Gromnir

"Lol, that's what you call reputable? " nope. we said that you, and anybody else, can find reputable sources using those keywords. am gonna leave up to you to maintain your ignorance... or not. is actual kinda telling as your reaction is kinda the norm 'ccording to historians such as bruce pauley and gerhad botz-- austrian willful ignorance o' antisemitism is typical. is not historians writing 'bout austria circa 1940, but rather austria from pre ww 1 to 2000+. "So you had some bad experiences in Europe, I see. Ohh, what country(s)?" we had good experiences in europe. however, as a minority we found the bigotry in europe no better than the US. HA! Good Fun! ps am gonna concede that prof. pauley were given some kinda award by austria in spite o' his harsh portrayal o' antisemitism in austria.... and we has only read excerpts from the books by botz, pelinka and safrian.

And what kind of "reputable sources" would that be? Names? I don't get it. Last time (I think 2 years ago) somebody bit off the finger of a Rabbi. It turned out to be an angry Muslim. Well, **** happens. Best bomb Austria from Orbit for this crime. Maybe some of the older generations in their 80s and 90s (and mostly Viennese) have a rude spout. But that breed is dying out eventually. We're heading into the right direction, while the US is going backwards. You still haven't adressed my remarks on Antisemitishm in the US. again, do your own search as we not wanna be the cause o' further problems. type in words such as: karl pfeifer, antisemitism, austria, musllim, women, headscarf, jorg haider, etc. as for US antisemitism? sure it exists... is lots o' racism in the United States. your point? heck, you already forget our Pine Ridge post? *snort* is relative. ethnic diversity is much less pronounced in austria... homogeneous. but again, you wanna start a Austria is Not Antisemitic Thread, then be our guest. can see this one spiraling outta control. as an obvious minority living in europe, we were able to see firsthand how peoples were treated compared to in the US. didn't surprise us that in most places were treated with polite animosity. what did surprise us were the kinda endemic sneer folks reserved for US... were a surprise 'cause somehow once folks got to know Gromnir, they seemed unable to shrug off preconceptions. Americans is fat and stoopid. we were neither, and yet they refused to accept that maybe their preconceptions were skewed. you likes to finger-point, but you not deal so well when the finger points back at you, eh? btw, we got no problem with europe... save for the element o' snot-nosed brats who seeming like to find American Evil under every rock. we got the same element here in the US, so don't act as if we is singling out euros or austrians. you is angry that we suggest that austria is a non-factor since ww 1? well, from a geopolitical, cultural and economic pov, austria is... marginal. not makes it a bad place to live for most citizens. not makes you evil. HA! Good Fun!

Austria was the first country officially acknowledging Islam in 1908 in any European country. Also, last time I checked, we don't have much trouble with Muslims in Austria. 6% of the total population, but quite well integrated apart from some Turkish gangs trying to show who's the boss here. We don't have those ugly things going on like in the UK, Sweden etc. Also what do you mean with disturbing "recent history" with Jews? Unless 1938 is recent to you? Again, Jews are a growing minority here, because they apparently like it here. Unlike in the US, which has a fastly growing Neo-Nazi movement and lot's of Antisemitism (those Jewish Bankers should all go into prison wha wha!). ... am not gonna turn this into an austria bashing thread. will simply suggest that anybody with an internet search engine can looks for antisemitism in austria and be struck with a deluge o' info from reputable sources... and am not even gonna touch your neo-nazi comments. our views is based on personal experience in europe as well as from dealing with free speech and freedom o' religion colleagues in europe. if you honestly think austria not gots a strong, lingering antisemitic streak, then we suggest you is as self-deluded 'but your own nation as you is 'bout the Evils o' the US in libya. on the lighter side, Gromnir most often sees springfield armory 1911 variations at shooting competitions and have been told that they is the bestest handgun available for such events. while we personally cannot accurately fire a handgun to save our life, it is kinda amazing to see that updated colt .45's is still the premiere competition sidearm. though admittedly, we loves our karabiner 98k and we always attract a circle o' admirers at the range. HA! Good Fun!

ray white, a us geneticist, is the guy credited with pioneering dna fingerprinting. hot dogs and hand guns? am surprised you not mention freud, or were that too long ago? *snort* you ain't really gonna try and deny the antisemitism stuff is you? not wanna turn this into a austria-bashing thread, but austria's recent history with jews and muslims is... disturbing. but yeah, you got hand guns and hot dogs. HA! Good Fun!

non- factor v. backwater? now you split hairs. haven't been relevant since the end o' ww1, and am not gonna get into austrian contributions during ww2. am suspecting that the only thing that austria leads europe or world in is antisemitism... though spain and switzerland may have you beat with the jew and muslim discrimination in europe. HA! Good Fun!

I'm not imagining the US as a "Big Bad". The US has produced some of the smartest heads and personally, the Europeans owe it America to help them out if they ever get in serious trouble, just like America saved Europe from the Nazi menace and helped propping up devastated countries, including Austria. I've a lot respect for the US' (past). But even you must see that something skewed goes on in Washington DC. And Wall Street. something skewed goes on everywhere... if you look hard. and you is doing a real good impersonation o' somebody who sees American evils everywhere... this thread being only the most recent example o' your typical American Paranoia. to krez we were implying that austria is a euro backwater, not the eu as a whole. but trying to lump all european nations together to rate education, economy, tech, etc., is silly, no? HA! Good Fun!

"Soon the US and UK will be bancrupt, and nobody will shed a tear. Good riddance." "Well, we shall find out sooner than later." am not gonna retread and explore the stoopidity o' such a statements... on multiple levels, but if "sooner" is 20+ years... *shrug* look, we understand that as an austrian you is particular sensitive 'bout being "bullied" by more powerful nations, but the envy/wishful thinking is making you seem more than a little irrational. am understanding your desire to see an imagined Big Bad becomes marginalized, but you shouldn't hold your breath waiting. you have, at the very least, Decades o' US supremacy to endure 'fore you get your wish. and if such a collapse were to occur, it would be felt with cries o' despair even in euro backwaters. oh, and the +40 million food stamp recipients is not the result o' more impoverished Americans, but rather the result o' the repeal o' welfare reform. is extreme cases o' millionares with no monthly income is collecting food stamps. HA! Good Fun! ps the "snot-nosed euros" is not ever gonna be the ones the US gotta endure as that were directed at you personal rather than euros in general.

O'RLY? http://theintelhub.com/2011/06/23/the-ugly...ato-war-crimes/ you use lindauer as a source? "former cia asset" lindauer? *groan* why can't people let that poor woman alone? she is extreme earnest, but her story is just... sad. is not fun, not fun at all.

am far from downplaying. we suggested that there is enormous negative implications to the debt cycle spending, and in the past we has noted that the situation is dire... critical even. in the long run it would be better if there were a small US financial collapse now, 'cause in 15 or 20 years the cataclysm will be many times worse... and not just worse for the US, but for the world. so no, we ain't downplaying. we thinks the problem is fast approaching a point-of-no-return and the long-term implications is staggering. 'course that don't change that morgoth is talking out his arse. 'cept in morgoth wet dreams there is no imminent collapse, and you is sadly stuck with US military and financial superpower status for a considerable number o' years. what this thread does reveal is that some folks has created such a boogie man out o' the US that you suffer from the same kinda endemic and self-conflicted stoopidity that the soviet embraced during +50 years following ww2: you see US EVIL everywhere, while at the same time you long/dream/anticipate an immediate US collapse. the US is taking a backseat in libya, but still morgoth sees the Evil Empire pulling the strings. *snort* and btw, let us try not to forget that Gromnir loathes many aspects o' the US, and actual has valid reasons for our hate. unlike some snot-nosed euro who reads 'bout American evils while enduring your delusional envy, Gromnir grew up at Pine Ridge. we learned to hunt before we could ride a bike 'cause we rare had enough to eat as a child. there were one month during the winter of 77 when the only thing our family had to eat were jiffy pop (recovered from a crate that had literal fallen off a truck) and ketchup... had ketchup soup more days than we can recall during that winter. lack o' needed heat during winters. intermittent running water during summers. insufficient medical care 'til we were in our teens. Pine Ridge, while not as bad today as it were in the 70's, has child mortality rates that is worse than many 3rd world countries, and you is unlikely to find worse numbers for alcoholism and suicide outside o' active war zones. so, you think we go out of our way to defend the US? bah. nevertheless, in spite o' our... problems with the US, we does not ignore its relative global power. also, having taught and traveled in europe, we has the advantage o' perspective. we has seen what is the alternatives. preachy little... HA! Good Fun!

you is complete ignoring the relative amounts being invested if you compare say hungary with US. china admits to purchasing good will in europe... relative cheap. is not anywhere near proportional to the mind-boggling billion US investment. even so, if we accept morgoth's ridiculous proposition regarding imminent US collapse as a given, then the chinese is throwing away billions of future dollars to be getting... what? am thinking you overestimate the impact of 10-year bond monies on US business and consumer purchases o' chinese product. some suggest that the chinese act criminal, but nobody suggests that they is as criminally stoopid as moroth would have us believe. "Either way, the US is in a lots of debt, and debtor nations don't have a lot to say, it's the creditor nations that will eventually make policy." rrrrrriiiiiightt. is now safe to ignore morgoth on all things monetary as well as political. yeah, there is enormous negative implications for nations such as US and Japan concerning debt. such debt should be viewed as critical, but you is being willful ignorant if you wanna marginalize the impact o' such nations. HA! Good Fun!

No, a war usually never makes sense. what a bunch o' piffle. wars Always make sense. to get large numbers of folks fight each other in deadly combat requires a reason. only the barest fraction o' empathy is required to make sense o' any war. now maybe morgoth's middle-class, socialist pretensions is giving him the kinda clarity whereby he can makes a judgement that wars is typical unnecessary, but that is a complete different issue. fight over religion or land or resources or 'cause o' fear is reasons that may seem unnecessary to somebody like morgoth, but even he should be able to recognize that there is always a reason for many persons to collectively and willingly engage in life and death struggles. HA! Good Fun! ps we see that morgoth still gots some weird notions 'bout the stability o' the US. *sigh* am gonna keep simple and suggest that morgoth looks to china investment in 10-year US treasury bonds. china is not investing heavily in eu or japan, and for good reason(s). on the other hand, china invests huge in US bonds. is no wacky conspiracy... is no chinese plot. china is literal banking on a decade o' US stability.

kotor 2 even recognizing just how clumsy the climax and denouement o' kotor 2 were handled, obsidian's first game is still our favorite... by no small margin. HA! Good Fun!

you don't get it, do you? it Must be the fault o' the US. the US is Evil, so if evil happens in the world, there is a good chance that the US is responsible. HA! morgoth is just being true to form. a US led war that were presented as some kinda quick stroll in the park? heck, he can simply go back to some o' the libya posts on this board to see links to Reputable sources that were predicting that the libya conflict would be long and bloody. some euros may see as ironic that it were the absence o' US command experience and resources that exacerbated the situation in libya, but truth-to-tell, the failure to have political goals match commitment o' resources were identified from the start as problematic. others, such as morgoth, simply find some way to convince self that the US is the Big Bad yet again. HA! Good Fun! ps am gonna once again reiterate that we will happily watch libya burn while other european nations take a majority o' the heat for the conflagration. the rebels and the loyalists hate the US already, so no matter who wins, the situation for the US will not change appreciably. is not as if the complete instability in libya will result in more terrorist activities directed at the US, 'least nopt for the next few years. let the tribal factions slaughter each other for a change, and when the dust finally settles, they can go back to hating the US... but by then they is gonna hate the french and uk with almost equal venom.

Ulysses is the reader moved? is the reader a better person for having read the work? great literature reveals to us truths 'bout the human condition we may not have recognized. 'course not all lit is meant to enlighten. some lit is mere meant to entertain. the books we likes best is both profound AND entertaining. our reading o' Ulysses were neither profound nor entertaining. were a tedious (as 'posed to challenging) read that made us long for it to end. ack. sure, joyce is is a fantastic writer. can even argue that he is the bestest writer o' english novels and short fiction with only a handful o' others making up a list o' viable challengers. am even willing to concede that Ulysses is well-written. 'course we still hate it. joyce intended to write a book so profound and dense that it would require scholars to be spending their entire careers to fully plumb its depths. *groan* am calling it self-indulgent piffle. we hate Ulysses, and we not mind admitting. HA! Good Fun!

well, you can feels justified in dismissing pidesco comments... if that makes you feel better. "I can enjoy the characters I empathized with in the show, and I can appreciate the sense of amoral political intrigue the plot creates, but it's still clumsy, mechanical and poorly suited for prose, really." this coming from somebody who lauds tolkien? while tolkien typically takes a beating in academia (outside o' a notable university in england,) his stories IS well-loved. but even amongst the scholars who adore tolkien (snort) you will see an admission that tolkien's prose is, at best, "clumsy" and "mechanical." nobody has outdone tolkien in building a complete and coherent english mythology. nevertheless, is general accepted that tolkien were only an adequate wordsmith. so, feel free to dismiss pidesco opine... 'cause am seeing an irredeemable conflict that effective undercuts pidesco judgement regarding fantasy lit. HA! Good Fun!

It's not really a good example if you haven't actually played it, ffs. sure it is. our point were not that arrival were bad dlc. the point were that in spite o' our reservations regarding arrival, we almost purchased solely 'cause it were presented as advancing core story aspects. HA! Good Fun!

High as a giant gorilla atop the Empire State. It's just something that has always interested me. A lot of people dislike it because they don't understand it, but then I notice they either had horrible maths teachers or never bothered to even try at it. But hey, what do I know, I only tutored kids in it for 2 years and study it as my second science major. None of which disproves my 'high as an exploded suicide bomber' theory. You have obviously just been high quite a long time. I am confused. I think once people start describing maths majors as permanently high, the word starts to lose its negative connotations. Which is fine by me. Rock on, I'm high! a math major cannot be permanently high? our time in berkeley would suggest otherwise. actually, Gromnir's 3rd year roommate, a math major, were preternaturally and perpetually high. our roomie were from the netherlands, and we were actual kinda envious that a guy who spent 90% of his waking hours fried could maintain his gpa. *chuckle* we were the first guy to tell him that he should use deodorant as he had a noticeable funk. we thought he were gonna be angry when we informed him o' his bo problem, but he thanked us. he were mortified that he had been stinky for two years without anybody informing him that his presence were noisome. in any event, nothing 'bout being a math major precludes being wasted outta your gourd. am suspecting that fully 1/4 o' the math majors at ucb were high more often than our roomie. oh, and ain't krez a former math major? am recalling that you were gonna drop-out. belated congrats if you has returned to your studies. am always surprised and relieved when an ex-student returns to finish off his/her studies, since it happens so rare. HA! Good Fun! ps the guy we roomed with kicked our arse in chess 'bout 90% o' the time we played.... and he were high 'bout 50% o' the times we played. *grumble*

unless you is a fan o' the books, we suspect that the show's lack o' focus on a specific storyline and handful o' characters coulda' been disturbing. also, while we understand that it is sacrilege 'mongst sci-fi/fantasy nerdlings to criticize sean bean, boromir's performance were little better than the mouth-breather they got to play jon snow. well, at least eddard is dead, so we not have to endure sean phoning it in for a second season. we enjoyed 'cause we like the books... but am not sure if we would go so far as to call a "triumph." however, am gonna agree that is probable the best swords and sorcery kinda fantasy show we can recollect. HA! Good Fun!

no. your point being... in any event, enoch is being kinda selective 'bout his response to Gromnir's post. am wondering if is intentional. meh. is not simple the time and effort, but the inspiration. while we has zippo desire to be a moderator of an internet message board (particularly the low-cost advertising space that is developer/publisher message boards,) we can understand the desire o' some folks to support the community. feel like they is contributing to community? maybe even feel like they facilitate useful feedback that results in better obsidian games? etc. such motivations is not alien. being a moderator is time consuming and thankless, but the choice to accept an invitation to moderate does not strike us as bizarre or even odd. is not the way Gromnir would spend his "time and effort," but we understand why some folks does take up the burden. heck, some folks even want to be moderators. go figure. enoch ignored the motivation aspect o' our observation. funroc's motivation to post info-bytes, on the other hand, strike us as... odd. rather, is odd if funroc is not an obsinatie. HA! Good Fun! ps for those we predict will miss the forest for the trees, am not saying it is weird to post developer info on a developer board. however, the number o' posts, and the obscurity o' the references from funroc is peculiar... is unusual enough to inspire this thread.

disturbing or disturbed? is a subtle but important distinction, no? in any event, am not actually wanting an answer related to funroc identity. the info he/she provides is sometimes interesting, nevertheless, as much as we suspect that he/she is an obsinatie, it would be kinda disappointing to know that an obsinatie were responsible for plethora o' the Look-At-Obsidian posts on the general board. am thinking that the question o' funroc identity would most intrigue an obsinatie, and as Gromnir is not... *shrug* HA! Good Fun!

Have you read the book of the new sun? I concur that The Book of the New Sun is the most interestingly written fantasy-ish fiction I've read. is our opinion that the short sun books is revealing the high point o' wolfe craftsmanship, but am understanding why they is a difficult slog for many readers. on the other hand, the wizard knight books is surprisingly accessible... and probable equal well-written as new sun. am gonna concede that we has never read the soldier series, so our knowledge o' the wolfe catalog is incomplete. am having an author friend who insists that the soldier books is actually the betest mr. wolfe has written, but we refuse to read-- gives our friend something to berate us for each time we meet. HA! Good Fun!

If funcroc is as good as I am giving him credit for, he should be able to detect that there is a thread going on about him on this forum. ... am not seeing as "good" per se. once funroc started monopolizing the obsidian general portion o' the fora, we assumed that funroc were an obsidian alt. no offense, but am finding it hard to believe that anybody would genuinely care enough to hunt down the info-bytes he/she (seems masculine, but you can never be certain) finds unless he/she were somehow connected to obsidian... past or present. "good" only applies if funroc is not having a connection with obsidian. after all, is not so hard to Find info if you know such info exists, and you already know where to look. however, if funroc is an ordinary (albeit somewhat snarky and dismissive... not that we is complaining) poster who has an inordinate interest in the comings-and-goings o' obsinaties, then we concede that his efforts is impressive... if a little disturbing. HA! Good Fun!

That's fairly usual, isn't it? I guess. I just think they could have expanded on the actual conflict in the game a bit more ... maybe an additional "major" quest for one of the factions in a DLC, rather than kind of "okay, let's take a minute away from this conflict to go on a side journey" type deal. *shrugs* am actually preferring a tangential focus for these dlc offerings. mass effect 2's "arrival" dlc is a good example o' why we want to keeps such stuff insular and discreet from the main story arc. am understanding that arrival answers some big mass effect story questions, but from what we hear 'bout the shooter gameplay focus of the final dlc, we has zero interest in playing. makes us feel conflicted. based on hints dropped in me and me2, we thinks we gots a pretty good handle on the direction bio is going with the story o' me. nevertheless, we admits that although "arrival" sounded 'bout as appealing as gargling with battery acid, we almost purchased... just to see some reaper questions answered. bioware game content dlc has been very much hit-and-miss. dlc is frequently shallow and short... obviously rushed developments focused on making ea money without much cost to developer or publisher. shadowbroker were fun, but most other such stuff we has played were hardly worth the purchase. thankfully, the dlc has been tangential, and we has not felt that bioware held the story hostage with their dlc... by skipping dlc, we were not missing out on integral story development aspects. keep tangential... or improve enormous. HA! Good Fun!

is not "fence-sitting" for Gromnir. we is using the primary definition o' ambivalent: we has conflicting opinions 'bout da2. is some things that da2 did well. is some things 'bout da2 that is irredeemable. is not that we cannot decide or choose, but rather that we is surprised by the degree that da2 is good And bad. HA! Good Fun!

qucik note: didn't the biowarians spend money on a language expert for da:o? thought it were a waste... until we played da2 and we were called 'sirrah' 'bout 1000 times. now we get that it weren't actually "sirrah," but am suspecting that some clown at bio were playing a joke on all the fans. HA! Good Fun!