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| Porn Users Forum » User Ranks » User Post History |
Post History:
lk2fireone (0)
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| 2301-2350 of 3618 Posts | < Previous Page | 1 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 23 | 30 | 37 | 46 | Page 47 | 48 | 53 | 58 | 63 | 72 | 73 | Next Page > |
| 11-21-12 12:18pm - 4415 days | #45 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User  Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Can you drop by your local police station and get an affidavit from them that you are an upstanding citizen without any current arrest warrants? I know that when you go to a medical doctor's office, or a dentist's office, they usually display a paper on the wall certifying they are authorized to practice their profession. Seems like photographers could do the same thing, to reassure the models they are in excellent hands (that will only grope them with permission). | |
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| 11-16-12 09:43am - 4420 days | #960 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I think I saw Transformers 1 in a theater. After that, I watched the others on DVD. Much cheaper. I do see movies at theaters. But since it costs so much just to get in, and then the price of a drink or popcorn is almost the price of a cheap meal at a fast food restaurant, I try to pick movies that I hope to really enjoy. Doesn't always work out. The last movie I saw was Resident Evil part ?. That cost me around $15.50 with a senior discount to get in. That was a couple of months ago. I thought it was a waste of money. The 3D effects were interesting, but the story was just too much of a repeat of prior episodes. I should have stopped watching them with the first episode, which I did enjoy. I mean, I should have stopped paying theater prices, and waited until they came out at Redbox or on TV. | |
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| 11-15-12 04:40pm - 4420 days | #958 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I don't remember ever seeing a photo or interview of Bay. But if he truly ozzes sleazy from every pore of his body, he could cast himself as a villain in one of his Transformers movies. I always thought that the Transformers movies needed a human villain you could hiss at, or feel satisfaction when he gets killed or hurt by the hero. I mean, you had a human hero in Shia LaBeouf, to root for, but no human on the evil side. And I always found it hard to root for the robot heroes, or to feel a lot of satisfaction when the evil robots were smashed. The truth is, when you have a lot of robots fighting each other, I have a hard time figuring out who the different robots are. | |
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| 11-15-12 12:35am - 4421 days | #956 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Many actors are age-inapproriate for the roles they play, but that hasn't stopped Hollywood from casting them. A lot of teenage roles are filled by actors/actresses in their twenties. Sissy Spacek was around 22 when she played a 15-year old teen in Badlands. She was around 25 when she played the starring role in Carrie (the Brian De Palma horror movie). Almost all the "teenagers" in Grease were in their twenties, Stockard Channing was 33. But maybe Gwyneth Paltrow is just saying she wants roles that are more significant or meaningful or rewarding than playing Tony Stark's love interest. After all, why take a role that is probably only paying a million dollars or more? | |
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| 11-14-12 10:24pm - 4421 days | #5 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Although you only did a few reviews, they were among the finest ever posted at this site. And your comments and replies were thoughtful and based on a wealth of technical knowledge. I also hope that Khan would post a comment allowing you to tell us where your work has been posted. As a fellow PU member, it just seems natural we would like to see your work. Sincere congratulations on your new job. | |
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| 11-13-12 09:41pm - 4422 days | #954 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Where is pat when we need him? According to the news article below, Robert Downey recently wrapped Iron Man 3. So why should we have to wait until the movie is released for its theatrical run? Let's send pat in to steal a copy and have a private screening for PU members only. Otherwise, we will have to wait until May 3, 2013. >>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<< Jack Nicholson Courted to Play Robert Downey Jr.'s Father 4:03 PM PST 11/13/2012 by Borys David Dobkin is attached to direct "The Judge" for Warner Bros., which is hoping the picky 75-year-old star will sign on. Warner Bros. is hoping that Jack Nicholson steps into the courtroom for The Judge, a dramedy that will star and is being developed by Robert Downey Jr. Warners is actively courting the notoriously picky Nicholson with an unofficial offer to play Downey’s father. The script, originally penned by Nick Schenk with a rewrite by Bill Dubuque, is also now in his hands. Downey is on board to star as a successful attorney who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged and Alzheimer's-stricken father, the town's judge, is the murder suspect. The man sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before. The Iron Man star is producing The Judge with his Team Downey cohorts Susan Downey and David Gambino. Also producing is David Dobkin, who is attached to direct Judge, and his producing partner Jeff Kleeman. Downey recently wrapped Iron Man 3 and has an open schedule up into next year. Insiders say he is intent on making Judge his next movie. The question is whether Nicholson will commit. The actor has made only three movies since 2003 -- two of them, 2006’s The Departed and 2007’s The Bucket List -- for Warner Bros. With Departed, Nicholson first turned down the part of mobster Frank Costello several times. It took meetings with star Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese to convince him to sign on. But meetings are not always successful. Nicholson, 75, this summer passed on a project that would have reunited him with his Something's Gotta Give writer-director Nancy Meyers after meeting with her. Sources say that Downey is to meet Nicholson later this week. Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com Twitter: @Borys_Kit | |
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| 11-13-12 05:27pm - 4422 days | #6 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
In my past reviews, I've wandered all over the place in including or excluding the network when reporting on a single site in that network. In many of my reviews, I specifically said that the score I am giving to a specific site is raised because of the value of the other sites in the network that are included with a membership. But I don't follow any hard and fast rules about scoring a site, or even in discussing the Pros, Cons, and Bottom Line. I try to write a review that makes sense to me; but there are times when I wish the review had more flavor, that would give a better image of what the site is. | |
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| 11-12-12 10:13am - 4424 days | #27 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Condom conundrum: Porn industry ponders latex law By JOHN ROGERS | Associated Press – 3 hrs ago LOS ANGELES (AP) — The show must go on, is the entertainer's credo, and it did just that in the nation's Porn Capital even after Los Angeles County voted to require performers to use condoms when filming sex scenes. One of the industry's biggest stars, James Deen, reported for work, condom-free as usual, just hours after voters adopted the new law. During a break in the action Thursday, however, Deen raised the same questions on the mind of everyone in LA's billion-dollar-plus porn industry: Can a planned court challenge get the new law tossed out before it is even implemented? Or, perhaps this time next year, will he be making films like "Atomic Vixens" and "Asian Fever Sex Objects" in some place like Las Vegas or Florida? The law, listed on the ballot as Measure B, was passed by 56 percent of voters Tuesday. It won't take effect until election results are certified, which likely will be several more days. It could take months longer before county health officials decide how to enforce it and whether they must begin dispatching prophylactic police officers to keep a close eye on actors. The Department of Public Health issued a terse statement with no timetable for developing an enforcement plan. There was no hint of whether there would be surprise inspections or if public employees would be paid to watch porn flicks to see if actors were complying. The nation's adult entertainment industry, which is believed to generate as much as $7 billion a year in revenue, according to the trade publication Adult Video News, vigorously opposed the new law. It argued it is unneeded because of safeguards that include monthly venereal disease checks for all working actors. They also maintained it would be costly and difficult to enforce and could drive the business out of Los Angeles' sprawling San Fernando Valley, taking with it as many as 10,000 jobs, including actors, directors, film editors and crafts and makeup people. The main problem, they say, is that fans don't want to see actors using condoms. "The last time we attempted to go all condom, our industry lost sales by over 30 percent," said Deen. "That's a huge hit to our economy." Deen, who has appeared in more than 1,000 hardcore films over the past nine years and estimates he's been in about 4,000 sex scenes, said he's never been infected with any disease and he gets tested every two weeks. "I love condoms, I think they're great and the safest thing you can do in engaging in sexual intercourse with a stranger," he said, adding he uses them in his personal life but not onscreen. Industry officials, meanwhile, say the last reported case of HIV linked directly to work was in 2004. Since then, they add, about 300,000 films have been made. Michael Weinstein, the nonprofit AIDS Healthcare Foundation's founder and president, disputes those figures, saying there have been other, more recent HIV infections, not to mention numerous cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases. Weinstein, whose group led a petition campaign to place the measure on the ballot, says he plans to take his campaign statewide. In the meantime, he says implementing and enforcing the new law should be easy. "This is no different than supervising restaurants or nail salons or barbershops," Weinstein said. "You fill out forms, you are granted a permit and, periodically, somebody goes out and does spot inspections." Easy to implement or not, porn producers say the cost of paying for permits will likely be steep and the drop-off in sales could bankrupt them. "Certainly this is the biggest threat that I've seen to the industry in a very, very long time," said Steven Hirsch, chief executive of Vivid Entertainment Group, one of the largest purveyors of porn films, including celebrity sex tapes and popular X-rated parodies of "Batman" and "Superman" films. "There have been obscenity prosecutions, but this is something on a whole different level." Hirsch, who co-founded Vivid 28 years ago, said he is confident the industry will get the law overturned on the grounds it violates filmmakers' First Amendment rights of free expression. If it isn't overturned, he said his company will simply move production out of Los Angeles County to survive. Several people who attended an emergency meeting of the industry's advocacy group, the Free Speech Coalition, last week, said porn producers have already been in touch with officials in Las Vegas and parts of Florida. In some instances, they said, tax incentives have been offered to lure them. Through a quirk in county law, the industry might even be able to pack up and move just a few miles down the freeway to Pasadena or Long Beach. Those municipalities, although located in Los Angeles County, have their own health departments, and Pasadena said earlier this week it won't enforce the new law. That would be just fine for many actors and directors, who say they don't really want to leave their home base. "People forget that porn people are people too," said Kylie Ireland, a veteran actress and director who has appeared in such films as "Being Porn Again" and "Calipornication." "They forget that we have families and we are married and we have kids and we have lives and jobs and hobbies just like everybody else." | |
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| 11-11-12 07:20pm - 4424 days | #947 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I saw Daniel Craig on a late night talk show, promoting the new James Bond movie. He said that he's already signed a contract to do 2 more James Bond movies. Sometimes actors sign contracts to do movies, and then don't appear in a movie, for many different reasons. But as things stand now, with the massive financial success of this latest Bond movie, it seems like a sure bet Daniel Crag will be in the next two James Bond movies. | |
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| 11-11-12 05:26pm - 4424 days | #533 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
The PU link for rylskyart does not work. Rylsky is a frequent contributor to MetArt. So you would find a lot of his photosets at MetArt. I don't know if it is part of the MetArt stable. Could be a separate site entirely, like Skokoff. | |
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| 11-11-12 03:34pm - 4425 days | #944 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I thought Sean Connery was the best Bond because he defined masculine cool for his time period. Like I already wrote: "He had it all: suave, sophisticated, amusing (with his double entendres), virile - all he had to do was look at the best-looking women and they jumped into his bed). Connery was like a sophisticated cave-man, who would be politically incorrect in the modern world. He didn't hesitate to kill evil men, he didn't hesitate to bed gorgeous women, and he enjoyed drinking." Lazenby's problem was that he replaced Sean Connery. So he was constantly compared to Connery, and Lazenby was found wanting. Maybe, if he had continued in the role in future movies, he might have gained some respect or a following. But he did only one Bond film, and then was in a bunch of low-budget movies for the rest of his career. | |
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| 11-11-12 09:17am - 4425 days | #940 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Reading these posts, it's easy to see how far personal tastes vary. One person says George Lazenby was the best Bond, another person says Lazenby was the worst Bond. I personally thought Lazenby was probably the worst Bond. My vote for best Bond goes to Sean Connery. He had it all: suave, sophisticated, amusing (with his double entendres), virile - all he had to do was look at the best-looking women and they jumped into his bed). Connery was like a sophisticated cave-man, who would be politically incorrect in the modern world. He didn't hesitate to kill evil men, he didn't hesitate to bed gorgeous women, and he enjoyed drinking. | |
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| 11-10-12 07:37am - 4426 days | #936 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
As River got older, she became more conservative, which happens to many of us. So she not only joins the Alliance, but she actually becomes its leader. With the reluctant help of the Serenity crew, as well as help from the Operative, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. After all, who could in the universe could stand against River and the Operative? They are like super Jedi (without the lightsabers). | |
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| 11-10-12 05:37am - 4426 days | #9 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
In parts of the UK, is it required to get the prostitute to sign a form saying the sex is consensual, and without the use of force? >>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<< From Wikipedia: In England and Wales and in Northern Ireland it is an offence to pay for sex with a prostitute who has been “subjected to force” and this is a strict liability offence (clients can be prosecuted even if they didn’t know the prostitute was forced). | |
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| 11-09-12 06:53pm - 4426 days | #934 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
'Firefly' marks milestone in Science TV special By LYNN ELBER | Associated Press – 6 hrs ago LOS ANGELES (AP) — The "Firefly" saga consists of 14 TV episodes, one big-screen movie and the undiminished passion of the space Western's fans, stars and producers. To mark the 10th anniversary of the Fox show's abbreviated 2002-03 run, the Science Channel is airing the hourlong "Firefly 10th Anniversary: Browncoats Unite" at 10 p.m. EST Sunday. The special will be preceded by a marathon showing of all the "Firefly" episodes starting at 7 a.m. EST. For "Firefly" devotees, only one word can describe the prospect of seeing star Nathan Fillion, other cast members and creator Joss Whedon talk about making and missing their baby: "shiny," which is "Firefly"-speak for cool or good. Fillion, who came down to Earth successfully in ABC's detective series "Castle," is happy to wallow in nostalgia and fan fervor. This summer, he took part in a packed San Diego Comic-Con tribute to "Firefly." "The sheer volume of people is just the first part of it," Fillion said recently of the event. "Then you have to get down to how excited these people are. It's incredible energy. It's a very visceral feeling." "The way I see it is there are people who love 'Firefly' as much as I do. 'Firefly' has a very special meaning to me, so I share in that excitement. It's easy for me to understand it," the 41-year-old actor said. The series, a 26th-century adventure leavened with droll humor, followed the misfit crew of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity. (The 2005 movie that rose, improbably, from the ashes of the low-rated "Firefly" was titled "Serenity." Comic books are among the other spinoffs.) The ship's captain, Fillion's dashing but discontented Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, fought with the losing, good-guy Browncoats in a civil war and now lives and works on the fringes of a repressive society. For Fillion, the drama was the start of a leading-man career that he makes plain he owes to Whedon, whose cult-inducing credits range from online sensation "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" to TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" to blockbuster "The Avengers." Fillion savored the experience. "I remember the first time I put on my costume, walked onto the ship for the first day of work ... and the director of photography, David Boyd, saw me and hollered out, 'Captain on deck!' and everyone stopped and clapped." "That's a moment I'll never forget," the Canadian-born actor said. Add the chance to be a classic Western hero and he was in heaven. "Nothing makes you feel tougher than putting a gun on your hip in the desert and getting on the back of an animal and riding. There's something very manly about that," he said. Fillion shares this tidbit: No matter what planet he ended up on while in the saddle, he always rode the same horse, Fred. The special includes clips from the drama, a round-table conversation with cast members including Fillion, Jewel Staite (who played Kaylee), Sean Maher (Simon) and Summer Glau (River), along with snippets from the Comic-Con panel headed by Whedon. "I just wanted to make something that felt real, like a piece of history," Whedon told the convention. "I wanted to tell an American immigrant story. I wanted to tell a Western story. But I need spaceships or I get cranky." The writer-director-producer grew emotional, telling the crowd at one point that "the story is alive" because of them. The enduring popularity of a show that couldn't get ratings traction in its first time around is something Fillion has pondered. "There's certainly more fans now than there's ever been. It's interesting that the show, being this brief moment in time, it didn't have an opportunity to suck, to get bad," he said. "So it's this wonderful contained unit of what I like to think of as quality storytelling." The show has left its mark on a new and unsuspecting generation. "'Firefly' fans are out there and they're breeding," Fillion said. "I'll be scanning Twitter and someone will show a baby and say, 'This is Kaylee.' "So I'm going to be out one day and someone will walk up and say, 'I am Kaylee.'" Shiny! ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — Lynn Elber is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. She can be reached at lelber(at)ap.org. | |
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| 11-09-12 06:20pm - 4426 days | #4 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
The topic of requiring male porn actors to wear condoms has been addressed in the past on different threads. How much the passage of this requirement will have on filming in Southern California is anybody's guess. Some people have suggested that some filming might move out of area. | |
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| 11-09-12 09:51am - 4427 days | #932 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
This is surprising news. Mark Wahlberg will star in the next Transformers movie. What happened to Shia LaBeouf? When you have a franchise that's doing so well financially, making ba-zillions of dollars, you don't expect the main star to be replaced. Main stars do get replaced, but it only happens rarely (except for James Bond, because that series has lasted so many years). So what happened to Shia LaBeouf? Did he walk away because he was tired of the role? And give up all that money? >>>>>>>> <<<<<<<< Mark Wahlberg to star in next 'Transformers' movie Associated Press – 13 hrs ago LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark Wahlberg, roll out. "Transformers" director Michael Bay says the 41-year-old actor will star in the franchise's fourth film. Bay called Wahlberg the "perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers' legacy" in a post on his blog Thursday. He previously squashed rumors that Wahlberg was joining the film franchise about warring robots. Bay worked with Wahlberg on his upcoming film, "Pain and Gain." "Transformers 4" is scheduled to be released by Paramount Pictures on June 27, 2014. Bay has said the next film will take a new direction in the series. The first three movies starred Shia LaBeouf and featured Peter Cullen as the voice of Autobot general Optimus Prime. The third "Transformers" film, "Dark of the Moon," was the second highest-grossing film of 2011. =========== Nov 8 2012 08:37 PM ET 'Transformers 4' gets a new logo -- and Mark Wahlberg by Anthony Breznican Hey, Optimus Prime — say hello to your motherboard for me. Michael Bay has officially confirmed that the star of Transformers 4 will be Mark Wahlberg, who worked with the director on his upcoming crime tale Pain and Gain. The Transformers sequel, planned to debut June 27, 2014, also has a sleek new logo based on the Decepticon insignia. “Mark is awesome. We had a blast working on Pain and Gain and I’m so fired up to be back working with him. An actor of his caliber is the perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers’ legacy,” said Bay. Last week, the director denied rumors that he was looking to have Wahlberg take over the blockbuster robot franchise from Shia Labeouf, and said he was considering him for another film — not in the Transformers franchise. Then he followed up on his website, saying … maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea after all: “Let’s say some ideas are gaining traction with me and my writer – so I’m here to say thanks internet chatter.” | |
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| 11-08-12 04:41pm - 4427 days | #928 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Finally, the movie we've all been waiting for: Jurassic Park (1993) 3D is coming April 2013. Maybe 20 years from 2013 they will issue a newer version with 20-track sound, and interactive video/touch/smell/all senses zoom-fields. Let the cash registers ring! | |
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| 11-07-12 12:38pm - 4429 days | #18 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
gogaww (0) posting spam on the threads. Khan deletes messages? And this post, as well, if gogaww messages deleted. What is best way to report spam, anyway? | |
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| 11-07-12 07:28am - 4429 days | #82 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I never heard of the "chicken tax". But then again, I'm politically illiterate. >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Chicken tax U.S. intensive chicken farming led to the 1961–1964 "Chicken War" with Europe. The chicken tax was a 25% tariff on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks imposed in 1963 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson as a response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken.[1] The period from 1961–1964[2] of tensions and negotiations surrounding the issue, which took place at the height of Cold War politics, was known as the "Chicken War".[3] Eventually, the tariffs on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy were lifted,[4] but over the next 48 years the light truck tax ossified, remaining in place to protect U.S. domestic automakers from foreign light truck production (e.g., from Japan and Thailand).[5] Though concern remains about its repeal,[6][7] a 2003 Cato Institute study called the tariff "a policy in search of a rationale."[4] As an unintended consequence, several importers of light trucks have circumvented the tariff via loopholes—including Ford (ostensibly a company the tax was designed to protect), which currently imports the Transit Connect light trucks as "passenger vehicles" to the U.S. from Turkey, and immediately strips and shreds portions of their interiors in a warehouse outside Baltimore.[1] | |
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| 11-06-12 10:45am - 4430 days | #76 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Going by memory (which is not reliable, anymore), gas prices normally drop as the presidential election comes up. I'm pretty sure about that. Especially since gas prices rose above $2/gallon, which happened a while back. | |
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| 11-05-12 03:00pm - 4431 days | #68 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
When I started driving, back in the 1960s, gas was $0.29/gallon. They had gas wars back then, and occasionally the price of gas would drop to 19 cents a gallon. The major gas stations would hand out freebies to their customers, just like the savings and loans would hand out toasters, even TV sets, to lure in large deposits. | |
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| 11-05-12 08:56am - 4431 days | #66 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Years ago diesel was much cheaper than regular gas. Today, diesel costs more than gas. I wonder why the prices reversed. Also, I've always thought that if you drive a diesel car, it's much harder to find places that sell diesel. Whereas gas stations are everywhere. | |
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| 11-01-12 03:10pm - 4435 days | #43 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I just got a new super phone. I don't know how to use it yet. But lots of people seem to like playing games with their phones, taking photos, texting. All I want to do, at first, is learn how to use it to make phone calls, and receive phone calls. Then I can learn to go on the internet and do whatever. But watching a movie on a tiny screen doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. I don't mind watching a movie on a TV screen, or a computer monitor. But not on the tiny screen of an android phone. | |
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| 10-31-12 08:46am - 4436 days | #923 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
When two businesses combine, it's like a wedding or honeymoon. Everyone is expected to say wonderful things about their future partner. Lucas is getting a nice chunk of Disney stock. So as an individual shareholder, he is one of their biggest (Apple's Steve Jobs had an even bigger chunk of Disney). Even if Lucas gets little say in how Disney, or the movie division, or the Star Wars and Raiders franchises are exploited, Disney executives will be saying nice things about one of their biggest shareholders for the forsee-able future. | |
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| 10-31-12 06:56am - 4436 days | #29 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Glad to know you're safe and well, graymane. Any other PU members in Sandy's path doing OK? | |
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| 10-30-12 05:23pm - 4436 days | #921 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Disney to the rescue. Disney splurges billions to buy Stars Wars, vowing to produce even better movies in the future. Go, Disney! ================================== ================================== Disney to make new 'Star Wars' films, buy Lucas co By RYAN NAKASHIMA | Associated Press – 1 hr 29 mins ago LOS ANGELES (AP) — A decade since George Lucas said "Star Wars" was finished on the big screen, a new trilogy under new ownership is destined for theaters after The Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that it was buying Lucasfilm Ltd. from him for $4.05 billion. The seventh movie, with a working title of "Episode 7," is set for release in 2015. Episodes 8 and 9 will follow. The trilogy will continue the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia beyond "Return of the Jedi," the third film released and the sixth in the saga. After that, Disney plans a new "Star Wars" movie every two or three years. Lucas will serve as creative consultant in the new movies. "I'm doing this so that the films will have a longer life," Lucas, the 68-year-old creator of the series and sole owner of Lucasfilm, said in an interview posted on YouTube. "I get to be a fan now ... I sort of look forward to it. It's a lot more fun actually, than actually having to go out into the mud and snow." Disney CEO Bob Iger said Lucasfilm had already developed an extensive story line on the next trilogy, and Episode 7 was now in early-stage development. He said he talked with Lucas about buying the company from him a year and a half ago, but they didn't decide on a deal until very recently as Lucas set in motion his retirement. "The last 'Star Wars' movie release was 2005's 'Revenge of the Sith' — and we believe there's substantial pent-up demand," Iger said. The blockbuster deal announced Tuesday will see Disney pay half the acquisition price in cash and half in newly issued stock. The company expects it to add to earnings in 2015. Along with the cash, Lucas will end up owning about 40 million Disney shares, which is about a 2.2 percent stake of the 1.83 billion shares that will be in circulation when the transaction closes. The deal includes Lucasfilm's prized high-tech production companies, Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, as well as rights to the "Indiana Jones" franchise. Lucas was hailed as a cinematic visionary when the original "Star Wars" came out in 1977. But he had become an object of often-vicious ridicule by the time he released 3-D versions of all six films in the Star Wars franchise earlier this year. Die-hard Star War fans had been vilifying Lucas for years, convinced that he had become a commercial sell-out and had compounded his sins by desecrating the heroic tale that he originally sought to tell. They railed against him for adding grating characters such as Jar Jar Binks in the second trilogy and attacked him for tinkering with the original trilogy, too. Any revision in special edition or home video releases — such as making the Ewoks blink or having a green-skinned alien named Greedo take the first shot at Han Solo in a famous bar scene — were treated as blasphemy. The criticism grated on Lucas, who vowed never to make another Star Wars movie. "Why would I make any more when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?" Lucas told The New York Times earlier this year. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," the fourth film in another lucrative franchise, subjected Lucas to even more barbs when it came to the big screen in 2008. Fans of those films were especially outraged about an opening scene that featured Indiana Jones crawling into a lead-lined refrigerator to survive a nuclear bomb blasting. Lucas was fed up by the time he released "Red Tails," a movie depicting the valor of African-American pilots during World War II, earlier this year. He told the Times he was ready to retire from the business of making blockbusters and return to his roots as a student at USC's film school, where he once made a movie about clouds moving in a desert. Kathleen Kennedy, the current co-chairman of Lucasfilm, will become the division's president and report to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. She will serve as executive producer for the new movies. Directors for the new movies have not yet been announced. In the YouTube video, Lucas said the decision to continue with the saga wasn't inconsistent with past statements. "I always said I wasn't going to do any more and that's true, because I'm not going to do any more, but that doesn't mean I'm unwilling to turn it over to Kathy to do more," Lucas said. He said he has given Kennedy his story lines and other ideas, "and I have complete confidence that she's going to take them and make great movies." Kennedy added that she and Lucas had discussed ideas with a couple of writers about the future movies and said Lucas would continue to have a key advisory role. "My Yoda has to be there," she said. The deal brings Lucasfilm under the Disney banner with other brands including Pixar, Marvel, ESPN and ABC, all companies that Disney has acquired over the years. A former weatherman who rose through the ranks of ABC, Iger has orchestrated some of the company's biggest acquisitions, including the $7.4 billion purchase of animated movie studio Pixar in 2006 and the $4.2 billion acquisition of comic book giant Marvel in 2009. Coincidentally, Lucas owned the startup that later became Pixar, before he sold it to Apple's Steve Jobs in 1986 for about $5 million. When Jobs sold Pixar to Disney, he became Disney's largest single shareholder with a 7.7 percent stake. Those shares are now held in a trust. Disney shares were not trading with stock markets closed due to the impact of Superstorm Sandy in New York. They closed on Friday at $50.08. ___ AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this story. | |
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| 10-28-12 05:48pm - 4438 days | #5 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I prefer photos to video. But the last couple of years I have been finding more videos that I do like (not more than photos, but just videos that I can enjoy). Sites like X-Art and the Diesel sites have erotic videos that are high quality in technical terms (high definition, good lighting, good colors, good focus, etc.) I am saying good focus, apart from the "artsy" blurry spots that X-Art thinks add dramatic value to the videos, that I wish they would cut out completely. Teen Mega World has a lot of videos that I also like. The videos aren't quite as good as the X-Art or Diesel videos, but they have tons of good looking models doing softcore and hardcore action. Actually, some of the Teen Mega World videos have been turning up at the Diesel sites, and at other sites. But those same videos are usually presented in higher definition, with better lighting and colors. | |
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| 10-28-12 05:35pm - 4438 days | #22 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
It's not that nasty. More like softcore porn, with BDSM. And the storyline is interesting. So not like the hardcore BDSM that became available in the 1990s and later. | |
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| 10-26-12 04:21pm - 4441 days | #15 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
You can get a new paperback edition of "The Story of O" from Amazon for $10 or less, including shipping. I don't know about a Kindle version. But I liked the movie version better than the novel version. The ending of the movie version was more upbeat than the novel. And the heroine (or the main female character, if you don't consider her a heroine), was much stronger or less self-destructive, in the movie than in the novel. | |
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| 10-26-12 11:21am - 4441 days | #13 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Maybe 80% of the value of watching a movie is the visuals, crystal clear or exciting images or whatever. Maybe 20% (or less) is the soundtrack, which can add to the movie through the music, and the sounds of what the visuals are showing. Watching a blurry, dark mess of The Story of 0 would be a major disappointment, or a waste of time. The visuals (and the story, to a lesser degree) are what you are enjoying. But a dark messy visual movie is just a waste of time. Especially with a movie like The Story of O. | |
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| 10-26-12 07:31am - 4441 days | #7 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I don't know how the DVDs (The Story of O) were made, what the source material for the DVDs was. But these were not bootleg DVDs. I am pretty sure I bought them on Amazon. But every so often, when you read the Amazon consumer reviews of different movies, the people talk about the poor quality (visual, sometimes sound as well) of some movies. So yes, I would think that the DVDs I bought could have been copied from VHS tape instead of from an original 35mm print. But I doubt that any high quality copies of the original 35mm prints still exist. Otherwise, I would think, they would have made a commercial DVD that would be selling on Amazon or some other site. But then again, there can be questions of legal ownership of these old movies, that interfere with newer DVD copies being released. But that's a separate issue. Because I bought my 2 different versions/copies from Amazon, which does not sell bootleg copies of movies. | |
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| 10-25-12 06:38pm - 4441 days | #4 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I saw The Story of O in the movies when it came out in the 1970s. I bought 2 different versions/copies of the movie on DVD, and neither version came anywhere close to the clarity of the original film that I saw. My guess is that even when a porn film became famous or made a lot of money, nobody thought to preserve pristine copies of the original movie, because nobody was thinking that VHS or DVD copies would be invented and make those original master-films worth a lot of money. Edited on Oct 25, 2012, 06:44pm | |
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| 10-23-12 03:11pm - 4444 days | #918 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Marvel Paid Robert Downey Jr. a Fortune as Iron Man in The Avengers May 16, 2012 The Avengers has already crossed the $1 billion mark at the box office and is forcing its way up the top ten highest grossing movies of all-time. Obviously Marvel and Disney are making astronomical profits from the film with many more millions to come, but what about the film's stars? Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson are reported to have made anywhere between $2 million and $6 million for their work in The Avengers, plus small bonuses. Robert Downey Jr., however, made more. A lot more. Marvel has a history for being especially tight with the wallet when it comes to paying the stars of feature films based on Marvel Comics properties. Terence Howard, who co-starred in Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr., was the highest paid actor in that film despite bigger names such as Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow and, of course, Downey Jr. He ultimately was not brought back for Iron Man 2 due to that contract, and the learning experience from it has reverberated down through the ranks. Rumors also swirled around the Internet regarding Samuel L. Jackson's difficult negotiations with Marvel regarding his paycheck for every appearance as Nick Fury, no matter its size or importance. At one time it looked as if Jackson might not sign with Marvel after his Iron Man cameo, but thankfully that was worked out. It also took Mickey Rourke several months of negotiations before he landed a deal to appear in Iron Man 2. When Iron Man became a box office sensation in 2008 because of Robert Downey Jr. and not its highest paid actor Terence Howard, Downey Jr.'s agent and lawyers renegotiated a deal with Marvel that would pay him a set fee for every appearance as Tony Stark or Iron Man, plus a percentage of Marvel's movie revenue. One source at The Hollywood Reporter claims that percentage is between 5 and 7 percent, while another one refutes those numbers. Performing a little simple math, Robert Downey Jr. is in line to earn upward of $50 million or more for his work in The Avengers, or about 10 times more than his superhero co-stars. Another huge payday awaits with the release of Marvel's Iron Man 3 next May. Source: THR | |
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| 10-23-12 03:09pm - 4444 days | #8 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Instead of buying a bunch of expensive cars, I'll probably buy a mansion and stock it with models from MetArt. That seems a smarter thing to do. And more useful. That way, I won't have to go to the gym for my exercise. | |
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| 10-21-12 02:40pm - 4446 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Important message: Need help picking up my $2.5 million USD ATM Master Card that is being sent to me by the FedEx Company of Nigeria. Unfortunately, I am desperately trying to update my porn collection at the moment, and don't have time to run out to Nigeria to pick up my $2.5 million ATM Master Card. Will any of my fellow PU members help me out in this, by dropping by their local Nigerian FedEx office and picking up my $2.5 million ATM Master Card for me? I would be willing to pay, let's say, $10.00 US, for the inconvenience, possibly, once I have cashed my $2.5 million card and verified the funds are good. In God we trust. lk2fireone ===================== ===================== FedEx Nigeria Head Office FROM: FedEx Nigeria Head Office Sunday, October 21, 2012 7:25 AM FedEx Nigeria Head Office 70 International Airport Road Mafoluku, Lagos. Tel: +234-8024500491 Customers Service Hours--Monday to Saturday: Office Hours Monday to Sunday: This is FedEx Company of Nigeria, the management of this company, Wishes to inform you that, we received a parcel containing an ATM Master Card Valued $2.5million USD with some vital documents attached on it, for safety delivery to Your residential address in your country This parcel was brought to us this morning by the ATM Card payment office Nigeria, with the below information’s, please reconfirm the below information, to avoid Delivery your ATM Master Card to wrong hand Full names............ Parcel owner address...... Tel........... We will register your package and send you the tracking numbers before we proceed for safety delivery of your package as soon as you reconfirm the required information’s for safety delivery. FedEx is one of the world's great success stories, the start-up that Revolutionized the delivery of packages and information, In the past 30 years, we've grown up and grown into a diverse family of companies as FedEx that's bigger, stronger, better than ever. Waiting to read your e-mail (deliveryfedexdispatch@yahoo.dk) Yours affectionately Mr.Mike Okoh.Dispatch Manager FedEx Courier For the Ikeja branch manager FedEx express services Lagos -Nigeria | |
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| 10-20-12 06:06pm - 4446 days | #6 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Very nice index site, pat. Gives you bio information about the model, which the indexxx site does not. Edited on Oct 20, 2012, 06:11pm | |
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| 10-20-12 03:16pm - 4447 days | #4 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I think that index site is very useful. It's easy to use, gives you sites where the model is featured, and the model's content at those sites, along with the name used for the model at that site. So it's handy if you want to search for content for a particular model. Less useful, would be if you want to do a general search for models that you might find attractive. But generally speaking, I've posted very few links at PU to model indexes, or even to model pages featuring any direct photosets or videos. Because way back when, I tried to post a link to a model asking about information about her (where I might find more content with her), and the link was dis-allowed. Since then, the policy at PU has become more liberal. But I generally avoid posting links to direct content, anyway. | |
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| 10-20-12 01:13pm - 4447 days | #915 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
You're right, Smokin' Aces was in the style of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. I don't appreciate everything Guy Richie does, but Snatch (with Jason Statham again, and Brad Pitt) was very good. One point: if you highly anticipate a movie, it's hard to be surprised on the upside. Much better to keep your expectations low. Just a psychological thing, at least for me. Maybe it's a mind games thing. But I only find a few really enjoyable movies in any one year (I'm talking about new movies. There are plenty of great older movies that I can watch, and watch again.). | |
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| 10-20-12 12:29pm - 4447 days | #913 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
I thought Crank was great fun. Lots of action, humor, plus Amy Smart, plus interesting and crazy characters. But Crank 2 was disappointing. First, I had a hard time swallowing that Jason Statham, who died at the end of Crank 1, was still alive (or came back to life?) in Crank 2. At the end of Crank 1, Jason Statham fell from a helicopter that was way up in the sky, Statham bounces off a car and lands on concrete. There's no way anyone is going to walk or crawl after getting smashed like that. His bones would have been smashed. His skull would have been smashed. He would have been dead, dead, and completely dead. But this is the movies. And then Crank 2 tries to outdo Crank 1, which is also impossible. Crank 1 was the original, it had everything. They should have left it at that. Without a sequel. I'm sure they had a great time making Crank 2, trying to top the original. But for me, at least, Crank 2 was a mistake. If you enjoyed Crank, you would probably enjoy Smokin' Aces, which came out around the same time. Smokin' Aces has a good story, lots of good actors, plot twists, action, humor, interesting characters, good dialogue, just a well-written and well-acted crime movie. Crank and Smokin' Aces were two of my favorite movies from that year. Highly enjoyable. | |
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| 10-20-12 01:45am - 4447 days | #911 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
There was a movie, called Gamer, starring Gerard Butler that came out in 2009. The movie was about convicts forced to battle to the death, who were controlled by players like in a video game. The movie didn't do that well at the box office. The script for that movie sounds a lot like what PinkPanther is describing. | |
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| 10-19-12 03:37pm - 4448 days | #908 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Interesting wedding fact (not a movie, but could be the basis for a movie): India's Nawab of Junagadh held a royal wedding in 1922. The princely ruler hosted a lavish ceremony with thousands of guests to celebrate the wedding of his pet dog Roshanara to a golden retriever named Bobby. The bride was carried on a silver palanquin (a covered sedan chair), while the groom wore a gold necklace and silk cummerbund. It was a pompous affair. Fifty thousand guests were invited, including the Viceroy of India, Lord Irwin, who declined the invitation. An overwhelming sum at the time, of Rs. 22,000, was spent on the wedding, straining the state coffers. The bride, Bobby, shampooed, perfumed, adorned by jewelry and dressed in intricately designed brocade, was brought in a silver palanquin to the Durbar Hall, where the wedding was to take place. The groom, Roshanara, wearing gold bracelets and a necklace, was received at the railway station by 250 of his kin dressed in brocade, a military band and a guard of honour. The Nawab of Junagadh, Muhammad Mahabat Khan III, has been documented to be an exceptional animal-lover. | |
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| 10-19-12 06:21am - 4448 days | #903 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
The event of the century, that will live forever, is coming this November 16: Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2. Bella attacks the evil vampires. See this on the big screen, in moving pictures with colors and actions that will shock you to the core! Bella is married (did that happen in Part 1, I haven't been following the story that closely?). Now she has her baby. And the evil vampires are coming to do something terrible, which is why Bella, her vampire friends, her werewolf friends, and other assorted good vampires, are banding together to fight the Volturi, who are the largest and most powerful coven of vampires. The Volturi enforce the laws of the vampire world. But even Vampire cops can make mistakes. Just like human cops. Which is why Bella and her friends must fight the Volturi, because Bella is gorgeous (I personally think Kristen Stewart is slightly pretty, not gorgeous, but true Twi-hards think she is royally gorgeous). And Bella is kind. And Bella is fighting to protect her daughter and her family. Can we make November 16 a PU day to remember, where we join with Twi-hard fans everywhere to celebrate this joyous occasion (where Bella will emerge triumphant, with her vampire husband, vampire child, vampire friends, werewolf friends, and other good people, in defending their right to survive?). Onward, ever onward, we shout! (Thanks to Wiki, for the background on the Volturi vampires.) | |
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| 10-18-12 05:54pm - 4448 days | #900 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Grace Kelly was a major star, appearing in movies with the leading men of her time: Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, James Stewart, William Holden, Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, etc. And she won major awards, including the Academy Award. But her family, especially her father, was not impressed by her career. In Wikipedia, it states: her father viewed acting as "a slim cut above streetwalker". And Grace Kelly was a woman who, by most accounts, desperately wanted her father's approval. Again, from Wikipedia: "Kelly and her family had to provide Prince Rainier with a dowry of 2 million USD in order for the marriage to go ahead." In the US, it's not that common that the bride's family has to provide a dowry. But that was Prince Rainer's demand/condition for the marriage. Grace Kelly's father was a wealthy businessman. But he was also a staunch Catholic, and Prince Rainer was Catholic as well. In those days, and maybe even today-but less so-religion can be a force in determining who you will marry. Grace Kelly and Gary Cooper were supposed to have had an affair during the filming of High Noon. Gary Cooper was (semi-)famous for having had affairs with most of his female costars. The same was true of Grace Kelly, except her affairs were with the male costars. That was not public knowledge, but supposedly well known in the industry. Edited on Oct 18, 2012, 06:41pm | |
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| 10-18-12 04:51am - 4449 days | #896 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Emanuelle was one of the first porn movies I saw in a movie theater. Today it would be considered softcore or maybe midcore. But it had a strong plot/story, and it was photographed in a very professional style. One of the best softcore porn movies from the 1970s, along with The Story of O. ==================== ==================== 'Emmanuelle' star Sylvia Kristel dies at age 60 By MIKE CORDER | Associated Press – 16 mins ago THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Actress Sylvia Kristel, the Dutch star of the hit 1970s erotic movie "Emmanuelle," has died of cancer at age 60. Her agent, Features Creative Management, said in a statement Thursday that Kristel died in her sleep Wednesday night. Kristel, a model who turned to acting in the 1970s, had been fighting cancer for several years. Her breakthrough came in "Emmanuelle," a 1974 erotic tale directed by Frenchman Just Jaeckin, about the sexual adventures of a man and his beautiful young wife, played by Kristel, in Thailand. She went on to star in several sequels to "Emmanuelle," as well as in Hollywood movies including "Private Lessons" in 1981. In Hollywood, she sank into a world of drink and drugs. "I wish I could have skipped that part of my life, she said in a 2005 interview with Dutch newspaper De Volkkrant. Her agent described her as one of the Netherlands' biggest movie stars, with more than 50 international films to her name. Among them were many erotically tinted films, including a 1981 adaptation — also directed by Jaeckin — of D.H. Lawrence's novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover" and "Mata Hari," four years later. She was honored in 2006 with a special jury prize at the Tribeca Film Festival for a short animated film she directed called "Topor et Moi." Kristel told De Volkskrant, "love dictated what I did," saying her former partner, Belgian author Hugo Claus, persuaded her to star in "Emmanuelle." "He said, 'Thailand, that's nice, we've never been there and anyway the film will never come out in the Netherlands so you won't put your mother to shame,'" Kristel said. "In the end, 350 million people saw it worldwide." Jaeckin, the director who is also a sculptor and has a gallery in Paris, said by telephone that he and Kristel maintained contact, calling each other every three to four months. But he said he hadn't spoken with her since February. "I am very sad ... She was like a little sister," Jaeckin said. "We started together ... 'Emmanuelle' brought us big problems. We were a bit marked," he said. "It was a highly contested film then and now it is a cult film." He said that he knew immediately that Kristel was destined for the leading role. "When I saw her face, I was thunderstruck," he said. In an interview with the French Le Nouvel Observateur magazine, which has an online edition, Jaeckin explained that he went to the Netherlands to cast the role and, "I saw a quantity of very beautiful girls." Then by chance he saw Kristel, who worked at the agency and was not in the casting call, and immediately knew ,"This is Emmanuelle." Kristel is survived by her partner Peter Brul and a son with Claus, Arthur Kristel. She is to be buried at a private funeral. Further details were not released. ____ | |
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| 10-18-12 03:46am - 4449 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Royal wedding gives Luxembourg turn in spotlight By DON MELVIN | Associated Press – 2 hrs 6 mins ago LUXEMBOURG (AP) — The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg doesn't get a lot of turns in the spotlight. It's an independent country tinier than Rhode Island, the smallest U.S. state, and it would fit inside Germany, its neighbor to the east, 138 times with room to spare. It won no medals at the 2012 London Olympics — in fact it hasn't won a medal at the summer Games since 1952. But this week is Luxembourg's turn to shine. Prince Guillaume, the heir to the throne — the grand duke-to-be — will marry Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy. It will be a two-day affair, including fireworks, concerts, a gala dinner at the grand ducal palace, and two marriages between the betrothed — a civil wedding Friday afternoon and a religious ceremony Saturday morning. A glittering array of European royalty has been invited. The guest list for the religious ceremony includes kings, queens, princes and princesses from European countries including, among others, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Lichtenstein, Denmark, the Netherlands, Romania and Britain, which is sending Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth's youngest child, and his wife, Sophie. Non-European royalty plan to attend, as well, from Morocco, Japan and Jordan and elsewhere. With all those royals coming to Luxembourg, can international attention be far behind? "It's good for Luxembourg," said Nadine Chenet, a 46-year-old street cleaner who was picking up cigarette butts with pincers in front of the grand ducal palace. "Many people will come now." Besides, she just plain likes the royal family, she said: They give a good impression of the country. That's a sentiment common in Luxembourg. To all appearances, the bride and groom are a lovely couple. He is 30, with dark hair and an immaculate beard. She is 28, blonde and smiling. In public appearances, including at the London Olympics, they have appeared besotted with each other. According to biographies distributed by the royal court, each has an array of interests befitting those who are to the manner born. Guillaume speaks four languages, has studied international politics, is a lieutenant colonel in the Luxembourg army (a force of 900 soldiers), and has been engaged in humanitarian work in other countries, including Nepal. The duchess-to-be has studied the influence of German romanticism on Russian romanticism, plays piano and violin, swims, skis, and says she reads three books at a time. In the language department, she already speaks French and German — two of Luxembourg's three official languages — and, perhaps more importantly, is studying the third, which is called Luxembourgish. She plans to renounce her Belgian citizenship in order to become, eventually, Luxembourg's grand duchess. Luxembourg is a linguistically complicated country, a reflection of its complicated past. It began as a Roman fortress. It has, at one time or another, fallen under the control of Spain, France and Austria. In 1839, it gained its independence from the Netherlands, but lost more than half its territory to Belgium, which now has a province of the same name. In the 20th century, Germany swept through Luxembourg twice despite its protestations of neutrality. Luxembourgish is related to German, but it is primarily a spoken language. In the country's schools, elementary students take all their classes in German. When students reach their teens, gradually all classes are converted to French. And English is studied the entire time. But the language dearest to their hearts is Luxembourgish. As 71-year-old retired engineer Rene Ries — a typical Luxembourger, with a French first name and a German last name — said, Luxembourgish is generally spoken in the home. When there is a complaint, the police file their reports in German. Then the lawyers litigate the case in French. Asked in which language he felt most comfortable, Ries replied without hesitation that it was Luxembourgish. But he admitted he had trouble writing it. Under duress, he could write his daughter a postcard, he said, but the language is most commonly spoken, not written. Luxembourg, an important financial center and home to the world's largest steel manufacturer, continues to prosper despite Europe's economic trouble. The country has the second-highest gross domestic product per capita in the world, more than $80,000 — though its population of about 510,000 people is still smarting from having lost the No. 1 spot to Qatar. The capital city has 80,000 inhabitants and 120,000 jobs. For that reason, more than 43 percent of the people in Luxembourg are foreign nationals, compared to a European Union average of 6.4 percent. When he greets people in the public square, Ries speaks not German, not French, not English, but Luxembourgish. It is not to shame the others. It is to show he is a genuine Luxembourger. Natives of the Grand Duchy, heavily influenced by Catholicism, are very proper and can be dour. "When we say, 'It's not too bad,'" Ries said, "we mean it's good." But above all, they are proud. Proud of their multilingualism. Proud of their grand duchy. And proud of their royal family. The current grand duke, Henri, who is 57, is popular. People can greet him on the street without bowing down before him. His 31-year marriage to Grand Duchess Charlotte appears to be very happy. Showcasing the royal family, as the country will do this week, allows Luxembourg to put its best foot forward. For, as Ries emphasized more than once, the Luxembourgish royals — in contrast to some others — do not sunbathe topless. And for him, that is a source of pride, one he is happy to share with the rest of the world. "It is a good family," he said. ___ Don Melvin can be reached at —http://twitter.com/Don_Melvin. | |
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| 10-17-12 07:44am - 4450 days | #893 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, Janet Leigh, Tippi Hedren, etc. were lovely blondes who starred in Alfred Hitckcock movies. Kim Novak was probably the most obviously sexual of that group. But Grace Kelly was drop-dead gorgeous. I remember reading that when she did High Noon (the western with Gary Cooper), the director (or cinematographer?) spent so much time photographing her, because she was so goddamn lovely, that they had to edit part of the movie. | |
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| 10-16-12 02:25am - 4451 days | #885 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
You can't keep a good man down. Not even if he's dead. Agent Coulson is alive and well. Fighting the good fight against evil doers. I'm not sure if he is a zombie, a clone, or just what-the-heck the explanation is for his re-appearance after death. But we, and all true fans of the Avengers, will be cheering wildly when we see his handsome face again! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Agent Coulson Lives! Clark Gregg is set to star in ‘Avengers’ TV spinoff By Meriah Doty Movie Talk – 15 hours ago To the extreme delight of hard core fans who have been campaigning to bring Agent Coulson back to life, they have indeed succeeded. In spite of his character dying in this summer's megahit "The Avengers," Clark Gregg will reprise his role as Agent Phil Coulson in Joss Whedon's new "S.H.I.E.L.D." television pilot, which is being positioned to air on ABC next fall, 2013. And Gregg -- who recently spoke with Yahoo! Movies about his character's death -- couldn't be happier: "I almost can't speak right now," he told Marvel.com over the weekend at New York Comic-Con as he was visibly brimming with excitement. Gregg, 50, has played Agent Coulson in a number of recent Marvel movies, and fans were pretty shocked when his character was killed by the evil Loki on the big screen this summer. Gregg seemed equally shocked to learn he would be getting another chance to play Coulson, tweeting over the weekend that he's only known about it for a week and confirming with an @-reply to a fan that he is, indeed, feeling "pretty f***ing good right now." Joss Whedon himself broke the news over the weekend during a NYCC panel: "There was never going to be a 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' show without Agent Phil Coulson!... He's headlining the 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' show and always was." Though it is not yet clear how Coulson will be made alive again. Will the TV version be an Avengers prequel? Will we learn that Coulson somehow cheated death? Or will he simply rise from the grave in some reanimated form? Whedon added, "We all love Clark Gregg, there's no doubt about that... From before we made 'The Avengers,' we discussed whether there was a way for him to be a part of the Marvel Universe, perhaps a part of a TV show, even after his death." Marvel Studios Kevin Feige was with Whedon as he made the announcement via video at the NYCC Marvel TV panel. Gregg is also appearing in Whedon's upcoming version of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." | |
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| 10-15-12 07:30pm - 4451 days | #8 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
fap must refer to an overly enthusiastic amateur, or someone who puts a lot of effort into his enjoyment. I prefer the silent kind, myself. But a few moans and groans at the finish is acceptable. | |
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| 10-15-12 04:20pm - 4452 days | #3 | |
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lk2fireone (0)
Active User Posts: 3,618 Registered: Nov 14, '08 Location: CA |
So what is reddit? Some kind of blog? I've just read part of your reddit post. Interesting read. I wish that reddit had a simpler way of distinguishing between your posts and the questions and answers to your posts. AMAA and fap and other acronyms, you have to be a blogger or something to understand all that internet lingo. Lol. | |
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