The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXVIII

[Lohrenswald]

That's true physically.

But spiritually?

England's working on it. And seems to be gaining ground.

Look at how many people speak English! And use it for things like computing.

This may, of course, not be a good thing.

There are no spirits
I'm such a killjoy

It's an Ordnance Survey coordinate.

Oh you brits

Felixstowe, eh?

 

[sophie]

And then the studios lost or sold their theatres! How did the custom go on after that?

The studios got trust-busted in the 1910s. IIRC it had to do with the patent rights to the projectors. Edison in particular was rather ruthless with his monopolistic control over early American cinema. Which, co-incidentally is one of the reasons Hollywood emerged as the main center for American cinema. It was about as far as you could possibly get from Menlo Park, New Jersey while still staying in the country. They were too far off the radar for Edison to really have any power to assert his patent.

So there is a logical(oid) origin to popcorn after all.

Yep. By the time the trusts got broken up eating popcorn at the movies had kind of been established as a tradition. It would have been idiotic for new cinemas to leave that money lying on the table.

 

[Joecoolyo]

When I was younger and my parents took me and my bro to the movies we always snuck in popcorn we made at home. At the least it was marginally healthier, but that's like saying Luxembourg is gigantic compared to Vatican City.

As long as you didn't soak it in butter I think you were fine

I remember when multiplexes first started. They were like concentration camps, with employees making sure no one snuck into a second movie.

Then they realized that their profits came from the concession stands, not the ticket prices [which went mainly to the studios]. If customers stayed for a second or third movie, they'd get hungry and would buy more junk food. So, now you can spend the day in a multiplex, wandering from show to show, dining on popcorn and coca cola.

We were told not to let kids sneak into R-rated movies, though I never recall having to crack down on people seeing multiple movies. This might actually be a thing.

That's very strange. I heard recently that the theatres make at least 50% from the ticket sales.

Where the big profits are for the Big Studios is the merchandising associated with the successful films. They make very little from the films themselves since a) they're very expensive to make and b) a lot of films are flops.

This is what I was told working at a movie theater. We were supposed to boost concessions sales as much as possible. To the point where we checked bags at the door for food being snuck in (though it was also to check for firearms, as much as a teenage usher was going to stop someone who was intent on shooting up a theater).

 

[Takhisis]

Well, the theaters now need to make money somehow, and a lot of the ticket sales go to the studios so....

6 dollars for a small popcorn please.

I am left wondering: How the hell did they convince people to like popcorn in the first place?

That's true physically.

But spiritually?

England's working on it. And seems to be gaining ground.

Look at how many people speak English! And use it for things like computing.

This may, of course, not be a good thing.

The quality of the language has certainly decreased.

The studios got trust-busted in the 1910s. IIRC it had to do with the patent rights to the projectors. Edison in particular was rather ruthless with his monopolistic control over early American cinema. Which, co-incidentally is one of the reasons Hollywood emerged as the main center for American cinema. It was about as far as you could possibly get from Menlo Park, New Jersey while still staying in the country. They were too far off the radar for Edison to really have any power to assert his patent.

Oh, so Edison was an overbearing, arrogant sod to everyone?

Yep. By the time the trusts got broken up eating popcorn at the movies had kind of been established as a tradition. It would have been idiotic for new cinemas to leave that money lying on the table.

In my view, they are actually detrimental to the experience, but then cinema was never about art for art's sake.

 

[Joecoolyo]

I am left wondering: How the hell did they convince people to like popcorn in the first place?

Popcorn is great! So perfect for mindless snacking and making a huge mess.

Covering it in fat and salt also helps (though personally I think plain popcorn is just as tasty).

 

[Cutlass]

I am left wondering: How the hell did they convince people to like popcorn in the first place?

Salt.

 

[Arwon]

whyyyyyy

 

[warpus]

For the last couple weeks/months maybe my forehead has started developing random.. things on my forehead. They get crusty, and over time develop into small wounds.

I thought maybe my bedsheets are at fault, so I washed them.. but no change.

So then one day I also noticed that my forehead was unusually dry and flaky.. So I used something I got for christmas many years ago - a small canister of vichy homme hydra mag c fortifying 24hr hydrating care. I don't even know what this thing is. They don't have a name for it - what I wrote right there is exactly what it says on the canister. Seriously, the only other thing it says is that it's been tested on sensitive skin, exactly how much product there apparently is, and that it's made in France.

I imagine this to be something fancy boys use, but.. it made my forehead feel a lot better, and it made the wounds go away. But now I have to use this stuff like once every 1.5-2 weeks, or else the crustyness comes back.

So does anyone know how I can prevent this forehead crustyness without resorting to buying vichy homme bs products?

 

[Arwon]

It's just a fancy moisturiser. If your skin is getting dry and flaky to the point of the skin drying up and opening and bleeding, it probably means you need to use a regular moisturiser.

 

[The_J]

I at first thought that might be parasites (there are some living directly under your skin, which break through in later stages of development; forgot the name though) or maybe a fungal infection, but if moisturiser makes it go away, then it's probably really only a simple moist problem.
Just try whatever cream you can get, doesn't have to be an expensive one.
Creams on glycerine basis don't work well for me, but the rest normally does.

 

[Mise]

Yeah just use a regular cheapo moisturiser. Or check the active ingredients in the expensive one and find the cheapest one that contains the same or similar ingredients.

But really, use cheapo moisturiser more regularly. It's weird how much nicer it is to have soft skin than dry skin, if you've been unknowingly living with dry skin for a long time.

 

[Cutlass]

They sell meters, called humidistats, to measure how dry the air is. You can get one cheap on Amazon. If your house has been exceptionally dry this winter, you might want to get a humidifier. Extremely dry air can sometimes cause skin irritation.

 

[warpus]

If your skin is getting dry and flaky to the point of the skin drying up and opening and bleeding, it probably means you need to use a regular moisturiser.

I wonder what changed that made all of this start. I guess it's possible I've always had issues with dry skin, but I've never really noticed any wounds until recently.

Thanks for the tips. Going to see if Costco has some sort of a cheap moisturiser.

Isn't it also weird that this Vichy stuff isn't labelled as moisturiser? Seems like, if a guy like me was looking for moisturiser and had money to throw around, I wouldn't buy this - because I just wouldn't know what the hell it is.

I guess I should probably ask one of my sisters what they recommend.

 

[Borachio]

Dear me!

Could be stress related. Or it could be something to do with air conditioning. Or it could be something to do with diet.

Or it could be something out of the blue that will one day just disappear for no good reason at all.

What can you do? Treat the symptoms is all, I guess.

When in doubt, try fresh urine on it. Anyone's will do, but I'd go with my own in the first instance as there's always a ready supply of it.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

whyyyyyy

Playfully tugging a waitress's pony-tail may seen as harmless fun by some

Who are these "some"?

 

[Borachio]

Sad guys with no respect for either women or themselves who think they have a right to treat other people as commodities? And who wouldn't even consider it as anything but harmless fun.

I don't really know. But that might be the sort of guess I'd make.

 

[Farm Boy]

People with significantly differently defined personal space. Women who touch me on the shoulder or arm when they're talking to me drive me up the wall(and there are more of them than I would have thought). But in this world created of my oppression I have the privilege of not being threatened and swallowing a big cup of smile and shut the hell up.

 

[Borachio]

Link to video.

So. Tell me what it means when the Dalai Lama tugs Russell Brand's beard?

 

[Tahuti]

Link to video.

So. Tell me what it means when the Dalai Lama tugs Russell Brand's beard?

For a moment I thought it was a play featuring Jesus alongside Buddha.

 

[Samson]

Thanks for the tips. Going to see if Costco has some sort of a cheap moisturiser.

I do not know how they compare to machines designed for the purpose, but plants make pretty good moisturisers.