Van Buren Supernova

Another one!

Do we need flamethrower? It's a cabbage field, but are we going to take the chance?

I agree with you, it's not a good idea. We don't have ideal habitat and weather for them. And that sounds like ridiculous reason; bringing back an extinct species of animal so they can tear down trees? Trees? The very thing we destroy rapidly? We don't need the help of mammoths!

The Last of Us, anyone? I don't know and am not familiar with the game, actually didn't know the series is based on a game, which really intrigues me about gaming nowadays. Too bad I can't be part of that anymore since modern games are too nauseating to play with as they are mostly first-person views. The first four episodes have been awesome so far. It has a complex main character and not the usual undead story. I have no complaints yet about the accuracy of the biology. This topic always fascinates me, but I maintained something I said somewhere else

Dog, nooooo!!!!

That is exactly why it becomes clickbait, an interesting headline. From my experience, if you have to click more than once, then abort it. Most likely it would be nothing they advertise anyway. What annoys me more is they also do this with the news. They post something like "Because of this, (something happens to someone/some company/insert object)" or "This is the reason why (something that affects you) is going to (something bad). And you have to click the bloody article to find out what is 'this'. However, there is a positive in that, most likely, you will find the answer + there is more chance that people will read the whole article and therefore understand the situation better, and not freaking out and spread it like hot fire from just the headlines, which is way too common now. Still, I think it's an annoying tactic. Another way to spot clickbaits, they like to play with emotion. They are dramatic and sensational. This would turn me absolutely monstrous!

To be fair, I don't have experience playing with adult lions and tigers. My kittens (small ones) were affectionate enough, but I needed to persuade them to sit on my lap. While these big babies willingly cuddled and climbed into my arms. It was great, but maybe the unpleasant truth was they should be out there with their moms doing things babies do. My kittens had their mommy. Precisely, unless you are talking about real-life monsters aka serial killers, then they are less likely to be culture-specific. I read somewhere that we are advised to limit it before 1930, which still provides plenty of choices, including the one who shares the last name with our favorite detective. However, I am wary that the discussion would be limited to unpleasant gruesome or the act itself. As the information is scarce and may be unreliable, we don't have many things to discuss in terms of forensics and investigation, for example. But I do understand the concern.

Yes I heard that version too. I got some chances to cuddle with baby Tigers and Lions, I would say they are more affectionate than cats sometimes. I realize I know almost nothing about monsters outside my culture, so I can't contribute more on that. For popular culture monsters, but not from the monster side, I believe there is a relation of Freddie Kruger with Nightmare Disorder.

Elizabeth Bathory is a terrifying example. Her story sent a shiver down my spine when I first read it, I believe 15 years ago. I hid the book about her (and others) on the far-left-top corner of my shelf. Is there a possibility that her case is repeated in the modern day? Although we certainly have much better laws (?) and technology to solve crimes? Is it still 'difficult' to catch a noble? Is it still 'easy' to do mass killing if you have the power and resources? It might not appear in the shape of one blood-thirsty Countess, but unfortunately, imHo, yes to all above.u On the other side, is it possible that her case was/is exaggerated and there was much more to it? The lack of technology of that time and the abundance of it at this current time, the answers are still yes.

I am not sure if these matches are fitting or if your question includes Greek mythology, but Narcissus is the first name in my head for narcissism. And here is an interesting one, Dionysus for split personality. The God of ecstasy, art, and wine. 'Born' twice from his mother's womb and his father's tigh. He showed sides of joy and rage, pleasantry and brutality. And here is folklore; if you are familiar with the Chinese Zodiac, cat is not one of them. According to folklore, there was a race to determine which twelve animals to be included. However, being arrogant, cat decided to sleep in, thinking that by being agile and arboreal, they should be able to claim a spot easily, but eventually missed the chance. Arrogance is one of the recurring traits in serial killers and most criminals.

That is awesome, Carol! Thanks for all the effort. (I suppose this is not the right time to ask for cake section, then? Maybe next year)

I'm looking forward Mindcage starring John Malkovich. It has a strong Hannibal vibe, which is my favorite TV series (Mad Mikkelsen). Maybe my expectation is too high, but at least the casts are strong. I will also watch John Wick, because Keanu! And anyone who kicks dog abusers' asses is my hero. Just watch Knives Out 1 and I like it a lot, the setting, the cast, and even though it's predictable, still a great twist!

Exactly I agree with you. The thing is, it affects me; it falsely represents me, although it does not necessarily put me in a bad light (but false representation bothers me as much as that). I don't know how to describe it better. Maybe something like this person tries to give a testimony about how I do here. She has never seen this site before, but ten seconds later, she is able to produce this: VBS has significant contributions to the forum with her general posts and a twist of many erotic romance rants. Have I ever talked about my romance life or ranted about anything erotic??? I am barely able to differentiate thumbs and carrots! Wait that is probably not a good example. It's so obvious she is faking it from the timing and her very wrong analysis. That tells me how not credible she is, but the fact that her 'resume,' which she must have obtained in a very short time by doing all these quickie nonsenses, is rewarded. No one would say anything because she could easily change her testimony with something like VBS sucks and her posts are all stupid nonsense about erotic carrots and carrots only. Anyway, yes, it's too obvious and dumb, I wouldn't be at peace for not pointing it out. I felt lied to and used. So we went back and forth, I asked her to explain without actually accusing her (her responses are everywhere and even more ridiculous) for a while (private communications), and my responses to her were as polite as possible, with sarcasm up to the neck. Tbh, it ruined my day and could discourage my target audience, so I was actually holding it back instead of screaming at her virtually. At the very least, I hope she would be more careful in throwing her very misleading words around, and I actually felt better once I did that. I hate the digital world and how easily it could be manipulated. P.S. I just want to clarify there was nothing erotic about the actual incident. I just want to emphasize how dire the situation felt for me that time. 😁

I'm not sure how likely and feasible it is for the administrator. The other way is to fit it into our existing forum, maybe somewhere in Greater London? Perhaps our active moderators @Carol the Dabbler @Caya can suggest something.

Hi SLarrat, Welcome to the forum! I think that is a great suggestion and I will be happy to participate. My way of relaxing is to watch true crime and I think I might have suspicious amount of knowledge about many serial killers, but I swear, I am a law abiding citizen. So do let me know if you are going ahead with that!

Without saying what it is (sorry), I need to rant. Someone tried to fool me. No monetary gain, no life lost or anything. But it is something that I value related to impression for my works. So this person was trying to convince me that she had done something for me. Her attempt was lousy, one glance I know she was lying and faking them. The timing wasn't telly, the result was as glaring as Shelock being pantless in Buckingham Palace. It was laughable, anyone with a quarter of brain would be able to see through that. But I suppose, no one ever challenged her. Again, she was 'helping' and it is known that things could backfire if you make a peep because that is how unfair the digital world is. Against my better judgement, I confronted her. I let it sit for the whole day but I can't let her think that her cunning stupidity should be rewarded by another ignorant party who choose not to say anything. I would die regretting this. If you want to fool me, make more effort and make it convincing, please! So I confronted her, it was obvious but just like what I had expected, she insisted that she did eveything honestly (which means she has the speed of Superman, flying around the world twice without farting in less than two hours if that helps you understand the audacity of her lie). It's fine. I did my part. I just thank her politely after pointing out another two times that she was a liar without saying so. She could retaliate and try to destroy me tomorrow, she totally could. But f that. I just, very pissed about it. Gah. If you want to do something wrong, do it right, for John Watson's moustache's sake!!!

It's very common for dogs to run away or stressed out because of this. I can only imagine the impact on their sensitive hearing. I once lived in a questionable neighborhood, where kids thought it would be funny to light a firecracker and throw it under unsuspecting passing cars. I don't know if that is dangerous, but it's a f around and find out situation. It terrified me as a kid, imagining being in the car and hearing loud bangs around you. I'm fine with celebrations at appropriate times with responsibility. I spent my younger years hunting for fireworks videos on New Year Eves.

Based on Sphynx cat, Naked Mole Rat, and Xoloitzcuintli, I would say fur will help our appearance tremendously.

Elephant can be very dangerous, especially the males. However, that is not the concern if they are left alone as most wild animals do. The danger would be, as usual, comes from human. Imagine the tusks, poachers who don't hesitate to do anything. However, I doubt we have the space and resources for them. But I agree with you, why do we want to spend resources to create this instead of helping the endangered species? Beat me. I wish to work in research field because for some, it seems fun and easy money to do meaningless studies. These are the actual studies that fits this thread because No Shit Sherlock: Study shows beneficial effect of electric fans in extreme heat and humidity Why Snow-Blower Use Declines in July Holding on to the blues: Depressed individuals may fail to decrease sadness Being homeless is bad for your health WELL NO SH--

@Carol, indeed!

Certainly, it's great to have people like you around and I second Carol. Maybe it's not the right word, but it's intriguing for me to see various reactions to people like Sherlock. I read the book and thought about how polite he is (ha) and stroke my chin when others say otherwise. I think Cumberbatch's Sherlock is brash, but then again, I relate a lot to him and many times I wish I could get away with his attitude. But rest assured I believe I am decent to people, especially to strangers and service staff, until some point when I think I know them enough or have enough because they are disruptive, and as a story twist, disrespectful and giving me trouble, in my opinion. I also find it heartbreaking to see my kindest friend being taken for granted because he is way too nice. I also want to add, for some people it's not their intention to be rude, it's just a different way to handle social interaction. When one prefers to be left alone and doesn't bother to mingle, for example, it could be interpreted as rude too. To me, it's social anxiety. Back to Red Circle. I like the story, and don't feel that it ends abruptly because we don't need to resolve everything. But I do have some nitpicking. The couple was aware of their dire situation, so let's imagine this. Was it necessary for the husband to signal Beware three times? Anyone would be suspicious to see that, no? ATTENTA three times! 1 20 20 5 15 20 1 times three. In total, someone could see 243 flashings without the message even going anywhere! That is a lot of flashings and I am sure there are other people living opposite. I don't even think he needed to say it one time because their situation was clear. I also don't understand why he didn't just say it through the newspaper. He could have suspected that the enemy had found out the method. Still, it would be quite foolish to send that code. High red house with white stone facings. Third floor. Second window left. I believe, please correct me if I'm wrong, brick was a common building material since 1850s, and the houses commonly stood at two-three stories. So, it could be difficult to identify the specific location mentioned therefore the husband felt safer doing so. But that would depend on why he needed to warn his wife about, especially after his previous message that the path is clearing. Did he see the enemy lurking around (just like what his wife saw?) Giving a warning would be counter-effective. As an influential organization, it's also very possible that the enemy just sent people around to watch out for three-story brick houses that have some residential opposite. Another thing, Sherlock deduced the occupant of the flat was different because of the language for orders sent to Mrs. Warren. I am wondering if it would be more intriguing if Sherlock deduced it from the newspaper ads. In the 80s, I often watched my father send 'encrypted' telegrams. They were not spy messages, but it was a significant effort to save money and time. It was (and still, in today's communication) common to use abbreviations to substitute longer words. I don't know about Victorian times, but as recently as three years ago, I placed an ad in the newspaper and even though it was no way as extensive as telegram, I used the same method, because it was still expensive. Every word and every space counts. So, instead of identifying weird messages in the paper, Sherlock thought it was odd that there was one message that didn't use abbreviations (for reason that it would be difficult for his wife to pick it up because of limited English). What do you think? Just for fun discussion.

And... I am stealing this: Bleat, Watson--unmitigated bleat! I have a lot more to say but I was supposed to lie half-dead on my bed. Had an exhausting day, non-stop bleats and meeting with humans again for hours, it wears me down a bit harder than it used to. Instead of doing that, I read this because I can't resist not-face-to-face good discussion. One more thing to add: The Red Circle could be inspired by The Black Hand, a real Italian-American criminal organization around that time. Brb after recharging.

Interesting. I actually have an opposite take on this. While I understand that it could sound dismissive to some, it sounds like something I would say when I was interrupted at work by someone I know well could contribute nothing but be disruptive. This depends on Holmes's previous experiences with this particular Mrs. Warren, to give him the benefit of the doubt. That person in my real life would come to share story-gossips, or to cry her eyes out on her daily problems. Don't get me wrong, I listened to her the first few times, trying to help, but soon I learned that everything was overdramatized, and my sympathy went out of the window. I was in worse place than her. I know, different people need different support, and then again, it's not a defense, some friends and acquaintances do have complaints about me. Mrs. Warren: " But he would never cease talking of it-your kindness, sir, and the way in which you brought light into the darkness." Holmes was accessible upon the side of flattery, and also, to do him justice, upon the side on kindliness. Back to Holmes, to add to that, if we look at the subsequent paragraphs above, Holmes was swayed very easily by flattery and the image of kindliness. Which is, upon reading, was a surprise to me because the one I know 'well' from BBC Sherlock would not react that way, even though he might secretly like it. I wonder why we didn't see more on this from Moffiss. Holmes leaned forward and laid his long, thin finger upon the woman's shoulder. He has an almost hypnotic power of soothing when he wished. And this! Did we see this? My mind goes to Mrs. Hudson's scene in SIB, but then again, Mrs. Hudson was a tough cookie and played it to the abductors. Soo Lin? My mind is rusty.