Posts by Rich Lock

Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First

  • Hard News: Clover It,

    Slightly off-topic, but only slightly since we're talking about the climate change deniers and comparing them to anti-GE campaigners - one of the recent New Scientists I read had a good article on the psychology of denialism. Worth hunting down if you can find it.

    Might be on-line, but I don't have time to hunt down the link.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Radiation: Geek, annoyed,

    I'm not sure if that has to do with the original source material as compared to the TV shows

    David Simon had a pretty good idea of what was going on on 'the other side' when he was writing The Wire. He spent a year hanging around and talking to the residents of an inner-city Baltimore neighbourhood when he was writing 'The Corner'.

    The one criticism I'd level at 'The Wire' is: that having read David Simon's 'Homicide (published 1991) and 'The Corner' (published 1997), some of the stuff in 'The Wire' does rely too heavily on it's source material, and shows it's age a little.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Radiation: Geek, annoyed,

    I'd be interested to hear what people think of it after they've seen it

    OK, since you asked:

    I enjoyed it, but was able to use it as a companion piece to the book, which I read a month or so beforehand. The book and the miniseries complement each other quite well (the book fleshes out a lot of detail that the miniseries has trouble fitting in).

    I'm also something of an armchair warrior, so do a lot of reading about military history, culture and so on. which I think helps when viewing the interactions of a military culture which, to most of us, can come across as entirely alien and quite offputting. For example, the slurs and put-downs that the soldiers use on each other are explained in the book as part of the unit and military culture, and are, to a certain extent, expressions of affection and care for the recipient. That does not necessarily come across well on the screen without the viewer already knowing the necessary context.

    In short, Generation Kill falls slightly short as a stand-alone piece, but works well if you're into that sort of thing and can slot it in as one piece of the jigsaw

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Up Front: A Word in Your Ear,

    My sincerest apologies, ladies. :)

    In my defence, I am at present only able to get online in 15-minutes bursts every few hours (for reasons too complicated to go into). Which means my posts are a little more 'from the hip' than they otherwise would be.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Up Front: A Word in Your Ear,

    generalisation mine-field ahead, please read tolerantly

    Yeah, meant to put something like that in my post, too. But couldn't think how to phrase it....

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Up Front: A Word in Your Ear,

    What being born articulate allows me to do, however, is to win arguments even if I'm wrong.

    it doesn't require you to think on your feet as quickly as a face to face conversation does. It gives you the time to consider your response, find the right words

    Been meaning to post a reply for a while, but, yeah, this....

    Anyone else think that generally females are a bit better at this than men are?

    There's been several times over the years where whoever that special someone was at the time has been able to seemingly effortlessly channel the spirit of some bastard love-child of Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde and monologue my particular failings.

    And in return I can generally offer a stream of semi-incoherent, half-stuttered, gibbering invective.

    And then it's all, "Darren, no, please, that's not a constructive way to resolve disputes. Put the manager down and use your words."

    And I don't think it's just me. Why is that?

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Hard News: Costly indeed,

    no motes

    And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

    - Matthew 7:3

    (This message brought to you by King James)

    I'd also quite like to know who gets to collect all the airpoints.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Cracker: A Whale of a Tale,

    Last fucking time I blog about the media :)

    It was a good post, and a good discussion, for what it's worth.

    Almost better than pay-per-view UFC.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Field Theory: Settle a bet,

    "Kowalski! Give me options!"

    Hmm. Until I googled that just now, I assumed it came from 'Aliens'.

    I'm sure there's a moral in there somewhere, but I can't quite tease it out.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

  • Field Theory: Settle a bet,

    "I've had it up to here with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!"
    .
    .
    .
    .
    What do I win?

    And I think it's a generational thing. Most of the guys at work who are 10+ years younger than me have no problems quoting from films from the last 10 years.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report

Last ←Newer Page 1 160 161 162 163 164 273 Older→ First