Ariana Grande Will Return to Manchester, Hillary Criticizes Trump: P.M. Links

• 

  HBO

  Ariana Grande will return to Manchester to play at a benefit concert for victims of the bombing.

• Hillary Clinton criticizes President Trump in her commencement speech at Wellesley College.
• John Boehner says Trump has been "a complete disaster."
• The Obamacare repeal bill faces a divided Republican Senate.
• Game of Thrones Season 7 trailer earns 61 million views in 24 hours.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

NO. SPOILERS.

[$park? leftist poser]

They all die.

[Robert]

That's why only the movie of Gangs Of New York had an appropriate ending. All that was missing was the ice ball that the Earth will eventually become (q.v. Winning Through Intimidation by Robert Ringer). All movies & stories should end like that: "Then the sun went out, & the earth became an ice ball."

AFAICT, all wars & all elections in the past ended in ties, because they're all dead now. How can anyone be said to have won unless they're immortal?

[Lord_at_War]

All that was missing was the ice ball that the Earth will eventually become

Science fail- Earth's eventual fate is that the sun will become a red giant, and will be comsumed by it a billion years from now.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

The Pens won.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Heeelllooooooo!

[Pulls slot machine lever]

[Fist of Etiquette]

Or did the Senators lose?

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

I've pierced the vale and could tell you how the final two seasons play out!

O.o

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Do the White Walkers win? Because that's racist.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

I've pierced the vale

Kinky.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Hogwash. The Vale is impregnable!

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

That's the Eyrie. Geeesh!

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Nay! The Bloody Gate is at the western entrance to the Vale, making the entire region impregnable to a land attack.

[MarkLastname]

Ill impregnate the bitch.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hillary Clinton criticizes President Trump in her commencement speech at Wellesley College.

That doesn't seem like it created a very inclusive safe space.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Ariana Grande will return to Manchester to play at a benefit concert for victims of the bombing.

Props to her.

[Zeb]

Who?

[DJF]

Will Muslims get backstage passes?

[Lord_at_War]

Did she promise to lick their donuts? I want the entire Grande experience!

[Fist of Etiquette]

John Boehner says Trump has been "a complete disaster."

"I mean, that shade of orange? Are you kidding me?"

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Hillary Clinton criticizes President Trump in her commencement speech at Wellesley College.

Bizzaro Hillary won the election on Earth 2, do you think that rankles her?

[gaoxiaen]

Paging Mr. Mxyzptlk.

[Lord_at_War]

do you think that rankles her?

I don't know, but she added two inches to her cankles...

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Game of Thrones Season 7 trailer earns 61 million views in 24 hours.

I've been yelled at and asked to explain myself while on dates because I haven't watched past season three.

Fuck you world - I'm a rebel.

*masturbates again*

[Fist of Etiquette]

This what people hear when you tell them that: "I'm undateable and I can prove it."

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Or they hear I'm a rebel, a bad boy who doesn't play by the rules of polite society.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Where is the "Sex Pistols" tattooed on your body?

[RabbitHead]

Barred for life

[Fist of Etiquette]

And they see a Purple Wedding in their future. PASS.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

More like a Purple Unveiling, if you know what I mean.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Thankfully I don't know what you mean.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

I was talking about Crusty's Patrick Wilson.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

I watch it for tits and good sword fights; high quality fantasy has very few cinema options. But I rip it the whole fucking time -- as a fantasy fan, I loathe what this shit has done to the genre.

Also GRRM is a hack. Can't even finish his own series because originally there was no point to the damn book besides the notion of beheading the main character of your fantasy book.

GRRM is just a picked on nerd with jock issues.

[$park? leftist poser]

Holiday squirrels ate my comment it seems. It was a brilliant commentary on how much they fucking love science fantasy.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

That's a shame, I bet it was rich like a cream duck sauce.

[MikeT1986]

I'd say your opinion of the sword fights is entirely too generous and your opinion of GRRM's writing unduly harsh.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

25 years to complete 4 books and be taken over by the TV show speaks for itself -- there was no plan; just a shitty notion from a sourpuss nerd to kill the football captain of his fantasy book.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

So I guess you hated Dune as well? Ned was never the main character.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

I tried once or twice but could never get into dune. And Ned was the main character of book 1, not even up for debate.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

You are dead to me.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

O__O

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

I keed ,I keed. Seriously, go read Dune. Yes it starts slow, but it part of the classic canon of scifi/fantasy. But don't watch the movie. Only shitty movie David Lynch ever made.

[MarkLastname]

If it's about 'jock hatred' then I would think he would've portrayed Ned less sympathetically, rather than the ultimate martyr. And Jon, though a bastard, is about as much a 'jock' as one could possibly be. And it's 'nerd' characters like Littlefinger that are portrayed as the ultimate antagonists, manipulating and scheming to bring the world to its knees.

I'm not a huge fan of Martin, but I detect a chip on someone's shoulder. It also kind of makes it far for me to take someone seriously while unironically identifying themselves as 'alpha.' It's arguably even worse than self-identifying as a 'nerd.' Imo.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Bro if you don't smell the nerd radiating off me than your snooter is busted.

Also I said "like an alpha" ha.

Stop trying to put me in a fuckin' box. But please allow me to box up GoT into a neat little package.

I would think he would've portrayed Ned less sympathetically

No, no, no -- that's the whole point, the conception of Book 1, 25 years ago, was to take your classic all good fantasy hero and kill him in shocking fashion. Ned needed to be sympathetic to fit the main character fantasy mold -- and I'm fine with Ned's death, it was an OK bit. It's the one trick pony stuff from Martin that solidifies his hackiness to me.

[MarkLastname]

Snooter?

I don't really mind the whole 'turning the genre on its head' thing; and while it may be repetitive, so can the genre while standing upright (of course I don't actually read fantasy so whatever I know about it is hearsay). I find the 'plot armor' that pervades fiction, however, pretty annoying, so I think the idea of robust men dying off like flies while a crippled kid or a dwarf survives is a nice reflection of the sheer chance of war, or life in general. In real life sometimes Achilles gets in arrow in the face the moment he lands on the beach of Troy. An inverted trope gets repetitive too of course. I guess the only way yo avoid that would be to instead decide who lives and dies, wins or loses, by putting names on a wall and throwing darts at them.

[RabbitHead]

"decide who lives and dies, wins or loses, by putting names on a wall and throwing darts at them."

The proper way is to roll two 20- sided dice at the start of each episode and double ones means you're dead. No saving throw.

[Cyto]

I have been reading the series recently - so I did it backwards.

I'll agree that Martin isn't the greatest writer of all time, but as ordinary popular book series go, it's pretty decent. He didn't get nearly the hype of Dan Brown, but I thought he was a much better story teller. Still, I'm enjoying the books, but the divergences between the TV show and the book are mostly better in the TV show - at least if you watched the TV show first.

I was surprised at how much of the sex was added for TV - it is mostly alluded to at best in the book, as opposed to how it is sometimes front and center in the TV show.

Killing off main characters is somehow less jarring in print. As is the violence in general. I noticed the same thing in "The Hunger Games". The scene where Katness volunteers for the hunger games is particularly intense in the movie. And things that Martin simply describes as having occurred using a single sentence (like a rape or beating a girl) are pretty rough when depicted on screen. It gives the filmed version a much different impact.

I'll agree that, like many fantasy writers, he doesn't appear to have had a destination in mind. This is pretty common in the genre, with a powerful past or powerful "others" being hinted at, just beyond the horizon. It works really well until they reach the point where they have to reveal the monster... then it kinda falls apart. Still, worth the read.

[Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting]

GRRM is just a picked on nerd with jock issues

Yeah, it's not exactly an accident that most of the Chad-type characters with a surfeit of testosterone in these books have been whacked. Martin's even got the nerd's silly STRONK ACKSHUN GRRRRRRRRL fetish going with Brienne and Arya.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Exactly. A Song of Ice and Fire is just an Outsiders story. All the dead are the stereotype fantasy heroes and the living are the outsiders, e.g., bastard, inbred, cripple, tomboy, huge ugly woman (in the books), disfigured dwarf (in the books), mutilated face warrior, 3 eunuchs, diseased warrior -- who am I forgetting, that's most of the characters.

Sansa Stark is arguably the only non-outsider hero character, but continuing with the jaded nerd, jock hating theory, she's just the head cheerleader that ever nerd dreams will somehow end up with him (like always happens in nerd hero movies).

[Marty Feldman's Eyes]

Sansa Stark is arguably the only non-outsider hero character,

Always worth pointing out that Sansa is a horrible person whose horribleness started the events of the entire series. Worth a reminder when they are trying to get us to feel sorry for her or side with her.

[Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting]

Always worth pointing out that Sansa is a horrible person whose horribleness started the events of the entire series

That's silly--most of the bad non-White Walker events that took place through the first three books can be traced directly to one Caitlyn Stark. In the book, unlike the TV series, she's the one who pushes Ned into accepting Robert's request to be the King's Hand. Later on, her abduction of Tyrion sets off the entire War of the Three Kings.

Sansa's main crime was being gullible enough to believe that the Lannisters would keep their word.

[Cyto]

And in Sansa's defense, she like a 12 year old girl. She seems to be pretty well written as a Jr. High aged girl motivated by 12 year old girl stuff trying to navigate pretty weighty decisions without the benefit of parental guidance. She's easily manipulated, which is probably pretty accurate if you placed a 12 year old in those situations.

Certainly more realistic than the Tyrion of the novel (who is much more grotesque and limited than Peter Dinklage) riding into battle and cutting down a dozen warriors.

[Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting]

Also, Cersei's the blonde hottie that Martin never got to fuck in high school.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Definitely, all the villains are like the dead hero characters -- handsome alpha types that gave GRRM swirlies in HS.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Fortunately you always rebound with, "But I do watch Girls."

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

This guy gets it.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Crusty just watches the ping pong scene. One of these days, he will finally find out how that episode ends.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

My Patrick Wilson is out there.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Is that what you call it?

[Scrolls up to post comment]

[Robert]

How can they tell you're not saying simply, "But I do watch girls."?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Obamacare repeal bill faces a divided Republican Senate.

Time to start the kind of wheeling and dealing necessary to "pass" Obamacare in the first place.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

John Boehner says Trump has been "a complete disaster."

And the swamp called out in one voice, "Don't drain me!"

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

The Obamacare repeal bill faces a divided Republican Senate.

This sentence is missing a Trump or two.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Game of Thrones Season 7 trailer earns 61 million views in 24 hours.

Not the trailer.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

You literally phoned these in, didn't you?

[Zeb]

Don't be silly. Millennials don't use telephones.

[DJF]

Yeah they do, that is how they post on Twitter

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

He snapchatted them in. Seriously, I took one look and instantly knew Robby was on PM links.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

It's a holiday weekend, they just let our offices out early. I of course cannot leave because as a millennial i have a bunch of time to make up from showing up at 11am everyday to a 830 corporate office lol.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Why did you get in so early?

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Haha I should embrace the stereotype harder.

They just gave me an inch so I took a mile -- like an alpha.

[Rufus The Monocled]

"Hillary Clinton criticizes President Trump in her commencement speech at Wellesley College."

Yeh but he won.

Loser.

[Philadelphia Collins]

Did anyone walk out?

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Ex-teacher who had sex in cemetery called, texted student victim while on parole

Northampton County Judge Leonard Zito said he gave ex-substitute teacher Kelly Aldinger the benefit of the doubt with a "modest" sentence after she had sex with a student in Easton Cemetery.

But he realized that was a mistake Friday.

I mean, cemeteries are sexy, but...

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Jesus, that woman definitely victimized the kid.

[Jerry on the sea]

...you have to watch out for zombies. (nsfw)

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

I always go to schtupp my dead wife. NSFW

[Sevo]

"Hillary Clinton sharply criticized President Trump during her graduation speech at Wellesley College on Friday, delivering a stinging rebuke to his policies and governing style without ever mentioning his name."

Gee, where's DanO, Tony and turd? The losers can all get together and add some vintage whine!

[DJF]

Was she attacking him for not having a private e-mail server and allowing so many leaks to the press

[$park? leftist poser]

Fantasy is great when it's full of people fucking and killing. Or killing and fucking. And tits, lots and lots of tits.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Tits and dragons.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Tits on a dragon!

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Security services missed five opportunities to stop the Manchester bomber

Counter Terrorism agencies were facing questions after it emerged Salman Abedi told friends that "being a suicide bomber was okay", prompting them to call the Government's anti-terrorism hotline.
...
The Telegraph has spoken to a community leader who said that Abedi was reported two years ago "because he thought he was involved in extremism and terrorism".

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: "People in the community expressed concerns about the way this man was behaving and reported it in the right way using the right channels.

"They did not hear anything since."

Two friends of Abedi also became so worried they separately telephoned the police counter-terrorism hotline five years ago and again last year.

"They had been worried that 'he was supporting terrorism' and had expressed the view that 'being a suicide bomber was ok'," a source told the BBC.

Akram Ramadan, 49, part of the close-knit Libyan community in south Manchester, said Abedi had been banned from Didsbury Mosque after he had confronted the Imam who was delivering an anti-extremist sermon.

Mr Ramadan said he understood that Abedi had been placed on a "watch list" because the mosque reported him to the authorities for his extremist views.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

*facepalm*

Clearly the system needs more of everything, i.e, money and power.

[MarkLastname]

Government: the only business where you consistently get a raise for fucking up!

[DJF]

So when will the British lock up these people for leaking confidential intelligence information?

[lap83]

At least over here we have the decency to only ignore icky gun shop owners

[Aloysious]

Game of Thrones Season 7 trailer earns 61 million views in 24 hours.

I really really hope that George R. R. R. R. R. Martin holds off finishing the next book for a couple more years, like until after the television series ends. /sarc

I do not recall ever being frustrated by a slow-ass author like I have become with Martin.

[DJF]

I read his first book when it came out in paperback and bought the second but could barely start it since I felt there were thousands of more pages before anything concluded

[Gene]

I've not watched a moment of GoT so I couldn't care less about the next book, I can recall waiting impatiently for the Dark Tower series to conclude. Of course, the final book was a letdown.

[Bubba Jones]

Wife and I watched the first episode. Couldn't imagine why someone would want to subject themselves to that. I guess most people either don't have enough drama in their lives or they have no empathy.

[gaoxiaen]

Just watched part of Best of GoT on Youtube. I couldn't finish 10 minutes of it.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

The books are irrelevant at this point.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

^lotta this^

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Ok fine, you are not dead to me.

[Red Rocks Baiting n Inciting]

The sad part is, who other than Martin's hardcore fan base is going to bother now with the books if he ever finishes them? I'll give JK Rowling some credit for at least finishing the increasingly and unnecessarily bloated Harry Potter series; Martin's been mostly fucking around the last 20 years and can't even manage a similar output level.

Are casual fans and show watchers really going to shell out the bux for Martin's food porn descriptions just to find out the big reveal details they already know?

[Aloysious]

John Boehner says Trump has been "a complete disaster."

So... Trump got a rise out of Old Boehner?

[Fuck You - Cut Spending]

John Boehner says Trump has been "a complete disaster."

It really does take one to know one.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

We have to put a stop to all this orange on orange crime.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Male Stars Are Too Buff Now

Muscles have become a requirement to lead a movie franchise, and more than ever there's an entire cottage industry of physical trainers and nutritionists (as well as supplements, steroids, and hormones) designed to help actors and their body doubles "get into superhero shape." We noted the trend back in the summer of 2014, when Chris Pratt unveiled his very un-Andy Dwyer body in Guardians of the Galaxy, but the significant moment came almost two years prior, when Pratt snapped an underwear selfie of his new body after shooting Zero Dark Thirty. The actor had lost out on roles for films like G.I. Joe because he was "out of shape," but after getting superhero swoll, Pratt was able to vault onto the A-list, joining Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans in the elite group of famous men who have fantastical bodies and also all happen to be named Chris. (The fourth and arguably best Chris, Pine, has embraced a more realistically athletic look for his own shirtless scenes.)

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

The Chrises stood proudly alongside Henry Cavill in Man of Steel and Hugh Jackman in X-Men Days of Future Past, who evolved from the fit and furry Wolverine into a veined and leathery one over a decade later. Now there's an "anyone can do it" quality to getting swoll, with Michael B. Jordan bulking up for Creed, John Krasinski reinventing himself for 13 Hours, and Paul Rudd getting cut for Ant-Man. In the only instance of an effective trickle-down economy, muscles today are ubiquitous to the point of pointlessness: Why does Ben Stiller have abs? Does Kevin Hart need to be so jacked? Does the depressed, alcoholic small-town police chief on The Leftovers need an eight-pack?

Indeed.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Does the depressed, alcoholic small-town police chief on The Leftovers need an eight-pack?

Only seen the poster for this on HBO but that dude, my god, that'd be me in a perfect world or after genie wish -- sadly depressed alcoholics never look like that, trust me.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Hot folk succeeding in Hollywood, what a crazy notion...

The obvious explanation is humanity always raises the bar, like breaking Olympic records each go around.

But really this analysis is cherry picked -- Schwarzenegger and Stalone in the 80's counter this author's whole point -- I mean come the fuck on, and sure Bruce Willis wasn't that jacked but neither is Jason Statham.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Kevin being super ripped was always hilarious to me, but I'm pretty sure that's Justin Theroux's (or Jennifer Aniston's) choice, not something asked of him. Hollywood stars are vain and want to look great on screen - what a development!

[lap83]

I remember he was pretty fit in the Muse music video he appeared in (shirtless) back in 2009-ish. Albeit skinnier probably since he was younger.

I don't usually go for the super buff male stars, but Justin Theroux can be as buff as he wants...

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Just wow.

[lap83]

I didn't know skinhead shoed hipster was a fashion thing, but still would

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

Apparently I need to go boot shopping.

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Don't forget the 8-pack abs.

[Crusty Juggler aka "Chad"]

I've read Playboy for years, and I learned that women like a man with a little spare tire. So, there.

[MarkLastname]

'Read playboy...'
So,, you're gay?

[Eric Bana]

I thought I read they cancelled Game of Thrones.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

All shows must end.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Even Grey's Anatomy?

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE!

[MarkLastname]

But rises again!...

Which reminds me, back to my bunk...

[lap83]

no, just that TJ Miller won't be returning as the red woman

[MarkLastname]

Wasn't he replaced by Carrot Top?

[Scarecrow Repair & Chippering]

Hillary Clinton criticizes President Trump in her commencement speech at Wellesley College.

Carrying coals to Newcastle.

[Sevo]

Yep, I'm sure there were walk-outs when the hag whined, right? I mean all the Wellesley kids who support sexual equality like co-ed schools.
Both of them.

[Robert]

Ariana Grande will return to Manchester to play at a benefit concert for victims of the bombing.

But won't that lead to another bombing, necessitating another Ariana Grande benefit concert, necessitating another bombing, etc.?

[Bruce Majors]

I know Hillary's fans say she is not a carpet muncher, but she does seem to get a hairball whenever she speaks at a women's college ...

[Ken Hagler]

The combination of a picture of Cersei Lanister with a mention of Hillary Trump works very well.

[Troy muy grande boner]

Dear Hillary, you didn't win. Ha Haa /Nelson