Tune in TONIGHT at 8 PM as Chris Matthews hosts special coverage of President Obama receiving The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. pic.twitter.com/PyqOgWgPGQ
— Hardball (@hardball) May 7, 2017
.
Apart from that, what’s on the agenda as we wrap up the weekend?
aimai
I miss that guy. Man do I miss that guy.
SiubhanDuinne
Good news: My POTUS.
Bad news: Tweety.
But I will watch. Turning into a night of appointment streams. The local NPR station is airing an hour-long interview with one of my favourite authors, Bruce Feiler, on his new book about Adam and Eve. I heard a 10-minute excerpt a couple of weeks ago and locked the full thing into my calendar for 7:00 p.m. (about 10 minutes from now).
And right after that, the “Profiles in Courage” award for President Obama. Can somebody please organise a “Profiles in Carnage” program to recognise the current occupant of the White House and his awful family and Congressional leadership?
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne: Profiles in Clownage.
zhena gogolia
I’m going for Lizzie — Eleanor Parker with multiple personalities, interrupted at 9:00 when Home Fires starts (last episode, I guess it was canceled, boo-hoo).
zhena gogolia
@aimai:
Remember when you didn’t have to avert your eyes from the newsstands?
Gin & Tonic
WikiLeaks tweeted today that Obama had interfered in the French election in behalf of Macron. He really has taken up long-term residence inside their head, hasn’t he?
Mike J
@zhena gogolia: Still think they should have gone with the book title, Jam Busters.
Gin & Tonic
@zhena gogolia: I’m planning to watch the new Bourdain episode.
Mike J
@Gin & Tonic: Interference is defined as a private citizen expressing his opinion.
zhena gogolia
@Mike J:
Yes, Home Fires is a terrible title.
Brachiator
I’ve been trying to get away from the madness of the health care vote by getting to the movies. But even here craziness reins. Apparently, for some, the upcoming Wonder Woman movie not only has to save Warner Brothers from their DC Universe follies, but Wonder Woman must also carry the burden of excessive societal expectations.
Earlier, some purity ponies got upset that a scene from the movie showed that the Amazon Princess apparently shaved her underarms. A later shot of the trailer supposedly added digital stubble. Now, some delicate souls are upset that one of the movie’s promotiional tie-ins is with thinkThin, maker of diet products.
Its just a freaking movie, people. And some of the lard asses of all genders who will turn out for this movie could probably stand to lose a few pounds.
Also, I enjoyed “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2,” but it gleefully wallows in some possibly unsavory adolescent male tropes, but nobody much gives a crap, because nobody much pays attention to pop culture pitched to boys, while anything with even a hint of appeal to women has to be especially scrutinized and often condemned as not good enough by some idiots with sticks wedged firmly up their backsides.
Of course, Gal Gadot was called “too skinny” when she was cast in 2013. But this had nothing to do with respect for Wonder Woman as a feminist icon, but was all about the absolute, total, irredeemable insipid bullshit of fanboys who thought that a fictional character with magical powers had to look buff to satisfy their lack of imagination. Ironically enough, Gadot had served in the Israeli military, and could probably kick their fanboy asses.
zhena gogolia
@zhena gogolia:
Much as I adore Ivor Novello.
Gin & Tonic
@zhena gogolia: You’ll like this.
Frankensteinbeck
@Gin & Tonic:
Interesting phrasing. How much of our current mess is because even the knowledge that a black president happened is unendurable to many people? Assange might be on the list, by the way. He’s apparently quite the bigoted asshole.
EDIT – To be clear, they want to even forget Obama happened. Wipe away not just his record, but their own knowledge.
SiubhanDuinne
@zhena gogolia:
Jeez, it’s just potatoes.
Oh wait….
/ lysdexia
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
Didn’t Trump as well?
zhena gogolia
@Gin & Tonic:
Okay, now my comments with Cyrillic are disappearing again. I said in Russian I’d never seen “Lebowski.” I gather it’s a joke from there?
Frankensteinbeck
@Brachiator:
The Greeks and Romans considered full body shaving an absolute must as a beauty standard, male and female. Don’t ask how I know this.
zhena gogolia
@zhena gogolia:
Wow, really sorry I looked that up.
Kristine
@Brachiator:
Yes, it did, and yes, it bothered me. I saw it Friday, and enjoyed it, but only if I ignored some aspects.
It’s Marvel movie night on F/X–The Avengers is playing in the background as I poke through paperwork.
zhena gogolia
@SiubhanDuinne:
I just left you this comment downstairs — “We just read a fun book about [Casablanca] by Noah Isenberg. Now we have S. Z. Sakall’s memoir out on Interlibrary Loan.”
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
Hmm. The one thing I wasn’t totally comfortable in Guardians was the interactions between one of the male Guardians and Mantis. I know they were making the point that there would not be a romance between them, but it went too far.
And I almost wonder if they went too far in that direction so they could sneak the Gamora and Nebula storyline under the radar. I was half-hoping for a Frozen in-joke there.
Gin & Tonic
@zhena gogolia: Well, a joke from there, but based on the knowledge that her National Front took a 10M Euro loan from a Russian bank, and the lenders, not having gotten the result they wanted, might be looking for repayment.
satby
Just came in from covering all the new plants, hard freeze warning tonight. Everything has boxes or blankets on. Hopefully since most of the orchards nearby have already blossomed it won’t damage the fruit crop.
zhena gogolia
@Gin & Tonic:
Okay! I would like to see Trump’s head plunged into a toilet, though.
Kristine
@Frankensteinbeck:
“He’ll never be gone. Not as long as those who remain are loyal to him.”
Kris, Obot Forever
Mnemosyne
@Kristine:
I think what the filmmakers were trying to do — and I’m not saying they were successful at it — was open up that toxic masculinity and look at it a bit.
SPOILER!
If you think about it, Peter is offered the opportunity to be the ultimate toxic man, and he rejects it specifically because of his emotional ties to other people, and because he loved his mother.
END SPOILER!
Like I said, if it bothered you, I think they failed at getting that message across, but I think that’s what they were attempting.
Nicole
The responses on Twitter to Thunder Snow’s “nopenopenope” effort in the Kentucky Derby have more than made up for the money I lost including him in my wagers. The horse is fine and the reactions are hilarious. I too, am now going to say, when I lose my sh*t over something, that I am “doing a Thunder Snow.”
Tonight, I memorize lines- I’m rehearsing a play for the first time in a few years. A production of Kennedy’s Children, which is all monologues. All…. monologues….. so…. many…. monologues….
efgoldman
@Frankensteinbeck:
Ah, a re-enactor.
Gelfling 545
So my daughter was studying for her Constitutional law exam during dinner today (You’ll get this with law students.) and she pipes up with that according to Jefferson “the Constitution had made the executive the organ of intercourse ” (with foreign nations) Now, Jefferson could not possible forseen a Trump regime but it does rather sound as if he is presciently saying that the president is a dick. Gave us all a little chuckle. We’re easily amused.
Omnes Omnibus
@Frankensteinbeck: How do you know that?
Brachiator
People should watch, stream, rent the powerful documentary “I Am Not Your Negro.” I think that James Baldwin’s astute political and social observations about John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy take on all kinds of resonances considering this award given to Obama, and to the respect and affection that Ted Kennedy apparently had for Obama.
hovercraft
@zhena gogolia:
I love it, didn’t realize it was the last episode : (
ThresherK
@zhena gogolia: Please, among friends, and us cognoscenti, you can call Sakall Cuddles like we all do.
I’m following the CFL Draft whenever Tweety gets on mic. Still trying to hack how to watch the TSN video feed here in the USA.
zhena gogolia
@hovercraft:
That’s what Imdb says. They were already filming the third season when they learned they’d been canceled, despite good ratings. I’m hoping it turns out to be incorrect.
zhena gogolia
@ThresherK:
Loves me some Cuddles.
Caphilldcne
@efgoldman: hope you’re watching your little engine that could. Edmonton is killing it. 3-0 at 8:30 mark.
SiubhanDuinne
@zhena gogolia:
Got it and replied, many thanks.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
Season finale.
Kristine
@Mnemosyne: That makes sense, but
SPOILER!!!!
…then poor Peter got stuck with Yondu, who had his own issues.
Fathers, adoptive and otherwise, don’t come off very well in either movie, tbh.
Mnemosyne
@ThresherK:
I need to re-watch Ball of Fire soon. That’s an absolute cavalcade of that kind of supporting actor, including Sakall and my personal favorite, Felix Bresson.
Jimmy Stewart: “How much does it cost you to live? Just you and your wife, without the children?”
Felix Bresson: “Why fool yourself?”
2liberal
How to wash a cat.
Patricia Kayden
@Gin & Tonic: Wikileaks lost the French election when the fascist lost. Good. And good for President Obama for helping Macron win, if there is any truth to that. Assange must be delusional if he thinks we don’t love President Obama. Trump will go down as the worst President in my lifetime having already outdone G.W. Bush in his first 100 days.
efgoldman
@Caphilldcne:
Oh yes. But then, they were up 3-0 Friday with three minutes to go….
Same thing could have happened to Nashville this afternoon, bet Renne held the fort after the first goal, while the Preds got their heads out of their asses.
Holy crap. 4-0
zhena gogolia
@debbie:
But Imdb says there won’t be a third season. No more Mark Umbers, boo-hoo.
efgoldman
@Patricia Kayden:
Worst overall except maybe for Buchanan. Maybe.
Caphilldcne
@efgoldman: hoo boy. Anaheim needs a reset.
Mnemosyne
@Kristine:
No, they sure don’t. Remember what Nebula’s stated plan is when she flies off at the end.
That’s one of the ways you can tell they meant to do that: the same theme turns up over and over again with every character in the film. It even comes up in the scene at the fountain with Mantis.
And (SPOILER) I think you can argue that Yondu comes to understand what he did wrong and makes amends with his actions. (SPOILER OVER)
? ?? Goku ? ?
@efgoldman: A month ago I would have said Richard Spencer
hovercraft
@Gin & Tonic:
Publicly endorsing candidate is not “interfering”, these people really need to get over Obama, he won, served his time and now he has no more fucks to give, he’s a free man and millions if not billions of people around the world love and admire him. If an endorsement from him is helpful, that’s his prerogative. Twitler is the kiss of death in most of the world, Assange and Vlads fingerprints are poison, suck it turds. Europe seems to have seen the results of Assange and Vlads machinations and they are saying hell no!
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
You know, I honestly had to stop for a couple of minutes before I remembered #15. I kept hanging up on Pat Buchanan, and thought “Well, surely efg knows that Uncle Pat’s campaigns never went anywhere….”
lamh36
@Brachiator: Just now back from seeing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. I thought it was really good. It has what you’d expect from a comic book movie, like laughs and action and epic scenery, but I thought it also had ALOT of heart. I’m not a boy though,, so I’m not sure if I saw the tropes you did.
As for Wonder Woman, I was of the mind that she was too skinny, but I’ve come around to not really caring. Wonder Woman is my fav female superhero and so I just want this movie to be great!
Did you by chance see the preview for the new Pirates of the Caribbean film? I admit, I had no real desire to see this film, but I admit, the preview was funny, and damn if I don’t love Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. So…it’s on my list now for this month
Patricia Kayden
For those of you who don’t want to watch Tweety or MSNBC, WBUR is airing the awards beginning at 8:20 pm. Can’t stand Matthews so that is how I’ll listen as President Obama gets his much deserved award.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
Pity, I liked it. Have you heard anything about the third Mantel book?
lamh36
Home in time to catch the profiles in courage telecast, but also for the 2nd ep of American Gods.
I here Orlando Jones turn as Mr Nancy is epic…plus I believe we get our first Jillian Anderson sighting!!
Frankensteinbeck
@Omnes Omnibus:
I TOLD YOU NOT TO ASK ME THAT.
I love fashion, especially historical fashion. I spent a little time researching historical beauty standards once. My eyes crossed at how body shaving was on that list over and over, all the way back to the Egyptians, who waxed with a formula based on honey. Then I started laughing, because I love the juxtaposition that people seem to think this is a modern kink.
efgoldman
@SiubhanDuinne:
Easy to flush Jimmy down the memory hole. I’m not a historian, and I don’t play one on TV; I don’t know that he could have done anything to stop or delay the War of Southern Treason, but it basically happened on his watch, even though Lincoln was president when Fort Sumter was attacked by the traitors.
Patricia Kayden
Actually just googled and you can see the award ceremony live at this link beginning at 8:30 pm.
ThresherK
@Mnemosyne: I haven’t seen it in 25 years, since back when I was introducing Girlfriend ThresherK to the joys of prewar movies which weren’t The Wizard of Oz. (Mission Accomplished: We had our 19th wedding anniversary in April BTW).
I will have to cue it up and then ask Spousal ThresherK if she remembers it.
My memories of it: The matchstick drumming routine by Gene Krupa, and how Gary Cooper juuuuust barely becomes adorkable (rather than wholescale Gary Cooper handsome) with those glasses, then throwing away the instruction manual on boxing and just letting his instincts take over to beat the mobster and win Barbara Stanwuyck.
Mnemosyne
@lamh36:
I saw it on Wednesday and at first I was like, Eh, it wasn’t quite as good as the first one, but the story and themes are really sticking with me days later, so now I’m thinking I underestimated it.
Cacti
I noticed a headline over at The Hill that the FBI is investigating Mrs. Wilmer for bank fraud over her Burlington College finances.
Mnemosyne
@Frankensteinbeck:
One of the Regency romance authors I read, Eloisa James, obviously found out about the use of wax “bosom friends” in that era, because they’re a funny plot point in one of her books.
efgoldman
@Cacti:
He probably wasn’t going to run in ’20 anyway, but maybe this will shut him up.
hovercraft
@debbie:
I hope you are right.
Ugh!
Why extinguish TV’s Home Fires?
ITV announced that they would never be able to find out their fate as it cancelled the series. “We are incredibly proud of what Home Fires has achieved but the ITV commissioning team continues to refresh the channel’s drama portfolio, hence the decision not to commission a further new series,” said a statement from the company.
There is a book of faces petition to at least do Season Three to resolve tonight’s cliffhanger.
Petition for series 3 of Home Fires – Home | Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Petition-for-series-3-of-Home-Fires- 1584329705230901/
Petition for series 3 of Home Fires. 2279 likes · 366 talking about this.
Omnes Omnibus
@Frankensteinbeck:
YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!
Frankensteinbeck
@Mnemosyne:
One other thing that stuck with me from Greece was that they loved red hair. I didn’t even know that was an option, but apparently it was, and it was considered the sexiest color.
@Omnes Omnibus:
I AM SO THE BOSS OF YOU!
Steve in the ATL
@Gelfling 545: that is funny.
Does her law school use the Skousen version of the constitution like we did at liberty u?
Chet Murthy
@Cacti: Unpossible
Duane
Congratulations to President Obama.Well deserved.
Oatler.
Since this is Tweety and MSNBC, will we also have Michael Steele or Newt there to give the “on the other hand…” cold dishwater?
Mnemosyne
@debbie:
I can’t get to a good link from the phone, but Hilary Mantel is going to be doing a lecture about Thomas Cromwell at the Huntington here in Pasadena. It’s completely sold out, so they’re going to livestream and archive it on the Huntington’s website.
ET
I bet the Twitler in Chief will tweeting like mad. This shit pisses him off. Deep inside he knows no one respects him (which is his own fault) and he utterly craves respect.
hovercraft
@efgoldman:
So he’s taking over the mantel of Denis Kucinich and Ron Paul? Perennial losers with a hardcore group of followers.
Mnemosyne
@Frankensteinbeck:
I bet they used a lot of henna to get fashionably red hair — the Egyptians loved henna, and it’s actually not terrible for your hair’s health.
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
I’ve recently run across nonsense about Mantis, objecting because some people think that a female empath is an objectionable trope, that she is “too young” for Drax (even though she could be a million years old), and even that she is an objectionable Asian stereotype because the actress portraying the character is of Korean descent.
I can’t stand this kind of nonsense. Folks gloss over the opening scene, set in an intergalactic brothel, in which the “perfect woman” is shown to be a prostitute who shuts herself off when you are done with her. This is oddly enough, not too far from how minor female characters have been depicted in both Guardians movies. And the Ravers are a kind of variation on Peter Pan Lost Boys, an all male society. No room for no womens.
Also, Drax is notable for being oblivious to social cues. His character has become quickly beloved by some fans with autism and Asperger’s. To match him with a character who is supremely attuned to emotions is actually a good fit.
This builds from a very much truncated story line in the first Guardians film. But I was distracted by Karen Gillan’s poor acting here, which might have been a result of her even worse direction. I don’t think that Gillan is a bad actor, just that she was poorly served. There are scenes where she does nothing but stand and glower, and a couple of other scenes where she sits on the floor and does nothing. It’s as though they wanted to keep her in the movie, but really had no great use for her, except to remind us obliquely that the ultimate big baddie is Thanos. I could have done with less Nebula and more and better focus on Gamora.
lamh36
@Mnemosyne: OMG!!! I love Eloisa James. When I was into historicals, she was one of my favs. I still have a few ebooks by her I think
Steve in the ATL
@Cacti:
Obviously Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is behind this, along with those neoliberal corporate shills at the FBI.
zhena gogolia
@debbie:
NO! I wish I did.
Omnes Omnibus
@Frankensteinbeck: I HATE YOU! ::slamming bedroom door::
ThresherK
Can a frontpager free one of the posts I made to Mnemosyne referencing The Glass Menagerie and Regency romance novels?
Frankensteinbeck
@Steve in the ATL:
I am so god damn mad that, if the retweets I get are any indication, the current Wilmerian trope is that the AHCA is ‘neoliberal.’ They dismiss all Democrats voting against it as a purely political ploy, by the way.
Steve in the ATL
@ThresherK: or, in the alternative, can a front pager please block all posts referencing Regency romance novels?
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
Oh, right, and I am aware of all that. I think my mental burp had to do with the fact that I was reading something about Pat B. in just the past day or two, so he was closer to the top of the stack.
Mnemosyne
FULL OF SPOILERS!
@Brachiator:
Agreed, BUT … I do think that’s part of the design of the screenplay. It’s all about toxic masculinity and toxic fatherhood and how it damages people. Interestingly, Drax is actually presented as someone who had a good father and was a good father and husband himself, which is one of the reasons he was so devastated at their loss.
When Peter is offered his chance to join his father’s plan, he rejects it because of his emotional ties to others — those ties give him the strength he needs to defeat Ego. Emotions don’t make men weak, they make them strong. You even have the little scene between Rocket and Yondu where Yondu shares his emotions with Rocket and makes them both stronger and better able to fight for Peter.
That’s a pretty radical theme for a male-oriented superhero movie.
Steve in the ATL
@Frankensteinbeck: the word “neoliberal” has lost all meaning. It’s a Rorschach word now.
hueyplong
Not going to put up with Matthews, so I will just hope that tomorrow I am reading that President Obama trolled Trump into a mild stroke.
SiubhanDuinne
@ThresherK:
Is this the new way of saying “I wish a motherfucker would”?
SiubhanDuinne
@Omnes Omnibus:
You are so grounded.
?BillinGlendaleCA
FYWP, sent two of my comments to the trash.
Brachiator
@Frankensteinbeck: RE: the Amazon Princess apparently shaved her underarms.
I doubt that the filmmakers were going for any kind of historical accuracy. Also, Amazons were neither Greek nor Roman. And who knows how hairy the Scythians were (possible sources for the legends of the Amazons).
However, if they use CGI magic to show that the Amazons burned off one breast to be better with a bow, I will stand up in the movie theater and applaud.
Also, everyone knows that Wonder Woman has Superman use his heat vision to shave her under arms, and her legs. Duh!
hovercraft
@Steve in the ATL:
Don’t forget Donna Brazille !!
Mnemosyne
@lamh36:
She has a few quirks that annoy me, but overall I like her. My favorite of her older books was When Beauty Tamed the Beast.
I also love Tessa Dare, who has a pretty similar style and themes but I think is a better writer.
@Steve in the ATL:
Romance novels are 50 percent of the fiction market. Not the genre fiction market — all fiction.
Get over it, punkin. ?
Gelfling 545
@Steve in the ATL: ah, no.
ThresherK
@Steve in the ATL: If I had my dueling gloves, I’d slap you. Bring your epee! (I’ll bring my pistol.)
Steve in the ATL
@ThresherK: if your pistol is cap and ball, that might be a fair fight!
sukabi
@aimai: there will be a massive twat storm from the toddler in Chief trying to get attention later…probably revive his wire tapping charges.
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
I hope someone asks her about it. I’m so disappointed Mantel got sidetracked, and even more so that if the third book is filmed, they’ll probably won’t have the same cast.
danielx
Tweet storm upcoming in 5…4…3…
Passing thought: this is one award for which the Mango Malignancy will never ever be nominated. His profile (figuratively) is not one that is ever going to bring the word ‘courage’ to mind. Not to mention that the closest he’s ever come to danger is possibly from food poisoning from the appalling kitchen at his gilded bird cage in Palm Beach.
Steve in the ATL
@Mnemosyne:
I actually knew that, and am no longer shocked when I check what’s new on my library’s website and the first several dozen titles all involve decolletage.
I love to see writers make a living writing (unless it involves lying about liberals) so the genre doesn’t bother me. Plus, I’m not a republican so I don’t demand that the (small!) government ban everything I don’t like.
ThresherK
@Steve in the ATL: I’ve got just the weapon in mind.
Dawn’s a bit early. Let’s try after 11am.
Steve in the ATL
@ThresherK: agree on the time. And unlimited ammo won’t help you much with a cap and ball pistol–the loading time is measured in hours.
Mnem, you will be basing your next book on our duel, right? We will both wear torn shirts and tight pants.
Jeffro
@Brachiator: me and 11-year-old Jeffro Jr saw it yesterday and loved it. Pure superhero/sci fi brain candy!
danielx
@Steve in the ATL:
Extra cylinders! Your wisdom will not help you, Flame of Udun!
Vhh
@Kristine: Like Obi Wan Kenobi, his power only grows stronger now that he is out office. See also Lincoln, Abe, FDR, JFK, Churchill, de Gaulle, and Stalin.
Frankensteinbeck
@ThresherK:
You bastard. You made me click on TV Tropes! I barely escaped with my life!
Kathleen
@Steve in the ATL: Will you be wearing Fabio wigs?
efgoldman
@Frankensteinbeck:
Dense as granite assholes gotta’ assshole. It’s what they do.
We need a new third party, called the Purity Ponies. Their symbol can be a pink My Little Pony, and they can bitch, moan and whine like the toddlers they are.
Quinerly
Actually, to everyone hating on Chris Matthews, the lead up to the actual award is quite good. Great guests, great flashbacks of Kennedy and Obama speeches. Well done show so far.
rikyrah
I am recording. ??
Frankensteinbeck
@efgoldman:
Don’t. I deeply respected that show, its dedication to quality writing and animation, and the positive feminist message, right up until Hasbro put the jackass woman who came up with Equestria Girls in charge.
Currants
Am sure you jackals have already noted, but live stream w/o Matthews (and for us without cable) is here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HXEAZ5XcwxA&ebc=ANyPxKp2m-ee9OS_EiMNQBQRV3x_JhQXIhmXe7uicG1982gef34BF48n7cC3dfRfm8EBPgCzwKKWyoHp0TDBSJK4xQjli61aOQ
? ?? Goku ? ?
@efgoldman: I propose these:
http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Pinkie_Pie
http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Princess_Cadance
Ladyraxterinok
@lamh36: Georgette Heyer RULES!!
efgoldman
@Frankensteinbeck:
The Leftier Than Thous wouldn’t respect copyright or pay a fee anyway.
Steve in the ATL
@Kathleen:
If you want me to cover my long, wavy, blond locks with a wig, then sure
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
FULL OF SPOILERS!And note that I generally hate talking movie details in the first two weeks of a movie’s run.
Not buying it. Ego is a sperm donor. He is not a father. And the screenplay is just too dumb about developing themes. Also, it is a current “thing” to reduce groups to a family. They pushed this in the new Star Trek, which is ridiculous. About the only place it works is in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, where it has always been more of a theme.
In the first and second Guardian films, women are lovers, mothers, daughters, or proto mothers, lovers, and daughters, but most of all dead mothers, lovers and daughters, with a small exception carved out for a woman as a bad ass fighter. The women who are rulers, the Sovereign in Vol 2, the Glenn Close character in Vo 1, are also faintly ridiculous. And it’s kinda weird how both films feature a scene in which a mother hovers protectively over a child just before some doom is about to happen.
But it is not a binary thing. I see what you are saying, but I think it is undercut in both films by a persistent adolescent male point of view, and that there are never any women who can articulate an alternative view. They, like Drax and Peter’s mother, all dead. Also (SPOILERS) I was really put off by what we learned about Peter’s mother in this film. A crucial revelation exists only to propel Peter into action, to make fight. Because the film has previously been so jokey, when it veers into something more serious, the difference between an indifferent deity and one who is maliciously cruel, the shift is too jarring to be dramatically successful. Some people I’ve talked to about the movie miss the detail that Ego had and disposed of countless spawn, and that Peter is just the only one who survived.
Again, I see what you mean, but this barely rises above bro’hood. Women are barely included. Some of this may have been intended, but it is really lost in the jokey tone, and often cheap sentimentality (especially the Cheers references, which might make sense for Peter but which don’t matter to the teen and young adult movie audience).
Elsewhere…
Thanks for the heads up on this. I will be on the lookout for the livestream.
cain
@Gin & Tonic:
Didn’ t Trump also endorse Le Penn? What’s the difference? Jeezus.
? ?? Goku ? ?
@Frankensteinbeck:
The problem I have with Equestria Girls is that they literally all look alike, shape wise; extremely thin. That’s not an issue when they’re ponies.
That’s the least of that’s franchise’s problems though. The “Brony” community, at least on places like FIMfiction, reak of MRA and perverted shit. All in the name of “free speech”
SiubhanDuinne
@Gin & Tonic:
Completely off topic, but how’s the arm?
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@Steve in the ATL: More of a Scopie’s test, in that cavalier use of the word is a good way to preemtively destroy one’s own credibility.
@Frankensteinbeck: I’m not aware of the context, but I think here the point might be that Ryan’s randroid wet dream is what real neoliberalism looks like, as opposed to “Democrats I don’t like.” Erik Loomis over at LGM actually does posts on neoliberalism periodically because it has now been all but drained of meaning in popular usage.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne: Last I heard, still attached.
ThresherK
@Frankensteinbeck: I made you do it? Where’s your PersonalResponsibility?
I will cop to making you hover over the link and read the text, but not clicking it.
@Steve in the ATL: Tight pants? I think Mnemo’s got a shelf full of Regencies with those on the cover.
Frankensteinbeck
@? ?? Goku ? ?:
The fandom loathes MRAs and everything to do with them. Rather like our dealing with the Wilmerites, every good cause draws a fringe of loud, disgusting assholes who don’t get the point.
And yes, one of the many reasons EQG is ghastly is that the original show’s message of ‘Every kind of femininity is good’ was amended with ‘as long as you’re pencil-thin and don’t let that get in the way of your pursuit of high school popularity.’ Megan McCarthy is 100% complicit in that travesty.
dmsilev
Hah! I am vindicated! Grad student came to me a week or so ago with a problem: His thingy (technical term here…) was getting out of alignment as it cooled from room temperature down to the operational temperatures near absolute zero. He proposed that since what was important was the electrical capacitance between two parts, we could construct a variable capacitor, build a feedback loop to automatically keep the thing tuned, blah blah blah. Me: Get (or make) a spacer of the right thickness, and tape the two parts to the spacer.
Email just now: That works. Here’s some pretty data.
KISS is an important design principle. (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
Baud
@ThresherK:
In honor of this evening, he blames Obama.
dmsilev
@Baud: Aren’t we also supposed to sarcastically thank Obama as well?
chris
@Frankensteinbeck: Seconded.
Shana
@zhena gogolia: Please let us know how you like it. He’s one of those interesting character actors I always like seeing in a movie.
Baud
@dmsilev: I forgot. Thanks, Obama.
Adam L Silverman
@aimai: Chris Matthews? He’s on MSNBC Monday through Fridays. Nothing can get him to go away…//
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: It’s all lies. I didn’t do half those things. The author refused to let me see how he transcribed and worked the interview materials in.//
cain
@Brachiator:
She’s quite tall at 5’11.. she didn’t seem that tall in the movie. I thought she didn’t do too bad. I mean teh character was supposed to be a pissed off, resentful woman for various reasons.
Baud
@dmsilev: Is there any problem duct tape can’t solve?
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic: Yep they said he ordered the CIA to do it.
dmsilev
@Baud: Electrical tape, actually (thin mylar tape); duct tape is too goopy and leaves too much of a residue. And doesn’t deal well with a cryogenic vacuum environment. Of course, the fun part is what we use for spacers. When a spacer has to be as thin as possible, the go-to solution is cigarette rolling paper soaked in varnish. Students always give me a funny look when I suggest that, but it works.
lamh36
Time for American Gods…see ya’ll on the flipside
Adam L Silverman
@Brachiator: It has been amazing reading that. Part of it, I think, is fueled by how meh the Snyder led DC movie universe has been. Some of it has just been stupidity. Like how when a piece of rubble from a fight comes crashing down and further breaks up on the small of her back in the new trailer this is clearly a gratuitous anti-feminist something or other. As the first female superhero to make it to a solo movie there is a lot, unfortunately, riding on this. But for Deity’s sake – it’s a movie.
mai naem mobile
My sister who used to read historical romances has told me they have a lot of real historical events in them. She says some of it looks like the author did quite a bit of research to have the story line work around the history.
JPL
@Adam L Silverman: Good for him, if true. lol
Thanks Obama
chris
@Baud: TuckTape is good when duct tape just won’t do.
Brachiator
A Quick NON SPOILER review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
It’s not officially summer, but Guardians Vol 2 is an enjoyable summer blockbuster. The first movie was a surprise hit because, even though it is a Marvel movie, the main characters are much less known than those of other comics. But the adventures were fresh, the tone more Indiana Jones in Space than typical Marvel action or dour DC mythology. And audiences just flat out loved Drax, Rocket and Groot.
And so we get our heroes again here for more adventures, led by Star Lord Peter Quill and his merry band of Guardians. You get action, the introduction of some new characters, and a largely well done story focusing on the mysterious Ego, a living planet god (or is that god planet), played by Kurt Russell, Along the way there is action, jokes, returning characters, and lots of cameos. Really. Lots of cameos.
The script is very clever, but a bit excessive. I’m hearing that director James Gunn is one of those directors who likes to deliberately stretch a gag out too long before delivering the payoff, and he does that more than a few times here. It kinda works, but it tests an audience’s good will.
It does work well in the actual opening of the film, where Gunn puts into the background what otherwise would be a standard comic book movie action battle, while he focuses on a dancing baby Groot. I’m told hat this sequence really plays out well in 3D screenings.
I have to say that for me, the songs in the first movie were better and more effectively used than the songs here. And this is despite the fact that Gunn tries to tie the pop soundtrack more to the plot.
The one big weakness in the film is perhaps surprising. For a space opera, a lot of the action sequences and visuals are fun to watch, but not really stunning or visually interesting. Good, but not outstanding. By contrast, the action scenes in the later Captain America movies are some of the best in any film.
There is also the ongoing problem that the painted on makeup makes it hard for some of the actors to deliver a good performance. This is unfortunate, since Zoe Saldana is particularly good in this installment of the franchise.
But still overall a lot of fun. And Kurt Russell, who also appears in the latest Fast and Furious film, is again just solid as hell. There is some digital youth effects involving Russell that are scarily well done.
For folks who may see this in the theaters, again, lots of cameos. Lots. A few unnecessary. And multiple end credit bits. You really want to stay until the very end.
Adam L Silverman
@Frankensteinbeck: You’re really, really old?
? ?? Goku ? ?
@Frankensteinbeck: It’s such a shame, because I rather like the character that Sunset Shimmer has developed into. I’m aware about them being a minority. That’s why I was complaining aboutFimfiction. It seems to have a very authoritarian, pro-military side to it as well
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic: If she just happens to fall out of the window or has a heart attack or is found in the trunk of a taxi with a closed head injury I’m sure it’ll just be coincidence.
Also, I am absolutely not advocating or in favor of anything untoward happening to her.
Michael Bersin
Senator Claire McCaskill (D), at an event in Kansas City on Saturday in response to a question on Trump’s tax returns:
“…it is really whether or not the criminal investigation that is ongoing at the FBI is gonna be able to follow the money around to his associates during the campaign…”
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D): on Trump and Russia – May 6, 2017
Frankensteinbeck
@? ?? Goku ? ?:
I’ve noticed that MRAs tend to gravitate to things that repudiate them in every way, and they don’t get that fact. Like that the Matrix is by transgendered writers, about the weirdness of the transgender journey.
Adam L Silverman
@Brachiator: Especially as Mantis in the comics is, at least partially, the universal feminine/mother.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: He said, don’t ask.
Adam L Silverman
@Brachiator: Nebula was originally written to die in the first movie. They changed that because Gunn had plans for the character in 2 and 3, as well as Marvel having plans for the character in the next two Avengers’ movies.
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
That dialogue is from The Shop on Main Street.
Steve in the ATL
@Frankensteinbeck: would you like me to draw you a Venn diagram of MRAs and idiots?
Spoiler alert: the MRA circle is entirely inside the idiot circle
Quinerly
Watching The Profile in Courage Award and tuning up for a big cry. Love how Caroline hasn’t had Botox and doesn’t seem to give a fuck about her wrinkles and sun spots. Choked up at her shout out to Biden and Kerry. Her son is adorable…he looks like a cross between John John (I can say that, I was born about the time he was) and Teddy. Michelle looks gorgeous in that dress. Now, President Obama….So handsome, so articulate. Here come the tears. I still can’t process how we ended up with Trump. That overwhelming shock has hit me again.
MomSense
I miss Pres O and Michelle.
Pluky
@Frankensteinbeck: two words: body lice
danielx
@Steve in the ATL:
Much like ‘conservative’, in fact. Which at this point seems to indicate anyone from Antonin Scalia to Reinhard Heydrich.
SiubhanDuinne
How I have hungered to hear a President of the United States speak in full, grammatical, substantive, intelligent sentences.
I will cherish these few moments of Barack Obama’s acceptance speech.
SFAW
@Baud:
Or, if we wanted to invite a tweetstorm, refer to Shitgibbon as “Profiles in Cuckrage.”
Hilarity ensues.
NotMax
List of all recipients of the award to date.
1999 might be described as the year of The Odd Couple.
chris
@SiubhanDuinne: So he’s being mean to the shitgibbon again? /the onion
EBT
Whoo now I have image loading working in my game too. My bad writing AND awful mouse drawn artwork. I am really going places.
SiubhanDuinne
@Quinerly:
I will be amazed, thunderstruck, and gobsmacked if Jack Schlossberg doesn’t run for public office in the next two years.
SFAW
@Frankensteinbeck:
“Surely you’re joking”
SiubhanDuinne
@chris:
Yes, by the mere fact of his mastery of syntax.
SFAW
@NotMax:
Where the hell is Oscar Underwood?
NotMax
Tidbit did not know:
Macron’s wife is nearly 25 years his senior.
efgoldman
@SiubhanDuinne:
Not that Vermilion Vermin can tell the difference; he is, after all, the greatest. most effective, classiest orator of our time. Just ask him – if he knows what “orator” means.
Steve in the ATL
@efgoldman:
That’s what melania did before she got this First Lady gig
efgoldman
@Steve in the ATL:
Hope the tweezers she used were padded
Jeffro
@hueyplong:
Why “mild”? C’mon, man…
SiubhanDuinne
@SFAW:
HIS NAME’S NOT SHIRLEY!! DON’T CALL HIM THAT!
SFAW
@efgoldman:
Of ALL TIME, you pathetic loozah
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
David Letterman is there.
Sadly, so is Elizabeth Warren. What a phony. After the way she attacked Obama last week, just shameless.
Lyrebird
@Frankensteinbeck: Well that’s a much better reason than, in my case, “I got stuck in a rather small airport for 2 hrs longer than planned and one of the only books available in the only shop in the airport had a book about body hair so I read it!”
You clearly remember more than I did from your intentional research.
SFAW
@SiubhanDuinne:
Good job.
You and I could probably keep ourselves amused with Airplane-like jokes for hours.
efgoldman
@SFAW:
Well, since he don’t know nothin’… ’bout history
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
Ew.
@Steve in the ATL:
Ewwww.
@efgoldman:
EEEWWWWWWW PEW PEW PEW UGGGGHH!!
debbie
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
Finally I find you! Thanks for that CNN link that linked to the 1993 USA Today article confirming the GOP’s songfest.
efgoldman
@SiubhanDuinne:
HE started it!
eclare
Oh damn, I miss him. Mentioning the Schlossberg kids, his kids.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@debbie: no problem, happy to help.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
Shee-it, he don’t know nothin’ about nothin’
So he just says whatever his remaining brain [sic] cells tell him will make him sound
impotentimportant.NotMax
Picturing yahoos overwhelming the House switchboard demanding the award be repealed.
SFAW
@debbie:
Fake News!
SiubhanDuinne
@SFAW:
You and I and about 87%* of the BJ jackalhood.
*(Not intended to be a real percentage. I picked the wrong week to give up statistical accuracy.)
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
This country doesn’t deserve Barack Obama.
efgoldman
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
At least roughly half of it doesn’t
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
You kids behave RIGHT NOW or you’re going into time out with Omnes.
.
.
.
Wait, that doesn’t actually sound like a threat.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: This is how American dominance ends – possibly (in fact most likely) not with a bang, but because vast swathes of the populace are butthurt crybabies.
Fuck mayonnaise.
efgoldman
@SiubhanDuinne:
Can’t make me
Whattya’ gonna’ do, turn this blog around?
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
I think it’s fair to say that it’s complicated. ? There’s always that gap between intent and success, and I think the intent was there, though it may not have been executed as successfully as one might hope. I also think the men in the films look pretty ridiculous — what the hell was that getup they put Lee Pace in for the first movie?
Also, I think the huge underlying theme of the movie is that Peter needs to leave his past behind and grow the fuck up, and I think the whole narrative is designed to that goal. Again, YMMV.
Omnes Omnibus
@SiubhanDuinne: I feel threatened by it.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
Has romance always been such a huge share of the market? I wonder if sales have risen commensurate to the surge of internet pRon. Maybe there’s a curious correlation?
SiubhanDuinne
That was a wonderful speech. Humble, funny, erudite, inspiring, heart-tugging….
Can we hit rewind by about, oh, nine years?
japa21
As both the better half and I said, damn we miss that man.
danielx
@efgoldman:
I could totally have done without that particular image, thankyewverymuch.
NotMax
@Siubhan Duinne
Ever see the movie from which the core plot (and the exclamation point) of Airplane! was lifted?
Zero Hour! B-fare, but amusing in retrospect after it’s parody successor.
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
Do I have to don my Mob Enforcer costume again?
Quinerly
@SiubhanDuinne:
I know it’s a small thing, but I love men’s clothing…well dressed men. Jack had a beautifully fitting suit. Gorgeous tie. Obama’s flag pin on his tux made me cry harder. Remember when no flag pin was such an issue? How much time the press would devote to it. Miss those times.
Patricia Kayden
@hueyplong: I had linked to where you could watch it online without bothering with Matthews and company upthread. I will not subject myself to Matthews’ chatter or anything else on cable news.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne:
I see what you did there.
SFAW
@SiubhanDuinne:
If you say it in french it does. Especially after Omnes corrects it for you.
Brachiator
@Adam L Silverman:
Interesting. I don’t know the comics well, but I never thought that Mantis must be some “hot submissive Asian chick” just because the actor in the role was part Asian.
Really? Much was made about Karen Gillan, hot off Doctor Who, joining the cast, even though it seemed that she spent more time in makeup, and having her head shaved, than she spent in actual on screen time. It would have been absurd to hire such a high profile actor and then kill her off in the first film, when she didn’t have that much to do (compared to having to give screen time to the main cast).
One other thing. Chris Pratt and the other actors have warmly praised director James Gunn. He seems to have had a clear idea of what he wanted to do with the films since the very beginning. Pratt also talked about how odd it felt to have to work with another director in the Infinity War films because of their strong rapport with Gunn. I find this to be kinda charming.
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne: did you get it at the sale at Penney’s?
efgoldman
@danielx:
Blame the barrister. I used a perfectly cromulent word in the correct context.
Kathleen
@Steve in the ATL: Well, no need for a wig then!
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: German and Russian are for threats. Don’t you watch movies?
Steve in the ATL
@SFAW: “accent grave? Que tu es bête!”
He’s so mean.
cain
@Brachiator:
No love for Sylvester Stallone? :-)
SFAW
@Quinerly:
Quoting Melania, are we?
efgoldman
@Steve in the ATL:
She gets all her enforcer suits custom made
NotMax
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
As I opined here on election night, not with a bang but a simper.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus:
No.
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
You know, I’m honestly not sure. Possibly, years ago, on a Late Late Show or something. Interesting to see from IMDb that the main character’s name is Ted Stryker. LOL.
I’m trying to remember an airplane disaster movie in which (SPOILER!!) the thing that brought the plane down was a cup of coffee spilled on the controls in the cockpit. Sound familiar?
Denali
I want President Obama back. That is all. Why could we not keep him?
Ruckus
@dmsilev:
Have used Zig Zags for years for spacers. We don’t need to soak them in varnish though. The package has changed but the paper is still the same thickness, .001, after all these decades.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
Actually, it’s German and Russian accents that are for threats, not the actual German/Russian phrases themselves.
SFAW
@SiubhanDuinne:
Fate is the Hunter, I think
SiubhanDuinne
@Quinerly:
You say that as though there’s something wrong about a tie that’s long enough to tickle the crotch AND is secured with strips of scotch tape.
Adam L Silverman
@Brachiator: My understanding is that Gunn has done a very good job. As have the Russo brothers with Avengers.
As to Mantis:
http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Mantis_(Earth-616)
(with more at the link- the character, as are many Marvel characters, is a mess through constant changes in continuity)
Nebula in the movie:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-2-karen-gillan-nebula-dies-chris-pratt-zoe-saldana-release-date-trailer-a7702571.html
efgoldman
@SFAW:
Ve haff vaze uff making you loff!
Always with a cigarette held backwards
zhena gogolia
Well, Home Fires certainly left us with a few cliffhangers. I want to see Bob get his comeuppance! Waah! I want more Mark Umbers!
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: A fair point.
zhena gogolia
@efgoldman:
You’re thinking Arte Johnson now.
SiubhanDuinne
@SFAW:
Ah, good for you, thanks! That’s it!
efgoldman
@Ruckus:
I’m sure that’s what you tell the DEA agent posing as the clerk/cashier
NotMax
@Steve in the ATL
“It’s Biss-o-nay. Accent grave over the e.”
Lurve me some W. C. Fields.
SiubhanDuinne
@zhena gogolia:
Ve-e-e-e-erry interesssting.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
That’s what I’m talking about. Thanks.
Of course, the ultimate threat auf Deutsch is:
“Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!“
dogwood
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
Warren’s from Mass. so she probably feels obligated to attend. You noticed that the President singled her out, along with other elected officials. He’s gracious that way. Warren doesn’t traffic in graciousness. It’s why she is so beloved by some. I did think of her though at the end when the chairman thanked the corporate sponsors of the event.
Ruckus
@efgoldman:
I still have a package from the early 80s. Have seen the latest package but never purchased any.
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
They are befuckinSPOKE, my friend.
SFAW
@NotMax:
Actually, his name was Egbert Souse’. (I think the movie was The Bank Dick) And I was told by a friend that it was actually an accent aigu, but je ne parle pas francais.
JPL
It appears that Trump stayed on Air Force One, forty minutes after it landed. Kushner said he was finishing up some work, but the time coincided with President Obama’s speech.
efgoldman
@SFAW:
I put that into Google translate, and the result is [FATAL ERROR]
SiubhanDuinne
@SFAW:
C’est drôle.
OGLiberal
I watched that speech and pretend during it that this was the guy who was still my president. Was a nice escape, albeit, a short one.
He won’t hold office again but he does not sound like he’s finished. Good.
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL:
ROFLMFAO!!
efgoldman
@OGLiberal:
Hell, he’s only 55. And I bet his stress level (and Michele’s) hos dropped dramatically since January
SFAW
@efgoldman:
I can’t tell if you’re joking — I’m assuming the “[FATAL ERROR]” is the tip-off that you are — but in case you’re not: just Google, not translate.
ETA: And, assuming I guessed correctly re: the [FATAL ERROR] — nicely done.
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
Paging Paul Gambi.
(Who knows? Maybe he moonlights for Marvel.)
weaselone
@dogwood:
Her comments were blown far out of proportion. The headlines focused on one part and were far more incendiary than her actual statement. Remind you of how the press treats any other woman you’ve heard of?
Another Scott
@efgoldman: I thought you were joking!
I guess the AI doesn’t like it, though it doesn’t crash on the first sentence…
Cheers,
Scott.
NotMax
@
SFAW
That’s a different film altogether. Take it you’ve never seen It’s A Gift? Harold Bissonette; the quote is verbatim.
Another Scott
@SFAW: D’Oh!
I guess the Googlers got the joke too. Or maybe it really did kill the AI! (Temporarily)
Cheers,
Scott.
efgoldman
@SFAW:
Nope. Really happened. I just tried again. Also too Scott ^^
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
Guardians of the Galaxy Spoilers
It’s not that the male or female characters look ridiculous. It is that the female characters are often shown to be ridiculous. The Sovereign is shown as maybe having the hots for Peter. And later, there is the weird scene where they are rolling out the blue carpet as the Sovereign advances. She has to stop and wait when the roller jams. It’s a small bit of business, but kinda dopey. And her posture or stance is weirdly unnatural in some shots. I went back and found out that the actor who plays the Sovereign, Elizabeth Debicki, is 6 ft 3. Maybe this was a visual challenge. Also, as noted earlier, Glenn Close comes off as a bit of a dunce as Nova Prime in the first film.
And Lee Pace is an example of the general problem that Marvel has in depicting villains. They just can’t do it right.
Interesting. This may indeed be there, but Gunn also has to play to the Prime Directive of comics as they are pitched to boys: that men never grow up. Super heroes (mainly guys) remain bad asses who fight villains and get hot babes forever and ever and ever.
Also, you could spend time on the homo eroticism in the material. Is Peter Ego’s son, or is the relationship more like that of Zeus and Ganymede? Why is Ego always piercing Peter with his phallic energy beam? And when the other, all male, Ravers, ask Yondu why he cares more for Peter than he does for them, the sexual implications again are fairly obvious.
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: Oh god no, not joke warfare!
ETA: “There were zwei peanuts walking down the strasse, and one them was assaulted … peanut.”
SFAW
@NotMax:
Correct. Frankly, I think the joke works better when the last name is Souse’, but that’s just me. But thanks for the pointer, apparently “Gift” was first by about six years
NotMax
@Omnes Omnibus
Shpritzkrieg?
SFAW
@efgoldman:
It’s “The World’s Deadliest Joke,” from Python. (Which is why I thought the [FATAL ERROR] was an acknowledgement thereof.)
ETA: Although, it has occurred to me that it may be a meta-joke from the Google translate programmers
Adam L Silverman
@Mnemosyne: @Brachiator: This is what Ronan the Accuser looks like in the comics:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/80/RonantheAccuser.jpg
https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/11352/815873-10232_accuser.jpg
Here’s what he looks like in the cartoons:
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/hulksmash/images/5/51/Ronan_the_Accuser.png/revision/latest?cb=20150701005629
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/avengersearthsmightiestheroes/images/0/0e/Vlcsnap-2012-04-21-11h40m31s168.png/revision/latest?cb=20120421154059
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus:
Only ones about gladiators
This could go on all night. Possibly a double-TBogg.
dm
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
This is the kind of thing a Berniebro would be justifiably reviled for saying. Don’t do that. I’m letting my knee jerk about this because this quote is the sort of thing the Russian trolls do to sew division among us — turn an unfortunate comment (pun intended) into an “attack”. We’re going to be faced with a lot of that in the coming years, it’s best if we get out of the habit of doing it to ourselves now.
Fortunately, I expect Obama’s skin is thicker than yours: he knows that calling a decision “unfortunate” does not constitute an attack.
I think people should remember that no one had any trouble with a publisher offering $60 million for the Obamas’ memoirs (if the audio book comes out with them doing the narration…. be still, my heart).
If you’ll indulge me in a bit of hyperbole of my own: but taking money from the big banks is like taking money from the tobacco industry, especially after having failed to jail any of the bastards. It’s making her job — buidling a constituency that will support going after the way banks treat people — harder. If she kvetches a bit, it isn’t an attack.
NotMax
@SFAW
Highly recommended. Brass figlagee with bronze oak leaf cluster.
(Don’t expect that last reference will ring a bell, but ya never know.)
Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire
I’m super duper late with this, but seeing as how I have a five year old that I watch MLPFiM and the Equestria Girls movies with aaaaalllllll the time:
My issue with the Equestria Girls movies, aside from the fact they look ridiculous physically, is that the writers tried to shoehorn in a love triangle story into the plot of the first movie (between Twilight Sparkle/Sunset Shimmer/Flash Sentry) for no reason whatsoever; there is literally no reason for it, and it kinda cares over into the other movies, or is at least mentioned. It’s just so stupid.
The regular show, though, is quite good. There is next to zero love interest stories, and none at all involving the Mane Six. What I REALLY appreciate about the love stories/romantic pairings that do happen on the show show how difficult babies can sometimes be to take care of. There is no shying away from the fact that sometimes the Cake twins can be a handful, or that Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are constantly tired from caring for baby Flurry Heart. It doesn’t romanticize parenthood, nor does it portray it as terrible- it simply shows that there is a lot of effort to put into one’s children. I can’t remember a show- a children’s show- that portrayed the care of babies that way.
Okay, I’m done now.
Brachiator
@cain:
No. Just didn’t work for me.
Steve in the ATL
@Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire: holy shit that’s a lot information I didn’t need to know!
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
Yes, but they make fun of the Sovereign’s entire race A LOT in the movie, not just her. The whole point is that they present themselves as a superior, genetically engineered Master Race, but they’re really just a bunch of conceited douchebags. So of course they run short of carpet for her to walk on, because they’re not as superior as they pretend to be.
And yet, what is the final bonus scene, the one the audience walks out to? It’s the final piece of the theme and of Peter’s character arc, with him taking on a parental role.
Like I said, we can argue about whether or not Gunn was successful in getting his themes across, but they’re built right in and they pervade all of the storylines in the film. Every character — including Rocket — has a scene about their feelings regarding their father or father figure.
debbie
@JPL:
Bet that cost money.
SFAW
@NotMax:
It doesn’t. Google returns Jean Shepherd on top. I used to listen to him from time to time, but was not a fanatic.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mnemosyne: You guys do understand that a lot of people have not seen the damned movie yet, right?
dm
@weaselone: This says what I wanted to more graciously and in fewer words. Thanks.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
Yeah, but this is how Lee Pace looked in the costume.
But, then, I was a huge “Pushing Daisies” fan, so it was hard for me to buy Pace as a genocidal villain. YMMV.
Adam L Silverman
@Mnemosyne: I know how he looked. It was terrible. I also thought he wasn’t particularly good as Thranduil in the Hobbit either. Actually, I don’t think I’ve liked him in anything I’ve seen him in. He does have a good voice for narration if he’s willing to do voice work for documentaries.
Mnemosyne
@Omnes Omnibus:
Okay, I’ll stop. But, honestly, I don’t think we’ve given away any spoilers. “Conceited douchebags” is a line from the trailer.
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
He was great on “Pushing Daisies” (which was killed by the last writer’s strike) and in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. He got his first really good notices playing a transwoman in an HBO movie that I’m blanking on the name of (“Soldier’s Girl,” or something like that?)
He can be very good, but he may be one of those actors who has a hard time with green screens.
Steve in the ATL
@Mnemosyne:
Oh. I thought you were describing Omnes and me. Never mind!
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Enjoyed him a lot in both Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies, also too Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
Adam L Silverman
@Mnemosyne: @NotMax: I haven’t seen any of those things.
greennotGreen
This is greennotGreen’s sister. She didn’t want to just disappear, but she’s just too tired to type or even think. She is lying in bed comfortably, having hit the dilaudid only once today. However, her body’s resources are greatly diminished, and it is a trial to even lift a glass of ice. A night of rest may restore her partially. I (or she) will update you tomorrow.
Mnemosyne
@greennotGreen:
I’m so sorry. I actually know how you feel, because I lost one of my older brothers to cancer in 2015. Take care of yourself as well as her and we’ll do our best find homes for her last two doggies.
Brachiator
@Adam L Silverman:
But it just doesn’t work to recreate this in the movies. This has been a consistent problem for Marvel. The villains are often just cinematically weak.
Thanos is supposed to be an ultimate baddie. But he looks like a dope sitting on a purple toilet.
Christopher Eccleston was neutered by the heavy makeup in the Thor movie. Oscar Isaac, who is incredibly charismatic, could barely walk and could not act through the makeup they put on him in the X-Men movie. One of the smartest things about “Guardians of the Galaxy 2” is that they established and revealed Kurt Russell in human form before turning things over to the special effects.
DC has an advantage here. Some of their best villains, Luthor, Zod, even Joker, do not require that the actors playing them be hidden away under tons of makeup.
Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire
@greennotGreen: Thinking of you guys at this time.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Wonderfalls is a sheer delight. Good quasi-surreal fun; an ensemble cast meshing together with aplomb. Have lent the DVD set to numerous friends and acquaintances to unanimous approval. Fact is, have had to plead to have it returned a couple of times.
Adria McDowell (formerly Lurker Extraordinaire
@Steve in the ATL: Sorry!
Brachiator
@greennotGreen: My heart and thoughts are with you and greennotGreen.
Adam L Silverman
@greennotGreen: We’re keeping good thoughts for you all.
Adam L Silverman
@Brachiator: It is what it is.
NotMax
@NotMax
Adam, music video done to the kickbutt opening theme song (and how rare a happenstance that is these days) to give you a taste of the fun.
Ruckus
@NotMax:
Wonderfalls is great. Another series that I liked that only ran 2 yrs was Dead Like Me.
SiubhanDuinne
@greennotGreen:
Thank you for the updates. I wouldn’t presume to speak for anyone else, but judging by the comments over the past few weeks, I think it’s fair to say that we all feel greatly honoured that greennotGreen invited us to walk part of this journey with her.
My thoughts are with her, and with you, your mother, the dogs and birds, and everyone whose life has been touched by this remarkable woman. Peace and love to you all.
Brachiator
@West of the Rockies (been a while):
I don’t know. Kinda different readerships, the Internet stuff and romance novels. I did find this for 2015:.
Ruckus
@SiubhanDuinne:
Can’t say it any better than that.
Mnemosyne
@NotMax:
@Ruckus:
You may or may not be surprised to hear that “Pushing Daisies,” “Wonderfalls,” and “Dead Like Me” were all created by the same guy: Bryan Fuller. He definitely had a niche for a while there.
NotMax
@Ruckus
Heck, Wonderfalls was unceremoniously yanked before the first season fully aired. Completed unshown episodes included in the DVD boxed set.
Steve in the ATL
@Brachiator:
So…men look at pr0n while women read it?
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
Yup yup. Just off kilter enough at the starting gate is his milieu.
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
Hmm. I’ve heard “50 percent” in the past, but Romance Writers of America has the same statistics, so either the market share has shrunk, or people were conflating “biggest market share” and “majority of the market.”
The ePublishing statistic echoes something else I heard — romance sales went up once people got comfortable with e-readers. No more being embarrassed by the book’s cover while you’re on the bus.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@greennotGreen:
Another complete stranger wishing your family peace. Your sister’s grace (and your own for stepping in) is remarkable and bespeaks a lovely spirit.
hovercraft
@greennotGreen:
Thank you for taking the time to update us at what is a very difficult time for all of you. Please let greennotGreen know that she and all of you are in our thoughts and prayers. {{{{{}}}}}}
sukabi
@Steve in the ATL: visual vs verbal
Mnemosyne
@sukabi:
Also, (usually) female-oriented vs male-oriented, and relationship-oriented vs encounter-oriented (or however you want to designate porn).
Brachiator
@Steve in the ATL:
Romance novels, not really pr0n.
I kinda think that more explicit stuff is a subset of the larger romance market.
Oddly enough, fanfiction can be extremely explicit. I don’t know the breakdown with respect to gender of either writers or readers of fanfiction.
But if you wanted to do a crass generalization, you might say that there are more women consumers of emotional pr0n, and that emotional pr0n is not necessarily sexually explicit.
Steeplejack
@SFAW:
He was Harold Bissonnette in It’s a Gift (1934).
@NotMax:
I see I’m late, as usual.
NotMax
@Brachiator
Have seen it reported numerous times that the vast majority of writers of internet slash fiction are female.
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
I would think that e reading also took off as people realized that they could easily stock up on a series or the works of a particular author. But e reading seems to have stabilized as e-book prices have risen.
Also libraries got better about stocking ebooks. But this was very much a function of publishers ceasing to do stupid shit with respect to how they deal with libraries and ebook pricing and availability.
Mnemosyne
@Brachiator:
You can get every type of romance novel from “clean” romance where they never even kiss until the end to “erotic” romance where they’re already having BDSM sex by the end of chapter one, and everything in between. Even calling it “emotional porn” is pretty dismissive, though. Why is a romance novel automatically “emotional porn” but John Irving’s novels aren’t?
G clued me in that LA Public Library and County of LA have the best Overdrive selections, and you only need to be a resident of LA County to get cards from them. But I still end up buying a lot of books on Amazon because most romances are $4.99 or under, which is my preferred price point. Plus I have eReaderIQ to alert me to sales on my favorite authors.
Jacel
@zhena gogolia: Here’s the sheet music for the song you’re thinking of.
Jacel
@efgoldman: Ungummed cigarette paper is perfect for drying key pads on a woodwind instrument. I heard of a musician going into a smoke shop and ordering two dozen packages of ungummed Zig Zag. The clerk said, “I know what YOU are… A school band teacher!”
Brachiator
@Mnemosyne:
Sorry. I did not make myself clear. I did not intend to dismiss romance novels. And note that I did not even say that more explicit romance novels were pr0n.
But I was disputing the notion that men watch pr0n, while women read it. And emotional pr0n can include stuff like soap operas, tv shows where people act out, throw chairs and go on about “who is the father.” Some reality shows fit this. And some of the Judge Judy type shows It’s about phoney or excessive emotionally heightened material, and can include genres such as mysteries. This kind of thing is closer to being the complement of empty Internet pr0n.
But to be clear, this is not what romance novels are typically about.
Elsewhere. The Pasadena and Glendale libraries used to have a pretty good setup for ebooks.
KS in MA
@NotMax: Zero Hour is hilarious after you’ve seen (and loved) Airplane!
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
Been thinking of getting a tablet for mobile use and as an e-reader and as I’m an Apple user, that’s were I’ve looked so far. But am wondering what others think of the different platforms. BTW I have an Android phone so don’t confuse me as an all Apple, all the time type. Just thinking about an all around tablet.
Brachiator
@Ruckus:
If you have an iPad or iPad mini, you can use the Amazon Kindle app. You can also, with some tinkering use the non Amazon e reader apps.
There are some alternative ebook services and formats, but I can’t be bothered. However, if you do a lot of library borrowing, then you may want something that works well with your local library.
I have my trusty Nexus 7 for Android, but it is old and discontinued. I just don’t think there is a truly good recent Android tablet. Not for a reasonable price. You might look at one of the Amazon Android tablets. They recently dropped the price. These are also good if you are an Amazon Prime member and watch any of their videos. Some can be downloaded for free.
And the Amazon “paper white” tablets are good and very easy on the eyes.
Steeplejack
@Ruckus:
Check out the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2. It’s got iPad Mini-comparable specs for about $300. I got mine on sale at Micro Center at Thanksgiving for $250. Really like it a lot. Replaced a Nexus 7 that was getting long in the tooth.
BillinGlendaleCA got one about the same time and will back me up, I think.
I like the 8″ screen size; it’s big enough for good browsing and reading but not so big as to be cumbersome. Supports the Kindle and Nook apps for e-books.
I have to admit, though, that I’ve been wanting to check out the new Tab S3 and its bigger screen. With a good keyboard add-on, it could be a full replacement for a laptop.
P.S. I did exhaustive research on both Apple and Android tablets before making my purchase in November. I can provide links and rants if you want.
Ruckus
@Steeplejack:
Had a specific use in mind about 6 months ago and was thinking the 12 in iPad. But that seems like just too much money and size and that specific use went bye bye as it was a pipe dream, so I’m probably going to settle on the 9.7 in. Used to cart around a 17in laptop for work so that 12 in really doesn’t seem all that big. But if a screen is much smaller than the small ipad pro, I can just use my phone as it has a 5.5 screen. But these eyes are old and I need a bigger screen to do any actual work or reading.
@Brachiator:
Have the Amazon Kindle app for my iMac, works like a charm. I’d bet that an iPad with the Kindle app would work with just about any library system.
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
If your migraines can be light-triggered, you may want to consider a Kindle for reading eBooks. The backlight on the iPad can make me feel like needles are being jabbed into my eyeball sometimes, but I don’t have that issue with the Kindle.
And with library books, you can check the Kindle version out from the library’s website and have it download directly to your device. Very handy!
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I’m lucky that my migraines are not triggered by light and I don’t get auras either. Just a pain in the side of my melon. And the volume doesn’t always stop at 10. It can go and has gone all they way to 11. I always have to explain that one to the docs. Fortunately it doesn’t go there all that often.
I’ve played with the ipad and it works fine for me.
Just noticed that the Samsung S3 9.7 is for all intents the same price as the ipad. Just as I’ve found in computers, if you match spec for spec the prices get within a very few dollars, no matter the brand.
Steeplejack
@Ruckus:
There’s a 9.7″ version of the S2 for about $490. (The new S3 is $595.) I repeat, you’re getting iPad-level specs for considerably less money. But if you gotta go iPad, do what you gotta do.
J R in WV
@SiubhanDuinne:
So, fiction, then…
J R in WV
@greennotGreen:
Thanks to you, sister of greennotGreen. Please do keep us posted. You all seem to be doing a great job at one of life’s more harrowing family tasks.