I’ve seen others recently, but the two I saw today are a Capital One commercial and a Progressive commercial.
In the first, the Capital One guy is talking to a couple of people. He is asked what he does for fun, and he does not know what to say. Then, they cut to him getting ready to sleep at the bank.
Another is the Progressive commercial where Flo talks with another woman about vacations. The other woman doesn’t seem to know what a vacation is. Flo begins describing what one is. In the end, she says she doesn’t really know, gives up, and says she’s never been on one either.
I was thinking about them while driving and came to the title thought.
Home Depot ad earlier literally said “Earn your Sunday”
I mean, that’s one of the downsides to home ownership. If it’s not yard work, there’s always some sort of maintenance that needs doing.
You can either put it off until it becomes an emergency, pay someone out the ass to do it, or you can find some way to force yourself to do it.
I say this as I’m taking a break from climbing in my attic to replace the AC condensate pump line that I’ve been putting off for 3 months, so I don’t have to keep dumping 5 gallon buckets of water out twice a day. The quote to have a pro do it was $750
Wow so it’s like renting but you get to fix things before they become a big issue, and you get something to show for it at the end?
No, it’s nothing like renting because you’re financially responsible for literally everything. Need a new roof? Better be prepared to shell out $20k minimum. Need a new HVAC system? Yeah, it’s not much cheaper.
You don’t necessarily build as much equity in a home as people seem to think. With the costs of maintenance, insurance, property taxes, etc. it’s entirely possible to lose money with a house.
Sure, if you’re only looking at the purchase price vs selling price it looks nice, but there’s tons of costs that only serve to keep the selling price from dropping.
If a rental turns a profit, the renter ends up paying more for the property than the landlord does.
depends how much they are charging, and if certain states allow free-reign of renting, and doesnt have things like rent control. corporate type landlords will do this often though, because they can fight the renters easily with thier lawyers. single household owners have less resources.
And it’s an act of constant, willful effort by yourself and your community.
One neighbor is a rental, they are a large immigrant family and are barely getting along. Property owner lives out of country. Another neighbor thought it would be a fun idea to feed neighborhood stray cats. They wound up creating a very healthy breeding family of raccoons out the run-down garage of the rental. For years their offspring have wreaked havoc in our neighborhood. Every fall I’ve had to call a pest control company to trap the tiny raccoons that are small enough to climb downspouts (the big ones aren’t) and destroy the siding and soffits of my neighbors houses. The cat food guy moved away, I figured out how to occlude the raccoons from my downspouts with ample and unsightly flashing, and along with other neighbors, have built or repaired fencing in in our backyards (mostly because of pets and trespassing neighborhood kids, honestly).
It seems like the raccoon misadventure has finally concluded. I’m now stuck with damaged soffits that squirrels have moved into (on account of a looming walnut tree that lives in a neighbors yard and is so large it overhangs my roof), and a repair estimate that was $5k a year ago, when I had the garage roof redone but wasn’t sure I’d gotten the raccoon problem licked, so I didn’t want to proceed with those repairs. Who knows what it’ll be now. … yay.
I feel that. Ex-wife and I called it the “Home Depot tax”.
Crappy power washer took a dump washing the living room area rug. Well fuck. Haven’t figured it out yet, can’t afford a new one.
Wife: “I’ll scrub it by hand.”
That’s not the problem! We have to have a power washer to keep the house clean. I am no clean freak, not by a long shot.
Dated a girl with kidney issues. She couldn’t get out and work at all. The outside of her house was disintegrating for lack of cleaning.
Where do you live where you need to power wash your house on the regular? Also, that can’t be good for the paint.
deleted by creator
I live in an area with lots of pollen and high humidity and I just rinse the house off every so often. A pressure washer absolutely isn’t a requirement.
I’ve got vinyl siding. A couple areas of my house never get direct sun. It doesn’t take long for mildew to grow. It’s easy to clean just a hassle. I do it a couple times a year.
one of my family member is like first and last you mentioned for maintenance. puts its off until someone complains or an emergency, or force themselves to do it, but the problem is procastinating made him too lazy to do it in the end, he rather let it fall apart instead, and now its more expensive than he can handle even if he paid now, so now its unlikely he will do anything at this point because hes unwilling to do it, because theres so much he has to do the house, tearing down part of the walls, ceilings, wireing,etc.
I love the example you used–i have battled with the condensate drain system in my cramped crawlspace on numerous occasions… I had the misfortune of discovering it stopped working on at least 3 separate occasions, leading to standing water in the crawlspace until i figured out a way to get rid of the water and fix the problem. I’ve luckily come up with a solution each time (first 2 times was a clogged line, most recently it was a bad GFI outlet–curveball!) but i can’t imagine how much I’d be paying other companies to get rid of the water and fix the problem each time. No doubt it’s better than renting in certain respects but just like someone else here said–you can have a $20k problem happen, and you are the person responsible for putting up the $ or figuring it out yourself (which isn’t always possible, or a good idea to attempt)…
Wait, why are you having to watch commercials?
honestly I sorta like to just to be aware of the dystopian things like this. when I see big upticks in military recruitment ads im always wondering.
Not just commercials, TV shows, too.
Last season, The Rookie had an episode where a rookie trainee cop, who was living in his car, got an offer from his best friend in college, a successful NFL quarterback, to be his head of security. He’d live in the guys mansion, and get paid about 4x what he was making as a cop.
All of his cop friends talked him out of it because " you wouldn’t be living your life, you’d be living his."
Yeah, what’s wrong with that? Your life sucks, you’re working full time at a dangerous job, and you can’t afford to live anywhere but your car. Why wouldn’t you rather live your friend’s life?
Of course, he gets talked into staying a cop and living in his car, because that was the more honorable choice, somehow.
But if he stays in his current career, he’ll eventually be able to afford a second car, maybe. To dry his laundry in for example.
We’ve reached a point in American society where living in your car is not only a viable living option, but a better one than many, since so many people can’t even afford a car.
Now that Larry Ellison, the world’s 2nd richest Psychopathic Oligarch owns Paramount and CBS, we can expect to see a lot more MAGA propaganda about how poor people get all the breaks, and ruthlessly exploit the hapless wealthy, just so they can waste it on luxuries like food, homes, and health care. It just isn’t fair!
"Trinity honey, can you please get Daddy’s clearing stick?’
Dang that young guy could’ve saved a lot of money for the 4-8 years his friend was in the NFL and would’ve been able to go into a different career pretty easily.
What is the Rookie even? Copaganda?
Eh, not really. It way more grounded that moat Copaganda shows like Law and Order. Funny too at times, since its a pseudo comedy series.
It was a fun show at first, but it has definitely been veering into copaganda territory for the last few seasons. I hate watch it now.
Isn’t it copaganda if the writers of said show are pushing a positive light for law enforcement and the DA’s? That’s a rhetorical question.
Kimd of. It also tends to push more “We need to actually follow the cop rules”.
Not like Law and Order, which pushes, among other things, my biggest gripe, “Look, don’t make me go get a warrant.” Like no, go get your warrant, do it right."
The rookie is just… so fucking bad.
I like Nathan Fillion but it’s so. So. Bad. Everything about it is bad. The acting, the story, the characters. It’s just crap.
It started okay, but it’s become a cartoon, and not even a good one.
Did you see those LinkedIn commercials from a couple years ago that were about children looking for jobs on the site, talking about “getting a headstart” or some shit?
Can’t have infinite growth without infinite toil.
They also try to promote a positive image of “work-life blend” in order to try and spark people’s enthusiasm for working pretty much 24/7.
As in, “work-life balance is a bad concept because it makes work look evil. Let’s put work into all aspects of life, make you live and breathe work, then you won’t think about it”
There was one cellphone company advertising WFH, as work from highway. I vomited in my mouth a little to think that companies would absolutely try and make my commute more “productive” rather than let me work from home.
There was a story a couple of years ago about corporations trying to get people to work unpaid hours while working from home. The logic, such as it was, went like this: if you live an hour’s commute away from work and you work an 8-hour day, then you’re actually spending 10 hours of your day dedicated to work because the travel time isn’t time you get to do whatever you want in. Therefore, since you’re used to work taking up 10 hours of your time, you should also spend 10 hours working while working from home.
It’s astonishing, really.
They got so close…
We’ll work towards that, I promise but let’s start with them paying for my commute and we’ll go from there.
Me: Oh, I don’t have a personal driver. I need to focus on the road. I don’t even put the radio on. Do you have ANY idea how many idiots are out there on the road looking at their phones, driving into oncoming traffic? You know they did a study and found that drivers who text and drive are actually 3x more dangerous than drunk drivers? It makes sense though. A drunk driver sees the road, but reacts late. A distracted driver isn’t even looking. So I gotta watch the road at all times! I even carry a shotgun in the drivers seat just to shoot out their tires. Yeah! That wakes them the fuck up. Once you disable a tire, it’s stupidly easy to perform a pitt manuever. Then when they spin out, you pull the driver out of their car at gunpoint, hogtie them with zipties. Load them into the back of your van, and then tickle their feet until they agree to never drive distracted again. Really hammer home the point that is why this is happening to them. Some people use a horn, I use a feather. It’s so absurd that they never do it again.
Wait, I got off track. What were we talking about? Oh, right. You want me to start being a distracted driver on my way to work! You wait right here, I’ll be right back with a shotgun, a few dozen zip ties, and a feather. Be right back!
A Brad Pitt maneuver?
No way would they want to compensate people for their commute. Externalize costs, internalize profits.
I had the exact same thought. I get the intent, it’s a “hello fellow kids, we understand you!” but the fact that there are so many people in that situation to make it relatable is already depressing enough without making it sound like it’s the normal everyone should just accept.
That isn’t even the message, the message is “our workers don’t have lives because they are so dedicated”.
Its not something to accept, but aspire to.
deleted by creator
Work-life balance is super subjective (what works well for one person may be debilitating for another) - and using it to make weird jokes like this is probably alienating for many in their audience. Poor choice all around.
It is individual but its also cultural. Many in Europe and Canada look at work life balance in the US and see it as toxic, for example.
I was shocked to find out many women don’t get more than 3 months maternity leave (FMLA) in the US and it may be unpaid. That’s a dystopian work life balance compared to other high income countries.
In Canada, women get 9 months paid leave and most end up going back to their old job. In the US I find many women come back in 3 months because they have no choice (accepting the psychological burden that comes with this) or they switch to part time work which can put their health care coverage at risk (extremely problematic since they just had a baby).
I find the American system to be fundamentally misogynistic.
I personally find the thinking on this is too rigid. I get putting boundaries in place so people are not abused. But it isn’t a moral failure of a person if they don’t fit into this box. I work a ton, but it is from home, with family, and supported by a stay at home husband. It isn’t right for everyone, and people should be protected from this if it isn’t right for them - but there isn’t anything wrong with it. Likewise, my maternity leave was 8 weeks, because I was ready to work and my work situation allowed for it. The American system is absolutely misogynistic, but the fundamental problem underneath both issues that we have managed to get ourselves into an economic situation that requires a two income household or to work a crazy amount.
The cold medicine commercials are big on going to work while ill. If you can’t sleep because you’re sick as fuck, please don’t come to work and pass it to the rest of us!
I just saw a new one from the NyQuil company last night that they’re now making pain quill? So now they’ll sell you what I believe is just liquid ibuprofen and liquid cold meds so you can go to work even with that awful headache from being sick
Then please give sick pay to EVERY job. My options while I’m sick? Go to work, or be homeless.
Over here in Germany there’s no sick pay when you’re self employed, but there is (by law) when you are an employee.
I had been self employed from my 20s to 50s and am an employee for 6 years now.
I was in hospital last week to get my back fixed and am on sick leave for 4-6 weeks now. It’s still fucking amazing to me, that I can heal up now and will still get my payment into my account end of the month.
Having things like that written into law is amazing.
Must be nice…
coughs up a bloody lung diseased with covid
'Scuse me while I go work my job assisting the elderly and disabled.
Ah fuck I hate that, when people go to work sick and infect everyone else. (Yes I understand you need to, and it’s not your fault. So I hate your boss.)
The history is interesting, we got health insurance and paid leave in the 1880s from Bismarck. He was trying to appease workers so they won’t flock to the socialist or social democrat parties which were booming at that time. At the same time Bismarck outlawed left wing parties. (It was a stick and carrot approach).
In 1969 we had a bipartisan left - right government (“great coalition”) and they put up to 6 weeks of paid sick leave into. law.
My job offers time off. Its 1 bucket of time off. If you want more time off, you have to work more OT to “offset” it
I’ll be sure to do that the next time i’m making these decisions.
But if the virus doesn’t spread the medicine company can’t continue to sell sell sell!
God in three persons, that’s bleak.
Next time you’re out at a restaurant, keep in mind that American restaurants for the most part do not give their employees sick days at all. Bon appetit
🎵 SOLDIER ON WITH CODRAL SOLDIER ON SOLDIER ON! 🎶
Legalize cocaine so I can free base some crack before work and I’ll be ready for anything (like getting fired).
If you can’t sleep because you’re sick as fuck, please don’t come to work and pass it to the rest of us!
Someone should tell my boss
The propaganda goes deep. Listen to country song lyrics, and what they are actually saying, convincing working class people to keep working, and buy alcohol, and not question reality.
And drive their trucks on the highway
I don’t think it’s propaganda. The music and the ads too are just trying to do a “fellow kids” move, and that’s what they’re seeing. Because that’s what we’ve become.
It’s like seeing a mirror and getting spooked by how disheveled the person in it looks.
It’s like seeing a mirror and getting spooked by how disheveled the person in it looks.
Don’t judge me! I turned the camera app on, and didn’t realize it was going to start with the front facing camera! I got spooked!
As recently as the 90s you had mainstream country acts releasing songs like “Pass it on Down” and “We Shall Be Free”
And they got a ton of play on the radio. The former hit number 3 on the billboard country charts. The latter hit number 12 on the country charts.
Then again, the lackluster performance of “We Shall Be Free,” particularly considering the megastardom of Garth Brooks at the time, was due to some stations boycotting it for the line “when we’re free to love anyone we choose.”
But even then, there wasn’t a massive company that owned most of the radio dial back then, so boycotts had limited influence.
as an amateur musician, #12 does not feel lackluster. #100 feels like a life goal.
It’s low for Garth Brooks in the 90’s, but I get what you’re saying.
the height of my musical career was either getting paid in tacos instead of money or getting paid in spaghetti instead of money.
i’m not complaining, i fucking love tacos. and spaghetti (though i’m more partial to cavatappi) i’m just trying to give a sense of what skill level amateur musician i am.
Somehow I’m not surprised that the music genre attributable to poor rural white folk is heavy on boot licking, especially considering how many voted for Trump.
Country music is just as commercial as any other music these days. Nashville is a machine that pumps out corporate friendly garbage.
It’s striking how much better country was when they had class consciousness
Edit: no pun intended
Tyler Childers gets it. You just gotta stay away from the shit that airs on the radio.
Well you had songs like Sixteen Tons, what else am I missing?
Oh, so many! Check out Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. Sixteen tons was written by Merle Travis, who’s got a bunch of other great music as well.
were those country (was that even a genre back then idk) or “folk”? I mean i think of the Guthries as folk musicians now, but i missed their heyday.
Tbh, I think they started early enough that it all still fell under the same umbrella, but folk, bluegrass and country gradually diverged between the 40-60s
i should ask my brother he plays “americana not country” whatever that means.
I’ve seen some of those while out and about. In the first place I have a long gap, often months, between seeing commercials (and thanks to Lemmy for being part of what makes that possible). It feels like they are advertising the high that comes from sleep deprivation. That’s not being locked in, it’s killing yourself.
Commercials exist solely to convince you to spend money. Turning to commercials for life advice is gonna give you a bad life
This isn’t really what “normalizing” means… no one is “turning to commercials for life advice”. OP is talking about commercials projecting an unhealthy impression of what normal looks like.
Commercials have always done that, though. They exist to lie to you
Their agenda is to make you spend money on their products. Might not be the best product for you, might not even be a decent product to begin with. Who cares, as long as quarterly profits grow and stock holders are satisfied.
Companies will say anything to make that happen. Well, it has to be legal to say that, but borderline legal and grey area claims work too.
The first one at least seems to think people want the people who do work for them to not have a life. Indicates they think their customers have no empathy or class solidarity; which is probably mostly true. We use a lot of products that involve slave labor or something close to it.
most upper middle class professionals I have met in my life do not have lives other than work. they take their 2-3 weeks off on expensive international vacations, but have no hobbies and their social life is just drinks with co-workers. Work is their religion, their family, and their entire identity. Your job is who you are and there can be no separation from it.
even if they do have a hobby it’s only viewed as valuable in terms of productivity. like working out for more energy/health so you can be a more productive worker. or reading non-fiction to improve your work productivity/knowledge, etc.
they ‘have it all’ but yet they are deeply unfulfilled and unsatisfied with their lives and think more work and promotions is what is going to fill the hole.
i just went out with a woman this weekend who is a head pharma research scientist. asked her what she does in free time/hobbies and her response was “i don’t have time for enjoying life.” and she was really proud of this and started condescending to me because I actually enjoy life.
yea i noticed that too, i was in JD recently and most of the potential jurors, were programmers, engineers. they mostly had very motonous lives, yes they were all sorta of forced to explain thier lives to seek out potential biases or if your making up a bias to get of JD(we spent several days listening to thier lives and bias), oh i this and this but i do. you know these People have shit ton of free time, because alot of them were chosen to be on the jurors, most of them are probably working from home anyways. and was reaffirmed on a jurty duty forum.
i had like 2 brothers in tech, and they are practically this, at least before the layoffs, had thier hours spent on the jobs, then randomly go an international vacation, but no other hobbies, and they do workout and listening to roegan. and he thinks his free time is chastising the rest of the family for whatever problems, inadequecies they have.
i assume she earns more than you? its almost always comparing incomes to you or oanother person, and then make judgemental comments how come you are so much poorer, you can go do this and this to get rich.
or its a wierd ego thing, about im a PHD/MD, and you dont have a degree.
