Fog Dude

Yeah, fair point. Goalies and wicketkeepers are the one area where you can make the most direct comparison, and there the cricketers unquestionably outshine their footballing counterparts. Then again, I'm not sure Karen Bardsley would be too far behind Joe Hart in the pecking order – but that says more about him than the quality of female footballers. 

Can't disagree there about Shrubsole.

The encouraging thing about that group stage match was the average age of the crowd, actually. There was a free programme that counted for the whole tournament and covered the history of the women's game in a very engaging and accessible way. Let's see if the club game can carry on this momentum now. Onwards to 'Western Storm' (*sigh*) v 'Loughborough Lightning' (ugh) in under 3 weeks now... 

Apples and oranges, Butch. The England women's cricket team would still be one of the best teams in the world even if they were considerably more rubbish, because there are only 6 other decent international sides. I was at the New Zealand v Pakistan group stage match and that was one of the few games that was one-sided and woeful. It's been a good tournament, but there are only 8 countries in it and one of those looked out of their depth so there's no real scope for expansion.

The football team, on the other hand, have gone from international also-rans two decades ago to third at the World Cup two years ago. I'm not sure about the relative performance compared to the funding received. Despite the fact that football is an Olympic sport and cricket is not, I bet a greater proportion of the cricket money comes from the Lottery Fund.

It was a great final though. Shrubsole absolutely played out of her skin near the end there.

4 minutes ago, John Matrix said:

Benefit of doubt here and all that, but was that point about capes and flying seriously ambiguous? 

First of all, thanks for not being dismissive. Yeah, I missed off the "and the like" part of that quote from the opening post which makes your criteria less ambiguous. I still think there are a couple of characters from comics that fit the description of 'action hero', but whatever - you're the one who's making the effort to put together the list, so you make the rules.

 I'll just go hide in my corner of the forum and apply arbitrary rules there instead.  

Et tu, Gus?

So we've established that casual sexism and thirtysomethings acting like playground bullies* are fine, and taking things at face value is bad? Got it.

*Actually, I guess for this one thread, that's actually sort of appropriate. But seriously, lay off the abuse.

40 minutes ago, John Matrix said:

Any guy, any era, any genre.  Just no comic book characters - they don't count in this.

That first part has buggered up half my list. The last bit seems like quite a wide restriction compared to just 'nobody who flies or wears a cape' too.

2 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

I did that with The Thing, not an action film though, obviously. Or Das Ting as it was amusingly translated into German.

According to IMDB, it was known as Das Ding aus einer anderen Welt (The Thing from Another World) in Austria and West Germany. 

20 minutes ago, SpursRiot2012 said:

Indeed. We'll see, if it's a lunchtime KO, it might be possible. Might have issues getting in with a cabin sized suit case though?

Ahh, right. Good point, you'll have checked out by then. Not sure of the size of the turnstiles at the Montilivi, but I guess that security will be tighter than usual for that match. 

Hmm, could be a bit of a rush to the airport unless it's a lunchtime kick-off, then. You're still better off with the original Eibar plan, I reckon.

Actually, come to think of it, that Catalan derby (of sorts) could be a great shout. It'll definitely be brought forward from the Sunday due to Barça's Champions League commitments. What time's your flight back on the Saturday?

22 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

 @SpursRiot2012 the 2nd division fixtures are out. Perhaps you could see Barca B as well?

Nice idea, but the reserves are away to Valladolid on the weekend of the 19th/20th and don't have a midweek game either side of that.

On 16/07/2017 at 2:54 AM, SpursRiot2012 said:

Cheers, @Fog Dude I actually just booked my trip. 18th to the 23rd so will have to see if there will be a game during that time. 

No worries. The fixtures were released today and Barcelona are at home to Eibar week commencing September the 17th, so you should get onto looking for tickets for that match straight away. Either side of that they have two away games. 

2 hours ago, FelatioLips said:

You mean the one-season wonder who did his shift and refuses to return? Plus he may have been born working class but it's thoroughly debatable he is now. He's hardly balancing his time between doing TV, Movies and a shift in the mines.

(Eccleston btw, it just didn't quote that bit)

In regards to not watching it, as I stated I did in what I'd say was it's most popular incarnation with Tennent, but stopped because it's just not a good show.

Fine, you're a lapsed fan then, rather than someone who's never watched. I can see how the last few series might have put some people off so you won't be alone in that opinion.

I think you're setting a really high bar for 'working class actor' there, though. If anything, Whittaker has the joint best credentials on that front alongside Eccleston. Not that it should be important anyway. You probably switched off because of the quality (or lack thereof) of scripts and performances, and that's what will determine the success of the next era too. In that respect, I might add, I'm not yet totally sold on Chris Chibnall as showrunner.

20 minutes ago, PunkStep said:

I immediately thought of Ecclestone when I read that bit too!

Come to think of it, the most telling part of his comment is actually "I don't watch it".

1 hour ago, FelatioLips said:

I wouldn't care if Dr Who was a horse, I don't watch it, but a female doctor or a black doctor, or anything but a middle class white male doctor is a PR stunt at best.

Yeah, the casting of Christopher Eccleston back in 2004 was such a crass PR stunt.

43 minutes ago, SpursRiot2012 said:

Will let you know, assuming they're playing at home when I'm over there! 

Those kinds of prices put our league to shame man. 

The fixtures are out in 6 days, but even without being able to see them yet, I think you've picked dates which mean it's virtually certain Barcelona will be playing at home at least once during your stay. The 11th or 12th will be a Champions League matchday (though they could be away then), with both the following weekend and the next midweek likely to have a full programme of La Liga matches. If Barça somehow end up with 3 away games in a row, that's clearly just the Spanish FA trying to mess you around.

I took in the cross-city derby ages ago back when Espanyol played at the Olympic Stadium before the move to Cornellà. Not been to Lloret de Mar myself, but my nan used to speak highly of it. Agreed about the ticket prices for top clashes compared to here, but I've found the Spanish lower divisions can be just as much of a rip-off as in England. And yes, Barcelona is a great city, although it's not even my favourite Spanish one.

21 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

I never said that you invented it. OBVIOUSLY I'm not saying that. I'm questioning why you don't understand that, when somebody pulled you up on you being pedantic again, thinking it was a fair and appropriate comeback to accuse people on this forum of bullying you for having Asperger's was completely wrong. And having just admitted yourself that you have not spoken about this on the forum, wouldn't you agree that it is a ridiculous accusation to make?

My point was not "I'm more mental than you!" It was highlighting how shitty it is to accuse people of microaggression when there's nothing of the sort at play here.

Yes, I understand you didn't literally say I invented Asperger's. Yes, I hadn't mentioned it before, but I wasn't impressed by the initial reaction once I did mention it.

I'm not sure that terms such as 'microaggression' are helpful, but there was already a backlash here against a posting style perceived as weird or overly direct behaviour, which felt like bullying at times.

5 minutes ago, Onyx2 said:

On a forum where we spend pages debating the rules of a Submission Match, it doesn't stand out. 

Ha, fair point. I did particularly enjoy this overthinking of what precisely different 'Extreme Rules' stipulations should mean, if that's what you're referring to. That kind of ramble ought to be encouraged more.

59 minutes ago, Chest Rockwell said:

No, again, that response is to you behaviour, not your condition. People on here are generally very sensitive and sympathetic to mental health issues. Many on here have received great support from each other that has helped them through some really tough times.

None of them started that dialogue by accusing people of bullying and shaming.

Uh, behaviour are the condition are pretty damn closely linked! Slam the former too harshly and it seems like you're trying to make me feel guilty for having the latter. 

That said, the fact that people have helped each other out (mainly via PM or other means, of course) is one of the great things about this place. Since I'm not one of the cool kids here, I'm not sure whom I could've turned to, though. I'm not seeking to 'get over' being an Aspie because that's not how things work anyway. Anxiety and depression can be side effects of it, however, and if anything it feels like some people here want to cause and exacerbate those in me rather than alleviating them. That's why I said it's probably best if I disappear for a month and a half.

Yes, the dialogue shouldn't start that way, but it does come across as if I've been bullied into snapping until the point where I felt I had to mention it. 

47 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

What you are saying is tantamount to asking, "Please don't call me out on being a nitpicking, thread derailing wally because of my Asperger's". And as someone who has had his own significant mental health problems over the last 10 years, it sticks in my craw no fucking end.

I'm sorry to hear that you have suffered mentally in the past decade, Devon, but equally I'm really not sure what your point is here or how you think that's constructive. I didn't invent Asperger's a couple of hours ago to play mental health Top Trumps. Just because you have had problems before and might have mentioned it first in other threads doesn't invalidate anyone else's struggles and confusion and give you the right to upset them. Nobody's condition is more or less important than anybody else's.

8 minutes ago, Tommy! said:

With subtlety, humility and politeness. 

Yeah, I don't really do the first two. I'm already trying my best with the third one. Apologies if it doesn't always come across that way.

13 minutes ago, Chest Rockwell said:

Stop playing the victim. What a load of bullshit. You made a shitty non joke that backfired and got called out on it.

I'm the last person who wants to see themselves as a victim, mate. Yes, it was an unfunny attempt at humour. I can handle it if people shoot back at me by telling me that directly, but saying I was deliberately being a dick or a twat is disproportionate. 

I didn't know about my Asperger's myself until 3 years ago and haven't felt the need to mention it until now, but if you're a neurotypical it should've become increasingly obvious. The fact that people's immediate response to that is to say I'm engaging in 'mental health dick-waving' shows that we have a long way to come as a society (way beyond this forum) in our attitudes to such conditions.

How does one correct people without coming across as impolite at best and insane at worst, then? There's nothing wrong with being on the side of knowledge and truth. In this day and age, it's needed more than ever.

On topic: I was thinking it's about time I make it to Vienna, possibly in the autumn.

Just now, Devon Malcolm said:

What has somebody's sobriety or otherwise got to do with what was a perfectly innocent query? If you can't see why it's dickish then you really are a complete twat. And that's even before we get round to the usual Fog Dude crash course in shitposting pedantry.

No, it's not dickish and yes, I accept SpursRiot's query was innocent. My reply was innocent too. I'd have just said "I believe you" and not added the sober comment if I thought it'd cause offence. Obviously only some people are allowed to try to be funny on here. Tone doesn't come across online, and more importantly, I do not appreciate the Aspie-shaming bullying attitude towards me on here. I'll just voluntarily disappear for 6 weeks until it's time to start a new Predictions League sign-up thread if people are just going to be cunts.

There's nothing wrong with facts. The world needs more of them. Pedantry shouldn't be a dirty word. I'm not trying to shitpost. Other people derail conversations when they start to question me.

Just now, Devon Malcolm said:

Why would you say something like that? What an amazingly twatty thing to say.

How is it?!

38 minutes ago, SpursRiot2012 said:

Why are you being a dick? I was told by one of the reps here that it was a state election and the signs around the bars said they couldn't serve alcohol on election day due to federal law. 

I don't really understand the sober comment. Course I was sober, I don't drink. 

I'm not.

Why does it bother you that they weren't allowed to serve alcohol yesterday, then?

Yeah, I believe that you were sober when you posted. I was just a bit incredulous at Mexico getting decentralisation wrong. Travel agents ought to warn you about stuff like that before you book.

1 hour ago, SpursRiot2012 said:

Reporting in from the Mexican Pacific Coast. It's very, very nice. Buenos noches. 

They have a state election here today. You know, it's against federal law to serve alcohol on election day? Some dismayed Brits on the piss at the hotel today. Or not, as the case may be. 

*Buenas

Why would federal law affect what you can and can't do on a state election day?!

4 hours ago, Nostalgia Nonce said:

Is this a "special" election in the same way as the special olympics?

It's the American word for a by-election. Even the Canadians use the same term as we do, so I'm not sure how the USA ended up with a phrase that could be understood as 'retarded election'.