Sunday Overnight Open Thread (8/20/23)

Quote I

“I’ll tell you what we plan to do, judge. If this has to go back one more time. We are done protecting anyone’s reputation or character. We don’t have to go in executive session, and we won’t. We will put forth everyone’s dirty laundry, and everyone will hear about it.” Will Webster, an attorney for the AMCC

Quote II

“It’s a real source of concern. Languages are so important everywhere. They’re very useful in terms of global citizenship and the international workforce.”
Kathleen Stein-Smith, a foreign language educator and advocate

Why Bill Watterson Vanished. The creator of Calvin and Hobbes is back, but the mystery is why disappeared in the first place.

Calvin: Mom, can I have some money to buy a Satan-worshiping, suicide-advocating heavy metal album?

Mom: Calvin, the fact that these bands haven’t killed themselves in ritual self-sacrifice shows that they’re just in it for the money like everyone else. It’s all for effect. If you want to shock and provoke, be sincere about it.

Calvin: Mainstream commercial nihilism can’t be trusted?!

Mom: ’Fraid not, kiddo.

Calvin: Childhood is so disillusioning.

A compassionate man would care. A misanthropic Cob does not.

The Hollywood strikes have been going on for quite a while—specifically Day 38 for SAG-AFTRA, and Day 111 for the WGA. During this time, most actors and writers haven’t been doing promo for any project they’re involved with that’s been released out into the world. It’s the price they’re willing to pay in order to get what they want, and studios are only now finding out that no promo from the talent and key creatives hits them just as hard, if not harder.

Sources speaking to the Hollywood Reporter claim that a lack of star promo is visibly hurting films that have recently hit theaters. Since talent isn’t out there telling audiences to see their flick, box office prospects for films are reportedly being hurt by as much as 15%; as an example, the outlet cited the late July premiere for Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. That film’s cast includes big stars Ayo Edebiri, Seth Rogen, and Jackie Chan, along with its four teen leads, Micah Abbey, Nicolas Cantu, Shamon Brown Jr. and Brady Noon. But the strike meant only director Jeff Rowe could attend, and one source called the situation “bizarre. Can you imagine what the group photo would have been like on the carpet?”

Communists and socialists have fvcked up earth, statement or fact? Can we send 22 to Mars to see if that statement is true.

How many humans would it take to run a long-term Mars outpost?

It's a fascinating question that's deceptively difficult to answer given the sheer number of variables, from the logistics of breathable oxygen and fuel to psychological factors.

In a recent yet-to-be-peer-reviewed study, though, a team of researchers from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia concluded that you only need 22 colonists to survive, a surprisingly low number compared to previous studies that found you'd need at least 100 colonists.

During the Weekday Rants here at the AoSHQ, friend and colleague Buck Throckmorton has been covering the EV debacles. This occurrence is going to make transporting EVs more difficult or worse......

SHOCKING photos show the aftermath of a devastating fire aboard a cargo ship that burned 2,700 cars.

The 18,500 ton vessel caught fire in the North Sea while carrying a heavy load of luxury cars including BMWs and Mercedes estimated to be worth nearly £100million.

Devastating damages. I wonder what the carbon footprint was for that smoke.

So the EV is not for you. Is the autonomous vehicle for you? It isn't for me.

Paul Harvey, a San Francisco resident who lives in the area, told SFGATE in an interview that he saw the car stuck at a construction site on Golden Gate Avenue between Fillmore and Steiner Streets. The car had no passengers inside.

“I can see five different scenarios where bad things happen and this is one of them,” Harvey told SFGATE. “It thinks it’s a road and it ain’t because it ain’t got a brain and it can’t tell that it’s freshly poured concrete.”

Russia seems to be crashing and burning in Ukraine. Now the moon experiences Russian crash and burn.

Russian probe crashes into Moon – Roscosmos
The accident occurred after Luna-25 switched to an incorrect orbit, Russia’s space agency says

OK. Which one of you Morons helped women's soccer out financially?

Ahead of the anticipated championship game this Sunday (Aug. 20), FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that the Women’s World Cup generated at a self-sustaining $570 million, after operating at a loss during the 2019 and 2015 tournaments.

“More than half a billion. There are not many competitions, even in men’s football, who generate more than half a billion,” Infantino said at the FIFA Women’s Football Convention in Sydney on Friday (Aug. 19).

Paul Joseph Watson looks at Women's football pasture kickball......

Not only can IRS agents take your bank book, your property and your income. IRS agents can also take your life.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has a training facility outside Phoenix. Yesterday, during an unspecified training exercise, an IRS agent shot and killed another agent. IRS Criminal Investigations Division agents carry firearms and were among other agencies training at the federally-owned facility yesterday.

The IRS released the following statement

We are aware of an incident involving one of our special agents that occurred during a routine training exercise at the Federal Correctional Institution, Phoenix firing range. The agent was immediately taken to HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center to be treated for the injury. The agent passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital. The incident is under investigation.

This skeptic remains skeptical.

Bigfoot, is that you?

Incredible video that seemingly shows a Sasquatch darting through the woods of Mississippi is going viral, with some saying it’s the best footage of the creature ever captured.

The video was recorded by Josh Highcliffe, who posted it to YouTube back in 2015, where it has clocked up more than 811,000 views.

In a caption beneath the 2-minute clip, Highcliffe explained that he came across the creature ripping bark off a tree trunk and throwing it to the ground.

He added that he was “afraid” of the hairy beast after stumbling across it on a hunting trip.

I had never heard of Divvy Homes until prepping for tonight's ONT. This looks like a Feel Good Story of The Night story.

Kimberly Rudy, a lifelong renter, mother, and breast cancer survivor never thought she’d be able to afford a home. Like many Americans in today’s strained housing market, she struggled to save up enough money for a down payment because rent payments leached away at her monthly income. Earning about $42,000 per year, she had been making $1,500 rent payments each month at the same rental home she’d had for 10 years, and was unable to direct enough money into savings to buy a house.

“Renting pretty much takes every penny you have,” Rudy says. “It’s like you’re being penalized by being forced to pay more for rent for something that’s never going to be yours.”

This was especially frustrating for someone who didn’t move around a lot and had dreamed of owning a home. Indeed, Rudy had been living in her rental house for more than a decade and had previously rented another property for seven years before that. Rudy’s daughter, Anna DeHaven, however, in 2021 found a viable solution that allowed her mom to finally be able to purchase a home in her early 50s.

Divvy Homes, a rent-to-own home service, helped Rudy start making rent payments toward her house for about 15 months before closing. Rudy, a then 51-year-old, started the Divvy Homes program in spring 2021, right after she had been diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer.

Through Divvy Homes, Rudy selected a home within her price range in Rome, Georgia—a small town with about 35,000 people. Then, Divvy Homes purchased the two-bedroom brick rancher for $137,000 in spring 2021 and rented it to Rudy for $1,430 per month. The company even covered repairs to the 1950s home post-inspection that the original seller wouldn’t—including a new water heater, HVAC system, and electrical wiring throughout the house.

An appropriate penalty would be to sue white eye's for the waupum she collected while speaking with forked tongue.

Andrea Smith has been publicly criticized for her contested claims of Cherokee heritage for at least 15 years. Despite this, she remained employed as a prominent Native American studies scholar.

But the condemnations have led to a turning point. According to a “separation agreement and release of all claims” shared on social media Thursday, she is resigning from the University of California, Riverside, next August after 13 faculty members at Riverside alleged a year ago that she “made fraudulent claims to Native American identity in violation of the Faculty Code of Conduct provisions concerning academic integrity.”

The deal, signed by Smith in December and UC Riverside’s chancellor in January, says Smith will be eligible for retirement and the emeritus title, consistent with a policy that says every retiring professor or associate professor receives it. However, the document states, “Professor Smith agrees that her status as a professor emeritus will not be listed on the university directory information websites.”

Born on this day: August 20, 1952 - John Hiatt
John Hiatt, American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. His songs have been covered by a variety of artists including Bob Dylan, The Searchers, Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Three Dog Night, Joan Baez, and Iggy Pop. via thisdayinmusic.com

Born on this day: August 20, 1949 - Phil Lynott
Phil Lynott, Irish singer, songwriter, bass player, Thin Lizzy. (1973 UK No.6 single 'Whisky In The Jar'). Lynott died on 4th Jan 1986 of heart failure and pneumonia after being in a coma for eight days following a drug overdose. A life-size bronze statue of Phil Lynott was unveiled on Harry Street in Dublin in 2005. via thisdayinmusic.com

A corn dog and an order of cotton candy will not appease the girlfriend. Genius Award Winner.

KSP: Boyfriend's gun accidentally discharges, hits girlfriend in foot at Kentucky State Fair
Kentucky State Police troopers were nearby and reacted quickly enough to ensure there was no further threat to fairgoers.

Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by New Ink Ideas.

Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire & AceCorp, LLC. ONT Tips, loose change, drink tokens and burner phones to petmorons at gmail dot com. If you happen to slip in bone-in rib-eye steaks and Yukon Gold potatoes yours truly wouldn't complain.

posted by Misanthropic Humanitarian at 09:52 PM

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