Slashdot Mirror

Sounds like a movie which Michael Douglas & Demi Moore were the lead actor/actress -- Disclosure 1994 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt01... . ;)

For purely financial reasons both men and women probably want their kids to be out of college and self-supporting before they retire. That kind of means you really want to have them by the time you hit your early 40s.

This is what will happen if they don't do it.

A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.

Also

Therefore the "idiocricy effect" as you called it is merely a consequence of population density, not individual capability.

This article makes it sound like the inability to afford food ends when you graduate.

But then grocery stores that gouge customers who don't have club cards or that charge confiscatory prices for food that is so plentiful we pay farmers not to grow it is a subject very much like liquor stores in poor neighborhoods.

You're not allowed to talk about it.

I sure hope they're not stupid enough to remove those copper restraints. They were put there for a reason...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00...

Unless their plan was to go into bankruptcy! Then their business model works perfectly and may even be emulated!

George Lucas did!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00...
ducks incoming flame fest

He's actually going there to fight off the Nazis (and claim all the He3 for himself as a bonus).

Will: See, the sad thing about a guy like you is, in 50 years you're gonna start doin' some thinkin' on your own and you're going to come up with the fact that there are two certainties in life: one, don't do that, and two, you dropped 150 grand on a fuckin' education you could have got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library!

Clark: Yeah, but I will have a degree. And you'll be servin' my kids fries at a drive-thru on our way to a skiing trip.

Will: That may be, but at least I won't be unoriginal. But I mean, if you have a problem with that, I mean, we could just step outside - we could figure it out.

Clark: No, man, there's no problem. It's cool.

- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt01...

Consider the history of Microsoft. In the past, Microsoft didn't expend any significant money or effort on lobbying in Washington, D.C. Then during President Clinton's time in office, Microsoft faced serious threats from the Federal government... the worst being that a Federal judge actually ordered that Microsoft be split up. This order was voided by a higher court, so it didn't happen... but you had better believe that Microsoft took it as a hard lesson.

Microsoft now spends a great deal of money and effort on lobbying in D.C. I don't blame them for self-defense via lobbying. (I do blame them for attacking other companies via lobbying, if they do. See below for allegations that they do.)

Google isn't waiting for D.C. to turn on them; they are lobbying to "manage their relationship" with the Federal government. So is Facebook.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52483.html

Here's an article from 2008 about Google learning the importance of lobbying. It includes allegations that Microsoft was using its lobbying infrastructure to try to prevent a deal Google was trying to make with Yahoo.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/google-learns-lessons-in-the-ways-of-washington/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Now I'm picturing Google using its leverage to attack Microsoft, and Eric Schmidt saying "The circle is now complete. In 2008, Google was just a student... now I am the master."

"Lloyd Christmas: What do you think the chances are of a guy like you and a girl like me... ending up together?
Mary Swanson: Well, Lloyd, that's difficult to say. I mean, we don't really...
Lloyd Christmas: Hit me with it! Just give it to me straight! I came a long way just to see you, Mary. The least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?
Mary Swanson: Not good.
Lloyd Christmas: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?
Mary Swanson: I'd say more like one out of a million.

[pause]

Lloyd Christmas: So you're telling me there's a chance... YEAH!"

-- Dumb and Dumber, 1994

Bob respectfully disagrees.

There has only been one, homey.

I doubt there is any field where one percent of laymen aren't vastly superior to the majority of professionals. ... This is statistically normal.

Fine, but just like the quatrains of Nostradamus: can you identify them correctly beforehand? Counting the perfect hits after the fact isn't fair. (But then again I guess it worked for Miss Cleo for a while)

BTW: 16th century Mr. N. is an idiot. But he's better than the current sales-people paying attention to him with 5 centuries more experience. Oh, and multiple Blood Moons are soon arriving -- buy your Tarot cards and ticket to safety now, before it's too late!

Noone has no use for junk shit.

And here is one of the reponses to that monitoring .

The Man From Planet X told me all I needed to know about a rogue planet floating around the solar system.

Yes.

Cargo Cults.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
https://answers.yahoo.com/ques...

And for fun, The Gods Must be Crazy. :)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00...

Holy crap Idiocracy got it right!

We'll never get through the thick ice layer. So your idea is to putz around on the surface, hoping that something was expelled by an ice volcano? Or did you watch this movie one too many times?

In short, no. The predominant audience for mass media are the same masses that care about the Kardashians.

That said, there are aspects of sound design that are being noticed. I've often half-joked that if I do my job right, nobody knows I'm there (noting that I mostly do live sound reinforcement, where there are fewer expectations to meet). It's getting harder to pull off the perfect unnoticeable audio edit... but on the other hand, the trend is now to have nearly-constant background music, so many of my mistakes can be covered.

What people notice more today are the cuts. Most audience members still won't notice that a particular bird call won't be heard near a particular tree, but they will be more likely to notice if an actor's voice changes between scenes. The old practice of having a professional singer dubbed over an actor is more difficult to pull off now, mostly because the audience is aware that such things are done. They hear the opening notes of the song, and it's become a game to hear the voice change.

I think the Wilhelm scream is also a great example. I simply refuse to use it. Especially with the influence of the Internet, the common effects are becoming a sort of secret society. Learning the clips and catching them in media is a moment of exclusivity. For just a moment you, the astute viewer, are immune to the effects of manipulative editors like me. Good for you. You've proven to yourself that you can still override your suspension of disbelief. All of those other silly folks in the theater are engrossed in the latest multi-million-dollar effects orgy, but you are better than they are, because you can see that the movie is just smoke and mirrors.

Yes, the squealing on gravel is still present, but gravel in general has fallen out of use, apart from period pieces (which wouldn't usually have cars, anyway). Most of the shows I've noticed lately have urban settings, or at least try to stay out of the dirt. It's hell on equipment, and gravel roads are rare enough today that it no longer breaks suspension of disbelief to see a country town with pavement.

In not-so-short, audiences are becoming more knowledgeable about the tools editors use, but I don't see them getting "smarter" about being able to notice equalization, mic placement, or most other things besides the obvious overused clips.

As I view audio as an art form, I also disagree with the very use of the term "smart" as you've used it. Appreciation of an art form, imperfections and all, is just as intellectual a pursuit as identifying regional bird calls. Should we call Michelangelo a moron, because David's hands are too big?

My comments are also getting to be far too big today...

Every professional editor in the world would add engine noise to a shot of an operating automobile. It's one of those things that you do without even thinking about, because generally you will receive footage (especially if it's b-roll) that has poor audio quality.

I am a motion picture sound designer, my credits include Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker and Men in Black 3.

I would not add fucking internal combustion engine noise to footage of a Tesla S. I might add something-- an electric motor, or recording of a prius, something designed special; I'd definitely add tire skids and suspension sounds over bumps. But I'd be laughed off the dubbing stage if I added V-8 revs to and electric car.

Sound design is one of the few aspects of television news where reporters and editors are allowed to straight-up lie, because they have a mentality that all they're required to do is (1) not modify the image, and (2) not say anything false. All other manipulations are considered merely style.

They've been adding fake noise for over 50 years. I was just watching the 1958 movie "Touch of Evil" and noticed when they added tire-squealing noise to a car turning on desert sand/dirt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzo_journalism
If you've ever read/watched* Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas you'll have a decent idea of what Gonzo is.

*The movie was directed by Terry Gilliam, the man responsible for directing the sci-fi classic Brazil and most (all?) of the filmed Monty Python material.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm26...

Funny, the collaboration does continue on the ISS.

For now. Until I noticed it was 2014 today, I thought "am I watching 2010 again?" :-)

I remember the film Spin which was made of out takes from wild feeds of politicians and church leaders appealing to their constituents for money. It showed them making outrageous remarks not realizing they were on the air at the time.

One more jump:

http://www.imdb.com/company/co...

Grimm, House, and Heroes are among the big-name ones.

There is no B3 bomber

I've got eyes in the back of my head, you insensitive clod!

But don't you find it hard to drive without any thumbs?

Oh, thank goodness you quoted Wikipedia. That settles it.

To the grandparent poster, check out "The Greater Good". Will totally change your view of vaccinations. One of the most profound things I learned was that in "vaccine vs no vaccine" studies, the "no vaccine" people in some cases still received the mercury (!) and in other cases received a different vaccine (!). That's right, there was no "control" group so they compared the health effect of a mercury-containing vaccine with...a mercury-containing control and/or a different vaccine.

Other juicy bits from that documentary:
- The number of vaccines given to kids these days is TEN times what was given 30 or 40 years ago.
- some vaccines still use mercury.
- some autistic individuals became so at the same time they (1) got a bunch of vaccinations and (2) were then tested and found to have toxic levels of mercury in their system, prompting (3) a successful lawsuit, and resulting compensation.

The tv comedy 30rock always had apple products. You see their name in the credits, promotional consideration provided by Apple. See imdb for a listing of show credits

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt12...

You're welcome!

Darmok was a great episode but I also really like Tapestry where we see that Pickard only got to be captain because of the risks he took http://www.imdb.com/title/tt07...

Space 1999 (I kid you not in how I described the plot. A lot of it is summarized in the title sequence). I watched all the episodes when they aired. It was very cheesy, but entertaining for me as a pre-teen, and remarkably good special effects for TV at the time. I also used to watch Mission Impossible reruns in the early 70's, and I knew Martin Landau from that. Later, when Landau won an oscar and he was receiving all the accolades for his career, I couldn't help but remember him from that cheesy show. To be fair, Space 1999 was pretty much where his career really bottomed out.

This story could be the basis for the second remake of The Blob (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051418/)!

Richard Branson, is that you?

No, surely it's Dr Strangelove: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00...

but why exactly would someone want that?

. . . for the same reason that one of Germany's news magazines fell for the Hitler Diaries: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...

There's a hilarious film about the scandal called "Schtonk!" : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt01...

It's a beautiful parody on how the news media gets wrapped up in a story and loses touch with reality.

Charisma Carpenter

Or Gravity

You haven't seen Inception.

• John Fledgling
• John Ya Ya
• John Parrot
• John Bigboote (BIG-BOO-TAY! TAY! TAY!)
• John Nolan
• John O'Connor
• John Mud Head
• John Smallberries
• John Many Jars
• John Littlejohn
• John Starbird
• John Lee
• John Whorfin
• etc.

Don't forget Bad Taste

He went downhill after Meet the Feebles. He should go back to docmentaries

He went downhill after Meet the Feebles. He should go back to docmentaries

After the commercial success of LoTR and the Hobbit trilogy, it's only a matter of time.

Oh wait.

Noah?

This Noah?

Yeah it may have some connections to the story of Noah, but then '300' had some connections to the actual story of the Battle of Thermopylae..

That's not a good analogy, since '300' was inspired by actual events, and did include a few facts in the movie (even well known quotes of historical characters). While Noah... well...

Noah?

This Noah?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt19...

With Russell Crowe, Emma Watson, visual effects galore and explosions - that Noah?

Yeah it may have some connections to the story of Noah, but then '300' had some connections to the actual story of the Battle of Thermopylae.. I don't think either should be taken too particularly seriously as exemplary of the source material.

I'm somewhat surprised that neither the article or summary mentioned how this seems inspired by Gattaca.

Well, now it gets complicated.

"There's some faggot lurker on pad 3." That, of course, is a derogatory term for homosexuals. But what about "There's some fucking lurker on pad 3?" That probably isn't a term I'd use with the cashier at Starbucks or my HR manager. But I can certainly understand a game player using such language (especially if he'd been sniped by the lurker a few times).

When I was a kid, I remember getting punished for using the term "Jeesum Crow."--as in, "Jeesum Crow, Mom, why do I have to come in now?" Of course, it was a term that I'd learned from other kids and was trying out. After all, it doesn't mean anything, right? Of course, it's a substitute for "Jesus Christ"--just like "shoot" is "shit" with two ohs. So if I say, "There's some fargin lurker on pad 3", we all know what you mean. Should those be edited as well?

(A little off-topic, but I'm reminded of the time I saw "Blazing Saddles" on a local broadcast channel. Needless to say, they silenced the word "Nigger" but left in "Faggot" and "Ni".)

Never understood why Bill's TV show was ever popular. Beakman predates him, and that show was both sciency and a lot more fun.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt01...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...