caulfield12

Maybe Snowpiercer was a product of hype...in the sense that when I watched it, my expectations weren't particularly high and I didn't even pay any attention until I noticed Chris Evans was in the film. Then I started to get into it...my joy with the film is more about the futuristic vision/cinematography than being particularly enamored with the ending. The other part of my puzzlement was how a movie like that barely made it to the theatres (that was only after a groundswell of "word of mouth") when there's so much unoriginal garbage, like Grown Ups 2 or The Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (I know, I secretly dug the first one but will surely be disappointed with the sequel) being produced. This is a tough year, admittedly. Boyhood bores half the people who see it to death, the other half feel it's brilliant, amazing and any other adjective Michael Keaton didn't use last night. Selma, The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game all have flaws because of their cinematic departures from the real stories, with Selma being the best of that lot. Same thing with The Grand Budapest...Wes Anderson has a devoted niche of followers, but his style of humor isn't for everyone, by any means. Now that I consider all the movies, and their respective scripts, I'd have to say Birdman was the most original/inventive/creative/daring of the bunch.

found these quotes from the comments section of a yahoo question on the topic....take them for what they're worth!!! By percentage of Gross National Income, the top most charitable nations in the world are among the least religious nations on earth. And guess what, the largest recipients of these money also happen to be among the most religious nations on earth. It is funny how the world works. Bill Gates, the most well known atheist in the world, gives more money away than anyone else on the planet Earth. Also, "Christians" like yourself give to feel better about yourself, I volunteer to make those that are less fortunate feel better about themselves, which do you think is a more generous act? Here's a hint, most modern "Christians" are selfish egotists. Believers, don't be afraid to question religion. If God is so almighty, why must he ask people for their money? Or is bleeding mostly the poor and middle class for thousands of years, God's special type of love? if you exclude donating money to churches which for some reason is labeled charity, then atheists actually do give more money than religious people. i dont think donating money to churches should count as charity because the churches just spend it on themselves rather than helping other people

Wow...can't believe NW almost won at MSU. And Rutgers over WISC? Nobody saw that one coming.

http://www.salon.com/2015/01/08/leviathan_..._putins_russia/ Leviathan, the Russian foreign language film that just won Best Foreign Film, looks like a must-watch flick. JK Simmons deservedly (or is it deservingly) won for Whiplash, Birdman for Screenplay (a bit of a surprise, Amy Adams for Big Eyes. Most of the major awards are coming up still. Boyhood is also getting its fair share of awards, this one for Patricia Arquette's quirky mother in the film. The Theory of Everything, Boyhood, Selma and The Imitation Game would seem to be the Top 4 at this point, with The Grand Budapest Hotel on the outside looking in. How to Train Your Dragon 2 over The Lego Movie is a bit of a head-scratcher.

If you look at the Chinese example, where 90%+ of the population is atheistic/agnostic, the answer in the absence of Mao's dictatorship is that wealth and money become the universal aspiration and charitable giving is diminished (but not for the reason that non-believers are "immoral" and don't care as much about humanity). Very few give to or trust charity in China because of the belief that it's a trick/scam/hoax and/or susceptible to bribery, corruption and interference by the government. Here's an example, a two year old girl who was run over twice in the street and nobody helped her (amazingly 18 people walked past without doing a thing) because they believed someone would come out and blame them for injuring the girl, moving her, taking her to a hospital, being a "good Samaritan" in general. She ended up dying later the next week in the hospital of her injuries. http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/videos/2-ye...bystanders.html One of the comments below the story was quite telling. It isn’t ignoring, it’s not daring. If one were to encounter a Nanjing judge, one would be screwed. [Note: “Nanjing judge” refers to the infamous 2006 case of a man named Peng Yu who helped a woman to the hospital after she had fallen only to have the old woman accuse him of knocking her down. The Nanjing judge in that case ultimately ruled that common sense dictated that only the person who hit her would take her to the hospital, setting a precedent that continues to only further discourage and reinforce many Chinese people’s wariness to help others in similar situations.] In the end, it's like an Ayn Rand novel, where charity starts at home and families have no choice but to take care of each other in the absence of much governmental social support. Taxes are fairly low, especially compared to the US and certainly most of Europe. There are good and bad points to this...the worst is that nearly everyone only cares about themselves (and their families). Families are self-sufficient, for the most part.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jan 11, 2015 -> 02:10 PM) This is more reductio ad absurdum/strawman, which is where every religious argument ends up...so I'm not surprised. By your rational, nobody should have to take responsibility for anything, ever, be it religious or otherwise. If you can't see the problem with that line of thinking, it shows exactly what Reddy is talking about. You excuse yourself, and everyone else about everything, so being apathetic to any given situation absolves you (or the group in question) of ALL responsibility. Maybe that's the f***ing problem, it's simply magnified when it comes to religion because it's not a law of the universe...it's something man invented. We HAVE to deal with nature/science, it's a reality of being a carbon based life form, living in a universe dictated by the laws of science/physics. We don't, however, have to deal with religion because it's something man invented thousands of years ago (or 50 years ago in the case of Scientology), but we do have to put up with it because of reasons. Blame the Founding Fathers for that one...or parents.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 11, 2015 -> 12:33 PM) Thank you. SPUN OFF OF IT. What does off of it mean to you? To me it means not on, not a part of, it is off not on. Hmm, why would they spin off of it? perhaps IT isn't preaching what they want? So you believe that 1.3 BILLION people on the planet, 23% of the world's population, are being taught weekly to kill non Muslims and to perpetrate this acts of terrorism? Wow, how do you sleep at night? And if churches are responsible for every act of their members, even ones that spin off, who is responsible for the non religious and what they do? Or do you get off without any responsibility? Where do the non religious learn to kill and commit acts of terrorism? How about everyone is expected to not look the other way and to denounce it? Why is that my responsibility and not yours? We can't put a stop to gang violence in this country, maybe we should reevaluate our citizenship as a whole. Stop criminals? Seriously? You are kidding right? Name when that has ever happened by anyone? And you expect a religion with 1.3 billion followers to do that? Wow. Opus Dei for example, as chronicled by the Dan Brown books. Was every Christian in Vermont responsible for the actions of the KKK in the Deep South? Where do we draw the line? Should those Muslims all be required to start charities or their own madrassas to counteract the sharia Muslims? Is renouncing them publicly enough? Why isn't anyone speaking out against the oil princes who keep their countries poorly educated and with nothing approaching equality of opportunity or life choice for women? And where does 90% of the terror network funding originate? Logically, buying electric cars is the most effective approach to fight back.

We are leaving out two very important movies in our discussion. The Theory of Everything and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 10, 2015 -> 08:50 PM) Science has created the worse imaginable ways of killing people. Bombs, chemical weapons, guns, diseases. Why aren't you condemning the evils of science on a daily f***ing basis? You should be demanding that the science leaders also condemn scientific discoveries to kill people. Or find another way of life. Right. Scientists. Weapons makers. The media. Countries which have a lack of gun control laws because their Constitutions are being deliberately misinterpreted. How many mass shootings have there been in the U.S. In the last decade? After nearly every one of them, it seemed common sense might prevail. But nothing has changed. It's not so simple as it would seem to change the ideology of any group, country or religion...look at polygamy in the Mormon Church (in the end a very small splinter group) or the issue of slavery for 400+ years (which resulted in a Civil War). It's not just Sharia law here. It's also the division of Sunni and Shiite. Or look at Northern Ireland for a Christian example. Two groups (Protestants and Catholics) that have almost the exact same fundamental beliefs.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 10, 2015 -> 08:50 PM) Science has created the worse imaginable ways of killing people. Bombs, chemical weapons, guns, diseases. Why aren't you condemning the evils of science on a daily f***ing basis? You should be demanding that the science leaders also condemn scientific discoveries to kill people. Or find another way of life. Right. Scientists. Weapons makers. The media. Countries which have a lack of gun control laws because their Constitutions are being deliberately misinterpreted. How many mass shootings have there been in the U.S. In the last decade? After nearly every one of them, it seemed common sense might prevail. But nothing has changed. It's not so simple as it would seem to change the ideology of any group, country or religion...look at polygamy in the Mormon Church (in the end a very small splinter group) or the issue of slavery for 400+ years (which resulted in a Civil War). It's not just Sharia law here. It's also the division of Sunni and Shiite. Or look at Northern Ireland for a Christian example. Two groups (Protestants and Catholics) that have almost the exact same fundamental beliefs.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 10, 2015 -> 04:53 PM) Either argument takes a very small subset of a group of people who share similar beliefs and expands that to include every member. It also makes the supposition that because you identify with a certain belief that all your behaviors can be attributed to that shared belief. And yet we don't round up the disaffected social misfits (especially with rich parents) who are members of the Trenchcoat Mafia in every school on suspicion of bomb and gun plots. Or every US Postal Service employee.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 10, 2015 -> 01:00 PM) I completely agree, but the question is HOW? Right now we have no way of stopping radical Islamist attacks in Europe because of the ease of transportation across borders. All I'm asking is for the non-radical Muslim leaders of the world to stand the f*** up and say something! Condemn these acts and radicalism in general. Clarify the teachings of the Koran on a global scale. They simply refuse to do it out of either fear, or agreement. How do you all propose to address this? Isn't closing the borders tantamount to the US building a huge wall along the Rio Grande...so hatred and distrust of foreigners essentially ends up winning out over freedom and equality? If 60% of Americans are Christian and believe every word in the New Testament, they would be condemning gays and lesbians and considered in the eyes of their religion as equally culpable as gays for not instructing them about the error in their ways when given the opportunity to do so. Stopping Westboro Baptist Church in a world of free speech is equally challenging as getting the news media to cover every Muslim speaking out against violence. It doesn't fit the narrative. There's no blood or fear. There's no Nightcrawler showing up to take pictures of the non-carnage. As far as that goes, shouldn't we just blame the media for covering terrorism? If they ignored it, wouldn't it quickly wither on the vine and die? No martyrs, virgins in heaven or funding without tv cameras and news reporters.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 10, 2015 -> 09:44 AM) A lot of people who know the history of the man actually didn't quite like how they portrayed him, they supposedly went overboard on the "awkward genius" level with Turing but most people seem to suggest that he was a much more sociable person than portrayed. http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/1...lan_turing.html More Sherlock than Turing.

Crusades? Inquisition? The Catholic Church's passive approach to Hitler? Haven't millions more in the world died in the name of Christian causes? Is every American responsible for stopping McVeigh, Koresh, militia groups, the KKK etc.? These entities were all fighting "terroristic" wars in the name of religion and anti-government beliefs, yes? What about Fred Phelps' church or Rev. Terry Jones?

QUOTE (Douglas Rome @ Jan 10, 2015 -> 04:06 AM) we're not forgetting that Rios sucked couldn't hit his way out of a paper bag? How many guys has the Sox gave lots of money to and they were total slugs? Rios, Kipling, Manny, Dunn, the list goes on. I can't get it out of my mind that the big dummy is sitting in Texas on 54 million bucks. thanks, douglas Rudyard? Rios was a waiver claim. The Blue Jays were the ones to give him that money. He performed well in 2010 and 2012.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jan 9, 2015 -> 04:45 PM) i just saw Imitation Game. i really like it. it is a docu type of a movie. the problem i am having with it, i can't think if the main male actor was over acting or not. i can't think b/c i like the move that much. the female main lead was great in this movie. for me it is a 5 out of 5 type of movie. Benedict Cumberbatch. Kiera Knightley. Brilliant actor. Right now, I'd say it's going to come down to the pr spin war between MLK/Selma and this film for the Oscar. The Imitation Game glosses over Alan Turing's homosexuality and shameful demise which was just recently rectified sixty years too late by the British government. MLK does the same with his indiscretions to focus primarily on the historical achievements. Dr. Turing should be accorded a position as one of the five most important figures of the 20th century but he's barely a footnote in some textbooks. Toss-up. I'll go Selma Better overall film.

Last hour of American Sniper was much better. Would put it at #9-10. On to Still Alice, for which Julianne Moore is getting a lot of attention leading to next Thursday's Academy Award nomination announcements.

Inherent Vice is worth checking out...its a mix of aa Franco/Rogen stoner flick with the time period perfectly evoked. I ca say it made my yearly top 10 but it was darned close. Waterston is a revelation (a cross between a young Helen Hunt and Jennifer Lawrence). Phoenix continues to be one of the underrated acors of his generation when paired with the right director. Definitely the type of flick you need to watch again to fully appreciate. American Sniper is good so far....but there is so much controversy over the type of person Chris Pyle really was that I can't quite reconcile it with Bradley Cooper's portrayal. It shouldn't be used as recruiting propaganda. Movies like Lone Survivor or Black Hawk Down (even the hurt locker or zero dark 30) are much more realistic and nuanced. Pyle as a person is too one-dimensional...while that's what is needed for battlefield survival it doesn't necessarily make for compelling narrative.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 11:23 PM) Why doesn't Olaseni play more? He's played his two best career games in a row. The North Florida coach that questioned the team's toughness said "he's a beast" and gave him the highest amount of props of any player on Iowa. And he makes almost all of his foul shots, which is unusual for a big man. McCaffrey said they didn't do a good job feeding him in the post in the 2nd half...so it always goes back to guard play, and the lack of a consistent 3 point threat now. (And the fact that Trice was like 8/9 from 3, unguarded or poorly guarded half the time and they just shot the lights out, better than most teams would in pre-game warm-ups with no defenders). That and the fact that they keep waiting for Woodbury to put it altogether. It reminds of the same situation with Jared Reiner a decade earlier, highly-touted and heavily recruited big men that haven't developed as expected at Iowa after showing early promise. Melsahn Basabe peaked his freshman year. Olaseni, to the coaching staff's credit, has come a long way and has an outside shot at making an NBA roster as the final man off the bench if he finds the right team. So now 1-14 in their last 15 against MSU. SIGH. Iowa has probably blown 12-15 big games in the last 2 1/2 seasons when they held double-digit halftime leads. Now they get Minnesota on the road, OSU and at Wisconsin. Lucky to get one win in three out of that schedule, which is why starting 3-0 would have been so huge. Oh, well. Getting thoroughly used to disappointment with football and basketball these days.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 12:27 PM) Birmingham and the White Sox have the longest marriage of any MLB team and an affiliate IIRC. Charlotte is a remarkable minor league team and stadium. Beautiful park, great hitters environment and a great city. I am not going to jump on the "MLB team to Charlotte bandwagon" but the city is flourishing. Charlotte is a serious stronghold for the healthcare industry and as you can see by the pictures above, their skyline is surprisingly impressive. Both Charlotte and Raleigh have some of the fastest population growths in the country. Really great to have an affiliate there even if the Sox don't have any tangible stake in the business. I know I have heard both Jordan Danks and Axelrod refer to it as "the best place in the minors to play." Don't forget the banking/financial services sector, Bank of America, etc. I always felt like Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville were the best, most progressive and cosmopolitan cities for a transplanted Yankee, not counting FL and TX as the South.

Speaking of time travel, has anyone see Predestination (the movie)? Looks like it might be worth checking out. Have watched the first two episodes of Agent Carter. The 40's/50's feel is cool (especially the fact that she's perceived as a glorified secretary by the men whereas the audience knows the truth) but I'm not really into it yet. Maybe it's because that Chad Michael Murray seems like he belongs more on a 90210 or The Hills spinoff. At least we're getting the Jarvis origin story, but we need more Stark and less apartment shopping/roommate banter.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 07:23 PM) Yup. UNBREAKABLE was good, every thing else blah. And Signs until the last 15 or 20 minutes. Some of his later efforts such as The Lady in the Water and especially The Last Airbender were brutal.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 04:40 PM) http://tvline.com/2015/01/07/person-of-int...hahi-interview/ The whole behind-the-scenes story of this week's Person of Interest/Edge of Tomorrow-ish episode.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 8, 2015 -> 04:35 AM) My Top Ten Movies of 2014: 10. Locke 9. Foxcatcher 8. Nightcrawler 7. Birdman 6. Chef 5. Life Itself 4. Captain America 2: Winter Soldier 3. Gone Girl 2. Snowpiercer 1. Whiplash Haven't seen Selma, Inherent Vice, American Sniper, Big Eyes, some others. Am going to watch American Sniper later tonight. Wild, Two Days/One Night, Obvious Child and A Most Violent Year are also on the list, as well as the last Hobbit movie. It sucks here in China because we JUST got Night at the Museum 3 (sigh) and Hunger Games won't come out until February. There's quite a bit of interest in 50 Shades of Grey but that movie will never make it past the censors in the mainland. No BOYHOOD? Finally, "Frank Jodorowsky's DUNE" is way out there but a must-see for anyone who loves film. 1. Selma 2. Boyhood 3. Snowpiercer 4. Whiplash 5. Captain America 6. Chef 7. Birdman 8. Gone Girl 9. Foxcatcher 10. The Taking of Tiger Mountain (Chinese movie, Tsui Hark) I haven't seen The Imitation Game yet either, that would PROBABLY go into the Top 10 from everything I've read. Also, Love is Strange is a nice little indie dramedy with John Lithgow and Alfred Molina as a couple who get separated by circumstances after waiting 20 years to get married. Marisa Tomei cameo.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 7, 2015 -> 10:28 PM) I'm not a fan of people using this as a reason for the HOF. It's the hall of fame for the best players not the best left fielders or best leadoff men or best third baseman. I happen to agree that he belongs in based on being a great player not necessarily ranked by position. For the first half of his career, he was the second best leadoff hitter and one of the most impactful players of his time. If you grew up in the 80's and 90's, Rickey Henderson AND Raines (Vince Coleman and Willie Wilson to a much lesser extent) defined the "speed" game. It's a shame by the time he played for the White Sox he wasn't the same as in his peak years, when he could change a game's complexion single-handedly.