The Sony Hacks

[cramx3]

My family is going to watch this before our Christmas dinner

[Genowyn]

It's hilarious to me that this movie caused such a fuss. It's basically just Seth Rogen and James Franco making dick jokes in North Korea.

The great thing is that by attempting to stop it these threats just made this stupid dick joke movie into something important.

[El Barto]

I wouldn't fire aimlessly at a madman shooting in a theater.....chances are I'd take advantage of the chaos and position myself to take a 'clean' shot at him at the same time doing all I could to make sure that shot/those shots wouldn't harm bystanders.

That's kinda what I was referring to with my "Western-style shootout, hiding behind water barrels" comment. Again, look at how impossibly difficult it is for a large group of trained professionals to resolve a hostage situation without harming innocent people. The idea that one can "save the day" by hiding behind theater seats and taking out the guy by waiting for the perfect shot is, IMHO, ludicrous. It would likely take ages until you can even establish who is even shooting.

A couple of points I'm not sure you're getting. Most of your CCW types aren't looking to be a hero. It's not about GMD packing so that if bad craziness breaks out he can put a stop to it. It's about having one more option at your disposal. Assuming a conscientious CCW, then you approach it from a pro/con scenario. A GMD is might still get shot hiding behind that chair, but he might also get a shot to stop a shooter, which wouldn't exist otherwise if he'd just joined the heard and taken his chances blending in. I would consider it less than probable that he might have an opportunity for heroics, but a much greater chance than ludicrous. More to the point, though, either way he's better off armed than he is unarmed. The only question is if he's a responsible type who won't endanger others trying to be a hero, and living around those types I have a much greater respect for their consideration than you do.

[orcus116]

Your scenario makes perfect sense, I'm just getting the impression Rumbo is referring to the types of hindsight comments you see a lot of "gun nuts" (for lack of better term) say after those kind of situations hit the news where they envision this one hero gun-toting type bravely stepping in and gunning down the target to save the day like it ain't no thing just to justify the fantasy/mindset they have.

[cramx3]

So it seemed my parents enjoyed the movie quite a bit.  I thought it was as expected, funny and stupid, but not really a great movie.  Definitely good for a few laughs though and Kim Jong Un was a great character, very well played and really funny.

[Dr. DTVT]

So it seemed my parents enjoyed the movie quite a bit.  I thought it was as expected, funny and stupid, but not really a great movie.  Definitely good for a few laughs though and Kim Jong Un was a great character, very well played and really funny.

Was he ronery?

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Lame. Got a PS4 for Christmas and can't really use it that much.

[Dark Castle]

Lame. Got a PS4 for Christmas and can't really use it that much.

Hopefully the people that caused this DDoS attack get the fucking book thrown at them. It takes a real shit head to ruin christmas/holiday break.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Yeah, just kind of annoying, finally get a chance to really relax and I realize I can't watch Netflix either

[Orbert]

Man Wants Refund After Buying $650 in Tickets to ‘The Interview’

... A man in Ohio tried to cash in on the buzz surrounding Seth Rogen and James Franco’s new comedy when he purchased $650 in tickets or 50 passes at $13 each to the movie.

According to WCPO in Cincinatti, Jason Best learned that a local theater in Clifton was among the 300 theaters to play the controversial film on Christmas day and hoped to re-sell the tickets online at a higher price (a.k.a. he wanted to scalp them). ...

... But the plan backfired once Sony announced it was streaming the film online for half the price on sites like YouTube, Hulu and Netflix.

Now the man is demanding a refund from the Esquire Theatre.

“I thought I’d get my money back because the theater’s website *very clearly* said the tickets were refundable,” Best told WCPO in an email.

But a theater manager told Best that the art house didn’t have a website and that “The Interview” was listed as a special event.

It turns out Best had purchased the tickets from movie tickets.com which specifically warns on its website that theater owners reserve the right to withhold refunds for special events.

Plus the manager said that scalping tickets was illegal.

[hefdaddy42]

What a fucktard.

[TioJorge]

What a fucktard.

^ All that needs to be said. Glad he's out that much money. JUSTICE! So rare.

[Phoenix87x]

What a fucktard.

[JayOctavarium]

fucktard a. what

[rumborak]

Especially when scalping is illegal. "I tried to rob this bank, but the vault was empty! I want the money for my tools reimbursed!"

[Stadler]

In some jurisdictions, you are allowed to re-sell tickets.   For example, in Connecticut, it used to be that you couldn't resell them for more than $3 more than face value, but in 2007, they enacted a bill which essentially says that you CAN resell tickets for a premium.  There are restrictions, however, including that you cannot do so within 1,500 feet of the venue, and, ironically, that you have to provide full refunds (including fees) if the event is cancelled. 

So, yeah, douche, but depending what state he is in, he isn't doing anything illegal, and therefore might be entitled to his refund. 

[Orbert]

Those are good points, except it seems that scalping is illegal in Ohio.

He's crying about not getting his refund and says the theater's website "very clearly" states that the tickets are refundable, but the theater doesn't even have a website.  He bought them through a third-party site, which has the disclaimer that the theater reserves the right to withhold refunds for special events, and the theater did list this as a special event.  He doesn't have a leg to stand on.

[hefdaddy42]

Yeah, he's a dumbass with no legal or moral ground.  No sympathy here.

[Stadler]

Yeah, he's a dumbass with no legal or moral ground.  No sympathy here.

I guess I agree with one and three and four, and certainly if Orbert is correct, two as well, but I guess while I don't have sympathy for him, I don't have the contempt that some do either.  There are no guarantees in life, and certainly, every investment comes with some risk, but that's not to say he shouldn't be able to avail himself of his right to pursue remedies if appropriate.   And don't misunderstand, I'm not ADVOCATING for this guy, just not sharing some of the fervor against this guy.  Call me Switzerland. 

[rumborak]

Well, scalping is a type of ripoff. You sequester a significant amount of a limited resource from the market, thus essentially creating a monopoly. That's why it's illegal in most places, because it is a type of market manipulation.

[Stadler]

Well, scalping is a type of ripoff. You sequester a significant amount of a limited resource from the market, thus essentially creating a monopoly. That's why it's illegal in most places, because it is a type of market manipulation.

No it's not, on two levels: one, I found this site, and according to which, only five states out of 52 outright PROHIBIT it, though many regulate it with varying levels of severity.  I only post this by way of example, and not as strict interpretation of law:  https://seatgeek.com/tba/articles/ticket-resale-laws/

On the second level, the market manipulation - albeit in favor of the consumer - is actually on the original sale side, which is why this is so problematic.    If it was strictly market driven, supply and demand would have those front row seats priced at the scalper level right at the box office.  This is virtually the only industry where the prices are purposefully and artificially manipulated to keep prices down (WITHOUT the use of subsidies, ala energy markets and certain automobiles).    Put a different way, the scalpers are NOT the ones manipulating the market, they are actually taking advantage of the (faulty) manipulation of the market by others (the original promoters).   

It is absolutely ridiculous, from a market standpoint, to have only two tiers of ticket prices for an entire 15,000 seat arena (for example).  We as consumers would actually benefit greatly from having concert tickets priced like airline tickets.  Sure, you wouldn't likely have front row seats (without $1000 or more), but arguably you would get better seats in that interim range that are currently over-priced to fall into the two-tier model.  The "rip-off" is by the promoters.

(By the way, that table does NOT have scalping illegal in Ohio; it defers jurisdiction to the city or town in which the ticket is being sold. Doesn't mean that it wasn't illegal in the example above, but it isn't a state-wide determination).

[rumborak]

How venues price their events is their business. Saying that scalpers somehow create "true prices" is like saying that torrenting introduces the true market value of a movie.

[hefdaddy42]

A lot of "internet resellers" buy up huge blocks of tickets from venues as soon as they are on sale.  It sucks, many fans never have a chance to buy tickets from the venue/event themselves because resellers get to purchase before the general public, in many cases.

People (such as Mr. Douche in the example above) and internet resellers suck, I have no love for them, and I wish that such things were regulated even more than they already are.

[King Postwhore]

Well, scalping is a type of ripoff. You sequester a significant amount of a limited resource from the market, thus essentially creating a monopoly. That's why it's illegal in most places, because it is a type of market manipulation.

No it's not, on two levels: one, I found this site, and according to which, only five states out of 52 outright PROHIBIT it, though many regulate it with varying levels of severity.  I only post this by way of example, and not as strict interpretation of law:  https://seatgeek.com/tba/articles/ticket-resale-laws/

On the second level, the market manipulation - albeit in favor of the consumer - is actually on the original sale side, which is why this is so problematic.    If it was strictly market driven, supply and demand would have those front row seats priced at the scalper level right at the box office.  This is virtually the only industry where the prices are purposefully and artificially manipulated to keep prices down (WITHOUT the use of subsidies, ala energy markets and certain automobiles).    Put a different way, the scalpers are NOT the ones manipulating the market, they are actually taking advantage of the (faulty) manipulation of the market by others (the original promoters).   

It is absolutely ridiculous, from a market standpoint, to have only two tiers of ticket prices for an entire 15,000 seat arena (for example).  We as consumers would actually benefit greatly from having concert tickets priced like airline tickets.  Sure, you wouldn't likely have front row seats (without $1000 or more), but arguably you would get better seats in that interim range that are currently over-priced to fall into the two-tier model.  The "rip-off" is by the promoters.

(By the way, that table does NOT have scalping illegal in Ohio; it defers jurisdiction to the city or town in which the ticket is being sold. Doesn't mean that it wasn't illegal in the example above, but it isn't a state-wide determination).

No it's mostly not illegal but I've met many in the old days of waiting in line to by concert tickets and all of them are on the top 1% of the douchiest douches of all time.  I had some asshole try to take out list that we started sleeping in the parking lot all night say that it was invalid because we were not standing in front of the door.  I rectified that by knocking him into left field when he got aggressive with me.  He broke the code of lists when in line overnight for concerts.

[Chino]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/the-interview-netflix_n_6510668.html?utm_hp_ref=technology&ir=Technology

The Interview will be on Netflix starting on Jan 24.

[Calvin6s]

a

[Chino]

I saw The Interview twice in theaters (The theaters by me cost $3.75). I thought it was hysterical.

[cramx3]

Definitely good for a few laughs. I didn't think it was as good as this is the end or pineapple express though.