Dunkirk, and Other Things

First, saw Dunkirk on Friday, because Nolan. Not much to add to the commentary I'll link to, but it is an excellent movie. Nolan not only explores his fascinationwith time and playing with it, but immerses us in a tight, visceral story of men trying to survive, and if not drawing victory from the jaws of defeat, then salvation and hope from the jaws of utter annihilation.

I'm becoming convinced between the Batman movies, Interstellar, and Dunkirk, that, while Nolan has certainly avoided signaling "I'm not a liberal" (hey, look at the people in his movies and some of them are still welcome on Colbert to promote his stuff), he nevertheless unabashedly stands for western civilization and its virtues.

Castalia house discusses it, as well as the Chicago Boys. Daddy Warpig also discusses it (and why, sadly, Valerian is best avoided) in the latest geek gab (below):

Long and the short for Valerian is don't.

Castalia's also discusses Office Space.

Walker discusses how Harmony Gold is being a bunch of greedy dicks:

The time for a Robotech feature-film was, oh, 1989. Not 2017, 2018, or whatever. Harmony Gold tried thrice to keep this ball rolling: Robotech: The Movie (where the Megazone 23 stuff got added), Robotech II: The Sentinels (it could've been good), and Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (failed pilot). The problem is always the same: the original fanbase found the original series and transfered fandom loyalties to them, so they didn't care about the new stuff.

The music of the original series is superior. The stories of the original series are superior. The sequels for the one original series that actually took off, globally, are far superior. The only reason that the current tabletop RPG has any fans is due to the ease of using the product line as a defacto TRPG for those original series; the new stuff gets used only as fodder for those really into Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. (Or as fodder for RIFTS.)

In short, there's no "there" there anymore. No one who's come into anime since the boom of the 1990s will give a shit about this live-action adaptation. No one overseas will care either, so there's no market for it. This isn't a film project; this is a tax write-off that allows some folks to collect a check and discharge a contract. We just get a film as collateral damage.

I liked the Mospeada segment, but Southern Cross was, frankly, forgettable. Megazone 23 was nifty though, both parts 1 and 2.

Last, but not least, the Didact discusses gym etiquitte and the people you may meet there, with video.

To be as fair as possible, just about every serious lifter started out as one of those clowns in the beginning. That, in and of itself, is fine. We all started out somewhere, we all made mistakes. We learned from them, adapted, and overcame. That is how things should be in the gym.

For those gym newbies who are just starting out and honestly do want to improve and gain strength and mass and power, I have nothing but sympathy and respect.

However, that respect is contingent upon your attempts to improve your form, your lifts, and your general approach to fitness. Continue making the same stupid mistakes with regard to form and etiquette, or continue to disobey the Commandments of the Lord of Iron, and do not be surprised if the rest of us simply respond with scorn and derision.