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Posts by Gary Patel

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Eric Adams - Mayor of San Francisco in Political Scene ·
The fine for vomiting in public spaces is set at $165.

But what happens if someone actually gets sick—like, genuinely ill? It’s especially easy for that to happen in San Francisco, where the Boardwalk constantly smells... well, let's just say it's an experience (not shaming the city or California at all; I'm from there, so I'm just stating facts—or at least my own experiences). Or maybe the heat hits you, or someone steps off a boat feeling nauseous, etc., etc.

I totally get penalizing people if they're clearly just drunk, but I don't really get the blanket rule. Vomiting during the summer—especially in crowds as thick as the ones in San Francisco—is hardly a rare occurrence given everything else going on.

Jerry Brown—well, the City—will never hear the end of it for hiking up utility rates for Madison Square Garden. Madison Square Garden is looking at roughly $83 in utility fees, while the New York City Arena is facing about $3,000. And they justified it by saying it was "in accordance with the rules." As if a city like San Francisco doesn't already have world-class venues. It's a disgrace. Honestly!

And then, of course, they turn around and start building or renovating or whatever else they do with stadiums. 🤣
Tina Turner in Music ·
https://news.sky.com/story/tina-turn...ed-83-12888593

Tina!🙂
The Green Knight (2021) in Movies ·
View on instagram--

The movie just landed on Max.
Nightmare Alley (2021) in Movies ·
Just finished the movie. Honestly—the ending drags quite a bit, and I’d even go as far as saying it gets a little boring. There's zero chemistry between the leads. They're together just to move the plot along—purely functional—but there's no spark there at all. Their relationship just doesn't feel... well, natural.

The real issue here is that the themes are way too heavy-handed. The ending, the big twist, the protagonist's fate—it's all incredibly easy to see coming. If they had been a bit more subtle with the storytelling, maybe I would have bought it, but they leaned into the narrative so hard from the jump that you can't shake it once he leaves the circus. By the time he steps into that chicken coop wagon? Yeah, the ending was already written.

As for Lilith's motivation to betray him—I'm convinced it comes down to her pride.

They definitely dropped hints. Like when she shows that injury, or when the old man admits he's hurt plenty of women, and finally when she confesses she was one of his victims.

He humiliated her in front of everyone right at the start. Then, to top it off, this guy calls her weak. She’s already been wounded by a man (Grindle), so after surviving that and then being branded "weak" again by some random, uneducated guy—you know, that "You're nothing but an Okie with straight teeth" line—it makes sense that she'd be driven to get even.

Is that motive strong enough to carry the whole film? To have her seek revenge on him as a way of getting back at every other man who ever hurt her? It's understandable, sure, but it feels thin. It's almost like they just wanted a twist for the sake of having one. Just like everything else in this movie—totally predictable.
Best music streaming platforms? in Music ·
https://hdu.com/america-has-the-second-fastest...Nc6CCciNL3zaHM

America actually boasts the second-fastest growing music streaming market on the planet—at least according to Luminata’s 2022 annual report. We're looking at an impressive 58% yearly jump in streaming here in the States. To put that in perspective, the global growth rate is sitting at 25.6%. Pretty wild, right?

While Indonesia takes the top spot for the fastest-growing streaming market globally, America follows closely in second—with India, Colombia, and South Korea rounding out the top five. Interestingly, American listening habits align incredibly well with major international trends. Using their Global hit Score tool, Luminata found that this year's massive hit, "industry Baby" by Lil mi x & Jack Harlow, was a huge smash locally. In fact, America was one of only four countries to rank the track at number two—joining New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States in terms of sheer popularity.
Wonder Woman (2022) in Movies ·
Many in the Black American community are feeling pretty frustrated with this movie—criticizing it for romanticizing African tribes and glossing over their actual role in the Atlantic slave trade.
The Little Mermaid (2023) in Movies ·
https://twitter.com/born2shine4ever/...96893513015296

A clip just leaked online of a girl singing—and wow, she is seriously impressive! I’m actually looking forward to this live-action version, even though I usually find these Disney-esque remakes to be pretty soulless and dull. Lol.
The Sandman series is finally out on Netflix!

The Sandman series on Netflix is actually an adaptation of the graphic novel written by Neil Gaiman—which was originally published by DC.

By today’s standards—if you want to get technical—you could probably label Gaiman as "woke." Looking back at those short stories he published in the late eighties and early nineties, he was already breaking the mold—featuring gender-fluid characters, queer identities, and diverse ethnicities long before they were mainstream. Plus, Gaiman himself isn't shy about jumping onto Twitter to defend his series—he's often right there answering the critics who try to dismiss the work by just calling it "woke."

Neil Gaiman
@neilhimself

And honestly—what’s truly terrifying—is that they somehow traveled back in time and forced me to bake all of this right into the original comic books back in 1988!

🤣🤣🤣
@neilhimself
Let's be clear—this isn't a backlash. When someone grumbles about Sandman being woke and They get 10 likes, and I step in to point out how ridiculous that is and end up with 60,000 likes—that isn't a "backlash." It's just a handful of people performing their outrage on Twitter, while thousands of us are actually just counting down the days until Friday.

Honestly, ever since the series dropped, things have become a bit much—it’s getting repetitive, actually—but we're practically seeing constant trolling with those "woke" posts now.

Forumaš ljimomoj He's put out eight posts now—all eight of them—just hammering away at how "woke" the series supposedly is.
One
ljimomoj said:I’d love to say I was absolutely thrilled—really—but all this ideology and "woke" stuff just won't let me.
Straight to it! The first two episodes feel like they only tossed in that gay romance just to check a box—totally feels forced. And then they'll throw in a lesbian storyline, too. And then comes Lucifer—who happens to be a woman.
It’s not even about the "woke" aspect—though I hear people complaining about that—it’s more that it gets under my skin because it feels so forced. It’s obvious, isn't it? Like they're either doing it on purpose or just checking a box because production handed down a mandate from above. Just feels a bit much!

Two.
ljimomoj said:I messed up—I went back and watched episodes 5 and 6, and man, the whole thing just screams "woke."

Everyone in episode five seems to be gay—it’s everywhere!
Honestly, if you look at the actual numbers—and I mean really dig into the data—the percentage of straight couples and romance tropes actually reflecting reality is roughly on par with gay couples. We’re talking less than 10% accuracy there. It's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?

In episode 6—which features a really solid storyline, by the way—and...It’s that one tiny detail—the little thing that just ruins everything. And that—if you can even call it that—is what passes for "sending a message." The core message here—that making a living through trade and essentially "owning" goods is morally questionable—is a tough one to swallow! It’s a heavy thought, really—though I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised by the sentiment..🤦

It’s such a shame to see great stories and solid episodes wasted—it feels like production teams are getting these top-down mandates to include "woke" elements just to play it safe. If they don't check all those activist boxes, they risk being canceled—and let's be honest, once that happens, directors and writers might find themselves blacklisted from working on major, big-budget projects in Hollywood altogether.

Tri
ljimomoj said:Oh, really? I had no idea—I haven't picked up a comic book since elementary school!
I’m really just speaking from experience here—this is actually the first time in my life I've ever sat down to watch a series based on a comic book I’d never even heard of before!

The first few episodes throw in a handful of references to gay characters—which, honestly, didn't bother me much—but by the time I hit episode five, I was just getting frustrated. I mean, come on... what are the odds that in one tiny, budget little diner in some remote corner of the US, they'd happen to have a crowd that's almost entirely gay? Or even more ridiculous—that everyone just collectively decided to engage in gay sexual activity on that specific day? It felt a bit forced.

I’m a massive fan of history, religion, and mythology—really deep into all of it—so it honestly pains me when certain people feel entitled to butcher ancient mythic figures just to fit their own modern worldviews.
Just imagine—some Hollywood studio takes a classic American folk tale and flips the script entirely. They make a movie where the protagonist is a trans person who tricks some gay guy, then heads home and beats their spouse just to drive home a "moral message" about how domestic violence is wrong. It’s exactly like how Morpheus delivers those heavy-handed lectures in the series about how slavery and human trafficking are evil.

I’m going to power through this series until the very end—but I have to say, it’s such a letdown when forced changes from the original comics or books take center stage. It’s a shame when those forced additions end up overshadowing what was actually a perfectly solid and genuinely engaging subplot!

Four.
ljimomoj said:I just finished the whole season—and honestly? All things considered, it was total garbage.

What really gets under my skin—and I say this with all due respect to the creators—is that there was actually so much potential here. There were moments where the storytelling truly clicked—like that scene in the restaurant or the sequence with Death—but then... well, you know how it goes. It just falls apart. The whole series is just saturated with gay characters and overt sexuality—it’s honestly hard to watch because it feels so forced. It’s clearly trying too hard, which usually means the actual quality is going to take a hit.

If you’re into those gay fantasies and liberal agendas, be my guest—but count me out. I won't be wasting my eyes on a second season.


If I were to quote all eight of them—just an idea—I think you’d finally get the full picture.

Not a single one has been deleted—even though I’m honestly getting pretty bored with this whole conversation, Maja. We’ve already established that the series is woke. Wait. You're trolling. On any halfway decent forum, this would have been flagged as trolling by now—especially since people so often use the term "woke" as a convenient little sugarcoat for their own homophobia (and I'll be providing an example of actual homophobia just below).

Anyway—I actually wrote one post—just one single post—as a direct response to that comment.
dobrimag said:People back in 1689 already knew slavery was wrong. The whole point of the scene was to show that humans are actually capable of learning and evolving.
Personally, I’m hoping that by 2022 we don't still need to be lecturing viewers that slavery was bad.

What I meant is that sometimes you *do* have to send those messages—because literally in some parts of the US, people deny slavery even happened, or try to rebrand it as "involuntary labor." (I wish I were joking, but I'm really not.)
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06...ry-relocation/

🤣
So, my post is totally relevant to the topic and that specific scene in the series, because apparently America—and the world—still needs a reminder that:
1. Slavery absolutely happened. 🤦
2. It wasn't just "involuntary labor."
3. And it remains one of the greatest tragedies in human and American history.

And what happens? My post gets AUTOMATICALLY deleted—while glory is allowed to go on a massive rant about how the series is woke and complain about the presence of gay characters.

Even when others pointed out that it isn't "forced" and that the comic was already like that.
Crow89 said:Look, I'm also against all that woke nonsense, but the comic is packed with gay and trans characters. Neil Gaiman has always been a huge snowflake. So blaming the series in this case is just wrong because the Sandman comics have plenty of that.

The guy clearly just can't stand the presence of gay characters, so he wrote this:
ljimomoj said:I watched the whole season, and all things considered, it's pure garbage.

What bugs me most is that it had potential—there were actually good episodes with great stories, like the one in the restaurant or the one with Death—but when an entire series is defined by gays, trans people, and their sexuality, it's just trash because it feels forced.

If you like that stuff, go ahead and watch gay fantasies and liberal nonsense, but I won't be watching a second season.


Which, at this point, is straight-up homophobia and transphobia. He's bothered by the mere existence of these people, even though they were in the original script and nobody "forced" or changed anything (the writer even defended the series and justified the "woke" elements).

But hey, his posts don't get deleted and he doesn't get punished for his:
1. trolling
2. both homophobia and transphobia—and please, don't hit me with the "freedom of speech" argument, because free speech doesn't include hate speech. This guy is literally saying he's bothered by the presence of LGBTQ+ characters regardless of whether they were in the original source material, purely because of who they are; that's just straight-up homophobia.

Why though?

And Sandman is just one example. I could go on forever—switching from topic to topic, whether it's TV series or streaming platforms—pointing out how "woke" has become a convenient shield: "I'm not racist" (you are), "I'm not homophobic" (you are), "bUt I dOn'T lIkE iT wHeN tHiNgS aRe fOrCeD."

Here's an example involving Disney.

The guy just randomly showed up and posted this:

stipest said:image


And it still stands, even though:
1. the image is unnecessarily huge
2. it has zero relevance to the actual topic
3. it's a textbook case of white people feeling threatened by non-white actors stepping into roles that have historically been white—even though white Hollywood has spent its entire history doing the exact opposite by casting white actors as non-white characters (whitewashing).
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jessg/white...ood-characters


If I had wandered into a Disney thread and posted a photo mocking conservatives like this, would I really be tolerated and left alone for days?
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

The directing duo behind this one is Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley—the same guys who delivered that genuinely fun comedy Game Night back in 2018. As for the cast? It’s absolutely stacked with talent—we're talking Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Hugh Grant, Regé-Jean Page, and plenty more.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is set to hit theaters on March 3, 2023.

THIS LOOKS AWESOME!🙏🙏🙏
The New Yorker (2021) in Movies ·
northerncrane4 said:Just a quick heads-up before this debate gets too heated—you might want to rethink discussing a Wes Anderson film with someone whose whole vibe is "Taylor Swift is a total fraud."

Lol.

I honestly love this level of snobbery and the blatant ad hominem attacks🤣—as if having Taylor Swift in my bio somehow disqualifies me from having an opinion on Wes Anderson movies.

Who says I don't enjoy his other work? Honestly, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Isle of Dogs, and The Grand Budapest Hotel are all top-tier for me.

This whole thing is just exhausting—it’s basically "art for art's sake" without actually saying anything meaningful.
The New Yorker (2021) in Movies ·
Just pretentious garbage.
AndrejX - which part of my post was hate speech? in Banned Users Corner ·
Yeah, I get the point you're making.

I definitely could have phrased that better—my bad.

That said, I just want to clarify one thing: even though my post ended up reinforcing some nasty stereotypes about men from the Middle East and North Africa, that wasn't my intention at all. My goal was actually to highlight the hypocrisy of certain pro-life advocates who push for an Abortion ban even in cases of rape—and Missouri is a prime example of a state where they've gone that far, banning it even for rape or incest. My point was really aimed at white conservatives—those stereotypical types who claim to dislike people of color—asking if they'd stick to that same rhetoric if it were their own daughter being raped by the very people they look down on.

Or, more likely, they'd find a quiet way to fix the situation while preaching a completely different tune (which is probably what would happen for the daughters of the elite).

Still, I totally see how the post came across. Even though I had zero intention of leaning into hate speech, it clearly landed quite clumsily.

I should have picked a much better example.
AndrejX - which part of my post was hate speech? in Banned Users Corner ·
Honestly, I’m at a loss—how exactly was what I wrote considered "hate speech"?

What part of saying most pro-lifers are actually just "pro-birth"—meaning they care more about the delivery than the actual life of the child—is offensive?

And let's be real—white Americans would never prioritize the lives of children from marginalized communities, like Romani families, nearly as much as they claim to.

https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/cam...life-movement/

Plenty of pro-choice groups call out the hypocrisy within the pro-life movement. Does that mean all those movements are suddenly engaging in hate speech?

Here is the source I’m citing, along with the specific examples they provide:

  • Imprison or execute women who access safe abortion care.
  • Tear babies away from their parents and lock them in cages, with no plan to reunite them.
  • Silence doctors and strip reproductive healthcare away from millions of low-income people.
  • Stand by while the maternal mortality rates skyrocket and Women — especially Black Women — die in childbirth
  • Deny affordable healthcare coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
  • Cut programs that feed hungry kids.
  • Block access to HIV testing and treatment across the globe.
  • Incite far-right violence with lies about abortion.


Where is the hate speech in any of that?
Renaming PDF: "Computer Games" to "Video Games" or "Gaming in Feedback & Suggestions ·
rustydrifter10 said:Gaming could work as an Americanized term, or maybe even just in a subtitle—I’m not entirely convinced it should be the main heading.

But wait—why is it perfectly fine to list things like IT Help Service, Hardware, and Software, yet suddenly "Gaming" is off the table? None of those top three are particularly "Americanized" either!

I mean, sure, maybe we could use "Gaming"—but honestly, trying to find a more local way to say it feels like trying to reinvent the wheel.
Renaming PDF: "Computer Games" to "Video Games" or "Gaming in Feedback & Suggestions ·
A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine.

Wikipedia.

Since this PDF doesn't just focus on computer games—it covers everything from consoles like Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch to online storefronts and the broader industry—I think we need a better label.

Using "Video Games" or just "Gaming" would be much more universal—and honestly, probably more accurate—given how much ground we're covering here!
Thoughts on Thor: Love and Thunder? in Movies ·
The teaser didn't really give us anything to work with—honestly, I don't even feel the need to see the movie.🤣
Sanctions on Russia in War in Ukraine ·
If the war wraps up anytime soon, how long do you guys think the sanctions will actually stick? Do you think they’ll vanish the second the invasion ends—or will they linger around for a while, longer or shorter?
Sanctions on Russia in War in Ukraine ·
So, are we strictly sanctioning oligarchs who have been proven to be funding the war? Not just everyone?
Sanctions on Russia in War in Ukraine ·
I’m seeing reports that Russian oligarchs are having their foreign private property seized. What are the actual legal grounds for this? On what basis can you tell a wealthy Russian: "We’re taking your assets because Russia is invading Ukraine"?

It just doesn't seem to add up to me.
Sanctions on Russia in War in Ukraine ·