MikeJD

Beautifully written, Annette - engaging, evocative and funny. I liked it a lot. :)

I didn't mean to give the impression that I'm still jumping a frap hat - I've been wearing a full-face helmet for the last sixteen years or so, and there's nothing about the frap hat that I miss (well, other than its portability, and that's hardly the top criterion when it comes to choosing gear to protect your head). However, I do think it was worth pointing out that a full-face skydiving helmet's resemblance to a motorcycle helmet shouldn't lull people into thinking that it provides a similar level of protection. As Rob says above, to do so the helmets would need to be significantly heavier and bulkier than they are. I know people who've been knocked unconscious, and who've had facial injuries, even while wearing a full-face helmet and where there was no obvious damage to the helmet itself. I guess the bottom line is, get the best head protection you can, and be careful out there.

For those who don't know, Black Mirror started out back in 2011 as a UK Channel 4 series written by the astonishingly talented critic/ broadcaster/ humourist Charlie Brooker. Brooker is still the writer for the most part. I loved the first two series, but since the Netflix acquisition I've found it a bit patchy. Whether that's because Brooker has lost some creative control, or all the best ideas have been used, or I've just got a bit weary of the format, is hard to say. There are still some great episodes in the later series. It's also worth noting that most episodes are pretty dark - which is part of Black Mirror's appeal, but if you're already concerned about technology and its effect on society this show isn't going to make you feel any better.

Especially if the jurors are hoping not to have to go back to work before the Christmas break . Seriously, I'm glad they're taking their time, and 5 days doesn't seem excessive (in spite of some people in the community apparently having made up their minds after 5 minutes.) The jury will have a lot more evidence and testimony to consider than is available via the news sites.

The shot in the trailer is cut up, so it's difficult to see what's going on, but if you see an apparently continuous take like that in a modern movie, chances are computer graphics are involved. You can literally do anything now with CGI, whether it's enhancing live action using composite shots or constructing a whole shot from scratch with no real elements at all. How convincing the result is depends on the money invested and the skills of the people involved. A typical way to construct a shot like someone falling from the top of a building all the way to impact might be as follows. First you might film a live stunt player making the fall, either onto a crash pad/ air bags, or using a harness to slow him or her down before impact. Then you digitally erase the harness and cables or the air bags from the shot, which is a pretty fundamental use of CGI. Next, if you want to show the impact, you can replace the actor's body with a fully computer-generated replica at some point during the descent, and have that 'impact' at ground level. It's relatively trivial now to cut those two shots together seamlessly. I remember something similar was done in the first Men In Black movie, and that was 20 years ago.

Where are you getting that info?

It has been noted that the circumstances of his coming out make it look like an attempt to deflect attention away from accusations of attempted seduction of a minor - that, not surprisingly, is the main thing that's upset the LGBTQ community. I'm almost certain that Spacey would prefer not to have outed himself, and his statement was very carefully worded to save face and to try to provide a plausible reason for the timing of his doing so. If you're trying to use this as evidence that being gay is simply a lifestyle choice, then that's absurd and highly opportunistic of you. Incidentally, regardless of his general morality of lack of it, in a world without prejudice he would not have felt the need to hide his sexuality in the first place.

Looking at the size of those troopers' canopies, especially the one in the foreground, I'd hope they're super-soldiers too. They're in for some hard landings!

No, I don't! I think flyhi might do, though.

I haven't seen the show, but I'm willing to bet it gets a whole lot more 'wrong' than its skydiving. The thing is, it's not really CBS' priority to make things true-to-life, even in a show like this one. Their job is to excite and entertain while making things seem plausible to their core audience, the vast majority of whom don't know the first thing about jumping.

I know you're asking a very simple question and I don't want to complicate it unneccesarily, but I don't think 'cheapest' should be your only criterion. Even if it is, you say you don't mind travelling but we don't know where you are, and there must be limits - if you fly halfway around the world to visit a cheap tunnel, suddenly it's not so cheap any more.

Sometimes that can't be helped, and as someone else said a jump or two can be a great way to put life's problems on the back burner for the day. If you get into competitive skydiving, one of the things your coach is likely to do is teach you how to put all of the noise in your head to one side while you're mentally preparing yourself to jump. It's good practice for you to do that even if you're skydiving solo for fun. Oh, and congratulations on dealing with your first malfunction and saving your life!

I enjoyed both movies, although I must have watched the original (in its various edits) at least a dozen times and I've only seen Blade Runner 2049 once. I'll look forward to watching it again, but given the price of cinema tickets these days I'll probably wait for the download. The length of the new movie didn't bother me - I enjoyed the fact that it took its time and allowed me to soak up the atmosphere, and it didn't feel like nearly three hours to me. I did glance at my girlfriend a few times to make sure she was still awake, and she was, which is saying something given her propensity for falling asleep even during films that are half this length. Aside from the lead actors, there's an unusual number of strong female roles, and Dave Bautista does a great job in a small part - what a surprising talent he's turned out to be! Also, cinematographer Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men, Sicario, etc. etc) has been waiting a very long time for his Oscar, and he must surely win for this.

As another representative of the rest of the world, I sort-of agree, but as a non-American, obviously it's not my place to tell the US what it should be doing about gun control. What does get me is the number of Americans who seem to think we in the UK, for example, are being repressed because we're not allowed to carry firearms. I certainly don't feel as though my rights are violated by that. I do feel very happy to live in a society where I can scarcely imagine a situation in which I'd want to be carrying a gun.

That is the classy response to someone like that, and I'd expect nothing else from those guys. People who make spurious claims about their skydiving experience, whether intentionally or not, are not generally doing any harm. It's hardly a 'stolen valour' situation, where they are claiming credit for something we've done. I've never thought that skydivers are due any particular kudos for jumping out of aeroplanes.

Lord knows what the device in your second picture is meant to simulate, but it certainly isn't skydiving - my guess is parascending. For one thing, the participant appears to be seated.

I think lunch notes are a nice gesture, so long as the kids appreciate them - but with the school I went to I was grateful that my mother didn't put any in mine. I'd probably have had to hide them for fear of being called a sissy! Nice little movie, though - I know how much time and patience goes into stop-motion animation, even simple stuff like that.

Depends on what you mean by 'protection'. In terms of absorbing a blow to the cranium, I think you might be surprised by how well a padded frap hat performs in comparison to a typical full-face skydiving helmet. Admittedly a frap hat is not going to provide any protection for your face, but don't be fooled by the appearance of full-face skydiving helmets - they may resemble motorcycle helmets, but (of necessity) they're far too small and light to provide anything like the same level of protection. Their main purpose is to keep the wind out and give you a little insurance against bumps and bruises inflicted by your overenthusiastic teammates.

It's probably no more 'doing nothing at all' than lots of other aspects of our lives that take up significant amounts of time - like watching TV or posting on Facebook.

Would it be weird to bring in something other than beer? Will it be looked down on? I don't see why it should be looked down on - it's really the gesture that counts. On the other hand, you don't need to know about beer to buy it for others, and I'm sure nobody will care if you don't drink any of your own beer - they'll just be grateful that you supplied them with it! Edited to add: Good for you for having a responsible attitude to drinking and driving. :)

Quite a large percentage of the 'every one' community doesn't live in any of your fifty states. Still, I don't need a silencer. I'd have nothing to attach it to.

Happily, in my experience the vast majority of top-tier competitors are also some of the nicest, friendliest folk you could hope to meet. Obviously if teams are training then they won't be able to accommodate you directly, but don't be afraid to say hello to those guys and girls. During the years that I used to visit Eloy for the Holiday Boogie, I was humbled by how down-to-earth and helpful my heroes were, particularly the members of Arizona Airspeed. I guess it's difficult to be on a hugely successful team without being a 'people' person

Presumably this was on club gear and not your own?

He's not the Antichrist, he's a very naughty boy. At the very least, I think he needs a timeout from the Oval Office. About thirty years should do it.

If people are shooting at you from the ground, a shorther canopy ride might be advisable. Agreed, but if you're finding yourself at short notice in freefall for the first time ever, I doubt you'd have the presence of mind to think about stuff like that. I'd expect your first instinct would be to get a parachute above your head - I'm pretty sure it would have been mine.