"Fully Automated" McDonald's Online in Texas, New Details on JFK Assassination, Twitter Bankrupt? A SIX HOUR Cut of Avatar? (The Five for 12/22/22)
Hey, welcome to The Five, a publication about the things that matter.
There’s just one issue to go…next Friday, 12/30, which will be a best-of 2022 edition.
In a world of ever increasing media options…The Five grew nicely this year, and maintained a strong readership (aka people don’t just hit subscribe, but actually read each week).
I am…humbled and grateful.
The verdict is still out on whether this publication will ever reach a fraction of the audience I once reached while working in syndicated radio, national TV and writing for multiple magazines simultaneously…but the work of The Five feels much more personal (and possibly significant) in the long run.
As long as you keep reading, I plan to continue this publication for the rest of my life.
Let’s get into the final Culture & Commentary issue of 2022.
May God bless you and yours this season of Christ’s birth.
[one]
A McDonald’s with zero employees is now open in Texas.
"When you step inside the test restaurant concept, you'll notice it's considerably smaller than a traditional McDonald's restaurant in the U.S. Why? The features—inside and outside—are geared toward customers who are planning to dine at home or on the go," McDonald's said in the statement.
"Inside the restaurant, there's a delivery pick-up room for couriers to retrieve orders quickly and conveniently. There are also kiosks, where customers can place their orders to go, and a pick-up shelf for orders. Outside the restaurant, there are several parking spaces dedicated to curbside order pick-up, as well as designated parking spaces for delivery drivers."
This is not a “novelty” story…it’s a bellwether.
The technology to eliminate a massive number of entry level jobs is now up and running, and will likely lead to massive societal changes, possibly within the next few years.
Andrew Yang (now an independent) ran for President in the Democratic Primary on the platform of tackling this issue…and was largely ignored.
Dude predicted the future, and got it right.
And, for better or worse, it’s here.
Say hi to Skynet for me when you grab your kid’s Happy Meal from a conveyor belt.
[two]
Twitter may have a long history as a dumpster fire, but it’s also an indispensable tool for citizen journalism, but the platform still isn’t making money…and could eventually shut down.
“This company is basically [like] you’re in a plane that is headed towards the ground at high speed with the engines on fire and the controls don’t work,” the Tesla and SpaceX founder said Wednesday.
Musk’s purchase was structured with the company assuming $12.5 billion of debt, which he noted is subject to rapidly rising interest rates. That means Twitter is saddled with about $1.5 billion in annual debt service, he said. With all of Twitter’s other expenses, the company was on target to spend as much as $6.5 billion while taking in less than half that, he said.
Even if you personally hate Twitter…the reality is that news rarely breaks on Facebook on Instagram. If Twitter goes down, the voice of the everyday citizen to reach a wider audience with a vital story, may decline as well.
[three]
Will 2023 finally be the year the public gets the full story of the JFK Assassination?
New details are coming early next year.
A 1992 law required the government to release all documents on the assassination by October 2017.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order authorising the latest disclosure.
But he said some files would be kept under wraps until June 2023 to protect against possible "identifiable harm".
The US National Archives said that 515 documents would remain withheld in full, and another 2,545 documents would be partly withheld.
I don’t often cite Tucker Carlson as a source…but this breakdown of the situation is suprisingly insightful.
[four]
This year, every streaming platform thought people would watch ads just like traditional cable…and the people have spoken.
But at least initially, independent research suggests Netflix’s Basic With Ads plan is getting a relatively cool reception. In November, about 9% of Netflix’s U.S. subscriber sign-ups were for the $6.99/month ad-supported package, making it the least popular among its plan options, according to an analysis released this week by research firm Antenna. By comparison, when HBO Max launched its ad-supported option in June 2021, 15% of the streamer’s U.S. sign-ups that month were for HBO Max With Ads.
In addition, Antenna found that 0.2% of existing HBO Max’s U.S. subscribers switched to the ad-supported plan in June 2021, compared with 0.1% for existing Netflix users in November 2022. The firm noted that HBO Max With Ads plan did pick up steam, accounting for up to nearly one-third of sign-ups in its first year, and that today about 21% of HBO Max subscribers are on the ad-supported plan.
Why is Netflix’s ad tier seemingly having a slow liftoff? One reason could be that the plan has several notable restrictions compared with Netflix’s ad-free offerings. Netflix Basic With Ads excludes some popular TV series and movies, including “House of Cards,” “New Girl” and “The Good Place,” for which Netflix does not currently have rights to serve advertising. (Netflix says 5%-10% of total titles are unavailable in the ad tier, depending on market.) In addition, subscribers on the ad-supported plan, which serves up about 4-5 minutes of commercials per hour of content, can’t download titles for offline viewing. The service also is limited to a single 720p HD stream at a time (as is the case for Netflix Basic without ads).
I hesitate to lean on personal anecdote…but I would much rather have fewer streaming and entertainment options, but not deal with ads, and the same goes for my circle of friends (who tend to “platform hop” around throughout the year, based on which platform has the hot show/movie at the time).
[five]
It’s still TBD whether or not Avatar: The Way of Water can actually make back it’s mammoth production and marketing budget, but one way the film won’t be cashing in is on a SIX HOUR director’s cut (presumably would have been slated for Blu Ray/Streaming).
James Cameron…actually wanted to make a six hour version of the movie, which got shut down.
Because it’s a really stupid idea.
Netflix is trying their hand at the latest human-y robot movie.
Which is the inevitable conclusion of the new automated McDonald’s.
The robot girl is probably a robot fast food joint that grew up.
All jokes aside, the effects look stunning.
Uhh, why?
The reboot of That 70’s Show looks…tired. Uninteresting. Unfunny.
But, I dunno. The Gen-Zer’s love 90’s stuff, so maybe That 90’s Show will be a hit for Netflix. But I’ll be sitting this one out.
I can’t figure out why I don’t care about this one?
The first full trailer for Oppenheimer dropped, starring Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders, The Dark Knight Rises) Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes, Avengers), Matt Damon (The Martian, The Bourne Identity), Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, The Adjustment Bureau) and Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Little Women).
Normally, I’m down for anything Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception) directs, but I just feel flat after seeing this trailer.
Until the next one,
-sth