You know - quite frankly - I don't see why people think Tom Hanks is that great. I remember him when he first came on the scene in "Bosom Buddies". He was moderately amusing, but no more so than Peter Scolari was. He did some bit parts in Family Ties, and did that lousy D&D TV movie "Mazes & Monsters". He did nothing exceptional.

Then he went on to do crappy comedies like Money Pit, Dragnet, Bachelor Party, and Joe Vs. The Volcano. He wasn't very good in any of them. His acting in these shows was one-note. Swap Hanks in Splash with Hanks in Money Pit and there is no difference. He was servicable, but he wasn't that great.

But I think "Big" for some reason started making people think he was a good actor. In the 90s, studios were always trying to turn comedians into "serious" actors. Robin Williams tried it with Patch Adams and Good Morning Vietnam. Jim Carrey tried with "Truman Show", et al. With Hanks, it was A League of Thier Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Forest Gump, and Philadelphia. I see very little difference between "80's Hanks" and "90's Hanks". He isn't a better actor than he was way back in "Mazes & Monsters". He's still the same old one-note Tom Hanks. He just has a better movie. You could take a potted plant and stick it in Forest Gump and get the same result. Some of his performances like in Polar Express and Angels & Demons are cringe-worthy.

So I don't see why Tim Allen has to take the shot here. He's shown at least as much acting "ability" as Tom Hanks. Hanks just got lucky and happened to end up getting better roles and more credit than he deserves.

I'm an fine artist working mainly in oil painting and silkscreening and gave a great interest in graphic design. I've worked freelance for years designing everything from logos to packaging design.

I used to run a small web design company which was lucrative in its day but I opted out when websites started to become less design and more about programming and data-basing. I am technical minded and could have done it, I just chose not to so I could focus on the design side of things

I worked for several years in the Newspaper industry designing ads for just about every company out there from WalMart and Canadian Tire to large oil and gas companies, local mom & pop stores and even government.

I now work full time as the designer for a large college in my area, where I design all sorts of marketing pieces, brochures, newsprint ads, magazines, posters, postcards, logo and concept designs as well as web content.

I like my job, I wish it paid a bit more as living costs in my area are high. I also wish I had more time for my personal creative work. I should be working for myself but I'm lousy at business.

Great idea, lousy execution. I have a thing for women who can sing, so getting some real singers to do this and putting a little more effort into the blend of notes would have gone a long way. Plus, lying flat on your back is not a great way to show off your boobs. Sorry to be a downer, just callin' it like I see it.

Religious doctrine? Cults? Market research? Corporate policy? Economic policy by banks, hedge funds, Wall St.? Big Pharma? Big Agro? Big Oil?

These are all excellent points, and in my zeal I have to admit that it was rather hyperbolic to say government is the “only” institution that creates the “I was following orders” mentality. In that I stand corrected. However, I stand by the substance of the idea that government is the primary violator, and that history’s most egregious examples are government created.

If you are down on government save us all the time and just denounce humanity and go live in a cave somewhere.

I’m down on big central governments. Limited, small government at the municipal, county, and state level which are held to a high standard of culpability and performance by voters is fine. Big federal government that implements one-size policies on nations for social engineering are lousy. Federal government is for national defense and some intra/inter state trade regulations. That’s it. The constitution was designed to keep federal powers limited. It is no surprise that one of our man-child president’s great irritations with the country he runs is that the constitution doesn’t allow him to do more “TO” the public.

Build your own running water system, police, and fire dept. while you're at it.

Feds don’t do those things. Those are city, state, and county functions.

Maybe instead of bitching about the TSA you could suggest an alternative?

I have. Profile the likely offenders and stop hassling people who are low statistical risks. It will decrease the workload, reduce costs, and speed up the process a hundred-fold.

I'm not going to sit here and scream… even though I don't like them either. … The kid will be just fine. He'll get over it. … It's a brave new world.

Brave New World. Oh, what fools these mortals be. I’d suggest brushing up on your Huxley and Shakespeare. I doubt Huxley would be applauding your, “bend over and take it” sentiment. You might think it is admirable. History suggests that such a docile attitude towards central government is profoundly unwise. Government is meant to be questioned, held to account, challenged, and regarded with suspicion.

The problem, of course, is that the TSA procedures do not work, and using them to only inconvenience a demographic that does not happen to include you, will not make them any more effective.

Well – very true – this is a good point. What the TSA is doing is security theatre. It is not effective at preventing terrorist acts from succeeding. So why are we doing this? If the object is increased SECURITY then the procedure needs to change radically. But if we aren’t willing to do the things that will actually provide security then we’d be better off just abandoning the whole effort as a fruitless exercise.

Allan stole a loaf of bread. Allan is a thief. Allan is black. All blacks are thieves.

Except that’s not what I said or even anything remotely close to it. I’m saying…

“Over 95% of all air travel terrorism has been committed by foreign-born Muslim males between 17-40. The TSA should focus its efforts on this population to increase efficiency.” That isn’t saying “all Muslims are terrorists”. It is only saying, “This population sector is the highest risk”. Correlation does not equal causation but it does tell you where to weight your cases and analysis. Right now, even a basic statistical model would heavily weight the probability of a terrorist act towards foreign-born Muslim males.

>> ^VoodooV:

democrat version of tea partiers on the horizon?
lets see..Coffee Filters? Capri Sun Pouches? Sweet&Low Packets? What would be a good name for them?


Double Mocha Frappacino, Whip + Sprinkles...

Seems pretty progressive compared to a lousy cup of tea...>> ^quantumushroom:

Have you ever considered that the ideology of the left is itself a failure? California is bankrupt and the fools there just reelected the same-same, once again illustrating the definition of insanity. Extremely liberal California is sinking while not-liberal Texas is thriving (it's where companies are moving when they flee CA).
I'm all for secession. This federal mafia is too big and too corrupt. Let liberal politicos pay off their constituents with the blood of some other host besides taxpayers in other states.



The ideology of the left in the USA is a failure because, by and large, the politicos who are supposed to espouse that ideology are corrupted by the lure of money...

Says more about the US than it does about the left, there are plenty of leftward leaning governments around the world that function quite well. Just because US culture (as opposed to individual people) isn't capable of wrapping it's head around a more liberal ideology without fucking it up doesn't mean the ideology is flawed...

But hey, stick with the current right wing way of doing things, I'm sure when the US causes the next GFC you'll just find someone or something else to blame... ; )

She's a lousy correspondent or whatever, but this was mean-spirited douchiness.

It is a commentary on his lack of experience...

Sure Winstonfield, sure.

In the last 18 months these RADICALS...

Have you ever considered that you are the radical (or reactionary)? Is it possible that paranoid gubmint hating god fearing folks are the nutjobs? Any objective view Obama suggests he is still very much right of center, even if it doesn't fit into your worldview. It takes a certain kind of true-believer to suggest Obama is nearing communist territory - and a healthy disregard for political scaling or measurement. Ask anyone who isn't a partisan or teabagger. Better yet, ask anyone from a different country. They'll tell you. Hyperbole is so much more fun though, right?

doubling down on leftist economics, europe in shambles, right-wing economics to the rescue

Even Britain's Conservatives are wild-eyed radicals in your mind. Federal money for kid's hospices? Communist!!!

Please...
Lousy polling?

45.7% after a months-long oil spill....this man is clearly hated by the country and 'Real Americans'TM are clearly lined up against him.

I guess in your mind the following numbers are proof positive of a complete outrage on behalf of 'Real Americans'TM? Or does this suggest that maybe Americans enjoy government intervention?

http://www.gallup.com/poll/140981/Verdict-Healthcare-Reform-Bill-Divided.aspx

And what's this? Majority of Americans support the creation of a public option? Heresy!

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/185853.asp

I can't tell if you really believe all this, or just like to fuck with people. I don't know which scenario I dislike more.
>> ^Winstonfield_Pennypacker:

gotta love the understated racism (man-child)
Incorrect. It is a commentary on his lack of experience, his spoiled & selfish behavior, and his general lack of any ability to actually deal with opposing ideas with any degree of maturity. But false accusations of racism when faced with opposition is a tradition on the left - as we've seen all too often lately.
the hyperbole (radicals)
In the last 18 months these radicals have implemented a plan to ration health care, quadrupled the national debt, established huge unconstitutional increases in federal power over finance and other industries - all against the will of the people. Bailouts, industry takeovers, tax increases, cap & tax, amnesty, health care reform, and on and on and on - all things solidly opposed by a 2/3 majority of the people (or higher). This administration and congress is the most left-wing, radical, out of step clot of extremists that this nation has ever seen in positions of power. The only people that 'like' what they're doing is the 25-30% or so of the country that occupies the far left. Conservatives, Repubicans, and Independents are roundly rejecting everything these radicals are doing - and they make up 65-70% of America.
the blanket portrayals of Europeans as poverty-stricken communists
While Obama & the other radicals are doubling down with leftist economics - Europe is doing the opposite. Greece, Italy, Spain, Britain, Germany - day after day the stories pile up about how they are turning to 'privitization' in order to save themselves from fiscal disasters. It isn't that they're poverty-stricken communists. It is that they have followed the misguided principles of leftist economics, and now they turning to capitalism to pull themselves out of the hole... All while the Man-Child is doing the opposite and putting American further in debt in a time of economic turmoil & trouble. Says something, don't it?
And the rhetorical attacks on Obama (how's his polling these days?
Pretty lousy - actually...
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_ob
ama_job_approval-1044.html
Isn't there majority support for Health Care reform? Isn't there still majority support for a Public Option?
In NeoLib-Lala-Land maybe, but not on planet Earth. The only thing there is 'majority support' for is for repealing the bill.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_conten
t/politics/current_events/healthcare/health_care_law
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20010453-503544.html
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/03/2
8/poll-finds-low-enthusiasm-high-skepticism-for-health-care-overh/
Folks on the left need to learn a lesson quickly. YOU ARE THE FRINGE. The left likes to walk around thinking they are mainstream and popular. You aren't. Leftist policy and philosophy is radical and unpopular. And when you try to ram it down people's throats it makes you even more radical and unpopular. Leftism isn't compassion. It is cruel. Leftism doesn't lead to prosperity or tolerance. It leads to poverty and balkanization.

gotta love the understated racism (man-child)

Incorrect. It is a commentary on his lack of experience, his spoiled & selfish behavior, and his general lack of any ability to actually deal with opposing ideas with any degree of maturity. But false accusations of racism when faced with opposition is a tradition on the left - as we've seen all too often lately.

the hyperbole (radicals)

In the last 18 months these radicals have implemented a plan to ration health care, quadrupled the national debt, established huge unconstitutional increases in federal power over finance and other industries - all against the will of the people. Bailouts, industry takeovers, tax increases, cap & tax, amnesty, health care reform, and on and on and on - all things solidly opposed by a 2/3 majority of the people (or higher). This administration and congress is the most left-wing, radical, out of step clot of extremists that this nation has ever seen in positions of power. The only people that 'like' what they're doing is the 25-30% or so of the country that occupies the far left. Conservatives, Repubicans, and Independents are roundly rejecting everything these radicals are doing - and they make up 65-70% of America.

the blanket portrayals of Europeans as poverty-stricken communists

While Obama & the other radicals are doubling down with leftist economics - Europe is doing the opposite. Greece, Italy, Spain, Britain, Germany - day after day the stories pile up about how they are turning to 'privitization' in order to save themselves from fiscal disasters. It isn't that they're poverty-stricken communists. It is that they have followed the misguided principles of leftist economics, and now they turning to capitalism to pull themselves out of the hole... All while the Man-Child is doing the opposite and putting American further in debt in a time of economic turmoil & trouble. Says something, don't it?

And the rhetorical attacks on Obama (how's his polling these days?

Pretty lousy - actually...

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

Isn't there majority support for Health Care reform? Isn't there still majority support for a Public Option?

In NeoLib-Lala-Land maybe, but not on planet Earth. The only thing there is 'majority support' for is for repealing the bill.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/health_care_law
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20010453-503544.html
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/03/28/poll-finds-low-enthusiasm-high-skepticism-for-health-care-overh/

Folks on the left need to learn a lesson quickly. YOU ARE THE FRINGE. The left likes to walk around thinking they are mainstream and popular. You aren't. Leftist policy and philosophy is radical and unpopular. And when you try to ram it down people's throats it makes you even more radical and unpopular. Leftism isn't compassion. It is cruel. Leftism doesn't lead to prosperity or tolerance. It leads to poverty and balkanization.

>> ^Croccydile:

I figured that mentioning I am Portal clueless would be rather naive, but it stems from the fact that I am just a lousy puzzle game player. The best accomplishment I can list in the genre is not sucking at Tetris and... thats about it.
I'm not knocking Portal. Hell, its sitting down next to my 360 as part of the Orange Box and wholly unused. I simply have a knack towards other stuff like racing games or RPGs.


It's not so difficult that you're likely to be frustrated. It's also one of the funniest games I've ever played. The comedy alone is worth the play-through.

>> ^Croccydile:

I figured that mentioning I am Portal clueless would be rather naive, but it stems from the fact that I am just a lousy puzzle game player. The best accomplishment I can list in the genre is not sucking at Tetris and... thats about it.
I'm not knocking Portal. Hell, its sitting down next to my 360 as part of the Orange Box and wholly unused. I simply have a knack towards other stuff like racing games or RPGs.


No, seriously. SERIOUSLY. Go play portal. There's no point in not playing it, you're starving yourself of one of the best gaming experiences ever, and i'm pretty sure no one would argue too much about that comment.

I figured that mentioning I am Portal clueless would be rather naive, but it stems from the fact that I am just a lousy puzzle game player. The best accomplishment I can list in the genre is not sucking at Tetris and... thats about it.

I'm not knocking Portal. Hell, its sitting down next to my 360 as part of the Orange Box and wholly unused. I simply have a knack towards other stuff like racing games or RPGs.

The "message" is all over the board, and the way the narrator uses the word "enslavement" reminds me of putting one's hand up to a flashlight beam so the shadow looks huge. Really, if you're going to ramble on about enslavement, start small. You're "enslaved" by your body, you will always need oxygen culled from air. You're "enslaved" by your own belly and the need for food. Except for a few lucky space/moon douchebags, most of us will forever be enslaved by gravity and the earth, never leaving it except to fly to Chicago on peanut-free airliners. You're "enslaved" by your loved ones who demand your time and energy to survive, with no permanent guarantee they will reciprocate. You're "enslaved" by your friends, their opinions, your opinions and the balance of honesty versus hurting feelings needlessly. And so on.

The State is "that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." We know this. The narrator was closest to the current truth when he described governments as mafias. But we've come a long way from the days when tyrants could execute whomever they wished at any time. At least in the "less enslaved" parts of the globe.

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." --G. Washington.

Modern civilization depends on the one lousy master, or a few masters with powers divided, rather than the whims of 100 million little ones, for when anarchy reigns, the neighbor with the biggest guns and posse wins out. S/he may be benevolent today but not tomorrow. And so ...to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...

Why do vids like this ultimately fail? Mostly due to vagueness and having no real answers, but mainly because they assume that in every epoch the State is all-powerful and all-knowing, when history proves none of them has it 100% correct, or even 30% correct. Governments rise and fall like tides. Sometimes they have no idea what they're doing, at others they know the right things to do but don't or won't do them for any number of reasons.

So what does this all mean? Relax. Grab a beer. Light up a joint. Per quantum mechanics or string theory or something, you both exist and do not exist right now. You are both free and "enslaved". Have a nice evening. I will, for I have pr0n!

O Me! O Life!

By Walt Whitman

O me! O life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I,
and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the
struggle ever renew'd,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see
around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring--What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.
That you are here--that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

1.1.1 You are correct, some word problems are completely generic and are simply translations of math into English. But the kind we are talking about relate math to the real world. Here is an example:



If you have never had a word problem like this, you had a really lousy education.

2.2.2 We are talking about a math class. Say it with me: MATH. Specifically, geometry. GEOMETRY. This is not the forum to discuss law, history, HBTQ rights, Native Americans, Nürnberg, Pearl Harbour, etc. Those topics are excellent for their appropriate classes, such as history and sociology, not in a math class.

3.1.1 Your example supports my point. You took an immoral topic (the deliberate murder of children), and changed into a moral topic (how much food needed to prevent starvation). You see, killing children is bad, preventing starvation is good. Easy to tell the difference, right?

3.2.1 I'm going to assume you are joking now.

4.1.1 The examples you provided are also completely inappropriate for math class. Those are not "interesting topics", they are traumatic tragedies. They would distract from the lesson rather than encouraging focus.

5.1.1 That is simply not true. A good teacher keeps the class on-topic, or nothing would get done. If a student recently suffered a trauma and was not able to focus on work, they should go to the school nurse or counselor.

5.2.1 If the students are eager to discuss a topic that can be worked into a lesson appropriate to the class, then great, run with it. If it is not appropriate to the class and the teacher runs with it, the students will start to manipulate the teacher into class discussions rather than the necessary lessons. I have seen this happen on a number of occasions, but fortunately the teacher was intelligent enough to recognize what was happening and bring the class back to the lesson.

I apologize if I seem rude, but you seem to lack the fundamental sense of appropriateness for a school lesson. Though it is certainly appropriate to discuss emotionally charged topics in history, sociology, or ethics classes, topics in math classes should be emotionally and politically neutral so that the students will stay focused on the math.

>> ^quantumushroom:

Obamarx is really good at describing the poop on the plate as brownies but when it's time to eat we still only have sh;t. Left-wing Statism is a failure without any obstruction from the right. The Telepromptesident claimed to want The Job, so quit whining and keep trying to fly that stone kite, Soetoro. At least until November.


Now I am from Canada so I dont really understand most of your mentatlity. But from my persepcitive, above you (geographically), it seems like republican reduction of restictions and regulations on various industries as well as commiting to two wars seems to have put your country into somthing of a hole. Then when people try to restore things to a state where they worked one side(the right, ironically in my opinion the wrong) fights tooth and nail to pass the buck. Now it may be some super long term strategy to mess things up so badly that when a dem comes to power you can shift all the blame onto them focusing everything negative onto them then when the term is up the right wing can blame the lousy past 4 years under dem rule as the fault of the democrats and take back power with a surge of public support.

Your country has a lot of problems and fighting people who are trying to stablize them doesnt help.

"Big P / Here's what I think" - no videos posted, many comments

I would be the perfect candidate for this one. I only have a few videos that made it since I'm really lousy at posting new stuff