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..