pacman

I have been reminded of this post, the very first post that started this thread some 65 pages ago. Ironically it appears that the object of my derision is the reason why the thread exists. And I have also been reminded that Guy Ritchie's films have enjoyed much success & made a lot of money. I need to redress my opinion of the guy, or at least his abilities to make a successful film A couple of posts subsequent to the initial post. I am not the only person here with a distaste for Mr Ritchie. I'll let Lung & Willie's posts speak for themselves. Others are invited to offer their own thoughts.

Semantics! Yes you did Route67, JaiDee should have asked "what is the capital of Greenland?" But he didn't. So who knows the capital? Well not me but the guy up the road does. Actually I think the answer used to be Copenhagen but not now.

Excellent Mr Dawg. Yes, he tossed out his other shoe saying now they have a pair. In that instant he realised that one sandal wasn't much good to anyone. A pair of sandals was something the poor would find useful. What a decent man.

I'm sure most of us know this story so this is more a non-question. If that makes sense. When Mahatma Gandhi lost a sandal out the window of a train, what did he do? And what was his explanation? I invite all those who haven't heard the story to speculate. And if there's no response by tomorrow, fire away.

Finbar, (an Irishman), an Englishman and a Scotsman were doing construction work on scaffolding on the 20th floor of a building. They were eating lunch and Finbar said, "Potato and cabbage! If I get potato and cabbage one more time for lunch I'm going to jump off this building." The Englishman opened his lunch box and exclaimed, "Ham and English mustard again! If I get ham and mustard one more time I'm going to jump off, too." The Scotsman opened his lunch and said, "Haggis again. If I get a haggis one more time I'm jumping too." Next day Finbar opens his lunch box, sees potato and cabbage and jumps to his death. The Englishman opens his lunch, sees ham and English mustard and jumps too. The Scotsman opens his lunch, sees the haggis and jumps to his death also. At the funeral the Englishman’s wife is weeping. She says, "If I'd known how really tired he was of ham and mustard I never would have given it to him again! The Scotsman’s wife also weeps and says, "I could have given him cheese! I didn't realise he hated haggis so much." Everyone turned and stared at Willow, the Irishman’s wife. "Hey, don't look at me" she said. "He made his own lunch"

A blind man wanders into an all girls biker bar by mistake. He finds his way to a bar stool and orders some coffee. After sitting there for a while, he yells to the waiter, "Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?" The bar immediately falls absolutely silent. In a very deep, husky voice, the woman next to him says, "Before you tell that joke, sir, I think it is only fair -- given that you are blind -- that you should know five things: 1. The bartender is a blond girl with a baseball bat. 2. The bouncer is a blonde girl. 3. I'm a 6 foot tall, 175 lb. blonde woman with a black belt in karate. 4. The woman sitting next to me is blonde and a professional weightlifter. 5. The lady to your right is blonde and a professional wrestler. Now, think about it seriously, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke?" The blind man thinks for a second, shakes his head, and mutters, "No .. Not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times."

Bob, a 70-year-old, extremely wealthy widower, shows up at the Country Club with a breathtakingly beautiful and very sexy 25-year-old blonde-haired woman who knocks everyone's socks off with her youthful sex appeal and charm and who hangs over Bob's arm and listens intently to his every word. His buddies at the club are all aghast. At the very first chance, they corner him and ask, 'Bob, how'd you get the trophy girlfriend?' Bob replies, 'Girlfriend? She's my wife!' They are knocked over, but continue to ask. 'So, how'd you persuade her to marry you?' 'I lied about my age', Bob replies. 'What, did you tell her you were only 50?' Bob smiles and says, 'No, I told her I was 90.'

An old man walks into a bar, sits down, and starts crying. The bartender asks, “What’s wrong?” The old man looks at the bartender through Teary eyes and between sobs says, “I married a beautiful woman two days ago. She’s a natural blonde, twenty-five, intelligent, a marvelous cook, a meticulous housekeeper, Extremely sensitive to my wants and needs, very giving, my best friend, and intensely passionate in bed.” The bartender stares at the old man for a brief moment and says, “But that sounds great! You have what every man wants in a woman, so why are crying?” The old man looks at the bartender and says, “I can’t remember where I live!”

The animals were bored. Finally, the lion had an idea. "I know a really exciting game that the humans play called football. I've seen it on T.V." He proceeded to describe it to the rest of the animals and they all got excited about it so they decided to play. They went out to the field and chose up teams and were ready to begin. The lion's team received. They were able to get two first downs and then had to punt. The mule punted and the rhino was back deep for the kick. He caught the ball, lowered his head and charged. First, he crushed a roadrunner, then two rabbits. He gored a wildebeest, knocked over two cows, and broke through to daylight, scoring six. Unfortunately, they lacked a place-kicker, and the score remained 6 - 0. Late in the first half the lion's team scored a touchdown and the mule kicked the extra point. The lion's team led at halftime 7 - 6. In the locker room, the lion gave a pep talk. "Look you guys. We can win this game. We've got the lead and they only have one real threat. We've got to keep the ball away from the rhino, he's a killer. Mule, when you kick off be sure to keep it away from the rhino." The second half began. Just as the mule was about to kick off, the rhino's team changed formation and the ball went directly to the rhino. Once again, the rhino lowered his head and was off running. First, he stomped two gazelles. He skewered a zebra, and bulldozed an elephant out of the way. It looked like he was home free. Suddenly at the twenty-yard line, he dropped over dead. There were no other animals in sight anywhere near him. The lion went over to see what had happened. Right next to the dead rhino he saw a small centipede. "Did you do this?" he asked the centipede. "Yeah, I did." the centipede replied. The lion retorted, "Where were you during the first half?" "I was putting on my shoes."

True Grit?

Wow! Great clip! I can see the attraction, for anyone wanting some escapist fantasy entertainment, that delivers in spades. Just why someone didn't use a gun to finish off one side or the other, I can't say. Actually I can say, that would not have allowed the violence to go on for so long & that's fine but it can get a little wearisome. Comparing the production values in that clip to those of Swept Away I understand why the studios employ people to "knock the footage into shape". Clever editing, astute use of sound effects, it all comes together to create the finished product that the director is then credited with making a wonderful film. I am not suggesting that Mr Ritchie is alone here, all film makers rely on the backroom staff for the finished movie but is there any connection with his abilities & his lack of output over the past... what? .. 10 years? The film financiers know where to put their money, either Mr Ritchie hasn't had a worthwhile project to promote or he is not someone they wish to back. I don't know how he is perceived by those in the industry but from my limited perspective he still needs to make something more worthy before I sing his praise. I do hope he delivers, I will be the first to say I was wrong.

I'm sure you would be bored, it was good but not that good. The original is 40 years old, I don't think it would hold up too well at all. I remember I enjoyed it despite the overlaid dialogue. It didn't have the polished feel of a big budget production but it is a work or art compared to the nonsense Ritchie made. I still maintain he had to be stoned not to see the faults during the making of his version. Or maybe he was getting even with his wife for something.

Two versions are enough. Plus Ricky Gervais & Steve Carrell are hard acts to follow. That series starts here shortly. I also loved the movie (you're right about William Macy, he's great) so I will check it out too. I never saw either of those. The Slap is based on the book & it received a lot of publicity here. The subject matter just left me cold, I didn't have any inclination to watch it. Was I wrong? As for suspense versus scary, no problem, I can correct your English if you correct my Swedish.....

My sentiments exactly. I have to weigh up any new series as to whether I am going to be able to commit the time to watch it every week. And it feels so liberating to say no, fuck it, I have better things to do. Once I start & get interested I want to see every show. I don't start on many. I will give an opinion on a couple but I can't give guarantees. Luther is not bad if you like grim British cop shows featuring a loner / tough guy lead who has to fight bad guys & his own police force. He's under investigation for something, I never did catch what that was about but Idris Elba is excellent. Try an episode, the look of each show is much the same as the next, & decide if you like it. Foyle's War is good from the few episodes I saw. I wish I had caught more, coming in half way it's hard to tell what was going on but Foyle is the perfect antithesis to what a hero should be. Softly spoken, older guy who quietly gets the job done. I like how the politics of the day overrides the plot so the things you expect to happen can't because of political expedience. e.g. the Nazi refugee can't be brought to justice because he is needed in a far more complicated plot but through all the machinations, old Foyle goes about his business. And is ever so stoic when his overlords tell him he has to back off. Understated British wartime drama that you will appreciate or hate depending on whether you yearn for Sylvester Stallone to come crashing through. He doesn't & for that I am glad. Wallander. Saw it a few times, Kenneth Branagh is good, the story is good, I can't give a recommendation because it never *grabbed* me. I think someone could make a case for it but it won't be me. Doc Martin. Where do I start? Your initial response will probably be revulsion. That was mine but I did come to appreciate its eccentricities. Martin Clunes as the Doc is good playing against type, I mean 180 degrees against type but he is annoying. And all the weird & wonderful villagers are good but also annoying. The whole show is very much an acquired taste & I only *got it* after repeated exposure. You can give it a try but I won't be holding my breath waiting for thanks. I know it has an enthusiastic audience but they are not the type of people to visit a LB forum. I doubt if half of them own a computer. Proceed with caution. Broadchurch, yeah, watch that. A murder investigation in the English village of Broadchurch that goes up every blind alley then some. I think every person in the village falls under suspicion but you will never see who did it. Never. I'm not sure if I agree with seven that it is scary, there's plenty of suspense & intrigue but I didn't find it frightening. Black Adder is for the fans, I don't know Love/Hate.

Both wrong. I thought Tokyo / Seoul wasn't too hard a question, the one that surprised me & I'm sure you could win money from is the first one - New Delhi / Kathmandu. In my mind, there's India down here with Nepal up there. It was a shock to see Kathmandu south of New Delhi when I first looked it up.

I haven't watched any of the block buster series such as Game of Thrones, House of Cards, Breaking Bad, Shameless, The Wire, etc. I'm starting to feel like a social outcast, I keep reading what I am missing but I don't feel I am missing anything. I cut off cable years ago when I realised how much the little I watched was costing. The major TV series then were nothing to excite me, maybe today I would get hooked & stay. Everyone I know on cable has it for the football, our football, not that game played by padded warriors in the US were almost no one makes contact between their foot & the ball. Something I would consider a prerequisite for any sport to be called FOOT BALL. Anyway I digress. Today when I check & see there is nothing on local TV I leave it off for the evening. After I watch the news of course. Back to the subject, I really do accept that these new series are brilliantly done. I have only heard good things about Vikings, a show I will try to catch sometime. As for series I watch now there isn't much. I did enjoy Homeland. I really liked the gravitas Mandy Patinkin brought to his role, I hope he gets to feature in something similar sometime. And Damian Lewis was great. I never expected him to go the way he did, that end scene was good television. I do enjoy watching The Good Wife, it has a frantic pace about it that fits perfectly with the nature of their work. Which also stops it getting boring, the court room scenes are some of the best ever made. IMO.

If JaiDee recommends it, that's good enough to have a look but I never went to see Rock 'n' Rolla based on some dreadful reviews about it at the time of its release. I think Guy Ritchie is a very over rated film maker. I notice he hasn't done anything for a while. Whether that's because he doesn't need to work or because no one wants to engage him I don't know. If you want to see what he is capable of without all the support staff who can make anyone look good, have a look at Swept Away, the truly awful film he made with Madonna when they were still married. It is abysmal. It sits there as a blot on his record where anyone in the film industry can see what he is really all about. No professional director would want to be associated with it in any shape or form. As an exercise in how not to make a movie, Swept Away can't be beat. It is alarmingly disjointed which no editing can fix. The errors can't be edited out because there wouldn't be enough left in each scene to make any sense. There's an in-joke shared by the cast that starts early in the film & they can't stop grinning or laughing at the end of each take. The only way any director could miss it would be if he was stoned or drunk. But that's not to say Rock 'n' Rolla isn't a whole lot better. It remains to be seen if Mr Ritchie ever achieves directing success again. Maybe if he gets the best production crew to keep any eye on everything he may just surprise us.

I agree with you Sam. As much as logic tells me the reverse, Kyoto is east of Vladivostok & Beijing is east of Shanghai. At least I think so. Try these two - which city is farther north.... Kathmandu or New Delhi? Seoul or Tokyo?

The German Dentist on the Jomtien Road. I asked the Penthouse one time who they recommend. I was very pleased with the place & the service. The owner, Michael I think his name is, isn't allowed to perform the work but he oversees everything his dentists do. I know lots of dentists get recommended, everyone has a preference but based on my experience I don't think you will get any better. And I thought the cost was most reasonable. Cheap actually but it was 3 & a half years ago. Heading towards Jomtien you can't miss the huge sign THE GERMAN DENTIST in silver letters across the building front. It's on the left hand side of the road before you get half way. I'm sure you will be OK at most places but the management at the Penthouse told me not to go anywhere else. Do with that information what you will. Good luck.

Was it billiards or snooker? He wasn't a youngster in 81, he couldn't have been running around a sports field.

Mauritius? Surely Argentina isn't the other? I don't think it can be Madagascar. Hmm, good question.

Is it the small country inside South Africa where Sun City has been built? I think its called Lesotho.

National Security Advisor! Of course, I should have thought about it a bit longer. One of them must be New Zealand. Of the other two possibilities, South Africa & Chile, I pick Chile. I'm sure SA is extends too far north.

He was the Secretary for Defence if I'm not mistaken. I think he was there during Reagan's time. Edit: I think he was there later than Reagan.

That takes me back. I can well remember the feeling of wonderment from the tales brought home by my father after he visited the Chicago World Fair. Amazing stories about the latest advances seemed like fairytales to a child who thought a transistor radio must be the limit of what was possible in miniature technology. I recall vividly how we sat around the table as he described in detail all the wondrous things he saw. And we all went quiet as he told us in hushed tones of the most amazing product of all. A machine that could print out something that had been written in another town. It was a Fax machine & we all sat there struggling to grasp the concept of such a thing. The collective feeling of having seen the future among the family sitting at the table was almost palpable. Afterwards we sacrificed a goat & three chickens & danced around the fire for hours.