cyberbarf

VOLUME 20 No 3

EXAMINE THE NET WAY OF LIFE

OCTOBER, 2021

 

GOING OUT TO EAT

iTOONS

TOO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS

FOUND BUT NOT LOST ON THE INTERNET

WHETHER REPORT

NEW SHOW HACK!

©2021 Ski

Words, Cartoons & Illustrations

All Rights Reserved Worldwide

Distributed by pindermedia.com, inc

 

cyberbarf

EXAMINE THE NET WAY OF LIFE

cyberculture, commentary, cartoons, essays
 
 

ARCHIVES ADVERTISING iTOONS INDEX TERMS EMAIL eSTORE SHOW HACK! LINKS PODCASTS KOMIX

 

"Sa-hyang"

 

 

 

Take Memory.

Nostalgia.

The Good Old Days.

 

 

cyberbarf

GOING OUT TO EAT CYBERSAFARI

In the pre-pandemic era, I did not go out to eat very often. Family or business dinners were the only sporadic times to go to a sit down or table cloth restaurant. Since March, 2020, the lock down restrictions made it impossible to gather in public spaces. So I did not even try.

Like most people, you tried to keep the local mom and pop business in business. I'd go once a month to the local donut shop because I knew they lost their morning office orders and the weekend youth sports snack crowds. Fast food places were open, but local sales tax increase and the raging inflation (not recognized by the federal government) made combo meals more expensive than worth it. It has been a full year since I last had a fast food meal. Did that change my life? Not really. It seems to be healthier to cook food at home. Do I miss the corporate grease? Not really. If I get a twitch for a taco or burger, I go the franchise website menu and look at pictures. The craving passes quickly.

But humans are social animals. Zoom meetings can only fill so much of the void.

2021 opened up the public spaces just before the second and third virus surges. Two family weddings were held in the wobbly local business restrictions being lifted for a short time. Family members have started to try to get back into their old routines. But it is difficult. Many places have closed. Others have struggled with costs and labor shortages.

Last month was a prime example. First, my siblings wanted to go out for deep dish pizza. On a Saturday afternoon, we met at an award winning, suburban pizza place. It did not take reservations. When I arrived, the dining room was fairly empty. The sausage pizza was ordered but during the 45 minute wait, the room filled up with customers. It was packed. Social distancing not followed. Masks were not worn before the food arrived at the tables. You could tell by the conversation levels, people were excited to meet friends and family outside their homes. Let someone else cook and clean dishes.

The pizza arrived. It told the state of the food industry. The deep dish pan was only filled halfway with crust. The sausage was not a layer but a few small meat balls on the top. We discussed the food shortages and supply chain disruptions. And the roaring spikes in grocery prices (and the smaller food sizes). The food was okay; and a last piece was another meal. It was not that expensive: $50 for three.

The next week I had a business dinner. The restaurant was near O'Hare and the Allstate Arena. It was an upscale, fine dining venue. When I walked in, there were only two other tables (5 people). It was a Thursday night, but still our colleagues knew the place well and felt that the business was poor. The restaurant owners business had grown so much in the past they added a second dining room and then a banquet room. But now, most of their building was empty. The steaks and desserts were very good. We were the last to leave the restaurant at 8 p.m. In the pre-pandemic era, the place would be packed for a second seating.

Driving home, I saw many empty strip mall spaces empty. The lock down regulations have killed many small businesses. There were a few cafes in suburban down towns with banners yelling that WE ARE OPEN but the hours were only 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. How can one afford the taxes and real estate taxes when you are just open 4 hours a day for a light lunch crowd?

It seems small business food operators are being squeezed at both ends: regulation and high costs of supplies and labor. The labor shortage is acute for all food retailers. People do not want to work when unemployment benefits are generous. Some have become homebodies and computer freelancers.

Do you feel bad for small restaurant owners? Sure. Is it going to make you go out more often? No. A majority of those people out and socializing are risk takers - - - the variants of the virus and the lax attitude toward hygiene and common sense puts one on the defensive. Science studies have not come to any clear conclusions on the effectiveness of the vaccines or long term effects (including natural immunity). At work, we bleach wipe the office after each client consultation: doors, chairs, desks, etc. Yes, it is a time consuming precaution but it is now a routine like wearing seat belts in a car. But I noticed that the wait staff did not disinfect the tables after the guests left.

People want to rebel against the New Normal. They want to go back to the freedom for the Old Normal. But the old ways require a roll back of all the pandemic mandates and subsidies which is politically doubtful.

 

 

iToons

 

 

 

 

cyberbarf

TOO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS TRENDS

The pandemic disrupted all distribution chains, including entertainment. Movie studios lost time and projects due to local restrictions and union safety issues. Some big movie projects started and stopped due to COVID outbreaks. Theater releases suddenly were pushed back a year or more. Or some studios used their new streaming platforms to sell pay-per-view shows.

Cable animation took a turn for the worse. South Park only did two specials. To be honest, they were not very good. SP satire is best rushed directly from the week's headlines. The same can be said for FX Network's Archer series. Archer was an edgy, dark humor parody of James Bond, classic spy genres. But after the coma season, the stories started to lose their edge. This season seems to be just going through the motions. Nothing cutting edge by either show, which were their trademark.

But it did not stop the SP creators to bank $900 million production deal to do a boatload of new seasons and movies. Yes, movies. Probably made to stream movies, but movies none the less.

If entertainment life has taught us anything, success breeds failure. People complain The Simpsons had run their course a decade ago, but it is still the lead dog in the Fox animation schedule. Simpsons has a generational deep fan base and fully developed characters that makes weekly viewing an instinctive habit.

The other Fox show, Family Guy, has less angry parent letters and controversy. It has basically turned into a 2D version of the Honeymooners. It ran out of religious groups to offend. Controversy is a hard story plan to maintain.

Except for the Simpsons which anchors FXX, most animation shows are now only shown in reruns on streaming platforms. The push to move viewers to OTT services continues unabated. The cord cutting trend has never ceased, but the slow grumble of consumer complaints about cable prices are directed against streaming companies. To get three or four platforms plus internet access, people realize they are about to pay the same amount as their old cable bill. This realization came to bare when in the last year, home bound viewers burned through all the new Netflix, Hulu or HBO choices in binge sessions. Squeezed by production delays, some providers especially Netflix, decided to buy and produce content overseas. South Korean dramas is the next Netflix wave for international viewers.

It is an odd dynamic: both viewers and creators have too much time on their hands. Creators cannot get up to full speed and viewers are going through content at warp speed.

cyberbarf

FOUND BUT NOT LOST ON THE INTERNET

Nature. It always surprises mankind. If you leave your spare camera in the woods, surprising things can happen. A finch and a squirrel exchange pictures in the year's cutest pictures.

Source: facebook/Discover World

 

Weird Universe found this 1928 patent for a breast support device. The inventor, a man, apparently thought shock absorber cups would give women comfortable stability. The patent was filed during the height of the flapper party era so maybe the inventor saw the crazy dancers and thought that must hurt. Why do men think they know women sooooooooo well? Apparently, this never made it to market.

Source: neatorama

A global soda company teamed up with local Japanese officials to create new recycling trash cans. They decided to use the popular but horror anime, Attack on Titan, as the trash bin. Is it to scare people into dropping off their plastic bottles in the bin? Or is it to think, feed the monster so it will not eat me?

Source: neatorama

 

WHEN THE LEAVES TURN COLORS, IT IS TIME TO TURN A NEW LEAF.

LADIES PJS ON SALE NOW!

FREELANCE CARTOONS, ILLUSTRATIONS

FOR

NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINE, ON-LINE

DO YOU CONTENT?

CHECK OUT

PINDERMEDIA.COM

 

cyberbarf

THE WHETHER REPORT

cyberbarf

STATUS

Question: Whether Epic Games timid legal victory over the App Store change Apple's business practices?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

Question: Whether Scarlet Johanssen's legal dispute with Disney over back royalties from movies that go to streaming and not theater sales affect Hollywood business practices ?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

Question: Whether live professional sports will keep cable television relevant?

* Educated Guess

* Possible

* Probable

* Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

* Doubtful

* Vapor Dream

OUR STORE IS GOING

THROUGH A RENOVATION

AND UPGRADE.

IT MAY BE DOWN.

SORRY FOR INCONVENIENCE.


 

LADIES' JAMS

MULTIPLE STYLES-COLORS

$31.99

PINDERMEDIA.COM STORE!

PRICES TO SUBJECT TO CHANGE

PLEASE REVIEW E-STORE SITE FOR CURRENT SALES


 

 

 

 

PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE; PLEASE CHECK STORE

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

PINDERMEDIA.COM STORE

 

 

 

NEW REAL NEWS KOMIX!

SHOW HACK!

BASEBALL ANALYSIS

FROM A FAN'S PERSPECTIVE

THE STEALTH GM

cyberbarf

Distribution ©2001-2021 SKI/pindermedia.com, inc.

All Ski graphics, designs, cartoons and images copyrighted.

All Rights Reserved Worldwide.