A Civil Action Jackson

He was surprisingly well-mannered for an action hero.

But more litigous than any President before him.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 5:05 AM on September 3, 2008

Ask your doctor about the pharmaceutical lobby.

Let's all go to the pharmaceutical lobby
Let's all go to the pharmaceutical lobby
Let's all go to the pharmaceutical lobby
And get ourselves a treat.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:01 AM on September 3, 2008

I just watched that at work (no sound) and it was still awesome! Thanks for the links. I would also note that the the wikipedia entries for both Gremlins movies have lots of mildly interesting trivia for the Gremlins buff, my favourite being:
The Gizmo puppets were particularly frustrating because they were smaller and thus broke down more. Consequently, to satisfy the crew, a scene was included in which the gremlins hang Gizmo on a wall and throw darts at... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 2:53 AM on September 2, 2008

The fact that this ridiculous story re the parentage of this baby has any legs at all makes me wonder if I just need to go and buy stock in tinfoil.

Et tu, Christianity.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:15 PM on August 31, 2008

No, all the real scientific evidence, taken over decades, shows that teenagers hardly ever give birth to kids with Downs Syndrome, and that women in their 40s often do. Anyone who could believe this rumor would be a complete scientific illiterate, and that includes you, if you seriously believe it's possible.

Right - so in Delmoi's version of science, it is impossible (or impossible to seriously believe ) that a younger woman could have a child with... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:33 PM on August 31, 2008

and I've got no problem saying it's impossible that scientifically literate person could seriously believe it.

There's a one in 1500 chance for a woman at 20 to to have an afflicted child.

Alaskan 15-19 year olds: 50,094

Female population of Alaska: 48.3% = 24195 15-19 year old girls (this is obviously approx as it is not age sorted)

Teen Pregnancy Rates per 1,000 Girls Aged... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 5:29 PM on August 31, 2008

At what point does the chance of less than 1 in 1500 become scientifically impossible to believe of a given family?

Sorry - that was wrongly worded. ...become scientifically improbable enough to dismiss. A one in 1500 chance is pretty likely to happen given sufficient opportunities. CF lotteries. I think your pleas to science are miscalled.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 5:40 PM on August 31, 2008

The guy astounds me. Someone explain to me again why the powers that be don't have Whedon working on at least two productions at all times.

This is contentious amongst the fandom (God do I hate that word - it seems to have lameness built into it) but when Mr Whedon spread his time between Buffy and Angel, both suffered. A bit.

I did, however, love the 'horsing' of Miss Day. Very clever, and done with such good voices.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 4:03 PM on August 31, 2008

He produced the original radio series of Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy on BBC Radio 4.

At the ripe old age of 21, I think. Kinda puts it into perspective.

.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 9:54 AM on August 31, 2008

Made into two movies at least

Charlie

Flowers for Algernon

But better in the written form

A good online audio interview is here.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 2:36 PM on August 30, 2008

I stayed up to watch it (and accidentally set my phone clock rather than my alarm so when I woke up I thought I was 4 hours late for work).

While good, and certainly encouraging to the faithful, I wish he had spent more time going over why, specifically, the alternative was so mind bogglingly awful. The republican record needed to be brought to task and I don't think he really did that. A rhetorical call to avoid "more of the same" with the occaisional... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:11 AM on August 29, 2008

I suspect Obama could have chosen Jesus Christ Himself and the right-wing blogs would be rhapsodizing about how it would doom him in November.

Fuck yeah!. Jesus claimed to have driven demons out into pigs and sent them over steep land into the sea. No steep land in the area - JESUS CAUGHT OUT IN LIE.

Jesus was unavailable for comment, apparently resting in house that is not publically acknowledged as... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 1:14 PM on August 23, 2008

Sparx, was that supposed to be an imitation of Biden's speaking style? Because if so I didn't recognize it. He can go on and on, but he doesn't sound pedantic like that, or use ten dollar words like that.

I just don't fit in here anymore. Perhaps I never really did
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 2:57 PM on August 23, 2008

Pictures of cats on the Internets! Whatever next?
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:35 PM on August 21, 2008

The viewing public? Nerds everywhere? Cthulhu?

My money is on Cthulhu, as he is free from concerns about value for money and what the Internets think.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 4:12 AM on August 17, 2008

I knew a Bob. He was a tutor on a network course I was on. Compulsive liar, claimed to know Bill Gates personally, had worked for google in the early years and was now a multi-millionaire, that kind of thing. Didn't know much about networking, either.

He got fired. Even in New Zealand, where it's very hard to get fired unless your Gross Moral Turpitude involves bathing naked in a pool of freshly strangled kittens in the lunchroom, he got his butt on the wrong end of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 9:01 AM on August 15, 2008

(maybe even especially autobiographies)

Auto-manipulative biographies.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 4:26 AM on August 16, 2008

I remember seeing a comic where the MST3K characters reviewed this chick tract about the evils of Dungeons & Dragons. Does anybody know if that's still around on the internet somewhere?

Here you go.

I quite like this one too, thought it's no MST3K.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 2:51 AM on August 14, 2008

Plagiarize,
Let no one else's work evade your eyes,
Remember why the good Lord made your eyes,
So don't shade your eyes,
But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize...
Only be sure always to call it please, "research".

By Sparx, Just now.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:41 AM on August 8, 2008

I know some of you think it a shame that Emmerich "bought" his taste, but that's what professionals are for. We don't expect people to be their own lawyers.

Nor do we expect them to represent themselves in their own living room.

Wait... What?
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:23 AM on August 8, 2008

While I have used "twee" as a pejorative in the past (usually about people I found whose conversations ran from what they had to lunch to their new puppy's recent hijinx), I can get behind using it to describe, as the twee site does on its front page, say, the Juno soundtrack. Seems a perfectly cromulent appropriation to me.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 8:13 AM on August 6, 2008

MPDG = Magic Pixie Drunk Guy

/waves

/flutters

/passes out
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 1:45 PM on August 6, 2008

I came across this argument in the HuffPo (screaming echo chamber though it is) and I'd be interested to know what Political MeFi folks reckon about its argument. I don't know enough about the details to determine if it's a good argument or whistling in the wind.

I'd also be interested to know if Ms Hilton wrote that herself. I'd be willing to bet she didn't, but, again, I don't know how to find out.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 9:13 AM on August 6, 2008

and one about some kids who build a working spaceship with the help of a kindly old professor and end up saving people on Mars by bringing them a chicken (its eggs contain vital nutrients). Can't even remember the name of that one.

That's Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet - my brother had that one, so I didn't read it much because he was a bastard. Mine were more Dahl/Great Brain/Narnia - but I cannot remember which I started off with, though I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 8:08 AM on August 4, 2008

It's cheating a little to post again, but I just recalled while going through this thread. Sure, with Dahl/Great Brain/Narnia the sheer number of times I went through them has embedded them forever in my mind, but, digging past the intervening years of intoxicant-induced fug, my first obsession with books was the Uncle series by J P Martin, about an hugely rich elephant who lived in castle called Homeward so big you had to take the train to get around in it. It had friendly badgers, evil... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 10:08 AM on August 4, 2008

I also seem to remember some kind of kids detective series with a gang led by someone with the rather alarming name of Jupiter Jones. Or perhaps my memory is playing tricks with me.

That's Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators that I mentioned above. They were (IMHO) a step above others of their ilk in that they usually played fair, and you could usually try and deduce the true nature of the 'mystery' before the Three Investigators did from the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 1:34 AM on August 5, 2008

They say all that flying in the face of millions of years of evolution and centuries of fashion that play up those very same characteristics. Slutty IS appealing, big tits/small waists/round cabooses ARE attractive and heels ARE sexy for the vast majority of males, or these traits/enhancements simply wouldn't be so prevalent.

This is simply wrong. As recently as the '20s women were binding their breasts to be fashionable (think flappers).... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 1:16 AM on August 1, 2008

They say all that flying in the face of millions of years of evolution and centuries of fashion that play up those very same characteristics. Slutty IS appealing, big tits/small waists/round cabooses ARE attractive and heels ARE sexy for the vast majority of males,

Sorry Iliad, This was the original claim, and those arguing against it have the righteousness.

If you were to argue that there have been - over time - very... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 4:34 PM on August 1, 2008

This is one of those videos that, when I saw it as a child, convinced me not using LSD might be an utterly terrifying life.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 4:08 PM on August 1, 2008

Oh pooh. Mods please delete.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 5:15 PM on July 29, 2008

As I just sent to the mods, this vimeo vid is slightly different in that it better than youtube quality but not downloadable from its site - which is why it didn't show up in a URL search.

Though it should definitely be deleted as a double. Sorry folks.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 5:44 PM on July 29, 2008

ten pounds of inedita get the prize for most soulless ratbag on metafilter since the last person to argue with Konolia.

The 3rd episode was a) in a much different key b) less funny and c) totally awesome. Show me on the internets where you completely predicted how it would end and then we can talk
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 6:03 AM on July 19, 2008

This is unexpected!" but "Wow. Really. He's going to end it the way every single origins story has ever been ended,

Nt only that but every way West Side Story has ended as well.

I'm not saying the ending of Dr. Horrible was anything as bad as that, though it shares similar qualities, but I hope it helps the "people who loved it" see the POV of the "people that thought it was okay but are... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 5:37 PM on July 28, 2008

One of the interesting things to come out of the Mosley sex case decision was the distinction between "stuff the public is interested in" and "in the public interest". I feel this may be vaguely relevant here.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 1:34 AM on July 26, 2008

It would be interesting if Scott Peterson actually had a blog. Seeing as he doesn't, this is superlame.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 8:06 AM on July 18, 2008

It's mediated, neutered wisdom. Maybe studying true Zen Buddhism is too hard for the dipshits and douchebags who quote movies like this one.

Ah, yes. TRUE Zen Buddhism. Would that be Soto, Rinzai or Obaku? Chan or Zen or Thiền or Seon? Should there be chanting or repetition or just sitting or koans or tao?

The buddha may be a stick of dried dung, but TurkeyMustard, by any other name, would still smell sweet.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:13 AM on July 16, 2008

Where can true Zen Buddhism be found? Say it quickly!

You might think it was "in my pants", but I'm just pleased to see you.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 9:34 AM on July 16, 2008

/shakes fist impotently at dixie flatline

/ends derail and goes to pub.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 9:58 AM on July 16, 2008

Ok - a history lesson could be useful here.

That said - mullingitover presents an excellent question.

First off, on the internet does not make it true.

Second - buddhism has always had the tripitaka - the three baskets of wisdom (also the name of the priest in the show Monkey). These are Indian works and "written wisdom".

Second, Buddhism has always been interesting in that it takes on... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:45 PM on July 16, 2008

Zachsmind (and [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST])

Peter Norman was actually present at the unveiling of that statue of Smith and Carlos. The sculptor had left him off (against Calos' wishes) to enable the staue to be participatory - so anyone could get up there and "take a stand" alongside Smith and Carlos. Norman was completely in agreement (at least he publically said he was, but he was sufficiently effusive I'm inclined to agree). There's a good article, with quotes,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 2:54 AM on July 14, 2008

Let Them Eat Cake!
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 2:21 AM on July 14, 2008

Aside from all the "I know better/more obscure comics than you" stuff (though it's a nice change from music threads) I'd say that Yes, Captain Haddock is a better character than Tintin, and Obelix a better character than Asterix. Sure, they're secondary, per se, but they not only define the primary protagonist in ways better than, say, robin defines batman, but they provide a lens through which the primary character is defined, a lens which is interesting in itself, possibly moreso... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 11:03 AM on July 12, 2008

It's not a matter of being offended. It's a matter of being forced to violate one's religious convictions. Which is discriminatory toward said religion.

Or, alternately - said religion proscribes that occupation. I am perfectly happy to let christians not be public servants, pharmacists or whatever else their religion feels they shouldn't be doing. I am happy to let muslims not be moneylenders, scientologists not be psychiatrists, or jews not be... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 8:45 AM on July 11, 2008

The job changed. The religious beliefs didn't.

To split hairs even further than dirigibleman: the job didn't change - the number of potential customers/clients did. In fact, that number became more inclusive of society as a whole.

The only thing that prevented her from continuing to perform exactly the same actions her job required for these additional people was her religiously inspired bigotry irrationality... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 9:49 AM on July 11, 2008

Religion is superprivilaged

Three words I wish I'd identified.

This coming from a gentleman that just enjoyed the hell out of the relentless darkness that existed before the final moments of Prince Caspian.

If that movie taught me anything - it was the same thing I took from the books before I even realised the xtian connection. If you take Aslan as imagination rather than jebus, there's a lesson in that for all of us.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:20 PM on July 11, 2008

oaf: State your religious connections. You so don't have to, but I think your argument is based on certain religious understandings.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:39 PM on July 11, 2008

IT'S A TRAP!
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 8:23 AM on July 10, 2008

Schools should be renamed to "Standardized Test Score Factories in a Vacuum."

Personally, I think Standardised Testing Factories Unlimited is a Capital name.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 2:52 AM on July 9, 2008

amyms: I must confess - the first person I looked for in this was Elyse Sewell. As she's not in there, I must conclude the site is crap. Boo!

availablelight: Never forget, there's a difference between a toilet and a bowl of cornflakes.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:30 AM on July 3, 2008

I saw him speak once at an SF expo in NZ. I was mildly surprised to learn, during his speech, that he'd been an actual captain in the Army and was stationed in Korea. I was even more surprised when he teared up, in front of a hall full of geeks, talking about how much his service meant to him.

One of a kind.

.
posted to MetaFilter by Sparx at 3:14 AM on July 2, 2008