Welcome to the forum, DavidFromMontreal! Cool story–and that’s the best back-handed-“I think that’s a compliment”-compliment I’ve heard in a long time. 
Welcome aboard, David, and Holy Craaaap! That’s too cool.
Bravo!
Did you keep up your singing? I truly love opera.
I remember my student days in the Standing Room Only area (you had to supply your own oxygen). And being a volunteer usher just to see the productions. Fun times.
Ok, Old Timer, I gotta say you know entirely too much about Barney.
I learned it all years ago, when protecting my children by making sure that they did not watch it/him/whatever.
I bet there are many BSG fans who love opera - given the “scope” of the story line.
I have successfully made me home Barney-free. We are all about Dora, Blues Clues and Little Bear. For some reason Lil’ Solai stopped wanting to watch Sesame Street
I blame Elmo. And Veggie-Monster. And the neutered Count.
Frak, it all went downhill after Mr. Hooper died.
I’m trying to keep our home Sponge Bob free, my small part to fight against the decline of civilization.
Tom, Tom, Tom - SBSP is a savior of civilization. Thou must cometh to know him. And no, I am not kidding.
You have been deceived.
IYKWIM!
god I miss GR
Aye, Solai, aye.
This is such a great forum. Find these exchanges elsewhere.
I don’t really think it’s hate. You don’t get as upset with people doing things like Adama and Roslin have done if you think they’re despicable people. You get upset when it’s good people doing things that they should know better than, and be rising above.
That being said, for my own part I’ve found Roslin hard to respect since at least the presidential election against Baltar, and then both of them since the events of mid-3rd-season with “Dirty Hands” and their general and specific treatment of Helo during a couple of those episodes, especially with regards to the virus. Roslin in particular started to get on my nerves (although, show-wise, in a good way) with what seemed like her growing ego and her disrespect for those lower in authority than her. It’s all understandable but it doesn’t make me like her!
The GWC team is, in fact, far too forgiving from my side of the fence, but you know what? It’s often pretty boring to listen and talk to people you always agree 100% with, yaknow?
An additional nugget about the Oracle of Delphi:
The Pythia herself spoke only drug-induced gibberish (much like a Hybrid!) It was actually the MALE priests of Apollo who “interpreted” what she said and gave the actual prophecy. So presumably they could put whatever words in her mouth they liked.
The ancient world had some interesting oracles. At the oracle of Dodona, three priestesses with dirty feet would listen to bronze vessels hung from trees tinkling in the wind. At Zeus-Ammon in Egypt, a bevy of priests would hold up a huge boat, and if it rocked one way, the answer was yes, and another the answer was no (sort of a simplified ancient magic eight-ball). There was another Greek oracle (I forget the name, but I believe it’s in Pausanius) where you crawled into a small tunnel, laid down and “the god” (really, a priest) would whack you upside the head and knock you unconscious, then whatever dreams you had while semi-comatose were from the god. And there was even one in Syria (consulted by Zenobia during her rebellion) where you threw gifts into a pond – if they floated, the answer was yes, and if they sank, the answer was no. Obviously the choice of gold or wooden gifts was an integral part of the exercise…
Final note on Delphi: the shrine itself bore two inscriptions, which I believe are the best pieces of advice ever offered: “Know Thyself” and “Nothing in Excess”
Welcome!
Wow! Great story!
I played Snout the Tinker in high school- definitely not on your level, though! Had a blast!
I just have to say something- I recently re-watched “Bastille Day,” and there were plenty of things in that episode that cemented Tom Zarek as a complicated bad guy for me. He doesn’t laugh evilly, he doesn’t shoot kids, he doesn’t twirl his mustache- but he’s still a bad guy.
From his very first appearance:
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Galactica needed a new water supply (a problem he seemed at best indifferent to), and he started a hostage crisis that intentionally impeded this for the sake of having elections.
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He defended the inmate who tried to rape CAlly(“You did this, you put him in a cage, you made him a monster!”), saying “That you reap what you sow” when Apollo said the inmate was going to kill her.
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Derided Roslin’s legitimacy, even though by Colonial law she was legally president due to line of succession.
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Was possibly involved in an assassination attempt on Roslin.
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Despite his so called respect for the law, he suspended due process for farcial trials for collaborators. How many Gaetas were put out the airlock due to the tribunal’s limited resources to fully investigate the charges?
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Told Baltar to use New Craprica as an election issue, and then accused Roslin and Adama of doing essentially the same thing with Earth when that turned out to be crap.
And then I forgot one little gem about him that I didn’t remember until I re-watched his episode:
At a time when the human race had weeks before been nearly wiped out and were on the run from their enemies, he attempted to instigate a massacre in which many of the inmates loyal to him would be killed merely for the sake of discrediting the leaders humanity badly needed.
Zarek is a BAD GUY. We’re led to believe he might have reformed at some point in the series, but there were always hints he was still the murderer he always was. Anyone who says they were disappointed in Zarek for his actions during the mutiny has a very selective memory.