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Downtown 
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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 Posted - 04/22/2008 : 22:10:13
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| MguyX, it seems as though you're being very arbitrary in your feelings about professional gamblers. Wall Street traders also produce nothing of value whatsoever. All they do is buy, sell, and trade pieces of companies built by and commodities produced by other people, and make shitloads of money in the process if they're good at it. You may recall Gordon Gekko was actually bragging about this in "Wall Street." But we look up to people like that...until they do something we find inconvenient, like taking over and liquidating the company we happen to work for or quadrupling the price of crude oil with rampant speculation. |
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MguyXXV 
"X marks the spot"
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Posted - 04/23/2008 : 07:00:02
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I'm not saying we should kill the gamblers or prevent them from gambling, and I'm not saying that professional gamblers are necessarily bad people, or that they are bad people at all. I hear ya, DT: there are jerks in all kinds of professions.
But the financial markets are quite a different animal. That's a very key indicator and component of the national economy. It has a very big gambling-like component, but it has a very real economic effect on the society at large. It creates and destroys jobs. Interst rates and inflation adjustments depend on the activity in the financial markets, and traders actively facilitate those markets. Gambling on roullette or blackjack doesn't have that kind of effect.
But, hey: I'm not trying to crap on gamblers. I was really just following up on the idea that card counting carries the stigma of cheating because, if it were used in a game between uninformed friends, it would be cheating. And then I was saying something about how I prefer smart people to aspire to significant goals. But heavens to betsy, I would certainly agree that they have the right to be gamblers too.  |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 04/23/2008 : 17:14:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
The real person that the starring role is based on is being denounced by the Asian Student Association at MIT as a traitor to his race.
I don't know anything about the true story. It's based on someone Asian?! I find that change really rather unsavoury then. (The Association's stance is of course ridiculous.)
quote:
if you're changing the title to "21," it's REALLY STUPID to release the film on Friday, March 28th.
That is indeed idiotic.  |
Edited by - Demisemicenturian on 04/23/2008 17:15:48 |
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benj clews 
"...."
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Posted - 04/23/2008 : 18:14:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
if you're changing the title to "21," it's REALLY STUPID to release the film on Friday, March 28th. Think about it...
Definitely. I also think George Lucas missed a trick not to release Star Wars films on the 4th of May.
Oh... and why didn't they hold off a couple of months on Casino Royale and release it in 2007? (Now they have to wait another millennium before they can pull that trick again) |
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Wheelz
"FWFR%u2019ing like it%u2019s 1999"
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Posted - 04/23/2008 : 19:21:54
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I also think George Lucas missed a trick not to release Star Wars films on the 4th of May.
"May Fourth be with you?" Is that what you're getting at?
I don't think I can blame Lucas for avoiding that one!  |
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Demisemicenturian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 04/23/2008 : 19:31:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Wheelz
"May Fourth be with you?" Is that what you're getting at?
Well, one would write "May the 4th be with you", to make the most of it. |
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Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 04/23/2008 : 20:08:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
quote:
Originally posted by Downtown
The real person that the starring role is based on is being denounced by the Asian Student Association at MIT as a traitor to his race.
I don't know anything about the true story. It's based on someone Asian?! I find that change really rather unsavoury then. (The Association's stance is of course ridiculous.)
The "Ben Campbell" character was named "Kevin Lewis" in the book, and is based on Jeff Ma, who's on record saying he really doesn't care one way or the other if the character based on him is Chinese or not. For the book, he asked that his identity be concealed as much as possible which is how he became "Kevin Lewis," who isn't Asian. Ma was a consultant for the movie, and reportedly thought that Jim Sturgess was a great choice for Campbell/Lewis.
None of the other characters from the book and movie are directly based on real people, the rest are all composite characters. |
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 04/23/2008 : 21:39:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Wheelz
quote:
I also think George Lucas missed a trick not to release Star Wars films on the 4th of May.
"May Fourth be with you?" Is that what you're getting at?
I don't think I can blame Lucas for avoiding that one!
Zigactly- and I don't know why he wouldn't. He's sold out on so many levels, I'm surprised there isn't a 'George Lucas's Mum' action figure. |
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21
