Since when is "ask" not a nice word?

Gotta love a couple of Germans covering a song by a British band with an Argentinian musical structure and whose lyrics are inspired by a French play.

But seriously, if you don't know Milky Chance or AnnenMayKantereit, you should definitely check them out.

As a long-time American expat who has lived, worked, and studied in several countries, I have to say that that was one of the most succinct and accurate explanations of how I have come to feel about the culture of my native country.

It's amazing how enough time outside of a culture allows you to see it for what it is, both its flaws and its wonders. Unfortunately, I've also found that this is the hardest message to communicate back to to my American friends and family who have never had their blinders taken off.

Basically, Samwell Tarly but twenty years younger.

well, at least they're safe in "Da Wood" shop

I've got a couple problems with this video and the common response across the internet:

Her story is just a series of anecdotes, not any kind of proof of industry standards.

Being rejected by "the industry" is a meaningless phrase. She was rejected by a couple of agents and customers, not "the industry".

But this is the big one...

Nobody said she was too fat. Nobody! But that is what everyone responds to, an argument that was not made. She was told that her hips are too big, that is not about body mass, that is about physiology. Diet and exercise can keep the fat off your hips, but it can't make them smaller.

What these agents are probably looking for is a more androgynous look. A smaller hip to waist ratio and bust to waist ratio. It's not about BMI at all.

Downvoting once a video is published - made it past 10 votes - doesn't really have the effect that you seem to be implying. It still makes it to the frontpage which is probably the only place where 90% of Videosift visitors ever go. Downvoting potentially keeps a video lower on - or off of - the top 15 list, which is fine by me because I feel the other videos there are more worthwhile.

But what bothered me, really, is that someone is being asked to account for their downvote. This has also happened to me at least twice (three times if you include this instance) and I find it a little strange. Rarely is someone asked to explicitly state why they liked a video or to give reasons that they watched a video but failed to vote for it.

Downvoting is an option for privileged members. The rules clearly state that we should not downvote based on who posted the video, but on the content alone. I have, on this day (yesterday), chosen to express my "meh" feelings towards a video with a downvote and may continue to do so in the future. I don't think that is rude or pretentious or denying other people any access or participation in this community. It's just me not sitting on the fence anymore.

Well, now I've downvoted it as well. For two reasons:

1. It was a pretty standard mind-reading/prediction trick
2. Because it is an option. It's not "your" video and downvoting is not a reflection on you as a person. Most people seem to up-vote or not vote at all, failing to exercise their third option. I choose to use all options available to me, including downvoting "meh" videos.

I'll still push for it; I was half-joking when I told them that anyway.

I am still in the field, just not clearing the mines. I work with the communities to educate them on the dangers and to identify the suspected locations of mines and explosives. My teams and I are the eyes and ears of the operation, the clearance guys are just the grunts.

I've already seen my fair share of UXO. Even had a guy bring a mortar to a risk education session as we were discussing how you shouldn't touch or move them; that was fun.

So far, not as stressful as I imagined. What I hear from the clearance guys is that it's actually a pretty boring job. Accidents are very rare if you do it right. In order to keep the risk to basically zero, it is a very slow, deliberate, and methodical process. So, basically, they wear heavy gear, sweat all day, and move through an area with a fine-toothed comb.

Oddly enough, I just started a new job working in landmine clearance (I'm not doing the clearing, I just manage the process) and they asked me what I wanted as far as professional development, and I said I wanted to see the rats in action at some point since we aren't using them in my country. Guess I can cross that off the list - so much for my free trip to Africa.

I know it's a fool's errand, but I'm searching for the logic in your statement.

An American Citizen taking unemployment or public assistance is just "taking this government cheese" which should instead be given to a needy, American family?

So if you take public assistance (because you qualify for it and therefore need it), you are not deserving of it. Instead, all the "government cheese" should be save for those that both need and deserve it?

WTF are you talking about???

Yeah, I've had it before and I don't really find it to be that tasty. Too watery.

Too bad it tastes like frozen milk instead of ice cream. Nowhere near enough milkfat in 2% milk to make good ice cream.

Fair enough, although they did include 5 or 6 dramatic tropes that would never appear in the same film, so it doesn't come across as quite as monolithic as the action/superhero movies.

They are aware that something other than action and superhero movies do exist, right?

If you have a formulaic movie plot, you will end up with a formulaic trailer.