vxbush 12/2/2022 6:29:21 AM

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Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 7:06:16 AM

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buzzsawmonkey 12/2/2022 7:10:39 AM

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In #2 Occasional Reader said: Vamos Uruguay!

South American Joe

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 7:42:46 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 3:

Interesting.

And I note that "Uruguay?" reads like a demand of one's "gender identity". 

buzzsawmonkey 12/2/2022 7:47:49 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 4:

Then, of course, there's "She's a Latin From Manhattan."

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 7:50:06 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 5:

Of course there is, and of course you know about it... 

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 7:51:37 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 5:

So, "she's a forty-second-streeter"... meaning just, she's in showbiz, or something else? 

buzzsawmonkey 12/2/2022 7:53:48 AM

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In #7 Occasional Reader said: So, "she's a forty-second-streeter"... meaning just, she's in showbiz, or something else? 

Basically, it means she's in showbiz---a "hoofer" (i.e., dancer) from Tenth Avenue.

buzzsawmonkey 12/2/2022 7:54:40 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 7:

The actual film number, by Al Jolson in the movie "Go Into Your Dance," is much better---but it seemed a little long for posting.

buzzsawmonkey 12/2/2022 7:58:45 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 6: Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 9:

Oh, what the hell:  "She's a Latin From Manhattan" (original, from the film).

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 8:06:41 AM

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In #26 Kosh's Shadow said: Ads on my phone for "Ray-Ban Stories" - sunglasses with BUILT IN VIDEO CAMERAS! Sorry, Ray, but those should either have visible blinking lights or some other notice that they are in use, or be banned. Ray, you are banned.

I would assume that in some jurisdictions and contexts, usage of those (particularly without the knowledge and consent of the subject) would constitute stalking, illegal surveillance or other crimes.

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 8:09:39 AM

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CyberSimian 12/2/2022 8:10:13 AM

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In #7 Occasional Reader said: So, "she's a forty-second-streeter"... meaning just, she's in showbiz, or something else?

In #8 buzzsawmonkey said: Basically, it means she's in showbiz---a "hoofer" (i.e., dancer) from Tenth Avenue.

Or she works on the street and can do her job in only forty seconds IYKWIM.

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 8:10:18 AM

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In #11 CyberSimian said: I would assume

You know what happens when you do that, right?

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 8:11:00 AM

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In #5 buzzsawmonkey said: Then, of course, there's "She's a Latin From Manhattan."

What has Alec Baldwin's wife done this time?

buzzsawmonkey 12/2/2022 8:11:12 AM

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In #7 Occasional Reader said: So, "she's a forty-second-streeter"... meaning just, she's in showbiz, or something else? 

Certainly there were plenty of things in old films referring to the sexual element in being in showbiz.  Two examples; in "42nd Street," during the casting call, one of the applicants for a dancer job gives her address (in a hoity-toity accent) as "XXX Park Avenue," at which point Ginger Rogers, one of the other tryouts, chimes in, "And is her homework tough!" (i.e., she's a kept girl).   

Also, there's the chorus-girl moment in the "Stand Up and Cheer" film number "I'm Laughin'" (also on YouTube), where the chorus girls at the stage door sing, "We're laughin'---and nobody's buying us fancy meals; but if we can laugh, in these round heels---sister, so can you!"  "Round heels" refers both to the shoe-heels that have been worn down looking for a job, and to being "sexually easy," i.e., "roundheeled" because one "flops" readily.

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 8:11:38 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 14:

That ship has sailed a long time ago.

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 8:12:27 AM

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In #2 Occasional Reader said: Vamos Uruguay!

Actually,  I don't really care much who wins.

I have some friends from Uruguay, true.  Then again, I had a delightful fling a few years ago with a lovely young lady from Ghana (in NYC).  

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 8:12:47 AM

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Reply to CyberSimian in 15:

++++

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 8:13:34 AM

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In #16 buzzsawmonkey said: because one "flops" readily.

But enough about soccer... 

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 8:13:50 AM

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In #16 buzzsawmonkey said: Certainly there were plenty of things in old films referring to the sexual element in being in showbiz.

In one of the Munchkin games there's a magic item called a "casting couch." It gives the owner the ability to cast spells.

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 8:16:26 AM

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In #12 Occasional Reader said: Hey, here's a question: Why is the official World Cup song always in English? 

I know nothing of the topic, but was it originally written in English? IIRC, soccer was originally played in British schools before people decided to pretend it was a real sport.

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 8:21:36 AM

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In #21 CyberSimian said: In one of the Munchkin games

The whut?

buzzsawmonkey 12/2/2022 8:24:01 AM

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In #21 CyberSimian said: the Munchkin games

There are games called "Munch kin?"  Does this refer to incest, cannibalism, or both?

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 8:24:14 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 23:

They're by Steve Jackson Games, and they're parodies of RPGs and various genres. Easy to learn and fun to play. Many of the monsters and artifacts have punny names.

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 8:26:22 AM

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buzzsawmonkey 12/2/2022 8:30:18 AM

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Reply to CyberSimian in 26:

All it takes is a roll of the D[iversity] I[nclusion] E[quity]s...

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 8:30:20 AM

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In #24 buzzsawmonkey said: There are games called "Munch kin?"

You don't recall that terrible massacre of Israeli athletes by Arab terrorists at the Munchkin Games?

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 8:35:05 AM

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In #27 buzzsawmonkey said: All it takes is a roll of the D[iversity] I[nclusion] E[quity]s...

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 8:36:03 AM

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In #28 Occasional Reader said: You don't recall that terrible massacre of Israeli athletes by Arab terrorists at the Munchkin Games?

Arab terrorists? Are you sure it wasn't the Lollipop Guild?

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 8:39:53 AM

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In #28 Occasional Reader said: You don't recall that terrible massacre of Israeli athletes by Arab terrorists at the Munchkin Games?

Wait, sorry... München... never mind.

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 9:05:17 AM

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And Uruguay wins the match!

... and yet, they're out of the World Cup.

So bizarre how they do this. 

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 9:12:45 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 32:

Sure, they scored more goals; but they lost on diversity points.

vxbush 12/2/2022 10:35:48 AM

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vxbush 12/2/2022 10:53:19 AM

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vxbush 12/2/2022 10:54:16 AM

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CyberSimian 12/2/2022 11:16:27 AM

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In #34 vxbush said: How accurate is this list claiming all these advances came from sci-fi stories? I don't recognize these creation stories from anything. 

Some of those are correct (such as the Taser and Waldo, as the names make obvious) but others were conceived far earlier than the sources for which this article assigns credit. The first idea for a helicopter is usually credited to da Vinci, long before Verne. Osamu Tezuka's "Astro Boy" (1952) was not even remotely the first humanoid robot in fiction.

Things which were not included in this article: I believe it was Asimov who first had the idea for geosynchronous satellites, and Heinlein is sometimes credited for inventing the waterbed (naturally) in one of his stories.

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 11:19:19 AM

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In #36 vxbush said: Are you ready for killer robots? 

"Does the department plan on using a live round in the robot PAN disruptor?” asked Commissioner Jesse Hsieh.

Of course they would NEVER put anything but blank shotgun shells in there. Then why go to the trouble of making the weapon compatible with shotgun shells in the first place?

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 11:23:28 AM

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Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 12:08:56 PM

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Reply to CyberSimian in 37:

Arthur C. Clarke came up with the idea of civilization-corrupting satellite television.

vxbush 12/2/2022 12:26:45 PM

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In #37 CyberSimian said: others were conceived far earlier than the sources for which this article assigns credit.

That's what I was thinking, too, but could not come up with specifics to justify that decision. 

CyberSimian 12/2/2022 1:24:17 PM

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In #41 vxbush said: That's what I was thinking, too, but could not come up with specifics to justify that decision. 

Just off the top of my head, Asimov started writing his robot short stories (which were later collected into the book, I Robot) around 1940, over a decade before Astro Boy.

Of course, going back and re-reading the article, it never says that Astro Boy was the first robot -- just that he was the fictional robot which influenced this one Japanese robotics engineer.

Occasional Reader 12/2/2022 1:50:02 PM

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In #39 CyberSimian said: GREAT NEWS: San Francisco police robots will be armed with explosives instead of guns

Meanwhile, San Francisco street people are armed with explosive diarrhea.  Who will win? 

Kosh's Shadow 12/2/2022 6:42:46 PM

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Kanye Releases Brand New Album 'My Struggle'

I read somewhere he did want to name his next album Hitler.

"This album will is the greatest work of art created by mankind in the history of all time," said West at a press conference no one attended. "These songs are genius! These songs are the 8th wonder of the world! It will sell more copies than any album in history!"

"That is unless they manage to stop me. That's mein struggle — er, I mean my struggle."

Ye's music production house GOOD Music also put out a press release to promote the new album. The tracklist will include singles "New ‘Stache Flow," "Yeezus Walks (Into Poland)," and "(They Are) Heartless."