Random Thoughts

joey con carne wrote:I have a small collection. Maybe fifteen or twenty of them. All assorted colors and a couple of huge ones.

Ever since I was little I've always loved them. I don't know why I like them so much. I suppose the physics fascinates me. How does a tiny little rubber ball bounce so damn high with so little initial force? It's black magic, not physics!

They are fun to bounce and then chase down. I'm a kid at heart.

joey con carne wrote:They are the coolest. Trust me on this. You're going to grow a collection, too.

That candy machine site you linked me sells them in huge batches. They have different sizes and everything. You can sell 100 of the 32mm size for 25 cents each. That's $8 profit right there. Or fifty cents for $16 profit. I dunno the market in your area but that's pretty sweet.

100 balls is $17. I am imagining you purchasing them and picking out some of your favorite patterns. Oh, hell yes. I might order a bag for myself.... maybe two.

Tarantino to Co-Write Comic Book Series 'Django/Zorro'

Quentin Tarantino is returning to the world of Django Freeman, the star of his 2012 Academy Award-winning Django Unchained in the least likely way imaginable—as the co-writer of a comic book sequel to the movie that will team the character with long-lived pulp hero Zorro.

Django/Zorro will be co-plotted by Tarantino and comic book writer Matt Wagner, with the latter providing the final script. “I'm very very excited about both this story and the opportunity to work with Matt,” Tarantino said in a statement released by Dynamite Entertainment, co-publisher (with DC Entertainment) of the mini-series. “It was reading his Zorro stories that convinced me what a good idea it was to join these two icons together.  And the story idea we came up with is thrilling, and I think will be an exciting new chapter for both characters.”

The original Django Unchained was adapted into a seven-issue miniseries by DC Entertainment in 2013, with writer and producer Reginald Hudlin handling the scripting chores for the project, and artist R.M. Guera illustrating. Hudlin, who’s working on Django/Zorro as editor, pointed out that the series is the first time Tarantino has “explored the continuing adventures of one of the characters from his films,” underscoring the uniqueness of the project.

Dynamite publisher and CEO Nick Barrucci called Django/Zorro a “dream project,” adding “I can’t express how happy I am to co-publish this series with DC Entertainment, and release what is sure to be the cross-over event of the year.”

The series is set for release in the second half of 2014.

You can pinpoint the exact moment when Apple lost the WWDC audience on Monday. John Ternus, the company's VP of hardware engineering, had just revealed that the Pro Display XDR, its new high-end 6K monitor, will cost $4,999. That's pricey, but reasonable considering all of the features it offers. But then there was one more thing, and not the good kind. One hour, forty two minutes and five seconds into the keynote stream, he revealed that the Pro Display's stand is a separate $999 purchase. The crowd, which was mostly enthusiastic until then, erupted into cautious murmurs -- enough to make Ternus stammer as he continued on. He was completely unprepared for the Apple faithful to question the glorious technology being bestowed upon them.

Here's the thing: The Pro Display XDR stand seems nice. It has the sort of elegant modernist design you'd expect from Apple; it can smoothly tilt up to 25 degrees, while also holding everything firmly in place; and it can even be nudged into portrait mode. But is it worth $999? Unlikely. From my perspective, as someone who spends way too much time thinking about the relative value of electronics, it seems like a raw deal. And it continues a trend we're seeing from Apple recently: trying to upsell attractive tech that ultimately doesn't do much for users.

UltimateMarvel wrote:I'M BACK BITCHES! My internet has been down, the wire came out from the pole and has just been hanging on the sidewalk. Technician said something heavy must have pulled it or maybe electricians did some work and made a mistake. All that matters is that it's replaced and secured now.

WyldeMan wrote:You're alive!

The Supreme Court on Monday left intact a federal law that requires the registration of some firearms, including silencers, and turned away a request to consider whether such firearm accessories are protected by the Second Amendment.

An appeals court had held that a silencer is not a "bearable" arm protected by the Constitution.

The case comes as a silencer was used during the recent Virginia Beach massacre and President Donald Trump suggested he'd look into restrictions on gun silencers. The Trump administration had also urged the court not to take up the issue.

The order was issued without comment or recorded dissent.

Shane Cox owned an army surplus store in Kansas where he sold unregistered homemade silencers and Jeremy Kettler bought one of them. They were convicted under the National Firearms Act, passed in 1934, which requires individuals to register silencers and to pay a federal tax of about $200. The law has the effect of limiting the number of silencers, but not banning them. It also makes it harder to transfer them.

Eight states and Washington, DC, go further and ban silencers altogether, others ban them unless registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Court experts did not expect the court to take up this issue, but believe justices are more likely to look at other issues concerning public carry and assault weapons.

Some believe the lower courts are thumbing their nose at the landmark Heller v. US decision in 2008 holding that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms. Earlier in this term the justices did agree, however, to take up a Second Amendment case for next term about a New York City gun law concerning the transport of guns outside the home.

Justin Bieber is headed straight into the danger zone.

In a rather strange tweet that seemed to come out of nowhere, the pop star challenged actor Tom Cruise to a fight on Sunday evening.

“I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the octagon,” Bieber wrote. “Tom if you dont take this fight your scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite ?”

First: Why?

Second: There are probably a few other reasons Cruise might reject this opportunity other than being scared. He might think a celebrity boxing match is rather silly or beneath him, for instance. Or he might be busy doing just about anything else. Or perhaps he realizes that his best outcome from this is simply beating up Justin Bieber which is something he probably didn’t wake up Monday morning wanting to do anyway.

As for Bieber asking who is willing to host such a fight, the answer is probably just about anyone with a backyard, really.

The Mission: Impossible star has not commented on the throw-down challenge.

Some stats: Bieber is 25 years old, 5’9″, and reportedly 146 pounds.

Cruise is 56 years old, 5’7″, and anywhere from 148 to 170 pounds depending on what source you read.

Yet most seem to think Cruise — who regularly trains to stay in peak physical condition and does many of his own stunts in his films — would wipe the floor with the “Baby” singer.

Fighter Conor McGregor has offered to host the bout and took aim at Cruise noting the fight would happen if the actor is “man enough to accept this challenge,” adding, “Does Cruise have the sprouts to fight, like he does in the movies?”

In other words: This is Cruise’s mission, should he choose to accept it.

joey con carne wrote:I am posting this article because I know how much Wylde loves it when suppressors are called "silencers".

joey con carne wrote:In other news, Justin Bieber wants to fight Tom Cruise. And Conor MacGregor wants to know if Cruise is man enough to accept the challenge. Personally, my money is on Cruise even if he is 56 years old. He trains a lot for his films and probably knows how to fight for real.

It was three years ago this month that Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin died at the age of 27 in a horrific car crash.  I met Yelchin several times and found him to be a fascinating guy and much-beloved by his Starfleet colleagues. Many of them (including J.J. Abrams, Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, and Zachary Quinto) are in Love, Antosha, the documentary feature about Yelchin’s life that premiered to much acclaim at Sundance. Check out the trailer and you’ll see why.

UltimateMarvel wrote:I didn't know he took photos as a hobby, very weird ones. lol I have a feeling this documentary is going to make me cry. He was very talented and he is missed.

Tyger wrote:He would’ve made at least 9 more movies by now they’d each be different from the last

Tyger wrote:Radiohead got hacked, someone got 18 hours of sessions for OK Computer and tried to extort the band, so they just put it up on bandcamp for 18 days

Tyger wrote:OK Computer is their album from 1997, I think it’s fair to say it’s their most popular.

Bandcamp is a webstore for musicians. You can buy physical merch, but it’s mostly for digital releases.

joey con carne wrote:It’s been raining on and off throughout the day here. Now it is freakin’ pouring outside. I hate when it rains so hard. I feel like my house will start leaking or some shit. Uggghhhhh

On the plus side, I will be having a couple of empanadas from the food cart guy on my way into work tomorrow. Good stuff.

joey con carne wrote:The website says the cabinets are just under four feet. I feel like that's pretty small.

Still, I'd get Street Fighter II Championship Edition. Looks great.

“Doctor Sleep” continues the story of Danny Torrance, 40 years after his terrifying stay at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson and newcomer Kyliegh Curran star in the supernatural thriller, directed by Mike Flanagan, from his own screenplay based upon the novel by Stephen King.

Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the “shine.” Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality.

Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra’s innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before—at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past.

“Doctor Sleep” stars Ewan McGregor (“Star Wars: Episodes I, II & III,” “T2 Trainspotting”) as Dan Torrance, Rebecca Ferguson (the “Mission: Impossible” films, “The Greatest Showman”) as Rose the Hat, and Kyliegh Curran, in her major feature film debut, as Abra. The main ensemble cast also includes Carl Lumbly, Zahn McClarnon, Emily Alyn Lind, Bruce Greenwood, Jocelin Donahue, Alex Essoe and Cliff Curtis.

Trevor Macy and Jon Berg produced the film, with Roy Lee, Scott Lumpkin, Akiva Goldsman and Kevin McCormick serving as executive producers.

Flanagan’s behind-the-scene creative team was led by director of photography Michael Fimognari (“The Haunting of Hill House”), production designers Maher Ahmad (“Get Hard”) and Elizabeth Boller (“Hush”), and costume designer Terry Anderson (“Den of Thieves”). The music score is composed by The Newton Brothers (“The Haunting of Hill House”).

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, An Intrepid Pictures/Vertigo Entertainment Production, A Mike Flanagan Film, “Doctor Sleep.” Slated for release in North America on November 8, 2019, and globally beginning on October 30, 2019, “Doctor Sleep” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Tyger wrote:I haven’t read the book, so I’m curious if he’s actually physically back in the Overlook or if it’s a mental thing

Tyger wrote:I’ve never heard of either of those brands

Tyger wrote:Ah, I am familiar with Dreyer's and Breyers. I don’t understand regional naming. Like Carl's Jr./Hardee's. What’s the fucking point?

joey con carne wrote:I thought Turkey Hill was a national brand. Well, in any case, you guys aren’t missing much. Blue Bunny is still my favorite supermarket ice cream brand. That’s some good shit.