oojason

^ from https://imgur.com/gallery/8TzH6 (same artist as the post above - ‘DarkiGrevoux’)

from https://imgur.com/gallery/pNunf

Manic Street Preachers - Resistance Is Futile

The deluxe version comes as a book with 2 CDs - 1 full of demos.

Only listened to the demos as yet - beautiful lyrics (solace in the things we love, yet honest and with a touching feel) and vocals.

‘Dylan & Caitlin’ is especially so - a great & passionate duet from JDB and The Anchoress.

TV’s Frink said:

Those last two are perfect examples of why this thread is inferior.

Please stop with this kind of comment, Frink - thank you.

Champions League semi-final draw…

Liverpool vs Roma - Tuesday 24th April, 2nd leg on Wednesday 2nd May
Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid - Wednesday 25th April, 2nd leg on Tuesday 1st May
 

Europa League semi-final draw…

Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid - Thursday 26th April, 2nd leg on Thursday 3rd May
Marseille vs Red Bull Salzburg - Thursday 26th April, 2nd leg on Thursday 3rd May

As Mala said, some cracking matches over the last couple of weeks - hopefully the semifinals will carry that on 😃

The bookies odds - Champions League : Europa League

For anyone who want to know a bit more - Wiki and UEFA are pretty decent sources of info.

C’mon the RedMen - and good luck to Marseilles too - superb atmosphere in the Velodrome yesterday 😃

Arsenal vs Atletico should be a clash of styles.

Hope they find a good & strong ref for the Real vs Bayern game…
 

Les Espaces d’Abraxas, Noisy-le-Grand, France…

^ from https://imgur.com/gallery/wydTd

Fellow geeks, nerds and those who are almost passable as functioning adults…

It’s just a ranking thread - it means little at the end of the day; some films are liked more than others, for what could be considered the ‘strangest’ or personal of reasons - and we know from posting on the ot.com we each have our quirks, eccentricities and somewhat different views. And opinions, even previously staunch ones, may change over time…

Some people may only actually give a stuff about 5/6 films and just include others for the sake of being completionist.

This all really isn’t worth getting worked up over - please stop with the circular and repetitive arguments that your opinion is right and someone else’s is wrong, or that someone should rank film X over film Y. It’s tiresome and come a point where members are reluctant to post in here for getting ridiculed or told they are ‘wrong’.

By all means ask why someone feels why film X is over film Y - yet do it with some respect and civility - we may even learn something…

Some people love their first ever car (which may be a piece of shite to many others), some have a special place for their first crush or love (NOT still being kept in a dungeon), or the first hi-fi they saved up for with pocket money or from their 1st wage etc. You don’t ridicule them for it - so please don’t have a pop at someone for liking The Holiday Special over Empire etc…
 

As for the trolls who may have frequented here in the past… in a LOTR voiceover stylee… the ‘age of trolls’ on the OT.com is over. That doesn’t mean wide-ranging views and passionate, yet civil, discourse is over - it’s the very opposite; the thing is to keep it civil and have a bit of respect for each other.
 

TL;DR - the mods are trying to get some kip - so please keep the noise down in here and make an effort to get along. Thanks 😃

Seems Solo will have a run time of 2 hours, 15 minutes…

http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/infos-communiques/communique/articles/the-2018-official-selection

(in the ‘Out Of Competition’ category)

Never really been a fan of these covers - yet for anyone that is…

^ from https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWars/comments/86dxmf/my_last_jedi_dvd_cover_in_the_style_of_the/

bluraymarco said:

Those VHS covers look sick. I was doing some of my own today. Here is what I have done.

https://imgur.com/gallery/OfLT9

https://imgur.com/gallery/DXSE5

^ Quality those bluraymarco, really nice work 😃

For me personally, I’ll remember this as the “Defeminized Edit II: No ‘Admiral Purple Hair’ Edit (even though it’s easier/quicker to type ‘Holdo’)” - with the tag-line of ‘only a man can sacrifice himself - or sacrifice a woman to the dark side’ edit (read in one of those deep gravelly voices that did the 80’s film voiceover trailers).

An option for some may be to go back to ‘dumbphones’ / ‘feature’ phones… seems they are on the rise somewhat of late - could be nostalgia from early phone like Razr or the 3310 etc. Could also be the breakdown of trust (ie apple’s slowdown of it’s devices and also this data sharing/slurping), or other reasons - like no contract, cheap to buy, a sturdier phone with longer battery - especially useful for someone not on social media or wants to use (or update) 200 apps anyway 😃

A few dumphones have FM radio or SD cards slots for mp3 playback, a camera too, and are also dust-resistant or ‘splash-proof’.
 

That’s not to say what facebook and google etc have done shouldn’t be challenged of course, or our privacy choices and settings should be made clearer or have more protection. When you hear that 46 of the 55 Members of the House and Senate committees questioning Zuckerberg have received funds from facebook previously… the cynic in me leans towards this all being a bit for show - what will actually change? once the uproar dies down? - a bit like phone hacking & the now axed 2nd part of the Leveson Inquiry in the UK… (I obviously hope to proved wrong on this).

^ Aye, seems it may have that earthier/grittier feel that Rogue One and the non-Imperial settings Star Wars '77 had.

Yes mate - very harsh on Juventus that - and a fantastic comeback to pull it back to 3-3. Not sure how the ref gave that penalty from his angle, even the view of the ref’s assistants wouldn’t have been great to give a penalty there.

Highlights here - http://www.fullmatchesandshows.com/2018/04/11/real-madrid-vs-juventus-highlights-full-match/
 

Bayern vs Sevilla highlights - http://www.fullmatchesandshows.com/2018/04/11/bayern-munich-vs-sevilla-highlights-full-match/

The 4 CL semi-finalists are Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid & Roma. The Draw is Friday 12 noon, UK time.

Should be cracking and somewhat unpredictable matches 😃

‘Snoke’s Throne Room Fight - 16 Bit Scenes’…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q20_MVdB31g

^ from https://imgur.com/a/zH2w5 - by AUGEN2; https://imgur.com/user/AUGEN2

^ by AUGEN2 as well.

650+ HD pics from the Solo trailer…

https://imgur.com/gallery/SjMoO

^ it is something of concern mate…

‘Liverpool unprepared for alien attack - official’

leaders have been forced to admit that Merseyside is woefully unprepared in the event of an alien invasion

flametitan said:

On the same line of thought, one thing one of my casual star wars watching friends noticed is that to them Rey felt more like she was a supporting character for Luke and Kylo’s stories, rather than the lead character she was touted to be in TFA, and I can’t say I disagree. Now, as a director I can’t say my own ideas would be any better than RJ’s, but my idea to fix it would’ve been to at least give Rey her own plot point in having little to no control over the force. Like her force abilities are growing faster than she is able to keep them in check.

I feel doing that, it’d change the dynamic of Luke and Rey’s lessons, with Rey growing more frustrated that Luke is focusing more on telling her why the Jedi were bad than actually helping her with her problems. It’d also give Rey a reason to turn to Kylo for help, as he could actually be trying to teach her what she needs to learn, rather than a vague sense of, “I still feel good in him.”

I like that idea of yours a lot. When I re-watch TLJ there is something ‘amiss’ with Rey… Daisy Ridley did a superb job, Rey’s in lots of scenes and central to the story, her powers with the Force have been somewhat explained - yet for all that, there was something missing; something not quite right… maybe it’s just that there is just so much going on in TLJ?

Yet your idea with Rey coming to grips with mastering or controlling some of her Force powers… that’d be very interesting to see in a Fan Edit (if such a thing could be done) - and does seem something of a missed opportunity here in TLJ itself.

I do hope she gets more of a central role, or more ‘stand-out’ role for Episode IX.

A bit of a bump this - though it has been a long time… yet tonight the mighty Reds triumphed vs the much fancied Manchester City to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League - winning 5-1 on aggregate 😄

highlights - http://www.fullmatchesandshows.com/2018/04/10/manchester-city-vs-liverpool-highlights-full-match-video/
 

Well in the RedMen 😃

Roma are also through to the CL Semi-Finals - after beating Barcelona tonight 3-0 (going through on away goals after finishing 4-4 on aggregate).
 

Wednesday evening sees the other Quarter-Finals being played…

Bayern Munich vs Sevilla (2-1 to Bayern in the 1st leg)
Real Madrid vs Juventus (3-0 to Real in the 1st leg)
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017–18_UEFA_Champions_League
 

TK-949 said:

Westworld.
Yes I know, I’m late to the party, but I binged it a couple of weeks ago totally unspoiled.
And. I. Was. Blewn. Away.
One of the best series I’ve seen in a long time.

I haven’t watched the video oojason linked as I try to watch season 2 as unspoiled as possible.

Also A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 2: really good and I love NPH’s performance as much as I hate Carrey’s.

It’s okay to watch the video mate - honest, if you have watched the end of Season 1 it is ok to watch.

Am looking forward to seeing what they do next this season - cracking and absorbing show.

Tyrphanax said:

oojason said:

Tyrphanax said:

moviefreakedmind said:

TM2YC said:

Tyrphanax said:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/07/london-stabbings-300-extra-police-deployed-streets-tackle-spike/

Sounds like it’s all under control over there in the nanny state.

“You could be a mum or dad, big brother, big sister, a friend, a girlfriend, a boyfriend who knows somebody carrying a knife, leaving their home with a knife, involved in criminality - there’s no honour in keeping that a secret,” he said.

“You should try and prevent that person carrying a knife, leaving home with a knife.”

Insanity. “Just disarm yourselves, populace, and don’t worry: the government will keep you safe.”

Addendum:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/18/plans-to-make-delivery-of-knives-sold-online-to-private-addresses-illegal-knife-crime

Knives bought online will in future have to be collected in person, with retailers responsible for checking that all buyers are 18 or older. New powers are also proposed for the police to seize banned weapons such as zombie knives, knuckledusters and throwing stars if they are found in someone’s home, and to arrest those involved.

I can’t even wrap my head around the fact that we actually live in a world where things like this are going on. I carry a pocket knife every day because it’s useful in many situations at home or out and about or at work or really anywhere. It’s crazy to think that could be considered a criminal act in some places.

I can’t even wrap my head around the fact that you can’t even wrap your head around that fact.

I’m guessing that he’s saying that they’re obviously not dangerous enough to warrant this action since a butcher knife would be just as easy to get and just as deadly.

More or less, though as I understand it, it’s the kitchen knives that are the bigger issue in England than the pocket knives.

Directed more generally than specifically, a big part of why I’m being dramatically incredulous about it is that it appears that the relative inaccessibility of firearms in England hasn’t really solved their violence problems, and has just lead to more restrictions on less destructive things, with possibly more to come.

You have guns, people use them for bad things, you severely restrict guns, people start using knives for bad, you severely restrict knives, people start using rocks or tire irons for bad… where does that end? And let’s not get into the “slippery slope fallacy” thing because this slope looks fairly slippery to me: we’re talking about a minimum age of 18 to buy a knife, and only being able to buy knives through authorized dealers, so what do we look at next? Background checks and licensing just so you can chop an onion? I mean come on. The knife laws there are looking like the gun laws here, and the violence is apparently still going on, so it stands to reason that on this trajectory, ten, fifteen, twenty years down the road, we’ll be in the same boat. Is it less costly violence? Sure, granted, but if the rallying cry is “not one more,” and children are being stabbed to death, isn’t this still a solid F grade? At what point do we face the hard truth that restricting the implement isn’t rectifying the issue?

You can argue “well clearly it’s a problem, so why shouldn’t they do something about it? Who needs a knife anyway unless they need it in a professional capacity?” like people say about guns here now. Why shouldn’t MFM have a switchblade? Why shouldn’t I own a meat cleaver? What will people be saying that about next? And at what point do people stop sacrificing their rights to be treated like human beings on the alter of a supposed greater good that doesn’t really seem to be serving too many people. And you can say “Silly paranoid Tyr; they’re only repealing this one amendment, they’ll never touch the others,” but can we be sure of that? At what point do we stop and realize we’ve traded all of our rights for “protection”?

And yet they’re having to put hundreds more cops on the street to stop a wave of violent stabbings in London, or the School Resource Officer who is trained and tasked solely with protecting our children decides he’s better off staying outside.

I don’t know. It all feels like the point is being missed here. I admit that this is a bit dystopian and hopefully exaggerated, but it feels like a more and more real possibility as we see more and more articles that give me those creepy 1984 vibes. And I promise I’m not sitting naked in my bath tub with my tin foil hat on, clutching my scary black rifle waiting for the black helicopters to come to take me away, I’m just trying to spark some discussion. Let me know what you all think.

The Guardian article you linked to earlier refers to a series a measures to stop kids buying zombie knives, knuckledusters, throwing stars - including them being bought online by kids, and then used against others. An adult can still buy them online (and then picked up at a local store in person, with an age check) - or can still just pop down the shop and buy them.

People who need one for their work in a public setting (ie, tradesmen) will not be affected - other than the odd overzealous copper - as stated before. At home in the UK you can have a meat cleaver, kitchen knives, or other big knife etc - where does it say anyone can’t?

I’m not sure where you got the ‘authorised dealers’ thing from - you can pick an item up from any store with a online order facility these days. Any adult can still go into any store that sells a knife and buy one.

England is just one part of the UK mate - you’ll likely spark some more discussion with UK’ers on here if you acknowledge that - especially the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish 😉

We’ve had a few acid attacks in the UK of late - horrifying attacks leading to pain and disfigurement of people just going about their everyday lives - by frustrated and likely unbalanced kids and young adults. This has led to some restrictions on the sale of certain acids to the public (as well as companies being reminded to keep any acids or chemicals secure stored) - making it a little more difficult for joe public to get their hands on the stuff. Nanny state, eh? restricting the ‘right’ to buy acid and then walk down the street with it…

It may look a ‘slippery slope’ to you - but stopping kids buying cleavers, zombie knives and other big knives online doesn’t seem a bad idea to me, and if adults have to be slightly inconvenienced in proving their age to buy one in a shop, then so be it - the extra ten seconds to pull out their driving licence or other ID and show it to the shop assistant is quite a small price to pay, no?^

^ - which is something we’ve already been doing for years.

Thanks for your post, I always enjoy hearing other perspectives, and you’re definitely more familiar with the system in practice than I could be. You make it sound less heinous, but it still doesn’t sit quite right with me.

Also my apologies for the England vs. UK mistake, which is particularly embarrassing because I do actually know better.

No worries my Canadien friend, eh 😉 😃

TM2YC said:

oojason said:

if adults have to be slightly inconvenienced in proving their age to buy one in a shop, then so be it - the extra ten seconds to pull out their driving licence or other ID and show it to the shop assistant is quite a small price to pay, no?^

^ - which is something we’ve already been doing for years.

Agreed but to clarify for non UK people reading, when you say “have” to prove “their age to buy one in a shop” you don’t mean, “cannot buy without an ID” in the UK. Once you get to a certain age where the retailer can see you are clearly over the relevant age, they won’t waste their time, or your time asking for ID because of common sense.

Sorry - after the shop assistants stopped asking for my ID several years ago (many, many years ago in fact - doh!) I just show it them anyway 😉 (fake ID with 10 15 years taken off the real age of course 😃)

^ Yes, a terrible thing! 😉 An intriguing idea, that.

Possessed said:

TV’s Frink said:

timdiggerm said:

You know what doesn’t suck about Canto Bight? The music.

Also other stuff.

Such as? I mean I liked the last jedi alot and i even liked Rose and Finn, but I hated the whole Canto sequence except DJ. It takes the whole movie to a grinding halt and the only real purpose it serves the story is to get all the characters into an even worse situation. Granted it is nice to have more of Finn and Rose bonding, and without the sequence there isn’t enough of that, but that doesn’t excuse the (IMHO of course) poor quality of it. But I’m legitimately curious to hear what you like about it, because I love the film as a whole and would love a different perspective to consider while watching it when I get to this scene to excuse it in my mind while watching.

This may be of some interest to you for consideration mate - https://i.redd.it/lrjogkba1c701.jpg

It has been posted before - so apologies if you’ve already seen it. Whilst I think some of the Canto Bight scenes could have been done better… I think it’s an important part of how Finn comes to commit to the Resistance (culminating in his ‘Rebel Scum’ line to Phasma) - where previously in the film he’s really just looking out for his friend.

Just my two penneth on it.

^ from https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWars/comments/8b8cai/what_a_piece_of_junk_luke_skywalker_millennium/