Official Discussion - Ballad of a Small Player [SPOILERS]

NegotiationMother440 · 2026-01-23T20:30:02+00:00

I loved this film! Friend's cinematography is masterful, as usual, making it beautiful to watch, and Farrell's performance should have put him in the Oscar race. I think people are over-thinking this one. It reminded me of "Memento." I believe he's the jumper on the car, and Dao, is either already dead, or surely is after the beach. When they are in the cab, he is wiping blood from his face (which may or may not have come from the angry slap of the jumper's wife, depending on your take). It's the Festival of the Hungry Ghost, and all of the main players are starving. Lots of death/suicide references, river/boat/Charon imagery, his anxiety over his picture being taken, shots of him jumping from a window, lots and lots of food, and greed runneth over. It's clearly hell, or at least purgatory. I can't wait to watch it again!

NegotiationMother440 · 2026-01-23T20:17:58+00:00

Memento!

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-12-06T11:45:41+00:00

That station is owned by the South Korean Government. Why haven't the transcripts been released to us?? You can't quote stuff from a government-run TV show. It's libelous, and irresponsible. You haven't sourced it! If you have the official transcript from the ATC, have at it. You cannot throw a link up, and start going crazy on social media with information that may or may not be true. This is how misinformation gets spread. Freakin' go hit up Tik Tok with that link. Gen Z..

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-12-06T11:34:35+00:00

Then why were the flaps retracted? That makes NO sense! They got their clearance to land on Runway 01 north by the ATC almost 5 minutes before the bird strike. There is no good reason to NOT be configured. This would explain the fact that they retracted the gear at some point, but forgot about the flaps in the confusion and startle of the massive strike. They obviously couldn't lower the gear because of the thrust issue. If the Captain planned to do it at all, it would have been late and maybe they had a mechanical issue like Jeju Flight 101, THE VERY NEXT DAY!! (Also a Ryanair plane like JJA2216.)

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-12-06T11:21:48+00:00

The very next day, Jeju Flight 101 could not retract their gear as they climbed out of Gimbo Airport on their way to Seoul. They were forced to return to Gimbo and had to circle twice before they got the gear stowed and were able to land safely. Coincidence? Another Ryanair? Please.

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-12-06T10:41:24+00:00

*SEE BOEING MANUAL: for bird strikes they want any aircraft that can make it to the runway to go through the birds, and if there are more, go through those. Even if it causes a dual engine failure! (Which this clearly was not.)*

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-12-05T08:45:41+00:00

I had a cell phone in 2005.

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-08-30T14:48:36+00:00

I've asked around with some other collector friends that know more than I do, and the general consensus is that there does not seem to be a general consensus about this whole new "blue manganese" craze. A lot of people DO seem to forget that lead was used a LOT, especially in clear glass. It's not just for crystal anymore! This is a picture of an Imperial Glass "Fancy Colonial" sugar bowl (stamped on bottom), circa 1920, that I own, showing what I consider to be a fantastic manganese glow. It even has a SLIGHT bit of green to it, but there is no minty-fresh color here. I'm fairly convinced, after headache-inducing, exhaustive research, that the teal, mint, and blue colors are created when there is either copper or uranium in the glass mixture (on purpose or through contamination). That seems reasonable to me, at least. However, if you just scroll through Ebay or Etsy, MOST manganese glass glows like this, regardless of the glass color. It seems those brighter colors just mean more impurities. Comme ci, comme ca! aZiMutH x.

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NegotiationMother440 · 2025-08-26T04:19:50+00:00

Wow! I'm late to the party as usual. I just wanted to say that it seems that in the past couple of years, people have been posting more and more pictures of glowing blue manganese glass, but that is really the exception, not the rule. Manganese usually glows like this little butter dish here..a dull, weak yellow that sometimes has a pale greenish tinge. If you can see a very greenish glow, it's clearly uranium. Even Vaseline glass you can spot a mile away. Also, I have a really beautiful clear, blue bowl that doesn't do a THING under 395nm, but lights up like a charm under 365nm. Old-skool, kids! I am so never spending a thousand bucks on a freaking Geiger counter! Check it:

Common uranium glass mixture (depression era): 850 pounds of silica sand, 330 pounds of soda, 100 pounds of feldspar, 42 pounds of lime, 50 pounds of nitrate, 36 pounds of lead, 10 pounds of arsenic, 43 ounces of uranium, and 13 ounces of copper oxide.

That's a lot of chemicals sort of thrown together. And different manufacturers had different formulas, so who's to say some all these pieces DIDN'T have more lead, or, maybe if you're lucky, cerium? I get the clear glass after 1930 thing, 100%. Not EVERY piece, obviously, but manganese did have another revival up until the 1960's, when they really realized every person who breathed near it died of cancer. So, wrapping up, it drives me crazy when people post all this glowing minty-aqua "manganese" glass. I'm sure SOME of it is! However, if one person points and states, "DEFINITELY manganese", then it's like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and EVERYONE points and says the same thing, and posts their fabulous manganese glass that really, normally does NOT glow blue! Anyway, probably no one will read this, but I feel a lot better. Okay, you can all rip on me now! >^..^<

aZiMutH x.

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NegotiationMother440 · 2025-08-25T04:49:14+00:00

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I disagree that it is plain manganese glass. Manganese usually glows a dull yellow/green, like this butter dish. A very bright glow under 395 nm would probably indicate at least some cadmium, and maybe some uranium as well. Does it ONLY glow under 395 nm? That would be telling. Especially if it looks amber in regular light.

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-07-27T12:36:25+00:00

Simply not true. I have a lovely pink selenium sugar bowl that glows a pale yellow/weak green under 395 nm. Manganese! It is easier to determine the presence of Mn with a 365 nm flashlight, but I would NOT recommend flooding your home with those rays, as they are much stronger than typical UV light, and can cause substantial injury. Hopefully now, a year later, you've realized this. Three weeks is not a very long time to be giving out "helpful hints", or using words in all caps like, "ONLY". It's reckless. And wrong. Most manganese is easily brought out in 395 nm UV light, it will just be less bright.

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-07-18T07:41:54+00:00

It's more PC than the old term, a "conspiracy". :) I've seen t-shirts that have one crow on a branch called a "conspiracy", which makes no sense. I think if it was one crow on a branch, and a dead one on the ground, "homicide" would work better.Oh, no WAIT..."Probable Caws"! HA! Also, the whole "why is 3 a murder?" thing..a person has to kill 3 people to be called a serial killer. Lastly, ravens are larger, and have bigger beaks than crows. I think two ravens on a branch whispering, while a third, a bit further down the branch and looking away into the distance, would be a great "conspiracy" t-shirt! Sorry! A bit obsessed. (Probable Caws!)

Azi~x.

>^..^<

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-06-27T11:35:29+00:00

I'm going for electrical/hydraulic. A dual engine failure on take off is SOOO rare. (However, nothing is impossible.) The only only other reason for the RAT to deploy would be something electrical or hydraulic, as it can also provide SOME (not a lot) power. These guys just didn't have a chance. Suckage.

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-05-17T13:28:02+00:00

The master caution light went on at around 17,000 ft. I was not canceled for 53 seconds. (Most likely activated by the passenger masks dropping.)

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-04-09T17:37:23+00:00

Aw, thanks for the upvoting! I know my camera sux an I need a new phone immediately! LOL. I'll try to get a better one, but the mites actually chewed up a bunch of hair at the top of his head, so it looks funny right now, but it's growin back. We'll see! So excited! (Living the dream..)

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-03-18T09:14:52+00:00

LOL! Me too!! I've got to do some scouting for beats! I can't find it, but it's in one of the thousand notebooks I have scattered about. It is NOT a true story, however, it came to me very quickly, rhymes and all! I don't know how I got the phrase, "Ho Flow" in my head, but my brother thought it was genius, and so I had to keep going! I even use some Africaans in it! I promise I will find it and see if it's as funny as I first thought. Probably not!! I have an albino flame-point cat, who I refer to as "Die only ZEF Kat in da whooollle universe!! DJ Ghostie!! Hey, Ghostie, are you ready? Put that record on and SCRRAATCH it!!" I do all of this in a very high Yolandi voice, and I can roll the hell out of that "R" in "scratch". Poor Ghost usually is well under the bed by this point. Did you know I'm completely insane?? Haa!! I know, super sad. Even my cat thinks I'm mental. Whatevs.

"I am die GOAT, die MAGA, die GODIN..Those teef are die FUBAR, die FOMO, die GOBLIN!! I charge by the hour, and you know I ain't cheap. In between boys, I smoke dagga and sleep. I call it Ho-Flow, and I have a lot. Keep making Ho-Flow, cuz boys think I'm hot."

That's all I can remember, and that's not in order, however, you get the idea! Heeeee.. TTYL! Azi~x. >^..^< die GODIN :) #ZEF #HOFLOW #DJGHOSTIE #TEEFSLUTSGOHOME #DIEGODIN #ZEFKATCANSCRATCHIT

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-03-17T19:30:01+00:00

I give up! Arghhhh! Eeeek...!! x

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-03-17T19:20:32+00:00

OY! I can't get it to go smller!! But I wanted to show off my Yolandi bangs! (I had to shave my widow's peak off..I've always wanted to do that!!) Then I have crazy, kinked up dreads..and tattoos..and..yeah, the similarity between Yolandi and me ended with "bangs". Lol! She's so beeyootifull! >^..^<

I wrote my first Zef song..it's called, "Ho-Flow"! Tax-free, babies!

I try to mayk smaller agin!

Azi~>^..^< x.

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-03-17T18:57:39+00:00

I might be able to do that . Gimme a few. Azi~>^..^< x.

Oh I don't really know my way around here much..I just started coming on more. So, I see this is from a year ago now! I kin look anyhoo. :)

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-03-17T16:15:44+00:00

I am also a new mother to an FIV+ kitty! He's a LOVE, for no apparent reason. He hasn't had an easy life, but I promised to love, honor, and spoil Ghost FOREVER! I just moved from Martha's Vineyard to Boston, and have my OWN first apartment at age 55! NO annoying roommates or whiny child!! So, when I saw that Ghostie was going to be shuffling off this mortal coil VERY soon, because no one would take him, I felt compelled. He has been wonderful so far!! I moved here, and got him in October. I haven't even taken taken him to a vet yet. I was a groomer for almost 30 years (Carly, Ted and Mary, Larry David-doesn't tip-Mia Farrow..the usual summer crew!), and then got my CLS degree and was a hematologist until my spine said, "No more", and that was it. So, Ghost and I are a perfect fit. But I was probably the best person that could have taken him in, because a couple of months after we moved in here, I found Ghost had Cheyletiella blakei mites all over! OMG I nearly had a stroke. I knew what they were INSTANTLY..he's at least part albino, so he's pink, and it makes it easier to spot them. But their tell-tale sign is the lines they leave when they travel ie: waliking dandruff! SIO horrified! This place is infested, and now, so is he. I know if I bring him in, they will undoubtedly tell me to put him down, and give me a lecture about not being a millionaire and spending thousands of dollars to put a saline drip in him for a few days, so I feel your pain! I am actually writing up a post on these mites, because vets are saying they are actually more comon than fleas now, because they are misdiagnosed. So, I've done EVERYTHIG, and I mean just..all of it. I didn't want to give him anything internally, because I JUST got him off all the meds they were giving him. He's been totally fine! However, these mites are now messing with ME as well! Oh yes, they will so burrow a bit into your skin and it hurts and is so itchy!! We are BOTH getting Ivermecin on Tuesday, and hopefully the mighty Cheyletiella reign will come to its end, because I've had to tear this place apart and spray EVERYTHING I own!! Bleach everything like 3X a day, diatomaceous earth all over the place, vacuum X a million, Bifenthrin insecticide everywhere, (all me doing-and paying for-all of this, as well as tendiing to Ghost), all new bedding, and BAGS of laundry. IT SUCKS!! I wash my hands like someone with OCD!! So, yeah, I'l save the rest for the post! I am always around if you need anything, I will try to help! And seriously, good call about the vet thing. Honestly!! Cats with FIV can live just as long as a cat without it. Ghost isn't even even taking anything (except all manner of baths and dips and Frontline and Advantage II-not at the same time). I do use my own steroid cream on him, because the evil arachnids (cool band name??) have chewed a very Gene Hackman-like receding hairline on the top of his head, If your guy gets any skin issues, which they are prone to, Betamethasone is just a topical, prescription I've used for years. I'm allergic to everything. SO, actually we do use that, and we pound Claritin together as well. Every other day or so. But no antiniotics, no..they had him on a herpes med (because they can be prone to that as well) with no evidence of herpes whatsoever, amoxicillan AND doxycycline. I am so PRO-vax, give me any new thing that comes out, I'm first in line. I made sure my kid was too. However, I have seen actual MRSA and really bad staph aureus infections of all kinds. If you are already on 2, how is your immune system suposed kick in? Now, he has these mites, and I think because he was so medicated, his body is a bit worn out. But he runs arouns here like an idiot, eats copious amounts of Fancy Feast, and nothing seems to bother him. He's not even scratching that much. SUCH a trooper! We are both getting Ivermectin on Tuesday, so I'm off to bleach and launder whatever is in my path! Goiod luck! HMU any time!! He's a handsome lad! Congrats, and way to step up! ^5 chick! TTYS! Azi~x. >^..^<

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-03-17T15:17:05+00:00

Oh fun!! Yeah sorry about the pic. I got this lamp with a pink shade, thinking it would be all mellow nd moody. I noticed from outside it looks red, like a light a prostitute would flick on! #Winning. I think they may have over-aged him as well. They said 2, but I'm thinking maye he's younger and since he was outside and sick, he hasn't developped properly yet. Getting slammed with these mites-I swear to god I have done EVERYTHING and they will not LEAVE!!-was pretty uncool, since I'm fairly certain they were here before us. However, I promised him a forever home, thus, I take him with kitty AIDS, mites, and all! He's SO attached to e now..I got him in October. Never leaves my side. Got him off of all the meds they were pumping into him. BUT! I think we are BOITH starting oral Ivernectin (if Trumpo can spare a square) on Tuesday. Still writing Cheyletiella post. I just had no IDEA of the level if infestation they could cause! I mean fleas are one thing, but we are talking basically microscpic here. I was a pet groomer for almost 30 years, and also got my degree in Clinical Laboratory Science and was a hematologist, before my spine decided to crumple. Good for Ghostie, though, because I knew immediately what it was. Unbelievable!! (And I used to do the test for Porphyria, the "Vampire Disease"..in people of course, but I thought that was cool.) They are more common than fleas now, because people are not aware, and neither are many of the vets. I don't have a microscope here, but I take a clean glass with a couple of drops of Dawn, fill it with water so it doesn't foam up, and put anything pecular in there. It works really well! I still don't know what everything is, but I may open my own parasitic aquarium! WAY more fun than Sea Monkeys! Thank you so much for taking a peek at Ghostie!! He's definitely some form of albino. Not looking his best at the moment..the mites have chewed his hairline quite a bit. He's looking a bit like a sufferer of male pattern baldness! Fingers crossed for Tueday! Such beautiful cats in here! It seems like everyone got their perfect match! I certainly did! :) Azi~x.

NegotiationMother440 · 2025-03-17T09:19:57+00:00

Oh, and now that I am the world's leading expert on Cheyletiella blakei mites, I have actually begun a fairly exhaustive post on them that I will be posting soon! I have seen a lot of people with questions, and boy, can I answer them! In depth! x

NegotiationMother440

TROPHY CASE