What part of 'foreign' don't you understand?

[John E]

Some friends and I were just talking about drive-in movies (we don't have them here in the UK) and we ended up a bit baffled.

Are they "year round" events or very seasonal?? We figured that in the summer, it would be too light to show pictures outdoors (unless the movies start very late) whereas in the winter it would be much too cold for people to spend two hours sitting in a stationary car. Either way, we couldn't imagine them being very popular.

And how does the sound get to your car? Presumably they don't have massive loudspeakers because that would annoy any nearby residents - so do they broadcast the sound to your car radio or something?

[dglienna]

Most have closed in the US, that I know of. There may be a few.

In the old days (as a kid) they had transmitters that would let you tune your radio into a station that wasn't being used, to tune into the movie.

At 8pm-830pm (or dusk) they'd start a double-feature.

[cilu]

Oh, I just found this thread. I had a lot of fun while reading the first page. John, correct me if I'm wrong, was it Oscar Wilde that said that the only difference between Englishmen and Americans is, of course, their language? (I don't remember the exact quote but it was something like that).

[Peter_B]

Oh, I just found this thread. I had a lot of fun while reading the first page. John, correct me if I'm wrong, was it Oscar Wilde that said that the only difference between Englishmen and Americans is, of course, their language? (I don't remember the exact quote but it was something like that).

It was indeed Wilde, in his short story The Canterville Ghost (1888):
"We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language"

There is a similar quote from George Bernard Shaw, which I rather like:
"England and America are two countries separated by a common language."

[John E]

Oscar Wilde dreamed up some pretty scathing quotations about America. For example:-

America had often been discovered before Columbus - but it had always been hushed up.

or this one:-

America is the only country I know that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.

I guess he wasn't a big fan of the USA - but this is one of my favourite 'America' quotes from Dr. Laurence Peter (author of The Peter Principle)

America is a country that doesn't know where it is going but is determined to break the record for getting there!

There's a compliment in there somewhere (I think )

[John E]

For anyone who doesn't know what The Peter Principle is, it's a theory (don't know if it's a scientific theory or a humorous one) that tries to explain why big companies tend to get saddled with incompetent managers.

According to Dr Laurence Peter, in any hierarchical organisation people tend to get promoted until they reach their level of incompetence - after which, they stop getting considered for further promotion.

Therefore given enough time, the vast majority of a company's management team will incompetent at their jobs. Sounds about right to me....

[John E]

Revisiting this thread got me thinking again about America.... are any of the Stateside coders here old enough to remember an American science & sci-fi magazine called 'Omni'? Back in my twenties (much too long ago now!) I used to buy Omni almost every month. It was always packed with interesting stories and scientific articles but I haven't seen it in the shops for a good many years. Anyone know if it's still being published?

[Ledidas]

Revisiting this thread got me thinking again about America.... are any of the Stateside coders here old enough to remember an American science & sci-fi magazine called 'Omni'? Back in my twenties (much too long ago now!) I used to buy Omni almost every month. It was always packed with interesting stories and scientific articles but I haven't seen it in the shops for a good many years. Anyone know if it's still being published?

Omni is online, http://www.omnionline.com/
In my area, there are Omni hotels

[John E]

Omni is online, http://www.omnionline.com/
In my area, there are Omni hotels

Don't think we're talking about the same thing Ledidas. When I follow that link I end up with a blank page containing another link. Clicking that link then takes me to a site for Onduline Roofing !

[Arjay]

Don't think we're talking about the same thing Ledidas. When I follow that link I end up with a blank page containing another link. Clicking that link then takes me to a site for Onduline Roofing !

That's because Omni has evolved into a roofing company. Who knew?

Here's a couple of tribute sites:

http://www.omnimagonline.com/
http://omnimagazineonline.com/

[Tom Frohman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omni_(magazine)

[John E]

Interesting article! Not at all the kind of magazine you'd expect to be launched by Kathy Keeton (wife of the guy who published Playboy). Somehow that makes its success all the more impressive. She certainly had her finger on the pulse of popular science. Sadly, Kathy died only a year or so after the magazine folded. I wonder if anyone's ever tried to revive it? It was certainly a fantastic and highly original magazine.