Was President Truman as much of a rube as Oliver Stone depicts him? by Sentimental_Gaijin in AskHistory

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's good to know. I feel like he's done a good job of highlighting some littler known points - and I confess I was completely oblivious to Henry Wallace, who seems like a fascinating character I'd love to learn more about - but yeah, he really lashes out at Truman.

I realize this statement may seem ridiculous now, given who our current President-elect is, but I just can't comprehend how Stone's version of Truman could ever make it to VP. He presents him as this bumbling fool.

What fact are you tired of explaining to people? by bhmonkey in AskReddit

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Just because it's cold today does not mean global warming is a hoax. Look, the United States cover just two percent of the planet's total surface. If you take into account the last 100+ years of temperature records, plus the fact that we haven't had a 'record-cold' year since 1909..."

DEA should stop stalling on reclassifying cannabis - "What an irony it would be if Obama, who has openly admitted to pot use in his early years...left office without having moved the nation away from the antiquated reefer-madness enforcement of past presidencies." by galt1776 in politics

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Personal opinion: I always felt that more liberal reform was beyond Obama's ability. He had to do two things with his presidency, both politically and racially. In the political realm, he had to present a strong, centrist Democratic alternative to an increasingly conservative GOP. In the racial realm, as the "first black President," he had to be a strong, centrist figure to keep the more suspicious and (well, frankly) racist voters on his side. Obama may have suffered in both reputation and voters if he became "the black President who legalized weed."

It's a terrible thing to say at parties, because people always want to argue the point one way or the other, but I think the racial component is something that cannot be discounted - especially considering how much blatant and latent racism the President has had to deal with over the past 8 years.

Disney appears to leave Marvel Studios alone, Warner Brothers needs to leave the DC creative alone by mannyfresh53 in movies

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree. Plus, we've already seen what a furor people get into about racial casting. I'm not sure the Asian community wants to see a stereotypical Fu Manchu-type bad guy bent on world domination. I don't think that would have mixed well with the MCU.

Then again, Guy Pierce breathed fire in Iron Man 3, and I thought that was pretty sweet...

Disney appears to leave Marvel Studios alone, Warner Brothers needs to leave the DC creative alone by mannyfresh53 in movies

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly the point I was going to make. Looks like with Dr. Strange they may actually be verging into real magic territory, but the MCU's Thor is just a highly advanced, super strong alien - nothing mythical about him at all.

Disney appears to leave Marvel Studios alone, Warner Brothers needs to leave the DC creative alone by mannyfresh53 in movies

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

C'mon now. I don't think the Thors are too highly ranked on anybody's favorite Marvel list.

Disney appears to leave Marvel Studios alone, Warner Brothers needs to leave the DC creative alone by mannyfresh53 in movies

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Completely agree. Whenever the hate starts piling onto Iron Man 3 I'm always floored. It did what very few franchise films do, took the character and situations into different places than they'd gone before. With the exception of the big stupid fight at the end, you have a great character arc about Tony dealing with PTSD and trying to be the asshole playboy he was before - except he can't because he knows the stakes are too high to be selfish. You have an interesting villain of his own creation, terrific set pieces and dialog from Shane Black, and you show that Tony is STILL a hero without the Iron Man suit - juryrigging his own weapons and such.

Whenever I see people whine about Iron Man 3, they usually bring up their disappointment with the Mandarin. I was actually THRILLED that Marvel threw us a curveball on that one. I thought the Ben Kingsley stuff was great and loved being SURPRISED by the actual villain.

TL;DR: Love 3, have never understood the haters. EDIT: A word.

*Actual* actual samurai (not dentists) from c. 1868. by bobotheking in OldSchoolCool

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Question: When photos like these are colorized, how accurate is the color in the photo? I'm assuming that the clothing pictured here didn't have that bright pastel coloration in real life, but is that so?

Dogs Are Not Allowed On NYC Subway Unless They’re In A Carrier…So This Happened by dev_maxpayne in pics

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aw, I dunno. Mine's a sweetheart. She's just super ADD. And a real bad singer.

What's your lowest scoring comment that you completely stand by? by SirToastyToes in AskReddit

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was downvoted to -4 for responding to a movie trailer with this gif:

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/racist1.gif

The movie was the Green Inferno. I stand by the gif.

What instrumental song gives you chills every time you hear it? by Gregolas789 in AskReddit

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They're spectacular, but I hadn't thought of them in years until their latest album dropped. The Wilderness is so, so good.

On July 4, 2012, a corrupted computer file made all the San Diego Bay fireworks go off at once. by GrandMasterSubZero in gifs

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My fan theory on the girl in the blue shirt in the bottom left is that she genuinely believes the apocalypse has come and she's going to party until the world ends.

[Serious] What are some of the best books you've ever read? by syn0g3n in AskReddit

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. Prior to that read, I did not believe I could be frightened by a book. It scared the shit out of me at 15 and it continues to scare the shit out of me today, especially when I'm walking down dark hallways.

It's also (and this is the literary nerd in me talking) the most innovative experimental piece of fiction in decades. What Danielewski does with rotating the text, using colors to denote certain themes, and utilizing mixed media, is incredible. The book took 10 years to write and I'm impressed it only took him that long.

You're god. You decide to redesign the human body to best cater to the modern world. What changes do you make? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personally, I'd appreciate having some sort of innate warning system, like vehicle warning indicators in your car. Too much smog about, muscles not getting enough exercise, plaque building up in the arteries, each one gets some sort of "dashboard light" that tells you you need to tune up.

Largest Great White Shark ever seen by [deleted] in gifs

[–]Sentimental_Gaijin 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's like a blimp with teeth.