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Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
Van Buren Supernova replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
I don't believe my soul is worth saving if my parents, loved ones, siblings, others, and kind strangers are going to hell for having different religious beliefs than me. So I would gladly tell those saviors to leave my soul alone. I wouldn't want to be in the 'good place' where the admission is based on what you call yourself instead of the meaning of things you have done in your life. -
What other TV shows do you watch?
Van Buren Supernova replied to EvigMidnat's topic in Movies & Entertainment
Anyone watches Patrick Melrose? Sorry if you guys had discussed it somewhere before, usually I'm the last to know. I was flipping around and found it, and it stars our BC, and I tried to watch the first episode. I don't know how to feel about it yet, it feels like the plot is moving a bit too slow (I had time to form full scenarios forming in my mind while watching about the possible way to go) but the slow burn is nice in a way to see the mundane world of an addict and BC plays it really well (although I'm not one, I wouldn't know how accurate it is but it seems realistic). There are more than couple of time he reminds me of Sherlock. Having said that, I'm not in that urgent to do a follow-up watching unless it's convenient for me. -
Herlock, psst, between you and me, It's not that I'm dissing our IT department, but the last advice I got here was asking me to don a forum compliance nose (without guideline, template and reference given), and I also have to make it with donated used rubber band, by melting them and shaping it myself (without user manual, mold, color scheme and schematic drawing). Just saying. Anyway, I almost always have problem with Imgur, most time I can't see the image or use it as host. Once in the blue-turquoise-smaragdine moon it works perfectly fine for me but you know how often that happens. So I'm using postimage. https://postimages.org/ And it hasn't been giving me trouble except one time when it changed the link to.org. This can upload picture directly from your drive (not sure about dropbox) or phone and you can also set the display size and expiration date. Don't delete that thread just yet! If all fails, come and join me, bring your own rubber bands and some extra for me, the rubber band they provide me barely even cover the tip of my nose. It tastes awful to. Yuck.
- Yesterday
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Alex and I recently sent for the complete (mostly) remastered Rathbone-Bruce Holmes collection from Amazon, mostly out of curiosity. Thanks to your reviews, Artemis, I'm now really looking forward to watching them!
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Herlock, I have no experience at all with either the equipment or the software that you're using, so my suggestion was just the usual basic Stuff to Try First. There may be people here who actually know what they're talking about, and could get you up and running. Even if not, couldn't you post links, as you did with that painting?
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Tried again tonight after powering off. Exactly the same thing happening. Waste of time! Mods, can you delete the Herlock’s London Adventure thread please. Thanks👍
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Classic.
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Right, I was thinking of my circumstances specifically … where I was raised thinking I had to right to question any kind of authority, including religious ones, as long as I'm not breaking a law. I've never had to live under a theocracy or some such, thank goodness. But I feel bad for people who do. Yeah, that's where it gets tricky. Like the case of the bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. I didn't agree with their refusal, but I think I have to respect their right to make that decision. I kept thinking … what if it was me, and someone commissioned me to make a painting celebrating Nazism? Absolutely I think I should have the right to turn them down, if their beliefs offend me. Yet they have a right to not be declined service for something that is personal. Or do they? It's hard to know where to draw the line, sometimes. Are you a better person for adhering strictly to your own beliefs? Or are you better for being tolerant of other people's beliefs? I think there's usually a middle ground in there somewhere, but it keeps shifting around.
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Now I'm going to have to watch me some of those. The Scarlet Claw pops up in my YouTube suggestions a lot, perhaps I shall start with that. Later.
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All puns are pitiful. It is in their nature. 😛
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Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
besleybean replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
Difficult when you're legislating on personal decisions for others. -
Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
Carol the Dabbler replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
That's a tough question. I think in general an elected or appointed official should uphold the law. But on the other hand, I wouldn't have much respect for someone who did his job even though he considered the act to be morally represensible. Though of course my reaction might also be influenced by whether I agreed or disagreed with his decision. -
Over the weekend I said goodbye to a group of people I have, through the medium of television, shared the better part of 14 years with . . the dedicated detectives & top brass of the Major Crimes division of the LAPD. First we met them in The Closer (7 seasons, TNT) under the command of flaky yet formidable transplanted Southern Magnolia, Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, played by Kyra Sedgwick. If ever there was an adamantium fist inside a dainty lace glove, it was Brenda. Executive producer Sedgwick said goodbye after 7 seasons, wanting to go out on top . . and her squad was handed over, old personnel and some new faces, into the care of Captain Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell)--a character who had been Brenda's nemesis in Internal Affairs for a long time before becoming a friend. The clash of these two Titans--one Fire, one Ice . .one the irresistible Force, the other the Immovable Object--made for some really compelling drama over The Closer's final 2 seasons. Showrunner James Duff moved his cast and production team seamlessly into Major Crimes. Since the new show utilized the same sets, behind-the-scenes personnel, producers, writer-directors, cast and even the composer, MC felt less like a spin-off and more like The Closer, Part II. Whereas Brenda Leigh as the Closer thrived on conflict and would use any means necessary in order to obtain a confession, her successor's MO was much more non-confrontational. The hallmark of Capt. Raydor's method was making plea deals. While this is probably far more realistic, not to mention cost-saving . . such interrogation room compromise does leave a lot be desired from a dynamic standpoint. So Duff and Co. attempted to fill the void by making the story line involving 'Rusty', Capt. Raydor's teenage street hustler-material witness-turned adoptive son into a very large piece of the proceedings. Viewers were asked, many times per episode, to put down their investment in the squad's crime du jour (more often than not a grisly murder) to commiserate with Rusty through his angsting over a college major and navigating the dating world as a young gay man with Tons of Issues. After all, when one has been abandoned by one's drug-addled mother at the age of 14 and forced to fend for oneself picking up johns on Hollywood Boulevard for several years, witnessing a brutal murder by a psychopath in the process--a psycho who may be coming back to kill you at any second--well, this is a lot of baggage to bring into a budding relationship. In the end, it was Rusty and his endless whinging that kept Major Crimes from reaching the quality of its predecessor. TNT agreed, cancelling the show even before the truncated 6th season had aired, despite still decent ratings. Even with its weekly share of bloody, bloated, strangled fossilized or dismembered corpses, the show was deemed 'not edgy enough'. The Rusty subplots did make it resemble a mash-up of Dawson's Creek & Queer Eye, Jr. meets Friends at times--far afield from what audiences who'd stayed loyal after the Closer had signed on for. Despite the flaws, the other characters all had moments to shine, both individually and collectively. I'm really going to miss many of those people. Rusty and his on-again-off-again BF Gus are not among them. In a fit of pique at what he viewed as mistreatment from the network, Duff insured that there would be no resurrecting Major Crimes with some truly shocking cast developments as the season limped to its finish line. Mary McDonnell achieved a near-impossible feat in rehabilitating Capt. Sharon Raydor from the Wicked Witch of LAPD IAD into a squad commander which her detectives came to love and respect and rally around as much as they had done for Chief Johnson. Also it must be said that MMD is really holding up the side for women in their 60s to still be sexy, powerful and gorgeous--she's an inspiration to me . . (though my 60s are some ways off . .not far enough off, alas.) TNT's decision seems very final, but I can't help holding out a sliver of hope for another spin-off called 'Flynn & Provenza'. If any of you out there know of whom I speak, can I get an Amen?
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Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
besleybean replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
He has the right to his personl beliefs, but whether or not they should be involved with what is supposed to be a secular state? -
Some of those (and also items from your list below) are from Conan Doyle stories -- so who knows whether they copied the movie or the book -- or both?
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Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
Pseudonym replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
I assume them to be atheist rather than Anglican, and if they are religious they better not be piping up about it when they're on a political campaign. I don't think there's a place for it, religion and politics should be kept separate. We had a party leader not so long ago who was forced to resign after saying he didn't support gay marriage because it conflicted with his Christian beliefs. -
Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
besleybean replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
I was baptised in the Church of England and confirmed in the Scottish Episcopal Church...not that it matters a jot. But yeah, some "Christian values" just don't seem very nice to me. -
Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
Carol the Dabbler replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
Isn't everyone there sort of assumed to be an Anglican unless otherwise specified? Maybe the politicians who are Anglican don't see the need to mention it, and those who aren't figure it's safest not to say anything? I think "Christian values" is frequently a code word for fundamentalist, but I believe I've also seen it used by Catholics and other non-fundamentalist Christians. -
Heather James changed their profile photo
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henrykav joined the community
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Annihilation - 7/10
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Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
Pseudonym replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
Omg, working out invoices with VAT and discounts is not my forte. Brain fried. 🤯 -
"Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman". "Holmes poses as a foreigner to bait the woman behind the so-called 'pyjama suicides'." There were a lot of good things about this film. It was especially fun catching all the bits that were altered and used in scenes of "Sherlock", of which there were several (e.g. compelled suicides, 'Norbury', the old man patient who tries to sell John DVD's, Sherlock's return from the dead in disguise, later met with a punch in the face). I also enjoyed the non-sexualized cat-and-mouse between Holmes and a smart female criminal. But the sexism in this film... oh my. Favorite moments: "Don't be mendacious, Watson." Holmes fakes his death... again. Watson, Lestrade, and Mrs. Hudson, distraught over his death, reminisce together about Holmes in his "ratty old chair". Watson calls the postman a worm and punches him in the face for calling Holmes "an old herring gut". Surprise! The postman is Holmes in disguise (of course). "I expect nothing and everything." Death by tarantula. Watson plays the tuba. Watson embarrassingly insults one of their clients, falsely assuming him to be Holmes in disguise again. (Shoutout to a similar scene in "The Empty Hearse".) "Mr. Ordway is... slightly eccentric. But that shouldn't trouble *you*, Mr. Holmes." Holmes excitedly hopping about the flat and tossing things to Watson. The game's afoot! Riddles and banter between Holmes and his quarry. Holmes and Watson, saving each other's lives every ten minutes, lol. "Watson, I've been blind! A mole, an owl, a bat!" "Watson, if you ever see me getting too cocksure again, fancying myself more clever than Adrea Spedding, just whisper one word to me: Pygmy!" "What made you think I'd come here alone?" "Your somewhat overdeveloped sense of drama, Mr. Holmes." Watson: "He said wait here by the shooting gallery, and look inconspicuous." Lestrade: [starts whistling, very conspicuously] Watson: "He said inconspicuous, Lestrade, not half-witted." A fiendish method of demise for Holmes, who makes an intelligent and lucky escape, of course.
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Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
Pseudonym replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not an expert on politics in my own country never mind anywhere else, but it seems in the US when politicians campaign it seems to be the done thing to emphasise that they have 'good Christian values'? I don't think that would go over so well here. -
"Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Claw". "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson solve village murders blamed on a monster in Canada." I especially liked this one for its setting and ambience. It had a supernatural tilt, similar to "Hounds", like a ghost story by the fire. Favorite moments: "Facts always convince me. It's the conclusions drawn from facts that are frequently in error." Watson yells at a man for hitting his daughter. Probably would have punched the guy too, if Holmes hadn't stopped him. Go Watson! "I don't care two hoots whether it's hoot or honk." Holmes takes care of an ill Watson. "Now Watson, you stay here. I have a mightily important job for you." "Anything, Holmes. What do you want me to do?" "Go to bed." "Take your assistant and get out!" "I'm not his assistant." "What happened to your assistant?" "I'm not his assistant." Watson: "I've got a right to share your dangers."
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Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
Carol the Dabbler replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
Good point, Bev. I'm a firm believer in the separation of church and state. Even here in the US (where it's basically written into the constitution), there are a few areas where the separation isn't complete -- and sure enough, they're causing trouble. -
Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)
besleybean replied to Banshee's topic in Miscellaneous Musings
That's fine as long as you don't live in a theocracy or somehwere there is a massive religious lobby...and not like there are many places like that in the world,hey?!
