I thought that was a photo of Jeff and Beau Bridges.

As with the link I subtly slipped in above, philosophy has kind of dealt with the problem a while ago, and they did it with that word.

You're right, whoever that is.

I'm still new to the Culture universe (and loving it) but of the two I've read fully, Consider Phlebas had characters who like Star Wars could pass for humans. Gorza and Perosteck were effectively human, even (especially?) with Gorza's changing ability.

Well, that's fair. I mean no disrespect to you (believe it or not), but I was bored of this thread long ago. I'm just a compulsive shit-stirrer and debate-haver.

Don't we have this word? Isn't that what "person" means?

"Being" doesn't limit to sentient (otherwise you'd never need to use the phrase "sentient being"), which feels key if you're discussing only intelligent aliens.

How about the pointless rivalry of "the Star Trek/Star Wars rivalry is the most pointless!" vs "the DC/Marvel rivalry is way more pointless!" vs "No way, the DS9/Babylon 5 is most pointless"?

Really? I was just about to say, I have a feeling he wouldn't have minded very much. *I* don't know if *I* like the idea... but I suspect Kurt would have shrugged and maybe been happy people were writing at all.

No, that's not hard to understand in the slightest. In fact, it's a good case you make. In the end, for me, it's just too muddy. (Some of those at) the studio and (at least some of) the other backers do tremendous good for those same causes, both in terms of charity and aid as well as keeping the conversation alive…

I don't know if it's a much better movie. Both are pretty messy.

This is so sad.

It's disheartening that so many people know about the "boycott this film because Card is a homophobe" movement without considering at all if that makes much sense. For one, xevloso nails it that we can't know how much this will impact nor is it really rewarding him for his politics — if all of history's art that was…

Weinstein has a long, long, ugly history with cutting up foreign films for American release. It's not "just a ploy to sell more Blu-Rays," it's much more likely as the article says, as the interviewed critics suggest specifically, "to play better in Iowa and Oklahoma."

Which part of that was unbelievable?

Also: it sounds like you're saying Videodrome gets the neuroscience right but gets the broadcast technology and television tech-specs wrong.

2 follow-up articles I want:

No no, sorry for the confusion. You said you weren't worth my time. Because I should be spending the energy I devoted to communicating with you learning to be funny instead.

I personally feel that there's a probably unavoidable imbalance following the climax of the "Purple Wedding," because more and more we are given new characters and cities and worlds and economies and political terrains that we have to learn from scratch and figure out how to integrate with those that we — at this…

So, when you say, "Um, says who?" and everybody else says, "Well, lots of people, like me and my friends," and then point out reasons why, and you say, "Yeah, I know that reason, not convinced," —— I guess the answer to your question "Says who?" is lots and lots of people who aren't you, so... deal with it?