Offtopic Sofa Time

New arrivals, including the hello threads and the sofa.
Sinkwriter72
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by Sinkwriter72 »

I was in Chicago this weekend! We may have passed each other on the street and not even known it. ;)

Thanks for the understanding and the luck. *hugs* I appreciate it!

So, did you have fun in the city? What did you do while you were there? :D
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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bonesaddict11 wrote:I just got back from Chicago. My summer has been a little busy. And school starts soon.
Whoa! I'd love to visit Chicago, sounds a great place from what I've heard. But school starting soon? :( Not fun. We aren't back till the start of September and I have quite enough to occupy me till then! Are you looking forward to the new academic year? Or not, as the case may be?!
Sinkwriter72 wrote:It was very moving, Steph. Thank you for sharing your beautiful poetry with me. I appreciate it more than I can say.
That is sweet of you, Sherry, and I'm happy if it reassures you that I - we - care. I guess maybe it's not so adolescent as I thought! You must have looked back at your youthful writing at times and been a little distanced, critical and ironic about the way it reflected your obsessions and personality at the time. But perhaps some feelings are universal however old you are? Remember we all have faith in you, hon.
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TJ4ever
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Sherry, is it everywhere in the USA so difficult to find a job or is the situation in/near Chicago so bad? Do you want to stay near Chicago or are you willing to move elsewhere?
Wish you all the best for the job hunt! I am still keeping my fingers crossed!

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Sinkwriter72
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by Sinkwriter72 »

Great questions, Simone. :D

I think the job situation is fairly lousy everywhere in the U.S. right now. They say the unemployment rate has risen, companies are cutting back (rather than hiring new staff), and as a result people are really struggling to find work. My coworkers and I are certainly part of that statistic.

As for relocating: well, I'd love to stay near Chicago because my friends are here, and most of my family lives in the surrounding areas (either in Illinois or Wisconsin). However, if the job were right for me, at this point I might be willing to consider relocating. But the job -- or the reason for leaving -- would have to be incredibly strong and special. I'd really have to feel it was the right move for me, and that the decision to take such a bold step outweighed any and all doubts or fears.

At this point, I feel I'm more open to the possibilities. Maybe what I need is a really big change.

Thanks so much for the good thoughts and the crossed fingers! :mrgreen:

How have you been lately?
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Hello Everyone,

Like a few of you, I have been rather absent from the forum lately--absent from the computer as well!

Sherry, I'm sorry to hear that the job hunt is a challenge right now. Keep the faith, Dear--you are intelligent and skilled and I can tell you'd be a wonderful person to have for a co-worker. Time will bring you the job you deserve, I just know it.

Steph, you sound like me already anticipating going back to work. I only have two more weeks of vacation. My first day back at work (a professional growth day), my dad is having triple bi-pass surgery. I will have a lot going on the middle of August, and hope I can give school the attention it needs while helping out my parents as well.

As for the X-Files movie, I was satisfied. I understand where the criticism is coming from, but I watched the movie (twice now) for Mulder and Scully. I found their plotline profound and true to where I've imagined the characters would be today. David and Gillian looked fabulous and their acting was impeccable. Gillian in particular had a standout performance. Yes, the actual X-File was a bit convoluted and not overly supernatural, but I think it served Mulder and Scully's storyline. If you watch the movie, stay through the credits. There's a tag scene that is priceless! And of course it would perform poorly compared to Dark Knight. The two movies shouldn't even be compared in my opinion. One is a huge franchise movie with major Hollywood stars and tons of action and expensive special effects. The X-Files is by it's very nature a much smaller type of movie. After all the horrible reviews, I felt a certain amount of validation when I read Roger Eberts' review. He gave it two thumbs up. He understood the movie and appreciated it for what it is--not what it's not. That's how you have to go into it. It's Mulder and Scully's story, and that aspect of the movie is beautiful.
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skftex
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Rebecca, thank you for your opinion of the movie. I haven't seen it though I would like to, I don't know if I'll get a chance so might have to wait for the DVD. Honestly, I imagine I'll like it because I'd be watching it for the Mulder/Scully story too. I have to agree about comparing the movie to the Dark Knight, which besides the reasons you listed, it also has that added draw of being Heath Ledgers final movie and I know I've heard MANY people say thats the only reason they went to see it-though almost everyone seems to enjoyed it no matter the reason why they saw it. Its not my kind of movie, I'm probably one of the few people that has never seen ANY of the Batman movies! :shock:

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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Sinkwriter72 wrote:
How have you been lately?
Well, Sherry, I feel that nothing really happens in my life lately! Same job - sometimes a bit boring, but great co-workers and a great boss! Altogether I like it - but I am going through the motions - as BUFFY sang it! :) When I was younger I always wanted to live and work in the USA. I still have that thoughts from time to time. Never act on it! Because then I ask myself is it really better to live in the USA. I don't know and I think I don't have the courage to find it out.

Something new to tell! I booked my flight today to London (yeah, London again! :) ). A friend of mine and me we want to spent a few days there in December! Really looking forward to it!


Hey Rebecca! You're right - the MULDER/SCULLY story was very beautiful and great to watch! The story around that was a little weak! As I said not what I expected from a X-Files movie. But I didn't regret to watch it and I would watch it again (on DVD)!

Sharon, you should watch 'Batman Begins'! Great movie! Christian Bale is great in it! I am gonna watch the new 'Batman' movie, too! Really looking forward to it! It starts here in Germany on August 21!

That' s all for today! Gonna watch a bit TV or DVD!

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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by TJ4ever »

Upps, forgot something! :)

Rebecca, how was Comic Con? You were there only on Sunday? What did you see, or whom have you met?

I wish I could have been there, too, because on Friday - I think - Douglas Henshall was there to promote PRIMEVAL for BBC America. But maybe I will catch him eventually on a play in London!

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Angela: Well, what about love? What do you have to say about love?
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Sinkwriter72 wrote:So, did you have fun in the city? What did you do while you were there? :D
I did a lot of shopping. =) of course. and went to some museums. Oh, and i saw this thing called the blue man group. perhaps you've heard of it? It was sooo absolutely, incredibly, amazing!!
ThyneAlone wrote:Whoa! I'd love to visit Chicago, sounds a great place from what I've heard. But school starting soon? :( Not fun. We aren't back till the start of September and I have quite enough to occupy me till then! Are you looking forward to the new academic year? Or not, as the case may be?!
Eek. I have less than two weeks before school starts. And I'm kind of looking forward to it, but at the same time not wanting to wake up early every day. But I think this is going to be a good, new and exciting year! :D
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begolden
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Rebecca, how was Comic Con? You were there only on Sunday? What did you see, or whom have you met?


Well Simone, I wish I had bought my tickets earlier, as I usually do, and attended on Friday and Saturday as well. Sigh... Next year, I suppose...

Sunday is "Kids" day, and most of the events and forums are geared towards children. I took my boyfriend who had never been before, but who is definitely well versed in scifi and fantasy--he loved it! Anyway, we did go to a panel of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" which does not seem to have any connection to scifi or fantasy, but has some kind of cult favorite status. We also sat in on "Starship Smackdown" which is a type of elimination game show for starships from movies and TV hosted by a panel of experts (very much a geek event!). Other than that, we mostly wandered about the vast dealers' room which comprises the whole lower level of the convention center. My big purchase? New X-Files trading cards based on the new movie. I wanted to resist, because I remember how much money I spent collecting the entire set of the last X-Files trading cards! I would have had so much more to report if I'd been able to attend Friday and see the Bones panel. Again, my only consolation is that T.J. was not in attendance.
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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bonesaddict11 wrote:I did a lot of shopping. =) of course. and went to some museums. Oh, and i saw this thing called the blue man group. perhaps you've heard of it? It was sooo absolutely, incredibly, amazing!!
You went to Chicago recently? Did you happen to go to the Art Institute (as seen in Ferris Bueller)? I went to Chicago for the first time back in early June for a business trip, and managed to fit in a few evening jaunts to places of interest, including AI. Surprisingly (for me), it was free on Thursday and Friday evenings to the public at the time.

Rebecca - Color me "green with envy" on your trip to the SDCC. I'm succumbing to the Con next year. It seems like too much fun to miss. I have buddies that go, and I have a few outfits I can don while out there. (Firefly - Kaylee, Indy - Marion)
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begolden
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Rebecca - Color me "green with envy" on your trip to the SDCC. I'm succumbing to the Con next year. It seems like too much fun to miss. I have buddies that go, and I have a few outfits I can don while out there. (Firefly - Kaylee, Indy - Marion)


Jennifer, you'll have a great time! Plus, San Diego is such a beautiful harbor city and there are lots of things to do and see nearby. As for Comicon, just remember to check online often to see when registration goes on sale. Every year the four day passes seem to sell out sooner and sooner. I sure won't make the same mistake of waiting to buy my tickets! Sounds like you might have a real dilemma who to dress up as--maybe a different character each day? Half the fun is looking at all the people in costume. I don't dress up for Comicon, but I used to back in the day (1980s) while attending Star Trek conventions!
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ThyneAlone
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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skftex wrote:I have to agree about comparing the movie to the Dark Knight, which besides the reasons you listed, it also has that added draw of being Heath Ledger's final movie and I know I've heard MANY people say that's the only reason they went to see it-though almost everyone seems to have enjoyed it no matter the reason why they saw it. It's not my kind of movie, I'm probably one of the few people that has never seen ANY of the Batman movies!
We haven't got round to the X-files film yet, but we did take the sprogs to see Dark Knight last Friday. I personally like Batman films on the whole; there has been some absolute outright nonsense, but even that has been good for a laugh for someone brought up on the camp sixties TV series.
However. For me, this wasn't fantastic. I didn't think it was as good as the first film. I'm not a fan of special effects per se, though some of them were indeed both necessary and spectacular, but, and maybe this is just me, the storyline was not easy to follow. For a start it was not easy to hear what some of the characters were saying (background noise; Christian Bale's affected husky whisper), which always irritates the hell out of me. Then lots of different factions were involved and sometimes I couldn't tell who was blowing up what for what motivation, the chase at the end being particularly confusing. And then, and I know this is controversial, the direction and the characters were very single-note, one-dimensional. Heath Ledger played a brilliant psychopath, but I didn't feel the giggling was seasoned with any genuinely chilling, cold moments, apart from his manipulation of Harvey. And the latter was Just Sickeningly Good and swept unconvincingly and instantly into Murderous Bad. CB's tortured soul act also overwhelmed his wealthy playboy persona, which is fine, but we do need Bruce Wayne to convince at times. The only true light and dark came from the understated Gary Oldman and the reliable Michael Caine, but they didn't really get enough screen time for me to enjoy it.
That's just a personal response and I know loads of people will disagree. I'm a character groupie (even in Bones) and I start to lose interest when characters are poorly written.
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by Ellen »

I agree, poorly writen characters are BAD BAD BAD!
lol. :D
I always have a fave from every TV show, bones-Hodgins and Booth, 24-Tony Almeida, Dexter- Dexter Morgan...Anyway, that's beside the point. I think all those characters are well written, of course i haven't seen season 3 of Bones yet, and in 24 they're turning Tony evil, but oh well. I'll have my opinions soon enough. :D
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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begolden wrote:As for Comicon, just remember to check online often to see when registration goes on sale. Every year the four day passes seem to sell out sooner and sooner. Sounds like you might have a real dilemma who to dress up as--maybe a different character each day? Half the fun is looking at all the people in costume. I don't dress up for Comicon, but I used to back in the day (1980s) while attending Star Trek conventions!
Definately - I'll be keeping in touch with those in the know so I can get a three or four day pass. As for the costumes, I may go "mundane" a day or two and then play dress up the rest of the time. In the past (the one or two cons I've been to) I've gone sans costume (jeans, t-shirt) and felt a little out of place.
ThyneAlone wrote:..Christian Bale's affected husky whisper), which always irritates the hell out of me.
I caught The Dark Knight a week or so ago. It wasn't a mindblowing, jawdropping experience for me, and I agree with you that Bale's interpretation of "low, mysterious tone" for The Bat is a bit grating. I enjoyed Heath's Joker, though I got more of a kick out of Jack Nicholson's version (and I like Burton's series quite a bit more).

I did notice quite a few areas they'd filmed at that I walked by, or worked in in some cases. 330 N Wabash is where I took a course for a week, and where scenes were filmed for Harvey Dent, the mayor and Wayne Enterprises' board meeting. I could see the cylindrical shaped parking structures in the background of quite a few scenes.
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TJ4ever
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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A quick post on 'Doctor Who'! I must say I really enjoy David Tennant's 'Doctor Who' more and more. In Germany they show now season 2 and I must say I was a bit dissapointed at first because I really liked Christopher Eccleston. I didn't want to watch it anymore. But I gave Tennant a chance and now I think he's really great! The looks from him are priceless!

I am gonna watch 'Dark Knight' in about 2 weeks. Then it starts here in Germany. I must say I am really looking forward to it. Will tell you then what I think of it!

Going to bed now! It's late!

Good night!

Simone.
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Sinkwriter72
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

Post by Sinkwriter72 »

Quick note for Jen, since you were just logged in here a moment or two ago: I got your friend request on MySpace and just accepted it. Whee! That was fun to see your name there. :D

P.S. I saw one of your interests is pirates. Right on, sister! Tell me, have you ever read the book Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates, by David Cordingly? I've just started reading it and it's fascinating so far. Thought I'd throw that out there for ya as a possibility if you haven't checked it out. Lots of stories and piratey tales. Jack Hodgins would love it. ;)

Side note to Simone: Everyone keeps telling me I should try watching Doctor Who. I only remember it from when I was little and my dad watched the one that aired back then (I think Tom Baker might have been the Doctor at that time?). I do like Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant, so I probably should give it a chance. :mrgreen: Since you're off to bed... sweet dreams!
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Yeah! I caught your Myspace out there, and was glad to find a fellow TJ fan amidst the madness. Thanks for accepting my add request. *grins*

You'd think me being into a pirate site or two would gradually push me towards reading Under the Black Flag, but I haven't read it just yet. I'll likely pick that up from the local library, along with whatever books and articles I can find on spice trading (as in East India Trading Co) and apothecaries in the 18th century. I need to brush up on this sort of history for reenacting (first time) in December. Should be alot of fun. :mrgreen:
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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Sherry, don't judge Doctor Who by Tom Baker. He was the one who put me off for years after I'd enjoyed Troughton and Pertwee. I found him really annoying, almost sensing what seemed like a sly mockery of the character at times. Chris Eccleston brought me back to it and David Tennant has done equally great things for it. We are planning to go and see him do Hamlet at Stratford during our autumn half term with Patrick Stewart as his Claudius! Really looking forward to that.
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Re: Offtopic Sofa Time

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IntempestaNox wrote:You'd think me being into a pirate site or two would gradually push me towards reading Under the Black Flag, but I haven't read it just yet. I'll likely pick that up from the local library, along with whatever books and articles I can find on spice trading (as in East India Trading Co) and apothecaries in the 18th century. I need to brush up on this sort of history for reenacting (first time) in December. Should be alot of fun. :mrgreen:
The book's been occasionally dry, but for the most part has fun, interesting, colorful pirate stories. I'm barely past the first chapter, so I'll have to let you know as I read more.

What will your reenactment be like? Is it at a festival of some sort, or ...? I've previously worked at a Renaissance Faire (for two summers in a madrigal singing group) so we of course had to wear proper period attire for that, but I've never dressed as a pirate. My friend Sonnett and I wanted to create a singing group of our own where we dressed as kick-ass female pirates and sang bawdy songs. *GRIN* If only we'd kept working at the faire, maybe our idea would have come to fruition. How fun.

ThyneAlone wrote:Sherry, don't judge Doctor Who by Tom Baker. He was the one who put me off for years after I'd enjoyed Troughton and Pertwee. I found him really annoying, almost sensing what seemed like a sly mockery of the character at times. Chris Eccleston brought me back to it and David Tennant has done equally great things for it. We are planning to go and see him do Hamlet at Stratford during our autumn half term with Patrick Stewart as his Claudius! Really looking forward to that.
Patrick Stewart?? *drools* I've heard that many women's 'older man' fantasies usually involve Sean Connery, but for me it's either Morgan Freeman or Patrick Stewart. :oops: Heeee. Love, love, love Patrick. I'm so jealous of you and your theatre tickets -- David Tennant and Patrick Stewart; that is so incredibly cool. It's funny you mentioned it too, because I just saw an ad for that production of Hamlet online today and wished with all my heart that I could go. I didn't even know Patrick was going to be in it, too! Now I'm doubly sad.

With all due respect to Mr. Tom Baker... I confess I was relatively young (and very timid) at the time, so personally I just found the whole show scary, including him. I remember not liking it, and wishing my dad would change the channel. *sheepish grin*

But I do like Christopher and David -- I've seen them in other shows/films/productions -- so I wouldn't mind seeing their work. I hear David's very funny. Thanks for the recommendation! :D
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