darth_ender

^Saw that too.  I hope it's not true.

Has 2.0 been released yet?  Any updates?  Looking forward to it :)

I'm afraid I only know Mr. Perkins from one prominent role, and I doubt the man who sinks cars into the nearby swamps is the vibe you're relating it to.  However, I'm glad you and I are in agreement.  I really did like it.

However, I intended to mention Elfman when I first wrote my review, but I forgot.  Danny Elfman is my favorite film composer by a long shot--he's utterly brilliant!  His soundtracks are like an additional character for each film, and no soundtrack is as good without him.  For instance, while I love and prefer the Nolan Batman trilogy, I will always prefer the Elfman soundtracks for the Burton Batmans.

Also I did want to mention the love interest--I far preferred this Gwen Stacey over Raimi's Mary Jane Watson (and his stupid use of a wonderful actress with his Gwen Stacey as well).  I watch Raimi's Spider-man and see this girl who is first dating the biggest jerk in the school and only weakly defends Peter from him, then moves onto Harry, then gets a crush on her friendly neighborhood Spider-man, then likes whom she believes is the distinct person Peter Parker.  She really seems like such a non-committal flake, and I don't find her that likable until the second film.  I was surprised by how swiftly Peter revealed himself in this movie, but it was kind of refreshing and nice to see a more devoted, less superficial girl.

There certainly was an obvious setup for a part 2, but I think that is the aim for most of these movies, and quite obviously for Raimi's Spider-man.  But I deliberately did not leave a rating or decide which I preferred.  I like both.  They are different, and different in good ways.  I enjoy a retelling of the same story, and I for one don't often feel a need to decide which is the better way.  I really think both movies are good tellings of the Spider-man mythos.

Re: thread

tl;dr ;)

Watched The Amazing Spider-man.  I was a little worried, since I was a fan of the Raimi trilogy (yes, I even find some redeeming value in the third one), and it was such a short time before doing a reboot.  However I was very impressed.  While there were certain qualities about Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker that I liked, such as he altruistic nature, his innocent shyness, etc., the nature of a different Peter was quite interesting.  This Peter was darker, less noble, less responsible, more angry.  He isn't always just a good kid.  He still starts out as a bullied nerd, but he grows into a responsible hero, and instead of the cliched "With great power..." line (yes, I know it comes straight from the comics), he slowly figures it out over the course of the movie.  The villain was surprisingly frightening, Spider-man more vulnerable to lethal actions, the action more realistic (insofar as is possible for a Spider-man film), and the villain far more frightening than any in the Raimi films.  I really liked this movie, with its only less favorable aspect being that it took me a while to actually care about Garfield as the protagonist compared to Maguire who instantly earned my sympathy.  But even that was a well done stroke in his character's growth, so I can't really fault it for that.

TheBoost said:

Bingowings said:

Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't the 1850 compromise as much about land rights as slave legislation?

 A couple things, like Texas's western edge, and the Mormons not getting a big state (help me out Ender... was it The State of Desierta), were in it, but the vast majority of the decisions were based on keeping the Slave/Free state thing from exploding for another decade.

I believe you are right as to the nature of the creation of Utah Territory, which was originally to be called Deseret (a name that hearkens to something in the Book of Mormon, not desierta, which is "desert" in Spanish :), and which was a free state.

This thread has gotten interesting!  I had planned to share my opinion when I got the chance, but I think Tyrphanax has already covered it quite well, and he's clearly far more knowledgeable than I on the topic :)

I figured she covered her face enough not to pixelate it.

Ready...GO!

:)  What's wrong with me?

Yes, yes, and the beginning of John 8 was tacked on later, and Judaism stole a number of ideas from Zoroastrianism, and demigods being born to mortal mothers is a common theme--just look at Hercules.  I'm rather well versed on this and many subjects.  Somehow I still call myself a believer :)

Yes, I understand that.  That does not make it a pagan holiday.  Plagiarism on some level is a part of our everyday lives.  We adopt old cultural customs and continue them for thousands of years (just think about shaking hands--that certainly isn't a genetically programmed form of greeting), we reuse stories, we develop writing systems and languages based on existing forms.  Those who think that it's terrible to celebrate Christmas because it has adopted pagan roots should similarly dispose of the Roman alphabet, which developed long before Christianity was adopted and evolved from previous pagans.

And Bingowings, I know your favorite hobby here is to play devil's advocate at every turn, but to say something was "stolen" is an oversimplification--there are concepts and theories of much of today's Abrahamic religions that many things were adopted from previously established religious ideas.  To the faithful, those ideas are parallels, but not the origin.  Heck, even from a purely secular standpoint, it's not nearly so simple.

Anyway, I'd like to discuss Christmas, regardless of worldview.  I don't feel like arguing about it.

I hear they get even better in the first few months after birth.

Her body?  Destroyed?  No, her body is altered.  But someone else's body is destroyed.

I'm assuming DuracellEnergizer is joking, because aside from the obviously incorrect statements, those that are more accurate were framed in a rather demeaning way.  But just so everyone knows, I will clarify one thing, and that is the root of the meaning of Christmas: it comes from Christ Mass, as in the Catholic worship service centered on Christ.  The rest I'm guessing is a mockery of Jehovah's Witnesses, though I'm not positive.

1990osu, since the Civil War, the Supreme Court ruled that no state could legally secede, based rather flimsily on the line, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union..." from the Preamble.  At least, that's what I read somewhere.  I'm in a hurry and can't back it up right now.  Anyway, I still agree with the ruling because we need a strong federal government to maintain our unity.  But Texas indeed can legally secede because it was worked into their constitution, something the federal government would not have allowed for any other state joining the union.

Interestingly I read in the news today that Puerto Ricans voted in a non-binding referendum for statehood.  We may see a 51st state not too far down the road.

That is awesome to hear.  Just to be clear, I only named those I found most interesting.  There are so many other characters out there, including frightening ones like Perchta (whom I'd never heard of before).  Odin is also real and another predecessor to Santa.  I'm not to sure about Bingo's other characters ;)

Oh goodness, children.  I am happy for a system of checks and balances.  We do accomplish things in our system, even if it is slow and contentious.  I believe that is the purpose of dividing power, is it not?

And Bingo, I do understand that.  No disrespect to other stable nations.  Just saying that I'm glad mine is stable and successful.

I hope most of us take the time to consider just how blessed we are to live in such a great country with a system that works so well.  When Bush won a second term, people freaked out and threatened to leave.  When Obama won his first term, people freaked out and threatened to leave.  People talk about secession, uprising, etc.  Quite frankly, it's ridiculous.  We live in an imperfect government with a system I become more and more dissatisfied with (wonderful as it is, I think it needs a bit of a democratic update).  But nevertheless, it works rather well, and we don't have bloodshed and coups and serious strife every time there's an election, which inevitably disappoints around half the country.  It works, and we are blessed.

Captainsolo, those are fun traditions.  I too love the Charlie Brown cartoon and music.  But I've decided in recent years that I'm a big Rankin-Bass fan--I love all those stop motion shows and cartoons, and I've collected them all on DVD except for the two that until this year were only available on VHS (The Little Drummer Boy: Book II and The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow).  These carry a great deal of nostalgia for me.

Warbler, it's never to early for Christmas!  I enjoy Thanksgiving, but what I love most about Christmas is that it's not just a one day holiday--people celebrate all month!  I want to spend as much time in the Christmas spirit that I possibly can!

Bingowings...I just don't know what to do with you ;)

Bkev, I don't know about Zig.  Maybe he'll be home for Christmas :)

^^What's funny is I had the exact same thought.

^YES! Calvin reference FTW!

This whole business makes me wonder just how much effort will be put into making it all mesh with the EU.  I hope there isn't too much, as I've lost interest in most EU, and the EU I do like I don't always hold up as the same level of canon in my mind.  I'd love for these films to be largely independent of the EU, and most contradictions wouldn't offend me at all.

Move to Texas.  It's the only state that legally can secede from the nation, thanks to the provisions granted in its constitution.

Do I think it's a good idea?  Certainly not.  I love my country, and regardless of my many disagreements with our president, from policy down to his seeming lack of patriotism, I still respect his office.  Besides, he's seriously hampered by Republicans maintaining control of the House.

I think this thread has just turned into another politics thread.  There's nothing really that distinguishes it at this point.

You know, it may be surprising that a really manly guy like me is into this sort of thing, but I have to confess that I love Christmas, I love multiculturalism, and I love the various incarnations of the Santa Claus figure around the world.

SPOILER: SANTA CLAUS IS NOT REAL, NOR ARE THOSE OTHER CHARACTERS WHO PERFORM A SIMILAR FUNCTION!  SORRY KIDS! ;)

I have gained a particular interest in a few of those characters who sort of capture Christmas or a Christmas-like holiday and who are similar in nature.  But there are so many other cool little folks, including a woman or two, who also bring gifts.  I'm going to share a few, and I hope that others will share their nation's or family's Christmas traditions.

Santa Claus - Of course most of us are familiar with the chubby old man who shares the works of his and his elves' labor throughout the year.

St. Nicholas - The Greek bishop who lived in what is now Turkey from 270-343.  He is the Christian character who contributed most to the Santa Claus legend as a result of his generostiy.  Many countries celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6, i.e. Belgium, or celebrate mostly on St. Nicholas Eve on December 5, i.e. The Netherlands.  He dresses in red with a bishop's mitre and crook.

St. Basil - Another Greek bishop who lived in Turkey and also was very generous, he is the Greek Santa Claus whom they celebrate on St. Basil's Day on January 1.  Today his costume is basically the same as the American Santa.

Ded Moroz a.k.a. Grandfather Frost - He is the Russian Santa character who came to prominence after the atheist Soviet regime outlawed any semblance of religion in their holiday.  Drawing from ancient Russian legends, they developed their own less saintly gift-giver.  His official color was at one time blue, though he often is seen with other colored coats.  He comes while you sleep on New Year's Eve, and gifts are then opened on New Year's Day.

Father Christmas - Drawing on pagan legends, Father Christmas is the incarnation of the Christmas spirit, and various translations of his name represent him throughout the world.  Today in the UK he is usually seen in a similar red coat to the American Santa's, but much longer and looser on his more slender body.  I prefer his former green costume with a wreath crown.  He comes on Christmas Eve and his gifts are opened the next morning.

Christkind or Christkindl - During the Reformation, Martin Luther sought to get away from Catholic saints and pagan traditions and developed the Christkindl or Christ Child.  This was supposed to be a gift-giving baby Jesus, but over time has now become a genderless angel, mostly celebrated in parts of Germany.  He (it?) usually brings gifts that are opened on Christmas Eve.  It is interesting to note that the name Kris Kringle came from Christkindl.

The Three Kings - The earliest gift-givers associated with the birth of Christ are the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, or Three Magi.  Many Latin American countries celebrate their coming on Epiphany, January 6th, when they traditionally arrived (12 days after the birth of Jesus).  Interestingly, in the Armenian Apostolic Church, January 6th is not Epiphany, but is Christmas Day.  They too celebrate the Three Kings as their Christmas gift-bringers.

That leads me to another interesting point: the different days of celebration.  According to the Armenians, January 6 is the original day of Christmas.  Their church has always been a separate entity from the Catholic Church, and thus when the Catholics designated December 25 as Christmas, the Armenian Apostolic Church clung to the original day.  So are there two Christmas Days celebrated in the world?  Actually no, because many do not realize that as recently as 1918, there were two Western calendars in use: the Julian and Gregorian calendars.  Both are very similar in that they are solar calendars that take Leap Year Day into account to keep the seasons consistent each year.  However, the Julian calendar was slightly off in its calculations, and therefore a Leap Year Day occurred every four years regardless.  But later the Gregorian calendar was developed that dictated that every century (i.e. 1700, 1800, 1900), the Leap Year Day would be dropped, except every 400 years.  In other words, the year 2000 did have a Leap Year Day, but 2100, 2200, and 2300 will not.  Over the centuries, the two calendars have gotten out of sync by 13 days.  Russia was the last country to stick to the old Julian calendar, but with the 1918 October Revolution (which appears to us to have occurred in November, until you realize that in the Julian Calendar it was in October!), they changed the system to match the rest of the world.  However, many Eastern Orthodox Churches still celebrate their holidays according to the Julian Calendar.  What this means is that in different parts of the world, diffferent countries celebrate Christmas on different days.  To most it is on December 25.  To Armenia it is on January 6.  To Russian and other Orthodox Church members it is on January 7.  To the Armenian diaspora in Israel it is on January 19.  The same can be said of other days.  For instance, the Ukrainians celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 19.  It's amazing what people do to celebrate!

So now that I've showered my knowledge upon you (and this was all from my research a couple years ago, without refreshing anything with those Wikipedia articles), I ask you how you celebrate the holidays.  I'd love to hear it all.  Twelve days of Christmas?  St. Stephen's Day?  What do you eat?  What character(s) do you celebrate?  Is it a Christian or secular holiday to you?  Do you get together with family?  Friends?  Are you Jewish and celebrate Hanukkah?  Muslim and celebrate Eid al-Fitr?  African-American and celebrate Kwanzaa?  Please share.