Currently in the middle of watching a series on Flix of Net called Babylon Berlin. It’s a period piece following Berlin Police investigators during the late 1920’s as they try to take down an illegal pornography ring and get to the bottom of mysterious killings tied to the Soviets, discovering a larger conspiracy in the process. It’s a well acted show; the native language is German (naturally) but when Khajiit started watching episode 1, it automatically picked English dubbing. This one swiftly turned that off and opted for German language with English subtitles. Much better imo. The “Roaring 20’s” Berlin setting is nice and does a good job of showing the contrast between the social and economic problems simmering in the city (and Germany as a whole), and the extravagant decadence of the Jazz Age nightlife. Based on what he has seen so far, Khajiit thinks anyone interested in this period of European history should check it out.

I tried that one, but it completely grossed me out with the scene of the girl's family, with the father urinating right there in front of the entire family. I couldn't watch any more.

The Toys That Made Us had a second season come out on Netflix. I spent last night watching Hello Kitty and Transformers. Lots of fun, and memories.

Well that’s a shame.

I lived in Germany for two years, and discovered that going to the bathroom is considered a bit more natural in Europe than it is here in the US. You could be driving down the road and see men stopped to urinate on the side of the road; but not facing away from the traffic like you might see in the US = facing towards the traffic. It was one of the first things I saw driving from the airport to Trier. Also on more than one occasion I saw men sitting on the guard rails along the highway taking a dump.

And some of the houses and apartments have beveled glass bathroom doors that do little to hide what the occupant is doing in the bathroom.

This is the only example I could find online:


http://www.simpsondoor.com/glass-panel-opt...es/slide-01.jpg


But in fact, the glass in the doors was actually more like this:


https://twincityglass.com/app/uploads/2014/...stal-Fluted.png


Looking through the closed door I was clearly able to identify my (late) husband in there while his back was facing me.

** (and the flusher for the toilet is sometimes hidden, so the other occupants of the house can enjoy seeing you search for it, I imagine. It took me 30 minutes to find the flusher at a party I went to once; turned out it was a tile you stepped on in the center of the large bathroom - just like those floor traps in the video games, the tile went down with a click when you stepped on it; then you heard..."WHOOOSH!").


I won't even mention that the toilets are also shelved there; so if you produce a Bono-sized turd you can call in everyone watching through the glass door to view your masterpiece. (aka South Park episode)


https://erasmusproblems.files.wordpress.com...man-toilet.jpeg


It isn't considered embarrassing over there, but a natural body function that everyone has, (or in some cases, a place for creative entertainment, I guess). The human body is also a bit more celebrated there; nudity is accepted as normal to be seen; there is much more of it on television and in the newspapers than seen here in the US = it is not as frowned upon in Europe. The US is a bit Puritanical in comparison; and it's true = I never was able to get used to feeling comfortable using the bathroom behind a glass door with people milling about on the other side.

A party at one friend's apartment (who are the ones who had the glass bathroom door that I identified Steve through) = they even had beveled glass ceilings like these:

https://images.traum-ferienwohnungen.de/191...g-no-title-.jpg

...so you could peer down into the neighbors below you and see them moving about in their own homes. We spent a lot of time on the balcony looking down into the neighbor's homes. Personally; I would ONLY live in those apartments if I lived on the top floor; couldn't enjoy knowing people could see everything I did in the privacy of my home,

But when you think about the beginnings of America; no one had private bathrooms or even outhouses originally; the outhouses were thought of and added much later (probably at the urging of a woman; because I doubt men cared about being seen).

Like both you and Khajiit; when I come across a foreign film = I want to hear and see it in its native language, never dubbed. And yes, sometimes you do get a glimpse into the other's culture that way. I kind of applaud that they kept the movie true to their culture and didn't edit scenes like that out for the US viewers (even the parts we might consider gross).

Worse than that (imho) is graphic blood and gore. I get REALLY grossed out by seeing realistic displays of injuries or gore in a movie = literally urp.

(but that is just me).






This post has been edited by mALX: May 28 2018, 10:16 PM

That’s interesting mALX, thanks for sharing! Khajiit didn’t know any of that about German culture. This one simply figured the scene Subbie found offensive was included to perhaps help show the contrast between the poorer people in Berlin at the time as compared to other more “well to do” citizens. This was a very large, multigenerational family crammed into a relatively small tenement. Forget about any sort of privacy in that situation. Now the more wealthy folks are never shown to do things like that (or rather the “objectionable” things they do are done in nightclubs and such), and their houses offer a lot more in the way of privacy.

Ewww mALX. I don't think it is so much offensive, as just plain gross. If that explains it. I don't really mind seeing blood and gore. Bring on the zombie movies! But poop is just gross. I don't want to see my own masterpiece, let alone anyone else's!

In other news I saw Red Sparrow yesterday. It was good, though it dragged on about 20 minutes longer than it needed too. I think it did not do so well at the theater because people were expecting to see an action movie - like the Black Widow movie everyone has wanted for 7 years, but Marvel refuses to make. Instead it is a drama/thriller. No wild action scenes, lots of plotting, moves, and counter-moves. When people do die, it is messy, not fun. If you like thinking, you will enjoy it. If not, you won't.

Same here, not big on seeing poop = I don't even want to see my dog's. But I was really glad someone else was driving when I was seeing all that on the highways that first day. By the time I moved back to the US I was kind of..."Eh..." It didn't stun me anymore.

But the glass doors in the bathrooms = I could never get used to that.

And yeah, I'm not really sure what the shelf in the toilets is all about, but when their toilets flush it is like Niagra Falls washing through the toilet = huge water pressure to wash that shelf off; and they don't need plumbers because that kind of water pressure could flush a whole person down.


PS: Didn't know if you saw that South Park episode where Randy poops out a giant turd and calls in all his friends to view it, then finally tries to have it put in something like the Guiness book of world records = that is what I was referring to before, lol.

I have seen pictures of the shelf toilets. I think the idea is that you can inspect your poop afterward and look for problems like worms or blood in it. Or maybe Germans just like looking at poop...

I absolutely LOVED living in Europe, but there are most def some cultural differences that probably don't sit comfortably both ways. (in other words, I'm sure there is plenty about Americans that the Germans didn't feel comfortable with too).








Like parasites? You are probably right. Urk.

You guys are watching people poop and urinate in Europe? At the sides of the roads, facing the traffic no less? Whuh? This is some next level fetish to be discussing publicly but uhhh to each their own I suppose.

Yeeeep.


JK JK TEEHEE

(or am I?)

On a serious note I’m currently watching Solo (recorded in a cam by a guy in Eastern Europe, incidentally enough) since I couldn’t help myself and patience has never been a virtue of mine (it’ll be released here in JP at like, 6/29 smh) and I gotta say, I’m liking it thus far.

Finished watching it. Shorter than I expected tbh, but that’s probably because I watched it in a shitty cam recorder and not in the movie proper. Anyway. To Uleni’s (admittedly amateur) judgements.

So.

After watching it and giving it some thought, I shall give it an unforgiving 7.5, 8 after I watch it in high quality.

In terms I am heavily familiar with, I’m going to say that Solo: A Star Wars Story was a combat athlete that did respectably well in the early rounds of a 5-rounder (12 if you guys are more into boxing), fell off midway because it ignored the established gameplan and momentum to do its own thing that led to dirty exchanges and chunky rhythm, but ultimately recovered *just enough* to coast into a fair but dull and foregone decision. It won’t knock you out with a punch you won’t see, but some of the strikes it does land on you will leave you reeling and a-bruisin’, wary and guarded for more.

Meh, I’ll catch it on Netflix when it comes out.

I have heard it is basically a heist movie. And that Donald Glover steals the show as Lando. Plus I saw in the trailers that the Falcon looked a lot nicer before Han got hold of it.

I will wait for it to be out on disc though. I don't like going to theaters. It is so much better watching movies at home where you can pause to go to the bathroom, turn on subtitles when you did not understand what someone said. Back up to watch a really cool scene over again, and pause and go frame by frame to read things on computer screens and papers.

It’s a heist movie, alright. And yes, Glover!Lando is definitely one of the highlights of the movie; dude was a natural snake oil salesman throughout, just oozing with that ‘Loveable Sleazebag’ aura. But without going off too much I’m going to say that the execution of the heist left a little bit to be desired. It was ... bland and unmemorable, for me anyway.

And if you ask me, this whole ‘gritty underworld urban cloak-and-dagger criminal intrigue’ stuff that they tried to present here? It didn’t fail, but it didn’t succeed for the most part too. The high-handed gaudiness and ‘fantasy’ feel of Star Wars just devours what attempts the movie had to introduce some criminal elements to the franchise too much for them to truly stand out as main themes on their own.

There weren’t any real gangsters a la Michael Corleone/Tony Soprano here, just a cast of tricksters and survivors playing with each other like cats. I’m not asking for kneecappings or anything (considering Star Wars is the Family-Friendly Family Movie) but on this new frontier they were meh and played it safe.

Khajiit would like to see a rated R Star Wars film. This one thinks that, from the sound of things, Solo might have benefited from more adult content. Like, maybe a bounty hunter flik with a bit of ultra-violence and maybe a space boob or three (not necessarily in a sex scene, but as scene dressing in an intergalactic strip club, because you know they are out there).

That is too bad. I liked how they did the Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, and the bounty hunters in The Clone Wars tv series. The Ziro the Hutt episodes would have made a really cool movie.

Wookiee breasts or sex? BWAAHAA!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJpBCzzcSgA

I definitely need to see me some hot Hutt on Hutt action!

YOIKES!


... I wouldn’t say no to a ATAT/ATST myself. Once you go AT-AT, you’ll always be ... back-back?

*WINK-WONK*

God I hate myself sometimes