tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32700599840809931412024-03-13T20:23:41.860-07:00Have Wit, Will TravelA hybrid travelogue/collection of essays in the spirit of Montaigne as I try to figure out human nature while living in southern France. Like Montaigne, I write for myself, and this is a format where I can work through my own thoughts and put them down onto digital paper. This means that, like Montaigne, the writing will be disjointed and rambling with occasional flashes of wit and insight. Please feel free to weigh in if you've got it all figured out.Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-25886825555383774152012-05-03T09:46:00.000-07:002012-05-03T09:46:08.138-07:00Cupid, exposed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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What most people do not know about Cupid is that he used to have a great P.R. guy. This of course was back in the Greek golden age, when the gods had a lot more resources to spend on things like public relations. Gods, like musicians, tend to change their names to create new personas, and at the time, Cupid was going by Eros. Aristophales, (that was Cupid’s P.R. guy), did a fantastic job with the persona of Eros. Eros was a sex symbol, more beautiful than Adonis and with more infatuated fangirls than Johnny Depp. Even the very word ‘erotic’ can find its roots in this rock star of ancient Greece. He did not cause a lot of problems, his mother, the vengeful Venus, was more into the whole ‘tormenting the mortals’ schtick. The worst thing that could happen with Eros is that he would spirit away some beautiful princess about to be sacrificed to a sea monster and treat her to a non-stop love-fest in his magnificent castle.<br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Unfortunately, his ‘Eros’ persona was relatively short lived, and soon the Cupid we know began to take root in the minds of mortals: A fat, cherubic little baby, floating about on wings, shooting love darts left and right, usually around Valentine’s Day. This was a common practice amongst the gods of modernity, with many of them selling out to corporations. Mercury became a flower delivery spokesperson, Apollo opened a concert hall in New York City, Mars got into the candy bar business, and even King Midas got a deal fixing mufflers and brakes. Cupid, however, became the biggest sell-out of all, becoming the corporate tool of Hallmark, selling cards to remind people that they love each other on an arbitrary day in February. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Still, the version of Cupid we know from Hallmark, while not as flattering a portrait as the Eros of antiquity, is still a much more benign image than the real Cupid. The real Cupid resembles the winged fat baby only in passing. A closer look shows that he is indeed rather short, overweight, and bald, but not adorable by any stretch of the word. His wings are vestiges of a time in his youth when his frame was undoubtedly slimmer. He is eternally cranky. Were I a casting director, I would probably recruit Danny DeVito for the role.</span><br />
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<a href="http://screencrave.frsucrave.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/danny-devito-4-10-10-kc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://screencrave.frsucrave.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/danny-devito-4-10-10-kc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"> The diaper is in actuality a whitish pair of briefs, sometimes accompanied by a men’s sleeveless undershirt, (colloquially known as a ‘wife-beater’). He does indeed have a bow and arrow, but rather than the cute little plunger-like darts one sees on cartoons, his arrows are jagged, designed to inflict damage when removed. These serrated arrows are then dipped in a love-inducing venom and fired with precision towards his victims. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">This is another instance where Hallmark does a passable job cleaning up Cupid’s image. Falling in love is portrayed as some sort of pre-destined event, a fated union of two soul-mates. In reality, the Fates and Destiny herself both refuse to have anything to do with Cupid, ostensibly because of his drunken groping of Nona the spinner at a New Year’s party. Cupid himself is something of a Darwinist, which is admittedly an odd philosophy for a deity, but goes to show that religion and science can sometimes get along rather well.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">One of the constraints Cupid works under is one familiar to many fans of first person video games: He only has so much ammunition. Arrows aren’t free, and so Cupid rarely fires two at the same time. Economic concerns aside, Cupid does seem to relish unrequited love. Like a frustrated housewife watching soap operas, he enjoys watching the drama of complete devotion answered with utter indifference. Still, because humans must reproduce in order to perpetuate the species, which in turn, is good for Hallmark’s bottom line, Cupid must occasionally strike two people at once with his arrows. The resulting infatuation breeds a new generation of mindless customers. This is where his Darwinism comes into play, targeting attractive people who will in turn have beautiful children and keep the species interesting for Cupid and the other gods to look at. Moral character, wisdom, intelligence, kindness, or any number of other factors are irrelevant in Cupid’s decisions. The tiny tyrant has decreed that happily ever after is only allowed to a genetically fortunate few.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Fortunately, the human race is nothing if not adaptable. In the absence of that rare form of love that includes an equality of adoration from both parties, many will settle for what they can get. Women will convince themselves that their attractive, but abusive and neglectful boyfriends are in fact simply good men encased in mystery: Mr. Darcys and Edward Cullenses just waiting to be discovered beneath the cold exterior. Men will blindly devote themselves to beautiful goddesses who would not deign a second glance to them if their money ran out. Aspirations of love erode slowly, replaced by resignation and acceptance. Miserable marriages soon follow, laced with secret resentment and a sense of disappointment that their lives did not end up the way Hallmark and Hollywood promised. </span>
</div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-52957483449340353982012-02-29T16:19:00.000-08:002012-02-29T16:19:36.304-08:00Idiocracy: The Corruption of the American Dream<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">*Note: When I use the word "Santorum" in this piece, I am talking about the politician, not the more common definition that shows up when you google the word.<div><br />
</div><div>I detest American politics. I would probably protest other countries' politics too if I followed them. However, I cannot stop myself from paying at least a little attention to them. This little bit from Santorum made me wish I'd stayed blissfully unaware:</div><div><br />
</div><div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NkjbJOSwq3A" width="420"></iframe></div><div><br />
</div><div>Let's ignore, for a moment, the blatant hypocrisy of a man with an undergraduate degree from the highly ranked Pennsylvania State University and no fewer than two GRADUATE degrees (an M.B.A. and a law degree) calling Obama a snob for valuing higher education. The idea that universities are indoctrination mills churning out a legion of Obama clones is so easily refuted that a simple glance at two random college graduates....let's say...Obama and Santorum...will show that college does not guarantee uniformity of thought or policy. Or even guarantee thought at all.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I want to focus on the larger problem here. Namely, Santorum's meteoric rise as a contender for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. This is symptomatic of a disturbing cultural trend: The tendency of Americans to vilify intelligence and glorify ignorance.</div><div><br />
</div><div>First, let me make one thing clear: I do not think Americans are innately less intelligent than any other people. I think stupidity is common to the human species in general. The problem is that, in America, ignorance is seen as a positive thing.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I'm a bit of a Francophile, and I'll use France now by way of contrast. France is a country that values its intellectuals. Philosophers are rock stars to the French. When Sartre was alive, his opinion was sought out on matters of social policy, on politics, on whatever. People recognized that he was a smart guy and that it might be nice to know his thoughts on the matter. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In America, this sort of rapt attention is reserved for Kim Kardiashian and Snooki's twitter accounts. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Carl Sagan picked up on this way back in 1995. "One trend that bothers me is the glorification of stupidity, that the media is reassuring people that its all right not to know anything - that in a way it's cool. That to me is far more dangerous than a little pornography on the internet," he warned. </div><div><br />
</div><div>We see it in schools where the smart kids are afraid to answer the teacher's questions for fear of looking too smart in front of their peers. We see it in politics, where Americans will always vote for the guy who looks like he would have a beer with them and not the guy who sounds 'too smart' (or like a SNOB, to use Santorum's word). We see it when girls are told not to act too smart around a boy she likes, or she'll scare him away. "Just giggle and smile and laugh at his jokes, boys don't want girls who are smarter than them", their mothers warn. From a very young age and at every stage of social development, American children are taught to hide their intellect for fear of making others feel inadequate. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Where did this begin? I believe what Sagan calls the 'glorification of stupidity' its in reality the bastardization of the American Dream. What once was the idea that every citizen had the chance to become more successful than his parents, to rise beyond her circumstances, or to achieve that white-picket fence epilogue to a life well-lived, has been subtly transmuted into something far less inspiring. The American Dream was what once allowed a child to say, with every confidence, that he would grow up to become President, or an astronaut, or a scientist. Now it has become an ambiance of marked scorn for even daring to have such lofty ambitions. Why would you want to be an astronaut? Are you too good for us here on Earth? We're cutting NASA's funding anyway.</div><div><br />
</div><div>These principles of equality and fairness have been tainted by contact with the least common denominator. Ambition is met with derision. Credentials are scoffed away. With the democratization of knowledge through google and wikipedia, everyone feels entitled to the role of 'expert'. With the advent of blogging and self-publishing, everyone is first an author, then a specialist. Why waste time on a Ph.D. when a cursory (and shallow) facade of expertise can be produced with a few minutes spent on a search engine? </div><div><br />
</div><div>True academics and vetted intellectuals are seen as elitists. Seeking to become one is somehow an affront to those who are content not to develop their intellect. It is as if attaining a higher education was pushing the rest of society somehow lower, when in reality the relative distance only increased in a positive direction. Education improves society. The academic achievements of my peer elevate him, they do not diminish me. That science nerd who made you feel dumb in high school may one day cure your cancer.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Now we find ourselves in a society where Plato's Philosopher King would be booed out of office in favor of someone who is acceptably average. Instead of putting the power to help us all into the hands of the most capable, we prefer to put it into the hands of those who make us feel comfortable with our own mediocrity. The same jealous spirit that moved the mobs of Alexandria to burn its libraries and murder Hypatia animates modern man. Those same feelings of distrust, fear, and hatred motivate bullies to punch the 'brainiacs' and push Santorum to get cheap laughs at the very notion that America could be improved if more people were taught critical thinking skills. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I currently live and work in South Korea, which, like most Asian countries, puts such an importance on education that the children spend countless hours after school with expensive private tutors, at great cost to their families. If America wants to retain its competitive edge, we would be wise to give education at least some of that value, rather than scorn. If we do not, we cannot complain to our leaders when China overtakes us. </div><div><br />
</div><div>After all, our leaders are just average Joes like us. That's why we elected them.</div></div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-65681638711880950162011-10-27T01:07:00.000-07:002011-10-27T01:07:16.945-07:00The Swashbuckler<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what exactly a swashbuckler is. I'll start like every other Sacrament talk or public speech: With a dictionary definition of the subject of my discourse.<br />
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<div class="Headserp" id="Headserp" style="border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial; color: #666666; display: inline-block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 763px;"><span><h1 class="query_h1" id="query_h1" style="color: black; display: inline; font-family: Arial; font-size: 27px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">swashbuckler</h1></span> <span id="pronsetspell" style="bottom: 5px; color: #707070; font-size: 13px; padding-left: 8px; position: relative;"><span class="pronsetspell" style="display: inline;"><span class="prondelim" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[</span><span class="pron"><span class="boldface" style="font-weight: 700;">swosh</span>-buhk-ler</span><span class="pron">,</span> <span class="pron"><span class="boldface" style="font-weight: 700;">swawsh</span>-</span><span class="prondelim" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">]</span> <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html" style="color: #255f9a; font-family: verdana; font-size: small; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" class="luna-Img" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://sp.dictionary.com/en/i/dictionary/newserp/Sprite_Serp.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: -491px -482px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; vertical-align: text-top;" /></a> </span></span><span class="aud" id="aud" style="padding-left: 8px;" title="Listen to the pronunciation of swashbuckler"><embed align="texttop" flashvars="soundUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsp.dictionary.com%2Fdictstatic%2Fdictionary%2Faudio%2Fluna%2FS11%2FS1178400.mp3&clkLogProxyUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.reference.com%2Fwhatzup.html&t=a&d=d&s=di&c=a&ti=1&ai=51359&l=dir&o=0&sv=00000000&ip=709ad81b&u=audio" height="15" id="speaker" loop="false" menu="false" quality="high" salign="t" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/d/g/speaker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="17" wmode="transparent"></embed> </span><span title="Add to Favorites"><span id="nonfav" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://sp.dictionary.com/en/i/dictionary/newserp/Sprite_Serp.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: -451px -477px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; height: 19px; left: 6px; position: relative; top: 0px; width: 17px; z-index: 1;"><a href="http://app.dictionary.com/signup/popup?source=favorites&fnCallback=loginuser&callbackAction=addToFav&domaindest=reference.com" id="fncyb" style="color: #255f9a; display: block; font-family: verdana; font-size: small; height: 18px; text-decoration: none;"></a></span></span> <span class="fcimgh" id="fcimgh" style="margin-left: 7px; position: relative;"><a class="wordorglink" href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/swashbuckler#wordorgtop" style="color: #707070; display: inline-block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; height: 20px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative; text-decoration: underline; top: -4px;" title="See Word Origin">Origin</a></span></div><div id="midRail" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 445px;"><div id="rpane" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 445px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="hwc"></span><span class="hwc"></span><span class="hwc"></span><span class="hwc"></span><span class="hwc"></span><span class="hwc"></span><span class="hwc"></span><span class="hwc"></span><span class="hwc"></span></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="hwc"></span></span><div class="sep_top shd_hdr pb2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; border-top-color: rgb(228, 228, 228); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 6px; position: relative; width: 445px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="hwc"></span></span><div class="KonaBody" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span class="hwc"></span></span><div class="lunatext results_content" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><div class="luna-Ent" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="header" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><h2 class="me" style="color: black; display: inline; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">swash·buck·ler</h2><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </span> <span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><span class="pronset" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><embed align="texttop" flashvars="soundUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsp.dictionary.com%2Fdictstatic%2Fdictionary%2Faudio%2Fluna%2FS11%2FS1178400.mp3&clkLogProxyUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fdictionary.reference.com%2Fwhatzup.html&t=a&d=d&s=di&c=a&ti=1&ai=51359&l=dir&o=0&sv=00000000&ip=709ad81b&u=audio" height="15" id="speaker" loop="false" menu="false" quality="high" salign="t" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/d/g/speaker.swf" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="17" wmode="transparent"></embed> <span class="show_spellpr" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="prondelim" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">[</span><span class="pron" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="boldface" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">swosh</span>-buhk-ler</span><span class="pron" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">,</span> <span class="pron" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="boldface" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">swawsh</span>-</span><span class="prondelim" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">]</span> <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><img border="0" class="luna-Img" src="http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://sp.dictionary.com/en/i/dictionary/newserp/Sprite_Serp.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: -491px -482px; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: text-top;" /></a> <span class="pron_toggle" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a alt="Toggle for IPA" class="pronlink" href="" style="color: #333333; cursor: pointer; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" title="Click to show IPA">Show IPA</a></span></span></span><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span></div><div class="body" style="margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="pbk" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="pg" style="color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">noun</span><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span></span><div class="luna-Ent" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; cursor: default; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">a</span> <span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; cursor: default; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">swaggering</span> <span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">swordsman,</span> <span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">soldier,</span> <span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">or</span> <span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">adventurer;</span> <span class="hwc" style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">daredevil.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br />
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Zorro. The Dread Pirate Roberts. The Three Musketeers. Most of the characters portrayed by Errol Flynn on the silver screen. These are all classic examples of swashbucklers. A swashbuckler is typically unarmored, relying on his wits, speed, and charm to see him safely through his adventures. He is prone to swinging from chandeliers, dueling villains with his rapier, and engaging in witty repartee. <br />
<br />
I have been slightly obsessed with the concept since I was a kid. My first email address was the_swashbuckler@hotmail.com (Like most hotmail accounts, it has since become my dumping ground for websites who want my email address to register but that I know will send me spam). Part of the reason I learned French was because I had fallen in love with this mythos of the witty adventurer. This is also why I took up fencing. My favorite superhero growing up was always Spider-man, the swashbuckler of superheroes (okay, I know, Nightcrawler is a better fit, but he was always a favorite too).<br />
<br />
This brings me to Halloween. Living in Korea, Halloween is not celebrated much here. However, I have been sort of planning possible costumes for next year. What can I say? You can take the American out of America, but you can't take America out of the American.<br />
<br />
Looking back at my costume choices in the past, I'm beginning to see a pattern:<br />
<br />
Halloween 2007: I am Le Scorpion, an Italian swashbuckler from a French comic book:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://berlingot.noos.org/exlibris/11-scorpion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://berlingot.noos.org/exlibris/11-scorpion.jpg" width="304" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-ash1/v192/162/17/17815076/n17815076_34761658_5518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-ash1/v192/162/17/17815076/n17815076_34761658_5518.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Halloween 2008: I was a Musketeer (Aramis, my favorite).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v375/162/17/17815076/n17815076_36510821_5011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v375/162/17/17815076/n17815076_36510821_5011.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was a collaboration costume for a French Club Halloween party. My good buddy Greg Jackson was the stalwart Athos and we even had a girl from the Master's program play Porthos to round out our triumphant trio.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In 2009 I was in France, again a country without the costumed traditions of the 31st of October.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Halloween 2010: I decided I'd make a wonderful Dread Pirate Roberts. We were able to wear our costumes to work, and I made sure to take no prisoners:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/73145_799225533639_17815076_41792509_7095367_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/73145_799225533639_17815076_41792509_7095367_a.jpg" width="272" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was fun because most of my co-workers were dressed up as well. There was a Princess Peach to my left and the most impressive costume of all was a Gizmo-duck from the old cartoon Darkwing Duck. He even had the unicycle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And this brings me to brainstorming for my next costume. I've decided if I grow my hair out a bit, I could maintain my swashbuckling tradition with the roguish Flynn Rider:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/16957_715957917609_17815076_39511283_7360320_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/16957_715957917609_17815076_39511283_7360320_n.jpg" /></a><a href="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/311302_10100149285856919_17815076_43800985_1507817680_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/311302_10100149285856919_17815076_43800985_1507817680_n.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img01.taobaocdn.com/imgextra/i1/694966431/T2Pe86XkFXXXXXXXXX_!!694966431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://img01.taobaocdn.com/imgextra/i1/694966431/T2Pe86XkFXXXXXXXXX_!!694966431.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I even found a pretty good costume!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I'd have to trade in my sword for a trusty frying pan, but I think there's enough of a resemblance there to pull off a pretty good Flynn. So this is where I find myself, trying to justify spending 70 bucks on a Halloween costume. I really need to meet a girl that can sew, my life would be much simpler then.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What sort of themes do you find yourselves drawn to for Halloween? Are there any other swashbucklers out there? Classic movie monsters? Superheroes? It's the one day a year where it's okay to be whoever you like. Do not let it pass you by!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-5956792198987682252011-10-26T21:38:00.001-07:002011-10-26T21:38:58.481-07:00I Stumbled Upon an Interesting Blog Today<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
Browsing through the blogosphere, I came across a blog from a woman with Borderline Personality Disorder. I hadn't thought much about this particular disorder in awhile, but it used to be a topic of interest to me. This blogger is a high functioning professional and seems to be on the road to recovery with therapy. Blogging about her road seems to be helpful to her as well, and gives the rest of us some insight into what she is going through. It's definitely made me more hopeful that she will eventually feel understood.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://downwardspiralintothevortex.blogspot.com/2011/06/road-to-recovery.html">http://downwardspiralintothevortex.blogspot.com/2011/06/road-to-recovery.html</a> is the address. If any of you are curious as to what goes on in the head of someone who has this disorder, its definitely worth the read.<br />
<div><br />
</div></div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-45856276900446297602010-09-18T21:38:00.000-07:002010-09-18T21:38:22.523-07:00Rules are Meant to be BrokenToday my youngest sister told me she was reading a book called "The Rules". I was only vaguely aware of this book before, but the more she described it, the more I did not like it.<br />
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From Wikipedia:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The book argues that in order to attract and marry the man of her dreams, a woman should be 'hard to get'. The underlying philosophy of which is that women should not aggressively pursue men, but rather ought to get the men to pursue them.</span><br />
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</span><br />
I'm very much against the games people feel like they have to play, this whole 'don't let him know you like him or he will value you less' mindset is ridiculous. There have been several times where finding out a girl was interested in me actually made me look at her more favorably, even made her more attractive in return.<br />
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Basically the Rules play off of the bit of psychology that says men want what they can't have, so if you want to trick him into liking you, pretend you don't care for him. Women aren't the only one to use this play. Men do it too. Its called 'Treat the girl like you're a total jerk and she'll end up wanting you more.' We've all seen the a-hole guy with the girl that's totally into the neglect or occasional abuse he dishes out. It works. That doesn't mean its okay. <br />
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That's the defense I hear about "The Rules". They work! Fine..they might. But if you have to trick a guy into liking you, is that really the guy you should be dating?<br />
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To me, the whole story seems very familiar:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://themoviepreviewcritic.com/assets/images/Yoda_and_Luke_Empire_Strikes_Back_Iron_Man_2_Movie_Review.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://themoviepreviewcritic.com/assets/images/Yoda_and_Luke_Empire_Strikes_Back_Iron_Man_2_Movie_Review.gif" /></a></div>Luke: Is the Dark Side stronger?<br />
Yoda: No, no, no. Quicker. Easier. More seductive...<br />
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It would be easier to get a girl's interest by mistreating her. I've gone down that road before. Its almost sad how easy it is. But is that the kind of low self-esteem person I want to be with? While easier, it leaves a hollow victory in the end.<br />
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Let's look at some of the infamous "Rules":<br />
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2. Don't talk to a man first.<br />
3. Don't talk too much.<br />
4. Don't meet him halfway<br />
6. Don't accept a Saturday Night Date after Wednesday (even if you were planning on sitting at home complaining to your roommates that you're bored, you have to make him think you lead a glamorous life filled with dates and you can only just barely book him if he calls far ahead of time...like you're the freaking <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_Se_(restaurant)">Per Se</a>)<br />
12. Stop Dating Him if He Doesn't Buy You a Romantic Gift for Your Birthday or Valentine's Day (make sure he pays the monetary transaction required for his end of the bargain...but you're not a prostitute, let's make that clear)<br />
13. Don't See Him More Than Once or Twice a Week<br />
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Okay, so far so good. Besides setting back women's rights by about three decades, they aren't completely weird. Just a lot of "pretend you're someone you're not so he'll like you and if you're interested in him FOR HEAVENS' SAKE DO NOT LET HIM FIND OUT!!!".<br />
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But then the rules start to get really weird.<br />
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23. Don't Date a Married Man (Okay...good advice. Kind of obvious but if you're reading self-help books maybe it bears repeating)<br />
26. Even if You're Engaged or Married, You Still Need the Rules (Ie: Don't ever let him find out what you're really like, keep pretending to be disinterested or he might grow bored with you. Remember, men love a challenge!)<br />
31. Don't Discuss the Rules With Your Therapist<br />
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Wait....WHAT?! Does that raise a red flag to anyone else? There's a whole chapter devoted to not letting your trained licensed professional know that you're following life advice from an accountant and a freelance journalist? How long is this chapter? Is this like the first rule of Fight Club?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.uiowa.edu/~bijou/images/fight_club_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.uiowa.edu/~bijou/images/fight_club_s.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First rule about "The Rules: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right":<br />
Don't talk about "The Rules: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right".</td></tr>
</tbody></table>39. Men Can Handle it if You are Dating Other Men as Long as You are Still Available for Him (written like a woman who's never been in a relationship with a man before)<br />
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And the list of Rules goes on, explaining how you should not leave the house without makeup on, never answer the phone on the first ring, etc.<br />
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Here's my rules for dating, from a guy's point of view:<br />
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1. Be yourself. Don't trick a guy into liking a glamorous phantasm you create for him. Don't try to be what you think he will like. If you do, that's a mask you're going to have to wear forever, because if you do end up getting married, he's going to eventually see the real you. You deserve to be dating someone who likes you for who you are. <br />
<br />
2. Be honest. Laugh at his jokes if you find them funny, not because a Rules tells you to. If you're excited to talk to him, its okay to let him know. Its okay to beat him at a game you're better at than he is. Its okay to let him know you're smart, maybe even an equal partner to his own intellect, rather than a subservient food making sex machine.<br />
<br />
<br />
Those are all the rules I can think of. They probably don't work as fast or as easily as the "Rules", but I think you'll be happier with the end result.Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-4794825850861529922010-09-09T19:32:00.000-07:002010-09-09T19:32:07.631-07:00Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel?I freaking love the Scarlet Pimpernel. For those of you who have no idea who that is, go read the book right now.<div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/OrcPimp.html">http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/OrcPimp.html</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Go for it, I'll wait.</div><div><br />
</div><div>We done? Okay. For those of you too lazy to read a book, even an electronic one, let me sum up. He's the freaking Batman of the French Revolution: Rich, debonair, but entirely shallow and vapid playboy by day, but by night, he dons a secret identity and saves people from certain death.</div><div><br />
</div><div>This is a hero who survives by his wits, by staying one step ahead of his enemies, and above all, by projecting a foppish facade that serves as a shield against suspicion. </div><div><br />
</div><div>As someone who often plays the fool, this guy is my hero. He manages to dance circles around his enemies without them even fully realizing that they've been completely taken.</div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blakeneymanor.com/images/1982/p24.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://www.blakeneymanor.com/images/1982/p24.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I say, I do believe DC Comics owes me a royalty...wot?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>The musical based on the book is playing this month in Ogden, Utah. My friend is organizing a trip to go see it and I want to go. Unfortunately, he wants me to bring a date.</div><div><br />
</div><div>"But David, you're in Provo. There's literally thousands of girls just waiting to be asked out on such a marvelously classy date as going to the theater," you might say. And yes, you are probably very right. And the last time we made such an excursion, I had no trouble finding one.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Unfortunately, things have changed (see my last entry). This is not the Provo of 2008. Though I see beautiful girls all over campus, I don't know any of them (and I'm not very good at asking complete strangers to drive to Ogden and see a play with me).</div><div><br />
</div><div>Sadly, my life is this: Wake up, drive to Lehi for work, get off work, drive to the campus library, research my thesis until midnight, go to bed, wash, rinse, repeat. This leaves precious little 'get out and meet new friends' time, and even less time for romance. </div><div><br />
</div><div>So I feel like the sailor, stranded on a piece of driftwood, saying "Water, water all around and not a drop to drink" before he dies of thirst in the middle of the ocean. I'd love nothing better than to buy a ticket for a girl to experience what is without a doubt my favorite musical of all time. (Okay, I realize its not super manly to have a favorite musical, but don't judge!) The only trick is...finding the girl! </div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-78875398868576856342010-08-24T19:54:00.000-07:002010-08-25T15:53:11.089-07:00The Return of the King<div style="text-align: left;">Warning: In case you couldn't tell by the title of this post, I'm going to geek out a little. If you're geeky enough to read blogs but not geeky enough to admit you enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies, you should probably stop reading. ;)</div><br />
I have returned from Europe and I now find myself back in Provo, Utah. It is a very strange feeling. While I was in France, I listened a bit to the soundtrack in the Lord of the Rings. I noticed something meaningful in the songs chosen for the end credits. They all speak of a journey at different stages. <br />
<br />
From Enya's "May it Be" (The Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack):<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XOykCYDMKBs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XOykCYDMKBs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>May it be an evening star</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Shines down upon you</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>May it be when darkness falls</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Your heart will be true</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>You walk a lonely road</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Oh! How far you are from home...</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A promise lives within you now....</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Out of context, it sounds like something off of an EFY cd, a metaphor for a Parent's wishes for a child beginning life's journey through this mortal coil. But in my context, it was talking about my trip through Europe. Though I did not admit it, I sometimes felt like Frodo- a very small hobbit off on a very big adventure, (only with shoes and with green eyes instead of Elijah Wood's oh-so-baby blues). <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/wp-content/wood-elijah-as-frodo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/wp-content/wood-elijah-as-frodo.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs042.snc4/34471_758247913119_17815076_40723568_926831_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs042.snc4/34471_758247913119_17815076_40723568_926831_n.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't tell from the pictures, but I'm actually taller too...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Then winter came, and my contract seemed interminable. Thanksgiving and Christmas made me realize how long it had been since I'd seen my family and friends, and suddenly Gollum's song became my anthem.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">From "Gollum's Song", the Two Towers soundtrack:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zkXbzffVl44?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zkXbzffVl44?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Where once was light, now darkness falls</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Where once was love, love is no more</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Don't say goodbye, don't say I didn't try</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>These tears we cry are falling rain</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>For all the lies you told us, the hurt, the blame</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>And we will weep to be so alone</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>We are lost, we can never go home</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, I certainly didn't feel as overdramatic as the schizophrenic Smeagol, but that line "We are lost, we can never go home..." rang true. But winter passed and the sun came out, and soon my return home was pressing close. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">When the journey was almost over, suddenly "Into the West", from the Return of the King, fit perfectly:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/v9xjiG7AYIM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v9xjiG7AYIM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Lay down</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Your sweet and weary head</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Night is falling</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>You have come to journey's end</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Sleep now</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>And dream of the ones who came before</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>They are calling</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>From across a distant shore</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Why do you weep?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>What are these tears upon your face?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Soon you will see</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>All of your fears will pass away</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Safe in my arms</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>You're only sleeping</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>What can you see</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>On the horizon?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Why do the white gulls call?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Across the sea</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A pale moon rises</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The ships have come to carry you home</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>And all will turn</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>To silver-glass</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A light on the water</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Grey ships pass</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Into the West</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was my favorite of the three soundtracks. The song is a melancholy mix of hope and wistful regret, a sort of nascent nostalgia as Frodo realizes his journey is over and, while weary, is sad to see it end. I felt the same sort of thing at the end of my time as a missionary, and I felt it again as I sat in the airport waiting to return to the states. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So the Lord of the Rings is about journeys, specifically, Frodo's journey to Mount Doom, but also Aragorn's journey to his destiny as King. These journeys can be perilous in and of themselves, but as Bilbo warned his nephew "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now I find myself, like Frodo, back home in the West, carried by grey ships that fly so high that the water in the clouds appeared as silver-glass. And like Frodo, I find myself unable to recognize my old haunts. Did Provo change so much in a year? So many of my friends are gone, graduated, married, or moved on that where once I could not walk five minutes without seeing a friendly face, now I see only strangers. Or is it myself that has changed? I feel that sense of isolation that is so common a trope for the hero of a travel-tale upon returning home. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Was Thomas Wolfe right when he said "You Can't Go Home Again?"<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs247.snc4/39671_1422952526979_1027680009_31033482_4814377_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs247.snc4/39671_1422952526979_1027680009_31033482_4814377_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My brother and I walking our hobbit sized nephew home...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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</span></span>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-53928943598552472572010-06-15T22:16:00.000-07:002010-06-15T22:18:50.575-07:00Free Market Mind TrickPeople seldom know why they do things. Oh, most people think they know their own motivations, but few people actually sit down and ask themselves why they say, act, or think the way they do. For some reason, the shower is the place where I review the previous day. Something about being in a closed space with no distractions but the routine of cleaning makes me introspective. Yesterday, I had an epiphany..<br />
<br />
I hate free market economies.<br />
<br />
Or rather, I hate the innovations that come from them...<br />
<br />
More specifically, I hate having to choose between two high price items that both seem equally great.<br />
<br />
Here's my dilemma. Its about time for me to get a new phone, my old one is on its last legs. For the past few years, everyone has been telling me how great the Iphone is. My friends, my coworkers, even my own brother and father have been singing its praises. Its just got so many useful apps! Its like all of a sudden everyone's got little computers in their pocket, like Penny from the old Inspector Gadget cartoon! The future is now! (In this example, the future is a cartoon from the late 80's, but you get the idea)..<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l06jm5QHZn1qa52slo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l06jm5QHZn1qa52slo1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You gotta admit, this thing was go-go-Gadget awesome!</span></div><br />
My point is that for as long as I've been entertaining the notion of a new phone, the almost universal consensus was 'if you want the best and you're willing to pay for it, get an Iphone'. <br />
<br />
And I loved that. My world was simple. Easy. Goal: Get a great phone. Solution: Get money, but an Iphone. It couldn't be less complicated.<br />
<br />
Then one day, out of nowhere, suddenly everyone is talking about this phone called an Android...or a Droid, for short. Apparently, what it lacks in app support, it makes up for in other cool features, like the ability to play certain kinds of media files that the iphone can't, or the fact that its name makes me think of Star Wars.<br />
<br />
Now all of a sudden, my world is cast into doubt and confusion! I have to actually RESEARCH this stuff and find out what the best item is. Its not like when I bought a handheld video game player and the Gameboy DSi was the big dog in the yard. Suddenly there are two contenders and I can't get good odds on either one. <br />
<br />
They're both so expensive that I really don't want to make the wrong choice and have to regret it later....because, like this stormtrooper, it would haunt me forever:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HDWozPeRYfM/TBhdC-yFx6I/AAAAAAAAABo/vvPJisvVyjU/s1600/hindsight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HDWozPeRYfM/TBhdC-yFx6I/AAAAAAAAABo/vvPJisvVyjU/s640/hindsight.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-40918643402474332562010-04-29T07:40:00.000-07:002010-04-29T07:43:27.499-07:00Carriage Wit Classics: Non-Smokers : The Oppressed Majority<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">Today's Carriage Wit Classic comes from four years ago, during my days as a corporate wage-slave.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://x1a.xanga.com/9c3a25f237c3067632561/z45404262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://x1a.xanga.com/9c3a25f237c3067632561/z45404262.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;">"Cover for me for a few minutes, I'm going to take a smoke break." If I had a dime for every minute I covered for a co-worker so he could go outside and fill his lungs full of tar, I'd be making a lot more than minimum wage. A LOT more. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"> <br />
With new scientific evidence pointing out that second-hand smoke is EVEN MORE HARMFUL than originally thought, I wonder why at jobs we actively encourage smoking by letting people take five minutes off of work whenever they feel the urge to light up a cancer stick?<br />
<br />
"But David, they feel so much more relaxed after a smoke." Well yeah..that's called getting a five minute break from a stressful job. Let me go stand outside for five minutes without anything to worry about and I'll be a lot more relaxed too.<br />
<br />
"But David, they're so addicted that its impossible to go any period of time longer than an hour without smoking something."<br />
<br />
Wow. That's really sad on a lot of levels. Fine, let them take their smoke breaks. But as a nonsmoker (and thus as an employee who doesn't tire as quickly, has better breath and teeth for customer service, and is far less likely to get cancer and suck up sick leave or company life insurance), I deserve to take five minute breaks whenever I'm sick of my job too. Instead, I stay behind and have to cover the job of two people, instead of just myself. Do I get paid more for my efforts? Nope. Its just part of the job. Its what I get for not sucking on a stick of burning chemicals.<br />
<br />
Another thing I was thinking about today as I swept up literally dozens of cigarette butts from the front of the store...Why does smoking give you a carte blanche on littering? If I were to walk by and throw a candy bar wrapper on the ground in front of people I'd get glared at at best, and forced to pick it up and throw it away at worse. But when someone finishes a cigarette, its perfectly acceptable to flick the toxic stub casually onto the sidewalk or road or wherever it is you are standing. Anyone who's ever volunteered to clean up a highway can share my frustration here. JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE TURNING YOUR BODY INTO AN ASHY JUNKYARD DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN TRASH THE OUTSIDE WORLD TOO!<br />
<br />
Its bad enough you're giving us cancer just by walking by, but do we have to do your jobs and clean up your cigarette butts too?<br />
<br />
Why is it that whenever a restaurant is forced to prohibit smoking on the premesis it makes the papers and causes a huge fit about civil rights, but everyone accepts the above incidents like its just the natural part of life?<br />
<br />
Your rights end when they infringe on mine.<br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
(This has been a public service announcement from our good friend Common Sense)</span>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-12315166155823279772010-04-09T06:54:00.000-07:002010-04-09T07:02:40.969-07:00Manly Library: A Reading List (Part 1/4)Just because school is soon to be out doesn't mean we can neglect reading for three months! Consider this my public service message for reading! The more you know!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://specialedandme.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/readingrainbow_lavar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://specialedandme.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/readingrainbow_lavar.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Butterfly in the sky...I can fly twice as high! Take a look! Its in a book! Its</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div> <a href="http://perusals.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/185-160_reading_rainbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="http://perusals.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/185-160_reading_rainbow.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
On the <a href="http://artofmanliness.com/2008/05/14/100-must-read-books-the-essential-mans-library/">Art of Manliness</a> website, I have discovered a list of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/100-Must-Read-Books-The-Essential-Man-s-Library-Part-I/lm/RCN3MKLVVPRXV/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full">100 Books every man should read.</a><br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Being both a man and literate, I decided to see how I am doing thus far in my man-life. It seems I have quite a bit of reading to do before I die.</div><div><br />
</div><div>100. <b>The Great Gatsby</b> by F. Scott Fitzgerald Status: <b>Read</b></div><div>I remember reading this one in high school and finding it tolerable. It does, however, teach the man-lesson that often times the wanting is better than the having.</div><div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">“He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles… It faced–or seemed to face–the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">99. <b>The Prince</b> by Niccolo Machiavelli Status: <b>Read</b></span></span></span></div><div>Loved this one. Machiavelli gets a bad rap, but really he's just putting forward a neo-realistic's guide to gettingn power and keeping it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">From this arises an argument: whether it is better to be loved than feared. I reply that one should like to be both one and the other; but since it is difficult to join them together, it is much safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">98. <b>Slaughterhouse-Five</b> by Kurt Vonnegut Status: <b>Unread. Want to Read.</b></span></span></span></div><div><br />
</div><div>I think I'm the only person in the world who didn't have to read this book in high school. From what I heard, I missed out.</div><div><br />
</div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">97. <b>1984</b> by George Orwell Status: <b>Read</b></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></span></div><div>Loved this one. Rarely is a book so influential that the author's name becomes an adjective to describe an entire concept, but 1984 introduces the "Orwellian" future dystopia to modern readers.</div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">“But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">96. <b>The Republic</b> by Plato Status: <b>Read</b></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></span></div><div>I not only read this, I was a student teacher for a class based around it. Every man should be a philosopher, and there's no better place to start than with Plato, the foundation of western thought.</div><div><br />
</div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">95. <b>Brothers Karamazov</b> by Fyodor Dostoevsky Status: <b>Unread. Ambivalent.</b></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></span></div><div>This one is mostly intimidating by its bulk, though thankfully its not War and Peace. I hope to get around to this one eventually, but its not high on the priority list.</div><div><br />
</div><div>94. <b>The Catcher in the Rye</b> by J.D. Salinger Status: <b>Unread. Ambivalent.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>I think I missed the window of opportunity here. When I was 16 or 17 I might've had enough angst and cynicism to be on board, but that ship has sailed.</div><div><br />
</div><div>93. <b>The Wealth of Nations</b> by Adam Smith Status: <b>Read</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>Another gem of my college education, this little book of common sense set the wheels of modern economics turning. </div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.” </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><div>92. <b>For Whom the Bell Tolls</b> by Ernest Hemingway Status: <b>Unread. Curious</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div></span></span></div><div>Hemingway is one of those authors so manly that even his semi-auto-biographical adventure books turn out to be rather tame compared to the adventure that was his actual life.</div><div><br />
</div><div>91. <b>The Picture of Dorian Gray</b> by Oscar Wilde Status: <b>Unread. Want to read.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>For all of you dapper gents and debonair swashbucklers, this book is full of impeccable wit and clever one-liners guaranteed to put the Bond back into your game. Its a novel about pure decadence, and that's straightup interesting. Its one of the reasons I loved "Dangerous Liaisons".</div><div><br />
</div><div><div>90. <b>The Grapes of Wrath</b> by John Steinbeck Status: <b>Read.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>Another high school English book, I remember it being long and dry, perhaps not unlike California grapes left too long on the vine in the sun. It does have some manly qualities, most notably the lenghts a man will go to provide for his family.</div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">“Fear the time when the strikes stop while the great owners live – for every little beaten strike is proof that the step is being taken…fear the time when Manself will not suffer and die for a concept, for this one quality is the foundation of Manself, and this one quality is man, distinctive in the universe.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><div>89. <b>Brave New World</b> by Aldous Huxley Status: <b>Unread. Curious.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>I'm always a sucker for a dystopian future..</div><div><br />
</div><div><div>88. <b>How to Win Friends and Influence People </b> by Dale Carnegie Status: <b>Unread. Ambivalent</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>I've never been a fan of self-help books, but this one pre-dates that craze. This is a subject I've never had much trouble with, thanks to a liberal dotage of wit and charisma, but there's always room for improvement. </div><div><br />
</div><div>87. <b>Call of the Wild </b> by Jack London Status: <b>Unread. Ambivalent</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>I'm a little tired of the 'man vs. nature' survival novel, but if I were to go back and read one, I'd select this one. I love me some Alaskan sled dogs.</div><div><br />
</div><div>86. <b>The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt </b>by Edmund Morris Status: <b>Unread. HOLY CRAP THIS BOOK EXISTS?!</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>Theodore Roosevelt is the manliest American president ever! Even his biography doesn't have a lame title like "The Life of Theodore Roosevelt" or even "Theodore Roosevelt: Bear Killer". Its the RISE of THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Like its the ascension of a new epoch of manliness and mustaches, which, in a way, it was. I can't believe I never knew about this book!</div><div><br />
</div><div>85. <b>Swiss Family Robinson</b> by Johann David Wyss Status: <b>Unread. Ambivalent</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>I might've liked this one as a boy but the magic of building tree houses and fighting pirates is something that doesn't quite grasp my imagination anymore.</div><div><br />
</div><div>84. <b>Dharma Bums</b> by Jack Kerouac Status: <b>Unread. Curious.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>A book about escaping the pressures of modern life and getting back to appreciating the simple things. I'm basically living that life right now in my poverty...after reading this book I can say its more of a beatnik disdain for wealth and stability and less the result of student loans.</div><div><br />
</div><div>83. <b>The Illiad and Odyssey </b>of Homer Status: <b>Read</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>(2 for 1 special). The first thing I did after learning how to read was devour all the Dr. Seuss books in the kindergarten library. Once that was done, the SECOND thing I did was wander into the Mythology section and start reading everything I could get my hands on in Greek and Roman mythology. I've loved it ever since, and these two books do not disappoint my thirst for the epic.</div><div><br />
</div><div>82. <b>Catch-22</b> by Joseph Heller Status: <b>Unread. Curious.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>Another book that influenced modern terminology. Don't be a Michael Scott and use this phrase without a passing familiarity of its origins. </div><div><br />
</div><div>81. <b>Walden</b> by Henry David Thoreau Status: <b>Read</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>This one goes back to my teenage years, sitting outside in a tree in the summer waxing philosophical and even sentimental about the tranquility of nature. Though I'm not totally on board with the Transcendental movement, I think ever man deserves a sabbatical from the this modern life at least once.</div><div><br />
</div><div>80. <b>Lord of the Flies</b> by William Golding Status: <b>Unread. Want to read.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>Another high school classic that I missed out on. I've always been fascinated by sociology and human behavior, as well as what happens when you strip the veneer of civilization from our brutal natures.</div><div><br />
</div><div>79. <b>The Master and the Margarita</b> by Mikhail Bulgakov Status: <b>Unread. Curious.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>My exposure to Russian literature is sadly lacking, but this one sounds good. The devil visits Moscow and makes fun of their enlightened skepticism. </div><div><br />
</div><div>78. <b>Bluebeard </b>by Kurt Vonnegut Status: <b>Unread. Curious.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>Written as a fake autobiography, its supposed to be a hillarious take on abstract art that makes fun of the inflated self-importance of the artists and the high brow elite who consume it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>77. <b>Atlas Shrugged </b>by Ayn Rand Status: <b>Read.</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>An intimidating read at 1,084 pages, this was the perfect companion for one of my trans-atlantic flights to Europe. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The fundamental concept is that our world falls apart when individuals stop seeking their own satisfaction through personal achievement and feel a sense of entitlement to the accomplishments and work of others. This book challenges us on many levels…you may find it conflicting with your value of other people, her treatment of God, or any other beliefs you already hold. Yet, who can argue with “The most depraved type of human being … (is) the man without a purpose.”</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><div>76. <b>The Metamorphosis </b>by Frank Kafka Status: <b>Unread. Curious</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div></span></b></div></div><div>A man wakes up in his bed finding himself transformed into monstrous vermin? Interesting premise..</div></span></span></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>Considering the bulk of my university education has been based around French literature, I'd say I'm not doing too badly. Still, there's a lot left to read... Next post I will look at 75-51 on the list. In the meantime, what books have you read? Are there any on the list that I haven't read that you think aren't worth the read? Men, what books on this list are on your "to read" bucket list? Which ones have you read and enjoyed? Which of my unread books should be highest on the priority list? Lowest?</div><div><br />
</div><div>Ladies, what about you? Its a Manly Library, but there's no surer way to learn how we think than to read the compilation of literature on the subject of manliness.</div><div><br />
</div><div>And with that, I'm off to go sit in the park and read.</div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div></div></span></span></div></div></span></span></span></div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-11420300654779150002010-03-30T15:14:00.000-07:002010-03-30T15:40:16.381-07:00French Folklore: BluebeardOstensibly, one of my projects out here has been to research French folklore for the thesis I am writing. I like looking at the legend and then finding out what parts of it come from history and which parts are myth. Unfortunately, in the case of the story of Bluebeard, the truth is far more disturbing than the fiction...<br />
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Warning: The true story is deeply disturbing. If you have a weak stomach, stop reading when the fairy tale ends.<br />
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The Legend (as summarized by wikipedia):<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Gustav_Dor%C3%A9_Bluebeard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/Gustav_Dor%C3%A9_Bluebeard.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Bluebeard is a very wealthy aristocrat, feared because of his "frightfully ugly" blue beard. He had been married several times, but no one knew what had become of his wives. He was therefore avoided by the local girls. When Bluebeard visited one of his neighbours and asked to marry one of her two daughters, the girls were terrified, and each tried to pass him on to the other. Eventually he persuaded the younger daughter (Perrault does not name the woman, but many versions state her name to be Fatima) to marry him, and after the ceremony she went to live with him in his château.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;">Very shortly after, however, Bluebeard announced that he had to leave the country for a while; he gave over all the keys of the chateau to his new wife, including the key to one small room that she was forbidden to enter. He then went away and left the house in her hands. Almost immediately she was overcome with the desire to see what the forbidden room held, and finally her visiting sister, Anne, convinced her to satisfy her curiosity and open the room.</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;">The wife immediately discovered the room's horrible secret: Its floor was awash with blood, and the dead bodies of her husband's former wives hung from hooks on the walls. Horrified, she locked the door, but blood had come onto the key which would not wash off. Bluebeard returned unexpectedly and immediately knew what his wife had done. In a blind rage he threatened to behead her on the spot, but she implored that he give her quarter of an hour to say her prayers. He consented so she locked herself in the highest tower with her sister, Anne. While Bluebeard, sword in hand, tried to break down the door, the sisters waited for their two brothers to arrive. At the last moment, as Bluebeard was about to deliver the fatal blow, the brothers broke into the castle, and as he attempted to flee, they killed him. He left no heirs but his wife, who inherited all his great fortune. She used part of it for a dowry to marry her sister to the one that loved her, another part for her brothers' captains commissions, and the rest to marry a worthy gentleman who made her forget her ill treatment by Bluebeard.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Walter_Crane06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Walter_Crane06.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">This story comes to us from Charles Perrault. It is one of the folk tales he chronicled in his <i>Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passé. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">It is believed to have come from the Brittany region of France. On the surface it seems to be just another tale of feminine curiosity and how dangerous it can be. (Eve, Pandora, Lot's Wife, Psyche....even Belle from Beauty and the Beast couldn't keep her nose out of that West Wing). </span></i></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">However, the historical inspiration for this tale is even more ghastly.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://moovertimes.bplaced.net/MOOVER_Times/MT-PicsOtis/Vampire/gillesderais2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://moovertimes.bplaced.net/MOOVER_Times/MT-PicsOtis/Vampire/gillesderais2.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">The History: </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">Gilles de Rais was a man of contradictions. A wealthy lord, baron, and Breton knight, he fought alongside Jeanne d'Arc and was a deeply pious man. He was also one of the most prolific serial killers of children known to history.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">He became a war hero, most notably during the Seige of Paris, where he was granted the right to add the royal coat of arms to his own, and specifically commended by the king for his "high and commendable services", the "great perils and dangers" he had confronted, and "many other brave feats". </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">Once the war hero retired from military life, he began to spend his money lavishly. Much of it was drunk away during wild parties, but he also spent a small fortune constructing the Chapel of the Holy Innocents, dedicated to the young boys killed by Herod. This choice would prove tragically ironic, as de Rais had innocents of his own to slaughter.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">According to his testimony and that of his associates, it was during this time that de Rais began dabbling in the occult. He testified that he began sacrificing children to the demon "Barron" in order to regain his squandered fortune. It is likely that this explanation was fed to him by the court in an effort to understand how a former hero could sink to such depravities. </span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">He killed hundreds of children, mostly young boys. He tortured and raped them as he killed them, laughing as they died. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">In his 1971 biography of Gilles de Rais, Jean Beneditti tells how the children were put to death: </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">"[The boy] was pampered and dressed in better clothes than he had ever known. The evening began with a large meal and heavy drinking, particularly hippocras, which acted as a stimulant. The boy was then taken to an upper room to which only Gilles and his immediate circle were admitted. There he was confronted with the true nature of his situation. The shock thus produced on the boy was an initial source of pleasure for Gilles."</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;">Gilles' bodyservant Etienne Corrillaut, known as Poitou, was an accomplice in many of the crimes and testified that his master hung his victims with ropes from a hook to prevent the child from crying out, then masturbated upon the child's belly or thighs. Taking the victim down, Rais comforted the child and assured him he only wanted to play with him. Gilles then either killed the child himself or had the child slain by his cousin Gilles de Sillé, Poitou or another bodyservant called Henriet. The victims were killed by decapitation, cutting of their throats, dismemberment, or breaking of their necks with a stick. A short, thick, double-edged sword called a <i>braquemard</i> was kept at hand for the murders. Poitou further testified that Rais sometimes committed his vices on the victims (whether boys or girls) before wounding them and at other times after the victim had been slashed in the throat or decapitated. According to Poitou, Rais disdained the victim's sexual organs, and took "infinitely more pleasure in debauching himself in this manner...than in using their natural orifice, in the normal manner."</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;">In his own confession, Gilles testified that “when the said children were dead, he kissed them and those who had the most handsome limbs and heads he held up to admire them, and had their bodies cruelly cut open and took delight at the sight of their inner organs; and very often when the children were dying he sat on their stomachs and took pleasure in seeing them die and laughed...”</div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;">Poitou testified that he and Henriet burned the bodies in the fireplace in Gilles' room. The clothes of the victim were placed into the fire piece by piece so they burned slowly and the smell was minimized. The ashes were then thrown into the cesspit, the moat, or other hiding places.The last recorded murder was of the son of Eonnet de Villeblanche and his wife Macée. Poitou paid twenty <i>sous</i> to have a page's doublet made for the victim, who was then assaulted, murdered, and incinerated in August 1440.</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">Though the outlying village was aware that something evil was taking place in the castle, none dared try to stop him, even as their children began to vanish. Peasants had been complaining for months that their children who went to the castle to beg never returned. However, it wasn't until de Rais kidnapped a cleric that an ecclesiastical investigation was sent and his crimes were unconvered. </span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">He was charged by both ecclesiastical and secular courts of heresy, sodomy, and murder. It is difficult to know the exact number of his victims, because their remains were burned after the deed, but it is estimated to be anywhere between 80 and 600 victims between the ages of six to eighteen. He was sentenced to death by hanging followed by burning, and throughout the trial and to his death he seemed concerned about the welfare of his soul, terrified of going to hell. He was allowed to have a last confession, and just before his death, exhorted the throngs with 'contrite piety' before telling his accomplices to 'die bravely and think only of salvation'. On the 26th of October, he was hung and set aflame, though his body was cut down and buried before it was completely reduced to ashes.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">This is one of those instances where the legend is far less horrific than the truth. </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">Sources: </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">www.wikipedia.org</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Benedetti, Jean (1971), <i>Gilles de Rais</i>, New York: Stein and Day,</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Wolf, Leonard (1980), <i>Bluebeard: The Life and Times of Gilles De Rais</i>, New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc.,</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><i><br />
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</div></span>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-62285544003608342922010-03-19T03:18:00.000-07:002010-03-19T03:21:40.667-07:00Guest Blogger: Zach ParkerFormer roommate and worldclass playboy billionaire Zach Parker has posted something very interesting on <a href="http://www.zachparker.com/blog/">his blog</a><a href="http://www.zachparker.com/">.</a> Head over there and join in the discussion. Its a conversation about faith, God, science, and above all, logic. Go weigh in!<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Also, some housekeeping: In the interest of thwarting the ever-present threat of spammers, I've enabled comment moderation. This will keep us spam-free, as well as give me the chance to make sure the conversation stays civil here. I encourage debate and disagreement, but personal attacks and knee-jerk emotional reactions should be reeled in. A blog is a forum for sharing opinions, not hate, and I've seen too many other blogs comments sections turn into private flame-wars between two people that aren't even relevant to the post.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Without further ado:</div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 22px;"><div class="post-header" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-width: 4px; padding-bottom: 7px;"><h1 style="font-size: 2.6em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The God Delusion’s False Conclusion</h1><div class="date" id="single-date" style="color: #757575; float: none; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; font-weight: normal; padding-top: 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="color: #dddddd; font-weight: bold;">2010</span> MARCH 19</div></div><div class="meta clear" style="color: #666666; font-size: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px;"><div class="tags" style="float: right; font-style: italic; text-align: right; width: 400px;"></div><div class="author">by Zach</div></div><div class="entry clear" style="font-size: 1.3em;"><div style="font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Since the beginning of sentient man’s existence, people have wondered where they, as well as the universe, came from. For the majority of people, the answer has been simple: God (or a god, or gods) put it there. We really had no other way to explain the world. As time passed, and mankind developed science, the body of collective historical knowledge accessible to us grew. As more and more of the processes we witness were explained in technical terms, instead of as “miracles,” many began to believe that there was ultimately no reason to believe in a God; all natural phenomena could be dissected and explained. To these atheists, people who believed in any kind of supernatural or higher power were generally ignorant and easily manipulated. Religions existed for the purpose of uniting and controlling the masses. Moreover, religions weren’t just the quaint stupidities of the weak and simpleminded. They made enemies of peoples who didn’t worship the same God, leading to wars and acts of terrorism. An appeal to an authority higher and more important than any one person inspired people who were willing to kill and die to please their bloodthirsty God. Blind faith in an “invisible friend” would especially be dangerous when held by political leaders, who would therefore not govern rationally, but rather impose their beliefs on their subjects.</div><div style="font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">A fortunate or unfortunate fact, depending on one’s outlook, is that we cannot prove the existence of God. To do so would require the use of an alternate, “control” universe, in which we know for a fact that there is a God. By comparing our results, we could either lend credibility to, or disprove our hypothesis. We must remember, however, that “the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff,” meaning that not proving one hypothesis does not in itself prove its antithesis. The fact that my colleague cannot prove it is raining outside does not mean that I have proven that it is sunny. Likewise, the fact that atheism cannot be proven does not prove that there is a God.</div><div style="font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">However, the opposite of this statement is also true, because we do not have a control universe in which we know there is no God. In this case, atheism become the plaintiff case, the positive assertion of the nonexistence of God, wherein lies the burden of proof. If neither case can be experimentally proven, then the default state, or rather, the only conclusion at which we can arrive relying solely on fact we absolutely<em> know</em>, is that of <em>agnosticism</em>, the assertion that we cannot know whether or not there is a God. Aside from that, all we can do is rely on evidences for the existence or nonexistence of God, and arrive at our conclusion, just as a judge must weigh evidence for and against a given case in order arrive at a verdict. For the deistically inclined, these evidences can include personal, spiritual experiences. However, this verdict relies to some degree on faith – believing in something you can’t prove – regardless of how strong as the case for or against may be. This is a notion that the religious are used to and comfortable with, but that atheists will definitely have difficulty with. In order to satisfy ourselves with a conclusion of theism, the belief in the existence of God, or atheism, the belief in the nonexistence in God, we must rely on some amount of faith, contingent on the various empirical evidences we might have. Various arguments postulated over the centuries, from the teleological argument for the existence of an intelligent designer, to the problem of evil and its implications against the idea of an all-powerful and all-benevolent God, are merely evidences to support the feasibility of a conclusion. That conclusion, however, is ultimately sustained by faith.</div><div style="font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">The other arguments made against religions are subject to examination as well. Religion, especially national or otherwise organized, can lead to manipulation of the masses, discrimination against those “heathens” who do not share the faith, and even wars and terrorism. Leaders will govern by religious opinion, rather than by rational principle. These may be true, but looking closely, we can see that these implications could be true of an atheist society as well. The Reign of Terror under Robespierre and the Soviet Union under Stalin are two prime examples of atheist societies where discrimination, persecution, and terrorism occurred in the name of an enlightened, Godless, new order. Modern atheism, with its militant (or shall we say “evangelical”) approach can be every bit as bigoted and discriminatory as some manifestations of Christianity have been.</div><div style="font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Furthermore, these arguments are true of any factor that divides people by party lines. Perhaps as notoriously divisive as religion throughout human history is the issue of race. Countless wars have been fought in the name of asserting one race’s dominion over another. We have no further to look back than the Rwanda crisis of the early 1990’s to see a society divided by race tearing itself apart. Yet abolishing race is certainly not the answer to solving this type of crisis. Religion, like race, is not the factor that turns brother against brother. People of diverse races and religions can coexist peacefully. A manipulative demagogue, looking for a bogeyman with which to scare the masses into unified submission, will never be at a loss for such divisive factors to separate factions, whether they be religion, race, socioeconomic class, political leaning, etc.</div><div style="font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">Vilifying religion and campaigning to eliminate it will not end religious strife. Majorities have always historically persecuted minorities. They are different and therefore threatening. And, as demonstrated above, neither conclusion can be unequivocally proven. Belief is in the eye of the beholder. Closed-mindedness is the condition wherein a person is unwilling to entertain the idea that contrary views might be right, not just “those who don’t agree with me are wrong because I have SCIENCE!” The important thing is to be secure enough in one’s own belief as to not feel threatened by the beliefs of others. That is the true way to peaceful coexistence. At least, that is what I believe.</div></div></span></div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-2357073024100940432010-03-17T20:06:00.000-07:002010-03-17T20:09:47.217-07:007 Things I Hate (That Most People Love)Everyone's got a few things that everyone seems to love but you. Thanks to a bout of insomnia tonight, here are mine:<br />
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<b>7. The word "anyways".</b> It is always wrong. Always. Just say 'anyway'. <br />
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<b>6. Sports movies. </b>Am I missing something here? I just don't buy into 'winning the big game' as something that the audience needs to be emotionally invested in. And they're so formulaic. Loser team gets a new coach/quarterback/captain/funny animal player and suddenly they start winning. The underdogs (sometimes with a literal dog on the team) make it to the finals against Generic Bad Guy team who has been winning all season. Team Underdog wins at the last possible moment. Everyone hugs. There's no tension! You KNOW the outcome of the game before it even starts. Somehow watching a movie ABOUT a sport is less exciting than watching the sport itself. Think about that a moment. You're watching a movie about something that is actually less interesting than watching the thing itself. Imagine if Diehard was less exciting than a real office Christmas party. I saw Invictus last week with some of my students. Every person in the theater but me walked out of there thinking it was cinematic brilliance. Really? It was just like every other sports movie ever, except that rugby also cures racism. We already knew that American football cures racism, or am I the only one that Remembers the Titans? News Flash: Morgan Freeman playing the 'wise old black guy' and a team of underdogs winning the big game is not treading new ground.<br />
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<b>5. Harry Potter:</b> I tried to give this book a chance, I really did. Back when every book club in the country was devouring this little series I picked up the first one and gave it a go. I got about to the part where Harry makes it to Hogwarts when I realized I had read this story before as a child, except it was called Matilda. "My family is mean to me but its okay because I'm really a special child and I can use my magic powers to make everything better." Its a fun story..when you're a child. And Harry Potter works really well on that level. I just don't get why adults are camping outside waiting to find out what happens to a bunch of prepubescent British wizards. I'd put Twilight on the list too but thankfully I'm not nearly as isolated in my hatred of that literary abomination. And unlike Harry Potter, Twilight doesn't even work on the 'quality children's literature' level.<br />
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<b>4. Apple: </b>Not so much the products. I myself have an Ipod. The computers are fine if you don't mind that most computer games aren't going to be available and you're paying a lot more for the same specs a PC would give you. Its the whole idea of buying into a culture. Its like some kind of strange hipster title that you pay for. You get to call yourself a 'mac user' and smirk knowingly to other people who paid too much for their computer.<br />
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<b>3. The Olympics: </b>Honestly, this is another thing I don't get. Why in the world do we set aside a week every four years to pretend to care about sports that we never pay any attention to otherwise? Do we feel guilty that curling players (what are they called anyway...curlers?) are completely ignored when not competing for immortal glory? Does it have some kind of geopolitical significance I'm overlooking? Near as I can tell, aside from a platform to make the obligatory political gesture of boycotting the Olympics (take THAT, China's human rights policies!), they don't serve much of a function. Hitler attended the Olympics, and while it did give him a platform to make racist excuses for American gold medals, it didn't do much to stop World War II from happening. Great, so we finally can settle the question of which country produces skaters who can speed skate in a circle the fastest...Unless Jamaica is winning a bobsled race (you know how those underdog teams tend to surprise you), I'm not going to tune in.<br />
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<b>2. Gyms: </b>Someday, our descendants are going to look at this period in history and wonder how gyms were so successful. Here is a business where you pay to go do manual labor with a bunch of strangers. You know you live in an pretty decadent society when manual labor has somehow become a luxury item. We're literally so pampered that any kind of exercise has become something we'd pay for. And pay we do. Gym memberships are notoriously complicated contractual black holes that are nearly impossible to escape from. Combine that with gym representatives who are more pushy than a used car salesman to get a commitment out of you, and joining a gym is a very high pressure experience. What I hate most of all about gyms, though, is the industry that it is a part of. This is an industry that is worth billions of dollars and is based on the fact that we have very low self esteem. Magazines in the grocery store checkout aisles, diet pills, male enhancement, plastic surgery, weight loss programs, cosmetics, fashion, and gym memberships all have the same marketing plan: 1) The customer is unattractive and will die alone without our product. 2) Do we even need a step 2? Did you READ premise one?? And so, like vultures that prey on the rotting carcasses of our self worth, these businesses grow bloated on vanity and broken dreams.<br />
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<b>1. Democracy. </b>Yeah, I said it, and I'm only halfway kidding on this. Democracy, by its very definition, is rule by the average. That bell curve of intelligence puts the very smart in the minority. What does this mean when the majority is making every decision? It means that politics becomes theater, and the real issues of substance are watered down or forgotten in favor of impressing the slack-jawed masses. There's this cultural idea that you have a civic duty to vote, even if you have no idea what the issues are or what the candidates stand for. So when MTV 'rocks the vote', you get a bunch of people voting on things they are only vaguely aware of. What happens when decisions are made in ignorance? Is it good or bad for the country when policy is determined by people who are voting because they feel they have to, even if they don't know what they're voting for? I understand that democracy is better than other forms of government, but that's not really saying a lot. Some time in recent American history, it has become cool to be stupid. People are proud of their ignorance. Intelligent people are marginalized as 'elitist' and 'out of touch'. People would rather vote for the guy they could get a beer with then for someone with a high IQ (in some cases they would vote for that guy for 2 terms...) Politicians begin to sell empty buzz words like 'dream', 'change', 'hope', and 'rainbow' because the people that are voting want to feel reassured but lack the intelligence to demand substance. I could rant about the problems of 'rule by the average' all night, but the fact is, what is considered average seems to be getting less and less intelligent... I'd prefer to live in Aristotle's utopia or Plato's Republic to Obama or Palin's democracy...<br />
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There you have it...six things I hate that you probably love. And now that I've channeled all that rage into my keyboard, I can finally get some sleep. If I offended anyone...too bad. Insincere apologies would be number 8 on my list if I cared to go back and add it.Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-33533906571222369472010-03-09T13:57:00.000-08:002010-03-09T22:38:00.270-08:00How I Met Your Mother<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/How-I-Met-Your-Mother-Cast-how-i-met-your-mother-791317_1280_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/How-I-Met-Your-Mother-Cast-how-i-met-your-mother-791317_1280_1024.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>A <a href="http://metasapienmovement.blogspot.com/">friend of mine</a> recommended this show to me and, though he rarely takes <a href="http://www.fireflyfans.net/">my recommendations </a>to heart, I certainly trust his taste. Thanks to my ridiculously awesome brother, I am now in possession of four seasons of it and so far I'm loving it! At first I was skeptical...I am NOT a fan of canned laughter. It really makes the jokes less funny for me somehow. Its like I think if they have to put a laugh track in, then the joke wasn't good enough to stand on its own.<br />
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However, after the pilot episode I got over it. This is one of the smarter written sitcoms I've seen, though it isn't exactly a genre where there's a lot of competition (seriously, I challenge you to sit through a whole episode of Two and a Half Men). Its got one of my favorite people of all time: Neil Patrick Harris, and the other actors are great too. The character of Marshall, played by Jason Segel ("I Love You, Man") is great, as is his fiancee, the always adorable Alyson Hannigan (Willow of "Buffy" fame).<br />
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Its also a show that chronicles the romantic misadventures of a father recounting to his children how he met their mother (the show title doesn't leave you guessing). Its a show for anyone that's ever been the single friend watching his best friends get married while he feels single, constantly worried that it won't ever happen to him, but also strangely hopeful that it will. What is great is that you know it eventually happens to him; its a love story told in reverse. You know there's a happy ending, so you can enjoy all the pitfalls along the way.<br />
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It made me wonder, wouldn't life be great if we could live it like that? If all of these experiences we slog through now, all the heartaches, the disappointments, the comedic mishaps...they're just stories you're telling your kids that have grown humorous with the distance of time and the wisdom of perspective? I'd still prefer not to have canned laughter for mine, but...its a nice thought.<br />
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Why do I bring this up now? I just watched episode 12 of season 1, The Wedding, where this guy calls off his wedding because he wants to be single again. He wants his freedom, to be able to do what he wants. Being in a couple is hard and he's not sure if he wants to do it.<br />
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Ted, our protagonist, needs him to go through with it for his own selfish reasons (he is planning on taking the girl of his dreams as his 'plus one'). He asks his friend Marshall, the engaged guy, to talk him into it. Marshall says something very profound. He says not to marry her. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781981/" style="color: #003399;">Marshall</a></b>: Being in a couple is hard. And committing, making sacrifices; it's hard. But if it's the right person, then it's easy. Looking at that girl and knowing she's all you really want out of life, that should be the easiest thing in the world. And if it's not like that, then she's not the one. I'm sorry. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">I love that quote, it sums up exactly what I lacked the eloquence to explain in my last post. Its moments like this where I realize the show has both wit and soul...a rare thing on network television. Funny and thoughtful... Maybe that's why I'm enjoying it, we have so much in common!</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;">As a sidenote: Neil Patrick Harris is awesome. Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, and, surprisingly, James Franco, are my current favorite people in Hollywood. </span></span></span>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-49333591468813148022010-03-05T16:09:00.000-08:002010-03-05T17:31:39.497-08:00Babelfish Not NecessaryI was chatting with a <a href="http://swissmunicipal.blogspot.com/">friend</a> today and it got me thinking once again about human nature, and how we as a society try to overcomplicate things.<br /><br />In Utah, Gary Chapman's book on the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Five-Love-Languages-Heartfelt-Commitment/dp/B0035G04O8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267834697&sr=8-1">Five Languages of Love</a> is very much in vogue. Though I haven't read it, I am familiar with the premise and it has always rubbed me the wrong way. I could not put my finger on what it was exactly until today.<br /><br />For those of you not up to speed with your pop 'psychology', Chapman outlines five love 'languages' used to express affection, and postulates that many disconnects in relationships are simply the result of both people speaking a different love language. They are:<br /><br />Physical Touch.<br />Acts of Service.<br />Gifts.<br />Quality Time.<br />Words of Affirmation.<br /><br />The idea, then, is that two people could love each other equally, but not <span style="font-style:italic;">feel </span>loved simply because one is demonstrating his affection through gifts and the other through words of affirmation (for example).<br /><br />This may indeed be the case in some situations. I have no idea what Chapman's academic credentials are, but I'm going to assume they're more impressive than mine in this field. But the problem with this theory is that, in practice, it complicates what is a rather simple issue. It is then used as a rationalization to prolong failing relationships. "Its not that she doesn't love me, she just values words of affirmation more than touch and I'm quite the opposite." <br /><br />I contend that love is simpler and yet more involved than this. A healthy relationship isn't one in which you must calculate the exchange rate between caresses, compliments, and random acts of kindness. You shouldn't be wondering how many of his words equivocate one of your gestures. Love isn't an equation and you don't need Chapman's translation phrasebook to navigate its waters. Its actually a lot simpler...and therefore, sometimes it a harsher truth to face.<br /><br />Relationships are either in balance or out of balance. By this I mean, either both parties are equally invested or they are not. They say that the person who cares the least about a relationship controls the relationship. This is true, of relationships and all things. When I am driving a beat up car, I know I can be more aggressive on the road than the guy in an expensive Ferrari. He can look at my dented bumper and realize that he has a lot more to lose than I do.<br /><br />Control and power in a relationship are not happiness. In a healthy relationship, there is balance. His happiness is her's, and her's is his. Seeing that the other person is happy literally increases their own happiness. Its not a question of who is more invested in the relationship...they have achieved that state of unity that is described by Paul. They are of one heart and one mind, which is why they can be of one flesh without the complications and pain that inevitably when that first step is skipped.<br /><br />It is rare to find a relationship in balance, but I am not being naive when I say that nothing less will do in a marriage. The trick is in finding a relationship where both partners are equally invested...and in knowing when that is not the case. <br /><br />To paraphrase Michael Buble, I'd say pulling that off is about 50% timing and the other half is luck...<br /><br />Just to prove that I'm not completely cynical in matters of the heart, I'll just go ahead and say that is a good note to end on. After all, I just haven't met her yet.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1AJmKkU5POA&hl=fr_FR&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1AJmKkU5POA&hl=fr_FR&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-88026233033032570282010-02-19T12:41:00.001-08:002010-02-19T12:45:31.643-08:00Carriage Wit Classics: Paris, Its Not Just For Lovers Anymore (Day 1)In today's Carriage Wit Classics, I'm revisiting my first trip to Paris, two and a half years ago.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs021.snc3/10865_701073106889_17815076_39075106_2357011_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 453px; height: 604px;" src="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs021.snc3/10865_701073106889_17815076_39075106_2357011_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Paris: Its not just for lovers anymore (Day 1)<br />This weekend I checked off another of my life 'to-do' list and visited Paris. I had spent several weeks already looking at the photos posted by friends of mine who are studying in Paris, so I had a hunger to experience the famous French capitol for myself. Though I wasn't able to meet with said friends, I was able to go with some friends from the program here in Brussels.<br /><br />The following is a bit of a travelogue, mostly for the benefit of my mother and anyone else curious to hear of my impressions of the City of Lights. Pictures may be added later, as I scan my archaic disposable images into digital format or figure out how to transfer photos from my phone.<br /><br />I decided I would be 'roughing it' this trip, foregoing a shower and change of clothes in favor of traveling light. I had my wallet, cellphone (unusable except as a watch and camera), train ticket, and my visa on my person. Before you turn up your collective noses in disgust at my hygienic sacrifice of a shower, let me remind you of the saying that begins "When in Rome..."<br /><br /> We left Brussels around 8 in the AM, catching a high speed train and arriving in Paris around 10:30. From there our first stop was the Eiffel Tower, iconic symbol of Paris. From the top, I was able to see the vast city in all its splendor, as well as plan out the rest of the day with my party of five: Jeff, a reserved, but friendly fellow on his second trip to Paris, Kamil, another Paris veteran from Poland who helped serve as guide on the trip, Odina, a girl from Izbekistan who was quite possibly even more excited to be in Paris than I was, and Dave, a Minnesota native with a penchant for tennis. We decided our next stop would be l'Arc de Triomphe.<br /><br />After a brief visit to the arc we headed down the famed Champs Elysee and made our way eventually to our hotel room, just down the street from the infamous Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge happened to be located on what Obi Wan would call "a wretched hive of scum and villainy." Sex stores, porno shoppes, and everything else you could possibly associate with everyone's favorite deadly sin filled both sides of the street.<br /><br />We climbed quaint side streets, making our way to la Basilique Sacre-Coeur, a chapel on the hill on the edge of Paris that was not far from our humble abode. The cathedral was as massive as it was impressive, and the view of the city from the hill was panoramic and stunning. The true thrill of this area was a young European musician who had gathered a crowd of more than a hundred tourists around him. He sang covers of famous American rock songs as he played his amped guitar, accompanied by a random, very strange looking girl who convulsed comically in what we took to be dance. From the 'trying not to laugh' expression of our young artist's face, she was a stranger to him as well. The ambiance of a setting sun over Paris, sitting on the steps of a large cathedral while music is played behind you made us all want to stop and simply enjoy the moment. There is something about Paris that makes one feel more...artistic? Tranquil? The whole experience was soothing, almost spiritual, and certainly a welcome reprieve of the rush of touring the city.<br /><br />As we were leaving, I had the pleasure of dealing with Senegalese con men. They stopped us and began to create for us "authentic African bracelets" while repeating "hakuna matata". He asked me to make a wish, which I did (and kept secret, of course). When the entire bracelet was finished, I was wearing a pretty cool looking string bracelet of interposing green, yellow and red (Senegal's colors, I was informed). He then demanded 10 euros for the service (nearly 14 US dollars). Meeting a con with a lie, I told him that all I had on my was three Euro, and escaped without paying the demanded price. Little did I know that the bracelet truly was lucky, and worth every centime.<br /><br />That night, after a quick meal of (relatively) cheap Turkish food, we made our way back to the Eiffel Tower to see it light up at night. It was a sight to be remembered, and even the manliest of males in our group had to admit to ourselves in secret that it was a romantic one. I sat in the yard behind the tower and just watched it, content in the cool evening air. Around me, hundreds of other travelers did the same, some sipping wine pensively, others chatting animatedly with their friends. <br /><br />"My boy-friend" a girl's emphatic voice broke my musings causing me to turn around. Three girls, American tourists from the looks of them, were being hit on by three somewhat sleazy looking local guys. "I do too have a boyfriend." The cutest of the three insisted. "And I love him very much. He should be right back. " From her awkward polite smile and her constant referencing to a boyfriend that even the boys, in their broken English, knew to be fictitious, I realized that they were not enjoying the attention. Flashing back to my hero training, I realized that these were damsels in distress, the genuine article.<br /><br />After another moment's hesitation, I decided to try something I'd only ever seen work in the movies. I stepped up, walked away, circled around, and sat down next to the cute girl getting the most attention and wrapped my arm around her back. "Hey hon," I said, taking a seat. "Sorry that took so long...who are these guys?" I locked eyes with the girl, hoping that she'd realize the ruse and play along. After a flicker of a questioning glance, dawning realization filled her pretty blue eyes and she smiled warmly. "No problem...I don't know, they just got here."<br /><br />The guys were a bit suspicious at first, and for a moment, I was afraid my bluff had failed. The girl must've sensed that as well, and became a bit more affectionate to add credibility to our tale. Slipping into French, I told them that we were indeed dating and that hitting on my girlfriend is not cool. They apologized and asked me to translate a message to her friends. I told them that they were not interesting in learning how to 'french kiss' and that they are blocking our view of the Tower. I was polite, but stern, and I think I got the message across because they apologized and left, moving to stand behind us about 25 yards. <br /><br />"Thank you so much!" All three gushed when they were out of earshot.<br /><br />"How did you know we were in trouble?" My 'girlfriend' asked gratefully. <br /><br />"I overheard you mentioning a boyfriend three times in one breath," I grinned. "It wasn't hard to figure out he wasn't real. How long have you been in Paris?"<br /><br />"Just an hour," She admitted.<br /><br />"Wow!" I gasped, glancing surreptitiously over my shoulder to their fleeing admirers. "Already three of them? Well done!"<br /><br />We commenced covert introductions (keeping the shaking of hands down so as not to arouse suspicions that we were indeed strangers). They were very pleased to learn I was a fellow American and I found out they were college students who had taken the summer off to nanny in Italy. They had just finished and were backpacking Europe before the next semester started. They wanted to know how I knew French, to which I responded that I used to live in France, and still knew enough of the language to save damsels in distress when the occasion demanded it. I filled them in on my story and we enjoyed the ambiance of the Eiffel Tower, chatting quietly for an hour or two. From their laughter and interest I realized that Paris grants extra wit and charm to any swashbuckler daring enough to call upon such virtues. Eventually, my group had to leave so I said my farewells, telling them to be careful and wishing them a pleasant Paris experience.<br /><br />I walked back to the metro with a bemused glance at my lucky Senegalese bracelet.<br /><br />Unfortunately, it was so late by the time I left the girls that the metros were closed. I managed to hail a cab, and most of our intrepid band boarded. I opted to stay behind with Odina and Kamil, in case my French abilities would be needed. We walked quite awhile, finding another cab nearly an hour later. This cab driver was from Algeria, and extremely happy to have such an international group in his cab. I impressed him with my French, before Kamil revealed he knew a few conversational Arabic phrases, much to our driver's delight. The final surprise came when Odina revealed to him that she too was Muslim. Praising Allah for his fortune at meeting us, our driver promptly deposited us at the hotel for the night, after a pleasant drive through the city. <br /><br />Day one was over and I collapsed into the tiny room I shared with Jeff and Dave. The room was hot, but sleep and dreams came quickly and carried me away. The hour was late and morning would come all too soon...Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-50208621162491426552010-02-17T14:19:00.000-08:002010-02-17T14:43:45.826-08:00France ruins Star Wars forever...It started innocently enough. I had heard a girl tell me that Darth Vader was the sexiest man in Star Wars. Not Han Solo...not even Chewie, but Darth "Mouth Breather" Vader! This got me thinking... what's the appeal? He's definitely a tall guy, and he's got that power thing going for him. Plus there's the whole "I am you father" bit for girls with daddy issues. Maybe it was his silken, Barry White voice, intimidating for Rebel Scum but just smooth enough to be seductive when played with some cool jazz..<br /><br />A google search of "Darth Vader is a sexy man" brought up many links I was too afraid to click on, and then a clip of a youtube video about Star Wars and France. I myself enjoy Star Wars and I just got done defending France, so I thought I'd take a look.<br /><br />Warning: This video will give you nightmares. The images you are about to see will never leave your mind. They will haunt your subconscious. It is the equivalent of taking a beloved childhood memory and violating it in horrible ways behind an old toolshed. France, I don't know what George Lucas ever did to you to make you want to create a Star Wars...space ballet... Were you trying to make something worse than the Star Wars Holiday Special? Because if so...I think you succeeded.<br /><br />This is what Palpatine meant when he said the Dark Side is a path to abilities many consider to be unnatural. You have been warned.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i9jz0G-RrDs&hl=fr_FR&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i9jz0G-RrDs&hl=fr_FR&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-47047925829184476602010-02-14T11:24:00.001-08:002010-02-14T16:14:06.121-08:00Might as well face it, you're addicted to love!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Happy Valentine's Day, one and all. Christian martyrdom really gets people in the mood for romance, apparently. Also..chocolate. Many of you are probably enjoying a big red, heart-shaped box of Russian Roulette style chocolates right now. You know what I'm talking about....it might be delicious or you might grab one that's filled with toothpaste, but you're willing to take the chance.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.paraorkut.com/img/pics/images/h/heart_chocolates-11817.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 343px;" src="http://images.paraorkut.com/img/pics/images/h/heart_chocolates-11817.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Do you feel lucky, punk?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Chocolate is a very apt symbol for romance, and not just because of its purported aphrodisiac </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">properties</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It's a food that we enjoy..its a comfort food, it's easy, it makes us feel safe, and its pleasant. It's also mildly addictive. We know we should snack on something healthier, but how often do we reach for an apple when there's chocolate in the room? We love the way chocolate makes us feel, even though its ultimately bad for us. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">People often treat relationships the same way. They get addicted to them, especially the ones that are bad for us. How many girls do you know who still pine for the cute guy who treated her like garbage? How many guys do you see who keep going back to the ex who broke his heart? They're familiar. They're attractive. We like the way we feel about ourselves when we're with them. Lust comes into play...but like an addiction to chocolate, these relationships are ultimately unhealthy and could even be dangerous.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This Valentine's Day, eat an apple. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Girls: There's someone special in your life who lacks the dangerous bad-boy glitz of the cute a-hole, but makes up for it by being a guy who would never hurt you, who's sensitive, funny, honest, or possesses any of those other qualities you wrote on your 'my future husband' list as a sunday schoolgirl. Chances are he's been there for you the whole time and you never gave him a second glance with all the chocolate temptations in cupboard. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Guys: Same story. Leave the psychotic yet dangerously sexy ex in your past where she belongs. Maybe there's a girl-next-door in your life that could potentially be something more? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">And everyone, there's nothing wrong with being single for a little while. We all have that friend who is so addicted to having a 'special someone' in his or her life that they can't bear to be alone. They're prone to awkward rebound relationships or crawling back to ex's just to avoid that feeling of not having someone to play the 'No, you hang up first' game with on the phone. Don't be that person. Developing yourself as an individual, being able to define yourself as a person instead of as part of a couple, is not only a healthy trait but also an attractive one. You may start to attract a higher class of ladies (or gents) when you've become a person instead of someone's 'better half'. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">When you are ready to enter the exciting and sometimes awkward world of dating again, don't forget what Montaigne said: "If there is such a thing as a good marriage, it is because it resembles frien</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">dship rather than love."</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Marrying your best friend is a cliche for a reason. It's pretty much the best way to start a life together. Think for a moment about who you go to when you're scared, who cheers you up when you're sad, who makes you laugh, and who you feel safest with. That's your apple. Go ahead and have a bite. You might find you don't need junk food anymore.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-78132279794274638462010-02-12T01:05:00.001-08:002010-02-12T03:04:48.791-08:00Carriage Wit Classics: In Defense of a NationSo I've committed to actually updating this blog faithfully. Think of it as a New Year's Resolution that avoids lofty levels of self-improvement. However, sometimes there's just not a lot to report or I'm busy. So I'm starting a series called "Carriage Wit Classics" which will be reposting of older things I've written on other blogs in days gone by. It should be new to most of you, however. Think of it as a 'best of' CD.<br /><br />Okay, so my friend JT has committed some pretty serious blasphemies in the past. I guess that's an understatement. Blasphemy is kind of the theme of his web page. For the most part, I let it go. He's harmless. However, this time, he went too far. He's calling for a boycott of France. That's right, nation of swashbuckling adventure, style, wit, and fashion, simply because he couldn't wrap his barbaric lips around its melodic language.<br /><br />So, naturally, its time to remind him and every other band wagon jumping Ricky Bobby American that its not cool to hate the French. They can eat their freedom fries somewhere else, because without France, we wouldn't have had:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Democracy</span><br /> The writings of philosophes Rousseau, Montesquieu, and others were heavily influential on the British colonists, and is reflected in Thomas Jefferson's writings.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Independence </span><br /> France bankrupted itself sending troops, supplies, and more importantly, a freaking navy (turns out you need one of those to win a war against an island empire, America), to save our trash during our little revolution. Without France, the British blockade would've starved us out faster than you can say 'we ran out of hard tack'.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. The Statue of Liberty</span><br /> "Hey guys, we're already really poor and our government is falling apart because we spent so much money on your revolutionary war, but we thought we'd all chip in and buy you this enormous freaking statue to put in your harbor, so you can, you know, be taken seriously as a promised land for the downtrodden" (this was before the infamous 'build a fence across the border to Mexico' plans were being discussed)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4.LaFayette</span><br /> Think of him as a younger, less wooden-teethed, sexier swashbuckling version of George Washington. With a rapier. And he probably swung around on ropes and stuff.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. French Kissing</span><br /> And several other erotic techniques we won't go into here, in the interest of keeping this place PG-13.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. Removing Theocracy from the political sphere</span><br /> That crap started with Rousseau before Kant (a disciple of Rousseau) ran with it. So basically everything JT believes in has its roots in 18th century French philosophy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">7.Alizee</span><br /> Ironically, one of the most atheistic countries in the world also gives us proof that God exists:<br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.do"><br /></a> <a target="_blank" href="http://photo.xanga.com/Gavilan/12852188962799/photo.html"><img title="alizee" style="border-style: none; border-width: 0px;" src="http://x12.xanga.com/852f03e159136188962799/z145291853.jpg" height="400" /></a><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fuOyczxZMys&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fuOyczxZMys&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br />If you've ever enjoyed the female night elf's dance social, you have France's Alizee to thank for that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8. Kyo</span><br />Another French band that's not as easy on the eyes but excellent listening.<br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iQXKZHejSWs&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iQXKZHejSWs&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">9. Gérard </span><b style="font-weight: bold;">Depardieu</b><br /> Great French actor who also portrayed the middle-aged Porthos in the Man in the Iron Mask.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">10: Swashbuckling!</span><br /> Speaking of Porthos, France is the country where authors like Dumas produced the Three Musketeers, the Man in the Iron Mask, and a whole genre of cloak and dagger swashbuckling adventure that's only been rarely duplicated in other countries. Props to Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel for following in France's high booted, swaggering footsteps.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">11: French bread!</span><br /> Or what passes for it in America.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">12: Loreal, cosmetics and perfume in general</span><br /> You know that hot girl you saw in campus the other day? The one that didn't stink and her face was smooth and perfect. Say thank you the next time you see a Frenchman walking along the street. Before France we had to deal with the odors and sights nature intended us to deal with. Let's just say most people were conceived looong after dark. With noseplugs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">12: Debussy</span><br /> As in Claude. As in Clair de Lune. As in that song from Ocean's 11. Yeah, <span style="font-style: italic;">that </span>Debussy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">13: The Nationstate</span><br /> As in..strong centralized government while Germany, Spain, and Italy were still a loose conglomerate of sometimes warring/sometimes trading city-states? As in the cradle of modern civilization after the fall of the Roman Empire?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">14: The French Language</span><br /> Despite JT's inability to grasp its grammar, (it WAS rated a 3 out of 5 difficulty on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.howtolearnanylanguage.com" target="_new">www.howtolearnanylanguage.com</a> ...right between Spanish and Russian), my completely scientific survey of whatever random girls were passing by at the moment ranks French as the sexiest language in existence, followed by Italian in close second, and Spanish and German coming in somewhere near the bottom, over Hmong and Pig Latin.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">15: Analytic Geometry, and by extension, Calculus</span><br /> I'm no math fan, but I understand its pretty important for like...engineering or something. Or making cash registers work. I'm not really sure. But apparently Descartes not only was a founding father of modern philosophy, he also bridged the gap between algebra and geometry with his crazy magic spell formula like theorems, and was in turn crucial to the development of Calculus. So the next time your cash register operator gives you back correct change or you cross a bridge without it exploding or folding into a pretzel, you can thank France for that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">16: Mother Goose</span><br /> And you KNOW your mom would have run out of things to tell you at night if it weren't for Mother Goose's tales being public domain.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">17. Victor Freaking Hugo</span><br /> Did you ever enjoy the musical Les Miserables? Turns out those are French words, written by a French person, about a historical event from France. For that matter, the Phantom of the Opera also takes place in France. The Scarlet Pimpernel? Largely takes place in France. Without France, Broadway musicals would take place largely in homosexual student apartments and outside with dancing anthropomorphic cats (which I understand is becoming a very common fetish)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">18: High Art</span><br /> I'm talking Monet, Renoir, Picasso, and half a dozen other painters who were either French or did most of their work in France (looking at you, DaVinci). There's a reason the Louvre is in Paris and not...Berlin.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">19: Braille</span><br /> If you're reading this, you probably haven't had to use Braille, but I understand its incredibly awesome for blind people who want to read.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">20: Milk that doesn't make you sick when you drink it</span><br /> Louis Pasteur...Pasteurization... I won't spell this one out for you.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">21: Marie Curie</span><br /> French citizen, pretty much discovered radiation and harnessed its awesome powers. Without radiation, we wouldn't have: Ninja Turtles, the Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, and a host of other super-heroes. So basically, we'd be living slaves for the Legion of Doom or whatever other supervillain team-up got its act together and took over our superhero-less world.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">22: The Louisiana Purchase</span><br /> Say what you will about Napoleon, his drive to conquer the world needed funding and we needed an awesomely cheap deal on about a quarter of present day America.<br /><a target="_blank" href="about:blank"><img title="" style="border-style: none; border-width: 0px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/National-atlas-1970-1810-loupurchase-1.png" /></a><br />That part in dark green? Including Arkansas? Yeah we got that for about 23 million dollars. Works out to like..I don't know..3 cents an acre. Merci, la France.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">23: Opposing the Iraq War (before it was cool)</span><br /><br /> Remember when the whole "Freedom Fries" thing started? 2003-2004?<br />Remember <span style="font-style: italic;">why </span>the whole thing started? They thought going to war in<br />Iraq was unjustified, ill conceived, and over-all,<span style="font-style: italic;"> probably a bad idea. </span>Good<br />thing we didn't listen to them, and instead made fun of how cowardly<br />the French are. We sure proved them wrong. That's right, back when<br />all your favorite democrats (looking at you, Madame Clinton) were<br />voting for war, the French were like 'hey guys....probably not a good<br />idea to just run in there guns ablaze.."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">24. The Air Car</span><br /> Hey remember how the oil industry is dominating Congress and rising gas prices and global warming are all cause for concern in America? Don't worry, guys, France has got us covered. Presenting the Air Car...a car that runs completely on compressed air for 100 miles, or on 8 gallons of gas and compressed air for a 1000. All for the price of a mid-end car...around 16000 dollars. Coming to your garage in 2010. For more information on how you won't have to get eviscerated at the gas pump, check out the article in <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html" target="_new">Popular Mechanics.</a><br /><br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.do"><br /></a> So yeah, just some information. The list could go on indefinitely, but 24 is my favorite number so we'll stop there. If you want to boycott France, be prepared to give up all its sweet contributions to your life. Anyway, the French workweek is 35 hours so I gotta clock out to take a nap, sip some wine, and enjoy some fine cuisine.<br /><br />Au revoir, suckahs.Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-36772012741211591222010-02-08T02:30:00.000-08:002010-02-16T05:49:38.092-08:00One of the Greatest Tragedies of the Modern EraFirst off, a random bit of trivia. French high school students love Taylor Swift. Or maybe just the ones living in the rural areas of southern France. I suppose it makes sense, you can generally tell how popular country music is going to be by the number of farm animals in the region. <div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/dre0895l.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/dre0895l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /></div><div>Anyway, I was teaching my students here about the differences in the American high school system and that of the French. One of the major differences is the whole 'clique' system we have in the U.S. You know, the whole 'nerd' 'jock' 'preppy' 'emo' division of students into like-minded groups, as seen in the hard hitting documentary from the early 90's, "Saved by the Bell". <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://intensities.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/screech9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 466px;" src="http://intensities.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/screech9.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Dustin Diamond portraying the gritty realism of the 'nerd'.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://chuionthis.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/ac-slater.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 333px; height: 429px;" src="http://chuionthis.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/ac-slater.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">A "Jock" displaying his plumage</span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://weblogs.cltv.com/entertainment/tv/metromix/zack_morris4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://weblogs.cltv.com/entertainment/tv/metromix/zack_morris4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">A "Preppy". Not pictured: Ginormous Cellphone</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div>They simply don't do that here, and the whole concept was hard for them to wrap their minds around. You'd think after a history of being divided into nobility, clergy, and peasants, they would not have forgotten the idea of social hierarchy so quickly, but I guess that just goes to show the Revolution was pretty thorough at stamping out obvious caste systems (though they still exist, look at the ENA).</div><div><br /></div><div>To illustrate this almost cliche idea of 'cliques' I showed them a music video, "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift. Its the all-too-familiar story of the impossible love between a nerd and a jock. As an aside, I love these movies/stories where the 'nerdy' girl is in reality incredibly beautiful, but no one can see it because she has glasses and frumpy clothes. (They satire this in "Not Another Teen Movie"). Not recognizing that a girl like Taylor Swift is beautiful until she gets dolled up for the Homecoming Dance is like not recognizing Clark Kent is Superman because he's wearing glasses. It's just really funny and it shows up in pretty much every teen movie ever made.</div><div><br /></div><div>Returning to our sheep, as they say in French, after the lesson some of the students were asking about other Taylor Swift songs. That having been the only one I'd ever seen, I did some youtubing and discovered "Love Story".</div><div><br /></div><div>Just to reaffirm my manhood, (which is already in jeapordy because I'm blogging about Taylor Swift today), this was strictly work-related research and I did not enjoy the song overly much.</div><div><br /></div><div>That having been said...I'm going to go out on a limb and ask :<b>"Why in the world don't we dress like that anymore??"</b></div><div><br /></div><div>There's no denying that the girls look beautiful in old style dresses like that. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cmt.com/sitewide/assets/img/artists/swift_taylor/photo_gallery/love_story/love_story_01-x600.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 609px;" src="http://www.cmt.com/sitewide/assets/img/artists/swift_taylor/photo_gallery/love_story/love_story_01-x600.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>I mean, that's half the fun of prom for them is getting to feel like a princess and dress up in something elegant. And hey, I can understand that it's probably not incredibly comfortable. Maybe they prefer function over fashion now. That's fine.</div><div><br /></div><div>But men, why on earth did we abandon the cravat and wescoat? Is it that much less comfortable than the business suits, ties and white button up shirts we wear now? Are we just too scared to wear a bit of lace around the sleeves or collar? Because that style is undeniably chic. </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cmt.com/shared/promoimages/bands/s/swift_taylor/love_story/320x240.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.cmt.com/shared/promoimages/bands/s/swift_taylor/love_story/320x240.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /></div><div>How cool would it be to walk around and all the men are dressed like they walked out of a Dumas novel, or even Jane Austen? Maybe we'd all even get to wear rapiers on our sides and duel each other for perceived slights on our honor! Okay, maybe that'd be a little much...but a guy can dream, can't he?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> Instead somehow we've gone from this:</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.friendsoffirth.com/pride/darcy_ok.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 439px; height: 636px;" src="http://www.friendsoffirth.com/pride/darcy_ok.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> to this:</div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thinningtheherd.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/typical-douchebag2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 391px;" src="http://thinningtheherd.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/typical-douchebag2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div>And that, dear friends, is one of the greatest tragedies of the modern era.</div><div><br /></div><div>Come on, men. Let's bring it back! Let's man up and put a little lace on the cuff. Remember Sir Percy Blackeney's immortal words <b>"La! But someone has to strike a pose and bear the weight of well tailored clothes, and that is why the Lord created Man!"</b></div><div><br /></div><div>PS: Finding images of the guy's wardrobe from that video online is fairly impossible. Turns out Taylor Swift is the star of that show. So to get a better idea of what I'm talking about, check out the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xg3vE8Ie_E">video</a>. After rewatching it I'm wondering why we don't dance like that anymore either? Sure beats 'bumpin' and grindin' at the club as the girls have a good time shaking their hips while various guys compete to rub their crotches on them in a dark, overly crowded room.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i41.tinypic.com/347twcl.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 720px; height: 416px;" src="http://i41.tinypic.com/347twcl.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><br /></div><div>P.P.S: I just realized another of the great tragedies of the modern era. Saved by the Bell is no longer on the air five times a day.</div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-68213907055792278592010-02-04T04:48:00.000-08:002010-02-04T06:18:30.944-08:00Sometimes it hits you: You're an old manAs most of you know, I am working as a teacher at a middle school and high school in France. Not to say I'm a straight up official teacher with tests and homework. I'm more like that American they bring in 12 hours a week to speak English with the kids. <div><br /></div><div>Well, on occasion I do cover for the other teachers. One teacher recently asked me to watch her class of...I guess the equivalent would be 5th graders, so she could go see her mother in the hospital. She gave me the movie the "Lion King" and told me to show it to them. Easy enough, right? Its like babysitting...if you were babysitting twenty something kids at once, and one of them threw up halfway through the film. But that's a story for another time...</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway as we're watching the film, the kids are constantly asking me to switch it to French or to at least turn on subtitles so they can understand it. No can do, I explain to the rugrats. It doesn't have French dubbing or subtitles. Its a VHS, a cassette tape...looks like it came out about the same time as the movie itself. </div><div><br /></div><div>Still they persisted. "Turn on the subtitles please! Can you put it in French?" Again I explained that it was impossible because it was not a DVD. "Sure its possible, just go to the 'menu'. It should be under options"</div><div><br /></div><div>That's when I realized something....</div><div><br /></div><div>Holy crap, these kids have never had to deal with VHS before. They just assume if I hit 'menu' on the remote control, it will bring up a list of special features and chapter selection. I tried to explain that DVDs can do that but VHS doesn't have that feature...that this was not a DVD at all but a tape...but they just couldn't wrap their heads around it.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm teaching an entire generation who has never had to deal with VHS! They've never had to rewind the movies they rented before they returned them to the store! They've never had to blow on the cartridges of their video games to get them to work...They've never made a mix tape for a girl they liked or had to handroll the film on a cassette tape because it got tangled up in the player. They've never seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off. There's never been in a time for them when Saved by the Bell was on five times a day.</div><div><br /></div><div>They've never had to use an Encyclopedia to write a paper for school. They have no idea what the Dewey Decimal System is. They've never played Oregon Trail or tracked down Carmen Sandiego based on what currency she changed her money into. They don't even HAVE different currencies for half the countries Carmen hangs out in anymore, they're all on the Euro. They've never known a world without email, without cell phones, without instant messaging...</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a rude awakening...its only a matter of time before I'm yelling at kids to get off my lawn.</div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-65453508157696067262010-02-02T15:29:00.000-08:002010-02-02T15:50:07.310-08:00Strange PresentimentToday I was struck by a vague sense of loss; an inescapable longing for something that I never knew but may have unwittingly stumbled past. The full impact of its nature is lost on me, my ignorance now acting as a merciful shield against some truth too painful to truly absorb. <div><br /></div><div>Instead there is only a dull sense of remorse, that bitter cocktail of nostalgia and regret. The feeling came about unexpectedly, and will shortly be drowned out in the white noise of living. I do not even have a name for what I am mourning. Or perhaps who? </div><div><br /></div><div>John Greenleaf Whittier once wrote: For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, "It might have been". Despite what Clarence and the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future would have you believe, the cruelest fate is to know what might have been when it can no longer be.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-80053030347981434502010-01-18T04:08:00.000-08:002010-01-18T05:34:19.538-08:00"The Content of Their Character"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bigdaddyseashell.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/martin-luther-king-jr.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 332px; height: 411px;" src="http://bigdaddyseashell.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/martin-luther-king-jr.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">King, demonstrating his patented 'the wink and the gun' </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">maneuver for picking up the ladies.</span></div><br /><br />Today we celebrate the life and death of a great man, a man who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that all men could be equal. Orator, visionary, martyr...the legend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is celebrated across the country. The only American to have his own federal holiday, I remember learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in hushed, reverent tones from teachers who spoke of him as a sort of prophet of the civil rights movement.<br /><br />The image of the impassioned King giving a fiery speech for liberty is a powerful symbol that has been used for good. Unfortunately, as is the case with so many myths, the man behind the symbol is far less impressive.<br /><br />King dreamt of a world where men could be judged "not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". What was the content of his character?<br /><br />Martin Luther King, (legally named Michael, though Martin Luther has a better ring to it for a Protestant preacher), was a dishonest man. The true measure of a person's character is not what they say, or even how they act, it is how they act when they think nobody is watching. Oprah Winfrey said something similar: "Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not." It is one thing to preach virtue from the pulpit, another to practice it in your own life.<br /><br />In the 1980's, the <a href="http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/">Martin Luther King Papers Project</a> uncovered <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20070808024857/http://chem-gharbison.unl.edu/mlk/chronology.html">evidence </a> that King's dissertation for his Ph.D in Theology from Boston University, "A Comparison of the Perception of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman" was plagiarized. The university of Boston made an official inquiry and <a href="http://www.snopes.com/history/american/mlking.asp">admitted the same:</a><br /><br />"We had many of the same professors, we worked in the same atmosphere during our graduate studies," said John Cartwright, an MLK scholar and member of the committee that investigated his plagiarism allegations, "under no circumstances would the atmosphere under which he did his work condone what Doctor King did. It's incredible. He was not unaware of the correct procedure. This wasn't just done out of ignorance."<br /><br />Because this was discovered after his death, and because there would probably be riots in the streets if they did, Boston chose not to revoke his doctorate.<br /><br />Still, according to <a href="http://www.cracked.com/article_17198_5-great-men-who-built-their-careers-plagiarism.html">Robert Evans</a>, perhaps the most notable example of plagiarism is his famouse "I Have a Dream" speech. The general tone, and several direct lines, were lifted right out of the speech of another activist, Archibald Carey.<br /><br />Theodore Pappas presents a detailed accusation in his book, Plagiarism and the Culture War. Most of the issue centers around the closing lines.<br /><br />Here's how King's speech ended;<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, 'My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.' And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring."</span><br /><br />Compare it to Carey's speech:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"We, Negro Americans, sing with all loyal Americans: My country 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, Land of the Pilgrims' pride From every mountainside Let freedom ring!<br /><br />That's exactly what we mean--from every mountain side, let freedom ring. Not only from the Green Mountains and White Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire; not only from the Catskills of New York; but from the Ozarks in Arkansas, from the Stone Mountain in Georgia, from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia--let it ring not only for the minorities of the United States, but for the disinherited of all the earth--may the Republican Party, under God, from every mountainside, LET FREEDOM RING!"</span><br /><br />Academic dishonesty is normally anathema to a doctor. How much worse, than, is marital infidelity in a preacher? King was under investigation by the FBI for ties with Communist organizations throughout the country. Who wasn't, right? It was the 60's. The files regarding his ties to communism and any treacherous activity he may or may not have engaged in are sealed until 2027. However, these investigations led to another discovery: King, married father of four, would frequently indulge in extra-marital affairs. Audio and visual recordings proved that King had a lot of love to go around, and civil rights groupies can be just as enthusiastic as rock and roll groupies when it comes to showing how much they appreciate your work. Whether you consider this a sin or a character flaw, King himself taught against such actions.<br /><br />Ralph David Abernathy, King's close friend, addressed these recordings in his biography <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060161922?ie=UTF8&tag=urbanlegendsrefe&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0060161922">"And The Walls Came Tumbling Down":</a><br /><br /><blockquote>Much has been written in recent years about my friend's weakness for women. Had others not dealt with the matter in such detail, I might have avoided any commentary. Unfortunately, some of these commentators have told only the bare facts without suggesting the reasons why Martin might have indulged in such behavior. They have also left a false impression about the range of his activities.<br /><br />Martin and I were away more often than we were at home; and while this was no excuse for extramarital relations, it was a reason. Some men are better able to bear such deprivations than others, though all of us in SCLC headquarters had our weak moments. <span style="font-style:italic;">We all understood and believed in the biblical prohibition against sex outside of marriage.</span> It was just that he had a particularly difficult time with that temptation.<br /></blockquote> (emphasis added)<br /><br />Though I personally believe that disloyalty in a committed relationship is wrong and a sign of a flawed character, I am not asking you to make that leap with me. Perhaps some of you view it as a harmless indulgence. However, King's character, his integrity, can only be judged from the perspective of his own self-proclaimed moral code. Remember, integrity is measured by your faithfulness to what you believe to be right and wrong. By that standard, he falls woefully short.<br /><br />The great irony here is that these facts about the hero of the civil rights movement are never taught, or even widely known. Any sort of attempt to besmirch the legend surrounding the good 'doctor' is met with horrified allegations of racism and displays of emotion. People do not like finding out their heroes are human, or that man behind the curtain is no wonderful wizard of Oz. Perhaps this will take more time, after all, it is only recently that scholarship has begun to delve into the more sordid details about the lives of other mythical figures, the founding fathers, (Thomas Jefferson's affair with his slaves is more of a historical cliche than taboo now).<br /><br />It is possible to honor the concepts the man championed without honoring the man himself. I for one refuse to judge Martin Luther King, Jr just by "the color of his skin" (black leader of the civil rights), and instead will view him based on "the content of his character" (adulterous, cheating fraud).<br /><br />I await the angry, emotional comments. Have a pleasant holiday and enjoy your day off.<br /><br />If you'd like to read more, most of the research into this came from resources found at <a href="http://www.snopes.com/history/american/mlking.asp">www.snopes.com.</a>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-48118398518628575102010-01-15T14:02:00.000-08:002010-01-15T16:00:29.195-08:00Palin Quits Job as Alaskan Governor to Give Fox Talking HeadRemember when Palin gave Alaska her two weeks notice? She left her stunned electorate with a rambling, almost non-coherent melange of mixed sports metaphors and vague insinuations that an evil conspiracy was forcing her from power. She left me breathing a sigh of relief that she hadn't landed in a position where she was one old-age induced heart attack away from being the most powerful human being on Earth. I wonder how long before that job wasn't fun anymore and she quit, rather than choosing to operate under 'politics as usual'?<br /><br />"I'm not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual,'' she said in Wasilla Friday afternoon, at an hour when many Americans were heading out of town for the holiday weekend. "I promised four years ago and I meant it, that's not what is best for Alaska at this time. I'm determined to take the right path for Alaska, even though it is unconventional and it's not so comfortable, and with this announcement that I'm not seeking reelection, I've decided it's best to transfer the authority of governor to Lt. Gov. [Sean] Parnell, and I am willing to do this so that this administration with its positive agenda and its accomplishments and its successful road to an incredible future for Alaska, so that it can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success. My choice is to take a stand and effect change and not just hit our head against the wall and watch valuable state time and money – millions of your dollars – go down the drain in this new political environment. Rather, we know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time, and actually make a difference for our priorities and so we will, for Alaskans and for Americans. Let me go back quickly to a comfortable analogy for me, and that's sports – basketball – and I use it because you are naïve if you don't see a full-court press from the national level picking away right now a good point guard.''<br /><br />Apparently her idea of creating change outside of politics and breaking away from 'business as usual' is to become one of many conservative talking heads on Fox News. And apparently Fox News was only one of many news networks courting this renegade maverick, or 'renerick', if the word I just coined sticks.)<br /><br />Let's hope she gets better writers because her "I quit" speech just got more confusing as she went on:<br /><br />Referring to herself in the third person, Palin continued on in a rage: "Here's what she does. She drives through a full-court press, protecting the ball, keeping her head up because she needs to keep her eye on the basket and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can win, and that is what I'm doing, keeping our eye on the ball – those represent sound priorities – remember, they include energy independence and smaller government, national security and freedom, and I know when it's time to pass the ball for victory and I've given my reasons now, very candidly and truthfully, and my last day won't be for another few weeks so the transition will be very smooth.''<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.politicsdaily.com/media/2009/07/sarahpalinb.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 345px; height: 512px;" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.politicsdaily.com/media/2009/07/sarahpalinb.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Coach Palin: "Basically she goes for the full court defense, keeps her eyes on the ball, never stops believin', holds onto those feelings, and in the end you find out Michael's Secret Stuff was just normal Gatoride. That's right, Alaska, the real power was in her the whole time."</span></span></div><br /><br />"All I can ask is that you trust me with this decision,'' she went on, "and know that it's no more politics as usual. And some Alaskans it seemed today maybe they don't mind wasting public dollars and state time but I do and I cannot stand here as your governor and allow the millions of dollars and all that time to go to waste just so that I can hold the title of governor, and I don't know that my children are going to allow it anyway. Some are going to question the timing of this and let me just say this decision has been in the works for a while and comes after much consideration – prayer and consideration – and finally I polled the most important people in my life, my kids, where the count was unanimous, where in response to the question 'Do you want me to make a positive difference and fight for all our children's future from outside the governor's office?' it was four yeses and one "hell, yeah,' and the "hell, yeah" sealed it and someday I'll talk about the details of that. I think though, much of it for the kids had to do with recently seeing their baby brother Trig mocked and ridiculed by some pretty mean-spirited adults recently and, by the way, I sure wish folks could ever understand all that we can learn, all of us, from someone like Trig,'' who has Down syndrome. "I know he needs me, but I need him even more, and what a child can offer to set priorities right, know that time is precious. The world needs more Trigs, not fewer.''<br /><br />Confused yet? Well you probably hate autistic children. Its people like you who made her quit her fantastically boring job in the first place.<br /><br />In talking about her new job at Fox, <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31364.html">she had this to say</a>: "“I am thrilled to be joining the great talent and management team at Fox News,” Palin said in the Fox announcement. “It’s wonderful to be part of a place that so values fair and balanced news.”<br /><br />At least she seems to have developed a sense of irony since her self-imposed political exile.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.politico.com/global/news/091206_palin_iowa_ap_218.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 289px; height: 218px;" src="http://images.politico.com/global/news/091206_palin_iowa_ap_218.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Palin, being witty and ironic</span></div>Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3270059984080993141.post-37713093907933433712010-01-14T06:11:00.000-08:002010-02-08T10:21:41.607-08:00The Good, the Bad, the UnbearableEveryone's a critic. At least, in this cyber-age, every hack with a blog and access to a theater is. So I thought I'd throw my hack-hat in on the hack-hat-rack and join the party.<br /><br />I saw three movies this week that I had been curious about. More accurately, I saw two movies and the first ten minutes of a third. As fate would have it, I saw the best first and then they got progressively worse.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.yourmoviestuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Sherlock-Holmes-movie-poster_600.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 785px;" src="http://www.yourmoviestuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Sherlock-Holmes-movie-poster_600.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Let's begin with a pleasant surprise: I loved Sherlock Holmes. Now, don't get me wrong, this is not a masterpiece of film. It is, however, a fun movie, and that is becoming surprisingly rare in a market whose very existance is built around entertainment. (Think about it, when's the last time you remember watching a movie and thinking to yourself, "Wow, I'm really having fun here"?).I enjoyed watching this movie. Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes really does steal the show. He's brilliant. He's eccentric. And like so many geniuses, his social skills and ability to relate to 'polite society' suffer for it. He is in many ways a tortured artist, a character doomed by his intellect. What is truly fascinating about the film though, is the way the director gives us glimpses into how his mind works. His inner monologues, the flashes of the images that small clues conjure in his mind, even the predictions he makes of fights he is in the process of fighting show what it is like for Holmes to live in a world where his mind works so much faster than the world around him. The concept of genius is explored to a depth that I did not anticipate from what I assumed would be a popcorn action blockbuster. I was happy to learn that Robert Downey Jr. has turned down a role in the upcoming Cowboys and Aliens to take up the pipe and magnifying glass of the famed detective of Baker Street in a Sherlock Holmes sequel, now in production.<br /><br />The movie is in many ways a buddy flick wrapped in Victorian intrigue and mystery. Watson, played by Jude Law, is the other half of this dynamic duo, and he certainly pulls his weight better than Robin (perhaps because he was allowed to wear pants). No mere sidekick, Watson is a field medic and war hero, with formidable deductive skills of his own. Perhaps his greatest asset, though, is his ability to keep the eccentric genius of his partner grounded in reality. Though he won't admit it, Holmes needs Watson, and much of the intrigue is built around this tension in the relationship, with Watson ready to move on to married life and Holmes working to keep his 'old chap' in his life.<br /><br />The one disappointment I had with the cast was with Rachel McAdams, who played the obligatory femme fatale/lady criminal Irene Adler. Her performance seemed out of place, her delivery forced and almost anachronistic. It was as if the character wandered in off of Red Eye, got a change of wardrobe, and decided she was Victorian England's new Carmen Sandiego. Perhaps the flaw was that her character was supposed to be the only person to ever outsmart Sherlock Holmes, but either the actress or the role lacks that aura of genius that Downey lends the detective. The romance between the two therefore feels contrived and almost superfluous, as if the writers felt a bit of romantic tension was required in any blockbuster formula.<br /><br />First Batman and Wolverine joined forces to give us the thoughtful Prestige, then Iron Man took off the suit for Sherlock Holmes. Superheroes seem to flourish in Victorian England. Whether you see it as a dumbed down mystery or a thinking man's action movie, I am very much enjoying the trend.<br /><br />SPOILER: Just as Batman Begins ended with a tantalizing reference to the Dark Knight's most iconic foe, I look forward to seeing the alluded-to battle of the minds between Sherlock Holmes and his most brilliant nemesis in the next film.<br /><br />Sherlock Holmes earns 4 out of 5 smoking pipes, having come out of nowhere to surprise me with how much fun it was to watch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.filmofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/youth_in_revolt.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 535px; height: 446px;" src="http://www.filmofilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/youth_in_revolt.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I was pleasantly surprised by the depth in Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps this is the beauty of low expectations because my surprise was anything but pleasant at Miguel Artets's Youth in Revolt. Michael Cera reprises his standard role as the awkward, pale teenager pining for a quirky, cute girl that's clearly out of his league. Don't get me wrong, I loved the character when I first saw him in Arrested Development, and he hadn't worn out his welcome in Juno, but by now its starting to wear a little thin. Its a lot of ennui coming from someone who skipped Superbad, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and Year One (more on the last later).<br /><br />The movie's disappointment cannot be placed solely on Cera's skinny shoulders. The quirky animated montages and 'look how indie my soundtrack is' background noise lends a haze of pretentious arthouse smugness to a movie that is is essentially a shallow, cookie-cutter romantic comedy. The movie begins with an interesting premise. Cera notices that, while in movies the nice guy gets the girl, in real life, the opposite is usually the case, with jerks ending up with the pretty girls and nice guys left out in the cold. He formulates an alternate personality, a bad boy to let him test the theory while he attempts to woo the girl of his dreams. Here was a chance for Cera to show a bit of flexibility and finally play a character diametrically opposed to his normal type-cast. Instead, we got Cera and then evil Cera with a pencil-thin mustache, who is still adorable despite his cigarette and occasional f-bomb. Its no more believable than evi Spock with a goatee, and even then does not get enough screen time to really develop. Instead we're treated to a bevy of two-dimensional supporting characters such as Slutty Mom, Dead-beat Dad, Overly Religious Parents of Love Interest, Stoner Brother, and of course, Zany Neighbor (who is literally introduced as the zany neighbor in Cera's narrative).<br /><br />SPOILER: Because this is a cookie cutter romance, Cera does end up getting the girl, but not without -GASP- messing up first and making her mad at him. Fortunately, his awkward, stumbling apology "I wrecked two cars, got you expelled and nearly killed, but I did it all for you, because I love you and want to be with you" earns him, not a restraining order, but the girl's unabashed love and his ultimate goal: underage sex, (remember the movie begins with him complaining about still having his virginity at the ripe old age of 16, not his desire to change his facebook status to "in a relationship").<br /><br />Anyone who knows me has heard my rant on 'chick flicks' and the distorted messages it sends to impressionable young girls about romance (if not, that will be the subject of a future blog). In Youth in Revolt, I have found a movie that is guilty of confusing impressionable boys with more lies. It presents two options: The whiny, doormat "Nice Guy" who feels entitled to the love of the hottest girl he knows and somehow slighted when she doesn't return the affection, as if he earned it somehow by being 'nice'to her (read: doormat). Or, alternatively, you can be the self-important, douchebag jerk who is mean to girls, playing off their insecurities and daddy issues until they leap into bed with you. Abusive or doormat, those are your two options, and guess what, only one of them gets you laid. Thanks, Hollywood, but I'm going to wager there's a middle ground somewhere that leads to healthy relationships with girls that aren't so full of self-loathing that they think they deserve to date jerks.<br /><br />Youth in Revolt earns a very generous 2 out of 5 wrecked cars, and spends up the last of my once limitless goodwill for George Michael of Arrested Development.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.atnzone.com/nz/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/year_one_movie_poster.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 521px;" src="http://www.atnzone.com/nz/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/year_one_movie_poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Finally, I began to watch "Year One", Jack Black and Michael Cera's buddy/road trip movie through the Old Testament. This was largely against my better judgment, but I had seen funny bits in the trailer (such as Michael Cera being passive aggressive about spilled berries and the subsequent lack of fruit salad so 'everyone loses'). I enjoyed Jack Black in School of Rock, and find his band Tenacious D a brilliant parody of the whole concept of "Rock and Roll" while at the same time managing to rock pretty hard even in its satire. Awkward, dry humor from Cera combined with the over-the-top antics of Black...how could it go wrong? Easily, as it turns out. The jokes were juvenile, stale, completely lowbrow, even for cavemen. Their journey through the Old Testament could have had plenty of funny things to parody, but they aimed for the lowest common denominator (lol! Sodom and Gommorah! This calls for a buttsex joke for sure!) I got to the point in the movie where Jack Black and Michael Cera (playing Jack Black the Caveman and Michael Cera the Caveman) were exiled from the tribe and forced to begin their epic journey. At that point, I could take no more. I cannot know for certain if the movie redeems itself after the 10 minute mark, but judging from its Rotten Tomatoes score of 15%, I'm thinking it probably doesn't..<br /><br />Year One gets 1 out of 5 ...I don't know...dinosaur bones or something. I really don't care enough to pick a clever rating system for this one. Were there dinosaurs later in the movie? We'll go with that.Drakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16622313946195004021noreply@blogger.com6