Enarwaen
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Posts posted by Enarwaen
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our little family has started a tradition 4 years ago - which is kind of unique amongst our relatives.
we are inviting the closest relatives (grandparents, uncles and aunts and some cousins) for a special x-mas breakfast on Dec. 25th to our place. sure it gets crowded and the workload (shared by me and my wife) in the early morning is quite a burden, but its so much fun gathering the whole bunch together and spreading the x-mas spirit
/me is starting to get into xmas-mood ... 2 weeks to go ... and 6 days till RotK
@mods: this thread should be moved to General Chat IMO
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me and my buddies from university did this quite often in the years between 1995 and 2000 ... but after that everybody got jobs and so the whole thing died down
you can view those archives at the Zockclub History
and please excuse the poor english ... we were young and needed the money
suilad
-Bernd
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hour wise i must say Diablo II and its Expansion. even my wife is/was a D2 addict
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@Quacker
I don't think that the higher up countries should mandatorily give the whole world its standards.huh? are those people in the third/fourth/fifth world not humans ?
are they not worthy of our help?
can they not depend on the help (food/money/humanitarian aid) the western world can give them?
is not the western world partially to blame for the current status of those countries ?
is it not in our best interest (and in the interest of those who complain about the constant influx of refugees) to GIVE those countries a level of development so that the immigrants don't have leave their home-country - because they can work there, have healthcare, a good job and can live happy lives for themselves ?
is it not a basic right of every living human to have sufficient food, clean water, social security, a job ... ?
America is the best nation out there, regardless of what's said. America is only the best nation out there because of our Christian founding.(*cynism-mode-on*)of course - thats why your Holy Warrior (GWB) has led you onto this Crusade to free the world from terror. he invokes the name of God in every speech he makes, they must be pretty close ... GWB and God, don't you think(*cynism-mode-off*)
please spare us your bible-belt-propaganda. if you only knew half the things the Christians did "in the name of God" in the past you'd stick your foot into your mouth!
your post must be the most offensive post i've ever read in this community
end-of-flame
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I've been collecting WW1&2 stuff for quite some time (stopped 4 years ago).Even have parts of a Canadian pilot that was shot down in front of my house and digged up again 6 years ago. Yep, bones, some skin and hair
eew ... so you have any other body parts - since you are collecting "stuff" from the World Wars ok - just kidding - but seriously: do you have any way of identifying him ? does his family know ???
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Mallos ?
you would mean Mallorns
usually they can be found in the golden woods of Lothlorien - but there was one Mallorn west of the Hithaeglir - do you know where that special tree stands ?
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Sean Connery - voice of Smaug lol, I don't know.
heh ... neat one ... and since Connery already has experience voicing dragons, and of course he missed out on his chance to portray Gandalf (he preferred to play golf on mallorca) he might just do it
btw - has anybody here seen the ... the ... (loss of proper words) ... "interesting" animated hobbit-movie by rankin&bass (the same guys that did the Last Unicorn) and the also stunningly true-to-the-book animated "Return of the King"
i've made it a custom to always watch these two cartoons before venturing off to the annual LotR-premiere ... so that i'm prepared for the worst
Viggo Mortenson - Bard the Bowman (he just has that quality to him )John Rys Davies - Glóin - like father, like son
yeah Viggo might fit - but i don't know if he'd take the role
same goes for J.R.Davies - he had such a hard time w/ all the prosthetics in his face - i don't think he'll go through that ordeal again
i wonder who they would cast for Bombur
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very very interesting replies here ... thank you guys
i'll reply to some stuff that occured earlier on in the thread
In fact, I loath (perhaps to strong of a word) the Democratic party here in America, which feeds on anti-bush rhetoric because it can no longer grow its own food, its own unique policies.i feel your pain ... same here w/ our "opposition" in Austria. Since 2000 we have a conservative-rightwing coalition. and the former-in-power Socialist party fails to come up w/ its own new policies but restrains itself only on criticizing and bashing the government.
and no - i'm currently very dissatisfied w/ my own government - (raising taxes, cutting social programs (i.e. public healthcare), cutting pensions (here we have a system where the State pays you monthly money once you are in retirement), selling out national companies to international capitalist companies - who close down the site - and rebuild it in eastern-europe to cut back on wages, buy the not-fully-tested Eurofighter (joint venture air-superority-fighter from Britain, Germany, Spain & Italy) for a whopping 4.5 billion (10^9) euros - and in the same week say we can't afford to uphold the current social system as it is ... hmmm) but i'm even more dissatisfied w/ the lack of alternatives the socialist party comes up with. humph
but then this is a trend i see in many countries. germany has problems too - although they currently have a socialist-green government and it is still struggling (among other reasons) from recuperating from the costs of the german reunion w/ eastern germany.
Enarwaen - you're probably correct in saying that a lot of Americans blindly follow Bush, and that he lies, and is corrupt and what not. But it is nïeve, I think, to say that this is a good reason to dislike him more than you would dislike another poltician. All polticians are self-centered - all politicians have to lie at some point.thats very true ... all politicians lie ... some more or less open. the fact that Bush & his administration so desperatly tried to build their case and convince the other members of the UN Security Council to agree w/ them and in the end chose to go at it without the approval of the Security Council has irritated very many people here in Europe. The image that we got from Bush & co was that of a reckless cowboy that doesn't care about anything else and just single-mindedly does the things he wants to do.
you might want to check this report from the BBC
Bush says no proof of Saddam's involvement in 9/11 - mind the undertones of Cheney's remarks
the classic scape-goating of G. Tenet
No weapons yet, but evidence of intent
and that leads me directly to the "War on Terror" - good name - isn't it ? how do you make war on terror ? its not like the terrorists have a sign stacked on their shirt, do they ?
i can predict two things for you:
1) you'll never weed out the support Al Qaeda or any other terrorist-group gets from various sources in the arabian world (i.e. most & foremost Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Palestine, Libanon and nowadays Iraq too - just to name a few).
the longer you have your military presence down there, the longer you support Israel the more potential terrorists you breed there. and the more dangerous the game gets. you didn't stop the terrorists on 9/11 - you will not have a chance when they try again. i mean when they really try.
the main problem i had w/ your campaign in Iraq is not getting rid of Saddam (which is a good thing - but i still think that should have happened by either a) an UN mandate and/or
by the people of Iraq themselves) but your strategy for rebuilding Iraq. There are three major ethnic & religious groups in Iraq: Kurds in the north, Sunnites and Shiites in central and southern Iraq. Saddam kept their squabbeling at bay due to his brutal policies. Now they have a common enemy: YOU. after you're gone and instituted your provisional government - guess what happens: civil-war ... because the majority of the Iraqi people does not want the democracy you imposed on them. they want something similiar that happened in Iran - a fundamentalist islamic state under the control of their religious leaders.2) so (for me) you are fighting a battle you cannot win. it's costing billions of dollars each month. you are repairing the infrastructure only to have it blown to bits by "terrorists" who became "terrorists" only because you are there. you have cooperations down there (like Halliburton) who make major $$$ setting up or maintaining the iraqi oil-industry (so that the french companies don't get a foothold
).i ask you again - is it worth it for you and your country to send down your soldiers only to have them wounded or killed for virtually nothing ? (again heed my prediction about the coming civil war in Iraq after you pulled out) only for the profit of some cooperations that the Bush administration has empowered to do its thing there ? do you think the Iraqi people benefit from this at all ? or that one day they will thank you ?
let me ask another question: if Iraq would have posessed no oil - would you still have intervened the way you did? would you intervene in North Korea the same way (but at a much higher risk for South Korea?)
another spin on how and why ... Economics and Currencies
seems like you are very sensible when it comes to oil.
* or why are you backing up the facist regime in Venezuela ? remember those strikes in the refineries and how they were silenced ?
* or why did the Bush Administration black out pages from the report on 9/11 that concerned the Saudis ?
* or why did you support Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War in the eighties ? (even w/ chemical weapons ?)
* why were you involved w/ the Shah-regime in Iran before it was toppled by Khomeni ?
* why were you planning to build pipelines from Usbekistan through Afganistan towards India from 1998 on ? (just to move around the Iranian zone of influence). well guess what happens now ... now you are building the pipeline - just after you "pacified" Afghanistan (which IMO is the next thing to go ballisitic after Iraq)
* why did you support groups like Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan while the fought against the Russians?
* why did Bush (in spring 2001 - mind you) send 20 million US dollars (yes your taxes) to the Taliban, only because they promised to take action against the drug-production?
i can tell you - because - you as a superpower have to do that in order to stay a superpower. easy as that.
and then you ask yourself why the people in the countries you used/abused don't like you. why there is anti-americanism rampaging through the arab world. why there are so many martyrs willing to throw away their life for their believes ?
i think your administration very much underestimated the consequences of rebuilding Iraq and giving them your democratic ideals. i fear this won't work out the way they imagined it to be.
addendum - another random thought. didn't G.W. Bush say after he entered office back in 2000 that one of his goals of his legislative period would be to finish the job w/ Saddam Hussein ? so of course that would mean an increased spending on military issues - very much to the favor of the militarist-lobby - thats why they didn't like Clinton hm ? well he said that back in 2000. it proved to become true in spring 2003 (only that you haven't yet caught him).
so ... i gotta return to my work now *grins* - i'll have to comment on Wijit's excellent post later
suilad
-Bernd
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i'll whole-heartedly welcome your views on the topic jason - i mean this is what this thread is all about - to have a civil discussion without the "en vogue"-bush-bashing (which is - i must confess - pretty popular here in europe).
i really like to hear your views on your side of the atlantic - as well as i'm sure you'll want to hear our views from the "old" continent
suilad
-Bernd
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A lot of people were "up in arms" over going to war with Iraq..
yeah - but why is that? is it because Bush & Co tried to convince you that Saddam was behind 9/11? or that Saddam had ties w/ Al Quaida ? that Al Quaida got WoMD from Saddam ?
you need to question first on the "how" and "why" before you give Bush a carte-blanche.
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yep - i had a hunch about the situation with the gaming magazines ... but its good to have confirmation from the chief
the problem is - when i remember how it was handled during the various Counterstrike releases (a very popular Halflife-mod ... also freeware) that some magazines just had the latest Counterstrike-build on their CDs and didn't bother to ask the authors, then we are in some serious poodoo!
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@Klaas: yeah - and Sam "The Man" Jackson
but most of you will be to young to have ever seen Pulp Fiction
voted for Viggo though - 'cause his determination, passion and his multiple talents really speak for him. go viggo (can't wait to see his new movie Hidalgo)
and concerning Arnold - yeah he was cool ... ten years ago
he should have quit after T2 ... almost everything that came afterwards cannot be compared to his earlier classics. (btw i recently bought the Collectors Edition of Conan - The Barbarian on DVD and listened to the Audio-commentary he did w/ director John Milius 
suffice to say - what he doesn't talk in the movie he makes up in the commentary ) -
just another branch into the fire ...
Enron and Kenneth Lay (for some background reading head here)
ok ... Bush called Kenneth Lay (ex-CEO of Enron) "Kenny Boy". they were buddies. hey - Bush Jr. was even allowed to use the Enron Company Jet for his election campaign in 1999/2000. hmmm strange the Bush administration afterwards twisted many laws & resolutions in favor of such a good supporting company. Another fact is that the deregulation of energy markets in fact cost the american consumer MORE money than it should help them save. i think i won't have to remind you of the constant brown-outs in California back then ?
and this is just ONE facet how politics mingle w/ economic interests. but this is no US-only phenomen. one can see that everywhere - even in my homecountry Austria.
mind you - i'm not pointing a finger at the US - i'm merely wanting to make you aware that there is a game being played behind closed doors that gives a sh%$ about your personal freedom (say hello to the Patriot Act) and only furthers the liberties for those in power to remain there.
as always - looking forward to your replies
-Bernd
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Commodus
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well lets see how this works out ... that a Hobbit-movie would come was perfectly clear from the start ... we'll see if PJ/Weta will be involved.
concerning Silmarillion ... those rights are held by the Tolkien Estate (not Tolkien Enterprises) and i think hell would freeze over before they'd sell the rights.
apart from the daunting amount of material - even portions of the book (i.e. Beren & Luthien, Nan i Hin Hurin) would be very difficult to transfer to the screen due the immense background ... or if they went the extreme PJ-route dumbed down and worthless.
the best movies are still those in your head. (hmm gotta re-read the Sil sometime *g*)
suilad
-Bernd
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ok - you asked for it
for me (personally) he's just a puppet whose strings are pulled by the people behind him. seems like all the friends of his father (Bush Sr.) gather round him and push him in the direction they want.
and just to look at his cabinet ... i picked two ppl in Bush Jr's immediate surrounding:
Vice-Prez Cheney is an ex-Halliburton-CEO (and now guess who got the deal to equip and rebuild the oil-industry in Iraq
). he served as sec_of_defense in Bush Sr. cabinet. he has ties to the oil and energy industry and uses this contacts to push the interests of his "friends" onto the legislative.Donnie Rumsfeld served in the Nixon Adminisitration, and in the Eighties he was Prez. Reagan's Special Envoy for the Middle-East (where he had dealings w/ Saddam Hussein - and sold him the chemical weapons Saddam used against Iran and the Kurds in northern Iraq; thats why Donnie was so adamant about WoMD in Iraq - since HE sold them to Saddam
)one thing i don't understand - it's that blind loyality to the president. don't you ever question the things he does ? or are you constantly brainwashed by the media ?
is the media in the U.S. reporting at all on the daily deaths in Iraq ? What about the wounded that return home? Is there any coverage on that ?
looking forward to your replies
suilad
-Bernd
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hi, my name is bernd and i'm a DVD addict. i started way back in 1999. i bought way too much crap. then i got better in 2001. still bought much crap. i reigned myself in in 2002 and 2003. But this fall is just killing me ...
Babylon 5 Season 3
Two Towers Extended Edition
Indiana Jones Box-set
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but see for yourself: my meager collection
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i think we won't have to worry about it not getting spread
the old mantra will prove true again: "if you have content - they will come"
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and there's always the wonderful world of P2P-sharing
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I am curious to know if any one has had the chance to play Mario Kart Double Dash yet?
i've checked it out last saturday and rather liked it ... my son went nuts on it too, since he's an "old" mario kart addict from his GBA
guess i'll have to get that for x-mas too
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@Black Op
ah ... tricksy he is ... and false. he lies to us, yes my precious. says he gots no money he does. but what does he have in his pocketsss, my precious ???
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this year i'll try NOT to listen to the soundtrack before seeing the movie ... so that will be atleast a little surprise
*la-la-la* *i'm not listening* *la-la*
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@Curufinwe
ah yes - you are right ... i forgot the tent business just before the paths of the dead.
then maybe PJ cut out the sequence in Edoras (all w/ Merry's sworn allegience to Theoden - a scene that was already shown back in 2000 in the first Internet Preview)
*yawn* - gotta hit the sack
catch ya all 2morrow
-Bernd
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*drools on Enarwaen*
eeewww
*wipes it off*well it WAS cool ... but all too short ... you are done w/ the exhibition after around 2 hours ... and thats virtually nothing compared to the stuff they hoard in some warehouses back in NZ
btw - i heard a report last week that PJ and Richard Taylor (WETA boss) plan to make a permanent exhibition in Wellington NZ ... hmmm another good excuse to go there
COUNTDOWN
in The Green Dragon
Posted
we (wifey, brother-in-law, father-in-law and myself) are going for the triple-feature in our local plex ... all seated in the VIP-area where you have tables between seats and more room.
starting at 17:00 next tuesday till almost 04:00 ...
gonna be great ... my backside will love this