All Hope Is Not Lost, Penny Pigtails #3

So anywayz, continuing from part 2.


#3. Nerds have gained wide acceptance and jocks have suffered a corresponding loss in popularity. On the other hand, a strain of anti-intellectualism continues to run strong here.

I mentioned that I'd talk about The Big Bang Theory later. Well, here it is! Personally, I don't care for the show but the popularity of it is heartening. There have been nerds in shows before but I don't know of a (successful and mainstream) show that has featured a cast of characters almost entirely consisting of socially awkward nerds. You know how cool that is? It's also understandable. Many more of us grew up the nerd or at most normal than the ones who were the varsity all-stars in high school, yes? And we're the ones who are making the shows that get put on TV, the ones who post stuff on Tumblr, 9gag, 4chan, etc. In this virtual world, our physical attractiveness (or lack of it (- -;;)7) doesn't hamper us in the slightest.

Nevertheless, despite the advancements we've had in popular culture on that front, there is still an abiding mistrust of 'eggheads' and 'experts'. 
Here's a fine article from the Dean of Arts & Sciences at UVA touching on the subject.
On the low end, there's a pervasive sentiment for 'keepin' it real', which I attribute to dumb-asses and the remnants of the brawn-over-brain cadre. On the high end, you have people who have already embedded themselves within the establishment and want the masses to stay bovine and docile.


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P.S. Since Blogger implemented the new comment reply system every time I click on a blog name in the Feed the new page opens up and jumps straight to the Reply box at the bottom of the Comments. This is annoying. Is this only happening to me?

All Hope Is Not Lost, Penny Pigtails #2

As I said in the previous post, I've done quite a bit of activist stuff here in the past week. It had to be done but I don't want to inundate my blog with that stuff. We shouldn't always be On, you know?

So anywayz, continuing from part 1.

We live in some interesting times, people. No, no, I'm not even referring to so-called "important" stuff like politics and shit. I'm talking about the polarity between Awesome and Suck that defines American society today. I will elaborate.

All Hope Is Not Lost, Penny Pigtails #1

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
I may use more colorful language in this blog from this point on. By that I mean profanity. True, I haven't been stingy with it thus far but I just want you forewarned to the increased levels of it in the days to come. There's a quote by some clever wag floating around saying something to the effect of "the use of course language betrays a feeble intellect" (Delivered in a posh and condescending accent). Well, that's witty and all but entirely rhetorical and unfounded on real life. I've known many foul-mouthed intellectuals and a good number of well-spoken fools. I have no doubts you all have made acquaintances of your own shares, eh?
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 Now on to the post topic.

We live in some interesting times, people. No, no, I'm not even referring to so-called "important" stuff like politics and shit. I'm talking about the polarity between Awesome and Suck that defines American society today. I will elaborate.

#1. As a whole, the U.S. has become more secular. Say what you want about how the Founding Fathers created a nation with a separation between church and state. It didn't happen. In the letter, sure, maybe. In practice, no. You can see evidence attesting to that fact on our currency, in the various rituals both legal (...and nothing but the truth so help you God?) and political (one nation, under God, indivisible) and, of course, looking at the population that lives here. Christianity still has a nominally solid hold on America but I am pleased to say that most people only pay lip service to their professed faith.
d-(^__________^)-b
You only have to observe a person in the course of their daily life to discover this. What drives a person? What concerns weigh on his/her mind? Thankfully, these days religion features in fewer of these answers. I attribute this to a generally wealthier (yes, even now) and more public institutionally educated society. Most people these days don't learn their "Readin', 'Ritin' and 'Rithmetic" in a one room schoolhouse on which the townspeople keep an eye to ensure their children aren't being taught witchcraft and devil worship. For better or worse, the typical contemporary's motivations tend toward the selfish. That's good! Fewer and fewer people let sexually repressed male virgins priests dictate how they should live their lives.
Furthermore, tolerance is well on the rise, especially my generation and up (or is it down?). Younger. My generation and younger. At least, it grows where the bigoted parents don't find it in time. I once encountered a white cab driver who told me all about how he had done his part to keep the "great Amurrican nayshun" clean by marrying a white woman and having a pure-blood white child. Otherwise, he remained perfectly civil and polite. (A well-spoken fool, no?) I think he truly meant it when he said he'd "done his part" as he betrayed no palpable malice towards my yellowness. I suppose his love of green overcame it, maybe? After helping me with my bags he assured me that his son would grow up indoctrinated with his ideals. Then he bid me good night and left.
Ok, that story had to do with race not religion but extrapolate the message yourself.

Do remember that I speak in generalities. I live here. Before you respond to me with all kinds of anecdotal evidence of fanaticism, excerpts from Fox News broadcasts, etc., recall that I'm an anti-religious Chinese male in America. I know plenty about societal prejudice.

Now if only I was, I dunno, an unattractive (<-this is important) female Jewish Middle Eastern Muslim Nazi Communist who grew up in the ghetto THEN I'd be an expert, eh? Eh? hahahahaha

Once again, I find I'm going to have to split this post for the sake of digestibility.

♫Don't Know Where, Don't Know When~♫

Hot damn, guys (yeah I missed a day but that's beside the point)!!!

As you may well know, I love Salad Fingers. It's one of my favorite things in existence but only just today did I find out where that song lyric came from.

Yeah, ok, I had thought it was just a random crooning from mister Salad Fingers' fractured mind so it never occurred to me to Google it.



And I've seen Dr. Strangelove. (%__)

Can't Let the Holiday Go Unnoted Can I?

This was my costume last year. Man, it's been a year already.....

Props to you if you know who this is.

For the curious, that's a gym mat propped to the left there, a towel hanging on a door hook over my shoulder and a photograph of cherry blossoms in Tokyo above a light switch on the right edge.