Friday Ephemera

High stakes game. || Hardcore buffet. || You think you’ve had a bad day? || A brief history of Supermarionation. || Insert tab ‘a’ into slot ‘b’. || Whatever this is, he’s doing it better than you. || Hot mountain. || Handsome devil. || In my day, we had to make our own entertainment. || Nommy nommy nom. || San Francisco, March 22. || You want one and you know it. || The Antarctic Winter Film Festival. || Wash your potatoes thoroughly. || Under pressure. || Build your own paper jukebox. (h/t, Coudal) || A guide to the giraffe. Includes chest-butts and achieving longness. || Isolated showers. || Look sharp, your date’s arrived. || Unintended consequences. || And finally, amphibiously, one tab or two?

Comments

[Russtovich]

Should have had "Handsome devil" and "Nommy nommy nom" side by side.

After all, what else is a handsome devil by someone with a magnetic personality to whom women are putty in his hands. ;)

Cheers

[Hal]

Look sharp, your date’s arrived.

A Heap Of Trouble.

[Mark]

"Whatever this is"

Day 54 of shelter in place.

[Hal]

"Whatever this is"

Day 54 of shelter in place.

Oh, mebbe for someone other than Kazuhisa Uekusa, who David has actually presented before, and where he certainly does get behind his own presentations.

This latest reminds me that Peter O'Toole did something of the sort a few years ago, albeit with more clothing on . . . .

[Col. Milquetoast]

We all know Luigi is an significant figure in the history of SuperMarioNation

[Mike]

You think you’ve had a bad day?

Holy crap. Someone buy that guy a drink.

[sH2]

You think you’ve had a bad day?

Balls of steel.

[David]

Morning, all.

Balls of steel.

It’s a mix of alarming real-life drama and incidental comedy. (“I was gonna get an apartment there.” “Cheaper now.”) And yes, the construction worker seems remarkably calm, all things considered. Happily, no-one was injured.

Oh, and here’s the firefighter’s point of view.

[David]

Our betters.

Script Doctor sifts through the wreckage of the Picard season finale.

[David]

Thread.

Via Brian.

[Rafi]

You think you’ve had a bad day? || A brief history of Supermarionation.

I see what you did there.

[David]

I see what you did there.

Seemed apt.

[TimT]

When wombats attack!

https://youtu.be/K2gd7DQSAoE

[David]

When wombats attack!

Ah, aren’t you just all fluffy and adoraAAAIIIIEEE!!!

[Mags]

You think you’ve had a bad day?

That was tense.

[PiperPaul]

"You think you’ve had a bad day?"

Improper and unsafe social distancing near the end of that video.

[WTP]

Improper and unsafe social distancing near the end of that video.

The date on the fireman's camera says 2014. I only mention it because it surprises me that I hadn't seen it before...I don't think.

Re wombats...those are a kind of 'bat that's safe to eat, yes? Asking for a friend...just in case he needs to...

[Sam Duncan]

“A brief history of Supermarionation.”

“You must enable DRM to play some audio or video on this page”. Yeeeeeaaaah... that's not gonna happen.

“San Francisco, March 22.”

Or, “What every Sunday used to be like”.

[David]

I only mention it because it surprises me that I hadn’t seen it before

Yes, downtown Houston, 2014. I hadn’t seen it either. And it’s worth noting, from the firefighter’s perspective, how the glare from the Sun doesn’t help matters. From the camera’s movement, you can practically see the double-take when the construction worker is spotted.

[David]

Yeeeeeaaaah... that’s not gonna happen.

If you’re interested in that kind of thing, or just fondly remember Thunderbirds, there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours.

I mean, enormous out-of-control earth movers, chemically-enlarged alligators, overly ambitious attempts to relocate the Empire State Building… What’s not to like?

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Re wombats...those are a kind of 'bat that's safe to eat, yes?

Speaking of which, regarding the potato washing, are we sure that is not a CCTV 9 cooking show ?

I know, denounce myself, rayciss, report for regrooving...

[David]

report for regrooving...

You know the way.

[pst314]

report for regrooving

Q: Why did cricket never become popular in China?
A: They kept eating the bats.

[Darleen]

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't watching you.

[PiperPaul]

"wombats...those are a kind of 'bat that's safe to eat"

Sort of like how squirrels are now considered tree chickens.

[WTP]

how squirrels are now considered tree chickens.

Nah. That's iguanas. In South Florida in "winter", at least.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/fl-reg-eating-iguana-south-florida-invasive-20180627-story.html

[pst314]

Squirrels are tree rats, just as pigeons are roof rats.

[Hal]

I mean, enormous out-of-control earth movers, chemically-enlarged alligators, overly ambitious attempts to relocate the Empire State Building… What’s not to like?

See, also, Danger 5.

[TimT]

” Re wombats...those are a kind of 'bat that's safe to eat, yes?”

A German exchange student who sharehoused with my wife once came back from a walk in the Sydney Botanic Gardens all excited about the wombats! She’d seen them in the trees! Obviously some practical joker had called the fruit bats that - I’m honestly just disappointed they hadn’t had the foresight to call them cricketbats.

[Squires]

What a squirrel is, is nature’s drugs addict. That’s drugs, plural; the sort of individual who needs to be doing a drug at any given waking moment, no matter whether it’s heroin or crack or modeling glue.

[PiperPaul]

"What a squirrel is, is nature’s drugs addict."

I've had these tree chickens chitter loudly at me from telephone wires while I am on the balcony (me having provided peanuts in the past).

Am I being racist by not providing peanuts now?

[Pete]

enormous out-of-control earth movers, chemically-enlarged alligators, overly ambitious attempts to relocate the Empire State Building… What’s not to like?

The remake isn't bad either. https://www.thunderbirds.com/

[David]

The remake isn’t bad either.

Yes, it’s quite fun. The end-of-season arrival of Lee Majors made me laugh. The rescues are still pleasingly improbable and terribly heroic, though I’ve noticed a change in some moral assumptions. The attitude towards the villains has shifted quite noticeably from that of the original series.

In the Sixties Thunderbirds, Lady Penelope, for instance, would drive bombers and saboteurs off the road and to their fiery doom, or riddle them with bullets, thanks to the machine guns in Fab 1’s grill. Now there’s lots of agonising about the wellbeing of criminals, and how their lives and welfare matter too. And so, the Chaos Crew, a group of sociopaths who seem bent on gleeful murder and the inflicting of catastrophe on random innocents, are repeatedly rescued from some self-inflicted crisis, spared their just desserts, leaving them free to repeat their attempts at mass murder in a few weeks’ time.

I have to say, the Sixties approach seems more congenial.

[Jonathan]

Look out, they're on to Us!

via Battle Beagle

[Henry]

Elephants duetting on piano with humans, and shakin' that booty

https://youtu.be/hjsu3SGAdLs

[David]

Elephants duetting on piano with humans, and shakin’ that booty

And at risk of sounding indelicate, that’s a lot of booty.

[WTP]

Now there’s lots of agonising about the wellbeing of criminals, and how their lives and welfare matter too.

One of my favorite scenes from the 1980's series, The A Team was when they were chasing the bad guys who flew their helicopter into the side of a mountain. Cut to the heroes, cut back to the helicopter and the bad guys all come stumbling out, no worse for wear except for coughing due to the smoke coming from said burning helicopter. A college favorite. Good times, good times.

[David]

One of my favorite scenes from the 1980’s series, The A Team

I didn’t watch much of The A-Team, though I was aware of it. I think I was busy being a sullen teenager. But it’s quite funny re-watching old Thunderbirds episodes. Despite her obvious refinement and insistence on propriety, Lady P is often amusingly ruthless in dealing with villains. There’s very little hand-wringing, just a lot of live rounds.

[Captain Nemo]

More evidence to support the theory that wind turbines are the work of the devil:

https://twitter.com/jhbspacex/status/1246462258198335489

[Steve E]

Has anybody watched "The Loop" on Prime Video? The setup looks interesting.

[Steve E]

Sorry, that's "Tales From The Loop."

[David]

that’s “Tales From The Loop.”

Nope. It’s news to me.

[Steve E]

It’s news to me.

It says it's based on this, which I'm unfamiliar with. Supposed to be a long the lines of Stranger Things.

[David]

Supposed to be along the lines of Stranger Things.

Which I also haven’t seen. I don’t actually watch a lot of TV. Instead, I while away the hours wiping this bar.

I have simple tastes.

[Steve E]

I don’t actually watch a lot of TV.

Neither do I, so I try to get some feedback about a show before I invest any time it. I usually wait until a show has a couple of series under it's belt before I start watching. When I do watch, it's usually binge style with two or three episodes in a row and finished within a week.

I have simple tastes.

You purveyors of camel hump fat, all false modesty.

[Trevor]

But it’s quite funny re-watching old Thunderbirds episodes.

Oh David, well done for mentioning Lady P, second only to Hylda Baker in my pantheon of female role models. It's great divas like these that made me the man I am today.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Has anybody watched "The Loop" on Prime Video?

1.5 episodes before punching it off. "Soporific" best describes it.

[Squires]

See, also, Danger 5.

I'm more of an Italian Spiderman man.

Respect thee women!

[fnord]

Instead, I while away the hours wiping this bar.

Does the disposal of the bar rag involve MOPP gear, or do you arrange for it to be fired into the sun?

[Steve E]

"Soporific" best describes it.

Thanks Muldoon. Saves me some time. I already have something for sleep--the Andromeda Strain (appropriately enough). I think I've started watching it at least a dozen times and I've never made it all the way through without falling asleep.

[TimT]

I was a bit young for Thunderbirds, but I remember they had that oddity in our school library, Thunderbirds spin-off comics. That is, peculiar spin-offs off a peculiar form of animation, itself a spin-off of action movies/thrillers at the time.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone sent the genre up excellently with Team America.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

I already have something for sleep...

The production values are good, but anyone with an IQ above room temperature in an igloo can guess the plot twist in about 15 minutes, but it just drags, and the acting is wooden. Same with the second - I was starting to doze.

The two part "The Pale Horse" was pretty good and I hate Agatha Christie as a rule, and a seven part "Gallipoli" that is not too shabby.

[Steve E]

The two part "The Pale Horse" was pretty good and I hate Agatha Christie as a rule, and a seven part "Gallipoli" that is not too shabby.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I enjoy Christie, but unfortunately "The Pale Horse" is not available yet on Prime Video in Canada. I'm looking forward to it despite not being a big fan of Rufus Sewell. I found him a little wooden in "The Man In The High Castle."

I had overlooked "Gallipoli" but really enjoyed the motion picture from 1981. I'll put it on the watchlist.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

I'll put it on the watchlist.

If you want something different trapped in the shack, there is a bunch of Russian language stuff if you don't mind subtitles (or speak Russian, which I don't worth a damn) which is interesting either for historical perspective - 10 parter "Admiral" about Admiral Kolchak who fought the Red Army during the revolution, four parter called "Ladoga" about the ice road to Leningrad - just for fun a series of series called "Death to Spies". You can go down a rabbit hole with the stuff.

[pst314]

I already have something for sleep--the Andromeda Strain

I am starting to get the impression that a lot of 60's and 70's TV and movies had a much slower pace than today.

[Fred the Fourth]

I found the 1971 movie of Andromeda Strain to be a decent thriller that holds up pretty well, but the 2008 tv miniseries just dragged, and had a bolted-on stupid "message" about eco-destruction or some such. Also time travel. Gag.

[NateWhilk]

More evidence to support the theory that wind turbines are the work of the devil

I did see it, and it's true! But now the tweet has been deleted. :(

[NateWhilk]

Here it is. It's a simulation.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Simulated/comments/fiqqdf/whats_with_the_winds_recently/

[PiperPaul]

"Admiral Kolchak"

Oooh, I may have to look at that just because of the name.

[pst314]

More evidence to support the theory that wind turbines are the work of the devil:

That Tweet has been disappeared for the greater good, comrade.