Video (other)

Cages

Chill Movies, Video, Video (other)

The 1970s French version is good, but the American version of The Birdcage is such a great film. And I say that as someone who rarely enjoys farces.

That movie is just absolutely fun from end to end and never makes a false move. I was shocked by how much I liked it when I watched it soon after it came out. The casting choices were just perfect, and the chemistry between Nathan Lane and Robin Williams was unbeatable.

Recommended.

Copywrought

Chill Evil, Video, Video (other)

This is one of the many reasons copyright needs to die.

I don’t give a fuck about copyright and I’d eliminate it 100% tomorrow if I could. As it is now, copyright is mainly a weapon to wield against opinions and ideas that large corporations dislike. But even if it weren’t it’d still be better on net to nuke it.

If you’re not violating at least a few dozen copyrights a day, are you even living?

Paratrooper Stuff

Chill Oof, Video, Video (other)

One time on a hairy jump in the army in too-high winds, a buddy of mine slammed into the side of a field ambulance at 30mph.

Somehow he broke no bones but sprained nearly every major muscle in his body and ended up with a huge amount of bruising. As I was talking to him later, I observed it was some sort of weird anti-paradox: he crashed into the ambulance that was needed to help him since he’d plowed into an ambulance.

He was not quite as amused by my observation as I was.

He made a complete recovery. And if you’re curious, video of the jump is below. Read the poster’s comment too. That was a very shitty jump that never should’ve happened, especially since it was done just to show off.

I know most of y’all are not used to looking at military jumps, but the paratroopers should not be moving nearly-horizontally across the screen like that.

A very bad day.

Holy shit, just noticed these comments. That was my friend!

Knows

Chill Music, Video, Video (other)

That’s a great analysis. Such a difference when you watch someone who actually knows something about music.

Rick doesn’t usually talk about percussion, so I guess I will. The rhythm part of “God Only Knows” is just as interesting and as unusual as the rest of the song. It’s all completely intentional to achieve the ends of the song. It’s structured to highlight emotional beats rather than to “drive” the song as standard percussion does in most rock songs. Sometimes the percussion just disappears altogether and then resumes to highlight and elevate a phrase.

Sleigh bells in the intro and first verse make the song feel like stepping into a shimmery fantasy. The distinctive “clopping” sound in the song (perhaps coconut shells or wood blocks?) mimics a soft horse-hoof rhythm that makes one think of pastoral ease, of falling asleep in a meadow and awakening in a transformed world. Those sleigh bells I mentioned earlier make their return subtly during the instrumental interlude (just before the final chorus) and propel the fade-out, adding a soothing, ethereal sparkle. Sparse drum hits highlight repeated vocal phrases. Timpani rolls add drama and make the song feel orchestral rather than rock-like without overwhelming the progression and becoming overwrought.

Even drum phrases that might typically repeat do not. Instead, they shift and respond to the vocal lines. Check the end of the song particularly. Not one is precisely the same and all work exactly with the vocal part.

Most songs do not get better as you deconstruct them. “God Only Knows” does, though. There’s just so much in it. And it all fits perfectly.

Comp

Chill Movies, Video, Video (other)

I wish it had more actual “behind the scenes,” but Sophie Thatcher has a brain in her head so she’s worth watching in interviews. Incidentally, Companion is my favorite movie of the past couple of years.

One of the outfits Sophie is wearing isn’t in the film so that must’ve been from a deleted bit. And she does such a great job with the German scene.

Flippy

Chill Video, Video (other)

I cannot for the LIFE of me work out how this could have happened at the supermarket carpark near me where you can barely drive forty feet in a straight line (not my picture).

[image or embed]

— James Alistair Henry (@jamesbluecat.bsky.social) June 1, 2025 at 3:10 AM

Tire-to-tire contact has an insane amount of traction. It only takes a bit of that for cars to flip, roll over, climb another one, or do something else that seems at first glance improbable. I’ve seen a car flip from tire-on-tire contact at 5mph.

Here’s one example of low-speed tire-to-tire contact causing a rollover:

Presence

Chill Movies, Video, Video (other)

Presence is such a good film. It’s not horror, really, for all you horror haters. It’s more of a psychological thriller with some few horror elements. It’s mostly about misogyny and family dynamics. And it’s shot so beautifully. Probably my favorite film I’ve seen in the last couple of years.

Good analysis of how it was shot. (And wow, Callina is so different than her character Chloe in the film!)

1989

Chill Culture, Video, Video (other)

What an awesome fucking time capsule. I remember that world; I was about the same age these kids were in 1989. It was so very different than now, in ways that are hard to describe unless you lived it. Younger people cannot believe a world like that truly existed:

But it did. In important ways, it was a lot freer — there was far less surveillance. Kids were allowed to roam, and have their own lives. There was no social media (except BBSes, which few used). I would not want to go back, but this is one of the few examples I’ve ever found of what it felt like to live in that time. I knew kids just like this dude and his friend who did things just like they are doing in the video.

Wave All the Meat

Chill Evil, Video, Video (other), War

Open-field disorganized assault with no vehicular support. Alrighty then. What a colossal waste of people and purpose.