You're right: neither this board nor FCM use acronyms much. I generally use "lmao" when I find something funny, and "lol" when I'm bored (as in, if someone says "lol" on MSN Messenger, it's either instead of a full stop or because someone told an unfunny joke). As for your use of LOL (and this is an observation, not a criticism), I usually take it to mean a shorthand way for "oh well".

Fair enough, though with an answer like that it bewilders me why you post in this thread (and mostly specifically to me).

Alright, I'll be honest back: that wasn't said with you in mind (the post is here), but was originally posted in response to JGeoff and that argument in general. You're nowhere to be seen in that thread.

Anyway, back on topic: today I hijacked a first-year screening of neo-realism. It was a chance to re-watch Borom Sarret and watch, for the first time, Bicycles Thieves. It warmed on me as it progressed, and I found its general spiral into absurdity (the bicycle itself takes on quite an abstract meaning, really) and despair quite attractive. I have to make an effort to engage with such films, but when I do they're very rewarding.