bigruss

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Aug 29, 2017 -> 09:32 PM) French people are great, but you have to try. And don't be loud. Also I'd rather go to Lyon than Paris each and every time. Not in my experiences, sure there are the anomalies but the norm (at least in Paris) is they are very rude to Americans. And they may have strong reasons for that mentality, but it's what I encountered (and I try to be extra self-aware and careful how I act when I'm international).

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 28, 2017 -> 09:29 AM) Bran the Night King? Am I missing something? There is a theory out there that Bran is actually the Night King. Quick recap on it: Bran has more power than the last 3 eyed Raven, because he can warg. So with that power, he has tried to intervene in past events to try and win the war vs the Night King. Theory includes: -Whispering to Aerys to stockpile wildfire in King's Landing (another hint that the dead will make it there), this is actually what turned him mad -Went farther back and built the wall as Bran the Builder -Warged into the human that the Children stabbed in the heart (and making the Night King) as a way to take over the mind of the Night King and prevent him from becoming a thing. But instead he went too far back in time and his consciousness got stuck in the NK body. He slowly lost himself and became the NK. It is a really interesting theory, and I could see it become true, but I would think more emphasis on Bran would have occurred this season.

I actually feel pretty confident, all things considered, that Dany will die in this war. I keep thinking that she will be "sacrificed" to win the war, and Jon as the true heir will be the hero. I had been thinking that she would die at some point, but thought it would be because of a power struggle with Jon. Now I'm thinking she will have to die to win the war in some fashion.

It was a decent finale, could have been better but it had a lot in it. My first impression after the episode ended was Westeros is f***ed. I was talking to a buddy and he brought up Dany's visions in Qarth, and there was one with a snowy throne room, between that and talking about the number of people in King's Landing I'm pretty sure that the dead will make it there. It got me thinking about the last time the white walkers attacked and Azor Ahai, started reading up on it again. It'll be interesting to see if there are any parallels between then and now.

Brussels just happened to be one of my least favorite European cities But I love Belgium and their smaller cities/towns. Must sees: Bruges (watch the movie first, it's pretty cool to see the locations from it), may have been my favorite place. Just a beautiful little city that is really well preserved. Great beer options (plenty of places to drink but they have really cool beer stores with the accompanying glasses for sale). Go to De Halve Maan Brewery as well, great beer there (their Staffe Hendrix Quad is phenomenal). There are also really good waffle places. Ghent - Similar to Bruges, but has a modern flair to it. Check out the castle for a bit, but I loved just going out to the local pubs and gin joints and trying different ones. The locals were really friendly there and had great recommendations. Brussels - Best thing I did there was a mini pub crawl with my brother, got to try sour beers and such, Delirium Cafe is a must. Not a big fan of the rest of the city. For surrounding areas, some of these I've gone to and some my buddy in Luxembourg recommends: French Champagne country, easy to drive to. Copenhagen Berlin, my favorite city in Germany. Definitely go to Munich for Oktoberfest (maybe next year), and spend 3 nights there (it's like Vegas, you can only do so much before killing yourself). Scotland - Edinburgh and then do a 3-4 day trip from a company like this, I did the 4 night whiskey tour to Islay, and it was flat out amazing. Barcelona Prague Santorini - Go to Athens for 2 nights, spend a day touring/seeing the Acropolis, but then get to Santorini and find a hotel or Airbnb with a pool overlooking the Aegean. I wish I had spent more time there, just breath taking. Don't drink the Volcanic wine, it's s***. Italy - Highly recommend Rome and Florence for the sights, but check out Naples/Salerno area for the coast area. Any of Amalfi Coast, Positano, etc are good, they are pretty much the same when it comes down to it. If you go to Naples, definitely see Pompeii, but I found Vesuvius highly disappointing (the views aren't great at all). Hvar Definitely go to Paris and London, it's personal preference but I didn't like London that much and Paris could be amazing except the French really aren't great to be around =) Plenty more places I've been to but that's a good starter list! My buddy in Lux was originally doing 2 years out there, but extended to 3 to see more places. So travel as much as you can, it's so easy/cheap to get around out there.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Aug 24, 2017 -> 08:30 PM) Looks like I'll be moving to Belgium in October to manage a project for my company over there. 12 month stint. Only possible holdup is that the potential client hasn't officially signed, but we're starting the visa process because we're far enough in negotiations. I've never been to Europe, but I'm pumped. Going to try to travel to as many places as I can. Oh man I'm psyched for you!! So many recommendations. Any idea where in Belgium yet? I'll type up a list of must see places.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Aug 23, 2017 -> 02:17 PM) I met Marcus Lemonis a few years ago. There was a business that was to be featured on one of his shows that had fraud and my professor was putting together a case study based on the business and when she reached out to him, he agreed to meet with both of her grad classes and we all worked together with him. He was a very nice guy and very generous with his time. He traveled with an entourage of employees and you could tell they actually liked him. I can't watch the video though. What is the violence he's referring to? The Charlottesville ordeal? I didn't watch the first video yet, but the 2nd one was just about Charlottesville and general hate/violence.

I don't know how one can watch his 2nd video and then comment this: This s*** is sooo typical. Let's break it down: LOL, it's not about race, but it totally is. And so glad he's "cool with that" Why even have this piece in here except for the ol' "I'm not racist, I liked this one guy of that race before" Ah finally, we get to the "deal". Wait, how are we getting to paid protesters and history of America? That escalated really quickly. Here comes the non-sensical threat! I find these arguments fascinating. The irony in how conservatives view wealth, especially across party or ideological lines, is ridiculous. White, republican, male and wealthy? Awesome, you know everything, you're the smartest person in the room, your genes are sweet. Anything but that and....well, you're elitist and don't get us. Again, how did he diss these folks? Unless they were the ones in the protests spewing hate? And love the sign off, the classic shut the f*** up about politics. It's all about state rights free speech amirite?

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 23, 2017 -> 10:42 AM) Wasn't there a Camping World Bowl in NCAA football last season? QUOTE (RockRaines @ Aug 23, 2017 -> 10:46 AM) That seems like a Bowl that Illinois fans should know, and Ohio St fans should not.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 22, 2017 -> 04:02 PM) I figure if anyone does the killing it would be Arya. Sansa is just smarter and far more grown up. The reality is they didn't get along and neither of them really know what happened to one another over time. Sansa has toughened up a lot and if Arya knew the truth, I think she'd have a lot more respect for Sansa and recognize that they are more similar then different. I presume at some point they are going to figure that out. I agree, but the last episode was Sansa playing right into Littlefinger's plan. It was a complete reversal of her from earlier this season and back to her naive ways. So which one prevails? Will she actually be mature or be manipulated, again?

If Sansa really does try to kill Arya now, it would be the stupidest writing ever.

I actually don't think it's all that complex, it's just the show writers keeping Baelish in the mix of things (and adding some drama to Winterfell). Baelish stirs things up, he's doing that. Sansa and Arya always hated each other so it's an easy pair to rile up. Arya clearly thinks she is better/smarter than Baelish and he's exposing that. Sansa is probably the most disappointing, she was supposed to have matured and see through the BS better, but she is falling for pettiness and Baelish's whispers. Sending Brienne away is a clear Baelish move IMO, she would have protected both and probably would have caught onto Baelish's schemes. I do think it's leading to one of Sansa or Arya doing something stupid to hurt one another (possibly killing one) before realizing (which is stupid, since they both know his game and should be above it at this point), but probably more realistic is they have a fight and Arya realizes she can't stay at Winterfell and goes south to continue her assassinations.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 22, 2017 -> 10:33 AM) Maybe someone already mentioned this but the army of dead doesn't seem very scary anymore. Jon and his 5 or 6 friends literally killed a few hundred of them without suffering a single casualty. I guess you can count Benjen although those were odd circumstances. Still scratching my head as to why he didn't jump on the horse as well. Well the army of the dead aren't the best fighters, but the relentlessness of them is their scary part. And these same fighters did the same to living normal soldiers as well, so kind of expected. The scary part is that they can revive the fallen soldiers and keep coming at you, which almost makes a larger army more susceptible to the white walkers.

Some of the theory makes sense, but to me the most convincing part of him NOT being the NK is that they haven't spent anytime on Bran and that potential reveal. That seems way to big at this point to not have more flashbacks with him doing those things (like the whispering to Aegon and such). But it was interesting and wouldn't be surprised if parts of it do occur.

I think Steve hit it on the head pretty well. I work in IT, and I was one of the last IT interns ever at the company to stay fulltime (there are probably less than 5 now, out of close to 10 years worth of intern classes), and that is mainly because the younger workforce didn't get the opportunities to make a difference enough. I also think this related video is very accurate, and it doesn't apply to just millenials but is very relatable in many fields that millenials are going into (especially with less and less "mechanical" type work available).

My thought process is that humans are susceptible to turning, so may not need to be touched exactly to turn. Turning a Dragon though was different.

I do agree that the rushed ending of these last 2 seasons is making characters like Bran wasted. He could be doing so much in the show to further plot lines, give history (and some really good stuff too) but instead every scene with him thus far has been wasted. Besides making Littlefinger uncomfortable, he's done nothing this season. Maybe that changes in the finale. I'm interested to see how this meet goes with Cersei. Even with the combined armies (like how much help does Cersei really provide anyways) I'm not sure how the army of the dead loses with the ability to take down dragons and now having a dragon. Sam, Qyburn, someone will probably come up with a just in time fix is my guess at this point.

I'm just trying to enjoy this season for what it is, it's so far beyond any form of realism that it's time to just go along for the ride. It's not how I would have done it but whatever, it's had fun moments, it's had some good fighting scenes, it's coming to an end in one way or another. I ruined TWD for myself, I couldn't get over differences from the graphic novels and I love GOT too much to repeat that. Going to enjoy this and hopefully enjoy the last books if they come out.

Ugh, so hard to see the photos and videos. Haunting.

QUOTE (KagakuOtoko @ Aug 17, 2017 -> 02:42 PM) Terrorism? The mayor seemed to call it terrorism, didn't see any specific group involved yet though.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 17, 2017 -> 03:16 PM) https://twitter.com/robneyer LawNewz @law_newz Democratic Lawmaker Posts, Deletes ‘I Hope Trump is Assassinated!’ http://bit.ly/2i9Xidv Ugh, this s*** is soooo counterproductive. There is no place for this, especially with a sitting president.

I've been in that area, it's typically packed with pedestrians. Scary stuff, hopefully the fatal injuries are limited.

My personal favorite is the pyramids one, why aren't we taking those down??? SMDH at these people.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Aug 16, 2017 -> 06:17 PM)

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 16, 2017 -> 10:47 AM) Apparently HBO Spain released (accidentally?) the entire next episode, so of course a bunch of people grabbed it and were streaming it. Lots more spoilers confirmed. Some pretty hokey looking CGI. I saw a leaked photo of something, it'll be a bigger episode than people think. Since it was just a photo not sure on the quality, but yea there will be a lot of CGI (as seen before with the wights anyways).