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yoda

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Posts posted by yoda

    The Star Wars thread (includes spoilers for IX)

    in TV and Film Forum

    Posted · Edited by yoda

    Quote

     

    Spoiler

    Obviously it doesn't fit in with the "Look! A plot hole!" stuff that we all need to get involved in but...

    ...regardless of their meeting in this series "When I left you I was but the learner; Now I am the master" still holds true. He does say "We meet again" in A New Hope but that obviously isn't the same as saying "When we last met I was a learner". I don't really see the issue.

    I'm not overly enamoured with the prospect of a second series though. There's too much content.

     

    0

    Better Call Saul

    in US TV

    Posted

    Spoiler

    I loved / hated that.

    Howard was obnoxious and privileged and I didn't particularly care for him. But he wasn't a bad guy and he didn't really deserve any of Kim and Jimmy's nonsense this season, let alone deserve having his brains splattered all over the wall. His final monologue to them was good and I think that's Kim's turning point.

    Despite Mike thinking she's made of sterner stuff, she obviously doesn't have the guts for this life that Jimmy does. Case in point: how bothered she was by Jimmy's remark about "the wicked". She's getting out sooner rather than later and I suspect that's the event that sees Saul Goodman totally replace Jimmy McGill. 

    I've never been sold on the idea that this takes us right into Breaking Bad. There's too much going on to lead right into it and I hope it doesn't. Not every moment needs to be on screen.

    Its been a really enjoyable first half of the season. Even the filler episodes are high quality and keep you engaged. And that's something a lot of shows struggle with.

     

    0

    Cancel culture

    in The General Nonsense Forum

    Posted

    Quote

    [Clarkson & Johnson's] careers have flourished by exploiting the notion that they are lone voices of sanity against a politically correct snowflake cabal intent on silencing normal blokes like them. Their comedy counterpart Ricky Gervais has managed to monetise this notion spectacularly, saying the things that he is apparently not allowed to say, on a variety of global media platforms, for millions of dollars, with the full co-operation and approval of the legal representatives of the institutions on which, and about which, he says the things he is not allowed to say, his functionally adequate standup act having been overpromoted worldwide off the back of his pitch-perfect contribution to the groundbreaking Office sitcom two decades ago.

     

    5

    Bitcoin/cryptocurrency thread

    in The General Nonsense Forum

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Aufc said:

    The last 50 comments highlight perfectly my previous point about no middle ground with crypto

    Here's a middle ground:

    It's a speculative "asset" and if you can afford to lose / invest your disposable income in it then go for it. On the other hand, it's still a speculative "asset" and it's not going to be replacing fiat currency for daily transactions let alone overtaking the dollar as a global reserve currency.

    In general, the Kool Aid drinking crypto bros are less reasonable than the crypto sceptics. At least in my personal experience.

    2

    Albums of 2022

    in The Music Forum

    Posted

    I've not been blown away by anything so far this year. Maybe the Big Thief album? It was pretty good. But everything else* I've listened to has just been fine but hasn't gone on repeat.

    I've not listened to Sharon Van Etten's new one yet but I don't think it'll top Remind Me Tomorrow. Although I'll probably need to give it a spin before the Barrowlands gig next month. SAULT's one is on my list too. 

    New stuff from Angel Olsen, Julia Jacklin, and Stella Donnelly has my interest. Plus there's supposed to be new albums from Sigur Ros and The Orielles, so that's something to potentially look forward to.

     

    *Black Country New Road, Wet Leg, Father John Misty, Aldous Harding, Arcade Fire, and Fontaines DC.

     

    0

    Cost of Living Crisis

    in The Politics Forum

    Posted

    On 05/05/2022 at 17:17, Billy Jean King said:

    I would suggest that if the massive dunt in disposable income created by the energy price hikes isn't slowing spending then a quarter % rise in interest rates is basically pissing into the wind as a measure to halt inflation. They can raise rates to their hearts content but there is very little ability / incentive to save as things stand. It's going to take literally dozens of rises this size to have the desired effect so it needs looking at from a different angle although I'm not sure there is another effective way to halt rampant inflation.

    The current inflation is not really a demand side issue (and it's got very little to do with government spending in the pandemic no matter what the fiscally conservative commentators say). Sure there are some demand factors at play but it's predominantly supply side effects from the exiting pandemic and now a war in Europe. Plus there's a liberal amount of price gouging from various companies and producers (and the evidence says this is definitely happening).

    Consumer spending is going to fall (and probably has already given we're in a recession) but inflation won't budge because spending is not the main driver. Interest rates won't have much impact (because they're still relatively low; because there's a significant time lag for them to have any effect; because monetary policy isn't as powerful as the central banks told everyone) but the point of the increases is just signalling.

    Realistically the only way to handle this inflation is for the government to take steps to limit the damage until inflation falls back to "normal" levels. That means reducing the impact of higher prices by putting money in the pockets of low income households. It's not unrealistic to assume that a lot of low-income households were furloughed. Those same households saw a reduction in savings during the pandemic and it's not likely that they were ever topped up again. 

    The price gouging aspect won't be resolved until we move away from this current model of shareholder capitalism (and that's not going to happen). 

    0

    2022 travel plans

    in The Travel Forum

    Posted

    I'm planning a trip to the Netherlands in a couple of months (Groningen and Amsterdam / Haarlem, probably). What's the deal with using my Starling debit card over there? I've read conflicting things - Starling say it's fine but a few things online say that MasterCard and Visa aren't widely accepted outside of Amsterdam.

    I'll be taking cash with me anyway but just wanted to know if I'll be fine with my card or should get a travel card?

    0

    Albums of 2022

    in The Music Forum

    Posted · Edited by yoda

    I don't mind the Wet Leg album. It won't be in my top ten of the year. But I liked most of the singles. It's disposable fun indie rock and that's okay. 

    I don't get the hate; it's very inoffensive stuff.

    1

    FIRE Discussion and Resources

    in The General Nonsense Forum

    Posted

    30 minutes ago, beefybake said:

    And this article is one of those snow jobs that complain about passive funds, and the retail investors who put their money into them.

    It's not a "snow job" just because you don't like it. There's some good points in it, particularly regarding their market power.

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