UKMT December 2020 - Best viewed with Brexcape Navigator 4+

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > UKMT December 2020 - Best viewed with Brexcape Navigator 4+

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Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Jose posted:

Jfc

https://twitter.com/helenpidd/status/1333667223269994506?s=19

I liked this response from The Indy's Jon Stone, as he torpedoes his chances of getting a job at the Guardian or the New Statesman any time in the next few years

https://twitter.com/joncstone/status/1333686754021429248?s=19

# ¿ Dec 1, 2020 11:15

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 11:45

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

NotJustANumber99 posted:

Blimey, foreign holidays are cheap atm at least.

There's a very good piece from a German writer about this sort of thing

# ¿ Dec 1, 2020 11:24

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Jaeluni Asjil posted:

And then there was Tilda Swinton in a gender-fluid role in Orlando (1992).

This is a total tangent, but is Orlando (the novel) much of a Thing in the trans community? It feels like it should be something of a landmark text, since it's a work by one of the 20th century's most important novelists that deals explicitly with gender fluidity and transition and seems decades ahead of its time, but it doesn't seem to get mentioned all that much in pop culture, even in literary circles. Even amongst Modernist scholars it seems like Woolf's other works tend to get more attention (granted I've not been up on this stuff for a good long while). And it's funny! Modernism is hardly ever funny.* Or is this just too dumb a question when the answer is that no one gives a toss about novels** in 2020?

* Except Joyce
** except Harry Potter still if you're a centrist pundit needing an analogy

# ¿ Dec 2, 2020 00:21

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

mediaphage posted:

pie chat earlier got me in the mood to make a pot pie with the turkey drumsticks i puddled this week:

kecske posted:

thats a good looking pie imo

# ¿ Dec 2, 2020 00:57

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

goddamnedtwisto posted:

They sort of did and they sort of didn't - it's mostly used as a way of conveying character rather than a direct comparison of Soviet republics to Anglosphere areas.

For example, they give Stalin a Cockney accent even though Josef Jugashvili came from a small rural community in Georgia (and oddly, like Hitler, was often mocked behind his back for his "yokel" accent) - a more accurate English regional accent would have been Welsh or maybe one from the American Georgia. Stalin's *character* - a scary bastard who used to rob banks - fits the Cockney stereotype pretty well though.

Oliver Stone's Alexander did something like that IIRC, in a specifically Greek/Hellenic context (to bring it back to the original point), with an attempt to use contemporary accents to suggest classical geographic origins. Much like the rest of the film, it was kind of cool and interesting in theory but ultimately a bit pointless and poorly executed.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2020 14:45

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

bustin keaton posted:

I've not read New Statesman in years, and know it's been at very least centre left for longer, but has something happened to give it such a weird set of recent coverage? There's one writer who is putting out pro-royal pieces like why "milennials love Diana" (based on them and one friend's opinion) and an article about why bookshop.org is actually bad, leading with quotes from...Waterstone and Blackwells.

Seems bad even by their standards. Did some big editorial shift happen or something?

The new statesman is in very weird place right now. The main thread of its political coverage and editorial is very Sensible Centrist, but while Stephen Bush (political editor) is very much in that camp he is, at least, a lot less grating in general than the likes of Rentoul or most guardian political journalists, even if he's coming from a very similar place and has similar takes. I'd say he's better than your average UK political editor in that he doesn't just repeat "exclusive" leaks from a select few VIPs and does offer a view with some level of critique, but it's often a very narrowly defined view with similarly narrow key sources.
I listen to the podcast most weeks and it's kinda interesting if rarely particularly insightful, but one thing I've noticed that annoys me is that their political reporter, Ailbhe Rae, seems to be getting less interesting over time and is becoming more predictable in having takes on things that are pretty much like Bush's, which themselves are often very predictable "what would a self-described sensible commentator say?"

Their cultural stuff is usually fairly poo poo as far as I can tell, seeming like a poorer version of any given broadsheet's arts conent. Just a handful of reviews, and none with any real personality or spark, and overwhelmingly dull and pointless "think" pieces about whatever the current popular book/tv show/whatever is. Those kinda of articles that are effectively just bad blog posts, at best a few bland observations in search of an argument.

However, their Britain editor (I've no idea what that means either), Anoosh Chakelian, is fantastic, and is one of the very few uk journalists who is still genuinely interested in covering, and clearly very angry about, the continuing effects of austerity and welfare reform. Presumably because she's not a "political" journalist, which seems in most places to just be a very narrow remit of Westminster or Westminster adjacent gossip, she generally focuses on how government policy affects people's lived experience. Her work is consistently excellent and worth seeking out.

Niric fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Dec 5, 2020

# ¿ Dec 5, 2020 16:06

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Guavanaut posted:

Presumably one who edits Britain.

Thinking about it, it seems like her remit is "commentary on what the government does," whereas the politics editorial brief is "commentary on what the government (+ parliamentarians & their staff) say."

The latter is much more prominent and prestigious than the former.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2020 16:15

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

feedmegin posted:

Opposite of a digital TV OP

*checks living room* an analogue TV is a sofa? :confused:

Julio Cruz posted:

sure he loves getting his rocks off by beating the piss out of opposition fans, ~~but~~ and he also enjoys watching Love Actually at Christmas

# ¿ Dec 5, 2020 20:08

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

What's that, Brexit deadline is coming up and the EU hasn't capitulated? Better stir up some culture wars poo poo to distract everyone

"Millwall fans who booed footballers taking a knee in opposition to racism should “always be respected”, the cabinet minister George Eustice has said"

# ¿ Dec 6, 2020 12:17

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Failed Imagineer posted:

(though actually I bought them from the work store using bullshit fake-rear end points that employees can award each other for good worker-bee behaviour but that's besides the point)

Wait, what?

# ¿ Dec 7, 2020 08:31

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Red Oktober posted:

I had the same at Accenture - you get a certain amount of points per year and you can allocate them to other people as a ‘thank you’. I cashed mine in for Currys vouchers and bought a kenwood mixer.

The Human Race: *through sobs* you can't just say everything is Marketised .... Please....
The Glorious Free Market: *points at basic human decency* Marketised

Kenwood mixers are pretty good though

# ¿ Dec 7, 2020 08:52

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Red Oktober posted:

I had the same at Accenture - you get a certain amount of points per year and you can allocate them to other people as a ‘thank you’. I cashed mine in for Currys vouchers and bought a kenwood mixer.

Seriously though, is this a common thing that's been happening for ages that I've never encountered before? Because in a year of a literal plague, this attempt to gameify the workplace with the lure of consumer goods in the most blunt, infantilising way possible seems a bit much

# ¿ Dec 7, 2020 09:04

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Party Boat posted:

Most big companies have a "reward and recognition" budget where people can nominate others for vouchers or whatever.

Yeah, I guess you're right and that is something I'm familiar with (and my brain didn't connect these things because it's still before half 8, gimme a break). But, I dunno, the whole "let's make primary school gold stars into an actual market economy" by distributing a rationed number of points to be spent/exchanged seems like a whole step up from this

Failed Imagineer posted:

If it makes you feel any better, me and a few lads just have a weekly coffee catch-up and we award each other all our points in a circular fashion à la Strangers On A Train, so basically it's money for jam.

Maybe I'm easily pleased, but this legit does make me feel better

Niric fucked around with this message at 09:33 on Dec 7, 2020

# ¿ Dec 7, 2020 09:31

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Failed Imagineer posted:

since the prospect of points has already been introduced, the card-only option just becomes a way to passive-aggressively piss people off.

Another neat illustration of capitalism ~~debasing human interaction I spose~~ driving innovation.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2020 09:41

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Vigil for Virgil posted:

Pretty sure that's already patented as the US education boards school plan.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2020 11:59

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

mediaphage posted:

operation penetration

Johnson can't talk about the results of operation(s) penetration though

# ¿ Dec 7, 2020 12:34

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Failed Imagineer posted:

It's a profound insight to take a moment and realise that you can literally just put out some plastic tarp and a saucepan and ~~never have to worry about dying of thirst at least 300 days of the year, and how untrue that it is for billions of people. Also the lack of Shai Hulud makes walking to the shops a lot less stressful~~ now you have a asset that can be traded and that it becomes more valuable as more people start dying

Vigil for Virgil posted:

Speaking of work rewards.

"aspirationsonline.com"

Guavanaut posted:

Would be better if they showed you them for 15 seconds and then you had to name as many as you could and then you get those.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2020 13:01

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Nothingtoseehere posted:

It's the UK, water supply isn't going to be an issue anytime soon. I think there's some work on connecting up regional water systems so they can redistribute at need to London/SE but that's about it.

Pretty sure the UK is already well set up to redistribute to London/SE

# ¿ Dec 7, 2020 13:13

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Beefeater1980 posted:

Ardbeg is the best whisky, and so is Laphroaig. Are there any other good peaty ones?

Bunnahabhain is very good imo. Most whisky from Islay tends to be peaty, but there's probably someone here with much better knowledge than me to lay it all out

# ¿ Dec 7, 2020 14:45

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Once more into the arm dear friends, once more,
Or clog the morgues up with our English dead.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2020 09:24

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Sanitary Naptime posted:

This is missing an independent Strathclyde and I’m disappointed in you for its absence

That's not how you spell Glasgow. Ayrshire can take Paisley the rest of the Renfrewshires, thank you very much. We'll work some sort of Gibraltar thing out for the airport.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2020 09:06

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

The Question IRL posted:

Airports. Remember there is Glasgow airport and Glasgow Prestwick.
(I used to fly into Prestwick before they removed the route.)

Prestwick airport is so weird. Fun fact, Glasgow Prestwick is only 5 miles closer to Glasgow city centre than Edinburgh airport. It's really quite insane that the Greater Glasgow area (population 1.2ish million) is served by 3 international airports all less than an hour away. Which is possibly why all three are pretty pokey airports and Prestwick has been losing money for a very long time IIRC

What I'm saying is, bulldoze Falkirk and build a single hub airport instead. Keep the wheel though, that's pretty cool.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2020 09:38

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

kecske posted:

you're thinking of the Commons. The Lords sit down in their own gold plated red velvet room where they all snooze and drone on at each other like the world's most expensive care home

the American (I think?) is right here. The UK Parliament is both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Houses of Parliament in the Palace of Westminster.

You are 100% correct about the snoozing and the droning and the expensive care home.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2020 00:21

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

therattle posted:

This is pretty great. Read the whole thread

https://twitter.com/georgegascon/status/1336050937597554688?s=21

That was a hell of a plot twist

# ¿ Dec 12, 2020 00:37

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Gonzo McFee posted:

Never effort post.

All posts are effort posts until you discover Awful App™

# ¿ Dec 13, 2020 10:54

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

crispix posted:

I prefer to keep my telephone and home computer as separate concerns

Pissflaps alt unmasked at last

# ¿ Dec 13, 2020 11:19

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Josef bugman posted:

Pardon?

That New Yorker cover except everything beyond the Angel of the North is just "Nazis"

# ¿ Dec 13, 2020 13:12

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

hexa posted:

@PaulChuckle is suspended and I really want to know the story behind that one.

He ends up suspended because his brother mistakenly took the ladder away. Obvs.

# ¿ Dec 17, 2020 10:01

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

blunt posted:

So, gearing up for negative interest rates?

(I'm guessing, the article is paywalled)

Full article:

quote:

Home workers who have saved heavily during the coronavirus lockdown need to start spending heavily next year to restore the UK's economy, Rishi Sunak has said.

The news came as Parliament's spending watchdog warned that nearly three million people may have been excluded from the Treasury's two schemes to support the employed and self-employed during the coronavirus crisis.

Mr Sunak, the Chancellor, told an online event for Conservative party members last weekend that he "felt good" about the prospects for the UK recovering strongly after the coronavirus pandemic has eased.

He said: "I feel good about the bounceback – I think people have been sitting at home, building up some savings hopefully and we would like to go and spend them when we get back."

The Chancellor also used the event to appeal to the party's grassroots to bear with ministers as they imposed restrictions on England to ease the country through the pandemic.

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He added: "It is very difficult for us. We are Conservatives, we believe in freedom. This is very difficult but this is unfortunately necessary at the moment – we have just got to get through these next few difficult months."

A report earlier this month from the Centre for Business and Economic Research found that households are estimated to have saved 19 per cent of their disposable incomes in 2020.

This is more than double the savings ratio of seven per cent in 2019 and equates to £7,100 per household, or £197 billion across all households.

The CEBR said: "The £197 billion question, therefore, is what will households do with this money that they have accumulated in 2020 when restrictions ease?

"Of course, a large chunk of these savings will have gone into pensions, which will not be available for spending for some time."

But it added that households might look to spend their savings on holidays while the CEBR detected "considerable pent-up demand" to spend on "the arts, entertainment and live sports".

However it warned that "spending behaviours will depend on how confident consumers feel about the economy next year.

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"A combination of Brexit and the end of the furlough scheme ... could damage economic output and the labour market early next year, meaning consumers would rather hold on to much of the extra cash they have accumulated in 2020, rather than spend it."

Douglas McWilliams, the CEBR's deputy chairman, told The Telegraph: "The money is there. What’s critical is whether consumers have enough confidence to spend it."

Last week Mr Sunak announced that the Budget will be held in early March where he will outline the next stage in the Government's economic response to the Budget, while the furlough scheme would be extended by a month to the end of April.

Julian Jessop, a leading independent economist, added: "This is a welcome change of tone from the Chancellor.

"Just a few weeks ago he was warning that our 'economic emergency has only just begun', which sent exactly the wrong message to consumers and businesses.

"But if he wants people to spend their increased savings – and companies to invest more – he also needs to stop worrying them with talk of tax hikes."

Separately, MPs on the Public Accounts Spending Committee said that "a combination of policy decisions, limitations in HMRC data and the prioritisation of speed means that as many as 2.9 million workers may have been excluded" from the two schemes.

The two schemes are estimated to have cost the taxpayer £76 billion by the end of April. However the MPs added: "HM Treasury is unable to provide even a ballpark official figure for extending the schemes, or explain how it will determine whether the money has been well spent.  

"HMRC still does not know the actual level of fraud and error in the schemes and will not have a complete estimate until the end of 2021 at the earliest."

# ¿ Dec 20, 2020 14:37

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Biggus Dickus posted:

Met up in a Tesco car park at 1pm yesterday and it was absolutely heaving. Even the outer edge where the non-shoppers park was packed.

A bottle of alcohol, some cash and home-made Christmas ~~crack~~ cake changed hands and I was glad to be out of there.

# ¿ Dec 22, 2020 10:55

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Jose posted:

https://twitter.com/_jackhy/status/1341330398106804224?s=20

Jess Phillips is awful, but this clip is just stupid and not a dunk on her at all

# ¿ Dec 22, 2020 23:35

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Not So Fast posted:

It's a bit of a gotcha question but most of those would be key to tackling climate change in the short term

(Although like with Nuclear power, I don't know why the Greens hate HS2 so much. Sorry a 300 year old tree got cut down because it was in the way?)

"will you commit to this laundry list of major policy positions in this live interview" is dumb and ineffectual, and makes the questioner look dumb and ineffectual, even when some of the policies are good ideas. Left Twitter thinking this is a good dunk on Phillips is pretty pathetic imo. Especially when dunking on a narcissist likeJess Phillips isn't exactly difficult

# ¿ Dec 22, 2020 23:48

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Necrothatcher posted:

Is there a way to create a new high-speed rail service in the UK that doesn't destroy irreplaceable ancient forests?

*boris johnson careers through the wall*

Bridges! Bridges everywhere! The greatest bridge network ever conceived by man! Britain in the sky! Brits aloft! Huzzah!

# ¿ Dec 23, 2020 11:58

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Oh dear me posted:

I really recommend the Zoe Covid app because you can read the full report they send to government, and it shows some interesting things. For example the age breakdown shows a much bigger rise in people in their 40s than in previous surges. I think mortality doesn't really start to tick up until the 50s, but I guess any spread upwards in age range is alarming.

And the prevalence rate per 100000 is even higher in Kent and Medway (991) than in London (959), which is huge compared with Cornwall (65).

E: the rate of symptomatic Covid per 100000 exceeds 134 in all age groups except the 70-somethings.

A couple of pages ago and I have nothing to add but this is a great post that I really appreciated

# ¿ Dec 24, 2020 02:35

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Ewan posted:

I feel there's a backstory here (I've been away for a while...)

I assume it's a reference to Bellingcat, whose founder is Brown Moses on the forums. They've had funding from some soft power promoting foundation things (which if you squint could be construed as CIA adjacent I guess) and had been accused of toeing heavily to the US line on a bunch of issues.

José (i think?) has a bit of a bee in his bonnet about it, but I'm sceptical that they're as spookishly shady as he makes out. They've slandered journalists when criticised iirc and brown moses used to jump into the thread when mentioned and came across pretty badly, so I'm not exactly sympathetic to them though

# ¿ Dec 24, 2020 11:36

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

I just read through everyone's Christmas day food and booze and farty sprout stupor posting and it was extremely wholesome and enjoyable. UKMT is good people

# ¿ Dec 26, 2020 12:21

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Sanford posted:

You ever received an email by mistake, that just by chance was exactly what you needed to see at that moment?

Thanks, Pasha and Anastasiya. Merry Christmas to you and your big family, too.

Strong "ugh, my family are so embarrassing" energy from that lad on the right

# ¿ Dec 26, 2020 13:11

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Mebh posted:

Fun fact. My sister did the costumes for that video!

This is a fun fact!

Mebh posted:

Socrates was basically the worlds first "Well actually" guy.

This, however, is not fun or a fact and you take that back :mad:

# ¿ Dec 28, 2020 01:19

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

Mebh posted:

I'm totally willing to be wrong! He just struck me as the guy who at a party would swing out of nowhere into your conversation about how poo poo the government is to say something like "ah but what does poo poo mean? Is poo poo truly bad? If everything is poo poo, is not nothing poo poo?" did you know some good people do poo poo things too? So how can you also say bad people are the only poo poo ones? Etc etc.

My knowledge of him honestly only extends from playing AC odyssey over lockdown and him being my favourite npc.

I like the idea of him as a proto corbyn as discussed earlier in the thread though.

Socrates (through Plato) was more about getting people to examine their assumptions and ideas they take for granted than just sowing scepticism for scepticism sake. Like, in your example he'd be more interested in using that comment about the government being poo poo to ask you what a good government would be like, and probing you about what it means to answer that question. Then you end up with The Republic, which for a book well over a couple of thousand years old is not too shabby

I was mostly doing a silly bit in rushing in to defend the honour of Socrates in TYOOL 2020, but now it seems like I'm actually just defending the honour of Socrates in TYOOL 2020 so I don't even know what's real any more

# ¿ Dec 28, 2020 01:46

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 11:45

Niric: Jul 23, 2008

forkboy84 posted:

AC Odyssey's portrayal of Socrates as incredibly insufferable accurately represented my impression of him from the little Plato I've read. Or rather insufferable but endearing somehow.

Insufferable but endearing is a very good description. There is no way I'd want to hang around with him for sure, but that's pretty much every philosopher ever. Except my man Davey Hume, but he was a big ol' racist* so maybe that's not a fun night out either

* likely no more so than any other given 18th century scotsman, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement

# ¿ Dec 28, 2020 02:12

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > UKMT December 2020 - Best viewed with Brexcape Navigator 4+

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