Not my first Christmas Day in the sun but my first down with the 15%.
Merry Christmas to all on PB, whether regular daily bores like me or the occasional lurker who pops in with an insightful reference.
Thanks in particular to @TSE and @rcs1000 who keep this place teetering on the right side of civility and absurdity (most of the time).
Whatever your plans for tomorrow (or today or even yesterday if you’re from the future), I hope they come to fruition without excessive stress or anguish and whatever repast you have planned goes well and you leave space for both the crossword and Boxing Day racing form study.
I’ve been on here a fair while, seen them come, seen them go, endured the multiple manifestations, damascene conversions and flounces.
There are only two rules in this place:
1) Your first post is your best and the quality declines as the quantity increases.
2) If you post between 8am and 4pm (whether GMT, BST or your local time zone is immaterial) you are sad. If you post between 4pm and midnight you are mad and if you post between midnight and 8am you are bad.
Our daughter is trying to explain why the killer of Luigi Mangione should be released. Really not getting it to be honest but it’s clearly a generational thing and there is a huge anger amongst the young generation, especially after Trump’s win.
Mangione was the killer of the insurance ceo. Has he himself been killed?
Yes you’re right I have got that the wrong way around. But I hope you got the point.
The 0.1% need to sober up a bit and realise why Luigi is the new pin-up.
Maybe ripping off customers isn't very good business.
No Yorkshire puddings are not acceptable with Christmas dinner unless having beef.
Turkey or Goose should have stuffing not Yorkshires. Otherwise have a good Christmas PBers
OMG. I agree with HY!
Nope, turkey should have stuffing, sausages in bacon , chippoloates, loads of veg and Yorkshires if you want them. It’s a feast for goodness sake. Indulge. And have a great Christmas. Everyone.
Vicarage rules here- don't do anything to ambitious on Christmas Day itself, the household clergy will be simultaneously too tired and hyped to enjoy it. (Honestly, it's as bad as having infants around.)
So the sweet potato soup is blobbling in the slow cooker, the beef and gammon are cooling so they can go in the fridge, the bread maker needs a bit of human intervention in about fifteen minutes. Then the proper feast on Boxing Day.
But for now, all is quiet and there is a selection of cheeses to introduce myself to.
Not my first Christmas Day in the sun but my first down with the 15%.
Merry Christmas to all on PB, whether regular daily bores like me or the occasional lurker who pops in with an insightful reference.
Thanks in particular to @TSE and @rcs1000 who keep this place teetering on the right side of civility and absurdity (most of the time).
Whatever your plans for tomorrow (or today or even yesterday if you’re from the future), I hope they come to fruition without excessive stress or anguish and whatever repast you have planned goes well and you leave space for both the crossword and Boxing Day racing form study.
I’ve been on here a fair while, seen them come, seen them go, endured the multiple manifestations, damascene conversions and flounces.
There are only two rules in this place:
1) Your first post is your best and the quality declines as the quantity increases.
2) If you post between 8am and 4pm (whether GMT, BST or your local time zone is immaterial) you are sad. If you post between 4pm and midnight you are mad and if you post between midnight and 8am you are bad.
What is the ‘Dangerous to Know’ slot?
It's the HY slot. Have you never seen the seminal TV series The Knights of God?
I'm not doing anything in particular tomorrow but there are a whole lot of films on the telly box which needs watching.
I saw I Used to be Funny on the plane back from NY this week and it was excellent. I note that It's a Wonderful Life is on a terrestrial channel which definitely needs watching again.
Don't get the joy of It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe I'm just a miserable scrote. Merry Christmas fellow miserable scrotes.
I think its quality (apart from the immaculate acting) lies in the bleakness leavening the vision of a golden America. Ironically I’m pretty sure lots of those voting for Trump yearned for a return to Bedford Falls while Pottersville is entirely Trumpian.
Yes! There's an awful lot going on in It's a Wonderful Life, it's a remarkably good film. You have the Christmas Carol like device of George seeing visions of an alternative world - although he is a Bob Cratchet figure while Potter is Scrooge (and unrepentant to the end). You have a deep dive into both the positives and the negatives of small town life, similar to Sinclair Lewis's best work. You have perhaps the best depiction of a bank run and financial panic in a Hollywood film. You have a stunning character study of George Bailey, and the bitterness and frustration underlying his happy family life. And of course you have a real questioning of the American dream - is it real, who is it open to, and does it rest on capitalism or an idea of citizenship and belonging? Certainly my favourite Christmas film, and one of my favourite films.
What kind of monster doesn't think Yorkshire puddings are an acceptable part of a roast dinner?
I don't eat them myself normally due to my diet but I always make them for the family and would eat them if it weren't for my diet (which I suspend for Christmas Day).
We're hosting Christmas this year and I've volunteered to do the cooking myself, besides my wife's signature Devilled Eggs and Mustard Sauce which she made tonight. I might have gone a bit overboard in what we're preparing.
- Italian antipasti: burrata, salamis, cooked ham, Parma ham, sun dried tomatoes & artichokes in oil - rib of beef with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, mash, caramelised carrots, spinach, pigs in blankets (have never had or cooked these before) & Yorkshire puddings - cheeseboard with grapes & fig & apricot chutney - apple crumble and ice cream
Then later - tea/coffee + Panettone for anyone still able to swallow
It looks like a huge effort but, cunningly, the 1st, 3rd & last courses need next to no effort and even the main one and pudding largely involve switching an oven on and putting food in it.
Pigs in blankets with rib of beef?!
Truly, civilisation is nearing its end.
Who says?
Butcher makes them. His meat is excellent and I thought I'd try something new.
Definitely time to disestablish the Church of England.
Church’s gay marriage opponents could get their own archbishop
Conservative groups warn that a ‘de facto parallel province’ may have to be established within the Church of England
The Church of England could be forced to create a new archbishop to cater to conservatives if efforts to prevent a split over the blessing of same-sex partnerships fails.
The Rev Canon John Dunnett, director of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), an influential conservative group, is among those calling for a “de facto parallel province” to be created within the church, grouping together parishes that oppose last year’s move to allow priests to bless the unions of gay couples.
If it were legally enshrined as an official province, it “would have to have an archbishop” to oversee it, Dunnett said.
This would be in addition to the archbishoprics of Canterbury and York, whose provinces cover southern and northern England.
Divisions over gay rights extend to the highest levels of the church. Twelve dissenting bishops went public last year to declare they were “unable to support the collective decision” made by the House of Bishops to approve blessing gay couples who are married or are in civil partnerships.
The CEEC forms part of a conservative umbrella group called the Alliance, which counts 2,000 priests as supporters.
The Alliance has issued a warning that if there is “further departure from the church’s doctrine” on sex and marriage, they “will have no choice but rapidly to establish what would in effect be a new de facto ‘parallel province’ within the Church of England”, which would require “oversight from bishops who remain faithful to orthodox teaching on marriage and sexuality”.
No, if anything that would be a concession to conservative evangelicals and Anglo Catholics given the large concession the established church has already voted for them to make by allowing prayers for same sex couples married in English law in C of E churches. Though no sign of the Bishops or Synod agreeing to such a third province at present. Note no such province was created for conservative Anglo Catholics who opposed women priests and bishops when Synod voted for them too and a number crossed the Tiber to Rome as a result (though flying suffragen bishops were created for parishes which did not want a woman priest or bishop).
Though note that final quote from the Alliance if 'further departure' ie same sex marriage in C of E churches which there is no sign of there being anywhere near a majority on Synod for given it would for most of them be such a departure from what the Bible and Jesus teach on marriage
With all these to-ings and fro-ings I'm increasingly glad I'm no longer describing myself as CofE.
Well the only Christian denominations which allow same sex marriages in England their churches and places of worship are the Methodists and Quakers and both are in steep decline.
For the truth is if you are so vehement a supporter of same sex marriages you want even churches to have to do them you are likely to secular and irreligious anyway.
The fastest growing churches in the UK by contrast are Orthodox, Baptist and Pentecostal, none of which offer even the prayers for same sex couples the C of E now does in services let alone same sex marriages
Unitarian chapels also host weddings between same-sex couples.
But I guess you don't consider Unitarianism to be a branch of Christianity.
And Unitarians are in even steeper decline than the Methodists with less than 200 Unitarian churches now left in England
So religions that embrace bigotry are on the rise. Those that are inclusive are in decline. Sad.
Well same sex marriage supporters in the UK could start attending churches which do same sex marriages like the Methodists and Unitarians if they want to change that. Rather than telling churches to perform same sex marriages while never having any intention of attending any of their services even if they do
yes the Church is not there to perform every whim for people . Marriage was promoted through time to provide stability for bringing up of children and making the father responsible for it . It is not really a platform for expressing undying love per se like some emotional reality tv show
It would have been much wiser to stick at 'civil partnerships' for same sex relationships in the civil law. It is entirely rational to accept same sex relationships from a religious point of view, but also believe that they are something other than marriage.
The new Archbishop's province could be called the province of Bigots. They could cover the churches that don't like women priests as well.
Does any of it matter?
If you don’t like the club rules, don’t join the club.
Very good point. It amazes me how eg gay couples want to be a part of the CoE when it is so obvious that the CoE has nothing but disdain for them.
Depends what you mean by the CoE. I have recently attended two services presided over by a gay vicar, both packed out by the way. The idea that CoE people disdain him is simply untrue, and his attenders are as much CoE as anyone else. But some people think they don't matter because they are just ordinary CoE people and not intellectuals, or leaders, or powerful.
The institution of the Church discriminates against gay people, the presence of the odd gay person here and there notwithstanding. Canon law refuses to recognise gay marriage. Because of chapters of the bible that I'm sure you can quote at me.
It is institutionally prejudiced.
You say it's only the leaders, but they are the leaders. Of the Church of England.
Of the state sect, which is the official sect of a state that promotes gay marriage.
It's as if half the priests of the Roman Imperial Cult [edit] claimed that they didn't need to worship Juno because reasons.
If it was just a ceremonial arm of the state it would be called the Ceremonial Order of England NOT the Church of England.
The state doesn't actively promote gay marriage either, it has just legalised it. Adultery is legal too in the UK, it doesn't mean the C of E should actively promote and remarry adulterers in its churches, even the King couldn't get a C of E wedding with Camilla, just a blessing service much like PLF
That's really scraping the barrel from someone whose party used to go on and on and on and on about the importance of marriage. But maybe you're too young to remember Back to Basics and the assorted illegitimate sprogs which came out from the undergrowth in that particular campaign.
Seeing as the church of england has been covering up homosexual and heterosexual child abuse for decades if not centuries...anyone telling us about the morality of the CofE can frankly go fuck themselves
You seem to have something of an obsession with child abuse. You appeared yesterday evening to talk about it. I know all conversational tastes are catered for here but if you have problems you want to get off your chest there are several help lines available......
- Italian antipasti: burrata, salamis, cooked ham, Parma ham, sun dried tomatoes & artichokes in oil - rib of beef with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, mash, caramelised carrots, spinach, pigs in blankets (have never had or cooked these before) & Yorkshire puddings - cheeseboard with grapes & fig & apricot chutney - apple crumble and ice cream
Then later - tea/coffee + Panettone for anyone still able to swallow
It looks like a huge effort but, cunningly, the 1st, 3rd & last courses need next to no effort and even the main one and pudding largely involve switching an oven on and putting food in it.
Pigs in blankets with rib of beef?!
Truly, civilisation is nearing its end.
Who says?
Butcher makes them. His meat is excellent and I thought I'd try something new.
Anyway merry Xmas to one and all.
Merry Christmas. You join my Grandmother as one of only two people I've ever seen stick christmas cards in the branches of the tree.
I'm not doing anything in particular tomorrow but there are a whole lot of films on the telly box which needs watching.
I saw I Used to be Funny on the plane back from NY this week and it was excellent. I note that It's a Wonderful Life is on a terrestrial channel which definitely needs watching again.
Don't get the joy of It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe I'm just a miserable scrote. Merry Christmas fellow miserable scrotes.
I'd give it a miss and watch Brief Encounter, Where You're Meant To Be or as a fallback Scrooged instead.
I'm not doing anything in particular tomorrow but there are a whole lot of films on the telly box which needs watching.
I saw I Used to be Funny on the plane back from NY this week and it was excellent. I note that It's a Wonderful Life is on a terrestrial channel which definitely needs watching again.
Don't get the joy of It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe I'm just a miserable scrote. Merry Christmas fellow miserable scrotes.
I think its quality (apart from the immaculate acting) lies in the bleakness leavening the vision of a golden America. Ironically I’m pretty sure lots of those voting for Trump yearned for a return to Bedford Falls while Pottersville is entirely Trumpian.
Yes! There's an awful lot going on in It's a Wonderful Life, it's a remarkably good film. You have the Christmas Carol like device of George seeing visions of an alternative world - although he is a Bob Cratchet figure while Potter is Scrooge (and unrepentant to the end). You have a deep dive into both the positives and the negatives of small town life, similar to Sinclair Lewis's best work. You have perhaps the best depiction of a bank run and financial panic in a Hollywood film. You have a stunning character study of George Bailey, and the bitterness and frustration underlying his happy family life. And of course you have a real questioning of the American dream - is it real, who is it open to, and does it rest on capitalism or an idea of citizenship and belonging? Certainly my favourite Christmas film, and one of my favourite films.
It's a brilliant film, though with a very dark heart, about frustration, envy and being trapped into a life that wasn't wanted, even if it was an appreciated life.
The irony is that the only person who really understood George Bailey was Potter, which shows in the office scene where Potter tries to entice Bailey into working for him.
- Italian antipasti: burrata, salamis, cooked ham, Parma ham, sun dried tomatoes & artichokes in oil - rib of beef with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, mash, caramelised carrots, spinach, pigs in blankets (have never had or cooked these before) & Yorkshire puddings - cheeseboard with grapes & fig & apricot chutney - apple crumble and ice cream
Then later - tea/coffee + Panettone for anyone still able to swallow
It looks like a huge effort but, cunningly, the 1st, 3rd & last courses need next to no effort and even the main one and pudding largely involve switching an oven on and putting food in it.
Delish!
My day will be along the lines of :
- Oatcakes with pate and cheese
- Caviar with some crackers
- Slow cooked lamb shank hotpot with braised/pickled red cabbage
(The caviar is my true one outrageous treat of the year)
What kind of monster doesn't think Yorkshire puddings are an acceptable part of a roast dinner?
I don't eat them myself normally due to my diet but I always make them for the family and would eat them if it weren't for my diet (which I suspend for Christmas Day).
We're hosting Christmas this year and I've volunteered to do the cooking myself, besides my wife's signature Devilled Eggs and Mustard Sauce which she made tonight. I might have gone a bit overboard in what we're preparing.
It's a shame mustard oil is still so troublesome to get here. Outside of the 50/50 mix with Rapeseed oil version that tries to keep the colour, if not the flavour.
Definitely time to disestablish the Church of England.
Church’s gay marriage opponents could get their own archbishop
Conservative groups warn that a ‘de facto parallel province’ may have to be established within the Church of England
The Church of England could be forced to create a new archbishop to cater to conservatives if efforts to prevent a split over the blessing of same-sex partnerships fails.
The Rev Canon John Dunnett, director of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), an influential conservative group, is among those calling for a “de facto parallel province” to be created within the church, grouping together parishes that oppose last year’s move to allow priests to bless the unions of gay couples.
If it were legally enshrined as an official province, it “would have to have an archbishop” to oversee it, Dunnett said.
This would be in addition to the archbishoprics of Canterbury and York, whose provinces cover southern and northern England.
Divisions over gay rights extend to the highest levels of the church. Twelve dissenting bishops went public last year to declare they were “unable to support the collective decision” made by the House of Bishops to approve blessing gay couples who are married or are in civil partnerships.
The CEEC forms part of a conservative umbrella group called the Alliance, which counts 2,000 priests as supporters.
The Alliance has issued a warning that if there is “further departure from the church’s doctrine” on sex and marriage, they “will have no choice but rapidly to establish what would in effect be a new de facto ‘parallel province’ within the Church of England”, which would require “oversight from bishops who remain faithful to orthodox teaching on marriage and sexuality”.
No, if anything that would be a concession to conservative evangelicals and Anglo Catholics given the large concession the established church has already voted for them to make by allowing prayers for same sex couples married in English law in C of E churches. Though no sign of the Bishops or Synod agreeing to such a third province at present. Note no such province was created for conservative Anglo Catholics who opposed women priests and bishops when Synod voted for them too and a number crossed the Tiber to Rome as a result (though flying suffragen bishops were created for parishes which did not want a woman priest or bishop).
Though note that final quote from the Alliance if 'further departure' ie same sex marriage in C of E churches which there is no sign of there being anywhere near a majority on Synod for given it would for most of them be such a departure from what the Bible and Jesus teach on marriage
With all these to-ings and fro-ings I'm increasingly glad I'm no longer describing myself as CofE.
Well the only Christian denominations which allow same sex marriages in England their churches and places of worship are the Methodists and Quakers and both are in steep decline.
For the truth is if you are so vehement a supporter of same sex marriages you want even churches to have to do them you are likely to secular and irreligious anyway.
The fastest growing churches in the UK by contrast are Orthodox, Baptist and Pentecostal, none of which offer even the prayers for same sex couples the C of E now does in services let alone same sex marriages
Unitarian chapels also host weddings between same-sex couples.
But I guess you don't consider Unitarianism to be a branch of Christianity.
And Unitarians are in even steeper decline than the Methodists with less than 200 Unitarian churches now left in England
So religions that embrace bigotry are on the rise. Those that are inclusive are in decline. Sad.
Well same sex marriage supporters in the UK could start attending churches which do same sex marriages like the Methodists and Unitarians if they want to change that. Rather than telling churches to perform same sex marriages while never having any intention of attending any of their services even if they do
yes the Church is not there to perform every whim for people . Marriage was promoted through time to provide stability for bringing up of children and making the father responsible for it . It is not really a platform for expressing undying love per se like some emotional reality tv show
It would have been much wiser to stick at 'civil partnerships' for same sex relationships in the civil law. It is entirely rational to accept same sex relationships from a religious point of view, but also believe that they are something other than marriage.
The new Archbishop's province could be called the province of Bigots. They could cover the churches that don't like women priests as well.
Does any of it matter?
If you don’t like the club rules, don’t join the club.
Very good point. It amazes me how eg gay couples want to be a part of the CoE when it is so obvious that the CoE has nothing but disdain for them.
Depends what you mean by the CoE. I have recently attended two services presided over by a gay vicar, both packed out by the way. The idea that CoE people disdain him is simply untrue, and his attenders are as much CoE as anyone else. But some people think they don't matter because they are just ordinary CoE people and not intellectuals, or leaders, or powerful.
The institution of the Church discriminates against gay people, the presence of the odd gay person here and there notwithstanding. Canon law refuses to recognise gay marriage. Because of chapters of the bible that I'm sure you can quote at me.
It is institutionally prejudiced.
You say it's only the leaders, but they are the leaders. Of the Church of England.
Of the state sect, which is the official sect of a state that promotes gay marriage.
It's as if half the priests of the Roman Imperial Cult [edit] claimed that they didn't need to worship Juno because reasons.
If it was just a ceremonial arm of the state it would be called the Ceremonial Order of England NOT the Church of England.
The state doesn't actively promote gay marriage either, it has just legalised it. Adultery is legal too in the UK, it doesn't mean the C of E should actively promote and remarry adulterers in its churches, even the King couldn't get a C of E wedding with Camilla, just a blessing service much like PLF
That's really scraping the barrel from someone whose party used to go on and on and on and on about the importance of marriage. But maybe you're too young to remember Back to Basics and the assorted illegitimate sprogs which came out from the undergrowth in that particular campaign.
Seeing as the church of england has been covering up homosexual and heterosexual child abuse for decades if not centuries...anyone telling us about the morality of the CofE can frankly go fuck themselves
You seem to have something of an obsession with child abuse. You appeared yesterday evening to talk about it. I know all conversational tastes are catered for here but if you have problems you want to get off your chest there are several help lines available......
I didn't appear to talk about it, it was just pointing out your hypocrisy for condoning it after you called out someone for something far less serious after your support of polanski....sorry I don't like hypocrites and in this was also calling out the hypocrisy of a poster holding up the CoE as a bastion of morality when they covered it up
I'm not doing anything in particular tomorrow but there are a whole lot of films on the telly box which needs watching.
I saw I Used to be Funny on the plane back from NY this week and it was excellent. I note that It's a Wonderful Life is on a terrestrial channel which definitely needs watching again.
Don't get the joy of It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe I'm just a miserable scrote. Merry Christmas fellow miserable scrotes.
I think its quality (apart from the immaculate acting) lies in the bleakness leavening the vision of a golden America. Ironically I’m pretty sure lots of those voting for Trump yearned for a return to Bedford Falls while Pottersville is entirely Trumpian.
Yes! There's an awful lot going on in It's a Wonderful Life, it's a remarkably good film. You have the Christmas Carol like device of George seeing visions of an alternative world - although he is a Bob Cratchet figure while Potter is Scrooge (and unrepentant to the end). You have a deep dive into both the positives and the negatives of small town life, similar to Sinclair Lewis's best work. You have perhaps the best depiction of a bank run and financial panic in a Hollywood film. You have a stunning character study of George Bailey, and the bitterness and frustration underlying his happy family life. And of course you have a real questioning of the American dream - is it real, who is it open to, and does it rest on capitalism or an idea of citizenship and belonging? Certainly my favourite Christmas film, and one of my favourite films.
It's a brilliant film, though with a very dark heart, about frustration, envy and being trapped into a life that wasn't wanted, even if it was an appreciated life.
The irony is that the only person who really understood George Bailey was Potter, which shows in the office scene where Potter tries to entice Bailey into working for him.
Patterson looks a fun place for a night out too.
Spot on, Foxy. The only thing you and LivingBoy omit is the genius of Jimmy Stewart.
Who would have guessed IRL he was a rock ribbed Republican ?
Not my first Christmas Day in the sun but my first down with the 15%.
Merry Christmas to all on PB, whether regular daily bores like me or the occasional lurker who pops in with an insightful reference.
Thanks in particular to @TSE and @rcs1000 who keep this place teetering on the right side of civility and absurdity (most of the time).
Whatever your plans for tomorrow (or today or even yesterday if you’re from the future), I hope they come to fruition without excessive stress or anguish and whatever repast you have planned goes well and you leave space for both the crossword and Boxing Day racing form study.
I’ve been on here a fair while, seen them come, seen them go, endured the multiple manifestations, damascene conversions and flounces.
There are only two rules in this place:
1) Your first post is your best and the quality declines as the quantity increases.
2) If you post between 8am and 4pm (whether GMT, BST or your local time zone is immaterial) you are sad. If you post between 4pm and midnight you are mad and if you post between midnight and 8am you are bad.
You may know our eldest emigrated to NZ in 2003 and was then caught up in the terrible Christchurch earthquake in 2011, which eventually lost him his job , his relationship, and PTSD from attending ground zero where so many lives were lost
He is now happily married to a Canadian living in Vancouver and of course we visited him several times at this time of year
If you don't mind me asking, are you visiting family or holidaying or on business?
A quick response as I am helping the mother-in-law with the lunch cooking - roast beef with yorkshires made using the batter recipe from her 1951 edition of the Good Housekeeping Guide (my mum had one as well) and various roast veggies including kumara as you might expect.
The fun has been making the Pavlova from scratch - there cannot be a trace of egg yolk, just the whites.
Mrs Stodge hasn’t had Christmas with her mum for many years and the last time she was here was when her father died during the pandemic. He died on December 17th and she had to spend Christmas in isolation in Christchurch which was really difficult for her.
Once I retired, we were always going to come to NZ and coming out for Christmas was what she wanted.
Best wishes to you and your family wherever they may be.
I'm not doing anything in particular tomorrow but there are a whole lot of films on the telly box which needs watching.
I saw I Used to be Funny on the plane back from NY this week and it was excellent. I note that It's a Wonderful Life is on a terrestrial channel which definitely needs watching again.
Don't get the joy of It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe I'm just a miserable scrote. Merry Christmas fellow miserable scrotes.
I think its quality (apart from the immaculate acting) lies in the bleakness leavening the vision of a golden America. Ironically I’m pretty sure lots of those voting for Trump yearned for a return to Bedford Falls while Pottersville is entirely Trumpian.
Yes! There's an awful lot going on in It's a Wonderful Life, it's a remarkably good film. You have the Christmas Carol like device of George seeing visions of an alternative world - although he is a Bob Cratchet figure while Potter is Scrooge (and unrepentant to the end). You have a deep dive into both the positives and the negatives of small town life, similar to Sinclair Lewis's best work. You have perhaps the best depiction of a bank run and financial panic in a Hollywood film. You have a stunning character study of George Bailey, and the bitterness and frustration underlying his happy family life. And of course you have a real questioning of the American dream - is it real, who is it open to, and does it rest on capitalism or an idea of citizenship and belonging? Certainly my favourite Christmas film, and one of my favourite films.
It's a brilliant film, though with a very dark heart, about frustration, envy and being trapped into a life that wasn't wanted, even if it was an appreciated life.
The irony is that the only person who really understood George Bailey was Potter, which shows in the office scene where Potter tries to entice Bailey into working for him.
Patterson looks a fun place for a night out too.
Spot on, Foxy. The only thing you and LivingBoy omit is the genius of Jimmy Stewart.
Who would have guessed IRL he was a rock ribbed Republican ?
He and Henry Fonda apparently got into a fistfight over politics in the early days, and swore off ever discussing political topics with one another - the friendship then continued for more than fifty years.
What kind of monster doesn't think Yorkshire puddings are an acceptable part of a roast dinner?
I don't eat them myself normally due to my diet but I always make them for the family and would eat them if it weren't for my diet (which I suspend for Christmas Day).
We're hosting Christmas this year and I've volunteered to do the cooking myself, besides my wife's signature Devilled Eggs and Mustard Sauce which she made tonight. I might have gone a bit overboard in what we're preparing.
I'm not doing anything in particular tomorrow but there are a whole lot of films on the telly box which needs watching.
I saw I Used to be Funny on the plane back from NY this week and it was excellent. I note that It's a Wonderful Life is on a terrestrial channel which definitely needs watching again.
Don't get the joy of It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe I'm just a miserable scrote. Merry Christmas fellow miserable scrotes.
I think its quality (apart from the immaculate acting) lies in the bleakness leavening the vision of a golden America. Ironically I’m pretty sure lots of those voting for Trump yearned for a return to Bedford Falls while Pottersville is entirely Trumpian.
Yes! There's an awful lot going on in It's a Wonderful Life, it's a remarkably good film. You have the Christmas Carol like device of George seeing visions of an alternative world - although he is a Bob Cratchet figure while Potter is Scrooge (and unrepentant to the end). You have a deep dive into both the positives and the negatives of small town life, similar to Sinclair Lewis's best work. You have perhaps the best depiction of a bank run and financial panic in a Hollywood film. You have a stunning character study of George Bailey, and the bitterness and frustration underlying his happy family life. And of course you have a real questioning of the American dream - is it real, who is it open to, and does it rest on capitalism or an idea of citizenship and belonging? Certainly my favourite Christmas film, and one of my favourite films.
It's a brilliant film, though with a very dark heart, about frustration, envy and being trapped into a life that wasn't wanted, even if it was an appreciated life.
The irony is that the only person who really understood George Bailey was Potter, which shows in the office scene where Potter tries to entice Bailey into working for him.
Patterson looks a fun place for a night out too.
Spot on, Foxy. The only thing you and LivingBoy omit is the genius of Jimmy Stewart.
Who would have guessed IRL he was a rock ribbed Republican ?
Yes, but back when Republicans weren't completely bonkers.
It's a very conservative film, full of homespun family and small town values. It's about subsuming personal dreams in favour of contributing to society.
I'm not doing anything in particular tomorrow but there are a whole lot of films on the telly box which needs watching.
I saw I Used to be Funny on the plane back from NY this week and it was excellent. I note that It's a Wonderful Life is on a terrestrial channel which definitely needs watching again.
Don't get the joy of It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe I'm just a miserable scrote. Merry Christmas fellow miserable scrotes.
I think its quality (apart from the immaculate acting) lies in the bleakness leavening the vision of a golden America. Ironically I’m pretty sure lots of those voting for Trump yearned for a return to Bedford Falls while Pottersville is entirely Trumpian.
Yes! There's an awful lot going on in It's a Wonderful Life, it's a remarkably good film. You have the Christmas Carol like device of George seeing visions of an alternative world - although he is a Bob Cratchet figure while Potter is Scrooge (and unrepentant to the end). You have a deep dive into both the positives and the negatives of small town life, similar to Sinclair Lewis's best work. You have perhaps the best depiction of a bank run and financial panic in a Hollywood film. You have a stunning character study of George Bailey, and the bitterness and frustration underlying his happy family life. And of course you have a real questioning of the American dream - is it real, who is it open to, and does it rest on capitalism or an idea of citizenship and belonging? Certainly my favourite Christmas film, and one of my favourite films.
It's a brilliant film, though with a very dark heart, about frustration, envy and being trapped into a life that wasn't wanted, even if it was an appreciated life.
The irony is that the only person who really understood George Bailey was Potter, which shows in the office scene where Potter tries to entice Bailey into working for him.
Patterson looks a fun place for a night out too.
Spot on, Foxy. The only thing you and LivingBoy omit is the genius of Jimmy Stewart.
Who would have guessed IRL he was a rock ribbed Republican ?
Merry Christmas everyone! Been on a downer with humanity lately. And the most simple, inexpensive Christmas gift has broken my logjam of misery, and washed me with a dam burst of joy and positivity. The Perfection of Giving is the first of the six perfections. I seriously envy those who have that skill. I don't.
Merry Christmas everyone! Been on a downer with humanity lately. And the most simple, inexpensive Christmas gift has broken my logjam of misery, and washed me with a dam burst of joy and positivity. The Perfection of Giving is the first of the six perfections. I seriously envy those who have that skill. I don't.
I've got better at it since someone explained to me you can buy presents for birthdays and Christmas at any time - when you think of or come across something suitable - and just stick them in the cupboard.
Merry Christmas everyone! Been on a downer with humanity lately. And the most simple, inexpensive Christmas gift has broken my logjam of misery, and washed me with a dam burst of joy and positivity. The Perfection of Giving is the first of the six perfections. I seriously envy those who have that skill. I don't.
I put money in a birthday card. I put money in a Christmas card. I give everybody two cards on the day the family get together for Xmas. There are a lot of them (over 20) so this is a bit of an effort.
What kind of monster doesn't think Yorkshire puddings are an acceptable part of a roast dinner?
I don't eat them myself normally due to my diet but I always make them for the family and would eat them if it weren't for my diet (which I suspend for Christmas Day).
We're hosting Christmas this year and I've volunteered to do the cooking myself, besides my wife's signature Devilled Eggs and Mustard Sauce which she made tonight. I might have gone a bit overboard in what we're preparing.
Merry Christmas all! (In particular @viewcode who appears to be gamely manning the place by himself.) Wife is full of a cold so, with the spare bed full of my parents, I have wirhdrawn to my daughter's vacant bed to allow her to cough freely. (Daughter is having the traditional Christmas Eve sleepover in her sister's room.) However I am now wide awake. Wondering how early it's acceptable to get Christmas Day underway?
Merry Christmas all! (In particular @viewcode who appears to be gamely manning the place by himself.) Wife is full of a cold so, with the spare bed full of my parents, I have wirhdrawn to my daughter's vacant bed to allow her to cough freely. (Daughter is having the traditional Christmas Eve sleepover in her sister's room.) However I am now wide awake. Wondering how early it's acceptable to get Christmas Day underway?
Merry Christmas ! You could always sneak downstairs and start peeling the potatoes and such ... ?
Similarly insomniac, I'm going to try for another couple of hours sleep. Have to remember to get the goose out of the fridge early to bring it to room temp for cooking.
Merry Christmas everyone! Been on a downer with humanity lately. And the most simple, inexpensive Christmas gift has broken my logjam of misery, and washed me with a dam burst of joy and positivity. The Perfection of Giving is the first of the six perfections. I seriously envy those who have that skill. I don't.
I put money in a birthday card. I put money in a Christmas card. I give everybody two cards on the day the family get together for Xmas. There are a lot of them (over 20) so this is a bit of an effort.
Merry Christmas everyone! Been on a downer with humanity lately. And the most simple, inexpensive Christmas gift has broken my logjam of misery, and washed me with a dam burst of joy and positivity. The Perfection of Giving is the first of the six perfections. I seriously envy those who have that skill. I don't.
I put money in a birthday card. I put money in a Christmas card. I give everybody two cards on the day the family get together for Xmas. There are a lot of them (over 20) so this is a bit of an effort.
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Maybe ripping off customers isn't very good business.
And have a great Christmas. Everyone.
So the sweet potato soup is blobbling in the slow cooker, the beef and gammon are cooling so they can go in the fridge, the bread maker needs a bit of human intervention in about fifteen minutes. Then the proper feast on Boxing Day.
But for now, all is quiet and there is a selection of cheeses to introduce myself to.
Have a very lovely Christmas, everyone.
Why is no one talking about the genocide of this migrant population under Joe Biden’s watch ?
https://x.com/Thorongil16/status/1871685176990036190
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv8dIU0_4Yg - B.Fleischman '24:12'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFQs1WEvgrI - K.D.Lang 'Calling All Angels'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyzPBQZLvyM - Joe Gideon and the Shark 'Kathy Ray'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90tADjAN3Nk - Joe Gideon and the Shark 'Anything You Love That Much You Will See Again'
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/podcasts/the-decibel/article-whats-next-for-trudeau-and-the-liberals-after-a-chaotic-2024/
Butcher makes them. His meat is excellent and I thought I'd try something new.
Anyway merry Xmas to one and all.
Mix of bleak and redemption is where it's at.
Kidding. An NT property (I forget where) I dropped by a few weeks ago.
The irony is that the only person who really understood George Bailey was Potter, which shows in the office scene where Potter tries to entice Bailey into working for him.
Patterson looks a fun place for a night out too.
My day will be along the lines of :
- Oatcakes with pate and cheese
- Caviar with some crackers
- Slow cooked lamb shank hotpot with braised/pickled red cabbage
(The caviar is my true one outrageous treat of the year)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cards_on_the_Table
The only thing you and LivingBoy omit is the genius of Jimmy Stewart.
Who would have guessed IRL he was a rock ribbed Republican ?
The fun has been making the Pavlova from scratch - there cannot be a trace of egg yolk, just the whites.
Mrs Stodge hasn’t had Christmas with her mum for many years and the last time she was here was when her father died during the pandemic. He died on December 17th and she had to spend Christmas in isolation in Christchurch which was really difficult for her.
Once I retired, we were always going to come to NZ and coming out for Christmas was what she wanted.
Best wishes to you and your family wherever they may be.
However - Heggs.
(We need to rescue dropped aitches.)
And a Happy Hanukkah to all of those who celebrate that holiday today.
May the new year bring a little more peace to the world. (We can use it.)
A little trash TV alone time in a crowded household, then the virtuous couch.
It's a very conservative film, full of homespun family and small town values. It's about subsuming personal dreams in favour of contributing to society.
It’s officially started here; I should get some sleep.
She quit an engineering PhD after getting disillusioned with academia to do onlyfans to make money to create youtube videos explaining gradient descent…
https://x.com/krishnanrohit/status/1871614177984626978
Been on a downer with humanity lately.
And the most simple, inexpensive Christmas gift has broken my logjam of misery, and washed me with a dam burst of joy and positivity.
The Perfection of Giving is the first of the six perfections. I seriously envy those who have that skill. I don't.
I have no idea what, when or where we will be eating, but if a few scrabble tiles get played in the evening then all will be well.
Only with less naked boobies.
You could always sneak downstairs and start peeling the potatoes and such ... ?
Similarly insomniac, I'm going to try for another couple of hours sleep. Have to remember to get the goose out of the fridge early to bring it to room temp for cooking.
IRS says 1 million taxpayers will get up to $1,400 rebate
https://thehill.com/business/5054886-irs-recovery-rebate-credit/
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