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I don't watch the news, but I recently found myself in a situation where I had to watch MS NOW (apparently what MSNBC became). My God, it was rough and bleak. It seems like it's trying to be the leftist answer to Fox News. Maybe it is. I'd always assumed leftist news carried a veil of credibility that conservative news didn't. Maybe it used to. But this particular network, at this particular moment, felt so pundit-driven that it was actively turning me against whatever they would say.
They'd mention something associated with Trump, like his family making money while he's president, then play a clip of him talking about it. And yeah, he sounds like Trump, a tactless braggart. But he also sounded reasonable, especially since I could tell the clip had been edited in the least charitable way possible. They'd have Chris Hayes, who's clearly trying to be the leftist version of Bill O'Reilly or Tucker Carlson, addressing the camera directly, smirking, telling the audience what to think about it.
Or in a roundtable discussion they'd mention the rising number of Democratic Socialist candidates in the party and, in a strikingly angry tone, insist it's naive and lazy to think this means the party is being "taken over."
It was just insinuation after insinuation, delivered with this anger and dismissiveness. It wasn't news reporting. It was punditry. They were never just reporting anything; they were stating opinions while implying no reasonable person could disagree. The goal, it seemed, was to deepen partisanship: build an echo chamber for the already-onboard, and shame anyone who isn't into submission.
Like I said, I've never been the biggest news person, so I don't know if this is a new thing for the left, or an old thing, or just this network, or every network.
Fun thought experiment: 24 hour news or 24 hour Italian brainrot? Which would be better for mental health? Which would lead to better life choices?
I propose calling this kind of news “American brainrot”. Including other countries’ channels, because they (at least BBC and Sky) still spend the majority of their time covering America.
Just out of curiosity, why 'Italian' brainrot?
Someone once told me I had to try Italian soda, so I did, and it was just soda. Then someone said I had to try '''gelato''' so I did and it was just mid ice cream. Neither point is probably relevant. Sometimes I think I just come here to get my rambling out before hitting real old age.
I can't speak to Italian brainrot, but Italian soda is just your basic syrups you might put in coffee, except put into seltzer. I don't know if it's really Italian, but it is good, and different from what I'd consider American soda to be, which is usually cola based and heavily sweetened and kinda proprietary.
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No it isn't. Italian Cola is more citrusy, less carbonated and slightly less sweet. I think they use more ppm from the flavor essence. It is also available in 500ml cans which is the right amount and packaging.
1.24L is the correct amount for us Americans.
You can always drink multiple cans and not lose carbonation.
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Americans buy 2 liter bottles or 12 oz cans, I don't know where that's coming from.
An example supermarket webpage lists 1.25-liter (
<del>12</del><ins>42.2</ins>-ounce) bottles of soda for sale.Yeah, those are bought sometimes, but not as commonly as 12 oz ≈ 355 ml cans. But the smaller bottles are common at businesses or vending machines, where it's tacky or unexpected to buy a can rather than a bottle. So for instance a pizza parlor might offer a choice between a 2-liter or a 1.25 liter. (Also, 12 fluid ounces is much less than 1.25 liters.)
I've never been a fan of the 2-liter bottles because you have to use them quickly or they go flat, but they're bought commonly for parties, cookouts, as a way to get a lot of soda for several people at once.
Interestingly enough cans closer to the 500 ml can size in the US are associated mostly with energy drinks, only rarely soda. And of course there's the Arizona tallboy with 23 oz ≈ 680 ml, but you wouldn't buy a soda in that size.
Yeah, I remember when they were 24.
Shrinkflation for 12 oz cans occasionally turns them into 330 mL cans (rather than the typical 355s), unless it's a drink made in Europe (like the old San Pelligrino citrus drinks that had the foil wrapper on the lid) in which case 330 mL is normal. Same thing with the 591 mL (20 oz) bottles shrinking to 500 mL.
They're 473 mL, or half a quart. If you want an even number of ounces you have to step up to the 20 oz/591 mL cans.
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There are also smaller 222mL soda cans, but they are less ubiquitous.
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20oz (~600ml) soda bottles are reasonably common.
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Buh? 12 oz is not 1.25L, it is 355 mL.
Sorry, I got confused betwen the nutrition label (12 ounces or 355 milliliters per serving) and the bottle label (1.25 liters or 42.2 ounces).
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Maybe it's just me, but I find the Italian sodas I've had to feel different carbonation-wise from American soda.
Similarly, yes, gelato is basically a type of ice cream, but that's like saying "someone told me I had to try Chicago deep dish, and I did, but it was just a mid thin-crust pizza."
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_brainrot
It's a specific thing, not just brainrot that's Italian. It's these weird characters with Italian-sounding names and with Italian-language narration, which most of the audience doesn't understand but find funny. It's mostly to entertain kids. Same audience that Elsagate reached. Adults jumped on it ironically and it's just stupid all the way through. It's stupid to like it sincerely, stupid to like it ironically, stupid to get upset about it, stupid to even mention it. It just rots your brain upon contact in any way.
Regarding soda, I guess it's to distinguish it from "regular" soda, like Coke, Fanta, Sprite, which Americans call soda.
I thought by Italian brainrot he was referring to Italian TV which would run those maddeningly stupid variety shows that seem like something that the guy's wife in Fahrenheit 451 would be addicted to.
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