What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

YakAttack · January 19, 2019, 11:34pm

My mom has boxes of old B&W photos that were in many cases annotated by her dad years ago. It would be nice to have them scanned professionally.

Giles_Habibula · January 23, 2019, 5:48am

Also, it turns out that watching that video may not have been my brightest moment. Holy shit man. My stomach twisted up when I realized that all of those little fires in the distance are human beings, burning alive. You know this because you first see them running as a flame with legs. Then they drop. Then the fire that was them just keeps burning. My God, man. This is what I always envisioned Hell would look and sound like.

KallDrexx · January 23, 2019, 11:56am

And that’s why I saw the beginning of the video and then noped out of there before anything happened.

Giles_Habibula · January 23, 2019, 5:33pm

What’s strange is that visually, it should not be that difficult to watch. It’s at night, the video is grainy and bad, and most of the traumatic stuff is happening in the middle to far distance, so there is no detail.

But when it finally hits you what all of these moving shapes are, no detail is necessary. The video in fact may be more effective precisely because it lacks that horrible detail. For instance, a close-up of a conscious person who is on fire will (I imagine) shock the hell out of you. But then you are overwhelmed with that graphic image, and the feelings of tragedy and hopelessness are minimized.

That video was in fact somewhat subtle compared to what it could have been. But it’s that subtlety, and the slow realization that went with it, that worked to make me feel empathy for complete strangers. Sure, they were stealing gas, but my understanding is that they were desperate. No matter the circumstances however, no one deserves to die that way. With the possible exception of people who get their kicks actually killing people that same way. But since I don’t know of any of those, I’ll just say that no one deserves that kind of death.

Timex · January 23, 2019, 6:04pm

Hey, I totally gave fair warning about that video! I even said, “You can watch the first minute and turn it off, with an idea of what’s eventually gonna happen, if you realize that the fountain is gasoline.”

To me, I have absolutely no moral judgement on them for the act of stealing gas. Whatever.

But a much bigger part of me is like, “Standing in a giant fountain of gasoline is dumb as shit, and you guys should know this.”

Giles_Habibula · January 23, 2019, 6:12pm

It absolutely is dumb as shit, but I still felt terrible watching all those dumb people burn alive. Seems like a hell of a price to pay for an act of stupidity.

Timex · January 23, 2019, 6:15pm

Oh sure, I definitely wasn’t laughing. Anytime you see folks die horrible deaths, it’s horrible.

Giles_Habibula · January 23, 2019, 6:21pm

How many people died anyway? I don’t speak the language, but I saw the number 91 somewhere. And I imagine that many more were badly burned but not killed.
Also, when was this? I don’t remember seeing it on the news at any time.

Timex · January 23, 2019, 6:25pm

Ya, I think it was like the high 70’s at one point. Probably went up from there.

Giles_Habibula · January 23, 2019, 6:32pm

I never blamed you for posting it. I blamed myself for watching it despite the warning.
But I figured, “How bad could it be? It’s even on YouTube!” Turns out that YouTube has a bunch of shocking stuff on it. I had no idea, as I’d never had reason to see any. Hell, I mostly watch cat videos. After I watched that one, YouTube recommended the raw footage from someone who filmed the 2003 Great White fire at The Station. Which of course I had heard about back in the day, but didn’t know the details until that video prompted me to watch a very sobering documentary about it. I got choked up a few times watching that.

YakAttack · January 24, 2019, 1:39am

Timex is definitely at fault IMO.

Timex · January 27, 2019, 2:33am

I regret nothing!

This picture is real.

YakAttack · January 27, 2019, 3:04pm

Bob: “Which house is yours?”

Dave: “The one that looks like a castle.”

Calelari · January 27, 2019, 3:08pm

Which led to this awesome architecture joke:

McMansion Hell:
hi i would like to propose a new cover for one of the great classics of contemporary aesthetics, (for the curious: this is a horrific failed luxury castle development in turkey)
(http://mcmansionhell.com/post/182251279151/hi-i-would-like-to-propose-a-new-cover-for-one-of)

Nesrie · January 27, 2019, 10:33pm

If anyone is ever driving, biking and walking down the street and they encounter something like that, just get the hell out of there. You’ve just entered a horror movie.

Giles_Habibula · January 27, 2019, 11:10pm

Only in America could an atrocity like this be built. Good God, man. That’s hideous!
EDIT: Waitaminnit. That’s in Turkey?!?

Nesrie · January 27, 2019, 11:33pm

For the Middle East rich it said.

Stepsongrapes · January 27, 2019, 11:39pm

Don’t worry, I’m sure some enthusiastic developer is plotting to have that whole development scooped up and transported to Texas or something.

RichVR · January 27, 2019, 11:43pm

I hate to say it, but I could see it being built around here. Lots of new development happening now.

sillhouette · January 27, 2019, 11:47pm

That freaky faux chateaux fractal very much echos the unique natural landscape of Cappadocia, with the Fairy Chimneys and other volcanic stone features. (e.g.)