 – Power Trip author Amanda Little presents a history of fossil fuel use in America.
valdivia
@Fencedude:
thanks will try that too. Obviously there is something very wrong with how things are right now. Any recommendations as to what is a good router to buy?
valdivia
@SiubhanDuinne:
men I cry in that movie every time I see it. And I too have seen it a gazillion times. The Marseillese scene gives me chills and makes me cry. And the end. Oh man. I have a box of tissues at the ready.
Mako
Correct me if i am wrong, but Star Trek never addressed the important zombie issue either.
Napoleon
@Corner Stone:
Funny, actually you do leave the interstate take a right, go about a mile through the light on the major intersection and I am on the right about 1/10 of a mile beyond, but I am not telling you anything more.
John Cole
@freelancer: I have no idea- I think it might be around 1-2%.
JK
@General Winfield Stuck:
How could Shatner win an emmy for Boston Legal yet not win one for Star Trek?
JD Rhoades
I enjoyed Star Trek, but The Boy and I were cracking up over what a bizarre organization Starfleet is.
(possible spoilers here)
You can apparently get into the service academy without the need for any pesky application process by just getting on the “bus,” they staff the flagship with cadets because when a crisis erupts the bulk of the fleet is off somewhere else, cadets can get their ship assignment changed on a whim (this must make staffing pure hell), then they make said cadets (including the one who was about to be cashiered) bridge officers, then it’s “you’re in command, no you’re in command, oh, lets’ let the teenager who can barely speak English be in command,” then HE runs off the bridge because he’s figured out how to do something…then when it’s all over, the guy who just graduated the academy (again, after nearly being bounced out on a disciplinary charge) gets handed command not of a minesweeper, not of a frigate, but of the goddamn flagship
?
What the hell kind of mickey mouse outfit are they running here?
John Cole
@valdivia: This is going to sound stupid, but unplug your modem, and then unplug the coax cable from the wall into your modem. Let it sit for a while, then plug the coax back into the modem and fire your modem back up.
Violet
@valdivia:
You might be able to get a new router. Also, the cables themselves can be bad – we had that happen. An old cable went wonky and when we replaced it the internet ran much more smoothly and without the interruptions we’d had before.
You might also have a virus or malware that your antivirus program isn’t finding. This happened to a friend of mine. Her internet quit working, she called out the cable guys and they got it working, but only barely. But then shortly after that her computer kind of quit working, so she called out someone like the Geek Squad. Turned out she had multiple viruses and malware, even though her antivirus program didn’t show it. Part of the viruses MO was to make it look like the antivirus program was downloading updates, even though it wasn’t.
The Geek Squad guy told her it was very likely affecting her internet speed/connection, etc. He used an external drive to check her drive and used multiple antivirus programs.
Other possibilities – other people have moved in near you and are using the same cable, thus slowing everyone on the line. Also, the cable companies are known for slowing down connections even though you are paying for a faster connection. That happened to a friend’s husband. He read them the riot act and they fixed it. So it could be something they’re doing and just hoping you won’t notice.
Citizen Alan
I’ve never seen Angels and Demons, but I did read the writeup at TheMovieSpoiler.com. And then, I went to a Catholic friend of mine and apologized to him on behalf of Protestants everywhere.
khead
@ Punchy
Don’t worry. I am not the clipped branch of your genetic tree. Just a silly hillbilly from the other end of WV - the part where John isn’t from.
Think Just Some Fuckhead in short – but I ain’t him.
Khead +4
arguingwithsignposts
@JD Rhoades:
The Boy is applying too much logic to a movie, fwiw. :)
SiubhanDuinne
@valdivia
Well get ready because that scene is in about 8 minutes :-)
Mako
@L. Ron Obama:
No love for George Takei? Racist homophobe.
arguingwithsignposts
@Violet:
@Valdivia
My gf had that happen too. the cable in the area was bad, and she had to get them to come out several times before they diagnosed the problem. I haven’t had too many problems with telephone dsl, but I know ppl who have had many headaches with cable dsl.
JD Rhoades
@arguingwithsignposts:
Don’t even get him started on starship design.
arguingwithsignposts
@JD Rhoades:
LOL.
MBSS
svensker
i’d do the first one. you don’t need the shrimp, banana flower, chinese chives, or preserved turnip, which are optional ingredients. but make sure and use the peanuts, bean sprouts, and tofu. well, the tofu is important to me because i’m vegetarian. if you make a meat version then it is not necessary.
JD Rhoades
@arguingwithsignposts:
Still, fun movie. Better than Nemesis.
valdivia
@John Cole:
will try that. I was simply killing the electricity to everything.
and
@John Cole:
will consider getting a geek if nothing else works. and tomorrow I will call the cable company.
thank y’all. I knew the community here would tell me what I was doing wrong.
Andy K
@JD Rhoades:
Are you working on the screenplay for Clerks 3?
Not that I disagree with anything you wrote. Just sayin’....
SiubhanDuinne
@punchy and khead: That’s so interesting (or maybe not, I’m at +2) but there is an occasional poster here whose handle is my 3-letter initials followed. By the city where I live. I do a double-take every time I see a post from him or her.
JK
@mongo:
I liked The Wrath of Khan, but the episode it grew out of The Space Speed was one I wouldn’t have considered for the plot of a movie. It never stood out for me as one of the better episodes of the original series. I would have liked to see a film made from Assignment Earth.
JD Rhoades
@Andy K:
No, but hey, if you know Kevin Smith, tell him to give me a holler. I got some ideas.
General Winfield Stuck
@JK:
The original Star Trek only ran three seasons, and wasn’t all that popular a show, ratings wise, I think. I was in late grade school then and never heard of it or watched it at that time, not until it started reruns in the 70’s.
valdivia
@SiubhanDuinne:
weep. weep. chills. :-)
Andy K
I liked Star Trek quite a bit, but Inglorious Basterds was my favorite film of the summer. I was expecting something much different than the film Tarantino made, and I’m glad it wasn’t what I feared it would be.
valdivia
@valdivia:
oops that second reply was to Violet. sorry!
Fencedude
@JD Rhoades:
Well yeah, but I have other sources for “realistic” military Sci-Fi. I don’t watch Star Trek for that.
General Winfield Stuck
@valdivia:
Sometimes their nodes that deliver the signal start going bad, and depending how far you are from them also makes a diff.
The best thing after resetting the modem like Cole said, is to plug the cable from modem directly into computer, and also check if everything is screwed in tight.
John Cole
@MBSS: I use rice noodles, shrimp, chicken, tofu, tamarind, nuoc mam, the thai hot peppers I grew (dried of course), some red pepper flakes, diced green onion, crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, lime, cilantro, and I feel like I missing a few things.
Andy K
@JD Rhoades:
You don’t want to meet him. For lunch, he eats wannabe screenwriting fanboys. Literally. He’s an auteur from the Orson Welles mold.
JK
@General Winfield Stuck:
When you step back, it’s amazing that Star Trek ever became a juggernaut franchise based on the fact that the original series was basically a flop.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
I LOVED the Star Trek movie that came out this summer – saw it at the theater. Fantastic.
Sitting in front of the fire, have several 1930-40’s mysteries in my NetFlix que that I can play on my computer. First two: Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes and Sabotage. Then, if I’m still up, Foreign Correspondent. Two sleeping dogs and two sleeping cats, and Mr SIA playing the same few bars over and over in the next room. Good times.
A Squirrel
@John Cole:
First off, I am glad I got some back-up on the “Dan Brown is bad”—I felt like a real elitist dick for awhile. (I thought we’d all be when it came to Brown. I HATE his style, even if the overall narrative ain’t so bad.
More importantly for John with respect to Amazon—do you get “commission” for every sale that comes from a click-through, or only the item on the page of the click-through? I moved a few months ago, and bought a few things at Amazon, and I feel like I should donate a few bucks if I was dumb enough to not go through this site. Just cause it woulda cost me nothing and Henley (my co-fav) has no Amazon link.
DBrown
@Notorious P.A.T.: The star trek movie is just endless stupid – worse SciFi flick 0f the decade.
valdivia
@General Winfield Stuck:
will do!
thank you so so much guys. I knew I would figure it out with your help.
khead
I sort of hate to admit it, but I got the Ron Tracy reference here.
Someone explain to me why I will dig the new Trek.
SiubhanDuinne
@valdivia: I’m always struck by the cutaway to Ilse’s face. She looks so overbrimming with pride, combined with love and fear and a fthousand other emotions—all in about 3 seconds of film time. What an actor she was! Whew!
Also, musically, it’s just brilliant. Goosebumps and spinetingles and tears.
freelancer
@Andy K:
Yes, but I just saw Basterds this last week, so without any distance, I can’t shut up about it. I think my top 5 movies of the year so far are:
-The Hurt Locker
-District 9
-Inglourious Basterds
-Moon
-Where the Wild Things Are
In no particular order, and I also enjoyed Public Enemies and Extract.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@SiubhanDuinne: C’est moi?
Phoebe
Ahem! Dog rescue story people:
http://www.time.com/time/video.....78,00.html
My friend who works at the Humane Society here in St. Louis was involved in this massive pitbull rescue. I wish I could take one but I have cats.
South of I-10
I still haven’t seen Star Trek or Angels and Demons, but both are in my Netflix queue, so let me know how you like them. I am finally sitting down to watch LSU - Arkansas. I have been cleaning all day, my house looked like a tornado had blown through. It is amazing how much damage three little girls can cause in a week. I am not complaining, my brother and family headed home, and my house only has one screaming little girl now. Way too quiet.
JD Rhoades
@Notorious P.A.T.:
Tell it to James Cameron.
OriGuy
How long before Rep. Peter King (Silly Party-NY) calls for a congressional investigation into Tiger Woods’ crash?
jeffreyw
Cadillac Records- the rise of Chess records, Muddy Waters
JoePo
@Andy K: Basterds is the single most daring studio movie made this year, and possibly this decade. Any movie that a) offers a hilarious alternate history for WWII and b) starts with a twenty minute scene of slow-burn dialogue that still manages to ramp tension to an almost unbearable degree is an artistic accomplishment of the first order. And the voice-over montage for Stiglitz just made me giddy.
** Star Trek Spoiler **
I wish Kirk had beaten that simulation test with actual wit and cunning, not cheating. So much was handed to him in the movie without his actually accomplishing that much on his own. He’s kinda like Harry Potter that way.
JD Rhoades
@jeffreyw:
Excellent movie. Howlin’ Wolf rules.
AngusTheGodOfMeat
Just to quell the constant murmur of “Hey, what are AngusTheGodOfMeat and Little Dreamer doing tonight ….”
Watching the last episodes of Dexter Season Two. And getting pumped for the release in about three weeks of Big Love Season Three onto DVD.
Life is good.
JK
Great choices. If you can stay up all night, I’d add Ministry of Fear, The Big Clock, and The Third Man.
SiubhanDuinne
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
Non, ce n’est pas toi. But I figured you might think that :-)
I don’t remember the exact handle but there’s a JMC (my actual initials) and then something to do with either Atlanta or Georgia. Not someone who posts often, I think.
JD Rhoades
@JoePo:
You couldn’t beat the test with wit and cunning. That was the point of it.
But..and spoilers here again, maybe…
They keep saying the point of the test was “to see how the cadet faced death.” Uh, hello? IT’S A SIMULATOR AND EVERYONE IN IT KNOWS THAT! When it’s over, everyone’s going to adjourn to the local watering hole, pound down some synthahol, and mutter “fuckin’ Kobayashi Maru...”
JoePo
I’ve had Billy Liar and the Exterminating Angel from Netflix for a while now, the latter for a few weeks. Sometimes I love watching older or foreign movies, but sometimes it’s torture to sit through the whole thing.
Andy K
@freelancer:
I went in thinking that Basterds was going to be all action, limited plotline…Kinda like the Kill Bill films, which I like a lot, but…Let’s just say that if it wasn’t for the action, the Kill Bills would be boring, the way they focused on one character only. I think Tarantino’s most underrated ability is that of being able to make tight films with multiple protagonists and plot threads. That he took advantage of that ability again with Basterds made me very happy.
Darkrose
@khead:
Because regardless of orientation/gender preference, it’s 2 hours of pretty for almost every taste.
JoePo
@JD Rhoades: Nothing is impossible for Kirk. I know, because I write internet posts about it.
valdivia
@SiubhanDuinne:
yeah that love triangle is a killer all around. I am still hoping she stays with Rick even if I know it won’t happen.
Andy K
@JoePo:
It’s well established Trek canon that Kirk cheated the Kobiyashi Maru sim. The Trekkers would have gone ballistic had there been a departure from that bit of trivia.
SiubhanDuinne
Casablanca. Sigh. What a great movie. I love it.
Citizen_X
I really liked the Star Trek movie too, but you know what it needed? The original Number One. I mean, if you’re gonna have Captain Pike, you gotta have her too. Plus, she was kinda the Ur-Spock.
And [SPOILER] yeah, Kirk and Spock being given command of the Enterprise in the end is not right. The plum command in the fleet, being given to a couple of 23-year-olds (or whatever Spock is in dog years) in a cutthroat officer corps of Class-A overachievers? Nuh uh.
SiubhanDuinne
@valdivia. Yup. Once again she flew off with Laszlo. But I know what you mean. (Of course, I always want her to show up at the train station in Paris, too.)
Corner Stone
@JD Rhoades: But I’m reminded of the epi where Counselor Troi tries to pass the exam to make her eligible for bridge command.
Even though she finally figures out what it takes to be eligible, and wholly knows it’s only a sim, the sheer weight of what may come is heavy on her. She hates it, even though it’s a holo.
I think it’s the same in the sim.
General Winfield Stuck
@Andy K:
Years ago, I saw Shatner give an interview, and a question came up about some deviation from the accepted historical record for trekkies. And Shatner was asked what he would say to it, though I forget the specific issue in contention.
Shatner shook his head a little, and said I would tell them to get a life already.
Corner Stone
@SiubhanDuinne:
She flies off with the guy that lives in the undreground tunnel system in Real Genius?
valdivia
@SiubhanDuinne:
so happy to know I am not the only uber romantic who is so moved and into the movie. I always thought Humphrey Bogart was sort of hot.
Andy K
@JoePo:
Re: Inglorious Basterds (goddam lack of edit function…)
There were a ton of little things that made me chuckle. The spaghetti western music at the beginning, the Bowie song, the use of all the different fonts culled from his past films during the credit sequences. I’m sure there are others, but i haven’t seen it again since it opened.
I really enjoyed all of the film references, whether in the dialogue or scenes in homages to other films/directors, too. That theme of film history that runs through IB floored me.
Corner Stone
@AngusTheGodOfMeat: Thank you.
Andy K
@General Winfield Stuck:
Sounds like a SNL sketch with Shatner from the ‘80s episode he hosted.
MBSS
@John Cole:
you’re missing egg.
that’s cool you grew your own peppers.
Punchy
@SiubhanDuinne: It’s so cool to see others here + something. I dont feel like the only tosspot on this blog.
Punch +5
General Winfield Stuck
No siree, No Right Wing violent terrorist white supremacists on the hunk of earth called Amerika. Got to be swarthy and furrin for that.
Musta been planning his suicide to make it look like nutters did it.
via CandL
Andy K
@Citizen_X:
I’m glad Rodenberry brought her back for TNG. Majel was very good in that later role.
Yutsano
@John Cole: Instead of using nuoc mam try using actual Thai fish sauce. See if that makes a difference. It’s nam pla in Thai.
MBSS
@Corner Stone:
any real genius reference is always a winning maneuver.
it’s a moral imperative to quote that movie.
freelancer
@Corner Stone:
No, you idiot. She flew off with that radio DJ from the Grand Theft Auto series.
General Winfield Stuck
@Andy K:
That may have been where I heard it. Me memory is going, I think, maybe, possibly. Can’t remember.
Bert Chadick
Star Trek was excellent, with just the right note of cheese that tied it to the original series. The whole Star Trek universe is no place for the nitpickey.
SiubhanDuinne
@Corner Stone. I apologize for not getting the cultural reference, but yeah, I guess :-)
@valdivia: Bogie totes hot !
Citizen_X
Re: Inglorious Basterds, you gotta love that Tarantino actually uses film as a weapon in the movie.
Today, I became engrossed in my Amazon-delivered copy of Anthony Beevor’s Spanish Civil War history, The Battle for Spain. (Recommended by someone here!) So quick: what does the Spanish Civil War have to do withCasablanca?
Corner Stone
@freelancer: I liked you better when you were (itouch) + indeterminate.
Yutsano
@John Cole: Also I’m not seeing dried shrimp in the recipe you’re using. My blogging may be a bit slow my lap has been commandeered.
MBSS
B.J. is just food and pet prOns, and it always makes me hungry lurking around here.
great recessionista dinner for me tonight: frozen veggie pizza and cheap cabernet. damn you, john cole, for your impeccable gourmet taste, and great love of animals.
General Winfield Stuck
@Bert Chadick:
Are you aware that the link with your handle goes to BJ front page. Unless Cole has hired a new poster and didn;t tell us.
freelancer
@Corner Stone:
tongue planted firmly in cheek, stone.
Corner Stone
@Punchy: Damn moralizing scolds. They’ll be the death of our society.
JK
@freelancer:
No, she ran off with Benjamin Braddock on a bus in California.
Andy K
@Citizen_X:
Rick fought against the Spanish fascists. He also ran guns in Ethiopia, presumably in an attempt to defeat the Italian invasion there.
Yutsano
@General Winfield Stuck: It is entirely possible. John can be rather stealthy like that.
Oh and go Cardinal.
Corner Stone
@freelancer: I prefer Need for Speed on PS 2 myself. I’m too poor to upgrade to PS3, but since I’ve been a royally good boy this year maybe Santa will hook a honky up.
JK
@General Winfield Stuck:
Extremely disturbing story.
Meanwhile, Jules Crittenden has reached new heights of dickishness
http://www.julescrittenden.com.....ing-around
This takes the prize for the dumbest wingnut post about the Salahis.
Andy K
@JK:
You’re both wrong. She ran off with Uncle Rico on the back of a llama.
khead
@ Punchy
I figure being +6 @ 8 PM on Thanksgiving Saturday is A-ok.
If I am +6 come 5 PM Monday feel free to shoot me.
Citizen_X
@Andy K: Yay, right! Before he became all cynical ‘an stuff.
Laszlo also fought with the Republican forces in Spain.
bago
@DBrown: Even more proof that Dan Brown Can’t Write.
freelancer
@JK:
One word JK, plastics.
gnomedad
@General Winfield Stuck:
Can we refer to this guy as “American-born Christian extremist Mark Campano”, please?
Yutsano
‘Nother open football thread plz? Kthxbai!
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@valdivia: Oh yes, Bogart is teh hawt.
JK
@Andy K:
Now, I remember she ran off with Chief Bromden.
Andy K
@Citizen_X:
I’ve gotta watch that again, and soon. It’s not like I don’t watch it a lot, since I’ve had a copy for the better part of a decade, but it’s been about six months. I’ve also gotta watch Amelie and The Life Aquatic again. They’re all just sittin’ there calling to me.
JK
@freelancer:
Another movie that gets even better with age.
Notorious P.A.T.
What cracks me up the most about “Angels and Demons” (which I have not read, and probably will not) is that he calls his hero a “symbologist”, which is a career that does not exist, rather than a “semiotician”, which does. How little do you have to care about research to make that boner?
Corner Stone
@Napoleon: No probs, that’s all I need.
See you shortly!
Demo Woman
I’m late to the party but has anyone mentioned that the greatest golfer ever seems to have been hurt with a club?
Fortunately he wasn’t the greatest skeet shooter because the weapon might have been different.
SiubhanDuinne
@Citizen_X: rick fought in the Spanish Civil War against the Fascists, who were led by Generalissimo Francisco Franco, who is still dead.
jeffreyw
Mmm…Etta James
Andy K
@JK:
Wrong, as I was with my first proclamation.
Ilsa ran off to Detroit with Shawn, and she’s been hanging out with Gina and Pam, giving Martin the business.
Damn, this is turning into an AV Club Thread. Where’s ZODIAC MOTHERFUCKER?
General Winfield Stuck
@gnomedad:
Actually, after reading some more, he is mostly just an anti government nut. The white supremacist thing doesn’t seem to be the motivator from what I can gather, though I liked saying it because I can and to fuck with the malkinites.
JK
@Demo Woman:
Nice to see that when you’ve attained a certain level of celebrity, you can tell the police to fuck off and that you’ll speak with them whenever you damn well please.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@JK: Better yet, Stage Fright which is hilarious with Jane Wyman, Alastair Sim and Marlena Dietrich. And another personal favorite, Dial M for Murder!
General Winfield Stuck
@Demo Woman:
Looks like a battered husband. Even famous athletes sometimes draw the queen of diamonds. Though rare as compared to women drawing the joker.
Corner Stone
@Demo Woman: Did something happen to Roy McAvoy?
SiubhanDuinne
@JK. Wow. Jules Crittenden has outdone himself in dickitude. Just wow.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@Demo Woman: Yes, read about that and for the umpteenth time glad there’s no TV where we’re spending the weekend. I’m sure they blanketed the airwaves with it.
JK
@SiubhanDuinne:
Some things that will never change over time:
Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
Sarah Palin is still dumb.
The Godfather Part III is still a terrible idea.
South of I-10
@Punchy: + 2. Do you feel better?
Demo Woman
@JK: Actually I heard that the wife said he was sleeping and could not answer any questions. Hmmm..
Being the good mom, I sent news info on to the sons.
Andy K
@General Winfield Stuck:
A professional golfer assailed by his wife in the driveway at 2:30 am? Dude was probably out doing what tour pros do in the silly season, and what they do just as well as they golf: Putting away the scotch. Yeah, he might have been battered this time, but I won’t feel sorry for him unless there’s a pattern of abuse.
JK
@Citizen_X:
Best rock song ever about the Spanish Civil war
Spanish Bombs – The Clash
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DyopX3PqFM
Jim Once
Completely unrelated to movies or Thai food (but it IS an open thread) – something I found at Steve Benen’s place:
“Andrew Malcolm, the LA Times’ political blogger and former Laura Bush press secretary, has decided that he disapproves of the White House’s condolences.
Perhaps it’s just to show the world that, even on a slow-news U.S. post-holiday day, the Obama crowd is on the job. [...]
We’ll have to watch and see what criteria the 10-month-old Obama administration uses to issue such regular comments—what type disaster merits comment, how many dead to warrant a White House message, and in what country.
If it’s every multiple-death incident in every country, they’re going to be pretty busy in the press office. But at least they have jobs.
Malcolm added that the White House’s statement extending condolences was “not presidential.”
Former Laura Bush secretary. Special.
Montysano
Same here. That’s a normal weekend here at the casa. Makes me feel like we’ve done something right.
Saw, and loved, “Fantastic Mr. Fox” this weekend, so I went back and watched “Rushmore”, which I’d not seen. I think I like this Wes Anderson fellow.
monty +3
Jim Once
Erm – apologies for the block quote fail – but I think you get the idea.
General Winfield Stuck
@Andy K:
Actually, it started in the house when she accused him of having an affair, she picked up a golf club and whacked him and he tried to hi tail it. She chased with in the care pulling out with the club and busted up his caddy and back window. The cops say alcohol was not involved, but charges of pending. I’m guessing for the one swinging to iron or driver for assault of what degree or another.
I might crash my car into a fire hydrant under those circumstances.
khead
Battered husband?
Elin is not Tawny Kitaen.
JK
@Demo Woman:
Equal under the law is such a quaint idea.
I’d rather watch grass grow or paint dry than watch a golf match. I agree with Mark Twain that golf is a good walk spoiled.
General Winfield Stuck
@General Winfield Stuck:
That was the most fucked up spelling and grammar post maybe in the history of BJ.
JK
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
Thank God for Turner Classic Movies.
Cool movie lists
http://mapage.noos.fr/screenvi.....um1000.htm
http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000.htm
General Winfield Stuck
By battered husband. I meant at least that night. We don’t know if it was a first, but attacking someone with a golf club comes close to assault with a deadly weapon, in my book.
And I am no Tiger Woods fan, one way or another. Golf puts me to sleep.
Andy K
@General Winfield Stuck:
They were having the conversation at 2:00am-2:30am on a Saturday and alcohol wasn’t involved ? I remain suspicious. Not suspicious that she wasn’t chasing him around with a pitching wedge, mind you, but that he got back from the clubhouse in a less-than-sober condition. Maybe it’s the rep that pro golfers have as drinkers, maybe it’s the way that cops in hermetically sealed ‘burbs full of the rich and famous have a rep of being overly deferential to their citizens. Call me cynical if you must.
khead
@ General
Yesterday, when I was still having fun at home over the story and I read the story to my wife about Elin “hovering over Tiger” when the cops arrived my wife’s response was:
“I’d be hovering over your ass too – still swinging the club.”
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
Hmmm, Obama’s trip to Asia not a total EPIC FAIL after all? There’s been a lot of discussion here on this the past week. Anyone seen or heard the MSM reporting on any of this?
“Obama outreach in Asia keeps paying off”:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.c.....021195.php
/Crickets
JK
@Jim Once:
Andrew Malcolm is a clueless, brain dead asshole who is vying with Jules Crittenden, Byron York, and Glenn Reynolds for the prize of biggest douchebag among the wingnuts.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@JK: Great links – just bookmarked them. Thanks JK.
General Winfield Stuck
@Andy K:
You could be right. Accounts are sketchy and it is suspicious that neither he nor his wife will talk to the cops. That isn’t uncommon in domestic disputes though. The info I listed came from TMZ, so always with a grain of salt, but the account allegedly came from Tiger telling a friend what happened. And if that is true and his injuries are from a scratced up face from Erin, I can understand why he won’t come out of the house. Tiger has been pretty straight laced up until this, and that is why I give him the benefit of the doubt, at least for now.
But the original story her busting out the window of his caddy to rescue him just doesn’t wash at all for a low speed fender bender crash.
JK
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
Some things I can never get enough are lists of the greatest movies, novels, tv shows, and rock albums.
Corner Stone
@General Winfield Stuck: What’s the frequency Kenneth?
Palin Failin'
Sarah Palin + Quit = Perfect together.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/...../#comments
Corner Stone
@JK: Personally, I am a huge fan of Len Deighton’s Bernd Samson nine-part + series.
General Winfield Stuck
@Corner Stone:
What are you talking about?
Jim Once
@JK:
Malcolm is someone I hadn’t known of – based on this writing, I won’t take issue with any descriptor you’ve applied to him. Peak douchebaggery, indeed.
JK
@Corner Stone:
I’ve heard good things about Len Deighton’s Bernd Samson series, but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet.
PurpleGirl
SiubhanDuinne & Valdivia: I also love Casablanca. Even though I have it on tape I’ll watch it on TV if I know it’s on. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen it. And Bogart was totally hot as Rick.
Corner Stone
@JK:
Honestly, I can’t argue this one way or another. But for anyone who plays golf, and has a single digit handicap, mas o menos, watching a pro play a round is an experience that is simply mind blowing.
It’s fascinating, at least to me, to see someone be 170 yards out, land the ball 5 yards past the hole, draw it back to within 12 feet and be wildly pissed off. They look at their caddie like they just impregnated their sister.
KyCole
Tried to watch 300 tonight. Cheesiest movie ever! Couldn’t stick it out. Worked today and will probably have to work tomorrow too since my daughter/partner is sick. Should just go to bed I guess.
JK
@Jim Once:
John and Doug have documented some of Andrew Malcolm’s dickishness in previous BJ threads.
Jim Once
Yes! Did you see New York Times is out with their 100 Notable Books of 2009?
I’ve really liked what I’ve found on here in the past – anything you’ve read that you’d recommend?
Andy K
@General Winfield Stuck:
Straight laced? The guy’s got a reputation for having one of the foulest mouths on the tour. TV techies turn down the sound on the parabolic mics when they’re following him. When his competitive juices are flowing he can be an ornery, mean bastard to the guys he’s golfing with. And then there are the times when he’s ripping off farts on the course and having a big laugh from it.
And he’s one of the boys. The game has a rather racist history, but it’s the 21st century, and he’s the face of the game. He doesn’t stay at the cablinasian hotel on MLK Blvd, he stays in the same hotels with all of his buddies (he lives in the same neighborhood as them, too, right on a 5-star course), and he hangs out with them at the hotels’ bars, how late determined only by tee times.
General Winfield Stuck
And I can’t believe I am pondering the fate of Tiger Woods and his domestic bliss, or unbliss, on a Saturday night. I seek an unexciting and tranquil life from the wild and crazy one led for 40 years or so, but this is ridiculous
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
January 2nd is a Saturday! Yay!
valdivia
@PurpleGirl:
the army of lovers of casablanca! we are many. and I actually love Bogie in everything.
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
see above, love the Bogie. hawt hawt hawt.
Corner Stone
@JK: Some of it is a little dated now, but IMO it’s worth a serious read through.
I’ve read the entire series, multiple times and in many different orders, and it’s a revelation each time.
Deighton does a masters job of holding perspective and thread.
As a little bit of a spoiler – one time through you start to identify with Bernard and think he’s the most brilliant man ever in the British orgs, then you hit a spot where you realize he’s a fucking genius but he’s being played nonetheless.
It’s got layers and is just too damned good not to at least give a try. Get it from the liberry. You’ll thank me later.
JK
@Corner Stone:
@General Winfield Stuck:
Does ESPN have the balls to get to the bottom of the Tiger Woods incident?
South of I-10
@Montysano: Rushmore is in my top ten movies. Love it.
General Winfield Stuck
@Andy K:
I meant with the law. I don’t follow Tiger and his personal life, but as far as I know he hasn’t been in trouble with the law before. Though I could be wrong. And a lot of athletes have a temper and big ego. The dude is a perfectionist and driven and rich. And I don’t think ill of anyone for those things, of and by themselves. And yes the rich and famous always get better treatment. I have other things to worry about than something that has existed since civilized society began.
Jim Once
The last book a friend suggested for me was The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. What a disappointment – all that trying to wrestle Wisconsin rural into a Hamlet costume. On the other hand, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao didn’t capture me in the first hundred pages or so, but I was loving it by the end.
Corner Stone
@KyCole: SPARTANS!! What is your profession?!
You and I can no longer be friends.
Yutsano
@JK: I’m wondering about that same issue myself. They don’t exactly have a clean slate when it comes to sex scandals and fortunately the BCS fraud gives them enough pretense to at least push it to the back burner, but the more they get scooped on this the more they’ll have to get into the sordid details.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@valdivia: Just watched The Big Sleep the other night. Usually prefer Brit mysteries but that one is a classic, and Bogey-Bacall are at their best.
Corner Stone
@JK: That depends on what you mean. No matter what the actual truth is, Tiger is worth a billion+, and he and Elin will absolutely agree to a true story on this.
It may have been a “late night run for baby formula” that went wrong. Or something else.
But it’s guaranteed that no matter if his sticky wicket is scoring par somewhere else, nobody’s going to say a fucking word.
JK
@Corner Stone:
I’m no expert on espionage fiction, but from what I’ve read about the genre, Len Deighton, Frederick Forsyth, and John Le Carre are considered 3 of its best practioners. If you’re really into this genre, would you place them at the top? Are there any other writers of espionage fiction whom you would place in a pantheon all-time greats?
valdivia
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
same here, I love Brit mysteries (have you seen the wallander series yet, really good, BBC produced based on Swedish crime series) but Big sleep is a classic, and Bogie, no words.
JK
@JK:
I meant practitioners of espionage fiction.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
John Cole, you got another mention on the intertoobz:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.c.....021194.php
Jim Once
Le Carre. Nobody else – including Deighton (and I love him) – comes close. Check out his most recent novels.
Jim Once
Read The Constant Gardener, then watch the movie.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@valdivia: Is that the one with Kenneth Branagh? I don’t think I’ve seen that one. I tend to like the ones with the nice, tidy murders and not too gritty. English country house mysteries are my favorite. Did you see Gosford Park?
JK
@Yutsano: @Corner Stone:
I think ESPN is made up of a bunch of pussies who don’t want to rock any boats. They don’t have the guts to show the seamy side of sports. I don’t think they want any part of the truth about the Tiger Woods incident and will bury it with coverage of college football and the NFL.
Punchy
I needz yooze help. I SWEAR ipod made a AM/FM adapter for the ipod nano, but cant find nuttin on the netz about the AM parts. Duz any1 know if ipod makes a AM adapter, and if not, then WTF not?
Punchy+ 8
SiubhanDuinne
@valdivia, PurpleGirl, SIA aka:
So nice indeed to have a little BJ army of Bogartistas. He was really one of the greats. I’ve often felt quite envious of Bacall, who—young as she was—didn’t have nearly enough years with him.
Corner Stone
@JK: Not to disagree with Jim Once or anything – But Le Carre is unreadable. Good luck if you try.
Andy K
@Corner Stone:
Well, it looked cool, but that was about all I liked about it. It was neocon propaganda.
And what really sucks about it is that no one will attempt to film Gates of Fire for many, many years.
General Winfield Stuck
@SiubhanDuinne:
The African Queen is still my favorite Bogie film.
No more gin for you.
SiubhanDuinne
@SiubhanDuinne: Of course my envy of Bacall was that she was with him at all, not that their time together was cut short.
+3 and going to bed now
dan robinson
I’ve got Buckaroo Banzai cued up for the kids. I hope it will blow their minds.
abo gato
@Jim Once, the last book recommended to me was “The Help” I haven’t loved anything as much as that book in a long, long time. “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” was good, but ultimately disappointing to me. I kept wanting it to be better, but the ending was hugely unsatisfying.
Jim Once
@Corner Stone: Try again, CS. I’m glad I did. I’d start with The Mission Song.
valdivia
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
yes that is the Branagh one, it has a bit of grittiness to it not a British cozy, but really excellent. I grew up readings Agatha Christie (this is how I learned English!) so I get the desire for the neatly tied mystery.
Corner Stone
@JK: Well, what’s to be served by the truth? That is, assuming there’s actually something hinky going on here.
If Tiger’s being a bad rockstar, and not living up to the All-American dad story he and his sponsors want to sell – who’s served by being told about it?
He’s not elected to anything, he doesn’t represent anyone but an MNC brand, etc.
If they bust him out, then what?
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@SiubhanDuinne:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MheNUWyROv8
Sizzle sizzle sizzle
Demo Woman
@Andy K:
sorry, but what the fuck are you saying? Of course he can live in a neighborhood with his buddies. In fact he can live in the middle of the ocean on a yacht if he chooses.
(he lives in the same neighborhood as them, too, right on a 5-star course),
Jim Once
@abo gato: Re Sawtelle ending: exactly. Thanks very much for recommending The Help (Kathryn Stockett?). I’m on it.
Corner Stone
@Andy K: It was pure cheesy entertainment. Enjoyable to the last drop.
To the cliffs boys!
Svensker
@dan robinson:
Saw it when it first came out and loved it. Tried to watch it the other day and just couldn’t do it. I’ve officially entered Old Fogeyville. What’s worse, I don’t really mind.
BTW,get off my lawn.
And Bogie rules. Especially in African Queen.
Andy K
@General Winfield Stuck:
It’s a great performance, and it really stands out because Bogie wasn’t typecast as he had been in the past (first as hoods, later as heroic everymen). I have a hard time rating it better than his performances as Duke Mantee in Petrified Forest or as Rick in Casablanca, though. They were equally great.
Ever seen Eastwood’s White Hunter, Black Heart?
MBSS
maltese falcon
JK
@Jim Once:
I love the NY Times Book Review and their best books list. I miss the good old days when there were dozens of newspapers that published standalone Sunday Book Reviews.
Does any newspaper besides the NY Times still publish a print edition of a Sunday Book Review?
Literary blogs are great, but I hate seeing the death of book reviewing in the newspaper business along with the death of independent bookstores in New York. There used to be so many independent bookstores in New York that you could fill a book with lists of them. I have some of those books and now they’re basically worthless because most of those bookstores are out of business.
I don’t have any recommendations for books published this past year. One golden oldie book recommendation is my favorite novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.
Demo Woman
@Jim Once: Two different friends, whom I both respect, recommended The Help this weekend.
SiubhanDuinne
@SIA: okay now, just stop that!
O/T, LMAO —the Salahis have blown off Larry King for Monday night and are holding out for the highest bidder. I am shocked, shocked . . . .
Hob
@Notorious P.A.T.: Hm—actually that was the one part of the plot that did make sense to me (even though I liked the parts that didn’t make sense, too). SPOILERS:
First, the time travel part was by accident—he didn’t decide to do that, he just improvised afterwards. Second, in his mind, he wasn’t just trying to get revenge for its own sake; he also thought damaging the Federation would pave the way for a new Romulan empire, so things would be better for his people in general, and they’d avoid the disaster that happened in his time because they’d have more planets to spare, or maybe just because Romulans are so awesome they could conquer anything if only they weren’t held back by the stupid Feds. I could buy that as the kind of nationalistic rationalization you’d get from a very angry, not incredibly bright working-class guy who’d grown up in a Cold War-type atmosphere and then suffered a horrible tragedy.
Not saying the movie is all that deep, but I liked that it wasn’t just a generic revenge setup; there was at least a nod to the idea that personal craziness and political craziness can be hard to separate & can both proceed from understandable motivations.
Jim Once
Gotta be up at five tomorrow, to help put down underlayment and tile for the son and his wife (they’re a hundred miles from here). As a farewell, a book I’ll always love: Tim O’Brien’s In the Lake of the Woods.
KyCole
Love, love, love African Queen. Anything with Bogie in it rocks. They Drive By Night is totally awesome- the garage door is amazing. Switched from 300 to Casablanca even though I’ve seen it 20 times. My profession- what’s that? I own a yarn store with my daughter and a print shop with my ex-husband. Family dynamics are interesting. Also, my son works at the print shop and he has Daddy issues. I should write a book- actually, mydaughter should write one. She’s an author and trying to get published.
JK
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
Gosford Park totally kicks ass. So many outstanding perforamances in one film. Robert Altman was one hell of a great director. Stephen Fry’s on screen time is small but priceless.
Andy K
@Demo Woman:
I’m saying that he’s just another member of the boys club, albeit the face of the club. He’s no different to them because he’s young and not white, as minority golfers were treated in the ‘60s, when they first started to show up on tour, and he doesn’t try to make himself out to be a symbol for minorities. His pr team and the press that cover him might, but Woods himself…Not so much.
And that’s a good thing, imo, that he fits in nicely when a generation earlier…Not so much.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@MBSS: Great script and plot, but I never could believe much in Mary Astor as the femme fatale. She just looked a bit too matronly for that part. Really liked the full out creep of Greenstreet & Lorre combo though.
valdivia
@SiubhanDuinne:
me too, envied her her time with him. sigh.
have a good night!
SiubhanDuinne
@valdivia and SIA: Oh, we need to do a “British Cozy” or “Golden Age” mystery thread one of these times—books/authors, film and TV adaptations. Such a rich creative period. I’d suggest now, but I really am heading for bed and would have to miss it :-(
Jim Once
@JK: I don’t know of any other newspaper that publishes anything like that, but when I’m in the right mood (head clear, rested, have lots of time) I like to read The New York Review of Books. I’m afraid, though, I let my copies pile up all too often.
Jim Once
@JK: I don’t know of any other newspaper that publishes anything like that, but when I’m in the right mood (head clear, rested, have lots of time) I like to read The New York Review of Books. I’m afraid, though, I let my copies pile up all too often.
JK
@KyCole:
Agreed on Bogart. Also feel the same way about Clark Gable, James Stewart, James Cagney, and Cary Grant.
I’ve read that John Huston originally wanted to make The Man Who Would Be King with Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable in the lead roles .
Jim Once
Argh. Hate it when I hit the button twice. Good night. Really.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@JK: It’s one of those movies I think about a lot afterwards, like K-PAX.
JK
@Jim Once:
I love The New York Review of Books as well.
General Winfield Stuck
@Andy K:
yes, but it’s been awhile. Wasn’t that sort of a biographical portrayal of John Huston, or maybe I’m imagining that. But it was very good. Casablanca was a bit melodramatic mushy for me, though it was still a great flick with very good grand gestures, which are always important for great films imo.
I just loved the crusty interactions of Bogart and Hepburn in A. Queen.
Dr. Zhivago is my all time favorite flick. I think they may be remastering it for a classic release soon. Can’t buy it anywhere hardly, I hope that’s what they are doing.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@SiubhanDuinne: Definitely. I think you and I discussed Dorothy Sayers on one of those threads, yes?
JK
@SiubhanDuinne:
Fuck the Salahis. I hope these assholes do some jail time.
valdivia
@SiubhanDuinne:
great idea, I am up for that thread. I am off to bed too though so hopefully we can do it another day.
(and SIA I loved Gosford Park, fantastic story, so well made, so well acted)
valdivia
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
Gawdy night! The adaptations from the BBC are pretty good too.
JK
You can’t talk about Humphrey Bogart and not mention:
All Through the Night, Beat the Devil, The Roaring Twenties, and Angels with Dirty Faces
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@valdivia: Yes! I wish they’d do the whole series again. Peter Wimsey would be a difficult role to cast though. Also wish BBC would produce some more novels by Trollope. They did a great job on The Way We Live Now and He Knew He Was Right.
JK
@Corner Stone:
Have you seen any of the tv adaptations of Le Carre with Alec Guinness? If so, thumbs up or thumbs down?
SiubhanDuinne
@SIA: we sure did!
@valdivia: with you on Gaudy Night!
@JK: with you on the Salahis!
Night all. Really, this time.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@JK: And Key Largo,
General Winfield Stuck
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
Yes, second fav.
JK
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
Key Largo
Humphrey Bogart has one hell of a filmography.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta: First is Casablanca?
JK
@General Winfield Stuck:
I liked this movie too. Have you read the novel? One criticism I’ve read of the film was that the politics was toned down too much and that the love story was played up too much.
Morbo
Well, looks like I have to admit that Lou Holtz isn’t just an irrational Notre Dame homeboy in predicting this game. He said they would throw all over Stanford, and so they have.
Oh, P.S.: Lou Holtz is stillan irrational Notre Dame homeboy.
General Winfield Stuck
@JK:
Yes, but it’s been many years ago and I don’t remember that. But sounds like how Hollywood operates, in general. Love story + politics + war brings in both sexes to the theater. And I ain’t sayin which is which.
JK
@JoePo:
I’d love to see a foreign language film channel devoted to nothing but foreign language films 24 hours a day.
Yutsano
@Morbo: I appreciated Harbaugh’s honest language on that holding call too. Can’t say much for Condi being made a celebrity for this game though. Still have to say Go Cardinal.
MikeJ
The best thing about that movie is remembering what I was doing when I first saw it. Piled into a car with dormmates and a girl from the gymnastics team, drove to St. Louis where we caught the matinee and then saw REM on the Reckoning tour at Wash U’s Graham Chapel.
The movie itself? Meh. REM’s cover of Television’s See No Evil rocked though. With the dB’s opening, still one of the best shows I’ve ever been to.
JK
@MikeJ:
That’s cool. I didn’t know that REM covered Television. Television’s debut album is something else.
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta: actually should have been director to Gen Stuck
SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta: ummm. ‘Directed’, not ‘director’. time for bed.
Gravenstone
Nearly 300 posts and no flame wars, no cheesy video duels? What the hell is wrong with you people?
Yutsano
@Gravenstone: Ahh good sir, the night is still young and football is still not concluded for the evening. Give it time you wish might yet come true.
General Winfield Stuck
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
I must dissent. Casablanca #3 number one The African Queen and second is Key Largo. Though the margin of difference between all three is small, so small as to hardly exist :-)
General Winfield Stuck
@General Winfield Stuck:
Peace on blog, good will to trolls.
JK
@General Winfield Stuck:
Very catchy. I think this should run instead of Consistently Wrong Since 2002 from Thanksgiving thru New Year’s day.
Yutsano
@General Winfield Stuck: Pacem a tei.
Persia
Hubby and I watched Ninja Assassin this weekend. It was incredibly stupid and violent. Highly recommended.
Yutsano
Stanford ties at 9:00 in the fourth quarter. Dayum what a game!
Santiago
@Jim Once:
Smiley’s People was his best IMO.
JK
@Persia:
Congrats on winning the coveted 300th post for the thread.
noncarborundum
@Yutsano:
et pax tecum.
YMMV.
Litlebritdifrnt
Have not read all the comments but as to the cable issue, once upon a time I was getting shitty TV reception (all pixilated and stuff) and my internet connection was erratic at best, I called the cable guy, and they came out several times until they figured out the problem, someone was stealing my cable, true! Someone (obviously way smarter than I am) had hooked into our box on the street and was feeding off our hookup, it therefore watered down our signal, to the point it would not work. Once they figured it out it was fine.
JGabriel
@Andy K:
I must have missed the Welles film with the goatfucker.
.
Persia
@Santiago: I still have a soft spot for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
JK
@JGabriel:
A director’s cut will be released on dvd in time for Christmas.
Andy K
@General Winfield Stuck:
That’s the one. Very, very thinly veiled fictional account of the making of The African Queen, screenplay written by Pete Viertel, based on his own novel. Viertel was the uncredited screenwriter of The African Queen; he’s portrayed in WH,BH by Jeff Fahey. It’s still one of my favorite top two or three Eastwood-directed films, and it’s one that came out before Eastwood started winning (deserved) Oscars.
Wile E. Quixote
[Kevin Smith is] an auteur from the Orson Welles mold.
...
I must have missed the Welles film with the goatfucker.
It’s Citizen Kane. Rosebud was really the name of Charles Foster Kane’s goat, but the goatfucking scenes didn’t test well with audiences so they changed it to a sled, one of the great tragedies of American cinema.
Wile E. Quixote
Hey John, I know you raised decent bank the other day but if we throw some more bux your way can we get the site fixed? Or better yet moved off of WordPress since WordPress is teh suck?
Yutsano
STANFORD WINS!!
Andy K
@JGabriel:
Try this one.
Corner Stone
Will someone please…please…get Weis a fucking kleenex?
As much as ND has payed this buffoon over the last few years, they couldn’t afford a student minder to stand within arms reach of him with a damn nose wipe?
I’ve never seen Weis without snot running out his nose.
Steeplejack
Just got home from work, probably couldn’t concentrate on a movie for a while. Must decompress. Just watched the barn-burner end of the Notre Dame-Stanford game. Probably will put UCLA-USC on in the background while I get caught up with Balloon Juice.
Steep +½>
Yutsano
@Corner Stone: He’s gonna be unemployed here pretty soon so at this point why bother?
Gwangung
@Corner Stone: Not gonna be a problem in another week. Heh.
JK
@Corner Stone:
Next he’ll be sitting on a park bench eying little girls with bad intent with his greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
Gwangung
@Yutsano: Do I confirm my effete elitist snob credentials by admitting that I’m an alum? (And the OFFICIAL fight song is “All Right Now.”)
Yutsano
@JK: I’m sending you the bill for the therapy for that mental image. Yikes.
Yutsano
@Gwangung: I gots nothin’ bur Pac 10 love for ya. GO COUGS!
JK
@Yutsano:
Send that bill to Ian Anderson h/t Aqualung.
Yutsano
@JK: Actually I should send it to the Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame for allowing the fat fuck to get hired in the first place.
Corner Stone
@JK: “The girl. How much for the little girl?”
General Winfield Stuck
For those who like good love story flix, here are a couple that are fairly recent foreign ones that are at or near my all time list in that vein.
Zelary
Tell No One
One is set during ww2 and the other not. A good love story angle is usually not that big a consideration for me in liking movies, but sometimes the chemistry between the actors and the script conspire into something that is special.
JK
@Corner Stone:
A third round draft pick and two prospects.
Corner Stone
@Yutsano: I’m just sayin’. They paid a ton for him, then re-upped him bigtime. The first time I’m watching a game and I see him snotty, I’m calling the equip mgr and ordering them to get a snotrag boy assigned to Weis.
He’s obviously too fucking stupid to do it himself as he’s had a constant runny nose for 5 years now. He’s like a damn 3rd grader.
Corner Stone
@JK: I would’ve accepted a free lobster dinner as the correct answer.
JK
@General Winfield Stuck:
Thanks for those recommendations. Speaking of foreign language films, have you seen Last Year at Marienbad?
JK
@Corner Stone:
Have you ever eaten at a Red Lobster restaurant? If so, was it any good and what about Alec Guinness as George Smiley?
JK
@Andy K:
Orson Welles at his worst was better than 80% of other film directors at their best.
Steeplejack
@valdivia:
Henning Mankell? Or maybe Karin Fossum?
I read the first few Wallander novels by Mankell, but then I got lazy because I have been seeing the Swedish TV versions of them on MHz, a local “international” channel that is on some cable systems around the country. (Wallander is part of the International Mystery series at 9:00 p.m. EST and PST on Sunday and Tuesday). They are very well done and give an interesting look at contemporary Sweden. (The police station looks like it was furnished entirely from IKEA.) And they are not as “preachy” as the novels can be.
Fossum’s series is very good too. Oops—I see on Wikipedia that she’s Norwegian. Anyway, they’re good procedurals with a lot of local color. The first two are Don’t Look Back and He Who Fears the Wolf.
JK
@Steeplejack:
Sounds like a very cool cable channel. I’d take it over CNN, MSNBC, or FNC.
Speaking of Swedish crime novels, you and valdivia should check out this article
Scandinavian Crime Wave
Why the most peaceful people on earth write the greatest homicide thrillers.
http://www.slate.com/id/2221654
Steeplejack
@khead:
I’ve been there. You know you’re in trouble when you have to think for a second to remember when you last had a shower.
Steeplejack
I see Mizzou won today. But they’re still dead to me after that hideous collapse in a once-in-a-generation season last year.
Steeplejack
@General Winfield Stuck:
Also, Star Trek was seen as sort of cheesy kitsch even back then. Only time and retroactive irony have made it the milestone of Western art that it is perceived to be today. /snark
Steeplejack
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
Great special effects at the end when the clipper crashes into the ocean.
(Wikipedia)
Andy K
@JK:
Didn’t say that he wasn’t. Go back up and read what I originally wrote when I compared Smith to Welles. It wasn’t a comparison of their work. It was much more low-brow.
Steeplejack
@Andy K:
Never get tired of Amélie. It’s one of those movies that, if I run across it while I’m channel-surfing, I have to finish watching it, no matter where I come in. Hit another one of those movies this morning—Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai on Sundance. Other similar movies: GoodFellas, A Shot in the Dark and, for some inexplicable reason, The Fifth Element.
Steeplejack
@Montysano:
Next up should be The Royal Tenenbaums, if you haven’t seen it. . . . Uh, or Bottle Rocket. Either one. Really.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
So Berlin Game is the first one?
someone
Am I the only one who didn’t care for Star Trek? Oh it was fine for a while but soon the ridiculous plot holes were just too much. It’s like the writers, having no idea how to write a cohesive plot, just figured they could get people to ignore massive script problems by throwing special effects at them. Oh wait, I forgot, this is bread and circuses time for the US empire. No thought required or desired.
At some point I will force myself to rewatch Nemesis to decide which film I think is the worst of the franchise.
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: If you have an affinity for Japanese manga/anime you tend to appreciate The Fifth Element a bit more I’ve noticed. If not you could just be an odd duck.
JK
@Andy K:
Thanks for the clarification.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
LOL, in light of the earlier discussion on this thread. That “I’m shocked—shocked!” thing is actually a trope from Casablanca that has entered popular usage. See here.
JK
@Steeplejack:
I saw Goodfellas the day it opened and haven’t seen any other movie I have enjoyed as much since that date.
It’s no accident that it was voted best film by the NY Film Critics Circle, the LA Film Critics Association, and the National Society of Film Critics.
Steeplejack, you’re a funny guy.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
LOL, in light of the earlier discussion on this thread. That “I’m shocked—shocked!” thing is a trope from Casablanca that has gained widespread popularity on the Interwebs and elsewhere. See here.
Steeplejack
WordPress seems to be doing something weird with my recent submissions. Sorry if there are multiple posts. I can’t see them, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there.
Oh, and FYWP.
Steeplejack
Will try one last time to reply to SiubhanDuinne’s comment at #258. Tried it the “right” way twice and it didn’t go through.
LOL, in light of the discussion earlier on this thread. That “I’m shocked—shocked!” thing is a trope from Casablanca that has passed into widespread use on the Intertubes and elsewhere. See here.
(Memo to self: maybe WordPress doesn’t like a hyperlink as the last thing in a comment?)
Steeplejack
Will try one last time to reply to SiubhanDuinne’s comment at #258. Tried it the “right” way twice and it didn’t go through.
LOL, in light of the discussion earlier on this thread. That “I’m shocked—shocked!” thing is a trope from Casablanca that has passed into widespread use on the Intertubes and elsewhere. See here.
Memo to self: maybe WordPress doesn’t like a hyperlink as the last thing in a comment?
Ruckus
@Steeplejack:
Ahh.. the Fifth Element. I keep going back to it as well. It’s on the Ruckus top 25 guilty pleasure list.
Ruckus
@Yutsano:
Hey I resemble that remark
Steeplejack
This is effin’ weird. I keep trying to reply to SiubhanDuinne’s comment at #258, and WordPress will not put it through. And I don’t get a message saying I’ve been relegated to moderation.
Let me try this one last time.
My only point was that I was laughing because she used “I’m shocked . . . shocked” in her comment, which was funny to me in light of the whole discussion of Casablanca earlier, because that “I’m shocked—shocked!” thing comes from Casablanca. Right here.
(Memo to self: maybe WordPress doesn’t like a hyperlink as the last thing in a comment?)
Yutsano
@Steeplejack: Ahhh the wonderful joys that is Word Press. Or to be less delicate, FYWP.
Steeplejack
@Jim Once:
That is a good book. Very different from Going After Cacciato and The Things They Carried, also recommended.
gwangung
@Steeplejack: Well, Wordpress doesn’t like a lot of things (like me), but yeah…
Steeplejack
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
femme fatale. She just looked a bit too matronly for that part.
Part of that, I think, is the change in styles of feminine beauty from decade to decade. Many of the actresses in ‘30s-’40s movies look “matronly” to us now. Just recently I saw (again) a movie that is an interesting cross-section from that time: The Women (1939). The whole gamut from semi-matronly Norma Shearer to Paulette Goddard burning up the screen with a very “modern” look in a breakout role.
The other thing about Mary Astor in The Maltese Falcon is that she’s not supposed to be the classic femme fatale. She’s supposed to come across as the wounded dove who needs the protectioni of a man. It’s all a cover, of course, but that’s her camouflage.
gwangung
Umm…I’m being moderated?
Steeplejack
@JK:
Sundance and IFC are as close as you’re going to get. I also get a batch of Encore channels that often show foreign movies. But, yes, it would be nice to have something like “Classic Foreign Movie Channel.” Tagline: “All subtitles all the time.” LOL.
Steeplejack
@Andy K:
My favorite pre-Oscar-winning Eastwood movie is a small gem, A Perfect World, starring—wait for it—Kevin Costner. Damn good.
Steeplejack
@Wile E. Quixote:
What platform do you recommend instead of WordPress?
I’m serious, because I have been thinking about diving into WP, grokking it on a deep level and then offering to help Cole fix the site problems. But it might be easier/better to move to a different platform. Which would be . . .?
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
I admit I could be an odd duck, but I do like (some) Japanese anime and manga.
Miyazaki is a god to me. I really believe that if everyone were forced to watch My Neighbor Totoro once or twice a year we would live in a much better world. Spirited Away or Kiki’s Delivery Service for bonus points.
Also like Ghost in the Shell (both movies and the TV series), Paprika, Steamboy, various others.
Steeplejack
@Ruckus:
The Fifth Element is definitely a guilty pleasure. I keep thinking, “I should not be enjoying this as much as I am,” and yet I cannot turn away.
Steeplejack
@Yutsano:
Amen to that. FYWP.
celticdragon
@Citizen_X:
I agree. Where was Number One??
celticdragon
@SIA aka ScreaminginAtlanta:
While we are talking about Bogart…someone should mention Sahara.
Flat out one of the best WW II movies made.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack #350: Ha! Thanks for catching “I’m shocked, shocked . . . ” It was semi-deliberate.
Pseudonym
FYWP
arguingwithsignposts
what’s with the sudden italics?
Dream On
Check out Bogart in “Black Legion” – it’s a little preachy but very absorbing film about Bogart joining a KKK-style secret society. Very timely to the economic insecurity of today – and hands down Bogart’s best acting role. I love “Casablanca” etc., but this role was much trickier.
JK
@Dream On:
A few months ago, PBS aired a documentary on the history of Warner Brothers which included a clip from Black Legion. It looked very intriguing and disturbing.
JGabriel
@Citizen_X:
I’m not so sure. Between the bar brawl, Pike’s speech about the corps needing men like Kirk, and McCoy’s rant about jumping into the fleet as a last resort after his wife took everything, I got the impression that — while Star Fleet may have had its share of officer grade material — they weren’t exactly overflowing with the cream of Earth’s “Class-A” intellectual elite.
.
valdivia
@Steeplejack:
I just started reading Fossum. She is fantastic. And I am now also reading a new collection of short stories by Mankell that give you a sense of how Wallander began.
licensed to kill time
Ha! a 368 comment thread, bunged into italics at by Steeplejack (!) at 353, AND a goddamned edit button! What the hell happened overnight?
Steeplejack
@licensed to kill time:
I’m not seeing the rampant italics, and certainly not “bunged” by me, sir. Ahem.
On the other hand, I’m not seeing an edit button either. Le sigh. (Not putting that in italics so as not to potentially bung you again.)
Steeplejack
@valdivia:
I saw that Wallander collection, haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Now I am plowing through Ian Rankin’s series about Inspector Rebus of Edinburgh. The first one, Knots and Crosses, is a little light, but then they get really good. I’m up to the seventh one now, Let It Bleed.
The Other Steve
@JGabriel:
Most of the Class-A overachievers in the future are working for Goldman-Sachs. :-)
licensed to kill time
@Steeplejack: Heh – sorry, didn’t mean to blame you, but I still have italics all the way down from post #353. In fact, everything is italicized, including sidebars. Weird!
Edit (double heh) OTOH, I haz edit!
wrye
Re: Kevin Smith
Not to defend a celebrity or anything, but I think the reason he’s mean to fanboys pushing scripts is a lot simpler than him having any pretensions to being the next Orson Welles.
I saw him give one of his talks/Q&A sessions once (very entertaining) and literally an hour and a half of it was people getting to the mic and then trying to pitch him scripts (or even worse, jokes). It was excruciating. I give Smith all the credit in the world for being relatively gracious with his fans while having to say no without adding “dumbass” for pretty much half the evening, and then letting the evening run long so that everyone felt they got their money’s worth anyways.
And pretty much every one of his public appearances must be like that. I don’t think Smith has any illusions of grandeur, but he is a professional, who’s had modest success, and because of his backstory and his seemingly approachable persona, he must get stuff thrown at him all the time, constantly. If he’s a little cranky, who can blame him?
wrye
Re: Kevin Smith
Not to defend a celebrity or anything, but I think the reason he’s mean to fanboys pushing scripts is a lot simpler than him having any pretensions to being the next Orson Welles.
I saw him give one of his talks/Q&A sessions once (very entertaining) and literally an hour and a half of it was people getting to the mic and then trying to pitch him scripts (or even worse, jokes). It was excruciating. I give Smith all the credit in the world for being relatively gracious with his fans while having to say no without adding “dumbass” for pretty much half the evening, and then letting the evening run long so that everyone felt they got their money’s worth anyways.
And pretty much every one of his public appearances must be like that. I don’t think Smith has any illusions of grandeur, but he is a professional, who’s had modest success, and because of his backstory and his seemingly approachable persona, he must get stuff thrown at him all the time, constantly. If he’s a little cranky, who can blame him?