To the super-qualified sudden-housewife: Contact a local charity or other nonprofit -- especially a small, non-bureaucratic one, like a food pantry -- and offer your services. No matter what your field is, you clearly have skills in organization, networking, dealing with people. Even if you go in there and pack groceries for hungry people, you'll quickly find out where your skills are needed, and you'll be useful on a basic level rather than being frustrated. And then, if you want, you could parlay that into a paying field.
A: I want to say “Yes,” but I am confused by the question. Can anyone explain?
I'll try to explain. The Florida house is not crazy, they are fascist, homophobic, bigoted assholes. Once you accept that, and the fact that they think it is RIGHT to be fascist, homophobic, bigoted assholes, everything else they do fits right in.
Until recently, I was of the opinion that genuine evil (think Hitler) was a relatively rare phenomenon, and that people in general were just swept up with it, kind of as though they were in a trance. But no. This is flat-out evil. Premeditated, intentional, inexcusable evil.
Regarding the cannibal riddle, the correct answer is 99. The original number of 100 cannibals has to include you, since you've obviously revealed yourself as being one. Unless you just decided to convert to cannibalism for the sake of the riddle.
Yes, hermaphrodites (or intersex individuals) do, in fact, exist. And in keeping with the obviously extensive understanding of human sexuality shown by amateur statehouse obstetricians, sexual determination and sexual differentiation are far more complex than simply doing the deed, since they occur at the molecular and hormonal levels. Much too complicated for the average statehouse hack, who is clearly just as willing to ignorantly weigh in on pregnancy and fetal development.
Maybe it's because the entries have a tendency to get funnier as I read, but the TWO worthy entries to "What Does God Look Like?" made me LOL. None of the winning entries did so. They were funny, but I did not laugh. My question: Is it just me? Or does a list of funny sayings or entries or whatevers increase in their ability to make one laugh as they go along? And if so, how do you account for that in the judging?
Next to actors banging on about their "craft," authors trying to describe their creative impulses is the auditory or visual equivalent of watching paint dry for me. Something now that I've discovered TikTok, I do only occasionally. Next in line would be wading through hundreds of attempts at being funny. So, although as a paid subscriber I'm no longer obligated to, I feel I still must extend kudos and an "attaboy/girl" to Pat and Gene for this public service. Yes, I do know someone has to do it --- but to set aside large, unrecoverable swaths of their lives in the interests of tough love and retribution goes well beyond the call of the even now required duty.
Re: the pepper joke. Weirdly I heard it for the first time Tuesday from a 90-year-old friend (he told it as a guy ejaculating). My very first thought was that might have been a good joke to try writing a poke for. But no time to try this week so someone else has to do it.
In his article titled "The Art of Slowing Down," Gene lists several artifacts and practices that identify him as someone living in the 1910s. I wish to add a few other indicators.
Do you maintain your grocery list using a cell phone, or do you compile using pen(cil) and paper?
When you use a pen, do you print or do you write in cursive?
What kind of pen do you use? Ballpoint? Rollerball (TM)? Fountain?
If you use a fountain pen to compile your grocery list in cursive, you are, indeed, a denizen of the 1910s, and I salute you!
The first version of "mess with our Heads" was in The Czarist era, Week 391 in 2001, under a different name.
Spinning Out of Control
Real Headline: Sanders Won't Commit to Redskins
Alternative Subhead: Daniel 'Santa' Snyder Pledges Reduced Ticket Prices, 'Mercedes Day' Fan Appreciation Promotion
Real Headline: Trace Levels of Scotchgard Found Absorbed in Humans
Alternative Subhead: Environmentalists Optimistic, Predict Drop in Toilet Paper Use
This week's contest, suggested by Greg Arnold, Herndon: Take any headline in today's Washington Post and create a subhead (which Arnold defined, in a bravura show of technical expertise, as "whatever you call that headline-like thing in smaller type below the main headline") that spins the story in an opposite or unexpected direction, as in the above examples. Use headlines from any item in the Sunday Post, including advertising. Ignore existing subheads. Include the page number of the headline with your entry.
The resounding international success of the "Squid Game," the South Korean survival drama. has highlighted — perhaps as never before — the existence of what must be thousands of non-English language films made primarily for domestic markets, but with similar potential international appeal. And, coincidentally, how to provide not only efficient and effective translation but perhaps, more importantly, interpretation across a variety of linguistic cultures for this possible treasure trove. While ChatGPT and Dall-E 2 presently strut and fret their hour upon the stage --- as a film buff, I am much more fascinated by the opportunities AI is providing to see these normally unavailable films and in a choice of language, without subtitles or often awkward dubbing.
One technology being advanced — at least for the efficiency or "cosmetic" side — is auto-dubbing. While there are number of approaches, all make use of one or more components of AI to smooth out dubbing — lip and motion synching, for example — and provide "on-demand" dialogue in your choice of language with the actual actors speaking it. Without getting into (too much more) eye-glazing detail, the original actors record some text in their own language. Then a neural network (a series of algorithms designed to recognize underlying relationships through a process that mimics the way the human brain operates) learns the actors’ voices. A program then absorbs this vocal data and applies it to a digital translation of the script and AI generates perfectly timed dialogue from the film in the foreign language of choice.
So much for eventually getting rid of the irritating anomalies of the present translation/dubbing process, but we’re still left with the nagging issue of interpretation — especially problematic with subtitles because of their inherent limitations. Dealing with cultural factors in language when it comes to literature can be more or less easily handled via asides or footnotes. Not so easy with film. So how to deal with these often "untranslatables" which can make a difference to the integrity of a film and its full understanding and enjoyment will be a critical issue in ultimately providing the broadest possible access to this hidden wealth of foreign film.
For years, Gene has told us that he is the Ultimate Arbiter of humor, that what is funny is not a matter of personal taste, that humor is an objective quality that resides outside the audience. Yet it has been obvious for decades to any Loser that The Empress prefers a clever turn of phrase, while The Czar prefers a guffaw. Gene acknowledged as much when he resurrected the Invitational and discussed the stylistic differences between his judging and Pat's judging. To me, that undercuts Gene's claim to be Ultimate Arbitership.
This is also a metaphysical reason why Gene cannot be The Decider,other than Dubya having claimed that title for himself. A Czar's judgment is fallible. If Gene wants to be an infallible judge of humor, he cannot be a Czar. He must proclaim himself The Humor Pope, and his pronouncements must be the comedic equivalent of the [real] Pope speaking ex cathedra. The Humor Pope's pronouncements must be ex commodo, i.e., from the commode.
I don't know why I'm stuck on this...maybe because pedants gotta pedant. But the preferred nomenclature for a person with confusing or multiple sex markers is currently "intersex." Could change again. But "hermaphrodite" is definitely deprecated.
To the super-qualified sudden-housewife: Contact a local charity or other nonprofit -- especially a small, non-bureaucratic one, like a food pantry -- and offer your services. No matter what your field is, you clearly have skills in organization, networking, dealing with people. Even if you go in there and pack groceries for hungry people, you'll quickly find out where your skills are needed, and you'll be useful on a basic level rather than being frustrated. And then, if you want, you could parlay that into a paying field.
A: I want to say “Yes,” but I am confused by the question. Can anyone explain?
I'll try to explain. The Florida house is not crazy, they are fascist, homophobic, bigoted assholes. Once you accept that, and the fact that they think it is RIGHT to be fascist, homophobic, bigoted assholes, everything else they do fits right in.
Until recently, I was of the opinion that genuine evil (think Hitler) was a relatively rare phenomenon, and that people in general were just swept up with it, kind of as though they were in a trance. But no. This is flat-out evil. Premeditated, intentional, inexcusable evil.
I'll hang here for a few minutes if you want to ask questions here in the comments.
Regarding the cannibal riddle, the correct answer is 99. The original number of 100 cannibals has to include you, since you've obviously revealed yourself as being one. Unless you just decided to convert to cannibalism for the sake of the riddle.
Yes, hermaphrodites (or intersex individuals) do, in fact, exist. And in keeping with the obviously extensive understanding of human sexuality shown by amateur statehouse obstetricians, sexual determination and sexual differentiation are far more complex than simply doing the deed, since they occur at the molecular and hormonal levels. Much too complicated for the average statehouse hack, who is clearly just as willing to ignorantly weigh in on pregnancy and fetal development.
Maybe it's because the entries have a tendency to get funnier as I read, but the TWO worthy entries to "What Does God Look Like?" made me LOL. None of the winning entries did so. They were funny, but I did not laugh. My question: Is it just me? Or does a list of funny sayings or entries or whatevers increase in their ability to make one laugh as they go along? And if so, how do you account for that in the judging?
Re: Gene Pool - we named our firstborn, intentionally, after Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes. These days we’re just grateful we didn’t name him Dilbert.
Next to actors banging on about their "craft," authors trying to describe their creative impulses is the auditory or visual equivalent of watching paint dry for me. Something now that I've discovered TikTok, I do only occasionally. Next in line would be wading through hundreds of attempts at being funny. So, although as a paid subscriber I'm no longer obligated to, I feel I still must extend kudos and an "attaboy/girl" to Pat and Gene for this public service. Yes, I do know someone has to do it --- but to set aside large, unrecoverable swaths of their lives in the interests of tough love and retribution goes well beyond the call of the even now required duty.
Re: the pepper joke. Weirdly I heard it for the first time Tuesday from a 90-year-old friend (he told it as a guy ejaculating). My very first thought was that might have been a good joke to try writing a poke for. But no time to try this week so someone else has to do it.
Pogo.
In his article titled "The Art of Slowing Down," Gene lists several artifacts and practices that identify him as someone living in the 1910s. I wish to add a few other indicators.
Do you maintain your grocery list using a cell phone, or do you compile using pen(cil) and paper?
When you use a pen, do you print or do you write in cursive?
What kind of pen do you use? Ballpoint? Rollerball (TM)? Fountain?
If you use a fountain pen to compile your grocery list in cursive, you are, indeed, a denizen of the 1910s, and I salute you!
The first version of "mess with our Heads" was in The Czarist era, Week 391 in 2001, under a different name.
Spinning Out of Control
Real Headline: Sanders Won't Commit to Redskins
Alternative Subhead: Daniel 'Santa' Snyder Pledges Reduced Ticket Prices, 'Mercedes Day' Fan Appreciation Promotion
Real Headline: Trace Levels of Scotchgard Found Absorbed in Humans
Alternative Subhead: Environmentalists Optimistic, Predict Drop in Toilet Paper Use
This week's contest, suggested by Greg Arnold, Herndon: Take any headline in today's Washington Post and create a subhead (which Arnold defined, in a bravura show of technical expertise, as "whatever you call that headline-like thing in smaller type below the main headline") that spins the story in an opposite or unexpected direction, as in the above examples. Use headlines from any item in the Sunday Post, including advertising. Ignore existing subheads. Include the page number of the headline with your entry.
The resounding international success of the "Squid Game," the South Korean survival drama. has highlighted — perhaps as never before — the existence of what must be thousands of non-English language films made primarily for domestic markets, but with similar potential international appeal. And, coincidentally, how to provide not only efficient and effective translation but perhaps, more importantly, interpretation across a variety of linguistic cultures for this possible treasure trove. While ChatGPT and Dall-E 2 presently strut and fret their hour upon the stage --- as a film buff, I am much more fascinated by the opportunities AI is providing to see these normally unavailable films and in a choice of language, without subtitles or often awkward dubbing.
One technology being advanced — at least for the efficiency or "cosmetic" side — is auto-dubbing. While there are number of approaches, all make use of one or more components of AI to smooth out dubbing — lip and motion synching, for example — and provide "on-demand" dialogue in your choice of language with the actual actors speaking it. Without getting into (too much more) eye-glazing detail, the original actors record some text in their own language. Then a neural network (a series of algorithms designed to recognize underlying relationships through a process that mimics the way the human brain operates) learns the actors’ voices. A program then absorbs this vocal data and applies it to a digital translation of the script and AI generates perfectly timed dialogue from the film in the foreign language of choice.
So much for eventually getting rid of the irritating anomalies of the present translation/dubbing process, but we’re still left with the nagging issue of interpretation — especially problematic with subtitles because of their inherent limitations. Dealing with cultural factors in language when it comes to literature can be more or less easily handled via asides or footnotes. Not so easy with film. So how to deal with these often "untranslatables" which can make a difference to the integrity of a film and its full understanding and enjoyment will be a critical issue in ultimately providing the broadest possible access to this hidden wealth of foreign film.
For years, Gene has told us that he is the Ultimate Arbiter of humor, that what is funny is not a matter of personal taste, that humor is an objective quality that resides outside the audience. Yet it has been obvious for decades to any Loser that The Empress prefers a clever turn of phrase, while The Czar prefers a guffaw. Gene acknowledged as much when he resurrected the Invitational and discussed the stylistic differences between his judging and Pat's judging. To me, that undercuts Gene's claim to be Ultimate Arbitership.
This is also a metaphysical reason why Gene cannot be The Decider,other than Dubya having claimed that title for himself. A Czar's judgment is fallible. If Gene wants to be an infallible judge of humor, he cannot be a Czar. He must proclaim himself The Humor Pope, and his pronouncements must be the comedic equivalent of the [real] Pope speaking ex cathedra. The Humor Pope's pronouncements must be ex commodo, i.e., from the commode.
I don't know why I'm stuck on this...maybe because pedants gotta pedant. But the preferred nomenclature for a person with confusing or multiple sex markers is currently "intersex." Could change again. But "hermaphrodite" is definitely deprecated.