I
Iaculus
Since everyone else seemed to be doing it, I figured I might as well chip in.
Shoot.
(not literally, please).
Shoot.
(not literally, please).
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I
Iaculus
Wrong AMA. That's Icarus.
Technically, he's an ephebophile, since he wasn't chasing after a prepubescent girl.
And no, I'm not that either. Really. I swear.
Let's say you decide to change your name since you're tired of the bad Icarus jokes.
What do you change it to?
What do you change it to?
I
Iaculus
Our garden. We have a big one, which often has deer pass through it to nibble on the flowerbed. Needless to say, my parents are rather less sanguine about that last bit.
Lemonade - the old-fashioned stuff, not Sprite and stuff. Best when fizzy, though.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy's good, and Independence Day is tonnes of silly fun. That's just off the top of my head, though. I'm pretty good at re-watching most things, though my mum's the all-time champion. You know that line from Good Omens about Heaven being an eternity of watching The Sound of Music? She'd enjoy that.
Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay. Oh hell yes.
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Possibly Tomb Crawler. I know it's juvenile, but it was my ID on the old Black Library forums, and that makes it pleasantly nostalgic. Those were my very first forums, see.
I wouldn't change it, though. I got here first, damn it!
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Funnily enough, it hasn't. I usually just find it rather amusing. See Kevin Costner's line from Prince of Thieves upon arriving on the south coast of England without much in the way of transport: "By nightfall, we shall be dining at my father's castle in Nottingham!" Nice geographical facility there, Kev.
For the record, here's Nottingham:
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I can handle it, but I prefer coffee, mostly because it's easier to get it decaffeinated. Caffeine does strange and terrible things to my internals, even the small amount present in tea.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Ever used any of these expressions in an actual conversation:
"I say"
"Pip pip"
"Tallyho!"
"Toodle-pip"
"By George"
And yes, I'm being a wanker
"I say"
"Pip pip"
"Tallyho!"
"Toodle-pip"
"By George"
And yes, I'm being a wanker
Is the idea of Royalty outdated and absurd?
Do you like tikka masala?
Do Brits really have bad teeth or is that just a lame stereotype?
Do you like tikka masala?
Do Brits really have bad teeth or is that just a lame stereotype?
I
Iaculus
No, although "Good grief" is surprisingly common, and my grandfather's favourite exclamation is "Gracious!". There's some residual gentility there.Ever used any of these expressions in an actual conversation:
"I say"
"Pip pip"
"Tallyho!"
"Toodle-pip"
"By George"
And yes, I'm being a wanker
I
Iaculus
Yes, but that's not enough reason to remove them. It'd create a whole lot of paperwork and legal awkwardness for minimal returns, as well as further increasing the power and authority of the Prime Minister, who is largely limited by having a theoretical higher presence even if that presence doesn't actually do much.
In fact, I'd say that the British governmental system largely works because a whole pile of outdated and absurd concepts fused into a surprisingly flexible and durable whole. Strict, rigid constitutions aren't always the answer.
Not bad, and used to be a favourite. Prefer rogan josh these days (chicken, naturally) ever since Sainsbury's siphoned all the taste from their masala recipe.
Don't hae the relevant facts and figures on hand, but seems to be a stereotype based on what I've seen so far. Certainly, the American teeth I've encountered aren't any better on average.
T
ThatNickGuy
Who's your favourite Doctor Who?
North_Ranger
Staff member
Are you getting tired of answering questions pertaining to national stereotypes?
fade
Staff member
No, although "Good grief" is surprisingly common, and my grandfather's favourite exclamation is "Gracious!". There's some residual gentility there.[/QUOTE]Ever used any of these expressions in an actual conversation:
"I say"
"Pip pip"
"Tallyho!"
"Toodle-pip"
"By George"
And yes, I'm being a wanker
Good grief is common over here among 10 year old balding boys with zig-zag sweaters and pet beagles.
I
Iaculus
Never read it.
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Tough call. Only seen the new ones, so I'd say Tennant. Not that Ecclestone was bad, mind, even if he did share a name with a deeply slimy exec at our local hospital.
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I'd say 'yes', but I suspect it might end up as a huge case of 'be careful what you wish for'.
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Band? Not sure. I like cheesy '80s stuff like Eye of the Tiger and Holding Out for a Hero, as well as gleefully OTT metal like Nightwish, and some of the more energetic film scores.
John Williams's Superman theme is great when you're in a good mood.
I
Iaculus
An irritant, but a distant one. Certainly haven't seen much of value that was gained from it, and it got my sister hooked on Twilight, which is seldom a good thing.
Vampires are very difficult monsters to do right, and the lowest common denominator ensures that few try. You have to remember that at their core, they're just human-shaped parasites, and work outwards from that. The Dresden Files did a good job of that, I'd say.
I
Iaculus
I haven't watched very many, but definitely enjoyed The Thing. Lovely effects-work there, and a nice sense of claustrophobic paranoia.
I
Iaculus
I'm afraid I haven't read any of his work. By the accounts I've heard, he's not very good at endings, and I got more than enough of that from Dan Abnett.
K
Kitty Sinatra
If you ever choose to read some King, go for his old, shorter stuff. They're his best works, I find. Sort of ironically, I'd recommend the old stuff that he wrote under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. The Long Walk, Running Man and a third about a kid taking his school hostage stand out in my mind as very enjoyable reads.
I'd also recommend the Shining, Christine, Firestarter, and The Dead Zone
What most of these books really have going for them is Stephen King's skill at writing interesting characters and putting them in interesting situations. It's not the horror, the plot or the climax that really make these books excellent. Stephen King was (if he still isn't) an excellent writer, and if he had turned his talents to writing "Literature" instead of doing genre-work he'd be a shoe-in for the Nobel Prize.
I'd also recommend the Shining, Christine, Firestarter, and The Dead Zone
What most of these books really have going for them is Stephen King's skill at writing interesting characters and putting them in interesting situations. It's not the horror, the plot or the climax that really make these books excellent. Stephen King was (if he still isn't) an excellent writer, and if he had turned his talents to writing "Literature" instead of doing genre-work he'd be a shoe-in for the Nobel Prize.
fade
Staff member
He is terrible with endings a lot of times. The Stand was an excellent idea, and played out fairly well until
.
'Salem's Lot was a decent entry into the vampire genre because the vampires were animalistic consumers instead of suave demons or lovers.
the Hand of God materializes and saves the day
'Salem's Lot was a decent entry into the vampire genre because the vampires were animalistic consumers instead of suave demons or lovers.
I
Iaculus
Tough call. Maybe Barack Obama or someone similarly influential. It would be interesting to see the world from that perspective.
I don't have an issue with vampires being seductive - predators need lures, after all, and it just opens up a whole new wriggling basket of horror tropes. Just do't forget that their entire distinguishing feature is that they feed off other people, and you're fine. It's when a work of fiction starts presenting vampires as a valuable asset to society that I start raising an eyebrow - I mean... that's kind of not the point.
Even if vampires are inherently mentally and physically superior, they're still parasites, and that just brings in a whole new level of creepy. Superhuman predators are not a good thing for the rest of us, people.
I
Iaculus
Tough call. Maybe Barack Obama or someone similarly influential. It would be interesting to see the world from that perspective.[/quote]
Good answer. I agree it would be very interesting and perhaps even enlightening.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, just don't let it be Gordon Brown, for the same reason I'm not going to volunteer to get kicked repeatedly in the face for twenty-four hours. I mean, seriously, did that guy burn away his entire lifetime's supply of luck at the casino or something?
I
Iaculus
Oh, make no mistake, he's responsible for a lot of bad stuff - the economy, for a start - but ever since he got elected, the guy's been pretty much the universe's chew toy, to the extent where I can't help but wonder if karma's starting to get a bit... overzealous.
Oh, make no mistake, he's responsible for a lot of bad stuff - the economy, for a start - but ever since he got elected, the guy's been pretty much the universe's chew toy, to the extent where I can't help but wonder if karma's starting to get a bit... overzealous.[/QUOTE]
When a politico fucks up negotiations and gets some SAS troopers and the hostages killed in an ill-conceived op designed to show how in charge he is, then denies responsibility for it, I say he deserves every bad thing that will ever happen to him.
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