As a side note, I noted in the comments:
Heck people don't get the scale between the Earth and the Moon. The distance is so great that all the other planets of our solar system could fit in between the Earth and the Moon, while at aphelion anyhow, and have a bit of room to spare. If you arrange the planets pole to pole, then you can do it during the average distance of the moon's orbit. You can't pull the trick off while in perigee though as it gets about 27 kilometers too close, though this sort of shows the scale of the orbital eccentricity.

Then consider it completely awesome since with the scale and perspective presented there's no way you could differentiate the actual elliptical orbits from perfectly circular orbits. Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus all have an eccentricity of about 5% while Neptune's is less than 1%.

Well... My mom filled out a raffle ticket on my name when i was two, we won a SAAB 96 and traded it for this model, 99. Almost the same color (metallic paint was for US export model...). My family kept it for 25 years, it served us really well. I learned to drive with it and that thing handles like a dream (it has heavy steering but is is so stable and responsive, just wonderful, plus ours had aftermarket short gearbox from police unit and bored cylinders, small tweaks to oomph the torque for caravan use. Finnish police used SAAB for a loong time, it accelerated like a rocket..).

Seeing the inside of that just brings me memories. Mom, Dad, my big brother and me and a full sized double bass, all inside (you can't transport it outside when it's freezing, the thing can explode..). It meant that i had to ride shotgun, seat fully front and back against the front door, head on dashboard. Backseat folded and mom and bro at the back, equally cramped. We used to say that first comes the bass, then the family if they fit in and there is always room in the boot (joke.. ). The day he started to play cello was a blessing and a curse. Have you ever had to live with a person that learns to play cello? It's horrible but i paid him back when i got full blown PA in my room, cabinets from floor to ceiling.. Musicians family is always a bit eccentric and weird..

My dad still has SAAB (fourth one) as they are just amazing to drive, handles winter conditions like nothing and are great for long roadtrips. I just hope i can get him the Citroen CX he has wanted from his teens...

Firstly, I wouldn't presume to know all of the accents in any country I've ever lived in, so I'm shocked you do. And yes, I know the difference between a rural Irish accent and a Dublin accent, although let's face it, if Gillen had put on a true rural Irish accent, most people would have had a hard time understanding it. Also, he is an eccentric doctor who probably puts on airs to seem more mysterious, sounds like a solid character backstory to me.

Secondly, in the trailer and movie, you actually hear a mashup of different actors' voices in the confessional to specifically cloud who might be the culprit. If you re-watch (say, by downloading it) it you might hear one voice at first and then another a few seconds later. While I do agree the identity of culprit may not drive the plot of the entire movie, it isn't irrelevant as every encounter with a new person has you wondering "is this the guy?"

As for watching it in a cinema, let's open up that discussion. Movie theatres are run by cheap dickheads and I am refusing to reward them by not going. Case in point: Popcorn is sold at 12.75x cost, pop at 4-6x cost, other fast food joints within the place are up to 3x more expensive than outside and you couldn't bring your own food if you wanted to because they won't let you. Tickets are more expensive than a cheap motel room. I have to sit in a room with 100 other people (who might have kids with them depending on the movie) who will no doubt find a way to ruin my movie-going experience. The theatre plays up to 30 minutes of commercials and trailers for things I could easily see at home on my own goddamn time. In some countries movies have intermissions like I am watching a five act Shakespearean play and not a dumbass Michael Bay movie, and then they play more commercials before they restart.

Movie theatres are dumb and should be reserved for those movies that deserve them, not just because you save money but also because every penny you don't give to theatre owners is for the betterment of society.

"What an eccentric performance."

That's almost exactly what I just said 17-18kg in earth terms. Do you think laid on your back you could easily throw a 17kg object 1.5-2m upwards?

He's not doing a push up he's trying to jump upright. Launching nearly 20kg of weight far enough to get to your feet would take some doing that way I'd say. Just lifting 20kg with the arms alone is an effort never mind throwing it which is effectively what's happening here.

This is part of the reason I defaulted to thinking in terms of rocketry as it's not as simple as just someone trying to lift something, they are trying to propel themselves 1-2m upwards with only a thrust from the arms. Much better to wiggle around/push up to get to your knees so one could bring one's legs muscles to bear (made very difficult by hard to bend suit).

Frankly I think it would be a total pain in the arse getting back upright. If it weren't for the suit you could easily push up to your knees and then straighten your legs but the inflation is going to make that very hard work (but doable after a struggle to one knee as other video footage proves).

The alternative however which sparked this whole argument i.e. lay on your front and push off with your arms. That I think would be considerably harder than you are making out. Throwing a 17kg weight with only your arms over 1m in height is not what I'd call effortless.

My old CRT monitor probably weighs about 20kg, it'd take everything I had to throw that over 1m up into the air. Without the power of your thigh muscles and the rigidity of your spine 20kg is quite a lot really.

How high can you "jump" with only your arms? (like those super push-ups where you clap your hands in between to show off) maybe a foot or two if your really really strong? So with the extra weight of a suit and reduced gravity multiplying the result by 6 under lunar gravity, 6feet is probably just about attainable for someone in peak physical shape. But it's defiantly not what I'd call easy!


Re: conspiracies The only one I really take at all seriously any more is the idea that 2001 (esp the book) was perhaps (very) loosely based on actual events. I have time for it simply because of Arthur C. Clarke himself who was going to give an interview (which he rarely does) on Project Camelot of all things but died about 2 weeks before it happened. If you know anything about project camelot you'll know whatever he had to say was going to be mental but then again he was very old and eccentric and plenty other people involved in the space program have "jumped the shark" so to speak. (Edgar Mitchell talks about aliens on a regualr basis, Buzz Aldrin has spoken about monoliths on Phobos, pilots being followed by "Foofighters" in WW2 etc. etc.)

But it's basically wishful thinking on my part, the story and implications are remarkably plausible for what they are but that is all they are. Combined with the whole Jack Parsons/Alastair Crowley connection to the JPL my creative juices start flowing. However the obvious counter argument i.e. that the world is largely run by genuine lunatics is never far from my mind either (look at the whole "men who stare at goats" thing).

I'll listen to anyone and some I'm even prepared to believe on their own terms but I have to defer to actual evidence where it exists (or does not exist). Consequently while I'll listen to someone like John Leer talking about stuff that would seem outlandish even in a science fiction story, people why claim the moon landing was a hoax tend to get the cold shoulder as it's pretty demonstrably not true/hard to believe.

I realise that's kind of backwards but willing suspension of disbelief is a lot easier when there's really no tangible evidence either way. (why I suspect huge incomprehensible delusions like those espoused by many religions get so much traction. It's easier to believe the big lie than the small one)

Jolly entertaining though regardless

Lately the problem I'm having with videos like these is distinguishing the ones who are stone-mad eccentrics from the ones who may genuinely have special needs / learning difficulties and are making a real earnest effort to do something.

As someone who grew up with games, to the point that the medium has become the driving force for my life and career, I was turned off by the previews of the film. I can't describe why. I definitely felt... like Pixar had no "right" to touch on the medium. Like they wouldn't get it. Like it was pandering to fans of the, as I like to call it jokingly, "superior medium", simply because we've had a solid 40+ years of gaming culture, and a solid 10-15 years of it in the mainstream.
I watched the film for the first time today, and I fucking loved it. It was classic Pixar storytelling, with just the right nods to the subtleties and eccentricities of video games to be really endearing, while avoiding pandering to the audience.
Given the sheer variety of worlds that video games have to offer, I was a little disappointed (on the nit-picky scale) that they didn't explore more settings, but other than that, it's definitely in my book for being on par with all other Pixar films.
If it failed for any identifiable reason, I'd guess that either A) the film-going public is still not in touch with the medium, B) film-going public are turned off by the medium, or C), there were still a few too many gaming in-jokes for the general populace to enjoy (of which there were quite a few, at least in the first half).

Either way, this post got me to finally watch the film.

Also: did the post change? I could swear it had different dialogue when I watched it earlier...

Guy's kind of an eccentric, or just wierd

As an introvert with eccentric style, I really like it here in Denmark. I can have whatever hair I want or dress however and no one bothers me. Everyone here is polite but keeps to themselves. Really nice.

I love you, dft.
In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
Ideas for more Die Hard sequels.

Live and Let Die Hard - John McClane is hired by the MI1 to stop an eccentric evil genius from destroying the world.

Live Each Day As If You Will Die Hard Tomorrow - After being diagnosed with cancer, John McClane travels the country, checking off items on his bucket list in this heartwarming tale of self discovery.

Only the Good Die Hard Young - After Billy Joel's bass player sprains his wrist, John McClane is hired on as an unlikely side man.

Live by the Sword, Die Hard by the Sword - Sir Johnus McClanus takes down a brutal feudal lord in this medieval prequel.

I Do or Die Hard - John McClane races against the clock to make it to the alter after his bachelor party gets out of hand in this riotous comedy.

To Die Hard For - John McClane helps Nicole Kidman to murder Tom Cruise.

Curl Up and Die Hard - Hilarity ensues as John McClane is enlisted to coach the Jamaican Olympic Curling Team in this vaguely racist Disney comedy.

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

Ideas for more Die Hard sequels.
Live and Let Die Hard - John McClane is hired by the MI1 to stop an eccentric evil genius from destroying the world.
Live Each Day As If You Will Die Hard Tomorrow - After being diagnosed with cancer, John McClane travels the country, checking off items on his bucket list in this heartwarming tale of self discovery.
Only the Good Die Hard Young - After Billy Joel's bass player sprains his wrist, John McClane is hired on as an unlikely side man.
Live by the Sword, Die Hard by the Sword - Sir Johnus McClanus takes down a brutal feudal lord in this medieval prequel.
I Do or Die Hard - John McClane races against the clock to make it to the alter after his bachelor party gets out of hand in this riotous comedy.
To Die Hard For - John McClane helps Nicole Kidman to murder Tom Cruise.
Curl up and Die Hard - Hilarity ensues as John McClane is enlisted to coach the Jamaican Olympic curling team in this vaguely racist Disney comedy.


*wipes away tears of laughter*

Ideas for more Die Hard sequels.

Live and Let Die Hard - John McClane is hired by the MI1 to stop an eccentric evil genius from destroying the world.

Live Each Day As If You Will Die Hard Tomorrow - After being diagnosed with cancer, John McClane travels the country, checking off items on his bucket list in this heartwarming tale of self discovery.

Only the Good Die Hard Young - After Billy Joel's bass player sprains his wrist, John McClane is hired on as an unlikely side man.

Live by the Sword, Die Hard by the Sword - Sir Johnus McClanus takes down a brutal feudal lord in this medieval prequel.

I Do or Die Hard - John McClane races against the clock to make it to the alter after his bachelor party gets out of hand in this riotous comedy.

To Die Hard For - John McClane helps Nicole Kidman to murder Tom Cruise.

Curl Up and Die Hard - Hilarity ensues as John McClane is enlisted to coach the Jamaican Olympic Curling Team in this vaguely racist Disney comedy.

One of my favorite books of all time. The movie version wasn't bad, it's such an eccentric book that I thought they would ruin it but I enjoyed it.

FWIW I have read that others estimate the number killed in Dresden as being closer to 25,000.

You know, it used to be unusual and a bit eccentric to use loops like this, for example: