417 thoughts on “Jack Mangans Deadpan #261: The Sequel is Even Better

  1. Finished the last bits of “Blood and Chrome” last night. It definitely had potential. Though, I do think a series would have eventually suffered some being an eternal flashback as, no matter what, Husker can’t die.

  2. (padding the comments)

    Hubby doesn’t do Christmas shopping. He leaves that to me. It’s tough sometimes.

    me: What should I give your parents this year?
    hubby: *shrug* I don’t know
    me: Well, you talk to them regularly, what do they like?
    hubby: *shrug*
    me: What are they doing for fun?
    hubby: *shrug*
    me: Not getting any help am I?
    hubby: I’m sure they will love whatever we give them
    me: WE?
    hubby: *shrug*

  3. Hubby and I are actually having many discussions. He wants me to stay home and we’ll just use his salary. I vetoed that but he still mentions it. Yesterday he looked at my resume and told me that since I insist on getting a job, I should be choosy. Don’t get one because it’s available, get one because I’d like it.

    I love my hubby dearly but sometimes he can be a little too sweet.

  4. Jack Mangans Deadpan #261: The Sequel is Even Better

    Secret Santa has started! Thanks Amy. Send in a recording of what you got.

    Promo – Waves of Tech (http://netcaststudio.com/)

    Jack’s directed life

    EssBee needs a spelling lesson

    Crazy chick survival guide part 2

    Funky Spoons
    EssBee
    Jack Mangan
    DJ Bunny
    Dj Bunny
    Rhettro
    Ed from Texas
    Jack Mangan
    Vanamonde
    EssBee
    Justa J0e
    JR Murdock
    Used Hair
    Cj
    Vanamonde (first of the week)

    Hugs to all

    Send in content: 480-788-JMDP(5637) or e-mail: sphericaljackmatgmaildotcom

    Closing Music

  5. Today’s movie is Grave Encounters.

    The DVR write up: get ready for true horror as tv ghost hunter Lance and his crew encounter terror in an abandoned insane asylum while attempting to capture evidence of the supernatural

    You hear that? True horror. None of that fake stuff

    • While on the one hand, I know it’s foolish to declare “No Spoilers” for this since the book is decades old. Anyway, we’re seeing it Saturday in IMAX and I expect my full nine minutes of Star Trek that’s been promised.

      And, I hope no English teacher ever reads that terrible fragmentation I’ve just committed to electrons.

  6. ..and you crap joke for today:

    I was shocked to see my well fit divorced neighbour knocking on the door last night. “I’m so horny that I can’t stand it.” she said. “I want to go out, get drunk and get a good hard fuck. Are you free tonight?” “fuckin right i am!” I replied enthusiastically. “Wonderful.” she said. “Would you watch my kids?”

  7. Couldn’t wait, recorded myself opening the gift and sent the memo to Jack, but the way the weather is over here, bloody brilliant.

    Thank you.

  8. Today has been a great day for presents. :happy: Not only did I receive my DPSS gift today (Thank you!!), but so did my recipient (I was Van’s Secret Santa this year). And on top of that, my sister got the first of the two presents I sent her (fleece PJs with penguins on them), and she loves them. There’s a whole lot of Christmas cheer in my life today. :happy:

  9. CW: Steve Jobs-The Lost Interview

    Its fun to see this rare footage and Steve Jobs is geeking out over his love for computer technology. Neat.

  10. To build and make “Printed Circuit Boards,” Steve Jobs sold his VW Bus and Steve Weisniack sold his calculator…

    hows that equal investments?

  11. The Geminids last night was awesome!
    I only could stay awake for about a half hour but I saw a good 20 or so and the majority were very bright, long lived and seemed to move nice and slow.

    Wish I could have stayed awake longer. Probably one of the best in a long time.

    • And I got on an organization kick and started manually deduping my iTunes last night… 😛 Oh, well. At least I didn’t have many duplicates to begin with.

  12. Yes, I think its time to do something about the plague of untreated mental illness in this country. Enough innocent lives have been wrecked. I’m too shocked and outraged and saddened to offer the fix it solution right now. I just know we need to act.

    I would agree that it should have been MUCH harder for this insane fuck to get a gun.

  13. Politics aside, I don’t believe anyone thinks that a school shooting should ever happen. Why can’t we use that as our point of arrival, and figure out how to make that happen?

    • Because sadly if it hasnt been done by now it never will. People clamor for this, people shove back with that. It’s all become bullshit. No one has any idea how to do anything done here anymore. we’re living off of an antiquated piece of paper that is as irrelevant to our country now as beta is to visual media. No one wants to compromise anymore. No one wants to concede anything anymore. Everyone just wants to band-aid shit and never truly heal the wound.

  14. I have to agree with Rhettro and Jack. I feel that our laws, in our society, are designed for the sane-minded. For people who have the mental capacity to cope with the on-going daily/hourly/minute-by-minute stressors our lives throw at us. I find that U.S. influences in TV, movies, today’s overall sense of lack of accountability, laziness, gluttony, (fill in the blank descriptor), etc are just too much of a stimulant for people who suffer from (the various) mental illnesses just cannot tolerate.

    Forget gun control- our basic gun control laws are just fine.

    We need to focus on circling back to raising families on solid moral grounds and *then* on a governmental level, our policy makers and law makers need to: First, acknowledge that mental illness is real, it is a valid sickness that can only be cured with treatment, and to aide in training medical professionals so they can effectively treat these illnesses. #2 Our government can then reform Mental Healthcare and take it seriously and help its people who may suffer from it. Who knows, maybe a focus on mental health will cut down on welfare, medicare, violent crimes, homeless numbers, etc…

    If we, on a global front, can learn and understand mental illness, then people can detect potential problems earlier on and maybe we can help treat those people.

    Mental Health is a taboo topic, always has been. It’s an ugly topic. It’s a challenging topic. There is nothing positive associated with Mental Health.
    It’s here. It will continue to get worse. Future generations will suffer even more from it.

    /off soapbox

    • Wait. I’m was just disemboweling people a few minutes ago. I don’t have any desire to do it for real. I think the link is there, but not as is stated. It goes more in line with what Pixie said. If there is a mental health issue then, sure, gaming can act as a trigger but so can mud. My Boo, who has schizophrenia, was triggered by her school lockers (no, she never hurt anybody (except a mall security guard she punched because she felt he was watching her), luckily she got help before it got that far)

    • Judging from some of the comments I’ve seen on Facebook and media sites today, well I’m just not seeing much humanity on display. I think Scott Sigler’s advice to check out of social media for a bit until this cools a bit. Good choices are rarely made when in a rage.

      Goodnight, Voight-Kampff.

      • A someone who does not “do” facebook, what I imagine is that you can look at posts today and see exactly what “the problem” IS. Facebook is a mirror of our society. What it reflects would not seem to be healthy.

  15. Well I hope you see this before you check out, Ed: I got your Xmas letter and picture! I even showed it to my little ones to show off your family awesomeness.

    I suppose I’m lucky to be insulated from FB right now. . . I do think we’ll all emerge from this latest horror with cooler heads and real solutions.

    (Only one person ever got themselves banned from Deadpan, and it wasn’t that guy you’re talking about. We’re like a family around here – – just without the chain email fwds. Families disagree sometimes.)

  16. You might be offended, but I don’t think this is making light. I think it crystallizes the frustration we’re all feeling.
    http://www.theonion.com/articles/fuck-everything-nation-reports,30743/

    I think EssBee nailed it. . . We all want the same thing here. Gun rampages have become epidemic, and we all want the solution that will put an end to them. It won’t happen in our lifetimes, but maybe we can set the precedent and begin the civil discourse that will get our children to a more peaceful, civilized world.

    Fuck.

  17. Beyond A Shadow

    I lay there,
    Suspended by a dream.

    Sheaths of cotton clouds,
    Laser beams of sunlight,
    Dance with aura,
    Above the summit.

    Beyond a shadow,
    A life is existing-
    But not mine; I see.
    Obscurity hides my true entity.

    Happiness and fear,
    Unknown to my soul.
    Unforeseen, my being is there.
    But where?

    I lay there,
    Suspended by a dream.

    • I shall don my wizard hat and mutter in my most foreboding voice that you should never cross the the pond if unhappy nostalgia you not want.

  18. Most excellent to hear that my DPSS package has been delivered.

    We traveled to the ancestral homeland this weekend to visit my parents. The wife, daughter, and I went and saw The Hobbit today. It was good, but not the grand slam I expected. Too much money and too little editing.

  19. 4-5 Gross of various holiday cookies & treats were made yesterday, with the help of my remaining family members. It was a wonderful day of bonding. I thinks its about the 5th or 6th year we have done this event.

    Each year, I think the young ones will partake and each year, they choose to watch TV amd/or play video games instead.

    All items were taste-tested and are Pixie-approved. :o}

  20. So…. not spoilery, but you still might want to wait until you’ve seen The Hobbit to read this:

    Wow, Gandalf must have found some good wrinkle creams in the years between the Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Ring.

  21. Additionally:

    Dear Mr. Jackson,

    An accomplished filmmaker of your stature undoubtedly has a number of “Yes-men” in your employ. It would seem that you are in need of some “No-men” as well, for quality assurance. I feel that I my qualifications speak for themselves. Please contact me to discuss terms and wages.

    Best,

    :jack:

  22. Happy to hear that Pixie and EssBee have had days full of holiday cheer lately. My goals for this ‘weekend’ (I work on a non-traditional shift schedule, so my weekends start on Saturday night and end on Tuesday or Wednesday) include getting and decorating my first real Christmas tree in this apartment (and the first one I’ve ever been 100% responsible for obtaining and decorating all on my own), making 7 dozen gingersnaps for the cookie exchange on Tuesday, and getting the rest of the apartment cleaned and decorated. :happy: I might go out and catch “The Hobbit,” too, if I feel like it.

    It snowed today! I will post pictures shortly. Tonight, I made a batch of chili.

  23. Hobbit was seen. Only saw the shor promo for Star Trek 🙁

    Hobbit was good but not in the same realm as LoTR. It definitely felt like a LoTR Prequel as opposed to a film in its own right

  24. I saw The Hobbit today with the high frame rate. It seemed like any scene with descent lighting looked as though it was shot with TV quality video. I’m a bit disappointed. For those that have seen the movie without the high frame rate, maybe you can confirm or deny that it was indeed the high frame rate that was causing the issue. The scene at the very beginning where we see townsfolk before Smaug shows up looks like it was ripped out of a television show. Another example is old Bilbo at the beginning of the film, getting ready to write stuff down, his movements looked like they had been speeded up, as though someone had set the playback of the film too fast. It also seemed that the CGI effect seemed to pop out and became very noticeable. Didn’t like that at all.

    Other than that, the film was quite good. Not LOTR good, but good.

  25. OK. I think I have a good way to describe what was wrong with the 48 FPS. If you’ve seen a “making of” special and you see the actors on the set, in full makeup, and everything looks crappy because it isn’t shot on high quality film and hasn’t had allthe special effects added yet… that’s what the high frame rate is like. It’s like watching a special about the making of the movie rather than the movie. It seems like you’re clearly seeing an actor in makeup, or a guy in an orc costume milling about the set rather than seeing it shot in film. Things look too real.

    • We saw it in IMAX 3D (without the Star Trek preview, long or short, grrrr). It certainly looked “film like” to me being the non-48fps version. However, the ghosting was the worst I’ve ever seen. I think this was the first time I’ve seen 3D in an IMAX theater and I definitely wouldn’t bother with it again.

  26. DPSS was hand-delivered to me this evening! I will send in my thoughts to the voicemail line soon.

    Thank you, fellow DP Phoenician. These gifts are much adored and appreciated.

  27. Morning Pan

    Busy day planned today.

    3 loads of laundry to do
    Garbage and kitty litter
    last night’s dinner dishes (why we didn’t do them last night is beyond me)
    and I’m taking my grandmother Christmas shopping.

    Whew, I’m tired already

  28. Looking like we’ll release a Full show on Wednesday this week, just like old times. I already have a few holiday-themed VMs, including DPSS reactions. I’d love for you guys to call in too and participate in the 2012 Xmas episode. 480-788-JMDP. Lo Pan also has a funny idea, if there’s time.

    Secondly, I need your thoughts on Kindle Fire vs Kindle Paperwhite.

    • Depends on what you mainly want to do with the tablet.

      If it’s going to be reading books than go for the Kindle White.

      If you want some flexibility on how you consume media, don’t mind not being able to read the screen in direct sunlight, than go for the Fire (or consider other tablets like the iPad or Nexus 7).

    • What Van said.

      If you want a low cost tablet that you can load apps, games and video onto, get the Kindle Fire. If you want a electronic book that you can read in any light condition, get the Paperwhite.

  29. Crap Xmas joke:

    ‎”Probably The first legal notice served AD

    Unitary Borough of Greater Jerusalem

    To: Mr Innkeeper, Little Town of Bethlehem, Judea
    Ref: Legal Services
    Date: 05 Jan 0001

    WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO THE COMPLIMENTS OF THE SEASON

    Dear Sir,
    UNAUTHORISED USE OF AN AGRICULTURAL BUILDING AT REAR OF INN AND OTHER MATTERS

    I am instructed by the Directors of the Council that various activities are taking place in the stable behind the Inn in your freehold ownership at the Street, Little Town of Bethlehem. I must warn you that, if the following activities do not cease within 14 days of the date of this letter, I am authorised to take appropriate action against you under the relevant areas of legislation.

    TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 0001
    The following matters have been brought to my attention which may constitute a breach of planning controls:
    1. Change of use of stables building to a mixed use for residential occupation and acts of worship.
    2. A complaint has been received concerning a bright light in the sky over the stables and I must warn you that any floodlights erected may constitute operational development requiring planning permission.
    3. I understand that one family with an infant is currently in occupation but that shepherds, angels, kings and other visitors may at times be temporarily housed. If you have created a house in multiple occupation this may constitute a material change of use.
    4. The condition of the land around the stables, caused by shepherds and their flocks, kings with camels and the leaving of gifts is such that the amenity of the area is affected and general tidying of the area is required.
    I have reason to believe that these breaches have taken place and that they do not comply with the provisions of the Jerusalem Local Plan. I therefore have to advise you that unless they are removed, or a retrospective planning application submitted, within the aforementioned 14 days, Notice may be served requiring these uses to cease and the operational development to be removed from the land. Non-compliance with such a notice may result in prosecution.

    LOCAL GOVERNMENT (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 0001
    I understand that choirs of angels have been heard singing; public entertainment in the open requires a public entertainment license under Section 36 of this Act. A person who, knowing such entertainment would be provided, allows an unlicensed place to be so used, commits an offence.

    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT 0001
    Complaints have been received of excessive noise caused by cattle lowing, the baby awakening, and despite your assurances that the Little Lord Jesus no crying he makes, crying for lengthy periods of time, and angels proclaiming the Messiah’s birth. Accumulations left by flocks of sheep, camels and other farmyard animals have also resulted in complaints. If these should be found to amount to a statutory nuisance, notice may be served under Section 80 of this Act.

    ANIMAL PROTECTION ACT 0001
    Camels have been seen at the stables and if it is proposed that they remain, you will require a zoo license under the Zoo Licensing Regulations 0001. Operation of a zoo without a license is an offence.
    I understand that a pet lamb was presented to the infant born in the stables and must warn you that should you intend to carry on a business of selling animals as pets, a license under the Pet Animals Regulations 0001 is required. It is an offence to carry on such a business without a license.

    CHILD PROTECTION ACT 0001
    In relation to the new born infant in occupation, I would advise you to contact Judea County Council for advice on the requirements of running a nursery. An officer will be visiting the premises shortly to assess the situation. I would advise that the family with an infant attend for an interview with the Council’s Housing Resource Manager with a view to an investigation of their homelessness.

    If you wish to discuss any of these matters further, please do not hesitate to contact anyone other than a member of the Legal Services Team.
    Yours faithfully
    Borough Solicitor
    P.S. The Registration Services Manager would like to thank the occupants of the stables for making the journey from Nazareth and for completing the forms as requested.”

  30. Hello, Deadpan. I am proud to say that 120 cookies later, I have fulfilled my duties for tomorrow’s cookie exchange at my Toastmasters meeting. Whew, what a day.

    Good night, :cookie dough:

  31. On an unrelated note: I gave up on Prototype. I was really enjoying the game but the way it saved was driving me nuts. Might get the second one at some point in the future but will wait until it goes on sale or something on steam. I don’t want to spend the money on it on the hopes it is better.

  32. Singing in the Rain had a storyline about a silent film actor/actress and how life was for them after the invention of talkies. I wonder how many in show business did lose their work once pantomime was no lover in vogue. I can see it happening to a few.

  33. From twitter:

    @DannyZuker: Scientists are baffled by Canadians’ ability to watch movies and play video games and not shoot each other.

  34. Dollhouse construction completed. Secreted away in corner of basement. Bed awaits very soon.

    The fine folks of Shiner graciously contributed a Blonde Lager toward completion of this project. It also will aid in acheiving bed.

    • As it happens, I’m doing exactly the same thing here in Omaha! 🙂 I have a tree to decorate and the rest of my Christmas cards to assemble tonight. It’s going to be a merry evening! 🙂

      • We are buttoning down for the storm too. I have a few more errands to run tonight, but then that’s about it. Unfortunately, I’ll have to go out in the storm tomorrow morning. I hope it has settled down by then.

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