Let's try and get 1,000,000 replies to this post
- Thread starter The Ancient Mariner
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national acrobat
Ancient Mariner
The Battle of Pelennor fields is the best scene in all 3 films, hands down.
LooseCannon said:
Best moment in the whole trilogy.
2nd place, but only on the extended versions: The Mouth of Sauron.
3rd place: "You're going to have to toss me. But don't tell the elf!"
Actually, Gimli has all the best lines.
"That STILL only counts as one!"
But not what you'd expect from the books. It was Jackson, not Tolkien, who made Gimli into comic relief.
If Tolkien intended any comic relief at all, it was the hobbits (excepting Frodo).
If Tolkien intended any comic relief at all, it was the hobbits (excepting Frodo).
Prisoner Of Maiden
Trooper
post
Cornfed Hick
Ancient Mariner
In typing a post in another thread, I was confronted with the following issue: should the "i" in "internet" be capitalized when referring to the Internet? I looked it up. The New York Times capitalizes Internet, but the Times of London, though it originally did, stopped doing so recently. Chicago Manual of Style says it doesn't matter (unless you are referring generically to any sort of shared computer network). Maybe Mr. DICKtionary knows...
How 'bout you skip the whole problem, and use--> 'net
See?! It eradicates the problem altogether!
See?! It eradicates the problem altogether!
I would say not to capitalize it, because it is not a proper name, or a trademarked invention ... but I could be wrong.
It's a proper noun. An internet is between computers, the Internet is the World Wide Web.
No no no no no no no. "The Internet" is not the WWW. That may be how it is used in popular parlance, but it is not at all accurate. There is much more to the Internet. There is Usenet and FTP, both of which are not part of the WWW (although they can be accessed via browsers). Though it is now seldom used, gopher still exists. The WWW may dominate the Internet, but it's not alone.
Yes, I apologize for the oversimplification.
Pineapple Hunter
Trooper
Guess that'll teach you for underestimating the Minister, punk. 
In other news, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a damn good movie. Val Kilmer is especially brilliant. Watch it! All of you!
/end-coffee-fuelled-hysteria
In other news, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a damn good movie. Val Kilmer is especially brilliant. Watch it! All of you!
/end-coffee-fuelled-hysteria
Prune! Where are you! I need to know what you know about Malta.
Invader
Ancient Mariner
LooseCannon said:
Malta is the smallest member state of the EU, having joined in 2004. It is a former British colony. It introduced the Euro in 2007. Official languages are Maltese and English. The name derives from the Roman name Melite. Maybe that is derived from Latin melitus meaning "sweet", but don't quote me on that.
It's flag consists of two equal vertical stripes that are white and red, with the white side at the hoist. A small cross is in the upper left corner. I believe the coat of arms is simply the Maltese cross.
Due to its position in the mid-Mediterranean halfway between Sicily and North Africa, it has played a very important strategic role throughout the millennia, and has a varied history.
It was first colonised by Phoenecians in the 8th century BC. It successively became part of the Carthaginian, Roman, and Byzantine empires (I believe it resisted Vandal conquest) before being conquered by Muslim Arabs in the early 9th century. It was conquered by the Normans in 1090, became Aragonese later on and then became the home of the knights of the Catholic Maltese order in the early modern age. It effectively remained under Maltese rule until the Napoleonic wars, when it first came under French, then under British control, remaining there until the 1960s, I think. It was a key base in the Second World War both for the African front and the invasion of Italy.
Malta is known for a very multicultural history, and signs of Arab and Spanish rule are still visible everywhere you go.
Although always being fairly wealthy, the EU has refused membership until 2004 because Malta was known as a tax haven. It has since modified its laws and has been admitted. I believe one motivation is the continued onslaught of African refugees.
There... that's about it without having to look up anything, I think.
I am particularly interested in the period of Aragon rule there, before the Knights of St. John came.