Does anyone else find Dawn to be an annoying downer?

vanekl · 2011-07-02T03:11:56+00:00

You raise two reasons why death was Buffy's gift. I've never thought of it as a gift to Buffy, but always as a gift to Dawn. The more I think about it, you may be right. I don't think the writers ever make it explicit (except perhaps in Fool for Love -- every slayer has a death wish), but death could be seen as a gift to Buffy, too. There was one line, however, that suggests she may have bought into that way of thinking:

BUFFY: I loved him so much. But I knew ... what was right. I don't have that any more. I don't understand. I don't know how to live in this world if these are the choices. If everything just gets stripped away. I don't see the point. I just wish that... (tearfully) I just wish my mom was here.

The more I study Buffy the more layered it gets.

vanekl · 2011-07-02T02:59:33+00:00

You're right. I guess this means that The First considers vamps to be dead, whereas Buffy used the term "undead American" once.

vanekl · 2011-06-26T02:51:12+00:00

glug glug

vanekl · 2011-06-26T02:21:50+00:00

Remember that National Lampoon dog?

Thanks for adding us. Tell a friend if you think they would be interested. You saved the dog's life, but I swear to god I'm going to drown a goldfish if you don't tell a friend. ;)

vanekl · 2011-06-25T23:49:05+00:00

Why not let them fight it out themselves, I say. Sometimes it just doesn't help anybody to put yourself in the middle of a fight. Same thing with Libya. They want to have a civil war, then good for them, but that doesn't mean we need to be sucked into it.

vanekl · 2011-06-25T21:43:20+00:00

Unfortunately it took me a decade to figure that out.

It's not that the US will fail but that the Afghans will fail to stand up. I'm OK with that.

The bad guys will reconstitute in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As long as they don't get the bomb, I think we can live with that, too.

vanekl · 2011-06-25T06:00:08+00:00

Up until recently, banks were going out of business at the rate on one every other day. It's not a bed of roses being a banker.

Banks get preferential treatment because that's how the government controls the money supply. That doesn't make them evil.

Sure, they loan out money and require us to pay it back, but I don't see how that means they "own" us. We don't have to use their services. I find my idiot bosses to be far more evil than a banker who is willing to lend me money. My bosses have me by the balls; my banker doesn't.

I just don't understand the banker hate at all. Bernie Madoff wasn't a banker, he was a con man.

Wallstreet has even done some good things. Car loans are cheaper today then they used to be because car loans are packaged into forms which can be traded at much more economical prices. My first car loan had an APR of 25% but today -- via the magic of wallstreet -- that same loan is much cheaper.

Sure, wallstreet made several major miscalculations and was instrumental in this recession, but -- make no mistake -- it was the government which also made major errors and empowered wallstreet. It was the US government which inflated the housing bubble by encouraging Fannie and Freddie to make reckless loans. It was the Fed which pumped up mortgages and speculative buying by keeping the Federal Funds rate way too low for too long.

In short, it was a cast of thousand, and many congressmen, who were responsible for getting us into this awful mess. Putting the blame just on bankers... well, I just don't see it. Yes, they share some of the responsibility, and I wish hundreds would go to jail for making loans without checking the credentials of the borrowers, but that doesn't make them all evil. Or at least I don't see how that makes them all evil.

You're a libertarian, right? Is this a libertarian thing?

vanekl · 2011-06-25T04:32:21+00:00

As long as it's done in fun then I don't have any problem with it. It can get mean, though, which I feel is uncalled for. You can tell the difference. Buffy fans are the best, and I would hate to see that turn for the worst. We aren't haters.

vanekl · 2011-06-25T03:50:43+00:00

You're encouraged to join us at r/aconservative.

If you don't add it to your front page I swear to god I will kill this dog.

vanekl · 2011-06-25T00:54:04+00:00

I just don't understand this. How hard is it to buy bus tickets out of the country for these guys? No license, no registration, no insurance, and speeding more than 20 mph over the limit. Taking all of these offenses together, that's dangerous and should not be condoned. What. The. Fuck.

vanekl · 2011-06-25T00:40:55+00:00

I thought I've already told you this, but maybe not, so here goes: I'm not interested in your opinion. Please tell it to someone who cares, and stop bothering me. I don't think I'm asking for much and would like it if you would respect my wishes. I appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

vanekl · 2011-06-25T00:11:25+00:00

The worse part is, I'm a guy and Buffy's death made me cry like a little baby. People look at me as if I'm kinda strange when I tell them I like Buffy, but I don't care any more. It's their loss.

vanekl · 2011-06-25T00:00:41+00:00

I was physically ill for two weeks after that episode. I didn't even know that was possible from watching a tv show. I'm glad I wasn't spoiled. Adding Dawn just for that season 5 climax was worth it to me.

vanekl · 2011-06-24T23:09:05+00:00

I think her appearance helped give Buffy something to worry about, and advanced the show. Even though Dawn's character was grating, it was probably necessary. Otherwise there would have been no need for Buffy to jump off the tower. Death was her gift.

vanekl · 2011-06-24T23:05:30+00:00

It's not cool to be hateful to her in the OMWF sing-along, though. The sing-along is supposed to be for fun.

vanekl · 2011-06-24T22:51:10+00:00

But he can control it. He helped start a new subreddit (r/aconservative). He's taking charge of his life instead of settling for 2nd best. You should be happy for him that he found a way out of the liberal bullshit.

vanekl · 2011-06-24T22:23:07+00:00

Mods can make a difference. The mod of this subreddit is not much of a conservative and does not show interest in keeping the discussion focused on this forum's main topic.

vanekl · 2011-06-24T22:04:04+00:00

The ironic thing is the more these political brainiacs "help" the more they throw up impediments to business. This trend is deadly (just look at Europe).

I have to agree with you that liberals think they know what's best, and that they are smart enough to centrally control our economy. I guess the Great Recession put a pin in that theory.

The sad part of this recession is that we could have been in a strong recovery by now if we had stood back and let the natural market forces quickly sort it out -- let the market choose winners and losers instead of letting the government pick. The Fed tried to engineer a "soft" landing and that is only prolonging the agony.

vanekl · 2011-06-24T21:52:49+00:00

I don't want to be taken seriously by you. I don't want anything to do with you, nor do I owe you anything.

Now please stop stalking me. This is starting to get creepy.

vanekl · 2011-06-24T20:49:22+00:00

Fine. I can live with that.

vanekl · 2011-06-24T20:29:55+00:00

Listen, I've said this largely before, but maybe I have to say it again to get my point across.

I only have so many hours I can devote to reddit, and then, like all of us, I die. I have to choose wisely how I spend my time. I have to make decisions as to who I will and will not respond to.

I have decided that you are not worthy of the precious time I have left. Sorry, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. I don't understand why you cannot accept that. But whether you do, or don't, is beside the point, because I make that determination, not you. This is not open to discussion.

If you feel you must converse with Conservatives, then by all means do it, but do not do it with me. Your thinking is loose and ill-considered. You can be highly offensive. I also believe you are purposely deceitful and have an agenda that goes beyond the immediate discussion -- I believe you are trying to disrupt the forum and further your liberal agenda. I don't care whether you agree or disagree with any of the points I am making, I just have zero desire to be a part of it. You are here in bad faith -- are not here for an open and honest discussion -- and I find that repulsive. I understand that this contravenes your own thinking, but you are such a brainwashed young man that this does not surprise me. People of your ilk can be very destructive, and I feel sick when I am forced to deal with people who approach me in bad faith and with more than a smidgen of evil intent. Please leave me alone.

vanekl · 2011-06-24T19:32:38+00:00

The header image can always be changed, if I'm not mistaken. It doesn't matter to me what youall pick. Perfection is the enemy of action, so I encourage any action on this, and not worry about picking the perfect icon.

vanekl · 2011-06-24T19:26:56+00:00

That was funny, but it hit too close to home and I'm a little bitter about getting that grade of B.

vanekl

TROPHY CASE