You are exactly right. And in addition to that, the stakes are so fricking high in every movie that everything becomes meaningless. If they're not working to save the entire earth, they are working to save the universe.

I remember watching that 'Captain Phillips' movie with Tom Hanks and thinking 'Wow, that was pretty intense,' and then thinking 'Wow, that was all about saving one dude. What a concept.'

The Sioux debate has gone on for decades. The NCAA declared it derogatory around 5 or 6 years ago. After much fuss and many lawsuits, the 'Sioux' name was officially retired two or three years ago. UND is currently without a mascot.

As I noted, my timeline is approximate at best... but you get the idea.

10 years ago my son was two. All diapers and chasing kids around... no time for anything. When he was about six I showed up with a PS2 and a copy of lego star wars 'for the family'. Not to mention an undisclosed Star Wars Battlefront game for me (though he and I were playing two player on it before long. I told my wife 'they guys in the white are robots, so it's OK. He's not shooting people' ).

Now he's got an xbox and I play it when he's gone or in bed. I grab a used game for $10 every now and then and get obsessed with it for awhile. I find it's a good way to unwind without killing brain/liver cells.

My daughter was asking about the signature machines years ago. As an example I drew a whale for my signature. She was amazed and asked me do signature-draw stuff on other occasions. Years later, it has evolved into me asking "Whale or ice cream cone?" anytime I buy something with her.

Amen, and I'll do you one better ... former Playmates who now hock e-cigarettes. Seems like she must have my best interests at heart!

You beat me to it. That's 'forced' just poked me in the eye when I read the summary.

Yep -- had a 'born again' high-school classmate who posted that on facebook, saying something to the effect of "If this isn't proof, I don't know what is."

I try to stay out of religious conversations on FB, but I did feel the need to post "1. That's Photoshopped. 2. It's not showing what you think it is showing. 3. you may want to research the inspiration for that photo, though I take no responsibility for what you find."

"What is 'The wrong gameshow host'".

  -- correct --

"Thanks Pat. I'll take Minor mistakes that get trolled on slashdot for $300."

I'm usually an Ed Norton fan, but nothing was lost IMHO.

No, you're one of the lucky ones. Vaccination actually CAUSES bear maulings. I have a list of everyone who has been mauled by a bear in the last 20 years. ALL OF THEM HAD BEEN VACCINATED. What more do you need, people?

*Of course I jest. But would love to actually have this list and the corresponding vaccination data.

I've had to reboot the f*cking thing because it occasionally locks up. No thank you, smart t.v. Please remain a dumb box in which I plug in other poorly designed crap.

Exactly. Worst case scenario -- it's still effed up after you tried to fix it. Nothing is lost, and you more than likely learned something.

Only problem is the filter eventually wears off.

My mom wanted to get into their Morningstar account and didn't have the password. I called and explained the situation -- basically that her husband was deceased and she needed the password, and I said I'd call on her behalf. What steps do I need to take to get it? The rest of the conversation:

Operator: "What's the username he has the account under?"
Me: "Uh, billsmith2222 is the username."
Operator: "OK, let's see... looks like the password is Sarajane. The 'S' is uppercase."
Me: -- Stunned silence --- "Thanks?"

I was glad it went so quick, as I had expected to have to send a death cert and jump through god knows what other hoops, but it freaked me out how casually they gave it to me. I mean, I didn't do anything to verify that I was even any relation to the account. All I had was the username. Obviously someone was new, disgruntled, or just plain stupid, but it worked in my favor for once.