薔薇語

Wow. That is actually good news. Some eight or so years ago it was closer to a quarter. Maybe over a quarter.
 
La Rose.

I'm more concerned about the first 130-odd rounds. Seems like an extreme overreaction to a car backfiring. Apparently murdering people for emissions violations is OK.

Warning: The following video is filled with puns. If you love them (like me), it will be great. Otherwise you may find yourself groaning to death. 
 
 

 
La Rose. 

There are two things about this graph I don't like: First is the first prompt and the second is the Second prompt. 
 
When we ask people how they 'feel' or 'perceive' something we are ceding objective analysis to personal opinion about oneself. That is something we should generally avoid. We have all been in situations where we or others have felt a certain way about an event but have to come to grips with the fact that the way we interpreted it was the greater cause of problems than the event itself. And the way our culture tells people how they should react is not always in concert with the way we actually should react. For example, most women feel far, far, far less safe to walk down a street than their male counterparts. This is unfortunate. Not only because women feel unsafe but because if anyone should feel unsafe it is their male counterparts who are far, far, far more likely to be the victims of violent crime. But our culture informs women that they should be fearful and men shouldn't so despite the truth of the situation, we feel the way society tells us to without reference to the truth of things. 
 
How does the above play into here? The first graph is asking women if they feel like they need to provide more evidence of competency than their male counters. While I do not discount their feelings; their feelings about what is expected may not join up with reality. If they are getting the cultural message that they should feel that way, then it is only natural for them to feel that way. And as they are not men in the same position, they do not personally grasp the differences in the expectations placed on them vs those placed women. Now, does that mean that women aren't expected to preform more work for equal recognition? No. It in no way discounts that possibility. It just says that the survey is largely useless outside of knowing how people feel - it does NOT tell us if their feelings are justified. Such is the same with crime statistics vs women's feelings of insecurity. 
 
The second one suffers from a similar paradigm issue as the first. After children are born, men also get pressure to spend more time with them (as they should). I know I have asked a male colleague about him working less and spending more time with his family. So I wonder how much different the male answers to that prompt would be. And given the strong racial difference, I wonder if it is more an issue of Race and less an issue of Sex. 
 
Lastly, people thinking one should work less hours after starting a family is not the same as equating one's work to being 'just a hobby'. And conflating the two, as the article did, is not good and is bad reasoning / science!. 
 
La Rose. 

There are two things about this graph I don't like: First is the first prompt and the second is the Second prompt. 
 
When we ask people how they 'feel' or 'perceive' something we are ceding objective analysis to personal opinion about oneself. That is something we should generally avoid. We have all been in situations where we or others have felt a certain way about an event but have to come to grips with the fact that the way we interpreted it was the greater cause of problems than the event itself. And the way our culture tells people how they should react is not always in concert with the way we actually should react. For example, most women feel far, far, far less safe to walk down a street than their male counterparts. This is unfortunate. Not only because women feel unsafe but because if anyone should feel unsafe it is their male counterparts who are far, far, far more likely to be the victims of violent crime. But our culture informs women that they should be fearful and men shouldn't so despite the truth of the situation, we feel the way society tells us to without reference to the truth of things. 
 
How does the above play into here? The first graph is asking women if they feel like they need to provide more evidence of competency than their male counters. While I do not discount their feelings; their feelings about what is expected may not join up with reality. If they are getting the cultural message that they should feel that way, then it is only natural for them to feel that way. And as they are not men in the same position, they do not personally grasp the differences in the expectations placed on them vs those placed women. Now, does that mean that women aren't expected to preform more work for equal recognition? No. It in no way discounts that possibility. It just says that the survey is largely useless outside of knowing how people feel - it does NOT tell us if their feelings are justified. Such is the same with crime statistics vs women's feelings of insecurity. 
 
The second one suffers from a similar paradigm issue as the first. After children are born, men also get pressure to spend more time with them (as they should). I know I have asked a male colleague about him working less and spending more time with his family. So I wonder how much different the male answers to that prompt would be. And given the strong racial difference, I wonder if it is more an issue of Race and less an issue of Sex. 
 
Lastly, people thinking one should work less hours after starting a family is not the same as equating one's work to being 'just a hobby'. And conflating the two, as the article did, is not good and is bad reasoning / science!. 
 
La Rose. 

While the time travel tropes were cliched, Barry's decision was significant and showed real personal growth on his part.

If you're able to load it, it's available now on the CW website.

Warning: The following video is filled with puns. If you love them (like me), it will be great. Otherwise you may find yourself groaning to death. 
 
 

 
La Rose. 

Uh...
 
At the recommendation of an IMDB poster, I searched for the main actor's name and found some rather...salacious...results on the images. I don't recommend you do the same.
 
---
 
Anyhow, from what i've seen thus far, I fear we'll be in for another The Green Arrow live-action adaptation in terms of over-emphasis on romance. Plus, the acting comes off as hitting all the overly safe stereotype notes, so there's nothing amazing on the character front (thus far).

It's plain risk analysis.  You are spending one hundred meeeeellion dollars of someone else's money on a comic book superhero movie; if it fails you are jobless and homeless.  Who do you alienate--the 90% of the population who are reasonably willing to see it, or the 5% of hardcore fanbois who will complain endlessly about costume brightness on the internet and then pay to see the movie anyway?

I will be sure to tell President Obama to put on the bright yellow zoot suit. Because obviously bright primary colors are the only way to be inspiring in appearance. ()
 
La Rose.

I think I've dug quite a deep enough grave for myself already, thank you.

Only those who know that the universe's Karmic Justice bends against them fear the dice! I, for one, embrace the cold justice they bring. This has brought sustenance and purpose to my life.
 
La Rose.

Only those who know that the universe's Karmic Justice bends against them fear the dice! I, for one, embrace the cold justice they bring. This has brought sustenance and purpose to my life.
 
La Rose.

Actually, CinemaSins is a lot funnier once you've watched their "Everything Wrong With CinemaSins".

Not gloating at all. The way you twist things to suit your agenda... *sigh* Happy with the win. THAT IS ALL. 
 
You just wanna suck the joy out of everything. 

Hey, everyone. I'm afraid the delay could not be avoided as I took an unexpected turn in the hospital last night. Spent all day vomiting for some reason, just something I do every year or so now. To make matters worse, my phone decided to turn into a paperweight so I couldn't contact anyone either.  
 
We will get started again, but I might need to take another night off tonight for recovery.  Thanks for being patient with me.
 
-L

Speaking of D* cops: a Texas Cop decided to step over the bounds of reasonable action and put a young lady into a choke hold. Why? Because she knew her rights and wasn't "Respectin' his Authoritah!"
 

 
-In case you are curious, the prosecutor in that area even stated that the young woman was within her rights and of course the cops tried to make her delete the video but she didn't.
 
Seriously I am typically pro-cop. I have taken the opposite sides of these discussions when they have come on these boards in the past. But I can't count the number of times I have read / watched a story like this or worse and can only walk away with the classic "F* the police" chant. To be honest, I don't trust a single cop. I am getting to the point where I just assume the cop must be in the wrong because it isn't a "small few" but "a majority" who are either belligerent jerks, thieves, or straight up murderers.
 
Body cam ever single one of the jerks. Never let them work alone. Never let them do "internal investigations" and always demand truly outside investigators and prosecutions for when police cross the line.
 
La Rose.

I  thank the Rose for that. A man of honor, that one... odd and vengeful, and a touch delusional, but a man of honor nonetheless.
 
Oh, and I do okay on trivia.

I agree that their desire to avoid magic is definitely a problem with Dr Strange, but hopefully the story and visuals will help get past that.
 
Superhero films are doing well right now for several reasons.  First, a lot of the audience today grew up reading comics and going "this would make an amazing movie!"  And we were right.  Second, they're some of the only original content out there in movies.  Everything else seems like a remake and a sequel, whereas every new superhero film seems like something fresh and new so far.  Third, superhero movies allow spectacle and wonder in just about every genre imaginable.  Spy movies, gritty noir, wide open adventure, fantasy, sci fi, it doesn't really matter.  Superhero comics can embrace any genre and make it work, so the variety is enormous but still gives the opportunity for incredible effects and explosive, epic action.  Fourth, its just flat entertaining.
 
For me, watching people line up to see tales of heroism, self sacrifice, a strong message of good vs evil, and people working to change their place by personal effort is a very positive thing for our culture.  And that's what superhero films are, at their best and at their core.  Just seeing all those kid wearing Captain America shield shirts and lining up by the hundreds and thousands to watch another film of heroic do-goodery warms hm heart.

So the Freddie Gray case has been turned over to the Baltimore state's attorney, Marilyn Mosby, who has some ties to the police: both parents, a grandfather, two aunts, and three uncles. Anyone care to guess how the prosecution will go?

Another gem from Ken White at Popehat:
 
Cops: We Need Rights More Than You, Citizen