Timewaster's Guide Archive

Egwene, Egwene, Egwene. It's a testament to RJ how you can love a character and be upset with them at the same time.  For example: I'm still not sure why she made such a 180 regarding the oath rod.  If the Black Ajah situation taught them anything, it should have been that a false sense of security is worse than no security.  Besides that, the oaths are only effective if the person is aware she is violating them.

As for still not trusting men; 3,000 years of history can't be undone overnight.  That said, some are beginning to see the need to change (I believe Egwene is one of those, even if her Wise One mentality is a little heavy-handed).

Should the Red Ajah be disbanded?  I think they all should be, honestly.  What good is a "temporary society" if it never ends?  There should be no distinction between them.  An Aes Sedai is an Aes Sedai.  They can still specialize in certain fields, but there wouldn't be this clique mentality.  Also, there would no longer be Ajah leaders that can manipulate the Sitters for their own devices.  Even without the existence of the Black Ajah this is not a good idea.

Sean Connery's death scene in the Untouchables.

The final starship battle scene from Wrath of Kahn.

The Normandy scene from Private Ryan is even more chilling when your Grandfather, who was there, tells you it really was that horrific. (that slow stabbing scene really gets me too.  Good call BG)

The Climax of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

 

Yes, and he didn't have to shoot himself in the face to do it, either.  Rand actually saw hundreds of previous lives in that moment of clarity.  I'm glad you liked the new book, Joe.  Now you can use this thread to make up some theories for us to discuss.  You might have ideas we haven't thought of or have forgotten about over the years.

I'm glad you guys started up some new Mistborn discussions, it's been forever.  I have one comment about Lerasium; If Lerasium is concentrated Preservation, and part of what Hemalurgy does is steal a portion of Preservation from the victim, then wouldn't it be impossible to use Lerasium this way?

My theory on what a Mistborn can do with Lerasium is based on what the Well of Ascension gave.  It's logical to assume that the Well was Lerasium in liquid form, so a bead of Lerasium would enhance an allomancer in every possible way, although it would obviously burn up very, very quickly.

Monsta,
If you can't go to the Boston one, why not go to the one in Milford, NH?  It's only about an hour away.  That's the one I'm going to (although not as a storm leader, I wasn't sure I could make the extra commitment).

I think static is an unfair term.  Stretched is more accurate, I think.  In both Rand and Perrin's case, they are holding onto something way too hard.   I feel most people who dislike these books are those who have become jaded by the sheer wait that had to be (and is still being) endured to finally get a resolution to the story, and  I certainly understand how they feel.  I like that Bookstore has left room for the finale to possibly change his opinion of the  overall story.  After all, the story is static as of right now.  It has been 4+ books worth of build-up over 15 years.  That can get frustrating for anyone.  Personnally, I have only been reading the series since '03, so the books fit together better for me simply because I didn't have to wait to read a book until KoD.

Back to Perrin; I agree with Anulith, and would like to add that Perrin's "growth" has been negative, but is still occurring.  The thoughtful, gentle giant has been replaced by a dangerous and desperate man.  A man who list his entire family, and so holds onto Faille as his last real connection to humanity.  It feels like he honestly believes that Faille is the only thing keeping him from becoming Feral, for lack of a better term.  RJ has stated that there will be a significant consequence to Perrin spending all that time rescuing Faille.  With any luck, it will be worth the wait.


Kestrel,
Couldn't your extremely high praise of Brandon also be considered "Fanboyism"?  Also, don't you think one chapter of a book, especially one that requires reading of prior books in order to understand it, is too little a sampling to make a sound judgement?  As hard as it is for me to believe that a Fantasy enthusiast would be unable to at least read through and respect Tolkien, never mind Jordan, I respect your opinion.

That type of thing should certainly not happen, E.  While I will accept that a certain point can be reached where the treatments are of no help, shutting someone off the moment they are diagnosed is ludicrous.  Of course, my arguments against the current healthcare reform package do not mean I am against healthcare reform.  I just wildly disagree with how it is being handled.  When my company started to have money issues, we looked at the largest causes and found ways to reduce costs.  There are specific issues that can be fixed that will allow our healthcare system to fall in line without the need for monstrous, expensive oversight.  Like I have said a million times, if the government can't handle the regulations they currently enforce, how can they handle greater oversight?  Medicare is a joke.  Medicaid is a joke.  Veterans care is pretty lousy as well.  The only government run health care that does work is the one Congress has (what a surprise that is).  The link below broke down our system quite well, compared it with other nations, and showed some glaring inneficiencies that I believe can be fixed without increased beurocracy.  It's a little heady and long, but please read it carefully and let me know what you think.

http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/publications/US_healthcare/pdf/US_healthcare_Chapter1.pdf

You can't ignore the repeated examples of government screwing up whatever they touch.  It is an undeniable fact that government run plans are less efficient and more prone to problems than private industry (this is with everything, not just healthcare).  Also, there are studies that show that while Canadians have more access to health care, they give lower marks than the U.S. for the quality of their care.  Canada also has 1/10th the population of the U.S, and is far less diverse (which means less need for specialists in certain genetic disorders).  It is naive to believe we can do anything remotely related to Canada's system (not without doubling our tax rate, anyway).  Besides, whenever a Canadien gets a serious illness, where do you think they go for treatment?  That's right, the U.S.A.  Cancer, multiple-birth pregnancies, Amyloidosis, etc.  People come from around the world to seek treatment here.  Why?  Because we have the best doctors and facilities.  This will not remain true if National Healthcare is put in place.  Finally, remove the restrictions that cause a complete lack of competition with health insurance.  Auto insurance was the same way until the Feds allowed you to choose whatever plan you wanted.  If the restrictions on your choice of coverage was lifted, prices would drop, just like they did with auto insurance premiums.  Ironically, our "private" healthcare system is not all that private at all.  It is heavily regulated already.

I agree that no one should be denied care, but I am confident the government will screw it up even more.  They've proven it already.
Earongal, the first clause of your statement is the kicker: the counseling session gives you your OPTIONS for HEALTHCARE.  These options could very well include denial of coverage to due negative overall outcomes.