MetaFilter

I honestly have no idea why people think highly of Damon Lindelof

To be honest, I still have no idea idea how the person who helmed the Watchmen TV series is the same person who wrote this, Lost, two of the Star Trek movies, and Cowboys vs Aliens. I also understand The Leftovers is uncharacteristically good.
posted to FanFare by Merus at 8:19 AM on October 21, 2021

Small personal note, but I quit drinking five weeks ago and this time, I don't miss it.
posted to MetaFilter by DirtyOldTown at 1:13 PM on October 28, 2022

However, in the extremely unlikely event that Musk kills the algorithmic timeline, I might be persuaded to consider it a wash.

I don't think he's paying $44B to kill the algorithmic timeline. I'm thinking he's paying $44B to have personal ownership of it.

When billionaires buy floundering media companies, it generally isn't as a financial investment. Rather, it's to buy influence over public discourse.
posted to MetaFilter by swr at 12:07 PM on October 27, 2022

I don't know, in this day and age my fear of my electric utility somehow debiting the wrong amount from my checking account is much less than my fear of a piece of mail getting stolen/stuck in limbo/lost in the postal system.

As someone who has had my electric utility misread my meter and charge me literally 10x what I owed, my risk calculus is a bit different. If that had been on an auto-pay, my rent check and many other bill payments would have... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by primethyme at 3:03 PM on October 27, 2022

My main memory of this movie is that halfway through it my then-boyfriend leaned behind me and gently started gnawing my head.

Reader, I married him.

Also, the film has Peter Capaldi as a WHO Doctor, which is a great in-joke.
posted to FanFare by damsel with a dulcimer at 10:13 AM on October 27, 2022

I suspect many horror fans had the same take on this: terrific use of a big-ass budget, which we don't usually get to see in horror; but a real bummer it dismissed most of what made the book cool, particularly, its Ken Burns-like faux doc structure; also a bummer that a movie with this much zombie action was tamed to a PG-13 level. Still, there are some cool scenes. The heap of zombies breaching the wall scene is pretty badass.

Both not bad and a woefully missed... [more]
posted to FanFare by DirtyOldTown at 9:15 AM on October 27, 2022

I think the prisoners at that facility are uniformly cismale looking humans because the prisoners are components, not staff.

In the Empire, components are standardized, to promote consistency and efficiency. They have a whole bureau for it.
posted to FanFare by Sauce Trough at 9:01 AM on October 27, 2022

Huh I totally missed the idea that an effective prison plot was already in the works. Of course Cassian is looking for weaknesses, he's a scoundrel type, a survivor. But he's also totally fucked and seems pretty resigned to it. I particularly like that he's there under a fake name no one knows; his Ferrix friends aren't coming, even Vel can't find him to murder or rescue him.

I loved the floor conceit. It's such a great visual effect, the empty spaces of uncrossable... [more]
posted to FanFare by Nelson at 6:45 AM on October 27, 2022

If you want to hear Donna Summer in a "before they were stars" moment when she was still under her birth name Donna Gaines, here she is as a teenager singing lead on "Aquarius" in a German language production of Hair.
posted to MetaFilter by jonp72 at 9:08 AM on July 2, 2022

Luxembourgish. That’s definitely not gonna win as Metafilter’s second language tho.
posted to MetaTalk by ClarissaWAM at 12:16 AM on October 26, 2022

*Checks Watch*

Is it time yet for a proper societal discussion that already even now, only a few percent of people truly need to work 40 hours per week to produce, manage, and maintain all of the food, goods, infrastructure, culture, and entertainment our society measurably wants? And that it is inevitable that all reasonable demand for all sorts of products, both consumer goods *and* cultural products will be able to be satisfied on a tiny fraction... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by tclark at 10:39 AM on October 26, 2022

Rogue One reference that could be a minor spoiler for this show if you haven't seen the film or don't remember it well (in rot13):

Gur cevfbare Zryfuv vf bar bs gur erory pbzznaqbf jub tbrf ba gur Fpnevs zvffvba jvgu Pnffvna, Wla Refb, rg ny, va Ebthr Bar.

posted to FanFare by EndsOfInvention at 6:00 AM on October 26, 2022

Every episode has me admiring Genevieve O’Reilly more as an actor. You could tell in the cocktail reception scenes that she was keeping six different thoughts at once in her head. Her performance is at once subtle and easy to follow.

Also, I find the worldbuilding just incredibly compelling. The gamified prison is just incredibly horrifying, especially those moments when the prisoners seem satisfied with their work. It’s Camus’ myth of Sisyphus idea, that we must imagine... [more]
posted to FanFare by Kattullus at 5:15 AM on October 26, 2022

3. William Hurt is....dead

And so, more to the point, is John Hurt.

All the Hurts are dead.
posted to FanFare by Grangousier at 11:40 AM on October 24, 2022

♫♪ Just brush my teeth before you leave me, baby ♫
posted to MetaFilter by Greg_Ace at 10:02 AM on October 24, 2022

Does the UK have anything like Canada where it's possible for someone who's not an MP to be Prime Minister?

In theory a member of the House of Lords can be Prime Minister (and indeed before the 20th century, they often were). However, it's not really practical nowadays. The most important business is done in the House of Commons, it's been the centre of political gravity since at least 1832 if not earlier, definitively so since the Parliament Act of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by plonkee at 1:40 PM on October 23, 2022

Ricochet Biscuit, you raise the exquisite/inquisite -> quisite sense.

paragress: two steps forward, one step back.
posted to MetaTalk by k3ninho at 4:19 PM on October 24, 2022

One I've noticed is "contemporary," which can mean "right now, in contrast to the historical period being discussed" or "from the historical period being discussed"
posted to MetaFilter by mabelstreet at 9:08 AM on April 15, 2020

between active and passive voice, not transitive and intransitive.

I prefer using the intransigent voice.
posted to MetaFilter by Greg_Ace at 2:25 PM on April 14, 2020

From the website:

In other cases it's simply a matter of transitive and intransitive uses: "He left" is the opposite of "he was left," but the sense connection is clear.

This is incorrect. The contrast shown here is between active and passive voice, not transitive and intransitive.
posted to MetaFilter by demonic winged headgear at 12:49 PM on April 14, 2020

My sister killed herself and we went from 2 to 1, sibling-wise. There's some stuff in there that really hits home. When he says “And you can’t really say, ‘There used to be six,’ ” I told my sister Lisa. “It just makes people uncomfortable.” it's so totally true. Almost everything about how I handle the whole thing with people is based on making sure no one feels any discomfort.

In my case, people say "do you have any brothers or sisters?"... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by nevercalm at 2:05 PM on October 21, 2013

Earlier this year I was in a car near Lightning Ridge, driving towards the Queensland border. There’s been a lot of rain this year so as well as flooding there’s huge growth, and all the birds are doing well. A memory I’ll have is being followed by a flock of emus, me in my hire car, them just keeping pace with me, at highway speed, for fun. Their fun. Playing.
posted to MetaFilter by Fiasco da Gama at 4:54 AM on October 21, 2022

I'm concerned about there being a can opener that can kill foxes. Shouldn't someone write the manufacturer?
posted to MetaFilter by mittens at 4:41 AM on October 21, 2022

so why not give CN Chaos a try? Xanxost

(Slightly Silly)
posted to MetaFilter by Greg_Ace at 4:22 PM on October 20, 2022

→ all Britons ... kind of had a civil war about it.

That was the English civil war. While there are precious few Scots who'd still call themselves British, Scotland wasn't part of that civil war. Apart from getting invaded by that war criminal Cromwell, that is
posted to MetaFilter by scruss at 12:07 PM on October 20, 2022

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the haunted Victorian pencil.

That was a nice bit of phrasing, I must say.
posted to MetaFilter by aramaic at 8:32 AM on October 20, 2022

On the other hand, Lizz Truss was PM when the queen died.

To Liz Truss's credit - she is the first UK PM since Churchill to serve under two Monarchs.
posted to MetaFilter by inflatablekiwi at 8:30 AM on October 20, 2022

The directors of the party hired to continue the government after the other people had been sacked, wish it to be known that they have just been sacked.

The Parliament will be completed in an entirely different style at great expense and at the last minute.
posted to MetaFilter by stevis23 at 7:46 AM on October 20, 2022

Liz Truss is now entitled to £115,000 per year for the rest of her life as "Public Duties Cost Allowance". To be fair, she looked stressed, they were a pretty gruelling 12 days work.
posted to MetaFilter by TheophileEscargot at 7:38 AM on October 20, 2022

I think it is too early in Charles' reign for him to trigger a crisis by dissolving parliament without a vote of no confidence.

Besides which, if he leaves this lot in there is a fighting chance he'll beat his Mother's record for the number of PM's during his reign
posted to MetaFilter by inflatablekiwi at 7:41 AM on October 20, 2022

I have to preface this with a strong Content Warning for extreme humour (it's Frankie Boyle), but the clip from The Last Leg back in August, when the Conservative Party leadership "contest" was in full swing is quite the something of relevance to watch today.
posted to MetaFilter by Wordshore at 6:40 AM on October 20, 2022

A lot of Ang Lee's work in this movie really is exquisite; there are not one or two but several scenes/shots of Hulk bounding across the desert that are fantastic, as well as some other bits that are also great--the fight in the redwood forest, the final fight that's partially in the clouds (with lightning bolts capturing stills of Hulk vs. his dad in freeze-frame strobes), even the scenes at the old base that get the desolation of the remote location.

Not so great are... [more]
posted to FanFare by Halloween Jack at 9:40 PM on October 19, 2022

Yeah, I just don't feel this show wants to buy into the "ha-ha, incompetent stormtroopers" trope the rest of Star Wars now does (e.g., the Mandalorian); in this episode a small group of guards and three TIE fighters was a high threat level.

I want to expand on this thought, because I've been thinking about it a lot: when my family finally caught up on the Mandarlorian, the joke in the house was that life is cheap in the Star Wars universe -... [more]
posted to FanFare by nubs at 9:48 AM on October 18, 2022

Even more impressive is that two other very expensive, prestige genre TV shows based on preexisting IP premiered at the same time, and Andor is putting those shows to shame, and making it look easy.
posted to FanFare by 1970s Antihero at 10:02 AM on October 17, 2022

The natives and the festival of the eye seemed particularly meaningless.

I think at its core, Star Wars is always on some level about the conflict between cold technology and faith (in oneself, in the Force, in one's friends, in the goodness of even your greatest enemy). The first movie, after all, comes down to a choice between Luke trusting the targeting computer or trusting the Force.

If you squint, you can see how that... [more]
posted to FanFare by reclusive_thousandaire at 10:57 AM on October 12, 2022

This show is like every Star Wars table-top RPG game I ever wished I could play.
posted to FanFare by EndsOfInvention at 1:24 AM on October 12, 2022

This is can be variable across the country but in some areas one or more of these corporations can own almost all of the groceries in a given region.

Yeah, this is a good point. For my inlaws to shop at any competitor to the sub-brand of Loblaws store (the only grocery store in their town in northern Ontario), they have to drive a couple of hundred kilometres.
posted to MetaFilter by mandolin conspiracy at 2:23 PM on October 18, 2022

Apologies for the wall o' text, but regarding the Weston empire more generally, in addition to old-timey criming like fixing the price of bread, they're hoovering up data.

Loblaw’s points economy for private-health data follows Big Tech’s playbook:

Should personal health information be tethered to rewards and leveraged for advertising purposes?

In October, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. unveiled a mobile application that... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by mandolin conspiracy at 2:03 PM on October 18, 2022

This is probably the least imaginative movie about dreams that has ever been made. Apparently the one guy's dreams are all just the beginning of that James Bond movie where he skis around shooting goons. The only really uncanny element it has is the bit where everybody looks at you if you start to disturb the dream. I wanted it to have more of that kind of thing and fewer shootouts, or at least make them dreamy shootouts.
posted to FanFare by whir at 12:52 AM on October 18, 2022

I’ve always felt that Nolan films get better the farther back in time you go. Which is such a Nolan thing to do.

Inception is kind of middle-Nolan.

I thought it was amazing the first time I saw it, then pretty vapid and dumb the second. Things are so on the nose and there’s loads of mouth feelings. Once you see it in his films, it’s hard to unsee.

Which is such a bummer because the mystery is gone. But nonetheless,... [more]
posted to FanFare by iamkimiam at 4:22 PM on October 17, 2022

I don't mind it when his stuff is cold. I mind it when it tries to be human and is a clunky mess, like Interstellar.
posted to FanFare by DirtyOldTown at 12:46 PM on October 17, 2022

The true problem with Greene is that she’s merely the warm-up act.
posted to MetaFilter by Thorzdad at 6:40 AM on October 18, 2022

"When I go to a show I'm too busy looking at the stage to notice what other people are doing."

When I'm in a dark house and there's a small bright light off to the side somewhere, it involuntarily drags my focus away. If it doesn't do the same thing to you, you should probably count yourself lucky.
posted to MetaFilter by The Underpants Monster at 6:31 AM on October 18, 2022

Not having an equity card isn't going to stop Patti Lupone from doing a show if she ever feels like it. She can't go to equity auditions but when was the last time she auditioned? You don't need an equity card to work an equity contract - working equity contracts is one way you get the card. Giving up her card lets her work non-equity tours which is a whole other drama.

Speaking as a former member of Actors' Equity - this isn't... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by EmpressCallipygos at 7:20 PM on October 17, 2022

I have been alcohol free for 51 days now, since August 28, which was the one year anniversary of my dad's death. I am losing some friends and gaining others, and I have no desire to go back to drinking. It's nice to quit things.
posted to MetaFilter by derrinyet at 9:04 PM on October 17, 2022

I would like to point out, for no reason, that I found the TARDIS at the NorCalRenFaire. Talk about gritty realism.
posted to MetaFilter by How much is that froggie in the window at 8:33 PM on October 17, 2022

This turns my stomach: I couldn’t finish it. Just a few years ago the Ontario government ended rent control for new buildings and it’s horrific.
posted to MetaFilter by Singout at 6:19 PM on October 17, 2022

I’m working on a new algorithm to determine when a guillotine is needed.
posted to MetaFilter by Abehammerb Lincoln at 5:07 PM on October 17, 2022

I said to Mrs. about halfway through, "This show has never felt more I, Claudius than it does right now," and I was being at least half complimentary.
posted to FanFare by CheesesOfBrazil at 4:07 PM on October 17, 2022

METAFILTER: How did a Númenor labor dispute bend the future of Middle Earth?




seriously
posted to FanFare by philip-random at 9:18 PM on October 15, 2022