Rum Doings Episode 232: The Symbol Of Disposable Mortality
by John Walker on Jan.09, 2017, under Rum Doings
In our 232th ever Rum Doings, our topic is, have you ever eaten a ghost?
Discussions of our Christmas break, Lappish holidays, and festive feasts breaks way into an accidental conversion to Catholicism. We laugh at the colossally stupid Canary, forecast 2017, and then talk about the Mandela Effect, and specifically this article about it. And then mailing lists, and a surprise celebration of George Michael.
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[audio: http://rumdoings.jellycast.com/files/audio/232_rumdoings.mp3]
January 9th, 2017 on 13:06
I share Nicks aversion to the fake MIDI orchestra theme music. Especially obnoxious in the mid to late 1990s, with shows like Xena – Warrior Princess, Relic Hunter , Hercules. I should have been smack dab in the middle of their target demographic – but I just couldn’t bring myself to watch them because of the tinny fake theme music – that and the horrendously fake looking fight scenes.
January 9th, 2017 on 14:13
I’ll paste a response I made to someone who mailed me on the topic:
“Let me not put it so absolutely: if the choice of synth strings is a stylistic one, chosen consciously for its specific aesthetic, then this is fine. Perhaps I could include the Twin Peaks theme in this category; however, if you choose programmatic and synthetic music as a way of cutting corners, because it’s “good enough” and “the punter won’t notice”, then you deserve to be sent to purgatory. Or actual hell if we’re talking about a synth sax.
John doesn’t really get this because he has a tin ear (and palate)”
John had cross-replied:
“What about Jean Mich… oh wait.”
To which I responded:
“As in the mail that crossed this one, I am fine with synth music. I love it, in fact, from the early experimenters through Wendy Carlos and even old Jarry boy. But if it’s there as an ersatz exception rather than a celebration of its specificities, that is contemptible.”
January 9th, 2017 on 19:06
I don’t know if Elon Musk really believes in what he’s doing for the future, or just really believes in his own image as a futurologist, but there’s something distinctly…un-progressive? In the way he runs SpaceX.
It’s gotten a reputation in engineering circles as a terrible employer; extremely long hours (50+ hours per week) are expected as standard, with no overtime pay. Look at any position on their website; “Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed” is a common phrase.
Idealistic graduate engineers line up to work there, and end up doing so for a salary they can sometimes struggle to live on. They throw their entire lives into it for a few years before burning out, yet there’s still a constant line of naive replacements waiting to do the same.
I’ve heard that some companies with a good public image deliberately under-pay to ensure they get the people who want to work for them (rather then the people who just want the prestige of working for them). But I don’t know of any other engineering company exploit the idealism of its employees to such a degree.
January 11th, 2017 on 08:58
See also The Bearanstein or stain for other good crazy parrallal universe “evidence” http://www.avclub.com/article/how-you-spell-berenstain-bears-could-be-proof-para-223615