LoamImprovement

Damn corporate shrinkflating Charlie's head on us.

Every time I go south I wonder how people down there are still alive. Between the sweet tea, biscuits and gravy, pork cracklings, boudin, and kolaches, I feel like I have to take a nap whenever I eat a meal.

I can almost guarantee this was some stupid marketing exec's idea. Someone had to write the code that interprets that you're watching an episode that someone else has available for streaming. Any software dev worth their salt would have seen this request and said "This is the dumbest fucking idea I have ever seen in my life" and they probably had to make it anyway because it pays the bills.

I mean, the point of the special is to find meaning in the holidays regardless of the rampant consumerism, but the impact of the message is dampened a bit by Hallmark putting out new charlie brown Christmas tree ornaments every year.

That said, it's also okay not to have holiday spirit if you don't find anything about this time of year meaningful. For many who aren't practicing Christians, it's a time to be with family because most companies tend to give days off anyway, but for those of us who have cut ties and don't see the significance of decorating and whatnot, it's perfectly fine to enjoy the time off without feeling festive.

Yeah, I don't think there's a restaurant on Alberta that doesn't have at least a little of this aesthetic.

That said, Pine State is worth the asking price and I'll kill on that hill.

https://www.zombo.com/

For younger generations. Lovingly remade in HTML5 because flash is dead.

They're efficient at maximizing profits for shareholders, usually at the dire expense of literally everyone else.

In a short story, the monkey's paw is an artifact that grants three wishes of the person who holds it, albeit in the worst way possible.

The story goes that a pensioner and his wife receive the paw from some guy who warns them that the paw twists the wishes, but they pay the warning no mind and wish for a sum of money. A finger on the paw curls, and a factory foreman shows up with the money explaining that their son has died of a horrific mutilating accident in the factory. The insurance policy pays the money out to the surviving members of the family.

The wife wishes that their son were alive again, another finger curls, and a few hours later they hear another knock at the door. The wife rushes to welcome their son, however, recalling the stranger's warning and imagining how terrifying the mutilated body of their son might look, the father uses the last finger to wish the son dead and buried again. Incidentally, there doesn't appear to be a negative on that wish apart from the horror that's already been visited on them.

This is how most supermarkets (Walmart/Kroger/Target, etc.) in the U.S. look brand new - they're effectively warehouses that sell product directly to customers. Smaller shops and boutiques have finished ceilings that hide the ductwork and such because they're meant to be more flexible commercial/office space, but large stores like this do not, except for specialized locations like electronics, jewelery, or pharmacy, that can be gated off from the rest of the inside of the building for reduced operation and security.

I mean, okay, but how much of anything can get hit by lightning and not be a smoldering crater without proper grounding and such?

It's an unfortunate fact of life, you'll find sycophants no matter where you go.