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J Petti's avatar

Permit me to suggest my fave Xmas movie, “'Lady in the Lake,' a 1947 American film noir starring Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Tom Tully, Leon Ames and Jayne Meadows, an adaptation of the 1943 Raymond Chandler murder mystery directed by Montgomery. Seeking to capitalize on an intended Christmas theme, the script changes the novel's midsummer setting to the Holidays, frequently using cheery Yuletide themes as an ironic counterpoint to grim aspects of the story. The opening credits appear on a stack of Christmas cards, the last of which reveals a handgun.”

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Nancy Naive's avatar

William Powell made every movie great. Even today, he would be an everyman’s man.

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RSKPDX's avatar

This movie is hilarious, and the dialog still holds up very well. Reminds me of a Preston Sturges film

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Thomas B.'s avatar

It may not be "a" holiday movie, but I watch it every holiday season. And I laugh out loud every year at the tabloids line!

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𝔅𝔢𝔢𝔩𝔷𝔢𝔟𝔲𝔟𝔟𝔞's avatar

So hot, the pianist keeps a fire extinguisher handy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZY9_Xr5XPA

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Pope Scipio Newburyporticus's avatar

So it came up below but it's kind of a separate subject. Preserving jobs. Nobody likes to see people lose jobs, but in the end there is no industry safe from obsolescence.

I think part of my perspective on this comes from the fact that I come from an area that was part of the original industrial revolution and what happened after that. Haverhill, where I live now, once produced 10% of the shoes in the US. It's called "Shoe City" or "Queen Slipper City". There are no shoe factories here. Amesbury, a couple of towns over is known as "Carriage Town" because they made a lot of carriages. And upholstery for carriages. Newburyport is called "Clipper City" because they built clipper ships. Amesbury has no carriage factories and Newburyport's harbor silted up a century ago.

So to me, the idea of "preserving jobs" seems pretty pointless. Could all those jobs have been saved? SHOULD all those jobs be saved? Should we still be building carriages in Amesbury or making shoes in Haverhill that cost 10 times as much as the same shoe made in Bangladesh? And if the answer was yes in the beginning but obviously not now, then when would the cutoff be?

In the end, simply "preserving jobs" just maintains inefficiency and prevents progress. It's also an excuse to cut down trees, mine coal, burn oil, and all kinds of other nasty shit.

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Villago Delenda Est 🇺🇦's avatar

We need to get to The Culture or The Federation, stat.

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Pope Scipio Newburyporticus's avatar

Lets go with The Federation. Culture space ships have the best names but they are fucking moody.

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noname's avatar

Whut

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AdmNaismith's avatar

'The Thin Man' takes place on Xmas Day, and 'The Thin Man Returns' is a direct sequel taking place on New Year's Day. For that, these movies make a drlightful one-two holiday punch.

'The Thin Man Goes Home' is quite witty and enjoyable entry to the seties.

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Oy!'s avatar

Ballad of a Thin Man –by Bob Dylan

.

Because something is happening here

But ya' don't know what it is

Do you, Mister Jones?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we37yX3zpKA

.

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Homero's avatar

(story of my life!)

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Momo's avatar

Now I'm gonna have this song stuck in my head for at least two weeks.

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William Donnell's avatar

And someone says "what is?"

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𝔅𝔢𝔢𝔩𝔷𝔢𝔟𝔲𝔟𝔟𝔞's avatar

There's something happening here,

But what it is ain't exactly clear.

There's a man with a gun over there,

Telling me I got to beware.

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John Norris's avatar

In the opening scene, love Nick's instructing the bartenders on how to shake different cocktails.

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Opalescent Riddles's avatar

The tendency is to see a bunch or rectangles at first glance. If you defocus a little and/or begin to direct your gaze to something else, the circles pop out in a 4x4 grid. I wonder if this could be a result of the "straight line" detection machinery having preference over the "arced line" machinery in the visual cortex. Alternatively, it's about the spatial resolution of the patterns: the straight lines have a much tighter periodicity than the circles, so they grab the attention first.

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𝔅𝔢𝔢𝔩𝔷𝔢𝔟𝔲𝔟𝔟𝔞's avatar

There are no arced lines - that's what makes the circles difficult to perceive when you're looking closely.

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Opalescent Riddles's avatar

YES! That's what makes the arc so difficult to detect initially. It's an arc implied by the pattern of straight lines intersecting!

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3FingerPete's avatar

I see dozens but I'm looking at them edge on.

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easelox is on timeout's avatar

found them!!! Took a few minutes. Thanks, that was fun!

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IMPOed's avatar

One commenter, "a few more whiskies might help".

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Homero's avatar

well, "show me the way to the next whiskey bar..."

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OneYieldRegular's avatar

I'm hungover enough from b-day celebration last night that I see 100,000 circles in that image.

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User's avatar
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Dec 10, 2023
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SchrodingersCat's avatar

Once you see 'em, you can't un-see 'em.

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3FingerPete's avatar

Someone mentioned Steve Miller earlier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmkUaskSjaQ

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Snarfyguy's avatar

I love that early Steve Miller Band stuff.

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3FingerPete's avatar

I love Ben Sidran's piano.

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Frank Talk, Action Pundit!'s avatar

Did they REALLY drink that much Back in the Day? If so, how did they get anything done?

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Russell Jones's avatar

Prohibition was an unmitigated disaster. (Still is in its War on Drugs form.) Last time I checked, though, per-capita alcohol consumption never made it back up to pre-prohibition levels, although we're heading that way now.

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Opalescent Riddles's avatar

" per-capita alcohol consumption never made it back up to pre-prohibition levels, "

prolly because people found other ways to get fucked up.

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Antifa Commander's avatar

we're heading that way now

"Ooh! Cannabis for the interception! I didn't know they could move that fast."

"They can't really, they're just a lot more coordinated than Team Alcohol."

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Frank Talk, Action Pundit!'s avatar

Supply *will* meet Demand.

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OneYieldRegular's avatar

Well they drank out of what are today in fact known as "Nick and Nora glasses."

Whereas today it's the martinis what got big.

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Momo's avatar

Blissfully, ignorantly.

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Frank Talk, Action Pundit!'s avatar

No wonder they had a Depression...

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Mateo del Sol's avatar

Very slowly.

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User's avatar
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Dec 10, 2023
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OneYieldRegular's avatar

I swear to gawd that when I die I want to be EMBALMED with champagne.

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ICC's avatar

Katz reminded me of a lovely memory. Way back in the day... We were still in Connecticut, so I was like five.. Our dog was neutered and then camped out in front of the fridge for a few days, laying on his back, waiting for the cold air.

Oh man. That dog went through a lot. We moved to Japan a year later and he had to be quarantined (Japan doesn't have rabies, so at that time all pets you brought in had to be quarantined. I don't know if that's still true.)

Then we moved him to California six years later.

He was a good dog.

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Resource NW's avatar

I wonder what kind of accent he barked with.....

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Homero's avatar

"Shazooom!"

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Larry Schmitt's avatar

This might make you physically ill if you choose to watch all the way through. Kevin McCarthy on CBS Sunday Morning today. It was painful to watch.

https://youtu.be/ClzkKXh9lxs

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Vagenda and Peeara's avatar

It's ALWAYS painful to watch Qevin McCarthy.

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Eileen's avatar

Wow, I "missed" it. Sorry you had to see it.

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Mysterysurf's avatar

Huge pliosaur skull is huge.

𝗣𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆: 𝗛𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗳𝘀

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67650247

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OneYieldRegular's avatar

That headline really had me hoping.

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Stanta Knows's avatar

Likely just a fake skeleton placed there by an all-knowing being to test our faith in folk legends from a bronze age tribe of desert dwellers.

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Land Shark 🇺🇦 🏳️‍⚧️'s avatar

And some angel has to mess with every radio-carbon dating that's done on earth so they don't ALL say "6,000 years." Talk about a crap job ...

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IMPOed's avatar

OMG, the thing nightmares are made of!

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OneYieldRegular's avatar

I'm a bit more disturbed by that bite-force graphic.

They don't specify WHICH human.

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IMPOed's avatar

Isn't that Obama?

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Antifa Commander's avatar

The undead ones.

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Corvid Opera's avatar

Haha, yeah, imagining sharing the water with *that* guy is a bit teeth-chattering!

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Corvid Opera's avatar

Ooh, this is so cool; thanks for sharing.

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Vagenda and Peeara's avatar

Apparently the House GQP assholes are all mad at the other 8 assholes who ditched McCarthy. McCarthy is a spineless coward, but apparently he was THEIR spineless coward, and he was very good at raising money.

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Chicken ate my Ballot's avatar

I hope they shiv Matty next.

*You can picture that to the happy tune of:

*dodododo...I just fuckin shot myself*

the video of the ejet shooting himself in the foot at the range

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Resource NW's avatar

Reminds me, I think we are due for a new Randy Rainbow, unless he is busy on tour. Certainly there is enough going on we could use both his perspective and humor.

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Vagenda and Peeara's avatar

I'll pour one out for my homie Qevin.

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Corvid Opera's avatar

What a stomach-turning lot the R’s are.

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Vagenda and Peeara's avatar

Seriously! Their big focus is on impeaching Hunter Biden, and making sure that Ukraine doesn't get any money to fight Russia, and to keep Hispanics out of the country. That's their ENTIRE platform.

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ames's avatar

Plus they know that our economy, especially in rural areas, depends on laborers from Spanish-speaking countries, papers or not. Just walk into any gas station or grocery store in Iowa. Visit 'Woodman's' in Eau Claire. Check out roofing crews anywhere. It's bullshit.

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Vagenda and Peeara's avatar

Almost all the construction labor in my city is Hispanic. I was amused when Trump was chasing Hispanics out of the country when the housing economy was booming. I said to my mom "I hope people like paying an extra $50,000 for their houses." That was right before housing prices went bananas, and one of the reasons was soaring labor costs. SMRT!

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Innocent_Bystander's avatar

The prison labor industrial complex enters the chat...

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Corvid Opera's avatar

2/3 just plain evil, 1/3 just plain dumb. And these fucks are making major $$$$. Gross.

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Vagenda and Peeara's avatar

GOP = Gross Old Party

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Prometheus59650's avatar

He's still going to do that this cycle at least, I'm sure.

But now he's less beholden to raising for "the party" and more able to just pick and choose from his allies.

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Vagenda and Peeara's avatar

Yeah, my guess is that he's retiring as a "fuck you" to his fellow House idiots, but he'll get to retire to spend more time with the Koch's big, fat, pile of fossil fuel cash.

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Corvid Opera's avatar

How grotesque. This whole billionaire-funded venture of paying for people in public service positions *not* to do their jobs and/or fuck up the institutions where they work, needs to be stopped.

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Vagenda and Peeara's avatar

This country was moronic to agree to endlessly cut taxes on billionaires, and to let the Supreme Court decide to allow unlimited dark money in elections. They basically legalized graft.

Thomas and Alito are probably 2 of the most corrupt assholes who've ever squatted on the SC, and I don't think Boof Kavanaugh is far behind them in the corruption department.

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