[kscherer]

Reminds me of too much money.

[Anonymous Coward]

Originally Posted by turtle Here is an article I found about the one in Romania. I don't know the source, found it via google but it gives more details.

Now California has joined Utah and Romania

[psmith2.0]

This must be the new planking or “dancing beside your moving car” thing. You know good and well there’s an Instagram/social media angle at play here.

The “Leave Weird Silver Shit in the Middle of Nowhere” Challenge. When pouring ice water on yourself no longer holds the allure it once did...

Mark my words...there will be another dozen, at least, spotted before the end of the month, now that it appears to be a thing. I think we’re just gettin’ started.

Still holding out hope it’s alien/extraterrestrial though! Fingers crossed...

[PB PM]

I think they should have stuck to those washing machine pods, kills off the dummies faster.

[psmith2.0]

I agree. I thought someone was lying to me about that, but apparently it was a thing. And eating cinnamon?

Ah, youth.

[kscherer]

There's nothing wrong with eating cinnamon. It's shoveling a full-on tablespoon of the powdered stuff into your mouth all at once that's stupid.

Not that I ever *ahem* tried such *ahem* juvenile things.

<kscherer whistles and walks away>

[psmith2.0]

Whoa, this is kinda big, huh?

WB to send all its 2021 releases to HBO Max on the same day they hit theaters.

There is less and less reason to ever go the multiplex again.

The benefits of home-viewing simply outweigh the other, IMO. Once you strip away any sappy sentimentality tied to "going to the movies", as though its 1947 or whatever, there's really not much left...even pre-COVID, the crowds, parking, prices, shitheads, etc. have all been making a night out at the movies a less-than undertaking in recent years.

My Dad and stepmom just bought a 65" Samsung 4K the other day. It looked great and I couldn't get over that size in a living room! There's no way in hell I'd ever go pay to see a movie, and fill out the financial aid forms needed for a bag of Twizzlers and a 88oz. soda, if I can just sit on my own couch, screw with the volume at will, pause to get the pizza rolls out of the oven, rewind to see a titty again, etc.

Say goodbye to the multiplex as we know it, in the decade to come.

Technology - big 4K TVs, fast Internet, streaming media networks, deals/arrangements like the above, etc. - will sink them in our lifetime. Especially if this virus and all the responses to it (social distancing, places shutting down, limited seating/admittance to events, etc.) winds up being the new "normal".

Who needs the hassle/expense at this point?

I imagine this sort of thing will start the snowball rolling throughout 2021 and beyond, and it, too, will just become the new normal. You know WB won't be the only one. I've likely stepped into a movie theater for the last time, last December. I can't imagine anything on the horizon making me change that assessment. Star Wars is over (the main saga anyway), I'm over all the Marvel/DC noise, the 007 outings seem to get a bit worse with each one, etc. Even that upcoming Batman movie with the Twilight dude, I'll wait and see that on cable or Netflix at this point. Gone are the days where I just show up every Friday, throwing around $$$ at anything and everything.

That's a young man's game!

But you realize this could've all been in place some time ago had the powers-that-be wanted. But it took a pandemic to nudge some of these things along and put them in place. Necessity is a mother, alright...

[kscherer]

Damn, Paul, you're giving me stitches this week! You must be smoking that good Tennessee pot again?

Yeah, "the movies" will never be the same. Although I have a pretty tough time justifying $30 for Mulan Rebourne All Over Again, the $20 it costs to get a drink of water will not be missed by many.

[psmith2.0]

Did that Mulan movie really go for $30? Wow, that's about twice the amount as I'd ever expect. I guess they gotta pick a number that covers the amount of possible number of eyes for a typical household? It's just me here, so I don't think there's anything I'd fork over $30 for.

Scarlett Johansson Washes Her Car in a Body Stocking: Soap Harder, Chapter 1 might get my $30, but beyond that...

Hmmm...Disney is on the live-action remake tear, aren't they? Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Mulan. I assume more are coming...the mermaid one, Pocahontas, the Hunchback, etc.? I don't know why that just now occurred to me. "Hey, wait a minute...all these cartoons I saw in the 90's are now being re-made with real people!"

Mr. Observant...

[kscherer]

They're not very good, either. Mulan was … disappointing … at the very best. More of a classical take, I think, but not good at all. Just, no.

Beauty and the Beast was bad, too. Something about sing-along animated films being made into live action just doesn't work.

But, that new film you mentioned above, sign me up!

[psmith2.0]

Yeah, it's weird that, 20+ years later, they're raiding the vault to do real-life takes on all those 90's cartoons. I don't think any of these new ones have really hit or made an impact, so it's weird they keep trying. Is anyone truly asking for them? You have to wonder.

I saw quite a few of those 1990's offerings at the theater back in the day. I really liked The Little Mermaid and parts of Aladdin (Robin Williams being William F. Buckley for about three seconds...I might've been the only person in the theater who recognized/laughed at that part, having often watched Firing Line with my Dad on PBS in my yoof*, immediately recognizing the voice/mannerisms), but they kinda are all the same movie, just with the setting/timeframe changed. After about the fourth or fifth one I was like "alright, enough already...I get it".




*I never said I understood, as a pre-teen, all the things being discussed, but it was just something I kinda did when he had it on and I grew to enjoy the banter and Buckley's persona/voice...enough so that I certainly recognized a parody/impersonation of it, a decade or so later, in a Disney cartoon.

[Anonymous Coward]

The Isle of Wight is the latest location for a metal monolith, if you don't include the one the owner installed outside the Pittsburgh candy store .

[psmith2.0]

Here we go. There will be 2-3 more, worldwide, by the weekend.

All the YouTube/Instagram “maker” types are hard at work, as we speak! The handcrafted, exotic wood versions are coming any day now.

When one of these things are found, and it’s floating/hovering 12-18” off the ground, then I’ll give a shit.

[Ryan]

One "appeared" () at a local taco place a few days ago.

The owner sent an email to staff saying he didn't know where it came from, but the email actually came from... a marketing firm.

And yeah, cinemas killed themselves by sucking. The pandemic just finally pushed them over the edge.

[psmith2.0]

I'm waiting for one to appear in my neck of the woods, any day now. Because these goofball local affiliates will breathlessly cover it as though they truly have no idea what it is, or what's going on. We have the lamest local newscasts/anchors, we really do.

They start yammering about 4pm and don't shut up until 6:30 or so (and then do it again from 10-11pm. And since nothing really big or exciting happens around here, they fill those hours with the most inane jibber-jabber, "can your dog read your mind?" and "35-Christmas-gift-ideas-for-your-mailman!" stuff you could ever imagine. They'd latch on this kind of story for days...six-hour live coverage, pre-empt every other scheduled show, helicopter/drone footage, live interviews with police/county officials all saying "no comment" about 700 times, etc. That's S.O.P. anytime something quirky/unusual happens in the Chattanooga metro area. They'll send every reporter, and intern, they have to the scene! I've seen, with my own eyes, one reporter "handing it off" to a colleague who was standing about 10 feet away, facing the other direction/different background. "I believe you guys could've covered this with just that first chick...why are there two of you here?"

The email tidbit made me laugh.

[kscherer]

Yeah, but who are the bigger fools? The fools that do it, the fools that "report" on it, or the fools that yammer about it incessantly for six months?

[psmith2.0]

Not really a linked news story, but today is the 40th(!) anniversary of John Lennon’s murder, meaning he has now been dead for as long as he was alive (born 1940, died 1980, and now another 40 years). He’d be a ripe old 80 had things not happened the way they did.

Two things...

- Quite a life in just 40 years, especially when you consider the biggest parts were in that span from 22-30 when he was in some band who squeaked out a few hits (and whose name escapes me at the moment )

and...

- Where does the time go?! 40 years?!

I remember at the time, at 11, thinking “at least he had a nice, long life...”.

It took me some time to realize just how silly that thought was.

I was 40...11 years ago.

Nobody should die at 40, and certainly not at the hands of some deranged, unbalanced asshole who thinks his actions somehow make perfect sense. Who, by the way, got another 40 years (and counting) on the planet. But that’s how it often goes, huh? The world loses someone it didn’t need to, while we house/feed/clothe/treat (and consider for eventual release) the one who did it.

Yeah, that makes sense.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by kscherer Yeah, but who are the bigger fools? The fools that do it, the fools that "report" on it, or the fools that yammer about it incessantly for six months?

All except the latter.

[psmith2.0]

About as compelling as it gets.

Ho-ho-ho!

From the article:

In late-November, the Connecticut Post Mall unveiled its “Elf on the Shelf: Santa’s Magical Photo Adventure” set, which “is keeping you safe and delightfully distanced with a contactless Santa visit,” according to the mall’s web site. “Children will still be able to talk with Santa from a safe distance to share their wish lists, or place a letter in Santa’s mailbox for him to read later.”

That's all well and good, but all the social distancing and "contactless" commerce in the world won't keep a determined moron from pulling out his wang in the spirit of Yuletide cheer. The article wasn't clear if any strategically-placed mistletoe was involved.

On a serious note, it's entirely possible there are just too many idiots in the world.

[turtle]

Zodiac killer's cipher broken 51 years later.

I didn't realize anything was still going on with this other than the general, we want to find the identity of the killer. The fact that there was a cipher that old and still not broken is amazing. Then the fact that it was cracked is even more amazing. Sadly, nothing more than chest beating and "I'm great" in it. Nothing to actually help him be caught.

[psmith2.0]

Jony Ive in the running to be the next Ferrari CEO.

“Good design is often about making bold, forward-looking choices, and we’ve worked so hard to distill the design down to its purest, most essential form, to where you slowly come to appreciate the absence of wheels, imparting a unique stance when viewed from all sides. And for our more traditional-minded customers, we do offer a wheel kit for enhanced portability. We’ve truly thought of everything. And at just 1.7 meters, it is the thinnest performance automobile we’ve ever made...”.

The jokes/jabs all kinda write themselves at this point.

[addabox]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 About as compelling as it gets. Ho-ho-ho! From the article: That's all well and good, but all the social distancing and "contactless" commerce in the world won't keep a determined moron from pulling out his wang in the spirit of Yuletide cheer. The article wasn't clear if any strategically-placed mistletoe was involved. On a serious note, it's entirely possible there are just too many idiots in the world.

Hi Paul. I'm inspired to post this question: why are idiots so oblivious to obvious consequences? I know, I know, they're idiots, but: how utterly brain dead do you have to be to think that you could grab a teenager and show her your dick and that's going to turn out well for you? Like, the girl was going to go "oooh, awesome, let's fuck?" It's something I wonder about in general-- I understand that the world is full of complete and utter morons who couldn't operate a banana without coaching, but what I don't get is their penchant for doing insane shit publicly, even as the inevitable fallout mounts for "shit you absolutely cannot do ever ever ever lest you get arrested/fired/banned from the realm/excoriated on twitter." Aside from the brazen rape adjacent doings of, well, pretty much everybody? (I mean it doesn't seem to be a class thing, dudes are sharing their dicks in person and electronically, grabbing tits, jerking off, and openly inquiring after the possibility of a blow job from America's boardrooms to the Walmart break room), there's all the various folks just compulsively sharing their let us say somewhat regressive opinions about black people, gay people, latinos (sorry, "latinx", you know you're getting old when the New Name For Those Guys grates on your nerves), trans folk, etc. etc. Like I say, no surprise that there are plenty of people who have a dim view of people who are different from themselves, but if you are, say, the manager of the local Dennys or alderman of a nice little town or some such and you retweet a picture of Prominent Black Person with a noose nearby or fill your Facebook page with "kill all the fags" ramblings or share with everybody in your organization that hilarious "bitch had it coming" meme, or, yes, send the new hire in accounts receivable multiple, actionable pix and texts making it clear you are a predatory monster, WHAT IN THE NAME OF HOLY FUCK DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN? You would be celebrated as a straight shooter? Get big ups for your wit? Have you not, I mean, seen a single one of the many many many examples of How This Goes? Everybody's free to be as big as a shithead as they please, I just don't get having a t-shirt printed up that says "I'm a huge shithead, can I tell you all about it?"

[psmith2.0]

I ask/wonder this sort of thing on a fairly regular basis anymore.

Be a moron/shithead if you must, just consider doing so on the down-low if you value your job, reputation, family, etc.

In this age of cameras everywhere, social media and Alexa listening to couples knocking it out, you’d think people rein in some of their more base, idiotic impulses. But, let’s be completely honest...some people are just beyond help, they’re missing those internal switches and levers most others take for granted, they were raised weird (or not at all), etc.

It’s what makes the world go around.

We’re in the eta of Smart™️ everything (cars, TVs, phones, appliances, etc.). But I swear, the people owning/using all this stuff are heading in the opposite direction.

All our possessions and toys have to be “smart” if we’re gonna place such a premium on not being so.

Yeah, if I land a gig as a Santa, pulling my crank out isn’t on my to-do list. That it is for others...

Confession: I love stupid people doing stupid things. Few things make me laugh harder.

[addabox]

I wonder if it doesn't come down a limited cohort? Like, if every single person you know either thinks like you or knows better than to cross you, maybe you really would think that your dumbfuckery was golden. And then of course there are the rich and powerful, who no doubt know full well that their assholery/blatant immorality/criminality is heavily proscribed, but that's part of the appeal-- I can do whatever the fuck I like and no one can touch me. Entirely true up until very recently, so maybe slow to get the memo.

[psmith2.0]

‘Tis the season. Unfortunately, I’m not aware of any dick-related carols.

[Ryan]

Shitheads gonna shithead.

I know a guy who sent a TikTok of rape jokes to a female coworker on their corporate Slack thinking she'd find it funny.

Did not end well for him.

[psmith2.0]

As a fellow Volunteer Stater, I'm so proud. We grow 'em special down here, gang.

A post on the Facebook page of the Scott County Sheriff's Office says 43-year-old Amy D. Best, of Oneida, is now in the county jail, charged with theft under $1,000. The post says Best's family reached out to police Friday to report a Nintendo Switch that was under the tree had been stolen.

So much to discuss.

- First off, when I hear the word "grandmother", I have a certain type of image in mind, clichéd and outdated as it may be. She ain't it. 43 is young, but my parents were young when they had me (late teens), so I suppose, as an infant, my grandparents in 1969 were under 50 themselves. But still...they weren't taking my shit at Christmas either, so I had that going for me.

- So, at 43, my initial thinking was "okay, she's young enough to be into games herself...doesn't make it right, but she stole a Nintendo thingie from her grandkid because she's going for that high score!" Hey, we've all been there. I've seen, first hand, how whacked-out/obsessed some hardcore gamer types can get. Almost like an addition to some.

But nope...

Scott County Sheriff's Detective Lisa Anderson was able to identify a Nintendo Switch that was pawned at the Winfield Pawn Shop, and identified Amy Best as the person who took it there for cash.

Meth ain't getting any cheaper, guys.

The post says investigators are still working to learn if Best is responsible for stealing other items.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and go ahead and say that's a super-high probability. If you'll steal your own grandchildren's Christmas present(s), I have to assume nothing on the shelves at Walmart is safe from this arch criminal...Dewalt drill bits, curling irons, shower curtains, candle holders, Dr. Scholls inserts, Duracell batteries, candy bars, gloves/mittens, etc. Anything that can be dropped into a purse has probably wound up in this dingbat's house over the years.

This whole thing is just a walking, self-writing Jeff Foxworthy bit, huh?

"If your 43-year-old grandma steals your Nintendo from underneath the Christmas tree to pawn for cash...". And you know the rest. And he'd be right.



I suppose I shouldn't make light of it, but screw it. 2020 hasn't had much in the way of yuk-yuks/distractions, so I'm grabbing what few I can before this shitball excuse of a year (finally) winds down.

Sue me.

[kscherer]

I'll get a lawyer!



—

And, yeah, that's funny right there!

"I love me some grand-babies. They get all the cool stuff!"

I get a feeling all the daughters in this family are knocked-up by 16.

[psmith2.0]

For those numbers to work out, you're probably not far off.

It's sad, babies having babies.

I'm a product of that myself, but I got very lucky in that my parents were smart, devoted, worked, had a strong support system and took the situation (and me) seriously. Things could've gone another way completely, and I'm fully aware of that. I don't think it usually goes as well as it did for me, from all I've ever seen/noticed.

I'm grateful things went the way they did. My dad could've flaked, my mom could've decided I wasn't worth the hassle, my grandparents could've stolen my Christmas presents to pawn for booze and auto parts, etc. Thankfully that wasn't my life/upbringing.

[kscherer]

No doubt. Modern weirdness makes me feel pretty darned blessed.