They say people only watch Nascar for the crashes: imagine what the viewing figures will be when you add in that extra power and degree of movement. Even the delightfully alliterative name of 'Rocket Racing' couldn't get any more Looney-Tunes-spiralling-into-a-canyon-wall stylee. The advertisers must be rubbing their hands with anticipation at the viewing figures.
Yes I have and I thought it was both an excellent film and a triumph for British cinema. Infact, the whole zombie theme quite appeals to me and while this will sound like cheap fantastical bravado, part of me kind of wishes that, at least temporarily, the country descended into the Zombie-induced anarchy as seen in such films as Dawn Of The Dead or even Shaun Of The Dead. It must have forked from the childhood fantasy of everyone but my friends and I disappearing for a few weeks and having free reign to go anywhere and do anything. Come on - holeing up in shopping malls, scavenging food from vending machines and taking to the undead with all manner of weapons, what part of that doesn't sound like a good thrill?:)
In short, it never ceases to amaze me how humanity devolves during disasters and make a bad situation even worse.
Yep, that's human nature for you. We think we are all above animals and civilised with our flushing toilets, designer jeans with embroidered button fly and multiple-choice driving theory tests, but all that crap's just a thin veneer which is whipped away by a hurricane, flood or even someone yelling 'bomb' in a movie theatre. The notion that people can be trampled to death in scenes of panic at first seems bizarre and very animalistic indeed. Please understand that this is more of an observation than elitist-nerd 'Sheeple' criticism; I know I'd be first out of the door when that balcony seating starts collapsing.
As far as the raping and killing go, it's pretty obvious that those who indulge in such actions at times of crisis were probably violent and of low moral fibre to begin with. However, if you're stuck in a stadium and someone's trying to take the only bottle of water you, your wife and your kids have, don't you think you might feel a bit 'itchier' in your trigger finger, a bit stronger when restraining that person than if he was stealing your iPod off your porch swing? (Please excuse the overly-rhetorical question).
While looting is obviously stealing, I'm glad it is differentiated from vanilla theft because there's the element of mob mentality and opportunism involved that is almost hypnotic to watch. Don't make the mistake that all looters are criminal low lifes (or as current events have highlighted, black) and don't underestimate people's keen eye for a bargain or a freebie. I know getting something for free is not always equal to stealing it, but I'm talking in the context of the aforementioned mob mentality and the 'mitigating circumstances' of it being a burnt-out/flooded/abandoned store that pushes people's moral compass from law-abiding to CHA-CHING! Seriously, it's rather hilarious to see that high-earning middle-class couple stumbling out of a broken shop window with seventeen white candles cradled to their bosoms. Although I jest, would you not be at least tempted to grab - only a teeny, tiny, single - iPod from that burning Wal*Mart? I know I would, yet I'm racked with guilt over the roadworks sign I 'borrowed' while drunk the other night.
If I may be a bit cheeky here, could I ask if anyone knows of any good books or films dealing with disasters that have decent character and behavioural insight? I've bought Richard Doyle's Flood from Amazon, but I'm saving starting it until I go on holiday to Portugal (roll on Saturday!). Something with a nuclear holocaust theme (claustrophobic bunker?) would be good. As a preemption I'll say that I've already seen The Day After Tomorrow and found it entertaining, if scientifically dubious and/or far-fetched.
You whippersnappers, thinking you've got it hard. Back in my day, we had to write a Dreamcast emulator in Win95 Solitaire (with fully working audio) each and every day using keyboards with only Q, 8, ) and Scroll Lock on 'em. And our mice didn't have fancy multiple axes on 'em like you young punks have, we had to make do with just X! After a 16 hour shift the only reward we got was a slap round the face with a huge trout, on both cheeks, but we were glad for it! Visual Basic? Luxury!
Go to any Vue cinema and there'll be serving Tango Ice Blasts (or at least they were, I think the name has changed recently) behind the concessions counter. It's about the only refreshment I ever buy when I go to see a movie. Cherry, Raspberry, Bubblegum and Lemon/Lime are the only flavours I've encountered so far.
Ice Blasts are a lot smoother than the original Slush Puppies, which could be a bit too icy and 'shardy'.
They say Americans are wasteful, but that's just something else. I wonder what kind of power is required to turn a motor that big?;)
if you flick that switch at the wall it CAN NOT DO ANYTHING.
Have cheesy horror movies about demonically possessed houses or intricate plans of Death taught you NOTHING?! Just flicking the switch is begging for a freak gust of wind, wandering fly or quantum indecision to flip that sucker back on when you are knuckle deep!
Ah, I must go. The kind man in white is bringing me my dinner. I'm glad to see he's got the rubber cutlery.
Taco has finally provided the automated dupe checker we've all been asking for. Just one problem though - instead of warning the editor and not posting the article, it appears to post it anyway and go as far as giving the link for the original article that is being duped!
Amazing what they can do with technology these days...
I'm not particularly disagreeing with you, indeed I don't believe we have the best cuisine in the world, far from it. I just believe that to call our food terrible is mightily unfair and ideas about what we eat (eel pies, etc.) are outdated and/or misguided.
If you look at food we are good at - cooked breakfasts, pies, roasts - you'll notice that they aren't particularly sophicasted and quite 'hefty'. But good food is good food nonetheless, it doesn't have to be presented in the centre of a huge white dish with a drizzle of raspberry coulis.
I take issue with your statement that Brits have no interest in food. Restaurants, cooking programs and celebrity chefs still receive significant interest.
I'm pretty sure the scores of restaurant critics whose bill is picked up by their newspapers or magazines wouldn't hesitate to give a warranted bad review. They are critics after all...
As for the jokes about British cuisine, while one restaurant may not change a lot (although it being the world's best holds some sway), I do feel the stereotype has been unfair for quite some time, seeing as London and the country in general are host to many wonderful chefs and restaurants. As far as native foodstuff goes, the beauty of British cuisine (and being British in general) is that there are a lot of foreign influences. Look at the curries we have that are unique to Britain, for example. While it may not place us as world leaders, to say that British cuisine is terrible or even substandard is a definitely an outdated sentiment.
As for the 'frilly food' and 'microscopic portions', you would be surprised how favour can compensate for sheer volume and that nouveau cuisine is actually quite filling because the flavour fills you up.
If you try expanding your horizons beyond the takeaway you will see that the world of fine dining is not some invented tosh to make bon viveurs feel elite.
The head chef of the Fat Duck (a British restaurant voted the best in the world this year - jokes about British cuisine now null and void), Heston Blumenthal, is what you might call a 'molecular gastronomist'. By breaking cooking down to the basical levels and using the principles of chemistry to determine good combinations of food one can offer up delights such as bacon 'n' egg ice cream and snail porridge; two of the most famous dishes served at the Fat Duck.
I read a fascinating article on Blumenthal in The Sunday Times a good few months ago, and also learned of another restaurant (the name and location of which escapes me, although I think it was in Spain) which offered up similar food. The menu for this particular restaurant was something like 17 courses and several hundred euros a head. The writer for the ST (who was lucky to beat a three-odd year waiting list) was amazed at the combinations of ingredients and even the consistencies of the dishes that were comepletely unexpected. One particular serving that stuck in my mind was a kind of 'orange froth' that practically disappeared immediately in your mouth but was full of flavour. The journalist detailed how strange it felt eating froth for dinner. The cover of the supplement I was reading featured pictures from a handful of the courses and the presentation was astonishing. There was a square chocolate lollipop (I forget what wacky ingredient was coupled with it) which was so thin in the middle it was all wispy and translucent and webbed. Delicious.
a) I'm talking about posts that walk the thin line between sincerity and humour, not every single funny post. The grandparent wasn't particularly useful as an example, but oh well.
I love incorrect moderations; they are usually hilarious. The best are funny posts modded Informative or Interesting, as seen in the grandparent. It seems to indicate the naivete or perhaps even stupidity of the modder, and it makes me laugh out of warm sympathy.
Slashdot Mirror
They say people only watch Nascar for the crashes: imagine what the viewing figures will be when you add in that extra power and degree of movement. Even the delightfully alliterative name of 'Rocket Racing' couldn't get any more Looney-Tunes-spiralling-into-a-canyon-wall stylee. The advertisers must be rubbing their hands with anticipation at the viewing figures.
Yes I have and I thought it was both an excellent film and a triumph for British cinema. Infact, the whole zombie theme quite appeals to me and while this will sound like cheap fantastical bravado, part of me kind of wishes that, at least temporarily, the country descended into the Zombie-induced anarchy as seen in such films as Dawn Of The Dead or even Shaun Of The Dead. It must have forked from the childhood fantasy of everyone but my friends and I disappearing for a few weeks and having free reign to go anywhere and do anything. Come on - holeing up in shopping malls, scavenging food from vending machines and taking to the undead with all manner of weapons, what part of that doesn't sound like a good thrill? :)
In short, it never ceases to amaze me how humanity devolves during disasters and make a bad situation even worse.
Yep, that's human nature for you. We think we are all above animals and civilised with our flushing toilets, designer jeans with embroidered button fly and multiple-choice driving theory tests, but all that crap's just a thin veneer which is whipped away by a hurricane, flood or even someone yelling 'bomb' in a movie theatre. The notion that people can be trampled to death in scenes of panic at first seems bizarre and very animalistic indeed. Please understand that this is more of an observation than elitist-nerd 'Sheeple' criticism; I know I'd be first out of the door when that balcony seating starts collapsing.
As far as the raping and killing go, it's pretty obvious that those who indulge in such actions at times of crisis were probably violent and of low moral fibre to begin with. However, if you're stuck in a stadium and someone's trying to take the only bottle of water you, your wife and your kids have, don't you think you might feel a bit 'itchier' in your trigger finger, a bit stronger when restraining that person than if he was stealing your iPod off your porch swing? (Please excuse the overly-rhetorical question).
While looting is obviously stealing, I'm glad it is differentiated from vanilla theft because there's the element of mob mentality and opportunism involved that is almost hypnotic to watch. Don't make the mistake that all looters are criminal low lifes (or as current events have highlighted, black) and don't underestimate people's keen eye for a bargain or a freebie. I know getting something for free is not always equal to stealing it, but I'm talking in the context of the aforementioned mob mentality and the 'mitigating circumstances' of it being a burnt-out/flooded/abandoned store that pushes people's moral compass from law-abiding to CHA-CHING! Seriously, it's rather hilarious to see that high-earning middle-class couple stumbling out of a broken shop window with seventeen white candles cradled to their bosoms. Although I jest, would you not be at least tempted to grab - only a teeny, tiny, single - iPod from that burning Wal*Mart? I know I would, yet I'm racked with guilt over the roadworks sign I 'borrowed' while drunk the other night.
If I may be a bit cheeky here, could I ask if anyone knows of any good books or films dealing with disasters that have decent character and behavioural insight? I've bought Richard Doyle's Flood from Amazon, but I'm saving starting it until I go on holiday to Portugal (roll on Saturday!). Something with a nuclear holocaust theme (claustrophobic bunker?) would be good. As a preemption I'll say that I've already seen The Day After Tomorrow and found it entertaining, if scientifically dubious and/or far-fetched.
Cheers!
You whippersnappers, thinking you've got it hard. Back in my day, we had to write a Dreamcast emulator in Win95 Solitaire (with fully working audio) each and every day using keyboards with only Q, 8, ) and Scroll Lock on 'em. And our mice didn't have fancy multiple axes on 'em like you young punks have, we had to make do with just X! After a 16 hour shift the only reward we got was a slap round the face with a huge trout, on both cheeks, but we were glad for it! Visual Basic? Luxury!
Go to any Vue cinema and there'll be serving Tango Ice Blasts (or at least they were, I think the name has changed recently) behind the concessions counter. It's about the only refreshment I ever buy when I go to see a movie. Cherry, Raspberry, Bubblegum and Lemon/Lime are the only flavours I've encountered so far.
Ice Blasts are a lot smoother than the original Slush Puppies, which could be a bit too icy and 'shardy'.
Hello, this is Australia, where are the crocs on your list?
;)
Think about the only two Australian celebrity exports - Mick Dundee and Steve Irwin. See what I'm getting at?
Seriously, have cheesy 80s movies taught you NOTHING about the deadliness of crocodiles?!
No matter how smart your garage disposal unit is
;)
They say Americans are wasteful, but that's just something else. I wonder what kind of power is required to turn a motor that big?
if you flick that switch at the wall it CAN NOT DO ANYTHING.
Have cheesy horror movies about demonically possessed houses or intricate plans of Death taught you NOTHING?! Just flicking the switch is begging for a freak gust of wind, wandering fly or quantum indecision to flip that sucker back on when you are knuckle deep!
Ah, I must go. The kind man in white is bringing me my dinner. I'm glad to see he's got the rubber cutlery.
Any dirty bastards who read it as 'Power Wanking', please direct yourselves here.
Taco has finally provided the automated dupe checker we've all been asking for. Just one problem though - instead of warning the editor and not posting the article, it appears to post it anyway and go as far as giving the link for the original article that is being duped!
Amazing what they can do with technology these days...
The only thing Joe Sixpack backs up is his Ford.
A diamond monopoly is forever.
Before a bit of the old 'ultra-violence', eh sir?
I'm not particularly disagreeing with you, indeed I don't believe we have the best cuisine in the world, far from it. I just believe that to call our food terrible is mightily unfair and ideas about what we eat (eel pies, etc.) are outdated and/or misguided.
If you look at food we are good at - cooked breakfasts, pies, roasts - you'll notice that they aren't particularly sophicasted and quite 'hefty'. But good food is good food nonetheless, it doesn't have to be presented in the centre of a huge white dish with a drizzle of raspberry coulis.
I take issue with your statement that Brits have no interest in food. Restaurants, cooking programs and celebrity chefs still receive significant interest.
I'm pretty sure the scores of restaurant critics whose bill is picked up by their newspapers or magazines wouldn't hesitate to give a warranted bad review. They are critics after all...
As for the jokes about British cuisine, while one restaurant may not change a lot (although it being the world's best holds some sway), I do feel the stereotype has been unfair for quite some time, seeing as London and the country in general are host to many wonderful chefs and restaurants. As far as native foodstuff goes, the beauty of British cuisine (and being British in general) is that there are a lot of foreign influences. Look at the curries we have that are unique to Britain, for example. While it may not place us as world leaders, to say that British cuisine is terrible or even substandard is a definitely an outdated sentiment.
As for the 'frilly food' and 'microscopic portions', you would be surprised how favour can compensate for sheer volume and that nouveau cuisine is actually quite filling because the flavour fills you up.
If you try expanding your horizons beyond the takeaway you will see that the world of fine dining is not some invented tosh to make bon viveurs feel elite.
The head chef of the Fat Duck (a British restaurant voted the best in the world this year - jokes about British cuisine now null and void), Heston Blumenthal, is what you might call a 'molecular gastronomist'. By breaking cooking down to the basical levels and using the principles of chemistry to determine good combinations of food one can offer up delights such as bacon 'n' egg ice cream and snail porridge; two of the most famous dishes served at the Fat Duck.
I read a fascinating article on Blumenthal in The Sunday Times a good few months ago, and also learned of another restaurant (the name and location of which escapes me, although I think it was in Spain) which offered up similar food. The menu for this particular restaurant was something like 17 courses and several hundred euros a head. The writer for the ST (who was lucky to beat a three-odd year waiting list) was amazed at the combinations of ingredients and even the consistencies of the dishes that were comepletely unexpected. One particular serving that stuck in my mind was a kind of 'orange froth' that practically disappeared immediately in your mouth but was full of flavour. The journalist detailed how strange it felt eating froth for dinner. The cover of the supplement I was reading featured pictures from a handful of the courses and the presentation was astonishing. There was a square chocolate lollipop (I forget what wacky ingredient was coupled with it) which was so thin in the middle it was all wispy and translucent and webbed. Delicious.
Anyone for baconated grapefruit?
Yep, there's a small section for segways and the rest are normal bays marked Parents' Cars.
Talk about a step backwards...
Shit, dude, 56... that's quite the ePenis-enhancing UID you have, there.
Bought on eBay (100 dollars IIRC).
You mean The Sun lied to me? Well I never...
Lynyrd Skynyrd?
Define irony: a bunch of idiots dancing around on a plane kept in the air by a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash.
a) I'm talking about posts that walk the thin line between sincerity and humour, not every single funny post. The grandparent wasn't particularly useful as an example, but oh well.
b) Use 'Underrated'
c) No, you are!
I love incorrect moderations; they are usually hilarious. The best are funny posts modded Informative or Interesting, as seen in the grandparent. It seems to indicate the naivete or perhaps even stupidity of the modder, and it makes me laugh out of warm sympathy.
Virtual Killings in Counter-Strike!
Story at 11.
And administering the other three Rs:
Reefer, Ritalin and Rohypnol.
But will they use this approach in special schools, where Everything is Challenged?