I hold to Affleck being the best all around portrayal of the character, just saddled in relatively mediocre films. That said, I really liked Pattinsonʻs take and the film overall (and I do sympathize with your take on the second half; it feels a bit bloated for the kind of “street-level” Batman they had going).
The thing about Thanos though is that he is also a good example of what happens when a powerful figure is only surrounded by “yes” folks. Because his idea is, ultimately, stupid. Killing half of all life in the universe doesnʻt really change anything substantial because you wind up with the same problems: If you have 100 people and 50 cows or fruit trees or whatever, and you snap half of those, you still wind up with the same ratio. Now itʻs 50 people fighting for 25 cows or fruit trees or whatever.
The Infinity Stones basically make Thanos close to God. He could do anything. He could have doubled the resources of the universe, he could have created an entirely new form of resource.
In some ways this is in keeping with his characterization in the comics, where he has a habit of getting in his own way. But I kinda wish that Endgame, like in the Infinity Gauntlet series, would have revealed that he was actually trying to woo Death (which could have been represented by Hela) and so his supposed altruism is actually self-serving. Regardless, he does stand as a good representative of charismatic villains that garner sympathy while also being singularly focused on a really bad idea rooted in the villainʻs own self-assurance and ability to gather acolytes through a kind of “reality distortion field” effect.
I think I read it somewhere in a trivia thing on Memory Alpha, but I honestly donʻt remember. But the Progenitors seeded common ancestors with their DNA. Which means that species like the Xindi wouldʻve had Progenitor DNA even though they have a multi-facted evolution with reptillian, primate, and arboreal humanoids…
iirc, in Star Trek the Klingons descend from a crab-like ancestor. I mean, yes, I understand what you’re getting at but I still think it’s kinda cool that Klingons are sort of humanoid crabs
I actually did not know that! A friend of mine used to own an independent roaster and kinda ruined me on coffee lol. Learned a lot from him, but somehow missed this tidbit. Makes sense.
Two things: First, coffee became an “American” beverage after the Boston Tea Party (though, iirc beer remained a significant breakfast beverage for awhile). Coffee houses were also places for patriotic discussions and where the revolutionary zeal was fostered. So you have some MAGA types wanting to tap into that.
Second, dark roasting coffee is an old trick to cover the flavor of inconsistent and shitty coffee. Some people really like to taste the “roast.” But what’s happening is that a burnt flavor is masking the actual taste of a coffee bean. You want a light roast to actually taste the coffee.
Also, if I’m not mistaken, it was the French who first came up with dark roasting coffee (likely for preservation reasons). I’m sure MAGA would love to know that their “dark, hard-hitting” coffee has its flavor profile originating in France.
Haha, I switched to Firefox years ago and recently to Linux and I’m quite fine with the gender I was born with lol. I’m a(n Episcopal) priest. It’s not like I wear a black dress or lacey white garments to work…
Yeah. I’ve lived in DC in June. I’m originally from Florida and the most oppressive heat and humidity I’ve experienced in the US was during summer in DC. And given that it’s only like two months of such heat (compared to the like 7 months where it’s cold), they don’t prioritize infrastructure for it. It is not going to be a good time for anyone.
Had an Android tablet that sat in a lost and found for like three years with no claims. Finally decided to mess around with it. After charging it up there was a password screen. Tried 1234. No dice. 2580 and it opened right up.
Agreed. Big Scott Bakula fan. Plus I hold that the show remains under-appreciated for the Star Trek fandom and— oh. THAT Archer. Nevermind. Please continue.
I have young kids. They often say things like “if I were president, I would—“ and then say some borderline totalitarian nonsense like “make it illegal to put pickles on burgers” or some other thing that is self-focused and completely misunderstands the nature of the presidency.
Which is all to say that Trump holds the same view of the presidency that a five-year-old does. And he occupies the office. Awesome.
All these news reports saying that Luigi killed a guy or used a 3D printed gun. As far as I know, Luigi did none of those things and that that is for the courts to decide. Further, I’ve seen plenty of posts online of people saying that he was at the bar with them when the whole thing happened.
Thatʻs right! But at the time of Endgame, weʻd only seen Hela. I could definitely see someone snapping half the universe away for either of them lol.