HankStrong

Shame on me for taking this bait. I'll be quick and as succinct as possible. I disagree with you and I did not specifically claim YOU were a racist, nor did I call you one. Quite specifically correlation does not imply causation in this case. I do not believe this is racist because I do not agree with it. I believe that the vast bulk of the uproar over a black Little Mermaid is based on some degree of racism, even an unconscious bias sort of racism. I did not print you a specific badge that says "Hello, I'm a racist" on it or something. I do feel that racism is involved in this story, but I'm not labeling specific people as such. Another victory claim! Much like DJ Khalid, all you do is win! Stop changing the point. I did not claim the entire world was racist, nor that I see it everywhere. I am specifically talking about one movie, one character, and the reaction to that character. As a sidebar, it might be effective to learn the difference between infer and imply. I cannot infer something I said myself. However, I didn't imply it either. I said this directly without implying anything at all: However getting angry because of this casting choice isn't based in storytelling. It's based in not wanting a black actress in the role because she's not white. This sort of sounds like you're building a straw man fallacy attempt. My comments aren't that it is somehow OK to have an uproar about white people like Daniel Craig, but not people of other races. I think the info you provided about the blonde Bond uproar is weak on their part. Why should they care what color his hair is? It doesn't change the story in any way. Are you trying to agree with me or are you switching the conversation to trying to present a superficially similar (but not equal) version of what I'm saying to win again? Am I against a blonde Bond in this scenario of yours? I'm sure you'll be shocked to find out that I think Idris Elba would be AMAZING as James Bond. There is nothing inherent to the Bond story that requires him to be white. However, if you make James Bond a Brazilian special agent for whatever their agency is called (without Googling that I don't know) then you have completely changed the story. He's a British agent. Idris is British. That works. I know a lot of people are against that, too, but I'm sure it has nothing to do with the color of his skin to those folks. Bond just has an identity! (that's sarcasm) Again, I hang my head in shame for even replying. I shouldn't have taken the bait.

I'm not going to play in these politics threads and it is my intent that this will be my last comment here. I didn't lose an argument and call you a racist. I know it's popular now to just declare yourself a winner and expect it to be true, but we're not competing here. There is no reason The Little Mermaid can't be whatever skin color she is. There is nothing inherently white/redhead about a mermaid falling in love and giving up her voice to win him over. It makes ZERO difference to the story. If she is white, black, Asian, Hispanic, pale, dark, tan, it doesn't matter. The story doesn't change. That's the point. Anger or imaginary rage about her not being white with red hair is silly. Saying it's not how people remember the character is silly. Lots of people have played Batman, The Joker, Spider-Man, Superman, James Bond, Jack Ryan, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Catwoman, Lara Croft, Wonder Woman, Robin Hood, etc. You may have a favorite, but different actors bring different things to the role. You'd be really confused if you look at the Spiderverse because in different versions of that character, different people get bitten by the spider. Is it Gwen? Is it Miles? Is it Peter? Is it Peni? There are many movies where it does make a difference what color your skin is, what you look like, or what race you are. It's vital to the story. However getting angry because of this casting choice isn't based in storytelling. It's based in not wanting a black actress in the role because she's not white. Fake examples: Casting Jennifer Lopez as Harriet Tubman? Casting Danny DeVito as Abraham Lincoln? Jet Li as George W. Bush? Denzel Washington as FDR? Matt Damon as a slave in the American South in 1855? Those roles matter. Real example: Scarlett Johansson as the young Japanese woman Major in Ghost in the Shell was just wrong and made no sense. Racism. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, acts like a duck, looks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

Talking to you is like talking to my brother. If you tell him you like grapefruit within 5 minutes we've started talking about his landlady's new haircut, a pair of bowling shoes he owned in 1996, and a car ad he saw on TV at least 10 years ago. All because something about a grapefruit ties them all together in his head. It's exhausting.

Let's be fair. Mel Gibson's statements and rants are on tape. Denying that is crazy.

She's not described as white, nor a redhead in the original story. She doesn't even have a name. She comes from an underwater kingdom way out in the ocean and is only referred to as The Little Mermaid. Don't hide behind blatant racism by saying I'm rationalizing. I'm not. Pocahontas should be Native American because first she was real and second because of the story context. Lilo & Moana should be Polynesian (skin color varies greatly), Belle should be French (not British! Come on, that was insulting casting right there!), and Mulan should be Chinese. All because of story context. Breaking news: Humpty Dumpty wasn't ever described as an egg. Dracula could turn into a lot of things, not just a bat. Frankenstein's monster was yellow with long, flowing raven hair and beautiful teeth. Jack Reacher was a hulking 6'5" 250lb man with massive muscles and not Tom Cruise. Also of note, donkey & dragons can't have babies that look like flying donkeys that breathe fire.

This isn't the thread for it, but for the love of God I'd love for someone to show me some proof that a fictional race of creatures of mermaids must be one skin color or else they are "woke" or something. What other fictional races do we have to worry about skintone with? Is Bigfoot white or black under that fur? Can there be brown-skinned witches, ghouls, and wizards? What about elves, dwarves, or hobbits must they all be white?

I know nothing about politics over there, but there are a few chunks of real estate on the river side that are owned by the city and a couple of undeveloped lagoon properties. I'm specifically thinking down by the big Savior something church.

I'd imagine the whole marina's days are numbered. You don't become one of the world's premier cruise terminals and have huge areas of prime real estate taken by sailboats and yacht-lettes. There are plenty of watercraft in that marina that are way nicer than normal people could afford, but those aren't the mega-yachts of multi-billionaires either (check out Simpson Bay in St. Martin sometime) in the marina. I'd guess the empty parking lot area directly above the AIA in the picture above is the first spot to go, but that's just a guess. I see the new aquarium looks like it's going in at the West end of George King Blvd in that dirt pit touching the Banana River.

I wasn't extremely clear, but they both visit and homeport.

It looks like they've converted the old rails to greenway space, so probably not very likely. However, it is an amazing route. There is still track from the West side of The Villages to the South side of Wildwood. It looks like there may be track easement still along a lot of 44A and some of 44 from Wildwood to Leesburg that hasn't been converted. The stretch from Leesburg to Mt. Dora looks rough though.

I've stated for a long time than an OBX line between The Villages and downtown Orlando (AKA where all the best hospitals/doctors are) would be a massive boost for the entire train system.

I am somehow being attacked in this thread now? HAHAHAHAHAHA It's ok. I just wear them to work.

I feel like I should write up a report for the group about the closings of Porkies Original BBQ and Ace Cafe in the style of Spense. I could quote Scott Joseph's feelings on them and link Sentinel articles that are behind paywalls. I could suggest that instead of giving a Reader's Digest version of those articles, that you buy a subscription and also subscribe to Reader's Digest, if that still exists. I could mention how Porkies sits on the original site of some Seminole war meeting hall and how about 55 years ago a child found an axe making the front page of the paper. I could mention how Ace Cafe was the former site of Uncle Jimmy's Hardware Store & Stock Exchange. I could tell the tale of how when I was 6 my dad took me there for my first socket wrench and bought me a share of Tropicana stock. How once a man was shot there for reciting a poem by Lord Byron too loudly. Since I'm not Spense, they'd all be lies but I'd want them to be true like I believe his tales were. I could finish off with a jab at Buddy Dyer who I'm 99% sure already had his bulldozer at the site to knock everything down at a minute's notice.

That would be nice.

We went once before COVID and it wasn't good. I read the plea to get people to come back and it read like a dramatic/chaotic wonderland of a plea. I have a friend that loves it and goes all the time because she lives around the corner.

I have no idea where I put it, but I saved a mock-up once that someone had drawn showing freight and BL trains directly to PC. It was an amateur person's map, but incredibly well done.

They aren't going away and we never know all the deals until they happen, but the announced ships are all the same size or smaller in MIA and larger in PC. That is where I drew my conclusion that it's a short term game.

I will respond to all three of your posts in one. It will be interesting to see how Princess does in PC. They skew older than the typical PC cruiser which is why they do so well in FLL. I've never sailed with them, but several people I know have. My former boss was in his mid-60s and came home saying it was full of old people. He said the same of Holland America. His comment was that if at his age he felt it was too old, then he couldn't imagine any of us trying them. His wife loved Princess, though. Their ships don't have the bells & whistles that the typical PC cruiser sails for. That said, I'm sure that Central Florida & our guests have more than enough older people to fill one ship. It will be telling how long this ship stays and if it remains a one ship deal. I've heard from a friend in the quasi-cruise industry (his business supports it, but he's not directly in it) that the massive fear of cruise lines is that Millennials and Gen Z folks aren't really bitten by the cruise bug like Boomers & Gen X'ers are. However, it is fair to point out that prior to their reaching middle age, there was a concern because Gen X'ers didn't seem to like cruising as much as their parents. With age came change. Will it happen again or will the industry see a massive reduction? The elder Millennials are just barely crossing over into their 40s, but the bulk of them are still in their late 20s/30s. It is interesting about the 7th (11th????) terminal. Just from being out there, you'd think they could do a much better job at terminal placement. They could also do better at numbering and managing the entire basin. I say 7th (11th) because currently they have Terminals 1/3 on the South side AKA the area where all the stuff is. They also have Terminals 5/6/8/10 on the North side where you head to the AFB. What happened to 2/4/7/9? They are actually there, but they aren't for cruise ships and they aren't in the best condition from the photos I've seen. I think Terminal 2 is the only one you see on signage, but 2 isn't a real Terminal because the berth is tiny and the only customer is the Victory Casino ship. I believe that any ship can be adjusted to any terminal if they aren't home-based in PC in a pinch, but the typical home port terminals: Royal Caribbean Victory Casino Carnival n/a Royal Caribbean/Carnival/Marella/MSC Carnival n/a Disney n/a Norwegian/MSC Princess/?????? The numbers. Just know it's a short game, not a long one. MIA will be way less than PC in 2-4 years. Disney/Carnival/Royal/Princess are all putting larger ships in PC and not substantially adding to MIA. MSC is adding to both ports.

Mine has doubled 3 years in a row.

Many friends love Nona Blue. I went once right before COVID and had one of the worst dinners I've had at a legit restaurant (vs. takeout or fast food or whatever) in many, many years. Awful service. Awful food. Awful time. I like Bosphorous a lot. I actually like the food at Chroma, but they are so snooty that's it is insane. I've not eaten at Chroma more than I've eaten there. They wouldn't seat us in a nearly empty restaurant because they had reservations in 2.5 hours. They had servers standing around doing nothing. The tables with guests had food. They wouldn't seat us because we might not turn the table over for 2.5 hours. Another time they told us it was a 4.5 hours wait to get a table. It was busy that night, but not BUSY BUSY. Another time they told us (with reservations this time) that our party of 6 wouldn't be seated until 45 minutes after our reservation because they have trouble seating large groups. I asked if there was a typo or something. Did it say 16? or 66? or 600? She said it says 6 and that's a large party to us. Another time we went they were having kitchen troubles and were closing. It's just been a pain. I have eaten there at least 3 times and been served, but it's always with this massive air of "we don't really want you here, but we'll serve you anyway." I certainly wouldn't call it the ONLY good food, but it is highly underrated. If anyone wants to slum it a bit, I'd recommend Cappadocia on 436. It's wonderful. I would suggest you use extreme caution as it is in that drug-infested 1-mile stretch of 436 between Colonial and the 408. I've thought I was about to get mugged a few times when we've gone. On a funny side note: I have a friend who says that the Bosphorous on Park Avenue is where you go to dinner if you love having an amazing & delicious meal served to you by people that hate your guts and wish you were dead.

Dear Lord baby Jesus, lyin' there in your ghost manger, just lookin' at your Baby Einstein developmental videos, learnin' 'bout shapes and colors. I would like to thank you for bringin' me @JFW657 to end my pain and suffering.

Summer travel is here. I drove past OIA about 5:45 this morning and there was so much traffic. So many cars for that time of morning.

Can this please go to one of the 85 political threads in the coffee house instead of here?

That's mainly because the 10 cleaners they hired have to recruit 10 cleaners each before they start working and each of the original 10 cleaners' 10 cleaners have to recruit 10 cleaners before they can start working.