pavonis

I have to agree with that. Science fiction lets people imagine the most extreme societies. I read a book, Jennifer Government, about a world dominated by corporations and practically no government. I've never met anyone else who has read it, but it would be interesting to discuss it with people of different political views. I admit, it may not be science fiction strictly speaking, more like speculative fiction, but then we haven't really defined sci-fi for purposes of this discussion.

What's getting better, Tex? And why should Trump's administration be credited with whatever it is you think is getting "better"?

You'd hate the situation if a Democrat were in office, admit it.

You're a tribal, partisan political "fan". You enjoy seeing people get pissed off - you've said that before - and that's pretty much all you get out of Trump's administration. There's no substance to your positions on anything.

Witty banter, there. Nice lack of substance in your response. Ever considered actually holding a conversation?

I'm not trying to insult you, pal. It just happens. You make it too easy, it's practically effortless. I mean, you said turds are for eating. That's really weird. Is that a saying in your neck of the woods?

Anyway - if Fett does get a movie, it would be fun to see more of the interior of Slave I. I wonder if it ever had a wet bar the way the Falcon did.

He's managed to piss off all our allies for no particular reason. He's sucking up to Putin instead, probably because he's in debt to Russian banks. He hasn't demonstrated any understanding of international trade - trying to start trade wars with everyone. He destroyed the Iran deal for no reason - Iran isn't going to stop trying to build nuclear weapons now. He pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accords just because. And it looks like he's taking bribes from China through the Trump Organization, which he never divested from.

ZTE is a Chinese telecom manufacturer. It uses U.S. technology, and circumvented a ban on exports to Iran and North Korea among other countries. Trump's Department of Commerce fined ZTE $1.19 billion for violating the bans. The Trump administration imposed a ban on US companies selling technology to ZTE, which hurt the company severely. Then in May, Trump tweeted that he was concerned about all the Chinese jobs lost due to the ban. That was about the same time that China decided to loan $500 million to a construction company to build Trump-brand golf courses and hotels in Indonesia. If a president, who didn't divest himself of his businesses, gets money (indirectly) from China, and is suddenly willing to reverse a legal decision made by his own administration, what is the harm? I'm sure Tex could come up with an answer to that question if it were a Democrat in the White House. But it's Trump, so it's apparently all good?

Trump is only out for himself. He doesn't have a policy that isn't reversible for the right price, an agenda that can't be changed if he's flattered by the right people, or any goals except the lining of his own pockets. It's acceptable, though, because he has ( R) next to his name.

What a delightful conversationalist you aren't, Tex. Burned any good books recently?

Again, further proof that you can’t put a Star Wars logo on a turd and expect people to eat it.

You're not supposed to eat turds, Tex. Didn't anyone ever explain that to you?

Anyway, didn't Fett climb out of the sarlaac pit in the EU? It's been done. A Fett movie would likely be set between ROTS and ESB, not post-ROTJ.

Neither Trump nor Kim are known for keeping their word. Kim doesn't have any voters to appease, and Trump doesn't care about voters, allies, or anyone else. Why should anyone think this meeting will produce any agreement that will last more than 5 minutes after it ends? Kim wins just by having a US President sit down with him like they're equals. North Korea isn't really going to give up its nuclear ambitions - what would it threaten everyone with if it has no nukes?

Must've hit a nerve.

Why? Do you need validation for being an unpleasant person? Do you want to show it off to your friends?

Oh wait. You don't have friends. Just exes.

If you want. Wasn't it your generation that started such things?

Wouldn't not qualifying actually make you qualified for a Trump administration job? Lack of competency is the common factor. You're not even a competent troll, Tex.

I'm sure there's hundreds of openings in Trump's administration. You should apply for at least four of them.

8. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. It was OK. Catchy title, good ideas (don't care too much about things that you can't really control) but the sustained use of "give a ****" throughout got to be very unsubtle and annoying.

9. 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson. Despite not being set in the same universe as the Mars Trilogy, there's so much backstory implied to be roughly the same as the trilogy that you might only make sense of 2312's setting if you had read the trilogy. Anyway, it was fun to read about such a radically different society with such advanced technology.

Still reading Africa: A Biography of a Continent, and enjoying it. Started reading Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics by Ruth Lewin Sime and The Great Unknown: Seven Journeys to the Frontiers of Science by Marcus du Sautoy. Maybe I should finish a book without picking up two more first?

Update: Finished Africa! Though the history only runs up to about 1997, so I guess I have to find out what happened next!

How many jobs do you need, Tex?

Well, what do you call it when humans are sexually attracted to Twi'Leks? In a universe with aliens ranging from nearly human to very non-humanoid and 'droids, what does it mean to be attracted to, say, only females, regardless of species or artificial nature? Saying Lando is pansexual is an acknowledgement that he's attractive and attracted to all. That's part of his character.

I keep waiting for someone to post "With my eyes".

 

 

 

So, Pav, basically by your logic, a sports fan who doesn't like the direction a coach is taking a baseball team, is somehow ridiculous when that sports fan expresses a desire for that coach to be fired or traded? What I am doing is the exact same thing. Indeed, how many sports fans feel about their favorite sport is how I feel about Star Wars. Where was your outrage 10-15 years ago when people were complaining about GL and the direction of the PT?

Yeah. Sports fans are ridiculous too. Far too emotionally attached to a game. Armchair expertise isn't real expertise.

So, the take away is if one hasn't done a dissertation and earned a PhD, or are otherwise a subject matter expert on any given subject, and hasn't purged all emotion like a freaking Vulcan, then they have no right to speak on said subject and should shut the eff up? Nice.

No. I just expect adults to be rational. You're an adult. You don't like RJ and TLJ. Fine. Don't expect Disney to fire him and not make his trilogy though. Do coaches get fired for one bad game? If you really want that outcome, though, follow up with Disney/LFL and start some sort of campaign. Railing on the internet's quietest message board isn't going to achieve anything.

So, Pav, basically by your logic, a sports fan who doesn't like the direction a coach is taking a baseball team, is somehow ridiculous when that sports fan expresses a desire for that coach to be fired or traded? What I am doing is the exact same thing. Indeed, how many sports fans feel about their favorite sport is how I feel about Star Wars. Where was your outrage 10-15 years ago when people were complaining about GL and the direction of the PT?

Yeah. Sports fans are ridiculous too. Far too emotionally attached to a game. Armchair expertise isn't real expertise.

 

 

That's ridiculous. You know they won't; why even say something like that? It just shows how bitter you are about something that's supposed to be entertaining. One poorly performing movie isn't reason enough to cancel future projects. Just because you didn't like RJ's take on Luke, et al., in TLJ doesn't mean he can't tell a good original story set in the SW universe.

Didn't care for TLJ so it is NOT ridiculous. OMG someone actually hates TLJ and doesn't think the same as you. How appalling! TLJ was a freaking episode, Pav. If he can't be bothered to do an episode correctly, then I have no interest in seeing any other Star Wars movies from Rian Johnson. Clearly you like TLJ, which is fine. But I have zero interest in that guy's work, at least where Star Wars is concerned.

It's not that we disagree. It's that you have unrealistic expectations. You'd be better off asking for a refund of your TLJ tickets

What one vision could there possibly be? Any vision for SW will alienate a vocal portion of the pre-existing fan base. Maybe they're just feeling out what works and what doesn't. Rogue One, with all new characters and tangentially related to the main plot of the original film, was popular. Solo, a backstory for a popular character, not so popular. There's no trend to determine what could happen yet, but maybe anthology films about new characters and separate plots will do better than spin-off films about pre-existing characters. Long-term fans have always had preconceived notions about what their favorite characters were like before the films. It's one reason, of the many, that the prequels are so reviled. Nobody had their childhood vision brought to the screen. A Boba Fett film or an Obi-wan in exile film, may not deliver anything the fans expect (just like R1 wasn't about a star fighter squadron).

Ha! No. But Solo underperforming at the box office is hardly due to RJ. There's no real evidence that TLJ influenced Solo's ticket sales, beyond the possible timing of the releases. If the Disney/LFL leadership are going to significantly change course, do you really think they're going to make such decisions based on one film that maybe they didn't expect to make a lot of money on? They gambled on Solo and didn't win. That's not a reason to change. A string of failures at the box office, a loss of sales of SW merchandise, and dismal attendance at their SW entertainment parks would be a sign to change their approach.

That's ridiculous. You know they won't; why even say something like that? It just shows how bitter you are about something that's supposed to be entertaining. One poorly performing movie isn't reason enough to cancel future projects. Just because you didn't like RJ's take on Luke, et al., in TLJ doesn't mean he can't tell a good original story set in the SW universe.

Identifying Lando as pansexual doesn't work because the issue it addresses is rooted squarely in 2010s sexual, identity and social justice politics. People will one day look back on that and cringe in the same way many today look back on the flagrant cold war themes of 1950s sci-fi and cringe. It doesn't age well because it's about a cultural fad, not deep and enduring questions about human nature.

Or you could be completely wrong.

One, Lando's sexual orientation isn't really plot relevant, but it does make sense for the character's established nature. Two, non-binary sexuality isn't going away and it's not a cultural fad. Three, the nature of existence is an enduring question, and the character L3-37 addresses the issue of non-human rights, and that can be discussed endlessly.

All in the theatre at least once. Then buy them on Blu-ray.