Disco Missile

You can be both. I love the trilogy and the Star Wars universe. Sometimes SW stuff is really done well and it's enjoyable. The entire KOTOR game franchise, the Clone Wars, Timothy Zahn's books, and I really enjoyed Solo and Rogue One. Sometimes it's not done well, and it's nothing but frustrating. I compare it to reading Stephen King novels from the late 90s and early 00s. You recognize the universe and the style, but the genius isn't in it. There's a few gems but it's mostly fluff. The main saga movies 1-3 and 7-8 have gone from bad to worse. I'm not a film nerd so roll with me if my terminology isn't on point. It started with George Lucas jimmying with the OT and adding terrible CG to every scene (Han walking on Jabba's tail, Greedo shooting first, random animals everywhere) was the first sign things were going off the rails. It was an indicator that Lucas was getting away from story and characters and focusing on all the movie elements that only matter when the story is good. There are lots of great movies that hold up because of a compelling story or character even when the details aren't great. Vanishing Point. Clerks. Repo Man. Anything by the Coens. The prequels had a decent plot but the execution was awful. The acting was poor. The characters weren't compelling. It dragged on. It was difficult to follow at times. The CG and green screen and single camera setup limited the impact of the action scenes and kind of neutered the whole movie. One of my favorite scenes in all of Star Wars is the escape from Echo Base. Han is trying to get Leia out while the base is falling down around them and Imperial troopers are on their tail, and the entire time they are having a sharp, witty dialogue that shows their strong personalities and underlying affection for each other. You instantly like them and want them to be together. And you care what happens to them! Then the Falcon won't start. It's one of the greatest scenes in any movie. It's frantic, funny, and well executed. Is there anything like that in any recent SW movie? (no) The most recent films suffer from the same problems. Disney analyzed the prequels and surmised that the biggest problems were the over-reliance on CG and the long-winded discussions about politics. Which was true. But they overlooked the need for compelling story and characters. TFA wasn't bad. It was the movie equivalent of a meatball pitch right down the middle, mediocre in almost every way. I don't believe Rey/Finn/Poe are as likable as Luke/Leia/Han, but that's me. TLJ, however, is an abomination of a movie. The story is bad. The characters aren't compelling - except for Kylo Ren who is so misused by this franchise that it's criminal. It doesn't matter how well done the rest of the details are. Story and characters are what people love, and TLJ laid an egg.

Approves

Does this have the feel of the final Star Wars? Ever since I was a kid watching the OT I couldn't wait for the further adventures of Luke, Han, and Leia. You just knew that after 4,5, and 6 that there would be a 7,8, and 9 one day. So...here we are. It doesn't feel final. And I have very little confidence that it will get the send off it would deserve even if it is.

Hamels? I don't hate it.

Is that relevant? I've seen deadly accidents where nobody assaulted anyone afterwards. It sounds preachy but self-control and mastering your temper are important things to learn for any man, but especially for an athlete of his stature.

Just yanking your chain. I liked watching Tebow play. He had no tangible QB talents but he played the position by sheer force of will, and he owes much of his success to the speedsters around him and Meyer's offense. But I got sick of the fawning coverage. Media types really know how to sour you on an athlete.

Well...at least it's not drugs. Is beating a guy up in traffic better than drugs?

So is it Tebow you're mad at? Or Vic Mackey?

I would move them down a few spots but not many. I rewatched that game not long ago because it came up in a conversation with a Sooner buddy of mine. I remember that game being a dominant Florida win but watching it again made me reconsider. Oklahoma played better football, but Florida made some really incredible plays when they had to and got lucky more than a few times. That was a really good Oklahoma team, though. I have to think that we beat Florida if we play in that game.

Just dropping in to see if this is a smash/pass thread. Anyone ever banged a socialist before?

Frankly the way this season has been going, I can't believe how well we're doing. Very few things have gone right, and we're leading the division.

Truly the nadir of the Texas football program during my lifetime. I never thought I would see a Longhorn team look like they did that day. I actually saved it so that I could watch it later to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing. (I was). At this point in the Strong era I was really just hanging on to see if he was going to be the worst coach in Longhorn history, or the second worst. I knew TCU would blast us the next week, but maybe 6-6 with a bowl win and a 4th season would bring interesting things. Nope, ha ha.

It's a stool, not a box.

Strangely, this makes me feel better. Schadenfreude. Thanks for posting.

You can plainly see that there's no easy way to evacuate in an emergency situation. It's a floating bus. I feel awful for everyone involved. I'm not calling for a ban, but definitely some safety modifications. Lose the canopy or make a bunch of emergency exits like aircraft.

This is something I'm always interested in. Appreciate you keeping it updated

Super Herc?

Or go to the bar and watch. I know the Ritz Carlton has nice tvs in the rooms, but that's too pricey for me. Don't know if you have money to burn or not.

Remember that time when Kris Boyd tweeted about transferring at halftime? That was great.

Man that sucks. I'm happy they're honoring the scholarship. Our O line will never be ok.

I just wish everyone would STOP BRINGING UP THE KANSAS GAME. We had an 11 point lead with 7 minutes to go in the 4th and LOST. To a 2-10 team. KANSASSS.

Machado would be a big addition. We could really use his bat.

and the Brewers.

My hot takes after the first 30 games: - our starting pitching isn't better. Jake was apparently set on leaving and Darvish looked like a great replacement but to this point it hasn't panned out. Quniana looks okay. Chatwood walks too much and hasn't been effective. - the bullpen is better. Strop is nails. Even Morrow is good he's just not as good as Davis was. - the issues with our starters is exacerbated by our offensive struggles. Can't win if you don't score. - the offense should come around. We've seen slumps before. Maddon works them out. Rizzo and Heyward and even Bryant have been below their averages to this point. They'll get better. We need more hitters than just Baez, Contreras, and occasionally Happ. Final take: Darvish should improve. So should our hitting. Right now we're above .500 and not playing well. If we get it together we'll win the division.

Wow. Choked that one away.