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Ted Turner has died

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Re: Ted Turner has died

#71

As a film fan I remember all of the outrage over his plan to colorize classic films. He was also a critic of the film "Taxi Driver" and complained about the film's values. He was everywhere in the late 70s and early 80s. WTCG -- The Super Station.

By 1980, WTCG had become "WTBS" and then "TBS SuperStation" and simply "TBS"

Re: Ted Turner has died

#72
I was just talking about Ted Turner. I was at the in-laws' the other day and I said to my father-in-law, "Ted Turner—you probably already know this because you probably met Ted Turner, but he used to run an evening cartoon block for adults on TNT with old Looney Tunes and all the racist jokes and sexual innuendos preserved." And he was like "Yep, I met him several times." Because he was a big-deal media lawyer in the 80s and 90s.

Here's to you, Mr. Turner. Captain Planet was blatant propaganda, but you were largely responsible for my nerdy interest in animation.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TIL Turner was a creator of Captain Planet.

I think I heard somewhere (can't find reliable source right now) that he created Captain Planet as a revenge. He had some renewable energy initiative/deal that he was trying to get pushed through that got clobbered by big oil lobbyists. So he created Captain Planet as some revenge scheme.

Relevant: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uVzLzClY2E8

Re: Ted Turner has died

#75

Ted Turner owned the largest American Bison herd (~45k animals), supplying meat for his "Ted's Montana Grill" restaurants. I don't know much else about the man, but as a supporter of Bison I can commend that part of his legacy. An impressive vision and execution.

how do you own a herd

First thing one need is herd mentality.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#76

I remember around 2000 I read about how Ted Turner started his empire: he bought podunk local TV stations that had loose contracts with media owners that allowed them to broadcast shows as often as they wanted, with no restrictions. In the those days, local TV stations were broadcast just like radio and so the assumption was the contract only concerned the audience the TV station's antenna could reach. But the contra…

Wow. It wasn't until I read your comment that it clicked that the Turner in Turner Classic Movies is Ted Turner.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Giving Pledge still exists, but like most philanthropy it has always been more about PR and reputation washing rather than real public good. The majority of people who have died since making the pledge did not meet the terms they agreed to and the vast majority of people still alive who made the pledge are on track to fail to meet the terms as their wealth is growing significantly faster than their charitable don…

> more about PR and reputation washing rather than real public good. there is a parable i cant quite remember, but something along the lines of "the starving kid does not care where the food comes from". that doesn't quite capture it... but in this context: the people receiving the money/help do not care if they got it because of "reputation washing" or "real public good". they get the help in both scenarios, and tha…

Who cares whether the people who control the majority of the planet’s capital actually care about other people or just the preservation of their image?

I do. I will accept the donation either way, but in terms of so much else, I fucking do.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#78
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> more about PR and reputation washing rather than real public good. there is a parable i cant quite remember, but something along the lines of "the starving kid does not care where the food comes from". that doesn't quite capture it... but in this context: the people receiving the money/help do not care if they got it because of "reputation washing" or "real public good". they get the help in both scenarios, and tha…

I'd even argue that we should encourage _more_ of this behavior, if it leads to more charity. The idea that you have to do good deeds without expecting any kind of reward or recognition seems distinctly Christian to me. For Christians, the intent of this requirement is to ensure people remain humble (pride is a sin, of course) but this clearly contradicts the (imo much more relevant) principle of self interest. You c…

Altruism predates humans, but we are the best at it, and this behavior long predates Christianity. That you associate altruism distinctly with Christianity just discloses massive gaps in your experience and/or education.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#79

“Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise!” - Ted Turner Side note, for those of you that enjoy biographies, his autobiography “Call Me Ted” is a real page-turner (pun intended). A highly inspirational story of entrepreneurship, which includes a raw and authentic account of his flaws. A true legend. Rest in peace Ted.

There is 4 part series on HBO with same name ( I think). I watched it last year. Learned a lot from business to personal life.
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