See, this is an odd protest to me. I assume it is based on Day Without a Mexican of a couple years back. The point of which, of course, was to show that without hispanics our economy just wouldn't work. What was calling in gay supposed to demonstrate?
Hank: By what measure is it a more dangerous world? In the case of new york particularly: less crime, cleaner city, etc. The only thing that's increased is our awareness of outlier events.
I still have quite a collection of lone wolf books. In an odd display of my personality, I realized instantly that the upper corner was the best roll for combat. Yet, I could close my eyes, wave my pencil, then unerringly find my way to that 9.
Yeah, I tend to think the Spartan loathing of commerce had a large part to do with their decline. I mean, they used heavy lead bars as trade currency for the express purpose of making trade and commerce a total pain in the ass. Imagine that: zero economic growth is a bad thing.
I liked it for this reason:
It sort of inverted the monster movie formula. Well, not inverted it so much as decided to watch it from a different angle. Typically, it seems to me, the conflict is monster vs. heroic scientist. 54 godzilla, all the decent monster suit clones, Matthew Broderick Godzilla, etc. How can you innovate with that formula? You can't, you can just make it look nicer.
Cloverfield, obviously, is just Godzilla from the ground level, maybe, but by doing so it's not Godzilla at all anymore. It's not Man vs. Monster anymore, it's Man vs. Environment. It's normal people dealing with stuff beyond their control, reacting, and being capable of showing their own courage that, while ultimately inconcequential - compared to that Heroic Scientist that's probably somewhere off screen with the army folk - and meaningless, is no less Heroic than that of the Scientist. Maybe moreso, since the Everymen are subject to constant physical danger, while that Heroic Scientist rarely faces mortal peril at all.
Now, I'm a fan of Lost, so I might be biased, but I'm also a believer in Eco's opera aperta, so even if JJ envisioned none of this stuff, I'd argue it is still there.
As to the camerawork, I'll say this: I wish I hadn't eaten popcorn while watching it, and I'm glad I did not see it in Imax.
I read this. Did I miss the part where she gives an example of some of these nonviolent cultures, or some sort of explanation about how they are measurably less violent?
Well, to be fair, the development of Ra is pretty complicated.
First off, much of what we know about Egyptian religion comes from the Greek, who were not shy about equating their gods with Egyptian ones. (Oh, he's in charge of the Pantheon? Then I guess he's like Zeus!) Also, the character of Ra changed dramatically over the dynasties. The trouble here is that there was no "Egyptian Pantheon" at all, but a mishmash of regional and supra-regional entities that were merged, split, and shuffled around constantly. We talking Ra, Horus, Amun-Re, what?
Also: that book is self published, FWIW, and the idea that the Egyptians would elevate some star to the top of their pantheon is just silly.
(This is not a dis-of the main article. Karnak is supra-cool, and am always looking for more stuff on it. Thanks.)
Yes, it is. Think back to that day, I'm sure you'll still remember it well. High anxiety. Confusion. The internet, for all intents and purposes, ceases to function from billions of fingers refreshing CNN, MSNBC, etc. BBC holds up longer, but soon, even it goes down. The president still hasn't even come on TV. Everyone wants to know what the fuck is going on, and no one has the foggiest notion, and the entire nation is glued to whatever source of information they have, just waiting for updates, information, NOW NOW NOW.
To me, it seems reasonable to believe that a news desk ran with an incomplete and inaccurate story in the early parts of the situation described above.
Sorry, brother. If it makes you feel better, that's why I linked to the discussion thread and not just MoFi frontpage. Pretty sure individual name dropping on the front page would be, at best, sneered at and , at worst, be a distraction from a topic I think we both feel is very important.
PS: most of the research.
Yes.
posted by absalom 15 years ago
In "It's December 10th. Did you call in Gay today?"
See, this is an odd protest to me. I assume it is based on Day Without a Mexican of a couple years back. The point of which, of course, was to show that without hispanics our economy just wouldn't work. What was calling in gay supposed to demonstrate?
posted by absalom 15 years ago
In "Munch a Bunch"
Munch enjoys fig milkshakes. That is all.
posted by absalom 15 years ago
In "Curious, George Washington FDR Jefferson?"
What, no share?
posted by absalom 15 years ago
In "The Vatican goes Broadway!"
Lourdes have mercy! What a wonderful thread this has become.
posted by absalom 15 years ago
In "Free Range Kids:"
Hank: By what measure is it a more dangerous world? In the case of new york particularly: less crime, cleaner city, etc. The only thing that's increased is our awareness of outlier events.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "A Lone Wolf Is You!"
I still have quite a collection of lone wolf books. In an odd display of my personality, I realized instantly that the upper corner was the best roll for combat. Yet, I could close my eyes, wave my pencil, then unerringly find my way to that 9.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "Spartan Government: The Gerousia and the Ephorate"
Yeah, I tend to think the Spartan loathing of commerce had a large part to do with their decline. I mean, they used heavy lead bars as trade currency for the express purpose of making trade and commerce a total pain in the ass. Imagine that: zero economic growth is a bad thing.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In " 100 Items to Disappear First"
With guns, the other 99 sort themselves out.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "Cloverfield in 15 minutes."
I liked it for this reason: It sort of inverted the monster movie formula. Well, not inverted it so much as decided to watch it from a different angle. Typically, it seems to me, the conflict is monster vs. heroic scientist. 54 godzilla, all the decent monster suit clones, Matthew Broderick Godzilla, etc. How can you innovate with that formula? You can't, you can just make it look nicer. Cloverfield, obviously, is just Godzilla from the ground level, maybe, but by doing so it's not Godzilla at all anymore. It's not Man vs. Monster anymore, it's Man vs. Environment. It's normal people dealing with stuff beyond their control, reacting, and being capable of showing their own courage that, while ultimately inconcequential - compared to that Heroic Scientist that's probably somewhere off screen with the army folk - and meaningless, is no less Heroic than that of the Scientist. Maybe moreso, since the Everymen are subject to constant physical danger, while that Heroic Scientist rarely faces mortal peril at all. Now, I'm a fan of Lost, so I might be biased, but I'm also a believer in Eco's opera aperta, so even if JJ envisioned none of this stuff, I'd argue it is still there. As to the camerawork, I'll say this: I wish I hadn't eaten popcorn while watching it, and I'm glad I did not see it in Imax.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "Happy Smurfday!"
And, for that matter, the Smurfs were actually a spin off of Johann and Peewit.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In " WW1: Experiences of an English Soldier"
Just in time for the WWI section of my class. Kudos.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In ""Child raising in non-violent cultures.""
I read this. Did I miss the part where she gives an example of some of these nonviolent cultures, or some sort of explanation about how they are measurably less violent?
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "Surprise Finds at Egypt Temple "Change Everything""
Well, to be fair, the development of Ra is pretty complicated. First off, much of what we know about Egyptian religion comes from the Greek, who were not shy about equating their gods with Egyptian ones. (Oh, he's in charge of the Pantheon? Then I guess he's like Zeus!) Also, the character of Ra changed dramatically over the dynasties. The trouble here is that there was no "Egyptian Pantheon" at all, but a mishmash of regional and supra-regional entities that were merged, split, and shuffled around constantly. We talking Ra, Horus, Amun-Re, what? Also: that book is self published, FWIW, and the idea that the Egyptians would elevate some star to the top of their pantheon is just silly. (This is not a dis-of the main article. Karnak is supra-cool, and am always looking for more stuff on it. Thanks.)
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "CBS Reported Flight 93 Crashed Into Camp David."
Yes, it is. Think back to that day, I'm sure you'll still remember it well. High anxiety. Confusion. The internet, for all intents and purposes, ceases to function from billions of fingers refreshing CNN, MSNBC, etc. BBC holds up longer, but soon, even it goes down. The president still hasn't even come on TV. Everyone wants to know what the fuck is going on, and no one has the foggiest notion, and the entire nation is glued to whatever source of information they have, just waiting for updates, information, NOW NOW NOW. To me, it seems reasonable to believe that a news desk ran with an incomplete and inaccurate story in the early parts of the situation described above.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "George Carlin nails it."
Sorry, brother. If it makes you feel better, that's why I linked to the discussion thread and not just MoFi frontpage. Pretty sure individual name dropping on the front page would be, at best, sneered at and , at worst, be a distraction from a topic I think we both feel is very important. PS: most of the research.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "The laugh out loud cats"
ReverendJohn: Please supply a link of someone performing that.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "Mmmm .. STRING!"
This came out some time ago, and remains fantastic.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "1. Compose cliche. 2. Post to blog. 3. Profit!"
Best. Article. Ever.
posted by absalom 16 years ago
In "The REAL Springfield."
It has to be TN. Homer works at a nuclear power plant!
posted by absalom 16 years ago
(limited to the most recent 20 comments)