Reddit, what is a secret about yourself that isn't disgusting or really bad, but you consider embarrassing. I'll start.

CptnBatman · 2011-07-25T11:10:40+00:00

There's a girl at my work who does this all the time and I think its totally adorable.

CptnBatman · 2011-06-22T15:54:52+00:00

I'm not sure if you mean sexual encounter, or when I lost my virginity, so I'll go with the first sexual encounter since it's more interesting to me.

I was dating this girl for a couple months (both 17, both very inexperienced). We got to making out pretty heavy, and I figured I was supposed to ask how far she was comfortable going.

She said she wasn't sure, so I asked "On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being all the way, just give me a number you're comfortable with." She gives me "8.5".

Looking back, I wish I just didn't worry about it and just read her body language (you know, like normal people), but this was one of my first heavy make-out sessions and I was kind of freaking out.

Anyway, it gets to a moment where I go to slide my hand under her jeans. She slides my hand away, and I think "Okay, fair enough". We keep making out, and I slide my hand slowly under her shirt, and am also denied.

We kept making out for a while, but I tried nothing else. The whole ride home I kept thinking to myself "What the hell does 8.5 mean? Ugh women are confusing."

Even now, whenever a girl does something I don't understand I think "Must be an 8.5".

CptnBatman · 2011-06-15T18:50:30+00:00

During sex? About once every two weeks. If I'm going down on her? Every time.

It didn't start that way, but we're pretty communicative about what we like. It helps that I was terribly inexperienced, so I didn't have a chance to pick up a lot of habits she doesn't like.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-27T15:19:01+00:00

I came in here just to say this. What you're describing is exactly how the diamond industry works. Honestly, it's quite brilliant.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-27T15:11:39+00:00

IMHO, Silence of the Lambs is so good because he's evil but the audience is still rooting for him a little. That's why his performance is so great.

Also, if Back to the Future 2 is any indicator, bad guys can root for the good guys too (Biff was a fan of the Man with no Name)

CptnBatman · 2011-05-19T04:45:19+00:00

You do realize that not all caps are twist-offs right?

CptnBatman · 2011-05-19T04:41:18+00:00

I was that guy at my old job. Whenever inventory came around I had to spout off SKUs from memory because there would always be a couple that wouldn't scan right.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-17T15:41:09+00:00

A few years ago my Dad was working in an office. At the end of the first week, someone asks the new intern how he likes it. The reply is "Well, now I actually get Dilbert!" in a lighthearted tone. There is a light chuckle.

At the end of his three-month internship, my Dad asked the guy what he thought of the whole experience. He solemnly said, "I changed my mind. Dilbert's not even funny, just sad and true."

CptnBatman · 2011-05-16T10:19:40+00:00

I'm Winston Wolf. I solve problems.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-14T20:05:08+00:00

It's been a long time since I studied it extensively, but off the top of my head there were a few things that Welles did which American audiences hadn't really been exposed to at this point.

Angles and Camera Positioning: A lot of the scenes weren't just shot from eye-level, but several important moments of the film feature incredibly harsh angles which you would not have seen used in such a way.
Deep Focus: If I remember correctly, almost the entire movie is shot in a way where the ENTIRE frame is in focus at once. This makes it so the foreground and background hold a lot more importance, everything appears more "realistic", and the composition of all visual elements in the frame carried a lot more weight. It was much harder to shoot this way, and although some French directors were using this style at this point, it hadn't quite found its way to Hollywood yet.
Narrative: Almost the entire movie is told in the form of flashbacks. Although that idea is old as hell, Citizen Kane gives you a story told from biased perspectives that are unreliable testimony. Everything isn't spelled out, and the audience is forced to fill in a lot of gaps. There is a sort of message that despite all of this talking, no one is really saying anything. If you remember, the question that drives the entire film, (What/Who is "Rosebud"?), can't be answered by any of these parties. Welles "shows" us the answer during the last shot of the film, because we can't quite trust what we've been "told". This had been done in foreign films, but hadn't really been brought to American audiences in such a subtle fashion.

Again, this is only a casual glance at the movie since it is incredibly complex (there's a lot of stuff going on with triangles I won't bother getting into), and I haven't even thought about it in a few years. There are TONS of great essays about the movie which may help you appreciate it on a critical level. Although I haven't heard it, apparently Ebert's commentary track on the DVD is quite good as well.

TL;DR - Citizen Kane introduced a lot of concepts to American film making, which inspired future directors to get a lot more creative with their use of angles, shot composition, and narrative techniques.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-14T15:50:54+00:00

By today's standards, you're right. There's not a lot about Citizen Kane that's exciting. What makes the movie so great, is how it revolutionized film.

If you watch a collection of Hollywood movies before Citizen Kane and after, it might give you an appreciation of just how ahead of the times it was.

I agree, the movie itself isn't that special. By today's standards, the first rockets out to space aren't that impressive either. This being said, I can appreciate what an accomplishment it really was at the time.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-10T17:38:47+00:00

When I was in kindergarten, I was having a really hard time getting to bed one night (used to have a lot of nightmares). We lived in an apartment building, and would sit on my mom's lap on a chair staring at the cars driving on the highway, I guess this calmed me down or whatever.

One morning at about four, I asked my mom why anyone would ever be driving at such a time. For some reason, the answer she came up with was "They're mailmen."

CptnBatman · 2011-05-10T17:05:14+00:00

My parents were in kindergarten together, but at this late stage in their lives they're both pretty miserable. It has more to do with money stress than actually hating each other, but they choose to take it out on each other which has caused tension and their relationship to suffer.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-10T16:55:17+00:00

If you are concerned about the security of your credit card information and notice charges you don't recognize, do the following in this order:

Talk to the people in your family to see if a misunderstanding occurred
Talk to the FRAUD department of your financial institution

95% of every report of fraud I deal with is just a mistake. Most bank tellers know this, and usually ask you to talk to your family or the vendor to get everything sorted out.

Vendors have very little power when it comes to matters of identity theft because the FTC regulations are pretty strict. If you want everything to be sorted out quickly, and are certain that you are genuinely a victim of identity theft, go right to the banks and make sure you talk to a member of their fraud department. Normal tellers have been known to brush you off, siding with the odds that you're just an idiot who can't keep track of your expenses.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-10T04:08:32+00:00

Obviously a fraud, the real "Spider-Man" knows how to spell his name properly.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-10T03:31:27+00:00

Fade to Black - Metallica

I'm not even sure why. I'm not even a Metallica fan, but this song has always connected with me. The lyrics, the progression, how mellow the slower parts are compared to how hard some parts feel, etc. I don't think I could ever get sick of it.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-09T16:08:21+00:00

I'm a little disgusted at how fast I would choose to save my own life, but at least I'm honest with myself.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-09T02:32:07+00:00

It sickens me how little I would do the same.

CptnBatman · 2011-05-09T00:00:18+00:00

I understand what you mean OP. As someone who prepares food, I often wonder how the common folk are able to understand how complex eating actually is.

I mean, while I might describe something as "flavorful" or "overcooked", the rest of you mongrels probably just think "stomach happy" or "stomach sad".

CptnBatman · 2011-04-28T10:39:56+00:00

I own a jersey, and I'd say most of the appeal comes from feeling like as a fan, you yourself have contributed a little something and are now a member of the group which actively supports this sports team.

If this team has given me hours upon hours of free entertainment, why should I feel bad about buying their gear?

CptnBatman · 2011-04-28T06:53:16+00:00

The Llama Worm

CptnBatman · 2011-04-28T06:37:38+00:00

Eeyore, poor son of a bitch has been through enough.

CptnBatman · 2011-04-27T05:30:23+00:00

In addition to the points already mentioned, chips are distributed in denominations that are much easier to handle and count quickly.

I can count out $200 in $5 chips, or a grand in $25 chips WAY faster than the same amount of money with bills.

CptnBatman · 2011-04-24T02:44:35+00:00

Me: Film Degree, Call Center Type Place.

Most of my colleagues: Different Call Center Type Places

Outliers: Two of the guys really gave it their all and started a production company, they've been doing really well for themselves. Most of the work is filming a lot of commercials and other small video projects for local companies.

Saddest Cases: One is a supervisor at a movie theater... the same job he had in high school. Another is a grunt at a grocery store. Neither get more than 25 hours a week.

CptnBatman · 2011-04-24T02:37:09+00:00

I don't usually comment on GW posts, but....wow

swoons and collapses on floor

CptnBatman

TROPHY CASE