I just dont get it! -Things you dont understand

[stephanie]

I thought I would start a thread about things you personally dont get it could me music, food, politics, relationships or anything you desire an answer to. Im not the sharpest cookie on the planet I dont like opera but I DO know Pavoratti, Kathleen Battle and other people can sing. Dont like beets but some people love them. There is only one thing I never got in my life and that was Garry Shandling.

What do people see in this guy? Some like Seinfelds stand up which I dont like but I can see how he would appeal to some. Looking up and down and all around for years can someone tell me what this guys appeal is? If I am missing something tell me. Especially that theme song "this is the theme to Garys show...yuck!!!" I just dont get his humor as Larry Sanders on his show or his stand up.
Steph

[tomato tom]

Hi Stephanie..Great idea...

I love the U.S. version of THE OFFICE, but cant stand the English original. But then I cant stand Ricky Jervais anyway. Saw him live on his last tour. Crap...Paulo XXX

[MissLish]

I don't get why people have to lie and distort to bolster their egos.

I also don't get why fans place the Supremes and Diana Ross in direct competition.

I also don't get why drivers spend more time looking in their rear view mirrors, trying to control the drivers behind them, instead of looking ahead to what is in front of them. I mean, they are moving forward, right? LOL! So often they are looking in their rear views more often than they check out the road before them.

The list is endless..

[iconicpuff]

Food-wise -Celery. Why would you?
Film-wise - Tarrantino and Tim Burton. Leaves me cold!
TV-wise - Celebrity this and celebrity that! And crap like Big Brother, Britain's Got Talent, X-factor, American Idol and all that dross!
But, my absolute pet peev is [[and Alicia Keys is a prime example) singers who record songs with themselves singing the backpart vocals!!!!!! Surely there are pleny of 'session singers' in need of work! Aren't there modern day equivalents of Andantes, Blossoms, Sweet Inspirations, Sweethearts and folk like Siedah Garrett etc! It makes my blood boil when I read the liner notes and see 'all vocals performed by....'

[stephanie]

Iconic.
If you like the macabre you have an appeal for Tim Burton I think he is good at his craft but the eccentricity of his films does not pique my curiousity either. Great attention to detail though and I admire his talent I can see this one. I know people who live for Big Brother and Fear Factor so Im on your side with this one I call it the dumbing down of America. When Alicia Keys came on the scene people acted like she was the second coming of great music and they had never seen anyone sing behind a piano like Elton John, Aretha, etc. I felt the same way when John Legend came on the scene it was like WOW and Im sitting here feeling dumbfounded because he was no new revelation neither was Alicia they just happen to be this generations Carole King I guess [[and I use her name lightly here). Neo soul is just an excuse for people who can sing with no rap attached to it. The last time I was wowed by a new artist was Whitney Houston and Mariah Careys -Vision of Love....Mariah lost me after that. Celery really has no taste it just spices things up, so I understand the blah of this one.

American Idol I WILL defend the first few seasons it was good to see young people who could actually sing and transcend the video look a la Reuben Stoddard for example. Idol did give people a chance to be discovered but it was no Star Search or Ted Mack Amateur hour. Star Search gave you a range Models, Singers, and Comedians. No frills either sheer talent and no hip hop judges. Dont get me wrong I appreciate hip hop when it was an ART form and had a message...Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Kurtis Blow, even the Fat Boys [[comedic form) RUN DMC Commercial form now its a bi**** and whore free for all and bad language.

IMO the best thing hip hop did was give older artists bigger royalty checks from being sampled and rediscovered for that I thank hip hop and rap. Sadly after the art form was gone it lacked originality.

[stephanie]

Miss Lish,
People lie because they are insecure since they have what I call a false ego, they believe their own press and think they are better when in reality they abuse others because they can and since they are rich they think they are little gods.

Ross and the Supremes are in competition because of Mary Wilson and her memoirs where people learned what went on behind the scenes and the death of Miss Ballard. Even before Mary wrote her book the fans were divided because Ross left and there was a generation who grew up with the 70s Supremes. My best answer to this one [[before the Motown books Marys included) was the passing of Flo. Its funny though no matter how many arguments the Rossers, the Wilsonites or the 70s Supremes lovers provided Cindy Birdsong is never a name that pops up in the hate category. That is a true testament she and Scherrie Payne are probably the most fan friendly Supremes that everyone love. Susaye Greene is known as being the most creative one she dances to her own drummer and I admire her for that. Ms Greene doesnt come up in the hate category either. Lynda, Mary and Diana seem to be the ones people either love or hate. Jean is one who is known for doing too many runs in her singing and that is about it.

I am afraid to drive and dont so I cant relate to the transportation question.

[stephanie]

Paulo
Because of the moving camera I have had a hard time sitting through ONE episode of the Office. Im sure its a great show its had a long run but the only thing I saw in the Office that was familiar was Creed Bratton who was one of the Grass Roots in his hey dey.

[tamla617]

i'm not suprised you didnt get the office.it wasnt expected to do anything in the states.difference in humour etc.
i dont like the U.S. version for the same reason.it [[uk)was also a mock fly on the wall doc hence the camera shake/movement.
ricky kills me,but i can see how he gets up peoples noses,like last nights emmy's.did some of the accents confuse you as a matter of interest?

the driving mirror thing,you're supposed to check the mirror about every 30 secs at least,in heavy traffic/town maybe more.must be totaly aware of whats happening around you.nobody said it was a relaxing time behind the wheel.apart from that,where are those police cars!

talking of driving,one thing that confused me was how the shelby mustang bullit drove in the film "bullit" managed to hang on to that dodge charger

[pshark]

Let me conjure up Andy Rooney


I don't get why people says silly things like "you'll never guess in a million year". Nobody alive today is going to be around in a million year.
Or "a handful of people" Are they talking about a giant hand or miniature people?
And then there's "its cold as hell" I always heard different
I really don't get the obsessed Supremes fans.

[stephanie]

I was obsessed with watching the Motown map turn around on the turntable and the RCA Victor Dog....it was part of my childhood.

[MissLish]

i'm not suprised you didnt get the office.it wasnt expected to do anything in the states.difference in humour etc.
i dont like the U.S. version for the same reason.it [[uk)was also a mock fly on the wall doc hence the camera shake/movement.
ricky kills me,but i can see how he gets up peoples noses,like last nights emmy's.did some of the accents confuse you as a matter of interest?

the driving mirror thing,you're supposed to check the mirror about every 30 secs at least,in heavy traffic/town maybe more.must be totaly aware of whats happening around you.nobody said it was a relaxing time behind the wheel.apart from that,where are those police cars!

talking of driving,one thing that confused me was how the shelby mustang bullit drove in the film "bullit" managed to hang on to that dodge charger

Check the mirror every 30 seconds for what? LOL! If they were only checking their mirrors, I wouldn't care; but when they slow down and attempt to impede my progress, that is where I draw the line. You take care of your driving, I'll take care of mine. I check my rear view when I am attempting go change lanes, other than that, I don't see the point.

[MissLish]

LOL @ pshark!!

[smark21]

But, my absolute pet peev is [[and Alicia Keys is a prime example) singers who record songs with themselves singing the backpart vocals!!!!!! Surely there are pleny of 'session singers' in need of work! Aren't there modern day equivalents of Andantes, Blossoms, Sweet Inspirations, Sweethearts and folk like Siedah Garrett etc! It makes my blood boil when I read the liner notes and see 'all vocals performed by....'

It could be a creative matter--perhaps they like singing harmony parts and then working with the producer to mix it to sound like a backing group? Or else they don't want to spend the money on session singers? Or they lack the Diana Ross' sadistic predisposition to torture background singers and make their lives a living hell.

[soulster]

I get opera, I just don't like the traditional style.

What I don't get is this psychitic obsession with The Supremes/Diana Ross around here.

[tamla617]

soulster
i agree on both points.

here is one for you to explain.i dont understand mp3,wma etc.how can you take aload of sound or something out and get the same sound? [[unless the the compression rate is too high,that is)

[soulster]

soulster
how can you take aload of sound or something out and get the same sound? [[unless the the compression rate is too high,that is)

Mp3, and other "lossy" compression formats use what's called perceptive encoding. The algorithm literally discards musical information it doesn't think you can hear, or will miss. The higher the bit-rate, the less it discards.

Lossless is like a zip file for audio, so you lose nothing.

How can all of this be? Lossy files are very small. That's their only reason their existence. They were created so they could be uploaded and downloaded more easily on dialup internet connections, and small hard drives, what most people had back in the 90s. These days, hard drives are getting close to petabyte sizes, and the majority now used broadband internet. Downloading lossless FLAC or AAC files is now feasible, and is becoming quite common.

[tamla617]

cheers soulster!
i take it a petabyte is 1000th of a kb?

[soulster]

I'm terrible at math. So, here is what it is: One kilobyte = 1000 bytes not 1024. One megabyte = 1,000,000 bytes not 1024 x 1024. Follow the same pattern for gigabyte, terabyte, and petabyte!


There are differences between mastering compression, band compression, buss compression, and file compression. I'll explain later. I have to get some things done.

[144man]

I don't get how "a night" + "a day" = "a day".

[tamla617]

one complete rotation about the earth's axis=24 hours = a day = 1/365th of one orbit around the sun. 365 days = 1 earth year=one complete orbit 'round the sun. except every 4 years its 366 days because the actual time for one orbit around the sun is 365.25 days and rounded up on a leap year.4x0.25+365

night is part of a day,not the other way 'round

[stephanie]

I see we have some scholars here on SDF.

[144man]

one complete rotation about the earth's axis=24 hours = a day = 1/365th of one orbit around the sun. 365 days = 1 earth year=one complete orbit 'round the sun. except every 4 years its 366 days because the actual time for one orbit around the sun is 365.25 days and rounded up on a leap year.4x0.25+365

night is part of a day,not the other way 'round

Yes, but there's a word for the dark part of the day, i.e. night. Why isn't there a different word for the light part of the day?

[tamla617]

like dawn,sunrise, morning,afternoon,evening,sunset,twighlight?

i assume there are more named parts of the day because.thats when most of us are about and doing things as opposed to night when we're pushing out zeds and dont need a description for the dead hours

[144man]

Some of us are about and doing things at night.

"But what goes on in the dark will surely come to light."
[I Won't Love You in the Midnight Hour - Ann Mason [[Atlantic).]

[tamla617]

yeah but these terms are as old as the english language.
well before night shifts.and electric light that freed us up for an all nighter!

[chidrummer]

Things I don't get [[and that's just today)

Why anybody watches "Reality" shows [[they all have writers)
Why the rest of the world is so crazy about football [[see, I didn't say soccer)
Why so many people let the music industry get away with mp3's
Why Fox News or Limbaugh is still on the air
Why anybody shows up to have some whacked out judge rant at them on TV
Why the people who already have most of the money/power must have more
Why a planet full of food and housing has starving and/or homeless people
Why the Cubs seem incapable of getting to the World Series

[MissLish]

Things I don't get [[and that's just today)

Why anybody watches "Reality" shows [[they all have writers)
Why the rest of the world is so crazy about football [[see, I didn't say soccer)
Why so many people let the music industry get away with mp3's
Why Fox News or Limbaugh is still on the air
Why anybody shows up to have some whacked out judge rant at them on TV
Why the people who already have most of the money/power must have more
Why a planet full of food and housing has starving and/or homeless people
Why the Cubs seem incapable of getting to the World Series

Why healthcare in America is a for-profit venture

[sunshineonacloudyday]

I still want to know what the hell happened to the BILLION$ of tax-payer's dollars still unaccounted for during the Bush/Cheney Iraq War years?

[[see story from 2006!! WTF?!)

http://http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/09/60minutes/main1302378.shtml

We [[USA) could really use this missing money! Isn't someone going to jail for this?! How about a class-action lawsuit or something???

...and on a lighter note: Am I the only person in California who HATES sushi?????

[splanky]

I can think of a thousand things currently common in different cultures that I just don't get but I don't have the time
to list even a quarter of them so I will say:
Reality TV shows as chi mentioned...
Full Body Tattoos
Pants on the ground
People who keep dangerous animals as pets and then are surprised when someone or they themselves are injured or killed
WTF?
Blue, green, purple or otherwise oddly dyed or worn hair. I have a friend who has green hair and though I lover her
everytime she walks into a room I feel like I'm watching a cartoon...
Sarah Palin
and with the exception of aboriginal peoples and rainforest pygmies ANYONE who only listens to one genre of music...

[arrr&bee]

I don't understand how most what's on tv today stays on the air[mostly crap]..i don't understand how folks can tell one singer from the other today[most of em sound just alike]..i don't understand the popularity of tatoos[why would any sane person want to put ink into thier body]oh well maybe i'm just old!!

[tamla617]

i've got over 100 tv channels and alot of the time cant find anything i really want to watch.
tatoos seem to be going thru' a real period of popularity,even my daughter has 2 small ones,she cant stand needles and any kind of pain.and not a slave to fashion either.
i dont understand body peircings,apart from earings,i just cant see the attraction.

[soulster]

Things I don't get [[and that's just today)

Why anybody watches "Reality" shows [[they all have writers)

A couple of them don't. They do have producers that may nudge the players in a certain direction, but they don't use writers, Cheaper that way. That's the whole point of reality shows. They are made on the cheap. I can tell you that shows like "Intervention" and "Hoarders" are not scripted. The little interview parts might be, but are based on the words of the speaker. In that sense, they still are not scripted.

I watch them because they are fun. I guess if you live a life full of drama, you wouldn't want to see it on TV. I also watch them to learn more about how other people live.

Why the rest of the world is so crazy about football [[see, I didn't say soccer)

I don't care about any of it. It's not that I don't like sports, it's that the obsessive fans turn me off. Also, i'd rather get out and play the sport rather than be a spectator.

Why so many people let the music industry get away with mp3's

Because most people don't know any better. Many people wouldn't know good sound quality if it jumped up and bit them in the ass. So, the industry just gives people what they want: small, easily downloadable files. Besides, people have iPods/mp3 players. Since too many people don't care about sound, they would rather cram as many tunes into a player as possible.

Why Fox News or Limbaugh is still on the air

It's because you have an awful lot of far-right idiots out there, and they will always come down on the side of business. The far right, hell, anyone on the right, seem to be bullies. They are aggressive and sociopaths. Too many people think aggression is a positive quality. The conservative mindset always plays into fear, and bigotry.

Why anybody shows up to have some whacked out judge rant at them on TV

So they can be on TV themselves. Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame.

Why the people who already have most of the money/power must have more

Wouldn't you?

Why a planet full of food and housing has starving and/or homeless people

Greed and power.

[soulster]

I don't understand how most what's on tv today stays on the air[mostly crap]

People reject things of substance. People don't want the things they believe in questioned. Ever seen the film "Idiocracy"? besides, too many people do not posses the intellect to understand substantive content.

..i don't understand how folks can tell one singer from the other today[most of em sound just alike]

They don't sound alike, although there is probably an effort to find singers who sound like another more successful one. The lack of familiarity of a musical genre will lead one to believe the music all sounds the same. How many times have we heard this about music we understand that the complainant doesn't?

..i don't understand the popularity of tatoos[why would any sane person want to put ink into thier body]oh well maybe i'm just old!!

I'm with you there. I don't understand either. I think it's about wanting to "be like every one else". For some, it's an issue of cultural acceptance. In other cases, it's about rebellion. Many people don't think about any possible consequences of getting tattoos in visible places.

[theboyfromxtown]

I was obsessed with watching the Motown map turn around on the turntable and the RCA Victor Dog....it was part of my childhood.

Steph

LOLOLOLOLOL

[ms_m]

Chi, the fact you are the one that asked this question really surprises me.

Why so many people let the music industry get away with mp3's

Originally THE mp3 format was created mostly for for use in digital TV broadcasting but the music industry didn't usher in the popularity of this format to the public, it was the other way around.

Mp3's came to the internet as a result of peer to peer file sharing and since these files were free, the public ate them up, remember Napster?

Once it was evident mP3'S were not going anywhere, manufactures saw a way to make money and created MP3 players.

I will say the industry help to create the monster popularity as a result of the rising cost of CD's but the question [[imo) should be framed the other way around but even then the answer becomes rather simple. Initially, and in many instances these file were/are FREE!

[soulster]

I was obsessed with watching the Motown map turn around on the turntable and the RCA Victor Dog....it was part of my childhood.

Me too! I loved watching the Atlantic label spin round and round.

[destruction]

I didn't want to start a new thread......and this was the closest to this topic.

I was watching the Lakers\Knicks in MSG.....when

The Network cut away......as if all the other networks would too.....

to a Clippers\Cavs game.....with 20 seconds to play and the Cavs down by 2....with the ball.

They barely have 10 wins between them at the season midpoint.

the Cavs have lost 1032 straight.....or close.....more than any losing streak in 4 major American sports.

They cut away from a Knicks\Lakers game at MSG

Maybe it has something to do with Sloan resigning yesterday.

My grandmother, a former die hard Gus Johnson and Mike Riodan fan.......is rolling over in her grave.

[mark speck]

I don't understand the appeal of Survivor and Justin Bieber...those are the first of many things I don't get!

Best,

Mark

[tamla617]

i'm with you!
i'd like to see someone try and convince me too!

[soulster]

I don't understand the appeal of Survivor and Justin Bieber...those are the first of many things I don't get!

Best,

Mark

Especially Survivor. If ever there was a worthless 80s band, they are it.