RealLifeLore: Why Norway is Becoming the World’s Richest Country.

In summary: Norway #1 forever. Norway wins. Ding. “Norway takes [thing] and sells it to get [thing] and then invests that in [thing] and here we go, out the back of the machine here is all the money ever.”

i’ve had some gift cards lying around for awhile w/low amounts. in california, you’re supposed to be able to get cash for anything under $10, good luck explaining that to the disinterested teen selling movie tickets.

one i’ve been trying to crack for about five years now. the amount was around two dollars. i kept at it because it amused me. first the store changed their gift card format, so the registers could no longer recognize my card. “you’ll have to deal with corporate” etc. so years of that. then it switched again, and the phone number is always busy. switch to email.

today, the death blow: your gift card balance is zero. mmm, i wonder why.

i know, i complain about red tape a -lot-. it’s when the stakes are low and i know the most likely outcome that it flips to being hilarious, i can’t explain it.

David Alan Grier: One last Prince story.

Fern: How Communists Made Unbreakable Glass.

“The story of Superfest does make you wonder, how many products around us are worse than they have to be?”

you just described the goddamn internet

Orbit Gum. 1923 September International Confectioner; also Confectioners Journal.

Johnny Harris: The Woman who Robbed $1 BILLION (and almost got away)

Angela Collier: long live scientific debate.

2girls1bottl3 / Mixie and Munchi #merchpt2

comment: “The zoom on the squint while being censored lmao”

IKR

sorry folks, this year is lookin’ mighty lean ... gonna have to cut back on the NUT CREAMS

Wienerschnitzel (© 2024 The Galardi Group Inc) has indicated to me, via a large outdoor promotional sign, that “FISH IS BACK”

please no brickbats, i’m just a messenger here

“Hands on buzzers ... what is the worst, most stupidest name for a company that sells linge --”

[FX: hurls entire body onto buzzer] “AGENT PROVOCATEUR”

Language Log: Mix & Match Japanese Orthography. “How do people decide when to switch among the different components of the Japanese writing system?”

Hoog: What’s Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Club? A thoughtful consideration of the political/sociological factors in post-war Germany behind the creation of Berghain. Please note that the video does not contain loud music, frenetic strobe-filled shots of clubgoers clubgoing, etc.

Make art not content: PRINCE’s work ethic.

“Party chunks really hits, you know? Like if I had said ‘rainbow chunks,’ sure, same thing, but it’s not the same ... with party chunks, you’re thinking, yeah, that’s a good time, those are some chunks to hang with, the party chunks ... but rainbow chunks, that sounds like a cereal manufacturer’s offshoot product that shows up at Grocery Outlet six months later ...”

TV Mertani: NGAWAL ANAK VESPA EXTREME JALAN SAMPAI LOMBOK (ESCORTING EXTREME VESPA KIDS ALL THE WAY TO LOMBOK) [paraphrased body of video] “Thank you for for watching the video on Channel TV Mertani, I pray that [you] will be given health, longevity and ease of all affairs, amen.”

Advertisement for Improved Racine Automatic Sucker Machine, Confectioners Journal, June 1922, pg. 161. So, funny thing. The very minor heyday of the dumbell sucker was around 1922-1924. Very few mentions anywhere. In 1924, the Spangler Candy Company introduced Dum Dums, and the name was chosen, according to the Spangler FAQ, “because it is easy for children and adults to say.”

I’ll put a dime on the name actually evolving from dumbell suckers. Or dum-dum bullets.

JaidenAnimations: Pokemon sent me to Japan! [31min] I am not “with it” enough that 80% of the cultural references here went over my head for one reason or another.

[Tokyo Times] The disappearance of a dilapidated old Tokyo tobacconist.