IntenseDebate - John Small Berries

6 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Monstrous ... · 13 replies · +18 points

"That suggests that Jackrum has been lying about their identity, not that they are a man."

But Jackrum was honest throughout the book! All throughout, she said things like, "Upon my oath, I am not a violent man." Followed immediately by the referenced behavior - for while she might not be a violent man, she was a violent woman.

7 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Voyager'... · 2 replies · +25 points

People's lives have been ruined by false "recovered memories" from others. People's lives have been ruined by not being believed when they told the truth.

Maybe there was a way they could have done this story without failing one of those two groups.

But this episode wasn't it.

7 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Voyager'... · 0 replies · +2 points

"The idea that that creature got killed so that Voyager could escape felt so counter to everything Janeway stood for."

I'm not sure I agree with that. After all, it was her idea to offer the Borg a weapon capable of killing Species 8472 en masse in exchange for safe passage through Borg space. That she would be just fine with enabling wholesale slaughter, but balk at enabling the death of a single individual, seems... illogical.

7 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Deep Spa... · 0 replies · +2 points

Dukat confines Sisko to a cave and presses him to tell the truth: What does he really think of Dukat?

"Bond? How British am I?"

8 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Maskerade'... · 10 replies · +16 points

Pratchett probably thought that "masser" resembled the word "massa," especially since, in British English, it would be pronounced the same way.
This was my take on it. Heck, I've even seen Brits misspell the most recognizable antagonists on Doctor Who as "Darleks", which made no sense to me (as a rhotic American) until I tried saying it with an RP accent.

8 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Maskerade'... · 0 replies · +4 points

"Was [Agnes Nitt] in Lords and Ladies? I swear, I remember her name before, but I can’t remember the context."
It's somewhat similar to Agnes Nutter, from Good Omens; maybe that's it?

Whoops, no, she was Perdita.

8 years ago @ Mark Watches - Mark Watches 'Deep Spa... · 0 replies · +15 points

Lee gets an arc about having diabetes, which is practically the only time I’ve ever seen this depicted in a science fiction show.

Usually the only time diabetes shows up in a TV show or a movie, it's because (a) the writers need a way to get a syringe into the plot, or (b) the writers want some sort of non-bloody but non-contagious medical emergency to add some tension to the story.

And in both cases, they often get so many of the important details wrong that I have to wonder if they've ever even met anyone with diabetes. Like giving insulin to someone with low blood sugar, which is kind of a Bad Idea. (Which at least they weren't quite that bad in this episode, but generally GlucaGen is administered to people who are unconscious from hypoglycemia - and shame on Bashir for not asking Lee about allergies before just going ahead and injecting her with it. But maybe in his day, they've eliminated allergens from medicine, so it never even crossed his mind as something to worry about.)

Whoops, how'd this soapbox get under me?

8 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Interestin... · 0 replies · +8 points

That's very true. And I expect that accounts for the wide variations on specific dishes in different restaurants. (For example, I don't think I've found two restaurants that cook Butter Chicken in exactly the same way.)

8 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Interestin... · 0 replies · +13 points

It really, really didn't.

8 years ago @ Mark Reads - Mark Reads 'Interestin... · 3 replies · +9 points

That's a very interesting point. Has Pratchett actually described the Agateans physically in this book? I have to admit I found this book so cringeworthy that I haven't gone back and read it, nor have I watched the videos.

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