Small Talk: The Quiver

[foreverevolving]

mmm I actually like Skye/Daisy, i'm not sure why some call her a snowflake I really don't think she is... I think some people just fail to see that while Agents is a ensemble show, every ensemble show does on occasions have one character that gets a bit more spotlight, that through their eyes the shows is viewed... I sometimes wonder if she were a man, would people still refer to her as a "snowflake"...

[TrueMyth]

Ugh.  Skye/Daisy has been at the center of almost every season plot of AoS. Some characters have had an episode or two, but she really does have a lot of narrative thrust that feels undeserved to me, especially in an ensemble show.  I also felt the actress was pretty week to start with.  She has a charisma and is pretty, but I found her portrayal fairly one note early on.  She's improved, but I still find her one of the weak links on the cast.

[Starfish35]

Taking the AoS conversation over to Mind Your Surroundings.......

[kismet]

4 hours ago, Starfish35 said:

Anyway, yeah.  I just heard about this Pokemon Go thing for the first time this morning on the news driving to work.  No, I don't live under a rock - it just seems that way some times. :)

The first time I heard about it I think was on this thread about a week ago just before the car talk... and then it absolutely blew up over the weekend.

My niece and nephews were playing it non-stop during our family birthday BBQ over the weekend. It was crazy and then I started seeing articles being posted on social media & news outlets about ways to keep safe while playing it. It's a sad state when news agencies feel the need to tell people to be careful when walking, avoid going into heavy traffic and don't do it while you drive.

Plus there was the girl that found the dead body and the criminals using it take advantage of people.

I don't think I've seen a phenomenon hit this quickly in a long while. I mean people got into some online games, but it took about a month for it to break the pop culture ceiling. And I never saw the News cover Candy Crush stories for 2 days in a row.

[Sakura12]

I started watching The Legend of Korra, I'm on Season 2. I'm enjoying it and don't really know why I didn't watch it when it was on. I watched and enjoyed Avatar. I heard a lot about this show when it was on, mostly the drama of it airing it online instead of on tv and taking forever to release the seasons. 

As for the show I liked seeing the kids of the Avatar characters and the brief appearances of the original characters. I know Toph shows up later in the series so I'm looking forward to seeing her again especially from meeting her daughter Lin. I liked that that the characters this time are older teens to make it different. I also like the radio announcer for the beginning recaps. I do know quite a bit about this series from hearing about it, I know it's more about the spirits and Korra loses her connection to the past Avatars and of course the hero getting the girl in the end. 

[FurryFury]

I was really disappointed by Korra. I mean, it wasn't bad, it just never reached the heights of ATLA, and it was painful to me. Other than the awesomeballs flashback episode about the first Avatar. I guess I had too many hopes for the show and it never lived up to my expectations.

I gave up somewhere during season 4 when I've realized I just don't care.

Edited July 12, 2016 by FurryFury

[Sakura12]

I just started Season 2 so I don't know if it gets worse or better yet. I like what I've seen so far. It's different than ATLA and I like that as well. The animation is much better, imo. 

[FurryFury]

Animation is better, and there's no Aang whom I couldn't stand, but writing-wise, there's nothing even approaching Zuko's character development, for instance. And I grew annoyed with Korra who seems to act like a typical hot-headed shounen hero and never really learns.

I did watch in on a weekly basis, and you're always harsher on a show when you watch it this way. I remember being sorely disappointed with the s1 finale and how easy everything turned out to be for Korra. Almost like the turtle in ATLA series finale. A Deus Ex Machina.

[Jediknight]

On 7/11/2016 at 10:50 PM, kismet said:

I don't think I've seen a phenomenon hit this quickly in a long while. I mean people got into some online games, but it took about a month for it to break the pop culture ceiling. And I never saw the News cover Candy Crush stories for 2 days in a row.

And Nintendo now has egg on their face for not having certain areas where people can't hunt for Pokemon.  Of course, people should have enough respect to not be playing a freaking game at places like Auschwitz, the Holocaust Museum, the 9/11 Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Jediknight

[JenMD]

Yeah, this Pokemon thing escalated fast.  First I'd seen it mentioned was in passing here, Friday night.  Other than being something you use outside, I was clueless.  So I go walking Saturday morning and spot a dad with two little boys getting directions from some teens. I thought they were getting directions to the local fair that just started until they went their separate ways and realize they were all glued to their phones - Oh, must be that new game, I figured, that's cute.  Little did I know.  Last night my sister and I watched a boy a ways in front of us wander off the path into the street until his girlfriend corralled him back on the path - both of them on their phones.  Today was the weirdest, though.  Tons of people out walking today and phones out EVERYWHERE.  It was like being the protagonist in a sci fi movie where you're the only one not infected by the evil alien and everybody else is completely oblivious.  Entire families, everybody with their own phone.  Kid on a bike trying to squeeze his hand and his phone through the chain link fence at the zoo (good luck if you drop it in, kid, zoo's closed).  Best of all (by best, I mean absolute idiotic worst) was the guy driving down the, thankfully empty, street on his phone (as was the passenger) who drifted into the wrong lane.  His window was open so my sister took great satisfaction at yelling at him.  Seriously.  This is weird.

[Starfish35]

Oh wow.  Sounds like something out of a Doctor Who episode. :)  I haven't actually seen anyone using it yet, at least that I could tell.  But it keeps popping up in the news.  I was reading about the Holocaust Museum thing today.  I mean, wow.  Seriously people?

[lemotomato]

The problem with Pokemon Go is that it uses data from an old game that it incorporated called Ingress, which was a augmented reality capture-the-flag type game. Ingress randomly placed important markers at not-so-great places-- graveyards, people's homes-- but only caused minor disturbances because there were relatively few people playing it (it was an Android-only app, which limited its popularity). Nintendo should have combed through the markers to make sure they were appropriate, since they were counting on the game being super popular. Counting on people to use their own good judgement, well... 

Edited July 13, 2016 by lemotomato

[FurryFury]

Well, Ingress still exists (I actually play it, my phone doesn't support Pokemon), it's available for iPhones as well, and the markers (portals) weren't placed randomly, they had to be submitted by real poeple.

Edited July 13, 2016 by FurryFury

[kismet]

Sadly in a moment of weakness, I tried to download it today... Luckily my phone is stronger than me and does not support it.

However, my friends & I were having a horrible time with the WiFi not working well today at work, we think its all the Pokemon's fault.

[lemotomato]

17 minutes ago, FurryFury said:

Well, Ingress still exists (I actually play it, my phone doesn't support Pokemon), it's available for iPhones as well, and the markers (portals) weren't placed randomly, they had to be submitted by real poeple.

Ah, OK. My info is seriously outdated. I only know how it was when my friends were really into it, about 2-3 years ago? 

[Delphi]

9 hours ago, kismet said:

Sadly in a moment of weakness, I tried to download it today... Luckily my phone is stronger than me and does not support it.

Weakness,  schmeakness.   I got a Eevee!  I'll just use the fact that I'm 28 to not be a fool and try to catch them at cemeteries. 

[FurryFury]

I'm 30 and I'd be catching them in cemeteries. Sorry, I don't see what's the fuss is about. I mean, I understand on the logical level, but I just don't feel like it's wrong. The Japanese even have drinks there and children playing, AFAIK.

[thegirlsleuth]

Wow, Mr. Robot rolled into season two with guns blazing.  I love, love, love this show--the performances, the cinematography, the references to pop culture and social issues, and the unflinching plotting.  It's not really a spoiler but I'll hide so as to not ruin anyone's fun:

Spoiler

I love the fact that all the characters are both heroes and villains, switching back and forth between the two.  I also like how at this point I'm not 100 percent sure that any characters actually exist.  It's like some weird Battlestar Galactica meeting Fight Club setup. Plus they had a running Seinfeld joke through the episode.  I hope they can pull off what they're setting up with this series.  Sam Esmiel says he has a plan.

The music is awesome--I approve of any show that repeatedly uses Sonic Youth.  

Also, I am always shocked when I visit other forums and there are four posts in their episode discussions.  This is no reflection on the quality of those posts, but I'm used to the Arrow forum, where we spend 20 or 30 posts discussing Amell's wigs.  You are all a wonderful, wordy group--thank you.  

[kismet]

1 hour ago, Velocity23 said:

No Emmy nominations for any of the Arrowverse shows. Crazy Ex Girlfriend got 2 nominations from the CW

http://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/68th-nominations-list-v2.pdf

Kudos to CEG although, I think it might have been 4 noms. Not surprised about the Flarrowverse shows, they weren't really Emmy worthy this year. :(

Congrats to all the nominees! I'm really liking the list this year. There are a ton of very deserving nominations. I watch it every year, but this year I'm actually invested in seeing a lot of people win and some in the same category, so that's gonna be a little hard.

I'm so excited there was finally some love for the Americans!! Like seriously, way too many seasons overdue. Nice to see some of the usuals, but the list also included some well deserved new noms. I love that Aziz Ansari & Constance Zimmer got nominations. UnReal & Black-ish were good additions. The People v. OJ deserved every single nomination it got! I'm a little sad that Outlander didn't get some acting noms. Really, really happy that Galavant got a nomination, that was the best cheeky snark song probably written in a very long time. Also over the moon Downton Abbey & Dame Maggie Smith got some love in its last season.

And my only other complaint is that they really should find a way to separate Network from Cable from Streaming - if not for the categorical awards like acting & writing, at least for the Show as a whole awards like best drama/comedy. There are so many more non-network nominations I think because the budgets and the rules are more conducive to creating bigger & more provocative drama.

Edited July 14, 2016 by kismet

[Mellowyellow]

Omg trying to listen to Suits while I walk my dog. Speaking of special snowflakes this show is like an ensemble of special snowflakes!!!!!

[apinknightmare]

I've never really thought about anyone's snowflake status on that show, but my greatest hope (against all hopes) is that Mike and Rachel will move somewhere offscreensville never to be heard from again. I don't like saying that anyone cries too much, but Rachel? She cries TOO DAMN MUCH. Like, ALL THE TIME.

Edited July 15, 2016 by apinknightmare

[FurryFury]

4 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

Omg trying to listen to Suits while I walk my dog. Speaking of special snowflakes this show is like an ensemble of special snowflakes!!!!!

Harvey is like the Sue-est character to ever Sue. I hated him so much.

[Jediknight]

4 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

Omg trying to listen to Suits while I walk my dog. Speaking of special snowflakes this show is like an ensemble of special snowflakes!!!!!

Louis Litt is awesome.

[Morrigan2575]

Huh, tonight's Jeopardy had a "describe the TV Show" category. The CW had 2 of the 5 answers, The Flash and Supernatural. While I love that Jared and Jensen (and Cain) got shout outs on Jeopardy...it just made me think about Arrow once again being left out.

[Chaser]

Saw Ghostbusters. I enjoyed it, it was fun. It was much better than I thought it would be, because I'm really not a fan of the original. I went to this one because of things. 

I hate to say that Hemsworth had the best moment but I laughed hardest at his whole intro. 

[NumberCruncher]

I just got back from Ghostbusters as well.  It was enjoyable but not amazing...my impression was in line with most critics in that regard.  It was pretty much what I expected it to be--a bit of a caricature of the original (which I am a fan of).  There were several LOL moments but also a lot of forced humor which wasn't terribly organic.  I liked all of the team, even Kristen Wiig, which is huge for me because I've never enjoyed her in movies.  Hemsworth was quite delightful and his ending credits sequence was honestly better than the movie itself.  All in all I was glad I saw it.  It was a fun diversion from reality.

[statsgirl]

I remember Arrow being the Jeopardy question (answer) in a previous show.  No one got it right.

Good to know Ghostbusters was fun.  I'm going tomorrow because I'm afraid that if it doesn't do well at the box office it will be a long time before there are action movies fronted by women.

The original Ghostbusters, along with Meatballs and Stripes, seems like such a long time ago.

Edited July 16, 2016 by statsgirl

[tv echo]

Ghostbusters is expected to rake in about $46M this weekend and come in second behind The Secret Life of Pets...
http://deadline.com/2016/07/ghostbusters-weekend-box-office-1201787149/ 
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-ms-friday-box-office-20160716-snap-story.html

Edited July 17, 2016 by tv echo

[Morrigan2575]

Poor opening for what seems to be a mediocre/easily forgotten film (according to most reviewers).

Edited July 17, 2016 by Morrigan2575

[NumberCruncher]

Yeah, I'm a bit surprised a those numbers--especially given the level of media attention it received.  Then again, my theater was only about half sold on a Friday night.  One positive surprise I did observe is that the audience was not overwhelmingly male or female though it was most decidedly older...very few under 30.  This struck me as odd given the numerous trailers before it (nearly all were either teen movies or animated flicks) and hearing countless people claim this Ghostbusters is for newer generations.  I think they might have missed their target audience.

Edited July 17, 2016 by NumberCruncher

[kismet]

The Ghostbusters cast was too SNL heavy for my tastes. Most people I know are passing on it until it comes out on DVD.

I just think it didn't seem like it would be worth the $15 or so to get in. Not sure who they were trying to market it to. It wasn't nostalgic or young. 

[statsgirl]

I just got back from Ghostbusters.  I went for solidarity and found I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.  It's mindless fun summer fare.

I think what I liked most were the meta-statements.  The team reading the reddit comment "Ain't gonna have no bitches hunt ghosts", and Holzmann and Sigourney's character agreeing that "safety lines are for dudes".  Liam Hemsworth;s character holding up a bunch or upper body shots of him taken for his acting portfolio, all of them shirtless.  (There were only two in the main body of the film and a lot more during the credits.)  Hemsworth's character was great all round; I've watched him in movies since Star Trek and I've never liked him so much.

The other thing I really liked was that this was a female buddy movie,

Spoiler

especially when Erin is risking her life to save Abby, and then the other two pull them to safety.

the kind of buddy movie you see all the time with men but not with women.  In fact the last time I think I saw this kind of female buddy movie was Thelma and Louise.

I'm not a fan of SNLand so-so on Kristin Wiig.  Kate McKinnon was a good surprise and Melissa McCarthy and Leslie Jones were fun.  It was also fun seeing the cameos of the original Ghostbusters cast.   I also liked the emphasis on science. I can't remember if it was in the original but it felt right here.

Trivia:

The original movie was from an idea by Dan Akroyd who made it a futuristic sci fi film. He took it to Ivan Reitman, who got together with Harold Ramis and set it in current day.

The movie is not being released in China, the world's second largest movie market, because there is a law against movies about the supernatural which was passed in the old Communist era (as opposed to the current Communist times).

[calliope1975]

I binged Stranger Things on Netflix yesterday and really liked it. It's every '80's Spielberg movie with dashes of John Carpenter, Stephen King, and Poltergeist and feels like it was actually filmed in the '80's. Has some plot holes, but I enjoyed it too much to care. Excellent kid actors as well. 

[apinknightmare]

4 minutes ago, calliope1975 said:

I binged Stranger Things on Netflix yesterday and really liked it. It's every '80's Spielberg movie with dashes of John Carpenter, Stephen King, and Poltergeist and feels like it was actually filmed in the '80's. Has some plot holes, but I enjoyed it too much to care. Excellent kid actors as well. 

I just finished watching, and I totally agree! I was really impressed that all the kids were great. 

[Chaser]

Stranger Things is on my watch list. Nice to see the reviews.

Unrelated: Damn Kim. Lol. 

[wonderwall]

Who knew Kim could be so cold :p 

I'm entertained!

[Chaser]

I got to give Kim props for that one. She was smart enough to record that conversation. 

To be a fly in the Swift camp, that would be entertainment. 

[bijoux]

What's going on? Are you talking about Kim Kardashian?

[wonderwall]

Just now, bijoux said:

What's going on? Are you talking about Kim Kardashian?

Yeah :p

What I heard about this was... Basically Kanye has a song mentioning Taylor in it. Taylor subtly dragged Kanye at an award show for that even though Kanye always stated that he got her okay. Obviously the media didn't believe him and dragged Kanye. So Kim exposed Taylor by leaking a video of her okaying that line. So basically Taylor acted like the victim and let the media drag Kanye even though  she gave him her permission.

[catrox14]

4 hours ago, apinknightmare said:

I just finished watching, and I totally agree! I was really impressed that all the kids were great. 

I just finished it tonight. What a treat! I LOVED it.

[kismet]

I didn't see the videos the Variety Article I saw would not play them. All I know I have followed Taylor Swift for years both as a fan and an anti-fan, and there is nothing in her brand that would indicate she would approve a line that would state that she might still have sex with Kanye and call her a b*tch. The girl may do a lot for publicity, but this is a time I'm gonna side with TS. She might have said that Kanye could write a song, I doubt that she approved those lyrics. And frankly the Kardashians and Kanye are both publicity hogs, I don't trust a word out of their mouths. Now if they are all playing us, then so be it. Personally TS has always been classy and Kanye/Kardashians often fall very short of classy.

Part of me feels like TS and wishes the whole narrative could be dropped since 2009. There is no need to leech onto TS, you have your publicity reality shows and Kanye's businesses. Focus on that and let others be.

[Chaser]

In the video, he raps the lyric about them having sex and she approves it so...

She also talks about the 'bitch' line positively and says that if asked she would say they talked about it because they are friends.

I have varying opinions of all parties involved, but that was messed up. 

Edited July 18, 2016 by Chaser

[kismet]

In this day and age of digital editing, I don't trust anything. I'm still gonna side with TS. She's proven herself as a decent person & frankly doesn't need this attention. Meanwhile the Kardashians & Kanye have proven themselves as attention whores.  But YMMV.

[Sakura12]

I'm not a fan of Taylor Swift, however Kayne thinks she is only popular because of him. So I take anything that delusional man says with a grain of salt. Plus Taylor has her romance with Tom Hiddleston to keep her in the news she doesn't need Kayne's help. While he needs to use her to keep himself in the news. I think he thought being with the Kardashian's would keep him popular, they are still popular for some unfathomable reason and he's been pushed behind them. 

[dtissagirl]

Celebs are so fucking weird. This is why I like fictional people better.

[tv echo]

I can't believe I'm posting this, but TS responded, “Where is the video of Kanye telling me he was going to call me ‘that bitch’ in his song? It doesn’t exist because it never happened”...

Taylor Swift hits back at Kanye West, Kim Kardashian after 'Famous' lyric video reveal
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/18/taylor-swift-kanye-west-famous-kim-kardashian

Taylor Swift and Kanye West’s ‘Famous' Phone Call: Read the Full Transcript From Kim Kardashian’s Snapchat
http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/heres-the-full-transcript-of-that-taylor-swift-kanye-phone-call-w429579

Edited July 18, 2016 by tv echo

[Morrigan2575]

I don't follow any of this but, it's oddly amusing in a very childish sort of way.

[statsgirl]

In the clip, Kanye says "Relationships are more important than punch lines, ya know."  Apparently getting people talking about you is more important than relationships.  (But then, that's the Kardashian brand.)  Narcissists give me the creeps.

That clip sounds like it's been edited to hell and back. Not to mention, why would Taylor Swift approve a line that pulls down the public persona she's spent years creating? 

Celebrities who take on causes get criticized a lot but at least it's better than this.

[Carrie Ann]

I don't like any person involved with this, but Kanye did run lyrics by Taylor, and there would be no reason to do that unless he did want to get her OK in advance. Like she said in the conversation, she would never have expected him to do that. I think he DID feel that "relationships are more important than punchlines," and Taylor seemed very appreciative. She went so far as to say, "If people ask me about it, I think it would be great for me to be like, look, he called me and told me the line before it came out. Joke's on you guys, we're fine.” But instead...she did the opposite. Her response at the time: "Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single ‘Famous’ on her Twitter account. She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message." That's...not what happened.

So if Kanye believed that Taylor approved the lyrics and was going to express that publicly, and then she turned around and acted like she'd been blindsided by the whole thing when the song came out? I think he'd feel like she was the one who sacrificed whatever relationship they had at that point, so all bets are off. (And maybe she felt the same based solely on his use of the word "bitch," but that didn't mean she had to lie about ever having a conversation with him about it.) Based on their conversation, he seems to have run two lyric options by her and she didn't have a problem with either. So maybe he didn't use the word "bitch" in either, and should have run that by her before it was final (it's such a common word in hip-hop, I can imagine he wouldn't even think about it, but he's also shitty sometimes, so it's hard to say), but it's pretty slippery of her to start out acting like the whole thing had a "misogynistic message" that she never approved or even had a conversation about and only adjust her story as additional claims/details emerged, and now she's basically walked it all the way back to the unapproved use of the word "bitch" and is acting like she never said otherwise.

[Angel12d]

I don't like any of these people. They're all as terrible and horrible as each other. And even though Taylor clearly lied and that needed to come out, I find there's something so nasty and vindictive to sit on a recorded conversation for months, like KK did. Guess they want more viewers for their crappy reality show this week. LAAAAAAME.

I wish they'd all just go away tbh. LOL.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Angel12d