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see-fee · 9 months

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What are you thoughts on Apple TVs Foundation version?

Ah. I never wanted to talk about that, but I guess my thoughts on the subject are as worth putting down as any, so here goes.

Boring, dumb, cringeworthy, badly written by hacks.

Bad showrunner/writers, bad cast (one or two exceptions). Bad everything except the visuals. I couldn’t be bothered to continue past the second or third episode, where I Raych-quit from the sheer stupidity.

Not because it strayed from Asimov’s work (though it can hardly be called an adaptation when it so flagrantly disregards its source material). I can assess and enjoy adaptations on their own merits. The show is simply not entertaining—a cardinal sin for entertainment. Things happened one after another and I just didn’t care. I wanted to, but I didn’t.

It wasn’t even enjoyable in a greasy burger/guilty pleasure way (e.g. Whedon’s Firefly or early JJ Abrams like Fringe). I’ve gotten far more discerning with age/maturity but I do still watch dumb popcorn fare (including the I, Robot summer blockbuster). And this show wasn’t that for me. Because it was sold as more than that, in a world where shows like Andor exist.

Because it pretends to be smart when it clearly isn’t, when its incompetent writers have never written anything of value in their lives. Very stupid people are behind it: Goyer and Friedman. Showrunner and writer David Goyer is a talentless hack whose own writing/producing portfolio is riddled with trashy bottom-of-the-barrel superhero mediocrity (rated as low as 3/10, 4/10, 5/10 on IMDb, and the way ratings work is that there are false positives but no false negatives), who somehow weaseled his way into successful franchises where other writers did the heavy lifting. Its other writer Josh Friedman has nothing remotely decent under his belt, either. These cheap hacks have obviously never read or understood their source material beyond a perfunctory skim (and if you believe anything they spew, I've got a waterfront property in Oklahoma to sell you. Two words: publicity & marketing.) The proof is in the pudding—Goyer and Friedman lack the brains to handle the material, let alone deviate from it.

I didn’t finish the season because I don’t think it gets better. The core problems I noted aren't going anywhere, and plenty of sensible people with good taste have shared the issues they have with it, and much of that is in line with my own experience or expectations of quality.

Season 2 reeks of jumping the shark. I’ve seen the trailer and laughed at its ridiculousness. It was a flurry of “we have Star Wars at home” scenes and also for some bizarre reason there were dragons? Or something? They’re not even pretending to be Asimov’s story any more—which is probably better for everyone involved.

Change My View: I sometimes wonder if I ought to give it another go, though I don’t have Apple TV anymore which adds to the friction. If anybody mature (I'm a full decade past my meme years) with decent taste (more Oppenheimer than Barbie, more modernist than postmodern internet shitposter, more level-headed than rabid fanatical addict) wants to tell me how this show has some merit despite its flaws and is worth my time, please do. I’m all ears.

Criticism on writing + cast below 👇

Characters, dialogue, plot are badly written/designed.

They do stupid things for stupid reasons (mostly: the plot requires it). Reciting prime numbers beCaUsE mAtH. (Cube did it better.)

That early swimming pool sex scene—whereas it was plausible for the characters in Game of Thrones or the Expanse, here in the hands of dumb writers it’s a girl thirsting over a guy she just met because The Plot Requires It, so that this guy can randomly stab Seldon later in a truly idiotic turn.

Machiavellian characters like Salvor Hardin get downgraded into some basic military chad guarding the Ethereum logo, for some pathetically trite Chosen One storyline and a lame what’s-in-the-vault mystery with a hilariously awful payoff. (I laughed so hard when I found out what it was. That you-know-who was literally in the vault.)

The two decent cast members are surrounded by a pack of Z-rate bargain bin actors whose previous credits hover in the 2/10–5/10 range.

Lee Pace is recycling his Joe MacMillan from Halt and Catch Fire but with a chest-baring wardrobe, since he’s the designated eye candy. Jared Harris is phoning it in, also recycling the same role he’s cornered a niche on: whistleblower-guy-who-gets-ignored-then-dies, a la Chernobyl and The Terror.

Laura Birn is doing a passable job with what she’s given to work with, but, in an utterly inexplicable design choice, the poor woman must stand in an asinine arms-akimbo pose all the damned time because we need to remember iT’s a rObOt. Who can cry and have sex but not stand normally. Or something. (Humans did it better.)

Terrence Mann was a forgettable snooze-fest—so was Lou Llobell.

Leah Harvey and the rest I saw were laughably awful.

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ghostbustershq · 6 months

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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - Teaser Trailer Full Breakdown

In the grand tradition of GBHQ trailer breakdowns, here we go with everything that’s fit to digitally print on the recently released teaser trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire!

The trailer pulls a great switcheroo in the style that has become common-place for large blockbusters like this, which really bums me out that the first experience many (if not all) of us have had with this teaser is seeing it on our phones, tablets, computers, what have you knowing that you’re watching a trailer for a new Ghostbusters movie. Can you imagine being in the theater, the lights darken, all the ads finish, the green band MPAA rating pops up, and then you see this not knowing it’s coming? The first 20 to 30 seconds of this trailer are wonderful and tense moments where you’re waiting for the turn. I have to imagine that circa-1988 Troy would have lost his mind with that unexpected firehouse reveal.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (more on the title a bit later) looks to be a great departure for the series, opening up the world both in terms of visuals and story, and seems to speak to literally all of my preferences and loves in life: Ghostbusters and the cold and snow. In other franchises like Star Wars, the ice planet Hoth continues to be among my favorites. Possibly the Colorado kid in me that I just love the aesthetic of a wintery snowscape. And it’s no secret that I hate warm weather and prefer the cold, give me those fall and winter clothes and coats and wardrobe any day.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s do it, eh?

IT’S A CRUEL SUMMER

The studio logos thud with the opening percussion of Cruel Summer and Lady Liberty is seen with some very orange-hue sunshine. It’s hot. It’s summer. Is this a Michael Bay summer blockbuster? Are we about to see a teen summer film trailer? What’s happening? I do love the fact that Bananarama’s Cruel Summer is used here both because it’s such a staple of the 80’s and immediately transports you into that mindset, but also because writer/director Gil Kenan is such a proud “formerly from Reseda” resident that there’s a little but of his Daniel LaRusso Karate Kid attitude present in the trailer here either consciously or unconsciously. You have to think it’s a little conscious given how close attention a scene of teens playing with a soccer ball on the beach gets.

A radio voice tells us that it’s a scorcher out there with heat alerts and record breaking temps on the horizon for New York and New Jersey. Kids are playing with an open hydrant. The Wonder Wheel is spinning with denizens at Coney Island splashing in the water. Eric Steelberg’s cinematography is on full display here as a slice of life has never looked better and more appealing. This idealized scene certainly won’t last, will it?

Sure enough. The song grinds to a halt, as does the Wonder Wheel. Something is amiss.

From the water, a storm cloud closes in and all the swimmers flee as if they’re leaving Amity in a hurry. Heavy Jaws vibes here, and that you know is intentional.

Spikes emerge from the ground and the Wonder Wheel flash freezes. Then comes this frame which: tell me I’m watching a Ghostbusters movie without telling me that I’m watching a Ghostbusters movie:

Chaos as the flash freeze hits Manhattan and the ice spikes emerge from the ground, we’re fully in disaster movie territory as we see a taxi cab impaled from street level. Fortunately for anyone in that cab, it looks to pierce right through the middle. Whew. The rumbling subsides as we follow the street toward a familiar looking building and Elmer Bernstein’s familiar Ghostbusters twinkle plays in the score.

I love this shot for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the camera move is evocative of that teaser trailer for Afterlife that followed the ground of a farm into the open barn to reveal the Ecto-1. Secondly, what an image, right? The Ghostbusters are surrounded. Claustrophobically closed in by the ice and spikes. The threat is visual. It’s overwhelming.

Hit It

The screen dips to black and we hear an engine rev. Could it be? You’re damn right it could be.

The Ecto-1 peels out, pulling off a full U-Turn at top speed and knocking over some trademark NYC garbage in the process. I’ve seen some criticism mainly on forums that the Ecto-1 in the original two films was slow and lumbering and it’s jarring to them to see the car pulling these high speed maneuvers. And, while I completely agree that the coughing and chunky Ecto of the 80’s was the car’s personality at that point in time, the car has obviously been souped up since the 90’s. Even if it was left to rot in a barn, a gearhead like Ray and someone who loves the car like Winston would have been futzing with that thing every day for decades. People change, so can cars. And the energy and excitement that a full-speed Ecto can provide for a film gives it a dynamic that harkens back to The Real Ghostbusters which we’ve learned from Kumail Nanjiani was a touchstone for this film and the filmmakers.

The Death Chill

The trailer kicks into high gear as we hear Patton Oswalt’s new character explain that for the first time, someone froze to death in New York City in July. Phoebe, in full (snow covered) Ghostbusting gear, stands next to the firepole in a darkened and ominous firehouse. Trevor, Lucky, and James Acaster’s new character stand side-by-side looking at something unseen. A very dapper looking gentlemen is suspended in frozen animation. Callie head turns with concern, also standing in what looks like the garage bay of the firehouse.

An apartment door bursts open having been frozen as Phoebe - standing next to Podcast who is seen for the first time asks, “What is it?” And, after a quick hero shot of Kumail’s new character, the answer comes from the one and only Ray Stantz. It’s the death chill.

As Ray gives us the exposition that you are literally scared to death and the last thing you see is your eyes freezing, the trailer rapid fires amazing and tantalizing imagery including a backdraft puff of smoke sucking back through the crack of a door, a hero shot of Paul Rudd’s returning Gary Grooberson, Winston Zeddemore and Peter Venkman, suited up and standing in front of the Ecto looking at an unseen threat, and one of the New York Public Library’s iconic lions snarling and roaring at what looks to be Ray based on the denim shirt he’s been wearing since 1984. Ha!

I Think We’re Going to Have to Put a Little Overtime Into This One

If ever Ray Parker Jr.’s theme song was going to kick in and we see flashes of the team saving the day, now would be about the time you expect it to happen. But this is, after all, just a teaser trailer and both of those particulars are saved for another occasion. Instead, a quick and violent shot of the firehouse doors being ripped away as we look over the shoulder of a couple of busters (and is someone holding some sort of new handheld piece of gear on the left? Dude. Can’t wait to see what that is.)

The street buckles and tears and threatens both our heroes and the Ecto-1. Trevor, Callie, and Gary are pinned against a wall in the firehouse with the ice spikes closing dangerously close to them. The wall around the containment unit cracks and shakes, threatening to collapse (and does that mean another containment breach could be possible?).

Bathed in ominous red light in a shot that looks straight out of a tense moment from James Cameron’s Aliens, Lucky appears to be in a bit of a pickle. From behind, we see a gnarly looking creature of some sort, perhaps the new big-bad, locking a broken horn into the socket on the side of its head. Oh man, is that creature design cool and we’re not even seeing the full breadth of it, I’m sure.

More flashes. James Acaster’s new character, surrounded by darkness and using a flashlight to illuminate something (and wearing one of the much touted by fans’ parkas, more on that in a second). Gary, Callie and Phoebe all suited up and trying to keep warm (love the turtleneck and gloves look with the flightsuit that Callie is sporting). Patton Oswalt slams an elevator gate as he escorts Ray, Phoebe and Podcast somewhere unknown. And perhaps one of my favorite and very mysterious shots in the trailer, Kumail’s character opening what looks to be a false wall in a pantry closet to reveal a secret room. I love a good secret passageway. One of these days, when I win the lottery, I’m going to have a basement with all sorts of cool secret doors and compartments.

Ray’s explanation of the death chill concludes and we see Lucky, fully suited up, seemingly on the verge of freezing to death and her eyes glaze to a frozen state. Certainly looks perilous for Lucky, could this be the character’s end? Or does someone hopefully come to save the day. Stay tuned until March of next year.

Gary states the obvious, that it sounds like Ray is explaining being literally scared to death. There’s a bit of a call and response here that I think is fully editorial as Gary and Callie are standing in what looks to be the firehouse during the daytime and Patton Oswalt’s character telling us how cool it is looks to be in a darkened room elsewhere. It’s a fun moment that shows both characters’ enthusiasm but a strong possibility these two moments are from two totally different parts of the final film that we’ll see.

Just before the title reveal, Trevor struggles to wield a proton thrower that seems to be amped up to eleven, while sporting one of his notable t-shirt choices - this time an old school YMCA shirt. And then, we see the title for the first time.

I’ll just flat out say it, subtitles to films are difficult. You’re sort of damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. For the same reason parents don’t reveal baby names to the general public before the kid is born, everyone has an opinion on names. A gut reaction. A feeling and opinion that they need to express. Movie titles have come under the same microscope. We’ve heard EVERY tired soap joke about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but the title was appropriate to the movie. Clear and to the point.

There’s something to be said for the good ol’ days of sequels where you just flat out said what it was: Back to the Future Part II, Beverly Hills Cop II, Star Trek VI. Also clear and to the point. But as the years progressed, a stigma around numerical titles developed where the higher the number of the film the perception of the quality decreasing became the punchline. Even if it wasn’t the case, adding a numerical value to a film title fell out of fashion and the subtitle became king. It’s also possible that increasingly complex titles started weighing on marketing and advertising and even just public perception of having to know a full title like Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. You’ve noticed that even the studios have bailed on the episode titles for Star Wars, opting just to ID them by their subtitle: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, etc.

All of that to say, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has the serial qualities of an old school sci-fi film while also immediately selling and stating what the film is. It’s the Ghostbusters sequel where everything freezes. Clear and to the point. And you can tell they were thinking about a play on words with the Empire State somehow but again — didn’t want to over complicate things. Forum and social banter have suggested, “Why not Ghostbusters: Death Chill?” Which yes, is a pretty evocative title but markets the film a little differently. You could see some parents resistant to taking their kids to a movie about the chill of death.

I love the title and think that it absolutely works. It also really frees up future story telling for the Ghostbusters films where they don’t necessarily have to be so wide in scope. They can be hyper focused on a scenario or threat. It takes the franchise in a great direction, in my opinion.

Okay, okay — what about the last two shots of the teaser. Which are outstanding. After the title reveal there are two more glimpses: one of presumably the big bad of the film and the other of our heroes standing atop the firehouse poised to tackle the threat.

Everyone loves the jackets. I do too. I want one of those things for this winter, that’s for sure. But I also love everything happening in the composition and blocking and pose of the characters here. It screams Shandor Rooftop. I love that Callie is wearing the Ecto-Goggles (tough to tell if they’re the Afterlife variant with the Polaroid camera capabilities) and that Phoebe has filled her grandfather’s shoes vigilantly manning the PKE Meter. You can see slight variations on the barrel of the Particle Thrower that Trevor is holding and — THE JACKETS, I MEAN COME ON. TAKE MY MONEY NOW. PLEASE.

If this composition isn’t part of at least one of the theatrical one-sheet posters, I would frankly be surprised. What a shot.

Final Thoughts

What a teaser. It gives us just enough without giving us too much. There are real stakes here. I’m worried about the futures of several of the characters and several of the inanimate objects like the Ecto and the Firehouse. And visually, I love how this film already looks in-step with the original film and Afterlife, but is opening the color palate and scope up a little bit. But also, how crazy is it that after decades of wondering when a third Ghostbusters film would be released, pouring over the glacial pace at the development of the film and every mention and update, to be sitting here dissecting a teaser trailer for a fifth Ghostbusters movie?

#teaser trailer #trailer breakdown #ghostbusters frozen empire

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justintimberlakeperu · 8 months

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It’s tearin’ up our hearts that *NSYNC are potentially in the same city.

Fans noticed that at least three members of the group — Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone and Lance Bass — are in New York City as of Monday (Sept. 11), the day before the MTV Video Music Awards are set to hit the Prudential Center in nearby Newark, New Jersey. Meanwhile, JC Chasez was photographed on a private plane, though there wasn’t any indication as to where he was traveling. While it’s unclear where Chris Kirkpatrick is currently, he posted a 9/11 tribute to his Instagram page on Monday featuring a photo of an NYFD fire truck in Manhattan that he seemingly took himself.

Rumors have been swirling that the band may have reunited to record new music together after a number of Trolls Band Together posters were posted in New York, featuring the first letter of the *NSYNC logo and a QR code. The code takes you to this site, which teases a whistling pop tune. Timberlake stars in the upcoming film as Branch, alongside other stars including Camila Cabello, Amy Schumer, Troye Sivan, Daveed Diggs, Kid Cudi, Zooey Deschanel, RuPaul Charles, Anderson .Paak and many more.

If the rumors are true, a new song would mark the group’s first musical release together since 2002. A reunion at the VMAs on Tuesday (Sept. 12) would also mark 10 years since their last reunion on the awards show’s stage in 2013, for Timberlake’s Video Vanguard Award medley.

#nsync #justintimberlake #lancebass #jc chasez #joey fatone #chris kirkpatrick

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senseicowpoke · 6 months

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The Marvels of Marketing

I couldn’t help but wonder… why is there no marketing for the Marvels movie? The Marvels, the upcoming superhero film starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani, is set to hit the theaters on November 10, 2023. It is the sequel to Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, Ms. Marvel and Secret Invasion, and the sixth installment of Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is also the first Marvel movie to be directed by a woman of color, Nia DaCosta.

You would think that such a big and anticipated movie would have a huge marketing campaign, with posters, trailers, interviews, merchandise and social media buzz. But surprisingly, there is almost no marketing for the Marvels movie. The only official trailer was released on September 25, 2023, less than two months before the release date. The posters are scarce and generic, featuring only the logo and the title. The cast and crew are not doing any press tours or talk shows. The official website and social media accounts are barely updated. The merchandise is limited and bland.

Why is that? Is it because Marvel Studios is confident that the movie will sell itself, based on the popularity and loyalty of its fanbase? Is it because they want to keep the plot and the surprises under wraps, to avoid spoilers and leaks? Is it because they want to create a sense of mystery and curiosity, to generate more word-of-mouth and hype? Or is it because they are afraid that the movie will not live up to the expectations, and that it will face backlash or criticism from some segments of the audience?

As a fan of Marvel movies, I am excited to see the Marvels movie. I am curious to see how Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel will team up with Kamala Khan AKA Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau AKA Photon, and how they will save the universe from a new threat. I am also interested to see how Nia DaCosta will bring her vision and style to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how she will handle the diversity and representation of the characters.

But as a writer and a consumer, I am also frustrated by the lack of marketing for the Marvels movie. I feel like I am missing out on the excitement and anticipation that usually comes with a big blockbuster release. I feel like I am not getting enough information or content to satisfy my curiosity and interest. I feel like I am not being valued or respected as a potential customer.

Maybe I am being too harsh or impatient. Maybe Marvel Studios knows what they are doing, and they have a master plan for their marketing strategy. Maybe they are waiting for the right moment to unleash their full marketing power, and blow us away with their creativity and quality. Maybe they are saving the best for last.

Or maybe they are taking us for granted.

And that’s something that no marvel can fix.

#spilled thoughts #blog #marvel #the marvels #diversify #diversity #brie larson #Teyonah Parris #iman vellani #ms marvel #captain marvel #the avengers #movies #films #marketing #feminism

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tinas1469 · 20 days

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British Vogue: Game, set and smash: from blockbuster leads to red-carpet shutdowns, no one is winning quite like BritishVogue’s May 2024 cover star, Zendaya. As she prepares to play a tennis phenomenon in her latest movie #Challengers – and returns to the 2024 Met Gal as co-host – we join the actor to talk fashion, fame and starting a family, in a transatlantic doubles moment with Vogue Magazine.

With two cover shoots, and two distinct style moods, it was a chance to present all sides of fashion’s favourite chameleon. The May issue marks only the third time in recent history that the same personality has fronted both British and American Vogues in the same month – a fact that goes some way to explaining what an impact the all-conquering star has had in 2024. On set for her British Vogue shoot, Zendaya was a woman possessed. The undisputed queen of the red carpet was, as they say, giving: face, movement, angles and legs. Speaking of her boundless energy in front of the camera, the actor explained, by way of #Beyoncé’s famed alter-ego: “She’s a different being that comes into me – my own Sasha Fierce.”

Click the link in bio to read the interview, and see the full story in the new issue, on newsstands Tuesday 23 April.

#Zendaya wears a jacket and shorts by @AdidasOriginals by @WalesBonner, trainers by @WalesBonner, and jewellery by @Bulgari, photographed by @CarlijnJacobs and styled by @LuxuryLaw, with creative direction by @JuanCP, hair by @KimbleHairCare, make-up by @RaoulAlejandre, nails by @Cam.T.Artist, set design by @Remy_Briere and production by @CinqEtoilesProductions.

[Image Description: Image shows Zendaya, a Black woman, posing in front of a neutral studio backdrop while standing on her right toes, with her left leg raised in the air and her left hand resting on her hip. She is wearing a purple tracksuit top with pink stripes down the arms and on the chest, pink plaid shorts and silver velcro trainers, while her windswept brown hair is worn in a short bob. Above her head, the Vogue logo in mint green lettering. Below her, it reads: “Always Serving. Zendaya.”]

#zendaya coleman #Zendaya #British Vogue #Vogue magazine #Challengers

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mmoxie · 11 months

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Part 0 - Preamble.

Wilson Titlee.

You deserve it.

Those three words loomed over Dani as she started up past the automated doors. An old slogan waiting to be remodeled away, lit in the pale shades of orange and yellow comprising the logo above.

Most of a month ago, Dani had turned in a paper application. The woman at the customer service desk- Gina, she remembered- had seemed optimistic.

"Shit, we'll take all the help we can get around here, hon."

And then she waited, frittering checks out of her little nest egg to keep the lights on, renting a stack of tapes every Saturday and sitting by the phone, waiting on any one of a dozen callbacks.

Her fortieth birthday passed a few months back, and she remembered celebrating with a few friends at a seafood restaurant. It wasn't that long ago that she was living her best life between bites of fried flounder and hushpuppies, washed down with the coldest beer three American dollars could buy.

Life was good. She was finally going to finish her degree, she had quit smoking, and her landlord- by all accounts the oldest woman in Erewhon County- had looked her right in the eye after a missed rent check and said the kindest sentence she'd heard in her entire adult life-

"I think I've got everything I need, hon. How 'bout you just keep it all in one piece for me?"

Unfortunately, that verbal agreement didn't stand up in small claims court, and before she could get comfortable in a life without rent, the entire building- built in 1919 as a stopover for riverboat merchants coming inland from the Mississippi- was gone.

Chevette wasn't a bad town, but nothing could stay there anymore. Every time someone built a plaza or opened a restaurant to "stimulate the economy," it inevitably came with the shutdown of beloved institutions like Fiorello's Pizza or the Shoot n' Scoot.

And then there was the Wilson Titlee, proudly serving the same six hundred or so people, week after week. Only grocery store in town. Leftover appendix of a bigger chain that you find all over the state.

It was the only game in town with a paycheck that didn't come out of some sweet old retiree who remembered when a nickel could get you a handful of Atkinson's peanut butter bars.

She stubbed her cigarette out in the ashtray mounted atop a concrete trash can, then dropped an empty softpack of Pall Mall Blues into the bag beneath.

That was six years ago.

Now in 2014, the place she accepted as a sensible job to tide her over a while felt like a bear trap around her ankle. The news had gone to shit- nobody talked about clones anymore, what happened to Dolly? There weren't any news stories about aliens or fossilized bacteria on Mars, or zoo animals learning sign language or how to skateboard.

It was all bullshit, but she was miserable to realize that she had relied on that bullshit. It was padding in a world that was always rough with her. You could absorb a lot more in terms of trouble and woe if you had a home video of a guy getting his pants torn off by a hungry horse wrapped around your brain.

Couldn't rent from Blockbuster anymore, either. What a world.

"You on the desk today, hon?" Gina asked with a sympathetic grin.

"Nah, no lotto duty today. Some guy from district is coming in, so I'm gonna find some work in the back. Maybe help out in the dairy cooler."

Gina chuckled at that. She always seemed to take Dani's growing contempt for every moving part of the company with a kind of vague agreement, but would never go beyond joking.

There was a time when they talked about other things. There was once an outage at the lotto counter, and the two of them had talked about Heat and Goodfellas for three hours straight. Now it was just the news, the company, and why the company was in the news this time.

Dani had a routine. It wasn't always the same, but it was always something like this:

Clock in.

Wander over to deli.

Get a cheese biscuit and a bottle of sweet tea.

Eat in the stockroom while reading the latest post-its on the wall.

Run freight- groceryside got trucks every single day. She liked the one with the pantry goods best. Nobody else wanted to handle glass pickle jars and forty pound bags of rice.

Work slowly until lunch. Bottom shelf to top shelf. Knees and back hurt too much for any unnecessary bending.

Walk across the parking lot to Shoney's for lunch. Try a wedge salad, hate it, and get a seafood plate.

Walk across the parking lot and clock in again.

Spiritually-mandated paid bathroom break.

Check in on the latest display project. Might be doing something fancy with cans of beans, or filling up a big bin with chips.

Help out until last break.

Smoke.

Check the schedule for 30 minutes to an hour. If anyone asks, there's vacation planning in the future.

Clock out, go home, check on the crock pot, feed Seebs.

This repeated five or six days a week, and then there would be a blessed day or two of rest, listening to the radio in bed and talking on the phone with mom. Maybe they'd have a laugh about gray hairs coming in, or reminisce about going to Action Park in her junior year at Jim Bagby. Her first time on a train, too! She missed trains.

And then Seebs- Sebastian, like that kid from Neverending Story- would lay twenty-three pounds of cat on her chest while she dozed off, and before she knew it, the bear trap would close on her leg again.

All this she could tolerate- maybe in perpetuity- if it weren't for the fact that she saw Office Space in theaters half a lifetime ago.

Peter Gibbons was in her head ever since.

"I'd say, in a given week, I probably only do about 15 minutes of real, actual work."

"And here's something else, Bob. I have 8 bosses right now."

“Eight, Bob. So that means that when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.”

When the opening shift lead, the front end lead, the stock crew head, the assistant store lead, the director, the coordinator, the chief merchandiser, and the standards manager had all, in a row, asked her if she had received a certain e-mail about how they were going to "build out" the most recent delivery of barbecue sauce, because if she had, she wouldn't have just merched them right on the shelf...

...It was too real. Too much. She tried to reach for that Peter Gibbons zen, tried to hypnotize herself into a happy place that existed somewhere on the other side of acceptance- and instead just grit her teeth harder, and harder, and harder.

These days, she went home with pain in her neck and jaw from stress alone. She couldn't put up with much more.

One of these days, she was just going to... blow up.

Next->

#I Promise You I Have Given Up #IPYIHGU #working retail

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thattimdrakeguy · 2 years

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DOOO DOOO DOOOOOO...DOCTOR WHOOOO

I’M STILL SO EXCITED FOR THE DOCTOR WHO SPECIALS.

LIKE DAVID TENNANT, MY FAVORITE DOCTOR IS BACK.

And loooooook at himmmmmmmmm. He STILL HAS THE HAIR, and NEW COOL OUTFIT--well, it’s kind of dorky, but it’s okay ‘cause his Doctor was a hyperactive dork with major guilt and vanity issues, so it works.

AND I LOVE THIS LOGO ALREADY. it’s so fun and colorful, and apparently it’s retro? but i don’t know and don’t care i think it’s my favorite logo as is, because it’s stinkin’ coooool.

BLOCKBUSTER MONEY TOOO. Like apparently the show is going to get more money than ever for the upcoming stuff. BLOCKBUSTER MONEY. SO IT’S GONNA BASICALLY BE THE COOLEST LOOKING STUFF EVER SO FAR.

These specials are going to be the coolest Doctor Who stuff ever for me, I’m so in love. But in a way I’m almost happy it’s going to be over a year, because it gives me time to be happy that David Tennant is the FOURTEENTH DOCTOR. HE’S OUR CURRENT DOCTOR AND THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY

And Ncuti Gatwa LOOKS AWESOME TOO, like we only seen him say literally just a sentence, but he was so friggin’ charismatic for that one sentence, and my favorite showrunner is back so there’s that too, and in the interviews Ncuti seems so nice and charming. I just really like him.

Doctor Who gonna be better than good, and better than great. It’s non-jokingly going to be fantastic i think

#Doctor Who #Fourteenth Doctor #Fifteenth Doctor #David Tennant #Ncuti Gatwa #sooooooooooo EXCITEDDDD #14th doctor #15th doctor #tenth doctor #10th doctor

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radwolf76 · 2 years

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I know I've told the story here before, but I actually found the Netflix promotional shirt I wore to work an after-hours Blockbuster store inventory back in 2000

So, as the story goes, at my Blockbuster, when you worked the after-midnight store inventory shift, you weren't required to wear the blue polo shirt and khakis, but could instead wear your "street clothes".

I don't even remember where I got this promotional shirt from or how (probably something to do with being terminally online since fall of 1994), but I thought it'd be a funny thing to wear while working my shift at Blockbuster.

Now at the time, they hadn't even stated their streaming service, they were just the DVD-Rental-by-Mail website. But when the neon open sign clicked off, and we'd shooed out the last customer so we could start unrolling the extension cables for the barcode scanners, the Store Manager noticed my shirt and asked me "Netflix.com? What's that?"

I laughed a little, and replied, "They'll be the death of this company." Because even back then, I knew. She said "Oh, ok," shrugged, and put the register terminals into inventory mode.

Soon after that, I got hired for a different job, the first few years of which had a decent amount of manual labor and a loose dress code, so I ended up continuing to wear the Netflix promo shirt there as well. Then I transferred to a different position with the same employer, where I had to start dressing a bit more professionally, and so this shirt sat in the bottom of my work locker for two decades until I found it again last week.

It was kind of yellowed from sweat that hadn't been washed in that long of a time span and had a nasty rust stain along the bottom hem that I'm pretty sure came from the job and not from sitting in the locker, but after washing it, I could at least get a photo of the logo for y'all. And then, knowing what to look for, I found a better image of someone else's promotional shirt. Apparently someone sold one on Etsy for $50.

#blockbuster #blockbuster video #dead retail #retail history #netflix #2000 #irony #prophecy #Apollo's dodgeball

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redefinearth · 1 year

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Logo Intro Video with BGM

Audio File Title:

Blockbuster Logo

Credit : Muzaproduction

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sparrow-in-boots · 11 months

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i'm inspired so as a cont to this post, Clay headcanons that only make sense to me part 2:

Clay had several instances of carpal tunnel syndrome and other hand tendon issues. Some of it was from biting more than he could chew when working for his father, others from simply overworking himself during college;

His mother had a penchant for outdoorsy activities, particularly hiking and nature preservation efforts, and they would often go on trips to camp out and just spend time together. His father would accompany them when he was younger but with time it became a son-and-mother activity even as things grew tenser at home;

As a child he struggled with retaining spoken requests which made helping his father a bit of a struggle since he needed to memorize measurements and the right tools to bring him, so he got the habit of writing things on his hands and arms which followed him to adulthood. He used to get bullied about the ink stains on his skin and his parents even got a bit of a chiding about it at a parent-teacher meeting once, because the ink might make him sick;

Before that he once went around naming each tool on his father's toolshed, even writing them down on the handles. To his credit, Harold did his best to recall the names and use them so Clay could find them more easily. Even as an adult, in his head certain pliers are Julie or Thomas, and each size of torques are a different B name like Bob, Billie, Bernard, Bart, etc;

He'd rather die than ever, ever admitting to that particular habit to another human being, though;

One of the things he truly misses from when he was a kid and things between his parents were still nice, was their movie nights on weekends. Without failure, his father would drive them all after breakfast to the nearest Blockbuster or cinema, and they'd pick out a movie to watch together. Even when things got hard financially and in his parent's marriage, that was the one thing they kept trying to keep alive, though it often ended up in arguments and tense awkward silent drives back home;

Once he began to explore his sexuality, he started to use a clip-on earring on his right ear but never around his family. HHe never got it pierced so he didn't have to raise questions with a hole in his ear but also because his phobia of being stung in general;

As anyone who works with machines of any kind, he developed his own rituals for his computer as well as for when he started to study the Animus software. One of those is tapping a camera lens before using it, or rubbing the logo of whatever computer he's using;

While he's not exactly a fan of tea himself, he really dislikes straight black coffee. It's either lattes or several spoons of sugar for him, and if he's drinking black coffee then you know it's a Bad Day;

He has opioid tolerance, which majorly sucked when he needed to have a corrective surgery for a hernia, and doubly sucked during his time at Abstergo since the Animus may require drugs to induce an altered level of consciousness;

He has a drawer containing all the extra bits and leftovers from projects. From extra screws and caps from furniture kits to chips and boards that aren't obsolte or broken to bits that he meant to put back eventually but always forget to. Over time the drawer evolved into a shelf and then to a considerable corner of his childhood room at his father's house. Both men refuse to do a cleanup of it just in case they need those at some point;

Speaking of, he had a small period of job hopping fresh out of college, mostly out of HR mismanagement and trying to juggle more than one job at once. Long story short, he ended up with three different work laptops that he never managed to return and are now way obsolete for much use. He keeps meaning to get rid of them but they always make him laugh, so he gives them a pass;

He's a tense and fussy sleeper, so he has a tendency to get tension migranes sometimes and they leave him with a very sour mood;

While he always nurtured an interest for space, he had a more complex curiosity for the sea and ocean life. He found it fascinating but it always left him feeling morose and ill at ease, while space always put an idealistic twinkle in his eyes. The ocean was just too close to be so full of mysteries and unknowns, while the final frontier seemed too far to give him any sense of foreboding;

Even so, he never met the sea. Only lakes and rivers, or seen it from above when he flew on planes, but he's never stood on an ocean beach proper.

#assassin's creed #clay kaczmarek #ACHCs #pardal rambles

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