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[AnotherFairportfan]

I'm sure that Oscar is up to the task. He seems very wise and observant and capable, and has a true gift for communication.

It would seem, to me, that the Katerine/ Atsali/ Whatsit household could use some on-screen Oscar time;

Castela, sitting on a ottoman, arm & elbow on the table, head leaning against the fishbowl, talking to the Beta Fish as Confidant...

Personally, i wouldn't settle for anything less than the Alpha FIsh.

[Dave]

It would seem, to me, that the Katerine/ Atsali/ Whatsit household could use some on-screen Oscar time;

Castela, sitting on a ottoman, arm & elbow on the table, head leaning against the fishbowl, talking to the Beta Fish as Confidant...

Won't happen, at least not in the current place of residence. It's clear that they live in a converted industrial loft space, not a fish-and-see apartment.

[jwhouk]

I think I heard the groan all the way here from Minneapolis on that one.

[MerchManDan]

The Super AI box reminds me of a X-Files episode where Skully and Mulder were on the trail of a super-infulence person. At one point, the police had him surrounded, guns and shotguns drawn, and demanding he put up his hands and surrender. He looked at them and said, off-handedly, "Go home." The dozen or so troopers and SWAT professionals all looked at each other a moment, put away their weapons, packed up, and went home.

I forget how it ended, but basically the guy was interviewed by S & M, and didn't like having that skill, because he never knew if people actually liked him or not -- they just did what he said.

I don't recall that episode, but I do remember one where the agents dealt with an AI that was controlling an office building & killing people who discovered it. Which in turn reminds me of an episode where a hyper-realistic VR video game began killing people in real life by fooling them into thinking they had stopped playing.

[shadowinthelight]

Which in turn reminds me of an episode where a hyper-realistic VR video game began killing people in real life by fooling them into thinking they had stopped playing.

I have a feeling you would enjoy the movie Avalon if you haven't seen it already.

[Jabberwonky]

It would seem, to me, that the Katerine/ Atsali/ Whatsit household could use some on-screen Oscar time;

Castela, sitting on a ottoman, arm & elbow on the table, head leaning against the fishbowl, talking to the Beta Fish as Confidant...

Won't happen, at least not in the current place of residence. It's clear that they live in a converted industrial loft space, not a fish-and-see apartment.

Dave, Dave, Dave... *shakes head in surrender*

[MerchManDan]

Which in turn reminds me of an episode where a hyper-realistic VR video game began killing people in real life by fooling them into thinking they had stopped playing.

I have a feeling you would enjoy the movie Avalon if you haven't seen it already.

I haven't, but I think you might be right. I find such movies (The Matrix, The Thirteenth Floor) very intriguing.

[AnotherFairportfan]

'Expendables 3' Piracy Suspects Arrested in U.K.

Two men have been arrested in the north of England on suspicion of leaking copies of The Expandables 3 online before its release.

The pair were taken in by U.K. anti-piracy police and are suspected of stealing a high-quality copy of the film from a cloud-based system before uploading it on the Internet.

{snip}

Speaking at the American Film Market earlier in the month, The Expendables producer Avi Lerner claimed that what happened with the third installation of the action series was a prime example of the effects of piracy on the industry.

"Everyone wants to hide what happened on Expendables 3,” he said, "especially the domestic distributors. ‘Don’t talk about it!’ But I’ll tell you there is about $250 million in box office we lost."

The fact that it sucked dead rat and wasn't even R-rated, of course, had nothing to do with the disaster.

On RottenTomatoes.com, the aggregate score from critics was 33% positive ... and only 50% positive from audience member ratings, which normally skew way higher than the critics' scores.

==========

Another article says that Stallone has admitted that making The Expendables 3 was a bad idea.

But, apparently, he also said "Dahhh, we're gunna make Expenables 4 an' it's gunna make lotsa money..."

[AnotherFairportfan]

This is Helen (top) with The Prince in July, at her Granny's house, before we brought him home, and Natalie (bottom) with him today (25 November). He's grown some.

I posted it on another forum, and, despite having labeled it clearly as Natalie, someone thought it was Maggie. (They remarked that se was likely to look Very Much like her mama when she grows up.)

So i put together this page:

A quick course on telling Maggie and Natalie apart:
 
This is Maggie, from earlier this year.  She'd been painting, and didn't realise she had paint on her nose.  I grabbed the shot with my tablet. You can see how red her hair is, but it doesn't really show the curliness.
 

 
This is Maggie - grabshot with my phone, which is sort of almost adequate if you don't have an actual camera around; but it's a Samsung smartphone that cost me like thirty bucks, and the rest of its Android functions work just fine.  You can see the curlies.
 

 
This is the monkey, sometimes referred to as Natalie.  Straight hair, blonde/going to light brown lately.  Very Blue eyes.
 

 
When i had a chance to look at the shots of the girls playing i'd caught, i was immediately reminded of Joanna Lumley as Purdy on The New Avengers.
 

 
This was, i think, March or April, after they'd been playing in the creek at one of the parks here in Gainesville.
 

 
(There is a sketch piece by Paul of Shelly, apparently somewhat drunk and "screaming at the world".  Maggie wasn't drunk, and she was laughing, not screaming, but i was a tad amused by similarity of pose.  I thought i had a larger version)
 

 
Same park, June
 

 
And an old shot - August 2011 - in response to a different comment, that Natalie looked as if she lost a fight with a marker.  Maggie was five, Natalie was three.
 

[AnotherFairportfan]

Drunk Man Commits Felony to Get Out of Paying $9 Denny's Bill

One reporter learned the hard way early Saturday morning that drinking, driving, and not paying your Denny's tab really do not mix. According to a police report, Terry Schmida — a reporter and Florida resident — hit up Denny's for some greasy goodness after a night of drinking. When he went to pay his whopping $9.23 bill, he could only produce a "stack of his business cards and a $5 bill."

Everything went downhill from there: Schmida told the manager that he was going to his car to get more money. She and another employee went outside with him, to ensure that they would receive the $4.23 owed. Instead Schmida decided it would be a better idea to drive away. He then allegedly accelerated his car into the manager, who flew on to his hood and then fell off on to the ground. (Unfortunately, he did not bring a cameraman with him to capture the scene.) Officers eventually stopped the drunk reporter and made him take a "field drunk-driving test" after he "fumbled with papers," and "mimicked the stance of ‘The Karate Kid.'"

He obviously failed the test and, just in case the story couldn't get any worse, he was taken to jail where he was pepper-sprayed and tased for being "noncompliant." Schmida was charged with felony aggravated assault, misdemeanor drunk driving, and theft.

If/when Schmida gets out, perhaps he shouldn't celebrate with Denny's $300 breakfast special, which comes with a bottle of champagne.

...and the best part? Check out this reader comment:
 

They left out the best part… he is the author of a true crime book: http://www.phantompress.com/true_crime_key_west.html

[shadowinthelight]

The perfect Thanksgiving entrée:

[Atomic]

Mmmmm, shadowinthelight! Defrosting my small turkey now -- I may try that!

[Jabberwonky]

The perfect Thanksgiving entrée:

Starting to feel...experimental...

[MerchManDan]

The perfect Thanksgiving entrée:

Pavlovian Response ACTIVATE!!! [drooling intensifies]

[Alkarii]

Not even high right now, and I want to do that. Though I'd go one step farther and cover it with Jack Daniel's barbecue sauce.

[AnotherFairportfan]

[AnotherFairportfan]

From Girls with Slingshots:

[shadowinthelight]

How to remove your mustache

[Jabberwonky]

Pretty funny, but I think I'll stick to a razor...

[Dave]

Oh my.

He didn't try the method Professor Fate used in "The Great Race". Pity... it comes with its own anaesthetic.