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Groovenstein

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Posts posted by Groovenstein

  1. I'll just mention I found the citizens of Gotham city absolutely appauling in their moral values in another scene. The one where they call out for Batman to turn himself in as soon as the first unknown terrorist asks them to. I cringed at the moral decay of the city at that point, and wondered why should Batman act in their favour at all.

    I too did not care for the blame being placed on Batman for the Joker's crimes. Sadly, Batman also placed it on himself, as is evident from when he said (paraphrasing) that he had too much blood on his hands already. The resolution of this issue is one of the major things I look forward to in the next installment.

  2. ... there should not be another Joker in this series after Ledger's performance.

    I'm not convinced either way on whether to have another Joker in this series. On the one hand, how can that performance be equaled? My roommate says, and I agree, that the man with the best chance at it is Johnny Depp. The point on the other hand is who, upon being asked who they thought could give an all-time performance in the role of the Joker, would have said Heath Ledger??? Perhaps there is another hidden gem out there somewhere.

    I don't yet have an opinion on this point. There's something for your consideration.

  3. Obviously it wouldn't be funny if you were saw the situation in real life.

    Precisely.

    The Joker comes out of the hospital in drag with a silly walk and tries to finish the demolition, but the button won't work. Then when it finally does, he throws the button out of his hand like a hot potato and starts running as though he's frightened when he obviously isn't.

    I am on a completely different wavelength from someone who doesn't think that's funny.

    And more to your point, I wasn't laughing when I saw blown up towers on the news. I doubt most of the people laughing at the Joker were either.

  4. The Joker's character may just be the greatest presentation of the essence of evil ever filmed.

    There was so much hype around this movie, and like others, I had been anticipating it for so long, so I went in with very high expectations. Though I still have a bit to digest, and I will see it again in the theater, I thought the movie itself was just good, not quite great.

    However, for me, Ledger's masterful performance makes it worth seeing again and owning it. His acting definitely lived up to the hype, and in not much time I think we will come to see it as an all-time performance. I think very highly of Jack Nicholson's acting talents, but to me this one is not even close. Nicholson's Joker was kooky, almost bubbly. I know that might not be all Jack's fault. I don't know how much of a role the direction, script, etc., played in that. But Ledger's Joker was madness through and through. His voice, his little ticks (e.g. the lip-licking), his makeup and hair, his maniacal laugh. All these added brilliantly to the content of madness that was presented.

    I might comment some more after I see it again. The summary of my thoughts for the time being: movie itself was just good; technology and action were really cool; scenery was really cool (both the cities and the Wayne properties); Ledger was brilliant.

  5. So you're a sadist? How much would you contribute towards this? I suppose we could work out some sort of "Pay Per View" scheme. A paid TV channel that finances the stay of such monsters in prison, by selling footage of them raping each other (Live!). That might work.

    The implication that I am a sadist is just silly and I will not engage it. Personal attacks will get you nowhere in an argument or on this forum. Don't use them. The sarcasm is quite unwarranted also.

    In my current situation, I would contribute nothing. If my ideal government were in place, I wouldn't have to. Nobody would have to. First refer to the numerous sources that discuss funding government without taxes. Then consider the expenses that prisons could save and the revenue they could generate by putting the prisoners to work.

  6. Why are people so sure that people who commit especially heinous crimes get continually raped in prison? I would expect the psychopaths to be the ones doing the raping. Anyway, prisoners don't wear placards with their crimes on them, do they? Besides, it would be a travesty of justice if we let the criminals have free rein in deciding whom deserves "extra" punishment.

    David, I don't know if you were addressing me with this. I hope you don't mind if I respond as though you were.

    I don't know that the icky criminals get continually raped. For the perpetration of rapes against the general prison population, the studies I've seen report that it is more than occasional. I haven't examined those studies in depth, and I don't intend to, but the belief that prison rape is common is not without merit.

    As for criminals meting out justice, I don't think we should let them have free rein. Prisons should be set up to prevent and punish crimes committed in them as best as can reasonably be achieved. So long as that is the goal, it doesn't trouble me that a child rapist getting raped ends up slipping through the cracks. (There are so many bad jokes in that line.)

    To me it's akin to someone killing a politician who manipulates the force of government to violate rights all over the country.. Yes, it's wrong, and yes, that person should go to jail, but at the same time, no, I don't feel like some horrible injustice was done. I'd applaud the vigilante on his way to the corrections bus.

  7. The Office. The American version. I can't vouch for the original version, though I just rented it and will be watching it in the next couple days.

    The American version is great. Lots of great characters and acting, and the humor is great. It's a much different kind of comedy from the typical American comedy show. For one, it's actually funny. For two, there's very little in the way of the penis and fart jokes that seem to permeate. I'm not opposed to those necessarily, just that they're way overused and generally not well executed. Anyway, they do a great job at taking office situations and making great jokes around them.

    I have not seen the first season. My favorite line from the second and third seasons, and one of my favorite lines from any TV show, was in the episode where they found out a black coworker had been in jail. At one point, one of their coworkers says something tame about the black coworker, at which point Michael (the stupid boss) says, "You're such a racist." "Why?" "You think he's black."

    That is comedic gold right there.

  8. Greetings, my Objectivism Online friends and neighbors! I am selling my beat-up van. I'm asking for $1200, but I'll listen to an offer less than that so long as it's reasonable. Here's the skinny.

    1995 Ford Windstar LX. 127584 miles. 3.8L V6 engine with a 4 speed automatic o/d transmission. Features include A/C, cruise control, power locks, bucket seats, driver and passenger airbags, ABS, cassette radio. Has defects as I explain below.

    I'm asking $1200. I ran a Blue Book report which lists prices at $2715 for excellent condition, $2365 for good, $1950 for fair. It describes "fair" condition as follows:

    "Some mechanical or cosmetic defects and needs servicing but is still in reasonable running condition. Clean title history, the paint, body and/or interior need work performed by a professional. Tires may need to be replaced. There may be some repairable rust damage."

    The van has cosmetic defects. There is a large dent in the sliding door. The rear bumper has two spots that have been damaged. The windshield is cracked towards the bottom of it. There are other dings and scratches.

    The van has mechanical defects. The left rear turn signal is broken. The front windows are power and they do not work. The front hood does not latch correctly. It keeps itself latched but allows a little bit of air to get underneath it, so as an extra security measure I hold it down with a bungee cord (the duct tape of cords). There is no glass on the side view mirrors. The rubber lining for the sliding door needs glued up.

    It has 3 tires and a donut. One of the tires was just repaired. The transmission was replaced about 5 years ago. And I put in a new battery about a month ago.

    I have the title and it's clean. I got it from my folks in 2002, and they had it for a few years before that.

    The "fair" condition allows for defects and servicing, and says that tires may need to be replaced. The van has defects and needs servicing and its tires may need to be replaced (particularly the donut). I'm asking over 1/3 less than the "fair" condition value. For a vehicle that still runs, I think the asking price is, well, fair.

    Kelley Blue Book says about the private party value: "The Private Party Value assumes the vehicle is sold 'As Is' and carries no warranty (other than the continuing factory warranty)." I'm selling the vehicle as is and with no warranty. I have listed everything I am aware of about its condition.

    I'm selling it because my folks hooked me up with their old Honda Civic, so I have no need for the van anymore. And some extra cash is always nice.

    The registration is no longer valid so you can still test that it runs, but if you want to test drive it you'll have to do laps around my apartment's little lot. :)

    Hit me up via e-mail at [email protected] if you're interested, want to check it out, etc. If you're thinking about it, just ask! We can talk about working something out.

  9. PMO is opening for Red when they hit Omaha next month! Fans of the modern rock genre have likely heard Red. They were nominated for a Grammy in the Christian category, and have done their last two tours supporting powerhouse acts Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace. The guitarist and I went to that show last year, and now we're opening for them! YAAAAAA!!!!!

    Can you tell I'm excited? :D

    Here's the promotional flyer which is very nice:

    red-omh.jpg

    And on our MySpace you can hear the promo spots that 89.7 The River is running. I have listened to it approximately 27 times.

    /music fanboy

  10. I was rather bored with it on the whole. Having seen the first one, I found many of the moments to be overly predictable. For example, as soon as Gates

    kidnapped the President, it took me about two seconds to recall how the last movie ended and figure out that he would end up being exonerated.

    I'm with Moose on it being over the top. Many scenes simply strained the imagination. I do not require that a movie be completely "realistic," i.e. that it could happen in today's world. I can enjoy over the top, but other things have to come into play for me to like it. Consider the most recent Die Hard film. The scene toward the end in which John

    tries to escape the helicopter in that truck, and in the process somehow manages to dodge all that gets thrown at him on those ramps,

    is really over the top. But that movie had something going for it that NT didn't--huge action scenes. If your action scenes are stretches, at least make them really cool.

    There's another scene I remember that bugged me.

    They spend most of the movie making us think Wilkinson is a jerk for trashing Gates' family name with lies. And then they throw that away in what I thought was a very weak moment. It felt to me like Wilkinson was just casually making conversation, like "Oh by the way, I was just kidding about your family. Sorry. When's tea?" I'm not saying don't make parts of the story turn out to be incorrect. Not at all. That's part of the excitement. What I am saying is that the Gates family history was a major plot point and I didn't get that sense from how it was treated at the end.

    I was also disappointed with Ed Harris's performance. I don't know whether it was his fault or the writers', but I've seen him be a much better villain, such as he was in The Rock.

    There were a couple good moments, such as when

    Gates asked that Wilkinson also receive credit for the find. I remember the first movie ending with some nonsense about the treasure belonging to everyone, and I was expecting similar tripe from this one. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Gates request credit for Harris' guy for the simple, beautiful reason that it was true.

    And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it had a horrible message and was the worst movie I've ever seen. I'm only saying it didn't excite me and I wouldn't have any real inclination to see it again were it not for the fact that my cousin was an extra in the classroom scene at the University of Maryland and she was supposedly visible on screen but I couldn't see it so now I'll have to rent the video and get some pause button exercise.

  11. I saw La Nouba during a Disney trip a month ago with my brother and niece. I didn't even realize it was there until the night before. Sooooo glad we went. It was spectacular. I haven't seen any of the others, but I HIGHLY recommend this one.

    Can you tell I liked it? ;) I don't know why I didn't post about it sooner. I bring up it now because I just hopped on iTunes and bought a couple of the tracks as I've been meaning to. If you want a brief description, I'd say it's a tricked-out circus or a circus on crack.

    I didn't follow the plots so much as the music and the physical aspects of the acts.

    The music is exceptional. It's stylistically eclectic, ranging from hip-hop ballad to new age/ambient to tripped-out, dramatic rock that would make Steve Vai proud. If you're interested in checking out the music, here are a couple recommendations:

    "A Tale" - This is a beautiful number that I can best describe as hip-hop ballad. The mellowness of the keys and muted trumpet combined with the hip-hop feel of the drums is awesome. And the singer's voice is just captivating. (The holder of such a voice could have my children if she wanted to.) I don't know what language the lyric is in--if it's even a real one--and I don't really care. In fact, I think I prefer not understanding it so I can focus on the beauty of the voice and the sounds of the "words." It would be terrible to have a great song ruined by a subpar lyric. If you like this one, check out "Liama".

    "Distorted" - Part-mystery, part-world beat, part-triumph, all-universe. (Lame, I know, but it fits.) Parts of it belong on Vai's "Fire Garden Suite", others in a techno song. Awesome guitar performance. The "part-triumph" is in the section with that vocal motif. Love it. That section is nicely punctuated by the N*SYNC keyboards on 1 and the + of 2. And if you like this one, definitely check out "Urban" and "Jardin Chinois".

    The physical aspects of the acts are super cool as well. There's some standard circus material such as trapeze and balancing on a huge stack of chairs. Not to say that stuff isn't impressive--I loved it. Just to say that to my knowledge, that is common in a circus.

    My favorites were the diabolos and the trampoline/power track. The diabolos are young Chinese girls with Chinese yo-yos. Their talent is impressive for an adult, nevermind for a child. How wonderful to be so talanted at such a young age!

    The trampoline/power track was the perfect climax. I marveled at the performers' precise sense of timing and precision. I don't want to say more than that and ruin the surprise for you. Suffice it to say that there were several jaw-dropping, smack-the-guy-next-to-you-on-the-shoulder moments.

    If you go to Disney World, or somehow find yourself in the Orlando area, you need to make it a point to go to this show. If I recall correctly, that part of Disney (Downtown Disney on the West Side) doesn't require any kind of theme park admission.

  12. You'd better edit that again: the SKS is NOT an "assault weapon." It is a SEMI-automatic carbine.

    Sorry, but in response to the Democrats pushing an agenda of edit conservation, the government has restricted all forum posts to one edit per post. :D

    To progressiveman: I think I laid the sarcasm on pretty thick there, but it's not something I consider worth debating, you dig? To quote many a member of the urban culture, "It's all good."

  13. My roommate used to work at that mall. Kinda weird for her to think about that happening at a place at which she's worked and hung out so many times. I've been there only a couple times myself, but it's still kind of creepy. Thankfully none of us knew anyone who was murdered. I certainly wouldn't want to be in their shoes right now.

    It was the largest body count from a single incident in this state since 1958, and the biggest bit of criminal news since a 2002 bank robbery/murders in the small town of Norfolk. It's pretty amazing that this is tied for the top ten in the history of this country in terms of body count from a single incident, because OMG liek I thot that assult weponz killd millunz of ppl!

    Seriously, if assault weapons are such a major problem, why are incidents like this so rare and so few people are hurt or killed? Not that a body count is some meaningful measure of loss, but it is a meaningful measure of how many people are actually killed with [assualt weapons].

    The sad part is that this all could have been prevented if Nebraska just banned concealed weapons instead of allowing people to carry them. Or at least didn't interfere with property owners who wanted to ban guns on their property. Surely this homicidal maniac with such a respect for life would have observed a pertinent law or mall policy. Oh wait, it's exactly the case here. Nebraska allows concealed carry but the mall prohibits it.

    Oh well. Let's not let facts get in the way of a good gun control argument.

    [Edit: changed "guns" to "assault weapons."]

  14. The case is District of Columbia v. Heller. Here is a SCOTUS wiki writeup. I know there was a thread on this here, but I searched a bit and couldn't find it. :)

    According to this article, "[t]he case should be heard early next year." As monumental a case as it has the potential to be, I'm guessing the opinion will not issue until June which is the end of the term and when the Court often hands down several opinions. So we have roughly seven months to read, discuss, and chew our nails off (because nobody seems to be able to predict what will happen).

  15. You have BLASPHEMED against the State Religion of Colorado.

    :)

    Probably shouldn't mention that I'm a Husker fan, then. [ducks] Actually, I guess that doesn't matter so much anymore. Hating on a Husker fan is like hating on a fourth-grader. It's just too easy.

    Everyone knows the enemy is the Dallas Cowboys (who look likely to earn the right to be beaten by the Patriots come Super Bowl time. But I digress). The Broncos just suck.

    I don't know, I think the Giants might sneak up on them. I don't care either way, though. It doesn't matter to me who the Pats beat to get their 19th win of the season.

    The real enemies are the Texas Longhonrns. They are communists and they hate freedom.

    Go Aggies!

    I agree with sentences 1 and 2. 3, not so much.

    Their task in crushing the Reds is going to be very hard now.

    Umm, dude, the Reds play in Cincinnati. And besides, two NL teams can't play each in other in the World Series. :P (I know what you were saying. I'm just giving you a hard time.)

    Seriously, though, I'm certainly happy with the way these first two games have gone. Big bats in the first game. Francona pulling his pitchers at the perfect times. Continued bullpen excellence. That said, keep in mind the old adage that a playoff series doesn't truly begin until the home team loses a game.

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