Svengali

Monty, did you see this? I know you (and some others here) love the first three films as much as I do: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2316587 "Amazon today announced it has acquired the global television rights to The Lord of the Rings, based on the celebrated fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, with a multi-season commitment. ... Set in Middle Earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The deal includes a potential additional spin-off series." So many questions ... Will it take place between the Hobbit and FOTR, or will it go back to The Silmarillion (the Tolkien Estate and Christopher T are involved in the deal so it's entirely possible) ? Will it be filmed at our fav locations in NZ? Will they have all the costumes and weapons from WETA again? Will it have Howard Shore doing the score or some generic soundtrack? Will the Tolkien Estate change everything that they disliked about the movies and this will end up looking very very different? (that could of course turn out to be a good thing, a change, if it works) ... There's no further information at this point. It's all a bit worrisome ... I so want this to be good.

I think the Off-Topic General forum should be renamed to Fifteen Bored Dads Hike Their Pants Up To Their Nipples And Yell At Foreigners.

I survived the first season of Star Trek Voyager and have officially named the crew in my head Captain Cinnabun Commander Chipotle Constipated Tupac Smarmy the pilot Botswana the roadrage turtlehead The Very Hairy Kim Doctor Rogaine Kes of Rivendell Netflix the bloody awful leprechaun, cousin to Jarjar Binx, and sole reason why I may quit the series

Yeah, but r/books is such a silly place. I've since realized that reviews on goodreads are actually alright though. Just sometimes need to scroll down below the highest rated ones filled with irritating animated gifs to get to the decent ones. __ I'm currently reading Churchill's A History of the English-Speaking Peoples to prepare myself for Shakespeare's War Of The Roses plays and it's so densely packed with information I almost feel like taking a recovery nap after every 10 pages. It's also funny how Churchill isn't hiding his bias, he clearly roots for the "English race" against every invading Roman, Saxon, Viking, Norman, on and on. (that island is one giant boneyard and I really want to go back there and start digging for some "sweet swords 'n stuff" in a farmer's field)

Great, thanks for the info once again. What made you stop watching Deadwood after 6 episodes? (I stopped after only two because Calamity Jane was the most annoying thing I've ever come across on screen... but I'll give it another chance at some point) Fun bonus fact: It's next to impossible to fast forward on my tablet (I watch everything on xbmc/Kodi), and there's no mute button so that means I'm going to listen to that gawd awful Enterprise theme song that you secretly love for four seasons while frantically trying to locate the volume slider each and every time. Hooray.

So Enterprise, then MM, then BB, then GoT. Then Voyager and Farscape and others to get that sci-fi fix. Oh but there's more. Much more ... Others I want to watch: Peaky Blinders Boardwalk Empire Fargo The Bridge Wolf Hall Sherlock Holmes Sopranos Deadwood (seen two episodes, hooray) The Wire Wallander Broadchurch (been a "movie guy" for many years, that's why I haven't watched these) I'm terrible at making decisions when faced with so many choices. Almost want to give up, become a complete shut-in and watch them all on VintageCanuck's 20-monitor set up.

Yikes.. You know, I think my favourite thing so far in the entire Star Trek nerdaverse is when they just simply sit around the poker table (in TNG) and chat about their day. Now it seems like they've turned Star Trek into nothing but continuous action ... like they've taken both the science and the fiction out of it. (time to go to sleep because I can't decide if that was a brilliant or idiotic thing to say) (my second favourite thing is when LaForge or O'Brien say ridiculous things like "if I reversed the polarity on the phase induction coils I just might be able to realign the plasma field modulators and since no one else is still reading this part man I can't believe they killed off my favourite character Jadzia Dax and also do you think I should finally start watching Game of Thrones or Mad Men or Breaking Bad alongside Enterprise? I'm basically 20 years behind on tv series")

Great, thanks for the camera and lens info guys (and the cheat sheets). Those are neat pics, travella.

Cool, thanks. I've been playing around with the settings and am now in P mode. Holding the shutter button halfway down now displays the shutter speed, the aperture, and ISO so I can learn (just as you suggested). May I just say how f$%#king cool that is? Ahem ... Sitting in this chair here it's 1/20, F3.5, and 640, and I don't know what I'm talking about, haha. I've got some Googling to do. (I just keep thinking about a photographer in the 1800s reaction to that display) Don't seem to have those A or S priority modes, it's a beginner camera. It's pretty decent for what it is, has a great zoom, but far too many wacky fluff effects that I will never use. It's almost embarrassing just knowing that they exist on the camera. Anyway I know it's early for me to ask this but what would be a decent upgrade for a person who wants to move past a beginner camera to a "real" camera? What would be the first intermediate camera that you'd suggest? I'd just like to store that info in my brain for sooner or later.

Beach by my place: I'm experimenting and still new at this. Haven't looked into the settings on my camera yet either, just using the auto mode but that will change soon. Ready to learn. I see everything I want to change in the pic but am unfortunately unable to drag the mountains closer with my bare hands. Used a little free picture viewer program named IrfanView to add the frame but am all ears for editing program suggestions from you experts.

Rose explosion (ro'splosion?) outside my door: And this is Alexandre Furrows, he lives on my property but cannot get to the tasty roses:

I've also been meaning to listen to those Hitchhiker's radio plays for years, still haven't done so. But I am a fan of Dylan Thomas (love his writing) and he did quite a lot of radio work on BBC. None of it is going to split your sides like Adams or Monty Python do but some of it is very funny. His radio play Under Milk Wood is a good one. Try listening to it at night with a whisky in a nice comfy chair.

Haha, did you actually "hate watch" three entire seasons? That's so insane it's impressive. I've only watched half a season with Ecclestone and Billie Piper, and a few episodes with Capaldi. As a kid I watched reruns with the afro'd guy with the long colourful scarf. I think the fact that its so hugely popular and has such a long history makes me feel like I'm missing out on a gigantic event. Maybe you're feeling that as well. And since it's British and BBC I hoped it would satisfy some old Douglas Adams cravings inside of me (I mean that's of course the explanation for all of this: I haven't read a sci-fi novel in years and its obviously left a gap, it's why I watched all of TNG a year or so ago and now DS9 ... but I'm also watching terrible movies like The Chronicles of Riddick a few nights ago, that's a horrendous sign of sci-fi withdrawal). But yeah, there's just something about the cheapness of Dr Who's visual effects that's, um ... both "charming and repulsive" at the same time. But that theme song though, it's so damn good. That's a great suggestion. Watched about a season of it a decade ago (and developed a crush on Claudia Black). Putting it on "the list". Thanks.

Cool, I'll give it go for sure (after Voyager). I just watched the opening credits for it on youtube and yeah that theme song is really bizzare for a Star Trek series ... it sounds like Christian Rock music.

Seen random episodes of Voyager over time on tv. I know they're lost and there's a Native American Maquis guy, and a black dude with no rhythm, and an awful looking little leprechaun who cooks the food on board the ship. And of course Chesty Larue Seven of Nine. I always forget that the Enterprise series exists, have never watched that one. You've made it sound interesting though. Also I've never even watched a full episode of the original series with Shatner and Spock either. Some combination of terrible styrofoam stalagmites and that annoying sonar "ping" noise on the bridge always drives me away from that show.

I've been watching Deep Space 9 over the past few months (currently halfway through season 6 ) and have been enjoying it a lot more than I thought I was going to. Some episodes are super cheesy but there are enough good ones for me to like this series. The one called The Visitor caused me to break down 3 or 4 times, in fact I'm even getting verclempt right now just thinking about it ... For that alone I'll always like DS9. Have to add that Jadzia Dax has definitely become my second favourite Trek character after Picard. Also I might even put Garrak the tailor in my top 5. The actor playing Gul Dukat is fantastic as well. The question now is do I continue on to Voyager after this or start a totally different series?.. So far, TNG, DS9, and Firefly are the sci-fi tv series that I like. (I've made several attempts over the years to watch Doctor Who because I love the theme song, but visually the show just doesn't appeal to me) That film was so bloody uncomfortable ... it's been three years since I've seen it yet I just squirmed a little in my seat. The crazy red haired Norwegian guy was funny though.

I've seen the tasty bbq posts in that Whats On Tonight's Menu thread of yours and I'm now totally inviting myself over to Riffraff Manor for some good eats this summer. Cheers. (you can come to my place on Swedish Midsummer for pickled herring and akvavit followed by dancing around the pole, the Feats Of Strength, and then the Insulting of Norwegians)

Don't want that ominous post of mine on the previous page just sitting there forever, so typing this one as well: Had first visit with neurologist, she said I had "a very nice brain" which was great to hear, and the liquid that the other two doctors saw is just a bit at the back of my head, it's harmless and apparently something that 5% of the population is born with. I'm extra juicy for some lucky zombie, I guess. The head shaking is possibly something wrong in my central nervous system, so more CATscans and bloodtests to do. I'm just so incredibly relieved that it's not a brain tumor, or Parkinsons, or M.S., or lockjaw, pinkeye, and hotdog-fingers. I can now relax a bit and enjoy the summer. And guys, when it comes to regular doctors, get a second opinion if at all possible. One of the doctors had me secretly terrified for far too long due to his inability to read the brain scan and the way he kept throwing around possible ailments all willy-nilly.

Another restless night of worrying ... I've been dizzy for months and have had a constant non-stop tremor causing my head to shake like Catherine Hepburn (except it's not Parkinsons). Had two doctors do a tonne of tests on me and brain scans but they weren't sure about the results so they sent them to a neuro surgeon. I'm glad the neuro is taking me on but I also wish he hadn't have found a reason for me to come in ... (there's apparently a lot of liquid in my brain but there was something else as well that the other doctors were unsure of). I don't facebook or twitter or any of that stuff, and I don't actually post on reddit or any other forum online, so I'm just typing this here anonymously at 4am on a tablet in bed because I haven't told any of my friends or family how worried I actually am. I've used the word I about 50 times in this post, sorry ... in fact my last few posts have felt like I'm writing my own eulogy or biography or something ... need to stop this silly morbid way of thinking and try to sleep. Actually this might have helped, I think I can fall asleep now.

Been reading Willie non stop for a month now and the two main things I've learned from the experience are: 1) I need to read Metamorphoses by Ovid. 2) They sure did love dick jokes in the Elizabethan era. (there's nothing new I can possibly say about Shakespeare's work so instead I'll mention that the castle Elsinore in Hamlet is one of my favourite places from childhood. It's in Helsingør in the land of the Danskjävlar, a twenty minute ferry ride from my hometown in Sweden, went there many many times ... such an amazing place, incredible museum and incredible dungeon catacombs beneath it ... was really neat to finally read the play now as an adult in BC and imagine in which rooms of the palace the scenes were taking place ... and I'm still trying to find the mysterious little castle that supposedly exists somewhere in Victoria)

I just finished The Nibelungenlied, the medieval German "extended version" of the saga of Siegfried and Brunnhilde (and the one that inspired Wagner's The Ring cycle). The final confrontation was 50 pages of heroes and kings and knights and warriors slaughtering each other ... it was absolutely nuts. I'm sort of chuckling about it now, but at the time of reading it was pretty damn intense and almost on par with The Iliad. Really liked it. Picked up a tonne of Willie Shakespeare yesterday. I don't even know where to start ... I'm exited for Hamlet and Macbeth, but can I actually bring myself to read Romeo and Juliet?.. Anyway, the real point of this post: where do you guys/gals go for reliable common sense reviews of modern books to check out? I don't know which *new* books are truly worth it. (goodreads and /rbooks seem to be 90% teenagers, so not much help there, and I doubt I could fully trust a book critic who works for a left or right leaning newspaper [which is mostly what I'm getting when I google for an answer])

^ I liked Paterson so much that I went and picked up some William Carlos Williams after watching it. (the plums in the icebox poem) My favourite 2016'ers: Sing Street Paterson Swiss Army Man The Handmaiden Love & Friendship La La Land Arrival Hunt for the Wilderpeople Shin Godzilla Have yet to see Silence and American Honey. Moonlight didn't do it for me.