Episode 153 - Escape from L.A.: LIVE!

[FisterRoboto 7499]

The reference to Disneyland at the end of the film actually makes sense considering Kurt Rusell's history of being in a number of Disney films such as "The Computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)", "The Fox & The Hound", "Sky High", and "Captain Ron", among others. He was even in a tv special with the Osmonds showcasing a trip into The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. In fact right before he passed away, Walt Disney wrote a short list of names on a piece of paper including a misspelled "Kirt Russell", perhaps with plans to cast Kurt in an upcoming Disney film.

Fun fact: Russell was cast in Escape From New York because he was actively trying to distance himself from his role as a Disney child star.

 

While I appreciate the fact that they MIGHT have been going for a reference to Russell's former Disney child star status (although I frankly think that's giving them too much credit), it still doesn't make sense within the context of the movie. Anaheim isn't just up the street from LA. According to Google Maps, it's 26 miles away. For a point of reference, that would be like Escape From New York suddenly cutting to Newark, NJ for no apparent reason. I think it's more likely that they didn't really care about the geography and were just trying to shoehorn in more LA metro area landmarks.

 

Okay, so Snake's told if he pushes the button, he's going to throw the world back into the dark ages and they'll lose all their historical information. Does this mean that it was expected that by 2013 that BOOKS would be nonexistent??? I mean sure, digital copies are becoming more popular, but there'd have to be a good number of people hoarding away personal libraries.

 

AlSO, the whole power-down-the-world thing... okay so people have to go back to living without electricity... like how do the satellites control that? And wouldn't the satellites shut themselves down? But okay, let's give the benefit of the doubt, that somehow these amazing satellites are capable of shutting down energy in general... power grids, backup generators, solar, wind, and so on...

 

You have a new problem now, a bit more dire than just living without electricity.

 

Nuclear. Which we know is still relied upon because of the submarine he uses. You'll still have nuclear power plants and nuclear powered units that have live and spent fuel rods that you won't be able to do anything about. Kind of a huge oversight by the president, considering there's a good number of nuclear power plants within the US. Sure, it's not like a bomb going off, but you're still gonna end up with a lot of fallout radiation there. Thanks, Snake, you've just contaminated my hometown.

This is a really good point by JammerLea. I had the same thought but didn't really flesh it out well enough to make a post out of it. The whole thing about them being back in the Stone Age without electricty really threw me for a loop. Like, people still know how to make shit; they will just need to rebuild.

 

 

Well, since I still want people to play my game...

 

Bold Claim (Or at least Bold Intention)

 

Inner Circle's "Sweat (A La La La La Long)"

 

Girl, I want to make you sweat, sweat til you can't sweat no more

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa...

 

First of all, you don't make those kind of claims unless you can back that shit up, and seriously Inner Circle, I sincerely doubt that you've got that kind of stamina. Secondly, and more importantly, if you can do that, I hope you're prepared to deal with your lover's severe dehydration. Are you going to be able to attend her needs when she's suffering from "dizziness," "palpitations," and "decreased urine output?" If you don't have some Gatorade by the bedside table to replenish some of her electrolytes, I'd say you're a goddamn monster!

 

Take that early 90's reggae fusion band Inner Circle!

What about C&C Music Factory, though?

 

They were "gonna make you sweat 'til you bleed"

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

What about C&C Music Factory, though?

 

They were "gonna make you sweat 'til you bleed"

 

Geez...it's like the charts in the early 90's were dominated by sadistic personal trainers.

[Cameron H. 23786]

I know I promised I wouldn't bring it up again, but I just read something over in Reddit by a person who said they came over to this thread for the first time and saw that we were being "divisive" and "obnoxious" to one another regarding the whole paywall issue. They went on to say that it was causing some sort of friction between regular posters.

 

I just wanted to say, for my part, if anyone read anything I wrote and interpreted it as being either mean spirited or divisive, I sincerely apologize. I recognize that tone and intention are often lost in a written dialog, and while I admit I was frustrated by the situation, I never meant to be, in any way, disrespectful of anyone's position.

 

As for the charge of being "obnoxious," I freely admit to that. I was purposefully being so, but not in a malignant way--or at least not intentionally. More in an "older brother taking the piss out of his younger brothers and sisters" kind of way. It was always meant to be teasing, not hurtful.

 

I don't bring this up to open an old can of worms, but to sincerely apologize for any of my actions that might have exacerbated this whole debacle or shone an unflattering light on the HDTGM forums-- which have always been, as long as I've been here, an oasis of free thought and expression; good humor and friendship.

 

I promised myself when I first started posting here, the only place I have any presence online, that if I ever let the Internet infect me with its vileness and negativity, I would gladly excuse myself. Now, I'm not 100% certain that this is that moment, but maybe it's a symptom that I should keep a close eye on.

 

So, I'm asking for a favor (especially from the people here who know me best). If I ever go too far. If I ever make this an ugly place. Please let me know. That is neither my intention, nor what I'm about. I want this to continue to be a positive place, where people feel free to express themselves honestly without fear of being mocked. And if I'm not doing my best to keep it that way, then it's better for both the community and myself that we part ways. It's not you, it's me

 

(I'm also sorry for people who don't come here often, read this post, and are thinking, "My, isn't he being hyperbolic? It's just an Internet forum...". Yeah, it's weird.)

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

 

While I appreciate the fact that they MIGHT have been going for a reference to Russell's former Disney child star status (although I frankly think that's giving them too much credit), it still doesn't make sense within the context of the movie. Anaheim isn't just up the street from LA. According to Google Maps, it's 26 miles away. For a point of reference, that would be like Escape From New York suddenly cutting to Newark, NJ for no apparent reason. I think it's more likely that they didn't really care about the geography and were just trying to shoehorn in more LA metro area landmarks.

 

 

That did bug me throughout - I've only been to LA a few times, but my main memory of it is that it's a lot of highways and everyone drives everywhere. My wife and I were out there years ago, and being from Toronto, we're so used to walking everywhere, so we did, wandering all over (a small part of) LA and being looked at like insane people by people driving by. Locals would say "you walked from there to there? Why?" It's a sprawling city, but Snake gets around like nobody's business. Also, the fact that EVERY TIME he would say to some strange local "I'm looking for [insert place here]", they would say "oh, it's right there." Like Snake's wandering around outside Cuervo's place aimlessly, not noticing the place bristling with SPOTLESS classic cars and guns (and treadmills)?

 

"Hey, surfer Peter Fonda, where's the Hollywood Bowl?" "Down there." "Hey, hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold, where's Sunset Boulevard?" "Over there." "Hey, Maps To The Stars Eddie, where's Hershi?" "Right here."

 

Also: was it Cam Bert who mapped out Snake's movements in an earlier post? I meant to mention that: bravo.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

 

So, I'm asking for a favor (especially from the people here who know me best). If I ever go too far. If I ever make this an ugly place. Please let me know. That is neither my intention, nor what I'm about. I want this to continue to be a positive place, where people feel free to express themselves honestly without fear of being mocked. And if I'm not doing my best to keep it that way, then it's better for both the community and myself that we part ways. It's not you, it's me

 

 

Oh, we'll let you know...

 

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

Ignore this post, I totally just quoted myself rather than edited my post. Can you delete posts?

[Cameron H. 23786]

Ignore this post...

 

I want to, but I can't turn away...

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Any time something happens that people disagree on, there is bound to be a multitude of feelings coming through posts. And sometimes people can make a point that just cuts some others down and makes them feel unheard. It happens. Not saying that you specifically did this, Cameron, but that things can be interpreted that way quite easily.

 

As for the charge of being "obnoxious," I freely admit to that. I was purposefully being so, but not in a malignant way--or at least not intentionally. More in an "older brother taking the piss out of his younger brothers and sisters" kind of way. It was always meant to be teasing, not hurtful.

This specifically, I believe, falls into that line of how many people aren't here regularly enough to understand how we pick on each other like siblings. Like I swear I talk to you and Fister more than my actual brothers so there's ALWAYS going to be a dynamic that people aren't used to. And we saw first hand how someone reacts when they're not expecting y'all to pick on me lol.

 

Don't listen to Reddit, Cameron. We may be obnoxious but I feel like we are all far from disrespectful lol.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Don't listen to Reddit, Cameron. We may be obnoxious but I feel like we are all far from disrespectful lol.

 

I usually don't. It just made me take a hard look at how some of my posts might come off to an outsider. I just felt the need to clear the air.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I usually don't. It just made me take a hard look at how some of my posts might come off to an outsider. I just felt the need to clear the air.

I get that feeling. I've got hella anxiety so my need to clear the air is always turned up to 11.

[firsttimecallerlongtimelistenr 3590]

I just wanted to say, for my part, if anyone read anything I wrote and interpreted it as being either mean spirited or divisive, I sincerely apologize. I recognize that tone and intention are often lost in a written dialog, and while I admit I was frustrated by the situation, I never meant to be, in any way, disrespectful of anyone's position.

 

 

ive been crying all week cameron.... pause..... not!

 

i love the fact that someone on reddit thought an honest, calm and courteous discussion on something people care about was "divisive", "obnoxious" and causing "friction" ... someone on reddit thought that ... REDDIT!

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

ive been crying all week cameron.... pause..... not!

 

i love the fact that someone on reddit thought an honest, calm and courteous discussion on something people care about was "divisive", "obnoxious" and causing "friction" ... someone on reddit thought that ... REDDIT!

 

I know, right? But I think that is what me stand back and say, "Whoa, boy! Reddit's calling us unreasonable? Really?" For my part I was never angry at anyone. You're all my Internet family.

 

[FisterRoboto 7499]

Yeah....unless that was someone that posts here regularly, they don't know shit. I didn't see any "friction" between us. I saw everyone expressing their opinions. My opinions were different from others, and others had different opinions from us. The only real friction I saw was that a few people kept saying how anyone could afford it, and a few people (both here and in the thread from Erik Diehn) said that's not the case and that it's really presumptive to assume others have the same privileges that you do. There was also some rando that came in and called me rude because I was messing with Taylor Anne, but she told the rando that it was cool.

 

If someone here had a real problem and thought we were being assholes, I have no doubt they would have said something.

 

I looked around a bit and didn't see that mentioned in the few reddit threads I ventured into, but I'd bet anything that wasn't a regular poster here on the forums and that it's kind of like how when people don't like a guest, they come here and say things like, "NO ONE WAS EVEN LAUGHING AT THEIR JOKES! You could tell the audience hated her" (because it's almost always a "her" they come to complain about, but that's a whole different story). They're likely distorting the tone of the conversation because it better suits their point.

 

Another good example is a comment like this where someone suggests that Earwolf "rolled back" their announcement last year due to backlash (when, in actuality, they just said the archives would go behind the paywall "at some point in the future").

 

TL;DR - People are full of shit and will do whatever mental gymnastics they can to distort things to make them feel like everyone else agrees with them.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

I didn't comment much on the paywall thing because I still hadn't watched Escape from LA at that stage and didn't want spoilers on the ep, but reading back, I really don't know what Reddit Troll (trademark pending) was talking about when he said we were going at each other. I loved how Cameron stood his ground in the face of all the 'yeah but...' posters about the paywall. I myself was negatively affected by the paywall when it meant I'd have to pay to catch up with the Comedy Bang! Bang! back catalogue (and I have enough of a listening queue that I don't really see the use in subscribing since I wouldn't get through them all in time anyway), but I totally get their justification. I think firsttimelongtime put it best when he pointed out that if a Reddit Troll (trademark pending) sees us as combative, he's probably projecting his own shit. This was civil, and kind, and calm. So far.

 

[Jack Frost 252]

Cameron H., now I kinda want to change my tag to "zero charisma." As a father, have you noticed yourself being more sensitive or crying at things more easily? I know that's personal, but I definitely cry at movies and tv shows a lot more easily since becoming a parent. I remember Paul saying the same thing, and even that he cried at the same commercial that's gotten me before. {"I'm never letting go."}

[Jack Frost 252]

Cameron H., now I kinda want to change my tag to "zero charisma." As a father, have you noticed yourself being more sensitive or crying at things more easily? I know that's personal, but I definitely cry at movies and tv shows a lot more easily since becoming a parent. I remember Paul saying the same thing, and even that he cried at the same commercial that's gotten me before. {"I'm never letting go."}

 

Oh crap, I guess that seems really random. It's because my kids have gotten way into E.T., and it's a movie that never made me cry until I had kids. Like, when the mom opens the bathroom door and Eliot and E.T. are both laying on the floor, and he says "Mom, we're sick. I think we're dying.." That shit is ROUGH!

[nickelcurry 20]

I'm finally getting around to listening to this now and I am having a super June time with it. Because I KNOW I have seen this film. I remember watching it and being angry at it and it wasn't that long ago. But when they're talking about it I cannot, for the life of me, recall or picture a single thing that they are talking about. Like, I think I remember cars? And a boat? And when they play that exposition thing, I remember that, but then nothing?? I don't know what is happening. Whatever June has it's infected me and I feel unsafe, send help. I guess I erased it from my mind to hold better things, like, um, buns?

 

Also, I'm happy they addressed the paywall thing. I had been listening to old CBB eps recently and they suddenly stopped working and I didn't know why. So it's nice to have an explanation and know that they were just as surprised and want to fix it.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Cameron H., now I kinda want to change my tag to "zero charisma." As a father, have you noticed yourself being more sensitive or crying at things more easily? I know that's personal, but I definitely cry at movies and tv shows a lot more easily since becoming a parent. I remember Paul saying the same thing, and even that he cried at the same commercial that's gotten me before. {"I'm never letting go."}

 

Oh! 100%. I mean, there's the obvious stuff that might have made me cry before, like the the trio of songs "Blow Us All Away," "Stay Alive (Reprise)," and "It's Quiet Uptown" from the 2nd Act of Hamilton. Prior to having a son, I might have cried at the thought of losing of a hypothetical son, but after my first son was born, it was way too easy to imagine how terrible that would actually be.

 

But there's also a lot of random ass stuff that hit me when I least suspect it.

 

Over the past couple of days, I have cried twice during a movie. The first was during Joe Versus the Volcano when he's stranded at sea and the moon rises over the ocean and he says, "Dear God, whose name I do not know--thank you for my life. I forgot how big...thank you. Thank you for my life."

 

The second time was while watching Parenthood--which has become oh-so-relevant. While I was struggling all through the final scenes, I think I really began to lose it when the father goes to Steve Martin for advice about the deadbeat son. And he's like (paraphrasing), "It never ends. The worry. You're always a father and he'll always be my son." But I really lost it when the deadbeat son skips town and leaves his son own son, Cool, behind. And this happens:

 

Cool: My Dad's going away?

 

Grandfather: Yes.

 

Cool: Is he ever coming back?

 

Grandfather: No. (beat) Would you like to stay here with us?

 

Cool: Yeah.

 

Grandfather. Good.

 

However, I think the most weirdest time I started crying was when my eldest son was maybe 2 years old. I was driving home from work one night and this song came on:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMl8cQjBfqk

 

Now, to be clear, I'm not really an Angels & Airwaves fans (I only have the one song and I'm not even sure why), and personally, I think Tom DeLonge comes off as a bit of a douche nozzle (#New182). But when it got to the bridge where he repeats, "I cannot live, I cannot breathe, unless you do this with me" and "Hey yo, here I am, and here we go, life's waiting to begin" I kind of just started to break down. I was just thinking of all the things in my life that I want to show my son (now sons) and share with them. How I want to provide for them and how I never want to see them hurt. I was thinking of the pure joy that passes over my son's face when ever he experiences something new. (My wife and I privately call it a "full body boner." I know that sounds crass, but you should see how he gets fully rigid, his mouth drops open, and his eyes go wide.) I don't know that I've ever looked at the world with such a pure and uncynical eye, and I wish I could experience the world as he does. I thought about how I want them to experience life to the fullest, and how I never ever want to be apart from them. And I worried that people will hurt them. That a girl (or guy) will break their heart. They will be made fun of and all I want to do is wrap them in a big Daddy Bear hug and never let the life's jagged edges touch them.

 

...All from a stupid song I don't even like. But even listening to it now, I've gotten a bit misty. Thanks, Jack...

 

 

 

 

Oh crap, I guess that seems really random.

 

Hey, man, my life is an open book! :)/>

[joel_rosenbaum 1269]

Hard to separate this movie from the general hysteria surrounding LA in the nineties. The riots really changed the public perception of the city for quite a while. Without the riots, I don't think you have Escape from LA. Maybe I'm wrong here, but it seems pertinent.

[JammerLea 2070]

I know I promised I wouldn't bring it up again, but I just read something over in Reddit by a person who said they came over to this thread for the first time and saw that we were being "divisive" and "obnoxious" to one another regarding the whole paywall issue. They went on to say that it was causing some sort of friction between regular posters.

Just to throw in my 2 cents... I never added my opinions on the paywall in this thread, because by the time I saw the movie and listened to the podcast, the discussion on that was already pretty much over, and as had been stated, I would have nothing further to add that hadn't been said already.

 

Because idk, the regular posters here work well enough together to know when enough is enough and move on without belittling others or resorting to petty insults over differing opinions. I've been in various internet communities long enough to see some pretty ugly behavior and I believe I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this forum is one of the nicest communities I've seen in a long time.

 

It could very well be an outsider not understanding that a lot of the teasing is done with familiarity. Not saying everyone came out of that debate happy as a lark, but as for the regular posters I always see, things seem to be carrying on like normal.

 

Also possible they didn't finish reading the whole thread or only skimmed? Idk

[Jack Frost 252]

But there's also a lot of random ass stuff that hit me when I least suspect it.

 

I recently broke down when my older boy [4] was watching Return of the Jedi. At the end when Luke is fighting Vader, all I could think was "But that's his Daddy!!!" Small disclaimer: my wife is pregnant with our third and I've noticed it's like ten times worse when she's pregnant. Those pregnant pheromones just kill me. She tells me "That's what PMS is like."

[Jack Frost 252]

Hard to separate this movie from the general hysteria surrounding LA in the nineties. The riots really changed the public perception of the city for quite a while. Without the riots, I don't think you have Escape from LA. Maybe I'm wrong here, but it seems pertinent.

 

You might be right. I remember John Carpenter on Conan, I think he was promoting Ghosts of Mars. Conan asked about what inspired Escape from New York, and he just goes "Don't like New York." He asked the same thing about Escape from L.A. and he says "Don't like L.A." That doesn't mean there wasn't more behind it.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

 

You might be right. I remember John Carpenter on Conan, I think he was promoting Ghosts of Mars. Conan asked about what inspired Escape from New York, and he just goes "Don't like New York." He asked the same thing about Escape from L.A. and he says "Don't like L.A." That doesn't mean there wasn't more behind it.

Carpenter is just a curmudgeonly old bastard (and has been since he was a curmudgeonly young bastard), and I totally love him for it. If y'all haven't read Guillermo Del Toro's series of Tweets about Carpenter from last year, I highly recommend them.

 

I think my favorite part of it is when Del Toro says he told Carpenter how amazed he (Del Toro) was that The Thing had found an audience over time. And Carpenter just said, "What fucking good does that do me?"

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

I recently broke down when my older boy [4] was watching Return of the Jedi. At the end when Luke is fighting Vader, all I could think was "But that's his Daddy!!!" Small disclaimer: my wife is pregnant with our third and I've noticed it's like ten times worse when she's pregnant. Those pregnant pheromones just kill me. She tells me "That's what PMS is like."

 

No, I get that. My wife actually became a huge Vader apologist after our first child which has only grown with our second. He literally makes her sad. She thinks he's like a really dumb dog that's been abused and manipulated by the Emperor. All he wants is to be loved and keep his family safe. His whole thing has always been "let's rule as husband and wife" or "father and child" and time and time again he gets rebuffed. And then, once he gets all cyborg'd out, he just becomes this big pathetic thug. He doesn't rule anything. He doesn't have the respect of the Emperor or even regular Imperial officers. He's just this big old loser, kind of like the overly confrontational middle aged men you see at bars who clearly peaked in High School and could have "made it to the big leagues" if wasn't for "blowing out" their knee senior year. She sees what his potential could have been and then considers the loneliness he must feel after losing every person that's ever meant anything to him. And she's completely right! He's not scary, he''s sad and should be pitied. No one would want that kind of life for their kid.

 

Now for a tangentially related story...

 

So we've had Audible for some time. I used to use it strictly for work, but since the birth of my son, we've been using it as something to entertain us in the middle of the night when we feed the baby. The books we choose have to be pretty specific too. They have to be something we can both enjoy, but not so entertaining that they keep us up after the baby goes back to sleep (The Harry Potter series--which is both wonderful and fucking hilarious if you ever get to hear the audio book*--was not good for this purpose.) They also have to be pretty simple as we pretty much leave them on as we fall asleep. It sucks to get a really convoluted book and have no idea what's going on when you pick it back up the next day.

 

Anyway, this is all a really long way of getting to the last book we listened to--Star Wars: Lords of the Sith. Production-wise, Star Wars books can be pretty fun since they get to use all the music and sound effects from the films. We chose this one because it was, supposedly, all about Vader and the Emperor laying waste to this planet, and they do, but it takes a while to get there. And not before, I shit you not, Vader and the Emperor have a heart-to-heat around a camp fire. Like, I'm talking real getting-in-touch-with-your-feelings shit. This was, like, two in the morning, and my wife and I just turn to each other and started cracking up. All I could picture was Vader, in full regalia, sitting on a log drawing circles in the dirt with a stick as he "opens up." It's like at any moment the Emperor is going to say, "Patience, My Apprentice. I shall now reveal to you the darkest mysteries of the Sith. But first, hand me my six-string sonic emitter. We shall sing dark hymns to Master Ya'Kum Ba and feast on the toasted Mallows of the Marsh..."

 

 

 

 

 

*Hermione is so whiny! ("Harryyyyyyyyy!") And Professor Sprout sounds like an alcoholic recovering from a traumatic head wound.

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

For my part I was never angry at anyone. You're all my Internet family.

 

... how are you, Internet Paul?