Been a student. Been a clerk. Been a salesperson. Been a manager. Been a teacher. Been an expatriate. Am a husband, father, and chronicle.

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  • 57 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: July 4th, 2023
  • eightpix@lemmy.worldtoAsklemmy@lemmy.ml•To people who choose not to swear (for non-religious reasons), what is your motivation to be that way ?
    4·
    2 months ago

    It was a cycle for me:

    Not swearing led to swearing.

    Swearing led to learning to swear in other languages.

    Learning to swear in other languages served me well as I moved out of North America to teach.

    Being out of North American led to me being more humble and less the brash North American. Also, I spent a lot of time with children.

    Being less brash and speaking in other languages led me to think more about what I say before saying it.

    Thinking about my speech led to downgrading swearing to make a point. I’ll swear, depending on the audience.

    Specifically — like L-Boogie said — “I’ll add a MFer so you ign’ant ****s hear me.” (Fugees, The Score, “Zealots”) If I’m cursing, it’s prolly because there’s some ignorance in my area.

    I admit, sometimes it’s mine.

    Also, the irony is not lost on me that L fell off not too long after this rhyme. Celebrity culture can be a scene full of ignorance. I don’t blame her. I blame the industry.

  • eightpix@lemmy.worldtoAsklemmy@lemmy.ml•What franchises do you consider part of the "pillars" of popular culture?
    1·
    3 months ago

    This is an impossible question to answer. But, I’ll give it a shot anyway. I’ve expanded the meaning of “franchise” to include “all properties sublicensable for the purposes of profiteering.”

    If “popular culture” refers to the recognizable and persistent elements of living in society that the majority people share in common without having to communicate that recognition, I’d regard the following franchises as having broad impact worldwide:

    • McDonalds/Subway and all attendant advertising as a signpost for food. Franchises abound.

    • Esso/Shell/BP as gateways to modern conveniences and transportation. Every gas station, residence, farm house, hen house, outhouse, and dog house is connected to these franchises in some way.

    • G4S/Securitas/Garda as the front line protecting the ‘haves’ from the ‘have-nots’. Franchises abound.

    • Most athletic, luxury vehicle, and brands as the status symbols they want themselves to be. Franchisees promote the brands as a means of collecting clients.

    If, on the other hand, “popular culture” is, ‘traditions and material culture of a particular society. In the modern West, pop culture refers to cultural products such as music, art, literature, fashion, dance, film, cyberculture, television, and radio that are consumed by the majority of a society’s population. … types of media that have mass accessibility and appeal’ (ThoughtCo.) then the following are some fairly strong indicators of popular culture:

    • Hello Kitty (be pleasant)

    • Pokémon (pursue goals)

    • Superman/Batman (masculinity, vigilantism)

    • Paw Patrol (institutions are essential)

    • the Olympics (do athletics)

    • Michael Jordan (be excellent)

    • Mickey Mouse (dream big)

    • Star Wars/The Bible (G vs. E)

    The ones I wish would take hold and have more of an influence:

    • X-men (biodiversity is good)

    • the Expanse

    • Battlestar Galactica (genocide, rebellion, impersonation, terrorism, coups d’état, civil war, infidelity, succession, military conflict, asymmetrical warfare, treason, mutiny, pirate broadcasts, nuclear warfare… and that’s just the first half of the series)

    • Tony’s Chocolonely (ethical economics)

  • eightpix@lemmy.worldtoAsklemmy@lemmy.ml•Who is the GOATest GOAT?
    2·
    3 months ago

    Right, because being America’s whipping boy (yeah, I said it) is really working out for Ukrainians.

    America needs Ukraine to buy obsolete weapons now, use them against Russia’s current military capacity so that there’s real-world applications for next generation weapons. Also, all the strategies designed to contain a more militant Russia needed to be gamed out. Ukraine will be paying this war back for generations. Think Haiti’s reparations to France, but with bigger numbers.

    A years-long conflict also “softens” Russia up for the next round of sanctions — maybe they’ll be effective this time!

    Chomsky said, in effect, ‘Nope, that’s dumb’ (not a quote). Also, there were months and months of Russian build-up on the border. Before that, years of signals, comments, and overt actions showing that they are legit pissed that NATO came knocking. There should’ve been diplomacy, dialogue, deal making. ‘Nope, that’s dumb. War is profitable.’

    NATO (read: USA) wasn’t about to be told who can be in their little club. Russia wasn’t about to be told that ICBMs would be parked on their doorstep. So, conflict.

    So, what else has Chomsky said?

    “the U.S. seems to be fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian, reiterating the conclusion of Diego Cordovez and Selig Harrison that in the 1980s the U.S. was fighting Russia to the last Afghan.”

    "It is, surely, worthwhile to think seriously about the history of the past 30 years since Bill Clinton launched a new Cold War by violating the firm and unambiguous U.S. promise to Mikhail Gorbachev that “We understand the need for assurances to the countries in the East. If we maintain a presence in a Germany that is a part of NATO, there would be no extension of NATO’s jurisdiction for forces of NATO one inch to the east.”

    "Those who want to ignore the history are free to do so, at the cost of failure to understand what is happening now, and what the prospects are for preventing “much worse.”

    Sources: Chomsky.info and Truthout

  • eightpix@lemmy.worldtoAsklemmy@lemmy.ml•TV nerds: what should I watch
    6·
    3 months ago

    Travelers, The Expanse (noted by OP), Beef, and Breaking Bad are all solid. Add Mare of Easttown, the Morning Show, and the Newsroom and you’ve got half of my favourite shows of the past 15 years.

    Ted Lasso was the big surprise to me here. The characters are lovable, caring, and well-crafted, and the story is simple but compelling. In all, only the most heartless, isolate, human beings would get nothing from this show.

  • eightpix@lemmy.worldtoAsklemmy@lemmy.ml•What is your favorite movie? Or, what is your favorite genre of film?
    4·
    4 months ago

    2001 is timeless.

    Political intrigue, technological advancement, piercing the unknown, all drawn on the backdrop of an innocuous, normal exploration mission.

    Until things go awry.

    As directly inspired by 2001, I’d count a bunch of modern classics: Children of Men (2006), Sunshine (2007), Passengers (2016), the Expanse (TV series), and more.

    What Kubrick did write the story with Arthur C. Clarke, slow the pace to reflect the long-haul nature of the mission — let alone the slow pace of human development — and focus on the sheer scale of progress needed to achieve such exploration. He also ensured that the conflict was truly tangible and high-stakes. Simple and human in its genesis, but devastating in its execution. Then, confronting ET intelligence as truly “other.”

    Perfect.