Friday Ephemera
I’m not sure there’s a name for this kind of thing. (h/t, Noah Carl) || Odd doggo. || Get you. || Good to know. || Access denied. || Hi, Toilet is an (almost) contactless public convenience. || The thrill of public transport, part 2,044. || Athletic ladies, 1940. || Squirrel feeder of note. || The thrill of pencil sharpening. || Possible pet. (h/t, Darleen) || Tiny monsters. || “Get with the times.” || A brief guide to medieval tennis. || “The root of all discrimination that we see in the world.” || The thrill of hair drying. || The thrill of Thames Television. || Today’s words are learning environment. || Scenes. || Bio-absorbable screws. || Hot bee sex. || This does this. || And finally, he’s taking it rather well, all things considered.
Athletic ladies, 1940.
I used to see all sorts of ads for quack health devices back in the 60’s: vibrating weight loss machines, machines to breast enlargement devices, useless dietary supplements, and so on. Very strange. Sometimes comical.
Hi, Toilet is an (almost) contactless public convenience.
Painful to read. What personality defect led him to put all the web page’s text at a 40 degree angle?
The thrill of hair drying.
These will live on forever, for comedic purposes.
I paint hidden scenes.
The thrill of hair drying.
Heh. The picture of the “General Electric Cares” … we had that in our house about the late 60s. At which time I told mom I was never wearing curlers to bed ever again.
“Many people ask me…”. Are you crazy?— Wow, I didn’t know they still had bearded-lady acts! What’s it pay?
Albino owl: I’ve never seen one! He’d be ideal for a horror movie.
Mini haunted house: Adorable. I want one.
The thrill of public transport, part 2,044.
It has a story arc.
“Possible pet.”
I concur, it’s – thankfully! – fake, but I did like this exchange in comments:
“ Why would any creature even move that way unless it’s humping another one underneath?”
Congratulations. You’ve just pinpointed precisely why they need to napalm their house.
Morning, all.
It has a story arc.
Yes, there’s a marked change of sentiment in the final act.
She teaches children.
“NYC educator unpacking whiteness.” Pronouns, obviously. And the obligatory mental uniformity.
[ Added: ]
As so often, the pronouncements don’t appear to be a result of autonomous mental activity, merely regurgitation. Like so many of her peers, she’s barking lecture notes at people, wholesale, and expecting applause.
(almost) contactless
ISWYDT
The Tranny Taliban has no sense of humour.
I’m not sure there’s a name for this kind of thing. (h/t, Noah Carl)
Perhaps we could use “moronic” as a place holder in the meantime?
Perhaps we could use “moronic” as a place holder in the meantime?
I’m pretty sure there’s a Rick and Morty gag that would fit rather well.
There we go.
Never pure enough…
https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1446225437114445830
https://youtu.be/WmJNoLBLxiI
The Odd Doggo reminded me of this advert from my youth.
What personality defect led him to put all the web page’s text at a 40 degree angle?
I assumed he’d written it whilst trying to avoid contact with his toilet seat?
There we go.
Indeed!
(Also now have a mental image of Chechen Bluto over there seeing that and thinking, “Puny American man-baby! I will succeed where Michael Jenkins failed!”
They captured these poor aliens and forced them to dry womens’ hair, it’s an abomination!
.
“Get with the times.”
I’ll see your dude and raise you.
Train as you fight, fight as you train.
I told mom I was never wearing curlers to bed ever again.
Being a gentleman, I shall not pass comment.
[ Muffled tittering. ]
It has a story arc.
Yes, there’s a marked change of sentiment in the final act.
Note that our Wise Intellectual ruling elites want to shield criminals and crazy people like that man from punishment, or at least any punishment that works. They also want to force us to give up our cars and ride public transit.
There we go.
Well, that illustrates pretty well why I never watch Rick and Morty. I think “edgy” is a euphemism for “seriously damaged personality”.
Well, that illustrates pretty well why I never watch Rick and Morty.
As noted recently, it can be amusing, but it’s very overrated. There are lots of small jokes and visual gags, to the point of being manic, but very few lough-out-loud moments. The sour tone and nihilism are very much a factor.
The sour tone and nihilism are very much a factor.
There’s enough of that in real life, without it permeating entertainment like sewage in a carpet.
like sewage in a carpet.
In its defence, it does have some amusing episodes and endless, sometimes clever, riffs and mini-gags. The previously mentioned breast-enlargement scene and its literally monstrous consequences made me laugh out loud. And the ludicrously convoluted heist episode is quite funny. But the pervasive ‘everything-is-shit-and-meaningless’ tone wears thin, quite quickly.
They/them pronouns may have been in use for centuries, but they have not been required or backed up with force before now.
Slight difference.
Suppose Addison is with a group of people. If you say “They are amazing!” do you mean Addison alone, or the group? We need a new plural pronoun! “You all”?
What if the group includes another person who also insists on “they/them”? How do you refer to Addison or this other person in the singular without causing hurt feelings of being excluded. E.g.: “I know Addison and Lynn. They are amazing. Not you, Addison.”
In its defence, it does have some amusing episodes and endless, sometimes clever, riffs and mini-gags.
One’s tolerance for that can depend on the particularities of one’s taste in humor: For example, I dislike The Big Bang Theory for similar failings, but it does have some very funny moments–such as Sheldon Cooper getting moral lectures from a tiny Mister Spock figurine.
“Odd doggo.”
I can’t help thinking up dialogue for the first dog.
“Hey, you got any… Woah. Oh, no. No. Nope, that’s a bear. I’m getting out of here.“ [Wanders over to other dogs.] “That’s a bear, man. I’m gonna tell Fido… Dude, did you know there’s a bear over there? Seriously. A freakin’ bear.“ [Looks round] “Yep. Definitely a bear. Go look for yourself… See? Told you. Bear. Guys! It’s a bear! Don’t… climb… Oh, jeez. I don’t know what this place is coming to.”
“Get with the times.”
“I’ve seen Addison on Twitter. He is a nutter.”
“The thrill of Thames Television.”
A few months ago, I decided it would be fun to have the Thames fanfare as the notification sound on my phone. Now the sound settings app crashes every time I try to start it, and I can’t change it.
It’s not as much fun any more.
“The sour tone and nihilism are very much a factor.”
This week, I’ve been watching old episodes of Taxi, Rhoda, Soap, Newhart, and Sgt. Bilko. It’s been like a breath of fresh air. Why do they even bother making new TV shows?
I dislike The Big Bang Theory for similar failings,
I watched a few early episodes, but it never struck me as very funny. Much of the humour, such as it was, seemed to rely on being amused by references to comics or science fiction that, in themselves, weren’t particularly funny. Sort of, “Oh, they’ve mentioned Stan Lee, how clever.”
It’s not unlike the trend for articles and videos by supposed reviewers that are some variation of “Did you spot these 28 AMAZING EASTER EGGS in WandaVision?” The fact that the series itself was a huge disappointment and had some of the worst pacing I can remember in a TV series doesn’t appear to matter. Instead, it seems we’re supposed to count the number of references, as if that were adequate compensation.
Sort of, “Oh, they’ve mentioned Stan Lee, how clever.”
Yes, indeed. Not to mention their worshipful treatment of such overrated icons as Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
And note how unlikable the characters are: Is there any regular character you would want to socialize with in real life? Quite a contrast to comedies of my childhood and youth.
In line with your remarks, David, I noticed some time back that the show often relies on humorous interchanges or situations that make no sense in an actual group of humans, and sometimes they even result is inconsistent characterization.
In addition, my scientist friends rightly dislike the show because it portrays scientists as hopeless dorks.
…we’re supposed to count the number of references, as if that were adequate compensation.
Medieval fiction is notoriously hard for moderns to get into partly because the literary tastes of the day demanded very direct but elaborate allegory (e.g. characters are sometimes literally named “Mirth” or “Nature”). In the hands of a master, you get works like The Romance of the Rose. Of course, most writers aren’t masters.
I wonder if the sort of ferociously postmodern style that’s popular now, where the cleverness of references to preceding works is considered almost to constitute the chief value of a new work, is our age’s equivalent. Future viewers will certainly be utterly mystified by such.
This week, I’ve been watching old episodes
Can’t beat The Rockford Files. Magnum P.I. was a bit too frothy, jokey 1980s to hold my attention past the first season. I regret that short of an expensive GAN remastering we’ll never get 1080p releases of Hercules and Xena.
Much of the humour, such as it was, seemed to rely on being amused by references to comics or science fiction
It strongly depends on which season you’re watching. The first 2 1/2 season were written by geeks for geeks so you get a lot of affectionate inside jokes about geek culture. Midway through season 3 they realized that their core audience was mostly suburban moms who thought Sheldon was adorkable so they retooled the show. They brought in the regular female cast members, dropped all the science and math jokes (there used to be a real science experiment in every episode – stopped mid-season 3), and turned the show into the typical Chuck Lorre everyone-is-a-pathetic-asshole sitcom.
The best, starkest example of this is “Stuart” the comic shop owner, who is portrayed as a cool, confident artist in the first season, and a pathetic wretch in the third season who sleeps in the store because “his apartment is just a smaller room filled with comic books”.
Suburban moms don’t know math and science but they pay attention to pop culture. Hence all the pop culture references.
we’re supposed to count the number of references, as if that were adequate compensation
Blame Smallville. It really is the progenitor of all this “stuff every episode full of obscure geek references” thing. The difference is that Smallville‘s core audience was teenage girls so the episodes had to be watchable[1] even if you knew nothing about the Superman mythos.
[1] For some definition of “watchable”. It did get ten seasons.
I’m not sure there’s a name for this kind of thing
Save the cheerleader, save the world.
The Tranny Taliban has no sense of humour.
I actually agree with the reviewer. Dave Chappelle’s recent specials aren’t funny because he’s pulling his punches. The reviewer didn’t explicitly mention Bill Burr, but that’s who I thought of when he said Chappelle dances around the jokes rather than wallowing in the boorishness. Burr is not afraid to skewer the pretentions of the surrounding culture. Not coincidentally, he plays venues ten times the size of Chappelle’s.
I think “edgy” is a euphemism for “seriously damaged personality”
You’re not wrong. They recorded a scene where Rick is supposed to be drunk by actually getting the voice actor drunk in studio. It did not end well.
I watched a few early episodes, but it never struck me as very funny.
As with many sitcoms, the first season was awful. The writing improved quite a bit as they figured out the characters.
Is there any regular character you would want to socialize with in real life?
As somebody who took a degree in Physics in the 90s, I can with all candor say that the regular characters are all people I did socialize with. (But in college, not real life.)
In addition, my scientist friends rightly dislike the show because it portrays scientists as hopeless dorks.
Mine thought the show was great because it reminded us of our youth, raised the profile of our work and turned us into minor celebrities by proxy. (Telling our wives they were hotter than Penny didn’t hurt, either.) De gustibus est, and all that.
In an age where House, Sherlock, and Sheldon Cooper were popular figures, I found that my own brand of sociopathy was much more amusing to people than ever before. I honestly hadn’t felt so much in synch with current fashion since Nirvana made my worn-out flannel shirts and jeans into a uniform back in the 90s.
I will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you against the appearances of Nye and dGT. More Newhart, please!
On an unrelated note, I’ve completely fallen down a rabbit hole watching tranny porn on YouTube. Just today I watched Richard tear apart a 48RE from a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup.
I swear it’s hypnotic. Imagine if Bob Ross worked in auto repair instead of oil paints.
“We need a new plural pronoun! “You all”?”
Ahem. *looks around. Yep, still in Texas*
Save the cheerleader, save the world.
Heh. I’d forgotten about that.
“We need a new plural pronoun! “You all”?”
It’s pronounced “Y’all”.
It’s pronounced “Y’all”.
It’s spelled yawl. And what do sailing boats have to do with anything?
“Turned out they kidnapped the wrong elephant!”
Man I miss Dark Roasted Blend. Wish they kept it up.
It was like every day was Friday………..
– It’s spelled yawl. –
See this.
I believe yinz are looking for a different word entahrly.
yinz
That’s what they say in Pittsburgh.
Awwww Dad. But I want to talk about turtle power. And cousin Britney.
That’s what they say in Pittsburgh.
It’s spelled yews. And I don’t know what toxic trees have to do with anything.
“Can’t beat The Rockford Files.”
Oh yes, there’s another one. How could I forget that? That’ll be my viewing tonight if I can find any episodes. I may be on record (although it was probably on the Blog that Died) as saying that The Rockford Files is the finest TV show ever made. Which might be a bit of an exaggeration (it’d have to get past The Avengers first), but not much.
“I swear it’s hypnotic. Imagine if Bob Ross worked in auto repair instead of oil paints.”
That reminds me, Chris at Clickspring has started posting again. Imagine if Bob Ross was a clockmaker…
“Turned out they kidnapped the wrong elephant!”
See? You never got that with Jim Rockford.
– It’s spelled yews. –
No, it’s spelled youse..
The Rockford Files
Thanks, now I’ll have that Mike Post theme song in my head all day.
In an age where House, Sherlock, and Sheldon Cooper were popular figures
Sherlock did not catch my interest, but how did you like the Jeremy Brett incarnation? I liked it enough to buy the entire series. A faithfully placed Sherlock Holmes is a somewhat damaged personality, but not so much that one cannot like him.
As somebody who took a degree in Physics in the 90s, I can with all candor say that the regular characters are all people I did socialize with.
The amount of time I was willing to spend with the terminally geeky/dorky decreased with each passing year. The physics majors that I knew back in the 70’s were not nearly as geeky as the cast of TBBT, unless the passage of time has degraded my memory.
I suppose the most likable character in TBBT was Penny, although her willingness to use sex to mooch off people grated.
Blame Smallville…Smallville’s core audience was teenage girls…
Was that its target audience? Maybe that explains in part why I found it uninteresting.
That’s what they say in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is merely the center of mass for yinzish speech.
This week, I’ve been watching old episodes of Taxi, Rhoda, Soap, Newhart, and Sgt. Bilko.
Thanks to all who mention these old shows. Whenever someone mentions an old show that I’d forgotten, I add it to a list and then borrow a DVD from the library. If I still like it enough I buy a few DVD’s.
“Turned out they kidnapped the wrong elephant!”
Heh, I watched Tenet a few days ago and I was totally confused about 10 minutes in.
Pittsburgh is merely the center of mass for yinzish speech.
See also Yinzer.
Athletic ladies, 1940.
Those ladies are not athletes. They are being massaged by machines while wearing high heels.
“The human frame can be compressed
By intricate devices
Which ladies hie in droves to buy
At pre-Depression prices…”
— Ogden Nash.
(There are three women doing actual exercise: on a stationary bike, on a rowing machine, and with weight cables. But still in heels.)
See also Yinzer.
Akshually…back in the day, before multiple Super Bowl victories…or vixtries…and World Series wins were expected to occur about once each decade and the ‘Burgh wasn’t hip or cool like it awesomely is today..ahem…the word was yunz (sp?). Per you ones as Wikilink above refers. Though such uttered in our home was as acceptable as ain’t…which is to say not at all. Yet OTOH, “red up your room” and “gumbands” and pronounciations such as Sahth-side and tahl were still the norm. Until I learned how to read, I was very confused by why tile and towel were the same word. Similarly, sewer and sore.
Also, any episode of Rockford Files with Angel in it was epic.
Also, Clevelando delenda est.
This week, I’ve been watching old episodes of Taxi, Rhoda, Soap, Newhart, and Sgt. Bilko. It’s been like a breath of fresh air.
Barney Miller, WKRP in Cincinnati, Night Court — all programs that I remember fondly and that STILL hold up when viewing today.
Thanks, now I’ll have that Mike Post theme song in my head all day.
There are worst things … but you have to give vintage tv shows their due. Some really great theme songs, many by top composers (Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith). Many became pop hits on their own.
Burr is not afraid to skewer the pretentions of the surrounding culture.
Heh.
“You must absolutely.”
Being fine with it just won’t do, you see.
Those ladies are not athletes.
Well yes, obviously. That was a joke, but then most of David’s posts in these Ephemera are like that. It’s an important part of why I keep coming back. That and the fine drinks.
Genetic YouTube Algorithm?
Also @Giza. You’re spelling it wrong.
That and the fine drinks.
What about the furry, ambulatory sausage?
“Empress Kara” and “jakki” inform us that transwomen can have periods, and also jock itch, apparently.
“You must absolutely.”
That’s a neat (if somewhat inept) way of explaining to others why there’s so little traffic on your dating app.
“See also Yinzer.“
From the Scots-Irish, eh? Could be worse. Here in the urban west of Scotland it’s often “youse yins”.
“And factually wrong” quoth Empress Kara of the sore nips.
Wonder if she’s a SpAd for leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer?
Chappell is part of the problem himself. When the country was burning last summer and lockdowns and such, he did a show outdoors in the country, looked like North Carolina somewhere but just guessing, and all the white peoples gathered, staying 6 feet apart of course, to hear what turned out to be Chappell, lacking the full influence about George Floyd, ranting about the 8-9 minutes or whatever Chavin was holding Floyd down. It was nothing funny, nothing informative, nothing pushing back. Now Chavin can’t even get a lawyer to defend him. Its an absolute disgrace what has happened there. Neo has a post about it in which I said:
“Hmmm…wonder what Orlando Wonder Lawyer Cheney Mason is up to lately? He had no problem jumping into the Casey Anthony case. All in the name of justice and The Law and such, you understand. And IMNSHO he was right to do so but seems this is a much, much greater travesty of Justice. Where the Great Defender of Truth and Justice now? Someone turn on the Bat Signal.”
Back to blast Burr as soon as I have my already late breakfast…
“Pittsburgh is merely the center of mass for yinzish speech.”
*Grabs Terrible Towel and begins mopping up. Myron Cope rises from the beyond to haunt…*
(Hmm. Could be a script for a new show – The Walking Yunz)
“…lacking full information about George Floyd..” stupid, stupid spell check. Seems there should be a market for someone to produce a decent mechanism.
As for f***g, f**k Burr and his f**k**g brave f****ty f**ck routine….when I first heard him I though he had some good stuff but my God, the f-bombs. They weren’t even commas and they screwed up the comic timing. Now I’m not one to faint over foul language (obviously?) but wtf? I pointed this out once to a millennial co-worker and got the “OK boomer” routine. Whatever…but down to substance…he started to weed out some of those f-bombs and he was refreshingly funny but then came Trump, someone right up his alley, but even Burr had to make a few disparaging comments about Trump and his idiot supporters. He seems to have shut up about Trump now but I have seen nothing from him regarding this obvious f**ked up situation regarding the current administration of absolute imbeciles or the lockdowns or the vaccines or whatever. But boy, oh boy, isn’t he in the Lenny Bruce (whom I never found all that funny relative to how much he’s worshipped) or George Carlin? Heh. Carlin. Another one libertarians…”libertarians” and conservatives…”conservatives” go to today to try to get some cultural traction. Carlin would have led the anti-Trump brigade. Phony as they come. All he wanted out of life was to smoke dope. Everything else he said was in service to his need for a good buzz.
Myron Cope
Left the ‘Burgh before Cope came along. The guy Dad and I listened to was Bob “Kiss it goodbye” “Babushka power” Prince.
Also regarding yinz/yunz, I’m no expert but scotts-irish seems unlikely. Pittsburgh is heavily German, Dutch, Polish, Italian, Hungarian (as a kid I though Pittsburgh Hunkie was just another word for slob), with a smattering of Irish. Your neighborhood’s milage may vary…
I never lived in Pittsburgh, but I visited a couple of times.
The most memorable part was the Duquesne Incline.
You may be right, WTP, but it certainly sounds Scots-Irish. Variations on “you ones“ are very common, particularly on the Irish side.
And hey, don’t forget that your forefathers successfully retained the Scottish spelling of “burgh” (even if you can’t pronounce it properly 😛 ).
even if you can’t pronounce it properly
Indeed. See Edinburgh.
“Empress Kara” and “jakki” inform us that transwomen can have periods
Periods of greater and lesser hysteria? 😉
even if you can’t pronounce it properly
Do Scots get angry when Americans pronounce Edinburgh with a hard “g”?
Yinzer
I have never that word used in Ireland, so I doubt it originate here. Maybe it is a hybrid that occurred where Irish and other peoples mixed in Pittsburgh
“Ye” is (or was) commonly used as plural, especially outside Dublin. (Some words which have passed out of usage in standard English remain in use in Ireland, although are disappearing).
“Youse/ Yis” is also used but is regarded as a bit uncouth.
In Dublin, the “Your (plural) mother” would be “Yizzer Ma” (uncouth) or elsewhere “Yere Mammy”.
Do Scots get angry when Americans pronounce Edinburgh with a hard “g”?
Not as angry as when the English call it “Edinburrow”.
And hey, don’t forget that your forefathers successfully retained the Scottish spelling of “burgh” (even if you can’t pronounce it properly 😛 ).
Heh. The funny thing about that is that in the 19th century the spelling was inconsistent. You can find many references to the city without the ‘h’ on the end. Sometime in the early 20th the postal service or feds or some entity insisted on a standardized spelling and the ‘h’ was made official. I believe it ruffled some feathers at the time as Pittsburgh was one of the main industrial cities at the time and held considerably more influence than it does today.
“Not as angry as when the English call it “Edinburrow”.”
I was about to say, “Maybe, although that kind of thing doesn’t bother me”, but oooh, that does grate.
Mind you, the railways used to abbreviate burgh/borough to “boro’”. Edinburgh became “E-boro’”, and Middlesborough was “M-boro’”.
I think this is a satiric take on truthers. But sometimes it’s hard to tell. Found via.
“I think this is a satiric take on truthers.”
Yeah, “birds”. They came from “Belgium”* in the “seventh century”. Everyone knows that.
WAKE UP, SHEEPLE!
*Oh man, Lyle Zapato. I remember running Mindguard on the Amiga back in the ’90s. That’s why the world’s in the state it is today, you know: it’s not available for Windows.
Karl, how IS Edinburgh to be pronounced? I always thought Edinburrow was correct?
—Lady Cutekitten
abbreviate burgh/borough to “boro’”
I am a self-admitted logophile.
The suffix “-boro” (without the apostrophe at the end) has appeared in the names of many places I have been (and where I live now).
I lived in Peterborough Canada for a while. Locals said “Peterbro”
Karl, how IS Edinburgh to be pronounced?
Apparently no one knows.
Guys, some guy has a case of the ass because the word guy is the core of the patriarchy.
If I said it appeared this guy was mansplaining I would have to denounce myself.
Gotcha.
Tranny Taliban
This morning I read an article in the New York Times, “Back in Lesbian Paradise, At Long Last,” about the Dinah Shore Festival in Palm Springs, an annual gathering of gay women. I noticed two things:
1. Not a single mention of transwomen in attendance. Instead, the article spoke of how important this event is for lesbians, especially since (and I have no way to verify this stat) there are about 21 lesbian bars in the US.
2. Comments were turned off for the article.
Now, that struck me because this is, after all, the NYT and I am wondering if the reporter was met with hostility if they asked about transwomen or if NYT realized that if it allowed comments, they could expect outrage at the “exclusion.”
Nonetheless, it was quite nice to read about lesbians – just the ladies, thank you – having fun.
“Do Scots get angry”
and if so, how might one tell?
“Apparently no one knows.”
Interesting that the fourth one down is the first in (what sounds to me) like an actual Edinburgh accent, and it only has seven votes.
If it helps, in Glasgow it’s often jokingly spelled “Embra”, in the vein of “’Straya” and “’Murica”.
“and if so, how might one tell?”
Awright… ootside! Square go, ya bunch o’ jessies.
“Nonetheless, it was quite nice to read about lesbians – just the ladies, thank you – having fun.“
There’s a wealth of videos on the subject if you’re interested.
Er. So I’m told.
Note the “I’m very pleased with myself” expression.
Awright… ootside! Square go, ya bunch o’ jessies.
Ah, *adopts puzzled expression* OK?
*looks around for dictionary*
Note the “I’m very pleased with myself” expression.
So… do they just sprout from the thing, like buds…?