bunch of what, now?
April 10, 2023 3:06 AM Subscribe
Please don't be offended, but the universe, or the fates, or whoever controls this stuff seems to think that I should share Bacon Popper's "Free" in this free thread.
True to its name, this one keeps popping up for me in Youtube, and I think it's significant for five (5) reasons: 1) There is (or was) a group called "Bacon Popper," and that alone should be reason enough to wake up; 2) the only lyrics are "you're just a bunch of freaks," repeated again and again until, this becoming too onerous, they turn into "you're just a" repeated again and again, and then just "freaks" (or "free"?) but, 3) the writing credits include seven people; 4) this helps cement my theory that there is literally no song that one cannot simply throw in a "C'mon!" or make that punched-in-the-gut HOOO-AWW sound; and, finally, 5) you really may all be just a bunch of freaks?
So in conclusion, please enjoy your Monday, your poppin bacon, your 90s eurotrash electronic dance party club scene music, and your free thread.
True to its name, this one keeps popping up for me in Youtube, and I think it's significant for five (5) reasons: 1) There is (or was) a group called "Bacon Popper," and that alone should be reason enough to wake up; 2) the only lyrics are "you're just a bunch of freaks," repeated again and again until, this becoming too onerous, they turn into "you're just a" repeated again and again, and then just "freaks" (or "free"?) but, 3) the writing credits include seven people; 4) this helps cement my theory that there is literally no song that one cannot simply throw in a "C'mon!" or make that punched-in-the-gut HOOO-AWW sound; and, finally, 5) you really may all be just a bunch of freaks?
So in conclusion, please enjoy your Monday, your poppin bacon, your 90s eurotrash electronic dance party club scene music, and your free thread.
Monday Free Thread means it's time for my weekly music pick. This week it's John Lee Hooker's song Process from his damn-near-flawless 1961 album Burnin'.
posted by Paul Slade at 3:56 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Paul Slade at 3:56 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Karl Bacon and Francis Popper, responsible for "Knowledge is Power/France is Bacon."
posted by k3ninho at 4:04 AM on April 10, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by k3ninho at 4:04 AM on April 10, 2023 [9 favorites]
I can tolerate a jalapeño popper, but I don't know if I can tolerate Bacon Popper.
It's a paradox.
Of tolerance.
posted by box at 4:56 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
It's a paradox.
Of tolerance.
posted by box at 4:56 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Here's Linda Ronstadt singing "It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)" on The Muppet Show.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:01 AM on April 10, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:01 AM on April 10, 2023 [10 favorites]
I just spent the usual half hour fixing an issue with my laptop this time a network adapter issue(solution here) and tested that I had solved it by watching this music video. Thank you. I’ve been listening to Bakermat lately for similar reasons of rabbit-holes.
posted by Peach at 5:50 AM on April 10, 2023
posted by Peach at 5:50 AM on April 10, 2023
Fought off misery about the news this weekend with too much work and with playing Infernax. I wish we had a video game section on Fanfare, but I don't know if anyone else would use it. This game is a perfect combination of Simon's Quest and Splatterhouse, two games that really spooked me up as a kid.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:04 AM on April 10, 2023
posted by Countess Elena at 6:04 AM on April 10, 2023
Late to the Only Murders in the Building party, here’s Angel in Flip-Flops.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:14 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:14 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ian Nepomniachtchi won game two of the World Chess Championship with the black pieces this morning.
posted by interogative mood at 6:28 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by interogative mood at 6:28 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I’m off today for Easter Monday but later this afternoon my time I am playing my first games of my 27th season in my dice-and-cards-and-charts simulation baseball league . If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to participate in a dying hobby, I’m full of answers.
posted by grmpyprogrammer at 6:29 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by grmpyprogrammer at 6:29 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
A U2 melody punctuated with Holly Johnson’s “uh-huh”s? Sure, OK!
posted by snortasprocket at 6:29 AM on April 10, 2023
posted by snortasprocket at 6:29 AM on April 10, 2023
Out of nowhere, YouTube recommended me the final scene from By The Sword, a movie I haven’t seen since watching it from a VHS in summer camp in the 90s.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:35 AM on April 10, 2023
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 6:35 AM on April 10, 2023
The spouse and I powered through the TV show "I Love Dick" this weekend which was quite the ride. Very enjoyable stuff. A somewhat accurate description might be "an exploration of women's desire" It was based on a book that I'm now very interested in reading.
posted by signsofrain at 6:36 AM on April 10, 2023
posted by signsofrain at 6:36 AM on April 10, 2023
Two bike-rides, and raked the lawn. Good weekend.
posted by Artful Codger at 6:42 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Artful Codger at 6:42 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Here's Linda Ronstadt singing "It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)" on The Muppet Show.
Oh, she's so, sooo good. She makes it look so effortless. My favorite Muppet Show song was Liza Minelli doing Copacabana and it's, it's a LOT of work and a big production and it's amazing. I was four when it aired and I was instantly obsessed. There's a nightclub and a love affair, jealousy, anger, murder, alcoholism, madness, a million layers of metasubtext, full-size muppets with giant heads. It's endlessly beautiful and tragic and haunts me to this day.
Also, here is a pomeranian running an agility course! So tiny!
ALSO ALSO ALSO: We are doing The Artist's Way again over on IRL! Last year was terrific: Since then I've been writing almost daily, I organized my house, I have living houseplants now and art on my walls. Come join us! Starts on Sunday, May 7.
posted by mochapickle at 6:43 AM on April 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
Oh, she's so, sooo good. She makes it look so effortless. My favorite Muppet Show song was Liza Minelli doing Copacabana and it's, it's a LOT of work and a big production and it's amazing. I was four when it aired and I was instantly obsessed. There's a nightclub and a love affair, jealousy, anger, murder, alcoholism, madness, a million layers of metasubtext, full-size muppets with giant heads. It's endlessly beautiful and tragic and haunts me to this day.
Also, here is a pomeranian running an agility course! So tiny!
ALSO ALSO ALSO: We are doing The Artist's Way again over on IRL! Last year was terrific: Since then I've been writing almost daily, I organized my house, I have living houseplants now and art on my walls. Come join us! Starts on Sunday, May 7.
posted by mochapickle at 6:43 AM on April 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
There's a nightclub and a love affair, jealousy, anger, murder, alcoholism, madness, a million layers of metasubtext, full-size muppets with giant heads.
Much like in the lyrics of the song, there is just one shot.
I probably saw this as a kid. As an adult I can only imagine the difficulties for the performers in their pulling off a single-setup production number with dance choreography and fight choreography while dealing with limited vision and what I can only imagine to be minimal ventilation.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:59 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Much like in the lyrics of the song, there is just one shot.
I probably saw this as a kid. As an adult I can only imagine the difficulties for the performers in their pulling off a single-setup production number with dance choreography and fight choreography while dealing with limited vision and what I can only imagine to be minimal ventilation.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:59 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
re: video games on fanfare: lazaruslong started up a VG club, a few of us were posting stuff for awhile but it never got particularly popular, I think partly because of it being in the Club section. I haven’t posted anything recently cos I’ve mostly been replaying some older stuff, tho I’ll find some time this weekend to post about Terra Nil which I am low-key fixated on.
Also there are hundreds of things posted to FF with zero comments so I feel like that is not a problem if a video game doesn’t get much chat either :)
posted by curious nu at 7:07 AM on April 10, 2023
Also there are hundreds of things posted to FF with zero comments so I feel like that is not a problem if a video game doesn’t get much chat either :)
posted by curious nu at 7:07 AM on April 10, 2023
Bacon poppers are new to me, but pumpkin spice poppers are a must have for the fall.
posted by wemayfreeze at 7:07 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by wemayfreeze at 7:07 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Please educate yourself with Philomena Cunk and the historical "significance" of Pump Up the Jam.
posted by SPrintF at 7:27 AM on April 10, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 7:27 AM on April 10, 2023 [6 favorites]
Philomena Cunk is apocalypticly good. In that she's hilarious, but also probably what our future will look like.
posted by rickw at 7:33 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by rickw at 7:33 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
I also did two bike rides, since the weather was permitting; one of just under 14 miles on Saturday, and one of just over 30 miles on Sunday. I was also going to do some other stuff on Sunday--boil up some hard-boiled eggs to take to work this week, fill the dishwasher--but when I got back I was too wiped out to do anything constructive. Oh, well.
The featured song reminded me of "I'm Free", the Soup Dragons' version which is better than the Stones'. I guess that YouTube decided that I must be in some sort of early-nineties dance groove, because they suggested "Groove is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite, which is fine, but I remember Deee-Lite mostly for the Village Voice making a huge fuss over them and their turning out to be maybe not that big of a deal.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:33 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
The featured song reminded me of "I'm Free", the Soup Dragons' version which is better than the Stones'. I guess that YouTube decided that I must be in some sort of early-nineties dance groove, because they suggested "Groove is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite, which is fine, but I remember Deee-Lite mostly for the Village Voice making a huge fuss over them and their turning out to be maybe not that big of a deal.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:33 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
your 90s eurotrash electronic dance party club scene music
With bonus riff from U2's "New Year's Day".
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:37 AM on April 10, 2023
With bonus riff from U2's "New Year's Day".
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:37 AM on April 10, 2023
Aardman's doing Star Wars in Visions 2. It'll be out May 4, of course.
posted by Spike Glee at 7:39 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Spike Glee at 7:39 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Half an hour ago I was driving and reflexively stomped on the brake just as someone ran a red light and alllllmost crushed my daughter's side of the car.
I AM JUST A LITTLE WIDE AWAKE NOW, AND LETTING MY COFFEE GET COLD SINCE I DO NOT THINK I WILL NEED IT TODAY.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:46 AM on April 10, 2023 [17 favorites]
I AM JUST A LITTLE WIDE AWAKE NOW, AND LETTING MY COFFEE GET COLD SINCE I DO NOT THINK I WILL NEED IT TODAY.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:46 AM on April 10, 2023 [17 favorites]
I forgot to delete some of the code in an exam my students were supposed to write. This is going to throw the class average off a bit. I'm rather red-faced at the moment.
posted by tommasz at 8:08 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by tommasz at 8:08 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Also did a bike ride yesterday, 30 miles but with 3700 feet elevation gain. I’m training for an event and this ride is the hardest one I’ve ever done. I’m not sore today, just tired. We have Mt Lemmon out here, which is known by a lot of the national cycling community because it’s a nearly constant 5% grade for 25 miles, so if you wanna build up climbing legs, there ya go. The descent was fun, though :)
posted by azpenguin at 8:15 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 8:15 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
The Muppets Copacabana was exactly what I needed on a Monday morning. No thank you work, I’ll be mentally focused on:
1) the Tony costume
2) wondering about the careers of the Tony and Rico dancers
3) a prime time kids show featuring a murder
4) how many pills were needed to get through producing that
5) just Barry Manilow in general
6) a contemporary early grade school memory of the neighborhood highschool marching band practicing Copacabana for hours each afternoon
Don’t falllll in looooooove.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:18 AM on April 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
1) the Tony costume
2) wondering about the careers of the Tony and Rico dancers
3) a prime time kids show featuring a murder
4) how many pills were needed to get through producing that
5) just Barry Manilow in general
6) a contemporary early grade school memory of the neighborhood highschool marching band practicing Copacabana for hours each afternoon
Don’t falllll in looooooove.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:18 AM on April 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
Happy Half-Price Easter Candy Day! My haul today was a bag of Royal Dark Cadbury Mini-Eggs, two Cadbury Caramel Eggs, and a bag of lemon Kit-Kats.
Didn't know there was a video game club in FF myself, so maybe I'll poke my head in there later. The most recent game I started was Prodeus, a nice retro-style first-person shooter, complete with keycards, lots of gibs, and chunky pixels.
posted by May Kasahara at 8:21 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Didn't know there was a video game club in FF myself, so maybe I'll poke my head in there later. The most recent game I started was Prodeus, a nice retro-style first-person shooter, complete with keycards, lots of gibs, and chunky pixels.
posted by May Kasahara at 8:21 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh my god, my initial research into Copacabana has struck gold.
In 1985, Manilow and his collaborators Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman expanded the song into a full–length, made-for-television musical, also called Copacabana, writing many additional songs and expanding the plot suggested by the song.
This film version was then further expanded by Manilow, Feldman, and Sussman into a full-length, two-act stage musical, again titled Copacabana, which ran at the Prince of Wales Theatre on London's West End for two years prior to a lengthy tour of the UK. An American production was later mounted that toured the US for over a year. Over 200 productions of the show have since been mounted worldwide.
Now to look for video evidence.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:37 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
In 1985, Manilow and his collaborators Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman expanded the song into a full–length, made-for-television musical, also called Copacabana, writing many additional songs and expanding the plot suggested by the song.
This film version was then further expanded by Manilow, Feldman, and Sussman into a full-length, two-act stage musical, again titled Copacabana, which ran at the Prince of Wales Theatre on London's West End for two years prior to a lengthy tour of the UK. An American production was later mounted that toured the US for over a year. Over 200 productions of the show have since been mounted worldwide.
Now to look for video evidence.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:37 AM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
The toddler caught a norovirus on Thursday - of course she did. 72 hours later her father was barfing, followed in 12 hours by her mom. I, the grandmother, am just sitting here at work waiting for the axe to fall after spending yesterday entertaining Toddler, cleaning up the kitchen, buying and distributing gingerale and crackers (do you know how hard it is to find gluten free saltines and chicken soup? It is really really damn hard and when they have to be egg free as well, forget it.) doing my taxes - I am getting a whopping $55 back this year, go me - and then there was laundry, too. Also it poured rain all weekend and the dog was unhappy.
And then there is the work drama, which continues to be dramatic at a record breaking rate. Otherwise I would be all about my quiet office, beautifully free of barfing toddlers, their exhausted parents and other irritated roommates.
I did still manage to fit in enough time to finish an okay if not my best work red granite house in Minecraft and accept a friendship quest from Mr. Qi in Stardew Valley that I'm afraid is going to make my husband Sebastian quite jealous.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:45 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
And then there is the work drama, which continues to be dramatic at a record breaking rate. Otherwise I would be all about my quiet office, beautifully free of barfing toddlers, their exhausted parents and other irritated roommates.
I did still manage to fit in enough time to finish an okay if not my best work red granite house in Minecraft and accept a friendship quest from Mr. Qi in Stardew Valley that I'm afraid is going to make my husband Sebastian quite jealous.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:45 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Copacabana the movie.
I saw this first run on television when it aired.
posted by hippybear at 8:46 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
I saw this first run on television when it aired.
posted by hippybear at 8:46 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
With bonus riff from U2's "New Year's Day".
Thank you, that was driving me crazy. It's something from the 80s...something I've heard a million times...is it Depeche Mode...no...what is it???
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:48 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Thank you, that was driving me crazy. It's something from the 80s...something I've heard a million times...is it Depeche Mode...no...what is it???
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:48 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
hippybear, you are a treasure.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:49 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:49 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh god, it's a college live theatre production. Oh man I need drugs for this.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:52 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:52 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
So the 1985 Copacabana film seems to have disappeared from online. I've found it to watch here, for a free sign-up, if you're really that interested.
posted by hippybear at 8:59 AM on April 10, 2023
posted by hippybear at 8:59 AM on April 10, 2023
friends of mine have an earless rabbit named "What now?"
posted by supermedusa at 9:13 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 9:13 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Oh god, it's a college live theatre production. Oh man I need drugs for this.
Oh, that's not the thing! I will dig more deeply.
You could derive a pretty complete theology out of an exegesis of these four sentences.
posted by thecaddy at 9:14 AM on April 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
Oh, that's not the thing! I will dig more deeply.
You could derive a pretty complete theology out of an exegesis of these four sentences.
posted by thecaddy at 9:14 AM on April 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
Sometimes I forget what an absolutely phenomenal voice Linda Ronstadt had, then something like the above Muppet Show clip helpfully comes along to remind me.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:38 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:38 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
My dreams last night were largely concerned with the transport of salsas and related sauces in various containers. I haven't the foggiest notion why, and am able to glean no enlightenment from them.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:44 AM on April 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:44 AM on April 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
The transport of salsas and related sauces is a noble, near sacred task, That is all the enlightenment you should need.
posted by Windopaene at 9:55 AM on April 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 9:55 AM on April 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
There've been so many good song links in this thread I wanted to add to them. How about “Little Wing” by Los Cenzontles?
posted by ob1quixote at 10:16 AM on April 10, 2023
posted by ob1quixote at 10:16 AM on April 10, 2023
Due to some weird algorithm stuff, YouTube has been giving me clips of modern-day singers/singing teachers/vocal critics looking back over singers from the '70s and '80s (and some earlier decades) and reacting to their performances. They are all shocked, I say shocked, that singers of that era could actually sing and actually hit the intended pitches. Some of these people even use TECHNOLOGY to show you just how accurately people could sing without AutoTune. It's all kind of sad and depressing.
Anyways, if you're curious, here's one of these featuring Linda Ronstadt.
posted by sardonyx at 10:41 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Anyways, if you're curious, here's one of these featuring Linda Ronstadt.
posted by sardonyx at 10:41 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Why did my P*nera Mediterranean veggie sandwich taste sweet? WTF was that? Fig jam?
Internally weeping for the homemade lunch I forgot in my fridge this morning.
posted by HeroZero at 10:52 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Internally weeping for the homemade lunch I forgot in my fridge this morning.
posted by HeroZero at 10:52 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Took a long drive yesterday, hoping to take my inner child to the beach. Both roads I chose, were washed out. But WILDFLOWERS!!!
posted by Oyéah at 11:24 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 11:24 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I forgot to delete some of the code in an exam my students were supposed to write. This is going to throw the class average off a bit. I'm rather red-faced at the moment.
I invigilate/proctor exams at my alma mater. As far as embarrassing blunders in exam prep that I have encountered, this would not even make the top five.
Possibly my favourite but was the time that a first-year psychology exam (multiple choice) had a typo in one question that rendered all four possible answers wrong. Six hundred students writing it, no professor or teaching assistant in the room. We could only advise them to answer as best they could and hope that the prof would return our calls.
Standing along the edges of the room, it was like watching a time lapse video of a garden blooming, as one by one the students reached question 9, scanned through all four answers, frowned, reread the question again, and finally put their hand up just as hundreds of their classmates were doing.
Eventually a TA came by and said that in question 9, answer C should read thus, which kind of gave the game away.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:25 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
I invigilate/proctor exams at my alma mater. As far as embarrassing blunders in exam prep that I have encountered, this would not even make the top five.
Possibly my favourite but was the time that a first-year psychology exam (multiple choice) had a typo in one question that rendered all four possible answers wrong. Six hundred students writing it, no professor or teaching assistant in the room. We could only advise them to answer as best they could and hope that the prof would return our calls.
Standing along the edges of the room, it was like watching a time lapse video of a garden blooming, as one by one the students reached question 9, scanned through all four answers, frowned, reread the question again, and finally put their hand up just as hundreds of their classmates were doing.
Eventually a TA came by and said that in question 9, answer C should read thus, which kind of gave the game away.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:25 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
"I invigilate" makes an excellent personal motto, t-shirt, or dare I suggest, tattoo.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:56 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 11:56 AM on April 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Iyay eepkay atchway
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:05 PM on April 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:05 PM on April 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
Oxford Learner's Dictionary: Invigilator
It's a UK/US problem, like lift/elevator and hood/bonnet.
posted by hippybear at 1:14 PM on April 10, 2023
It's a UK/US problem, like lift/elevator and hood/bonnet.
posted by hippybear at 1:14 PM on April 10, 2023
Had lunch on Easter with family; Grandma wanted to go out to eat, so out to eat we went, then some of us went back to her apartment, which is like 90°F inside all year round and played cards while trying to not pass out, then went home.
On Saturday, I played with toys: my cell phone company was having a deal on 5G-connected iPads a few months ago, so I got one; apparently these can film in 4K high definition. Also, I learned that you can buy little clip-on anamorphic lenses for cellphones, which fit my iPad perfectly, thus with the right camera app to stretch the anamorphic image I'm filming stuff like they belong on the big screen. So, I went out into the wilderness and shot some film and ended up with a fan-made opening to the Fargo TV series (partly filmed in the really-real Fargo!). Not sure why the right edge is so blurry, but I'm using cheap technology beyond its usual range of ability so I guess that's pretty cool.
posted by AzraelBrown at 1:18 PM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
On Saturday, I played with toys: my cell phone company was having a deal on 5G-connected iPads a few months ago, so I got one; apparently these can film in 4K high definition. Also, I learned that you can buy little clip-on anamorphic lenses for cellphones, which fit my iPad perfectly, thus with the right camera app to stretch the anamorphic image I'm filming stuff like they belong on the big screen. So, I went out into the wilderness and shot some film and ended up with a fan-made opening to the Fargo TV series (partly filmed in the really-real Fargo!). Not sure why the right edge is so blurry, but I'm using cheap technology beyond its usual range of ability so I guess that's pretty cool.
posted by AzraelBrown at 1:18 PM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Standing along the edges of the room, it was like watching a time lapse video of a garden blooming, as one by one the students reached question 9, scanned through all four answers, frowned, reread the question again, and finally put their hand up just as hundreds of their classmates were doing.
I remember an experience sort of like this when I was taking a final exam in World History first semester of my freshman year - it was in a lecture hall full of a thousand kids - one of the early questions was "Describe the salient features of [something or other]" and I answered it and moved on but kept seeing hands go up all over the room, and proctors coming to answer a brief question, until finally about fifteen minutes into the exam one of the proctors stood at the front of the room and said, "Attention everyone: SALIENT MEANS IMPORTANT."
posted by Daily Alice at 1:33 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I remember an experience sort of like this when I was taking a final exam in World History first semester of my freshman year - it was in a lecture hall full of a thousand kids - one of the early questions was "Describe the salient features of [something or other]" and I answered it and moved on but kept seeing hands go up all over the room, and proctors coming to answer a brief question, until finally about fifteen minutes into the exam one of the proctors stood at the front of the room and said, "Attention everyone: SALIENT MEANS IMPORTANT."
posted by Daily Alice at 1:33 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Aardman's doing Star Wars in Visions 2 yt . It'll be out May 4, of course.
Of course. I have little doubt that within a generation, May 4th (which of course came from a Thatcher-era Tory party ad) will be marked as the day Star Wars was released, just as people remember lining up around the block on the release date of the original (May 25, 1977, when it opened on something like sixteen screens across the USA*), or they insist the Episode IV: A New Hope subtitle was always there (that’d be the from the 1981 rerelease). Aging geek fury activated.
*In Canada as well, although it wasn’t released until the end of June here. Anticipation was so high that Alan Dean Foster’s novelization was printed in daily instalments in the newspaper, like it was Dickens and thus was 1882 or something).
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:54 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Of course. I have little doubt that within a generation, May 4th (which of course came from a Thatcher-era Tory party ad) will be marked as the day Star Wars was released, just as people remember lining up around the block on the release date of the original (May 25, 1977, when it opened on something like sixteen screens across the USA*), or they insist the Episode IV: A New Hope subtitle was always there (that’d be the from the 1981 rerelease). Aging geek fury activated.
*In Canada as well, although it wasn’t released until the end of June here. Anticipation was so high that Alan Dean Foster’s novelization was printed in daily instalments in the newspaper, like it was Dickens and thus was 1882 or something).
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:54 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I invigilate" makes an excellent personal motto, t-shirt, or dare I suggest, tattoo.
INVIGILATE is an anagram of I, VIGILANTE.
I remember an experience sort of like this when I was taking a final exam in World History first semester of my freshman year - it was in a lecture hall full of a thousand kids - one of the early questions was "Describe the salient features of [something or other]" and I answered it and moved on but kept seeing hands go up all over the room, and proctors coming to answer a brief question, until finally about fifteen minutes into the exam one of the proctors stood at the front of the room and said, "Attention everyone: SALIENT MEANS IMPORTANT."
One of the things we get asked all the time (with the raised hand sotto voce questions) is to define a word for the students. These are not especially obscure words as a rule, and the askers apparently are in their native language. I often wonder how the grunting fuck one gets to be in third-year finance without knowing what a stipend is, or someone second-year biology is unclear on what mate means, beyond an Australian pal.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:00 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
INVIGILATE is an anagram of I, VIGILANTE.
I remember an experience sort of like this when I was taking a final exam in World History first semester of my freshman year - it was in a lecture hall full of a thousand kids - one of the early questions was "Describe the salient features of [something or other]" and I answered it and moved on but kept seeing hands go up all over the room, and proctors coming to answer a brief question, until finally about fifteen minutes into the exam one of the proctors stood at the front of the room and said, "Attention everyone: SALIENT MEANS IMPORTANT."
One of the things we get asked all the time (with the raised hand sotto voce questions) is to define a word for the students. These are not especially obscure words as a rule, and the askers apparently are in their native language. I often wonder how the grunting fuck one gets to be in third-year finance without knowing what a stipend is, or someone second-year biology is unclear on what mate means, beyond an Australian pal.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:00 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Wouldn't it be satisfying to say "oh, sorry, you should have learned the word by now with this level of education. Use your latin and greek roots and make a best guess to the meaning."?
posted by hippybear at 2:04 PM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 2:04 PM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Or to pronounce mate as "maaaah tay" and make up a definition.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 2:19 PM on April 10, 2023
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 2:19 PM on April 10, 2023
Who needs to make one up? It's a south american drink.
posted by hippybear at 2:23 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 2:23 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
(Like, honestly, if they don't have the context clue skills and the word roots to work around these things by the time they're taking a proctored exam... they deserve their fate, IMO.)
posted by hippybear at 2:27 PM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 2:27 PM on April 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
metafilter: ...an earless rabbit named "What now?"
My latest approach to bouldering (climb like a 55 year old, not a 30 year old) has been perfectly calibrated to my 55yr old joints. Far more enjoyable thus. It's remarkable how similar all bouldering gyms have become in the last decade. And I mean this in a good way as the overall level of route-setting has gone up. Also, the kids who take the classes rip up and down everything like you can only imagine it is possible and sometimes in ways you cannot imagine - as they always have.
But the driving everywhere, america, my friend, it's fucking madness. Build a train line, for the love of mike.
posted by From Bklyn at 10:46 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
My latest approach to bouldering (climb like a 55 year old, not a 30 year old) has been perfectly calibrated to my 55yr old joints. Far more enjoyable thus. It's remarkable how similar all bouldering gyms have become in the last decade. And I mean this in a good way as the overall level of route-setting has gone up. Also, the kids who take the classes rip up and down everything like you can only imagine it is possible and sometimes in ways you cannot imagine - as they always have.
But the driving everywhere, america, my friend, it's fucking madness. Build a train line, for the love of mike.
posted by From Bklyn at 10:46 PM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
the overall level of route-setting has gone up
Seems appropriate.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:28 AM on April 11, 2023 [3 favorites]
Seems appropriate.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:28 AM on April 11, 2023 [3 favorites]
(Like, honestly, if they don't have the context clue skills and the word roots to work around these things by the time they're taking a proctored exam... they deserve their fate, IMO.)
I tend to agree, but strictly speaking we have to refer them to an instructor. Not quite in the same category is when the student asks us for an instructor to refresh them on some technical point, and not common knowledge (like, I dunno, some elastic modulus in a materials engineering exam).
The ideal profs are the ones who stick around for the entire exam, but that’s maybe one prof in ten. A few are no-shows. Most (say, 85%) will come by for a bit early on, answer a few inquiries, then leave their cell number for any further questions.
One professor last year was in this category: turned up around the ten-minute mark of a two-and-a-half-hour exam, addressed a few raised hands, then went on his merry. The questions, tragically, were not at an end, so I had to convey seventeen different questions from students in the remaining two hours and change. By the end, I had his cell number memorized, a trick I can barely manage with anyone in my immediate family. (Incidentally, the prof began perhaps fifteen if his seventeen answers with a weary, “They should know this,” or “We covered this three weeks ago.”)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:21 AM on April 11, 2023
I tend to agree, but strictly speaking we have to refer them to an instructor. Not quite in the same category is when the student asks us for an instructor to refresh them on some technical point, and not common knowledge (like, I dunno, some elastic modulus in a materials engineering exam).
The ideal profs are the ones who stick around for the entire exam, but that’s maybe one prof in ten. A few are no-shows. Most (say, 85%) will come by for a bit early on, answer a few inquiries, then leave their cell number for any further questions.
One professor last year was in this category: turned up around the ten-minute mark of a two-and-a-half-hour exam, addressed a few raised hands, then went on his merry. The questions, tragically, were not at an end, so I had to convey seventeen different questions from students in the remaining two hours and change. By the end, I had his cell number memorized, a trick I can barely manage with anyone in my immediate family. (Incidentally, the prof began perhaps fifteen if his seventeen answers with a weary, “They should know this,” or “We covered this three weeks ago.”)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:21 AM on April 11, 2023
My LEGO addiction got a new call to be fed with the official announcement of the Tales of the Space Age set. Four beautiful minimalist "postcard" images, designed to be either hung or displayed on stands, either alone or connected.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:34 AM on April 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:34 AM on April 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
Hi, I have a very minor question I don't want to do as an AskMe.
How do you point out to your director that the bridesmaids from the previous show were thin, the bridesmaids from the current show are less thin, and specifically, that one of them is plus size AND THERE'S NO WAY IN FUCKALL YOU CAN ADJUST THE OLD DRESSES TO FIT HER, and possibly not the rest of us either? (Also, no way to buy another dress because they were bought in 2019.) I note the director has been told that making a dress bigger is not doable, but she's all "Let's have everyone try on the old dresses and see if they fit! We'll get them adjusted!" and I'm dreading my new castmate feeling like complete shit about obviously not fitting into these tiny dresses. I have big boobs and I probably won't fit in one either. I know they want to be cheap about things, but...this is not going to work and I don't want my new castmate to feel awful because the director wants to learn the hard way. But I really don't want to bluntly say, "SHE'S NOT GONNA FIT, PLEASE DON'T MAKE US DO THAT" and spell out why, either :(
Any thoughts?
(Forgot to add she already asked me if I could fit into the dress and I said, "not with my boobs." She is ignoring this, I guess.)
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:37 AM on April 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
How do you point out to your director that the bridesmaids from the previous show were thin, the bridesmaids from the current show are less thin, and specifically, that one of them is plus size AND THERE'S NO WAY IN FUCKALL YOU CAN ADJUST THE OLD DRESSES TO FIT HER, and possibly not the rest of us either? (Also, no way to buy another dress because they were bought in 2019.) I note the director has been told that making a dress bigger is not doable, but she's all "Let's have everyone try on the old dresses and see if they fit! We'll get them adjusted!" and I'm dreading my new castmate feeling like complete shit about obviously not fitting into these tiny dresses. I have big boobs and I probably won't fit in one either. I know they want to be cheap about things, but...this is not going to work and I don't want my new castmate to feel awful because the director wants to learn the hard way. But I really don't want to bluntly say, "SHE'S NOT GONNA FIT, PLEASE DON'T MAKE US DO THAT" and spell out why, either :(
Any thoughts?
(Forgot to add she already asked me if I could fit into the dress and I said, "not with my boobs." She is ignoring this, I guess.)
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:37 AM on April 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Maybe have all the bridesmaids try the dresses on as a group, and show the director the results?
posted by MrVisible at 9:51 AM on April 14, 2023
posted by MrVisible at 9:51 AM on April 14, 2023
That's exactly what the director wants to do. I want to head that off before we actually DO it because if I were the other bridesmaid, I'd feel like complete shit being forced to do it in public, and show how poorly it doesn't fit me, and be embarrassed. Heck, I'm not looking forward to trying to squeeze into one myself :/
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:59 AM on April 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:59 AM on April 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Surely simply holding the dress up against a body and saying "it's obvious this won't wrap around that" work? That's how my mother used to "try on" shirts to me when I was growing faster than their pocketbook. Hold 'em up, see what might fit, the others went to my sister or secondhand.
There's absolutely ZERO reason for anyone to attempt to put on any clothing that obviously won't fit them, especially for others to see.
posted by hippybear at 12:15 PM on April 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
There's absolutely ZERO reason for anyone to attempt to put on any clothing that obviously won't fit them, especially for others to see.
posted by hippybear at 12:15 PM on April 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
That might happen as well, I just really wish there was some way to not make her demonstrate "I weigh too much to fit into this tiny sausage" in person :/ But I don't want to email the director and say, "Look, she's probably plus size, I really really really don't think she'll fit and it's not nice to make her show that off to people either" and be that blunt, rude, mean, and honest on the topic. I just keep thinking if it was me (and in a way it is because I don't think I'll fit either, it's just not quite as obvious), I wouldn't want to have to go in there and do that :/
I guess there's no way to head this off other than being blunt, rude, mean and honest, though, and I don't want to do that either. I guess I'll shut up and let the embarrassment happen.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:11 PM on April 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I guess there's no way to head this off other than being blunt, rude, mean and honest, though, and I don't want to do that either. I guess I'll shut up and let the embarrassment happen.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:11 PM on April 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Do you have a designated costume person who could swoop in, take a look at the costumes more informally, and advocate on behalf of the cast? Presumably this person would be the one doing the adjusting, so they would definitely have stake in decision.
(I say this with a tiny flame of hope, because I know, I know.)
posted by mochapickle at 6:35 PM on April 14, 2023
(I say this with a tiny flame of hope, because I know, I know.)
posted by mochapickle at 6:35 PM on April 14, 2023
The Costume Person is in the hospital indefinitely (I note she is very old and very frail). Director + whoever she got to make adjustments is it.
Just gonna have to deal with it. Some people will only learn the hard, embarrassing way.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:11 PM on April 14, 2023
Just gonna have to deal with it. Some people will only learn the hard, embarrassing way.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:11 PM on April 14, 2023
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(Before this I was waylaid by the broken knee, having to move apartments, and things just being too covid-y)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:46 AM on April 10, 2023 [19 favorites]