Click the photo to see it at full size.
If you’re in Tampa’s Carrollwood neighborhood and you’re looking for a sweet deal, there are a handful of these at the Publix at Village Center.
…and remember, this graphic is from the pre-household-internet era, when television (with only 3 major networks) and newspapers were how people got their news. Even then, before ubiquitous networking and supercomputers in our pockets, it was said that there was too much information.
The term “information overload” is said to have made its first appearance in the 1964 book The Managing of Organizations: The Adminsitrative Struggle by social scientist Bertram Gross, and popularized in Future Shock by futurist Alvin Toffler.
As long as I’m talking about Future Shock, here’s the documentary film version of the book, in all its 1972 glory (dig that soundtrack!), with narration by none other than a cigar-hoovering Orson Welles:
Another ’70s gem on the topic worth checking out: 1979’s Information Overload, from the underappreciated punk/prog band Alien City:
Also worth checking out: Wikipedia’s entry on “information overload”.
I found the graphic via Reginald Braithwaite, who found it via Sardonicus.
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Yeah, that’s about right.
Click the photo to see the national shame at full size.
No, this isn’t a scene from Idiocracy. This is the president* of the United States standing before an official dinner of fast food to commemorate the Clemson Tigers were invited to meet President Trump after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide to win the national collegiate football championship.
Here’s how he announced it:
Late-night comedians — who are now pretty much some of the best news sources in these debased, Trumpian times — had a field day with this:
The comedians weren’t the only people who thought that serving fast food wasn’t the best idea:
:18 in on @DarrenMHaynes video a Clemson player says “I thought it was a joke” while eating the White House fast food buffet pic.twitter.com/4VhweRd5e3
— Brody Logan (@BrodyLogan) January 15, 2019
“We have everything that I like,” said Trump when he announced what he was serving at the dinner.
They did try to make it a slightly more formal event. “Candles make it classy!”
And they broke out some guest china:
Kudos to the players for dressing up for the event. It’s a shame that they were fed food that:
- They probably get on a regular basis, and
- thanks to all the necessary ceremony prior to the dinner, had gone cold. I’m not such a snob that I don’t like the occasional Big Mac, Whopper, or Wendy’s burger, but when they’re straight from the counter. After a half hour of sitting on a table without heat lamps, they’re not so good (especially Big Macs — the special sauce seems to know how to congeal in exactly the wrong way).
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the President of the United States of America, circa 2040:
The whole “burgers” thing reminds me of one of my favorite videogames from the ’80s, Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja. Your mission in the game is to rescue a kidnapped “President Ronnie”:
After many levels of ninja ass-kicking…
…you’re rewarded with this screen:
I used to think that this silly ending was the result of the Japanese developers misunderstanding American culture. It turns out that they understand it all too well.
Before the game rolls credits, you see the president with a burger in hand, posing for the photo op:
In case you’ve never seen the game in action (or if you need a nostalgia fix), here’s the gameplay:
By the way, have you read my article, What if the “How hard did aging hit you?” challenge is an evil Facebook trick?
Click the photo to see it at full size.
Seen at my local grocery store this weekend.
Click the photo to see it at full size.
Click the photo to see it at full size.