OT: Some Strange Things Bug Me

[RockyMTblue2]

Currently and for a while it is the show on TV disengeniously called America's Got Talent, which regularly has performances and sometimes winners who live abroad and are foreign nationals. The spouse watches it so occasionally I'm subjected to this highly contrived nonsense. So, out of curiousity and a malignant heart I just looked up the rules.

"ALL contestants must be a United States citizen, legal permanent resident of the United States, possess a current employment authorization card (EAD card) or be in the United States legally at the time of their initial audition. For more details please read the Eligibility Requirements."

In other words, schedule your audition and hop on a plane. So the show should simply be called "Got Talent" as I see it OR maybe "Those Legally In The US At Time Of Initial Audition Got Talent". That one is better right?

 

[Sonny44]

Yep, rules mean nothing anymore, except in sports.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

There was an opinion piece about rules in today's Tucson paper. Written by a woman who works in one of our many second hand stores. Folks return items that are no-return, bring in pets (not service animals), and a whole bunch of other "not the rules" and then explain why the rules shouldn't apply to them or why it is a stupid rule in the first place. Her comment was that she wondered how folks would like to live in an environment of "no rules".

Although I do think Rocky's point is that the rules don't correspond to the title of the show.

 

[noirwestern]

There was an opinion piece about rules in today's Tucson paper. Written by a woman who works in one of our many second hand stores. Folks return items that are no-return, bring in pets (not service animals), and a whole bunch of other "not the rules" and then explain why the rules shouldn't apply to them or why it is a stupid rule in the first place. Her comment was that she wondered how folks would like to live in an environment of "no rules".

Although I do think Rocky's point is that the rules don't correspond to the title of the show.

Uncle Sam introduced to a few of those places with no rules. No taxes, either. No thanks.

 

[JordyG]

 

[RockyMTblue2]

So now that my thread has been politicized, should it not die? Otherwise, we are no better than America's Got Talent or the singing and dancing shows full of recruited professionals?

On edit: Iran and access to US Banking System anyone?

Please kill this thread.

 

[oldude]

Does that mean the Wall will pay for itself in just under 10 years?

Depends on the interest rate used to discount the time value of money to a present value, the offset, if any, of the wall on the $7.8 billion in annual costs plus expenses for ongoing maintenance and repair.

 

[JordyG]

I know we're not supposed to talk politics but people see dishonesty in the White House everyday and they get away with it why not do it in your life! You never know!

It would have been better if you'd have said, "among politicians". That inclusive prepositional phrase is even more true.

 

[McFly]

Yes, the name or the rules should be changed, since America includes northernmost Greenland and southernmost Chile, and everything in between.

 

[triaddukefan]

One strange thing that bothers me is that my favorite 24 hour diner has a breakfast special... But they only allow two beverage options with the meal... Tea or coffee .. I don't drink coffee .. And I sure don't want tea at 2:30 am. The younger waitress break the rules and let me choose pink lemonade... But those elderly waitresses stick to the rules... Stubborn senior citizens

No offense to any senior citizens in this thread.... Some of my favorite relatives are seniors

 

[RockyMTblue2]

One strange thing that bothers me is that my favorite 24 hour diner has a breakfast special... But they only allow two beverage options with the meal... Tea or coffee .. I don't drink coffee .. And I sure don't want tea at 2:30 am. The younger waitress break the rules and let me choose pink lemonade... But those elderly waitresses stick to the rules... Stubborn senior citizens

No offense to any senior citizens in this thread.... Some of my favorite relatives are seniors

Service means Hell Yes, we'll substitute.

 

[Bigboote]

There was an opinion piece about rules in today's Tucson paper. Written by a woman who works in one of our many second hand stores. Folks return items that are no-return, bring in pets (not service animals), and a whole bunch of other "not the rules" and then explain why the rules shouldn't apply to them or why it is a stupid rule in the first place. Her comment was that she wondered how folks would like to live in an environment of "no rules".

Although I do think Rocky's point is that the rules don't correspond to the title of the show.

I agree with Rocky's original post -- if the only real requirement is that someone is in the US legally at the time of the tryout, why even mention the first several sufficient but not necessary requirements?

But as for the op-ed piece, is there ONE PERSON on this board who thinks every rule applies to him? (Note the grammatical rule that a reference to a non-specific single person must be male.)

Let me mention a real thing that bugs me in a possibly strange way. In the late-70's, the US administration adopted a national 55 mph speed limit. The only people who obeyed that were people who already drove 55. So the US government instantly made lawbreakers of many many millions of erstwhile law-abiding people. And these people's children saw them blatantly breaking the law, so the kids grew up thinking that laws were to be obeyed selectively (i. e., many rules didn't apply to them). Now that the speed limits have gone up again, instead of doing 70 in a 55 mph zone, people are doing 85 in a 70 mph zone. I'm teaching my daughter to drive now. She wants to do the speed limit, and for good measure, to go about 5 mph below lest she inadvertently speed up a little. I hate having to tell her that it's dangerous to obey the speed limit, and even more dangerous to go 5 mph slower. It is literally dangerous around here, as is stopping for a yellow light.

And I think the wanton breaking of traffic laws has made people more comfortable breaking other laws/rules. Idling in cars in the fire lane in parking lots (especially bothers me on code-red air-quality days) is common around here, and is breaking two different laws (idling for more than 2-3 minutes and staying in a fire lane). Dropping their bagged dog waste in my yard (happened last Friday) is something that happens on a weekly to monthly basis. I frequently see people emptying full ash trays on the road when waiting at stop lights and flicking lit butts out of their cars.

All that and I'm not even retired yet. I'm not planning on being a serious curmudgeon in my dotage, but I appear to be headed that way.

 

[meyers7]

One strange thing that bothers me is that my favorite 24 hour diner has a breakfast special... But they only allow two beverage options with the meal... Tea or coffee .. I don't drink coffee .. And I sure don't want tea at 2:30 am. The younger waitress break the rules and let me choose pink lemonade... But those elderly waitresses stick to the rules... Stubborn senior citizens

No offense to any senior citizens in this thread.... Some of my favorite relatives are seniors

Sound a bit like the T-Bone Cafe

 

[RockyMTblue2]

That's what this thread feels like....

 

[RockyMTblue2]

For those of you who wish to visit ... there is still a Cesspool, under Forums look for The Boneyard: Alternate Reality In Action. You can go there and get it all out ... until tomorrow, etc etc.

 

[Bama fan]

Breaking the rules of the forum, to express frustration with those of a different opinion who are "breaking the rules", is still breaking the rules. So please keep smiling, and go Huskies! And remember that the greatest of these is charity.

 

[Bama fan]

Currently and for a while it is the show on TV disengeniously called America's Got Talent, which regularly has performances and sometimes winners who live abroad and are foreign nationals. The spouse watches it so occasionally I'm subjected to this highly contrived nonsense. So, out of curiousity and a malignant heart I just looked up the rules.

"ALL contestants must be a United States citizen, legal permanent resident of the United States, possess a current employment authorization card (EAD card) or be in the United States legally at the time of their initial audition. For more details please read the Eligibility Requirements."

In other words, schedule your audition and hop on a plane. So the show should simply be called "Got Talent" as I see it OR maybe "Those Legally In The US At Time Of Initial Audition Got Talent". That one is better right?

While all true, you must admit that the 13 year old young lady from the UK crushed that Otis Redding classic.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

While all true, you must admit that the 13 year old young lady from the UK crushed that Otis Redding classic.

I've seen 5 minutes of the show - a foreign dance troop. I suspect she'll be up on YouTube any time now. I sorta tuned out of that show when they increasingly made it about the infantile antics between the judges. If I'm in the room and it is running I'm on my lap top looking for Husky stuff to post.

 

[dogged1]

I've seen 5 minutes of the show - a foreign dance troop. I suspect she'll be up on YouTube any time now. I sorta tuned out of that show when they increasingly made it about the infantile antics between the judges. If I'm in the room and it is running I'm on my lap top looking for Husky stuff to post.

Agreed. I don't dislike talent shows but the current crop is over staged and artificial. Like some of the talent but hate the shows over all.

 

[UpstateNY]

I walk in my suburban neighborhood and I see something almost every day that really bugs me : small plastic bags filled with dog feces ! People are conscientious enough to scoop the poop but are too stupid, lazy or entitled to properly dispose of it.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Agreed. I don't dislike talent shows but the current crop is over staged and artificial. Like some of the talent but hate the shows over all.

The back story stuff is starting to swallow the talent stuff imo. Even that American Ninja Warrior thing has become polluted with it. Tabloid TV. When one of the most popular shows on TV is endless cops stopping people for a broken tail light, followed by a drug bust, over and over and over ... that should be a clue to fix it.

 

[Bigboote]

I walk in my suburban neighborhood and I see something almost every day that really bugs me : small plastic bags filled with dog feces ! People are conscientious enough to scoop the poop but are too stupid, lazy or entitled to properly dispose of it.

Yeah, I already complained about people dropping them in my yard (after a long probably unreadable ramble). Is it better than having dogs take a dump in your yard? Probably, but not much, and you know that the owner was actually thinking about it when s/he dropped it in your yard.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

While all true, you must admit that the 13 year old young lady from the UK crushed that Otis Redding classic.

Found it on YouTube. Understood about 10 words (must have beeen her heavy accent ).

 

[Centerstream]

Found it on YouTube. Understood about 10 words (must have beeen her heavy accent ).

I don't watch these types of got talent shows but do sometimes come across them due to other social media. One thing most have in common is that they actually have some quite talented people on them BUT the thing that really gets old is when the performers present themselves as very shy or scared during the interviews, but then are all but that when they perform and by the time they get to the final, if they reach it, the shyness or fear is gone. Seems staged to me...(pun intended).

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I don't watch these types of got talent shows but do sometimes come across them due to other social media. One thing most have in common is that they actually have some quite talented people on them BUT the thing that really gets old is when the performers present themselves as very shy or scared during the interviews, but then are all but that when they perform and by the time they get to the final, if they reach it, the shyness or fear is gone. Seems staged to me...(pun intended).

Some may be genuine, but these shows send scouts to the 4 corners of the earth to find people, pay their way and even dictate what season the people will compete in. Reality TV is too "important" to leave it to reality.

 

[JS]

Please kill this thread.

Chose instead to delete posts that violated the rules and leave the thread open.

Very strange that the thread devolved into glaring politics that went on for a couple of days and, while people expressed surprise at the lack of mod action during the course of the thread, no one was proactive enough to file a Report or send us a PM.

So happens that until about 10 minutes ago, obviously, none of us mods read the thread. In my own case I've been super-busy the last several days.

No offense Rocky, but the title of the thread seems innocuous. One of your whimsical OT threads, off-season particularly, in which I occasionally participate. No clue to what lay within, and nobody, including you, brought it to our attention.

In the more relaxed summertime, I personally rely more heavily on looking for those literal red flags -- signifying Reports and Private Messages -- when I open the board.

Speaking of taking offense, I do take offense at the suggestion made at one point in the thread that whether we leave up a political post depends on its slant. Absolutely false.

One might consider an explanation of negligence, to which I've admitted, and take note that political posts on both sides of the political spectrum went equally un-moderated.

Which brings us to consequences. And in the spirit of better late than never, suspensions from posting of varying lengths have been handed out to the worst offenders, starting with the author of the first post that diverted the thread to politics.e

People, by the way, who start their post by saying "I know this is against the rules, but . . ." get extra demerits for blatancy.

 

[wire chief]

I'm a perfect example of a reired person who moves to Florida and drives slowly. I do it because I love to grumble to myself while being tailgated.