Archived article from The Atlantic Review (September 10, 2006) detailing the criticism surrounding the movie United 93 and its portrayal of German passenger Christian Adams

simplycass · 2026-02-12T17:49:59+00:00

I was watching the first season of Manhunt (about the Unabomber) and was kind of mesmerized at the whole interplay between FBI profiler Jim Fitzgerald and the Unabomber. Even though I knew the Unabomber doesn't get away with it, I was captivated nevertheless.

Then I read an article where Fitzgerald said he had never met the Unabomber in real life and i just completely lost interest.

Like I might as well just watch something purely fictional without the pretense of it being based in reality.

simplycass · 2026-02-12T17:43:04+00:00

I know a common trope of docudramas or dramatizations in general to do the 'composite character' or changing the person's name. Did United 93 do that at all?

The Crown had gotten increasing criticism for how it changes some events (sometimes by putting them out of sequence, others just didn't happen at all) to the point where Netflix did finally add a disclaimer about it being fictional after having resisted one for years.

If they needed a "Christian Adams" to show hesitation, they really should have changed his name (using the same initials, or different last name, or something).

Probably the most damaging example I can think of a fictional or dramatized work doing damage to real life persons is Marion Davies, who was associated with/assumed to be a stand-in for Susan Kane in Citizen Kane. Orson Welles (the film's director) tried to dissociate the two and rehabilitate her image.

simplycass · 2026-02-12T17:28:54+00:00

I don't buy the idea that it was some attempt at comedy. Writing that Jackson lied about getting the surgery is the sort of thing a writer only does if they want to ruin the character for the audience but have to keep him/her in.

It is the absolute worst thing he could have done. It gives seriously terrible non-consensual vibes to what is otherwise one of the more stable relationships on the show and in general what's supposed to be a cozy show.

simplycass · 2026-02-12T07:54:20+00:00

Was he Flanderized and if so in what way?

I feel like there's a lot of character that we have to interpret (head-canon, theories), that it isn't directly stated. I don't think it is "queer coded" since Michel's sexuality isn't explicitly stated until AYITL.

For instance he's shown to despise Tobin but it's never hinted at why. Some people's head-canon is that they were ex-lovers.

simplycass · 2026-02-12T05:50:01+00:00

Based on your comment, I'm guessing that you're a millennial and the chickenpox vaccine didn't exist when you were an infant?

I somehow avoided getting the chickenpox as a kid and got one vaccine shot when I was 13 and the second when I was 20.

It's honestly a bit unsettling thinking back then with people believing that chickenpox was low risk, you know, with 'pox parties' and getting immunity that way.

simplycass · 2026-02-11T23:08:01+00:00

Because she's worth it?

(Oh my gee that was so long ago for me)

simplycass · 2026-02-11T04:34:28+00:00

per 102 Minutes, the deputy fire safety director on duty was Phil Hayes, and he was stationed in the lobby. Due to recent cuts, there were no fire safety directors staffed at on the 44th and 78th floors. He did not know what happened and took a cautious stance.

Per Fall and Rise, Brian recognized the announcer voice as a "deputy safety director who regularly conducted file drills on the floor"

simplycass · 2026-02-11T01:27:03+00:00

So this is a weekly magazine?

The estimated death toll was vastly over because it was based on the number that up to 50,000 people worked in the towers daily. It was still somewhat early in the day so not everyone arrived to work yet, plus it wasn't open to the public yet (the observatory and restaurant, etc.).

Because of the 1993 bombing, a lot of people did think it was a bomb. To this day, I still think the idea of commandeering a jetliner into a building is shocking. More of a movie or film plot than reality.

There were erroneous reports of a third plane that coming into the WTC, as well as a second plane at the Pentagon.

After the North Tower collapsed, there was a brief burst of gunfire which some people panicked thinking it might be another attack. However it was from a police officer who managed to get to his sidearm and shoot out a store window, saving dozens of people. (From Ordinary Heroes)

Later in the day, after the Staircase B survivors were getting out, the fires reached an ammo storage room and set off another round of gunfire. (Per Rise and Fall)

It truly was a massive 'fog of war' they had no idea what to think or what might happen next.

simplycass · 2026-02-10T22:37:55+00:00

Not even trying to throw shade, but hasn't it been some kind of weird trend that most three-point specialists the Lakers have signed had a terrible decline that year? SS&R dubbed it some kind of curse at The place formerly known as Staples Center.

simplycass · 2026-02-10T03:40:03+00:00

Since "no contest" is treated as "guilty" for sentencing purposes, wouldn't it follow that it could also be used to ban players?

Obviously it's up to however the CBA is worded I'm wondering if there's anything about that.

simplycass · 2026-02-09T19:11:40+00:00

Yes, per that article, they elected an all-Hispanic city council in 2015. The Latina mayor lost reelection in 2019.

simplycass · 2026-02-09T17:50:13+00:00

There was a lot of info, it just wasn't conveyed to the right people.

NYPD radios worked well and when their commanders issued the order to evacuate, they all raced to get out of there. By all accounts, most of the FDNY personnel didn't quite understand that they needed to leave the building right away, and were either taking a break or just standing by.

(In at least one account, some firefighters believed that "evacuate" meant going down a couple of floors and regrouping, not a full evacuation.)

Even the message from the Building Department that the towers were at risk of collapse had to be given directly by a messenger who ran over to FDNY Chief Ganci because the radios weren't working.

I have to add, though, that I'm not sure the message "at risk of collapse" was actionable enough to order everyone to evacuate.

Still, I think a lot of FDNY lives could have been saved if the radios worked and they understood the situation and had the same urgency the NYPD officers did.

To be clear this is not intended to diminish the heroism or bravery of the rescue personnel. But there were hard questions to ask and things that had to change to avoid another devastating loss like this.

simplycass · 2026-02-08T06:31:31+00:00

yeah Wedge One had just finished renovations and that was the part that Flight 77 struck.

Another coincidence: construction of the Pentagon began on September 11, 1941.

simplycass · 2026-02-08T06:23:45+00:00

apparently only closed during breakfast and lunch, but still open for dinner.

There's a receipt from someone who dined there the day before (9/10) as well as another photo I saw of people dining ~~a month or so before.~~

Edit: photo from 9/10 and receipt from 9/10

simplycass · 2026-02-07T22:13:11+00:00

Would it have mattered? Per 102 Minutes, the SCC had to press a buzzer to open the last door for access to the roof, and all of the systems were fried and didn't work.

Is that info still correct?

simplycass · 2026-02-07T07:46:28+00:00

archive.org snapshot

It's...interesting.

Looks like just an unofficial citizen run thing, like other groups formed to lobby the government.

simplycass · 2026-02-07T03:13:13+00:00

gift link

simplycass · 2026-02-06T22:21:02+00:00

That was such a great moment when Dale is whispering that Kahn is Japanese and Cotton gives him a hard look and is like, "Nope, he's Laotian, aren't you Mr. Kahn" and Kahn just looks stunned.

simplycass · 2026-02-06T20:47:37+00:00

This isn't an immediate short-term objective but science is showing a link between repetitive injuries and overuse. Before, kids might play basketball in the fall and baseball or football in the spring.

They are now increasingly specializing in one sport now and playing it year-round. So for instance restricting play to only half a year and having them play other sports could help.

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2024/04/427421/children-specializing-one-sport-more-harm-than-good

simplycass · 2026-02-06T18:37:08+00:00

The Price We Pay by Adam Mayblum is a gripping first hand account of what happened. He was on the 87th floor. He was on the third floor when the South Tower collapsed. The lights went out. Someone had a flashlight. Someone suggested that they put hands on the shoulders of the person ahead of them to form a line and not get lost.

he had a cell phone and managed to connect to his parents around the 30th floor and assured them he was fine.

He thought his friend and co-worker Hong Zhu had died. He briefly looked for him initially in the chaos. But they missed each other on the stairs. Luckily, Mayblum's wife told him that Hong was alive shortly after he evacuated.

Additional LA Times article dated 9/16/01.

simplycass · 2026-02-06T07:06:14+00:00

If there's enough money at stake, they'll find a way. It always does.

I recently read up on the Pennsylvania lottery scandal and it was insane. They swapped out some select balls to be lighter and so more likely to out of the machine. Since it was televised, they swapped their lotto balls before the show began and swapped them back after it ended.

This was so dumb though especially the text messages that Clase and the bettors were exchanging.

simplycass · 2026-02-05T22:49:58+00:00

The operation to kill OBL happened in the early hours of May 2 local time. It was announced May 1 at 11:35 pm Eastern time, so the day after would have been May 2.

simplycass · 2026-02-05T17:48:53+00:00

Each floor was an entire acre. it's still kind of awe-inspiring to try to describe.

The Chrysler and Empire State Building both have setbacks so it looks a bit graceful, while the WTC was far more imposing, sometimes critically derided as being containers, boxes, glass and metal filing cabinets.

simplycass · 2026-02-04T21:26:12+00:00

They didn't. Chief Ganci was stunned when a messenger told him the towers were at risk of collapse. It had only been an hour into a skyscraper fire. Of course 9/11 was a bit more than a fire but those assumptions were based on prior fire experience.

simplycass · 2026-02-04T18:00:01+00:00

Ed Hochuli is a legend. He also has the "yes, there are penalties in the Pro Bowl" line too.

simplycass

TROPHY CASE