Big fellas doing just fine. Great to see.

Celebrated Christmas with my eldest son for the first time in 3 years, so it was a happy day.

While it's a tradition to be positive and full of Christmas cheer around this time, not to mention cherish those we love, I think we need to follow the actions of our self-proclaimed betters and engage in some serious navel-gazing and self flagellation.

It is clear that this website lacks diversity. And that is problematic. There is only one poster who identifies as a woman and while being bisexual is a plus, she isn't a POC and most posters here are straight (white - problematic) males anyway. Clearly the poster who identifies as Mariner4life is a homosexual, but there are no others who will dare to come out on this site. There are certainly no trans people and that is a tragedy. There is an oriental tooth doctor and a goat fucker, but they don't compensate for the overwhelming whiteness that pervades here. That is problematic and I would hope that the mods (mostly straight white males - also very problematic) fix this problem in 2019.

Nah fuck that.

This site is great. For me it's like Cheers: "Where everybody knows your name and you're always glad you came". You can act like a fool and speak utter crap and all is forgiven next time you rock up. I've had a very tough couple of years and unfortunately I sometimes let that out here and I apologise for that, but mostly I just love coming here every day and reading some very informed (and not so informed) views about rugby, other sports, movies, TV, fitness, movies and politics etc. The advice and kind words I've received here have helped me massively (even the dp discussion). It's a cracking site with a cracking group of people and I wish you all the merriest of Christmases and happiest of New Years and I thank you once again for putting up with yet another year of my shit!

God Jul alle sammen.

Great thread this one.

I’ve always been of the belief that if there is something you’re unhappy about or something you want to change then you should do something about it. Don’t die wondering. Stop complaining and do something about it. The sad problem is that there are sometimes factors completely outside your control.

I met the woman who would become my wife when she was a student in Aus and moved to her home country of Norway. It was awesome at first but I became utterly miserable with my life there as the years went on. I hated the cold, hated the dark and started irrationally hating the entire country and culture. I knew I had to get out of there and was all set to leave , but then my father in law got a brain tumour. Move delayed by 3 years. Then we finally moved to Aus. Worked like a maniac to make everyone happy. Was going well, everyone getting adjusted, wife making friends, gets to travel home to Norway with kids regularly, work awesome and talking about a move to the Sunshine Coast. Then she gets breast cancer. 4 years of hell follow with me not daring to even think worst case or talk to her about it. Then worst case happens and it destroyed me. Telling my sons that mamma was not going to get better was absolutely soul destroying. Those poor boys.

So I was at the location I wanted to be, but I’d lost my soulmate and was a widower and single dad and provider at the age of 38. In that situation you can talk to people or whatever but it doesn’t change anything. It won’t bring anyone back and it won’t make a tragic situation any less tragic. The sadness can be triggered by so many things and thankfully I had my boys there with me. They helped me more than I helped them.

So I focussed on the things I could influence. Exercise and eating right made me happy so I did that and did it properly. It helped me get through some very hard days.

Things gradually got better and my eldest pushed me into online dating. Could write a book about all that but I found an amazing new partner who complements my life and lifestyle perfectly. She and her daughter have moved in and we’ve since also made some wonderful new friends in the local community.

So I was bouncing back really well but unfortunately my eldest son went completely off the rails at the end of last year. He had been doing really well. Won a swimming scholarship to a top school, was very popular and had girls throwing themselves at him. But he suddenly got in with a bad crowd, started with drugs and went completely off the rails. Nobody knows exactly why he’s acting like this. Presumably his mother dying is a huge factor, but he refuses to talk to anyone and has thrown his lot in with the absolute dregs of society. He refused to go to school and was then expelled from the shitty school he insisted on going to. Now he’s living with some friends in a flat somewhere, refusing to find another school and doing God knows what. While I think he should come out of this ok in the end, I’m scared shitless that something will happen to him. It’s so hard because whenever I start feeling good about life, the reminder of his situation hits me like a train. If that ain’t enough, my younger brother has apparently disappeared. Tbh I have zero time for him but my parents are obviously beside themselves and I hate to see them so worried and stressed.

Sorry for the ramble and perhaps way too much info, but again the point I’m making is that sometimes total happiness is completely outside your control. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do everything you can to change or improve the things you can influence. I’m the fittest and healthiest I ever been in my life. I give everything to my relationship and my other son and new step daughter. I’m not happy with work so am looking to make changes when Covid is over. I won’t be fully happy until my son comes back to me, but until then I’ll do the best that I can to get the most out of life. What more can you do?

Had to chuckle that we were criticising the Boks for their bomb tactics but that was literally all we were doing for most of the first half.

Absolutely clueless shit. No depth, no structure. Been the same for a few years now. Guess what? It doesn't work.

@virgil said in Convicts v Marxist Land Thieves - Crucket:

Smart move by Warner to face the media for the first time with his wife and girls
Hard to kick him further when he’s holding one of his little girls.

I hate him even more for that. He's effectively using them as a shield. Cowardly tosser.

Let's keep this civil. As much as I love a good circle jerk, these threads are much better with the Lions fans involved. Don't want them to leave before the tests.

The only consolation is that Akira has been selected. Unfortunately he'll probably be subbed after 20min when Scott Barrett gets sent off.

Not really I meme but it's nice to see someone so happy.

@Kiwiwomble said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

@Kiwiwomble said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

@Rancid-Schnitzel you definitely can make the argument, see the comments about Rey (force user with no training, fighting kylo with no training), but the critique of lots of other seems to boil down to them just being women who kick arse and that not being believable or people just not liking seeing it...like the only think he mentions as for why he doesn;t like them...is theyre women

and re it being over done, we've had god know how many years of unbelievably male centric cinema....im sure we can survive if they swing it a little too far the other way

I find comments like this really strange. Women and girls have had plenty of films, TV, entertainment etc that cater exclusively to them. Ever heard of chick flicks? You think Sex and the City or umpteen other series or films were going after the male demographic? I had a "step daughter" for 3 years and, if anything, she had too much choice. So I'm not really sure why any swing was required, and definitely not too far in one direction. There's plenty of room for everyone. Existing properties don't need to be drastically changed for that.

you know not all women are the same aye, they don't all like chick flicks, lot probably really enjoy seeing women kick arse on screen, have you heard of the Bechdel Test? it shocking how many movies cant even manage to have two women talk to each other about something other than a man, the sequels actually pass the test but hang heavily on Rey and Leia talking to each other, I mean all three trilogies have two male leads and one female

I think I'll just let this one go to the keeper. Let's focus on possible better plots rather than female representation

@Kiwiwomble said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

@Rancid-Schnitzel you definitely can make the argument, see the comments about Rey (force user with no training, fighting kylo with no training), but the critique of lots of other seems to boil down to them just being women who kick arse and that not being believable or people just not liking seeing it...like the only think he mentions as for why he doesn;t like them...is theyre women

and re it being over done, we've had god know how many years of unbelievably male centric cinema....im sure we can survive if they swing it a little too far the other way

I find comments like this really strange. Women and girls have had plenty of films, TV, entertainment etc that cater exclusively to them. Ever heard of chick flicks? You think Sex and the City or umpteen other series or films were going after the male demographic? I had a "step daughter" for 3 years and, if anything, she had too much choice. So I'm not really sure why any swing was required, and definitely not too far in one direction. There's plenty of room for everyone. Existing properties don't need to be drastically changed for that.

@Kiwiwomble said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

@Rancid-Schnitzel i guess the question is then, if its not misogyny, if he doesnt have a problem with these characters being female...then why mention it? when he talks about bo having to save him twice...why not just leave it with "our previously super experienced and skilled Mando has had to be saved twice in the first few episodes, they seem to be shifting focus to another character which i dont like"...labouring the "strong female character" line definitely makes it sound like that is at least part of his problem

See MN5's very good explanation above. Surely it's possible to make that argument without simply hating women? The whole point is that they are definitely going very very hard on the whole "strong female hero" thing and to the extent where it's becoming something of a meme. Just check out the latest reincarnation of He-Man. Spoiler: they literally kill He-man in the first episode and the entire series is the adventures of Teela.

But again, that's a distraction because his point about where the franchise currently stands is completely spot on.

@MN5 said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

Hard to disagree with this

SOME of what this guy says is very accurate, but it is very over cynical.

I’m still loving Mando, the Obi Wan show was good.

Excellent point about the ridiculously strong female characters though. Mando was literally the only bloke when they stormed Gideons ship ( I guess they kept Boba away cos the writers couldn’t think of an appropriate reaction to him meeting Luke for the first time since the Sarlacc Pit fight ), Fennic what’s her name did ALL the heavy lifting in the Boba Fett show, Cara Dune kicked arse before she got cancelled and now Bo Katan is doing exactly the same. You know the Armourer chick will be an awesome fighter and Ashoka Tano dominated every scrap she was in.

….and that’s not even going into Reys ridiculous force powers with no training, I bet she wouldn’t get her her arse handed to her by a single Tuskan Raider like Luke did in ANH.

Having Grogu go back to Mando was pretty shit though. I understand why 💰 but that entire scene is now pointless. Kenobi had some cool scenes but it made no sense. Apparently getting run through with a lightsaber doesn't kill you anymore. That Inquisitor plot line was bizarre. He just reappears.

@Kiwiwomble said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

@Rancid-Schnitzel as i said, i didn't finish it, but as soon as your saying just having a strong female character is a bad thing then im out

as @MN5 points out Rey being OP without training, a valid critique of the actual character, the others he seems to dislike just because theyre women that kick arse, i mean Gina carano could kick all of our arses so i easily believe her charater, the other three have long back stories explaining how they got where they are and appear in shows that have several strong male characters (mando, Boba, Luke, the Marshal, greef...pretty much all the other Mandalorians other than the armour and bo)

C'mon he never said that. I think you'll find it was a tad more nuanced than simple misogyny. The issue isn't female characters but GOOD and properly developed female characters. Cara Dune and Fennic are very popular. So is Leia for that matter. But many of them are crap. Rey, Reeva, Holdo, Rose for starters. There's this notion that nerddom hate female characters, which is odd when it's these same awful misogynists that idolise and created the fandom around characters like Lara Croft, Ripley, Buffy, Xena, Sara Connor etc.

But that is a distraction. Ultimately the franchise is in trouble and that's all self-inflicted.

@Kiwiwomble said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

his biases undermine any good points he makes...couldn't finish watching, just come across too bitter to be taken seriously

What did he say was wrong?

Hard to disagree with this

@Kiwiwomble said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

@Rancid-Schnitzel in general i like the force awakens...but i feel its biggest crime isn't the new characters or the fan service...its that they undo everything won in the original trilogy, as you say, hans a smuggler again, luke leaves and take the jedi and the "new hope" along with it and effectively just brought back the empire

I said all of these things when it came out and was met with much righteous anger. There were claims that they actually had these awesome ideas and that you just had to be patient. And then they brought Palpatine back.....

Even watching Mando is a bit of a downer because you know it's just going to lead to the First Order nonsense and farking Palpatine. The hope was that they'd retcon that shit, but nope, they're digging in.

Such a shame.

Elvis. Only watched first 30 and I don't think I'll bother with the rest. I just hate Baz Luhrmanns style. I have since Romeo's and Juliet. I also get that this is a Hollywood "true story" but the Colonel never had a thick accent like that. I get the guy was an arsehole but I don't like it when they turn people into ridiculous comic book like villains.