Minor things that bother you

[Max Rockatansky]

I thought it was odd that Disney dragged their feet on some of the bigger names like the X-Men and Fantastic Four.  Out of all the more obscure comic characters they brought into the movies and TV shows Shang Chi was the only one that really resonated with me. The quality of the shows dropped considerably after a strong start with WandaVision.

[1995hoo]

Man I'm sorry I'm not retyping all of that. i'm angrier than I am when I see something about a freeway expansion being canceled in California.

Damn NIMBYs even got your post canceled!

Oh my God, I don't know what happened. I had to go take a shot just now to calm down. I had this huge post written out. I opened up a new tab because I wanted to make sure that I was spelling Sam Raimi's name right because I always spell it wrong. And then I open the AARoads tab and everything I wrote is gone. I almost threw my phone through the wall.

It won't help you this time, but for what it's worth, when I'm typing on my phone or my iPad and I need to switch tabs (or even apps, say to respond to a text message while I'm typing a post), I've taken to copying the entire text of what I'm typing (the equivalent of Ctrl-C on a PC) before I switch. If I think I might mess up and copy something else, thereby deleting what I copied from memory, I'll paste the draft post into Notepad or something. While my PC has 16 GB of RAM, I still sometimes do it on here if the draft post is particularly long. Cheap insurance, as it were.

[Max Rockatansky]

I once lost about 20 years worth of documentation while typing a highway blog.  The text while I was typing suddenly became entirely highlighted and wiped out everything on the next key stroke.  I wasn't able to back out of the blog before it auto saved.  Probably cost me an extra three hours of work.

[Molandfreak]

I once lost about 20 years worth of documentation while typing a highway blog.  The text while I was typing suddenly became entirely highlighted and wiped out everything on the next key stroke.  I wasn't able to back out of the blog before it auto saved.  Probably cost me an extra three hours of work.

Control+Z or Open Apple+Z wasn't an option?

[1995hoo]

I once lost about 20 years worth of documentation while typing a highway blog.  The text while I was typing suddenly became entirely highlighted and wiped out everything on the next key stroke.  I wasn't able to back out of the blog before it auto saved.  Probably cost me an extra three hours of work.

This is not quite the same thing: You know how MS Word uses the "Normal" document template (Normal.dotm) as the basis for new documents if you just hit "Blank Document" or Ctrl-N? I've spent a fair amount of time customizing that template, both at home and at the office, to reflect the standard formatting we use (almost none of which tracks Microsoft's asinine defaults, especially their use of Calibri 11-point). It has a large number of customized styles both for text and for outline numbering. I'm always afraid that the template will somehow get corrupted or will get inadvertently changed (and setting up the outline numbering to work the way you want, instead of the incorrect way Microsoft thinks it should work, is a pain in the arse that takes forever), so I have something like four or five backup copies of it saved in multiple locations on both the C: drive and two different network drives. That way if it gets corrupted, I can copy one of those backup copies into the correct hidden directory on C: and avoid the nuisance of having to reconstruct everything.

[Max Rockatansky]

I once lost about 20 years worth of documentation while typing a highway blog.  The text while I was typing suddenly became entirely highlighted and wiped out everything on the next key stroke.  I wasn't able to back out of the blog before it auto saved.  Probably cost me an extra three hours of work.

Control+Z or Open Apple+Z wasn't an option?

Wasn't aware of Control+Z until I started looking into after it happened. The thing that sucks was that I actually knew about the command a long time ago.  I had forgotten about since my typing frequency saw a huge decline from 2010 to 2016. 

[kurumi]

Phones hide the fact that they don't have much RAM by having the OS silently kill background processes when RAM usage reaches a certain point. Sounds like what happened was whatever site you checked was a memory hog and the out-of-memory killer saw that tab with a great big post in it as a juicy block of RAM to reclaim.

And they'll toss out the smallest things. Great fun having to restart your Anki deck when it's a handful of bytes to record where you are. (Fortunately it does remember your progress).

The Music app will forget whatever language lesson I was listening to, and the next time I get in the car, it's back to Archie Abbott and the Aardvarks

[vdeane]

Man I'm sorry I'm not retyping all of that. i'm angrier than I am when I see something about a freeway expansion being canceled in California.

Damn NIMBYs even got your post canceled!

Oh my God, I don't know what happened. I had to go take a shot just now to calm down. I had this huge post written out. I opened up a new tab because I wanted to make sure that I was spelling Sam Raimi's name right because I always spell it wrong. And then I open the AARoads tab and everything I wrote is gone. I almost threw my phone through the wall.

Phones hide the fact that they don't have much RAM by having the OS silently kill background processes when RAM usage reaches a certain point. Sounds like what happened was whatever site you checked was a memory hog and the out-of-memory killer saw that tab with a great big post in it as a juicy block of RAM to reclaim.

This is one of the reasons I rarely use my phone to do anything. My desktop has an excessive amount of RAM, and even if I didn't, the Linux OOM killer behaves a lot more predictably and transparently than the Android one does.

I've seen it even of the desktop version of Chrome (and Chrome forks), but at least on that version I can install a tab to block that behavior.

almost none of which tracks Microsoft's asinine defaults, especially their use of Calibri 11-point

How do you feel about Aptos?  Personally, I think it looks worse.  Excel sheets in particular don't look right with it, and at least once I've had to check that there wasn't a space between characters because the spacing between letters is odd.

[1995hoo]

almost none of which tracks Microsoft's asinine defaults, especially their use of Calibri 11-point

How do you feel about Aptos?  Personally, I think it looks worse.  Excel sheets in particular don't look right with it, and at least once I've had to check that there wasn't a space between characters because the spacing between letters is odd.

I never use sans-serif typefaces in Word or Excel. Never. So I don't have an opinion on that issue.

[vdeane]

almost none of which tracks Microsoft's asinine defaults, especially their use of Calibri 11-point

How do you feel about Aptos?  Personally, I think it looks worse.  Excel sheets in particular don't look right with it, and at least once I've had to check that there wasn't a space between characters because the spacing between letters is odd.

I never use sans-serif typefaces in Word or Excel. Never. So I don't have an opinion on that issue.

It's the new default.

[US 89]

Man I'm sorry I'm not retyping all of that. i'm angrier than I am when I see something about a freeway expansion being canceled in California.

Damn NIMBYs even got your post canceled!

Oh my God, I don't know what happened. I had to go take a shot just now to calm down. I had this huge post written out. I opened up a new tab because I wanted to make sure that I was spelling Sam Raimi's name right because I always spell it wrong. And then I open the AARoads tab and everything I wrote is gone. I almost threw my phone through the wall.

It won't help you this time, but for what it's worth, when I'm typing on my phone or my iPad and I need to switch tabs (or even apps, say to respond to a text message while I'm typing a post), I've taken to copying the entire text of what I'm typing (the equivalent of Ctrl-C on a PC) before I switch. If I think I might mess up and copy something else, thereby deleting what I copied from memory, I'll paste the draft post into Notepad or something. While my PC has 16 GB of RAM, I still sometimes do it on here if the draft post is particularly long. Cheap insurance, as it were.

Yep, Notepad is your friend. I once was at work writing up a discussion in the software we use to send our products to our clients. At a certain time each night, the software goes through to open the night client products, and apparently when it does that it deletes any unsaved progress. Another way to lose all your progress in that software is apparently if you Ctrl+Z too many times, you can't Ctrl+Y anymore to put it back.  Many hours of productivity have been lost there. I have now learned the lesson to just write everything in Notepad and then only paste it in when I'm ready to send.

On an unrelated note, you also can't Ctrl+A to select all text in there, which really bothers me because a lot of time I need to delete an entire text box to write something new in there. The Ctrl+A action generates the text "099" with the cursor between the 0 and the 99. If you have text already highlighted when you do Ctrl+A, it'll put 0 before the text and 99 after. Sure, I can just use the mouse, but the keystrokes for it would work easier... oh, and trying to Ctrl+A also turns off Num Lock for some reason.

[1995hoo]

almost none of which tracks Microsoft's asinine defaults, especially their use of Calibri 11-point

How do you feel about Aptos?  Personally, I think it looks worse.  Excel sheets in particular don't look right with it, and at least once I've had to check that there wasn't a space between characters because the spacing between letters is odd.

I never use sans-serif typefaces in Word or Excel. Never. So I don't have an opinion on that issue.

It's the new default.

Right, but if you notice my comment in Reply #10480, you'll see I customized the Normal.dotm template so that I don't see what their defaults are when I use Word. I'm going to be using a serif typeface for everything anyway, so why bother with having to change it every time I create a new document? Regarding Excel, on my office PC it still defaults to Calibri, I assume because IT regulates anything to do with software updates and they haven't push a version that defaults to Aptos.

[GaryV]

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

[DTComposer]

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.)

[Plutonic Panda]

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.)

Yeah, I'm not going into this debate with you other than I could not disagree more. That's the only thing I'm gonna say about it.

[LilianaUwU]

I can't call out people about their taste in comedy movies when my favorite movie of all time is Happy Gilmore.

[GaryV]

There are things that used to be considered funny and now are cringeworthy. (They should have been back in the day, but times change.) Take many Looney Toons or Merrie Melodies from the 1930's for example. Extreme racism that wouldn't be tolerated today. So something like Blazing Saddles couldn't be made in the same way that it was. But it could probably be made differently and still be funny.

I personally like some comedy movies that were made in the 40's or 50's. Some of the punchlines aren't relevant today, that's ok. But the comedic value is still there for me. I also like some of the comedy variety shows from the 70's, particularly Carol Burnett.

Others like the slapstick stuff from even earlier, Charlie Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy.

That said, not enough people (or not enough people in the desired demographic range) like the older style comedy, so it's not being made in that style anymore.

[DTComposer]

There are things that used to be considered funny and now are cringeworthy. (They should have been back in the day, but times change.) Take many Looney Toons or Merrie Melodies from the 1930's for example. Extreme racism that wouldn't be tolerated today. So something like Blazing Saddles couldn't be made in the same way that it was. But it could probably be made differently and still be funny.

I personally like some comedy movies that were made in the 40's or 50's. Some of the punchlines aren't relevant today, that's ok. But the comedic value is still there for me. I also like some of the comedy variety shows from the 70's, particularly Carol Burnett.

Others like the slapstick stuff from even earlier, Charlie Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy.

That said, not enough people (or not enough people in the desired demographic range) like the older style comedy, so it's not being made in that style anymore.

But that's just it - people have this perception of Blazing Saddles' humor as racist - but the point of the humor was to poke holes in racism (remember that Richard Pryor was one of the screenwriters). That's much different than the casual racism of Looney Tunes (and so much other entertainment of that era) - but those cartoons also parodied anything and everything in culture (high and low) - "What's Opera, Doc?" is one of the best animated shorts ever made, but also was many people's introduction to Wagner.

So I think something like "Blazing Saddles" could get made today, because the comedy that delved into race-based tropes was punching up, not down. Comedy that punches down is what couldn't (and shouldn't) be made today.

[SEWIGuy]

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.)

Tropic Thunder is 17 years old. Does that count as "today?"

[Scott5114]

You can't make good anything today. Because making something good in art means taking a risk. Making something good means challenging yourself. Maybe you'll pull it off, maybe you won't.

TV, movies, triple-A video games...they're all run by huge corporations who are in it to make as much money as possible. Taking a risk means you might lose money if you don't pull it off. So instead of trying for something good, they shoot for mediocre. Star Wars one through six made money, so let's fund Star Wars LXVII: The Revenge of Darth Vader's Secretary's Grandson's Insurance Company or Wolverine Goes to the DMV* instead of this dude with a cool but unproven idea.

There's a reason if you look at the best video games of the last decade or so, a good chunk of them come from random programmers dicking around in their house. Sure, they might not have the voice acting and animation work that the big-budget studios make. But they're usually the ones trying new things with gameplay and storytelling. Indie films exist too, but the film-distribution industry is a lot less welcoming of them than something like Steam is of indie video games.

* Spoilers: The reason he insisted on staying in line for so long to get a Real ID is—in a major twist ending—so he could board a plane to IAD.

[Molandfreak]

Missed opportunity to reference Aladdin 4: Jafar May Need Glasses and Aladdin 5: Jafar Answers the Census.

[SEWIGuy]

Missed opportunity to reference Aladdin 4: Jafar May Need Glasses and Aladdin 5: Jafar Answers the Census.

Does the parrot count?

[DTComposer]

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.)

Tropic Thunder is 17 years old. Does that count as "today?"

Fair point - it was the first that popped into my head, and I'm feeling old now.

[DTComposer]

You can't make good anything today. Because making something good in art means taking a risk. Making something good means challenging yourself. Maybe you'll pull it off, maybe you won't.

TV, movies, triple-A video games...they're all run by huge corporations who are in it to make as much money as possible. Taking a risk means you might lose money if you don't pull it off. So instead of trying for something good, they shoot for mediocre. Star Wars one through six made money, so let's fund Star Wars LXVII: The Revenge of Darth Vader's Secretary's Grandson's Insurance Company or Wolverine Goes to the DMV* instead of this dude with a cool but unproven idea.

There's a reason if you look at the best video games of the last decade or so, a good chunk of them come from random programmers dicking around in their house. Sure, they might not have the voice acting and animation work that the big-budget studios make. But they're usually the ones trying new things with gameplay and storytelling. Indie films exist too, but the film-distribution industry is a lot less welcoming of them than something like Steam is of indie video games.

* Spoilers: The reason he insisted on staying in line for so long to get a Real ID is—in a major twist ending—so he could board a plane to IAD.

I largely agree with you with regard to movies, and I'm not enough of a gamer to speak on that. But I would argue that there's been a lot of great television in the last 10 years - original concepts, great acting and storytelling, increased production values - and those great shows are also among the most-watched.

[LilianaUwU]

I can confirm that indie games have flourished. For instance, many boys bought Celeste in 2018, and the same girls downloaded the Farewell DLC once that came out in 2019.