From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V10 #269 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, July 10 2001 Volume 10 : Number 269 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Lolita Nation [steve ] Re: My dad reviews "A.I."... [steve ] Re: Reap whooossshhhh!, alba, etc. ["Stewart C. Russell" ] Re: we're just ... a minor threat (0%RH) [Tom Clark ] Re: we're just ... a minor threat (0%RH) [bayard ] Re: Artificial Stupidity [Viv Lyon ] Re: we're just ... a minor threat (0%RH) [Ken Weingold ] RE: quitting my job - 0%RH ["Brian Huddell" ] Re: Artificial Stupidity [Aaron Mandel ] Re: Artificial Stupidity ["J. Brown" ] Re: quitting my job - 0.5%RH [lj lindhurst ] I'm just ... a minor threat (0%RH) [GSS ] Re: I'm just ... a minor threat (0%RH) [Ken Weingold ] Re: we're just ... a minor threat (0%RH) ["Mike Wells" ] Re: quitting my job - 0%RH ["Mike Wells" ] Re: MP3 Question [bayard ] Re: Artificial Stupidity [Christopher Gross ] Re: quitting my job - 0%RH [Eb ] Robyn at Uplister [HSatterfld@aol.com] a.i. jane ["Andrew D. Simchik" ] Re: FIV 0%RH [GSS ] SPOILERS INCLUDED was Re: quitting my job [Glen Uber ] Re: SPOILERS INCLUDED was Re: quitting my job [Capuchin Subject: Re: Lolita Nation On Monday, July 9, 2001, at 05:59 PM, Eb wrote: > Eb, who will never understand how anyone can consider Scott Miller a major > talent, and not just a nerdy curiosity ;) Well shoot, I'd say he's at least a B+. - - Steve __________ [The Court searched] mightily for a way, any way at all, to aid their choice for president, Bush, in the suppression of the truth, finally settling, in their judicial coup d'Itat, on the untenable argument that there was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause... - Vincent Buglioso, on Bush v. Gore ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 00:49:38 -0500 From: steve Subject: Re: My dad reviews "A.I."... On Monday, July 9, 2001, at 10:41 AM, Natalie Jane Jacobs wrote: > Mein Vater hat gespracht: > >> The camera work is great, the ideas are interesting, the star is >> appealing, and the movie is awful. It's mawkish and long, sort of like E. >> T., and I think Kubrick must be turning over in his grave. > > Huh. Any comments? I haven't seen it yet. > > n., leery of Spielberg As everybody probably knows, Stan & Steven had been kicking around the idea for A.I. for a good number of years. Kubrick even considered being producer and having Spielberg direct. But one thing's for damn sure, Kubrick would *never* have let A.I. out with a screenplay as full of holes as the one Spielberg came up with. Too bad he didn't get Sterling or Gibson or Ian Watson or Iain Banks or somebody competent at SF to help him make some sense of what he was trying to get at. But I'd still say go out and see it for cheap, and wouldn't it make a great double bill with Mission To Mars. - - Steve __________ Last week a federal grand jury indicted not a radical environmentalist, but Mark Warren Sands, a deeply religious marketing consultant and family man. Federal prosecutors said Mr. Sands, 50, had burned the houses for his own twisted reasons and had then fabricated the secret organization, Coalition to Save the Preserves, as camouflage. - James Sterngold, New York Times 06/23/01 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 10:29:24 +0100 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: Reap whooossshhhh!, alba, etc. Michael R Godwin wrote: > > Thanks for the Delia Derbyshire info. I seem to remember that Stewart > knows quite a bit about the Radiophonic Workshop. only cos I've read Desmond Briscoe's long-OOP book about it. It stops at the bit that they go, "Ooh! We've got a Fairlight CMI", so it's hardly new. The Maida Vale site is long gone, alas. Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 10:44:21 +0100 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: albums and patriotic songs James Dignan wrote: > > A case could probably be made for the Proclaimers "Letter from America", too. I dunno if that's exactly patriotism. It's more about living in a country that sees its best and brightest leave. Many Scottish songs are patriotic-idealistic; Dougie MacLean's "Caledonia" [that one that goes "Let me tell you that I love you and I think about you all the time..."] and The Corries' "Flower of Scotland" [unoffical national anthem, official anthem of both the SFA and SRU.] are two good examples, both written in the last 25 years. Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 08:02:25 -0500 From: "scary mary" Subject: we're just ... a minor threat (0%RH) This is pretty funny: http://free.freespeech.org/shockingtruth/sxe.html and be sure to check out the site's merchandise page which has some scary stuff: http://free.freespeech.org/shockingtruth/merchandise.html As for the Feg Trading Cards - which was not meant to be an endorsement of Peoplecards but rather a fun idea for Feg cards amongst ourselves - I guess there will be no Capuchin card in the Feg pack. ; ) And would the "non-Feg" Eb card be the rarest one to collect? s.Mary np - No Man - Flowermix ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 10:51:10 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: we're just ... a minor threat (0%RH) on 7/10/01 6:02 AM, scary mary at mad@loona.net wrote: > This is pretty funny: > > http://free.freespeech.org/shockingtruth/sxe.html > > and be sure to check out the site's merchandise page > which has some scary stuff: > > http://free.freespeech.org/shockingtruth/merchandise.html They had me going until I checked this out: http://free.freespeech.org/shockingtruth/cast.html Yipes! - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 09:37:05 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Wolfe Subject: Artificial Stupidity SPOILERS for AI: >Um, the ideas aren't all that interesting. It's mawkish and >long, sort of like E.T. Yes. Or, from my POV, more precisely, ideas would have been a nice addition. >I think it would have been a rather pleasing and at least >interesting film without the last twenty-five minutes. Actually, I'm probably in the minority, but if the film had ended with the pull back from David stuck under the Ferris Wheel ("We're in a cage."), that would have been lovely/bleak (move over Fincher!), but a little too Twilight Zone ironic/pat. The last 20 minutes are a mess, tonally, structurally, scriptwise (that space-time continuum bullshit? Gimme a break! And GODDAMNIT, hair has no genetic material! It's just a bunch of keratin! When will the movies please figure this out?), and in execution, and dear god won't someone please please put John Williams out to pasture already? (Quail, you've surely got to agree with me now after the intestinal-cramp inducing faux Ligetti act he puts on in parts of this film. William's JAWS score will live in my heart forever, but the man's freshness date is well past.) But as hard as Spielberg is trying, it's impossible to read the coda as a complete fulfillment of David's wishes. Setting aside the whole "he only gets her for one day" thing, there's something incredibly creepy about David's pre-Oedipal wiring, and because it's just mother and son in the final scenes, that facet of the subtext is thrust to the foreground. The CLOCKWORK ORANGE-esque production design doesn't help, either. The film (and the coda) is a big mess, but it's a good mess, subverting itself on so many levels, and falling apart before your eyes, but in such a way that you can see all of the guts and inner workings. Incidentally, some drafts of Kubrick's script had David's mom as an alcoholic, which would be a less arbitrary explanation for her taking in David in the first place. This version also had David, instead of making her coffee at the end, fixing her a Bloody Mary. Then she drinks it, passes out, and that's the end of their day. That would've been cool. >But who DOESN'T want a supertoy? Oh, YEAH! Teddy RAWX! The MacGyver of teddy bears! The anti-ewok! That short, fuzzy philosopher of few, but weighty, words. That tracking shot of him at the flesh fair, with the guy carrying him along, with Teddy going: "I need to find David." "Do you know where David is?" "Are you taking me to David?" That, more than the moon balloon, more than Manhattan underwater, more than any other shot in a pretty visually impressive movie, that was the best shot there. That was awesome. - -Michael Wolfe ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 11:15:19 -0700 (PDT) From: bayard Subject: Re: we're just ... a minor threat (0%RH) > and be sure to check out the site's merchandise page > which has some scary stuff: "* No goths, atheists, intellectuals, homosexuals or Jews are allowed to enter our premisses." well that counts out most or all of the fegs, i guess.... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 11:24:59 -0700 (PDT) From: Viv Lyon Subject: Re: Artificial Stupidity On Tue, 10 Jul 2001, Michael Wolfe wrote: > >But who DOESN'T want a supertoy? > > Oh, YEAH! Teddy RAWX! The MacGyver of teddy bears! The > anti-ewok! That short, fuzzy philosopher of few, but weighty, > words. That tracking shot of him at the flesh fair, with the guy > carrying him along, with Teddy going: "I need to find David." > "Do you know where David is?" "Are you taking me to David?" > That, more than the moon balloon, more than Manhattan underwater, > more than any other shot in a pretty visually impressive movie, > that was the best shot there. That was awesome. Agreed. I want a Teddy. I'm considering having a suit made especially for Jeme to put on when I'm feeling insecure. He can toddle around and sew himself up when his fur tears, and he can say things like "No, Vivien. You'll break" when I try to eat spinach! Tee hee! It'll be so cute! It helps that Jeme can actually do a decent approximation of Teddy's voice. Vivien ps- strangely, I'm not kidding. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:11:31 -0400 From: Ken Weingold Subject: Re: we're just ... a minor threat (0%RH) On Tue, Jul 10, 2001, scary mary wrote: > and be sure to check out the site's merchandise page > which has some scary stuff: > > http://free.freespeech.org/shockingtruth/merchandise.html God damn. Do they realize that you can probably find the same stuff in SM catalogs for cheaper? :) Among others, no intellectuals allowed. So only people they can easily control and brainwash are allowed. Oh wait, I am seeing something broader here.... :) - -Ken ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 13:17:08 -0500 (CDT) From: Bret Bolton Subject: quitting my job - 0%RH Ok,in a few months, I will be quitting my job to take on something I have always wanted to do. I am opening a record store(this means cds mostly, in case you missed last week), (weeeeeee) and while I have several names in mind (some of them even good) I thought it's be a good idea to poll the fegs and see what you guys can come up with. That and as the list is pretty quiet now, and we have all re-named our cats (hehe) why not. I know this sort of stuff bugs a few of you, if so, simply ignore me. - -b ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 13:29:09 -0500 From: "Brian Huddell" Subject: RE: quitting my job - 0%RH Bret: > I am opening a record store(this means cds mostly, in case > you missed last week), (weeeeeee) and while I have several > names in mind (some of them even good) I thought it's be a > good idea to poll the fegs and see what you guys can come up with. "The Money Pit" comes to mind ;-) No, seriously, best of luck! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:29:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: Re: Artificial Stupidity On Tue, 10 Jul 2001, Michael Wolfe wrote: > SPOILERS for AI: > The last 20 minutes are a mess, tonally, structurally, scriptwise > (that space-time continuum bullshit? Gimme a break! And GODDAMNIT, > hair has no genetic material! It's just a bunch of keratin! When > will the movies please figure this out?), It's been suggested that the second half of the ending is all supposed to be taking place within a software simulation. That would explain how David can cry and sleep, as well as how flimsy the entire thing is. Doesn't really let Spielberg/Kubrick off the hook, since it's still painful to watch, but there are hints that this is the case. (Prof. Hobby makes a point of demonstrating how AIs' software cubes can be removed at the beginning; we see the future AIs standing around a table-thing looking down at David in his reconstructed house.) > Incidentally, some drafts of Kubrick's script had David's mom as > an alcoholic, which would be a less arbitrary explanation for her > taking in David in the first place. And in the supplementary web material for the movie, Monica ends up being institutionalized after she gets rid of David... for inability to sleep. aaron ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 11:33:48 -0700 (PDT) From: "J. Brown" Subject: Re: Artificial Stupidity On Tue, 10 Jul 2001, Michael Wolfe wrote: > >But who DOESN'T want a supertoy? > > Oh, YEAH! Teddy RAWX! The MacGyver of teddy bears! The > anti-ewok! That short, fuzzy philosopher of few, but weighty, > words. That tracking shot of him at the flesh fair, with the guy > carrying him along, with Teddy going: "I need to find David." > "Do you know where David is?" "Are you taking me to David?" > That, more than the moon balloon, more than Manhattan underwater, > more than any other shot in a pretty visually impressive movie, > that was the best shot there. That was awesome. AI was ok but i really want to see AI2: the Adventures of Teddy. Jason Wilson Brown - University of Washington - Seattle, WA "Life boring when you no can die" -Solomon Grundy ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:35:51 -0400 From: lj lindhurst Subject: Re: quitting my job - 0.5%RH How about Abandoned Brain Records??? >I am opening a record store(this means cds mostly, in case you missed >last week), (weeeeeee) and while I have several names in >mind (some of them even good) I thought it's be a good idea to poll the >fegs and see what you guys can come up with. - -- ******************************** LJ Lindhurst White Rabbit Graphic Design http://www.w-rabbit.com NYC ljl@w-rabbit.com ******************************** Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 13:39:55 -0500 (CDT) From: GSS Subject: I'm just ... a minor threat (0%RH) > They had me going until I checked this out: > http://free.freespeech.org/shockingtruth/cast.html Yeah, I don't think they are being straight about the shipping cost. Does the fee include the cost of the parcel and shipping or are additional charges added at check-out time? And can the procedure be reversed? I mean, what if there comes a time when the special sauce is needed? gSs ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:52:05 -0400 From: Ken Weingold Subject: Re: I'm just ... a minor threat (0%RH) On Tue, Jul 10, 2001, GSS wrote: > Yeah, I don't think they are being straight about the shipping cost. > Does the fee include the cost of the parcel and shipping or are > additional charges added at check-out time? And can the procedure be > reversed? I mean, what if there comes a time when the special sauce > is needed? Silly Feg, that's what McDonald's is for. - -Ken ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 13:52:34 -0500 From: "Mike Wells" Subject: Re: we're just ... a minor threat (0%RH) > > and be sure to check out the site's merchandise page > > which has some scary stuff: > > "* No goths, atheists, intellectuals, homosexuals or Jews are allowed to > enter our premisses." > > well that counts out most or all of the fegs, i guess.... What about spell-checkers? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:54:31 -0400 From: "Ultimate Goal" Subject: FIV 0%RH I just found out some disturbing news. My cat Nico has dropped from 12lbs to 8lbs in the last two months. Got the tests back an hour ago and he tested + for FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus). Bummer, he's in stage 2 now. I know there are lots of Fegs with cats around. There isn't supposed to be any cure, but I was wondering if anyone knew of something I could do to help him. Thanks in advance. Worse part about it is (well, obviously not the very worse) my girl friend is giving me the "I told you so" routine. She's right really. I shouldn't have fed the stray starving cold cat last winter. This cat gave Nico FIV after a fight they had 2 months ago. Beware of strays! Now I don't know what to do with this stray (I'm still feeding). I don't want him to infect any more cats. Suggestions? Thanks for listening. Death sucks! Nuppy _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:14:21 -0500 From: "Mike Wells" Subject: Re: quitting my job - 0%RH > I am opening a record store(this means cds mostly, in case you missed > last week), (weeeeeee) and while I have several names in > mind (some of them even good) I thought it's be a good idea to poll the > fegs and see what you guys can come up with. I always thought the old Carlin bit "Wonderful Wino" had some great record store names in it...i.e. "Stacks of Stax", "Racks of Wax" and like that. Come to think of it, "Wonderful Wino" wouldn't be too bad a name if you didn't get sued. In all seriousness, good luck. Michael "Al Sleet, your hippy-dippy weatherman" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 12:33:30 -0700 (PDT) From: bayard Subject: Re: MP3 Question hey herb! here's some helpful info: http://www.mp3-tech.org/encoders_win.html at stewart and woj's recommendation, i've started using LAME and a frontend, and have been very happy with the results. and of course you should use Exact Audio Copy to rip the WAVs off the CD. http://exactaudiocopy.de On Sun, 8 Jul 2001, Mike Swedene wrote: > Hi All! > Hope you are having (or had) a great FEG weekend. > My Mac is down for a bit, and I am stuck on a PC :( > I was wondering what the best program for the PC is to > convert WAV files into mp3's since I have some shows I > want to upload. > > Thanks! > > Herbie > > np - Soft Boys "Baltimore gig" > Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail > http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 15:22:35 -0400 (EDT) From: Christopher Gross Subject: Re: Artificial Stupidity More AI spoilers.... On Tue, 10 Jul 2001, Aaron Mandel wrote: > It's been suggested that the second half of the ending is all supposed to > be taking place within a software simulation. That would explain how David Interesting theory! I like it; however, it really has as many plot holes as the literal reading. If it's all just a software simulation, why can't they simulate having Mom resurrected permanently, instead of just for one day? And why would they need her DNA for a simulation? David's memories alone should have been enough to construct a convincing (to him) sim Mom. Maybe I'm giving Spielberg too much credit, but I think it's significant that the only scenes where David is really happy have such a dreamy, unreal feeling to them. (Aside from the ending, there's the scene where they float around on the lake as Mom reads Pinocchio out loud.) David is essentially a machine built to be miserable. His only desires are to love and be loved by one specific person. Since nothing and no one else can make David happy, since no human can provide that level of affection constantly, and since Mom will die long before David does, he is doomed to loooong stretches of misery. Any happiness he feels is just a fleeting, dreamlike departure from reality. The Blue Fairy isn't the only delusion in David's mind; any hope of happiness he has is just a dream. David is really doomed to the existence that depressed teenagers *think* they have. Of course, all of David's problems could have been solved if the future mecha managed to reprogram him grow up and stop being monomaniacally fixated on Mom. Anyway, I liked the movie. Sure, there were gaping plot holes. On the other hand, it wasn't *too* maudlin, compared to what Spielberg could have done. And there were some brilliant images, like flooded New York, iced-over New York, and the mecha scrap heap -- to me, that's enough to redeem a movie with a much worse plot than AI has. - --Chris np: Siouxsie & the Banshees, "Hong Kong Garden" ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 12:42:37 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: quitting my job - 0%RH Bret: >I am opening a record store(this means cds mostly, in case you missed >last week), (weeeeeee) and while I have several names in >mind (some of them even good) I thought it's be a good idea to poll the >fegs and see what you guys can come up with. It ought to be a name which has personal significance for YOU...hence, I don't think we can help. Maybe you should just ask us which of the "several names in mind" we like best? When people post about "AI," can they please indicate in the subject line whether there are spoilers? I'm probably going to see the film very soon, and I don't want it ruined. I'm perfectly willing to read general opinions, but not if plot details are revealed in the process. Speaking of Haley the Wunderkind, I coincidentally had "The Sixth Sense"'s twist spoiled for me awhile back by some dweeb on the XTC list. The ironic thing was that his post was a complaint about others spoiling something else! (It might have been simply a gripe against those who had heard the new XTC album early.) Eb ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 15:46:58 EDT From: HSatterfld@aol.com Subject: Robyn at Uplister Perhaps it has already been reported here that Mr. Hitchcock has a celebrity playlist at www.uplister.com. (But if it was then I missed it.) You can find it by clicking on celebrity playlists ALL. You cannot find it by typing his name into the search engine there. Robyn has 10 songs selected, nothing terribly unexpected. Found this by clicking on a banner ad quoting him as saying "it's suburban 90s America on a Ouija board" about one of the songs. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 12:49:21 -0700 From: "Andrew D. Simchik" Subject: a.i. jane >From: melissa > >Just got the celeb issue of Jane and Mr. Hitchcock has contributed a review >(on p 151) of the fabulous Under the Skin by Michael Faber. In _Jane_? How strange. You mean I have an excuse to buy that magazine now? :) >From: Natalie Jane Jacobs > >Mein Vater hat gespracht: > > > The camera work is great, the ideas are interesting, the star is > >appealing, and the movie is awful. It's mawkish and long, sort of like E. > >T., and I think Kubrick must be turning over in his grave. > >Huh. Any comments? I haven't seen it yet. Well...I actually think the ideas are not very interesting (I'm waiting for the film version of Tanith Lee's _The Silver Metal Lover_), and I don't think the movie is awful, though I wouldn't argue with that opinion. Basically, the first hour is breathtaking after a slightly shaky start, the second hour is a totally different movie (flakier, increasingly disjointed, but hard to take your eyes off), and after that it's a disaster. If it's awful, it certainly isn't awful in the manner of, say, _Tomb Raider_, and you won't regret paying to see it even if you don't like it. Of course, you and I seem to have tastes that only rarely intersect, so I might be wrong. :) While I think Kubrick would have done a better job, I read an early synopsis/treatment/whatever of his and all the shittiest parts of the movie were there. Surprisingly, I don't think the movie's flaws are Spielberg's fault. >p.s. My grandfather once said of "Dances With Wolves" that it was >"written, acted, and directed by junior high school students." Ah, the >art of the pithy scathing review is strong in my family. Well, I fully agree with your grandfather. I hated that fucking movie. >From: Capuchin > >On Mon, 9 Jul 2001, scary mary wrote: > > http://www.peoplecards.net/ > >I find this so incredibly offensive, I don't know what to say (but I'm >sure I'll find something). You read a lot more than I did. I clicked away after thinking simply, "If you have the money for this you should donate it to a good cause instead." >From: "JH3" > >DAMMIT, Jeme, this is like the *third time* I've spent >20 minutes writing up a fancy response to something like >this, only to have you beat me to the punch with almost >the exact same thing! He just did the same to me with A.I., but I'm posting mine anyway. Drew - -- Andrew D. Simchik, drew at stormgreen dot com http://www.stormgreen.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 15:04:36 -0500 (CDT) From: GSS Subject: Re: FIV 0%RH On Tue, 10 Jul 2001, Ultimate Goal wrote: > I just found out some disturbing news. My cat Nico has dropped from 12lbs to > 8lbs in the last two months. Got the tests back an hour ago and he tested + > for FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus). Bummer, he's in stage 2 now. I have between 10 and 15 cats in an around the house at anytime and instead of trying to cage them and take them to a vet, I cover their food with NyQuil and vacinate them myself. Just kidding about the NyQuil. But you can order a variety of vaccines in 10 dose vials along with the appropriate syringes. In some states you can even get the rabbies vaccine through the mail. In Texas we cannot buy the rabbies vaccine unless liscensed but no law says we can't buy it elsewhere and then administer it ourselves so I drive to Oklahoma and pick the stuff up. I use omahavaccine.com for all other, Feline Leukemia, FIV etc... They sell multi-vaccine doses of different types and I don't recall the particular type I use but I can check tonight if requested. I vaccine stays good in the refrig for about 1 year depending on when it was manufactured and if you buy 10 doses at a time, plus the syringes, it comes to about $2.50 a cat, once a year. It is cheap and well worth the effort. gSs ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 13:14:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Glen Uber Subject: SPOILERS INCLUDED was Re: quitting my job On Tue, 10 Jul 2001, Eb wrote: >Speaking of Haley the Wunderkind, I coincidentally had "The Sixth Sense"'s >twist spoiled for me awhile back by some dweeb on the XTC list. The ironic >thing was that his post was a complaint about others spoiling something >else! (It might have been simply a gripe against those who had heard the >new XTC album early.) Spoilers for "The Sixth Sense," and "The Matrix" follow. Scroll past the second set of dashes to get on with the remainder of the message. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I thought the plot "twist" in "Sixth Sense" was rather thinly veiled. I knew almost immediately that Bruce Willis' character was a ghost. I think my suspicions were confirmed during the anniversary lunch scene. "The Matrix" was another one I figured out rather early, but only because I worked out that Keanu Reeves' character's name -- Neo -- was an anagram for the "One". - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I tend to overanalyze movies while I watch them, so I never truly enjoy them. It drives my wife crazy that I can't simply watch a film and suspend my disbelief. Instead, I am constantly nitpicking about this, that, or the other. Oddly enough, if a film is a brainless piece of fluff, I have no problem believing that certain things might occur. It tends to happen with comedies and movies that aren't supposed to be taken seriously moreso than with "serious" films or blockbusters. Case in point: I had no problem with the improbabilities and inconsistencies that were present in "Men In Black" and "Mars Attacks" while those in "Independence Day" and "The Matrix" just drove me nuts. To be fair, I was surprised at the secret that lurked beneath "The Crying Game" and the plot twist in "Fight Club" was completely out of left field. - -- Cheers! - -g- "Never waste a trip anywhere by coming home without beer." - --Russ Reynolds )+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+( Glen Uber // Santa Rosa, California // uberg (at) sonic dot net )+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+()+( ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:04:59 -0700 (PDT) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: SPOILERS INCLUDED was Re: quitting my job The only "spoiler" is from The Matrix... and I didn't even think it was a spoiler. On Tue, 10 Jul 2001, Glen Uber wrote: > "The Matrix" was another one I figured out rather early, but only > because I worked out that Keanu Reeves' character's name -- Neo -- was > an anagram for the "One". I didn't think for even half a second that Neo wasn't "The one". That seemed to be the whole point of the movie from the beginning. I'm a little surprised that anyone thought of this as a twist of any kind. > Oddly enough, if a film is a brainless piece of fluff, I have no > problem believing that certain things might occur. It tends to happen > with comedies and movies that aren't supposed to be taken seriously > moreso than with "serious" films or blockbusters. Case in point: I had > no problem with the improbabilities and inconsistencies that were > present in "Men In Black" and "Mars Attacks" while those in > "Independence Day" and "The Matrix" just drove me nuts. I'm the same way. If it's fun or funny or to be taken lightly, I can just enjoy it. I can see past anything crappy or inconsistent. But if it's a serious film or even just dramatic, I can't stand even the smallest stupid thing. I just watched "The Way Of The Gun" and I was totally disturbed at how these two "small time crooks" turn out to be well-armed bad-asses by the end... with no real transition whatsoever. It's like halfway through the screenplay, the author decided that he should have used different characters... all the setup was for naught. > To be fair, I was surprised at the secret that lurked beneath "The > Crying Game" and the plot twist in "Fight Club" was completely out of > left field. The Crying Game was too well publicized and I saw it after I'd "heard". As for Fight Club, I called it about twenty minutes into Brad Pitt's appearance. It was clumsily orchestrated, I thought. J. - -- _______________________________________________ Capuchin capuchin@bitmine.net Jeme A Brelin ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V10 #269 ********************************