MerrySkeptic

joined 2 years ago
[–] MerrySkeptic 19 points 3 days ago

Thanks for the taxpayer expense of having this obviously unconstitutional law immediately challenged, appealed, and ultimately settled by SCOTUS. Won't it be fun if it turns out this is a new norm?

Just hoping my kid can graduate before this is officially a thing

[–] MerrySkeptic 33 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Sounds like it was the bees' knees

[–] MerrySkeptic 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I think we are reading it differently. From the article, emphasis added:

"[Their day] includes rising at 4:30 a.m., cleaning their room, keeping the public areas spotless. There are Alcoholic Anonymous meetings at 6 a.m. and work hours run from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. four days a week. Life on the farm involves grooming the horses, getting them out of their stalls and into the pastures daily, visits from veterinarians and farriers, and farm maintenance.

The other days the men attend therapy offsite or visit doctors in an effort to build their sobriety. Stable Recovery partners with an outpatient treatment program that provides classes and therapists and both sides keep in constant communication."

So work is a part of the program, not something that comes afterwards. I did not see anything saying they are not paid for the initial year. It says they are not paid until they start working (but neither are they charged). How soon they start working probably depends on going through some training and whether or not they have prior experience in the industry, but the point is that it doesn't say anything about a year before they can work. It says the goal is to have them in the program for a year, but work is part of the program.

And as the second paragraph points out, they partner with therapists and doctors in outpatient treatment. It's not just AA meetings.

One thing I missed until I reread this was that their work week is 4 days. Another reason I don't think this is about taking advantage of anyone.

For what it's worth 30 days of sobriety is a minimum standard for most sober living programs. It improves the odds of success and reduces the chances that someone will bring a substance into the community. It's not like they are fine after 30 days, it is a bare minimum standard needed to make the rest of treatment effective.

Idk, seems like they are genuinely interested in the well-being of the participants.

[–] MerrySkeptic 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

They're working and receiving room, board, and around $35k/yr. And a stable, supportive environment where they get transportation to outpatient counseling services, where the counselors stay in regular communication with the folks who run the program. You're making this sound like it's a grift

[–] MerrySkeptic 3 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Geez, the cynicism runs deep with this one.

The wages you're quoting is on top of the fact that they don't charge anything for any of this until the men start working at which point it is $100 a week for food, shelter, clothing, and transportation. Do you know how much the average recovery program costs a patient? About $6k a month. The purpose, community, and stability these men are finding here is priceless.

[–] MerrySkeptic 6 points 1 week ago

Luke Cage ended with him as the crime boss running Harlem. Hope Marvel picks that back up

[–] MerrySkeptic 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If there's one thing that the last 4 years proved its that the systems we have in place to check abuses of power are woefully slow to respond or to change. The only justice he might ever face is the Mangione variety.

[–] MerrySkeptic 8 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Was it Hannibal Lecter?

[–] MerrySkeptic 5 points 2 weeks ago

"Sometimes I just like to be by myself and listen to my own thoughts. We can talk tomorrow though. You didn't do anything wrong."

[–] MerrySkeptic 30 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Don't you know people who use the Internet can't be bothered to read the article!

[–] MerrySkeptic 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I think the real answer is that at the time they were making Thunderbolts it was still unclear whether the Netflix shows would be canon. Maybe for Thunderbolts 2?

7
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by MerrySkeptic to c/[email protected]
 

Not sure how to spoiler tag so if I need to do that please let me know how.

I really liked this movie. I didn't know much about it going in and highly recommend it that way for anyone else. However for anyone reading this that hasn't seen it (apparently you don't care about spoilers), know that this is graphically violent thriller, and there's a pretty intense scene that could be a sexual assault trigger for some.

Right off the bat when they started us off in Chapter 3, I knew that things were not as they seemed. I think most people will be able to guess fairly early on that the "victim" is actually the hunter and the "hunter" is actually the victim here simply because the nonsequential storytelling is a tipoff. In less capable hands, this would be a gimmick that cheapens the movie. But it was executed so well I don't even mind that I could see the twist coming.

The director, JT Mollner, wanted this to be a movie that was primarily felt, and he succeeded. I was viscerally uncomfortable in the rape scene that turned out to be consensual role play, and I wasn't even sure it was consensual because they faked us out with the mock disappointment with the choking early on! When she said her safe word I exhaled with relief. I felt angry at how the Lady played on the wounded female tropes, and especially angry at the female deputy for not listening to the older male cop. But then I realized I would have probably done the same thing she did, seeing a bleeding, handcuffed woman with her pants down, so I couldn't be too mad. Mollner does an excellent job creating tension between the story as it plays out challenging a lot of modern gender sensibilities.

The cinematography was fantastic, and I was surprised to learn that actor Giovanni Ribisi was Director of Principal Photography for this movie. Excellent use of color, contrast, and focus. It may not pay as much as acting, but he has talent and I hope he keeps this up.

Speaking of acting, the two leads were flawless. Willa Fitzgerald showed an incredible range, from victim, sexpot, insane killer, etc. Kyle Gallner has a believable, quiet intensity, with flashes of sexy charm but also murderous rage. I expect to see a lot more of both of them. Their characters are smart and the emotion-driven choices are pretty believable for the most part (I'm also factoring in the drugs).

There's little details that are fun to contemplate, like the juxtaposition between the scene of Chapters 1 and 2, the Blue Angel Motel, and Gallner's character's name, the Demon. This name, by the way, is another great misdirect, as it is prominent in the opening credits but only later do we learn that he's named so because the Lady is crazy and thinks she sees and is killing devils.

All in all, great movie, highly recommend and I can't wait to watch it again so I can have all the context when I watch the first half again.

 
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