Friday, December 20, 2024
not sure how much I like this
We now have our first look at James Gunn's version of Superman. Gunn was a titan at Marvel Studios (the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, "The Suicide Squad"), then he went over to DC to help the struggling brand out. This resulted in a lot of firings of actors who had probably thought they'd be around for several more films: Henry Cavill (as Superman; Cavill's been getting raw deals whever he turns), Gal Gadot (as Wonder Woman), probably Jason Momoa (as Aquaman) and others. David Corenswet—finally, an American actor in an American role!—will be taking over the iconic character of the Man of Steel, and Superman will once again sport the red underwear of his original costume. Below is Charlie's analysis of the newest Superman teaser trailer; I must say, I'm not all that impressed. The movie looks as if it's going to be overstuffed with characters; I also don't like Corenswet's look as Clark Kent, nor am I a big fan of the new Lois Lane. But your mileage may vary. Watch the video below (at 2X speed if you're impatient) and tell me what you think. And, really: Corenswet?
fight-scene choreography: what makes a fight scene good?
I'm a fight-scene junkie, so this was entertaining and educational.
Fani takes one to the fanny
Fani Willis has been disqualified and removed from the Trump case. The case is still there, but she's no longer a part of it. Why hasn't this creature been disbarred already?
(And I mean "fanny" in the British sense.)
Thursday, December 19, 2024
images 8
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| If you know the rules for when to capitalize "president," don't click this. |
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| What's the glaring error? |
what am I working on?
I'm most of the way through making a guide for a friend who received a bunch of Buddhism-related gifts. This might take another day or two, then I'll print it all up as a PDF and email it to my buddy on Christmas Day. Once I finish that guide, I'll race to finish the walk-blog captioning and commentary. There's a chance I won't make Christmas, but I'll definitely be done before the New Year. That would still be a first for me.
feeling a little better, but...
We're not out of the woods yet with this cold, whatever it is. I'm better than I was yesterday; I came into work today and will make up my missed Wednesday this coming Saturday.
We've heard nothing from the CEO about our team's continued existence, and the boss appears to be prepping for the worst. If it comes down to our being booted out of the Golden Goose, I'll pay my apartment's W10,000,000 deposit (which I get back upon moving out) and W700,000 rent for several months, but preferably for no more than four or five months of joblessness, after which I'll need to be either gainfully employed elsewhere, or involved in something more drastic like moving back to the States. I mean, I have the money to be a bum for a whole year or two before I really need to start worrying about my job situation, but I'm confident I'll have something within the 4-5-month window.
Getting university work shouldn't be too hard, but it would definitely be a drastic step backward in terms of pay. Whatever work I get while I wait for our boss to start his own company (I don't know how far he's progressed with that up to now), I may have to supplement the main job with a bunch of side jobs. Of course, what I'd rather do is use my 4-5 months of "free time" constructively, learning new skills like Adobe InDesign (publishing software) and going on to SkillShare to learn other skills more relevant to my becoming more of an online presence, whether as a YouTuber, a designer, or as a creator of lessons and tests, etc. I should probably also get off my mental ass and become a coder; it's a superpower I've been needing to acquire for some time. I also have a drawing pad, a few years old now, that I still haven't learned how to use; I need to find the right software for it and get busy with graphic design. I did try the drawing pad with Adobe Photoshop Elements; the pad and the program weren't a very good fit. Maybe I need Illustrator.
Or I could see about becoming the world's first stand-up comedian with heart failure. That might be a hoot. Bring on the infarction jokes!
impossible roller coaster
Just watch and enjoy. It doesn't have to make engineering sense. I've watched quite a few of these coasters on this channel, now, and I'm really starting to like them. They're all preposterous, but that's what makes them fun.
Visit the channel here.
ugh
I was sick and in bed for most of Wednesday. Up and at 'em again Thursday, all day. No, it's not COVID. I tested negative.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
images 7
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| Ah, yes, mass shootings. They're having a spate of mass stabbings and car-crowd crashes in China right now. |
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| There are lefties who insist there's scientific evidence that men have gotten pregnant and given birth. |
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| I laughed and laughed when I saw this one. |
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| Nice try, assholes. |
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| Where do the comma and hyphen go? Also: "astronomic"? |
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| Beauty ain't forever, and a guy that superficial will eventually trade up. |
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| when you spend your life simply being against the right |
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| blew its lungs out, I bet |
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| her being plump just makes her cuter... but she's a crazy bitch |
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| So turkeys are basically just unevolved dinosaurs. |
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| What's the missing punctuation, and where does it (or more than one "it") go? |
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| Pelosi needs to just die already. |
selective outrage is the best outrage
Amazing none of the “green movement” is up in arms over this… https://t.co/LyBSijfXFR
— Lara Logan (@laralogan) December 17, 2024
more stupid criminals
Dragging a police officer while there's a kid in your car.
With all the idiots in my country, maybe we do all deserve to burn.
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
images 6
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| My understanding is that only two of these people are Xers. |
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| Well, I'm definitely rent cattle here in South Korea. |
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| Some of my married friends are like this. And I'm an introvert, so yeah, I usually stay home. |
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| That's a picture of rightie talking head Patrick Bet-David, probably laughing his ass off. |
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| Fuck this specific person. With a splintery broomstick. |
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| The countdown has begun, buddy. |
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Roche is afraid of Maus; Maus is afraid of Katz; Katz is afraid of Doge; Doge is afraid of Mann; Mann is afraid of Lareine; Lareine is afraid of Roche. |
Canadian euthanasia deaths vs. US gun deaths
MAID in the Great White North: Canadian per Capita Euthanasia Deaths Now Beat U.S. Gun Deaths
Back in March, Canada added mental illness to its list of MAiD-eligible conditions. What's MAiD? It's Canada's 'Medical Assistance in Dying' program. It was meant to help patients with terminal illnesses die with 'dignity' and now it's devolved into being used to off the poor, Canadian military veterans, the disabled, and the mentally ill.
This writer has written about MAiD several times, and now here [are] some number[s] from 2023.
FIVE PERCENT of Canadian deaths were medically-assisted suicide[s] last year.
In Canada you can get euthanized if you are suicidal.
— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) December 15, 2024
1 in 20 Canadian deaths were from medically-assisted suicide in 2023: report https://t.co/xmpr86HzJt
The story in question is about Kathrin Mentler, a woman who struggles with suicidal ideation. She sought help for a crisis and was offered assisted suicide rather than suicide prevention:
More from Castanet:
“It was pretty disheartening and made me feel helpless,” Mentler says. “I’m coming here because I’m looking for help[,] and you’re telling me there is no help.”
That’s when the counsellor asked Mentler if she’d ever considered medically assisted suicide.
Mentler says she was “shocked” and “sickened” because she [had come] to the Access and Assessment Centre for help, “not for recommendations on how to kill myself.”
She says the counsellor explained how MAID worked and said lots of patients asked about it, adding patients don’t “suffer” because they take benzodiazepines before receiving the lethal injection.
Mentler says the counsellor also told her about another patient who had several [mental-health] diagnoses and had been taking several different medications when they’d drowned.
“She said she felt sad but that she also felt relief for this person to pass away,” Mentler says.
The story — and the counsellor’s “relief” — disturbed Mentler. She says it felt [as if] the counsellor [were] making a judgement that it was better for that patient to have died.
Lord have mercy.
If you run the numbers more Canadians are euthanized per capita by their own government than the US has firearms deaths (per capita!) Yet we have a “gun” problem. If so they clearly have a “government killing their own people” problem!
— colovion (@Colovion) December 15, 2024
Read the reply by Colovion to the above tweet.
The Canadian government just banned pretty much all guns, too.
Nothing good comes from this.
Expect those numbers to go up as the government accountants figure out that end of life care is expensive.
— RickNotRockets 🌻 (@rjward1775) December 15, 2024
Read the reply by RickNotRockets to the above tweet.
Sad. I assume we're talking percentages and not raw numbers. I have nothing against being terminally ill and wanting to go out on your own terms while ending the suffering, but if the rest of the article is true re: poor folks, vets, disabled folks, and the mentally ill... well, I don't know what to say. So in Canada, I guess the rooftop-suicide talk would be something like, "Get down from there, and we'll help you off yourself more neatly! No need to splatter yourself."
pics uploaded and enlarged
Check out the walk blog for the pics I've uploaded and enlarged for the final half (more like 60%) of this year's walk. I'd already completed everything for the walk up to about October 25; I've now put in the pics for November 30 to December 10. The full photo essays are up. All that remains now are the captions and the supplementary commentary, which will take me until just before Christmas, or so I hope. Now, I have to switch gears and complete an explanatory guide for a buddy of mine to illustrate what his gifts are. So check out the walk blog now for the images, then come back around Christmas for the extra text. And that ought to be everything for this walk! The next one will be in 2026. I'm hitting America (and maybe France!) next year.
I don't recall ever seeing this in Europe
This is apparently a pretty German thing, but I don't remember ever seeing it in France or Switzerland. Maybe I should have looked harder.
Kloob MAH-tuh.
Monday, December 16, 2024
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