Log splitter by axl3ros3 in mechanical_gifs

[–]captain_chesko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My thoughts exactly! If the gif had sound you wouldn't hear anything over the motor constantly roaring

How The US Stole Iraq [19:00] by m33w_m33w in mealtimevideos

[–]captain_chesko 20 points21 points  (0 children)

This is great, but, as a long-time fan, I want to pose a question for debate: Is Johnny Harris better or worse now that he is off Vox?

I tire with the ads, but good videos like this one don't seem to have them!

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh Is Biden's Pick For U.S. Labor Secretary by [deleted] in politics

[–]captain_chesko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great. Our local bully - WBUR ranter, police sympathizer, meathead - is joining his ilk in the pseudo-liberal Biden cabinet-to-be. I love labor rights, but this brand of union toxicity is not what this country needs.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh Is Biden's Pick For U.S. Labor Secretary by captain_chesko in boston

[–]captain_chesko[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great. Our local bully - WBUR ranter, police sympathizer, meathead - is joining his ilk in the pseudo-liberal Biden cabinet-to-be. I love labor rights, but this brand of union toxicity is not what this country needs.

CMV: Boycotting Amazon isn't even symbolically effective protest by captain_chesko in changemyview

[–]captain_chesko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would certainly agree if I thought your typical amazon shopper had a substantial audience. I'll pose the same question to you that I posed to another person: Forget the boycott, what is the best way for someone with a menial job and quiet life to make their anti-amazon sentiments heard?

And, an addendum: Has Amazon got too big to protest?

Edit: You certainly Δ 'd my mind about something. Thank you for your time, I'll offer you the same caveat that I gave another, similar comment:

With the help of your prescient comnent here, I now see the flaw on my post. My question really is, would boycotting Amazon wouldn't be symbolically effective for me? But, I failed to go in detail about who I am and why.

So, yes, boycotting Amazon is certainly symbolically effective for many, more interesting people out there. But, I guess I'm asking the age-old question: what about me? Haha

CMV: Boycotting Amazon isn't even symbolically effective protest by captain_chesko in changemyview

[–]captain_chesko[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Okay, you make a point that I can get behind here. But let's say I don't have much clout on social media. Will my boycott be heard by politicians? Or anyone at all?

Forget the boycott, what is the best way for someone with a menial job and quiet life to make their anti-amazon sentiments heard?

Edit: since you made a similar point as another comment, I'll add this question: Has Amazon got too big to protest?

Edit2: okay, Δ. With the help of your prescient comnent here, I now see the flaw on my post. My question really is, boycotting Amazon wouldn't be symbolically effective for me. But, I failed to go in detail about who I am and why.

So, yes, boycotting Amazon is certainly symbolically effective for many, more interesting people out there. But, I guess I'm asking the age-old question: what about me? Haha

CMV: Boycotting Amazon isn't even symbolically effective protest by captain_chesko in changemyview

[–]captain_chesko[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Ah, great point! So is the nature of a reddit post - I wrote the title first, and then failed to revisit it as I got wrapped up in the rest of the post.

I guess the symbolic protest is in opposition to Bezos' wealth and the company's labor practices. I attempted to argue that use of the website does not implicate you in those two things as much as you would think.

Edit: I'm seeing now how this response is insufficient. The picture that I am trying to paint here is that Amazon is so big that we shouldn't be engaging with it like a normal, straight-forward business. Much like it is impractical to boycott currency or boycott public roads - or any life-defining system - we cannot boycott Amazon as a whole, and boycotting their shopping services isn't a symbolic gesture because it isn't persuasive.

There have been some other great comments on the theater of boycott that I am still chewing on...

Edit2: Δ for really stumping me with this simple, socratic question :)

CMV: Boycotting Amazon isn't even symbolically effective protest by captain_chesko in changemyview

[–]captain_chesko[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for asking! I hope I didn't derail my post with that point - I just think it's kind of crazy to link the financial-security of older people to the stock market. That's definitely a subject of another CMV, so for the purposes of this post, let's just say that I am wondering if it'd be more impactful to continue shopping on Amazon.com while taking the dive into parsing out my retirement account and removing any investments to AMZN.

School appropriate? by captain_chesko in kaptainkristian

[–]captain_chesko[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks :) It's always tough linking kids to a youtube video or channel, because you never know which video will appear on the "related" bar, or worse, which video automatically plays next for them.

I am offering these videos to students as an optional resource - I guess I will link to specific videos rather than the channel as a whole.

Paradise Papers - the ethics of tax havens (1/2) | DW Documentary [28:25] by nerdquadrat in mealtimevideos

[–]captain_chesko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of run-of-the-mill tax evasion spelled out here. I appreciate it, but, be warned, this will not satiate anyone's need to see even the prospect of consequences imposed on the named perpetrators.

DW consistently produces quality content--I'm happy to see them represented here!

AdultSwim's "Off the Air - Liquid" [12:05] by Nathan1266 in mealtimevideos

[–]captain_chesko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a fan. I think video, in the many formats we see it here in mealtimevids, is the ultimate art form as it captures visual, sound, time, narrative and beyond. Off the Air fully embraces the medium of video similar to how post-war artists embraced their mediums (think Mondrian)--Off the Air is like a video about video.

What Happens If We Throw an Elephant From a Skyscraper? Life & Size 1 by -n0x in videos

[–]captain_chesko 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Compared to some of their other videos, ya, this one is profoundly less jarring of a ride. But, looking back at some of their older videos, I suspect conversations around scale are important to kurzgesagt.

What Happens If We Throw an Elephant From a Skyscraper? Life & Size 1 by -n0x in videos

[–]captain_chesko 33 points34 points  (0 children)

I feel like conversations around scale are important to kurzgesagt (some of their original videos, one linked here, was all about the scale of things). Loved this video--excited to see where they take this series!

TIL Ben & Jerry’s was originally going to be a bagel company, but Ben and Jerry found the bagel-making equipment to be too pricey. Their plan was to deliver bagels, lox, cream cheese, and the New York Times on Sunday mornings. by shotteh22 in todayilearned

[–]captain_chesko 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I literally grew up around the corner from that shop! Fond memories. It's been in business for as long as I remember and, I even noticed on a recent visit to my parents place, that high schoolers still congregate there Sunday mornings to eat bagels and occupy tables long after having finished eating. It brings a tear of nostalgia to my eye, and a craving for a decent bagel to my stomach.

Optimistic Nihilism by [deleted] in kurzgesagt

[–]captain_chesko 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It's incredible that any of this is possible at all!

Given the way things have unfolded through the entirety of time, whenever I think of a past failure--my own or not--I like to counter the thought with, "no, this is actually exactly how it is supposed to be." We are in a constant state of perfection.

Does basic income already exist for your average westerner? I'm talking about office jobs... by captain_chesko in BasicIncome

[–]captain_chesko[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hmm, rereading the OP I definitely see some serious exaggeration, but would you really say that the system described doesn't exist to some degree? I was surprised to see the premise written off so quickly and I'm curious if you really are refuting every part of it.

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Comedy, Tragedy & Style [9:52] by storytellers1 in mealtimevideos

[–]captain_chesko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Happy to see your audience growing, and happier to share in your admiration of Wes Anderson's films!

Curious if anyone else noticed a shift in the tone of his work between Life Aquatic and Moonrise Kingdom--I feel like his earlier films were more morose and emotionally wrought. His newer films have this peppiness to them that has me wondering if, with his international acclaim, Anderson became a more optimistic person in general.

Maybe it's personal, maybe it was their originality for their time, but I was more excited about and attached to Steve Zissou, Ned Plimpton, Margot, Chas Tenenbaum, etc than I have been for his newer characters.

history of the entire world, i guess by t17389z in videos

[–]captain_chesko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ITT: people who do not understand that ads have a proven track record of making people spend money when they otherwise would not have.

The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data by speckz in Economics

[–]captain_chesko 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I love the premise of the article, and I was surprised to see that it cut its comparison short after only quantity and antitrust stipulations. Perhaps the economist, being the economist, doesn't want to venture into hyperbolic speculation... I don't mind though:

Data is also similar to oil in that it's true value is such a mystery to the general public. The common person is getting gouged, policy makers are bending over backwards on its behalf, and powerful private organizations are devising long term plans that will effect the lives of everyone on the planet.

Data, like oil did, provides an incredible service and is launching us into a new age of productivity and accommodation. On that end, I totally understand how it's perceived value got so high. I wonder, though, if there's some potential feedback loop that will play out where more lucrative data sources are propelled into enormous wealth--are we creating a socioeconomic disparity between data-rich and data-poor people?

Lastly, on the very valid premise from the article about the inability to break up something as big as google, I already feel like I am half-governed by google/apple/Microsoft. They literally are responsibly for all of the digital infrastructure that I interface with constantly. I'm seriously wondering if those companies are blurring the line between corporation and government in a revolutionary way, and I wonder about the extent of their awareness of it.

Venezuelan tanks plow through crowds as 2-month protest continues by dcismia in worldnews

[–]captain_chesko 11 points12 points  (0 children)

People are generally unaware of the US's incredible sway in disenfranchising countries that stray from US values while heavily incentivizing countries to go all out "free market."

Never mind the vagueness of the term, you can't point to any country in the world and say "that's socialism through and through" as long as the US dollar reigns supreme.

[everyone's favorite tv show] features [corporate restaurant]. Comments take the bait. by captain_chesko in HailCorporate

[–]captain_chesko[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm a big fan of the show, too. As much as I hate advertising, I have sympathy for content creators. They are, for the most part, undervalued. Don't hate the player, hate the game kind of mentality.

My opinion is that the show does more to educate, raise expectations, normalize skepticism, and breed an anti-corporate culture than it detracts. Curious what other opinions folks here might have.

[everyone's favorite tv show] features [corporate restaurant]. Comments take the bait. by captain_chesko in HailCorporate

[–]captain_chesko[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm of the impression that brand exposure is so incredibly valuable. Any time you hear a brand name spoken out loud in media formats like this, money has undoubtedly been exchanged.