Good Thing I Can Run Fast And My Bookie Is Fat
After accidentally clicking on one of my archive links, I came across an old post from April in which I jokingly started a pool on how long it would take for 40% of the population to believe that most of the 9/11 hijackers were Syrian.
Apparently, I just lost a few days ago: "Come on, July 13-19! Daddy needs a new pair of shoes. "
JoeF is out; so is JimMA. doesn't matter loses a side bet, and catalexis has a month to go (although, given that Iraq has proven to be a bit more of a chore than the administration predicted, I don't think this one's going to pay off for him [her?]).
How disappointing. I was so hoping for another invasion before the weather gets too nasty to enjoy it.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
Semantics For Fruitcakes
After reading CalPundit's post about the ridiculous GOP allegation (that I have seen bandied about a bit on a few Rightie blogs, but now made official by Rep. Mark "I'm not Gay Because While Republicans Have Nothing Against Gays My Constituents Would Throw Me Out On My Ass If I Was" Foley) that Pete Stark's use of the terms "fruitcake" and "cocksucker" in the House dustup the other day was homophobic*, I started wondering about the term "bumfuckery", which has been a favorite of mine recently (in real life). As in:
Bumfuckery - n. 1. craziness, lunacy 2. Foolish, stupid. usage: This situation is utter bumfuckery.
As this isn't a term one would use in reference to a specific person, context usually renders a homophobic connection tenuous at best, and I know that an anti-gay connotation is not my intent, I'm inclined to think that it's fine - but I'm biased, as I've grown somewhat attached to the word recently, and plan on remaining so until I get a new favorite curse word.
Thoughts, anyone?
* A charge that is, of course, ridiculous. Any male over the age of sixteen knows that "cocksucker" is merely a synonym for asshole; it's roughly equivelent to "motherfucker", only slightly more extreme given "motherfucker"'s overuse. "Fruitcake", in ye olde days, was a common synonym for "nutcase." Given modern connotations of the word "fruit", a (very weak) case could be made that fruitcake is a homophobic slur now (although, given this dustup, I have a feeling it's going to be making a grand re-entrance into bloggers' lexicon - in fact, it already has, and it is now most definitely a term for "stupid"), one can hardly blame an old man for the shift in (possible) connotation of an innocuous word.
Also, given the number of times the word "cocksucker" has now been used in the comments section of that post, CalPundit should expect a bit of an increase in traffic over the next few days. Someone should start a contest to guess the first search term involving "cocksucker" that some search engine is going to direct his way. My money is on "Mickey Kaus is a cocksucker."
After reading CalPundit's post about the ridiculous GOP allegation (that I have seen bandied about a bit on a few Rightie blogs, but now made official by Rep. Mark "I'm not Gay Because While Republicans Have Nothing Against Gays My Constituents Would Throw Me Out On My Ass If I Was" Foley) that Pete Stark's use of the terms "fruitcake" and "cocksucker" in the House dustup the other day was homophobic*, I started wondering about the term "bumfuckery", which has been a favorite of mine recently (in real life). As in:
Bumfuckery - n. 1. craziness, lunacy 2. Foolish, stupid. usage: This situation is utter bumfuckery.
As this isn't a term one would use in reference to a specific person, context usually renders a homophobic connection tenuous at best, and I know that an anti-gay connotation is not my intent, I'm inclined to think that it's fine - but I'm biased, as I've grown somewhat attached to the word recently, and plan on remaining so until I get a new favorite curse word.
Thoughts, anyone?
* A charge that is, of course, ridiculous. Any male over the age of sixteen knows that "cocksucker" is merely a synonym for asshole; it's roughly equivelent to "motherfucker", only slightly more extreme given "motherfucker"'s overuse. "Fruitcake", in ye olde days, was a common synonym for "nutcase." Given modern connotations of the word "fruit", a (very weak) case could be made that fruitcake is a homophobic slur now (although, given this dustup, I have a feeling it's going to be making a grand re-entrance into bloggers' lexicon - in fact, it already has, and it is now most definitely a term for "stupid"), one can hardly blame an old man for the shift in (possible) connotation of an innocuous word.
Also, given the number of times the word "cocksucker" has now been used in the comments section of that post, CalPundit should expect a bit of an increase in traffic over the next few days. Someone should start a contest to guess the first search term involving "cocksucker" that some search engine is going to direct his way. My money is on "Mickey Kaus is a cocksucker."
Monday, July 21, 2003
Bad Ideas, And The Mocking Of Those In Favor Of Them
This is the most fun I've had all week. About as satisfying as beating up a ten year old, and somewhat juvenile, I suppose, but amusing as hell nonetheless.
(A slight explanation, since I refuse to link to this man's actual blog because I'd feel dirty: This is the comments section of a post in which he argues that we should detonate a nuclear bomb on the moon as a warning to terrorists. No, I'm not joking. And neither, judging by his rather irate responses, is he. )
Update: There are some people that it is simply best to let be; while it may initially be fun to provoke them so as to laugh at their inevitably ludicrous responses, such amusement -- for me at least -- only lasts so long before it fades to disgust, then to contempt, then to pity.
In retrospect, I find my whole conversation with this man distasteful in the extreme.
I like arguing with people who think differently than I do. It's fun and, usually, educational - to one degree or another. Even when such an argument turns vicious, I'm more than happy to go round after round.
But when someone unabashedly acts in a manner that most people find repulsively juvenile, it is impossible to continue to engage them and not look foolish yourself.
It's somewhat like arguing with a young child: nothing you say makes the slightest bit of difference, their responses do not change, they unselfconciously hurl insults that you would demean yourself to return or even acknowledge, and you look bad for simply participating in the first place.
I decided to end my initially amusing game of tweak-the-lunatic when he posted a response that, were it not for the photo of himself he has displayed on his site, I would not credit to someone older than 12 - and that is likely an insult to most twelve year olds. As cliche as it is to call childish someone who disagrees with you...well, read it if you like. All I could do was laugh at the ridiculousness of it- and then I grew embarrassed, the way one feels embarrassed for someone who does something humiliating but doesn't seem to have the sense to realize it.
But fuck it. I can't help feeling sorry for someone who's so unhappy that such pettiness makes him think himself anything but laughable to the vast majority of people - but that doesn't mean I have to talk to or about him again.
Anyway, the overall point is, I apologize for this post - as I've said, I initially thought it was quite funny to see the outlandish responses to a bit of firm disagreement and thinly-veiled contempt, but eventually it simply became disagreeable.
Live and learn, I guess. That applies to the blogosphere as well as anything else, it seems.
This is the most fun I've had all week. About as satisfying as beating up a ten year old, and somewhat juvenile, I suppose, but amusing as hell nonetheless.
(A slight explanation, since I refuse to link to this man's actual blog because I'd feel dirty: This is the comments section of a post in which he argues that we should detonate a nuclear bomb on the moon as a warning to terrorists. No, I'm not joking. And neither, judging by his rather irate responses, is he. )
Update: There are some people that it is simply best to let be; while it may initially be fun to provoke them so as to laugh at their inevitably ludicrous responses, such amusement -- for me at least -- only lasts so long before it fades to disgust, then to contempt, then to pity.
In retrospect, I find my whole conversation with this man distasteful in the extreme.
I like arguing with people who think differently than I do. It's fun and, usually, educational - to one degree or another. Even when such an argument turns vicious, I'm more than happy to go round after round.
But when someone unabashedly acts in a manner that most people find repulsively juvenile, it is impossible to continue to engage them and not look foolish yourself.
It's somewhat like arguing with a young child: nothing you say makes the slightest bit of difference, their responses do not change, they unselfconciously hurl insults that you would demean yourself to return or even acknowledge, and you look bad for simply participating in the first place.
I decided to end my initially amusing game of tweak-the-lunatic when he posted a response that, were it not for the photo of himself he has displayed on his site, I would not credit to someone older than 12 - and that is likely an insult to most twelve year olds. As cliche as it is to call childish someone who disagrees with you...well, read it if you like. All I could do was laugh at the ridiculousness of it- and then I grew embarrassed, the way one feels embarrassed for someone who does something humiliating but doesn't seem to have the sense to realize it.
But fuck it. I can't help feeling sorry for someone who's so unhappy that such pettiness makes him think himself anything but laughable to the vast majority of people - but that doesn't mean I have to talk to or about him again.
Anyway, the overall point is, I apologize for this post - as I've said, I initially thought it was quite funny to see the outlandish responses to a bit of firm disagreement and thinly-veiled contempt, but eventually it simply became disagreeable.
Live and learn, I guess. That applies to the blogosphere as well as anything else, it seems.
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