WU LYF 4 LYF

Breakfast Club is great, found it a little slow when I first watched it but have grown to really love it. Sixteen Candles and Weird Science are other fun little John Hughes teen films from around that period with a similar cast.

 

Dazed and Confused is probably my favourite teen 'coming of age' film that takes place over one day/night still, just ridiculously entertaining, just beats out American Graffiti for me.

I call Rikishi.

 

"I didn't do it for me; I did it for Sally. I did it for da people. To tell the truth, I'd do it again."

Obviously - Towney's account just got hacked.

 

The rest of you might want to change your passwords.

 

And don't click on weird shit either

 

So UKFF is now officially the home of 'weird shit'. With all the poo related threads, not to mention the array of posters whose crimes range from incest to slinging crack to tramps, it was only a matter of time.

Um, so DVDVR is down for nearly a week, comes back up and now is covered in pictures of Pepper Plunge with his belt covering his modesty. What the fuck is going on over there?

I think my film tastes are completely out of tune. I'd never dream of saying Batman, Jurassic Park or Spiderman were anywhere near the greatest films of all time. Superheroes and fantasy films don't appeal to me at all, I honestly thought they were only made for kids until that last Batman with Heath Ledger got all that universal praise.

 

I don't like Back To The Future either, and I know that's pretty blasphemous. Hasn't dated well for me.

Ah, City of God, now there's a classic. A film with real character if ever I saw one, otherwise it's hard to describe why I love it. Think Central Station just beats it out in terms of Brazilian films from the last couple of decades, but they're both absolute classics. As Gladstone says, it's a shame the industry over there couldn't push on, with the economy booming and the amazing landscape of the country and personality of the people you could make some really classic movies.

Jaws was always a go-to film for that last week of school before the end of term where the teacher just puts a DVD on and fucks off. Not sure why. For that reason I never have the urge to watch it again, it's engrained and I never thought it was that great, probably due to watching it this way in segments. I do recall really enjoying the 'show me the way to go home' scene when they're all wasted on board.

Films like Y Tu Mam

Y Tu Mama Tambien is of course amazing. And much better than Shaun Of The Dead, which I found really overrated. It obviously appeals to a certain demographic though, I don't find Ricky Gervais amusing either so what do I know. And I thought 'Miranda' was the worst comedy show I'd ever seen and it won loads of awards.

Theoretically you'll be able to commute daily from Birmingham to London when the new line is in business. I like the idea, especially the Leeds>London route that takes 80 minutes instead of the current 160 minutes, makes travel between the north and the south a lot more streamlined.

Stuff I've been reading lately...

 

 

Lord Byron's Jackal: A Life of Edward Trelawny

 

Well written, well researched, but ultimately disappointing. I was hoping to read more about the romantics and the immortal gathering at Pisa in the early 1820;s, but instead it's mostly a study of the Greek War Of Independence circa 1822-25. Which is somewhat relevant, but Trelawny only spent three years of his life involved as oppose to the eighty five years when he was doing other things. I'm more interested in the man rather than the war, so it was at times a drag to work through.

 

 

Killing Pablo: The Hunt For The World's Greatest Outlaw

 

About Pablo Escobar and his drug empire as the name suggests, and a much better biography than the above. Very balanced, detailed, intriguing. I get the feeling there's still a better book on Escobar that could be written but this is still no less than very good.

 

 

Superstar DJs: Here We Go

 

Highly enjoyable study on DJs and dance music in general from 1988-2009. Phillips was Mixmag editor for much of this time, so well in the thick of it, and there are some great stories in here, of parties and great nights and random stuff like Norman Cook snorting coke off a railway line. Does a good job of holding the narrative as well, would have been either for this to get really disjointed but it flows nicely and you get a sense of a rise and fall in the careers of a lot of the guys depicted, especially the lesser known names who had to go and get real jobs once the bubble burst.

 

 

Lolita

 

Thought this was a little overrated to be honest. The lead character was as fascinating as people have said, but I thought the plot got a bit dull from the midway point. Still, can't deny it's a seminal work.

That's a ridiculous argument. Just because Justin Bieber has sold millions of records doesn't make him a great music artist.

 

I hated the Da Vinci Code - I thought his characters were so indistinctive, and lacking in any personality. They were secondary to the plot, and since I hate mystery books for the most part I thought it absolutely sucked. The whole thing was highly unbelievable as well, not least the romance between the male and female protagonists, between whom no charisma or spark was portrayed through the pages, and yet they still got together at the end for the obligatory happy-romantic ending.

I don't think you necessarily have to be a conspiracy nut to see the affects unchecked capitalism has had on the world wide economy.

 

As a history student I can observe that since the onset of capitalism the standard of living for most people in the western world has improved considerably. We live longer, eat better etc.

 

Even now in the midst of a recession most of us have it pretty good.

Had a

The idea we should cut back on international aid is based on the premise that the aid is merely a charitable gift to help the poor and unfortunate. Whilst a small amount of money given may fit that purpose, I'd say there are far deeper diplomatic and trade reasons behind most of the money we give. Just as the Libyan war wasn't, in spite of how it was presented, simply an intervention in the name of glorious liberty, the billions we ship abroad in the name of 'foreign aid' have other motives besides improving human rights and conditions.

 

Considering it would be one of the easiest things to cut back, and this government is entirely focused on cutting government spending (or such is the public face), there have to be purposes beyond helping the poor at work here, especially since the way the money is distributed doesn't really show the poorest and neediest being helped.

Hmm, doesn't seem to be anything in those exerts that most Beatles fans wouldn't know, it's all been covered in the Anthology, the film itself and in various interviews and all that biographers. Unless he's saving the special stuff for people who buy the book.

Nah, I mostly post in the MMA threads, and that won't be enough to get me a look-in for any awards unfortunately.

Even with your fabulous posts in the 'Politics' thread? Surely in a thread deemed so intellectually superior by yourself, contributions should, like away goals, count double?

Man, you put a lot of stock into image, don't you?

Absolutely. Don't you remember the famous mantra; "If your hair is wrong, than your whole life is wrong". I'm inclined to agree. Much os life is simple perception and many people instinctively judge a book by its cover, whether in a positive or negative way.Why do we buy clothes, if not to look good? You get the occasional person who chooses a coat 'because it keeps them warm' or 'because it'll last me', but I'd say a very high level of the population now take great stock in their appearance. We all love to attract attention, to be singled out as the most beautiful, the most talented, the most intelligent.The low neck t-shirt attracts a lot of attention, it's a particularly adept item of clothing for this task. It attracts vitriolic hatred, from those who dress conservatively, or hate hipsters, or think men who wear clothes like that must be 'fags' or 'take it up the ass'. It attracts love (in the form of drunken advances or Facebook likes) from girls who place great importance on image, want a man who seems to take care of himself and has an interest in his appearance (even if you hate the get-up, the person wearing it hasn't just 'thrown it on'), and it takes confidence to wear it, and girls love confidence. Personally, I love the 70s throwbacks of tight, low necked t-shirts and men wearing clothes with necklines that would make girls blush. Robert Plant, the hero of so many, used to wear tight blouses on stage with his skinny jeans.

I've heard you mention the "black band t-shirt" look on more than a few occasions now. What's the deal with that?

 

I've seen you rush to reply to my posts on more than a few occasions today alone. What's the deal with that? Are you the new Gladstone Small, ready to use my white hot heel heat for a cheap pop and hopefully a push to the ranks of 'Poster of the Year' in this years all important UKFF awards?

 

The black band t-shirt I only mention when confronted with jibes about my clothes in that picture; the reason many people hate the low neck t-shirt/skinny jeans look is that it's been adapted by the type of people they resent (metrosexuals, arrogant men, boybands, pop stars, celebrities), and seeing it on me they consider me in a similar vein to those people, and an unoriginal copyist at that. In response, I call as evidence the black band t-shirt look, much worn seemingly by people who listen to metal, watch wrestling and live half their lives on internet forums if 'picture' threads are anything to go by. It is as predictable and cliched a look as the one I wear in the offending picture, and I feel an equal disdain towards the people who wear it, and use it as justification to suggest that although I my clothes paint me as a conceited, pretentious cunt, at least they don't paint me as a dull, metal listening, wrestling watching stereotype.

Entirely subjective. People who frequent wrestling boards aren't exactly known for being cool, stylish members of society (as a general rule) so this isn't the place I'll look to for fashion advice. I remember in some jeans thread several of our members stood horrified at the idea of spending more than

Nonetheless, the idea that communism wasn't desinged, and implemented (however badly) is kinda rubbish.

 

Yeah, I should have been more clear, and said something more along the lines that 'all successful western societies and beaurocracies have been the product of evolution rather than instantaneous creation'. Communism was certainly designed, yet I believe they weren't able to implement the design and instead what they achieved wasn't as dissimilar to what went before as concrete terms such as 'communism' and 'capitalism' would suggest. Autocratic socialist rule rather than communism, then, which isn't all that different to the autocratic monarchic rule that preceded it.

 

Then again, I'm of the opinion that communism is it's essence is just a work of nineteenth century utopian fiction (it's theories actually share much in common with More's sixteenth century Utopia), and is unlikely to ever work unless society was started from scratch and people have no expectations/perceptions/conceptions. Which of course will never happen.

 

However, while it's helpful to bear it in mind to get you through the day, it's important not to use it to ignore the vast social inequalities and injustices that exist within this country.

 

Again, true, but I tend to take a more passive response to social injustice, in the belief that little will change. There are always people at the top and people at the bottom in life. It's unfair, unjust, unequal, yet I do not see a solution that will be palatable to all society, and thus there will always be those who fight against change, and it will be those currently at the top with the most power.

Your deep, meaningful shite may fly in other threads June, but I doubt it'll work in here. There are too many intelligent posters who frequent this thread for your nonsense to not get seen through.

 

Um, well within the last page alone two people have commended posts I've made in this thread. I said nothing deep and meaningful; on the contrary, I was disagreeing with people who believe our current system was the result of 'deep and meaningful' conception rather than a system that evolved on the basis of convenience and reward.

 

So be a good boy, and kindly place me on ignore if you don't enjoy my contributions.

 

Hmmm, can't help but think that communism was very much designed and implemented, in russia, in the early part of the last century.

 

And it didn't work. Many people still contend whether communism was properly implemented in Russia, or whether they just made changes to the existing system, it is far from unanimous that communist Russia was ever really 'communist', especially in the Marxist meaning of the world. There was still currency, there was still a 'state'. It was a totalitarian regime not a communist one.

 

Go grab another can of special brew

 

More of a green tea type of dude, got to look after the health.

 

There are too many intelligent posters who frequent this thread

 

Counting you I suppose? Are you the intelligence police? Do we have to take an exam to post in this topic? Everybody's opinion is worth the same in this society, and rightly so.

"Captialism", "Communism", "Meritocracy" etc etc, these are just names. Nobody designed them and implemented them, they evolved over time slowly. This system will evolve and change, but if anyone thinks there's going to be some huge revolution in financial system, fiscal system, political system or social system they are completely wrong. Capitalism is not 'collapsing', a less sensationalist description would be 'the current economy and especially the credit system is in turmoil'. Capitalism itself, in as much as it exists at all except for as an ambiguous, arguable concept, will live on well into the future.

I couldn't possibly comment.

And miss the chance to get a rise out of you?

Perhaps we should enforce a new rule where all new members have to send in a picture, and if the UKFF doesn't like what they see, immediate bans should follow. I'm amazed that someone went all the way back through an old thread just to post what is, in honesty, a picture no more offensive that the ones you'll see on hipsters Facebook pages. At least I wasn't in front of a mirror posing with a camera in my hand.

 

I have still committed no other offence than articulating views that people find bizarre. I don't insult people, or personally attack them, or even respond to their provocation, despite being followed around threads by several posters eager to troll and disparage any reply I make.