Friday Ephemeraren’t
You know what to do. I’ll set the ball rolling with some agreeable downwardsness; a state-of-the-art driving simulator circa 1967; hairs hitherto undetected; assorted slime mould; and the thrill of competitive miniature dry stone walling.
Oh, and I think these may be teabags.
Critical Drinker review. (Big spoiler.)
I was just watching that. Ah, so they’ve leaned heavily on (1) needless, retconned overarching storylines and (2) ‘serious’ romance – the two elements that have generally been the weakest and least interesting aspects of Bond films.
Do audiences really go to see Bond films to see him display deep romantic feelings and get weepy?
[ Decides not to book IMAX tickets, gets on with life. ]
Critical Drinker review. (Big spoiler.)
“No, Time to Die”
Oh God. Minnow was such a pr*ck.
Good Lord, that was quite a rabbit hole. And it would have been even deeper if we had gotten around to challenging every absurd claim that minnow made. One example: that “the point about feminism, that women should be able to be individuals in the same way that men are”, a claim that is rendered comical when one notices how hostile feminists are to women who choose “traditional roles”. All the feminists I knew in the seventies were openly contemptuous of that option and of women who chose to stay home and raise kids rather than have careers in offices or wherever. Not much has changed in the intervening decades, as illustrated by Hillary Clinton’s “could have stayed home and baked cookies” remark. What’s more, how do these feminists reconcile their desire that women all escape the miserable existence of the stay-at-home mom and achieve fulfillment and happiness through careers with their conviction that workers are all oppressed and miserable?
I think I see the problem.
He’s back, and I see a bigger problem.
I see a job opening for anyone who can translate this.
An Australian gentleman has thoughts about the present situation (occasional NSFW language)
An important history lesson.
An important history lesson.
There is no longer any point in using satire to poke fun at TED talks.
An important history lesson.
This is what Idiocracy looks like. What was once science fiction is now documentary.
An important history lesson.
TED Talks are influential videos from expert speakers on education, business, science, tech and creativity, with subtitles in 100+ languages.
Now you know.
“There is scant evidence that such a [cladding] layer was ever completed what with cost overruns, labor disputes, bureaucratic turf battles, exodus…”
I believe it was Rudyard Kipling who wrote:
Who can doubt the secret hid
‘Neath Cheops pyramid
Was that the contractor did
Cheops out of several millions!
TED Talks are influential videos from expert speakers…
Will I ever be smart enough to be worthy of receiving the wisdom of these wise, superior beings?
I believe it was Rudyard Kipling who wrote:
It was “General Summary” in Kipling’s Departmental Ditties (1886):
“We are very slightly changed
From the semi-apes who ranged
India’s prehistoric clay;
Whoso drew the longest bow,
Ran his brother down, you know,
As we run men down today…”
Remember the riot scoops from “Soyent Green”?
(occasional NSFW language)
To be honest, it appeared to contain occasional SFW language.
I have long suspected that a love of evil was the unspoken motive of some of the neo-pagans I have known
It’s not love of evil any more than a 14-year-old drawing flaming skulls, bloody daggers and pentagrams on his notebook cover is actually a Satanist. It’s just emotionally stunted people working out their daddy issues by pretending to embrace anything that they think would shock their parents. Much like middle-aged wine aunts embracing Disney villains as role models.
we would make surprisingly elaborate items of chain mail clothing using beer can ring-pulls
We made surprisingly elaborate items of chain mail clothing using chain mail.
Do audiences really go to see Bond films to see him display deep romantic feelings and get weepy?
If I’m honest, I’m not sure what the point of the Bond franchise is any more. Goldeneye danced around the topic of whether Bond was at all relevant post-Cold War; it’s easy to forget that all of those SPECTRE villains only existed in the shadow of the Soviet menace.
There’s certainly no shortage of real-world threats that could ground Bond in relevance once again, but it was politically incorrect to admit Arab Muslims could be terrorists in 2002 and it’s financially suicidal to admit the CCCP is up to shenanigans in 2021.
Do audiences really go to see Bond films to see him display deep romantic feelings and get weepy?
I didn’t manage to finish either of the last two Bond films.
“Skyfo” as I pronounce the song by inept warbler Adele, who never met a note she could hit, devolved into an asinine adult version of Home Alone set in a stately house. Even before that it seemed to be mostly filmed in the London Underground. Personally I don’t watch Bond films to sit through scenes of the London Underground.
The next one, “Spectre”, I can barely remember what happened. He spent far too much time rescuing some limp damsel then action moved to a giant underground car park, again in bloody London. I turned that off too.
So I think it’s a body swerve on “No. Time to die” for me.
To be honest, it appeared to contain occasional SFW language.
Is that the key to learning to speak Australian? [ assumes innocent facial expression ]
It’s not love of evil…It’s just emotionally stunted people working out their daddy issues by pretending to embrace anything that they think would shock their parents.
Perhaps, but such LARPing is likely to lead to worse things, as people tend to become what they pretend to be, and I seem to recall a whole spectrum of disturbing beliefs. It would, of course, help to have more data points, but I ceased all but the most superficial and accidental contact with those people a long time ago.
We made surprisingly elaborate items of chain mail clothing using chain mail.
I’ve seen some very impressive examples, although those who actually used it pointed out that heavy, usually leather, underpadding was also necessary.
heavy, usually leather, underpadding was also necessary
So chainmail not recommended for knickers?
So chainmail not recommended for knickers?
Only if you are a dwarf. Or this one young woman I knew slightly long ago, but she did remark that a lining was necessary, although she kept it as thin as possible.
although she kept it as thin as possible.
Very thin and translucent. Oh, and did I mention the leather bracelets she wore on her wrists and ankles?
[ ponders what more to say to provoke David into invoking the dread spray bottle ]
Let’s see…
“The English don’t know how to make tea.” Done that.
“British sausages are high fat offal tubes.” Done that.
Ah! Got it!
[ Hangs advertisements for Samuel Adams beer. Dons body armor. ]
@pst314
[ ponders what more to say to provoke David into invoking the dread spray bottle ]
A description of her front- and back- bottom piercings?
[NBC gear already donned]
[ Stumbles back into David’s establishment. Takes down Sam Adams posters. ]
Hey, I was in the pub down the street. English beer is good! What the hell have you been serving us, David?
asiaseen: No piercings. But she did have a collar and leash. I don’t remember what kind of leather her other bikinis were made of, deerskin and suede, I suppose.
Nothing from David, so I’ll revert to seriousness and note that I did run into the young woman again many years later and she had straightened up her life, gotten married to a good man, and was happily raising several kids. She described her earlier self as “insane” and the boyfriend who would tie her up has disappeared from her old social circle. I would never have said “insane” to her face, but her life was certainly harmful in various ways.
underground parking spaces
So these reserved spaces are intended for “LGBWTFBBQ+!” and “migrants.”
I don’t see what could possibly go wrong with this plan.
she had straightened up her life, gotten married to a good man, and was happily raising several kids
I’m not going to lie, that’s basically a unicorn sighting.
I’m not going to lie, that’s basically a unicorn sighting.
What little I have learned in recent years about that social group confirms your comment.