One of the items proposed by the Hollywood studios in their negotiations with SAG-AFTRA included scanning an extra’s likeness for one day’s worth of pay and using it forever in any form without consent or further compensation. That means that my two-minute clip in “Mississippi Grind” could result in other movies showing me wearing a bowtie. What a horrible idea!
At Wimbledon, players from Russia are not identified by that nationality on TV or the scoreboards. As if professional tennis players were somehow involved in Putin’s attack on Ukraine. That’ll teach him a lesson! It’s not like they’re playing on a national team or wearing the country’s flag on their outfits.
My wife only sat through a couple of episodes of “The Bear” with me, but now she’s insisting that I respond, “Yes, wife!” to everything she says.
While I was doing some laps at the pool the other day, there was a group of summer campers frolicking in the water nearby with big smiles on their faces. It was great to see them having so much fun, but I noticed that most of them never stopped talking. I’m not referring to mere squeals of delight, but actual conversations that lasted the entire hour I was there. They’re only seven years old. How can they have so much to talk about?
In a previous batch of Random Thoughts, I wondered when “hang on a minute” became “hold on a second.” I heard something yesterday that blew me away. I called a company’s customer service line for help with a minor problem. Its automated phone tree system answered after one ring and offered me options of where to route the call. When I made my choice, the voice told me, “Your wait time is one second.” And then, yes, almost immediately, a human being picked up! Even better, she solved my problem very quickly. This one’s up there in the the customer service hall of fame with a guy who told me, “You ain’t gotta do nothing!”