What an Odd and Repellent Grill ← FREE KRAUT!

What an Odd and Repellent Grill 272

22 Jul 2010  |  nevermoor  |The Grill

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  1. Unlucky season so far for Zook. Conor Jackson? Not so much…
  2. Heavy sigh: Wallace still projects to be an average hitter and at least as good a hitter as Overbay
  3. I got lost in the math here, but do I need to drop my objections to defensive stats?
  4. Go get ’em Rob
  5. No. Not close.
  6. Hard to imagine great things when we have zero players on this list.
  7. Liberal Bastion Goldman Demands Useless Stimulus thinks a stimulus would add a full 1% to GDP in 2011
  8. 1.2 gigatons, dude. (For you FKers, that’s ~1.1 hella-picograms)
  9. Apparently there are people defending the Israeli rape decision in the abstract.
  10. What an odd and repellent grill
  11. What an odd and repellent man, II

272 thoughts on “What an Odd and Repellent Grill”

  1. nevermoor Jul 22,2010 10:09 am

    On the gigatons link (which is buried in a long document), the point is:

    “Another study published this year by researchers with the Berkeley lab used global climate models to determine the cooling benefit of increasing the albedo, or reflectivity, of both roofs and roadways in large cities. The study found that increasing the reflectivity of those surfaces in urban areas with a population of over one million would offset the heating effect of 1.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide emission annually, the equivalent of taking 300 million cars off the road for 20 years.”

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
  2. nevermoor Jul 22,2010 10:12 am

    YOTD (non-Y division)

    We enacted these tax cuts, there was no job creation, debt exploded, and only the wealthiest of the wealthy profited. So tell me, Mr. Fiscal Conservative Kent Conrad, why should we not let the tax cuts for the rich expire?

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
  3. nevermoor Jul 22,2010 10:13 am

    Currently taking off all my clothes.

    “According to NASA, 2010 is on course to be the planet’s hottest year since records started in 1880. The current top 10, in descending order, are: 2005, 2007, 2009, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2004, 2001 and 2008.”

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
  4. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 10:33 am
    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:07 pm || Up

      I like her. She shows imagination and initiative. PLus, she’s gonna be single again soon. I’m just unsure whether she can go from a professional baseball player’s salary to an unemployed sign monkey overlord’s. Hope she likes couch beds…

  5. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 10:33 am
    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • green star oakland Jul 22,2010 10:48 am || Up

      But would you want an encyclopedia written by TV junkies?

      If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
    • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:09 pm || Up

      Whatever. Imma go watch TV.

  6. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 10:34 am

    11. There’s a method (and a motivation) to his madness. Christ, what a bunch of assholes.

    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • nevermoor Jul 22,2010 10:52 am || Up

      That’s a bit too 11-dimensional-chess for me. I think he did it to (1) overshadow finreg and (2) respond to the NAACP announcement

      "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
  7. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 10:35 am

    Billy (David), please go ahead and get this guy already.

    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
  8. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 10:45 am

    Here at FK, we already knew LB was a Joyce fan.

    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:17 pm || Up

      I knew I liked her for a reason.

      And much like Laura (see above post), I have terrible taste in partners as well.

      • monkeyball Jul 22,2010 12:19 pm || Up

        Did you also kill your former high school sweetheart in a momentary paroxysm of road rage?

        you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
        • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:33 pm || Up

          [looks embarrassed, stares at ground, kicks rock, looks up shyly]

          Um, no.

  9. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 10:57 am
    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • salb918 Jul 22,2010 11:04 am || Up

      He’ll be lucky if he’s 5′ 3″.

      • Poppy Jul 22,2010 12:28 pm || Up
        There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
  10. salb918 Jul 22,2010 10:57 am

    This was a very enjoyable read.

    At which point I write the word “hooker” on the bottom of the envelope I’m using to take notes and hold it up for the wife. Now, it is perhaps a testimony or a condemnation to the way that I’ve lived my life that at no point during my conversation with this hooker calling me from my office and asking for payment does my wife for EVEN AN INSTANT think that perhaps, yes, she should be concerned that a hooker is calling her husband at home asking for payment.

    • monkeyball Jul 22,2010 11:10 am || Up

      He should really be fact-checking wikipedia entries.

      you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:25 pm || Up

      That was awesome, sal. Thank you.

    • Poppy Jul 22,2010 12:35 pm || Up

      I didn’t get very far into reading that, thanks to the white text on black background. If you want to create a Poppy-free webspace (FK 3.0?), just set it up that way.

      There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
      • andeux Jul 22,2010 12:41 pm || Up

        Check out readability

        TINSTAAFK
        • monkeyball Jul 22,2010 12:45 pm || Up

          Do they have an app that will filter out smut?

          you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
          • Poppy Jul 22,2010 1:04 pm || Up

            Do they have an ape that will filter out smut? [rub, rub]

            There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
          • nevermoor Jul 22,2010 2:50 pm || Up

            The iPhone?

            "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
        • Poppy Jul 22,2010 1:04 pm || Up

          Neat!

          There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
  11. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 10:59 am

    Your Adam West-related youtube of the day:

    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • Poppy Jul 22,2010 12:40 pm || Up

      Sad pill, quick!

      There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
  12. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 11:00 am

    I will give $5 to anyone who successfully does this in the third deck:

    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • MikeV Jul 22,2010 12:07 pm || Up

      That’s phenomenal.

      And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

      Thanks, and go As.

      • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:28 pm || Up

        Strange. Not to disagree, but I thought it looked like bored frat boys.

        • sslinger Jul 22,2010 2:01 pm || Up

          And what’s up with the music? Shouldn’t it be Social Distortion or something?

  13. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 11:43 am

    **:

    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • mikeA Jul 22,2010 12:51 pm || Up

      To be fair, we’ve been ****ing obscene words over here from the beginning.

      • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 1:15 pm || Up

        I like you more now.

        My sunburn today from yesterday’s game says hello, BTW, and wonders when you might be free to join it.

  14. MikeV Jul 22,2010 12:12 pm

    SHIT. PISS. FUCK. CUNT. COCKSUCKER. MOTHERFUCKER. TITS.

    just checking.

    And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

    Thanks, and go As.

    • monkeyball Jul 22,2010 12:15 pm || Up

      New rule: You can imply that you like to fuck goats with your engorged, throbbing clown penis, you just can’t say it.

      you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
      • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:30 pm || Up

        I like to, you know, goats, with my, you know, clown doo-hickey.

        • dmoas Jul 22,2010 11:14 pm || Up

          I just like to Fist them with my Fister.

          • MikeV Jul 22,2010 11:25 pm || Up

            BARELY KNEW HER

            And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

            Thanks, and go As.

      • nevermoor Jul 22,2010 2:51 pm || Up

        Phallus. It’s an engorged clown phallus. Remember, this is the nerdy words society we’ve got going.

        "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    • green star oakland Jul 22,2010 12:16 pm || Up

      The seven dwarves?

      If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
      • monkeyball Jul 22,2010 12:18 pm || Up

        The current ** mods?

        you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
        • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:35 pm || Up

          I don’t wanna be a dwarf!

          • MikeV Jul 22,2010 12:36 pm || Up

            The fuck? you’re a mod?

            I think they really DO hate me over there, actually.

            And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

            Thanks, and go As.

            • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:42 pm || Up

              I love you, though.

              • MikeV Jul 22,2010 12:48 pm || Up

                <3

                But, I really wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them didn't like me.

                And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

                Thanks, and go As.

                • Poppy Jul 22,2010 12:55 pm || Up

                  Nobody who’s any fun doesn’t not like you.

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 1:20 pm || Up

                  I don’t think any of them dislike you. **** obviously has an agenda here. I’m not sure what it is and I’m not sure where it comes from. But I imagine riches and glory are the desired end result. Neither interest me.

                  All I really want is my parents to get back together. I think Mommy just got a new boyfriend.

                • andeux Jul 22,2010 1:30 pm || Up

                  My impression has been that B*** was the one interested in the riches, and N*** craves authority – both in the sense of telling other people how to act (look what he does for a living) and in the sense of people listening to his opinions on baseball.

                  TINSTAAFK
                • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 1:32 pm || Up

                  I just want my 2006 ** back. Is that so much to ask?

                • andeux Jul 22,2010 1:34 pm || Up

                  Yes.

                  TINSTAAFK
                • monkeyball Jul 22,2010 3:51 pm || Up

                  I don’t care about 2006 ** — but I wouldn’t mind having the 2006 A’s back.

                  you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
                • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 4:30 pm || Up

                  why not both?

                • Poppy Jul 22,2010 1:49 pm || Up

                  My biggest problem with anyone being interested in the riches is the duplicity of saying (while reaping) “This site wouldn’t be what it is without all of you and the community’s contributions!” — and simultaneously driving away and/or diminishing the contributions from most of the core of the community that supposedly “made this site what it is/was.”

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • nevermoor Jul 22,2010 2:52 pm || Up

                  Don’t wory, nothing is f****** changing.

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • grover Jul 22,2010 8:20 pm || Up

                  I’m expecting N*** to put a contract out on me any day now.

                • dmoas Jul 22,2010 11:19 pm || Up

                  I’ll take that contract. Then when he asked why I didn’t take you out, I’ll say I did. Then I’ll look around and see you and response “Oooooh, grover. Shit, I thought you fucking meant that cocksucking, goat fisting, motherfucking, cunt licking, titty pinching loser ‘Grover’. He was kind of a dick and not the kind you’d like to suck. He’s gone by the way. Oh um… what’d you want me to do with that grover and how much are you paying?”

                • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 12:05 am || Up

                  I like you more now.

                  grover, you, too. You and nm have really stood up in that thread.

                • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 1:29 am || Up

                  You’ll be killed by a small pack of 9-year-olds. Who will then be paid with a thanks for their contribution to the community.

                  you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
                • green star oakland Jul 23,2010 7:56 am || Up

                  9-year-olds, dude.

                  If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
                • MikeV Jul 22,2010 2:14 pm || Up

                  Meanwhile, BBG is galavanting around the country representing SBN and trying to get people to show up for drinks.

                  Of course there’s an agenda.

                  And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

                  Thanks, and go As.

                • Poppy Jul 22,2010 2:20 pm || Up

                  Why isn’t she focusing on something fun for the community, like the QOTM she promised to resume? Of course, she didn’t include most of the real funnies when she was doing it, but still…

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • MikeV Jul 22,2010 2:45 pm || Up

                  Because then she couldn’t travel the country and promote SBN on someone else’s dime?

                  I dunno :shrug:

                  Not that I’d say no if someone asked me to go booze it up around the United States, so I’ve gotta say good for her on that one.

                  It’s pretty clear that SBN is the priority, not **

                  And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

                  Thanks, and go As.

                • nevermoor Jul 22,2010 3:32 pm || Up

                  Right. It’s almost like everything MB/Sal/etc predicted a year ago is still right on track.

                  It’s not necessarily bad, but thank goodness for FK.

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • MikeV Jul 22,2010 3:36 pm || Up

                  FK.

                  FUCK YEAH.

                  And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

                  Thanks, and go As.

                • salb918 Jul 22,2010 3:37 pm || Up

                  Just call me Hari Sal-don.

                • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 4:32 pm || Up

                  I did give y’all a shout out in that meta thread.

                  But I should be getting angrier over this.

                  Mod may have been a bad idea.

                • Poppy Jul 22,2010 5:04 pm || Up

                  No, you shouldn’t be angrier. It’s become fully self-aware. Skynet Blog Nation.

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • nevermoor Jul 22,2010 5:42 pm || Up

                  I beat MB to the chief administrator quoting post.

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 4:31 pm || Up

                  G_S’s was pretty classic, though.

                • MikeV Jul 22,2010 11:26 pm || Up

                  I’m sad that I missed it.

                  And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

                  Thanks, and go As.

                • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 12:07 am || Up

                  his QotMs? Remember? He did clean and dirty? Just like the two currently suggested states on **.

                • MikeV Jul 23,2010 9:34 am || Up

                  I don’t. I must have been drunk.

                  And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

                  Thanks, and go As.

    • andeux Jul 22,2010 12:23 pm || Up
      TINSTAAFK
      • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:36 pm || Up

        I love that song. I love Steve Earle. When my hair’s long, I kinda resemble Steve Earle.

    • Poppy Jul 22,2010 12:53 pm || Up

      FK flag on that = “Unset your fucking caps lock, cocksucker.”

      There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
      • nevermoor Jul 22,2010 2:53 pm || Up

        I hadn’t seen this when I made my comment in the other thread. Which is funny.

        "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    • lenscrafters Jul 22,2010 2:47 pm || Up

      Holy fucking shit. I’ve never agreed with richwol so much in one thread.

  15. batgirl Jul 22,2010 12:34 pm

    Hmmm, so it’s all about owning a football team, even a crappy one.

    • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 12:45 pm || Up

      Bengals at number 28 is VERY surprising. I would say your assessment is accurate.

  16. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 1:15 pm

    Now this sounds more like it:

    “If you call on him, you’d better be ready to make a deal, because they’re ready,” said an exec of one team. “If you’re just kicking tires, don’t call. And if you do call, you’d better know you want him, and you’d better know definitively what you’re going to give up because they’ve done their homework, and they know exactly what they want.”

    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • monkeyball Jul 22,2010 3:40 pm || Up

      Counterpoint:

      The A’s, however, are not aggressively shopping Sheets and do not appear motivated to trade him, major-league sources say.

      Breslow is ginning up interest, though.

      Question: would it make any sense at all for the A’s to trade Breslow but not Sheets?

      you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
      • andeux Jul 22,2010 3:45 pm || Up

        Aren’t those just two different ways of saying that the A’s current asking price for Sheets is high?

        TINSTAAFK
        • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 9:43 am || Up

          Yes, with one being based on leaks from team sources (Sheets? My goodness, no, we’re not trading him. He’s far too VALUABLE.) and the other from non-team sources (Sheets? Yeah, they’re not “shopping” him, but they’ve made it known he’s available.).

          you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
      • grover Jul 22,2010 8:25 pm || Up

        Sure. The return on Sheets might be marginal even if the A’s eat the remainder of his salary. In that case, why not keep him as Braden and Anderson have had injury issues and Sheets provides depth.

        Breslow’s big selling points are his current effectiveness and the 3 years he has to wait to hit FA.

        • MikeV Jul 22,2010 11:27 pm || Up

          So that begs the question, though — what if all 6 of Anderson, Cahill, Mazzarro, Braden, and Sheets are healthy? 6 man rotation? Send Mazzarro down?

          And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

          Thanks, and go As.

          • dmoas Jul 22,2010 11:30 pm || Up

            I vote 6-man rotation. If all are doing good, let them do good. Keep their innings down, allow them to throw a few more pitches per start, save the bullpen.

          • grover Jul 23,2010 12:05 am || Up

            Probably send Mazzaro down.

            Although I did see an idea to shop Gio and/or Mazzaro for offense. There’s a rumor (completely unsubstantiated) that says Beane is willing to talk about any arm not named Anderson, Bailey or Cahill.

            • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 12:19 am || Up

              See? You said that without swearing. What’s the big deal?

            • MikeV Jul 23,2010 9:40 am || Up

              Jason Stark is saying that Beane is ready to deal Sheets.

              Here’s another fellow whose team (Oakland) would be delighted to move him. Heck, the A’s pretty much signed him in the first place so they could move him in July. They’ll even pick up much of the $4.5 million or so that’s left on his contract this year.

              And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

              Thanks, and go As.

        • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 1:34 am || Up

          But if you trade Breslow, the bullpen takes a pretty significant hit, whereas there’s depth in the rotation to replace Sheets (even if Anderson and Braden don’t come back/come back at less than 100%). Yes, Sheets would pitch more innings than Breslow; but we’re also talking about value beyond this year, so Breslow’s what, three? more cheap and presumably at least quasi-effective years should factor in as well. Unless of course they think Breslow’s about to turn back into a pumpkin any minute.

          I just really don’t understand hanging onto Sheets, even if the offers are relatively marginal. I don’t think the remainder of his ’10 starts are worth the $5M to the A’s as constituted.

          you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
          • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 1:59 am || Up

            agreed. And go to bed. You have to work in the morning.

  17. salb918 Jul 22,2010 1:25 pm

    • monkeyball Jul 22,2010 1:33 pm || Up

      **’s motto: Please don’t use swear words — we want to be a Fortune 500 company, not a sports blog

      you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • JediLeroy Jul 23,2010 12:23 am || Up

      What’s up with the gratuitous caps in the bottom one?

      az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
      • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 12:24 am || Up

        Hmmm….maybe “Lemonade Stand” is a local chain of mini-marts?

  18. green star oakland Jul 22,2010 1:54 pm

    Phillies/Cards … 0-0 in the bottom of the 10th, 9 hits & 16 lob to 1 & 2, and only 1 walk between them.

    If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
  19. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 3:36 pm
    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • salb918 Jul 22,2010 3:38 pm || Up

      They traded him for Bulger a few years ago.

  20. nevermoor Jul 22,2010 3:48 pm

    Jeeeeesus.

    I think that all we should do is issue subpoenas and have one hearing after another, and expose all the nonsense that has gone on. And it’s very important when we come back that we have constitutional conservative leadership, because the American people’s patience is about this big. So we have to make sure that we do what the people want us to do.”

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
  21. salb918 Jul 22,2010 4:17 pm

    Hannahan –> R’Sox.

    • Leopold Bloom Jul 22,2010 4:33 pm || Up

      ooof. Now they’ve got two I can’t root against.

      • Poppy Jul 22,2010 5:04 pm || Up

        Srsly, dammit.

        There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
        • andeux Jul 22,2010 5:19 pm || Up

          Big Eric Patterson fans, eh?

          TINSTAAFK
          • monkeyball Jul 22,2010 5:30 pm || Up

            I was going to guess Pedroia.

            you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
            • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 12:09 am || Up

              Fuck you, monkey. You like Papelbon. So there.

          • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 12:09 am || Up

            I am when he’s playing against us.

            “Hey, Rainman! Put in Patterson!”

  22. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 4:42 pm

    Hunh?

    Although BP is a private company …

    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
  23. monkeyball Jul 22,2010 4:45 pm

    You know what? That’s it — I’m not reading Calcaterra anymore. He’s just not credible as a daily general-interest baseball guy.

    you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • nevermoor Jul 22,2010 5:42 pm || Up

      which sort of defeats the whole purpose from their perspective.

      ???

      "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
      • monkeyball Jul 22,2010 5:50 pm || Up

        Yeah, exactly.

        Now, on steroids and baseball-biz and legal matters, he’s still good. He’s gotten way overschticky with the human-interest-flavor crap.

        He was an incredibly poor choice by the NBC Overlords to be their lead daily blogger/voice guy. Just a poor fit.

        you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
  24. Soaker Jul 22,2010 8:39 pm

    I’m watching the Red Sox vs. Mariners. Including his 6 innings tonight, Ryan Rowland-Smith has given up 20 home runs this season while recording 38 strikeouts (in 93-1/3 innings pitched). What would the record be for fewest strikeouts for a pitcher who’s given up 20 homers? It can’t be a whole lot less than 38.

    Oh, and John Lackey is no-hitting the Mariners through 6.

    Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
    • salb918 Jul 22,2010 8:59 pm || Up

      Yeah, but no shutout.

      • Soaker Jul 22,2010 9:19 pm || Up

        Hooray for the power of the jinx. It’s a good thing Bard got that clean hit, because the following squib hit by Jack Wilson would have been a nasty way to break up a no-hitter. Watching Bill Hall play second base…hmmm, reminds me a bit of D’Angelo Jimenez.

        Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
        • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 12:10 am || Up

          They, um, weren’t quite good at turning two against us this past series…I’m not sure that was all attributable to Bill Hall, though…

  25. nevermoor Jul 22,2010 11:03 pm
    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    • MikeV Jul 22,2010 11:30 pm || Up

      Minus the passive, yeah. I think that a lot of them go out of their way to start shit.

      And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

      Thanks, and go As.

  26. MikeV Jul 22,2010 11:49 pm

    Dear Westboro Baptist douchebags: Don’t fuck with geeks.

    And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

    Thanks, and go As.

    • Poppy Jul 23,2010 3:40 pm || Up

      I’m so proud to be a nerd right now.

      There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
  27. Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 4:50 am

    So…we need to discuss TC, you lazy FKers.

    WTF was with that format? So, for six seasons, you’re gonna judge one way and all of a sudden, we’re gonna allow the contestants themselves to SOLELY vote for both the winners and losers? Does that seem like a good idea, I mean at all?

    And a cold dish? Seriously? I hated this episode.

    The further into this season we get, the more convinced I become I would not piss on Angelo if he were on fire. He’s an evil little fucker and I’m glad that Ed fucked his girlfriend. And I’m glad Ed went on national television and told the world he fucked Angelo’s girlfriend. Fucking mutt.

    There’s no way in hell Kenny’s winning. Angelo will almost certainly win. There’s no justice in this world anymore. And I’ve drastically reduced the power of fuck. Right here in this post. I suck.

    • sslinger Jul 23,2010 10:30 am || Up

      I’m with ya, LB. I thought they were going to let the opposing teams recommend their choices for top and bottom, and then the discussion would show how they were biased and the real judges would make the final choices. At least Kenny’s team did make some positive comments about some of the other team’s dishes, whereas Diablo’s team was uniformly picky/nasty in their remarks, and you could see some surprise on the judges faces about some of the comments. Sadly, it looked like Kenny really did screw the pooch on this one so there’s no way to tell how much was gamesmanship and how much was true judging. A sad episode in a sad season so far.

      Meanwhile, I’m getting more and more into Work of Art. I like the challenges they’ve been thrown, which give a good opportunity for a variety of approaches. And, while none of the judges come across all that great, I think they’ve gotten it right in terms of who is left on the show. It’s been much more interesting than this season’s TC.

      • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 11:10 am || Up

        So it’s worth catching up on? I watched the first episode and liked it okay.

      • batgirl Jul 23,2010 11:38 am || Up

        Totally agree with both of you–that episode stunk to high heaven. They were so bitchy during the tasting. And the cold item concept was stupid as was the method of judging.

        Work of Art is pretty good. As a side note, one of our customers here at work called to place an order last week. At the end of the conversation she said, “In case you’re interested in this sort of thing, my business partner here at the store is on a reality show this season.” I was thinking she’d say road rules or something, but no, she turned out to be Peregrine from Work of Art. So now I’m rooting for her. And Abdi seems like a decent guy. I love how everyone is starting to turn on Miles and his “act.”

        • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 2:10 pm || Up

          batgirl, would you like to go to a game with me? I’m harmless. and big.

          • batgirl Jul 23,2010 3:29 pm || Up

            Totally! Are you planning on hitting any of the games this homestand?

            • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 3:47 pm || Up

              Might go Sunday. You down?

              • batgirl Jul 23,2010 4:01 pm || Up

                Ugh–this whole weekend is out for me. I like how I mention this homestand without actually looking at the schedule. Maybe KC or TEX on that next homestand? Evenings are probably preferable to day games. I think someone mentioned fireworks–Friday the 6th? Or Tuesday the 2nd is free parking, which is nice.

                • Poppy Jul 23,2010 4:06 pm || Up

                  Tuesday’s the 3rd, and I’ll have an extra ticket. If you guys want to have a three-way (game-watching experience) I can get a third ticket near the awesome two that I already have… :)

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • batgirl Jul 23,2010 6:27 pm || Up

                  Ooh that could work. Bloomie?…

                • Poppy Jul 23,2010 7:14 pm || Up

                  You’re not at Dog Day tonight?

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • batgirl Jul 24,2010 8:27 am || Up

                  I didn’t go this year. Chantal was released from CCI training on Tuesday (yay she’s ours forever!) and we’re puppy sitting for a retired service dog this week, so I was in a weird position of having too many dogs to go to dog day.

                • Poppy Jul 24,2010 9:40 am || Up

                  I just saw that on your FB! :) I was wondering if she ever got over her fear of children…

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • batgirl Jul 24,2010 10:03 am || Up

                  Uh, no. In the vet’s office yesterday she jumped onto the waiting room coffee table trying to get away from a little boy. Copies of Cat Fancy flying everywhere…

                • Poppy Jul 24,2010 10:17 am || Up

                  Maybe she just really fancies cats.

                  In any case, I’m glad you’ve got her! But you guys should make a less welcoming home for those pups if you want them to succeed…

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • batgirl Jul 24,2010 10:37 am || Up

                  I don’t know, her life is pretty rough.
                  Chantal

                • Leopold Bloom Jul 24,2010 3:01 pm || Up

                  Wait, is that me?

                • sslinger Jul 23,2010 7:52 pm || Up

                  We’ve already talked about meeting up at that game (Tue 3rd) with FSU. It was in a thread a while ago that I’m too lazy too look up and link to now. He said he might have a line on a bunch of cheap tix, too.

                • Poppy Jul 23,2010 8:12 pm || Up

                  I thought that got changed to the 21st or something?

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • sslinger Jul 23,2010 8:18 pm || Up

                  I may have missed that, but I’ll be looking for his truck in the lot before the game.

                • Poppy Jul 23,2010 8:21 pm || Up

                  Okay, now you’ve flipped my OCD switch and I have to go find the thread(s).

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • green star oakland Jul 23,2010 8:22 pm || Up

                  I think it’s both – game on the 3rd, tailgate on the 21st.

                  If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
                • Poppy Jul 23,2010 8:29 pm || Up

                  I found this… couldn’t find the 3rd mentioned anywhere…

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • sslinger Jul 23,2010 8:47 pm || Up

                  OK, I found this. Clearly it’s not penciled in ink, but doesn’t look like it’s cancelled either. And thanks for the link to the Aug 21 tailgate – I had totally missed that one.

                • Leopold Bloom Jul 24,2010 2:46 am || Up

                  Well, can we go as a group?

                • batgirl Jul 24,2010 8:29 am || Up

                  So now it seems like both games may be FK meet-ups. Hopefully FSU will weigh in on the 3rd and let us know where those seats are. (Though I think he might be camping right now?)

                • Poppy Jul 24,2010 9:44 am || Up

                  So I’ll either have two tickets I don’t use, or… I don’t know what. Sit by myself next to one empty seat in 215? LOL

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • batgirl Jul 24,2010 9:59 am || Up

                  No–some of us will sit with you! We could meet up before in the tailgate area for those who arrive early and then go to our various seating areas for the game. Complicated seating is complicated!

                • sslinger Jul 24,2010 11:34 am || Up

                  Sounds good.

                • Leopold Bloom Jul 24,2010 3:03 pm || Up

                  who are we playing? I cannot imagine FSU will be difficult. They seem this season to not even check. But we may as well buy something cheap and all sit together. The link I got through a friend on **–you get plaza level seating for $12 per.

                • FreeSeatUpgrade Jul 25,2010 1:58 pm || Up

                  Yes, both…I’m up for Tues 8/3 with anyone, can sit anywhere, don’t have tix yet. Free parking in main lot, hooray, I could be there by 5-5:30. And Sat 8/21 will be the FK tailgate event, bring family and friends, details TBA.

                  "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
                • Leopold Bloom Jul 25,2010 11:46 pm || Up

                  I can be there 8/3, will sit with any and all.

    • andeux Jul 23,2010 10:31 am || Up

      1. I kind of liked the way that challenge was designed. If one group tried to get tricky and nominate someone whose food wasn’t so bad for elimination, it would likely backfire and result in one of them getting eliminated instead. Based on the judge’s comments, I think Kenny and Tamesha were both there deservedly. And while I like Kenny, he seems to have a problem with ever accepting that he has screwed something up.

      2. Angelo is a dick, but the editing is (as usual) way over the top. Every time someone says something bad about Angelo they cut to a shot of him looking sinister.

      3. I would still bet on the field vs. Angelo at this point. He only has 3 wins (QF + elim), same as Kenny and Kelly.

      TINSTAAFK
      • sslinger Jul 23,2010 10:44 am || Up

        Agreed about Kenny’s lack of awareness of his shortcomings, though that seems to be a fairly common thread, which may or may not be an artifact of editing.

  28. Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 4:51 am

    Being blogfather means never having to say you’re sorry.

    • grover Jul 23,2010 7:52 am || Up

      Especially when iglew is there to fix everything you break!

      • nevermoor Jul 23,2010 10:09 am || Up

        I love that the post was “I’m announcing a new rule” and by the end his comment was “why does everyone think we’re announcing a new rule, we just needed to have a conversation”

        "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
        • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 10:19 am || Up

          If there’s anything I hate more than an authoritarian martinet, it’s a feckless and ineffective authoritarian martinet.

          you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
          • salb918 Jul 23,2010 10:29 am || Up

            I’d respect TCA a lot more if he said, “these are the new rules, now follow them or fuck f@$! off.”

            • andeux Jul 23,2010 10:33 am || Up

              Or FK off.

              TINSTAAFK
              • nevermoor Jul 23,2010 10:40 am || Up

                Yep. He’s our best recruiter.

                "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 10:41 am || Up

                  Full confession: Napoleon has always been my sock puppet.

                  you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
                • nevermoor Jul 23,2010 10:49 am || Up

                  BaN!

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • mk Jul 24,2010 8:00 am || Up

                  I’ll be the contrarian:

                  1. AN bitch and gossip sessions are the least appealing aspects of this blog.

                  2. AN spats help recruitment here insofar as FK is the place where AN regulars go to complain about AN for a few days before (mostly) returning to AN.

                  3. I guess the “**” meme has a brand new connotation now, but as to the prior site-that-shant-be-named putdown: I’ve always thought it was weird to ostentatiously/derisively not name a site while spending like 15 hours a day there.

                  4. Some people are legitimately put off by AN/SBN’s lowest common denominator anesthetization. For most, though, profanity guidelines, Yahoo headlines, Nico’s “agenda”, etc. have fuck-all to do with why they like the site. They like it because lots of people there laugh at their jokes and tell them they’re smart and encourage them when they’re depressed. In other words, they like it because they have friends there. Which is why a) they will continue to participate as vigorously as ever, b) they *should* continue to participate as vigorously as ever, and c) #’s 2 and 3 are kind of fucked up.

                • Poppy Jul 24,2010 9:58 am || Up

                  I agree that the “**” thing and “N***” or derisive Nico nicknames are stupid, which is why I just write “AN” or “Nico” when referring to AN or Nico, but 15 hours a day? Exaggerate much?

                  As for recruitment, FK has never had a “you must never visit AN or – worse – enjoy AN ever again once you enter here” creed. There are still people there that I like, who aren’t here or who are both here and there. But I’m not going to deny or disguise the fact that TPTB’s long-term campaign to bland the site is disappointing, a little insulting, and, frankly, kind of sad for me. I’ve also stated over there my sentiment along the lines of “some of you still have a blast despite the growth and corporate restrictions, and more power to you, but to me, ‘bigger site’ actually does mean ‘worse’ because I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to.”

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • nevermoor Jul 24,2010 11:21 am || Up

                  I think Poppy’s point is important. For example, LB was the #1 commenter over there and we love him here too. I think FK is both a place to go for people who do quit ** and a place for people to go who like parts of **, like people over here, and want to talk about whatever they want to talk about.

                  As far as names for the chief administrator, my switch came when he threatened to ban me as a troll for snarking him (on a specific comment) that got a positive reaction from others and was almost word for word what he’d done to me. Note, I don’t mean threatened a strike, or a third strike, I mean from 0 strikes to banned because his fee fees hurt.

                  Also, I’ve always thought his analysis is weak, so that probably pisses him off too.

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • Poppy Jul 24,2010 1:35 pm || Up

                  One of my AN sads is that I liked Nico the person, I liked Nico the ordinary poster, but Nico the administrator… I, uh, am not a fan. Which means maybe I misjudged the person, or am misjudging the admin, or what, I dunno.

                  And if I talk about it over here, it’s because I know I’m not going to get jumped by a lot of “Stop acting so entitled, AN was not created for your pleasure, growth is good and the mods have a thankless job,” etc. etc. etc.

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • Leopold Bloom Jul 24,2010 3:05 pm || Up

                  Nico changed.

                • monkeyball Jul 24,2010 3:11 pm || Up

                  No, he didn’t.

                  you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
                • mikeA Jul 24,2010 3:15 pm || Up

                  Correct.

                • Leopold Bloom Jul 24,2010 3:19 pm || Up

                  you don’t think? you both were in a better position to know.

                • Poppy Jul 24,2010 3:40 pm || Up

                  It may be a matter of opinion, if one didn’t like him in the first place. But I generally like everybody as a default, until they do something (or several things) to make me dislike them. I’m probably too easy.

                  There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
                • salb918 Jul 24,2010 5:34 pm || Up

                  I have always found him to a passive-aggressive bully, but I didn’t realize how annoying it was until I was the target.

                • andeux Jul 24,2010 4:56 pm || Up

                  I also liked Nico at first, and even went to some games with him in the first couple years of AN. In retrospect, that was probably poor judgment on my part, but I also think he got a lot worse when put in a position of authority.

                  TINSTAAFK
                • Leopold Bloom Jul 24,2010 3:09 pm || Up

                  It should also be noted however that the reason that I didn’t feel the need to choose one site over the other was due in large part to mk. He told me to stop sweating/denying that I liked it over there and, as a result, I have groups of friends at both places, one of which I might have completely missed out on.

                  I call it ** because that’s what we do here.

                  And I share both nm and mike a’s excitement that you’ve posted again. You’re one of the reasons I like FK so much.

                • monkeyball Jul 24,2010 3:18 pm || Up

                  Actually, I think it’s just me and nm who do the Christ, what a pair of asterisks. Forget which of us started it. I don’t care if anyone else does it or not — for me, it’s like Zk or Kz or Sweeknee.

                  you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
                • mikeA Jul 24,2010 3:38 pm || Up

                  First two uses of ** were from xbx, third was by mk, who xbx went off on that one time and I thought he was kidding but apparently he wasn’t…

                • mk Jul 24,2010 6:52 pm || Up

                  I used it originally (I might even have coined it). But: I am not a regular at AN, so the original spirit of the joke applies, and I stopped using it long ago, after Poppy pointed out that it was childish and lame, and I realized, as I often do, that she was correct.

                • Leopold Bloom Jul 24,2010 8:30 pm || Up

                  I remember that. I stopped for a while, too, but it seemed like I was the only one not using **, so I felt stupid and contrarian and stopped.

                • grover Jul 24,2010 8:49 pm || Up

                  I thought it was use ** or pay a membership fee.

                • Leopold Bloom Jul 24,2010 8:52 pm || Up

                  That’s right–there was talk of that.

                • oblique Jul 26,2010 9:34 am || Up

                  ** has always bothered me because coming from a programming (pattern matching) perspective it makes no sense. If we weren’t going to type “AN” I’d have preferred .. or [A-Z][A-Z] or [A-Z]{2} or \w{2} or something. Similarly, /^N\w{3}$/ or some such for the chief admin. But I guess I can’t have everything.

                  As to whether to censor these words in the first place, I’m not sure why we bother, since “AN” isn’t really searchable (though if Nico egosurfs for long enough, he may find a bunch of posts referencing him here).

                • nevermoor Jul 26,2010 9:38 am || Up

                  It isn’t about that (and people don’t have to do it, of course).

                  Google shields are up, so you aren’t going to find FK except via links on FK1.0. It’s more in the Voldemort vein of unnameable things. I like the phrase chief administrator, because that’s how he referred to himself in my drama.

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • MikeV Jul 26,2010 10:53 am || Up

                  About those google shields, NM… I might need some help with those on another site I run. Is there a howto somewhere for runnin em?

                  And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

                  Thanks, and go As.

                • nevermoor Jul 26,2010 10:56 am || Up

                  It’s just something either WP itself or FK’s theme has as a setting.

                  But I do think there are pretty easy steps you can take in hand code.

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • oblique Jul 26,2010 11:12 am || Up

                  Oh, I know (well, I didn’t know about the google shields being up, which is cool, but I knew it wasn’t about that to begin with). I’m pretty much just being whimsical.

                • monkeyball Jul 24,2010 3:11 pm || Up

                  Also, he’s not funny.

                  you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
                • mikeA Jul 24,2010 3:15 pm || Up

                  Even more correct.

                • mk Jul 24,2010 6:54 pm || Up

                  Basically I think this:

                  If you like AN, great! Fantastic. I personally don’t enjoy it, but to each their own. Also, if you think AN is hacky corporate pablum, great! Me too. If you used to love it, but think it sucks now, I also approve. However, see #4 above. I will put it this way: If I commented many times a day on AN, situated myself at or near the locus of discussion there, and asked for and received continuous validation from said community, I would not sidle over here to stir up shit (or crank the Cuisinart to eleven on already stirred shit).

                  As LB noted, my position is/has been that if you enjoy AN you should post there. But if you do that … scratch that. If *I* did that, I would avoid a) piling-on sessions such as this, and b) ominous-sounding, ellipses-suffixed gossip starters (“N*** sure is in fine form in that ** thread …”, etc.). Because I don’t see much difference between that and chatting up one group of friends, then walking down the hall and whispering about them to a different group of friends.

                • mk Jul 24,2010 6:47 pm || Up

                  1. Exaggerating for effect.

                  2. I am referring more to those who *only* seem to come here in the direct aftermath of the latest AN pissing contest to shake their snarkfist at the heavens. Sorry, I’m exaggerating again. I’ll go with “those folks whose FK participation is comprised mostly of complaining about AN subsequent to various kerfuffles at AN.”

                • nevermoor Jul 24,2010 11:15 am || Up

                  MK! Numbered list!

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • sslinger Jul 24,2010 11:37 am || Up

                  Totally agree on #1.

                • green star oakland Jul 24,2010 4:17 pm || Up

                  Also, too.

                  And at this point they pretty much only happen when something flares up over there, and generally get called (like mk did) within a day or so.

                  If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
                • mikeA Jul 24,2010 12:12 pm || Up

                  Ah, but it took a bitch and gossip session to bring you out of a months-long hibernation!

            • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 10:40 am || Up

              It’s a community! A democracy! A not-democracy! A bar! An empire!

              you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
              • salb918 Jul 23,2010 10:51 am || Up

                heh.

                As I’ve always said, I don’t mind them building a business off of AN, but the insults to my intelligence are a bit much.

                • nevermoor Jul 23,2010 11:09 am || Up

                  Agreed.

                  It’s Blez’s toy, and dude has a right to be paid. I have a right to point out/object when things change. N*** has a right to ban me.

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • nevermoor Jul 23,2010 11:22 am || Up

                  No, no. I would let you know explicitly.

                  He threatened once, despite the fact that I’ve never gotten a strike in my ** career.

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 11:27 am || Up

                  Heh

                  explicitly

                  you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
                • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 2:20 pm || Up

                  Fuck you, nevermoor. You’re a cocksucker and you’re out of here.

                  Speaking of cocksuckers…the funny thing is, the only strike I’ve ever gotten is when I called Peter Gammons a cocksucker.

                  Allow me to reiterate for all of you FKers: Peter Gammons is a cocksuckers. He sucks cocks. And not in that good, fun way, either.

                • nevermoor Jul 23,2010 2:43 pm || Up

                  I fuck-a you mother you ‘orrible bastard

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
        • grover Jul 23,2010 9:04 pm || Up

          It was an interesting way to achieve compromise.

          And I liked how 67M mentioned how if only N*** had listened to him in the first place things could have started where they ultimately finished.

          • Leopold Bloom Jul 24,2010 2:46 am || Up

            Listened to all the mods.

            • grover Jul 24,2010 7:08 am || Up

              So basically he was on an ego trip, listening to folks who e-mail him but rarely actually participate in the site.

              I wouldn’t be surprised if his closest advisors were actually sock puppets.

              • Leopold Bloom Jul 24,2010 3:12 pm || Up

                AS far as I can tell, he solicited the advice of the mods, disagreed with what they advised to a person and did what he wanted to do.

                • grover Jul 24,2010 5:47 pm || Up

                  Sometimes I wonder how things would have shaken out if I had pursued becoming a mod. I had the opportunity but bowed out because I was worried work would get in the way.

    • Poppy Jul 23,2010 3:44 pm || Up

      Oooh, I must have missed a bunch more fun shit after I went to work yesterday. Before looking, I’m going to estimate there will have been 973 new comments since about 24 hours ago. I’ll let you know how close my guess was.

      There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
      • Poppy Jul 23,2010 4:03 pm || Up

        982! Sort of. 796 new in the original thread, and 186 in a whole new follow-up post I haven’t read yet.

        There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
        • nevermoor Jul 23,2010 4:08 pm || Up

          No Terry Kniess you.

          "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
  29. JediLeroy Jul 23,2010 7:07 am

    Inception = awesome.

    az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
    • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 11:12 am || Up

      oh, very much so. But don’t talk it up too much or people, especially these FKers, will get all contrarian on you.

      I will say this. After a decade and a half of absolutely despising Leonardo, I have come to love him. This movie pushed it over the top for me.

      • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 11:23 am || Up

        I’m a pretty big Chris Nolan fanboi (The Prestige is one of my favorite films of the last decade). But boy can I not stand Leo.

        Haven’t seen the new one yet.

        you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
        • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 2:13 pm || Up

          I was definitely in the same boat. As eclectic as you are with your movie tastes, we run fairly similar. This did not seem like Leonardo playing Leonardo. I’m not sure what it was, but he FINALLY grew up for me on this movie. Could be Nolan. He’s awfully good.

          You know this is an original piece that Nolan’s been crafting for a decade, right?

          • sslinger Jul 23,2010 3:11 pm || Up

            I’ve liked Leo ever since Catch Me If You Can.

            • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 3:40 pm || Up

              Ugh. I hated that movie. Spielberg is dead to me.

              you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • MikeV Jul 23,2010 11:25 am || Up

      First film in awhile that I’ve yet to hear a BAD thing about.

      And I have to say: mikev is one of my favorite people on here -slusser.

      Thanks, and go As.

    • Poppy Jul 23,2010 3:45 pm || Up

      Yes, a lot.

      There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
    • mk Jul 30,2010 8:59 am || Up

      (if you plan to see the movie but haven’t yet, don’t read this)

      Watching the trailers and reading the reviews wrecked it for me. I knew it involved infiltrating dreams and stealing secrets stored within them. I knew about the “when you die in a dream you wake up” conceit. I also knew that at some point the stakes would change, making in-dream dying more dire. I knew it was an Ocean’s 11 assemble the team/one last job heist framework. I knew that when Leo and Juno were sitting at that cafe, it was a dream, and also (inferring from the dialogue snippet in that sequence) that there would be some kind of Leo-training-Juno montage.

      So all sorts of sequences that should have been interesting and suspenseful were boring. For example, the audience is meant to be disoriented at the beginning of the film, and if I’d gone in cold, I’ve no doubt I would have been, and the ensuing catharsis would probably have been awesome. As it was, I knew it was a dream and suspected the dream-within-a-dream, which transformed the reveal into an underwhelming confirmation of existing knowledge.

      I found myself in detached assessment mode throughout. As in, “Hmm. Ambitious to attempt to tell the story across four levels of reality simultaneously”, rather than actually being absorbed in what was going on, or caring what happened to the characters, or experiencing suspense. I might as well have been scratching my fucking chin and smoking a pipe.

      Though now that I think about it, maybe that has more to do with the film’s flaws than the problem of foreknowledge. I was mildly invested in the Leo-Mal track, and that reveal did surprise me, sort of. But the rest of it … I don’t know, the stakes didn’t resonate, I guess. Nolan didn’t even try to make the “energy conglomerate taking over the world” angle menacing. The Levitt-Watanabe-Juno-Hardy characters are stick figures. The Leo must get back to the States thing was labored, and since you never actually see him with his kids, you have to muster an emotional investment on the basis of the movie telling you you should have one (the reason the Leo-Mal thing kinda works is that you actually see them interact, and also Marion Cotillard is fantastic as always).

      Lastly: Possibly this is has more to do with my small brain than Nolan’s storytelling, but despite the large amount of dialogue devoted to explicitly telling me what was going on, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the mechanics how they were travelling down into, then back out of, the dream layers, and that lack of clarity sapped my enjoyment of the heist aspect. To extend the Ocean’s 11 analogy: that film is preposterous of course, and stocked exclusively with two-dimensional characters, but the heist is always fun, always clever, and always comprehensible. It’s intricate in a way that didn’t impede my enjoyment. Not so with Inception. I realize Inception is a lot more ambitious, but part of Nolan’s obligation (part of his goal, clearly) is to make sure that ambition doesn’t overwhelm the film’s momentum.

      That is all a long-winded way of saying that I spent the last half-hour of the movie thinking “this is quite excellent filmmaking”, but also “I am bored stiff” and “Wait. What save-the-day improvisation did Juno just suggest? Can you rewind? Oh, fuck it. I don’t really care anyway.”

      So, for me: interesting jigsaw puzzle, but maybe not such an engaging film.

      • JediLeroy Jul 30,2010 9:33 am || Up

        See, I knew next to nothing going in, and loved it.

        As a man with two kids (and a dear wife), Leo’s plight resonated with me. I’ve had multiple panic attacks the last couple weeks involving a fear of dying and never seeing my wife and children ever again, so there’s that.

        What I enjoyed most about the movie is that there weren’t really any big Shyamalan twists. The movie was straightforward and clear about what was happening–you just had to be able to pay attention to the dialogue and follow simultaneous plot lines. People talk about how mind-bending it is; I disagree.

        I know it probably makes me seem like a sheep, but the cross-level physics shift effects put a huge grin on my face. Plus, Tom Hardy was great. And I love Gordon-Levitt and Watanabe. I wasn’t so concerned with lack of depth or development with those characters, since their stories weren’t central to the plot.

        To me, Inception was basically the perfect action movie, up there with Minority Report and better than the first Matrix film.

        Plus, there’s all the Nolan-as-Leo analysis that I won’t get into.

        az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
        • mk Jul 31,2010 6:13 am || Up

          The movie was straightforward and clear about what was happening–you just had to be able to pay attention to the dialogue and follow simultaneous plot lines. People talk about how mind-bending it is; I disagree.

          It didn’t occur to me to look at it that way, but you’re right. There’s the surprise of the premise (though not for me, alas), and the Mal-related surprise near the end, but other than that, the movie just says “here is what is going to happen”, then shows that to you. So the problem really is my small brain! I mean I knew broadly what was going on, but I never had enough clarity on the details of the escape to enjoy said escape (for example, I’m still fuzzy on the “kick” thing). Maybe I would have a different experience if I watched it again, but since you practically have to take out a second mortgage to go out to the movies anymore, that experience will have to wait.

          Caveat: the final shot is certainly an attempt to bend minds. I thought it was too clever by half (and predictable to boot).

          ***

          I wasn’t so concerned with lack of depth or development with those characters, since their stories weren’t central to the plot.

          I don’t know that I’m asking for development, exactly. But the movie needs me to care whether they live or die/get trapped in limbo, and I didn’t.

          To bludgeon the already cited then extended Ocean’s 11 analogy: you don’t need to give a shit about those ancillary characters, because there aren’t really any stakes attached to their fates. They’re there to fulfill the mechanics of the plot. The stakes/tension are Clooney-centered, and he pulls it off mainly because he’s a charming dude. Plus, importantly, the film is fundamentally a lark. Inception tries to take secondary characters from a lark movie and import them into an earnest movie, and the result – for me – was a shrug of the shoulders as the bus plunged into the river.

          ***

          I’ve had multiple panic attacks the last couple weeks involving a fear of dying and never seeing my wife and children ever again, so there’s that.

          This is years ago now, and possibly not at all analogous to your experience, but I was a relatively severe insomniac when I was a teenager, and what I was staying awake thinking about was death and dying. It wasn’t panic exactly, more like a stubbornly present anxiety, but I can relate to the fear of death and the problem of not being able to switch your mind away from the thing that is causing you anguish.

          What I discovered is that I couldn’t just decide not to think about it. It wasn’t a matter of willpower. Nor could I berate my anxiety into submission (“this is irrational, you moron”, etc.). It wasn’t like ignoring an annoying cousin or winning an argument. I had to reach a durable detente, which meant (for me) actively thinking and talking and writing about it, rather than carefully avoiding it until it invaded my (conscious) thoughts. This probably made me an irritating person to be around for awhile, but it helped.

          Anyway. I’m not remotely qualified to comment on therapy or pharmaceuticals, but I do hope you’re talking it through with people (your wife, etc.) other than us here on the Internet. Definitely no good to just shut it down and wait it out.

          • sslinger Aug 2,2010 11:02 pm || Up

            I enjoyed reading both of your reviews, now that I’ve seen the movie. I wish I could have been as enthusiastic as JL, but unfortunately I felt more like mk, though not for all the same reasons. I don’t think it was advance knowledge that spoiled it for me, but for whatever reason I just didn’t get sucked into it emotionally. I think part of it is, as you said, we’re supposed to want Leo to get back to his kids (duh) but it didn’t feel compelling enough to drive the plot. They should have made more of an issue of needing to break up the company because of the evil potential of aggregating so much power, but that was a throwaway.

            The worst part for me was the action sequences feeling so drawn out, I was ready for them to be over already (fall van, fall!). I guess I was expecting more trippy mindgames, and got a lot of shoot-em-up chase scenes. Plus the dreams just didn’t feel dreamy.

            Now if I could only shake the feeling that everyone here is at the new site and I’m still stuck in this dream, and haven’t had the jolt yet….

            • JediLeroy Aug 3,2010 4:50 am || Up

              We’ve elected trainman as our official grill maker, effective immediately.

              az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
          • JediLeroy Aug 3,2010 5:05 am || Up

            But the movie needs me to care whether they live or die/get trapped in limbo, and I didn’t.

            Well, the only people that faced any real danger were Cillian Murphy and Ken Watanabe. If they didn’t make it out, Leo wouldn’t ever be able to make it back to his kids. Pretty much all of the characters were just a way for Leo to get what he wanted (which, in a sense, is a point for the idea that everything was part of Leo’s dream–which I don’t like to believe).

            Anyway. I’m not remotely qualified to comment on therapy or pharmaceuticals, but I do hope you’re talking it through with people (your wife, etc.) other than us here on the Internet. Definitely no good to just shut it down and wait it out.

            I’ve been to multiple hospitals over the past week (four or so), and today I found out that the underlying cause of all my problems might actually be asthma, which I’ve never been diagnosed with but always wondered if I had. When I have my anxiety attacks, it’s usually time for bed, and luckily, it’s day time in America. So I can call or Skype my family and take my mind off everything.

            I have a friend out here who has invited me over to learn his hobby (of which I’ve made plenty of fun in my day)–Magic: The Gathering. I’ve actually had a good time socializing and learning something that does plenty to distract me and exercise my brain.

            I’m excited to feel better. I’ve never really had to take medications (other than stuff to kill parasites and dengue fever during my time in Guatemala), so it’s a bit weird. And I admit, it felt weird to visit the “crazy person hospital”. There was probably a more appropriate place for me to visit than what seemed to be the place where Hugo Reyes lived in LOST.

            az di bobe volt gehat beytsim volt zi geven mayn zeyde
            • monkeyball Aug 3,2010 9:45 am || Up

              iFSU, “crazy person hospital” visits you.

              Glad to hear you’re not crazy getting appropriately diagnosed and treated.

              you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
              • sslinger Aug 3,2010 10:09 am || Up

                Yeah seriously, it’s good you’re being able to get it taken care of. Sounds like no fun. And I’ll also reiterate mb’s offer – I’ve got 18lbs to spare if you want ’em.

                • monkeyball Aug 3,2010 10:17 am || Up

                  I’ll double his offer.

                  you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
                • nevermoor Aug 3,2010 10:28 am || Up

                  Triple!

                  "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
                • monkeyball Aug 3,2010 10:50 am || Up

                  HR!

                  you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
  30. salb918 Jul 23,2010 8:23 am
    • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 9:40 am || Up
      you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 11:13 am || Up

      Your lack of twenties is…disturbing.

      • salb918 Jul 23,2010 11:16 am || Up

        Heh heh heh.

        “I have altered the robbery…pray I don’t alter it further.”

        • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 2:13 pm || Up

          Luke…I need your PIN.

          • salb918 Jul 23,2010 3:00 pm || Up

            You are unwise to lower your teller window.

            • nevermoor Jul 23,2010 3:01 pm || Up

              This is not the coupon code you are looking for.

              "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
              • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 3:17 pm || Up

                You’re in charge now, Bank President Thompson.

                • salb918 Jul 23,2010 3:46 pm || Up

                  I was trying to work one with that quote, but you did it better than i ever could. well done!

    • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 11:41 am || Up

      Someone with video editing skilz should mash up the scene from the end of “IV” where Vader’s TIE fighter spins off into space with the dye-bomb scene from Raising Arizona.

      you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
  31. salb918 Jul 23,2010 8:24 am

    I think it’s hilarious that the Red Sox have Hannahan, Patterson, and Scutaro. If they sign Larry Sutton they’ll have themselves an infield!

    • green star oakland Jul 23,2010 9:24 am || Up

      Then just add miniG, T-Long & Byrnes for the outfield, and you’ve got yourself a contender.

      If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
      • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 9:33 am || Up

        Eveland’s available for their rotation.

        you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
        • oblique Jul 23,2010 12:20 pm || Up

          KEITH GINTER!

          • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 12:23 pm || Up

            Wicked Gintah

            you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
            • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 2:15 pm || Up

              Wicked Gintah’s a real pissah.

              Kinda sounds like a microbrew.

  32. nevermoor Jul 23,2010 10:41 am

    Sometimes I forget how awesome BPglobalPR is.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 10:45 am || Up

      The doctored photos here are awesome.

      you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
    • green star oakland Jul 23,2010 11:05 am || Up

      That second one is a fair reflection of the Texas board of education though.

      If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
      • nevermoor Jul 23,2010 11:10 am || Up

        I know, that’s one of the top-10 threats to our country.

        "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
  33. nevermoor Jul 23,2010 10:50 am

    I’m linking this both because some of you might not know / have an attachment to Kodachrome and because as of this moment, the first comment (smbarbour on 7/23/2010 11:47:12 AM) is about Nazis, thus proving Godwin is the smartest of all the humans.

    "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
    • salb918 Jul 23,2010 11:06 am || Up

      I played glockenspiel for my science/alternageek/edutainment band All The Crap I Learned In High School

    • green star oakland Jul 23,2010 11:31 am || Up

      To be fair the first comment is actually the last comment, and is in response to a greyhound’s dumb-as-a-post reply to the real Godwinian (mandoman) whose initiating comment has unfortunately been removed.

      If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
      • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 11:42 am || Up

        Reunite Godwinaland!

        you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
      • nevermoor Jul 23,2010 12:06 pm || Up

        Right, I’m just saying it’s jarring to read a touching story about a photographer’s tribute to film and then see yelling about Nazis and their political beliefs.

        "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"
        • monkeyball Jul 23,2010 12:24 pm || Up

          At least it’s an ethos.

          you better hope to God you don't show up in this little community, because you'll wish you had never come
          • Leopold Bloom Jul 23,2010 2:16 pm || Up

            Say what you want about National Socialism…

    • Poppy Jul 23,2010 4:00 pm || Up

      That makes me extremely sad, even though I’m more of a B&W girl.

      There's a wild thing in the woolshed and it's keeping me awake at night.
  34. FreeSeatUpgrade Jul 25,2010 2:08 pm

    Re 3: Also, underdogs often win the finales.

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."

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