Out of the Blue [Oct 25, 2024, 10:58 am ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Here's the sportsball follow-up I've held back out of courtesy for time-shifting
viewers, so if you still have games in your DVR, here's a spoiler warning (also,
the World Series starts tonight, so get busy!). Sunday was pretty rough for my
sports fandom with the effective end of the NY Giants season and the literal end
of the NY Mets season. The Mets outcome is disappointing because the team
clearly had a lot of the "magic" that's been the earmark of its previous
(sporadic) successes. It's 38 years since the team's second championship so it
feels bad that the World series will be between our cross-town rival and 27-time
champion Yankees and the seven-time winners Dodgers, whose treachery in leaving
Brooklyn is only compounded by the fact that six of those titles came after they
carpetbagged off to the west coast. And while things might change for my Giants,
they look truly cooked. The offensive line remains horrifying despite constant
rebuilding. We let our best player go because our GM couldn't do his job and
determine his market value. Negotiating against himself, that same GM gave an
enormous contract to our QB, who's been so terrible that it's likely they will
bench him for the season at some point to avoid the possibility of an injury
guaranteeing his remaining salary. The team has one of the worst records in the
league and has scored by far the fewest points in the NFC despite our coach
being an "offensive genius." So yeah. We'll see what happens in the baseball
off-season and I'll remain hopeful about the Mets. But the Giants seem stuck at
square one, exactly where they've been for a decade now. I say we take off and
nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Sporty Round-up
Thanks Ant, Neutronbeam, and Max.Breakfast Links
- Alien- Romulus is coming out on VHS - Boing Boing. Thanks The Flying Penguin.
- M. Night Shyamalan has always been brilliant. It’s audiences who are finally catching up - Polygon. Respectfully disagree.
Story
- 'Fight Club' Turns 25 with 4K Remaster, Theatrical Rerelease - The Hollywood Reporter. Thanks David.
Science
- New Species of Tardigrade Displays Superhero-Like Healing Ability - Gizmodo. Newly discovered is not the same as new.
- Galactic Marvel- Scientists Stunned by First-Ever Black Hole Triple Discovery - SciTechDaily. Quick, dig up that dude with the triple pecker!
- Sun Releases Strong Solar Flare – Solar Cycle 25 - NASA.
Media
Follow-up
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I still have to see Dr. Sleep.
Blue doesn't do NY Yankees?
Go all LA teams. 
This comment was edited on Oct 27, 2024, 21:49.
Blue doesn't do NY Yankees?
Go all LA teams. This comment was edited on Oct 27, 2024, 21:49.
MeanJim wrote on Oct 27, 2024, 18:37:Hmm. I know I have watched it more than once, but I don't recall it being significantly "worse" in the additional viewing. That said, I do tend to let myself live in the moment and "suspend my disbelief" pretty well when watching just about any film...
The Village is a perfect example of his style of movie. It's good if you watch it once and then don't think about it. If you watch it again or spend a few minutes thinking about it after knowing the twist, the plot falls apart.
“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” -- Carl Sagan
jdreyer wrote on Oct 26, 2024, 00:46:The Village is a perfect example of his style of movie. It's good if you watch it once and then don't think about it. If you watch it again or spend a few minutes thinking about it after knowing the twist, the plot falls apart.
I love The Village and am very perplexed as to why folks dislike it so much.
"You can either want something to be true, or you can want the truth. Pick one." - Mr. Diety
Cutter wrote on Oct 25, 2024, 16:36:Hurt my back last month and couldn't sit for long but standing was fine. Am planning on building a standing desk soon.
Our species evolved over 2 million years standing around, walking, and squatting for 2/3rds of the day. Standing desks may not be a panacea but we know how bad sitting 2/3rds of the day is.
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
Mr. Tact wrote on Oct 25, 2024, 15:10:I love The Village and am very perplexed as to why folks dislike it so much.
I would say that depends on your definition of "brilliant". IMHO -- he has made some great films and some no so great films. Personally, "Signs" stands out for me. A movie which is really about a man losing and finding his faith in the guise of an alien invasion movie. Even as someone who has been at a minimum agnostic since around age 12, I still found the story compelling.
Shyamalan spent over a decade in director's jail, and he's just started being allowed out in the past few years.
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
Mr. Tact wrote on Oct 25, 2024, 12:55:I have a friend who is a librarian. Counterintuitively, she says that VHS tapes last a lot longer than CDs, DVDs, and BRDs. Apparently she gets about 100 plays out of the disks, but 600 out of the tapes.
I'd be very interested to know how many VHS versions they actually make and sell.
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
Prez wrote on Oct 25, 2024, 17:22:M. Night Shyamalan has always been brilliant. It’s audiences who are finally catching up
That's a ... unique take. Shyamalan shows a talent for storytelling in a lot of ways, but other than that if he has proven anything to audiences, it's mostly that he is a one-trick pony. He has had some absolute duds ("The Happening") and took on projects he had absolutely no business taking (Avatar), but his one main trick - an unexpected twist that you don't see coming - has ironically become predictable and boring. If you are watching one of his movies, you are likely trying to figure out what the twist will be, and it kills the movie. My personal favorite movies from him are "Unbreakable" and "Split", but he couldn't bring the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. 'Glass' was decent but had way too much unfulfilled potential. He might be a genius, but mostly that doesn't come through in most of his movies. Too many of his stories have contrivances that are just too unbelievable, and 'the twist' is more of an annoyance than anything now.
his obsession with plot twists got real old real fast. which is to say, i really enjoyed sixth sense and signs, but after a while he sacrificed any storytelling and character development on the altar of *plot twist*
Also, YAY! for Blue breaking his silence on Sportsball! The Mets had an astounding season - name anyone who thought they were going to be anywhere within sneezing distance of the playoffs after the first quarter of the season and I'll call you a psychic, a liar, or a hopelessly optimistic fan. I am a Yankees fan, but I have seen them win some amazing championships in my life at an age where it is most magical for a baseball fan - a young kid to whom baseball was everything and these were my heroes. I want them to win solely because of the young fans the same age I was back then who haven't seen them win the World Series in their young lifetime.
"The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance, is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."
M. Night Shyamalan has always been brilliant. It’s audiences who are finally catching up
That's a ... unique take. Shyamalan shows a talent for storytelling in a lot of ways, but other than that if he has proven anything to audiences, it's mostly that he is a one-trick pony. He has had some absolute duds ("The Happening") and took on projects he had absolutely no business taking (Avatar), but his one main trick - an unexpected twist that you don't see coming - has ironically become predictable and boring. If you are watching one of his movies, you are likely trying to figure out what the twist will be, and it kills the movie. My personal favorite movies from him are "Unbreakable" and "Split", but he couldn't bring the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. 'Glass' was decent but had way too much unfulfilled potential. He might be a genius, but mostly that doesn't come through in most of his movies. Too many of his stories have contrivances that are just too unbelievable, and 'the twist' is more of an annoyance than anything now.
"The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance, is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."
For me, Sixth Sense was very entertaining. Signs was almost as good. Split was good, but only because James McAvoy carried the movie on his back for 2 hours. The rest of his movies were... meh. I think he's pretty good at making a compelling first act; even his bad movies have some good starts. But he's not terribly consistent with the endings. His plots don't hold up to close examination, so if the middle of the movie can't keep me entertained enough to avoid thinking about it then it's all over 
Our species evolved over 2 million years standing around, walking, and squatting for 2/3rds of the day. Standing desks may not be a panacea but we know how bad sitting 2/3rds of the day is.
"Van Gogh painted alone and in despair and in madness and sold one picture in his entire life. Millions struggled alone, unrecognized, and struggled as heroically as any famous hero. Was it worthless? I knew it wasn't."
Carighan wrote on Oct 25, 2024, 15:02:
Ah, the standing desk thing is of course clickbait.
Here's the important line from the actual study:Time spent standing was not associated with major CVD risk.
Not sure why you left out the rest of the sentence.
Time spent standing was not associated with CVD risk but was associated with higher orthostatic circulatory disease risk.
Mr. Tact wrote on Oct 25, 2024, 15:10:
I would say that depends on your definition of "brilliant". IMHO -- he has made some great films and some no so great films. Personally, "Signs" stands out for me. A movie which is really about a man losing and finding his faith in the guise of an alien invasion movie. Even as someone who has been at a minimum agnostic since around age 12, I still found the story compelling.
There were lots of aspects of Signs that were brilliant for me. The plot was brain-dead stupid tho, and many people can't get past that.
Bring brilliant at certain things does not make you brilliant in the eyes of audiences overall.
J J Abrams is a great director. Terrible writer.
Zach Snyder is an incredible cinematographer. Mediocre/goodish director.
Shyamalan is... quite complicated.
I believe, with the exceptions of Signs (there are people who put it equal to Six Sense), that his movies have the general overall reputation they deserve. Split was well praised for a reason. .... because it was *BETTER* than anything he'd put out in a decade.
And what is it with Polygon and being pretentious to the level of "love the smell of your own fart" pretentiousness. I love that they're old-school in terms of being more magazine-style than bit-sized blog-type content, but dear gods they... I don't think they should be in the business of videogames. And maybe apparently movies.
I would say that depends on your definition of "brilliant". IMHO -- he has made some great films and some no so great films. Personally, "Signs" stands out for me. A movie which is really about a man losing and finding his faith in the guise of an alien invasion movie. Even as someone who has been at a minimum agnostic since around age 12, I still found the story compelling.
“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” -- Carl Sagan
Ah, the standing desk thing is of course clickbait.
Here's the important line from the actual study:
Here's the important line from the actual study:
Time spent standing was not associated with major CVD risk.
I'd be very interested to know how many VHS versions they actually make and sell.
“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” -- Carl Sagan
I can't imagine there are any factories still producing tapes. I wonder if they happened upon a stash of new-old-stock blanks or something.
PRODUCED BY OR UNDER LICENCE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES LTD.
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