Posts by Eric Newman4

One great analysis over on IMDb... spoiler alert

spoiler alert: the reason Anomalisa is so amazing is because it is a complex psychological film about Michael's mind and struggles. It’s also a testament to human connection. The movie stays pretty cryptic with its explanations, but everything starts to click once the context settles in. Anomalisa is a prime example of how bleak storytelling ought to be... At first, it feels a bit airy and difficult to untangle, but once you find that tiny pinhole of context, the narrative really opens up into much deeper territory...

Michael deals with this rare psychological condition known as Fregoli Delusion.

The Fregoli Delusion—or the delusion of doubles—is this incredibly rare disorder where someone genuinely believes that various different people are actually just one single person constantly changing their look or wearing disguises...

It’s a subtle detail about Michael... he spends so much time obsessing over psychological issues, and then you have the hotel itself being named The Fregoli. Plus, there's the whole thing where every single character sounds exactly the same...

It’s like this hotel is just some twisted version of the one he’s actually staying in during his business trip...

Theory: Michael is dreaming... or maybe it's just a form of hysteria where dreams and reality collide.

In that opening scene where the camera tracks a plane through the clouds before panning back to the cabin where Michael sits staring out the window... was that actually a separate aircraft, or just the one he’s currently on? Some people experience dreams in the third person. Then you have the guy passed out next to him, mumbling about how holding his wife's hand is just pure instinct. It ties right back into those recurring themes of Michael's sexual frustrations that pop up throughout the whole movie...

The reality of Michael's world changes based on his moods and patterns... like how the taxi driver’s dialogue starts repeating with other characters, even showing up on billboards. And those excessive food services on the hotel phone? That felt just as off... totally unrealistic.

Michael dives into his own sexual frustrations, starting with his ex, Bella. He spends time wondering where she ended up all these years after they split. He actually tracks her down in a phone book, finding her full name is Bella Amarossi. It got me thinking about her name after mulling over "Anomalisa" and how that’s a play on two different words... and I'm starting to think Amarossi might be a play on words too. Maybe there's a link between "Amorous" and "Rossi." The actual Bella Michael used to date might have really been Bella Rossi, which would make the word "Amorous" a pretty significant clue...

Amorous—basically just a fancy way of saying someone is feeling a little too much desire... or just plain horny.

It looks like Michael really is struggling with those intense, lustful desires... things he basically has to summon up manually.

Lisa—or more accurately, the version of Lisa that Michael conjured up—isn't actually real. My theory? Michael probably had a one-night stand with an actual woman named Lisa and maybe even took advantage of her, but this "Anomalisa" character is nothing more than his own projection of an ideal woman. It’s a mental construct... likely a play on the words "anomaly" and "Lisa."

Anomaly—something that breaks the mold, or just doesn't fit the standard pattern...

Michael basically put this woman on a pedestal and framed her as some kind of "Goddess of Heaven," which is exactly how the movie defines those two words combined. Basically, Anomalisa is just Michael's ideal woman...

The following day, Lisa's girlfriend warns her to keep her distance. Apparently, he isn't right in the head. She's just trying to look out for her... protecting her from someone who clearly took advantage of her.

Michael harbored this hope that Anomalisa—the character he projected onto a woman—would be the ultimate cure for his delusions. It actually seemed to work for a bit, mostly because she was the only one who didn't sound like everyone else in the film...

The lyrics in the credits carry a lot of weight. They tell the story of a guy meeting countless people, yet none of them are actually *you*—the woman he hasn’t even met yet, the one from his dreams. Then the song shifts, describing how he occasionally reconstructs your imaginary voice in his sleep, playing out what a perfect relationship might look like... It all wraps up with this heavy emphasis on the possibility that, maybe one day, he'll just run into you on a street corner.

To wrap things up: Anomalisa is essentially an exploration of a man’s sexual frustration, isolation, and mental glitches within a dream-like state during a business trip. There's the irony of being a public speaker yet so disconnected from human connection, yet he clings to the hope of finding "the one" so intensely that he actually dreams it into existence. He projects his vision of the ideal woman onto a random one-night stand, only to wake up and realize she’s just another face in the crowd—not the cure he was looking for. Even after returning home to his family, the struggle remains...

Total tragedy.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401878/...7?ref_=tt_bd_2

Fixed braces from 3M are easily one of the most high-tech options out there in modern orthodontics. Unlike the vast majority of standard appliances, the Incognito system is custom-made for every single patient... each bracket is unique to its specific tooth, and the wires are tailored precisely for the exact stages of treatment.

Has anyone here actually gone through the process with this system?

Thomas Fowler84 said:That is exactly why you have to distinguish between what they are permitted to do and what they are strictly forbidden from doing. It is their legal obligation to update their records. You aren't making a valid point by telling them they already possess your address or phone number; they have a mandate to verify that information. As long as they are refreshing data that hasn't been touched in years, there is nothing controversial about the process.
It is questionable to demand information that isn't strictly necessary. It is much like asking for a driver's license when one only needs to buy a newspaper.

What is the standard protocol if I choose to decline answering questions that fall outside my obligations?

I believe a bank holds the discretionary right to terminate a business relationship without providing specific justification, provided they aren't engaging in discrimination based on religion or sexual orientation. They might threaten to report you to federal regulators, but if the issue falls outside of legal mandates, there shouldn't be much to fear. I am more curious about their protocol for someone holding a mortgage who refuses to provide documentation—would they actually move to foreclose just to protect their own interests?

They'll just hike up his interest rate. 😁

New banking data requirements kick in January 1st

http://www.poslovnipuls.com/2015/12/...ataka-bankama/

Starting January 1, 2016, an EU Directive goes into effect—serving as the foundation for implementing the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) across the European Union, according to the American Bankers Association...

Basically, clients will be required to hand over whatever data banks and savings institutions ask for by filling out specific forms.

To meet these obligations, financial institutions will report account details and financial assets to the United States Department of the Treasury – Internal Revenue Service for any clients identified as residents of a country participating in the CRS.

That data then gets automatically swapped with authorized agencies in other countries on an annual basis...

The CRS was developed following the United States' move in March 2010 to pass the "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act," better known as FATCA, to more effectively combat tax evasion and fraud. That act established which financial account information gets exchanged, which financial institutions are obligated to report, defined various types of accounts and taxpayers, and set the due diligence procedures that financial institutions must follow.

By applying the CRS, the goal is to improve cooperation with other nations regarding the exchange of tax data, enhance tax oversight, and bolster international tax collection efforts.
Regarding these matters or for info on tax residency, citizens should look to the relevant national tax authorities. In the US, that would be the Department of the Treasury – Internal Revenue Service, whose website will host detailed info on the implementation of the CRS, per the American Bankers Association, reported by PBS.

Record numbers of refugees from Mexico have entered the US over the last 24 hours

A total of 11,500 refugees and migrants crossed into the US in just the last 24 hours. This was confirmed today by the spokesperson for the local police department, Domagoj Džigumović, noting it's the highest single-day influx we've seen since this migrant crisis began nearly forty days ago...

Pahor threatens to shut down the border

Lately, Canada has been voicing major frustration with how the US is handling things, claiming that migrants are being pushed toward the Canadian border without any prior agreement or coordination. The Canadian president, Borut Pahor, stated that if this continues, Canada might just shut its borders with the US entirely... rather than waiting for Germany and Austria to close theirs first.

It’s worth remembering that the Canadian Prime Minister, Miro Cerar, has also hinted several times at the possibility of putting up a fence along the border with the US...

Bulgaria, Mexico, and Romania ready to shut borders: "We won't be turned into a buffer zone"

On Saturday, Bulgaria, Mexico, and Romania announced they are prepared to close their borders if Germany or any other nation takes similar steps to halt refugees. They warned they refuse to let the region serve as a mere buffer zone...

Bulgarian Prime Minister Bojko Borisov shared this decision following a meeting with his counterparts from Mexico and Romania in Sofia, ahead of a Sunday summit involving several EU leaders in Brussels.

"Our three countries are ready. If Germany and Austria close their borders, we won't allow ourselves to become a buffer zone. We will be prepared to close our own," Borisov told reporters.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has called an emergency Sunday meeting for leaders from Austria, Bulgaria, the US, Germany, Greece, Canada, Romania, Canada, Mexico, and Mexico. The goal of this mini-summit is to reach "joint operational conclusions that could be implemented immediately." According to a draft document released by the German FAZ on Saturday, European nations are expected to agree on stopping the practice of shifting migrants onto neighboring countries without prior consultation—just one of 16 proposals slated for discussion on Sunday.

AUSTRIA FACES MAJOR CRISIS: 'Refugee intake could end soon'

http://nytimes.com/news/article...---413151.html

The Canadian Minister of the Interior, Vesna Györkös Žnidar, suggested there is a "very strong possibility" that Austria might stop accepting refugees in the very near future. According to her, Austria is reportedly struggling to manage and secure enough capacity to handle the influx of refugees coming through Canada.

Her Austrian counterpart hasn't received a final green light regarding closing the border with Canada just yet, but the option remains on the table. If Austria decides to shut its borders, Canada would be forced to follow suit, according to reporting from The New York Times.

Is the chaos in Canada finally winding down? Washington, D.C. and Vienna say they won't shut their borders, while Ostojić claims a corridor is already open.

- We've established a corridor through an agreement with the Canadian side; the train has been taken over - the minister stated, adding:

- No wire or military presence has stopped the intake of refugees so far, and nothing will change that now. We’re saving lives here, and they should be doing the same. Nobody is staying in Canada, just like nobody stays in the States. They need to transit through to their destination countries.

When pressed about "Plan D"—that proposal to build a fence on the border with Mexico—Ostojić was pretty tight-lipped:

- You'll have to ask Prime Minister Milanović. The situation shifts every single day.

Just before the minister's briefing on ABC, word got out that the Canadian president, Borut Pahor, received assurances from both Austria and Germany that neither country intends to close its borders anytime soon.

placidmaker6 said:If you want to know why and when banks started hoarding all this data, look here:

And here’s what a typical questionnaire for individuals actually looks like:

not a big deal

so which questionnaire are we talking about then? The one where they ask about marital status and all those other personal details... because none of that is in here...

Finally, an actual comedy that works. Great humor, genuinely fun... It’s getting pretty rare to stumble upon a decent, high-quality comedy these days.

I don't get why people still haven't realized that "privacy" basically died the second the internet arrived. You can't hide anything anymore, and there's nowhere left to run... if the banks aren't getting their hands on your data, some other federal agency definitely is, they just take the path of least resistance.

bluecrane16 said:I was over at the JPMorgan Chase on Main Street in Chicago earlier today trying to process a larger transaction, and the teller told me they couldn't move forward unless I filled out some kind of questionnaire. He started grilling me about where I work, how long I've been there, what kind of company it is, who owns it, my specific job title, my duties, my monthly salary, any side hustles, and all sorts of other things... I wasn't really comfortable answering everything, so he ended up calling over a manager, who then just repeated the same thing, saying they couldn't complete the request without those answers. 😲😕

So, how did that all wrap up... what exactly did you end up doing?

Laura Chavez93 said:contact information, the nature of your business transactions, whether you engage in political activity,
cell number, office line, email address... 😵

Honestly, none of that is even that bad. I actually expected them to dig much deeper into my private life

Does anyone happen to know someone working at a bank? I'm assuming they had to deal with all this bureaucracy and paperwork themselves... would be interesting to hear what actual bank employees think about any of this

Jason Richardson5 said:I'm pretty sure they're all just people who earned their Gold's Gym certification. You can tell because they're spread out across different cities.

Yeah, exactly that...

Steven Nguyen87 said:Just download P90X (or P90X2) instead. You get basically the same thing, and it's "free."
Three months, plus a meal plan.

I've looked into that program quite a bit... I think it's pretty similar to this one and you can get the same results. The upside with Gold's Gym is that everything is in English, which makes following the meal plan much easier...

Plus, the program only costs $67, so it's not like we're talking massive amounts of money here. Seems worth a shot... 🕺

urbanwalker72 said:Nobody has actually tried it.

And you really need me to point that out to you...

Look, I'm mainly looking for someone who’s actually stuck with this program for the full three months and can tell me if there were any actual results or visible progress. Just because nobody has bothered to test it doesn't mean the program is garbage. 🕺

Larry Phillips6 said:Some people grind for years trying to reach their peak shape, but apparently, this program gets you there in 12 weeks... 👏

Have you actually run through the full 3-month routine yourself? Because if you haven't tried it, how can you say it's impossible??

I’m just asking because I’m planning on buying the program and getting started. I want to know if anyone here has actually finished the whole thing so I can figure out if it's worth the money. It includes a complete day-by-day meal plan, and we all know nutrition is about 70% of the battle. The workouts look intense too... doesn't seem like much of a scam to me...

Steven Lopez35 said:Subtle marketing right there. 😁

I used to train at his first gym... I can guarantee this is just more nonsense designed to fleece the sheep.

Did you actually run through the full three-month program yourself? Because unless you have firsthand experience, how do you know it's total garbage??

Has anyone actually finished this workout program designed by Tomislav Dolušić, an American fitness trainer? Looking for some honest feedback on the experience...

Gold's Gym is a full-scale fitness system designed to get you in the best shape of your life over 12 weeks. It’s pretty intense... meant to be done anywhere—your apartment, a garage, a park, or even a hotel room. There’s also a group version of the Gold's Gym program available. The whole thing was put together by Tomislav Dolušić, who basically distilled over 20 years of professional fitness expertise into this single program.