you used to be in with a good shot of being upgraded if you asked nicely and they had seats free. I've not flown in years now so I don't know if thats still the case.

The nicest flight I ever had was British Airways from London to Mexico when I was 14 or something. I was flying without an adult so the flight attendants made you comfortable. Couldn't blag first class though. I always loved the experience of flying. Even the airports. There is a strange glamour to them that still kinda enchants me.

This week I taught my first classes with a new set of Thai HS Seniors (the semesters start at a different time here). I always start out by getting a roster with the students' full names in Thai and having them write their nicknames in English, then taking roll call to make sure I am pronouncing the names correctly. There is no set way to write Thai sounds in English, so there is a lot of variation in how to spell things.

Anyway, one boy on the list wrote his nickname as "Kok". I correctly assumed that he wanted that to be pronounced "Coke", but then explained to him that if he goes with the other spelling an average westerner will probably call him "cock" which is rather unfortunate...

In 5 years of being here I've seen a lot of semi-unusual or unfortunate names and nicknames.

Odd: Dollar, Bible, Bird (hordes of those), Blue, Oil, Dump, Bomb, Gun, Nuke, etc.
Unfortunate: Fook, Fluck ("fluke"), Gook ("guck"), Poo, Poopae, Dodo, Porn (loads of this one also), Titee (girls name)

The worst and/or funniest one I've seen was a girl who converted her full Thai name into an English spelling of "Titteeporn Suksonmanee". Considering Thailand's ... reputation, that one is particularly unfortunate, although the actual pronunciation of the surname is more like suke-sawn-MA-knee.

On the flipside many western names translate phonetically into rather unfortunate things in Thai, or are commonly mispronounced into something bad in English. For example, Jim means "pussy" in Thai, Chris will usually be pronounced by Thais as "Clit", etc. etc.

"No one really knows what I'm talking about
Yeah that's right my name's Yauch
Ponce De Leon constantly on
The fountain of youth not Robotron
Peace is a word I've heard before
So move and move and move upon the dance floor
I'm gonna die gonna die gonna die one day
Cause I'm goin and goin and goin this way
Not like a roach or a piece of toast
I'm going out first class not going out coach"

>> ^DrewNumberTwo:

This isn't what you'd do if you were on a flight that you knew was going to be intentionally crashed in order to kill everyone on board and everyone where it would hit? If you don't like the guy, fine. But it's been 20 years and, to me, he seems to have changed.
>> ^spoco2:

"If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.'"

It was that he is big headed enough to think that he is all fucking powerful and too damn tough for words that even if he did man up and try to stop it, it would have actually worked out better. On Flight 93, where they did rush the cabin, they still crashed and died.

He's a big headed, self righteous dick.

This isn't what you'd do if you were on a flight that you knew was going to be intentionally crashed in order to kill everyone on board and everyone where it would hit? If you don't like the guy, fine. But it's been 20 years and, to me, he seems to have changed.
>> ^spoco2:

"If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.'"

Yep, definitely seems like a prick to me.

>> ^spoco2:

@DrewNumberTwo (and @kymbos), in @conan 's defence I think the problem that he and I have is not only that he did those things (although it's a pretty huge part, assaulting people purely based on their race, and to the point that they are blind in one eye for life is pretty horrible), but more so that he seems to be all good with it.

"He said the right thing to do would be to try to find the blinded man and make amends, and admitted he has not done so, but added that he was no longer burdened by guilt: "You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't until I really started doing good and doing right by other people, as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a problem going to sleep at night. I feel good when I wake up in the morning."

He spent 45 days in prison for attempted murder, has not made any restitution to the actual people he's wronged, and yet feels good in himself.
That and his insane tough guy comment about 9/11:

"If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.'"

And from interviews and the way he seems with others, he still has this tough guy dick attitude towards people and a self image of god like ness.
Don't like the man at all.
You can say that I've never met him, and he may be a nice guy in person, but from all accounts, all he's said, all that's seen of him, he seems to still be the thug he was, just with more money and with a family now.

@DrewNumberTwo (and @kymbos), in @conan 's defence I think the problem that he and I have is not only that he did those things (although it's a pretty huge part, assaulting people purely based on their race, and to the point that they are blind in one eye for life is pretty horrible), but more so that he seems to be all good with it.

"He said the right thing to do would be to try to find the blinded man and make amends, and admitted he has not done so, but added that he was no longer burdened by guilt: "You have to go and ask for forgiveness and it wasn't until I really started doing good and doing right by other people, as well as myself, that I really started to feel that guilt go away. So I don't have a problem going to sleep at night. I feel good when I wake up in the morning."

He spent 45 days in prison for attempted murder, has not made any restitution to the actual people he's wronged, and yet feels good in himself.

That and his insane tough guy comment about 9/11:

"If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.'"

And from interviews and the way he seems with others, he still has this tough guy dick attitude towards people and a self image of god like ness.

Don't like the man at all.

You can say that I've never met him, and he may be a nice guy in person, but from all accounts, all he's said, all that's seen of him, he seems to still be the thug he was, just with more money and with a family now.

^Upvoted^ (in honour of director Michel Gondry's MUSIC videos). Sorry Boise, but he just doesn't come across to me on the big screen, his music vids are major KICK-ASS though.

"Let Forever Be" - (Chemical Brothers) ....My favourite music vid of all time.

"Sugar Water" - (Cibo Matto)

"Army Of Me" - (Bjork)

"Come Into My World"
- (Kylie Minogue)

"Mad World" - (Gary Jules ORIGINAL video)

"Around The World" - (Daft Punk) .....Irritating repetetive lyrics, but the video is first class.

Well you're taking him out of context...meaning that you forgot he's from Boston. So, for a Boston hooligan, he's a nice guy.>> ^spoco2:

>> ^rottenseed:
Don't hate Mark. He's a sweet guy...>> ^Shepppard:
Meh, I think my hatred of Mark Whalberg is keeping me from enjoying this clip.


Yeah, no... he's not:

"When he was 16, Wahlberg approached a middle-aged Vietnamese man on the street and, using a large wooden stick, knocked him unconscious (while calling him "Vietnam fucking shit"). He also attacked another Vietnamese man, leaving him permanently blind in one eye, and attacked a security guard (again using racist language)."
"In another incident, the 21-year-old Wahlberg fractured the jaw of a neighbor in an unprovoked attack"

And then recently he's of the opinion that he could have saved the plane load of people during 9/11:

"If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn't have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, 'OK, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry,'"

And I just don't think he's lost that aggressive nature from his early days either, or his self righteousness. He feels he's found god and is absolved of his wrong doings, but really... not so much.

>> ^rottenseed:

Don't hate Mark. He's a sweet guy...>> ^Shepppard:
Meh, I think my hatred of Mark Whalberg is keeping me from enjoying this clip.



Yeah, no... he's not:

"When he was 16, Wahlberg approached a middle-aged Vietnamese man on the street and, using a large wooden stick, knocked him unconscious (while calling him "Vietnam fucking shit"). He also attacked another Vietnamese man, leaving him permanently blind in one eye, and attacked a security guard (again using racist language)."

"In another incident, the 21-year-old Wahlberg fractured the jaw of a neighbor in an unprovoked attack"

And then recently he's of the opinion that he could have saved the plane load of people during 9/11:

"If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn't have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, 'OK, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry,'"

And I just don't think he's lost that aggressive nature from his early days either, or his self righteousness. He feels he's found god and is absolved of his wrong doings, but really... not so much.

I haven't seen any of your worst 10 which pleases me greatly.

Hanna, Super 8, Tree of Life, and Melancholia all fall into "ok/good but not great" for me.

Drive is teetering on the edge of awesome just for style alone... or perhaps I'm just biased because Ryan Gosling is such a fucking babe. (But he really is a great actor too -- everyone should see Lars and the Real Girl and Half Nelson.)

I really enjoyed X-Men: First Class.

I haven't seen it yet but I'm excited about Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy because of the fucking amazing cast.

I know alot of high paid people who hate their jobs. I don't play violins for them, but I do empathize.

On the FE/PO relationship: from wikipedia: FedEx SmartPost specializes in the consolidation and delivery of high volumes of low-weight, less time-sensitive business-to-consumer packages, using the US Postal Service[2] for final delivery to residences.

Agree agree agree on your last point.
>> ^shagen454:

Not that it even matters to me, but first class mail will be replaced by FedEx and UPS priority deliveries as first class mail will become a two day service.
The guy probably does not hate his job's payout because even a SCM makes over 130K including bonuses so I'm sure this guy is rolling in it. Never ever heard about USPS handling FedEx duties.... I still stand by my statement FedEx fucking sucks a corrupt company; but I guess that doesn't make them much different than most corporations in the America? And people seem to be fine with that.
>> ^longde:
@shagen454 Of course within your post you directly addressed the teleprompter guy: "the way this guy speaks, completely disingenuous, stale, planned is exactly the way that company is all the way to the top." ; that's why I responded acerbically. I really don't know what you expect that guy to do. I'm sure he hates his job too. No need to dump on him in an empty way if your target is really FedEx.
People didn't "fall for" it; I would guess the 3 upvoters (wow, how many power points will that get me?) were simply rubbed the same way I was with your post.
I am a little familiar with the operations of FedEx, UPS and the Post Office. I wouldn't want to be a grunt in any of those places either; having my times constantly checked. Does that mean I would chuck a monitor over a fence? At least they didn't can that guy.
Since Fed Ex is actually contracted by the Postal Service for some mid- and long-haul routes, shutting down the Postal Service would actually hurt some parts of FedEx. Also, I don't think that UPS or FedEx will offer a replacement for 1st class mail.

Not that it even matters to me, but first class mail will be replaced by FedEx and UPS priority deliveries as first class mail will become a two day service.

The guy probably does not hate his job's payout because even a SCM makes over 130K including bonuses so I'm sure this guy is rolling in it. Never ever heard about USPS handling FedEx duties.... I still stand by my statement FedEx fucking sucks a corrupt company; but I guess that doesn't make them much different than most corporations in the America? And people seem to be fine with that.

>> ^longde:

@shagen454 Of course within your post you directly addressed the teleprompter guy: "the way this guy speaks, completely disingenuous, stale, planned is exactly the way that company is all the way to the top." ; that's why I responded acerbically. I really don't know what you expect that guy to do. I'm sure he hates his job too. No need to dump on him in an empty way if your target is really FedEx.
People didn't "fall for" it; I would guess the 3 upvoters (wow, how many power points will that get me?) were simply rubbed the same way I was with your post.
I am a little familiar with the operations of FedEx, UPS and the Post Office. I wouldn't want to be a grunt in any of those places either; having my times constantly checked. Does that mean I would chuck a monitor over a fence? At least they didn't can that guy.
Since Fed Ex is actually contracted by the Postal Service for some mid- and long-haul routes, shutting down the Postal Service would actually hurt some parts of FedEx. Also, I don't think that UPS or FedEx will offer a replacement for 1st class mail.

My parents took me to see Roy Clark, Boots Randolph and Floyd Cramer live at the Civic Audiotorium when I was about twelve (1974). It was great, those guys were fantastic musicians and put on a great show. I was amazed that these guys were real first class performers, so fun to watch. I just couldnt tell any of my friends that I actually liked it.

Back to your very best, Chaser boys. First class.