u2roolz

U2

 

nice. especially U2

In no particular order:

(Movie news sites)

Ain't It Cool News

Box Office Mojo

Coming Soon.net

Dark Horizons

DVD Active

JoBlo.com

Collider

Box Office Numbers or The Numbers

IMDB

Apple.Com Movie Trailers

DarkUFO (Lost fan site)

A few friends' blogs

Live Nation (for concert updates)

U2Gigs (for up to the minute news)

Boston Dirt Dogs (for Red Sox trade news etc)

Hulu (for certain shows obviously)

CNN

MSNBC

Fox News (for the other views )

Wikipedia (for some hyperlinking fun)

Daily Show

Colbert Report

Facebook

(all of the above really doesn't take that long if looked at on a daily basis or every other day)

Alright, I'm kind of fascinated by what people think of the Adam & Eve story and Pandora. Bear with me I'm going to try and connect these ideas with a recent film that received some misogynistic reviews.

 

OK. Adam & Eve. Eve is offered fruit from the Tree of Knowledge from the serpent. She takes it and eats from it. I'm sure anyone at that point would eat from it, since it was the Tree of Knowledge. I guess the problem with it is that certain groups use it to put down women. I know that one woman named Eve is not indicative of any other woman's actions, but let's play along. What if Adam was offered the fruit first instead of Eve? Would he have accepted it? I think he would have. He did accept it when Eve offered it to him. Then he blamed her and she blamed the serpent. So I guess my question is "what is the big deal with her wanting to gain knowledge"? Curiosity? I'll get to Pandora in a bit. I know that I'm not the only one who sees the irony and beauty that Eve is the one to eat the fruit first and she is also herself a creator of children. It's almost really empowering if you think about it. She has eaten the fruit and can bear children. Of course, God banished them from the garden and then Adam lives for over 900 years? On a side note I came across an interesting site that claimed that liquified gold can bring about an extended life. (I won't get into who came here to mine it ) Anyways, it seems that this story kind of put women in their place for the course of history.

 

Pandora's Box. Pandora is the 1st woman in Greek mythology. Pandora opens the box or a jar against Zeus' wishes. She opens it out of curiosity and not malicious intentions. And much like in Adam & Eve, evil is released into the world. She closed the box after seeing what she unleashed onto the world and hope was left lying at the bottom of the box. Were these myths created to blame women for evil? I think there's more to it than that. In both situations the woman was tricked it seems. The jar was a gift given to her from Zeus. The fruit was offered by the serpent.

 

SPOILERS:

The Box. ( a remake of an old 80s Twilight Zone)I don't think anyone saw this film. I remember going onto the IMDB to read what people thought about it. I remember one woman was furious that the film was misogynistic. The premise: In 1976 a creepy disfigured old man shows up to this couple's house with a box. If they push the red button they receive a million dollars. And one person that they don't know will die. The husband has serious reservations about the man and the box. His job promotion is also in jeopardy. He doesn't want to push it. The wife wants to push the button because she wants to pay for her son's tuition and figures it will help them out in the long run. She is a school teacher. She pushes the button.

 

This is where the woman on IMDB got pissed. She was upset that a woman was portrayed in this light again as in Adam & Eve and Pandora's Box. In this instance I see things a bit differently. I felt that it was that woman's maternal instinct to provide for her son and family that made her push the button. Also, it may have been her frustrations for having the salary of a school teacher and not something more due to the times in which she lived. The fact that someone else will die is huge, but keep in mind that it was 1976 and people were less connected for obvious reasons. Still it's no reason for someone to have to die, but it does create interesting moral questions and dilemmas.

 

But as the film went along you noticed that it seemed to be women that pushed the button. Hmm. Interesting. I guess being a guy I can be upset that that man wouldn't want to receive a million dollars to provide for his family. Especially since his promotion didn't come through. He seemed a bit passive on the decision almost like you could say Adam in the Garden. Where was Adam in the Garden? Was he not wandering around? Was Eve the one wandering around the Garden because she was curious?

 

I will say that The Box is a psychological philosophical religious thriller. It's pretty obvious that the red box is an allusion to the fruit in the Garden of Knowledge. So is the mysterious man. He could be the devil or something completely different.

 

I won't spoil the ending of The Box, but I just wanted to know what people felt about these stories. And if anyone has seen The Box did they feel similar and ask questions.

Women – religion (Eve, the apple, you know the rest)

I'm bumping this up since Good Old Neon brought this ^ up. Since I don't remember every single teaching in Catholic grade school or high school, I was wondering how that particular story is told.

I don't remember what angle my religion teacher took in the 80s. And I'm quite curious how this is taught nowadays. I suppose I could Google it but I'd rather hear what other people have to say.

Plus, I assume Good Old Neon is blaming women's mistreatment on the Adam & Eve story. But from what I posted above it could be seen in a different light. I'm just not sure if it's taught that way in certain places.

Edit: To clarify I'm beginning to question myself as to when I started to see this story in the negative light as a kid/teen.

About 2 years ago I wanted to trade in my Dodge mini-van for a newer model. I needed something that would fit 6 people (3 in car seats) and went to the same dealership I bought the car I was trading in from. They told me I owed too much on my other van and wouldn't pay it off. Then they told me that all I could afford was a plain Jane mini-van. It didn't even have tinted windows in the back and the only "extra" it had was tilt/cruise. They were not willing to work with me at all, even though I have an excellent credit score, was a repeat customer, and was local (small town). Whatever.

 

I went to the Honda dealership and got a fully loaded Pilot, with the entertainment package and all that for about $100 cheaper a month than what I could have gotten a shitty Dodge Grand Caravan for.

 

Then I drove it through the parking lot of the Dodge dealership and waved to the asshole manager who was trying to screw me over.

LOVE IT!!!

Speaking of Woody Allen

Speaking of Woody Allen, Happy Birthday! 74 years old.

Alright, I'm kind of fascinated by what people think of the Adam & Eve story and Pandora. Bear with me I'm going to try and connect these ideas with a recent film that received some misogynistic reviews.

OK. Adam & Eve. Eve is offered fruit from the Tree of Knowledge from the serpent. She takes it and eats from it. I'm sure anyone at that point would eat from it, since it was the Tree of Knowledge. I guess the problem with it is that certain groups use it to put down women. I know that one woman named Eve is not indicative of any other woman's actions, but let's play along. What if Adam was offered the fruit first instead of Eve? Would he have accepted it? I think he would have. He did accept it when Eve offered it to him. Then he blamed her and she blamed the serpent. So I guess my question is "what is the big deal with her wanting to gain knowledge"? Curiosity? I'll get to Pandora in a bit. I know that I'm not the only one who sees the irony and beauty that Eve is the one to eat the fruit first and she is also herself a creator of children. It's almost really empowering if you think about it. She has eaten the fruit and can bear children. Of course, God banished them from the garden and then Adam lives for over 900 years? On a side note I came across an interesting site that claimed that liquified gold can bring about an extended life. (I won't get into who came here to mine it ) Anyways, it seems that this story kind of put women in their place for the course of history.

Pandora's Box. Pandora is the 1st woman in Greek mythology. Pandora opens the box or a jar against Zeus' wishes. She opens it out of curiosity and not malicious intentions. And much like in Adam & Eve, evil is released into the world. She closed the box after seeing what she unleashed onto the world and hope was left lying at the bottom of the box. Were these myths created to blame women for evil? I think there's more to it than that. In both situations the woman was tricked it seems. The jar was a gift given to her from Zeus. The fruit was offered by the serpent.

SPOILERS:

The Box. ( a remake of an old 80s Twilight Zone)I don't think anyone saw this film. I remember going onto the IMDB to read what people thought about it. I remember one woman was furious that the film was misogynistic. The premise: In 1976 a creepy disfigured old man shows up to this couple's house with a box. If they push the red button they receive a million dollars. And one person that they don't know will die. The husband has serious reservations about the man and the box. His job promotion is also in jeopardy. He doesn't want to push it. The wife wants to push the button because she wants to pay for her son's tuition and figures it will help them out in the long run. She is a school teacher. She pushes the button.

This is where the woman on IMDB got pissed. She was upset that a woman was portrayed in this light again as in Adam & Eve and Pandora's Box. In this instance I see things a bit differently. I felt that it was that woman's maternal instinct to provide for her son and family that made her push the button. Also, it may have been her frustrations for having the salary of a school teacher and not something more due to the times in which she lived. The fact that someone else will die is huge, but keep in mind that it was 1976 and people were less connected for obvious reasons. Still it's no reason for someone to have to die, but it does create interesting moral questions and dilemmas.

But as the film went along you noticed that it seemed to be women that pushed the button. Hmm. Interesting. I guess being a guy I can be upset that that man wouldn't want to receive a million dollars to provide for his family. Especially since his promotion didn't come through. He seemed a bit passive on the decision almost like you could say Adam in the Garden. Where was Adam in the Garden? Was he not wandering around? Was Eve the one wandering around the Garden because she was curious?

I will say that The Box is a psychological philosophical religious thriller. It's pretty obvious that the red box is an allusion to the fruit in the Garden of Knowledge. So is the mysterious man. He could be the devil or something completely different.

I won't spoil the ending of The Box, but I just wanted to know what people felt about these stories. And if anyone has seen The Box did they feel similar and ask questions.

Ok it's time for me to open up and then ask some questions.

I went to Catholic school all the way through senior year in high school. By the time I got to 7th or 8th grade I stopped believing and started questioning. Of course due to biases my parents felt the need to send me to a Catholic high school for a "better" education than public school. I would say I gradually went from an Atheist to an Agnostic over the course of my college years.

I used to have nightmares almost every night in my childhood. I remember they involved someone being tortured (in a jungle type setting) from their point of view. At the time I didn't question it. It was just there in my dream state. It was only until I had a young woman act in one of my short films from college that I began to have a different opinion. She told me that her brother had nightmares of being in a concentration camp. He was only 4 years old. It seems like a fairly good reason to at least question reincarnation.

Last year on September 26th I had an amazing experience. Well, that fall I was feeling pretty worn out. I questioned if I had developed diabetes. It runs in my family and I've always been borderline. So anyways I went to bed like I normally do the night before and knew that I was going to my doctor the next day. I remember being awake for about a minute and had a voice talking to me. My back was facing my door and my face was facing my pillow, so I was also facing my wall. The voice told me "that everything is going to be alright. you're not going to die." And there was more but I fell asleep. But while it was happening I had the best feeling in the whole world. Also, I felt no need for flinching over to see who was talking to me. The voice was soothing to say the least and also very feminine but not really. If that makes sense. I always heard the expression "like an angel whispering in your ear". I'm not entirely sure if that entity was communicating with me through mental telepathy or if they were talking out loud. I should also add that I've had two experiences before while sleeping where I woke up with a jolt. Almost like my heart restarted itself. One time it seemed like I saw something white (like a feather) coming into my closed eyes and then I jumped out of bed with my heart racing.

A friend of mine told me something that I found really exciting and interesting. A friend of his remembered floating down from the sky and then into his earth bound body and then looking into his mother's eyes while walking on the street. I had a similar experience. I remember waking up one day, maybe the first day that I could walk. But I remember looking at myself in the mirror. It was as if I had my first sense of self and my existence. It's also strange that that's my earliest memory.

Onto the questions that I have: (ok, I'll get to them in a bit.)

Indeed. Mr Tweedy looks rather evil with that wig. Like an evil Puritan preacher or the Quaker oatmeal guy on a vendetta.

LOL

Yeah, I would definitely shit a brick if he showed up like that on a Christmas show.

Not too shabby

No, that's the fact. Our future survival is not a fact by any stretch of the imagination, and declaring it such is stating an argument.

OK, so I'm ignorant and baseless for thinking that humanity is going to survive the next energy crisis, and that drives you nuts?

I could understand feeling hopeless over such things as oil running out. But I'd have to put my faith into people in much higher positions than me/us to provide us with alternatives.

That being said if money is behind it (obviously) along with our sustainment as a species, then I can see it happening...(edit) alternative energy that is.

On the other hand, I can easily see us facing extinction in another fashion from either a comet or disease or whatever else we can't control.

Where else would you see General Zod and Charlie Brown having a back and forth on the Energy Crisis?!

Hey! He just changed his avatar! Shit!

I honestly like your arguments better while associating them with General Zod. I mean the poor guy wasn't even there for the destruction of his home planet. Instead he was floating around space in a creepy mirror with a dumb mute and a kind of sexy goth chick. Although, it's debatable whether he was adapting by trying to conquer "Planet Houston". He could have found work in Greenwich Village.

Where else would you see General Zod and Charlie Brown having a back and forth on the Energy Crisis?!

I joined my parents on August 1st this year at the local Toyota dealership. They kind of lucked out with the sales man. He was born in Africa and just came to this country a few months before. He wasn't pushy but very articulate about the car. He would give me a cookie to try as my parents looked at each Toyota. I only accepted one. I told him that I had just finished dinner, but was very thankful for one cookie. He never asked me if I was in the market for a car. As I began to ask him why he came to this country and got a job as a car salesman my parents came back with their mind made up. That was the end of our discussion. I always wondered why he was there selling cars. What motivation drove him?

Lastly, I'm thankful that we had this gentleman instead of one of those stereotypical salesman. You know, the one with more oil in their hair then the car that they're trying to sell you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaeMJ7oMf94

I think we should be hearing the other side of the story. ^

Are those guys salaried or working on commission?

I desperately wanted to see it this weekend, but we were staying in North Conway, NH, and unfortunately, the closest theater showing it is in Boston - which, wtf – I thought it received a wide release? There’s one of those gianormous, small town-sized theaters up the road a bit, in Newington, NH – but they’re not showing it either.

I know exactly the 2 places that you're talking about. Do you live in New Hampshire?

Re wide release: According to Box Office Mojo it was released in only 111 theaters. And there's no info on there for expansion. I'm thinking this may expand this year. Another part of me thinks this will be one of those films that expands if and when it gets Oscar nominations. So I expect it sometime in January or February at a moderate expansion of 1,000 theaters.

Edit: Ok, The Road had the best per screen average over the holiday weekend. It took in $13,000 per screen to bring its total to $2 million. To compare Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side took in $12,000 per screen (3,140 screens) to make $40 million. LOL Wow, what a difference. Precious had a similar thing last month and then that got a wider release slowly but surely. We'll see on this one.

It's playing in 3 theaters in all of Boston.

Possible Spoiler:

Lastly, there's one scene towards the end that had my friend and I in stitches for 5 minutes. I won't spoil anything about it, but for those that have seen it did you laugh too?

One of my favorite scenes in this movie, which i just remembered, was when Fox saw the wolf during the getaway at the end. The wolf thing was always passed off by Fox throughout the movie, then that scene happened, and it was a pretty powerful look at Fox's persona. I realize Dahl created the character, but Wes and George Clooney did a fantastic job of bringing it to life.

I LOVED this!!! I'm a big Wes Anderson fan, but not the type of fan that is always looking every day to see what he does next. I own all of his films, yet I don't watch them every year. You know?

So to come into this fresh, I was extremely surprised. I've never read the book. Same goes for Where The Wild Things Are.

While I sat and watched this with a smile on my face the whole time, I thought to myself that this has the makings of a classic. The type of movie that I think will really live on in television.

It had such a unique and real look to it that I still can't shake it off. I need to see a making of this very soon. It's obviously a breath of fresh air to see a film like this and not CGI. I imagine the children that see this will truly catch onto the look. For instance, I was watching The Wiz on Comcast On Demand the other day. This was a movie that I hadn't seen since the early 80s when I was a 5 year old. To my great surprise I knew every location in the film. It was etched in memory probably due to the use of actual sets and not CGI. If anyone understands what I mean, then that's great. LOL

A few little scenes here and there may be objectionable for a child.

Lastly, there's one scene towards the end that had my friend and I in stitches for 5 minutes. I won't spoil anything about it, but for those that have seen it did you laugh too?

I have only ever ordered cds from Amazon, since there are no longer record stores where I live. It looks like I need to learn to look elsewhere. Thanks again.

Yeah, no problem. I actually found this place by chance and not word of mouth.

They are sandwhiched between Newbury Comics and Best Buy on the major retail strip. So they have some competition from the typical mass consumer.

After hearing about the lack of a good record store, I consider myself very fortunate to have this store. Especially considering the town that's it in isn't big and isn't even a college town.

It's like a practical joke. I'm not even sure if there's any good record stores anymore around Harvard Square? If that's the case, I'd be pissed to live there and drive into f%^cking New Hampshire for one. LOL

I ordered it. Thanks for the information. I have been after that cd for a while. The other one I mentioned has a really nice book in it, this one does also. (40 some pages).

No problem. Glad I could help in some way. It's a pretty crazy store. I'm usually on the verge of a panic attack every time I go in because I'm so overwhelmed.

And I never bring a list, which I should start doing to make things easier on me.

They have a very large USED & NEW vinyl section, so if anyone is looking for anything in particular let me know at some point. I usually go once a month like I said. (Edit: Maybe even more now, since I realized that they are open to midnight every night. It's a good place to go to around that time if nothing is going on.)

There's even an "ODD" & "MISCELLANEOUS" vinyl section that is not listed by bands. So I figure one could spend an afternoon with their tongues wagging out at such oddities.

That is what I was wondering - if it is a safe site.

Oh yes it is. There's one other location in NH: Portsmouth. Then the other locations are all over Maine.

So I assume any of those locations should have that cd.

They also have vinyl on the site too.

For anyone heading to Boston or MA in general, it's a pretty easily accessible place off of Rt 93.

I always thought VC should have a You Are MYspace or You Are My Facebook section.

While I come here to chat on certain topics and read setlists and news on Wilco, I'm not sure how many people I would think to add. Or I guess a better idea would be: who.

It would seem like a plot to get people's friends list to grow.

Edit: Somewhere in there is a good joke about Larry David's idea on anonymity.

That is it. What is the deal with that site?

Do you mean in terms of believability or are you having technical issues?

I go there about once a month in Salem, NH. They are a legit "indie" record store. I haven't bought from them online before, but they were super cool putting aside the Ashes DVD & You Never Know Vinyl Single.

I can vouch for them if that's what you mean. If not, I'll cut off my left thumb.

Hey Analogman,

Check this out:

Is this what you're looking for?

Fleetwood Mac via Bull Moose Records

Let me know if that's the one.

Edit: And for anyone else they are running a Black Friday deal. $5.97 for select cds.

Bull Moose $5.97 Select CDs

including some Aerosmith, Jeff Buckley, Jeff Beck, 311, Cowboy Junkies, Alice In Chains, Johnny Cash, Blue Oyster Cult, Louis Armstrong, Ben Folds Five, The Byrds, The Clash & Chet Atkins/Les Paul - Chester & Lester.

$6.97 CDs including Them Crooked Vultures

Bull Moose $6.97 Select CDs

$9.97 for select Beatles' Remasters and others.

$9.97 Select CDs

Etymology: Latin

 

Adverb ab aeterno

 

1. Since the beginning of time.

2.(figuratively) Since a very long time ago

Something tells me that will be a Richard Alpert centric episode or one on the Island?