• What Did You Watch? 2026-01-30 (Friday)

    From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Sat Jan 31 06:52:26 2026
    I watched "The Polyamory Problem: Why Do People In Open Relationships
    Always Look Like That?" It's from Andrew Briggs, a new channel for me.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRzbOFDvjaE&list=TLPQMzAwMTIwMjZ- TUlLL3tbKQ&index=3

    The title is a flippant question, but the essay is a pretty sharp
    examination of why poly is bad for relationships and people. It's fairly anti-poly, though it does give due credence to the arguments in favor.
    It goes into some detail, and it's not unkind to those who fall into it.
    I like this channel, which bills itself as trying to give nuance to
    questions we've been convinced are too complicated. I'll probably try a
    few more from him.

    I also watched another Bored to Death. By chance, it was "Make it Quick, Fitzgerald!" which has a poly theme. I'm still enjoying the show, but
    it's not as gripping as I first hoped it would be.

    I then watched "You are being misled about renewable energy
    technology," from Technology Connections.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQ9nt2ZeGM

    Most of the essay is a pretty solid look at how partisanship can lead us
    to oppose things, like solar and wind power, which may not save us all
    but do no harm. For instance, he recounts how Jimmy Carter installed
    solar water heaters in the White House during the energy crisis, and
    Reagan removed them during renovations. It would have made more sense to reinstall them, but it was more Republican to get rid of them.

    Most of the essay is straightforward and to-the-point, as I expect from Technology Connections, but it swerves into anti-ICE at the end. That surprised me, since in the past he has always been there for the
    appliances.

    What did everyone else watch?


    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Ubiquitous@3:633/10 to All on Sat Jan 31 04:30:41 2026
    I watched:

    Beastie Boys | So What?cha Want | Muppets Version https://youtu.be/kq-VNCGBDRU?si=_v49vIegoocFDT_I

    Starfleet Academy RUINED Klingons In Star Trek https://youtu.be/FPjN2YexPmE?si=i61DZ636B3grELuL

    Starfleet Academy S01 E04 Review: Luxury Gay Space Communists! https://youtu.be/QG4e4kuOLoM?si=zyrqO7OgZtgCrlQJ

    What did you watch?

    --
    Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
    love this country.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arthur Lipscomb@3:633/10 to All on Sat Jan 31 09:08:22 2026
    On 1/31/2026 3:52 AM, The True Melissa wrote:
    I watched "The Polyamory Problem: Why Do People In Open Relationships
    Always Look Like That?"

    Look like what? I think this may say more about the people who made the
    movie if they are traveling in circles where they know so many people
    who are in polyamory relationships that they can recognize a specific
    look. And how big was their sample size anyway?


    snip

    What did everyone else watch?




    I watched:


    Hard Eight (Paramount+) 1996 movie written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. I'm about to dive into the Paul Thomas Anderson movies in my collection, but first I watched one of the ones not in my collection.
    This was PTA's first movie and features a lot of the regular actors who
    would show up in his later movies. This one stars Philip Baker Hall as
    an older professional gambler who takes under his wings two broken
    people, John C. Reilly, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Samuel L. Jackson also
    pops up in a larger than expected role. While not as good as PTA's
    later work, it's an interesting movie and still worth a watch.
    Especially to see where it all began.


    Shelter (theatrical) New action movie starring Jason Statham. Statham
    plays a tough guy hero who doesn't say much. He's a government assassin
    who has retired from the business and now lives alone with his dog. But
    when MI6 discovers his location they send a team to kill him, but end up killing his dog. That was a mistake because now John Wick, I mean
    Statham, goes after the people who killed his dog. That's close enough
    to the plot. There is also a young girl in danger thrown into the mix
    that Statham has to save. Fortunately for the girl in danger Staham's character has a very particular set of skills. Skills that he acquired
    over a very long career. Skills that make him a nightmare for people
    like that.

    Look, it's an action movie starring Jason Statham. In the movie Statham shoots, stabs, and beats people to death with a chain wrapped around a
    pipe. He kills the bad guys and saves the girl. What more could you
    want? The script practically writes itself.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From The True Melissa@3:633/10 to All on Sat Jan 31 13:48:34 2026
    Verily, in article <10llcu6$322lq$1@dont-email.me>, did arthur@alum.calberkeley.org deliver unto us this message:

    On 1/31/2026 3:52 AM, The True Melissa wrote:
    I watched "The Polyamory Problem: Why Do People In Open Relationships Always Look Like That?"

    Look like what? I think this may say more about the people who made the movie if they are traveling in circles where they know so many people
    who are in polyamory relationships that they can recognize a specific
    look. And how big was their sample size anyway?

    The video is not an attempt to answer the titular question. It's an
    essay about polygamy being worse for overall society than monogamy.

    I'm pretty sure I said that in the part you snipped. :-\


    Shelter (theatrical) New action movie starring Jason Statham. Statham
    plays a tough guy hero who doesn't say much. He's a government assassin
    who has retired from the business and now lives alone with his dog. But when MI6 discovers his location they send a team to kill him, but end up killing his dog.

    Oh, killing someone's dog is always a bad mistake.


    --
    The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
    United States of America - North America - Earth
    Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
    Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@3:633/10 to All on Sat Jan 31 19:09:46 2026
    The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:

    I watched "The Polyamory Problem: Why Do People In Open Relationships
    Always Look Like That?" It's from Andrew Briggs, a new channel for me.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRzbOFDvjaE&list=TLPQMzAwMTIwMjZ- >TUlLL3tbKQ&index=3

    The title is a flippant question, but the essay is a pretty sharp >examination of why poly is bad for relationships and people. It's fairly >anti-poly, though it does give due credence to the arguments in favor.
    It goes into some detail, and it's not unkind to those who fall into it.
    I like this channel, which bills itself as trying to give nuance to >questions we've been convinced are too complicated. I'll probably try a
    few more from him.

    I have never opposed consenting adults who aren't harming themselves or
    others from forming family relationships that meet their own needs. But
    I did oppose gay marriage, which I always saw as wanted by some in long
    term homosexual familial relationship, but not everybody, to force
    society to accept them. My opinion is, Live your own life as you see fit without caring about how I feel. If you can live only as a reflection as
    how others see you, you aren't behaving like a mature adult.

    A lawyer once made a strong argument that if there were gay marriage or
    civil union, which I never opposed, then myriad legal privileges and
    rights were established without paying a lawyer to draw up a signficant
    number of documents to create a marriage equivalent. That was a good
    argument.

    I've always believed that the ultimate goal of gay marriage is court
    recgntion of polyamorous marriage, which will satisfy no one.

    Similar to what that lawyer told me years ago, there are now a handful
    of lawyers who specialize in polyamory/self-defined families. The
    parties negotiate a contract, which means every party states reasonable expectations and duties, because lacking contract, there will always be
    a weaker party who won't get what she wants because she's deluded
    herself into believing that the other parties are offering it to her.
    Belief isn't contractual.

    There's simply no way to have a marriage law that covers every possible scenario and no one should try to draft one.

    I then watched "You are being misled about renewable energy
    technology," from Technology Connections.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQ9nt2ZeGM

    Most of the essay is a pretty solid look at how partisanship can lead us
    to oppose things, like solar and wind power, which may not save us all
    but do no harm.

    C'mon. Everything about energy generation, distribution, and storage has benefits and harms. There is ALWAYS harm that must be mitigated. We
    delude ourselves by refusing to look at hard economic truths. Harm can
    be mitigated but never eliminated.

    For instance, he recounts how Jimmy Carter installed
    solar water heaters in the White House during the energy crisis, and
    Reagan removed them during renovations. It would have made more sense to >reinstall them, but it was more Republican to get rid of them.

    I agree with that. Harm from passive solar is negligible. Small-scale
    active solar on grid is nearly always idiotic.

    With passive solar, the energy is stored for later use. The water tank
    is effectively battery that is not highly toxic waste at end of life.

    . . .

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@3:633/10 to All on Sat Jan 31 20:33:05 2026
    Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

    Shelter (theatrical) New action movie starring Jason Statham. Statham
    plays a tough guy hero who doesn't say much. He's a government assassin
    who has retired from the business and now lives alone with his dog. But >when MI6 discovers his location they send a team to kill him, but end up >killing his dog. That was a mistake because now John Wick, I mean
    Statham, goes after the people who killed his dog. That's close enough
    to the plot. There is also a young girl in danger thrown into the mix
    that Statham has to save. Fortunately for the girl in danger Staham's >character has a very particular set of skills. Skills that he acquired
    over a very long career. Skills that make him a nightmare for people
    like that.

    Look, it's an action movie starring Jason Statham. In the movie Statham >shoots, stabs, and beats people to death with a chain wrapped around a
    pipe. He kills the bad guys and saves the girl. What more could you
    want? The script practically writes itself.

    He's in his late 50s. No fan watches his movies for acting nor script.

    His fights in his best movies were long takes, absolutely no rapid cuts,
    with excellent choreography. The moves were realistic and never special effects.

    I forgot the movie I just watched, maybe a year old. He had bulked up
    and had possibly taken steroids. Statham never had a comic book
    superhero body because he's supposed to be a thin, wirey guy who is
    extremely agile. He looks like he can fight because he's well trained
    for fighting, not for aesthetics.

    All we care about is the fight choreography, not a bulked up hero.

    Did the fight choreography excel, or is he unable to do as much versus
    when he was younger?

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Ubiquitous@3:633/10 to All on Sat Jan 31 17:06:26 2026
    thetruemelissa@gmail.com wrote:
    Ubiquitous wrote:

    I watched:

    Beastie Boys | So What?cha Want | Muppets Version
    https://youtu.be/kq-VNCGBDRU?si=_v49vIegoocFDT_I

    Starfleet Academy RUINED Klingons In Star Trek
    https://youtu.be/FPjN2YexPmE?si=i61DZ636B3grELuL

    Starfleet Academy S01 E04 Review: Luxury Gay Space Communists!
    https://youtu.be/QG4e4kuOLoM?si=zyrqO7OgZtgCrlQJ

    What did you watch?

    I watched "The Polyamory Problem: Why Do People In Open Relationships
    Always Look Like That?" It's from Andrew Briggs, a new channel for me.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRzbOFDvjaE&list=TLPQMzAwMTIwMjZ-TUlLL3tbKQ&index=3

    The title is a flippant question, but the essay is a pretty sharp >examination of why poly is bad for relationships and people. It's fairly >anti-poly, though it does give due credence to the arguments in favor.
    It goes into some detail, and it's not unkind to those who fall into it.
    I like this channel, which bills itself as trying to give nuance to >questions we've been convinced are too complicated. I'll probably try a
    few more from him.

    I always wondered why people in polyamorous relationships tended to be homely.

    --
    Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
    love this country.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Arthur Lipscomb@3:633/10 to All on Sat Jan 31 14:32:19 2026
    On 1/31/2026 12:33 PM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
    Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

    Shelter (theatrical) New action movie starring Jason Statham. Statham
    plays a tough guy hero who doesn't say much. He's a government assassin
    who has retired from the business and now lives alone with his dog. But
    when MI6 discovers his location they send a team to kill him, but end up
    killing his dog. That was a mistake because now John Wick, I mean
    Statham, goes after the people who killed his dog. That's close enough
    to the plot. There is also a young girl in danger thrown into the mix
    that Statham has to save. Fortunately for the girl in danger Staham's
    character has a very particular set of skills. Skills that he acquired
    over a very long career. Skills that make him a nightmare for people
    like that.

    Look, it's an action movie starring Jason Statham. In the movie Statham
    shoots, stabs, and beats people to death with a chain wrapped around a
    pipe. He kills the bad guys and saves the girl. What more could you
    want? The script practically writes itself.

    He's in his late 50s. No fan watches his movies for acting nor script.


    True dat.



    His fights in his best movies were long takes, absolutely no rapid cuts,
    with excellent choreography. The moves were realistic and never special effects.

    I forgot the movie I just watched, maybe a year old. He had bulked up
    and had possibly taken steroids. Statham never had a comic book
    superhero body because he's supposed to be a thin, wirey guy who is
    extremely agile. He looks like he can fight because he's well trained
    for fighting, not for aesthetics.

    All we care about is the fight choreography, not a bulked up hero.

    Did the fight choreography excel, or is he unable to do as much versus
    when he was younger?

    This was 50 year old Statham showing his age, while always wearing a
    very large overcoat. But it was still fun. Sure he's a bit slower now,
    but that's what the pipe wrapped in chains was for.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPMawzJxKF4


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.8
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Dimensional Traveler@3:633/10 to All on Sat Jan 31 20:29:37 2026
    On 1/31/2026 9:08 AM, Arthur Lipscomb wrote:
    On 1/31/2026 3:52 AM, The True Melissa wrote:
    I watched "The Polyamory Problem: Why Do People In Open Relationships
    Always Look Like That?"

    Look like what?ÿ I think this may say more about the people who made the movie if they are traveling in circles where they know so many people
    who are in polyamory relationships that they can recognize a specific
    look.ÿ And how big was their sample size anyway?


    snip

    What did everyone else watch?




    I watched:


    Hard Eight (Paramount+) 1996 movie written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.ÿ I'm about to dive into the Paul Thomas Anderson movies in my collection, but first I watched one of the ones not in my collection.
    This was PTA's first movie and features a lot of the regular actors who would show up in his later movies.ÿ This one stars Philip Baker Hall as
    an older professional gambler who takes under his wings two broken
    people, John C. Reilly, and Gwyneth Paltrow.ÿ Samuel L. Jackson also
    pops up in a larger than expected role.ÿ While not as good as PTA's
    later work, it's an interesting movie and still worth a watch.
    Especially to see where it all began.


    Shelter (theatrical) New action movie starring Jason Statham.ÿ Statham
    plays a tough guy hero who doesn't say much.ÿ He's a government assassin
    who has retired from the business and now lives alone with his dog.ÿ But when MI6 discovers his location they send a team to kill him, but end up killing his dog.ÿ That was a mistake because now John Wick, I mean
    Statham, goes after the people who killed his dog.ÿ That's close enough
    to the plot.ÿ There is also a young girl in danger thrown into the mix
    that Statham has to save. Fortunately for the girl in danger Staham's character has a very particular set of skills. Skills that he acquired
    over a very long career. Skills that make him a nightmare for people
    like that.

    Look, it's an action movie starring Jason Statham.ÿ In the movie Statham shoots, stabs, and beats people to death with a chain wrapped around a
    pipe.ÿ He kills the bad guys and saves the girl.ÿ What more could you
    want?ÿ The script practically writes itself.

    Methinks you is getting a touch jaded Arthur. :)

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.10
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)