Ironhold

Yeah; anything less than .45 or a heavy-gauge shotgun slug and you're wasting ammo. That's how tough they are. Hence why hunting from air had to be legalized in order to help safely cull the numbers.

Far enough north that it's just a rainy weekend. But some of the local gas stations are running out because they weren't able to get their shipments in time.

What weekly e-mail? Nothing of the sort goes on in the branch I go to.

"Birth of the Dragon" The plot is pretty much self-insert fan fiction. Everything else is classic 70s kung fu cheese.

Considering that we have Relief Society / Priesthood first, this is... not so good for me. No matter how early I'm up and ready to go, someone or some thing does its best to ensure that I'm late. Be it the animals acting up, engine trouble, traffic, or even the neighbor setting his lawnmower on fire (actually happened). When we had the manuals, I could read the lesson on my own time and at least have that.

Another thing to consider is the individual persons involved. A lot of people have what they regard as a "sanctum" of sorts, a place where they can unload at the world and nothing they say goes further. This is often employed by people who have not been so fortunate in their experiences as a place where they can sort themselves out and express their emotions. I've seen a number of people - including members - make use of these places. In that sense, these places are where someone's true self emerges... especially if the place is something shared with other people who have had similar life experiences. Once these people have had a chance to commiserate, it gives them the strength to maintain the shiny, happy facade until such time as they're well enough again to actually be that person.

For those who don't have it, BYU has its own TV channel, BYU-TV. A bit back, they inked a deal that gave them broadcast rights to various Disney movies. Mostly, it's older fare like "The Apple Dumpling Gang" and "The Parent Trap". The newest film they've had was "The Country Bears", which was an absolute flop at theaters. This morning they had an ad for an upcoming broadcast of "Muppets Most Wanted". ...Which is only three years old. Yes, a Muppets movie that's only a few years old. Makes you wonder how toxic Disney regards the franchise as now that it's willingly palming things off on BYU-TV.

"The Hitman's Bodyguard" It's very much earned its "R" rating, but it's a good, campy romp if you're willing to put up with the rest of the content.

http://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2017/08/14/mres-for-civilians-amazon-will-soon-start-selling-ready-to-eat-chow/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB 08.15.2017&utm_term=Editorial - Military - Early Bird Brief To quote the article: Civilians beware: Amazon.com Inc. could be declaring war on your gastrointestinal tract. So yeah - MREs, that is American military rations - will now be available via Amazon, but you have to be careful with them because if you don't know what you're doing you can make yourself sick in a hurry.

"The Nut Job 2". Don't waste your money.

It's decent enough in its own right, but not something most people would write home about.

Also, about the guys not wanting to date - This is another thing that's person by person. Some may legitimately not be interested in dating. It happens. Others may not know how to go about it, or may be too shy. Still others may be confused. The so-called "social justice" movement has done a *lot* to confuse people, especially young folks, about what is and isn't supposedly appropriate when dealing with the other sex. A lot of kids aren't sure of what to do anymore, while others are legitimately afraid that something bad might happen (one can't spit without hitting a story of a false rape charge) and a few might have even sworn of dating all together because of one reason or another. Then you have people who may have had bad prior experiences with women and/or may have been social outcasts *before* they got into their present lifestyle. You'd need to get to know each one of them to figure out who is who.

I counter the above with this: https://www.youtube.com/user/BigMacDavis1/playlists YouTube host "Big" Mac Davis primarily hosts a series of "walkthroughs" in which he plays various video games level-by-level, offering commentary on both the level itself and the game as a whole. Very little cursing above and beyond what's in the games themselves, and usually only when something's gone absolutely pear-shaped (such as a game-breaking glitch or a critical enemy spawning in a place they don't normally spawn). If you load each series of videos as a playlist instead of as a video unto itself, then the next video will begin once the previous one ends. The game I'm playing now is TNT:Evilution, a semi-official "Doom" sequel that came about when ID Software was so impressed by a "game" several fans put together on their own time that they purchased the game from everyone. While the game is legitimately challenging in places, it's obvious that many of the levels were designed by amateurs, something he talks about as appropriate. For example, one level infamously contained a programming mistake upon launch which meant that one of the key cards you needed to finish the level was tagged as multi-player only; some players were able to use an exploit that allowed them to skip the half of the level the key card opened up (meaning they only played the beginning and end quarters of the level) if they didn't mind giving up all of the power-ups and ammunition that entailed, but others were stuck in place unless they knew the cheat code that would give them all the key cards for each individual level. A patch was quickly issued, but a few people still have the original goofed version of the game.

I'll begin by saying this: 1. I was wired wrong to begin with, and the stuff I've lived through hasn't helped. If we wanted to get into details, we could be here all night... assuming nobody passes out first or gets stuck puking. 2. I come from a military background, and have a sibling who worked as a counselor at a juvenile detention facility. I know how these things work. That being said - You seem to be under the impression that most such games are all about violence for the sake of violence. In reality, a lot of these games - like the classic "Doom" titles - are all about strategy. Let's take "Doom". You play as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps; different sources contradict each other on his real name, but most people just call him "Doomguy". You're part of the USMC garrison on Phobos, Mars' moon. At first it seems like glorified baby-sitting duty guarding a bunch of civilian contractors as they establish a colony for later human habitation. Then some of the contractors uncover the remains of an ancient civilization that used to live on the planet... remains that include what seems like a deactivated portal. One of the geniuses decides to poke it with a stick (so to speak), and it roars to life. Before you know it, you're the last living person on the planet. Near as you can tell, the reactivation of that portal was the signal for someone to invade. That leaves you with your meager gear - an M1911, 50 bullets, and a set of brass knuckles - plus whatever you can scavenge to clear out the colony and figure out what's going on. As you progress, however, you realize that the entire Milky Way is in danger, and that Earth itself could fall if you don't figure out what's going on and report back to *someone* in charge so they can organize a defensive strategy. That, however, means surviving, which in turn means using your noggin. The kind of macho heroics you presume everyone displays will get you killed over and over again. Instead, you have to strategise on the fly as you meet new monsters and pick up new supplies. For example, some levels allow you to "telefrag" powerful opponents... that is, if you can find a teleporter, you can teleport right into them and kill them without firing a single shot. You can also frequently get the enemy monsters fighting each other, and in fact at least two levels in the original games are based around it while other levels encourage it. Oh, and did I mention that the main organized body of "Doom" fans keeps time records for each level? And that one of the time records is for the "pacifist" run in which you don't kill people? There are only a handful of levels where you must specifically kill everyone in front of you to beat the level, and even then those levels merely require you to take out the big bossman... and often, you can get their subordinates to do it via infighting. The only boss in the game you *must* kill with your own hands is the Icon of Sin, and that's because of how the Icon itself is designed.

One of the issues I have as a movie reviewer is that I'm growing tired of having to see "horror" movies. You see, a lot of "horror" directors these days have decided to ignore any semblance of subtlety in their works and go straight to violence and gore. ...In other words, the kinds of things I could see on a daily basis if I wanted to dip back into my own head for a while. Yes folks, if I wanted to, I could have just about everyone in this discussion projectile-vomiting merely by reciting some of what I've been through in life... like the time I had my stomach pumped... or the time I skinned myself alive. I guess a person could indeed say that when it comes to raw violence and gore in and of itself, I'm rather immune simply because I've dealt with so much of it. Thing is, that doesn't mean I'm some mindless drone who accepts it all passively. I still comprehend what's going on, and whether it's appropriate for the setting and rating. For example, "Deadpool" works because the comics are just that over-the-top and the film had a good writing team to keep it all in perspective, but "Don't Breathe" was a straight-up video nasty with no excuse for being what it was. As far as violent games go, I've been playing them since middle school. I actually played "Doom" back when it first came around, and coincidentally am playing it now as time permits; I got a bundle of vintage titles off of Steam.

It's "healthy" to someone who is fully capable of separating fact from fantasy. It's really that simple.

Pretty much. I'm now beginning to question everything I'm seeing posted.

http://kdhnews.com/news/man-dies-in-fiery-cove-crash/article_a05aedf0-aeed-11e2-8512-0019bb30f31a.html The building you see? It's next door to the newspaper office where I work. This was back when I was still just doing courier work. Everyone else was late, so I was there at the office all by myself. I could see a fire in the engine block from the front porch of the office, and so, while still on the phone with emergency services, I grabbed one of the office fire extinguishers, locked the front door, and got over there as fast as I could move. A group of young adults (20s) from the apartment complex across the highway came over to investigate. None of them knew how to use a fire extinguisher. So there I was, cradling my cell phone with my shoulder while trying to prime the extinguisher as per directions. Fortunately, the police department is uptight about running night patrols, and so before I finished priming it a cop showed up and took command of the scene.

A *lot* of people who do "escapism" have faced death in some way, shape, or form. I don't kid when I say that the last few role-playing game parties I was a part of were as much about mental health counseling and venting spleen as actual gaming. A lot of us had indeed stared death in the face at least once in some way, shape, or form (when you look at everything I've survived and the sum total of my current health conditions, there's no valid scientific or medical reason to explain why I'm still even alive, let alone able to do what I do on a daily basis), and so knew the score. Or the Army Times' rather infamous investigation into the growing Brony culture among the military found that a lot of them were combat veterans who wanted something sweet and innocent to counteract what all they'd seen. Et cetra. It's a coping mechanism, especially if one finds a network of others among the fandom who have also survived things.

Basic computer operation Basic courtesy Telephone communication

Define "play time". I ask as I frequently leave one or more browser games running in the background while I try to get my writing done. If I get stuck on something, I'll do the browser game for a few minutes to clear my head. So if you count "play time" as "the entire time I'm logged in", then I can easily beat the people you're complaining about.

A lot of that "idle time" you're complaining about may be against their will. Contrary to the certain official narratives coming from Washington, the economy still hasn't fully recovered. Most of those promised "shovel-ready" jobs didn't actually happen, the "Affordable" Care Act frightened a number of employers into cutting positions, and a lot of sectors are still trying to rebuild. In these instances, it could well be that either jobs aren't available, or competition is so tough that even with their best efforts they're stuck. *Maybe* if they had the funds to relocate to some place where jobs were plentiful they could, but even if they saved up all of their gaming money they likely still couldn't do it. I myself spent 13 months unemployed after losing my entry-level office job due to the recession. I know what it's like to keep striking out when it comes to employment. Before the recession, I had firm offers from two insurance companies, both pending upon completion of my undergraduate work. Once the recession hit, no one returned my calls. I was doing odd jobs just to get gas money, and much of what I did wasn't particularly pleasant. I briefly even considered relocating out-of-state, but the money just wasn't there. From there, a number of the other people who game may do so as a form of release. What they do in a day is just so frustrating and draining that they want something mindless to empty themselves into so that they can function again. If not video games, they'd be going for something else instead, possibly something actually self-destructive. The job I did find? Well below my level of education. "Escapist" entertainment became a cheap way to compensate for the fact that I was in a bad way and had few immediate prospects of anything better, including a relationship. So before you paint with a broad brush, you need to separate the wheat - the people going through a rough patch and relying on games for something to do - from the actual chumps. As for myself? I have a master's degree in business administration (3.8 GPA / 4.0); if not for the recession, I'd be in a corner office right now. Instead, I ended up having to get on with a local newspaper. I write a weekly opinion column *and* a weekly movie review. I'm in a second newspaper as of this spring, and may be in a third by the end of the year. If I get #3, then editorial has promised me that they'll push for proper syndication. Yes, I still *also* run a newspaper route on top of that, but the flagship paper I'm with is small and so everyone has multiple jobs; they've got the sports guy with a route, too. And thanks to the "Affordable" Care Act money's a bit tight; about 60% of my monthly earnings is going to a Bronze policy that's such a massive dumpster fire that last kidney stone set me back $2200 (kidney stones and other such conditions are occupational hazards of the newspaper industry). Oh, and I'm doing it all with a heart condition (birth defect), bad back (hurt myself in school athletics; parents didn't believe me and so I didn't get prompt treatment), and a blown knee (completely wrenched it in an on-the-job accident one hour in to a four-hour shift, but finished it out anyway because no one was there to replace me). My marriage options are pretty well non-existent at this point. The stake priesthood leadership when I was growing up hammered everyone into thinking "If you don't go on a mission, you're useless to the church", and so anyone who didn't go was regarded as not being worth marrying. Well, my maternal grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's during my senior year of high school, so I never went since mom needed the help. Non-Mormon ladies have their pick of soldiers from the nearby military base, so that's a thin pool as well. I *literally* have not had a date in well over a decade. The fact that I'm greying prematurely isn't helping any either, as it makes me look older than I actually am.

I've been playing video games virtually my entire life. I can tell you that it's down to what kinds of games people are playing, whether they can separate themselves from the game, and how they conduct themselves accordingly.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/food/side-effects-of-vegetarianism?amp Two studies are both saying that there's a positive correlation between removing meat from one's diet and certain kinds of mental illness. The main hypothesis appears to be that many of the afflicted have jumped straight into going meatless without any effort to gently let their body adjust or take supplements to compensate for various nutrients for which meat is the best source. As such, people are essentially suffering from malnutrition, and it's affecting the way their mind works. It's in dispute, but it does raise questions.

"Atomic Blonde" Don't waste your time.