Random Thoughts

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Well if the vikings had a prosperous relationship with the natives for over 500 years like evidence suggests then that certainly continues to discredit the italian/piece of shit/rapist/invader/fraud Christoper Columbus. 

Anything else you'd like to add to his name?

For now I'll add, "Trash Navigator" but "Complete fraud" seems like his most fitting title.

Rusty wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Well if the vikings had a prosperous relationship with the natives for over 500 years like evidence suggests then that certainly continues to discredit the italian/piece of shit/rapist/invader/fraud Christoper Columbus. 

Anything else you'd like to add to his name?

For now I'll add, "Trash Navigator" but "Complete fraud" seems like his most fitting title.

But if you simply remove Italian and fraud from the description, piece of shit/rapist/invader can easily be used to describe Viking activities & conquests throughout those Medieval times. Evidence of an ongoing trade passage has no bearing on whether it was a prosperous or even pleasant experience for the indigenous people of the Americas they encountered at the time.

WyldeMan wrote:I've been continuously working on my family genealogy and today I finally had a huge breakthrough after endless research and scanning through thousands of very old newspaper articles. 

After more than two decades of trying to find the link and prove family lore, I discovered exactly how I'm related to legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone. My 7 times Great Grandfather was Daniel's uncle which makes him my first cousin 8 times removed, which just means that 8 generations separate us. 

I know this is totally uninteresting to you guys but it's pretty fuckin cool to me to finally have answers for the family. Many of them have heard the legends for 60+ years but never knew the link.

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:I've been continuously working on my family genealogy and today I finally had a huge breakthrough after endless research and scanning through thousands of very old newspaper articles. 

After more than two decades of trying to find the link and prove family lore, I discovered exactly how I'm related to legendary frontiersman Daniel Boone. My 7 times Great Grandfather was Daniel's uncle which makes him my first cousin 8 times removed, which just means that 8 generations separate us. 

I know this is totally uninteresting to you guys but it's pretty fuckin cool to me to finally have answers for the family. Many of them have heard the legends for 60+ years but never knew the link.

Cool! Not sure if I asked you this before but are you using a site like 23andMe?

A factory planning to pump out 10,000 two-legged robots a year is taking shape in Salem, Oregon — the better to help Amazon and other giant companies with dangerous hauling, lifting and moving.

Why it matters: Agility Robotics says that its RoboFab manufacturing facility will be the first to mass-produce humanoid robots, which could be nimbler and more versatile than their existing industrial counterparts.

   China seems to think so: Beijing recently announced a goal of mass-producing humanoid robots by 2025.

Driving the news: Agility Robotics, which makes a bot named Digit that's being tested by Amazon, plans to open RoboFab early next year, inaugurating what CEO Damion Shelton calls "the world's first purpose-built humanoid robot factory."

   "We've placed a very high priority on just getting robots out there as fast as possible," Shelton, who's also a co-founder, tells Axios.

   "Our big plan is that we want to get to general-purpose humanoids as soon as we can."

   There's a growing backlog of orders for Digit, which the company says is the first commercially available human-shaped robot designed for warehouse work.

Where it stands: Agility has produced about 100 robots since its founding in 2016, and plans to move Digit production from its Tangent, Oregon headquarters to the more spacious 70,000-square-foot RoboFab facility in the coming months.

   At first, production will be in the hundreds, but eventually RoboFab is "going to have a significantly larger capacity of 10,000 robots per year, peak," Shelton says.

   Companies that buy into Agility's Partner Program — which gives them input into Digit's capabilities, based on their own logistics needs — will get their robots delivered in 2024, ahead of broader delivery in 2025.

Zoom out: Building bipedal robots that can walk without falling over is an engineering challenge that has stymied many a robotics champion.

   Giving them dexterous hands and arms — and programming them so they can work safely alongside humans — are other big stumbling blocks.
   Competitors in this space include Tesla with its Optimus, Boston Dynamics with Atlas, Sanctuary AI with Phoenix, Figure with its eponymous robot, and Apptronik with Apollo.

   (Here's a list of humanoid robot makers, not all of which are attempting bipedal machines.)

The intrigue: Amazon, which deploys a multitude of purpose-driven robots, recently announced that it's testing Digit at a laboratory south of Seattle, shown in the photo above.

   "Our initial use for this technology will be to help employees with tote recycling, a highly repetitive process of picking up and moving empty totes once inventory has been completely picked out of them," per Amazon's announcement. (Totes are the yellow bins shown in the picture.)

   Amazon says that Digit "can move, grasp, and handle items in spaces and corners of warehouses in novel ways" and that its "size and shape are well suited for buildings that are designed for humans."

   Amazon has invested in Agility through its Industrial Innovation Fund. The companies won't say how much, but it's been reported that Amazon was "part of a $150 million funding round that Agility Robotics completed in 2022."

Fun fact: Digit, who is 5'9" and 140 pounds, can walk over and plug itself in when it needs to recharge.

What they're saying: "We're excited about Agility — we've been working closely with them since about April of last year," Amazon's chief roboticist, Tye Brady, tells Axios.

   "I'm curious about the bipedal nature. I'm curious about mobility in general," he said, adding that it's "very early days" for robots of this type.

   By testing them in a lab, Amazon hopes to figure out how they might move in an actual fulfillment center surrounded by people.

   "With an uneven surface, a bipedal robot can handle that better than a wheeled robot," Brady said, also praising the two-legged robot's "ability to turn in tight corners."

Between the lines: Sensitive to the concern that robots will take jobs from humans, Amazon teamed up with MIT in October for a project that aims to study automation's impact on work.

   Amazon says the 750,000 mobile robots it has deployed in the last decade have helped create 700 new categories of jobs for humans.
   "Robots are good at taking on repetitive and predictable tasks, and by doing so, they can free up employees to take on more complex responsibilities that help us better deliver for customers," Brady said in an interview on Amazon's website.

The bottom line: There's great momentum behind robots, and humanoid versions specifically — which are appealing in an anthropomorphic way — but also lots more on-the-job testing to be done.

   "We've placed a very high priority on just getting robots out there as fast as possible," Shelton, who's also a co-founder, tells Axios.

   "Our big plan is that we want to get to general-purpose humanoids as soon as we can."

UltimateMarvel wrote:That is amazing! If it's a success, it will be huge for warehouses. Unfortunately, it will also mean A LOT of jobs lost.

WyldeMan wrote:When was the last time you went into a store and actually got help from a human employee? Every single time I go into one if I have a question to ask all I ever hear is "I don't know" then they just walk the fuck off. Whatever happened to "I don't know but let me find out for you" Lazy fuckin pigs, everywhere I go.

Moron retail clerks who seem to only be focused on what is happening on their phones while standing in small groups and endlessly talking about bullshit while not working and ignoring customers.

I've worked retail and I have high expectations of the kind of service that should be provided so I really wouldn't mind if after warehouse employees, they also replaced retail clerks and food service workers with machines ASAP. People by and large are disgusting, unsanitary lazy pieces of shit who can't do their basic jobs and have no understanding of hygiene so why the fuck would I continue to want them employed? They can fuck and die for all I care instead of needlessly dragging down the gene pools but in this case, I'm simply advocating for these untalented fucks to lose their jobs, the extermination can be handled by the machines.  

It was either going to be Apes or machines and I trust machines more.

UltimateMarvel wrote: Have you considered therapy, sir? I sense some trauma in there.

But it's true, I rarely ask for help. I just use apps now and it shows you exactly what isle the product is.

I think it's great for society and productivity but there needs to be a contingency to look out for people too. What that's going to look like? I have no idea.

WyldeMan wrote:I have never been hurt by a robot sir, that's all I can say...

When most people use their phones to look up what they need already, what are most of the employees doing? Especially in a Best Buy where they'd have 20 employees inside every store just standing there on at the end of every isle not doing anything especially not being helpful.

I think this will create a shift in the kinds of jobs available. Everybody like my dad is instantly against this and says what about all the jobs? But I think this will free up humans to do more actual and important jobs instead of being task rabbits carrying boxes or totes all day every day from one side of a building to another. Have you ever had a soul sucking job like that? In my teens and 20's I worked dozens of different menial useless jobs where I never felt like I was contributing anything. 

It took me a long time to find what I enjoy but If I'd stayed in any of those meaningless monkey jobs, I might never have.

I feel like we've evolved beyond many jobs that people were doing over the last several hundred years as technology evolves so must the people.

If we hang on to jobs of the past just because its a job than we're all just going to be end up a bunch of unemployed travel agents.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Yeah, I've seen the first 2 so far.

André Braugher, the dynamic actor known for his outstanding work on such shows as Homicide: Life on the Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, has died. He was 61.

Braugher died Monday after a brief illness, his longtime rep Jennifer Allen told The Hollywood Reporter.

Braugher starred as master interrogator Det. Frank Pembleton on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street for all seven seasons of the show’s acclaimed 1993-98 run, then played another cop, Capt. Raymond Holt — this time against type and for laughs — on the 2013-21 Fox-NBC sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

He won his first Emmy in 1998 for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for Homicide after a season that featured one of its most memorable episodes, “Subway.” That was a two-hander in which Pembleton tries to unearth whether a man (Vincent D’Onofrio) pinned between a Baltimore subway train and the platform was pushed onto the track — while also trying to comfort him in his dying moments.

Braugher’s second Emmy came for his performance as the leader of a crew planning a high-stakes heist on the 2006 FX miniseries Thief.

After replacing Wendell Pierce, he stood out — as he always did — as Owen Thoreau Jr. alongside Ray Romano and Scott Bakula on the 2009-11 TNT dramedy Men of a Certain Age. He got two Emmy noms for that, and four for Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

The regal Braugher first made a TV name for himself as Det. Winston Blake on a series of Telly Savalas-starring Kojak telefilms that aired in 1989-90 and was another crime-solver, former Philadelphia cop turned cab driver Mike Olshansky, on the 2002-04 CBS series Hack.

In between, he portrayed a character based on a real-life doctor on the 2000-01 ABC series Gideon’s Crossing, created by Paul Attanasio, the creator of Homicide as well.

He made a career out of playing upstanding individuals.

Braugher was tapped in February to be the male lead on Netflix’s Shonda Rhimes drama The Residence, starring opposite Uzo Aduba. The White House murder-mystery series started production before shutting down amid Hollywood’s dual strikes.

He had already completed filming a lot of his scenes on the series, which was scheduled to resume filming in January. It’s unclear what The Residence, from showrunner Paul William Davies (Scandal), will do in the wake of his death.

Braugher recently portrayed New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet in She Said (2002), which revolved around the two journalists whose reporting led to the prosecution of Harvey Weinstein and sparked the #MeToo movement.

He also starred on the sixth and final season of Paramount+’s legal drama The Good Fight in 2022.

“I may not be the best actor in the world, but I just can’t do the one-dimensional roles. I can’t do cartoons of people,” Braugher told The Washington Post in 1990. “If the role is sweet, I want to turn it ugly. If it is ugly, I want to turn it sweet.”

The youngest of four children, André Keith Braugher was born in Chicago on July 1, 1962. His father worked as a heavy-equipment operator, his mother for the U.S. Postal Service. He attended St. Ignatius College Prep in his hometown, then earned a B.A. from Stanford University and a master’s degree from Juilliard, both after receiving scholarships.

Early on, he was a frequent actor in Public Theater Shakespeare in the Park productions in New York City, playing roles in Richard II, Henry V, Hamlet and As You Like It over the years.

Braugher’s big-screen résumé was impressive: Edward Zwick’s Glory (1989), Gregory Hoblit’s Primal Fear (1996), Spike Lee’s Get on the Bus (1996), City of Angels (1998), All The Rage (1999), Thick as Thieves (1999), Duets (2000), Frequency (2000), A Better Way to Die (2000), Poseidon (2006), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Frank Darabont’s The Mist (2007), Passengers (2008), Phillip Noyce’s Salt (2010) and Spirit Untamed (2021).

Other noteworthy efforts included work in the 1990 Turner telefilm The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson; the 1999 TNT telefilm Passing Glory, directed by Steve James; the 2002 Showtime telefilm 10,000 Black Men Named George, helmed by Robert Townsend; and the 2004 and 2008 miniseries Salem’s Lot and The Andromeda Strain.

Survivors include his wife, actress Ami Brabson (they worked together on Homicide and married in 1991); sons Michael, Isaiah and John Wesley; brother Charles; and mother Sally. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Classical Theatre of Harlem.

In a 2014 interview with The New York Times, Homicide producer Tom Fontana noted that the series began “as an ensemble piece. And it became The André Braugher Show. All the writers wanted to write for him because he was great and because they wanted to see if they could screw him up, throw him off his game.

“He could say so much with his eyes,” Fontana added. “We’d write these incredibly glorious speeches for him, and then you would see him just look at someone, and we’d sometimes go: ‘Drop the monologue. He’s already sold it.’”

Rusty wrote:That sucks. B99 wouldn't be near the show it is without him.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Homicide: Life On The Street actor André Braugher died from lung cancer a few months after he was diagnosed with the disease, his representative confirmed to Deadline Thursday.

The 61-year-old died Monday. At the time his representative said the actor had died from a brief illness.

Friends star Matthew Perry died from “acute effects of ketamine,” the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office said today. The autopsy report also cited drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine — a drug used to treat opioid use disorder — as contributing to his death.

Ketamine is a drug used recreationally that dulls pain, causes forgetfulness, intoxication, disassociation and euphoria. It is also increasingly used under medical supervision to treat depression. That application was approved by the FDA in 2019.

Ti West’s “MaXXXine” test screened last night in Burbank, California. Reactions seem to be veering more on the positive side for this one. It’s an homage to Dario Argento and the “Giallo” genre!

Mia Goth is back for “MaXXXine,” which takes place in 1985, five years after “X,” as Goth’s “heroine” sets out in Hollywood to find fame. She gets a role in a cheapie horror sequel. Lily Collins is Maxine’s co-star. Elizabeth Debicki plays the director of the film. Giancarlo Esposito is Maxine’s shady agent.

L.A. is being terrorized by the “night stalker” who, for some reason, is eager to meet Maxine. Bobby Canavale and Michelle Monaghan are the detectives working the case. A scene-stealing Kevin Bacon is the corrupt private investigator hired by an anonymous person to find Maxine.

MaXXXine,” which wrapped production in May, is filled with “over the top gore” and kicks off its story to the sounds of ZZ Top’s “Give Me All Your Lovin’.” Apparently, there are also scenes that take place in Psycho’s famous Bates Motel (via Critical Overlord).

As for the secret actor who appears in “MaXXXine.” I know who it is, but let’s keep it tight-lipped for now because it’s said to be a major highlight in the movie.

For many in attendance, when asked, it was hard to pick what the best of the trilogy was — all three films are their own unique statements. What West has created is a trilogy that includes a Texan slasher (“X”), a technicolor nightmare (“Pearl”) and, now, a Giallo.

Goth is really hot these days. Her “Pearl” performance seems to have opened up a lot of doors for her career, and for good reason — she delivered one of the best performances of 2022, and absolutely deserved some awards recognition for it. Her performance in “MaXXXine” is said to be more subdued, but still “very stellar.”

There is currently no release date for “MaXXXine.” All we know is that it’ll be released in 2024. Where will it premiere? SXSW? Cannes?

Source: worldofreel

joey con carne wrote:I'll just type this out before I start googling but I have never heard of Ti West before. Is that a guy or a girl?

Going to start googlin'.

LOL so apparently Ti West is neither of those two girls in that photo up there.

UltimateMarvel wrote:That's quite the cast. I don't think I've seen Halsey act before so that's cool.

Two of my siblings have caught pneumonia, they're fine but they've had it for like a month now, and it seems to be catching on globally for some odd reason. They're calling it "white lung" online probably to scare people but it's just pneumonia. Is anyone here coughing up?

A brand new “South Park” special has dropped on Paramount+ on Wednesday and is now available to stream in the U.S. and Canada.

“South Park: Not Suitable for Children” spoofs OnlyFans, the popular adult content creation platform. In the new trailer, Mr. Skinner bursts into his classroom and exclaims they have a problem. The parents of South Park then assemble for a meeting. They shout out, “We’re talking about someone who influences our children!” and “This isn’t just softcore porn we’re talking about here!”

The official logline reads, “After it’s discovered that a teacher at South Park Elementary has an OnlyFans page, Randy is compelled to take a closer look at the seedy underbelly of the world of on-line influencers.”

This marks the sixth “South Park” special to stream on Paramount+, following “South Park: Post Covid,” “South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid,” “South Park: The Streaming Wars,” “South Park: The Streaming Wars Part 2” and “South Park: Joining the Panderverse.”

“South Park: Not Suitable for Children” will be available on Paramount+ internationally on Dec. 21 in the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy on Dec. 23, with other international markets to follow.

“South Park” co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are executive producers, along with Anne Garefino and Frank C. Agnone II. Eric Stough, Adrien Beard, Bruce Howell and Vernon Chatman are producers. Christopher Brion is the creative director of South Park Digital Studios. Building on MTV Entertainment Studios’ expansive deal with Stone and Parker, “South Park” has been renewed on Comedy Central through 2027, taking cable’s longest-running scripted series through a Season 30.

Watch the “South Park: Not Suitable for Children” trailer, and stream it on Paramount+ above.

WyldeMan wrote:I have no idea if Halsey can act either but she's got an interesting look.

The only time I've ever had pneumonia was two days after a flu shot. Those bastards did it to me!!!

I didn't know you could have pneumonia for a month and not be hospitalized, that's crazy.

UltimateMarvel wrote:That South Park episode is going to be hilarious. Wonder if the female teachers are doing it too? There have been a couple of teachers on the news with OnlyFans who've been fired from their jobs.

If you’ve been betting on NBC’s Las Vegas ever being available to stream, your payday is finally nigh.

TVLine has learned that the James Caan-led casino drama, which ran for five seasons from September 2003 to February 2008, will begin streaming on Peacock starting next Friday, Dec. 29.

Created by Gary Scott Thompson, Las Vegas followed the elite surveillance team charged with maintaining security at one of the Strip’s largest casinos, the fictional Montecito hotel. Said security team dealt with card counters, costly streaks of random luck and rival casinos stealing away high rollers.

Almost Love Boat-like, the main cast of characters was fleshed out with an entertainment coordinator, an all-knowing valet, a pit boss, and an elusive former competitor.

The late James Caan starred as Ed Deline, the head of security for the Montecito, while Josh Duhamel (then of just All My Children) played Ed’s apprentice, Danny McCoy. The cast also included Nikki Cox (Unhappily Ever After) as events director Mary, James Lesure (The Rookie: Feds) as head valet Mike, Vanessa Marcil (General Hospital) as casino host/”whale” hunter Sam, Marsha Thomason (White Collar) as head pit boss Nessa, and Molly Simms (House of Style) as Ed’s daughter Delinda.

Recurring players included Cheryl Ladd (Charlie’s Angels) as Ed’s wife/Delinda’s mom Jillian, while Magnum, P.I. vet Tom Selleck’s A.J. Cooper took over as the Montecito’s owner in Season 5.

Las Vegas was so buzzy out of the gate that a Season 1 episode set the stage for a potential spinoff centered around the New Orleans Montecito, with film vet Dennis Hopper as the lead. “There was talk of that, but it just didn’t happen,” Hopper told me back in 2005. “It would have been an interesting show.”

joey con carne wrote:Merry Christmas, you beautiful bastards.

Fun fact I learned this year: Christmas is not just one single day, hence the song The 12 Days of Christmas. First day of Christmas is the 25th and then ends on January 5, the 12th day of Christmas. I'm a heathen, okay? Is it crazy that I did not know this? Is this common knowledge even for those who are not religious? I thought the twelve days of Christmas started from December 14 with the twelfth day being the 25th because that is what made sense to me as Christmas Day, the 25th, was "the" day.

In Germany, the 26th is also considered a holiday and businesses are typically closed. Office workers are also off but only if the 26th falls on a weekday. If the 26th is Saturday or Sunday, you still have to work on Monday.

joey con carne wrote:Merry Christmas, you beautiful bastards.

Fun fact I learned this year: Christmas is not just one single day, hence the song The 12 Days of Christmas. First day of Christmas is the 25th and then ends on January 5, the 12th day of Christmas. I'm a heathen, okay? Is it crazy that I did not know this? Is this common knowledge even for those who are not religious? I thought the twelve days of Christmas started from December 14 with the twelfth day being the 25th because that is what made sense to me as Christmas Day, the 25th, was "the" day.

In Germany, the 26th is also considered a holiday and businesses are typically closed. Office workers are also off but only if the 26th falls on a weekday. If the 26th is Saturday or Sunday, you still have to work on Monday.

joey con carne wrote:Has anyone here subbed to MGM Plus? Is it basically the same as HBO Max? I just learned of this service and it is pretty cheap at $50 for an entire year. Looks like it is movies and some shows/series with a "live" channel that just continuously airs movies back to back.

Browsing the website, there seems to be a nice selection. From what I have read, it used to be Epix and then got rebranded as MGM Plus.

I do love Paramount and HBO Max because of Smithsonian and Looney Tunes, respectively. Not sure I will ever cancel those.

joey con carne wrote:Fuck me I am sick. Getting worse as the minutes go by. Feel loudy and my body is cold. This sucks. Juat took 600mg of ibuprofen in desperation to feel gooder. Bleh