DuracellEnergizer

Darth Id said:

Why not?  If "God" is such a sick fuck that he gets off on designing mutually antagonistic creatures and pitting his playthings against each other, isn't It really a malevolent force anyway, and therefore better described as a devil than a "god"?

Since I don't subscribe to intelligent design, I don't believe any hypothetical God even designed any creatures in the first place. God may have created the universe and the laws that govern it, but the creatures therein are a product of natural law; animals are the way they are because that's how evolution made them, not because God wanted to see living killing machines go at one another.

And no, I don't think that even designing the natural laws to work that was is evil, at least no more evil than a scientist allowing penicillin to eradicate the bacteria in a petri dish is evil.

Darth Id said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

Here's a news flash -- prehistoric animals were no more violent and savage than animals living today.

 That is to say, extremely, very, incredibly violent and savage.

Which has no bearing on whether God or gods exist or not.

Let's not forget the formerly-canon spidercat, people.

Fang Zei said:

Funny how all of those grievances are directed at Disney.

Where were they when George said years ago in interviews that none of it counted?

On Mars, in a cave, with their eyes shut and their fingers in their ears*.

*And their heads up their [CENSORED].

The Merchant said:

I'm not so sure how to feel about the "power creep" when it came to Star Wars Jedi in the EU. Like Jedi are capable of planetary destruction with the Force and in the EU certain blasters can emit just light like the Remote droid that Luke used to train in A new Hope, meaning Jedi can think and have reflexes that are faster than Light. On one hand I think it's cool, on the other hand I also like them being just superhuman levels.

Generally, I like to go with the idea that the Jedi were almost superhumanly powerful prior to the Great Sith War, but became progressively weaker over the centuries and millennia that followed. 

^That may have been the case in the beginning, but in later years Leland Chee & co. became obsessed with working each and every aspect of the Marvel comics into the modern EU continuity, even when it didn't fit.

Wookieepedia's article on the Legends Boba Fett even lists both of his escapes from the sarlacc occurring in the same continuity.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Boba_Fett#Survival

Of course, I realize this could just be the case of the Wookieepedians being stupid with their inclusivism, not Chee & co.

Darth Id said:

I ruminate on this frequently--not with respect to a "god's" unlikely role, but just about the dinosaurs.  How absolutely absurd is it that so many millions of years passed with nothing on Earth but witless giant monsters savaging each other?  It trips me out to no end.

Ah, yes -- take the Hollywood depiction of dinosaurs at face value and apply it to real life dinosaurs.

Here's a news flash -- prehistoric animals were no more violent and savage than animals living today.

Afrocentrism and eurocentrism -- two sides of the same dumbfuck, racist coin.

I really need to buy a digital camera one of these days. Taking rolls of film in to get developed has become a pain in the ass now that the medium's been superseded.

Nanner Split said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

Seeing as I like many genres and subgenres of music from various different eras, this shouldn't be a issue with me if the artists in question have something going for them beyond having a nice voice.

so i take it you're also not a fan of frank sinatra? sammy davis jr? tony bennett?

This is a rather late reply, but no, I'm not a fan.

I don't dislike them like I dislike the current generation, but their style just doesn't do anything for me. 

While Darth Id seems to be a decent guy most of the time, he becomes rather immature and disrespectful where Christianity is concerned. While I don't agree with him or appreciate the way he chooses to express his (lack of) beliefs, I can bear with him. For more sensitive posters like Warb, though, I think it's best if they just put him on ignore.

Warbler said:

DominicCobb said:

Here are some atheist pics and stuff I like:

 

 I am not seeing any pics.

Perhaps that's the point. 

^Funny; funny, but not really about atheism; funny; I don't get it.

Garfield's Breakfast

ray_afraid said:

That's a great list of goofy names up there.

I still don't know where we are wanting these Jedis to return to...

Bingo is deliberately utilizing obscurantism for comedic effect, therefore the answer to that question is left up to interpretation. For myself, I choose to interpret the question as referring to the franchise in general.

IamLam said:

One book had the emperor hobbling about and acting like he was a villain from some 80's cartoon show.

That comic wouldn't happen to be Empire's End, would it?

This was all years ago and some of it could have gotten better but I am pretty sure the back story and canon has gotten so silly and convoluted at this point that it was probably a good idea to wipe it clean.

I'm admittedly biased against the modern EU, so you don't have to take my word for it, but yes, it had become that silly and convoluted. Case in point: Boba Fett falling into and having to escape from the sarlacc twice.

I miss Danfun's avatar.

I didn't know lightsabers could be Jedi themselves. =P

Frankly, I don't understood the appeal for Shadows of the Empire. I loved the book when I first read it as a teenager, but after re-reading it a few years ago, I found it pretty meh; some of the stuff with Vader was still interesting, but the rest did absolutely nothing for me.

TV's Frink said:

thejediknighthusezni said:

   Just when dude was starting to make a little bit of sense, he up and leaves the forum.

 Why oh why couldn't you have chosen the blue pill?

Exactly. Red's too good a colour for the likes of him. 

Dammit, people! Don't you know how to resize pictures on this board? ;-(

^Yay, more of this none-too-subtle crap.

I believe it was this thread.

Dolores Claiborne (1995) - A

High Spirits (1988)

Starts out strong, but once the story moves away from the antics of Peter O'Toole's character and focuses in on Steve Guttenberg's, it quickly loses itself. Guttenberg just isn't a great leading man at the best of times; coupling him with a poorly executed ghostly love story surely doesn't help any. 

B-

Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)

The story and acting's great, but the editing ... not so much; one gets the sense that scenes crucial to the flow of the story were left on the cutting room floor.

Oh, and dubbing an English accent over Andie MacDowell's performance? Very poor move -- especially when her character's supposed to be American.

A-

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

So, Nicholson and Scatman Crothers were in a pair of films together, eh? Without a doubt, this is definitely the better of the two. ;-P

A+

Man of La Mancha (1972)

Peter O'Toole's performance in this film is another perfect example of why the man's one of my favourite actors; with the mediocre singing and the lousy Don Quixote makeup working against the movie, it easily could have collapsed in on itself, but O'Toole -- with his ability to put fiery passion and conviction into each and every one of his lines -- kept the film aloft.

A

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Once R. Lee Ermey goes out with a bang, my interest in the rest of the film goes out with a whimper. That said, it's not a bad movie -- not in the least; it's certainly one of the few Kubrick films I've seen that I wouldn't mind watching again (the first half of it, that is).

A

Treed Murray (2001) - A

Groundhog Day (1993) - A+

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)

This movie wasn't at all what I expected it to be, and that's good; a movie where James Spader plays a smarmy pervert who tries to blackmail an unfaithful husband with the videotaped evidence of his infidelity wouldn't have been even half as strong a film as the one I actually ended up watching.

A+

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

This is going against the grain, but I didn't like this movie very much. Bill & Ted are just too stupid and annoying for me to root for them, and the way the historical figures reacted to their experiences -- though obviously done for comedic effect -- just rubbed me the wrong.

C

12:01 PM (1990)

This is basically the mirror image of Groundhog Day -- ie. another story dealing with a man caught in an inescapable time loop; instead of being funny and ending on a high note, however, it's deadly serious and ends on a downer.

Kurtwood Smith gives an excellent performance and I'd definitely recommend that anyone who likes Groundhog Day to check it out, preferably one after the other. If you decide to watch them side-by-side, though, definitely watch 12:01 PM before Groundhog Day; going straight from the upbeat, optimistic ending of Groundhog Day to the very nihilistic one of 12:01 PM would probably ruin your watching experience.

A+