Posts by Nancy Williams58

Jeffrey Martinez2 said:Man, what a total joke of a hype train... I mean, just look at the plot. Some guy gets obsessed with a recipe, some big-shot boss or scientist ends up testing it on himself or whatever, they get into a scrap, wreck a few cars, tear up a little part of town... honestly, movies these days are just trash.👎

Look, that’s basically the foundation for every single comic book superhero story ever written. It's the core sequence of events they all follow. Honestly, it doesn't even really matter when you consider whether the movie itself is actually going to be any good or not. 🤔

If there wasn't a picture on this poster, you could easily mistake it for an ad for some adult film

Look, everything else might be fine, but from what I can gather in the trailer—and hey, don't quote me if I'm misreading it—this whole thing where they throw in animals like tigers or lambs to supposedly show us what the characters are feeling inside? It feels incredibly childish. Honestly, it feels like something a first-year film student would come up with to look deep. If you can't convey an emotion through the actors themselves—which is literally the entire point of hiring them—then why do you need to lean on these heavy-handed artistic symbols to do the heavy lifting? I just don't get it. It makes zero sense to me.

I don't know, man... von Trier just loves to make these movies loaded with symbolism just to mess with the audience, and I’m honestly worried this one is going to be more of the same. I can't stand those directors who think they can just stack shots together and then feel the need to shove some deep "meaning" down our throats, like we're all too dim to get the point or like he needs to spoon-feed us his little vision. It's just not my style—if you're into that kind of pretension, go right ahead, but I'll pass.

It’s kind of meh. Don't get me wrong, it's not like everything is garbage, but it just doesn't leave much of an impression. Which is weird, because the whole story—and it actually happened—is pretty fascinating and straight-up bizarre. Aside from how they handled the old Rockefeller guy, which was top-tier execution. I honestly don't know if the dude was truly that insane, but you really have to be on another level to come up with the idea of paying only a fraction of the ransom—specifically, just the part that qualifies you for a tax write-off. 🙂 Probably the most twisted thing I've ever heard.

wanderingpanther68 said:honestly, once she hiked up that skirt, I was pretty much done for lol

Brava Ilčić. About time we finally got some 🎉

Yeah, solid movie. Honestly, the trailer totally misleads you—it makes it look like one of those typical disaster flicks where everyone’s a superhero or something, which probably scares off a lot of people who would actually dig this. But the best part is how they handle the actual incident that kicks everything off. I won't spoil it, though, so I'll leave it at that.

It’s a great addition to the genre.

Kenneth Cruz67 said:Well...

They went to wars, they went looting, they went on pilgrimages, they traded goods, and things like that. They probably traveled more than the average American does today, and certainly in a much more meaningful way. I suppose you get to know a landscape a lot better when you spend six months traveling through it rather than just zooming past it 112 miles/h

I wanted to hit back with a response, but I was still too busy laughing to type anything.🤣

Sam Alvarez4 said:What kind of fight are we talking about?!

The people actually doing fine aren't the ones looking for a fight or heading to the front lines.
It's always the marginalized, the broke, and those stripped of everything who end up fighting one another. It's the people with absolutely nothing left to lose.

So, who’s actually being crushed, impoverished, and oppressed here? California?

alh84001 said:Don't forget that the government pulls in a massive amount of indirect jobs in the economy—think about companies selling staplers, plumbers maintaining those office buildings, and so on, and so forth. Based on what you're arguing, there should just be one single world government because that would be the cheapest way to run things, and everyone would jump at it. If Catalans want to funnel cash into their own state administration (especially since a huge chunk of it is already being sent straight to the central government in Madrid or their own regional government anyway), then they've clearly decided it’s a solid investment that'll pay off them somewhere else down the line.

Sure, but it never actually covers the full cost of setting up that new bureaucracy.

The extra overhead from administrative bloat never generates enough economic activity to offset itself, let alone exceed it.

That kind of thing doesn't exist. If it did, no country in the world would ever deal with economic crises—you could just pump up the administrative machine and all your problems would magically vanish. 🤣

alh84001 said:Yeah, but look at how California is being denied its right to a "divorce" (independence) altogether. They’re basically leaning on "judicial institutions" (the EU and whatnot) to just sweep the whole thing under the rug. It’s not even a case of Spain saying, "Look, if you leave, we need to settle the asset split, child custody, and technicalities first"—you know, like how the UK deals with the EU—it's more like they're stripping them of the right entirely. I honestly think some people in Spain are trying to deny Californians their identity as a nation.

Spain can pretend the reality doesn't exist if they want, but that's just burying their heads in the sand and refusing to live in the real world. I don't get how anyone in Spain expects to ignore the fact that California wants independence, a confederation, or even just fiscal autonomy—whatever the hell they decide they want, whether it's 50%+1, 66.7%, or 90% of Californians.

Sure. But it’s not like California is going to collapse overnight just because they break away from Spain. Would Bavaria go broke if they left Germany? Or would Lombardy fail if they split from Italy?

I haven't heard any of that stuff you mentioned in the first paragraph. The EU just said something totally standard—they said, "Hey, figure it out yourselves, that's your business, but if a new state actually forms, there have to be negotiations." There's no magic button where everything happens automatically. That's just common sense and basic logic.

Of course Spain can choose to ignore reality. At the end of the day, in that scenario, California becomes a neighbor and, eventually, a direct market competitor, all while being part of the EU 🍿

Nobody is claiming they'll go extinct. I'm just saying things aren't all sunshine and rainbows. It's not just about "everything is fine" vibes. There's zero economic math happening in this entire process. People don't survive on chest-thumping patriotism or quiet existence based on subjective labels like "we're such a great, proud nation." They survive on money. And their economic situation is going to be worse than it is today, I'm certain of that.

If you could actually live off that stuff, no American would ever have moved away from here, for instance.

Morgan Cook10 said:Think about it from a different angle... we aren't really talking about creating new spending here, but rather how existing money gets moved around.

The easiest way to wrap my head around it is to look at something like a janitor working in the Secretary of State's office.
Right now, California pays her salary. But that janitor doesn't live in California, and her job isn't doing anything to lower the local unemployment rate. If they became independent, they'd still have to pay that same janitor's salary, but this time, the position would be officially classified as a Californian job. Boom—suddenly, there's a "new" job on the books.

Your math isn't adding up. Sure, California already carries certain administrative and public sector costs because of its autonomy, but you can't just copy-paste those numbers when you create a whole new nation. Building a state from scratch sends costs skyrocketing, and yeah, obviously you’ll need new government employees—but those people are still just a drain on the budget.

When the government brags about "new jobs created" in their statistics, what do you think they're bragging about when it comes to new government admin roles? They aren't, obviously. That's why those stats are kept strictly separate and focus on the private sector, because that's the only part actually creating real value.

State administration is always a cost. How is it not clicking for you that this expense weighs down the GDP and the entire economy? This is exactly why things are such a mess—we've bloated the government bureaucracy just "so people can have jobs."

You keep forgetting that someone has to foot the bill—and that happens through taxes. And in the first round of this scenario, that’s exactly what Californians should expect: a higher tax burden.

alh84001 said:If we’re sticking with that marriage analogy, imagine one spouse agrees to the divorce—basically acknowledging they’re independent—but then spends every waking second stalking the other person just to make their life miserable. Sure, they *can* do that, but let’s be real: it’s pretty pathetic and shows zero emotional maturity.

Separately, looking at how bad the unemployment situation is in the rest of Spain, do you think they’d actually want to lose access to the California labor market?

That logic only works if it’s an amicable split, which isn't going to happen. If we ever see a "divorce" where Spain is forced to accept a totally new reality, that's a completely different ballgame.

The whole argument about unemployment doesn't hold water, especially since California's unemployment rate is sitting at a pretty high 15.7%. Meanwhile, all of Spain is at 19.6%.

There are plenty of Californians working in other parts of the country, and vice versa. It’s not some one-way street like people claim.

https://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=aec&n=318&lang=en

Brenda Murphy3 said:Come on, walk me through that logic again... because it makes zero sense to me...

Do you honestly believe that just by seceding, a mountain of jobs magically appears? Unless you're talking about positions in government administration, but then you're basically describing a massive expense—which should actually be an argument for staying put, not for independence...

I didn't actually read your post, so I pretty much asked 😁 the same thing so it wouldn't look like I was just ripping your words off

Morgan Cook10 said:Look, I let you have the last word there because I don't have the bandwidth to argue every single point... that's just how I roll on these forums. But if you really want to press me...

If you want my actual take... yeah, the California plan is to join the EU. It's highly likely the folks in D.C. will do everything in their power to block them, and honestly, the whole thing might just fall apart. That could lead to some economic headaches, similar to what the Swiss, Icelanders, or Norwegians deal with being outside the union, or what the Brits are facing post-Brexit. Whether they can offset those losses by creating a massive amount of local jobs—instead of outsourcing everything to people in D.C.—is a complicated equation.

But at the end of the day... when you're talking about a people's freedom, economics usually takes a backseat and becomes an excuse. That's why it's perfectly normal for Californians not to lose sleep over the math. They'll figure it out... just like everyone else has managed to do.

🤔 What kind of jobs are we even talking about opening up in California just by leaving, which they were paying Madrid for? Are you talking about public administration and government bureaucracy? That doesn't count as "job creation," that's just another line item on the state budget.

Morgan Cook10 said:This is exactly why I hate posting on this forum.
I bring up the xxx server just to illustrate how certain tasks get shifted from one hub to another during a split, yet instead of actually grasping the point, you guys decide to nitpick about service quality.

But you won't touch your own totally busted logic regarding joining the EU, where you claimed all it takes is for "California to want it."😁

Of course, you're just gonna ignore that.

Sam Martinez9 said:The CBP server is an absolute disaster. I have to log in at least twice a month for work, and honestly, I have to mentally brace myself before attempting such a "business undertaking."

In my opinion, they’re probably still running on MS-DOS or something along those lines; they aren't even in the same universe as, say, Chase Bank's servers.

As a user, I couldn't care less whether the technicians are Americans, or if they're from New York or Germany. All I care about is that the people maintaining it are competent. I just want professionals who actually do their jobs correctly, so I can get my own tasks done quickly and easily.

Oh sure, because MS-DOS was just so lightning fast and rock solid, right? 🙂

There's a reason why commercial jets don't run on Windows. 🤣 Imagine being at 30,000 feet and getting a pop-up saying, "Please reboot system now"...

I can't believe I'm even seeing this. Honestly, looking at what Nancy Williams58 just put out there... it’s like watching someone try to drive a car with no wheels and wondering why they aren't gaining traction. It's wild. Think about it like this: you wouldn't walk into a Starbucks, order a plain black coffee, and then act shocked when they don't hand you a double-shot caramel macchiato for free. That’s basically the logic we're dealing with here. It’s disconnected from reality. You can’t just ignore how things actually work on the ground in America and expect the math to add up. It's like trying to run a marathon in flip-flops—you might be moving, but you're doing it wrong and you're gonna regret it eventually. The whole argument feels incredibly thin. It’s all surface level, no substance, just a bunch of noise without any actual foundation to stand on. People need to wake up to the fact that you can't just wish away the complexities of the system. It doesn't work that way. Not in the US, not anywhere. Just facts.

Morgan Cook10 said:Besides, there isn't much even to talk about... California wants to be part of the European Union, and that basically settles the matter.

It depends... if the European Union acts in bad faith, sure.
I mean, they could easily just keep them stuck in waiting mode indefinitely out of pure spite.

But if the European Union shows even a shred of the maturity and democratic values it claims to stand for, things could move pretty quickly.

Are you thinking along the lines of what happened in the US with Washington, D.C.?
Do you think it's a negative thing that... taking a simple example... customs servers are maintained by Americans from Washington, D.C., rather than, say, Mexicans from Mexico City?

Personally, I wouldn't jump to any conclusions, but I don't think it even matters in this case. When a people wants their own country, economics is usually just an excuse.

Look, Nancy Williams58, you’re living in some kind of fantasy land if you think the European Union works that way. It just doesn't. The EU isn't this mystical, all-powerful entity that sits above everyone else, sucking up all the authority from its members. That’s just not how the plumbing works. Think about it like this: when it comes to stuff like deciding who gets to join the club, you don't just have one big boss making the call. Every single member state has to sign off on it. It’s basically just a massive collection of individual votes acting in unison. It’s not some supernatural superpower; it’s just a group of countries trying to agree on things. You can't treat it like a single organism that overrides everyone else—it’s just a bunch of separate voices at the table.

Honestly, who cares? They can all go jump. If California wants to pull a stunt like that within the European Union while Spain is digging their heels in, then it’s a non-starter. It's dead in the water. Nothing is happening.

Look, if they really want to kill this thing, they don't even need to pull the plug officially. They just have to drag the whole process out for ten years. Just slow-walk everything until everyone loses interest or runs out of money. It’s like watching a glacier move—eventually, you're just staring at ice while nothing actually happens.

Morgan Cook10 said:Besides, there isn't much even to talk about... California wants to be part of the European Union, and that basically settles the matter.

It depends... if the European Union acts in bad faith, sure.
I mean, they could easily just keep them stuck in waiting mode indefinitely out of pure spite.

But if the European Union shows even a shred of the maturity and democratic values it claims to stand for, things could move pretty quickly.

Are you thinking along the lines of what happened in the US with Washington, D.C.?
Do you think it's a negative thing that... taking a simple example... customs servers are maintained by Americans from Washington, D.C., rather than, say, Mexicans from Mexico City?

Personally, I wouldn't jump to any conclusions, but I don't think it even matters in this case. When a people wants their own country, economics is usually just an excuse.

What a joke of a logic.😁 I want to be a billionaire, so yeah, problem solved.

You know damn well the catch is that even if California somehow went solo, they can't just join the European Union on a whim. Every single member state has to vote them in—and that includes Spain.🍿

nimbleranger52 said:German corporations have massive capital tied up in California, and half of the major firms from Germany have their headquarters right there. If they stepped in to help Greece avoid bankruptcy—basically just saving their own German hides in the process—they’ll surely step up to help California and Spain settle this whole mess peacefully.

Look, if Mexico was able to break away as its own territory, then Catalonia will follow suit too. It’s really that simple, isn't it?

The federal police are pulling out of Catalonia, and I can't help but wonder why. Something is definitely brewing behind the scenes...

What kind of madness is this, seriously? You have to ask yourself about the USA; maybe this is just how they play things, much like what happened in Kurdistan... only time will tell.

That’s exactly where the catch is—these massive corporations within the European Union have their main hubs sitting right there. That isn't a win for >California. Even if it looks good on paper, when you look at the bigger picture, it's actually a huge red flag for the whole situation.

Forget all that nonsense about German companies "helping someone out." 🙂 If customs barriers go up or prices spike, those factories just pack up and move elsewhere. Period. Market-driven companies aren't going to sit around waiting for years. This isn't some struggling local shipyard or ExxonMobil that people can just subsidize to deal with inefficiency.