The Off Topic Topic

[The Brain]

How we surprised that Bin Laden wasn't always anti-america?

The man himself had said it more than once that it was because the Saudi government accepted American military help.

Being in Sweden isn't anti-American?

[Grey Fox]

How we surprised that Bin Laden wasn't always anti-america?

The man himself had said it more than once that it was because the Saudi government accepted American military help.

Being in Sweden isn't anti-American?

Now, it totally is but in the early 70s it was as pro-american a gesture can be. Akin to naming members of the communist party in congress.

[The Brain]

How we surprised that Bin Laden wasn't always anti-america?

The man himself had said it more than once that it was because the Saudi government accepted American military help.

Being in Sweden isn't anti-American?

Now, it totally is but in the early 70s it was as pro-american a gesture can be. Akin to naming members of the communist party in congress.

The Sweden that America repeatedly froze and unfroze diplomatic relations with in the late 60s/early 70s?

[Grey Fox]

Motherfucking right.

[The Brain]

Actually it's a privilege.

[derspiess]

[Grey Fox]

Actually it's a privilege.

Sorry.

Motherfucking privilege.

[CountDeMoney]

How do you call, in English, the silly tourist souvenirs you can buy, like fridge magnets with the town on it and such, and where would I go to find locally relevant ones in the UK? Gift shops?

Lol, looks like everybody back home in Boratstan is getting some Big Ben keychains and "Keep Calm" fridge magnets.  The village will be so proud!

So how does the States look like outside of downtown Baltimore? Oh wait, I am asking the wrong person!

Lulz, Borat.

[CountDeMoney]

Late at night, I swoon with fondness for Stannis

Real men swoon with fondness for Stennis.

[katmai]

Kumar Pallana, the actor best known for small but memorable roles in Wes Anderson's films, has died at age 94, according to a source close to his family. Pallana first came to filmgoers' attention with Anderson's Bottle Rocket, in which he played one of Owen Wilson's inept partners in crime with charming guilelessness. (It helped that Pallana looked like he wasn't exactly aware he was in a movie.)

Anderson and Wilson "discovered" Pallana at the coffee shop owned by Pallana's son Dipak, who has also appeared in Anderson's films. The elder Pallana went on to memorable scenes in both Rushmore—as Mr. LittleJeans, the groundskeeper—and in The Royal Tenenbaums, in which he played Gene Hackman's sidekick (and eventual stabber). His work in Anderson's films led to small parts in other Hollywood movies, including The Terminal and Another Earth.

Pallana led a massively interesting life before hitting the big screen at nearly 80. Born in colonial India, he lived all around the world, and first made a name for himself as an entertainer in America in the 1950s. Back then he was known as Kumar Of India, and his specialty was spinning plates—he even appeared on Captain Kangaroo in 1961. (Other feats included magic, balancing, swordplay, and juggling—you can see him do a handstand in The Royal Tenenbaums.)

Pallana had settled into a relatively quiet life in Dallas as he got older, selling Indian spices and food at his son's coffee shop. Anderson and the Wilson brothers would frequent Cosmic Cup—to play chess and cards and take pictures, according to Pallana—and eventually they drafted him for bit parts. (As he tells it in this excellent Believer interview, they didn't give him much of a choice.) He became an integral part of Anderson's singular filmic universe. Though Anderson created that universe, Pallana clearly belonged there. "What'd you think of the play, Mr. LittleJeans?" "Best play ever, man."

[Eddie Teach]

Late at night, I swoon with fondness for Stannis

Do you wish to help him create a shadow beast?

[Sheilbh]

RIP

[CountDeMoney]

Fucking Comcast.

Transferred twice, on the phone for 42 minutes.  Hung up on.

[derspiess]

I heard they trimmed their customer service staff by 30%

[Eddie Teach]

When I moved a couple months ago, I called them to set up service. The day of my appointment, nobody shows. So I call and apparently they don't service my neighborhood.