Quote from: RebeccaFog on June 20, 2007, 10:47:46 AM
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 20, 2007, 10:05:22 AM
blimey. where i live no one cares. about anything. ever. it's quite dull.
Be grateful, young one.
That's why i can never understand american high school films, in england no one could give the slightest hoot about who won the game or the cheerleading thing. I spend the whole time watching them and yelling 'why is it so important' at the screen. However, I also can't understand how old the children in the films are supposed to be, they act like 9 year olds and look like 20 year olds. Bambooooozling.
Edit: I split this topic off from the original post https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,14785.0.html since it had transformed into something not related.
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 20, 2007, 10:51:11 AM
That's why i can never understand american high school films, in england no one could give the slightest hoot about who won the game or the cheerleading thing. I spend the whole time watching them and yelling 'why is it so important' at the screen. However, I also can't understand how old the children in the films are supposed to be, they act like 9 year olds and look like 20 year olds. Bambooooozling.
That's so strange. you kind of guessed my secret dream of putting on a toupee and playing a 44 year old teenager in movies and television.
[added later]
I'm sorry, I almost forgot to say "Hollywood, here I come!!!"
You want to put on a toupee for that?
Americans...
Nfr
Quote from: RebeccaFog on June 20, 2007, 01:20:48 PM
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 20, 2007, 10:51:11 AM
That's why i can never understand american high school films, in england no one could give the slightest hoot about who won the game or the cheerleading thing. I spend the whole time watching them and yelling 'why is it so important' at the screen. However, I also can't understand how old the children in the films are supposed to be, they act like 9 year olds and look like 20 year olds. Bambooooozling.
That's so strange. you kind of guessed my secret dream of putting on a toupee and playing a 44 year old teenager in movies and television.
now all you have to do is do it, i'm sure grease 3 needs someone.
Quote from: Seshatneferw on June 20, 2007, 01:53:59 PM
You want to put on a toupee for that?
Americans...
Nfr
Can't be a teenager without a toupee. O0
How about a teenager with a receding hairline? Just shave some bald spots?
Nfr
Quote from: Seshatneferw on June 21, 2007, 03:10:13 AM
How about a teenager with a receding hairline? Just shave some bald spots?
Nfr
i guess that might work. The important thing is to get that hollywood paycheck.
Hey!
I made a topic without realising it...
Pica, I think that the common theme in a lot of those movies is really indicative of the mindframe of a lot of our (American) youth. Brought up and spoon fed by materialistism, a lot of the focus is on superficial things. I know it's what you make it, but it's sad that many of our youth are so caught up in these seemingly meaningless things. Deep at the heart of most 'high school' movies from America are themes like acceptance, belonging and social stratification. "Breakfast Club", to me, is a classic "American" high school film that actually has a message, albeit unrealistic, to it.
Hm. When I watched those movies at a younger age my mind only drew one important conclusion: "American children look older than European ones (or at least Dutch ones)" and everything else was considered pure fiction. Well, that made sense.
However, my mind was tested when I entered an International American High School. One of the first questions a group of girls asked me was; "Would you like to join Pep Club"... Pep club... "Pep what?..".. "Pep Club! We support our sports teams by making cheers and posters and do dances so they win win win!"... I think I must have been staring at them for at least twenty seconds before I managed to bring out something along the lines of 'Hell no..'.. Ever since I haven't been too sure about the whole stereotyped movies, but I seem relatively thankful for being born in a differen country.
The only teenager movies I like are independent films and not hollywood ones. There's a crazy movie out there called "my own private idaho" that is a good example of a movie that tries to achieve something special. It's a little slow, though.
Most american movies are made by dorks for other dorks. The mainstream teenager ones are the worst.
I pretty much avoid Hollywood movies, with occasional exceptions. I prefer indie or foreign films and documentaries.
zythyra
i like a good blockbuster. indiana jones, star wars, back to the future all that. But i detest remakes and re-imaginings - i mean, the wicker man is great - why ruin it by remaking it and putting nick cage near it. Why put nick cage near anything?
I would join Pep club, and be a real missogs, i would love it. I don't really like winning anyway, why else would i support Crawley town? (When I bother supportin anyone, which aint often)
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 20, 2007, 10:51:11 AM
That's why i can never understand american high school films, in england no one could give the slightest hoot about who won the game or the cheerleading thing. I spend the whole time watching them and yelling 'why is it so important' at the screen. However, I also can't understand how old the children in the films are supposed to be, they act like 9 year olds and look like 20 year olds. Bambooooozling.
OK Pica...
I'll agree with you on the whole cheerleading thing, but there are very few High School males that are willing pass up watching the cute girls in short skirts. Not much point in the cheers themselves, but the girls become cheerleaders so they can be popular, and the guys, (99% of which couldn't get a date with anyone, anywhere, at any time), just wanna watch.
As far as winning "the big game"...most kids here don't care either. It's just an excuse to get out of the house and hang out with friends. At least, that's the way it was a million years ago when I was in High School.
I refuse, however, to believe that nobody in England cares about whether their team wins or not, or else you wouldn't have all the brawls and stampedes at the football games (soccer if you are in the U.S.). Then again, it could just be an excuse to consume alcohol and act like a moron...kinda like it is here.
And, when it comes to the "kids" looking older...IT'S HOLLYWOOD!! Some of those "kids" are 45 years old, no wonder they look different than the ones at your school. In all fairness, tho, I will say that when I was taking my son to his High School a couple of years ago, those girls looked like they were 5-6 years older than they really were. Not sure if it is the advances in make-up or the hormones they add to our food, but if I met the average High School girl on the street, I would have sworn they were 20-25...until they opened their mouths and it became obvious they weren't much smarter than your average 5-year old.
...............
Continuing with the on-going film discussion...I watch them all, especially the old black and white ones. The dialogs and banter of the old movies just isn't around today. Take Star Wars for example. Yeah, the special effects were amazing, but the interplay between Han and Leia were what made that first one so great...and why the new ones sucked so bad even though the special effects were much better. That's also why most of the Hollywood films today are just mindless entertainment...let's have a car chase and then blow something up...yee haw!
....Laurry
When i said about the games, i mean the school games. League and national games are regarded more important than life.
Blackboard Jungle is a cool movie.
Rock rock rock rock rock and roll high school is cool too. Not because of the bad story and acting, but because you can watch the Ramones.
Yeah, I knew way back when the 2nd Star Wars movie came out that something was wrong. I only like the first movie (episode 4). People who go on about any of the others are crazy.
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 22, 2007, 12:03:56 PM
Why put nick cage near anything?
Cause he's rock 'n roll-qualified. It's an American thing, I guess.
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 22, 2007, 12:03:56 PM
I would join Pep club, and be a real missogs, i would love it. I don't really like winning anyway, why else would i support Crawley town? (When I bother supportin anyone, which aint often)
I believe I just couldn't handle the shock. As for supporting and winning... Tomorrow: European Championship <21 (Soccer) Holland v.s. Serbia... ROCK ON!!! :icon_rockon:
Quote from: LaurieO --> LaurryO on June 22, 2007, 02:08:40 PM
And, when it comes to the "kids" looking older...IT'S HOLLYWOOD!! Some of those "kids" are 45 years old, no wonder they look different than the ones at your school. In all fairness, tho, I will say that when I was taking my son to his High School a couple of years ago, those girls looked like they were 5-6 years older than they really were. Not sure if it is the advances in make-up or the hormones they add to our food, but if I met the average High School girl on the street, I would have sworn they were 20-25...until they opened their mouths and it became obvious they weren't much smarter than your average 5-year old.
Man.. I probably look a middleschooler or freshman over there then. :embarrassed:
Nevertheless Laurry, I'm pretty sure it's a combination of make-up and clothing, and maybe everyone's just following the 'look-older' stereotype?... tsk tsk.. ::)
I forgot to tell The Pica that she likely can't understand American high school films because she only speaks English. I'd send her a book on how to speak American, but we burned them all along with the books by Darwin and the U.S. constitution.
If anyone has any American Language books that somehow escaped our bonfires, please send one to England.
Alternately, anyone who has been stashing quality or meaningful movies or books, please send them here so we can burn them real proper like.
We Thank you for your cooperation.
Quote from: RebeccaFog on June 22, 2007, 07:31:31 PM
I forgot to tell The Pica that she likely can't understand American high school films because she only speaks English. I'd send her a book on how to speak American, but we burned them all along with the books by Darwin and the U.S. constitution.
If anyone has any American Language books that somehow escaped our bonfires, please send one to England.
Alternately, anyone who has been stashing quality or meaningful movies or books, please send them here so we can burn them real proper like.
We Thank you for your cooperation.
Funny, the bookshelves at the local Borders seem to be full of many quality books such as "Red Bull as an Immigration Aid" and "Ted Kennedy: The Sober Years" (its a very short book). Even the Half-Price Bookstore around the corner has a whole section devoted to Honest Lawyers and Politicians, but for some reason the shelves are always empty...I guess they must be sold out every time I go there. I did find a nice book on Training your Dog using Feng Shui, but couldn't buy it as my dollar bills clashed with the book cover and drained all its energy.
As a side note...I found the American Language books gave my toasted marshmallows a strange taste, but the Darwin books burned clean and made the smores taste wonderful.
.....Laurry
I didn't attend highschool in the US. Am I glad? of course! ;D I see your point Pica :)
tink :icon_chick:
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 22, 2007, 12:03:56 PM
Why put nick cage near anything?
I agree. Cage is fairly dreadful, though I can think of one reason to put him in a film -- in order to demonstrate how what meagre acting ability he possesses could be, Samson-like, utterly destroyed by shaving off his eyebrow.
To further badmouth stars, Sean Connery is actually a very bad actor. And shortly before the filming of
Braveheart I replaced Mel Gibson with a golden retriever, and nobody noticed.
The greatest American actor is Andre Brauer, who is practically unheard of. No doubt this is racial bigotry, as Brauer is black but not especially large or intimidating, nor disarmingly caramel-delight coloured and cute.
But everyone enjoys Johnny Depp (Ahh, if only he had a vagina, like Sean Bean) and is justified in doing so. Recently I watched
Ed Wood and
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the same week. This caused me to dream that Depp showed up at the vet clinic where I work. I informed him that his dog was a hermaphrodite. He was at first pleased about that, and then remarked that it was a bit sad, as it meant that his dog could never be a ->-bleeped-<-.
Quote from: Tink on June 22, 2007, 09:44:02 PM
I didn't attend highschool in the US. Am I glad? of course! ;D I see your point Pica :)
tink :icon_chick:
You are one lucky woman, Tink. Your mind has not been wasted.
Quote from: Doc on June 22, 2007, 09:51:56 PM
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 22, 2007, 12:03:56 PM
Why put nick cage near anything?
I agree. Cage is fairly dreadful, though I can think of one reason to put him in a film -- in order to demonstrate how what meagre acting ability he possesses could be, Samson-like, utterly destroyed by shaving off his eyebrow.
To further badmouth stars, Sean Connery is actually a very bad actor. And shortly before the filming of Braveheart I replaced Mel Gibson with a golden retriever, and nobody noticed.
The greatest American actor is Andre Brauer, who is practically unheard of. No doubt this is racial bigotry, as Brauer is black but not especially large or intimidating, nor disarmingly caramel-delight coloured and cute.
But everyone enjoys Johnny Depp (Ahh, if only he had a vagina, like Sean Bean) and is justified in doing so. Recently I watched Ed Wood and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the same week. This caused me to dream that Depp showed up at the vet clinic where I work. I informed him that his dog was a hermaphrodite. He was at first pleased about that, and then remarked that it was a bit sad, as it meant that his dog could never be a ->-bleeped-<-.
I agree. I only see Andre Brauer in anything by accident. CCH Pounder used to be nearly invisible too. I think the Shield has brought her out into the public eye a little now. She's been my hero since the first Tales From the Crypt Movie.
Johnny Depp, talented & dreamy too.
Nick Cage - charismatic but totally distracts from the actual movie he's in when there is one.
QuoteIf anyone has any American Language books that somehow escaped our bonfires, please send one to England.
I think we could send over some Vonnegut, maybe a little Kerouac too.
zythyra
A bitty post this...
Vonnegut is my favourite, I got all of them. Not keen on Kerouac, find that he feels that he is setting the agenda too much. Vonnegut just talks out and hopes he is.
Doc, I've been trying to work out who your avitar is for ages, it's aptain kidd aint it?
Nick cage instantly negates any film he's in - like putting a black hole in - emotionless or what?
And I can't speak english either. I speak Crawley, a nightmare mix of cockney and sussex farmer.
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 23, 2007, 06:30:53 AM
Doc, I've been trying to work out who your avitar is for ages, it's aptain kidd aint it?
Nope. It's 'Captain Keitt,' a fictional (or so I presume) character from Howard Pyle's
Book of Pirates. He's in the story
The Ruby of Kishmoor, in an incidental fashion, having stolen a giant ruby and fathered a daughter before the story starts. Why Pyle persistantly chose to illustrate things that didn't quite happen in the stories he was illustrating is a mystery to me, especially in the case of stories that Pyle himself wrote, but it's a great painting, eh? Though I often feel a desire to add some small shadowing near his boots so he stops looking like he's floating two inches above the deck.
no, it's keitt also known as kidd, he existed. sailed on the adventure galley
Naw, not historical William Kidd and the Adventure Galley and Adventure Prize, former privateer and possibly never actually leaving that legal status, but fictional Robinson Keitt of the Good Fortune, former merchant and definate pirate.
http://www.online-literature.com/howard-pyle/ruby-of-kishmoor/1/ (http://www.online-literature.com/howard-pyle/ruby-of-kishmoor/1/)
But in Howard Pyle's paintings of Kidd, Kidd does look remarkably like the man in the painting of Keitt, and the gingerbread-work of the ship in the background "Captain Kidd Aboard the Adventure Galley,' looks the same as the one in 'Captain Keitt.' Neither character looks like actual from-life portraits of Kidd, though.
QuoteBut i detest remakes and re-imaginings - i mean, the wicker man is great - why ruin it by remaking it and putting nick cage near it. Why put nick cage near anything?
QuoteNick Cage - charismatic but totally distracts from the actual movie he's in when there is one.
He can be a good to great character actor, ala Moonstruck, Leaving Las Vegas, and Adaption, which blew me away. But for most of his career, he has seen fit to take on these dreary, lifeless roles like Ghost Rider (pun intended) to pump up his bankroll. But obviously, some women find him sexy and alluring in some way. I've no clue as to why? And why the hell did Patricia Arquette marry him? She is like an incredible actress -- gifted even. Well, until she did that t.v. show. ::sigh::
Answer to Pica Pica's question about amerikan h.s. films. Simply put, amerikans are stupid cows.
Quote from: Thundra on June 24, 2007, 12:38:45 AM
Answer to Pica Pica's question about amerikan h.s. films. Simply put, amerikans are stupid cows.
..... and, a little ugly on the side.
dumb all over eh?
Kidd looks a bit like samuel johnson in real life don't he?
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 24, 2007, 11:39:28 AM
dumb all over eh?
Kidd looks a bit like samuel johnson in real life don't he?
Naw, nothing dumb about mistaking one character in a painting from another character who looks like an older meaner version of the first. It's very likely you saw both images as a child, they are classic.
Nothing dumb about not knowing all the silly useless amusing things that I know, either.
Yeah, Kidd looks remarkably like Johnson in from-life portraits.
You will amuse (but not impress) people with your knowledge if you inform them that the song
("My name is Captain Kidd and God's laws I did forbid and most wickedly I did, as I sailed...") is incorrect in giving the impression that 'the gunner' and William Moore were two different people. Kidd was hanged not for piracy but for killing Moore by hitting him in the head with a bucket during an argument concerning wether or not to attack a certain ship. Kidd was against it. Some historians speculate that this chain of events occurred not because Kidd was really all that much of a brute, but because he was a caffeine addict and Moore was giving him aggro before he'd had his coffee. And, also amusingly, it is thought that Kidd was not hanged for piracy but for this murder (something that normally would have been let slide, as ship's captains were actually permitted to judge and execute foremast jacks if they felt like it) because his acts of 'piracy' were psuedo-legal hired jobs wherein various governers and the like asked him to attack not enemies of the state, but their own competitors in private trade. It's said that Kidd said that he'd kept scrupulous records of these exchanges and hidden them. Probably he didn't, but people believed him, so they had to bring him to court on an unrelated sort of charge so he wouldn't be allowed to bring it up and incriminate the rich and powerful.
History is fun.
Quote from: Doc on June 24, 2007, 01:42:17 PM
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 24, 2007, 11:39:28 AM
dumb all over eh?
Kidd looks a bit like samuel johnson in real life don't he?
Naw, nothing dumb about mistaking one character in a painting from another character who looks like an older meaner version of the first. It's very likely you saw both images as a child, they are classic.
Nothing dumb about not knowing all the silly useless amusing things that I know, either.
I'm sorry, Doc, but we need to bust you on your lack of true culture here. "Dumb all over" is in reference to my earlier response of ".... and a little ugly on the side". They come from a Frank Zappa song.
regretfully,
Rebecca
Ahh. That sort of thing happens to me all the time. I listen to the wrong music, mostly. For years I believed that Iggy Pop was a breakfast cereal.
Girl I wanna be your nutritious breakfast meal... fantastic...
My favourite pirate fact IS
Blackbeard's real name is not Edward Teach but Edward Drummond, Teach was another pseudonym.
Isn't Edward Drummond that rich guy who took in those 2 ghetto kids on 'different strokes'?
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 24, 2007, 02:32:07 PM
Blackbeard's real name is not Edward Teach but Edward Drummond, Teach was another pseudonym.
I didn't know that one. :)
Rumour has it that Blackbeard's skull was plated in silver and kept around as a nifty ornament, and is now in the possession of the 'Skull and Bones' society, where over-priveledged brats of George W. Bush's ilk drink beer out of it. If this should prove to be true, I feel it is nigh imperative that we steal the skull and set it on fire. Ned would have wanted it that way.
The skull of Charles Gibb, the worst pirate ever, was not plated in silver but it was on display in a museum for quite some time. People kept saying that it wasn't a very good skull.
Wat 'Chu talking about Becky?
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Quote from: Doc on June 24, 2007, 02:38:15 PM
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 24, 2007, 02:32:07 PM
Blackbeard's real name is not Edward Teach but Edward Drummond, Teach was another pseudonym.
I didn't know that one. :)
Rumour has it that Blackbeard's skull was plated in silver and kept around as a nifty ornament, and is now in the possession of the 'Skull and Bones' society, where over-priveledged brats of George W. Bush's ilk drink beer out of it. If this should prove to be true, I feel it is nigh imperative that we steal the skull and set it on fire. Ned would have wanted it that way.
The skull of Charles Gibb, the worst pirate ever, was not plated in silver but it was on display in a museum for quite some time. People kept saying that it wasn't a very good skull.
If that is true we should bury it at sea and hope it don't swim in circles. Another bad pirate is John Gow, pressed to death for stealing haddock. He was pressed so the state wouldn't confiscate the land, it went to his cousin.
How do you press someone to death?
And why can't the state take their property? Is it because they ain't got a flat tax? ;D
I am so sorry but I'm going to have to answer you.
Pressing to death is done by putting a door on someone, then weights on the door. If they were kind they le you lay on a rock so your ack would snap - if they didn't then your fingers, eyes, mouth, nose and toes would all be bleeding copiously before you died.
He didn't get taxed because pressing was not actually an execution, it was a way of asking questions. So, having died under the weights he hadn't pleaded guilty and so his land could not be confiscated.
One of the few executions by pressing happened to the saint Margeret Clitheroe, who's house I once worked in.
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 25, 2007, 06:53:18 AM
I am so sorry but I'm going to have to answer you.
Pressing to death is done by putting a door on someone, then weights on the door. If they were kind they le you lay on a rock so your ack would snap - if they didn't then your fingers, eyes, mouth, nose and toes would all be bleeding copiously before you died.
He didn't get taxed because pressing was not actually an execution, it was a way of asking questions. So, having died under the weights he hadn't pleaded guilty and so his land could not be confiscated.
One of the few executions by pressing happened to the saint Margeret Clitheroe, who's house I once worked in.
Just when I thought you folks was civilized. Now i want to live in Brazil.
It was a while ago. Now if we hate someone we hound them with pepperami until they crash their car or something.
Quote from: Pica Pica on June 24, 2007, 04:02:27 PM
If that is true we should bury it at sea and hope it don't swim in circles.
That'd do, but considering that Blackbeard spent the most interesting parts of his life trying to look as if he'd managed to set his own head on fire, it seems appropriate. If difficult.
QuoteAnother bad pirate is John Gow, pressed to death for stealing haddock. He was pressed so the state wouldn't confiscate the land, it went to his cousin.
I wonder why he ended up a haddock-stealing pirate if he had land.
Charles Gibb didn't quite manage to completely steal anything. He tried to steal six thousand or so Spanish silver dollars, with his pals and himself rowing out to the ship from the shore in two boats. On the way back with the money they crashed their boats together in the dark and sank them, lost all the money, and ended up swimming to and nearly freezing to death before forcing their way into somebody's house with threats and braggery. The somebody tapped them gently on their little heads after they went to sleep. At his trial Gibb claimed that he'd killed 500-some people, and kidnapped a woman and raped her more or less continuously for six months before forcing her to drink poison. It is pretty clear that none of that ever happened and Gibb was just trying to avoid the embarrassment of confessing that his only attempt at piracy was a pathetic disaster. His dad was at the trial, see.
Becky, for gruesome execution information you might enjoy
The Hanging Tree Execution and the English People by V.A.C Gatrell. Audiences at public hangings used to sometimes get really angry when it took a long time for somebody to choke to death on a short drop. So they came up with the long ("Newgate") drop but it took them awhile to work out the maths, so they'd often cause the condemned's head to pop off. This so incensed the crowd that they stopped having public executions. Much less selling lemonade at them.