ryyannon

a very friendly, very helpful guy - constantly expanding the limits of vintage perfection.... congratulations ubi, and may your posts (and vintages) increase!

My thoughts exactly, c-stone! How thougtless of him just to disappear like that.... I wonder if he's going to turn up as a Mod on RWG1?

I always thought it was the Hotel California, but thanks to Everythingape and his wonderful Dante's Hell Test, it turns out that I'm actually in: Purgatory! "You have escaped damnation and made it to Purgatory, a place where the dew of repentance washes off the stain of sin and girds the spirit with humility. Through contrition, confession, and satisfaction by works of righteousness, you must make your way up the mountain. As the sins are cleansed from your soul, you will be illuminated by the Sun of Divine Grace, and you will join other souls, smiling and happy, upon the summit of this mountain. Before long you will know the joys of Paradise as you ascend to the ethereal realm of Heaven." Could be worse - a lot worse.... I wonder if there's a special circle for Panerai additcts?

You've maybe seen it elsewhere, and the narration is a bit simplistic and corny, but if you didn't have time to waste you wouldn't be here in the first place.

It's a bit like Star Wars. May the Farce Be With You, Usil....

I think it's '...enter here.' Where's Mahler when you need him?

I'd say his inspiration was probably the result of a profound knowledge of human nature.

Heavy - but REALLY heavy political cleavages in the U.S. with BushCo and the Repub Neo-cons playing the role of Reptilian Illuminati Proto-Fascist Enslavers from Outer Space for the Democrats - who are seen as hopeless, brainless, lying Socio-Commmie MoonBat Traitors aching to don burkas and sleep with any enemy who wants to destroy American in a final, fuzzy and feel-good orgy of liberal sentiment. Other than being vastly less entertaining, it's sort of like a flame-war thread with TTK: you pick your side (or just stand on the sidelines) with your popcorn and watch the action..... So as not to further politicize (and polarize) this thread, I won't say which side I lean toward (neither really, since it's not a black-and-white situation - which makes me some sort of detestable middle-of-the-roader for some), except to say that yes, I would be willing to put my life on the line to defend certain principals which I consider to be non-negotiable. Have done it once, would do it again. But like I've said above, RWG is no place to do this...... Addendum: Can't resist posting this item, picked up from GoogleNews, typical of the current domestic (and global) political climate: Syria Says US Behind Attack On Own Embassy September 13, 2006 6:03 a.m. EST Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Senior Syrian government official have accused the US of being behind Tuesday's assault on its own embassy in downtown Damascus. A Baath party official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told WorldNetDaily, "We in the government are 100 percent sure America was behind this attack, which is not the same as other attacks by Islamic groups." He explained, "Only the Americans can succeed in carrying out an attack just 200 meters from President [bashar] Assad's residence in the most heavily guarded section of Syria." The official charged that Washington had orchestrated the attack to "prove Syria is filled with terrorists and to put us in a weak position" in order to extract political concessions. Following the attack, Bush administration officials said they hoped the incident had convinced Damascus of the dangers of Islamic terror and the need to cooperate with the West against the phenomenon. The US and several of its European allies have repeatedly demanded over the years that Damascus close down the local offices and training camps of several organizations hostile to Israel and the West. The identities of those who attacked the US embassy Tuesday have not been revealed. Three of the gunmen were killed by Syrian guards during the assault. A fourth was reportedly captured.

Taken from a site which shall remain nameless: a requium. "9/11/2006: Bear Witness I deliberately waited until after work hours to post this recently released video from YouTube, taken by a tourist couple from Seattle staying in a hotel 100 yards away from the World Trade Center on 9/11 ... because it shows many people jumping from the buildings, much more graphically than anything ever seen on mainstream media in this country. The media has made a unilateral decision to be our collective nanny, and they’ve hidden all of their most disturbing footage away in archives. But as I wrote near the first anniversary of the attacks, if it were me standing 100 stories up, after breaking a window that was never meant to be broken, on a ledge that was never meant to be stood upon, making the nightmarish decision to die in a fiery inferno or leap into space, I’d want the world to bear witness to my choice." I've not given the link because the images are simply too sad, too tragic. May They Rest In Peace.

That's not only a great classic - it's absolutely prophetic....concerning this thread, I mean. I still think it was a good idea.

We've all got a list of favorite websites. What are some of yours? I propose an ongoing list (you can come back and edit in new links) consisting of a short (or long) description, followed by the link. Anything (except hard porn and hate) goes. Don't be afraid to reveal what you look at when you're not on RWG! On the other hand, if you do click on someone's link and you are turned off by the contents, please DO NOT post pages and pages criticizing it. I think that this thread should just be informational (descriptions and links). If you want to post negative comments, debates or flames, I suggest that you start a new one. Ok, I'll be the first with this recent discovery (which doesn't necessarily mean that I endorse all the [censored] you see on it, of course! I just read the posts and marvel at the creative possibilities of the human mind). Description: So do you guys know what a 'Woo-Woo' is? A woo-woo is a member of a lunactic fringe group, such as those who are convinced that the Moon Landing was faked or that 9-11 was an inside BushCo job, or that vapor trails are really 'Chemtrails' used to manipulate the world's population by giant lizards from outer space, or that Elvis was really an emmissary from another galaxy.... Get the idea? I find the Crop Circle threads pretty fascinating myself. And remember, 'Judge not, lest.....' http://www.godlikeproductions.com/index.ph...showdate=9/9/06 The exact opposite of the political and mental mind-sets of the Woo-Woos - who generally prefer arm-chair speculation to real action - are police and military sharpshooters, otherwise known as snipers. Came across this site some time ago ("Welcome to AmericanSnipers.org. An organization structured to helping those that are on the front lines of safeguarding our freedoms.") and I must say that I still find that their flash movie is pretty - well.. (for lack of a better word) - kickass: http://www.americansnipers.org/themovie.htm

Don't hold your breath, Ken. Golfman - whom I strongly suspect of being a French intelligence agent - 'accidently' threw Pugs camera across the boulevard as soon as it appeared, explainng that the GAF and Richmont had planted a powerful bomb in it, timed to go off as soon as Pug took the first snapshot. Pug took this quite good-naturedly, particularly since the camera was the equivalent of a 5-dollar Canal-Street rep which he had prudently thought to take along before taking out his real one - upon which he discovered that the hamsters in the circular cage that generated current for it had gone on strike, this being France and all.... All of which is to say, no pics this time :-( And thanks, Golfman, for saving our lives!

Update: Some misguided demonic succubus from hell just woke me up with a cold-call about buying storm windows. Despite my discomfiture - these idiots call you 24-hours around the clock, probably from some secret base on another planet - I nevertheless politely explained that I live in a windowless underground bunker before hanging up. But before falling back into the fitfull comatose state that I call sleep, I'd like to thank Pug (once again) and Golfman (the first gen Frenchie to attend the Paris GTGs) for being nice enough to come all the way out to Montparnasse in Golfman's chauffeur-driven Morbach, thus eliminating the need for ryyannon to displace his ancient bones much further that the usual limits of his Parisian universe - an approximate 100-metre radius from the underground bunker mentioned above. It was another far-ranging and eventful evening, involving at least one table-change as we retreated into the interior of the Café Select for a modest but much-appreciated dinner. Aside from you-know-what, the conversation topics of this newest Paris GTG included Pugwash's presentation of the Magic Bullet Theory in imaginary 3-D; a short discussion of snipers and sniping; ryyannon's regret at never having been sollicited to work for Executive Outcomes (which his befuddled brain confused with an entity of his own imagination called 'Final Solutions'; ryyannon's refutation of Pug's assertion last week that pigeons carrying fleas were - along with rats - responsible for spreading the Black Plague in Europe during the great epidemics; Golfman's well-bred and unspoken astonishment when he realized that he was in the presence of two total nuts - rather than just watch nuts - and his ongoing and valiant contributions just to keep the conversation from veering off into totally insane tangents, speaking of which, the conversation concerning the possible motivations behind Prikman's (or whatever his name is) detention of a young girl under his house in the suburbs of Vienna for eight years and his subsequent suicide after the escape of the latter, which very naturally segued into an examination of the probable (ryyannon - ever the optimist) or improbable (Pug & Golfman) Immanent End of the World; something about Pug's native Yorkshire being the birthplace of the Information Revolution - unless I've got it mixed up with the Industrial one; Golfman's uneasy confession - before he realized that the Brits don't chop off their King's heads (and that the culture and history-deficient Yanks never even had a king to chop the head off of) - that he was actually born in Versailles.... Ok, I think I've said enough here.... I can barely keep my eyes open - which is not a snide remark about last night's energy and interest-levels - I'll leave Pug and Golfman to fill you in with other exciting details. Time to get a few winks.

"The guys who are still on the board are probably not the ones who can help you." Scoped it all out perfectly, as usual. Sorry, TJ

At best, it's nearly 11pm (West Coast) and at worst, one in the morning (East Coast) in the States. The guys who are still on the board are probably not the ones who can help you. I can think of several who could find your man pretty quickly, but it's up to them to come forward on their own. Sorry to hear the bad news, and best of luck in sorting it out.....

I actually like Paris Hilton quite a bit.... (turn down your speaker volumne a little) http://parisfacial.ytmnd.com/ (no, it's not what you think...)

My God, this thread is back, turning up again like a bad penny. I wonder who the ass is who bumped (burped?) it back up here...? Well anyway, here are some nasty little GIFs that you may or may not have seen.... The first three are thumbnailed, so you have to click to see. 1. StarTrek: The Captain Comes Out It's all downhill from here: 2. Big Whack 3. Family Life 4. Bus Stop 5. Money Shot

Lots of the usual 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s rock classics - and since 2000, Smooth Jazz; (decent) Electronica (meaning people like Steve Reich and not J.M. Jarre); Lounge (genre Hotel Costes and Buddha Bar) and Chillout (Ibiza, etc.) But these are just broad categories. There are many artists who escape precise definition and who are absolutely brilliant - people who will be discovered or re-discovered and hailed as geniuses in a thousand years - if anyone is still around to listen to them - but no use even mentioning them since only person in a half-million has ever heard them or even knows what you're talking about.

Thanks Thor! Be sure to let us know if you're coming. And try to get Halley to come as well....

Blimey! :-/

Holy Shitinerland, Batman! Does this mean that poor ryyannon is going to have to drag himself out to the boonies just out of fair-play?

Neil picks his friends, as do I. We have never become friends and probably never will, but I've never found any reason to dislike him. It should be clear from my posts that I rather like him, in fact. I don't know if this is reciprocal, and frankly it's pretty much the same to me one way or another. Although I'd like to think he doesn't consider me a total jerk, I've gotten over father-figures, hero-worshipping or just plain synchophany long ago. As the French would say: "if TTK didn't exist, you'd have to invent him." He's the man so many here love to hate - or grudgingly learn to love after hating him. Or like me, simply respect, as well as appreciate for being a special element in our rather constricted little world of rep watches and never-ending questions as to 'who has the best....'. But I'm sure you understood that already, Pug. As for the Apocalyse, keep your eyes on The Rapture, Isreal and the Twelfth Imam: the flash-point is equi-distant between each. And that's the truth. (cf., the etymology of the word 'Apocalypse) See you tonight around 8.

8 pm is fine with me. midnight or three in the morning as well. But I'll aim for 8 unless you guys think 7.30.

Baghdad Bob sez: "There's no fight!" I say, for all of my inept ragging of TTK, I would find this forum - and possibly this world - a much less interesting, entertaining and intelligent place without his ongoing presence. For those who don't already know, TTK was into watches before most of you could tell time. He can be cantankerous, perceived as unjust by a small minority, but the man has a steel-clad sense of ethics, logic and fair-play which far exceeds what I encounter in my everyday dealings with the world. You take him or you leave him, but don't try to 'fight' him unless you really enjoy pissing against the wind. Just had to get this off my chest.

Speaking for myself, it's all done with Viagra and super-vitamins. As for my avatar of Baghdad Bob, I along with millions of others have always felt an immense affection for the guy. One of the world's best natural stand-up comics. I wonder how he's making out.... So I presume it's still around 7 at the Select this evening? Looks like hurricane weather in Paris this afternoon, I've gotten about two hours of sleep again, but I'll be there just the same.....