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“When we all have pocket telephones”

openculture.com

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Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#31

Post by wizardforhire »

otikik wrote: post #23
nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

My dog has no nose. Ask me how does it smell.

Careful, you’re treading in ITAR territory.

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#32

Post by user_7832 »

wizardforhire wrote: post #31
otikik wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My dog has no nose. Ask me how does it smell.

Careful, you’re treading in ITAR territory.

...Does their dog use a radar to smell?

(Context: there was a recent HN post on radar software being restricted in the US partly due to ITAR)

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#33

Post by jpm_sd »

pmontra wrote: post #10
nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

They can turn to satire. There is an endless stream of public figures unwillingly creating scripts for them.

"Satire died when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize" - Tom Lehrer

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#34

Post by ArcMex »

otikik wrote: post #23
nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

My dog has no nose. Ask me how does it smell.

Like a dog?

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#35

Post by creshal »

sethammons wrote: post #27
jonathanstrange wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can just literally quote real-life dialogues instead. Rick & Morty featured a whole court session that really happened.[1] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bjDkQR57fA

Wow, that is batshit crazy.

Germany's highest form of comedy is political cabaret, i.e. someone quotes a politician verbatim and the audience, briefly, imagines they were actually serious. It's the only form of entertainment that keeps getting funnier every year.

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#37

Post by pavlov »

mantas wrote: post #30
pavlov wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, the highest marginal tax rate for individuals was 70% as recently as 1981. It was 92% in 1952. Today it's 37%. So it's really the other way around — taxes have never been as low as now in recent history.

What about tax for a median citizen?

I don’t know. It’s pretty difficult to compare when the median citizen’s circumstances have also changed so much.

But in the context of reality’s absurdity reaching escape velocity from parody, it seems fitting that the rich barely pay taxes anymore and are seeking immortality cures like Thiel does. Death and taxes are the postmodern libertarian’s greatest enemies.

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#38

Post by asddubs »

jonathanstrange wrote: post #11
nonrandomstring wrote: post #7

Lately, stand-up comedians have been saying they're out of a job, because the absurdity of reality is escaping parody. Nothing stays funny for long, because soon enough it's true, and then banal. In a world where all things are absurd, ipso facto nothing is absurd. An interesting question becomes what remains? What are the solid relations that underpin our humanity? Having a boss that tells you what to do? No, long s…

They can just literally quote real-life dialogues instead. Rick & Morty featured a whole court session that really happened.[1] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bjDkQR57fA

this is a fan-made animation, it wasn't on the show (the voices are of justin roiland though)

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#39

Post by LeonM »

eesmith wrote: post #13
bsza wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet it predicted the future more accurately than Blade Runner (1982) where people still use pay phones in 2019.

Picking nits while skipping how we don't have off-world colonies or replicants? In that case, the comic got things wrong too. You'll be hard pressed to find people wearing those clothes these days, especially the nurse's headgear. Canes and briefcases are also rare, though I suspect that those rare few wearing a bowler hat might still use them. Also, few people use a bell as their ringtone.

> Also, few people use a bell as their ringtone.

I have always used a bell ringtone, I like it because I find it less-invasive then all the other abstract modern ringtones that only give me alarm clock PTSS.

Unfortunately, Samsung removed the classing bell ringtone in their latest models :(

Re: “When we all have pocket telephones”

#40

Post by aikendrum »

robertlagrant wrote: post #24
coldtea wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, so? Your comment is like saying "CEOs saying the current market is bad for their industry, while ...still running companies?!" It's not like the observation that a trade is being hurt (in this case, in the kind of disconnect between your job being pointing out absurdity as something that stands out and making it funny, and a society that seems to drown and revel in it) cannot be done by practitioners of said tr…

No it's like saying "CEOs saying they're out of a job while being CEOs".

Standup comedian is a freelance job. It's perfectly possible to be unable to perform and still be a comedian, whether due to lack of material or lack of opportunity.
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