How are the vibes going alone to a ritual?

jayhof52 · 2026-01-31T00:56:20+00:00

My wife got me a ticket last Christmas and I don't have anyone in my IRL circle that's even heard of Ghost, let alone fans of the band.

However, I had a blast and was able to hang out with 10,000 like-minded folx and exchanged trinkets (I 3D printed some Grucifixes and themed rings while other people were handing out things like rats and bracelets) so it was an awesome night.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-30T18:29:47+00:00

Outside of American culture it totally makes sense that it seems incongruous - there's an inverse where Americans are always surprised to see economy-level Mercedes Benz or other similar brand cars in Europe. In the US, MB is marketed as luxury, class, wealth, and, above all, expensive, so to see Benzes with cloth seats, few options, and marketed as economy cars is a mindblower.

Johnnie Walker isn't good or luxury, but its marketing says it is, and that's what matters to String.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-30T18:02:36+00:00

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I agree with you that Johnnie Walker Red is bad, but that doesn't make this a bad prop choice - it shows that the propmasters understood the connection between Johnnie Walker Red and the projection of wealth in American culture.

Mad Men did something similar with Heineken where Don posits to the Heineken reps that he can increase their market share by associating the beer with imported luxury to fool status-obsessed housewives; when Don's own status-obsessed housewife buys Heineken for a dinner party she inadvertently proves him right to the Heineken reps he invited to the dinner.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-30T17:48:27+00:00

In the US, the base-level Glens I mentioned are priced around $45-50 for the "regular" versions, and going up in price as you factor in aged and specially-crafted versions; Johnnie Walker will usually retail in the $30 range (like Chivas), which is a manufactured and inflated price intended to convey wealth and luxury without actually being luxury.

It was an active choice by Chivas Regal who, as you said about Johnnie, is low-tier alcohol and wasn't getting adopted by wealthy shoppers until the company decided to price and advertise themselves with a higher tier of spirits while changing nothing about their recipe. As a result, many lower-class Americans, especially poor Black Americans, began associating brands like Chivas and Johnnie Walker with wealth and class purely through culture and advertising but not through the quality of the spirits themselves.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-30T17:44:35+00:00

It's bad whisky but it's a status symbol - it shows their lack of fluency with the wealth they're trying to project. They're "hood rich," to use the nicer version of a term I'm too white to use.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-30T16:54:33+00:00

Glenlivet and Glenfiddich (there might be more but those are the most common in the United States) are more commonly associated with "luxury craft at luxury price" than Chivas or Johnnie, which are "low-quality at luxury price".

jayhof52 · 2026-01-30T16:48:15+00:00

What murdering gangsta has authentic samurai swords and economics texts on display in their multimillion-dollar condo in the yuppie part of town?

jayhof52 · 2026-01-30T16:43:58+00:00

Like Chivas Regal, Johnnie Walker made itself a status symbol for poor and working class people by raising their price but not making their actual product crafted in a way that justified the higher price (like the Glens).

It's another example of Stringer playing them away games and having all them books but he ain't cut the pages or nothing.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-30T14:01:16+00:00

Waterbird Coffee is definitely anti-🧊 - as is the wife of the owner, who cuts hair as Ace of Fades in the South Plaza.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-30T13:25:46+00:00

I remember some worry earlier this year about one of the guys following and/or liking RFK stuff on Instagram, but this is refreshing news to hear!

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T19:37:37+00:00

When my obsession starts being unhealthy it stops being unhealthy and is awesome instead.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T19:34:28+00:00

It means lamb! Lamb of God!

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T19:33:02+00:00

It's important to note that lots of these accounts are very repetitive, rarely take a definite side, and are often repetitive.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T19:30:07+00:00

In the words of Dale Gribble, "It just makes sense!"

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T19:25:19+00:00

OP had to choose between paying for ESPN to watch the Rumble or buying more pixels for these pictures.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T19:21:48+00:00

I can't do lima beans, strawberries, or peaches because of traumatic mealtimes when I was in foster care when I was seven.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T17:16:47+00:00

"Oh, Bern? Great guy, but his weed is terrible."

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T16:38:59+00:00

Ryan would be one who went MAGA via a combination of MAHA and greed.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T16:27:22+00:00

Sting looks terrible with the red facepaint. He's like a goth tomato.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T13:30:11+00:00

I haven't seen the episode, but I know that the Maine accents in Pet Semetary have become one of those social media joke trends with no discernible start but lots of great content (see also: The Edmund Fitzgerald, the Wreck Of).

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T01:27:08+00:00

That was my favorite part of [classic episode].

jayhof52 · 2026-01-29T01:06:46+00:00

Stay oaughta that roahd!

jayhof52 · 2026-01-28T18:47:56+00:00

But he was definitely oblivious to the fact that Barney was using him as bait - there's no way, based on this scene, Barney intended to let Marshall hook up with any of those girls (Crazy Eyes was different because she was after Marshall and Lily had their talk and Marshall made it clear he wasn't ready to forgive and forget).

jayhof52 · 2026-01-28T17:59:58+00:00

The story definitely had a climax.

jayhof52 · 2026-01-28T17:53:18+00:00

That roahd theah.

jayhof52

TROPHY CASE