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I just went through a samurai/chanbara movie phase, but instead of revisiting the Kurosawas, I tried to watch the films by other directors I hadn't seen. The original 13 Assassins and The Great Duel, Sword of Doom, Samurai Rebellion, Ballad of the Paper Balloons, etc.

Here's a new one:

I am following the advice from King Lear's fool

I'm guessing it's Ran? Been awhile since I've seen that one.

That is not a lens blur, its a motion blur.

In which case, I find it's beneficial to prop an elbow on something while taking the picture. Cheap monopod.

Afrika Korps

This game is already darker than the last one and it hasn't even started yet.

Celebrate Eric Colossal's birthday by reading his webcomic, Rutabaga: http://kafkaskoffee.com/

I'd say what you're describing is a ghost writer, which is any situation where work was contributed by an uncredited author. Sometimes they work from outlines that the author provides. Sometimes, they can be brought in for specific elements, like polishing a draft, or writing descriptions of place that the author might then go back and adjust stylistically. Sometimes -- I don't know about Martin, but certainly Tom Clancy and most of the major mystery writers -- a ghost writer will write the whole damn book with little input from the author, but publish under the author's name to take advantage of the brand. Editors for major authors also do a lot more behind the scenes than the public gives them credit for.

Sort of related to the previous question...I'm getting the final component of a new PC tomorrow. What are the essential programs for you guys? Free, paid, shareware (does that phrase even still mean anything?), whatever. What keeps you productive and happy? What would you load on a new computer?

If you take a closer look at the video you shared, it's kind of doing just that. Those ripples roll to and fro, but they have a separate horizontal movement.

[Omen III]

Well, unless someone else used the footage, I'm pretty sure that's Sam Neill in the underrated Omen III, but now that we have an unofficial branch, I'm not sure what to do. Ball's still in Aqala's court, I believe.

Yep. Go again.

Michael Caine's telltale curls get lost in the banner behind him, and this profile makes him look more like Richard Dreyfuss, but this is probably Gambit, huh?

[The Silencers, Murderer's Row, The Wrecking Crew, The Ambushers]

I think Ponch meant one of the 60s Helms films -- The Silencers, Murderer's Row, The Wrecking Crew, The Ambushers. They were light comedies. The new Helm film will hopefully draw more from the Hamilton source material, which was dark and brilliant.

I'm guessing it's probably not, but is this Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117?

Happy birthday, Tabata!

I don't know that grammar enters into the conversation. I find this sentence structure used most often in a narrative where the narrator wants to imply something to the audience without directly stating it, a sort of half dramatic irony. The tension between the two clauses creates suspense as the audience waits for the narrator to confirm what they've hinted. Such as:

"With the bomb finally disarmed, the room was safe to enter...or was it?"

The implication is that for the people of the story, the room seems safe to enter, but the narrator knows something they don't -- it might not be -- and is imparting that knowledge to the audience.

In the case of your example, you might hear the following in a news report on a serial killer:

"He was president of the PTA, a church deacon, a former high school football stand-out with a bright clean smile and an Ivy League degree. He was, for all intents and purposes, a model citizen...or was he?"

Nope! It's yours. I didn't guess the movie title, only the movie!

I can verify, since I'm here first, that that is the title that AnasAbdin passed along today, indeed.

Hey, weird question if the answer isn't yes, but does this movie end with a son eviscerating himself and cutting off his head and arm in order to make himself into art? I can't remember / figure out the title. If I'm right, the obese man is a former competitive eater whose mother may have been a pig. Like I said, weird question if the answer is no, but I think I saw this awhile back and Googling "movie 'competitive eater' man cuts off arm and head makes himself into statue" isn't giving me any answers.

If I'm on the wrong track, and anyone happens to know the name of this movie, shoot me a private message. As weird and depressing as it sounds, the film I'm talking about was wonderfully visual and imaginative and I'd like to track it down again.

The Long Goodbye?

Indeed it is. One of my favorite movies in general, much less the detective genre.

Back to you, Snarky!

[Dark Knight Rises]

Fantastic! You've inspired me to re-watch that one tonight. Been thinking a lot of that film lately, working on a P.I. project and having recently seen Dark Knight Rises.

Let some of that previous sentence provide a hint for this screenie: