Sarge

Is Brees going to have the best year ever by your metrics? Is the average score of the top 5 going to be the highest ever? All of this is to ask, do we exaggerate when we say we live in the age of the QB or do your numbers prove that to be true?

I feel it is important to emphasize that it is not the person you have a problem with. It is their behavior. I thought in that specific scenario that my message would get through easier if I pointed out that she was a good person first. You are right that in other situations, it is better to simply state the issue. If I had only said, "I feel disrespected when people interrupt me. Please allow me to finish my conversation next time" she might have taken it the same way.

We all agreed last offseason that the Jags should have broken the bank for Cousins. We nailed that one.

I used to let people get away with disrespecting me. I found that while I personally didn't feel bad about it, this ultra-passive behavior also lowered my esteem in the eyes of others as well. And I think it hurt my chances in getting raises at work and getting a few women I was interested in. If I don't stand up for myself in the face of disrespect, other people shouldn't trust that I will stand up for them either, right? I recently started a new trick. I give people a compliment first before I bring up my valid complaint about their behavior. Here's a recent example with a secretary at work, with the Vice Chairman of the school board present, verbatim: "I consider you a fair and honest person. So I'm sure you understand that I mean no offense when I ask you to please not interrupt me when I'm in the middle of a conversation." It worked. Due to my giving her a stellar reputation to live up to, she had no choice but to immediately and emphatically apologize. I think I earned her respect as well as a feather in my cap from the big boss.

Hot take: They were never as good as they looked last year, like Philly.

Is Brees on pace to have the best season ever in your rankings?

I'm so sorry to hear about all of this, especially you finding your dead friend. I can't even imagine what that's like. And yes life often does fuck us. You seem like a tough guy, so I don't think you'll be down long.

Everyone wants to be listened to. Nobody wants to listen. Me included. I'm really working hard on changing that. I invite you guys to try it as well. We have been shoved into this divisive way of debating each other. If you don't agree with literally everything I say, our current political climate suggests that I should treat you as my enemy and actively work against every idea and thought that you have (even if I strongly agree with other ideas of yours).This is failure in a nutshell. It obviously doesn't work. I want to try something different. I don't know everything, so I'd like to stop acting as if I do. My new goal is to see how your ideas and mine can work together instead of against one another. "My way or the highway" sounds good on paper or in a song... though it is not a long-term recipe for success or enacting real change. There doesn't have to be a winner or loser of every debate. Both sides of a debate can win. It's a helpful technique to start by saying, "Perhaps I am wrong. As I consider you an honest and fair person, I'd like you to at least consider the merits of my ideas. But first, what do you think?" Obviously anything remotely similar would do the same job. And when they tell you what they think, it's not the best idea to immediately consider how this thought or idea works against yours. That's our default setting... again, doesn't work. See if it's possible in some way that this idea can actually make yours stronger or more effective somehow. Ask for time to truly consider what the person said. If you still disagree in the end, you'll be in a better position to do it respectfully. If you do end up liking their idea, invite them to consider how yours can also make theirs better. This is how winning is done. An open-minded listener can usually disarm even the most aggressive "opponent." Showing someone that their ideas are at least useful in some way reduces the chances that they will relentlessly oppose you. Now I can already tell what some of you might be thinking. This isn't going to work. It's asking too much of people. It's a radical change. You might be right. I'd at least like the opportunity to find out. What do you say?

I think we can all agree that people of all sorts of political views are guilty of spreading so many lies that it gets hard to tell the truth apart from those lies. It's up to each individual to stop saying things that they know to be false. What a world it would be! That's not going to happen, sadly. I'm trying to get better at not getting snagged on the first headline I see and listening to my conscience when I read something. We shouldn't have to do that, but we don't really have a choice, do we? I wish more people would sacrifice, just once on a while, the need to be right in order to pursue the truth. I get it, I get it, nobody wants us to know the truth. The truth doesn't make money. How do we know that? We've never had truthful journalism to say whether or not it is profitable. Why don't we give it a try? Let's stop sacrificing the future by coming up with the most convenient way to cover our asses when we fuck up.

So what do we do about it?

I'd be interested in Jessie's life after the events of Breaking Bad.

Like I said, it's hard for me to disagree with most of that. There are some things that I interpreted differently: I believe it was the intent all along to make this movie as close to 100% about Laurie Strode as possible. Part of it goes back to the nostalgia factor, and part of it goes to Jamie Lee Curtis' experience with these movies. And further still, I believe they were trying to right the wrong of killing Laurie off so quickly in Halloween: Resurrection. The Dr. Loomis ripoff was terrible. No disagreements here, though his death scene was cool at least. I also kinda liked the gotcha moment at the end. As strong as Laurie was in the original, she couldn't beat Michael alone. Here she seems stronger than ever abd even takes the role of hunter, but still she needed help to get rid of him for good. Kinda fitting that her "ruined" daughter was the one to help. The granddaughter seems useless at first glance, but we needed lots of youth in the form of her and her friends to stay true to the spirit of the original. The only difference is this time the plot didn't revolve around the youth, but they were necessary nonetheless. Moments that made me go OHH: - The granddaughter looking out the window and seeing Laurie randomly, just as Laurie saw Michael the same way 40 years ago. - The kids walking on the same sidewalk where Michael hid behind the bushes in plain daylight in 1978. Also the trick or treaters wearing the masks from Halloween 3: Season of the Witch and running into Michael. - Michael throwing Laurie out of the window then seeing her shadow matted into the grass where she fell and escaped just as Dr. Loomis had done to him in 1978. - "Do as I say!" - Laurie There were others, but these stood out the most.

I totally don't blame anyone for feeling that way. And I actually agree with the character development part outside of Laurie. That said, they made this movie with people like me in mind. They gave me the overdose on nostalgia I was looking for. I shrieked out loud with nostalgic excitement a few times. So while I can recognize that it is not a great movie, I still enjoyed it nevertheless.

He a big dumb.

Ya rly. He a dumb.

Thanks for doing this, Razor. You always give us something fun to read. I figure from here on out, the rankings will take more or less the shape we're expecting.

The only thing I'm doing is suggesting that you consider your hypocrisy in this situation. You are expecting people to do something (show sympathy and understand from another's perspective) that you yourself have shown neither the willingness nor the ability to do... even with people who agree with you on a lot. Be the change you want to see in this world, blots. Do you think it's helpful to demand that other people change their behavior if you're not going to do the same? And if you feel no need to be kind to others, how can you expect them to be kind to you or your views? And to be clear again, most people don't have a problem with your views. It's how you express them. But I can't force you to try to work with people instead of against them. You have to want it. And if you don't, that's fine, too. I just hope you realize that you are never going to get everything you want in life no matter how right you think you are. But that's ok. You said this to me in another post: don't let perfect get in the way of better. There are lots of people here who share your passion for seeing change, but you don't listen to them. I want to help, are you really going to turn me away?

I didn't mean that you being a guy makes what sean said ok. I meant that you shouldn't have taken it as a personal shot at your character, because it wasn't. But you responded with one. Look, I get it. It appears that you and Sean are like oil and water. But I can go back through this thread and others and find where you guys have agreed on just as many things as you have dissgreed, if not more. It is a shame that we think everyone has to agree with us 100% on every little thing to be considered an ally. With that attitude, it is of little surprise that we get nothing done, and that we have been met with the failure we so richly deserve. What can we do today to change that? We often disagree on our methods, but not our goals. That is to say, we often want the same things, but we see different ways of getting there. I know TGP is a place full of reasonable people who actually have more in common than not. I'm so tired of fighting against people when I should be fighting beside them. I haven't done my part to avoid that in the past... but I'm ready now.

Blots, I actually agree with you more often than I disagree. But when you talk to people the way you do, it's hard to take your ideas seriously. What is it that you hope to accomplish? I think most people here want to see change, but how are we going to work together to do that? This division isn't good for us. It doesn't matter who started it. For my part, I'm willing to apologize for not being good enough before. I have a bad habit of not listening to what people are saying and trying to talk over them, but I'm working on that. How can I help you, blots? Let's make this better.

It's kinda hypocritical to expect others to be respectful if you're not willing to do the same, isn't it? The point is sean didn't attack you personally, unless you've been hiding the fact that you're a white woman this entire time. If you had a problem with what he said, you could have just said so. I don't know what has stopped you any other time. Also, just because we're calling you out doesn't mean we agree with everything sean said. At least I don't. Can't speak for Ngata though. You're not doing so well for someone who claims to be smarter than everyone else all the time.

TIL blots is a white woman.

Too bad yours didn't teach you any manners. You just get too emotional and personal for absolutely no reason.

If I were Asian, my name would be Ho Li Fuk. Now we wait... again.

May we forever chase perfection, knowing that we will likely fail to attain it, but that in the pursuit we will achieve greatness.