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Author Topic:   Your Most Controversial Opinions!
Lithodid-Man
Member (Idle past 2930 days)
Posts: 504
From: Juneau, Alaska, USA
Joined: 03-22-2004


Message 61 of 300 (367413)
12-02-2006 7:16 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Utopia
11-29-2006 4:43 PM


Lithodid's most controversial opinion
This is one that that has gotten me more flack than you can imagine. I formulated this idea (not a theory, not a hypothesis, just a notion) way back when I was an undergrad and have seen nothing against it but have only seen evidence for it as a working professor. As a PhD candidate I was advised against talking about it.
I think there exists an underlying principle in biology that is yet unknown but is almost as powerful as natural selection (theory-wise). I think that Sewell Wright was ahead of his time and will someday be regarded as the father of this new synthesis. Wright discussed combinations of genetic traits converging to form nodes on a genetic landscape. These nodes converged around adaptability.
I think there is a principle in biology that causes evolution towards eigenstates like in quantum physics. Combinations of characters that are simpler to arrive at yet may be more complex. Nodes of complexity that are emergent from existing combinations.
I have not yet formed my concept, but think it is valid (at least in part). That is my most controversial opinion!

Wanda: To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people. I've known sheep who could outwit you. I've worn dresses with higher IQs, but you think you're an intellectual, don't you, ape?
Otto: Apes don't read philosophy.
Wanda: Yes they do, Otto, they just don't understand it.
"A Fish Called Wanda"

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
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Hyroglyphx
Inactive Member


Message 62 of 300 (367451)
12-02-2006 12:06 PM
Reply to: Message 55 by Archer Opteryx
12-01-2006 9:56 PM


All nations of the world should formally recognize the right of Taiwan's people to decide their own destiny. They have earned that right.
I fully agree. What the hell is up with China anyway? They have more land than they know what do with it. Let the Taiwanese alone.
Ashley Judd should do more nude scenes.
I'm sure you won't find that request to be terribly controversial amongst most of your peers.
Governments should not recognize marriage of any kind. Governments should establish 'domestic partnerships' to ensure certain rights for consenting adults: mutual property ownership, estate rights, tax filing, child guardianship. All contracts of 'marriage' and understandings of its 'sanctity' are thus left to private citizens to work out according to their beliefs.
Isn't that what marriage already is? -- domestic partnerships, mutual property ownership, estate rights, tax filing, child guardianship, etc? What exactly are you seeking to amend?
Bison is better than beef.
I fully agree. Ostrich is really good too, though the price per pound isn't cool because its considered an exotic meat.
The biggest danger to citizens of a democracy is neither the party on the left or the party on the right. It is partisanship itself.
Well, a house divided against itself cannot stand. I think the Left and the Right should kiss and makeup before we have an all-out civil war of epic proportions.
Dates should be written in descending order so that they lead naturally into hours, minutes and seconds as needed
I'd like to see the whole am/pm thing removed for military time. Its just so much easier.
If women ran the world we would have fewer wars, but more assassinations.
Heh... I'm afraid you're right.
Before anyone can register to vote they should pass a simple standard test. It would test voters' knowledge of the jobs they elect candidates to do.
That's not a half-bad idea. But you know the ACLU or something will throw a hissy fit and call it unconstitutional, even though, funnily enough, you basically have to take a test in order to be a juror.
It's past time America adopted the metric system.
What would we call the Quarter Pounder???
How about a Royale with cheese?
Robert Heinlein's novella 'The Star Beast' should be made into a movie. Give it to Spielberg or Pixar.
I can't help you there. I happen to own two Heinlein novel's but haven't the faintest idea about either book.
It's past time European countries cared about human rights outside their neighborhood. When it's Bosnia, they care. When it's China, they don't.
Yeah, especially when the Chinese government is selling the organs of the Falun Gong.
Well, according to this article, The Czechs, Russians, Scots, Slovakians and Germans are starting to openly support the atrocities against Falun Dafa practitioners.
Contrary to popular belief, Jim Carrey is not funny.
He has his moments, but he's known for overkill. If he was funny in one scene, he could easily be annoying in the next.
It's past time Russia buried Lenin.
Heh... Yeah, that's just kind of creepy.
Someone should make a movie epic of Wagner's 'Ring of the Nibelungs.'
???
All high school students should take courses in logic and personal finance.
Courses in "logic." Personal finances makes sense, but I don't think you can teach people logic; you either have it or you don't. That's like teaching people "smart."
People should think about sex less and do it more.
Yeah, you're probably right.
We should count years from Apollo 11. That makes 1969 the new Year 0.
......okay.............................................
Evangelicals should get rid of their verbal tic of placing 'just' before every first-person verb: 'We just wanna praise God,' 'We just wanna share the good news', etc. It doesn't sound self-effacing. It sounds like a symptom.
I've just never noticed anything like that before. Is this just a TBN thing? Just what exactly are you talking about?
When China becomes a democracy the US should present it with a gift: a Goddess of Democracy statue for Tiananmen Square. France made a similar gesture once; now America can pay it forward.
It'll never happen. They like the benefits of a free trade market, but are addicted to controlling its citizens and even citizens abroad. China has more operatives in the United States than any other country in the world. That nonsense has to stop.
Dozens of actresses could win an Oscar with a script like 'Erin Brokovich.'
Yes.
Michael Moore and Ann Coulter should marry. You know they want to.
..............*shudders*.................... perish the thought.....
Death penalty for people who fake cynicism to camouflage naivete.
That might be a bit much.
Lifelong imprisonment with no parole for people who:
1. say 'my two cents' on message boards
Is that a bad thing to say? I'll be sure to say it now that I know it irks you.
2. want to 'end world poverty' while objecting to 'our jobs going overseas'
I guess I'm a dead man. Bottom line: Jobs overseas line the pockets of American companies, making them richer, but slowly depreciate the value of the dollar overall by taking away revenue that could be going into the economy. Aside from which, how do jobs going over sea end world hunger? That's a lofty goal riding on a phantom horse.
3. use passive tense in office memos ('A meeting was held and it was decided that...')
That's usually how I do it by habit.
4. uSe rAnDoM caPs
thAt'S THe dumBeSEst iDeA I've eveR hEard.
5. say 'evil' whenever someone else says 'Microsoft' or 'Wal-Mart'
No more evil than any other successful corporation. I think you could make a better case against McDonald's and Marlboro.
Drop the Pledge of Allegience in American schools. If kids need something to recite, teach them the Bill of Rights.
Most schools don't recite the Pledge of Allegiance because most schools pander to the left, and the left despises patriotism.
Let's put real jazz in elevators.
You mean you don't like Muzak? I hear they've revamped. I wouldn't mind hearing "Master of Puppets" in the elevator. Can't say most people would like it though.
Plenty of good things happen in the world. People rarely consider the disasters that were avoided, the wars that went unfought, and the lives that might have been lost but were not. It's worth considering.
I fully agree.
'Galaxy Quest' is the best 'Star Trek' movie ever made.
Star Trek should be outlawed on every corner of the globe, punishable by forced to watch copious amounts of excerpts by William Shatner. To quote from Fight Club:
Pitt: If you could fight any celebrity, who would it be?
Norton: Shatner..... I'd fight William Shatner.
Edited by nemesis_juggernaut, : typos

Faith is not a pathetic sentiment, but robust, vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. You cannot see Him just now, you cannot fully understand what He's doing, but you know that you know Him." -Oswald Chambers

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
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crashfrog
Member (Idle past 1466 days)
Posts: 19762
From: Silver Spring, MD
Joined: 03-20-2003


Message 63 of 300 (367475)
12-02-2006 3:07 PM
Reply to: Message 55 by Archer Opteryx
12-01-2006 9:56 PM


Someone should make a movie epic of Wagner's 'Ring of the Nibelungs.'
"So, I have this idea for a great movie. It's about two gnomes who find a bracelet of power, and they have to take it to the Burning Steppes and cast it into the Cauldron. They form the Brotherhood of the Bracelet. Along the way they're trailed by a murloc named Gottum, who's obsessed with the bracelet, and nine bracelet boogeymen. It could be a three parter, called 'Ruler of the Bracelet'. The first part would be called 'The Brotherhood of the Bracelet', followed by 'A Couple of Towers', with a climactic ending called 'Hey, the King's Back!'"

This message is a reply to:
 Message 55 by Archer Opteryx, posted 12-01-2006 9:56 PM Archer Opteryx has not replied

arachnophilia
Member (Idle past 1343 days)
Posts: 9069
From: god's waiting room
Joined: 05-21-2004


Message 64 of 300 (367497)
12-02-2006 5:35 PM
Reply to: Message 49 by nator
12-01-2006 3:38 PM


Did you like the first X-Men Movie and Toy Story 2?
in reference to joss whedon?
nearest i can tell, he didn't have anything to do with either of them. the producers hired him breifly for the first x-men movie to insert some jokes, but he thought the script was so bad he completely re-wrote it. his re-write was discarded. so our venn diagram of "likes x-men" and "joss whedon" has no overlap.
i will give him credit of helping to write the first toy story, which was a decent movie, as i recall. i haven't seen the second.
Edited by arachnophilia, : typoe


This message is a reply to:
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BMG
Member (Idle past 208 days)
Posts: 357
From: Southwestern U.S.
Joined: 03-16-2006


Message 65 of 300 (367508)
12-02-2006 6:44 PM


Ok, I guess it's my turn.
I believe Crash has already made mention of this, but, in the US, churches have had a free ride for far too long: tax them already.
Possibly the greatest movie director of all time is Stanley Kubrick.
It's been said, but people are much more tolerable, understanding and empathetic when alone than in groups.
It's amusing that the greatest analogy for followers of the Judeo-Xian faith are referred to as a flock of sheep. And even more so in that the analogy was not meant to be cynical or condescending.
MP3 players will soon become extinct. Why buy an MP3 player when cell phones have already acquired this capability?
Anyone who holds strong to beliefs of white, Western civilizations' superiority should be greatly encouraged to read Guns, Germs and Steel.
Speaking of which, Columbus Day should not be a day of celebration and glee, rather a day of remembrance, respect, and mourning.
Christmas in the US has become the capitalists' wet dream.
Marijuana is not a drug.
Edited by Infixion, : I believe Arachnophilia may have been the first to make mention of "my" 4th opinion. If so, the credit is yours, my friend.

Replies to this message:
 Message 66 by crashfrog, posted 12-02-2006 6:51 PM BMG has replied

crashfrog
Member (Idle past 1466 days)
Posts: 19762
From: Silver Spring, MD
Joined: 03-20-2003


Message 66 of 300 (367509)
12-02-2006 6:51 PM
Reply to: Message 65 by BMG
12-02-2006 6:44 PM


Possibly the greatest movie director of all time is Stanley Kubrick.
If by "greatest" you mean "most boring." Only Stanley Kubrick could make a sex movie that you could sleep through.
Sam Rami is the greatest director who has ever lived. I dare you to watch The Quick and the Dead and then disagree with me.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 65 by BMG, posted 12-02-2006 6:44 PM BMG has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 70 by BMG, posted 12-03-2006 12:26 AM crashfrog has replied

Michael
Member (Idle past 4637 days)
Posts: 199
From: USA
Joined: 05-14-2005


Message 67 of 300 (367511)
12-02-2006 6:56 PM
Reply to: Message 62 by Hyroglyphx
12-02-2006 12:06 PM


Most schools don't recite the Pledge of Allegiance because most schools pander to the left, and the left despises patriotism.
This left-leaning American does not despise patriotism, but is bothered by it. It is one goose-step from nationalism--and that scares the holy shit out of me.
Cue up the Wagner.
My controversial opinion.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 62 by Hyroglyphx, posted 12-02-2006 12:06 PM Hyroglyphx has not replied

alacrity fitzhugh
Member (Idle past 4288 days)
Posts: 194
Joined: 02-10-2004


Message 68 of 300 (367519)
12-02-2006 11:45 PM
Reply to: Message 55 by Archer Opteryx
12-01-2006 9:56 PM


archer opterix writes:
All nations of the world should formally recognize the right of Taiwan's people to decide their own destiny. They have earned that right.
Agree.
archer opterix writes:
Ashley Judd should do more nude scenes.
Never seen a movie with her in it.
archer opterix writes:
Governments should not recognize marriage of any kind. Governments should establish 'domestic partnerships' to ensure certain rights for consenting adults: mutual property ownership, estate rights, tax filing, child guardianship. All contracts of 'marriage' and understandings of its 'sanctity' are thus left to private citizens to work out according to their beliefs.
Agree.
archer opterix writes:
It's past time America adopted the metric system.
Come on, can we have something that makes us anarchist to the rest of the world?
archer opterix writes:
Robert Heinlein's novella 'The Star Beast' should be made into a movie. Give it to Spielberg or Pixar.
Pixar, Spielberg would probably have that couch jumping Matt Matt Matt chanting no I'm not in the closet Tom Cruise in it.
archer opterix writes:
It's past time European countries cared about human rights outside their neighborhood. When it's Bosnia, they care. When it's China, they don't.
Nuff said.
archer opterix writes:
'Galaxy Quest' is the best 'Star Trek' movie ever made.
By far.
archer opterix writes:
Drop the Pledge of Allegience in American schools. If kids need something to recite, teach them the Bill of Rights.
Funny thing, when I was in elementary school, in Ill.,we had to recite those and the Gettysburg address in front of the class.
archer opterix writes:
Lifelong imprisonment with no parole for people who:
1. say 'my two cents' on message boards
2. want to 'end world poverty' while objecting to 'our jobs going overseas'
3. use passive tense in office memos ('A meeting was held and it was decided that...')
4. uSe rAnDoM caPs
5. say 'evil' whenever someone else says 'Microsoft' or 'Wal-Mart'
ROTFLMAO, agree.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 55 by Archer Opteryx, posted 12-01-2006 9:56 PM Archer Opteryx has not replied

alacrity fitzhugh
Member (Idle past 4288 days)
Posts: 194
Joined: 02-10-2004


Message 69 of 300 (367520)
12-02-2006 11:45 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Utopia
11-29-2006 4:43 PM


Of the top four albums, Eagles greatest hits(29m) Thriller (27m) Led Zepplin Four (23m) and The wall(23m) Thriller sucks.
Linkin' Park is by far better than Korn.
Dr. Dre and Trent Reznor are the most talented producers in music
Having seen LZ , the who , Deep purple , Styx, Cheap Trick etc-etc the best concert I have so far seen was the 2001 Ozzfest, mostly the final three groups Slipknot-MM-Black Sabbath.
Any boy/girl band and their creator should be executed.
Titanic sucked!
Evil Dead was the best horror movie made followed by Scarecrows and the Whispering Corridors.
Best thriller is Audition.
Spiderman is the best comic to movie ever.
Bruce Campbell is the best B movie male actor ever, Linnea Quigley is the best B movie female actor ever.
The only movies leonardo DiCaprio was good in were- What's eating Gilbert Grape and the quick and the dead
John Woos movies that he made out of Hong Kong are better than the ones made in the US.
Stargate is the best science Fiction show ever, but Battlestar Galactica is showing some great things.
Friends sucked from the get go.
Lancelot Link secret chimp was the wierdest show ever made for TV
the Prisoner was the best cold war paranoid secret agent captured sent to an island ever
The Avengers were the most humorous, entertaining secret agent show ever
Monk is by far more entertaning than most everything on the 5 broadcast stations
The Da Vinci Code was like eating cotton candy
David Weber, Steve Perry, David Drake and John Ringo are the best military action science fiction writers.
People should stop worrying about who other people find attractive.
Certain Religions act like pushers

Look to this day, For yesterday is already a dream. And tomorrow only a vision. But today We lived, makes every Yesterday a dream of Happiness and every tomorrow A vision of hope. Look well there to This day.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Utopia, posted 11-29-2006 4:43 PM Utopia has not replied

BMG
Member (Idle past 208 days)
Posts: 357
From: Southwestern U.S.
Joined: 03-16-2006


Message 70 of 300 (367521)
12-03-2006 12:26 AM
Reply to: Message 66 by crashfrog
12-02-2006 6:51 PM


Sup, Crash.
If by "greatest" you mean "most boring". Only Stanley Kubrick could make a sex movie that you could sleep through.
Sam Rami is the greatest director who has ever lived. I dare you to watch The Quick and the Dead and then disagree with me.
Always a pleasure to speak(?) with you. But one thing does trouble me with your post: I cannot tell if you are being candid or not. Most boring?...really?
Edited by Infixion, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 66 by crashfrog, posted 12-02-2006 6:51 PM crashfrog has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 71 by anglagard, posted 12-03-2006 12:52 AM BMG has replied
 Message 75 by crashfrog, posted 12-03-2006 11:39 AM BMG has replied

anglagard
Member (Idle past 836 days)
Posts: 2339
From: Socorro, New Mexico USA
Joined: 03-18-2006


Message 71 of 300 (367522)
12-03-2006 12:52 AM
Reply to: Message 70 by BMG
12-03-2006 12:26 AM


Close but not There
Akira Kurosawa is the best director who ever lived.
Kubrick is second.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 70 by BMG, posted 12-03-2006 12:26 AM BMG has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 79 by BMG, posted 12-03-2006 12:42 PM anglagard has replied

Zawi
Member (Idle past 3629 days)
Posts: 126
From: UK
Joined: 12-02-2004


Message 72 of 300 (367525)
12-03-2006 5:23 AM


People stick up for paedophiles far too much in this country. At first that might seem like a weird thing to say, what with the News of the World 'name and shame' incident, and people burning down the houses of paediatricians and so on. But whenever a new case of a child being sexually abused by a paedophile comes up on the news, there's always someone around who demonises the anti-paedophiles, or blames it on the child's parents, or anything else to lift the blame from the criminal.
And as dumb as this may sound, I think that the whole thing of sticking up for paedophiles comes from people trying to be cool. There was a spoof-documentary that was aired in Britain called 'Brass Eye', which lampooned the British media's coverage of paedophiles. Ever since then, I’ve noticed that quite a lot of people have adopted the show's stance and go on to blindly defend any paedophile that appears on the news, or at least tries to rationalise their crime into something less evil.

IrishRockhound
Member (Idle past 4436 days)
Posts: 569
From: Ireland
Joined: 05-19-2003


Message 73 of 300 (367527)
12-03-2006 6:06 AM


Gotta agree with anglagard. Akira Kurosawa is a legend.
Although I think Kubrick is just plain stupid.
Most underrated great films of all time:
Equilibrium - awesome fight scenes, cool plot, made on a tiny budget but still rocked
The Dish - made me feel like I was seeing the moon landing. 'Nuff said.
Street Fighter the Animated Movie - the Matrix fights were good, I'll admit, but they don't hold a candle to Street Fighter. Made years ago and still hasn't aged.

Replies to this message:
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Modulous
Member
Posts: 7801
From: Manchester, UK
Joined: 05-01-2005


Message 74 of 300 (367530)
12-03-2006 7:17 AM
Reply to: Message 55 by Archer Opteryx
12-01-2006 9:56 PM


Someone should make a movie epic of Wagner's 'Ring of the Nibelungs.'
Something along the lines of this?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 55 by Archer Opteryx, posted 12-01-2006 9:56 PM Archer Opteryx has not replied

crashfrog
Member (Idle past 1466 days)
Posts: 19762
From: Silver Spring, MD
Joined: 03-20-2003


Message 75 of 300 (367550)
12-03-2006 11:39 AM
Reply to: Message 70 by BMG
12-03-2006 12:26 AM


But one thing does trouble me with your post: I cannot tell if you are being candid or not.
In a thread about controversial opinions, trust me, I'm being completely serious. I'm dragging out all the opinions that I hold that I know are going to tweak people. (I've got more than enough of those without having to manufacture them.)
Most boring?...really?
I really find Kubrick's movies stupefying, and not in a good way. He's got an eye for visual spectacle, but most everybody does, and Kubrick just doesn't understand pacing, in my opinion. (Or else he's deliberate about trying to put the audience to sleep.)

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
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