School's out for the summer!

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:34:40 -0700,
m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] stomped through my brain with:

>> I really don't think there actually _was_ a sick kid. I think he was
>> making an excuse to be knocking on the new folks' door. (In clear
>> violation of the "No Soliciting" sign prominently displayed in various
>> locations on the property, no less.)
>
>That's just wrong.

Even for Christians, the ends shouldn't justify the means.
Dishonesty and disingenuity are bad ways to start a relationship
with someone you want to share your faith with.

Tristaan

--
Beware Spam Trap!: "us" is an "ogre"
*******************************************************
Ogre-Monk, AIM TristaanOgre
"So good-bye for now and I'll see you again
Some way, some how
When it's my time to go to the other side
I'll hold you again and melt at your smile
Now I have all the ones that I am with
You taught me not to take for granted
The time that we have to show that we care
Speak into their lives and their hearts while they're here
And say I LOVE YOU!!"

~Disciple "Things Left Unsaid"

Theologian in training http://ballymennoniteblogger.blogspot.com/
*******************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

Tristaan wrote:

> On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:34:40 -0700,
> m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] stomped through my brain with:
>
>
>>>I really don't think there actually _was_ a sick kid. I think he was
>>>making an excuse to be knocking on the new folks' door. (In clear
>>>violation of the "No Soliciting" sign prominently displayed in various
>>>locations on the property, no less.)
>>
>>That's just wrong.
>
>
> Even for Christians, the ends shouldn't justify the means.
> Dishonesty and disingenuity are bad ways to start a relationship
> with someone you want to share your faith with.

Even if all you're selling is toothpicks, I should think that
kind of behaviour is wrong.

Behaving like that while purporting to represent a moral
authority, like a church? That's just... *really* bad karma.

--
Megan
Journeyperson Dancing Barbarian
Keeper o' the FAQ: http://home.earthlink.net/~m_thomas3/abml/
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:41:36 -0400, Tristaan stomped through my
brain with:

>>> I really don't think there actually _was_ a sick kid. I think he was
>>> making an excuse to be knocking on the new folks' door. (In clear
>>> violation of the "No Soliciting" sign prominently displayed in various
>>> locations on the property, no less.)
>>
>>That's just wrong.
>
>Even for Christians, the ends shouldn't justify the means.
>Dishonesty and disingenuity are bad ways to start a relationship
>with someone you want to share your faith with.

Okay... two things...

1) Is "disingenuity" a word?
2) I know, I know... a proposition is not something to end a
sentence with, Stupid...

Tristaan
--
Beware Spam Trap!: "us" is an "ogre"
*******************************************************
Ogre-Monk, AIM TristaanOgre
"So good-bye for now and I'll see you again
Some way, some how
When it's my time to go to the other side
I'll hold you again and melt at your smile
Now I have all the ones that I am with
You taught me not to take for granted
The time that we have to show that we care
Speak into their lives and their hearts while they're here
And say I LOVE YOU!!"

~Disciple "Things Left Unsaid"

Theologian in training http://ballymennoniteblogger.blogspot.com/
*******************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

On 6/11/2008 10:47 AM, Tristaan wrote:
[snip of door-to-door religion salespeople]
> Okay... two things...
>
> 1) Is "disingenuity" a word?
> 2) I know, I know... a proposition is not something to end a
> sentence with, Stupid...

1) Yes, "disingenuity" is a word (my spell-checker's disbelief
notwithstanding)
2) Last but not least, even if you have to bend over backward, avoid
cliches like the plague.

--
victoreia (d&rlh.......)
Goddess of Dark Chocolate
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

In article <P5ednQZvn7dJtM3VnZ2dnUVZ_jidnZ2d RemoveThis @earthlink.com>,
"m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage]"
<"m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage]"@earthlink.net> wrote:

> Anne Elizabeth Baldwin wrote:
> > "Aaron" <kemtek.1 RemoveThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
> <snip>
> >>> In addition, movie theaters seem to be a lot more
> >>> irritating these days. Playing ads in all corners (on TVs
> >>> up on the wall), and on the screen before the film, and
> >>> serving lousy candy... I can enjoy a movie in peace,
> >>> quiet, and with the Good Candy, at home.
> >>
> >> The closest big multiplex does not allow you to bring in
> >> your own munchies, they make more on munchies that tickets,
> >
> >
> > I'm afraid that's normal, these days. Most movie theaters make
> > more off concessions than tickets, even when the tickets are
> > high enough that folks complain. {half-smile}
>
> I believe movie theaters make *all* their money off of
> concessions. The price of the ticket goes to the company that
> makes the movies, not to the theater showing the movie.
>
> I don't mind that part, really, it is the fact that the local
> movie theater sells only lousy candy in inconvenient sizes that
> ticks me off. If I'm going to buy overpriced candy, I want it to
> be good quality overpriced candy. They do sell some candy I
> like, but only in "family of teenage boys" sizes.

I smuggle my own candy in, but I buy their popcorn (since that's harder
to fit in a purse). Fortunately, our local theater uses REAL butter on
their popcorn, so we buy a lot of it from them.

Edna


---|)--- Edna Huelsenbeck (huelsenbeck@gmailDOTcom) ------------
---|---- Goddess of the ABML Out-of-Practice-Musicians Band -----
--/|---- Member, Brute Squad, Mommy Division --------------------
-| |')-- Provisional Member of the Sisterhood of Mess -----------
--\|/----Official Bard of the Book and Bridle -------------------
|
'
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

Rhino7 wrote:

> Don't get me started on what Jackson & Co. did to Faramir. They
> redeemed themselves a teeny bit in the extended version, but still.

That annoyed me a little bit when I first saw the movie too, but when I
watched the commentary in the extended edition I understood a little
better and even (grudgingly!) agreed that in the context of his movie
adaptation it made sense. Basically he worked the entire first and much
of the second movie to portray the ring as the Big Bad (hard enough to
do with something tiny, shiny and inanimate that only whispers in an
unintelligible voice) and the first time the hobbits are in danger it
turns out that Faramir is too noble to pick up the ring "even if it was
on the ground and the only thing that could save Gondor". Even Gandalf
and Aragorn expressed their fear for that ring and how it would corrupt
them but somehow Faramir was immune to that lure? By initially making
him be swayed by the ring's lure and only later come to realise how it
would destroy him, his father and his city it shows how Faramir grows
from the despised son to the noble hero almost on par with Aragorn. Of
course then in the third book Peter Jackson does not -do- anything with
that character growth but that is another thing (and another movie )

No, the real crime in the second movie was how he treated Gimli.
Slapstick (and bad slapstick at that) has no place in the middle of an
epic story of a desperate struggle against the ultimate evil that
threatens to devour the world.
Oh, and of course the ents ... not only were they capable of traveling
at light speed, but also to stupid to see what was happening in their
own forest until tricked into it by the hobbits. A passionate speech by
Merry at the Entmeet would have been truer to the book and would have
worked just as well without that credibility stretching part about tricking.


Eri
--
Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world,
out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of
my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again
will there be loneliness ...

Rolan Choosing Talia,
Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:05:21 +0200, Marian Griffith stomped
through my brain with:

>No, the real crime in the second movie was how he treated Gimli.
>Slapstick (and bad slapstick at that) has no place in the middle of an
>epic story of a desperate struggle against the ultimate evil that
>threatens to devour the world.

Agreed, and most of the commentators that I've read concerning
those films also agree. Here is this heroic Dwarf, descendant
from kings, cracking jokes and being comic relief. They even
worsened it in the extended edition with the drinking contest
after Helms Deep.

Tristaan
--
Beware Spam Trap!: "us" is an "ogre"
*******************************************************
Ogre-Monk, AIM TristaanOgre
"So good-bye for now and I'll see you again
Some way, some how
When it's my time to go to the other side
I'll hold you again and melt at your smile
Now I have all the ones that I am with
You taught me not to take for granted
The time that we have to show that we care
Speak into their lives and their hearts while they're here
And say I LOVE YOU!!"

~Disciple "Things Left Unsaid"

Theologian in training http://ballymennoniteblogger.blogspot.com/
*******************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

Marian Griffith wrote:

> Rhino7 wrote:
>
>> Don't get me started on what Jackson & Co. did to Faramir. They
>> redeemed themselves a teeny bit in the extended version, but still.
<snip Faramir discussion>

> No, the real crime in the second movie was how he treated Gimli.
> Slapstick (and bad slapstick at that) has no place in the middle of an
> epic story of a desperate struggle against the ultimate evil that
> threatens to devour the world.
<snip Ents>

As a point of literary comparison, I'll point out that even
'MacBeth' and 'King Lear' feature moments of silly comedy.

Human emotions don't sustain dramatic, serious intensity for
hours on end in a theater. The movie/play director who wants to
keep the intensity going needs to change the emotional tempo from
one type of emotion to something completely different every once
in a while, or the audience will burn out.

The most effective way to do this seems to be to switch from
drama/serious to comedy. Give the audience a break. Then you
can switch back to drama/serious and ramp up the intensity, and
the audience will be able to go along with you.

With a novel, the author can assume that the reader puts the book
down every once in a while, thereby giving themselves a break
from whatever emotions the novel invokes. Movie directors have
to assume exactly the opposite is true.

So, from that point of view, Jackson's alteration of Gimli makes
sense. *Some* character had to be voted into the 'introduce
comedy into the movie' role, and making Aragorn funny would have
been... worse.

--
Megan
Journeyperson Dancing Barbarian
Keeper o' the FAQ: http://home.earthlink.net/~m_thomas3/abml/
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:14:40 -0700,
m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] stomped through my brain with:

>So, from that point of view, Jackson's alteration of Gimli makes
>sense. *Some* character had to be voted into the 'introduce
>comedy into the movie' role, and making Aragorn funny would have
>been... worse.

Until Gimli joins the party, the comic relief was Pippin and
Merry. And they continue the comic relief until the breaking of
the fellowship. At that point, Pippin and Merry become serious
and the humor needs to move. Frodo and Sam couldn't be serious,
so some of Gollum's antics needed to be fun.. although, Gollum
needed to be serious most of the time... Who was left? Legolas
and Gimli, of course... and Tolkien plays that up a bit in the
books anyways with the contest at Helm's Deep and the Deeping
Coomb. Jackson just extends the banter a little longer.

Tristaan
--
Beware Spam Trap!: "us" is an "ogre"
*******************************************************
Ogre-Monk, AIM TristaanOgre
"So good-bye for now and I'll see you again
Some way, some how
When it's my time to go to the other side
I'll hold you again and melt at your smile
Now I have all the ones that I am with
You taught me not to take for granted
The time that we have to show that we care
Speak into their lives and their hearts while they're here
And say I LOVE YOU!!"

~Disciple "Things Left Unsaid"

Theologian in training http://ballymennoniteblogger.blogspot.com/
*******************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

"Anne Elizabeth Baldwin" <anneb @ aloha . net> wrote

in reply to:

>>> Another was to answer the door wearing nothing (apparently) but a
>>> bathrobe and invite them to 'come in and join the orgy'.

> A priest we know once promised to give a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses
> something that couldn't ever be taken away from them. Even he couldn't
> take it away once he had given it to them.
>
> "I bless you in the name of the Father, {make sign of the cross}
> and of the Son, {make sign of the cross}
> and of the Holy Spirit. {make sign of the cross}"
>
> by the time he finished, they'd fled down the driveway and along the
> street so fast, they were completely out of sight! {REALLY BIG GRIN}

.... I actually know a couple of people (who don't know each
other as far as I'm aware) who have used one of these
techniques each. About the only difference is that in the
latter case the minister was wearing full battle dress (he
must have been just about to head off for some service
or other) so he just threw open his door and boomed
something along the lines of "Jesus loves you!" at them.

I mean, this is in an old suburb of town full of turn of the
century bay villas, and they went for the 1960s brick house
immediately behind the 1960s brick church facing the next
street along... it must have never crossed their minds that
the two could be connected...
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

"Rhino7" <laney2 RemoveThis @comfishcast.net> wrote

> oh boy ... Indiana Jones and the Social Security Check of Doom

.... Point!-worthy.
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

"Anne Elizabeth Baldwin" <anneb @ aloha . net> wrote

> "victoreia" <inkypaws RemoveThis @hawaii.nospam.rr.com> wrote in message

>> victoreia ("$100 dollars for this skinny thing? What'd they print it on,
>> handmade papyrus?")

> Prices that high are usually a sign of a small print run. When they only
> print a few books, each book has to cover more of the production costs.
> When that's the case, the publishers can be stuck, too. {small smile}

This sounds like the sort of thing that would be an obvious
candidate for print-on-demand technology...
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer! 

Dave Joll wrote:

> "Anne Elizabeth Baldwin" <anneb @ aloha . net> wrote
>
>>"victoreia" <inkypaws.DeleteThis@hawaii.nospam.rr.com> wrote in message
>
>>>victoreia ("$100 dollars for this skinny thing? What'd they print it on,
>>>handmade papyrus?")
>
>> Prices that high are usually a sign of a small print run. When they only
>>print a few books, each book has to cover more of the production costs.
>>When that's the case, the publishers can be stuck, too. {small smile}
>
>
> This sounds like the sort of thing that would be an obvious
> candidate for print-on-demand technology...

And waste all the money they already invested in traditional
printing presses? :>

I think print-on-demand is starting to seep into that industry.
Sloooooooowwwly.

--
Megan
Journeyperson Dancing Barbarian
Keeper o' the FAQ: http://home.earthlink.net/~m_thomas3/abml/
 >> Stay informed about: School's out for the summer!