Post a controversial opinion

horror as a genre is especially subject to waves and troughs of popularity

the folk horror resurgence is especially welcome to me right now, I hope it doesn't get stuck in a rut

i feel like the only time in my life when horror wasn't as popular was the 90s?

about right. that was really the dead era of horror to me, where the gritty fun of 80s horror gave way to more sanitized, overproduced middling crap, and the worst entries of long-standing franchises, etc.

a friend invited me over to watch Phantoms in the 90s as our horror hangout and I fell the fuck asleep. we don't talk any more.

(not because of the film, that's a coincidence)

horror has spread beyond the genre, too. there is casual body horror in almost everything. house of the dragon, for example, is not a horror show per se but at least once per episode you will endure something that is completely fucked up

― Karl Malone

for me it's like, how do you make a movie that's _not_ horror? i don't know, maybe for some people it's different, but the amount of completely fucked up shit i've had to deal with on a regular basis since, well, 2016, and knowing that i'm far from alone in that. what do you want to call it? burnout? empathy fatigue? what movies do they show in the cinemas in Hell?

They show Steve Bannon films in Hell.

I've never been a massive horror fan but I've been watching more lately trying to expand my genre horizons (like starting to read fantasy after avoiding it for 25 years because I hated Tolkien so much) - the Babadook & VVitch were the most interesting and both looked great but horror is so narrative dependent and neither wowed me on that front.

Surprisingly, the ones I've enjoyed more (vs. respecting the cinematography and acting of Babadook/VVitch) were Netflix series - the Fear Streets were way better than Scream 2022 for '90s throwback horror, Brand New Cherry Flavor did body horror quite well.

Going to try Hereditary tomorrow night.

Hereditary is solid

In general, whenever I A24 in the opening credits, I know it's probably not gonna be a complete waste of time

*see*

the Fear Streets were way better than Scream 2022 for '90s throwback horror,

The main thing I remember about Fear Street was

if you die from multiple stab wounds to the torso you can be revived by CPR!

but I did watch all three movies, so they must have been pretty entertaining regardless.

I would eagerly await some Chris Pike movies but the only one I really remember clearly was ridiculously anti-abortion.

after decades of exhaustive study I have concluded that the best drummer in the universe ever is Chester Thompson

Retail businesses & restaurants that don't accept cash should be boycotted

otm

Seconded.

... or thirded or whatever.

when they don't accept cash I just offer to pay with other things

"do you take watches? this toaster? my car stereo? socks?"

“I have two dollars…and a Casio..”

i used to feel more strongly about this, but after a comrade got accidentally killed while in the process of depositing cash for her bakery, and then all the other violent robberies on restaurants and stores, it did make me think ... maybe not having cash is actually a good thing? Like, these are fucked up shitty things that don't even involve guns (which are the bigger problem by far) ... idk, I'm starting to feel more like the anti-cash people make sense

My main objection is that the most vulnerable ppl will not have access to credit or debit cards. A lot of homeless ppl don't have bank accounts but they can gather enough money for the occasional purchase. Everything going cashless means that 1) begging becomes substantially more difficult and 2) so does spending whatever money you have gotten.

Truth. The other day I wanted to give some money to a guy outside 7-11 and found I literally had no cash whatsoever, and had the fleeting thought, "do you take PayPal?" And then immediately denounced myself. Fortunately he said, "I'd take a beer," so I went inside and fucking bought him a beer. No regrets.

But slightly more seriously I don't know what infrastructure it would take to be able to easily give electronic money to vulnerable people. Or, y'know, we could just keep using cash, a system that has worked for thousands of years.

Not just homeless people, my friend who works in care (elderly people and those with a diversity of ability) says he has increasing trouble finding places to take service users that can only use cash. There are cohorts that would completely lose what economic independence they have if we went cashless

Also it’s better for buying illegal things

I'm annoyed by the lack of cash. The other day it took me forever to find somebody to break a 20 just so that I could tip someone. A friend of mine was recently at a hotel in Columbus Ohio, and there was a single person hustling behind a free breakfast buffet. He really wanted to tip them, but there was no easy way, since he had no cash. He ended up having to cashapp her money.

But I am also sympathetic to the plight of businesses. No cash means no bringing money to the bank, no one skimming from the till, no theft in general, no need to balance out all the money at the end of the day ...

Concur with above, cash is good for privacy and accessibility. If they don’t take cash, I don’t go there.

I mean personally I quite like the convenience of contactless payment & use Apple Pay almost exclusively & only get cash so I can have change for the laundrette & to give to homeless ppl

I was in a cashless pub the other day tho & they were having a meltdown because their system had gone offline, they were telling ppl they could order something only if they had exact money because there was literally no change onsite, one party got to leave without paying their bill (meal + drinks) as they had somewhere to be & couldnt wait around for them to fix the problem… seems like a hazard

FWIW I have worked a lot of retail cash-register jobs and I know it is a hassle to deal with - count the drawer, have all the right denominations, make change, reconcile the drawer and deal with discrepancies. But commerce has been done this way since 500 BC and most people have managed.

My local bagel shop was cash-only until last year. Regulars knew to come prepared, but plastic and cash app fans often groaned. There is an ATM there, with like a $3.50 fee.

My thinking is that if 90% of your customers are just going boop with their phones or tapping/swiping, then it should be comparatively easy to equip a cash register to deal with the other 10%.

(Basically I agree with opposition to cashless businesses. But cash-only businesses ALSO need to evolve and catch up with their customers, even if it is just to get a Square reader.)

My main objection is that the most vulnerable ppl will not have access to credit or debit cards.

a lot of benefits are now paid via card, so that many actually do have access to cards ... I'm sure a lot of this was also related to the predatory check-cashing industry which ... is another topic.

Since Acme bakery went card-only, I've been less anxious about my gross filth-ridden dollars tainting my bread, but I do miss the small "thanks for using cash" discount.

Oh for controversial opinion: I wish girl scout cookies didn't have so many additives. Are there any rogue troupes that bake their own cookies?

there was an ill-fated Amazon store in San Francisco where they didn't even have a cash register or clerk, you just paid with your phone or something. The City forced them to install a cash register and a clerk, I think it's gone now.

It's not just homeless -there are plenty of immigrants and others who still exist in a 100% cash society

correction: they've JUST closed the stores, there were four

https://sf.eater.com/2023/3/6/23627466/amazon-go-san-francisco-closing

My daughters were girl scouts. No rogue baking allowed, although that was what they did back in the day. All GS cookies made in the US are manufactured by two different bakeries, and there are subtle differences between the two. Caramel Delights and Samoas are basically the same cookie, but Samoas are a little better.

I’m very glad they are out of it; that was such a pain in the ass.

xps to wins

Oh I know, I was trying to buy something from somewhere the payment system was down recently & they were like cash only, sorry, so I was like np and went to go get, except!

- nearest atm was out of service
- next nearest was one of those ones that charges you £1.95 per withdrawal
- next nearest to that was out of service
- finally the last one: ten minutes walk away

In any case, I usually have a £10 note for “emergencies” (ie coming home late & needing to get a taxi & most local ones only take cash), various coins for tipping assorted people (taxi drivers, restaurants, place that does my nails lashes etc, hairdresser!). Tipping on a card is pure savagery and there’s absolutely no way you know it’s going to the person and not the business.

I remember being at a gig in East Londom like 20 years ago and finding out, too late, there were no free ATMs for miles around. It's always been like that in poor areas.

I feel poor and naked when there's no cash in my wallet, even though I have a debit card and a credit card (that I almost never use)

Most of my cash comes from selling aluminium cans and change from buying a $10 roll of quarters (for laundry) with a $20 bill from the ATM.

Incidentally, my mentally disabled clients seem to value and accumulate coins more than they value cards or bills, even though all of them have problems counting change. I suspect that it's because there's more of it and it jingles.

CGLDI, that's interesting. I have an intellectually disabled middle schooler and I will tell you that schools REALLY press coin math on kids.

Same with my elder kid. I used to be mildly irritated about coin math and piggy banks because in our current world, most things that are worth buying cost more than a dollar. when I was a kid - 1977 or so - coins were useful for candy or soda or whatever. Now pretty much everything sub-$1 is crap that I don't want my kids to have.

Most adults mainly use coins only to avoid getting more coins.

That said, if your clients find coins more satisfying or comprehensible, I understand. My son's face lights up when he finds a penny.

But the connection between coins and actual economic literacy or financial independence is pretty tenuous at this point.

It's a decent way to visualize counting multiples of five.

I have a box of coins in my closet that's overflowing

Every few years I'll take some down to one of the CoinStar machines at the grocery store, and it feels like I've hit the big jackpot even though it's my own money lol (minus whatever fee they deduct)

Someone should create a specialty airline where no persons under 10 are admitted on the plane. And seats on flights that do include children under 10 should be heavily discounted.

No offense to all the ilx parents. I actually really like kids, generally speaking. I'm just a bit grumpy because I just returned from a work trip and a little Tuvan throat-singing toddler shrieked and caterwauled throughout the entire six hour flight home. Flying is stressful enough as it is and some of us just want to sleep

Two airlines already offer child-free zones:
https://www.airlineratings.com/news/child-free-zones-which-airlines-guarantee-a-child-free-flight/

Gotta admit, one of the best gifts I ever received was a set of noise-cancelling headphones.

I would like adult free zones tbh

Statistically speaking, most crimes against humanity gave been committed by adults. Just sayin.

id accept the point and counter by saying they couldve been prevented by drowning them as six year olds

well at least they got to experience kindergarten

you could say

🕶️

they didnt make the grade YEAOWWWW

😎

LOL, D.

Ponzi, firstly I don't think this can in any way be classed as a controversial opinion.

Secondly, perhaps a little compassion is in order as well as a short self-check on why you take a child's cry so personally.

Most importantly, are you suggesting an airline that has flights with passengers exclusively under 10 years old? I would happily steward these flights.

Further, are you also suggesting anyone 10 and older won't make a ruckus? I've seen more evidence of middle-aged adults causing mayhem than small children whose cries both can't be helped and can easily be made a non-issue by fellow passengers with earplugs and the aforementioned noise-canceling headphones.

I fairly recently had (what I presume was) an autistic boy in front of me who constantly, violently rocked his seat, so much that coffee spilled

I have the patience of Job, however, and I could see that his family tried to calm him on occasion, but I'm 6'1" and airplane seats already suck for tall people

But generally I don't care about caterwauling waifs, it takes a village

Andy, weirdly, my disabled kid (not autistic but autism-adjacent) has always been a delight on planes as long as he was fed constant digital crack.

The only time we had a tough kid/plane experience was with my (neurotypical) eldest, who was 18 months old (and getting over an ear infection). She made periodic mewling cries of agony from approximately Kansas City to Las Vegas. We apologized as much as possible and did all we could, but ultimately there was nothing to be done. Most folks were decently understanding. But when we got to our destination we overheard a dude on his phone saying "yeah there was a baby crying the whole flight."

Sorry you couldn't travel from DC to Oregon in a hermetically sealed luxury chamber, my dude. Airline travel in this century is a hive of germs and misery and inconvenience for almost everyone. If you want perfect peace and quiet, rent your own jet.