Useless Conversation

[schild]

There Will be Blood was ten years ago. It lost to the Departed.  Which was objectively worse than Infernal Affairs. But both excellent movies in their own right.

Nothing, nothing will ever be a bigger travesty than Titanic winning in 1998. It beating Good Will Hunting is just utter horseshit of the highest order.

[Velorath]

As ridiculous as it is it a reason I don't frequent the Movie forum a lot. Some people have really shitty taste and I just get grumpy.

I'd personally be interested in hearing your thoughts on movies, particularly if they have to do with anything other than Star Wars which sees more than enough discussion. I don't talk about movies as much as I could here either but that's mostly because if I mention watching something like Devil's Express I'm just going to be having a conversation with myself.

[01101010]

Gary Oldman finally grabs a statue.   


About damn time

[Chimpy]

There Will be Blood was ten years ago. It lost to the Departed.  Which was objectively worse than Infernal Affairs. But both excellent movies in their own right.

Nothing, nothing will ever be a bigger travesty than Titanic winning in 1998. It beating Good Will Hunting is just utter horseshit of the highest order.

All four of the other nominees in 1997 were better films than Titanic:

L.A. Confidential
The Full Monty
As Good As It Gets
Good Will Hunting

[Yegolev]

Edgewater to the Needle and/or Pike Place Market is up a steep hill.  If you are out of shape or dragging small ones or something, it might be a bit daunting. Lyft or Uber would save you the hassle.

After someone just out of knee surgery using a cane did a little math from their phone, she walked 50 miles in the 8 days we were in Europe. My pod walked more than she did.

I don't worry about other people's opinions as long as they leave me to mine.  They can even tell me their opinions and I will listen (if I'm not busy) but I would like to simply nod or smile and let that be the end of it.

[schild]

There Will be Blood was ten years ago. It lost to the Departed.  Which was objectively worse than Infernal Affairs. But both excellent movies in their own right.

Nothing, nothing will ever be a bigger travesty than Titanic winning in 1998. It beating Good Will Hunting is just utter horseshit of the highest order.

All four of the other nominees in 1997 were better films than Titanic:

L.A. Confidential
The Full Monty
As Good As It Gets
Good Will Hunting

Yes, but none of the others were as good as Good Will Hunting.

[Teleku]

I concur, but man, LA Confidential was good.  Actually, that entire line up was amazing, and the fact Titanic beat it all is depressing as fuck.

[Shannow]

Yeah and Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan. It's an ANTI MATT DAMON PLOT. Jimmy Kimmel would be pleased.

The ONLY redeeming thing about Oldman winning was that he hasn't won before. Other than that, seriously another actor winning for playing a historical figure while wearing a bunch of makeup? Also John Lithgow did it better.

[Chimpy]

Oldman wasn’t even nominated for some of his best work (Immortal Beloved comes to mind) so I am sure this was one of those “how can this guy not have an Oscar yet?” things.

[HaemishM]

Gary Oldman not having won an Oscar before is just insane but LOLOSCARS.

I'm just pumped that Get Out won for Screenplay because I think it deserved it, if only because it was a unique perspective that the Oscars kind of had to be forced to acknowledge. Fish Banging, the Love Story winning Oscars when Del Toro has done so much better work is just... well that whole movie is just odd.

[Abagadro]

Heh, the Utah State Bar sent out an email to every lawyer in the state that had naked bewbs in it. 

http://fox13now.com/2018/03/05/every-lawyer-in-the-state-got-an-email-of-a-topless-woman-from-the-utah-state-bar/

[HaemishM]

Not only is someone getting fired, someone's work computer is getting confiscated. For ahem... research purposes.

But only after it's covered in a magic sheet.

[Morat20]

So, follow-up on Vegas: I'm looking at playing poker, which I've done online and in home games, but never in a casino. Any recommendations? I was looking at the Excaliber which seems to run simple, single-buy in tournaments two or three times a day. Too little money for anyone looking to scam tourists, basically.

Any other casinos with a decent poker room? General advice on how casino's differ from home games?

Frankly, I'd be happy playing a 1/2 or 2/4 game for hours -- certainly slows down the losses. The home games I've played have at least beaten out of me the urge to stick in to see the flop even if I have crap cards.

[Abagadro]

This is based upon somewhat outdated info as I've played in the bigger rooms for years now, so take with a bit of a grain of salt.  Luxor has a decent room with a low limit beginners game, 1/2 I believe or at least 2/4.  Monte Carlo did as well at one point but don't know since the renovation.  MGM has a decent 3/6 game at times.  Stay out of the Bellagio, Aria & Venetian, you will get ground up there.  

Of course, seems like low limit hold em is basically a nearly extinct game in at least the bigger rooms. It's all no limit now.

[IainC]

Heh, the Utah State Bar sent out an email to every lawyer in the state that had naked bewbs in it. 

http://fox13now.com/2018/03/05/every-lawyer-in-the-state-got-an-email-of-a-topless-woman-from-the-utah-state-bar/

The real scandal there is that the Executive Director of the Utah State Bar doesn't know the difference between insure and ensure.

The rest of the trip was Berlin -> Dresden -> Prague -> Krakow -> Banska Bystrica -> Budapest. 

Dude, you were like, an hour away from me. I'd totally have hopped on a train and come to have a drink with you.

[Morat20]

Of course, seems like low limit hold em is basically a nearly extinct game in at least the bigger rooms. It's all no limit now.

I don't mind no-limit as much if it's tournament style. Single buy-in kinda keeps it level, and the really bad players seem to go out early.

Thanks for the advice. I'll check those out.

[Khaldun]

I feel like casino poker everywhere now is down to a nub of tough players who know what they're doing. In a low-stakes no-limit game, the only way anybody really makes reliable money is if there are a few fish at the table and they're harvested gently, but the fish seem gone now. So now it's playing hard, tough shit with wily and sometimes lightly desperate people and that's not much fun.

[Yegolev]

The rest of the trip was Berlin -> Dresden -> Prague -> Krakow -> Banska Bystrica -> Budapest.

Dude, you were like, an hour away from me. I'd totally have hopped on a train and come to have a drink with you.

Ah, whoops!  It was an unscheduled lunch stop and the only time we got off the bus in Slovakia.  We ate at U Richtara.

[BobtheSomething]

My wife and I are going to Vegas this month, and we haven't been in about 15 years.

Anything worth checking out? She's on top of the food (absolute foodie) and we've got tickets to the exactly one show we want to see. We're staying on the Strip, but basically looking for anything worth doing anywhere in town. About the only other solid plan is to check out Fremont street one evening, and that's about it.

Go to the "You can shoot a machine gun!" store and get some tasteless T shirts so you can troll your Facebook friends?

PS if you ever plan to drive through Arizona with a blue state license plate, wear your gun store T-Shirts at all times for your own protection.

[WayAbvPar]

This is based upon somewhat outdated info as I've played in the bigger rooms for years now, so take with a bit of a grain of salt.  Luxor has a decent room with a low limit beginners game, 1/2 I believe or at least 2/4.  Monte Carlo did as well at one point but don't know since the renovation.  MGM has a decent 3/6 game at times.  Stay out of the Bellagio, Aria & Venetian, you will get ground up there.  

Of course, seems like low limit hold em is basically a nearly extinct game in at least the bigger rooms. It's all no limit now.

Heh- that is where I played almost all my poker (had a drunken 1/3 NL run down at the Golden Nugget one night). Made the money 2nd in chips in my last Aria tourney. Chip leader suggested an ICM chop, which was fine with me. We had already been playing for 5 hours and I was exhausted (little did I know that I would have a 102.5 fever in less than 24 hours !).

Morat, if you venture downtown, the stakes are lower. Golden Nugget even has a 2/4 limit game. Impossible to win long term since the rake will eat up any profits you might show, but it is a good spot to learn and get comfortable playing in a casino. Take your time, ask questions, and don't be afraid to let the dealers know you are new. They are happy to help, and 90% of the players are happy to have new players in the game as well.

On the food tip- if you like Asian food, Noodles in the Bellagio is amazing for casual dining. Open until 2AM too, so you can soak up some late night alcohol and rehydrate with a glass of watermelon juice.

Khaldun-
The games are a lot tougher now than they were 15 years ago when the poker boom was starting. There are still TONS of shitty players out there though. Table selection is a good skill to hone while you work on your game. The old saying is pretty true- if you can't spot the sucker in the game in the first 30 minutes, you are probably the sucker.

[Khaldun]

The nasty casinos near Philly just feel like there's a near absence of suckers per se, just some real hard cases. Plus any time I've gone there, I usually spot some pairs that are colluding where the dealer doesn't stop it (two guys speaking to each other in Chinese during a hand, two guys who have some hand gestures that are pretty blatant, etc.)

[Abagadro]

Of course, seems like low limit hold em is basically a nearly extinct game in at least the bigger rooms. It's all no limit now.

I don't mind no-limit as much if it's tournament style. Single buy-in kinda keeps it level, and the really bad players seem to go out early.

Thanks for the advice. I'll check those out.

Only tournaments are like that. Regular cash games are reload any time you want type deals which radically changes the way people play.

Grats on your tourney place Way. I haven't played tournies in either of those rooms since they take too long.

[IainC]

The first time I played poker in Vegas was at the South Point. It was the week after the National Rodeo finals and the place was full of cowboys who were really, really bad at cards. I won enough on the first night to cover the costs of our flights from France, the hotel and all the Christmas shopping that we did.  IIRC, it was a no-limit $2/$5 game.

I've played a lot of poker in card rooms in various countries as well as online. The good thing about real poker is that you tend to avoid the idiots in online poker rooms who shit up every tournament by automatically raising all in for the first three hands.

[Khaldun]

But you know, those guys are great if you can wait them out, honestly. They're fish of another kind.

[Bunk]

Poker in Vegas: Its been a while, but I found that places like Excalibur were great for sitting down and nursing $80 in 2/4 all night while you essentially drink for free.

Its not much different from home though - identify the guys who've had to much to drink and play to their looseness. Avoid the guys who don't look like they are there to get drunk.

[HaemishM]

I've never been to Vegas but I have been to casinos around here about 20 years ago. Recently, my wife and I went to one in Vicksburg, MS for our anniversary. My memory may be failing me. When I played back in the '90's, it seemed like as long as I was gambling, drinks were free at the table. Yet when we went back, that was not the case - they were wanting me to pony up right then and there. Now, the place felt super low-rent while I was there even before that shit, but isn't it customary in decent casinos that you play you drink?

[Bunk]

In Vegas, yes. In Canada, not so much.

[IainC]

The little casinos I used to go to in Cripple Creek would bring you free soft drinks and only charge you for alcohol. That's almost always how it works everywhere else too outside of Vegas.

[Ruvaldt]

I used to gamble in Shreveport/Bossier City, LA, but haven't been back in around ten years.  The last time I was there in '07 or '08 though all the drinks were free.  Could've changed since then though.

[Morat20]

Poker in Vegas: Its been a while, but I found that places like Excalibur were great for sitting down and nursing $80 in 2/4 all night while you essentially drink for free.

Its not much different from home though - identify the guys who've had to much to drink and play to their looseness. Avoid the guys who don't look like they are there to get drunk.

I really dislike the dearth of limit poker, although Excalibur was where I was thinking of starting in any case (super cheap tournaments, which is a good way to pass the time. I'm at least familiar with no-limit tournaments. Kind of sucks if you go out quick, but I'm not going to sweat 45 bucks). Sadly, only time I've ever done no-limit is tournament style (and even then, home games). I'm pretty comfortable with the idea of being able to nurse 80 bucks in a limit game, but not really sure how much the play changes with no-limit betting.

Edited to add: Also, I've been really annoyed at not being able to find a decent app or online site for poker. Mostly because, since I'm in the US, it can't be for real money. Which means the incentives are either the usual mobile incentives ("buy things in our store with real money") or the players are shitty. Luckily you can still find a good chess game. :)

[Khaldun]

I like tournaments, too. If you play tight in the early going, as you should anyway, it's a good and interesting way to pass the time.

[Morat20]

I like tournaments, too. If you play tight in the early going, as you should anyway, it's a good and interesting way to pass the time.

I had my inherent looseness beaten out of me in friendly, low-stakes games. Specifically my habit of thinking "i'll just stick in to see the flop" with shit cards. Anything can happen, right? Yeah, long term money losing thought there.

Problem with tournaments is those rising blinds can eat through you, especially if there's an ante, while you're waiting for something worth betting on.

[Nebu]

I like tournaments, too. If you play tight in the early going, as you should anyway, it's a good and interesting way to pass the time.

I tend to play aggressive early as that's when the most fish are on the tables.  It's really good to stack early so that you can tighten up when the competition gets tougher.

[Samwise]

I have a small container garden on my desk and came in this morning to find that it sprouted a flower overnight.   



Flower pictured is a pansy; other plants in the background that haven't bloomed yet are daisies and zinnias.  It's a race for second place now!

[Sky]

Didn't your app update you with the bloom event?