1541

Flat Earth Community / Re: Water down a plug hole?

« on: June 30, 2016, 06:00:10 AM »

Not a myth.  It is however a very weak effect, easily overcome by any number of other effects.  The guys at Smarter Every Day and Veritasium have collaborated on a joint experiment, see it here.

It is just the same a myth that water goes down the drain in different directions according to hemisphere just because it requires such strongly controlled conditions (it's not something that one would observe in a normal tub or toilet, and therefore easily observable to everybody, yet that is the claim that is made) .

So why do hurricanes rotates counterclockwise and cyclones clockwise? The dividing line is the equator, not the path of the sun.

I long ago posited the opinion that the effect is caused by subatomic particles that we are yet to be able to observe called coriolons.  Coriolons apparently originate at the equator (though not necessarily from the surface) and very subtly affect the motion of fluids at or near the surface of the Earth (including high in the atmosphere, of course, and possibly deep in the very bowels of the Earth as well).

1542

Flat Earth Community / Re: Water down a plug hole?

« on: June 29, 2016, 01:09:38 PM »

Not a myth.  It is however a very weak effect, easily overcome by any number of other effects.  The guys at Smarter Every Day and Veritasium have collaborated on a joint experiment, see it here.

It is just the same a myth that water goes down the drain in different directions according to hemisphere just because it requires such strongly controlled conditions (it's not something that one would observe in a normal tub or toilet, and therefore easily observable to everybody, yet that is the claim that is made) .

1543

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Game of Thrones

« on: June 28, 2016, 02:52:51 AM »

They seemed to have skipped over a lot of details in that episode.  I don't care, that was the best finale and this is the best season yet.

1544

Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: 2016 US Presidential Race

« on: June 26, 2016, 04:20:23 PM »

http://www.npr.org/2016/06/22/483085166/donald-trump-clinton-is-the-most-corrupt-person-ever-to-run-for-president

"No secretary of state has been more wrong, more often, in more places, than Hillary Clinton," he said. "Her decisions spread death, destruction and terrorism everywhere she touched."

Trump is trying to get people to assassinate Hillary.  How dare he.

Might as well call her Hitlery Clinton, amirite?

1545

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Game of Thrones

« on: June 21, 2016, 02:28:18 PM »

Book Dany intended to invade Westeros with her army of  village burning slave taking rapists from the moment she asserted her independence from Viseris. And the dragons from the moment they hatched. Honestly I'm not seeing the distinction between Book Dany and Show Dany's plans that you seem to be drawing.

1546

Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: 2016 US Presidential Race

« on: June 21, 2016, 02:45:04 AM »

That's insane, Trump is nothing like Hitler!  Hitler came into power by playing on the nationalistic fears and prejudices of his country's people, while completely ostracizing and even targeting multiple specific demographics within his own population...

Umm. 

Oh wait... 

Well we can always hope he doesn't win the presidency, anyway.  Then there would be no need to assassinate him.

1547

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Game of Thrones

« on: June 21, 2016, 02:04:59 AM »

Rickon's death was basically Darwinian culling.  Did it never occur to him that by running in a straight line he was making himself an easy target?

1548

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Game of Thrones

« on: June 20, 2016, 09:21:47 PM »

She has her fleet, her army, and her three grown dragons. If she is not sailing for Westeros by the end of next episode there is something wrong.

1549

Flat Earth Community / Re: i have a thing with the moon!!!!

« on: June 18, 2016, 06:36:23 AM »

I have a thing with the moon too.  But don't tell the sun!

1550

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Just Watched

« on: June 18, 2016, 06:23:06 AM »

Recently watched Gone With the Wind (1939) for the first time.

I've been exposed to it in dribs and drabs my entire life on account of it being my mom's favorite movie of all time.  I bought it for her Christmas two years ago (a deluxe package of it, obviously) and threw out the idea of watching it with her.  I'm not usually one for romances, but this being the all-time classic it is, I thought it might be worth it anyway.  Then last week I asked her about watching it.  It turns out she's been waiting to watch it until I watched it with her, because I brought up watching it with her.  Which I thought was touching.  We watched it last Saturday.

So... Overall, I enjoyed it a surprising amount.  The last hour or so was a snooze (just a misery congo, basically, to show how being as awful a person as Scarlett was can have a negative effect on your life, I guess, never mind the added melodrama of having her daughter die) but up to that point it was fairly engrossing.  Although its portrayal of the Old South is hugely romanticized (and besides that the inhumanity of slavery is completely sidelined), it's still an interesting portrait of life in the region at the time, and its portrayal of the misery inflicted on the South by the Civil War is quite poignant. 

It's a breathtaking beautiful movie, almost worth the four-hour investment just for how pretty it looks.  It does however suffer from a problem you see in a lot of movies from this era, in that the actors look like they're acting.  Vivian Leigh is incredibly hammy at times, Clark Gable practically winks throughout the entire movie, and there are spaces where Olivia de Haviland is almost comically weak and helpless.  Not to mention that all of the black actors would look at home in a minstrel show, but this is another regrettable issue that is fairly prevalent in films from this era.  Nonetheless Hattie McDaniel deserved the Oscar win as Mammy.  She was fabulous.

Overall I was surprisingly pleased with how much I enjoyed this.  But I'm not sure I'll ever invest the four hours to watch it again.

1551

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Official Sports Thread

« on: June 18, 2016, 02:57:10 AM »

I'm definitely interested.  We're talking about real football here, right?

1552

Flat Earth Community / Re: What is the problem with Atheism?

« on: June 17, 2016, 05:50:51 PM »

Now, I assume that being an atheist you are a FEer yourself?

What does one have to do with the other?

Well, RE science has gotten itself into a bit of a pickle, imho.  In explaining the wonders of the universe down to almost the minutest detail, you've created a number of variables that, if even off slightly, would not have allowed life to exist (no, I'm not talking about the so-called "Goldilocks zone", you guys have covered that one brilliantly; what I speak of is more a "Goldilocks universe", a universe that was juuuuuuuust right for life to exist).

It just makes much more sense for such a universe to have been created, because otherwise you're looking at a statistically impossible coincidence that things turned out so perfect for life.  And if it was created, there is a creator, QED.

So it really makes no sense for me to be a REer and not believe in God.

On the other hand, FET is so wide-open and unexplored, its deepest mysteries have yet to be revealed.  It may come about that after exhaustive research into the origins of the universe we will run into the same issue.  But there's no reason to assume it at this point, so it's perfectly reasonable to be a FEer and also be an atheist.

Do I REALLY need a religion to be moral? What If I don't agree with any religious moral principles (homosexuality, gender equality, etc.)?

I see that you were probably a "one and done", but I thought this was worth addressing too in case you do come back.  It's easy to be religious and disagree with some of your religion's doctrines about morality.  I know lots of people who are able to achieve this.  All you have to do is turn your brain off and pretend it makes sense to pick and choose what you want to believe out of whichever book it is that you believe in that was supposedly transcribed by an infallible God.  That's all!

1553

Flat Earth Theory / Re: $UPER FLAT

« on: June 15, 2016, 05:59:27 AM »

To date nobody has seen the edge, so nobody can verify if it exists.  Indeed, as much as our knowledge can tell us, the Earth may go on forever, and there are FE proponents who hold that to be the case.  But Rowbotham is really the authority here; he said that what lies beyond that which has been observed is anybody's guess.

1554

Flat Earth Media / Re: What's on the underside of the Earth?

« on: June 14, 2016, 05:52:39 AM »

He's being super serous.

1555

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Just Watched

« on: June 14, 2016, 03:09:50 AM »

I'm actually ok with them being incredibly short series. With this kind of series, it would be all too easy to become desensitised to them, or just pack a longer series run with padding.

Point taken.  I guess it would be unreasonable to expect a show like this to be so consistently excellent if there were twenty or even ten episodes produced a year.

1556

Flat Earth Community / Re: What is the problem with Atheism?

« on: June 14, 2016, 02:44:22 AM »

You won't have that problem here, my friend.  A lot of FEers here are atheist.  Now, I assume that being an atheist you are a FEer yourself? 

1557

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Game of Thrones

« on: June 14, 2016, 02:42:05 AM »

I agree with mollete too.  Arya was used to not being able to see when fighting the Waif.  She leveled the playing field by snuffing the candle.  It's really all we needed to know.  I don't think it was a cheat at all.

1558

Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Orlando mass shooting

« on: June 12, 2016, 06:29:14 PM »

Do you have any relevant data on the subject?

I was hoping you did. 

Also, I don't recall myself making any assumptions in my post.

Oh ok.

1559

Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Orlando mass shooting

« on: June 12, 2016, 06:07:51 PM »

This is the largest terrorist attack since 9/11. Very unfortunate.

Where was the good guy with a gun the NRA always promises us?

Gays=Liberals=Bad Guys

They don't equal bad guys, but they do equal people that are extremely likely not to be carrying a gun. If you're a "guns should be banned" liberal it'd be awfully stupid to insist on carrying one around.

Is there any actual correlation between being gay and opinion on gun control, or are you assuming that being gay=being liberal=having all liberal views?

1560

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Just Watched

« on: June 11, 2016, 11:37:57 PM »

Black Mirror (Season 1, Episodes 1-3 / Various directors, 2011)

An anthology series much like Twilight Zone, though generally facing much more real (or possibly soon-to-be-real) scenarios. This season is only three episodes long, but they're each 40-60 minutes and each exceptionally well done. I don't want to say much about it, because I really suggest you give this a shot knowing nothing about each episode. If you just want one to check out, I'd recommend either episode 3 or 2, since I find those two the most harrowing and fascinating, but they're all amazing. Give it a go.

Ooh, wait til you get to "White Bear".

God, 'White Bear' is terrifying - it's exactly the sort of grisly revenge-fantasy porn that I can imagine The Daily Mail campaigning for.

My favourite is a really close toss-up between 'White Bear', '15 Million Credits', and 'White Christmas' the end to all three sub-stories and the arc are horrific, like, keep you up all night thinking about the consequences horrific.

That's what makes them so engrossing.  I actually just watched "White Christmas" for the first time a couple weeks ago and I was fairly blown away, which of course is nothing unusual for this show.  What really gets me about it and "White Bear" is the way it makes you sympathetic for characters that just don't deserve it (and there were two such characters in "White Christmas", although to be fair I guess one of them wasn't quite real, but still...).

I still give the edge to "White Bear" because it really punches you in the gut, and then before the episode is over it punches you in the gut again.  I don't think I've ever seen anything so unsettling on TV before.  There's a breezy, humorous quality to "White Christmas" that makes its more disturbing implications a bit easier to take.  But these are definitely my three favorite episodes as well.  I wish they would make more already (damn British TV scheduling, 3 episodes a season?!?).  I know they were planning to produce more episodes for Netflix.

Also I wish more people watched it.