I love this show so much.
“John Wick director Chad Stahelski and jazz legend Kamasi Washington” working together? Sign me up.
“AMC Theaters Decides Charging Different Prices for Seats Was a Boneheaded Idea”
She’s a little macabre, but she’ll keep yer foot tappin’. (Inspired by last week’s Stoical musical links.) [Hm. How about a bonus track from the discussion on the merits of some spirits v others, as well? You’ve earned it]
First?
Seems so — though I personally hold to the “Should have a topical comment on the article” position. Congrats anyway.
And if Riven is Crocs free — I’ll just tell her “Later, Gator!”
Boo…
He’s just speaking tooth to power.
End this discrimination against reptoids!
https://www.usdebtclock.org/
Playing around here, I havent yet found a state without debt. Idaho has the lowest I have found at just over $3k per citizen.
That’s small potatoes compared to the rest, yeah.
Looks like the average is just over $10k.
Is that showing state’s debt, or their share of the federal debt based on each state’s GDP?
The states debt.
And commenting on my $10k average above, about $3k is actual state debt, and $7k is local debt.
But NoDak doesn’t spend more than it takes in. Is it assuming any Federal funds are deficit spending?
Take it up with the debt clock people: https://www.usdebtclock.org/state-debt-clocks/state-of-north-dakota-debt-clock.html
That is showing ND spending more than their revenue.
Yes. I looked. That’s not an explanation.
They must be counting Federal funds on the deficit spending side. The legislature can claim we have a balanced budget, which I suppose it technically is, but only because we get Federal funds for various things.
Federal funds would count as revenue though.
I found a website discussing NoDak public finance authority, which issues bonds for political subdivisions to fund projects. That is debt.
I dont what kind of fancy accounting the state is using to not count it, but the clock people count everything, I think.
Technically, as long as revenue (potentially including revenue from new debt issuance) covers the budget, including current debt service, it’s “balanced.” It’s like a personal budget where you make enough annually to pay your mortgage and make the minimum payment on your credit cards, but not enough to pay off the balance.
From first hit at google. That is in line with the current number of just over 10 billion combined.
Yes, Rob. I can read the damn debt clock. My question is how they came up with the numbers. There is obviously a difference between a balanced budget and having debt.
It might be by using Fed funds to balance the budget. Would issuing bonds be considered debt?
I guess we could have loans that we’re paying on, but still balancing the budget.
I guess I’ve always thought the debt clock thing was referring to deficit spending, but loans would certainly be a part of it, too.
I think that is it. If that number is going up, then the budget isnt balanced, IMO.
“My budget is balanced, but I took out a 2nd mortgage this year!”
A balanced budget is a zero deficit. So debt would be staying the same. But you can balance a budget with a debt from a historic deficit. But the debt clock is showing ND’s debt going up. So they are still running a deficit.
I bet its some “off-budget” shenanigans, like not counting school system debt or some such.
This is why you gotta refresh before you hit “reply,” kids.
In NoDak specifically, it must be from issuing bonds, I suppose. Ever since the fracking boom we’ve been swimming in money and haven’t been close to going in the red. So at a superficial level, we aren’t spending more than we take it. We even have a couple stupid “legacy fund” saving-account type things where were stocking away billions. But obviously the legislature is still finding ways to spend more than they take in.
Looking at all levels combined, Debt:GDP ratio is 136.69% and Spending:GDP ratio is 38.13%.
The peak of the Rahn Curve is generally accepted to be somewhere between 15-25%.
My Idaho property taxes are going down 10% this year because of the budget surplus. Last year, the date sent us all checks.
More accurately, there’s at least a theoretical limiting principle when it comes to state debt/deficits that doesn’t exist at the national level.
Yes. And the worst state is by far NY at about $20k per citizen, which isnt so bad relative to federal debt of $97k per citizen.
blockquote fail. The first line is a quote from a link above. The 2nd line is me.
“And before its next big event in August, the ESL wanted to let everyone know its thoughts on open-toed shoes.”
Crocs are not actually open-toed so much as have ventilated uppers. Crocs are an abomination (looking at you, Spudalicious) but should not be banned so much as mercilessly mocked.
I agree with Adam Carolla when it comes to crocs
I find the shorts ban more problematic.
I have to side with requiring covering up the leg fur.
Camo crocs are the schnizzle.
āAMC Theaters Decides Charging Different Prices for Seats Was a Boneheaded Ideaā
Perhaps they should also investigate reserved VIP seating. Especially in FL of course..
Irate moviegoer pummels 63-year-old man in Florida AMC theater over VIP seat beef
How do they decide what is “VIP”? Everyone prefers to sit in different places. My wife likes the last row of the lower section. I like the first row of the top section.
I haven’t been to a movie theater in two decades because of both the content and the incredibly rude patrons here.
So I can’t even come up with an hypothesis.
Same.
The last time I went to a theater was 2008. My Dad was visiting and he wanted to go. The only thing showing was Crystal Skull. I realized I’m not missing anything by not going.
For whatever reason, my dad still goes to the theater.
I don’t go because I like pausing and doing other things too much to put up with a demand to sit still for 2 hours.
Also, I dislike all the rude stares I get from the others who think you should be entirely quiet during the movie. My sotte voce commentary is awesome!
You have to believe in yourself, I guess…It’s lonely but sometimes that’s all there is…
We go to the movie theater maybe once or twice a year. Always a big-screen spectacle (Top Gun was the last one we went to). And always to a theater with reclining seats that serves food (and beer!) during the movie. Itās probably been 10 years since I went to a normal movie theater.
Maybe larger reclining seats with someone feeding you grapes and a happy ending.
VIP Seat Beef is my rap name.
I remember listening to The Epic when it came out and thinking he was really overrated, but my jazz knowledge is insufficient to articulate quite why. He’s hyped up as the most innovative jazz artist since Coltrane, but it just sounded like a middle of the road fusion record to me. If the entire music industry hadn’t been collectively humping Kendrick Lamar’s leg in a fit of “DUDE WHITE GUILT LMAO” when To Pimp A Butterfly was released, I suspect few people would have ever heard of Kamasi Washington.
And that’s why Marvel pisses me off for the last 10 or so years (I’m historically a DC guy and have ignored both for quite a while, granted… but every time I look at a Marvel graphic novel or tie in, I see this pattern).
They love their #1s… so they cancel a book… just to bring it “back” as a new #1.
Or they “reboot” or “destroy” or “fundamentally change” their universe… just to undo it as soon as possible. And make it harder than pre-Crisis DC editors ever dreamed for anyone to keep up with their continuity.
Add in that their writers started all the crap with “Replace established character with DEI knock off or writer stand in”, well…. here I am again.
For the replacing established character, I’ll say that Miles Morales worked quite well. Mainly because both Peter and Miles existed, and respected each other.
It didn’t hurt that Mild Morales didn’t insult his predecessor.
I very much was thinking Ironheart and the like. I now some folks don’t like Miles, but he’s seemed fine to me. Into the Spiderverse made him look to have potential, imho.
And yeah — I don’t mind concurrent legacies at all…. again, being DC — you have the GLC setting lots of precedent, the sidekicks growing into the roles or taking on their own identities (Redhead Wally West, Nightwing) or even my favorite character getting killed, replaced… and brought back literally with his replacement (after killing his girlfriend while being a zombie, granted… talk about manufacturing drama!). So write a replacement well, I’m cool with it — stick in an author stand in and dump the original just because you want to… nope.
Elijah Wood writing on Twitter in February, āThe movie theater is and always has been a sacred democratic space for all and this new initiative by @AMCTheatres would essentially penalize people for lower-income and reward for higher income.ā
Nobody tell him about Broadway, concerts, ballet, or airlines, all of which charge more for nicer seats.
Thats different, we expect those to price out the riff-raff
You know we all heard that in your best Thurston Howell III impression.
With live entertainment it makes more sense to pay for proximity to the stage, or particularly good viewing angles of the actors and set pieces, or the best place for sound convergence, things like that. When you’re just starting at a big screen playing a pre-recorded video in a relatively small room where it’s possible to see and hear all of the action from any seat in the venue it’s harder to justify.
Et tu, Riven?!?!
My Crocs are the most comfortable shoes I own.
/harrumph
She’s just in de Nile about your fashion choices… but I’m sure your retort will tip the scales, no need to hide it.
Of course now Swiss will show up to get us to toe the line… I can be such a heel.
You have no sole to inflict us with that
Well why didn’t you Set something else up?
Because it would cause tongues to wag
Caiman, man. Stop with the puns already.
Somehow acquired a pair of Croc-branded but not Croc-style shoes – fabric upper, enclosed heel, no vent holes. I can’t stand that plastic insole. They are shoes of last resort. Would rather go barefoot over molten broken glass.
They don’t look very comfortable.
I want to try Birkenstocks or something similar. I’ve reached the age of don’t-give-a-fuck. Actually, been there for a while.
Crocs are banned?
Even in Gator Country?
Crocs aren’t all that popular in Gator Country. They tend to clash with the jorts.
Is that Matty Light?
Ew
It’s a weekend, so I will once again provide those of you who haven’t bookmarked it the Zoom link. I won’t be around next week, but the same link should still be working.
I said I bookmarked it! jeesh!
š§š
It’s not just you MikeS. And for those who are unaware, I generally leave that going at all times, so feel free to try to use it whenever.
I’m one of those losers who haven’t bookmarked it either.
If you had showed up last weekend on Zoom, we would have had a plurality of MNans.
He did for a bit
āAMC Theaters Decides Charging Different Prices for Seats Was a Boneheaded Ideaā
Seems like an approach better suited for high demand/low supply. I figured movie theaters are struggling to find anyone willing to come at any price. It was declining business model before Covid and then Covid put nails in the coffin.
I haven’t been to a movie theater in 15 years. My children will view them the same way I think about it drive-ins. Charging more for better seats from paying customers who do still go seems really stupid.
All of the younger folks I know under 30 consume nearly all video content, whether short form shit like YouTube and TikTok or feature-length movies, on their phones. My last trip to a movie theater was 2015, and going back to 2005 or so, only ever several years to watch 007 flicks until they finally put me off the franchise, but I still can’t imagine anticipating the release of a new movie and then watching it on a 6″ screen with a pair of 2mm stereo drivers for sound. There’s some situations where it wouldn’t matter that much, I suppose, but I think back to the big budget VFX spectaculars from my youth, like Jurassic Park, or The Matrix, or Independence Day, and imagine how anticlimactic it would be watching them on a fucking iPhone for the first time.
I don’t have a big home theater, so I still like to go to the theater from time to time. I do like that big screen, and I agree, unless I’m bored on an airplane, I’m never watching a movie on my phone.
I thought The Matrix was the movie that put DVD players into the big leagues. I remember having to sit and watch everyone who had a DVD player show you how you could pause it and the screen just stopped! Not like some clunky VCR movie.
I think The Matrix also had some deal where you could shift perspective or something. Can’t remember for sure. Just remember being tortured by having to watch Keanu Reeves.
The Matrix was the first movie I ever bought on DVD
I remember in the late 90s/early00s, not specifically with the Matrix, but more of a general idea that ‘almost all movies will have alternate angles’
Apart from a concert DVD I’ve never actually seen it though
It was the Fifth Element that sold me. The store had that setup with 5.1 sound. I don’t recall what DVD I bought first.
I observe that phenomenon in public and just SMDH in disbelief.
I know.
Phone screens are too small, and there are insufficient video controls for proper viewing.
I haven’t been to a theater since 2017 when I installed a projector and sound system in my home.
Even before 2017 though I just didn’t go to a movie in a theater without having a good reason to.
The movie needed to be the sort of thing that visually demanded the theater experience.
Even then I was really picky – typically no more than 2 movies a year qualified. No superhero nonsense, no fast and furious
Only two things will get me into a theater now
A drive in theater(30 miles away) – more for the novelty of it – probably something for the kids. Provided we can find a movie that doesn’t promote ‘the message’
Or, a movie that truly deserves the spectacle. Something on the order of Lord of the Rings, or something a bit more visually mind blowing like Avatar (whatever the merit of the story it was very much eye-candy)
Theaters have responded to this pressure in spectacular fashion. Recliners. Beds. 3D, Super-high definition, motion seats…..
One theater near me has separate rooms with all different types of screens and seats, with different premium prices. They have food and liquor at your seat. The place is fantastic.
I have been once. We got a BOGO so I took the kids.
My 75 inch and surround system is plenty.
The last time I was in a theater it was in one that you could order food/beverage at your seat (we did not)
I didn’t care for it really
If you could turn off the service lights maybe would be better.
Study finds that homeless people like to have money given to them…
https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/denver/denver-nonprofit-finds-benefits-in-giving-cash-to-people-experiencing-homelessness
They gave away 5 million bucks, 2 million of which was COVID relief. Also:
“The project selected participants who match the demographics of Denverās homeless population: 67% are people of color, almost half are women, nonbinary or transgender, and nearly a quarter are families with at least one child.”
Those numbers have to be complete bullshit.
I like money.
Was expecting this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW0IR3q0EvE
I guess I’ve been homeless at least a few times then, when I was living with friends and relatives for low or no rent.
Sounds like it solved just about every problem for these people besides homelessness.
āMany used the cash to catch up on bills or cover expenses like rent, health care and car repairā
What rent would a homeless person be paying, again?
Also, other than their cell plan, what bills do they have?
Iām starting to suspect some of the recipients may have fibbed a little on whether they were actually homeless or not.
To be fair, some people are homeless because they’ve fallen behind on rent or bills. A bit of a boost can help get them back on their feet and off the street.
“We are prioritizing women, non-binaries, and transgenders. Are you one of those?”
“Sure.”
I love dogs, but this is bullshit.
Of course those racist bastards didn’t let in a black lab!
I don’t know, but it seems to me like prosecutors were able to have rape victims testify in court for about a thousand years before “emotional support dogs” were a thing.
Well, a teenaged pedo victim who was victimized for months, Iāll cut her some slack.
It’s a good case for which to make an exception, I just think the prosecutor may be overselling it a bit that they would have had to dismiss the case otherwise. No, she just would have been more traumatized while testifying.
Good thing Nora didn’t start in the direction of some trigger happy courtroom cop.
Movie theaters are not airplanes?
Why is the floor sticky on this flight?
but if thereās one thing he did that clearly hurt the state and the country, it was his contribution to the passage of the 17th Amendment.
I know several native Montanans who speak with great pride of Montana’s role in “bringing us closer to democracy”.
Stupid shit like this makes me so angry!
A write up about the DFL’s new shiny law that requires environmental impact analysis for businesses in “environmental justice areas”. That is bad enough, but what really gets me is this:
I hate it when legislators pass a law but leave the “details” to some bureaucracy. Fucking pass a law that is defined and known. Not some nebulous crap “We decree that everyone gets a puppy and a unicorn” and then leave it to the Minnesoda Pollution Control Agency to “implement” that. And don’t tell me it is because it is a technical subject and you can’t get tied up in details. Fuck that. Vote on the details.
So it is still fine to poison the shit out of poor crackers.
The way I’m reading that is that these are mutually exclusive criteria. So poor crackers are a favored demographic, but so are rich BIPOCs.
No idea what “limited English proficiency” has to do with any of this, other than they are another group that left likes to pander to.
*Exit businesses, stage right.
‘Zactly the way the left likes it.
Jimbo, we qualify as BIPOC by marriage, that should count for something. Some of the locals have limited English proficiency and we live in a food desert. Show me the money.
Donāt forget you need emotional support bees to get through the day. Thatās worth money too.
āDFLā as the name of a major political party still makes my eyes roll.
Democrat Farmer Labor party is what it stands for. So they claim farmers and laborers as their people.
The Minnesota GOP should append a couple of keywords too: the Republican Family Nice Folks or something. The Republican Dog Lovers party. Whatever lays claim to the most voters.
(DFL meant ādrunk; fix laterā when used in programming comments.)
Ooh! New avatar must be New Kitty! Is she home with you now?
I will occasionally reluctantly go to a movie theater because my wife wants a “date night”. Even though the movie will likely be soon on one of our streaming services, we have a home movie theater with high res TV and surround sound, and we both like to pause the movie to exchange commentary.
I don’t get it, but … shrug.
I thought the point of going on date night was to get it.
Is āitā loose bowels from excessive popcorn consumption?
Not quite.
Armageddon It.
I tell ya what- the United Club in the airport is kinda posh. Since i have 2 more hours to kill, Im saying its worth the money to remove yourself from the terminal rabble.
Of course now someone’s kid started wailing.
Don’t you think Tres v. 2.0 is a bit old for wailing in the United Club?
Oh that asshole is in Florida with his mom’s family.
We dropped $40 each for three hours at the United club at SFO. Well worth it ahead of a 14-hour flight. Free food and booze plus charging ports and clean bathrooms.