Meme - "Vegans. Lesbians
Using imitation meat to fill a void."
Denny Burk on X - "One of the traits of Gen X is that they are cynical. Why? “It's because we had to replace our record collections with a tape collection and then replace that with a CD collection that we slowly replaced with an MP3 collection and now need a subscription to listen to music.”"
How Facebook graffiti artist David Choe earned $200 million - "Some millionaires reach seven figures through hustling and penny pinching. Others just get lucky. Graffiti artist David Choe knows the second scenario well. As featured on a recent episode of CNBC’s “The Filthy Rich Guide,” in the early 2000s, Choe’s work caught the eye of Sean Parker, founder of Napster. In 2005, after Parker became president of then-fledgling start-up Facebook, he hired Choe to deck out its original headquarters in Silicon Valley with murals. Though Choe despised social media’s early iterations like MySpace and called Facebook a “ridiculous” idea, according to “The Filthy Rich Guide,” he agreed to paint the building for a hefty sum: $60,000. “My prices had been going higher and higher and I was like, ‘Yeah, I mean, if you want me to paint the entire building, it’s going to be 60, you know, 60 grand,’” Choe told Howard Stern. Parker offered him a choice between cash and company stock, but advised him to take the stock. It was a risky decision. As Choe told Stern, at that time “Facebook was a joke.” There was no guarantee that the business would amount to anything and his shares could wind up worthless. He took the stock. When Facebook went public at $38 a share in 2012, his stock options were worth $200 million, making him a bona fide multimillionaire. (Today the common stock is at more than $171 per share.)"
Meme - Gypsy Rose: "I love you mom. I hope you're looking down on me and praying for my success! Your little girl has grown from little princess to a full queen I love you"
"I wish my Mom was alive. I need to talk to her."
"It's funny you should say that!"
Meme - "Me, excited my girl finally agreed to try anal"
"Her with a 12 inch strap-on"
Meme - "Thufir, how much will a pretzel baconator cost at 12:15PM on Tuesday"
*white eyes*
Meme - Reverse Fatty Liver: Support G... Amanda J Spencer: "Thank you to the ppl that were kind and understanding. I will be exiting the group as being told "just eat meat" several times when I am meat free is inappropriately pushy. Also not all of us eat poorly, certain meds and supplements contribute to fatty liver. Please yall pushing meat tell the millions of plant based ppl in the world you are right and they aren't... Good luck."
Meme - "Asus Z97-AR w/ 4790k CPU
Free
Description: Upgraded my CPU and motherboard a while back to a Ryzen and don't need these anymore. These are older, but could still game pretty well. Will need a new CMOS battery as the old one had died right before I upgraded. Free, because I cannot test them (they were working when pulled, but I no longer have any DDR3 RAM to test with, sorry) as long as you pick them up. I don't have access to a car to deliver currently. I'm located in *** IL. ***No, I will not ship you something I'm trying to give away for free.*** Also, if you wanna get laid while you're here to pick it up, I'd be down (I'm 32/female). Bored and lonely lately so why not kill two birds with one stone."
Meme - "A RACK. IT'S NOT JUST A COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST *Cece Rose*"
Meme - "Everybody gangster until the stink bug takes it's titties out"
Meme - "Dealership when they're selling you a car
It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.
Dealership when you're trading it back in.
What a piece of junk!"
Canadians get lousy value for the taxes we pay - "Every year at the Fraser Institute, we calculate the total tax bill — which includes income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, fuel taxes, etc. — for the average Canadian family. This year we found the average family paid 43.0 per cent of its annual income in taxes in 2023. That is more than it spent on basic necessities such as food, clothing and housing combined, and significantly higher than the 33.5 per cent it paid in 1961. Put differently, the average family’s tax bill has increased 2,705 per cent since 1961 — or 180.3 per cent after adjusting for inflation. And yet, in a recent column, Star contributing columnist Linda McQuaig said we’re “distorting the public debate over taxes” by publishing these facts while stating that the effective tax rate the average family pays has only “increased by 28 per cent since 1961.”... According to a recent poll, 74 per cent of respondents feel the average family is overtaxed, and 80 per cent believe the average family should pay 40 per cent or less of its income in total taxes. Another important question is whether families get value for the taxes they pay. Polling shows nearly half (44 per cent) of Canadians feel they receive “poor” or “very poor” value from government services while only 16 per cent believe they receive “good” or “great” value. This should be no surprise. Health care wait times are at record highs. Student test scores are declining. And Canada routinely fails to meet our NATO defence spending commitments. Meanwhile, governments waste taxpayer dollars on pet projects such as a federal infrastructure bank, which, despite a budget of at least $13.2 billion, has delivered only two relatively minor projects in seven years. Or handouts to new electric vehicle (EV) owners that cost taxpayers — including Canadians unable to afford EVs — more than $587 million annually. Can we really say governments are using our money wisely? Unfortunately, many governments are doubling down. Municipalities such as Vancouver and Toronto raised property taxes by at least 7.5 per cent this year. Toronto city council has even floated the idea of a municipal sales tax. It’s hard to argue that you want to make life more affordable for families by leaving less money in their pockets. And of course, the Trudeau government recently raised taxes on capital gains. But despite claims to the contrary, this tax hike won’t only affect wealthy investors. According to an analysis by economist Jack Mintz, 50 per cent of taxpayers who claim more than $250,000 of capital gains in a year earned less than $117,592 in normal annual income from 2011 to 2021. These include Canadians with modest annual incomes who own businesses, second homes or stocks, and who may choose to sell those assets once or infrequently in their lifetimes (when they retire, for example). Finally, more tax hikes are likely on the horizon. The federal government and eight provinces are currently running budget deficits, meaning they’re not taxing enough to keep up with spending. Deficits produce debt, which will be passed onto future generations of Canadians in the form of higher taxes."
Clearly, services are only poor because taxes are too low, but we can raise taxes on "the rich" to fund more services
reformed social parasite on X - "Knowledge is lost and rediscovered all the time in history. The vast majority of Greek and Roman texts largely exist today because of the preservation efforts of Muslim scholars during the Islamic Golden Age. Nothing about this indicates that one culture is superior to another."
Christopher on X - "You've taken a half-truth that was already exaggerated, and exaggerated it beyond recognition. The "vast majority" of Greek and Roman texts most certainly do not exist today "because Muslims". (If they did, we would have only a translation of a translation.)"
Meme - "ROAST THE CHICKEN FOR 25 MINUTES, OR 30 MINUTES If YOU HAVE LARGE BREASTS"
*looks down*
"BETTER DO 30 MINUTES"
Red Light Cameras May Not Make Streets Safer - "In a study I co-authored with economist Paul J. Fisher, we examined all police-recorded traffic accidents for three large Texas cities over a 12-year period – hundreds of thousands of accidents. We found no evidence that red light cameras improve public safety. They don’t reduce the total number of vehicle accidents, the total number of individuals injured in accidents or the total number of incapacitating injuries that involve ambulance transport to a hospital... Evidence clearly shows that camera programs are effective at decreasing the number of vehicles running red lights. In one study in Virginia, red light cameras reduced the number of total drivers running red lights by 67 percent. However, cameras can have contradictory effects on traffic safety. Some drivers who would have otherwise continued to proceed through the intersection when the light is yellow or red will now attempt to stop. That means that the number of accidents caused by vehicles not stopping at a red light will likely decrease. But the number of accidents from stopping at a red light – such as rear-end accidents – is likely to increase. That’s not an inconsequential side effect. Some drivers will attempt to stop, accepting a higher risk of a non-angle accident like getting rear-ended, in order to avoid the expected fine."
They do, however, increase revenue
Red-Light Cameras Increase Accidents - "One source that is highlighting the increase in accidents is the media. Because so many studies are showing an increase in collisions at red light camera intersections, various news outlets are conducting their own studies in this phenomenon. Below is a small sampling of these reports."
Actual Fact Bot: Revived | Facebook - "Mukurob was a unique rock formation in the Namib Desert that fell in 1988. Indigineous oral tradition told that the power of the “white man” would end when this geological structure collapsed. South Africa finally relinquished control of Namibia a few weeks after it collapsed on the night of 7 December 1988."
Big Blue Drew on X - "Just pulled into a DQ drive thru for a blizzard. Dude tells me they’re out or Reese’s. I say no problem not your fault. He dead ass goes “that’s where you’re wrong. I do the ordering and I’ve been slacking.” ☠️ 😂"
The Tale of Two Lovers - Wikipedia - "The Tale of Two Lovers (Latin: Historia de duobus amantibus) (1444) is a novel by Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, the future Pope Pius II. It is one of the earliest examples of an epistolary novel, full of erotic imagery. The first printed edition was published by Ulrich Zell in Cologne between 1467 and 1470."
Meme - "That's a cute outfit, did your husband give it to you?"
"How did you know I have a husband?"
"I'm the twink you both air-gapped last weekend."
Meme *Swiss Railway Station* "LOOK AROUND White Men built all of this"
wanye on X - ""x is the consensus view amongst scientists!" is always a weak argument, since there must exist better arguments that convinced those scientists to accept the consensus view in the first place. An appeal to consensus is either an acknowledgement that you don't actually know those arguments very well or that they don't exist."
Meme - Ryan Burge @ryanburge: "In 1976, 5% of high school seniors were 'straight edge' No alcohol, no cigarettes, no marijuana in the prior month. In 2021, nearly 40% of high school seniors were straight edge."
Meme - zoethebitch: "McDonald's giving away free fries if you use their mobile app and then updating the terms and conditions to say if you use this app you waive your right to trial in any class action lawsuits and have to do mandatory arbitration is INSANE"
ELI5: The $90 million Batgirl movie tax write-off : r/tax - "I don't think this is really a tax "write-off" situation. My guess, as someone who doesn't actually know anything about the industry, as to why they trashed it rather than just doing a streaming release:
Poor testing suggested that recouping even a fraction of the $90 mil spent so far unlikely, effectively creating a $90 mil sunk cost.
Finishing the VFX, licensing the music, paying any triggered licensing fees, and advertising the movie would cost tens of millions of dollars they think would be wasted.
There are likely contractual obligations that generate additional costs if the film is released, including actor bonuses, and partner revenue sharing.
There may be deferred tax items (like amortization & depreciation) that can be more quickly recognized if the film is cancelled rather than released.
The film is so terrible it will further tarnish the already poor reputation of the DCEU. "
Residuals are a thing (why Willow got pulled). But to left wingers, tax writeoffs are a way to make money, so
After writers' deal, Disney+, Netflix and others will drop more shows - Los Angeles Times - "“#embarrassing.” That is how the star of the Disney+ series “Willow,” Warwick Davis, described the streaming video platform’s decision to remove the show entirely. “Willow” is not alone. Ever since Warner Bros. Discovery decided to not release the movie “Batgirl” on its streaming platform, then known as HBO Max, lots of filmed titles have been removed from streaming services. Many people blame these decisions on the tax write-offs that can be taken when a show is pulled off a platform. In class with my students last week, we estimated the additional tax benefit Warner Bros. Discovery got by discarding “Batgirl”: about $700,000. The studio is said to have spent $90 million to make the movie. The tax savings alone do not justify the decision to scrap it, so there must be other financial incentives at work. There are two costs that streaming services bear when they leave under-watched programming online. The first cost is the continuing compensation payments to the cast and crew, known as residuals. Under the collective bargaining agreements reached between the studios and the guilds in 2020, the amount of residuals paid by the studio on each show was a function of how many subscribers were on the streaming service. In other words, Disney had to pay the residuals cost of “Willow” based on how many subscribers the platform had, regardless of how many people were watching the show. Higher residual rates in the new deal that the Writers Guild of America just negotiated will probably accelerate streamers’ decisions to drop shows. The guild told its members that Netflix’s residual payouts for certain shows “will increase from the current $18,684 for a one-hour episode to $32,830.” The writers may have unintentionally increased Netflix’s motivation to drop their under-watched shows. The second cost of leaving under-watched programming online is damage to the brand. When viewers watch a show that disappoints them, they may check out something on another streaming service. With enough disappointments, consumers can easily cancel their subscription and switch their attention to another. In a worst-case scenario, fans might spend less at the theater when the next DC movie comes out because “Batgirl” was so unsatisfactory. Yet the good news is that “Willow” and other withdrawn shows are not necessarily gone from streaming forever. They may eventually follow the same path back to home viewers as “Westworld,” a formerly trending series that began its life on HBO. “Westworld,” which left Max presumably because of tax write-off advantages and residuals costs, has arisen from the dead on another streaming service, Tubi. Tubi, Pluto TV and the Roku Channel — free, ad-supported streaming television, or FAST — offer a solution to keeping under-watched, under-loved programming accessible. The difference between FAST services and subscription platforms is how they make their money. The free platforms earn income only if viewers watch ads. When “Baywatch” takes a commercial break on Pluto TV, about half of the money paid by the advertiser goes to Pluto TV, and the other half goes to the show’s owner. The more people watch “Baywatch,” the more the show’s owner earns. Moving a show to a FAST service means the amount of residuals for the cast and crew gets calculated in a different way"
Clearly, the WGA needs to go on strike again
Its such a damn shame Disney has ruined Star Wars for so many children. Just look at the toy sales : r/saltierthancrait - "What even went wrong with Star Trek? Did it just fade into relative obscurity, because I don’t recall any actual issues unlike Star Wars"
"A terrible hack writer named Alex Kurtzman (seriously, look up his past credits, every single one famously awful writing) somehow failed upwards until they gave him control of the entire franchise. The reboot with the Abrams movies killed continuity and those movies nosedived with each sequel. New series Discovery tried to ignore everything about Trek by being dark, edgy and topical (in a bad way rather than good like DS9). Picard went out of its way to piss on beloved characters and any connection to the older timeline. Trek under Berman wasn't perfect, but it was fairly consistent and had a LOT someone could build off of. Instead, the new folks wanted to do their own thing, but it was awful. Reall, though, Kurtzman is the biggest issue. I can't overstate how terrible a writer he is and how insane it is that a guy with his track record got given the reigns to any IP, much less Trek."
"Agree with this and to add further for the original commentor: Kurtzman helped influence Star Trek moving away from its optimistic, philosophical, and moral roots into a more cynical, lowbrow, and violent show in an effort to make the "heady" Star Trek appeal to an audience by making it "more like Star Wars". This ignores the fact that even Deep Space Nine (my personal favorite) and considered the "dark show" of Classic Trek never fully abandoned the optimism of the franchise, nor how shallow attempts at sex appeal (Seven with Voyager or T'Pol with Enterprise) never took away the show being about the future being brighter than it is now. Hot Take - I'd personally argue that Nu Trek is starting to "get better" relative to Star Wars, since we at least got Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, Prodigy, and Picard Season 3 which "feels" more like Trek (or at least pays it respect), but these shows still have justifiable issues with writing, tone, etc. Hell Picard was trash until they got someone that actually knew the show in the final season and even their newest show coming out ("Section 31") looks like absolute shite/straight up Acolyte-tier if the trailer is anything to go off of.
tl;dr to original poster - Nu Trek had/still has the issue Star Wars is facing where they're making the shows for people who don't actually like the thing that makes the franchise stand out and beloved world wide."
shevereshtus on X - "One of the most vile (and oft repeated) accusations against Jews and Judaism is that the Talmud (Ketubot 11b) permits relations with a girl as long as she is under the age of 3. A thread debunking this absolutely horrific libel...
this is in the larger context of evaluating the marriage contract for the purpose of establishing the financial protections she receives in the case of a divorce. What this is not is:
1) A discussion about what's permitted/forbidden
2) A moral evaluation...
If you were to take a law book from your state and open it even in the sections regarding crimes of this nature, it would be coldly read as "If abuser does this to victim, this is considered X. If he does that, this is considered Y. In such conditions, you give them X sentence."
You won't find a single manual of law that says "Drunk driving WHICH IS A HORRIBLE THING TO DO gets you 3 years minimum in jail if you kill something AND YOU SHOULD NEVER DO THAT.""
Thread by @thefernandocz on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App - "In 2018, Mark Zuckerberg was one of the most hated CEOs on the planet. 6 years later, he wears chains, surfs in tuxedos and fights Lex Fridman. Everyone seems to love him. It's the most brilliant PR transformation of the century and everyone needs to understand why it worked: 🧵
Remember this scrawny, awkward hacker? Now, he’s a jacked CEO who fights Lex Fridman & wears chains. Here’s what you missed about Zuck’s PR transformation:
2004: A nervous 19-year-old in flip-flops launches Facebook from his dorm room.
2024: A confident 40-year-old in gold chains wakeboarding while holding the American flag.
What happened in between?
It's not just about looks. Zuck's gone from awkward Congressional hearings to scrapping with UFC fighters. From "smoking meats" videos to receiving gold chains from T-Pain. This isn't an accident...
Coincidentally, it's coincided with Meta getting its mojo back. Meta stock is up 60% this year (& 160% in the last 5). Zuck's transformation mirrors Meta's:
• Meta: From scandal-plagued social media to AI innovator
• Zuck: From robotic CEO to relatable tech bro
The secret? Zuck's new strategy: Authenticity. He's not pretending to be a normal guy anymore. He's owning his billionaire status.
• Wakeboarding in a tux? Check.
• Collecting designer chains? Yep.
• Training with MMA fighters? You bet.
Other transformations we're seeing:
Zuck's whole wardrobe got an upgrade:
• Out: Dishwater tees and hoodies
• In: Capri cabana shirts and Yeezy-esque sweatshirts
And:
• He's let his hair grow out into Gen-Z curls
• He's engaging with fashion designers in IG comments
The secret:
While Elon Musk picks culture war fights on X, Zuck's projecting a "whatever bro, I'm doing me" vibe. By embracing his quirky billionaire status instead of hiding it, Zuck's become MORE relatable. Now, he's just spending time with his family & spending his billions as we would. The big takeaway:
Whether or not you liked Zuck before, you probably like him more now. And it's all down to him just being himself. This is what people get wrong about personal brand:
They think a personal brand is about being someone else. That a personal brand = the LinkedIn influencer types. But Zuck's transformation shows you: Your authentic self is what leads to the best outcomes."
'IT WAS THE JEWS!' Screams Candace Owens On First Round Of 'Clue' | Babylon Bee - "According to sources, it was not the Jews. It was Colonel Mustard in the Study with the Rope. At publishing time, Candace Owens was vindicated after she did her own research and determined Colonel Mustard was a Jew."
they're a cult : r/Jordan_Peterson_Memes - "Most republicans now would have been considered democrats back in the 90’s and early 2000’s."
"If you listen to some of the old Bill Clinton speeches, you'd swear he was a Republican by today's standards."
Actual Fact Bot: Revived | Facebook - "The Rolling Stones' record company mistakenly included a comma in the title for their single “Paint It Black” (Paint It, Black), leading to a controversy over its racial interpretation."
The power of literature
Foreign tourist in Japan arrested for having sex on shrine grounds in broad daylight - "Much has been written, and many hands wrung, over the opaque, obtuse, and obfuscating etiquette of the Japanese culture. In reality, though, for foreign tourists traveling in Japan, common sense will get you pretty far. Say please and thank you. If you’re stopping somewhere to check a map or dig through your bag, move to the side of the walkway so other people can get by. Refrain from humping in broad daylight at religious sites. But apparently that last local manners point was a bit too hard for a 61-year-old Austrian tourist to adhere to, and was a social norm a Japanese female acquaintance of his was willing to break as well. At 11:35 in the morning on August 23, the police in the town of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, received a call reporting that two people were having sex on the grounds of a shrine. Though the shrine isn’t in a heavily populated area, the witness reported that the pair was engaged in the act in an open, easily seen location... the Austrian man was leaning against the shrine building while engaged in the act... The pair now face charges of disrespecting a place of worship, with the woman, a Kesennuma resident in her 40s, already admitting guilt."
Wendy’s “Chili Finger Lady” Comes Clean - "In 2005, Anna Aayala was dining at a San Jose Wendy's restaurant when she claimed she chomped down on a partially-cooked segment of human finger. The fast food chain suffered an estimated $21 million in lost business. Her husband, Jaime Plascencia, got the severed finger from a co-worker, who lost it in an industrial accident. Both Ayala and Plascencia pleaded guilty. Aayala was sentenced to nine years in prison but was released after four years on good behavior. There's one condition to her release: She's not allowed to step foot back in the place that made her famous."