Et tu, Tyler?


Posted On: Tuesday - March 24th 2020 6:14PM MST
In Topics: 
  Websites  Student and other Snowflakes  Curmudgeonry  Liberty/Libertarianism  Kung Flu Stupidity

Zerohedge, aka, Tyler Durden, what a pussy!



The Zerohedge website is pretty big in the punditry/blog world. Having started at least a decade ago at the time of the financial bailouts and other shenanigans of 2008, it has slowly morphed into a site of all things politics, with still an international emphasis. It's one of the 4 sites on the Peak Stupidity blogroll, something we truly haven't paid much attention to.

Well, the handle "Mr. Tyler Durden" is used to represent the ZH writers, when the posts are not written by other site's bloggers or advertisements posing as posts (more often than before), comes from the movie Fight Club. The image is of Brad Pitt, who played one of the two major characters of the movie. He's a real bad-ass in the movie, and ZH Tyler Durden seemed to write as if the site was also really bad-ass. "Gold, Bitchez!" and "Too bad about the cuss words* - this is Fight Club" used to be the attitude in the comments. You also figured these were young guys writing, just from the attitude.

Well, I guess Tyler Durden has grown older and become a worthless pussy, because this is the article I read** yesterday: "If I Get Corona, I Get Corona": Deniers & Disbelievers Choose To Party Until The End. This one is no outside pundit. It's Tyler Durden of Fight Club writing this wimpy crap:

The title comes from the NY Times (go figure), but Tyler calls it "aptly named".



Mr. Durden, not the NY Times:

As cities across the nation began going into lockdown last week and millions of Americans started self-isolating, we brought your attention to the lascivious scenes of beer-guzzling thong-clad coeds and self-styled 'invincible' frat bros swarming the remainder of open beaches throughout Florida, Texas and the south — who partied right up to the moment some beach towns began closing down on their 'extended' Spring Break as universities went to online-only classes.
....
And yet while numbers out of Italy and now the United States increasingly show that while statistically-speaking the elderly and infirm remain at higher risk getting extremely ill leading to hospitalization or even death, there are plenty of instances of the virus ravaging the young and under 50 demographic as well.
"Ravaging" them? Seriously?

We've got the Curmudgeonry tag attached to this post, but in a Bizzaro-World, opposite manner of the way it's usually used here. I gotta say, what's up with these Fight Club old farts? Were I at the age of these people partying (ooh, "thong-clad", now we didn't used to have so much of that, but I digress...) at the beach, hanging out together, etc, during this huge infotainment panic-fest, I'd do exactly the same. They're gonna be fine. This Kung Flu is of less a threat to them than getting MeTooed by some regretful (formerly) thong-clad girl from the bar. It's less of a threat than stopping for gas anywhere near Miami on the way back from the Keys.

Why in the living hell should these young people have to put their lives on hold for who knows how long, so that the old folks will be just a tad more safer from this virus, when many will catch something else one day anyway, unfortunately. It's not even a sure thing that this Police State confinement is even going to help much. It's more important for the susceptible people to do their own due diligence and be as careful as possible right now. The virus will spread around anyway, and not many of these young people will see a lick of difference.

Speaking of the Police State, I respect these young people, too, for flouting the law when they do. That's what you want. This is not the USSR or Red-, even modern-day-, China, yet. The stuff that even intelligent pundits are calling for now, or at least discussing, is previously unheard-of Orwellian stuff. It's making me more sick than I think the Kung Flu would.

Now, I gotta read (well, I don't really "gotta") this formerly bad-ass ZeroHedge Tyler Durden character going on about how there are unfortunately still crowds at Home Depot, Lowes, and Hobby Lobby (people trying to do something USEFUL with their time). Then he tells me: "If this is hard to believe, just go take a drive to your local strip mall in most any major suburb or urban area, especially in the central and mid-west United States — you're likely to still find a lot of activity." Oh, no, a lot of activity!

Is this WTDWS? (What Tyler Durden Would Say - old ZH meme.) Well, it help if the movie didn't suck so bad as to be un-understandable, even the 2nd time (see Movie Review - "Fight Club" still sucks.) Maybe I got the whole thing wrong. Was Tyler Durden actually a wimp, who was afraid to beat the hell out of himself, so he had his alter-ego do fake punches like in Pro Wrastling? That's what ZH Tyler Durden would do, from what I read yesterday. Go shelter in place, Tyler. you worthless pussy!




* It should have been an early warning to me that that all cuss words in the comments are asterisked out now - **** those people!

** Well, "read" is probably not the best way to put it. With all the jumping around and ad insertion on that site, you've got to hold down the scroll bar, hope you don't lose your place (which you do) and try your best to catch most of the post. It's getting where it'd be best to quickly ctrl-c the text and put it into freaking notepad, I kid you not!

Comments:
Moderator
Friday - March 27th 2020 8:22AM MST
PS: Hey thanks for the link to that succinct post, Jim from Boston. Was that your writing?

As for ZeroHedge's Tyler Durden, I think he kicked his own ass one too many times. (See the movie ... wait, no, don't )
Jim from Boston
Friday - March 27th 2020 6:59AM MST
PS Perhaps Tyler Durden is just uninformed.

http://www.talkstats.com/threads/wanted-rational-coronavirus-analysis.74951/

Knowledge is good.
Moderator
Thursday - March 26th 2020 1:10PM MST
PS: I like your stories too - especially about going to see "Shaft", haha.

Good point on the cents key. I thought there use to be one too, and I've had to go on duckduckgo, look for "cents symbol" and paste it in - here's one for you for free - ¢ Don't say I never gave you nothin'. If you need more, don't hesitate to ask ;-}

(We could both be wrong on remembering this cents key - best bet is to look at an old typewriter - well, is there any other kind?)
Moderator
Thursday - March 26th 2020 1:07PM MST
PS: I gotta admit, Robert that of your "Aside 2" movies, I haven't seen a one of them. Perhaps I should, and I'll refer to this comment to remember them.

I've seen all of your longer list except "Bronco Billy", "McClintock", and "Black Sunday". Go to the MOVIES topic key here, and look for "Tried to watch a movie - here's 3 reviews in one" for my take on the exasperation of trying to find a non-PC movie to watch. Or, as you say, one could just go back to the 1970's or earlier. Still, don't ASSUME anything, or you may make an ASS out of U or ME. (That "Bad News Bear" line always stuck with me - well, it was funny at the time!)
Moderator
Thursday - March 26th 2020 1:02PM MST
PS: Unless it gets out of hand, I don't mind your writing here at all. I'm not a movie buff, per se, but my movie posts often involve political commentary too.

Before I write about your movie picks, I want to tell you that you CAN comment on unz.com with no information to give out and no FB, Google or whatever accounts. Use a fake email address, make up a handle, and just remember to use those 2 together, or you won't be seen as the same guy. If it hadn't have worked that way, I'd have never started commenting there.
Robert
Wednesday - March 25th 2020 9:41PM MST
PS: OK, I'm getting sick of all this current news, and this is the only blog that I read where it is obvious how to post a comment without 1) registering*, or 2) getting it lost in 500 other comments. So, I am will continue to divert this thread.

The 70's were an excellent time for bad movies.

Aside 1: Almost all the good movies were made during the Hay's code.

Aside 2: Favorite Movies --- It Happened One Night, Barry Lyndon.
My Favorite Wife, the Thin Man movies, and His Girl Friday are also up there.

The Harper Theater (1930's design, single screen) in Hyde Park, on the South side of Chicago, was generally a second run theater, a year or so behind the first run theaters. Tickets were cheap. Saturday Matinees were half price. If you got there early enough you could half price on that**. 25 cents***? Quite a bargain for my younger self.

A friend and I would go most Saturdays.

Movies I remember seeing there (with a little help from the innerwebz) (in no particular order):
Bad News Bears
Smokey and the Bandit
Bronco Billy (but the dates are wrong, so --- no)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
McLintock? (several John Wayne movies)
Carrie (scary!)
One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest
Papillon
Black Sunday
Marathon Man (also scary)
The Sting
Deliverance****
Every Which Way But Loose
Airport

But the most memorable was Shaft. My friend and I did not know or even care what was going to be playing, and showed up for our cheap tickets. A little before the start of the movie we realized that the demographics were a bit unusual --- two small 11 or 12 year old boys, surrounded by about a thousand teenage blacks. Nobody actually bothered us, but during some of the more exciting scenes the enthusiasm of the audience was a little worrying.

* This is REALLY appreciated!

** Presumably if you had to sit there for more than half an hour with no movie playing, you might buy some refreshments. Few of us did. After all, lack of money is why we went there so early.

*** Didn't there used to be a 'cents' key? No use for one now I guess.

**** Thirty some years later, I had gone back to school to 'better myself'. I had an English office mate (who claimed to be distantly related to the man because of whom the English were called Limeys*****.) He wanted to see some movie to help him get an introduction to America (which he didn't think much of.) I watched Deliverance with him. Perhaps not the most politic of choices.

I later took him to see Doctor Strangelove. He somehow had not heard of the movie, and I only told him it was a movie about horrors of Nuclear War. It took a while for him to realize it might be a comedy.

***** Supposedly, the British sailors did not like their lemons (to prevent Scurvy.) So, this one captain had two sets of barrels set up on the main deck of the ship. One full of limes for the officers, the other of lemons for the crew. He proclaimed dire penalties for stealing any of the officers limes and made a great show (but only a show, much like the TSA today) (damn that modern bit creeping in). Inevitably the sailors slowly stole the limes one at a time. Enough to prevent scurvy, but not enough to cause them to run out. Hence Limey.

This wonderful story does not correspond to the innerwebz opinions, but I will stick with my friends story over that of a bunch of strangers.
Moderator
Wednesday - March 25th 2020 12:54PM MST
PS: I guess I'd have to see it again, Robert, as it's only been... well, I don't wanna say. What you remember of it sounds great though! About the only thing I remember clearly from the movie is the coach explaining why you should not ASSUME anything. Remember that? Ass/u/me, clever.
Robert
Wednesday - March 25th 2020 12:16PM MST
PS: Apropos of nothing in this post, but that you mentioned a movie --- How about a review of 'The Bad News Bears'? Probably the last family movie when smoking was acceptable, drinking was funny, and open racism was OK. They did have to have a girl hero, but overall a very good, bad movie.
Moderator
Wednesday - March 25th 2020 11:30AM MST
PS: Mr. Blanc, as usual, I agree completely. Certain people, such as yourself, need to be quite careful, but I think you're old enough (haha) to know how to take care. The special hours at the grocery store are a good idea, if not mandated by law. The stupid hours, as Bill wrote, are another story. (OTOH, you want to keep the hours separated, ideally.)

Will they learn something after a few days and some complaints? See, if it's THE LAW, everyone has a perfect out, to do away with any of that difficult common sense: "It's the law. I didn't write it. We have no choice in the matter."
Moderator
Wednesday - March 25th 2020 11:26AM MST
PS: I've wondered, Bill, how a cop would respond if you told him you've got the Kung Flu and you just want to make sure it'll be OK to ride in the squad car with him. Recommendations are all well and good. When they become emergency law, the ramifications should worry everyone.

Beaches and parks ought to be the place to go, with the kids out of school, and other entertainment of all sorts shut down. Anyway I can ignore their rules, I will.
Bill H
Wednesday - March 25th 2020 10:29AM MST
PS Grocery stores in San Diego have special hours for seniors (65+) only. 7am-8am which, unfortunately, is before the day's trucks are unloaded and the shelves restocked. It also results in crowded stores at that hour. Nobody thinks logically about anything.
MBlanc46
Wednesday - March 25th 2020 9:53AM MST
PS I was at Menard’s (a regional Home Depot sort of enterprise) this morning because this week is one of their 11% rebate weeks. 11% in-store rebate on everything. I try to not miss those. It might have been necessary to ramp things way down for a couple of weeks while our betters got their ducks in a row and decided a strategy to deal with this thing. Now it’s time to start opening things up again, in reasonably safe ways. I’m aged and therefore at greater risk from this virus. Special precautions should be in place for us (special shopping hours, e.g.). Let everyone else get on with their lives. By the way, all of us will catch something else someday, anyway, and check out. No one gets out of this alive.
Bill H
Wednesday - March 25th 2020 9:33AM MST
PS On the news this morning, San Diego beaches and parks are now closed. "Social distancing" does not apply, they are closed no matter how far you stay away from each other. Proof is offered by film of six or so people on the beach, no one person closer that fifteen feet to any other person, and cops driving by and threatening to put them in jail for being on the closed beach. Would they be doing "social distancing" in the county jail?
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