crumbcake

Goddammit, did I really have my comment miss getting read by Matt by seconds?

Thing is, when War on Drugs pissed him off, he sang a song about them sucking his dick. When this journalist bothered him, he sang a song about her fucking him. I imagine other conflicts have resolved similarly. There doesn't seem to be enough thought behind it for it to be homophobia or misogyny, just kinda seems like an immature response to people he doesn't like. I agree sexually based insults are pretty indefensible, but it seems strange to be offended in two different by him doing the same thing to two different groups. I liked Stephanie's point about getting as annoyed over praise being given for the wrong reason - i.e. this woman was funny, what a feminist! This guy was mean to a girl, what a misogynist! I also agree that Besser's "That's just who they are, how can we hold them accountable?" argument is a crappy argument. In this one situation, however, it makes sense. I think that's the difference between what he did and the Nobel Laureate saying women should have separate labs because men and women can't work together without distraction. Comparing a (indie-ish, right?) musician having a hissy fit to a prominent member of a scientific community admitting he lets gender bias who he works with seems like a giant incongruence. The scientist's opinions might keep women who could and want to do good, prestigious work from having the opportunity. The musician who doesn't do interviews and has a history of improvising mean songs improvising a shitty song about about this journalist will... keep her from interviewing him in the future?

This episode hit so many of my sweet spots it's goddamn absurd. I really wish I had something more constructive to say or to put into this discussion, but start to end this was just perfect. Cannot wait to break off another ten-do (hopefully as we're headed towards a first hundo).

Also, thanks to Hayes and Sean, and all the cool things they've taught me, I was able to notice this on facebook. Elian Gonzalez wants to visit the U.S., and by complete coincidence The Bachelorette's newest season just started? Sounds more like someone wants to come back for Tinsletown's hottest viewing party is more like it

Been listening to CBB for about 5 years now. I started listening to Hollywood Handbook a few months ago. Then, over the last week, I listened to every episode of Reality Show Show. I see this episode as a sign from the universe that I've been making good decision.

I love this photo, because it proves Paul F Tompkins just randomly wandered in. He doesn't have a chair. He just came in, popped a squat, and took Horatio's mic.

Just finished listening to Spontaneanation, realized it was past 3am, checked to see if the new I4H was up, and there was PFT staring right back at me. And he dropped by CBB earlier this week too. None of this is a complaint.

I just tried writing a quick summary of this movie's plot and timeline, and reached 850 words before I realized that wasn't possible. Instead I'm just gonna point some shorter bullets for Correction and Omissions. Correction/Omission 1: Crystals People seem confused about the brain crystals, but Zed explains them pretty specifically towards the end. Talking to the Tabernacle, he asks "Brain emissions refract low wave length laser light passing through the crystal brain in a code sent to you for interpretation and storage. Yes or no?" Now I'm not saying this is good science, but it does at least explain the crystals. That is, they're pretty much servers, only instead of binary, they store data in refractive light patterns. Apparently their scientists developed a way to read thoughts by interpreting the interference brainwaves have on a low wave laser light embedded inside a crystal implanted near the front of their brains. All these thoughts, and knowledge are stored and shared in a central network so that in the Vortex, "man and the sum of his knowledge will never die but go forward to perfection." Correction/Omission 1.5: "Looks Can Kill" Since the crystals can store, read, interpret, and transmit data, I think they can also be used as weapons. Specifically, you can literally give a look that kills by transmitting malicious information into another person's crystal, like a virus attack. The fact that this requires both parties to have brain crystals to make (even a remote bit of) sense, I think that means Zardoz has a crystal in his brain. Considering it's revealed he comes from a line of chosen people selected for breeding by Arthur Frame/Zardoz, it doesn't seem too far-fetched an assumption. Correction/Omission 2: Tabernacle If the crystals are the network, then the Tabernacle is the main database holding the sum of their knowledge. In the same scene as the last entry, the following exchange occurs: Zed: I think you're a crystal. In fact, this one. This diamond. In here there is infinite storage for refractive light patterns. Tabernacle: You have me in the palm of your hand. Zed: You could be elsewhere. Tabernacle: But I choose to be here. I think this means the Tabernacle is kind of the same entity as Jane in the Speaker for the Dead and the other Ender's books. A consciousness controlling and connected to a vast network of information. It also stores the Eternals' DNA and memories, explaining why they're always stuck at the same age. When the Vortex was begun and they'd stopped their aging, they stored that information in the Tabernacle. Now, when any one of them dies, the Tabernacle registers that, and begins growing a new clone to match the person's stored record. This is why the middle-aged founders of the Vortex were stuck at that age, and why Correction/Omission 3: Timeline Some people already brought up how 300 years of immortality seems like a short time to reach a state of such crushing ennui, but it's even crazier than that. I think it's Consuela who reveals how the Vortex started, saying "The world was dying. We took all that was good and made an oasis here. We few, the rich, the powerful, the clever, cut ourselves off to guard the knowledge and treasures of civilization as the world plunged into a dark age. To do this, we had to harden our hearts against the suffering outside." This almost makes their actions seem sacrificial, as though it was difficult for them to turn their backs on humanity in the service of fulfilling a higher purpose they felt they were carrying out. But they never just got bored, they had a catastrophic existential crisis. Friend tells Zed "We applied ourselves to the unknown secrets of the universe, but even with infinite time and the help of the Tabernacle, our minds were not up to it. We failed." That is, they condemned their planet to ruin and wound up with nothing to show for it. They discovered that either there are no answers to the mysteries of the universe, or that human minds simply cannot comprehend them, but either way, they've reached the point in their knowledge where the only reason they haven't admitted that life is meaningless is because you can't prove a negative. No wonder they're begging for death (though 300 years is still a relatively short time to reach that conclusion.) Anyways, I've been watching almost every movie since Crossroads, but holy shit was this one next level. I think I may genuinely love this film and, like many other, lament June's absence. Maybe they could do a follow up episode, with another guest and June. Or even just Paul and Jason talking to her about the things brought up in this episode and getting her take on them. This ended up way longer than intended.

I'm sorry if I missed this, but has no one seriously mentioned that "If smiles were dollars, they'd have been millionaires" was an actual line written and recorded for this film?

Thank you! I was going through the comments just to make sure I didn't need to do this myself.

I'm more worried by the number of annotations this copy seems to have. Whoever owned this book decided at least 12 distinct parts of it were so essential they had to be bookmarked for immediate access.

I couldn't sleep since watching the movie earlier. Sat here refreshing the page waiting for the episode because I needed to hear someone discuss this film, if only so I could be sure I didn't just go mad for 90 minutes.