Frivolous Thoughts for the Morning (Except #1)

[silk_noir]

1. Why is lamb so freaking expensive in the US?



2. Does anyone copy edit online articles anymore?  I'm not talking blogs--I'm talking content put out by seemingly reputable entities.  Your average online typist may have issues with apostrophe-possessive mistakes, but if you're writing for CNN or Rolling Stone or what have you, shouldn't you have your

Comments

[jeriendhal]

What coked-up walrus sack gave clearance for a fart joke in the directors cut of Lord of the Rings? In what reality could this ever be thought a Good Idea?

The same one that used a dwarf tossing joke, twice?

[ammitnox]

I'm glad you're posting again! Let's see.

1. Pulling an answer out of my ass here, but I'm guessing that fewer people here eat lamb/mutton than on the Continent. Okay, I don't like making stuff up, so I did a quick google: US per capita sheep consumption is less than one pound per person, and the highest is New Zealand at 57. (Of course, they have more sheep than people, so they probably have to eat more to prevent a sheep uprising.) US lamb is probably imported, which makes it more expensive. (http://www.sheep101.info/lamb.html and http://myass.extrapolation.and.guesswork)

2. Seriously. And not even just stuff online! Printed matter is getting worse, too! I might admit to carrying sharpies and correcting things when out in the world. (My partner HATES this quirk of mine.) I do like oil-barren's ambiguity. --I'm sure in its original context it was clearly intended to be oil baron?

[tedeisenstein]

1. Not enough sheep grown for meat rather than wool? Either that, or New Zealanders are milking us for everything they can get.

2. Yes, but not nearly often enuff enough.

3. Directors are idiots.

4. See number 3.

5. Sex is a sin, remember, and we cannot corrupt today's youth with the sight of a lady's nipple much less the rest of her, and Lord Forbid (literally) anyone should know a) how babies are made, and b) that sex can be fun.

[jwgh]

Regarding (3), I just consider it part of the soundtrack; as long as the people in the movie can't hear it, it doesn't bother me.

[seawasp]

#1: No idea; I don't eat it so I can't even say if it's that much more expensive than other meats.

#2: The explosion in online articles, and reduction of staff for things like editing and fact checking, basically add up to "probably not very often."

#3: Because multiple tests have shown that audiences PREFER sound effects. Reality is irrelevant -- which pretty much covers most fun movies. TVTropes documents all the myriad ways in which reality would get in the way of actually telling fun stories. The original Star Trek opening was filmed with no sound, but test audiences found the *whoooosh!* noise as the Enterprise whipped by to be MUCH more exciting.

#4: It's the "Director's Cut" so one would presume the walrus sack in question is named Peter Jackson.

#5: I dunno, but thank god they're mostly gone. Unless it's absolutely essential to SEE this for the plot (and there really aren't many situations in which it really is necessary), I really find most sex scenes cringingly embarrassing.