KuReshtin's Vociferously Ruminating Harbinger of Random Banter - #147

[AtlanteanTroll]

Whereas I have just gained respectometer ratings for Koorly.

Why?

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

Makes for good arguments and controversial statements. Like this: I honestly do not like the Harry Potter books.

I know I say this all too often, but... someone else!
I mean, I don't hate them (unlike, say, Eragon), but I don't care for them at all.
The last book probably did a lot of that for me; it was rubbish. Especially the epilogue.

No consolation, but I'm glad you had an edible dinner.
I miss the Sunday roast. Today was not the Sunday roast. It was upsetting.

Next Sunday, perhaps?

I find the postal service isn't all that bad.
Post them tomorrow before lunch and they should be in Cornwall by Tuesday. Seriously, it's nowhere near as bad as everyone thinks. It's not perfect, certainly no, but it's still not bad.

Well, that's reassuring. I will probably go one up from the norm just to ensure that they get there by then anyway.

Here's to you getting good first year digs.

I'll drink to that (since I have a glass of water next to me ).

Also: eighteen days to go . . .

Yes indeedy.

[AtlanteanTroll]

I know I say this all too often, but... someone else!
I mean, I don't hate them (unlike, say, Eragon), but I don't care for them at all.
The last book probably did a lot of that for me; it was rubbish. Especially the epilogue.

The last one was second if not the best. Though the Epilouge wasn't that great. And Eragon was OK, but that last one took too long to get interesting.

[Coidzor]

Why?

For her facetiousness and to help provide further examples of the subjective nature of something or another.

Sorry, I sorta got bored and wandered off.

GAHH, why do I love this game so much? x.x

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

The last one was second if not the best. Though the Epilouge wasn't that great. And Eragon was OK, but that last one took too long to get interesting.

You see? Subjectivity abounds.

[AtlanteanTroll]

You see? Subjectivity abounds.

GRAAAAAH.

Everyone shall bend to my will~!!

[Dogmantra]

All things are subiective

♫Perfect circles, three sided squares and two nested pairs with just one number. Isaac Newton's fourth law of motion, rivers and oceans on the moon.♫

[CurlyKitGirl]

I have lost all respect for Koorly.

Whereas I have just gained respectometer ratings for Koorly.

See, most things are subiective, because we have opinions and beliefs.
Harry Potter annoys me, I believe extra-terrestrial life exists (there's that science-y math-y equation for one thing, and it's iust conceited to believe otherwise, plus it'd be awesome), I really love Indiana Iones and the Temple of Doom and I appreciate Indiana Iones 4 because I recognise what they did with it, whether it was successful or no.

I am 'delightfully quirky', meaning I think a little bit sideways to the maiority of people.

Heck, and my normal opinions - strawberries are one of the most delicious foods on earth; diachronic history is bloody amazing and more people should read books more than one hundred years old - can be as controversial as my other ones to people.

The are very few things which are completely obiective. Very few. By acknowledging it I can make facetious comments and be as honest as I like.
Within reason, I'm not going to be getting in trouble or out in meatspace.

On the bright side, your health is probably better off without the gravy, Koorly. (doo doo, do do do doo doo, etc.)

But I barely ate half my dinner.
Oh well.
It could be worse, we could only be sitting down to dinner iust now. Mum forgot to take out the meat to defrost a few weeks ago.
We had dinner at half nine at night.

I know I say this all too often, but... someone else!
I mean, I don't hate them (unlike, say, Eragon), but I don't care for them at all.
The last book probably did a lot of that for me; it was rubbish. Especially the epilogue.

Eragon didn't even register to me. It was so bland, and yet so offensive it cancelled itself out and became a non-entity.
On the other hand: *high fives!*
I'm not alone! Harry Potter annoyed me, than it bugged me, and then nothing happened for an entire 600-page long book! I gave up after book six.

Next Sunday, perhaps?

Thursday actually. We have a mid-week roast as well.

[QUOTE=Fifty-Eyed Fred;9342406]Well, that's reassuring. I will probably go one up from the norm just to ensure that they get there by then anyway.

If you go express delivery it'll be more expensive, but I'm pretty certain it'll arrive the same day, especially if you put it in before first post.

Yes indeedy.

There will be fun. Hopefully.
And it'll prolly rain as well. It being practically October, and us having made plans.

[Phase]

See, most things are subiective, because we have opinions and beliefs.
Harry Potter annoys me, I believe extra-terrestrial life exists (there's that science-y math-y equation for one thing, and it's iust conceited to believe otherwise, plus it'd be awesome), I really love Indiana Iones and the Temple of Doom and I appreciate Indiana Iones 4 because I recognise what they did with it, whether it was successful or no.

Apart from the fourth Indiana Jones being a horrible travesty of nature, I agree on all these points.

Harry Potter wasn't offensively bad, but there are much, much better books out there. They did, however, bring lots of children to look upon books as a source of entertainment in an era that is increasingly moving towards television and movies to fulfill our daily entertainment quota. If it got kids to read, I like it.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

Heck, and my normal opinions - strawberries are one of the most delicious foods on earth; diachronic history is bloody amazing and more people should read books more than one hundred years old - can be as controversial as my other ones to people.

I agree with all of those if that helps.
I've been censured for "people should think for themselves", "a vegetarian who eats fish is not a vegetarian, for fish are animals" and "if you left your motorcycling gloves on the ground in Eastbourne, why on Earth did you drive all the way home on your motorbike without gloves and then all the way back? Why didn't you just turn around, save yourself the journey and the danger to your hands, and consequently meet up with the rest of us on time?"

Eragon didn't even register to me. It was so bland, and yet so offensive it cancelled itself out and became a non-entity.
On the other hand: *high fives!*
I'm not alone! Harry Potter annoyed me, than it bugged me, and then nothing happened for an entire 600-page long book! I gave up after book six.

The only thing one needs to know from that book is that SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE.
Book five was even blander than book seven though. I cannot remember more from it than "Sirius gets killed in the Wizard Parliament or whatever, and Hagrid chills out with a giant now", which for a book that size is very, very poor.
Eragon though - so, so, so ridiculous and cliched and hypocritical and unintentionally morally horrific, and crammed with purple prose and the incorrect use of a thesaurus. Who'd have thought Star Wars in Middle-earth could have turned out so utterly badly?

There will be fun. Hopefully.
And it'll prolly rain as well. It being practically October, and us having made plans.

But of course; sod's law always triumphs in the end.

ION:
I'm being attacked by a rather large hornet at the moment. It's September for goodness' sake! Shouldn't they be dead by now?

Plus, I can't load my latest audiovisual experiment on YouTube on my computer at the moment, so I have no idea at the moment if my attempt to master widescreen worked or not.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Apart from the fourth Indiana Jones being a horrible travesty of nature, I agree on all these points.

Harry Potter wasn't offensively bad, but there are much, much better books out there. They did, however, bring lots of children to look upon books as a source of entertainment in an era that is increasingly moving towards television and movies to fulfill our daily entertainment quota. If it got kids to read, I like it.

I said I recognised what they were trying to do with the fourth Indiana Iones, not that I particularly liked it.
They were trying for a 1950s sci-fi B movie thing complete with evil Russian communists.
Because the film was taking place in the 1950s.
Iust like the other three films were 1930s/40s achaeology adventure films which were common in the 1930s and 40s.

And similarly, I can acknowledge that the Potter books got children into reading, and that the films are (supposedly. I've never seen them) good.
I simply don't like them.
When the only thing of note in a book is that a teenaged girl gets spots, you know something's wrong. And then when in the sequel you can't remember a thing that happened in the book less than a minute of closing it, you know the series has collapsed and lost all merit.

Hell, the only thing I know about book six (the one I completely forgot after closing the book) is that Dumbledore dies. ANd the only reason I know that is because everyone knew that before the book was released.


EDIT:

I agree with all of those if that helps.
I've been censured for "people should think for themselves", "a vegetarian who eats fish is not a vegetarian, for fish are animals" and "if you left your motorcycling gloves on the ground in Eastbourne, why on Earth did you drive all the way home on your motorbike without gloves and then all the way back? Why didn't you just turn around, save yourself the journey and the danger to your hands, and consequently meet up with the rest of us on time?"

Vegetarians who eat fish are pescatarians. Right?
And Motorcycling Friend probably wasn't thinking when he did that.

The only thing one needs to know from that book is that SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE.
Book five was even blander than book seven though. I cannot remember more from it than "Sirius gets killed in the Wizard Parliament or whatever, and Hagrid chills out with a giant now", which for a book that size is very, very poor.

If it helps, I know even less about Five than you do. Spotty girl. Six hundred odd pages.

Eragon though - so, so, so ridiculous and cliched and hypocritical and unintentionally morally horrific, and crammed with purple prose and the incorrect use of a thesaurus. Who'd have thought Star Wars in Middle-earth could have turned out so utterly badly?

Fanfiction. That's what Eragon is.
And no matter how awesome the premise, if a writer is bad, the story is bad.
A bad/poor/hackneyed premise can be made excellent by a good writer. Case in point: David Eddings took Standard Fantasy Plot in Standard Fantasy Land, and made it awesome because of characterisation.

[Quincunx]

If you don't see me again, I have succumbed to arteriosclerosis. Mmmm. Hamburgers with fried-onion topping. How does he make such a tasty burger with a skillet? I try. I fail, for years. He succeeds. Three days of unjustified hunger vanish. (Calorie count was fine, but only the brain was convinced.)

[Dogmantra]

If you don't see me again, I have succumbed to arteriosclerosis. Mmmm. Hamburgers with fried-onion topping. How does he make such a tasty burger with a skillet? I try. I fail, for years. He succeeds. Three days of unjustified hunger vanish. (Calorie count was fine, but only the brain was convinced.)

I vote Quincunx for Poet Laureate. Much better than Andrew Motion at least.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

I vote Quincunx for Poet Laureate. Much better than Andrew Motion at least.

And Carol Ann Duffy.

[Coidzor]

If you don't see me again, I have succumbed to arteriosclerosis. Mmmm. Hamburgers with fried-onion topping. How does he make such a tasty burger with a skillet? I try. I fail, for years. He succeeds. Three days of unjustified hunger vanish. (Calorie count was fine, but only the brain was convinced.)

My dad does nothing that I cannot replicate in the preparation of his hamburgers, yet there is a huge difference in quality.

I am ashamed to say this, but my dad's best hamburgers are also in a skillet as opposed to grilled, though, since he's stopped giving them an additional char, the difference has largely dropped.

...I'm probably more sensitive to the taste of char than most though.

Case in point: David Eddings took Standard Fantasy Plot in Standard Fantasy Land, and made it awesome because of characterisation.

The Belgariad?

[Pyrian]

I honestly do not like the Harry Potter books.

I know I say this all too often, but... someone else!
...
The last book probably did a lot of that for me; it was rubbish. Especially the epilogue.

I don't like them either. Well, more specifically, I didn't like the first one. I can't really say what I'd think about the rest of them because after not enjoying the first one I didn't read the rest of them.

[CurlyKitGirl]

The Belgariad?

Yep!
I love that series and The Mallorean. I can't decide if I like them better than The Elenium and The Tamuli.

They're all fantastic, and at the moment . . . I think Sparhawk tips the scale to The Elenium. Iust.

I don't like them either. Well, more specifically, I didn't like the first one. I can't really say what I'd think about the rest of them because after not enjoying the first one I didn't read the rest of them.

The third was really good. The best of the series.
Shame about the others.
I sort-of like the first two, I got the first three for Christmas, so I ran through them in a couple of days, and the third was very good.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

Vegetarians who eat fish are pescatarians. Right?

Well, when the girl was asked why she ate fish despite her claims to vegetarianism, she responded: "Because fish aren't animals; they're mammals."
Yes, I know. I don't know what she meant, either.

And Motorcycling Friend probably wasn't thinking when he did that.

He's weird like that. He tested a sword's sharpness on himself, he got knackered from sitting in a car being driven by someone else for eight hours, he always has either too much energy or not enough, loves killing things on videogames (hence the "you're not hardcore" thing in that video I uploaded) and is somehow going to go into the army as an officer. The mind boggles.

Fanfiction. That's what Eragon is.
And no matter how awesome the premise, if a writer is bad, the story is bad.
A bad/poor/hackneyed premise can be made excellent by a good writer. Case in point: David Eddings took Standard Fantasy Plot in Standard Fantasy Land, and made it awesome because of characterisation.

Yes, that's pretty much it, I suppose. Half of writing is presentation.

[Cristo Meyers]

The third was really good. The best of the series.
Shame about the others.
I sort-of like the first two, I got the first three for Christmas, so I ran through them in a couple of days, and the third was very good.

I've only seen the movies, but those movies have left me with absolutely no interest in reading the books. Just the number of annoying holes in the setting drove me crazy. Why are you interrogating people when two drops of a potion will "force even You-Know-Who to spill his darkest secrets?" Hell, just the number of problems that could've been prevented just with a single small bottle of that potion pretty much broke any interest I had in the setting.

[CurlyKitGirl]

Well, when the girl was asked why she ate fish despite her claims to vegetarianism, she responded: "Because fish aren't animals; they're mammals."
Yes, I know. I don't know what she meant, either.

.
.
.
Wot.
That statement is so very wrong.
Wot.
Fish are fish and they are alive, so they're animals. They're fish not mammals.
Wot.

He's weird like that. He tested a sword's sharpness on himself, he got knackered from sitting in a car being driven by someone else for eight hours, he always has either too much energy or not enough, loves killing things on videogames (hence the "you're not hardcore" thing in that video I uploaded) and is somehow going to go into the army as an officer. The mind boggles.

As far as sword sharpness goes? It was silly, but people do do it sometimes. To be hardcore.
I can understand the car thing though, it does happen. Riding on trains or buses really tired me because you can't move around at all, not really, and there's not much to do.

Yes, that's pretty much it, I suppose. Half of writing is presentation.

Back when there was a shipping thread I'd take silly ideas and write them as a story. It's fun, and good practice.

ION:
Watching Red Dwarf series two at the moment. It's Kryten at the moment. Red Dwarf was a good show, shame about the later series.
And 'smeg'. Great word.

EDIT:

I've only seen the movies, but those movies have left me with absolutely no interest in reading the books. Just the number of annoying holes in the setting drove me crazy. Why are you interrogating people when two drops of a potion will "force even You-Know-Who to spill his darkest secrets?" Hell, just the number of problems that could've been prevented just with a single small bottle of that potion pretty much broke any interest I had in the setting.

Never seen the films, and the books didn't interest me, so I don't know about many plotholes.
One I do remember is this: if there's Polyiuice Potion, why didn't VOldemort take it?
Kill someone, take their form, and noone's the wiser.
Really Voldemort, if you're that smart, why don't you think smart?

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

As far as sword sharpness goes? It was silly, but people do do it sometimes. To be hardcore.
I can understand the car thing though, it does happen. Riding on trains or buses really tired me because you can't move around at all, not really, and there's not much to do.

You underestimate the timescales involved.
He was knackered two days later.
He's extremely physically fit, muscular, etc, but he has no energy at all.

Never seen the films, and the books didn't interest me, so I don't know about many plotholes.
One I do remember is this: if there's Polyiuice Potion, why didn't VOldemort take it?
Kill someone, take their form, and noone's the wiser.
Really Voldemort, if you're that smart, why don't you think smart?

Also, if Voldemort was so mega powerful, then why didn't he just own all of Hogwarts (who somehow seem to run more wizardly things than the government) and murder all of the good wizards the moment he was resurrected?
He wasn't anywhere near as powerful, or intelligent, or even enigmatic as the early books and backstory implied.
And since I know I'm about to hear "oh but Harry was the last Horcrux which explains everything", all I can respond with is "and does that not strike you as the worst sort of contrived attempt to resolve the question without a RetCon?"
It just really, really disappointed me, since I liked the first few books.

[CurlyKitGirl]

You underestimate the timescales involved.
He was knackered two days later.
He's extremely physically fit, muscular, etc, but he has no energy at all.

Then I have no possible answer. It is peculiar.

Also, if Voldemort was so mega powerful, then why didn't he just own all of Hogwarts (who somehow seem to run more wizardly things than the government) and murder all of the good wizards the moment he was resurrected?
He wasn't anywhere near as powerful, or intelligent, or even enigmatic as the early books and backstory implied.
And since I know I'm about to hear "oh but Harry was the last Horcrux which explains everything", all I can respond with is "and does that not strike you as the worst sort of contrived attempt to resolve the question without a RetCon?"
It just really, really disappointed me, since I liked the first few books.

Horcrux?
I never thought about that. Voldemort had no proper impact. Not like he did in the first book or the second. His appearances then were honestly creepy. He had so much potential, and then everything goes down the pan.

ION:
It's time for Better Than Life now. Classic. Iohn Wayne loving scutters.

[Gullara]

Exactly! And mum makes great gravy. I don't really like onions at the best of time, unless they're caramelised, so it was a bit gukky.

I fail to see how onion could make the flavour of any meal better.

Thank you. Finally people that make sense.


As for Harry Potter and Eragon. Harry Potter was good when I was 12. I can't say I ever found them bad, but I've read many better books since. Eragon was pretty good, never spectacular, and once again there are many better books. Anything by R. A. Salvatore and Brent Weeks for example.

[Starfols]

The only 4th Indiana Jones I can think of was Fate of Atlantis, and that was good.

On Harry Potter, I didn't think the 7th book was so bad, except the climax and ending. It was just incredibly saccharine after all the deaths and grimness of the last 3 books.

[Pyrian]

Eragon was pretty good, never spectacular, and once again there are many better books. Anything by R. A. Salvatore...

Wow. Now that's damning with faint praise. Anything by Salvatore?

[Jibar]

Also, if Voldemort was so mega powerful, then why didn't he just own all of Hogwarts (who somehow seem to run more wizardly things than the government) and murder all of the good wizards the moment he was resurrected?

Well... he kinda did, it just took him a little while after his ressurection.
It's easy to miss considering how much of the last book focuses on Harry going cross country, but after his resurrection he spends rebuilding all his empire in secret while wassisname the Minister ran the Ministry into the ground out of terror. Then when everyone knows he's about he gives them a year to panic while he has his most powerful and dangerous enemy assassinated. As soon as that's done in like a month or two or he takes control of the Ministry and Hogwarts without a fuss.
I mean, seriously, it's suggested last time it was out and out war with Voldemort. This time the Order of the Phoenix is literally the only piece of Britain putting up any resistance.
If it weren't for the fact Harry was still alive and kicking, Voldemort had essentially won in a tiny amount of time.

[Thufir]

Warning: Incoming quotestorm.

Makes for good arguments and controversial statements. Like this: I honestly do not like the Harry Potter books.

Blah blah time loop blah even this sentence blah.

I find the postal service isn't all that bad.
Post them tomorrow before lunch and they should be in Cornwall by Tuesday. Seriously, it's nowhere near as bad as everyone thinks. It's not perfect, certainly no, but it's still not bad.

I've never got any impression of the postal service being bad. My mum told me years ago that generally something posted 1st class will get there the following day, and I've never heard anything to contradict that.

I have lost all respect for Koorly.

What? She has an opinion that is different to yours. The vast maiority of things are subiective, so people will disagree about them, and they have to accept that.
Except Curly, who denounces people as heretics. But never mind.

I agree with all of those if that helps.
I've been censured for "people should think for themselves", "a vegetarian who eats fish is not a vegetarian, for fish are animals" and "if you left your motorcycling gloves on the ground in Eastbourne, why on Earth did you drive all the way home on your motorbike without gloves and then all the way back? Why didn't you just turn around, save yourself the journey and the danger to your hands, and consequently meet up with the rest of us on time?"

1) Common sense.
2) Pescetarian.
3) Crazy.

Who'd have thought Star Wars in Middle-earth could have turned out so utterly badly?

Well if you describe it like that, I certainly would. Bad fanfiction premise ahoy!

And similarly, I can acknowledge that the Potter books got children into reading, and that the films are (supposedly. I've never seen them) good.

The films are not that good. They have their moments, but they're not great films, and they're really not good adaptations, what with the leaving out of important plot points, and the fact the film-makers clearly don't get when and how they should be using their effects budget.

If it helps, I know even less about Five than you do. Spotty girl. Six hundred odd pages.

768.

I vote Quincunx for Poet Laureate. Much better than Andrew Motion at least.

Seconded.

Well, when the girl was asked why she ate fish despite her claims to vegetarianism, she responded: "Because fish aren't animals; they're mammals."
Yes, I know. I don't know what she meant, either.

Oh yeah, I remember you mentioning that before.

One I do remember is this: if there's Polyiuice Potion, why didn't Voldemort take it?
Kill someone, take their form, and noone's the wiser.
Really Voldemort, if you're that smart, why don't you think smart?

One: He couldn't kill them. You need part of the person you're turning into (Typically hair is used) for the potion to work. This doesn't work if they're dead.
Two: Because he's Lord Voldemort, the heir of Salazar Slytherin, and the greatest wizard who ever lived (In his opinion). Disguising himself would be far too demeaning.
The thing is, Voldemort doesn't necessarily go about things in the most sensible and efficient way, because of his particular psychology and world-view.

He wasn't anywhere near as powerful, or intelligent, or even enigmatic as the early books and backstory implied.

Intelligent I'll grant you (Though to put it in D&D terms, actually he'd have rather high intelligence but not great wisdom), enigmatic maybe though I'm not sure, but powerful he definitely was.

And since I know I'm about to hear "oh but Harry was the last Horcrux which explains everything", all I can respond with is "and does that not strike you as the worst sort of contrived attempt to resolve the question without a RetCon?"
It just really, really disappointed me, since I liked the first few books.

I don't see how it was that contrived since it rather seemed to have been planned since book 4 at least.

ION:
It's time for Better Than Life now. Classic. Iohn Wayne loving scutters.

Isn't that the one which starts with the comments on Rimmer's cooking?
"Rimmer, real dumplings, proper dumplings when they're properly cooked to perfection - proper dumplings, should not. Bounce."

[Pyrian]

Who'd have thought Star Wars in Middle-earth could have turned out so utterly badly?

Well if you describe it like that, I certainly would. Bad fanfiction premise ahoy!

Perhaps one might ask why The Hidden Fortress in space worked so well.

[CurlyKitGirl]

The films are not that good. They have their moments, but they're not great films, and they're really not good adaptations, what with the leaving out of important plot points, and the fact the film-makers clearly don't get when and how they should be using their effects budget.

I'll keep on not watching them then.

768.

Even worse. How can one write that much, and yet write about so little?

Isn't that the one which starts with the comments on Rimmer's cooking?
"Rimmer, real dumplings, proper dumplings when they're properly cooked to perfection - proper dumplings, should not. Bounce."

Yes it was.

And now it's:
When I saw you for the first time
(First time)
My knees began to quiver
(Quiver)
And I got a funny feeling
(Feeling)
In my kidneys and my liver
(Digestive system baby)

My hands they started shaking
(shaking)
My heart began a-thumping
(Boom boom boom)
My breakfast left my body
(Huey huey huey)
It all really tells me something

Girl you make me tongue-tied
(tongue-tied)
Tongue-tied, whenever you are near me
(Near me)
Tied tongue
(Tied tongue)
Tied tongue
(Tied tongue)
Whenever you're in town etc.

Classic.

[Malfunctioned]

Even worse. How can one write that much, and yet write about so little?

I suppose that would take a certain kind of skill. I've got no idea what for though.

Yes it was.

-snipped-

Classic.

I'm impressed Koorly. This caused me to rewatch the video on youtube. I am now one amused Malfunctioned.