Not active duty or a vet, but have had a lot of family in the forces;

Their duty is to uphold the constitution and protect the nation ostensibly, so they’d be obligated to refuse an illegal order. Realistically you won’t see that play out amongst the rank and file in part due to the culture of ‘discipline’ in the US military, and also the reality of court martial/dishonourable discharge. If something like this did occur it would likely be the five and/or four star generals that make the call. Now you have two powerful factions at odds with potentially catastrophic results.

Either way there’s gonna be court martials.

We have so many 7-11s in my area; do other states not have them‽ I’ve traveled quite a bit but it’s honestly not something I kept a tally of

This gives me the perfect chance to share a fun trivia fact! One of the best ways to link migration patterns were arrows carried by the birds from one area to another. As always, there’s a word for it in German - arrow stork. Even better is that the original specimen is one posted on this map; the white stork!

Soeedrunners tend to be from the games that I follow!

I set up an auto replace on my phone so when I type ?! It’ll switch it to ‽ for me.

Oldie but a goldie; Some Bullshit Happening Somewhere

It’s just so amazingly on point

I think it’s a combo of the two. I watch a lot of panel shows and the first thing that comes to mind is pandemic filming. It actually was a bit awkward at first not to have the studio laugh because it was traditionally filmed with a live audience. That’s still half an argument as certain shows will have cues for the audience.

At the end of the day we are very social animals and appreciate feeling emotion together so if we find something funny/scary/exciting we get positive feedback when others around us (at least sound like) they feel the same. It’s the main reason a decent amount of people enjoy going to the movies.

This will fall flat when laugh tracks are added over frequently; but when used properly (and with actually good jokes) they encourage the audience to fully engage.

Imagine the embarrassment of being the only person to clap/laugh/scream at a performance; thats the intended buffer for ‘canned’ responses.

Edit; when I started this comment there was only one response. What I cover was also brought up by other commenters, but I’m slow at typing while I’m sleepy (RIP)

To put into context; Microsoft bought Activision/Blizzard for 69 Billion dollars. A huge portion of that was actually King.

Around 2014, over 93 million people were playing Candy Crush Saga, while revenue over a three-month period as reported by King was over $493 million. Five years after its release on mobile, the Candy Crush Saga series has received over 2.7 billion downloads, and the game has been one of the highest-grossing and most-played mobile apps in that time frame. As of September 2023, it had reached over $20 billion in revenue.

Safe to say mobile market makes a lot more money we’d be comfortable with.

I shared my arcade membership with my mom a while ago (I had gotten it included) and it put her purchases on my card. This bio-chemist (very smart lady in some specific subjects) spent over $25 on ‘micro’ transactions in a week or so. They prey on the group that just want to get things done.

B5; welcome aboard our five mile long rotating tin can. We’ll over through our government, electrocute angels, and figure out who Jack the Ripper was. Also included in your stay is a quarantine that wipes out an entire species. Be sure to check out the zocalo for your fresh orange fix!

Babylon 5 also had an episode with that theme. They show the heavily edited broadcast at the end and it always pisses me off (which is the intention)

Jokes on Picard, she IS the computer!

Longtana

I work at a gaming themed brewery and I now desperately wish I had @gameale(.)com as my domain

Best part of Murder, She Wrote was seeing all the cameos. Vividly remember Q and Vir Coto popping up haha

Londo: I do not lie when I say this could have been a major embarrassment to all concerned.

Sheridan: Oh, I’m sure ambassador. You don’t lie, the Minbari don’t lie, no one around here…

Londo: Who said the Minbari don’t lie?

They’re great at a party. Yes, that’s an adult only performance, and they’re loosing they gotdam minds (I would too)

I’m unsure if I’d say ‘focus on’, but I feel The Good Place is a good fit. Honestly funny scenes, but still hits on some heavier points. The cast is lovable, often relatable, and who can say no to Dancin’ Ted Danson‽

Regarding should have and should ‘of’; I’ve always understood it to be should’ve, which when spoken tends to keep a short vowel sound in the middle of the contraction that makes it phonetically sound like ‘of’. Bit of a bone-apple-tea.

“One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.”

“A fools paradise is a wise man’s hell.”

“…Never run with scissors?”