Minor things that bother you

[vdeane]

A timeline is something like a different version of history, not the past or future.

According to Merriam Webster, that's the 4th definition of timeline. The primary definition is 3 variations of chronology, i.e. the past or future.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/timeline

They're not using it to refer to a chronology, or a schedule, or social media, however.  After decades of "a different timeline" meaning something changed history or something like the Mirror Universe (at least with respect to Star Trek), in recent years the Powers That Be are now using it to say things like "all our shows take place in different timelines" when what they mean is that Discovery is set in the 31st Century, Picard is set in the 25th, Lower Decks and Prodigy in the 24th, and Strange New Worlds in the 23rd.  It would be like saying "my grandparents grew up in a different timeline".  And what prompted me to post about it is because Garret and Robbie started using it the same way on the Delta Flyers podcast to refer to when Kira and O'Brien were transporting to different time periods to look for Sisko, Bashir, and Dax in their review of "Past Tense, Part 2" (which was especially weird, because most of the 24th Century scenes in that episode took place in a different timeline in the usual way it's used in terms of Star Trek due to the past being altered).

[mgk920]

That is just like why you don't see 'Speedy Gonzales' shorts anymore here in the USofA, even though Speedy is considered to be a real folk hero in the eyes of many/most Mexicans.

< sigh . . . >

[Max Rockatansky]

I see Speedy all the time at home.  He happens to be one my wife's favorite cartoon characters.  Whenever we visit Jalisco it isn't too hard to find a speed mural or two.

[Rothman]

I liked Breaking Bad and am enjoying Severance.  Quality can be found out there...

[LilianaUwU]

That is just like why you don't see 'Speedy Gonzales' shorts anymore here in the USofA, even though Speedy is considered to be a real folk hero in the eyes of many/most Mexicans.

< sigh . . . >

It reminds me of this meme:

[kkt]

And then you really can't make good comedy movies anymore but that's a can of worms I don't wanna open up.

This is actually a minor thing that bothers me - it simply isn't true. What is true, though, is that the style of cinematic comedy has changed over the decades, and when the style changes away from what we experienced in our formative years, we think it's "not as good."

The example I hear the most is "you couldn't make 'Blazing Saddles' today" - and while you maybe can't make a film in the same quasi-slapstick, quasi-musical Mel Brooks style, you can absolutely make social commentary disguised as a comedy - "Tropic Thunder" comes to top of mind.

The phrase "you can't" in these arguments tends to come across as "we want to make fun of minorities/women/LGBTQ/etc. but those people are now empowered enough to raise their voices in complaint, and that makes me feel less powerful and therefore angry."

I looked at Rolling Stone's list of the 70 greatest comedies of the 21st Century (published 2022), and while they're not all my cup of tea, I think the list stands up against any other 25-year span in cinema.

(FWIW, "Blazing Saddles" is my favorite Mel Brooks film, and in my personal top 10 film comedies.)

I saw Blazing Saddles in the theatre not more than a year after it was released.  I didn't think think the racist stereotypes were a basis for humor even then.  Right down there with blackface minstrel shows.

[Route66Fan]

That is just like why you don't see 'Speedy Gonzales' shorts anymore here in the USofA, even though Speedy is considered to be a real folk hero in the eyes of many/most Mexicans.

< sigh . . . >

I see Speedy all the time at home.  He happens to be one my wife's favorite cartoon characters.  Whenever we visit Jalisco it isn't too hard to find a speed mural or two.

The Speedy Gonzales cartoons have been & are still being shown on TV in the USA.

Both MeTV & MeTV Toons have been showing them during their "Toon In with Me" show & as part of their "Bug's Bunny & Friends" blocks.

[Big John]

^^ Pat Boone in 1962 did a song about Speedy.

[Rothman]

^^ Pat Boone in 1962 did a song about Speedy.

Speedy vs. The Red Baron

[Big John]

^^ Pat Boone in 1962 did a song about Speedy.

Speedy vs. The Red Baron

That would be Snoopy a few years later by thr Royal Gardsmen.

[Rothman]

^^ Pat Boone in 1962 did a song about Speedy.

Speedy vs. The Red Baron

That would be Snoopy a few years later by thr Royal Gardsmen.

Nah.  Speedy vs. The Red Baron = Pat Boone.

Royal Guardsmen is Snoopy Gonzales.

[wanderer2575]

And then you really can't make good comedy movies anymore but that's a can of worms I don't wanna open up.

This is actually a minor thing that bothers me - it simply isn't true. What is true, though, is that the style of cinematic comedy has changed over the decades, and when the style changes away from what we experienced in our formative years, we think it's "not as good."

The example I hear the most is "you couldn't make 'Blazing Saddles' today" - and while you maybe can't make a film in the same quasi-slapstick, quasi-musical Mel Brooks style, you can absolutely make social commentary disguised as a comedy - "Tropic Thunder" comes to top of mind.

The phrase "you can't" in these arguments tends to come across as "we want to make fun of minorities/women/LGBTQ/etc. but those people are now empowered enough to raise their voices in complaint, and that makes me feel less powerful and therefore angry."

I looked at Rolling Stone's list of the 70 greatest comedies of the 21st Century (published 2022), and while they're not all my cup of tea, I think the list stands up against any other 25-year span in cinema.

(FWIW, "Blazing Saddles" is my favorite Mel Brooks film, and in my personal top 10 film comedies.)

I saw Blazing Saddles in the theatre not more than a year after it was released.  I didn't think think the racist stereotypes were a basis for humor even then.  Right down there with blackface minstrel shows.

Which is the reason that pretty much the only part of The Producers (any version) that I like is from the beginning up until the point that Max and Leo find the script.  Once the Franz Liebkind and Roger DeBris characters appear, I'm gone.

At the risk of sounding like I endorse poking at minorities, etc., I'll share this story:  My father was a professional photographer, and one day when Blazing Saddles was in the theaters he and my mother were on the east side of Detroit (not exactly known for its Jewish population) photographing a wedding.  There was a break of some hours between ceremony and reception, so instead of driving home and then back out they went to a theater to see the film.  Apparently (I've not seen the film myself) there's a scene where Mel Brooks as an Indian chief sees Sheriff Bart and says "Schvartza!" (a disparaging Yiddish term for a black person).  My parents laughed so hard they almost fell out of their seats.  Everyone else in the theater was staring at them like "what's so funny?" because they didn't know what the word means.

[Max Rockatansky]

And then you really can't make good comedy movies anymore but that's a can of worms I don't wanna open up.

This is actually a minor thing that bothers me - it simply isn't true. What is true, though, is that the style of cinematic comedy has changed over the decades, and when the style changes away from what we experienced in our formative years, we think it's "not as good."

The example I hear the most is "you couldn't make 'Blazing Saddles' today" - and while you maybe can't make a film in the same quasi-slapstick, quasi-musical Mel Brooks style, you can absolutely make social commentary disguised as a comedy - "Tropic Thunder" comes to top of mind.

The phrase "you can't" in these arguments tends to come across as "we want to make fun of minorities/women/LGBTQ/etc. but those people are now empowered enough to raise their voices in complaint, and that makes me feel less powerful and therefore angry."

I looked at Rolling Stone's list of the 70 greatest comedies of the 21st Century (published 2022), and while they're not all my cup of tea, I think the list stands up against any other 25-year span in cinema.

(FWIW, "Blazing Saddles" is my favorite Mel Brooks film, and in my personal top 10 film comedies.)

I saw Blazing Saddles in the theatre not more than a year after it was released.  I didn't think think the racist stereotypes were a basis for humor even then.  Right down there with blackface minstrel shows.

Which is the reason that pretty much the only part of The Producers (any version) that I like is from the beginning up until the point that Max and Leo find the script.  Once the Franz Liebkind and Roger DeBris characters appear, I'm gone.

At the risk of sounding like I endorse poking at minorities, etc., I'll share this story:  My father was a professional photographer, and one day when Blazing Saddles was in the theaters he and my mother were on the east side of Detroit (not exactly known for its Jewish population) photographing a wedding.  There was a break of some hours between ceremony and reception, so instead of driving home and then back out they went to a theater to see the film.  Apparently (I've not seen the film myself) there's a scene where Mel Brooks as an Indian chief sees Sheriff Bart and says "Schvartza!" (a disparaging Yiddish term for a black person).  My parents laughed so hard they almost fell out of their seats.  Everyone else in the theater was staring at them like "what's so funny?" because they didn't know what the word means.

I had to explain that joke to my wife just the other day when Blazing Saddles was on TV. 

[1995hoo]

I liked Breaking Bad and am enjoying Severance.  Quality can be found out there...

My cousin recommended Severance. I watched the first two episodes but just couldn't get into it at all. I simply found it to be too creepy for my taste. The Apple TV+ show I really enjoy is For All Mankind. Now there's a show where the term "alternate timeline" could be used in the sense vdeane is discussing. In real life, Sergei Korolev died in 1966 and the Soviet program to land a man on the Moon never really accomplished anything afterwards. The show posits that Korolev didn't die and the timeline diverges from there (similar, I suppose, to the "1985-A" explanation Doc Brown gives in Back to the Future Part II).

[mgk920]

Now,the hens in Foghorn Leghorn's barnyard.



Mike

[Rothman]

Watched Blazing Saddles somewhat recently again and I think it deftly toes a delicate line of social criticism.  Some other klutz would have turned it into an offensive mess, but I think the acting and writing keeps it quite sharp and biting.

[kphoger]

Texas Transportation Code Section 545.101 directs making turns.  Subsections a and d have relevant provisions.  When turning right, you must approach and make the turn as near as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway.  Fully interpreted, if there are shoulders, you must turn right from the shoulder and onto the shoulder, then after the turn is completed you can move left into the lane.

Huh?  The shoulder doesn't count as part of the roadway.

Just to make sure Texas didn't go all wacky with their definitions, I did confirm:

Title 7 — Vehicles and Traffic
Subtitle C — Rules of the Road
Chapter 541 — Definitions
Subchapter D — Traffic, Traffic Areas, and Traffic Control

Sec. 541.302 — Traffic Areas

(11)  "Roadway" means the portion of a highway, other than the berm or shoulder, that is improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel.  If a highway includes at least two separate roadways, the term applies to each roadway separately.

This is a pretty standard definition.  Other states might say "exclusive of berm or shoulder", but that means the same thing.

[kphoger]

That is just like why you don't see 'Speedy Gonzales' shorts anymore here in the USofA, even though Speedy is considered to be a real folk hero in the eyes of many/most Mexicans.

I see Speedy all the time at home.  He happens to be one my wife's favorite cartoon characters.  Whenever we visit Jalisco it isn't too hard to find a speed mural or two.

Bet you'll never see a Slowpoke Rodriguez mural, though...

[kphoger]

I just took an online harassment training thing for work, and it told me that one of the categories is age (over 40).  Note the part in parenthesis.  Then later, when giving examples of harassment, it had a hypothetical scenario in which a customer was making rude comments about a technician's being fairly young (and therefore inexperienced).

So I thought to myself:  Wait a minute!  That doesn't count.  You already told me that only people over 40 can be the victim of age harassment.

[kernals12]

In the first episode of Dallas, we see an overhead shot of Bobby and Pam crossing the Trinity River on their way to the Ewing Oil offices in Downtown Dallas. But the shortest route from Southfork to Downtown Dallas doesn't go over the river.

Here's the route any sane person would take


Here's the route they would've had to have taken to make sense from a continuity perspective


But what more can we expect from producers who set their oil-themed series in Dallas without bothering to check if North Texas produced much oil

[ZLoth]

In the first episode of Dallas, we see an overhead shot of Bobby and Pam crossing the Trinity River on their way to the Ewing Oil offices in Downtown Dallas. But the shortest route from Southfork to Downtown Dallas doesn't go over the river.

Funny part is that I live about 20 minutes away from Southfork Ranch, but have only driven by there in the six years I lived in North Dallas.

What I found interesting is trying to work out the views from the classic Dallas opening against the modern day views.

[kernals12]

In the first episode of Dallas, we see an overhead shot of Bobby and Pam crossing the Trinity River on their way to the Ewing Oil offices in Downtown Dallas. But the shortest route from Southfork to Downtown Dallas doesn't go over the river.

Funny part is that I live about 20 minutes away from Southfork Ranch, but have only driven by there in the six years I lived in North Dallas.

What I found interesting is trying to work out the views from the classic Dallas opening against the modern day views.

The revival series does that.

[vdeane]

I got a $100 rebate on some tires a month or so back in the form of one of those Visa prepaid cards, which is annoying, because it's basically impossible to get everything off one of those cards.  I should know, I tried and failed.  The card also comes with 5% "bonus cash" from selected retailers, making planning card usage even harder.  Let's look at this whole horrid saga of torture and misery, shall we?

After the card finally arrived, I had opportunity to use it for the remainder of a JCPenney purchase (after I used my gift card) and for my regular haircut, leaving me with $2.15.  Alas, since JCPenney is one of the 5% retailers, I couldn't try to use the remaining balance then, but had to wait.

After three weeks, the bonus cash still hadn't been applied.  I try calling the number on the back of the card.  It's just an automated phone tree that tells you the same stuff you already knew from the website, with no option to talk to a human.  A fair amount of Googling reveals the real support number.  After a few days, they finally post the bonus cash, leaving me with a balance of $4.83.  Still not much I can do with that, so I figure I'll have to wait for when I have the time and opportunity to put that amount of gas in the car just to get rid of it (Amazon now has a $5 minimum for reloading your balance, so they are no longer an option for using up these cards, and to be honest, I do very little shopping on Amazon anyways).

Today I finally have the opportunity: I have both room in the gas tank and time to stop on a day when I naturally go by Stewart's!  I pull up to a pump and go inside and tell them that I want exactly $4.83 of gas, as the card instructions say to do.  Problem: it declined.  Further attempts to make it work failed.  I end up leaving with only the candy I purchased with a regular card before we attempted the gas transaction, and a whole lot of shame for being "that person" blocking a gas pump with my car when I was busy inside without even buying gas.

I ended up calling that support number again.  After being bounced around three times, I finally get someone who can deal with issues with these cards.  He says that because the card declined at a gas station, it is now "blocked" for security reasons.  Further, they have no way to unblock the card, so it is now useless.  They don't even know why the card declined and claim that Stewart's was the one to deny the transaction and not them.  So now I'm left with $4.83 of card balance that can never be spent, and no idea how to prevent this from happening again if I ever get one of these cards in the future (which I probably will, because rebates don't send checks any more, only these scam cards).

[kernals12]

When I get a rental car that is registered in a state far away from the place I'm visiting and then people assume that's where I'm from. I was near Austin, TX at a traffic light and the guy next to me starts asking me where in Illinois I was from. It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about. A year later, a similar thing happened with the parking lot attendant at a place in Las Vegas. He asked me where in Minnesota I was from.

[kkt]

I got a $100 rebate on some tires a month or so back in the form of one of those Visa prepaid cards, which is annoying, because it's basically impossible to get everything off one of those cards.  I should know, I tried and failed.  The card also comes with 5% "bonus cash" from selected retailers, making planning card usage even harder.  Let's look at this whole horrid saga of torture and misery, shall we?

After the card finally arrived, I had opportunity to use it for the remainder of a JCPenney purchase (after I used my gift card) and for my regular haircut, leaving me with $2.15.  Alas, since JCPenney is one of the 5% retailers, I couldn't try to use the remaining balance then, but had to wait.

After three weeks, the bonus cash still hadn't been applied.  I try calling the number on the back of the card.  It's just an automated phone tree that tells you the same stuff you already knew from the website, with no option to talk to a human.  A fair amount of Googling reveals the real support number.  After a few days, they finally post the bonus cash, leaving me with a balance of $4.83.  Still not much I can do with that, so I figure I'll have to wait for when I have the time and opportunity to put that amount of gas in the car just to get rid of it (Amazon now has a $5 minimum for reloading your balance, so they are no longer an option for using up these cards, and to be honest, I do very little shopping on Amazon anyways).

Today I finally have the opportunity: I have both room in the gas tank and time to stop on a day when I naturally go by Stewart's!  I pull up to a pump and go inside and tell them that I want exactly $4.83 of gas, as the card instructions say to do.  Problem: it declined.  Further attempts to make it work failed.  I end up leaving with only the candy I purchased with a regular card before we attempted the gas transaction, and a whole lot of shame for being "that person" blocking a gas pump with my car when I was busy inside without even buying gas.

I ended up calling that support number again.  After being bounced around three times, I finally get someone who can deal with issues with these cards.  He says that because the card declined at a gas station, it is now "blocked" for security reasons.  Further, they have no way to unblock the card, so it is now useless.  They don't even know why the card declined and claim that Stewart's was the one to deny the transaction and not them.  So now I'm left with $4.83 of card balance that can never be spent, and no idea how to prevent this from happening again if I ever get one of these cards in the future (which I probably will, because rebates don't send checks any more, only these scam cards).

If you aren't sufficiently bothered yet, figure out how many minutes or hours you've used trying to spend that $4.83 and how much your job would have paid you for that time.

Refunds are some of the biggest litte scams on the planet, have been every since you had to use your own stamp to mail them a form requesting a check that would take at least three months to arrive.