WillyWonka's recent activity
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Comment on Monterey bans gas leaf blowers in residential areas in ~enviro
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Comment on What are your favourite online publications? in ~tech
WillyWonka Linkhttps://www.lowtechmagazine.com/ It's always astounding how much you don't know. And how little you are dependent on computers, if you need to be.https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/
It's always astounding how much you don't know. And how little you are dependent on computers, if you need to be.
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Comment on Plex to incorporate free live streaming TV in ~tv
WillyWonka Link ParentSo.... what did they make?So.... what did they make?
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Comment on Dame Vera Lynn, the Forces' Sweetheart whose songs helped raise morale in World War Two, has died aged 103 in ~music
WillyWonka LinkI came to know Vera Lynn through Norman Cooke's BBB set ending with We'll Meet Again. Can't remember it was I or II. Never heard of the song before, but I was immediately smitten. Nearly moved me...I came to know Vera Lynn through Norman Cooke's BBB set ending with We'll Meet Again. Can't remember it was I or II.
Never heard of the song before, but I was immediately smitten. Nearly moved me to tears .Openly sentimental, yet somehow holding back. Gorgeous tune. Perfect ending for an open-air rave.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~music
WillyWonka LinkDidn't know this version. It's hauntingly good. Thanks!Didn't know this version. It's hauntingly good. Thanks!
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Comment on Recommend me a movie that _________ in ~movies
WillyWonka Link ParentLGBT : Fucking Åmål (1998) Mindfuck : I recently watched The Good Liar (2019) which I did like. Maybe not as much a mindfuck as a nice twist. Powerful documentary : The Act of Killing (2012)...LGBT : Fucking Åmål (1998)
Mindfuck : I recently watched The Good Liar (2019) which I did like. Maybe not as much a mindfuck as a nice twist.
Powerful documentary : The Act of Killing (2012)
Hidden gem : I always suggest either The Green Butchers (2003) or The Mouse That Roared (1959) -
Comment on Recommend me a movie that _________ in ~movies
WillyWonka Link ParentI think Brick (2005) fits into this category as well.I think Brick (2005) fits into this category as well.
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Comment on Recommend me a movie that _________ in ~movies
WillyWonka Link ParentNot a movie, but a TV show that fits right in here was a 70's BBC show called Survivors. I can't recall whether it was nuclear or bio-warfare that caused it, but we follow two to three people from...Not a movie, but a TV show that fits right in here was a 70's BBC show called Survivors.
I can't recall whether it was nuclear or bio-warfare that caused it, but we follow two to three people from the collapse of society into the years following, when they are trying to rebuild a community. I stumbled upon it maybe five or six years ago, and it really struck a chord.
I seem to recall that the first two seasons seemed pretty realistic to me, although it's all very dated. -
Comment on Recommend me a movie that _________ in ~movies
WillyWonka Link ParentI think you might like Ex MachinaI think you might like Ex Machina
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
WillyWonka LinkI started -hesitantly- on Snowpiercer. I'm not too familiar with Daveed Diggs, but he has that 'TV-face' that made me fear the worst. Meaning that it could well have been on any low-rating Starz...I started -hesitantly- on Snowpiercer.
I'm not too familiar with Daveed Diggs, but he has that 'TV-face' that made me fear the worst. Meaning that it could well have been on any low-rating Starz or AMC show. That guys face looks like it could be cast in pretty much any generic TV-show. If you copypaste him in his Snowpiercer outfit into a The Walking Dead episode, nobody would even notice.
But then there's Jennifer Connelly. Now there's a reason to watch the pilot. So I did.And I was pleasantly surprised. Nothing earth-shattering, nothing new or exhilarating. But a nice show nonetheless. I liked Boons movie, but I felt the 90 minute movie format did the story wrong. This show seems to stick a bit more to the comics, and maybe it can deliver. But after two episodes, it's still not there.
Every single time the story does go on a sidetrack (and this happens way too much), my mind wanders off to he whole concept of a train that never stops. And what The Last Ark of Humanity would contain. And how you get to engineer an ever-running 1001 wagons-long train/biome that apparently runs on batteries.
Now that's an alien enough concept which easily makes for the most entertaining part of the show. Sadly enough, it's up to the concept to carry the show, although Connelly does try.
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Comment on Best romantic movies? in ~movies
WillyWonka LinkAbout Time (2013) : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2194499/ Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1570728/ Petulia (1968) : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063426/ Eagle vs Shark...About Time (2013) : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2194499/
Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1570728/
Petulia (1968) : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063426/
Eagle vs Shark (2007) : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0494222/
Romancing The Stone (1984) : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088011/
Two Night Stand (2014) : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140619/ -
Comment on Under cover of capital gains, the hyper-rich have been getting richer than we thought: the earnings of the top 0.1% grew 50% more from 1996 to 2018 than previously measured in ~finance
WillyWonka Link ParentThe main difference being that stocks and other financial products are 'made up' objects with only one purpose: playing the market and hopefully creating a profit in doing so. A sneaker, or any...To put it another way, if I buy a fancy pair of sneakers, and they're a scarce commodity, and once the manufacturer runs out, my sneakers are now worth more to people who buy sneakers, should I be taxed on the "gain" in value if I haven't sold them? If not, then why is it different for stocks?
The main difference being that stocks and other financial products are 'made up' objects with only one purpose: playing the market and hopefully creating a profit in doing so.
A sneaker, or any tangible product for that matter, has a pragmatic purpose. If that sneaker becomes tradeable or a scarce commodity in the future, that wasn't what it was made for. It's purpose was and is its goal. The profitability is a by-product of marketing.
Now there are some areas in which this line gets really blurry (e.g. art) but one should never forget that investing in stocks, bonds, or any other financial product packaging, is -simply put- gambling. You put your money at risk in hopes of gaining a profit. Therefore, just like you get taxed on your gambling wins, you get taxed on capital gains. You can decide to not cash out your chips at the casino and hide your gambling wins from potential taxation, but then you have the risk of the casino deciding a few years down the line to refuse old chips being cashed out. You don't have this risk in most financial products. And that's a problem. You can't completely hide your fortune in stocks and bonds, but you can prevent it being taxed. And as long as you have enough money in too-big-to-fail blue chip companies, you can bet your ass that your grandson can check 'em out for you in 50 years.
A sneaker might become as useless in 50 years as a rotary phone is now. Its materials might have degraded to such an extent that you're left with a rag on a sole. A smart investment will outlive you. -
Comment on We have to talk about failed streaming app Quibi in ~tech
WillyWonka LinkWhen you decide to steal the whole concept and branding of Everything Is Terrible and launch that rehash as one of your first originals, the executives should've already known that the whole...When you decide to steal the whole concept and branding of Everything Is Terrible and launch that rehash as one of your first originals, the executives should've already known that the whole concept was doomed to begin with.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
WillyWonka LinkOver the past few weeks, I've snuck some covers by Colt Clark & The Quarantaine Kids in my playlist. Not all of them compare well to the original, but I like Colts voice and the intermittent...Over the past few weeks, I've snuck some covers by Colt Clark & The Quarantaine Kids in my playlist.
Not all of them compare well to the original, but I like Colts voice and the intermittent shrieks of joy by the kid make it have that 'live' feel.
Maybe it's because I'm missing concerts and shows and going to a bar to hear some random band, but I have noticed I'm turning more and more to live recordings. Which was something I used to shun.
Maybe that's why I also have The Polyphonic Spree, CocoRosie and Devendra Banhart on repeat. I must be in need of good vibes that feel like they were recorded on a whim. -
Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
WillyWonka LinkI picked up Moses Boyd and Yusuf Kamaal again. Also have been listening to a lot of Fela Kuti since I heard Tony Allen left us. And then there's also this, that popped into my head out of nowhere....I picked up Moses Boyd and Yusuf Kamaal again.
Also have been listening to a lot of Fela Kuti since I heard Tony Allen left us.
And then there's also this, that popped into my head out of nowhere. And now I'm just hoping I'll forget about it again. -
Comment on How do you organize your gaming library? in ~games
WillyWonka Link ParentPretty much how I did my set-up. -Favorites (I try to keep this list below 25 so I can easily find what I want to play) -Unfinished Sympathy (games I love and would like to give another go when I...Pretty much how I did my set-up.
-Favorites (I try to keep this list below 25 so I can easily find what I want to play)
-Unfinished Sympathy (games I love and would like to give another go when I find the time)
-Done (played and most likely never want to play again)
-To Do (the massive backlog of mostly indie games I picked up for peanuts)
Here I was hoping that the German warning from 2019 had crossed the water. But this ordnance is just common sense to appease citizens. Of course gas-powered gardening tools don't make sense in neighborhoods or residential properties, unless they span several acres. But this shouldn't be considered an environmental victory. Simply put: a leafblower can't do shit a rake can't. It's a bazooka when you need a gun.
EDIT: make that "when you need tweezers"
The use of leafblowers has a very negative effect on the micro-environment. The German government has warned somewhere in 2019 against the use of leafblowers altogether. Given that the distribution of insect life and pollen are severely impacted by the use of them. Apart from the obvious factors mentioned in the article, a leafblower will severely impact the ecosystem and push it to a monoculture. So apart from being obnoxious as hell, they have no place whatsoever in natural landscapes. Use them to clean your house, but don't use them in any environment where you'd wish for ecological balande.