Tomorrow is the day that those of us on the UPS morning shift do not leave until the building is completely empty and the drivers don't return until their trucks are as well.
On the home front, my sister is supposed to be providing me with a niece Sunday. This has increased the domestic pandemonium somewhat.
Back in the 80's there was (at least in Virginia) a fad for some years where there were generic foods on store shelves. By generic I don't mean store brands..I mean GENERIC..
How generic? This generic.
One of my teachers was really enthusiastic about these as they did away with brand names and consumerism. I was too young to realize that this probably meant she was a commie. She gave me the impression that these were government products, but I don't think that was the case. At the time, we were not well off and my folks did buy them. I remember the green beans being decent. A quick search though brings up very little info other than the above pic (which was without context) and a painful reminiscence about generic beer.
So...what was the deal with these? Was it a government program? Was it a short lived company trying to save on advertising costs? What?
Does anyone know?
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My grandparents used to receive food assistance from the government, when I was much younger. Not "food stamps", actual -food-. I remember they used to get cheese in big boxes labeled like this (though it had FDA stamps and suchlike on it too.)
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Fri Dec 23 14:47:55 2011 (GJQTS)
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A big grocery chain up here in Canada has a very similar line of "No Name" products; the only difference is that the labels are yellow, not white as in your example. AFAIK, these generics aren't "government cheese", they're just the in-house, bargain-basement brand for that particular grocery chain.
FWIW, the labels are no less depressing in yellow than they are in white. It seems almost dangerous; someone who's struggling with both poverty and depression (which often go hand-in-hand) might stock his kitchen with these products, and the very act of looking in the fridge would shove his suffering in his face (like a big yellow "FAIL" flag). It could drive a man to suicide.
Posted by: Peter the Not-so-Great at Fri Dec 23 14:48:11 2011 (KiYAY)
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It's clearly time for you to watch "Repo Man" (1984) again, or for the first time. Generic food was a running background gag in that film. As it was shot in '83, I'm not sure if generic food was on the shelves yet. They were ahead of the curve on mocking several things (like scientology, and conspiracy theory) which were not yet routinely mocked in the mainstream. Please note, I am not speaking of "Repo Men" with Jude Law, or "Repo! The Genetic Opera" with Anthony Head, but "Repo Man" starring Emilio Estevez.
Also, in case you haven't checked it yet, from the Storehouse of Totally Accurate Knowledge:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_brand
Posted by: Tim Driscoll at Fri Dec 23 17:06:48 2011 (FpijV)
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Huh...I emember thinking that the the gag in Repo Man was about product placement, but yeah, who says it couldn't be both. I do need to watch that again.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Dec 23 22:24:34 2011 (EJaOX)
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I remember my parents buying "white box" generic products back in the 70s. They were just like the picture: products with names like "CORN FLAKES", "DOG FOOD" or "LAUNDRY DETERGENT" in plain white containers with black san-serif lettering. It's not that my parents were desperate; I think it made them feel virtuous.
In those days when recession was combined with runaway inflation many people did feel desperate. The white box products were probably a market segmentation strategy (sell the same product to different customers at different prices, extracting from each buyer the maximum he is willing to pay.)
As a marketing strategy this is uniquely devoid of any trademark protection, which is probably why it died out, replaced by today's proliferation of store brands.
Posted by: Jonathan Tappan at Sun Dec 25 14:04:42 2011 (uNy3G)
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There was even one issue of a generic "Comic Book" with the same look.
Posted by: Mauser at Sun Jan 15 03:09:32 2012 (cZPoz)
The head troll of the long suffering hermit kingdom reportedly has passed away.
One can certainly hope that some good comes out of this monsters passing, but at the moment its looking like even with his death rattle he is sowing fear.
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Normally speaking ill of the dead is frowned upon, but let's make an exception for this guy.
I'm not religious and don't believe in Hell, but if there is one, it's for people like him. Let us hope he died in pain and fear.
Let us also hope that his generals don't decide that they need to touch off a war with South Korea in order to prove their chops. There's really only one way it can end.
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Mon Dec 19 16:08:19 2011 (GJQTS)
Simplifying the Impossible
Over at Jerry Pournelles place there is commentary on an extended missive he received via mail on the subject of the Dean Drive and how to fix the problems in that system by adding a cat to the mechanism.
A brief excerpt:
Orient the vehicle so the driving (cat) end of the cradle is pointed
AWAY from the intended post-cat-activation direction of flight. Using
the vessel’s ordinary means of propulsion (assumed for this experiment
to be either a rocket, ion thruster, or similar reaction engine), place
the vessel under a sufficient amount of acceleration that the cat does
not experience microgravity. This initial baseline acceleration should
be along the line between the astronaut station and the cat station,
towards the cat.
Place the astronaut in the chair and the cat in the harness. While
the astronaut holds the cat at arms’ length, attach the hook to the
cat’s harness and inspect all fastenings for proper attachment and
locking.
Given the obviously earth shaking nature of this breakthrough I am loath to publish more here for fear of patent infringement. However, you can view the future yourself over there and while you're at it subscribe.
I note a good deal of complexity seems to be inherent in the proposed system. Therefore I propose a simpler arrangement which is described behind this tag,
I did not originate this proposal, but this concept, despite being on the internet, has inexplicably not been acted upon. Here at Brickmuppet Blog, we try to make the impossible simple.
However, the second set is just as good if not better. Squid girl continues her career as a seaside noodle shop waitress while plotting (occasionally) to conquer the surface world and liberate the seas from pollution. Along the way she has to deal with making friends, creepy fan-girls, art appreciation and bears. The show is a schizoprenic mash-up of a sitcom, Looney Tunes sketch comedy and Mad Magazine, yet it all works surprisingly well. The show drifts between the sentimental and the hilarious. I laughed so hard at one point I nearly pulled a mussel.
One theme of the show really speaks to me. Even if one is stuck in a dead end service job and is stymied by the demands of provincial academics who look down at you, your beliefs and your goals like you are some sort of alien....
"Help.Meeeee."
...you can still take what life gives you and make the best of it.
I really enjoyed this show and I highly recommend it. Go out, buy it, gift it. As I type this you have six days till Christmas.
Does Looking Forward to This Make me a Bad Person?
Of course not.
Being a bad person makes me look forward to this.
Understanding cause and effect are important.
Yes, the full version of Katawa Shoujo, better known as That Atrociously Atrocious Atrocity (with the really cool characterizations) is coming out on January 4th.
Why the cringing you ask? Well, this is a dating-sim visual novel in which all of the young ladies posses various disabilities. Put together by a group of US fans, it is based on a joke sketch by a Japanese Doujinshi artist. Given such dubious subject matter and provenance, the correct response would normally be NO FREAKKING WAI GTFO!
However...
Back in '09 I sent a link to the demo release to our EBP who provided a review here. I played through the abomination myself and was impressed. The demo was quite large and the characters were superbly realized. The demo was not exploitative or insulting in the least. It was actually engaging, thoughtful and even touching. This promises to be a quite entertaining visual novel. I find myself looking forward to it. Still, I feel funny posting this heads up on my blog since I'm pretty sure that...well...there's gonna be talk.
The Mighty Hitch has Passed
Christopher Hitchens has died. More here. (via)
Whatever disagreements one may have had with him on matters of philosophy, there was no one who was a stronger, more articulate advocate for the value of western civilization.
He was a great mind and he passed far too early. He was only 62.
What I Learned at the Debate
The 3,547,862,241st Republican debate was heavily hyped.
However, there were no stitches and no one got hit by a chair.
Romney endorses gambling.
Newt is now the guy to beat.
Perry had his best debate ever but he is still painful to watch at times.
Santorum......
Bachman did better than usual, until she introduced "9-9-9" into the first debate that should have been free of it. She went downhill from there....
When Paul is good, he is very very good and when he is bad he is horrid.
It is not too late for the RNC to lawyer-up and seriously consider implementing Plan Don.
It's from Celtic mythology; a headless horseman/grim reaper figure. Calling the one on the left a dullahan is a joke; the one on the right (Celty from Durarara) is an actual dullahan. (From Ireland. In Japan. Searching for her missing head; the helmet on the floor is empty. It's that kind of show.)
Posted by: Mikeski at Tue Dec 13 01:58:23 2011 (1bPWv)
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Ironically enough, both shows are the only things I've ordered, or ever intend to order, from Aniplex of America. And Durarara was a damn close thing. I never noticed the decapitated girls theme in common between them before...
Posted by: Mitch H. at Tue Dec 13 11:59:16 2011 (jwKxK)
A Total of 30 pages to go!
3 full days left before the last 2 papers are due.
I actually feel much better, and there is no more blood (yay!). This is a good
thing. OTOH, The antibiotics, which in this case are heavy doses of
Cipro, are really doing a number on me.
The Bridge is Back Under Loyalist Control
As are the engine rooms and lazarette.
Boarders have been repelled.
Blogging will resume in the near future.
In the meantime have some Saber.
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You know...every time I start to think "Well, maybe I was a little overzealous in my verbal admonition of Mr. Winehouse Otaku..." ...he chimes in to demonstrate a total lack of contrition while rubbing salt in a wound.
Anyway, all my passwords are changed and I deleted my facebook page so there should be no more issues.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sat Dec 17 21:18:47 2011 (EJaOX)
Star Turtle Village needs NINJAS!
It's an AWESOME village!
It's got TONS of upgrades, which makes a beginning ninjas life much easier!
And now we are doing a membership drive....hence tacky retro mimeographed FLIERS!
UPDATE: One of the neat things about this particular time waster is that the stamina limit keeps one from wasting more than about 20 minutes of time a day.
Early Christmas Present.
Sometimes, I want to ask Santa Clause or one of his surrogates two questions.
1: Was I somehow...bad?
2: If so, why does a lump of coal not suffice?
1: You ordered Calamari on Saturday. 2: I was not so inklined.
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My reading comprehension skills are a little slow today; the full significance of the word "restroom" didn't click for me until I looked up acute hemorrhagic cystitis on webmd.com. Eee-yikes!
Before I go to bed tonight, I'm going to have a few words with The Big Guy Upstairs about all the crap you've had to deal with lately. "Don't You think the Brickmuppet's suffered enough?" will be some of those words.
Posted by: Peter the Not-so-Great at Fri Dec 2 16:12:00 2011 (KiYAY)
Hobby Space News of the commercial space industry A Babe In The Universe Rather Eclectic Cosmology Encyclopedia Astronautica Superb spacecraft resource The Unwanted Blog Scott Lowther blogs about forgotten aerospace projects and sells amazingly informative articles on the same. Also, there are cats. Transterrestrial Musings Commentary on Infinity...and beyond! Colony WorldsSpace colonization news! The Alternate Energy Blog It's a blog about alternate energy (DUH!) Next Big Future Brian Wang: Tracking our progress to the FUTURE. Nuclear Green Charles Barton, who seems to be either a cool curmudgeon, or a rational hippy, talks about energy policy and the terrible environmental consequences of not going nuclear Energy From Thorium Focuses on the merits of thorium cycle nuclear reactors WizBang Current events commentary...with a wiz and a bang The Gates of Vienna Tenaciously studying a very old war The Anchoress insightful blogging, presumably from the catacombs Murdoc Online"Howling Mad Murdoc" has a millblog...golly! EaglespeakMaritime security matters Commander Salamander Fullbore blackshoe blogging! Belmont Club Richard Fernandez blogs on current events BaldilocksUnderstated and interesting blog on current events The Dissident Frogman French bi-lingual current events blog The "Moderate" VoiceI don't think that word means what they think it does....but this lefty blog is a worthy read nonetheless. Meryl Yourish News, Jews and Meryls' Views Classical Values Eric Scheie blogs about the culture war and its incompatibility with our republic. Jerry Pournell: Chaos ManorOne of Science fictions greats blogs on futurism, current events, technology and wisdom A Distant Soil The website of Colleen Dorans' superb fantasy comic, includes a blog focused on the comic industry, creator issues and human rights. John C. Wright The Sci-Fi/ Fantasy writer muses on a wide range of topics. Now Read This! The founder of the UK Comics Creators Guild blogs on comics past and present. The Rambling Rebuilder Charity, relief work, roleplaying games Rats NestThe Art and rantings of Vince Riley Gorilla Daze Allan Harvey, UK based cartoonist and comics historian has a comicophillic blog! Pulpjunkie Tim Driscoll reviews old movies, silents and talkies, classics and clunkers. Suburban Banshee Just like a suburban Leprechaun....but taller, more dangerous and a certified genius. Satharn's Musings Through TimeThe Crazy Catlady of The Barony of Tir Ysgithr アニ・ノート(Ani-Nouto) Thoughtful, curmudgeonly, otakuism that pulls no punches and suffers no fools. Chizumatic Stephen Den Beste analyzes anime...with a microscope, a slide rule and a tricorder. Wonderduck Anime, Formula One Racing, Sad Girls in Snow...Duck Triumphalism Beta Waffle What will likely be the most thoroughly tested waffle evah! Zoopraxiscope Too In this thrilling sequel to Zoopraxiscope, Don, Middle American Man of Mystery, keeps tabs on anime, orchids, and absurdities. Mahou Meido MeganekkoUbu blogs on Anime, computer games and other non-vital interests Twentysided More geekery than you can shake a stick at Shoplifting in the Marketplace of Ideas Sounds like Plaigarism...but isn't Ambient IronyAll Meenuvians Praise the lathe of the maker! Hail Pixy!!
I did not originate this proposal, but this concept, despite being on the internet, has inexplicably not been acted upon. 
