I can't wait to experience the real world with all of the lovely people and their lovely idiosyncrasies that make them total, lovely assholes.

Absolutely disgusting.

I'm sure you've heard the rule about making jokes- only make jokes about people who can help what they're doing. But some people have to go around and make themselves feel better by putting someone else down. That's people and that's life. Sometimes there is nothing you can do. It just kinda sucks.

But, man, you're work at Pizza Hut was a bitch! and I'm still not the biggest RPG guy in the world, I've played one Final Fantasy game and uhh did not like it. but KOTOR!! The plot! The characters! The dialogue system (oh trust me, you'll be impressed)! Just get it.

Monkey_Boy, that was a horrific story, I would have done wonderfully terrible things to those jerks. It pisses me off just reading it . There are 3 things I just can't tolerate

1. Cruelty to the disabled.
2. Cruelty to animals.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers fans (idiots)

quote:

Originally posted by mymindsblank:
2. Cruelty to animals.

I lived in Atlanta and when we found out Mr. Michael Vick decided to throw losing pit bulls into toaster filled bath tubs, we got really pissed (except the African American community was really confused and thought it was a race thing) . If anyone ever did that to my dogs I would hunt them down and kill them (I really think I would go nuts). So, yes, I agree with you wholeheartedly mymindsblank.

But I have a thing against Alabama fans and Oakland Raider fans. Never met a die hard Steeler fan so thanks for the tip.

My favorite dog has been missing since Saturday (his name was Chewie, for his Chewbacca-like howl) I let him run around the neighborhood and I think that someone stole him from my family, and it breaks my heart worrying that he's hurt or being mistreated, as he was already an abused dog we had adopted. Sorry just needed to vent


anyway... Alabama fans are pretty obnoxious as well

Just over 15 years ago we lost our english bulldog. Then a few years later, we lost our other one.

Our first one was huge. So big, we named him after the biggest character there was when we first got him: Kubiac (after the giant, dumb dude in 'Parker Lewis Can't Lose') When he stepped on your foot (which happened alot), it hurt! He was also extremely gassy and he seemed to know it! I remember one time, I was reading and I suddenly smelled the nastiness that was his colon. I turned my head and his butt was right in my face. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he did that on purpose! He even seemed to look at me and smile! I FRIGGIN' LOVED THAT NASTY DOG! The problem was he was too big for his heart... and he liked to run. One Summer night he got out the front door. I was downstairs in my room when I hear my brother come inside talking trash because he couldn't catch him. I run upstairs and ask where Kube is and he says, "I dunno. I gave up. He might still be in that field in the back." I run out there, but he's nowhere to be found. Ooh, I was pissed! How do you just give up and walk away? Now we have no idea where our dog is! He showed back up hours later, barely able to breathe. He died on our living room rug just a few minutes later. He ran until he had a heart attack. I still blame my brother for that! If he woulda stayed with Kubiac, the dog would've eventually gave up trying to run away and just came back home with him.

Our 2nd bulldog, Zorro, was half Kube's size (which is the size they're supposed to be) and he stayed on a farm with my mom and her business partner. One day my mother called for him for several minutes before finally giving up and going to work. When she got home, he was still nowhere to be seen. For months we had no idea what happened to the little guy. Until the pond receded. He had become trapped in the mud... and drowned! She felt so awful because she knows he was struggling to get free, but he was just too heavy. He probably even heard her calling for him, but he was too weak to call out for her.

We've always been animal lovers, so the death of one is just heartbreaking for us. Let alone, some sadistic creep torturing 'em for fun!

quote:

Originally posted by mymindsblank:
My favorite dog has been missing since Saturday

I am sorry to hear that. I hope you guys find him. My dogs are Maltese Poodles and wouldn't survive more than a few days in the "wild" (of suburbia).

How big was Kubiac? Here at UGA we have a bulldog named Uga VI. He is pretty big and he has his own little (I hesitate the use the word dog house) house on the field and he'll be buried at Sanford Stadium.

Ooh, I dunno exactly how big he was, but by gettin' out the tape measure and guess-timating... I'd say he was around 3 1/2 feet long and just above 2 feet high at the shoulders. If I remember correctly (which I probably don't, since my brain has been through so much since then), my mom said he was around 200 pounds. They stopped breeding 'em that big years before we got him! To get an idea of how much bigger than the "show quality" bulldog he was, Zorro was around 2 feet long and around a foot high and didn't weigh anywhere close to 100 pounds. His body weight was against him because of how short their legs are. They were completely submerged in the mud when we found him.

Hey, mymindsblank, what kinda dog was he? I was thinkin' maybe you could hang up flyers (although I'm sure that's crossed your mind even with its blankness), but if the dog is a purebred, it might not do any good. My wife and I had a couple of pugs and when I threw my back out (That's right! It happens in real life and hurts like a mug!), my wife had to take over a few of my husbandly duties. One night she took out the trash... and didn't close the gate. The next morning, she let the dogs out. When she opened the door 10 minutes later, she saw the dogs were gone and the gate was open. Then, she did what I hated that my brother did, she just came back in the house! She didn't call their names, she didn't go look for 'em, she just came back inside! I was passed out from Flexeril, but I was pissed when I woke up a few hours later and found out what happened and that she didn't even go look for the dogs! She drove around the neighborhood and hung up a few WANTED posters, but every single one of them were gone by the next morning! Turns out, pugs are an extremly coveted dog in these parts, and folks will (apparently) knowingly keep someone else's if they have to in order to get one! They were good lookin' pugs too. Not those ones with the nasty, bulging eyes that look in 2 different directions. I'm very picky when it comes to pets. I don't want no ugly dog, that's fer sure!

Uga VI sounds more like Zorro than Kobiac. Your pug story reminds me of a curb your enthusiasm episode where Larry thinks his Chinese bookie ate his agent's dog (you know, b/c he is chinese and all chinese love the taste of dog). I can't believe that people would actually steal a dog. But, well, I guess it kinda makes sense.

Hope the dog search is doing well mymindsblank.

I've put an ad in the local paper and on the local radio (I live in a small town), but no luck so far, he was a mixed breed and got into the bad habit of running around town with my huskie, people around here are rotten so I just expect the worst.

Hey, check this out! I found this awhile ago and bookmarked it, but I never really got around to reading it until now. This thing is great! It's NOT about who wins between "Star Wars", "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Matrix". It's the non-stop laughter you'll enjoy as you find out!
One Trilogy to Rule Them All!

Very funny. Too many good lines to quote. But who is the author? I'd love to read more of his stuff.

I'm glad you liked it. Here's the official site: PointlessWasteOfTime.Com Enjoy!

The other day I found a great artical entitled "Real Men Love "The 5th Element" and it was so good, I HAD to watch the movie last night! It's the ONLY movie that rivals "Star Wars" in sheer beauty. In fact the movie is so colorful that this artical (about buying an upconverted DVD player) recommends that you take it to see how well the players handle VIBRANT COLOR! It was also the first Blu-Ray DVD my boy bought (and it'll be my first Blu-Ray purchase as well, IF they haven't released "Star Wars" to Blu-Ray by the time I get a player. Then that would be my first!). I actually own the Ultimate Edition which is in Superbit and DTS. Oh, man, the sound is EXCELLENT! It even seems like Lucas has seen the flick and decided that at least ONE scene was worth doing for "Star Wars"! Everytime I get to the part where Dallas steers his car straight down through the many layers of traffic to escape the police, I'm reminded of "Episode II" when Anakin does the same thing to catch the bounty hunter. While the scene looks great in "Star Wars", it's just beautiful in "The 5th Element"! An interesting point the author of "Real Men Love The 5th Element" wrote: '"The 5th Element" is basically John McClane in the future', and he's sooo right! No wonder I love this movie so much! In fact, I had just watched the "Die Hard" series and the movies could be connected by saying John McClane is the great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, grandfather of Korben Dallas!

I never saw the fifth element until very recently with my father. He is a science fiction nut like me and we both concluded that the film was very weird but so very awesome. The article touches on that. Now I want to watch the movie again but I really can't because I have to write TWO PAPERS by Wednesday.

But the converting DVD article got to me thinking about your collection and your setup. ("you [Monkey Boy] probably have an HDTV—likely a big one—and have sunk thousands of dollars into an expansive DVD collection.") What exactly is your setup? Do you have a home theater or a tv in the living room?

quote:

Originally posted by The Friar:
I never saw the fifth element until very recently with my father. He is a science fiction nut like me and we both concluded that the film was very weird but so very awesome. The article touches on that. Now I want to watch the movie again but I really can't because I have to write TWO PAPERS by Wednesday.

I'm sorry. I know EXACTLY how you feel because I had to watch it after reading the article, but couldn't because I've got the kids most of the time now. They couldn't get into it.

quote:

What exactly is your setup? Do you have a home theater or a tv in the living room?

You've probably read in certain places where I refer to a room I simply call "The Den". This is the ONE spot in the house that is MINE and no one else's. When my wife was showing me the place, she told me about how the basement was for the kids to play when her grandmother lived here. As soon as we got to the bottom of the stairs, I exclaimed, "This ain't gonna be the kids' playroom! It's gonna be mine!"

The Den, itself, is a small 17'l x 11'w x 7'h room where the only window is covered. Making it the best place for a home theater! To go around the room clockwise from when you get to the bottom of the stairs:
To your left, you have the laundry room door, and on the other side of it there are actually shelves built right into the wall, just perfect for displaying my many, many (extremly detailed Todd McFarlane, and the like) toys. A few of 'em are: A diorama of the Queen Alien watching a helpless victim give birth to a face hugger chest burster (face hugger? what the crap was I on? Oh, that's right! Drugs.), Fry, Leela and Bender toys with stands, "Where the Wild Things Are" figures, and a giant, detailed model of Ghost Rider.

Going to the next wall is my t.v. with 2 shelves on either side: 1 is a 2 shelved display case with my most beautiful comics and comic artwork: I have numerous comic cards in protectors on little display stands on the top shelf along with my trade paperback of "Origin", a B&W picture of Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno signed by both of 'em, and a quick sketch done of Wolverine's head done on a comic backing board and signed by the artist. I have the Alex Ross painted series' "Marvels" and "Kingdom Come" comics on the second shelf with a Hallmark Superman ornament shaped like a phone booth (that plugs into X-Mas lights and spins to make it look like Clark Kent is changing into Superman), the Two-Face and Riddler mugs McDonald's sold when that crappy movie came out (I woulda had Batman and Robin, but my brother and sister claimed those glasses and now these are the only ones left. I originally only had Two-Face, but a girlfriend gave me Riddler), amd a small pewter statue of The Joker holding a pair of laughing fish like guns. On top of the case, I have Marv (from "Sin City") holding Kevin's head in one hand and a hacksaw in another, a Wolverine telephone, a 12" Wolverine, a framed and numbered picture of the cover of Wolverine #145 (the issue he finally got his adamantium back) and a giant slurpee cup with a picture of HULK's eye on it. (I bought it the very night I went to see the movie at a drive in!) I've already told you about my ENTIRE collection of "Star Wars" stuff on top o' my telly. The small shelf on the other side of the t.v. is just my technical equipment for watchin' movies (see below). On the wall behind the t.v. but out where you can see them are the Marvel Universe series III cards that came out in 1992 (the cards are kinda like a puzzle with each card connected to the other, and I always wanted to see what it would look like to see them set up the way they were meant to be. They're still in their protectors and I sealed 'em with some tape to keep crap outta 'em) and on the other side are my 4-panel Twin Towers mirrors. (You can only really see the towers themselves because the other two panels are obstructed by the television.) I bought 'em a year before the attacks and had NO IDEA they were the famous buildings in New York until 9-11! When I saw the images on my t.v., I suddenly recognized the antenna on one of the towers as being on one of the buildings on my mirror! (Yes, I know, I'm an idiot.)

The next wall (which would now be the one across from where you're standing at the bottom of the stairs) is my Simpsons Shrine. Not the whole wall, but most of it! A quick taste of what this wall looks like: I have 3 shelves that hold most of the toys and playsets released (and then quickly taken off shelves) a few years ago, along with a "neon" sign of Mr. Burns in his classic pose (smiling with his fingertips touching) and the word EXCELLENT spelled out next to him (I use quotation marks because it looks like a neon sign but it isn't. It's weird, but awesome!), some Hamilton figurines of Krusty (chillin' with a cigar and a martini at his make-up table), Homer (screaming in front of his fridge with a note from Marge saying there's no beer), and the first 3 cars of their "Simpsons Christmas Train" (The engine with Homer passed out in it, a sled-car with Marge, Grampa, and Maggie, and the third has Moe and Barney), a few autograghed pictures of the cast and Matt Groening. I also have several posters a "life-size" stand-up of Homer (with a Pizza Hut nametag, just so people know he's "Homer" ), and a coupla t-shirts stapled to it as well. The last part of the wall displays my own cartoon characters: "Warnell's 'Hood". Below that picture I have a 3'x 3' light up "Classic" Pizza Hut sign. My boss gave it to me when they changed the logo and it still lights up!

The next wall is the one where my DVD shelves are. They take up the entire back wall of The Den. On the wall on the other side of the stairs is a door to the game room. I only call it that because it has an air hockey table. Not one of those little ones either! This sucker pretty much takes over the room so that there is just enough room to move around to hit the puck. There are also shelves built into 2 of the walls in this room, so I have my comic books on these.

As for the center of the room: I have a one person couch and a love seat, a glass table with a wicker stand with a Simpsons rug covering it like a tablecloth (there's NO WAY anyone is stepping on this beautiful thing! It has most EVERY character stitched into it!). On either side of the table, I have bean bag chairs: 1 has a giant X-Men comforter wrapped around it with artwork by Jim Lee, the other has a simple little security blanket (barely) wrapped around it with different pics of Homer and Bart on it. Behind the couches I have a shelf that holds mail and such and my mini fridge that is CONSTANTLY stocked with ice cold Coca-Cola Classic or Vanilla Coke with the occasional chocolate milk.

Yep, The Den is the one place all of my friends like to bring their girlfriends. Just so they can show her that there is a bigger, geekier nerd than they are! I also worked next to a theater for a while and raided their dumpster once I found out they threw out their movie posters, lobby displays and film with previews on it! The Den is wallpapered in movie posters (with the exception of the Simpsons one)I also have them in the stairwell and I have around 7" each of a few scenes from the reel of the "Spider-Man 3" trailer that show Peter trying to take off the symbiote and that scene where he's just chillin' on top of the belltower in his black costume. The 2 reel clips are taped to my display case, so that when I turn on the light, it shines through 'em. Pretty clever, huh? The lighting for The Den is mainly rope lights. I have them strung around the outside of each shelf (to light up the toys inside) and along the walls. It lights up the room just enough, but not too much. Besides, they're off most of the time. I almost forgot to mention that I also have several comics hung up on one of my walls. They cover the doors to the game room and the laundry room and the little bits of wall inbetween.


I have a 52" widescreen Toshiba HDTV with a 5-disc changing Sony DVD player with Precision Cinema Progressive Scan. My surround is provided by a big, fat Pioneer multi-channel reciever with 5.1 surround. Here's the kicker: I've hooked up 3 additional subwoofers:
2 are from The Truck (it needs a new computer and I'm saving for an all new engine), and 1 is from a previous surround system. The sub that came with the reciever is in the front of the room, the other 3 are behind my couches so that you actually feel each step that a dinosaur made or the blast that took out the Death Star! (I thought I should throw a little "Star Wars" in there somewhere. ) Every wire (From my DVD player's componant cables to the speaker wires) is a monster cable!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Monkey_Boy,

That sounds great, Monkberry Moon Delight! I hope The Innocents never strays too far from that DVD player. In fact, I was wondering if you even figured out what I was talking about the last time I mentioned it. The part where you can see Quint in the UPSTAIRS window. Did you check that out? I can give you a time frame, if necessary. Totally trippy.

Those subwoofers sound great. There is something about a low bass that is absolutely beautiful. Great collection of geekiness. The simpsons rug sounds pretty cool. I need to start working up a geek collection for a setup to rival yours.

While I read your list of assorted comic and Simpsons memorabilia I thought of the apartment in The 40 Year Old Virgin. I was pretty upset when Steve Carrel got rid of all his action figures. But is this even close?

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
The part where you can see Quint in the UPSTAIRS window. Did you check that out? I can give you a time frame, if necessary. Totally trippy.

I watched it Halloween night with a few other horror flicks and didn't notice anything, so I watched it again this morning and STILL didn't notice anything! I don't know if I'm getting caught up in watching the movie and I just forget to look at the right moment or if I'm just having trouble seeing him! Maybe I do need a time frame... By the by, (DON'T READ BLACK TEXT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN "THE INNOCENTS") I'm really thinkin' the woman went mad. I actually wrote down a few clues (it's the nerd in me and the fact that I can't remember squat) that seem to point to the fact that she was only attributing the story of Quint and his lover to the things she was seeing! The only thing that seems to contradict most of this is the creep-gasm Miles gives me!

quote:

Originally posted by The Friar:
While I read your list of assorted comic and Simpsons memorabilia I thought of the apartment in The 40 Year Old Virgin. I was pretty upset when Steve Carrel got rid of all his action figures. But is this even close?

I'd say they're similar, but my toys aren't "mint-on-card" or "still-in-the-box". No. These suckers are displayed the way they oughta be! I also found the scene when he sold all of his figurines completely unbelieveable and it pulled me out of the movie just as completely! I don't have a single friend that would dare sell one of their comics or figurines, let alone, all of them! At least they had that moment when he broke down and started trippin' out that he was selling his toys. I do believe that is something that would affect anybody who was selling things they've held onto since they were a child. Especially if it was someone else's idea to sell 'em!

I'll tell ya what, if you think I've got a pretty extensive collection of toys and junk (I didn't even name MOST of them), I have a friend who's house is nuthin' but toys! You walk in and he has toys over hs firplace, on his t.v., on shelves lining EVERY wall, on top of his fridge, I'm typin' all over his house! His garage was full of large containers filled with the toys he didn't have the room to display! This guy was livin' in my dream home... well toy-wise, anyway. (He didn't have a good t.v. or DVD player or even a dark room for watchin' movies.) That's the kinda freedom I have in The Den. I can put anything anywhere I want and nobody will touch it. Even my kids know better!

I forgot to tell you that the reason I call it "The Den" is because that's the father's part of the house in those old t.v. shows like 'The Brady Bunch' and such. I've never actually heard a "real life" family refer to any part of their house as "The Den", have you?

OK Monkey, in The Innocents, in Scene 20 at exactly the 1:11:00 mark, Miss Giddens is upstairs with the candles, hearing/imagining noises, and she seems to look at to the end of the hall to either a patio or a window. There's a cut away from her, and in the middle of the screen at the far end of the hall, you see a brightly lit head rise up and then to the right out of view. It certainly looks like Quint to me. Miss Giddens acts like she didn't see anything. Happy searching.

I SAW IT! I SAW IT! I SAW IT! My problem was I always looked out the archway during that shot. I dunno if it looks like a head to me though. I have no idea what it could be. I paused it, zoomed in and actually got up and put my nose to the screen to see what it was! Could it have been a crew member? That's flippin' wild. I guess it coulda been a head, but... dang! I bet I could tell what it was if it were in col