The Weird, Random, and Interesting things that Fit Nowhere Else Thread..

[Valsuelm]

"The moment you banish Him ..." 

 

I had no idea the Goblin King was capable of such well-spoken erudition. 

 

 

Are you kidding? Not only is he a well spoken erudite, he can sing and dance!

 

[ManifestedISO]

Heh, technically very correct response, well-played. Nice to see you lay down the sweeping generalization gatling gun and whip out a clever dagger. 

[Oerwinde]

 

I don't know if this has been posted anywhere, but I found Stephen Fry's view on God very interesting.

 

Thats pretty much how I view god. My wife is a christian and raises our kids as such. We were watching the Prince of Egypt and when the plague of the first born starts up my daughter asks what's happening. My response "God is murdering children". Wife was horrified.

[Marcvs Caesar]

Interesting?

 

That's the pretty much the most common archetypical atheist viewpoint.

 

Nonsense. His argument was more anti-christian/muslim/jew than anything else.

 

Personally I'm an atheist because basically I have no reason whatsoever to believe in deities (much less religion). I'm not against religion itself, I quite like the hellenistic religions and I've always admired "greek" mythology. I am however against the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) in particular. Those I despise.

[Valsuelm]

You say you're an atheist, and that you pretty much view God the way Fry does, which pretty much is just a confirmation of what I said, then go on to say what I wrote, which you just confirmed, was nonsense. Misunderstanding what I wrote? Or does it bother you that you have an archetypical view perhaps?

[Raithe]

the Guardian - Fire in Major Russian Library

 

 

 

A fire that ripped through one of Russia’s largest university libraries is believed to have damaged more than 1m historic documents, with some describing the fire as a cultural “Chernobyl”.

 

The blaze, which began on Friday and was still not completely out on Saturday evening, ravaged 2,000 square metres (21,500 sq ft) of the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences (Inion) in Moscow, which was created in 1918 and holds 10m documents, some of which date back to the 16th century.

Vladimir Fortov, the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said: “It’s a major loss for science. This is the largest collection of its kind in the world, probably equivalent to the [uS] Library of Congress.

 

“One can find documents there that are impossible to find elsewhere, all the social sciences use this library. What has happened here is reminiscent of Chernobyl,” he said, referring to the 1986 nuclear catastrophe.

 

Fortov said about 15% of the collection had been damaged at the library, which includes one of the world’s richest collections of Slavic language works, but also documents from Britain, Italy and the US.

 

Fortov told Kommersant FM radio that much of the damage was caused by water from the firefighting operations.

No one was injured in the fire, which broke out on Friday evening on the library’s second floor and continued burning throughout Saturday despite 200 firefighters’ efforts to douse the blaze.

 

Library authorities initially said the documents were not in danger, but once the fire caused 1,000 sq metres of the roof to collapse they were less certain about the risk to the collection.

A rescue service source told state-run RIA Novosti news agency it was impossible to remove the books because of the intense heat in the building.

According to Russian media, investigators looking into the cause of the blaze suspect an electrical short-circuit was to blame.

 

 

 

Is it jaded and cynical of me, or just part of the in-built paranoia of a gamer... but why do I have a small part of my mind pondering "Just what did Vladimir get out of this happening?" 

[Valsuelm]

 

Always a sad day when a library goes up in flames.

[Marcvs Caesar]

You say you're an atheist, and that you pretty much view God the way Fry does, which pretty much is just a confirmation of what I said, then go on to say what I wrote, which you just confirmed, was nonsense. Misunderstanding what I wrote? Or does it bother you that you have an archetypical view perhaps?

 

Which god? The christian god? Yes I'm an anti-christian and yes I think to some extent along the same lines Fry does. But not every atheist is anti-christian, in fact most probably aren't. To call it an archetype based on the views of two people is indeed nonsense.

[ManifestedISO]

You guys didn't see the dragon's note at the top of the forum. Read it and understand. 

[Valsuelm]

You guys didn't see the dragon's note at the top of the forum. Read it and understand. 

 

I think if you think that applies to the current conversation as it so far has gone in regards to any kind of negativity, you're seeing something that isn't there. That said, I've noted that whenever religion of any kind is brought up on many internet forums, very often some folks get over-sensitive 'ZOMG we're talking about religion! And two people are seeming to be disagreeing! Halp!' It's unfortunate as I think the topics of religions and spirituality are often potentially some of the most interesting conversations to be had.

 

@Marcvs - I never did base that on two people, as I previously stated in this thread, before you joined the conversation. That said, I'll drop this conversation all together at this point as things are being misperceived and this is a topic that folks tend to get passionate about, sometimes hot about. Though I don't think we're even at a lukewarm stage yet, someone apparently already thinks otherwise.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Valsuelm

[Oerwinde]

I think the biggest thing that needs to come in to play when discussing religion is respect. Athiests aren't somehow flawed or "don't understand gods love" or whatnot just because they dont believe, and religious people arent morons because they have faith. One of the best discussions I experienced online was a baptist answering questions from athiests. When both sides can respect the other you can get great discussions.

[Barothmuk]

**** that.

[Marcvs Caesar]

 

You guys didn't see the dragon's note at the top of the forum. Read it and understand. 

 

@Marcvs - I never did base that on two people, as I previously stated in this thread, before you joined the conversation. That said, I'll drop this conversation all together at this point as things are being misperceived and this is a topic that folks tend to get passionate about, sometimes hot about. Though I don't think we're even at a lukewarm stage yet, someone apparently already thinks otherwise.

 

 

I just want to say that maybe the archetype you perceive is due to the social and political movement called New Atheism.

[Woldan]

Thats certainly weird. And awesome. So Nissan is returning to the endurance racing (12 and 24 hour ALMS series) with a LMP1. 

 

Whats weird is the car has a front engine and front wheel drive, its pretty much an endurance race car in reverse. They claim its silly fast on the straights (beyond 350 km/h) and I bet it is, the engine layout allows a very low drag design and the underfloor diffuser can be shaped more efficiently because there is not a huge engine sitting on it. 

 

The combustion engine drives the front wheels, flywheel KERS can power front and/or rear wheels. With combustion engine and KERS activated at the same time it is supposed to generate in excess of 1500 horsepower. 

 

Just as a reminder, the last 60 years all the 24 hour races were won with RWD mid engine cars. 

 

Its ugly, but in racing beauty lies in in its function. I already like it. 

 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2015 by Woldan

[Raithe]

And for the Broadway fans out there...

Playbill - Rent star Anthony Rapp on the creation of the first ever BroadwayCon
 

Tony Award-nominated Rent and If/Then star Anthony Rapp spoke with Playbill.com about BroadwayCon, a new convention for Broadway fans and theatregoers, which he created along with event organizers Melissa Anelli and Stephanie Dornhelm. The inaugural event will arrive in New York City next winter.

Set to take place Jan. 22-24, 2016, at the New York Hilton Midtown, BroadwayCon was created as a one-of-a-kind weekend that will bring theatre fans together with the performers and creators of their favorite shows.
 
The event promises "panels, performances, workshops, keynotes, autograph and photo opportunities, concerts, meet-and-greets, Q&As and a lot more."
According to Rapp, the "origin story" of BroadwayCon dates back to the early days of Rent on Broadway when he was starring as Mark in the landmark Jonathan Larson musical at the Nederlander Theatre. It was there he met BroadwayCon co-creator and original Rent fan Anelli outside the stage door.
 
"I met Melissa when she was 16, outside the Nederlander Theatre after Rent," he said. "I started communicating with her and a bunch of other people, who were also active on AOL Rent chat boards. This was before 'stage dooring' became this hectic crazy thing. Sometimes there were just a couple people outside the theatre. Not hundreds like it is today. I was 24 at the time, and I would talk to them and get to know them."
 
The two ultimately became close friends and Anelli went on to write the New York Times best-selling book "Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon." Through her company Mischief Management, LLC (co-owned with her business partner Stephanie Dornhelm), Anelli organized the annual Harry Potter conference LeakyCon (hosted by the Harry Potter fan site, The Leaky Cauldron), which has now morphed into GeekyCon.
 
After Rapp attended GeekyCon, which included the actor performing a "La Vie Boheme" parody song all about the different fan-doms, Anelli and Dornhelm approached the actor with the idea of creating a convention geared specifically toward the Broadway community.
 
The team conceived BroadwayCon as a three-day event that will give fans an all-access experience with performers, musicians, dancers, choreographers, writers, designers and more. Anelli and Dornhelm's  Mischief Management, LLC, is also the organizer of BroadwayCon.
 
Rapp said BroadwayCon will be "much more democratized" compared with other large-scale conventions like ComicCon and added that "part of the mission is to be charitable."
Tickets, which go on sale March 15, will include built-in access to autographs and photo opportunities with Broadway professionals. In addition, a portion of all proceeds from tickets benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
 
"We want this to be a way that theatre artists can directly interact with fans," he said. "We're all human beings, and we're all part of this community together. Beyond on-on-one interactions, we want to give up-close-and-personal experiences of the shows from panels, too."
 
While programming is still being mapped out, Rapp revealed a few ideas on his wish list.
 
"We've already begun asking fans what they'd like to see via our Twitter account, but I think it would be great to have panels on some of the classic shows from Broadway – a roundtable forum with the creators on how those shows happened. There's also performance opportunities, where people could come together who might never get together and then perform songs they'd never sing. I've always been fascinated how rock and theatre influence each other. Also, having master class situations where young composers get to come on and share a new piece and then an established composer gets to talk to them about what they wrote. Tech people could do panels, too."
 
Rapp added that in its conception, BroadwayCon is not an industry-directed event. It is completely organized to generate an ultimate experience for Broadway fans.
Having come of age at a time when the Internet and social media hadn't truly changed how fans access Broadway stars, Rapp explained that BroadwayCon will also enable some of his colleagues to share the one-on-one experiences he had during Rent.
 
"It's a chance for us to interact and share and contribute and give back," he said. "When there's a community that organizes around something that they're passionate about, then it becomes special. As a theatre artist, when we're on stage, of course the applause is nice, but to directly interact and share with these people is very rewarding. Rent was extraordinary and so was the community of fans who gathered around it, and I'd love other theatre artists to experience just a taste of that."

For full details on participation options and special hotel rates for the convention, visit BroadwayCon.com.

[JadedWolf]

A bit morbid, but I thought this was a remarkable, thought provoking article:

 

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel-tracks-a-dutch-euthanasia-patient-in-her-final-days-of-life-a-1016675.html

[Namutree]

 

I don't know if this has been posted anywhere, but I found Stephen Fry's view on God very interesting.

If it turns out God is real I'll grovel like a pathetic worm. 

[ManifestedISO]

Literally every time I strap in for a visit to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is how I feel. 

 

 

Art design by Nik Holmes

[Raithe]

BBC News - Are the Rich Winning the Cultural War?

 

 

 

That Britain's cultural class war is complicated is perhaps most apparent in the fact that Labour's new culture spokesman, Chris Bryant, was educated at private Cheltenham College while the Conservative Culture Secretary Sajid Javid is a bus driver's son from a comprehensive school.

 

When Mr Bryant said: "We can't just have a culture dominated by [Eton-educated] Eddie Redmayne and James Blunt and their ilk," he uncorked a fizzing bottle of sensitivity and resentment and not just about acting.

 

Mr Bryant's comments have opened up the debate about worsening social mobility and the growing power and dominance of an affluent London-based elite, benefitting from private school and Oxbridge connections and the exclusive, because of benefit cuts, ability to ride out the years of training thanks to the bank of Mum and Dad. Mr Bryant emphasised that his concern was not directed against any individual but against the inequality of opportunity.

 

But James Blunt, educated like actor Benedict Cumberbatch at Harrow School, responded with fury, calling Bryant "a prejudiced wazzock" teaching "the politics of jealousy" instead of aspiration, and claimed he, Blunt, was himself the victim of anti-upper class discrimination.

 

Even before the Bryant-Blunt row, many prominent actors and performers, including Julie Walters, Sandie Shaw and David Morrissey, had been speaking out about their concerns.

Impact of cuts

 

They cited increased art and drama school tuition fees, benefit changes especially when it comes to renting in London, and the rise of an intern culture with very low pay rates for those starting out, which they feel are closing down prospects for talented working-class men and women. Judi Dench has said she is regularly asked for help by aspiring actors unable to take on such expense.

 

Walters, who quit nursing against her mother's wishes to study drama in the early 1970s, got a full grant, and a salaried job at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre.

Local government spending cuts have closed down much of that sector. Walters has said it would be impossible for someone like her to embark on such a career now.

 

James Blunt claimed he was discouraged from a career in music, but it is clear that the old middle-class parental push towards "professions" such as stockbroking or law has declined.

Eton College is now as famous for nurturing talented actors such Tom Hiddleston, Damien Lewis and Dominic West as future prime ministers such as David Cameron.

As with sports such as rowing, private schools now seem to offer many of the artistic "extras" that have started to disappear in the face of a more "vocational" push in the state-school sector.

 

Whether at the Olympics or the Oscars, it can seem that Britain is increasingly represented at an elite level by people who had access to an exclusive paid-for education.

Complex problem

 

Edward Kemp, the director of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) one of the UK's most prestigious drama schools, says the problem is more complex.

Speaking before the current row, he pointed out that the number of Rada applicants from working-class backgrounds had actually been going up - 36% of places in the previous year had gone to students from families earning less than £25,000 a year.

 

Rada graduates from financially modest backgrounds such as Gemma Arterton and Ben Whishaw have achieved great success. But in what kind of roles? Chris Bryant in his comments on culture also expressed concern that a preoccupation with Downton-Abbey-style upper-class and period drama meant TV was no longer offering roles that reflected the full diversity of British society. And that is without mentioning the challenge faced by actors of colour, such as Sophie Okonedo, who has won a Tony award on Broadway alongside Denzel Washington but has found few roles in the UK.

 

David Oyelowo, star of the hit film Selma, tweeted this week: "I had to leave Britain to have an acting career." He has said that he had been told by a commissioning executive: "If it's not Jane Austen or Dickens, the audience don't understand." The charge is that a narrowing elite of decision makers are closing down who gets represented.

 

Mr Kemp told the Independent: "It would be great to have another working-class drama, but where are those stories being told?

"They're not - it's shows with dragons or people in tweed suits on bicycles."

 

Mr Bryant has harked back to the British social realism boom in art of the late 1950s and 1960s that put a cultural focus on the state-backed creative output of the industrial north of England, not London.

 

Working-class stars such as Stanley Baker, from Mr Bryant's Rhondda constituency, Albert Finney and Michael Caine and writers such as Shelagh Delaney emerged at this time.

Social inequality was at its lowest by the early 1970s. It was cool to be working class. Is that what's changed most? Even in pop music?

 

Rock journalist Simon Price believes that the 1990s generation that produced the Manic Street Preachers was the last to benefit from a genuinely meritocratic state-support system, and the days of musicians such as Joe Strummer playing down their middle class roots are long gone.

 

"These days whenever I hear of an up-and-coming band and I look into it, it seems more often than not they are from the 7% [of the population] who were privately educated. There's this myth that on YouTube if you have a good song it will spiral, but it does take money."

 

Price says that changes to the benefits system have made it harder for working-class teenagers to develop their talent.

"David Cameron famously proclaims himself to be a fan of the Smiths. Well Morrissey spent years on the dole finding himself and finding his voice before launching his musical career."

It's hard to imagine any politician would advocate a more generous dole for aspiring pop stars.

 

But Price sees a direct link in the requirements now placed on benefit claimants to take whatever work they're told, and the focus on "vocational" training, which is undermining the very economically measurable success that Britain's creative industries are famous for.

 

The question underlying the current posh war remains: are too many careers increasingly an option only for those with the backing of an affluent family?

And what will Britain become if this continues?

 

 

[JadedWolf]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4pJdxC7MiI

[Malcador]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/06/pope-francis-parents-ok-smack-children-dignity

 

Ah, this Pope Francis. Nothing wrong with what he said, slapping your kid on the butt or whatever isn't the same as taking a PVC pipe to them or using an extension cord to whip them (Trinidad discipline, man)

[ShadySands]

 

It was one of Lockheed and the Navy's naval experiments of the 1990s and it still looks cutting edge today. Sea Slice was born to test technologies surrounding a low-draft, high-speed and super-stable modular surface combatant, the grand father of the controversial Littoral Combat Ship if you will. Now this $15 million quad-hull corvette can be yours for a paltry $180K.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXiPM0j2VBg

[Raithe]

For the gearheads out there...

 

http://youtu.be/tj9UwKQKE3A

[Blarghagh]

 

 

I don't know if this has been posted anywhere, but I found Stephen Fry's view on God very interesting.

If it turns out God is real I'll grovel like a pathetic worm. 

 

 

I don't know what I'll do, probably be gobsmacked beyond belief and mutter incessently about not making sense.

[Valsuelm]

I don't know what I'll do, probably be gobsmacked beyond belief and mutter incessently about not making sense.

 

What makes sense?