1,551

(261 replies, posted in Episodes)

TheGreg wrote:

I see why you don't want to think of the information encoded in an mp3 as information, but I do think that it is. I guess we can differ on that, but the point does seem semantic.

This is pointless, reductive, deliberately misleading semantics used in order to justify an unethical practice. "Well, it's just 'data,' so why should I have to pay?" Well, Hamlet is just an assemblage of small shapes on a page, but I don't get to walk out of the bookstore without paying.

1,552

(261 replies, posted in Episodes)

TheGreg wrote:
C-Spin wrote:
TheGreg wrote:

The point is that the legal system has different laws against theft and piracy.
Your argument is like saying 'there are laws against theft and rape, therefore theft is rape.'

Well, I said in that same post why I think it morally fits any definition of theft. And I know the studios that lobbied for the laws consider it theft (*generic rock music*YOU WOULDN'T STEAL A CAR!!!"). I'm not familiar with the wording used in any of these laws, feel free to clue me in with some cited examples and I'll concede the point.

Unfortunately from Wikipedia - but you'll get the drift:
"Courts have distinguished between copyright infringement and theft holding, for instance, in the United States Supreme Court case Dowling v. United States (1985), that bootleg phonorecords did not constitute stolen property and that "interference with copyright does not easily equate with theft, conversion, or fraud. The Copyright Act even employs a separate term of art to define one who misappropriates a copyright: '[...] an infringer of the copyright.'" The court said that in the case of copyright infringement, the province guaranteed to the copyright holder by copyright law—certain exclusive rights—is invaded, but no control, physical or otherwise, is taken over the copyright, nor is the copyright holder wholly deprived of using the copyrighted work or exercising the exclusive rights held."

But all this arguing doesn't answer the question that I'd most like to see you address, which is, "How does any of this justify piracy?"

1,553

(28 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I have never wanted to be friends with two people more than I want to be friends with Ryan and Colin.

And Brad. He was pretty cool too.

1,554

(261 replies, posted in Episodes)

Man, John is going to be psyched when he sees that there's four pages of discussion on his movie!  wink

I kid, of course. This topic is actually pretty interesting. Continue....

1,555

(316 replies, posted in Episodes)

Now THAT would have been an ending that fans hated. Say what you will about the current ending, but at least it fits into the overall tone and mythology of the show.

1,556

(316 replies, posted in Episodes)

Eddie wrote:

I can say with authority based on talking with someone who was on a conference call with ABC execs during that time that up until season 6, the island was supposed to be something very very different than what it was ultimately revealed to be.

Well, don't leave us hanging!

1,557

(28 replies, posted in Off Topic)

avatar wrote:

What's worse? Obscurantist academic writing, or fingernails on a chalkboard, or a dentist's drill, or this...?

Anakin: "You... are so... beautiful."
Padme: "It's only because I'm so in love."
Anakin: "No, it's because I'm so in love with you."
Padme: "So love has blinded you?"
Anakin: "Well that's not exactly what I meant."
Padme: "It's probably true."

Jesus, this reads like a Whose Line Is It Anyway parody of a soap opera.

1,558

(28 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I remember seeing a longer version of that.

1. Avoid alliteration. Always.

2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)

4. Employ the vernacular.

5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

8. Contractions aren't necessary.

9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

10. One should never generalize.

11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.

13. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

14. Profanity sucks.

15. Be more or less specific.

16. Understatement is always best.

17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.

19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

20. The passive voice is to be avoided.

21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

23. Who needs rhetorical questions?

1,559

(473 replies, posted in Episodes)

Did anyone suggest Neill Blomkamp for director yet? Because I really think he could pull it off.

Oh, it's not your fault. I just can't grasp it, and I don't really have enough time to devote to learning it right now.

Well, I really wanted to build an outline for the episode pages, but I guess there's no point in waiting if we can get started now.

Pick an episode, whichever's your favorite, and take notes on all the topics discussed. I'll do the same. That'll be the centerpiece of each page, I think. Everything else is just basic info to fill out the page. That should get us started right.

At this point I've totally given up on infoboxes. I think we can get on without them for now.

Sorry, I've had a PACKED schedule all through Thanksgiving, and unfortunately my wiki work got pushed to the wayside a little. I'm going to do more work on it tonight.

I think I'm in the minority in really liking Benjamin Button. Didn't DiF do a commentary that was lost to the ages? The Forrest Gump comparison is fair, but the original short story came out long before the book Forrest Gump. I also think that Benjamin Button is a far more introspective, thematically resonant film, even if that framing narrative feels tacked on.

1,564

(64 replies, posted in Off Topic)

But we can all agree on one thing. Die Another Day is horseshit.

1,565

(165 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I agree with Branco. George R.R. Martin was asked in an interview how he was able to write such interesting female characters. He responded, "Well, I've always thought of women as people."

1,566

(39 replies, posted in Episodes)

http://www.slashfilm.com/kevin-feige-sa … -and-more/

Good news, everyone! SHIELD won't make any sort of appearance in Iron Man 3, and Feige implies that that's the direction that all of Phase 2 will take.

1,567

(165 replies, posted in Off Topic)

fcw wrote:
Dorkman wrote:

*ALIENS is the outlier -- Ripley is driven to action by her mommy-instinct, instead, which is I'm not sure is better.

To be fair, Cameron inherited Ripley as a character, and much of what she does isn't just to protect a child. Also, Aliens has Private Vasquez, who (on screen, at least) isn't taught how to be tough or honourable by any man.

Don't forget Neytiri, who teaches the bumbling idiot Jake how to be as strong as she is.

1,568

(165 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Joss Whedon is by no means a feminist icon in anyone's eyes. At least, I certainly hope not. I admire his attitude on the subject, though, as well as his willingness to totally follow through on that attitude in his work. Joss is a great writer, a good director, and his feminist ideals shouldn't be prominent when discussing him.

1,569

(22 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Not to spoil anything (because there is a small element to be spoiled), but the way the film deals with his assassination is ham-fisted. I felt a little insulted, to be honest. Which sucks, because everything that comes before it is so damn good. It's one of those things where there's a perfect moment to end the film on, and then there's still ten minutes left. I get that you kind of have to include his death, but surprisingly the movie would have been a lot stronger if it were excised entirely.

1,570

(22 replies, posted in Off Topic)

It's 2 in the morning, so these are my thoughts in brief. It's good, guys. Really good. Spielberg is, for the most part, restrained and not cloying. The screenplay is pretty phenomenal. The character development of both Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln is just plain great. This Lincoln isn't the perfect hero that history (and his peers) makes him out to be, but Spielberg doesn't just give him a limp and say, "Look, he's flawed!" Lincoln has equal passion and depression, but above all he has hope. It doesn't go out of its way to either glorify the man or point out his flaws. It's just a portrait of him, as he was while he lived.

Daniel Day-Lewis has already won the Oscar. Don't even bother with the nominations, it's his to lose. He plays Lincoln with tremendous, but subtle, physical presence. Also, I wouldn't rule out Tommy Lee Jones for a Supporting Actor nod for his Thaddeus Stevens. Sally Field, also great, doing great work with a character that may have turned one-note in the hands of a lesser actress. And for you Breaking Bad fans, Gale Boetticher himself, Mr. David Costabile, turns in a great supporting turn as abolitionist James Ashley.

Lincoln is a movie made entirely by professionals at the top of their game. There isn't a weak link here. Everything works like clockwork, and the movie has a very natural flow to it. The only glaring flaw is the ending, which feels tacked on, unnecessary, and is poorly executed. Other than that, though, Lincoln is pretty much a triumph for everyone involved. Is it wondrous, revelatory, a sight to behold? No. What it is is 99.9% solid. How many movies this year can you honestly say that about? I can think of few.

1,571

(22 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I'll be seeing it tonight, so I'll update this post with my thoughts when I get back. Has anyone else seen it? Is it good, or a War Horse repeat?

1,572

(216 replies, posted in Episodes)

Lamer wrote:

I don't think the Catwoman movie was sexist.

I'm staying out of this argument for the most part, because I don't have strong feelings one way or the other. I tend to swing towards Brian, but I'm being persuaded. But I'll enter the fray to respond to this.

WHAT IN THE WHAT.

1,573

(216 replies, posted in Episodes)

Phi wrote:

Finished the commentary. I'm stunned that there are apparently large numbers of people who haven't heard of shawarma. I could probably walk to three shawarma places from my house...

...ok I just checked the internets and apparently I live in 'the shawarma capital of the world', or at least outside of the middle east, so I have sampling bias. Anyway, it's delicious. And a bit sketchy since they saw the meat off this large rotating column of meat of unknown history. A delicious large rotating column of meat. And then they add garlic and who cares what else and stuff it into a pita.

Did they have the premiere of The Avengers in your neighborhood?

1,574

(216 replies, posted in Episodes)

Same here. I thought my Handbrake/VLC Player needed updating, but it turns out the Avengers DVD specifically cannot be played on computers. Because everyone who bought the Blu-Ray is a potential pirate. Fuck us, right?

1,575

(29 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I'm really thankful for Down In Front. Over the past few years, it's been a driving force in my life, and I've learned a tremendous amount from both everyone on the podcast and everyone on the forums. This is a community full of bold, intelligent thinkers who, unlike most people on the internet, know what they're talking about.

This is such a weird thing to say about a podcast, of all things, but Down In Front really has shaped the course of my life. It filled me with knowledge, yes, but more importantly it filled me with ambition. I might not be on the path I'm on now if I hadn't found this podcast, and this community. It's unprecedented to find a corner of the internet filled with like-minded people who share the same interests who don't spend all their time arguing with each other. There are no DiF "power users." There are just "users." This isn't some secret club. That's incredible. That's something special.