Zombie

Well, you said "it [the titanic disaster] marked the death knell of British Class based society". No it didn't. Nor was it "an important part of the eventual.collapse of such a system." Because there is no causal link between what happened in the Titanic disaster and the subsequent history of England or Britain. None at all. For the simple reason there was no discussion of "Blocking third class exit routes, putting 1st class people in boats first" by the Board of Trade Inquiry or anyone else so your suggestion of any connection between the Titanic and subsequent social change in England and Britain is fantasy. But I am pleased to see you've followed my suggestion to read up on the Great War Although quite what you made of it remains to be seen when I get around to reading your next blog... More importantly though, I've found my copy of Maurice so I'll post a comment when I've watched it again

Honestly, it's not gonna happen. England will never again win the World Cup. OK, maybe that's a bit extreme - never in my lifetime

definitely yes, but I like innovation by "the young". Well, mostly. OK, some Gad, now I feel like an old codger Business definitely - HR and marketing are major miscreants - and also the "professions" - they love bamboozling clients - government, the military, wine connoisseurs... and some phrases are beyond problematic - "That's beyond annoying" - nuff said "He medalled." No he didn't, he won a medal "Just hold that thought." No, I'll remember it and then remind you when you conveniently "forget" to go back to it "Collateral damage" words fail me

did something just happen?? Well done Germany could you please ask the "someone" to have a word over here in England too?

presumably because because low-life, infantile - delete! that would be a slur on infants - Aussie "media" scum feel it is their duty to continually hound successful-but-single Aussie sports stars with sleazy, intrusive, inappropriate and - most importantly - irrelevant questions rather than behaving like decent, fully-formed adults and talking about his career success and career plans. Interestingly, one of the top stories on the BBC on Saturday: why was this such big news in Australia? .

Wrong again. Read your history, W_L. The "crew atrocities" on the Titanic only came to light in the latter part of the 20th century - when the English "class system" you refer to was long gone [except the die-hards who had to die out and the few remaining relics...] Even a cursory knowledge of history will show you how the Great War was the cause of the demise of the English class system. This is the centenary year of the commencement so now's a good time to learn about it As for the US being a "different issue" call it what you will (if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... then it IS a duck ) there is an embedded class system in the US that is every bit as toxic as the class system in England was. If you want references I'll give you them by the bucketload when I'm back online in a few days time. But I suspect you know them already

W_L, you talk about "the British", but in fact you're talking about "the English". And you talk about the class system - in England - in disparaging terms, and quite rightly. But you seriously believe there is no class system in the United States, the "Land of the Free"? But there is a more important truth you should bear in mind. England has come to terms with its past. And that is not the case with certain other countries... As to the facts... despite Hollywood's products, it was not the Titanic disaster that ended the class system in England - the Titanic was and always has been just a footnote in history - it was the Great War. As to the movie, it's a while since I last watched it so I'm gonna watch it again and report back

I like Sea Oats a lot

good point. If, say, there's a sudden really huge change in something - medical advance, geopolitics, whatever - people say "It's a quantum change" or a "quantum leap" when a quantum is in fact the tiniest amount that can be measured in any physical interaction. But now it's pretty much used by everyone so it's only stick-in-the-muds like me who wince Teens have always coined their own words for common bonding and to exclude grown-ups. "DBI" [Don't Beg It] is a grumpy teen response to a parent offering a treat to make up, and if Mum innocently asks "What's that dear?" she'll likely get "DPMO!" [Don't Piss Me Off]

No need to scare everyone away, Graeme. This is just about words. And words in all languages, hopefully

"one of the tenets of a liberal education is that a knowledge of essential literature, art, philosophy, science, music and history are common for all educated people" This was posted recently and got my attention because of the word "liberal". I hate this word. For me it's a non-word, expunged from my lexicon and terminated with extreme prejudice. Why? Because it's meaningless. Obviously it has meaning for those who use it, but the problem is it has been "hijacked" by so many vested interests over the last 150 years or so to mean so many different things that all it does is cause confusion. Especially between the US and the UK. Well, we are nations divided by a common language It's a handy label to denigrate, it's shorthand for economic theory, it's the name of various political parties, it's... you get the idea It's one of the blessings and curses of the English language that words frequently have multiple meanings. Usually this is not a problem because the particular meaning the writer or speaker intends will be clear from the context. That is not the case with this word. German is a much more sensible language. Words grow, adding on more words to make the meaning clear by creating compound words. However, these can become mammutwörter, or mammoth words, and Mark Twain commented that “Some German words are so long that they have a perspective” Then there's "our" word: gay. I'm sure there are retired colonels in Tunbridge Wells who froth at the mouth every time they read or hear it, fuming that it has been "hijacked" by us so it can never again be used for its former meanings - or maybe they use it whenever they can in order to subvert and discombobulate So, what words do you avoid or find difficult - English or any language? .

MJ85 pointed out in W_L's Shelter review that there are full movie postings on Youtube and the same's true with this film, some with hardcoded subtitles in various languages - including English if you have difficulty with the accents Some are 90 minutes and others are just over 85 mins...

yeah, in fact you often find gay movies on Youtube - which is great for us, not so good for the film owners who presumably don't have the money / resources to stop it... or maybe they're just happy for their films to be "out there" [er, sorry]

I didn't discern any Marxist agenda, merely a film set in a social group that seems to be a commonplace in the US. There is nothing political in showing life as it is by planting the story in reality since this is the reality of the "American Dream" for many - most? - in the US. As for the storyline, well it's pretty much a package of the usual gay cliches but still, I enjoyed it because it's competently produced and acted, has a decent script and looks good on screen except, as asamvav111 pointed out, Shaun is just a cipher with no depth at all and it's hard to understand what Zach sees in him. Although I'd recommend anyone to rent this, buying is another matter - unlike the best European gay cinema, this film will not stand repeated viewings. There's nothing subtle here, no complex levels of meaning to explore with repeated viewings - I've seen it twice and I think that's enough - it's just a simple story reasonable well told. But maybe that's the point. So, 6 out of 10 And I know I've banged on about this but it's a great shame you insist in relegating these movie reviews to your blogs - these deserve a wider audience and discussion

Bit of a wedding theme going on here Bridesmaids. I'd heard good things about but never got to see it, so when it was on TV a coupla months ago I settled down to be amused but switched off when the all-female cast were vomitting and pooping in the street. It was juvenile gross-out derivative, as in "Men Behaving Badly? Well We Can Behave Worse." 20 minutes of my life wasted

er, this is GA? Gay Authors... where everyone likes gay movies... It's a shame there's no Media forum at GA where commercial LGBT films, shows and books can be posted and discussed. No-one's going to find this stuff in the blogs

just one word - embarrassing but congrats to Germany on being in the final

thanks for that. But I'm not sold on the idea that "upgrading" is necessarily a good thing when a writer chooses words. Often it is the everyday words that create impact or "seem right" - that's why they're everyday words, they've stood the test of time. Many acclaimed published authors have succeeded with a style that is "understated". Maybe because "upgraded" words, which will be the less commonly used ones, could be a distraction both in the narrative ["ooh, that's an unusual word"] and dialogue ["yeah right, like people say that in real life..."]. Writing can be "overwritten" and often plain is best. Of course every word is up for grabs when the writer wants to achieve a particular effect. My only gripe is when words are used with no thought to context, or repeatedly used ad nauseam, or used inappropriately and are a distraction to the reader. That applies to all words, everyday and "upgraded"

actually it should be about appropriate word choice. Sometimes "very" is very appropriate for an effect, especially for humour - as previous examples in this thread have shown. And some of the "recommended" alternatives are arch, or might conflict with the mood intended by the writer. Because writing is about creating mood and appropriate word choice is key to creating and maintaining the desired mood. This meme is merely about overuse of words - very being just one example - and surely all competent writers should be aware of this. Fortunately English is a rich language with an arsenal of alternative words with same / similar meanings to choose from Sadly the link won't work with my old version Firefox ... then it hijacked my browser

Without communication there can be no emotional response from others so there can be no art. So, no, thought cannot be art... a least not until thought can be communicated Art is in the eye of the beholder... perhaps many would agree with this. But this is more about personally liking or not liking, or maybe having no response at all. If, say, someone hates a work, or is completely unmoved or bored by it, they can still accept others may love it or have a powerful emotional response - which could make it art. As for "Anything someone creates could be called art" this is more interesting. For example, things can be created where the intention was not to create "art" but then - maybe much later - those things acquire the status of art. Like prehistoric cave paintings that are found all over the world - it's unlikely they were created as art, but we now regard them as art This machine was created as a vehicle for transport - but has it now also become a work of art? And can machines create art - paint, write, compose?

:,(

now that's just plain greedy never heard of sharing? It just so happens I stumbled across some more pics - purely by accident, of course... the shapely legs and *coughs* posterior... the clean cut hair or the tousled look

Quarter Final between Nick Kyrgios and clean-cut Milos Raonic has started...

I liked how both he and Nadal took time out with the fans at the end signing autos

Wild card entry 19yo Australian Nick Kyrgios, ranked way down at 144 in the world, has just kicked out the World Number One Rafael Nadal from the tournament. He plays cool and looks hot