I love Redlettermedia and that was a great series!

During COVID lockdowns, my husband and I started coming up with movie anthologies or themes we could watch so we would A) always know what to watch next and B) further educate ourselves in film. My favorite anthology to date has been John Carpenter. I had never seen a John Carpenter movie before and we went through all of them and it was a blast. But out of all of his films, The Thing was by far the most impactful. My husband and I both grew up on the Internet and are highly desensitized to gross and scary things. But we were both on the edge of our seats while also appreciating the masterful prosthetics and puppetry that went into that movie. I always have to warn people, that I can’t recommend it enough but it’s not for the faint of heart. Definitely one of the Great horror films ever made.

As someone who works in healthcare, I couldn’t agree more. I’ll be very happy to give up my job if it means we can all have healthcare.

While this is all theoretical, I agree with you. I think there are so many jobs that either currently don’t need to exist or jobs that could be replaced with robots or AI in the near future that it frees up people to focus on culture and innovation. Instead of focusing on maximum output, we can create only what is needed and let people relax more and enjoy life. Imagine instead of 1 person working 40 hours a week, you have 4 people working 10 hours a week. Everyone can contribute and also have plenty of time for themselves. This of course is only possible with guaranteed food and shelter for all. But one can dream.

I genuinely think that some people hit a certain age and then simply lose the will to explore new things. The amount of absolute garbage reboots and sequels that my parents watch just because they liked the original thing is far too many. But it’s certainly not just them. I know people younger than me that will just always listen to new albums of artists they used to enjoy even if it’s hot garbage and talk about it like it’s pretty good. I’m certainly not an authority on what people can enjoy, but I can absolutely be disappointed in people that reach this point where familiar=good.

Some libraries do have tools! It’s the best!

One summer break, I came home from college and needed a job. Previously, I had worked a very cushy job at a video store, but we all know what happened to those. My dad had been working odd jobs at the local race track and said they could use my help. I figured why not, it would certainly be different than the other food service jobs I had in the past. Well let me tell you, it ended up being the absolute worst version of food service I would ever experience. For starters, the company in charge of managing the food stands didn’t train me properly before the first race of the season. They would just sort of put me on various tasks that had nothing to do with what would be required on race day like cleaning the booths and inventorying product. So when the first race came, I tried my best but I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know there was a special procedure for keeping track of ice bags. I didn’t know who to go to to get into the coolers to stock drinks when we ran out. Etc etc etc. They weren’t happy, but it was the first race, so this time they had me shadow someone for a few small races before the next big one. Well it turns out that the rules are different for small races vs big races. And also there were 3 different tracks to learn where everything is. So shadowing for small races means I was only learning the layout and rules for all races. While all of this was happening, it was summer and things were getting hotter and hotter every day. And of course, big races mean longer hours to boot! So by the time the first big race came around, I still wasn’t properly trained, they were getting 130F readings on the racetrack, and I had to work a 13 hour shift. Oh and this was a 3 day event, so all of that back-to-back. I did the first day, I somehow made it out alive and didn’t make any major mistakes. I got home, I passed out, I woke up again the next morning to do it again. I got all the way through security and into the stands to start my shift… And then I passed out. Turns out I had heat exhaustion. After that weekend, they gave me my next shift. I was supposed to start next day, but also, I needed a doctor’s note to return to work. They knew damn well I couldn’t get one that quick. So I said fuck it and just didn’t get one and didn’t show up. I decided I wasn’t going to work that hard for hardly any pay and make myself sick to boot. Only time I’ve ever been fired, but I suppose it was a mutual firing.

Mixology and movies are probably the top 2 for me. But unfortunately both of these things can be deceptive in conversation. So if I start talking to someone about either one, the enjoyment of the conversation will depend on how deep down the rabbit hole the other person is. But in those rare moments when they seem to be on the same page, I could talk for hours!!

Some things that have been exciting recently: I wandered into a Binny’s and saw a whole shelf full of Chartreuse which I have not seen in many years!!! On the movie side of things, I’m very excited for Yorgos Lanthimos latest upcoming film! The trailer looked great and he always makes highly interesting films!

Live in Chicago and I second this. Everyone always talks about how cold and bitter it is here, but that’s much easier to prepare for than the 120F with 90% humidity we sometimes get. Yuk!

I just started watching the new King of the Hill season and I gotta say it’s pretty good! Hank’s already got great lines like “I shouldn’t need to call tech support to make a burger.” Which is sort of how I feel about this ad.

My dog is the most cowardly dog I’ve ever met. All I would have to do is bring the toy he is afraid of. All the other dogs will either ignore it or want to play with it. But my dog will recognize the scary toy and cower. I got him that toy for Christmas and it was a really nice expensive toy. Same brand as all his other toys he loves. But for whatever reason, he’s scared of it. So I gave it to my parent’s dogs who think it’s just the best toy they’ve ever seen.

I have no sources for this so take with a grain of salt… But I’ve heard that Tesla turns off self driving just before an accident so they can say it was the drivers fault. Now in this case, if it was on while it drove on the tracks I would think would prove it’s Tesla’s faulty self driving plus human error for not correcting it. Either way it would prove partly Tesla’s fault if it was on at the time.

I could get loads of cool liquors I’ve been eyeing for experimentation! Or like… one reeeeeally nice scotch.

Yep that’s the one! Thanks for the Lemmy reference!

I wonder how far you can push this? Like there was a whole subreddit (can’t remember the name) that was dedicated to news that seems positive on the surface but is actually fucked up when you take 2 seconds to think. Could you just get chatgpt to come up with a way to positively frame the worst shit specifically to bait adds next to it?

Lol ok I feel dumb after looking at the comments. I thought you meant like… On rollercoaster rides or something.

I feel like the answer to this question will depend on your location and what you’re used to seeing. I personally grew up in the Chicago suburbs and then moved to Chicago and the difference in choices at the grocery store is night and day. Not only are there far more niche items, but there are also more stores to select from. So if one store doesn’t have something, I simply go to another. But I also have noticed that if I’m out in the rural areas, it’s pretty strictly the basics. There’s also a big difference between regions. I have more variety in Chicago than in Phoenix and there’s certainly more variety in New York than Chicago. I haven’t noticed a drop off at my usual grocery stores, however…

I have noticed a large drop in variety specifically at box clothing outlets. There is less variety and less stocked sizes readily available. I think this is likely because of the proliferation of online shopping and corporations seeing this as an opportunity to save money by simply shipping less popular items to stores when people can order them online instead.

That’s just been my personal experience having traveled around a bit 🤷

I know you’re looking for real sources, but my own personal source as an American is my English sister-in-law that specifically asks for us to send her giant blocks of Velveeta cheese when we come to visit and who specifically eats all the things that are banned over there when she comes to visit us. Very small sample size so take it with a grain of salt.

Just saw Elephant Man at the Music Box Theatre. Incredibly moving film if you haven’t seen it. They’re currently running a film series on David Lynch and that was the first of his films I had ever seen. Planning to see more this week if I can!

Apologies, you’re correct the Wrangler is a plug-in hybrid and the Wagoneer is the electric model.