Useless Conversation

[Salamok]

With all this talk about fruit, I'm reminded that I need a (real) wine press...

feet+barrel!

[Samwise]

Is like going back to a manual typewriter after using a touchpad. Seriously.

Or like going back to a car after riding a Segway!

[RhyssaFireheart]

Can I request a moratorium on all things -palooza?  And add in calling the event "Lolla" for short?

Because I've been listening to that on the radio and TV for the past few weeks and it's getting right old.  I can't wait for this weekend to be over.

[Talpidae]

Shooting for World War Z starts ramping up in Glasgow.  They've announced the dates for George Square closing down.  I think I'll book myself a table in Georgics and watch the zombies lurch by when it starts.

[Sky]

I've been listening to...the radio and TV for the past few weeks

Well, there's your problem right there.

[RhyssaFireheart]

I listen to the radio to and from work (which is fine) and the news in the AM while getting ready for work.  I don't pay attention outside of those time periods so it must be noticeable.

[Bunk]

This probably could go in useless videos, but really it's more about the idea than the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5pJ5a7EYVw (Pepsi Summertime Uncle Teddy commercial)

I just saw this commercial last night for the first time. Am I wrong in being really pissed off by this? I don't mind competitors poking fun at each other in commercials - the Pesi and Coke delivery guy commercials are just fine for example. But this, to me, is shitting on your competitor's iconic characters. I can remember Coke Christmas time Polar Bear ads going back nearly twenty years.

I assume they can get away with it because you can't exactly trade mark a polar bear that doean't speak, doesn't have a name, etc. Essentially though, they just took an established Coke character, stole it, and made it look stupid.

It may be that it offends me just on the fact that the commercial is both annoying and unfunny. It's not even well animated.

Actually, thinking about it more - it offends me specifically because of the commercial they are "parodying". The Coke Polar Bear commercials are probably the least offensive, least in your face commercials out there. They are designed to remind you that its Christmas time and to make you feel happy (and then remind you that Coke makes you feel happy too). They're cute. Why would Pepsi go and try to shit all over cute?

[Talpidae]

That's the Holy Grail of Lame.

[Soln]

garbage indeed

[Soln]

what do you think about having a personal finance/investment thread in Politics?  Bad idea?   

[Paelos]

Actually, thinking about it more - it offends me specifically because of the commercial they are "parodying". The Coke Polar Bear commercials are probably the least offensive, least in your face commercials out there. They are designed to remind you that its Christmas time and to make you feel happy (and then remind you that Coke makes you feel happy too). They're cute. Why would Pepsi go and try to shit all over cute?

I am also offended by that and the one they have out with Santa down in palm beach. This one with the bears is much worse. That being said, Pepsi always tries to shock people with their ads because they are the "rebellious" soda.  

That and they have terrible ads in general.

[Yegolev]

Pepsi has nothing to lose by being asses.  Diet Coke, by itself, is larger than Pepsi.

TCCC does, however, take pride in never mentioning their competition in their ads.  Their statement to that effect, of course, is itself a statement about Pepsi's tactics.  Corollary: Yankees are rude.

Not entirely useless, but I have an interview on Monday and I might be able to go to work for a division of TCCC again.  This is great mostly because the job will pay overtime.

[Paelos]

Coca-Cola rules. Coke Zero Cherry is the BOOOOOOOOOOOOMB!



Look at it! Even the nutrition info is red. They spared no expense!

[Sky]

I have an interview on Monday and I might be able to go to work for a division of TCCC again.  This is great mostly because the job will pay overtime.

I should work there. They could pay me in Diet Coke.

[Merusk]

Actually, thinking about it more - it offends me specifically because of the commercial they are "parodying". The Coke Polar Bear commercials are probably the least offensive, least in your face commercials out there. They are designed to remind you that its Christmas time and to make you feel happy (and then remind you that Coke makes you feel happy too). They're cute. Why would Pepsi go and try to shit all over cute?

I am also offended by that and the one they have out with Santa down in palm beach. This one with the bears is much worse. That being said, Pepsi always tries to shock people with their ads because they are the "rebellious" soda.  

That and they have terrible ads in general.

Yeah I'd been brewing up a rant on this myself.  Particularly on the Elf/ Santa one because it's played all the damn time on my rock station.  That particular ad of their campaign is offensive on multiple levels.

First there's the initial "gee, how douchy for coopting the ad Coke's been running with for so many years."  Then you start to hear the elves talk.  It's some ultra-WASP guy's idea of "street" talk.  "Chillax, My Elf!"  "No, dawg." It's a midget in blackface away from being just blatantly racist.

Then there's the whole offense to the mind that someone thought this was a GOOD ad campaign to run with.  That it would somehow expand their market and not cause backlash.  That someone got paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to come up with this lowbrow drek. Leaching off the marketing legacy of not only professionals better at their jobs than them but a company that's fostered more creativity in the ad world than Pepsi has ever achieved in a single ad campaign.

Fuck you, Pepsi marketing guy. 

[Strazos]

Coca-Cola rules. Coke Zero Cherry is the BOOOOOOOOOOOOMB!

All my life I have hate Hate HATED diet soda...but, I tried some of this a few weeks back (granted, it also had vanilla rum in it), and it didn't leave an undrinkable aspartame aftertaste in my mouth.

[Selby]

I'm baffled that you guys have attachment to advertising characters and campaigns...

[Strazos]

I'm currently wishing I was temporarily attached to the T-Mobile girl.

You know, as long as she keeps those god-awful ears hidden under her hair.

[Merusk]

I'm baffled that you guys have attachment to advertising characters and campaigns...

I have attachments to paintings, TV shows, Books, cars, buildings and Cartoons, too.  It's a sickness.

[Paelos]

I'm baffled that you guys have attachment to advertising characters and campaigns...

I live in Coke Town.

[Morat20]

So I have a question for people out there. It involves a bit of a story.

My sister-in-law got married last weekend in San Antonio. Friday night involved wandering the Riverwalk and drinking. (Warning: It was approximately 9,000,000 degrees Celsius in San Antonio. It was hotter INSIDE the first bar we stopped at). The whole group, guys and girls, basically went together.

I am, I will admit now, a very light drinker. I had two pints of Guiness and like three shots over a four hour period. And that, for me, was an awful lot.

In any case, the last bar we ended up on we grabbed an area of the patio (Mad Dog's? I dunno, the waitresses were all in short tartan and I frankly didn't give a fuck beyond the fact that I was outside, where there was a breeze, and not INSIDE with all the people like exercising or dancing or whatever they call moving more than necessary in August in Texas) and basicallty just sat there for two hours or so drinking.

Some random guy wanders up, sits down and integrates himself into the group so comfortably that until later I was unaware that he was, in fact, a stranger and not just some guy other people knew and I didn't.

He keeps buying rounds of shots for the table which is like "three guys, 8 girls (including him)".

Is that fucking normal? I mean I realize he was there because of the "8 girls, drinking, happy, and dressed in skimpy and low cut clothing because it's a pseudo-party and hotter than the surface of the sun" but, seriously -- the guy just shows up, happy as can be, and buys three or four rounds of shots at the ridiculously inflated prices even a dive would have on the Riverwalk.

He didn't actually hit on anyone either. He apparently just wanted to hang out with happy people. Or something. Like I said, I didn't know until later that he wasn't a friend of the groom's or something.

[Merusk]

Maybe it's normal for him.  There's eccentrics everywhere, after all.  Maybe he was just too drunk to realize that he didn't, in fact, know any of you. 

So long as nobody was hurt, chalk it up as another story in your life and pay it forward someday.

[Morat20]

Maybe it's normal for him.  There's eccentrics everywhere, after all.  Maybe he was just too drunk to realize that he didn't, in fact, know any of you. 

So long as nobody was hurt, chalk it up as another story in your life and pay it forward someday.

Fair enough. :) I gather that any table of semi-attractive women can get free drinks, but I sorta expected a bit more of the "I'm trying to buy a chance here" vibe.

The guy just seemed, very literally, to say "Hey! those guys, and more importantly those cute women, are celebrating something! I want to celebrate something!"

It was weird. Fun though. :) We stayed at Hotel Contessa, which was very overpriced, but I have to admit was a good enough hotel -- and Riverwalk access was great.

There was obviously some convention in town, as I'd occasionally see people wander by in costume -- steampunk and anime, mostly.

[Der Helm]

Reminds me of some guy a friend and I met at a metal festival in 1996 (god, I am OLD), on the bus there, he sat between us, chatting away, he sat his tent up next to ours, we shared lots and lots of beer and let him sleep in our tent when he went on a very bad mushroom trip and was too afraid to sleep alone.

When we were back home, I sad to my friend:" Wow, you surely know some crazy people" and he answered that he assumed the whole time that he was a friend of ME. The look on our faces must have been priceless.

He even gave me his business card. (he was a plumber or something, I think I still got it lying around somewhere) 

[Sky]

When I was a gypsy, that's just kind of how life was. Always becoming fast friends with folks for a little while, maybe never see them again. I kind of miss that free existence, moving in and out of people's lives at a whim was very interesting.

[HaemishM]

I tend to find that when there's copious amounts of alcohol involved, that kind of butterfly happens a lot more than when I'm sober. If you're sober or not drinking, some stranger walks up and sits down at your table, he's going to get looks if nothing else. When there's drinks around, everybody's a friend.

[Morat20]

I tend to find that when there's copious amounts of alcohol involved, that kind of butterfly happens a lot more than when I'm sober. If you're sober or not drinking, some stranger walks up and sits down at your table, he's going to get looks if nothing else. When there's drinks around, everybody's a friend.

Very true. There was apparently some theme night going on -- which explained a LOT (specifically the number of people wearing ridiculous mustaches) -- and we had one guy climb ten feet up the wall to sit with us, entirely to avoid a five dollar cover and something to do with his choices of shoes. He was...unsuccessful, but apparently the guys working decided that if he'd just cough up the five bucks, they'd ignore whatever objections they had to his shoes.

The next day, at the reception, I had what is probably the second best ice cream I have had in my life. Some sort of pecan vanilla that was ridiculously good. The only that that tops it was the blueberry muffin ice cream I had a few years ago at Mark's.

[Sky]

Speaking of ice cream, I forgot how awesome a nice waffle cone of soft twist is on a hot saturday night. My dad always used to take us out for soft ice cream and I just recently got back into it.

[Reg]

When did orange and lemon sherbet stop being standard flavours? My local grocery store has about a million different types of ice cream but I ask them for orange or lemon sherbet and it's like I'm not speaking English.  All they have is crappy mango-raspberry-peach mixtures. Yuck.

[Bunk]

Speaking of ice cream, I forgot how awesome a nice waffle cone of soft twist is on a hot saturday night. My dad always used to take us out for soft ice cream and I just recently got back into it.

Isn't there a law about refering to that shit (no offense) as ice cream?

I discovered Cold Stone Ice Cream recently, as they added one to my local Timmies. Coffee ice cream mixed with chocolate chip cookie dough and peanut butter. Drool.

[Sky]

In canadia there is a law, because it doesn't have enough milkfat, ya milkfatty bastard. 

[ghost]

So I have a question for people out there. It involves a bit of a story.

My sister-in-law got married last weekend in San Antonio. Friday night involved wandering the Riverwalk and drinking. (Warning: It was approximately 9,000,000 degrees Celsius in San Antonio. It was hotter INSIDE the first bar we stopped at). The whole group, guys and girls, basically went together.

I am, I will admit now, a very light drinker. I had two pints of Guiness and like three shots over a four hour period. And that, for me, was an awful lot.

In any case, the last bar we ended up on we grabbed an area of the patio (Mad Dog's? I dunno, the waitresses were all in short tartan and I frankly didn't give a fuck beyond the fact that I was outside, where there was a breeze, and not INSIDE with all the people like exercising or dancing or whatever they call moving more than necessary in August in Texas) and basicallty just sat there for two hours or so drinking.

Some random guy wanders up, sits down and integrates himself into the group so comfortably that until later I was unaware that he was, in fact, a stranger and not just some guy other people knew and I didn't.

He keeps buying rounds of shots for the table which is like "three guys, 8 girls (including him)".

Is that fucking normal? I mean I realize he was there because of the "8 girls, drinking, happy, and dressed in skimpy and low cut clothing because it's a pseudo-party and hotter than the surface of the sun" but, seriously -- the guy just shows up, happy as can be, and buys three or four rounds of shots at the ridiculously inflated prices even a dive would have on the Riverwalk.

He didn't actually hit on anyone either. He apparently just wanted to hang out with happy people. Or something. Like I said, I didn't know until later that he wasn't a friend of the groom's or something.

You're welcome.  I thought you knew it was me!   

[MuffinMan]

I'm a goddamn genius.

[Ingmar]

Have fun cleaning that toaster later.

[ghost]

Fuck, Amazon has really turned into a cesspit of shady third party sellers.  Watch what people are charging you for shipping.