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Goldie

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  1. Goldie
    http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-harold-ramis-dead-20140224,0,2259309.story
    They don't make movies like they did during his heyday, but he is one of the pioneers of the 80's Reagan-era fight-the-power style movies. His humor was as intelligent as anyone writing and directing movies has ever been, and that intelligence is what lets his movies hold up today while many others from the era simply can't hold on. The movies all had a heart to them. There were the occasional gross-out scenes, and vulgarity, but overall the movies were tone-based, in that it was the overall themes that made you laugh, not necessarily the one-liners, even though there were plenty of those. I think the earliest writers of the Simpsons owe Harold Ramis a great debt, because his comedy paved the way for precisely what the Simpsons became so successful in the early 90's.
    Here are my five favorites, probably in order but who knows. I'm sad and need to binge-watch.
    Groundhog Day (1993): This movie came out when I was eight, and I saw it in the theaters. I hated it. I just didn't get it. Years later, something beckoned me to give it another shot. It is absolutely the classic of its time, and I think it is one of the most perfect movies ever made, something that wouldn't translate to television, books, or to any other era of moviemaking. Just the premise itself is incredibly fun and original, and its execution is flawless, primarily because of Bill Murray, but also because he has such richness on the page to work with, and superb direction throughout the movie. This is one of my all-time favorite movies, because with Harold Ramis gone, there is no chance anyone could ever think up a plot so intricate but have it flow like music.
    Multiplicity (1996): This movie gets no love from people that aren't probably within 2-3 years of me. I love this movie for the same reasons I love Groundhog Day, because its so intricate, but flows so well, and is the absolute perfect representation of what is so wonderful about Michael Keaton. Seeing the four sides of Michael Keaton is amazing (especially #4. "She touched my happy Steve"), but its the fact that everything in a premise so unlikely stays together and again, flows well, is a testament to the direction and writing of Ramis.
    Caddyshack (1980): His directorial debut, and no one needs me to rehash how amazing this movie is. Chevy, Billy, and Rodney in their primes could make any movie pop, but again, it was Ramis (and Doug Kenney and BDM) that wrote them and the characters who say them.
    Ghostbusters (1984): Another movie I don't need to sell anyone on. Makes me sad knowing all the holdups led to GB3 not being filmed before Ramis passed.
    Back to School (1986): This is a Rodney movie through and through. But until the day I die, anytime I double back to check out a girl when with a group of friends, either myself or someone else will say "Honey, you're perfect".
    He also wrote and/or directed Animal House, Meatballs, Stripes, and Analyze This. A true legend of comedy has died today, and even though the intelligent but heartwarming comedies Harold Ramis would make fell out of style 20 years ago, it makes me sad knowing that there is one less person alive still trying to make them.
  4. Goldie
    Many of you can claim to have been involved in some way with GGA falling apart into destruction. But how many of you can claim to be so integral in their continued fall from grace and so viciously hated by them to be memorialized in their home page?
    http://www.cn-gga.net

  5. Goldie

    Blog War

    By Goldie,

    Not really worthy of its own thread, but VE's protectorate, Misfit Nations, was attacked by Kingdom of Hyrule.
    VE recognizes this state of war that now exists between itself and Hyrule.
    Sigs would go here.
  6. Goldie
    Yet here you are demanding reparations for offensive wars.
    Yet here you are humiliating an opponent and offering terms that you would not consider acceptable if the sides were switched.
    If you want to make the argument for II that you are in a defensive war, then it is because you chained treaties.
    This is the most important one. You seem to be carrying out a grudge beyond the peace terms from the Karma War.
    You are free to do whatever you want in this game, it just makes me sad to see this. When I started playing this game and watching how you handled yourselves and your performance in Karma, this is quite a departure to say the least.
  7. Goldie
    "As a CN forums discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving 'Hegemony' approaches 1"
    That is certainly how Godwin's Law would apply to this game, and it shows the sad state of the forums that it is absolutely true. The main problem with the rule being true, is that it doesn't matter if the comparisons are warranted or true in any way, they are just made. What the overuse of the term does is it takes all of the bite out of actually calling something 'hegemonic', because it desensitizes us all to it. When people have a valid reason to call something hegemonic, the term carries less weight now because it is used so much to describe things that do not warrant the use of what should be such a strong adjective.
    The Hegemony did some brutal things in their reign of this game, things we haven't come close to seeing since. The problem with that, is that bad things will always happen, but when there is no Hegemony around or hegemonic actions, the oppressed feel the need to latch on to those words to describe incredibly less oppressive things as hegemonic, solely because the time that has elapsed since the Hegemony was in power has desensitized people's sense of what is true oppression and what is not, and because of overuse as described in Godwin's Law of CN.
    I'll take some examples that have been called 'hegemonic' and explain why we really shouldn't use that word as freely as it has been:
    In the past year: Echelon's surrender terms included a stipulation that Caffine1 be barred from holding government positions. Echelon eventually decided to throw away that term and no longer follow it.
    Karma reaction: We won't hold you to it.
    Related Hegemony action: When a person that was barred from government was found in GATO government, 1V declared war on them, kept them in war for 2 months, and held them in a viceroy for eight months as a result.
    In the past year: NPO surrendered to the forces of Karma after a three month war. Terms were given that included massive reparations. Hundreds of individual nations were in violation of surrender terms stipulations for long periods of time.
    Karma reaction: Worked with NPO in a friendly manner to get the nations in compliance. If necessary we will enforce terms individually.
    Related Hegemony action: When FAN had nations not in compliance of military restrictions, 1V declared war on the entire alliance, a war that lasted for 1.5 years and could have possibly gone on longer if the Karma War did not happen.
    In the past year: NPO owed reparations during two wars that had the people they owed reps to on the other side of many of their friends.
    Karma reaction: Almost universal acceptance that NPO should not have to risk committing an act of war by aiding nations at war.
    Related Hegemony action: GPA was given no such courtesy or respect.
    Those are just three examples. I know this will fall on deaf ears, but I would hope some people read this and start to rethink their current usage of the term 'hegemonic', 'New-Hegemony', and the like when talking about alliances in current events, unless it really is something significantly similar to the type of actions committed by that group in the past.
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