Btw, I was shopping for groceries and sundries at the local Walmart, and apparently people must think that the corona virus gives you the trots. The t.p. shelves were totally empty. No chicken noodle soup, either (well, it supposedly cures everything, so...). It's like everybody wants to be Burt Gummer*.
*Incidentally, Mrs. Paco and I both enjoyed the Tremors series of monster movies. Yeah, they're pretty silly, but I never got over being delighted by Michael Gross's portrayal of the intrepid and well-armed prepper, Burt Gummer. I'm pretty sure I liked him so much in this role because he's 180 degrees different from the squishy liberal dad and public television channel manager he played on the comedy series, Family Ties.
26 comments:
Those round white rolls are disappearing all across the world. Empty shelves in my local stores too.
Personally, I find the thought that there are people who WOULD rejoice at a Biden win in November far more of a threat to bowel control than a damn virus.
I don't get the whole toilet paper thing. Isn't that something everyone buys in quantity every couple of months? Everyone must be like "OMG, I'm down to 14 rolls, I might get a runny nose"
Guess I ought to subscribe to a couple of newspapers, just to be safe.
Btw, I read about a woman in Australia who supposedly ordered a 12-year supply, by accident.
Bert would be disappointed.
It's like a zombie apocalypse but you can't shoot anybody.
I usually buy 6 months or a year of tp but I only have 4 rolls left, I was going to get it last week but put it off. Now, Walmart, Costco and frickin Safeway are out. O. U. T. out.
Sonomagun.
So if I'm full of s*** in the coming weeks, you'll know why.
Yeah toilet paper panic here too, even in my small town outside the city.
But down in Sydney there are large Chinese areas and friends say you should see the panic there, SUVs stopped middle of streets with families struggling to load sacks of rice - Aussie rice, they don't trust imported stuff. Shelves stripped of flour, pasta and instant pasta sauce - that's not the Chinese obviously, young families who need quick meals must be stocking up too. Glad my kids are grown up and independent, must be hard for young families.
In Germany they call it 'hamstering', scrambling for stuff like hamsters. Hamsterkauf - hamster shopping. Same thing happening there.
PS, local high school teacher tests positive for Corona, so school closed.
I guess young families anticipating having kids at home all day for however many weeks do need to stock up on stuff, so it makes sense.
Hamstering. Great word to describe what's going on.
Yeah, hamstering. I like it.
"No toilet paper or water on shelves, events being cancelled, people being crazy, it's a like a Bernie Sanders test run." (HT Powerline blog via Richard McEnroe)
The shelves of our Walmart are denuded of tp. People have driven to Hondo (pop. under 9000) from Houston!?! That's 235.4 miles / 3+ hours!?!
"Hamsterkauf": German word of the day. Here the states, it might be "squirreling away", different rodent but same reaction.
She said it was an accident, but ....
Maybe this will teach people what socialism/communism is like. Empty shelves look like photos from the Soviet Union.
Bernie said his campaign is more than a campaign, it's a movement. That explains the tp hoarding.
We are not human beings. We are lemmings with two legs.
I liked the first couple of "Tremors", but I wish they would have kept Reba McIntyre on as Burt's wife in the others.
I liked the third Tremors too.
4 was "eh" and there were none after that.
I said, There Were None After That.
Woolworths, one of our two major supermarket chains, has initiated a no-returns policy to discourage thoughts of getting a 'Gee, what was I thinking?' refund.
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2020/03/woolworths-toilet-paper-return-policy-coles-aldi/
A very sensible move. Points to Woolworths for drawing a line.
You have Woolworth's? What country.
They disappeared here in the 70s or 80s.
I liked the lunch counter. They had okay burgers but great fries and milk shakes.
V: Tremors 4 was sweet. Cowboys and graboids! And I have to admit: I even liked the movie in the series that doesn't exist (but less than the others).
I used to love eating burgers and fries at Woolworths! And they served fountain Cokes in those old-fashioned Coca-Cola glasses.
'Woolworths Group Limited is the largest retail corporation in Australia, operating a variety of supermarket and other retail chains in Australia and New Zealand. The name "Woolworths" was legally taken to capitalize on the F.W. Woolworth name since they did not do business in Australia, and had not registered the trademark there, but is in no other way connected to the U.S. or U.K. Woolworths.' - Since 1924. I'm as surprised to read this as you may be, always thought there was some actual connection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._W._Woolworth_Company#Non-American_retail_users_of_the_Woolworth_name
I never would have picked Paco as a "Tremors" fan; Paco always seemed too intelligent and serious to be interested in science fiction.
I've always felt a little embarrassed to express my interest in the genre.
Quite enjoyed "Tremors" myself and have always liked science fiction films such as "Them" and "The Thing from Another World"; I've probably seen virtually every science fiction film ever made and loved most of them.
Mike: Nah, I'm just regular folks. There are definitely times, when life's less pleasant events close in on you, that some light action entertainment makes for an enjoyable diversion.
In my opinion, the first 10 minutes of the 1954 movie Them are the best first 10 minutes of all sci-fi movies. I also join you in my admiration of The Thing From Another World (some truly great scenes in that flick, and the direction and acting were pitch perfect).
Two of my favorites from childhood were The Beast from 20,0000 Fathoms (because, dinosaur!), and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Oh, yeah, "The Beast from 20,0000 Fathoms (because, dinosaur!), and The Creature from the Black Lagoon"; both great films.
Another film that had a real impact on me as a kid was, "It! The Terror from Beyond Space".
Earth Versus The Flying Saucers had an impact on me and a 7yo - mainly because my parents called BEDTIME! just as Hugh Marlowe put on the elien's helmet. I lay awake a looooong time, imagining Marlowe suddenly turned into an alien himself.
Ugh - AS a 7 yo...
That was a good one, too! Even as a kid, I enjoyed seeing flying saucers crashing into the Congressional building (be still, my beating heart).
I trust, Gregory, that, at some point, you did get to see the rest of the movie?
Yes, Paco, though it must have been a decade and some in between. The movie got a run as part of the Science Fiction Marathon at the old Valhalla. That would have been '81 or '82.
My mind was finally put to rest. And you're quite right, watching those flying saucers crashing all over the place was fun!
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