Find someone who loves you the way Rosie loves her new doggie bed.
She has one in the living room and one upstairs in the hallway because she’s old and she’s got a hitch in her giddyup and her ups are on the decline, so she can’t get into bed on her own.
geg6
Lovey has five beds. And we’re getting her steps to get into our bed for Christmas. Koda has four and will, in a few years, be needing those steps herself.
Yes, we spoil our dogs.
That said, Rosie looks too sweet there.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
That day you found each other is still the best day of Balloon Juice. That, and that crazy Balloon Boy thread in which the helicopters weren’t laughing. Good simple innocent times before everything was smeared in feces.
Eljai
Rosie looks so sweet in that photo. Almost makes me wish I could curl up in a doggie bed right now, but my cubicle at work has no privacy.
Jerzy Russian
Seems like a good day to stay in bed all day.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
this shit right here is amazing
HeleninEire
I’d like a bed like that. Seriously.
eclare
Got a pet step years ago for my dogs to get in and out of bed, worth every penny. Vet said the step helps prevent damage to hip joints from repetitive jumping off the bed.
lamh36
Alright..now time for some non-politics. I had been planning to wake up this morning with the Marvel’s teaser trailer for Avengers: Infinity Wars being the BIG story in Entertainment, it was still #1 trending topic, but u can guess what was a close 2nd…Thax Matt…
Now that the buzz is down, back to the Infinity Wars teaser trailer.
Soooo…ICYMI:
even the fans of the DCEU…gotta admit… Marvel is just much better at this! DCEU may have more well known heroes (many of Marvel’s heroes had to be introduced to mainstream audiences), but Marvel has the “EPIC Team” action movie down to a science…and the DCEU at this point can’t compete! Also too notice the prominence of Black Panther!!! Hopefully Marvel is paying attention to the fact that Black Panther is trending along with the Infinity Wars trailer more than any of the other heroes in the clip so far!!!
Now I’m off to check out reaction videos on YouTube…down the rabbit hole I go!
TenguPhule
Love her while she’s still there.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
Garrison Keillor just fired, too.
TenguPhule
@lamh36: Sorry, Last Jedi is going to consume all attention until after Christmas.
TenguPhule
@Jerzy Russian:
That has been true of every day since Jan 19.
Raven
@eclare: we have one too! We’re almost to Atlanta and then another hour to home. The pups have been so good, all they want is cookies and goo goo!
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): she’s a hoofer
Mnemosyne
@West of the Rockies (been a while):
I realize this is a silly question, but fired from what? He already left “A Prairie Home Companion.”
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
speaking of movies, I like the new trailer for “The Post” (video). Bob Odenkirk as a serious reporter is inspired casting.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: Perfect footwear for frightening villagers out of their harvests.
Check out the other shoes in the thread.
Josie
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): What’s even more amazing are some of the pictures in the comments. Who comes up with these ideas? People just do not have enough to think about.
ETA: I love how peaceful Rosie looks in her new bed.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@Mnemosyne:
Maybe The Writers’ Almanac? I wouldn’t miss his wheezing and maudlin delivery.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@West of the Rockies (been a while):
I never realized until today that he was responsible for that – I should have recognized his voice, but man, what self-important dreck.
lamh36
@TenguPhule: Oh…sure…which is why it was smart of Marvel to premiere the teaser trailer for Infinity Wars BEFORE Star Wars came out.
But after that…it’s gonna be Marvel’s year in the beginning of 2018 for sure. Black Panther in February, which. I’m betting right here that it will even surprise those folks like me who suspects that it will do even better than folks expect it to do overseas…I know the Asian market is a big deal for film gross, but I expect to see some muscle shown for the film in the African market, that even other global films haven’t seen…
And Infinity Wars in May, opening up the Summer Blockbuster season.
Phylllis
@lamh36: I’ll be glued to Gizmodo all evening.
Ruviana
@Mnemosyne: He still functioned as producer of PHC. They’re also changing the name of the show since this happened and pulling rebroadcasts of shows he did.
Patricia Kayden
Rosie is adorable!! My doggies chewed the hell out of the dog beds that I wasted money on when I first adopted them. They have blankets now.
@West of the Rockies (been a while): Yeah, that was posted earlier. I’m very shocked at that. Seems like quite a few men are being swept up in sexual harassment scandals. This doesn’t bode well for the P**sy Grabber in Chief.
zhena gogolia
Such a sweetie.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): yikes
Yutsano
@Patricia Kayden: To be EXTREMELY generous to Kellior, the allegations don’t say anything about sex at this point. Just harassment. And MPR is being quite mum about that.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
He can make Shakespeare and Dickinson sound terrible.
Jeffro
@lamh36: I have watched that trailer five times since this morning…so. much. coolness!
It’ll be interesting to see which of the ‘big three’ Avengers dies/retires/disappears after INFINITY WAR is over. My bet (for ‘dies’) is Thor, but perhaps Cap as Bucky is supposed to take over for him in MCU Phase 2.
retr2327
Okay: Sarah Sanders has defended Trump’s anti-Muslim tweets today as follows: “”Whether it is a real video, the threat is real…”
So now it’s time to create a fake video showing Trump assaulting women, and then nuking North Korea to distract from the Mueller investigation. Because “whether it is a real video, the threat is real…”
Repatriated
I just had a cynical thought: Trump gets impeached for sexual impropriery alone, and the whole Russia thing gets swept under the rug.
But Muller’s evidence will come out one way or another.
ETA: Can’t happen that way unless Moore loses in AL. If he does, it’ll indicate harrassment (and worse) have exploitable electoral consequences.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Wow. Meryl could win a 4th Oscar. If only to hear her acceptance speech and see Drumpf’s meltdown.
Yutsano
@Repatriated: Mueller will have much much more to work with than just the sexual assault allegations. But if I can be that guy, I don’t care the reason. I just want Dolt45 gone.
SiubhanDuinne
Deleted.
Brachiator
@lamh36:
Yep. Just saw the trailer today. Really made me feel a little sorry for DC. Especially since even this trailer highlights the weaknesses in Justice League (which I enjoyed, but did not love as much as I would have liked.)
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
@TenguPhule:
Actually, there may be a few interesting movies hitting around Christmas. I just listened to a podcast in which heaps and heaps of praise were piled onto Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Phantom Thread,” which may be Daniel Day Lewis’ final film, now that he has announced his retirement. I’m hoping that “The Greatest Showman,” with Hugh Jackman is good.
Also in theaters now, I hear good things from friends who have seen “Lady Bird” and “Wonder.”
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
@retr2327: It isn’t fucked up for me to hope that the necks of everyone in the Trump administration just spontaneously snap off their bodies, right?
sukabi
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): that entire thread was frightening. Wtf is wrong with people?
petesh
How old is Rosie? She looks very like our JRT, who is 14, and in great health except for his vision (poor) and hearing (possibly voluntarily disabled) and up-jumpiness; actually she looks like him a year or two back. We have a well-placed chair by the bed, so he can occupy it. As of course he does.
BlueDWarrior
@Brachiator: I’ve always said that Marvel is really good at live action movies, and DC is really good at feature-quality animations. Really wish that the higher ups at Warner would realize there is a lot to leverage with their properties in the animated format, aside from being Direct to Video (On Demand) things.
Patricia Kayden
@Yutsano: I used to listen to his program every Sunday. Great music and he has a great sense of humor.
No Drought No More
“Everything is the same as it’s always been, except the mice today are so much faster than they used to be”. Mark Twain’s old cat told him that.
geg6
@TenguPhule:
As it should. So sick of comic book movies. There is never anything else playing at our local multiplex.
Brachiator
Some more stuff to worry about. From Bloomberg News
The 800 million figure would include about 73 million Americans.
germy
@Brachiator:
Justice League could have used another half hour. All the scenes I saw in trailers that were cut from the finished film.
germy
@geg6:
I think subscription TV is where the real talent is going nowadays.
Rosalita
She’s so fortunate to have been found by you, a very gracious life she is living now. All we can do when they age is spoil them (even more) rotten.
I had to send my elderly rescue kitty over the rainbow bridge a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t have her all that long but they get a hold of your heart no matter how much time it is.
narya
Zippy the cat had handicap ramps up to the bed and up to two of her favorite chairs (including one that led to my lap), until the last six months . . . when I put the bed on the floor so she could get in w/o having to climb anything. She appreciated it.
the Conster, la Citoyenne
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:
Could Marty Baron be the star of yet another movie about real reporting? Or does this pre-date his tenure there?
ruemara
@Brachiator: Heard excellent things about Greatest Showman, Lady Bird (tbh, they’re from local actors who are in it) and CoCo.
@geg6: This amuses me as it’s in reference to Last Jedi.
germy
Mnemosyne
@lamh36:
And Ava Duvernay’s A Wrinkle In Time opens in March.
retr2327
@Yutsano: Personally, I have my doubts about whether Mueller can prove Trump’s personal involvement in collusion with Russia. Not because I have any faith in Trump, but because I can’t believe the Russians would be dumb enough to bring Trump in on whatever they were doing. He’s just too dumb and uncontrollable to be made a fellow conspirator. On the other hand, I still believe that if Flynn was negotiating with the Turks for 15M, he told Trump about it and promised him a cut. So that’s the avenue I’m putting my hopes on . . .
@ Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): I hope not, because if it is, I’m in trouble.
germy
Raven
Interesting day. The Southern Dragon, Brown Water Navy Nam Vet and FDL hell raiser had a birthday today. He died at least 8 years ago but he was alone and his Facebook page persists.
Brachiator
@BlueDWarrior:
Very good point. But I don’t think that WB would ever commit to Disney or Pixar level quality animation for superhero films.
That said, the upcoming “Gotham By Gaslight” animated movie, featuring an 1880s Batman, looks like big ol fun.
Repatriated
@Yutsano: My point was it might be used as a pretext, thereby allowing the underlying rot to persist.
His legal jeopardy isn’t going away, but my concern is that it becomes old news once he’s gone.
I still think that, early on, some Three Letter Agencies told the GOP that either they had to stop Trump quietly or the agencies would do it themselves, and were rebuffed.
That’s now playing out, laundered through the judicial and political systems.
But perhaps it’s only a pleasant myth which I use to comfort myself.
lamh36
@Jeffro: Well…if you think about it in terms of contracts…my money is on the character that have already had their “trilogies” completed. So Iron Man, Cap’n America and now Thor. This is only the 3rd of the original Avengers film iineup, but there is a 4th that ends this “phase” of the MCEU. Thy still have another Guardians film, they are already filming the 2nd Ant Man film, and if Black Panther is as successful as I expect, they may even have more of those films. And that’s not counting the new films introducing new character just in time for the original Avengers lineup to change..
(Can you tell I’m a bit obsessed with it all…LOL)
catclub
@Eljai:
and here I was thinking that Rosie will bite anyone who takes her away from that dog bed.
randy khan
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
It’s about the Pentagon Papers, so he was around 17 at the time it happened.
The funny thing about this movie is that the NY Times had the Pentagon Papers first, and published first. The Post only published after a court issued an injunction against the Times, although both papers ended up going to the Supreme Court. There never was an injunction against the Post because the court in D.C. refused to grant it.
catclub
@germy: I would just add: “none of this happens by accident”.
debit
Rosie! She looks so sweet and happy in her new bed.
Since this is a pet open thread, here’s a pic of Dani passed out on Oliver. Pretty soon she’s going to be too big. I swear, I can see her getting bigger every day.
Major Major Major Major
@Brachiator: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Mo. is very good as well.
Suzanne
@the Conster, la Citoyenne:
Rotating tag AHOY.
Mnemosyne
@debit:
Our youngest cat Charlotte still tries to sleep on our oldest cat Keaton even though he’s 11 and she’s 8.
catclub
@Patricia Kayden:
I wish I could agree. But more chaos just means less attention for any one transgression. Gish gallop of offensiveness.
Suzanne
I should note that Rosie is my favorite Cole pet because it seems like the’s the only one in the household smarter and crankier than he.
Major Major Major Major
@Suzanne: I like Lily because we could all use a little more Lily in our lives.
debit
@Mnemosyne: My late and dearly missed Rufus was that way. It didn’t matter if he was welcome or not, he’d drape himself over another cat and somehow manage to charm them into laying still for it.
Brachiator
@ruemara:
I have not seen Lady Bird yet, but will catch it this weekend. I think that the film’s star Saoirse Ronan, is one of the finest women actors working today, along with Amy Adams, Emma Stone and (yes) Jennifer Lawrence. And I want to see more of her work, but I am also very impressed by Tessa Thompson.
@Mnemosyne:
Yep. Another movie that looks like a lot of fun. I really hope it’s good and does well.
Jim, Fooilsh Literalist
trump is about to speak about taxes. The stage is set with flags and Xmas trees, and two “Merry Christmas” signs. I wonder how he’ll manage to make Christmas gross
Jim, Foolish Literalist
trump is about to speak about taxes. The stage is set with flags and Xmas trees, and two “Merry Christmas” signs. I wonder how he’ll manage to make Christmas gross
Aleta
Rosie baby.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I got a new tattoo because of Trump. This wouldn’t have been legal a year ago (photo)
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major:
Thanks for the reminder. Adding it to my list.
Kay
Dave Weigel Retweeted
I’m trying to be generous to Trump voters but jesus christ. They believed him when he said he wouldn’t cut Medicare?
BILLIONS. They are cutting BILLIONS. Every word out of his mouth was a lie.
They did one of those daily “let’s check in with the Trump voters” 2 weeks ago. Mother and daughter. The daughter said she didn’t care about Obamacare because she was almost eligible for Medicare.
Ooops! Big mistake there, sister. Where did you think those giant tax cuts were coming out of?
Miss Bianca
@debit: oh, teh cute! It burrrrns!
Doug R
@lamh36: Darkseid is three years older than Thanos.
Looks like a lot of other identical story beats to Justice League as well.
Aleta
@Rosalita: Sorry for the loss of your friend. Such a deep good act to surround an older cat with a home for the last part of her life.
JPL
@the Conster, la Citoyenne: Yes they were. I laughed out loud during the balloon boy escapade.
Rosie is a sweetie.
Major Major Major Major
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: oh lord. Did you see Melania’s decorations?
Mnemosyne
@Kay:
They thought he would only cut Medicare for Black and brown people.
I am not joking.
Mnemosyne
@Major Major Major Major:
I saw photos. They look like a really expensive yet tasteless wedding at an anonymous banquet hall.
rikyrah
Rosie looks so sweet :)
rikyrah
@Mnemosyne:
I know you’re not. Had that piece from a few months ago, talking about White Socialism.
They didn’t have a problem with Government programs…
Until NON-WHITES began getting the benefits from them.
Jeffro
@lamh36:
My bad – I should have been more specific. All three of them are going away, one way or another – I’m just curious to see which one retires (Iron Man?) which one dies (Cap?) and which one disappears (Thor?)
After that, yes, Marvel has announced that the next phase will focus on other, less-known heroes. Dr. Strange, Ant-Man, and the upcoming Black Panther are part of that. There’s a Ms. Marvel movie coming as well. I’m holding out for Alpha Flight (BUT IT HAS TO BE THE ORIGINAL TEAM! lol)
rikyrah
In moderation….please help.
debit
@Miss Bianca: My daughter constantly spams me with picture tests of her because she is just so adorable all the time.
@Rosalita: I’m so sorry. {{hugs}}
Major Major Major Major
@Mnemosyne: the hallway of doom with the branches is hilarious.
rikyrah
@Kay:
Uh huh
Uh huh
But, I’m not generous. Phuck all those muthaphuckas.
Aleta
debit
@JPL: The helicopters are not laughing.
Emma
OK all you Marvel enthusiasts (whisper fanatics ends whisper). Which movies and in which order? I have a friend who is a fanatic and I’ve decided to catch up with her during the Christmas holidays.
Gravenstone
@Jeffro:
er, Infinity War opens Phase 4
ruemara
@Mnemosyne: Bingo.
@Mnemosyne: It looks like a dumber reboot of “The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe”.
JPL
@debit: lol
rikyrah
@lamh36:
Can’t wait to watch reaction videos…I love them.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Major Major Major Major: no, but I saw the Beast’s tweet about how much she loves being first lady and living in the White House, which means someone showed him the (Vanity Fair?) article about how miserable she is
Jim, Foolish Literalist
according to one of the totally not racist totally not a bumpkin in a Nick Kristof thumb-sucker of a few months ago, Obamaphones and them illegals
Miss Bianca
@debit: OK, why isn’t *that* line a rotating tag? Or is it, and I’ve just missed it.
I forget who reposted the link to the balloon boy thread, but I remember laughing my ass off the first time it appeared and laughing even harder the second time.
rikyrah
@Yutsano:
I am with you. The sexual allegations…nope. Treason and financial crimes….orange jumpsuit for Dolt45.
Immanentize
I am a Marvel fan, but VERY UPSET that their new Editor in Chief pretended he was Asian in the noughts because being a Japanese anime artist was cooler than being a fat slav
Emerald
If you are a fan of Charles Dickens, do not miss The Man Who Invented Christmas. It’s a Dickens lovefest, full of allusions to not only Christmas Carol but to other Dickensian stuff as well. It has Dan Stevens, who is pretty much perfect in the part of Dickens himself, Christopher Plummer who was born to play Scrooge, Johnathan Pryce as John Dickens, the best Marley I’ve ever seen (Donald Sumpter), and just a host of fun lines.
It’s really a story within a story and an examination of the creative process. Imagine these and other marvelous actors playing these characters, who follow Dickens around as his story develops. Includes lots of Dickensian sentimentality, but really the thing is just a feast.
If you love Dickens. I thought it was a pretty good movie just otherwise. Too bad it’s a Xmas movie, and it’s not really for kids. No doubt folks here will spot the serious mistake in the first scene, but after that it’s all upside.
Most fun I’ve had in a movie in years. There was applause in the theater at the end.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
according the MSNBC chyron, the Beast is ranting about bankers.
Oh, this is a good one: “Trump: focused on helping “people that like me best”
ETA:I don’t know if I’ve ever encountered someone so eager to brag about ignorance
I’d like to think he somehow spelled Louis that way while speaking
catclub
OT
Exactly pro-cyclical tax policy; Raise taxes during a recession, when tax receipts go down. But Bob Corker thinks it might be ok.
Gravenstone
@Jeffro:
Written by John Byrne.
I had hopes for the New Mutants movie. But the one trailer I’ve seen sort of dashed those …
Yutsano
@debit: The spirit of Michael Gass will live on forever!
Roger Moore
@lamh36:
What’s painfully obvious is that Marvel has spent the time building their franchise before breaking out the big guns rather than just trying to drop the big crossover at the beginning. Marvel spent a lot of time building up their characters in individual movies and teasing The Avengers before they did their first crossover, and they’ve spent the time since then getting people ready for Infinity War. DC is trying to jump in late and get something big going before they’ve built up their individual franchises.
? Martin
The good thing about the firings is that it helps tear down this notion that our celebrities are monarchs who can do no wrong, which will help drive them toward some better behavior as the public learns to accept that they are not entitled to their favorite personalities at the expense of someone else’s wellbeing.
That said, politics is a different bag if for no other reason than the alternatives to your favorite candidate are so limited. So while we may get used to this for celebs, I don’t expect anything with respect to politicians to change. The only thing that will matter is the calculus of whether burning Trump helps or hurts in 2018, and that’s still an open question. If the GOP burn him, odds are the GOP voters will go for the most rabid pack of racist fuckwads in the primaries and then lose everything in the GE. There’s just no way to win if you’re a leader of the GOP – you’re just picking the method you’re going to leave the political world.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@catclub: I’m seeing tweets now that it will actually be triggered spending cuts, which I think is even worse.
MoxieM
So sweet– that’s a lovely photo. I have never had a dog who wanted to sleep on an actual dog bed. Dunno why–maybe the heavy coats? (Almost all mine were Newfies). But even Murphy the Murphaletta, of Heinz 57 unknown origin (who has a black Yak coat and teeny tiny white freckled feetsies) refuses to sleep on a “dog bed”.
Of course, she has adopted my daughter’s lovely mid-19th c. walnut Renaissance Revival wonderfulness as her own. She knows who’s a princess, yes she does.
Miss Bianca
@Emerald: ooh, is this a theatrical release? I’ve been waiting for word on it, because I am DickensFanGirl to the max!
TenguPhule
@catclub: And it cuts taxes if the economy improves, again counter-cyclical.
catclub
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: great! super-duper pro-cyclical tax and fiscal policy.
I have also noticed they haven’t actually shown anyone their work on those trigger mechanisms. ( or all the economists they have shown them to have stroked out.)
catclub
@TenguPhule: counter cyclical is actually good. makes recessions less bad rather than more bad. keeps booms from booming too much.
These are pro-cyclical.
Matt McIrvin
@lamh36: I am impatient for Black Panther but finding it hard to care about Infinity War. It kind of feels like something I’d go see solely for completeness’s sake, and after a zillion Marvel movies that isn’t a good enough reason any more. The trailers for Black Panther, on the other hand, actually invite awe and curiosity.
Yutsano
@MoxieM:
Newfies will only sleep in two places: the floor next to your bed or in your bed.
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Nahgunna happen. Doesn’t fit under reconciliation rules.
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
All right, now I can’t unsee that. Where’s Mr. Tumnus?
Brachiator
@Roger Moore:
DC has made bad movies. Not terrible stinkers, and sometimes movies that were ambitious. But still bad.
I go against some of the conventional wisdom in that I don’t think that DC needed to spend an excessive amount of time on individual movies before they did Justice League, not if they were going to bore us with endless rounds of origin films. Even Marvel mixed it up some. They did not do an origin film before they did a stand-alone Black Panther movie.
And to its credit, the Joker is scarier in DC’s “The Dark Knight” precisely because he seems to come from out of nowhere, or to have multiple, disputed origins.
And DC should have been able to benefit from the fact that their trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman (and maybe throw in Aquaman) are already known to most average film goers. But they squandered this opportunity. Oh, well.
Yutsano
@Mnemosyne: Are you SURE you want to see this White House’s version?
BlueDWarrior
@Brachiator: First things first… make a good movie. You can worry about how to franchise it once you’ve established you can make a good movie. DC and WB have not established clearly that their characters = good movies.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Yutsano: I hope you’re right, but isn’t reconciliation just a fable agreed upon? Can’t McConnell and Ryan just blow it up?
Emerald
@Miss Bianca: Yup. It started last week!
Ruckus
@Jim, Fooilsh Literalist:
Same way he makes everything creepy. By just breathing.
ruemara
@Gravenstone: That trailer made me so mad.
TenguPhule
@Brachiator: DC makes bad movies because they tried to be darker then Marvel, while using traditional heroes (Aside from Batman) and that just doesn’t work.
Superman is supposed to be fun and hopeful, not nihilistic, gritty and dark.
Basically they tried to make everything Batman and it failed miserably.
Felonius Monk
@Jim, Fooilsh Literalist:
Just by his existence.
catclub
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
It sure looks like there a million ways this does not fit into reconciliation, but it keeps rolling along.
Alaska Oil drilling. Johnson Amendment, deficits after 10 years,
LongHairedWeirdo
I wouldn’t join twitter just to respond to this, but I was tempted for a moment:
It must be said.
“Hot damn! I didn’t know you could *do* that with a sleep apnea mask! Gives a whole new meaning to the concept of a blow…”
More seriously: sometimes sleeping together should, in fact, involve sleeping!
SgrAstar
@Emerald: gack! Hate Dickens with a passion. It all started when my mother forced me to read David Copperfield when I was 8 or 9 years old. As a kid I thought Dickens was terrifying and grotesque, and I’ve never wanted to revisit. Oliver Twist, David Copperfield…..UGH! Too old now for a reboot of my bad attitude. :)
geg6
@germy:
It seems that I only darken the doors of a theater when a Star Wars movie comes out. Everything else they are showing is crap.
Saw Wonder Woman over the Thanksgiving break. Not sure I get what all the fuss was about. It really didn’t do anything for me. Of course, I’m most definitely NOT a comic book fan, so I’m a tough customer for any film with superheroes. But everyone I knew was raving about it. I thought it was less stupid than most, but that’s about it.
sharl
@Raven: Ah, the Southern Dragon – sad to learn that he passed on alone.
I used to enjoy the back-and-forth among you guys over at FDL, at least up until the time you were banished, for reason(s) I don’t think I ever learned. The long-forgotten commenter who had some long-forgotten point to make with you guys about “The Nam” still cracks me up.
Brachiator
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
So let’s see. This gets so confusing. The illegals were all on welfare, sucking up taxpayer provided benefits. Except that the illegals were all taking jobs away from real Americans, so when we throw them all out, regular folks will have high wage jobs. Even though bosses were exploiting illegals by being able to pay them less for jobs that real Americans don’t want. But those bosses will happily pay real Americans higher wages with the extra loot they will be getting from the massive GOP tax cuts.
Brachiator
@TenguPhule:
No. DC just made bad movies. There is no such thing as “Superman is supposed to be fun and hopeful.” Hell, the first Superman of the comics was a sometimes brutal smart ass.
And there is a long line of people who will insist that Batman is supposed to be FUN! CAMP! POW!! just like the tv series.
There are even some fans of the DC films who will insist that Zack Snyder is a brilliant visionary. They loved the director’s cut of “Batman v Superman.”
These people are deluded, but I understand where they are coming from.
OTOH, I liked the dark tv Arrow and the bright and sunny, hopeful and more optimistic Flash. At least the first seasons of each show.
But I will agree with you about one thing. Dark or gritty, hopeful and optimistic, you gotta make the films fun. The Snyderverse films are joyless. They tried to correct this in Justice League, but the shift is inelegant and jarring.
TenguPhule
@geg6:
That’s why they were raving.
Compared to the prior DC films, it was a work of art.
raven
@sharl: When Jane decided she’d hook up with Norquist about the healthcare bill I drilled her daily until she banned me.
J R in WV
I can’t read Dickens. Terrible boring wordy crap. No character development!
Don’t make me tell you what I really think!
Emerald
@SgrAstar:
What a shame!
Hmmm. One thing might help. Tim Curry did an audiobook of Christmas Carol that’s available on Audible. I listen to it every year when I drive up to my Sis’s for Xmas. Try that. Delicious words in a delicious performance that doesn’t miss any of Dickens’ sly humor.
Yeah, the best way to get kids to hate reading and certain authors, often permanently, is to require reading them. And Dickens’ sentence structure is perfect but archaic, so it’s difficult especially for kids to read, frankly. The only way to appreciate it is to savor every line, and kids don’t read like that. Plus, kids don’t have anything close to the sophistication it takes to really appreciate Dickens.
Yeah, try the Curry audiobook. If that penetrates at all, try a print copy and just savor a paragraph or two. That’s how you learn to love Dickens: you have to savor it!
Mnemosyne
@Yutsano:
Good point. I’m assuming this is the universe where the White Witch wins.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: I think the White Witches husband did win. The electoral college, anyway.
woodrowfan
we have at least 12-14 beds for our 3 dogs, some on every floor (basement, main, top).
woodrowfan
DC makes bad movies because most DC comic characters are DULL. (other than Batman).
sharl
Ah, that brings it all back!
Also, I do now recall the news of Southern Dragon’s passing, though I’d forgotten the details. I also I think I was – for some reason – confusing him with another of your fellow VN war vets, “Norsk-something-or-other“, whose signature style was typing his comments in ALL CAPS with an over-the-top blustery delivery. (Definitely not SD’s style, so don’t know why I would confuse the two.)
Shell
Awwww, Tennessee Ernie Ford and the Evil City Woman.
tejanarusa
@raven — If it’s any small comfort, Southern Dragon died in the VA hospital. Worse, perhaps, than “at home surrounded by family and friends,” but not “alone in his apartment, unnoticed.”
It was five years ago, and many who were still having conversations with him in the “Diner” he moderated on the morning of the day he went to the VA clinic about his headaches and dizziness and were stunned to learn he’d been admitted with a bad prognosis (it was just a few weeks later) still remember him fondly on, yes, facebook and elsewhere. He won’t be forgotten as long as any of us is alive.
It did my heart good to see you call his name here.
(I am delurking just because of your lovely comment.)
On edit to add : he may have been physically alone, but he was loved and I hope he knew it.