I wonder where the flowers is
Mar. 10th, 2006 05:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatOkay, first thing's first. I was watching the fourth disc of the Futurama Season 3 DVD, and it kept freezing up on me during the episode "Godfellas." I didn't notice any obvious scratches on the disc, but it really won't play properly. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do?
The main thing I was going to talk about in this entry (although it didn't quite work out that way) is how annoyed I am at what I sometimes think of as "hive mind" stereotyping. I've talked about this kind of thing before. You know, when people say things like, "America thinks this," "Hollywood wants that," "The Left does this," "The Right does something else." Aren't all of these groups made up of individual people, who all have different opinions, ideas, and motives? I mean, I don't mind this kind of thing occasionally, especially when discussing a known majority opinion or central tenet. But, well, I'm a left-wing American, and I've heard plenty of people saying things about what "America" or "The Left" thinks or does that didn't apply to me at all. Mind you, it seems like a lot of people who stereotype in this way are the same ones who insist it's a good idea to stand behind your leaders no matter what. There might well be some projection at work here.
And speaking of people who think that way, Bill O'Reilly read an e-mail the other day that made a valid point about how he's always criticizing other people for smears and name-calling, yet he's always calling people villains and pinheads. His response was essentially that "pinhead" was a joke, and "villain" was factual. I'm not sure how he'd justify referring to the people who booed Ann Coulter during a speech at a college as "Nazis," since there's nothing funny about the term, and I doubt they were actually members of the National Socialist Party. He'd probably deny he ever said it. O'Reilly also said that the writer of the e-mail must have been looking at Far Left websites, because it's obvious that no one ever could have decided O'Reilly was a hypocritical jerk simply by listening to him for two minutes. I sometimes have to wonder whether he actually BELIEVES that, or he's just saying it to win the gullible over to his side. I would assume the latter, since O'Reilly generally (with a few exceptions) comes off more as someone who knows how to manipulate stupid people than someone who actually IS stupid, but the man DOES have an insanely massive ego.
In the same show, O'Reilly was talking to some kids from Yale, and saying that he thought universities should be more politically balanced. Of course, he thought Yale was predominantly left-wing; I tend to doubt he'd say the same thing about a school that was considered more conservative. Nonetheless, even if he WAS being entirely honest, it's still a ridiculous idea. I remember when my history teacher in my junior year of high school saying that, when he was hired, you had to be a member of one particular political party (he didn't say which one, but I'm sure it was obvious at the time) to get a job there. Obviously, this is discriminatory, and O'Reilly's idea isn't much different. It would be basing admissions on political affiliation, rather than (or, in the best-case scenario, in addition to) academic achievement. Maybe colleges tend to be more left-wing because academically-inclined people are more likely to be liberal. That said, there's a stereotype that Ivy Leaguers are snobs, and maybe this is a No True Scotsman Fallacy on my part, but I have a hard time seeing snobby people as truly liberal. But then, I guess looking down your nose at people doesn't necessarily mean you don't care about them on a certain level. I mean, I'm somewhat of a grammar snob, but I don't think the government should levy an Improper Conjugation Tax [1].
And so that this doesn't start looking like the Let's Bash O'Reilly Blog [2], I might as well say a few things about my own life. Yesterday,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bethje and I went out to eat at Applebee's. They have a few shrimp specials for Lent, which is a good thing for me, as someone who doesn't observe Lent but DOES love shrimp. I had the shrimp with cheese sauce and penne pasta, which was quite tasty.
After eating, we stopped by PetSmart and looked at some of the animals they had there. They had some cute cats. I'd like to get my own cat someday. My family has had cats before, but I've never had my own. I'm not sure how I'd handle a pet that was my sole responsibility. Cats are generally pretty low-maintenance, though. If I ever get my own place (yeah, right), I'll probably get one. Maybe a dog would come later. I used to be terrified of dogs when I was a kid, but now I like them. I'm still more of a cat person, though.
Eh, I think stress should be higher up than loneliness. I mean, I AM lonely sometimes, but I usually don't mind hanging out either by myself or with just Beth. More friends would certainly be nice, though.
So, for anyone who lives in my general area, how about the weather we're having? It's great, isn't it? Granted, I spend most of my time indoors, but I'm still a lot happier when it's nice outside.
[1] Or, as it is colloquially known, a "syn-tax."
[2] I think there already ARE a few of those, although I've never actually checked them out.
The main thing I was going to talk about in this entry (although it didn't quite work out that way) is how annoyed I am at what I sometimes think of as "hive mind" stereotyping. I've talked about this kind of thing before. You know, when people say things like, "America thinks this," "Hollywood wants that," "The Left does this," "The Right does something else." Aren't all of these groups made up of individual people, who all have different opinions, ideas, and motives? I mean, I don't mind this kind of thing occasionally, especially when discussing a known majority opinion or central tenet. But, well, I'm a left-wing American, and I've heard plenty of people saying things about what "America" or "The Left" thinks or does that didn't apply to me at all. Mind you, it seems like a lot of people who stereotype in this way are the same ones who insist it's a good idea to stand behind your leaders no matter what. There might well be some projection at work here.
And speaking of people who think that way, Bill O'Reilly read an e-mail the other day that made a valid point about how he's always criticizing other people for smears and name-calling, yet he's always calling people villains and pinheads. His response was essentially that "pinhead" was a joke, and "villain" was factual. I'm not sure how he'd justify referring to the people who booed Ann Coulter during a speech at a college as "Nazis," since there's nothing funny about the term, and I doubt they were actually members of the National Socialist Party. He'd probably deny he ever said it. O'Reilly also said that the writer of the e-mail must have been looking at Far Left websites, because it's obvious that no one ever could have decided O'Reilly was a hypocritical jerk simply by listening to him for two minutes. I sometimes have to wonder whether he actually BELIEVES that, or he's just saying it to win the gullible over to his side. I would assume the latter, since O'Reilly generally (with a few exceptions) comes off more as someone who knows how to manipulate stupid people than someone who actually IS stupid, but the man DOES have an insanely massive ego.
In the same show, O'Reilly was talking to some kids from Yale, and saying that he thought universities should be more politically balanced. Of course, he thought Yale was predominantly left-wing; I tend to doubt he'd say the same thing about a school that was considered more conservative. Nonetheless, even if he WAS being entirely honest, it's still a ridiculous idea. I remember when my history teacher in my junior year of high school saying that, when he was hired, you had to be a member of one particular political party (he didn't say which one, but I'm sure it was obvious at the time) to get a job there. Obviously, this is discriminatory, and O'Reilly's idea isn't much different. It would be basing admissions on political affiliation, rather than (or, in the best-case scenario, in addition to) academic achievement. Maybe colleges tend to be more left-wing because academically-inclined people are more likely to be liberal. That said, there's a stereotype that Ivy Leaguers are snobs, and maybe this is a No True Scotsman Fallacy on my part, but I have a hard time seeing snobby people as truly liberal. But then, I guess looking down your nose at people doesn't necessarily mean you don't care about them on a certain level. I mean, I'm somewhat of a grammar snob, but I don't think the government should levy an Improper Conjugation Tax [1].
And so that this doesn't start looking like the Let's Bash O'Reilly Blog [2], I might as well say a few things about my own life. Yesterday,
bethje and I went out to eat at Applebee's. They have a few shrimp specials for Lent, which is a good thing for me, as someone who doesn't observe Lent but DOES love shrimp. I had the shrimp with cheese sauce and penne pasta, which was quite tasty.After eating, we stopped by PetSmart and looked at some of the animals they had there. They had some cute cats. I'd like to get my own cat someday. My family has had cats before, but I've never had my own. I'm not sure how I'd handle a pet that was my sole responsibility. Cats are generally pretty low-maintenance, though. If I ever get my own place (yeah, right), I'll probably get one. Maybe a dog would come later. I used to be terrified of dogs when I was a kid, but now I like them. I'm still more of a cat person, though.
| You scored as Lonliness. Lonliness is what causes your depression. You are alone, with either little or no friends, and you most likely aren't close you the ones you have. Perhaps being around people scares you - perhaps your scared that by trusting them you will be hurt, or maybe it is you don't consider yourself 'socially acceptable' and feel you can't make friends. Lonliness consumes you. Please rate.
What causes you to be depressed? created with QuizFarm.com |
Eh, I think stress should be higher up than loneliness. I mean, I AM lonely sometimes, but I usually don't mind hanging out either by myself or with just Beth. More friends would certainly be nice, though.
So, for anyone who lives in my general area, how about the weather we're having? It's great, isn't it? Granted, I spend most of my time indoors, but I'm still a lot happier when it's nice outside.
[1] Or, as it is colloquially known, a "syn-tax."
[2] I think there already ARE a few of those, although I've never actually checked them out.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-03-10 10:28 pm (UTC)The weather has been GORGEOUS. My friend and I meandered around Doylestown today just because it was so pretty.
*snicker* syntax.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-10 11:02 pm (UTC)That was totally puntastic.
Why do you watch O'Reilly if he annoys you so much?
I'd offer to send you a copy of the dvd, but we live in different regions...
no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 07:26 pm (UTC)The same reason I listen to Family Radio (http://www.familyradio.com/), read Chick Tracts (http://www.chick.com/), and watch 7th Heaven. Sometimes really annoying things can be fun. They also give me ample material to rant about. {g} (Besides, it's usually Beth who puts on O'Reilly.)
I'd offer to send you a copy of the dvd, but we live in different regions...
Yeah, that's too bad. Whatever happened to free trade? :(
no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 12:15 am (UTC)This is precisely why I refuse to align myself with a political party. I know you're a professed liberal and all, but Bill O'Reilly is right about one thing: the Left DOES suck. It's just that he fails to admit that the Right also equally sucks. People who are willing to embrace ideas that are Left, Right, in-between, and completely out there all in one person, now, THEM I can align myself with.
The "what causes you to be depressed?" quiz forgot to mention the possible source of Depression encountered when people read your quiz and can't get over how you can't spell "loneliness" right.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 07:46 pm (UTC)Also, while I'll sometimes use the terms "liberal" and "left-wing" interchangeably, as well as "conservative" and "right-wing," if you want to get technical, they're really not the same. There are left-wingers who don't seem particularly liberal in many ways. (Indeed, in some ways, it seems like moderates are possibly the most liberal in the traditional sense of the word.) People can have conservative values without embracing Republican ideals. The terms aren't really as clear-cut as a lot of people apparently want to think.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 02:18 am (UTC)I find my problem with "choosing sides" may be because I don't fully agree with either side on individual issues, either. I always see some third side that nobody seems to think of. A blatant example is the Creation vs. Evolution issue-- WHY will neither side admit that evolution could possibly be a process that the Creator actually uses to Create? That's a simple example, but there are many others. Like, being married to a gunsmith, I can't help getting fed up with people who are like "Guns are bad! They make people kill people!" (Kitchen knives are bad! They make people kill people!), and I don't agree with gun control since it just means that criminals would be the only people who would have guns, but I also think the NRA is full of money-grubbing lobbyists who DO base their political support on just one issue, which is annoying, also. The only way to have less people get killed by guns is A)parents need to take control and actually teach their children morality (which cannot be enforced by the government, but dangit, people need to take responsibility! That's why I hate people, too); and B)make gun safety courses mandatory for people buying guns--that could help lessen accidental death from people being idiots. Or c) go back in time and prevent guns from being invented, but because they have been, we can't get rid of them now. The bad guys will always have them, no matter what the government does to make them harder for innocent people to get. Because you know, nobody ever gets a hold of DRUGS since THEY'VE been illegal.... But yeah, I could go on and on about issues all day, but the main point is, for the most part, I'm not exactly for or against either side on individual ISSUES, either; so I still stand by my original assertion that both sides Suck.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 06:54 pm (UTC)Well, I think a fair number of people DO think that. Really, that whole issue strikes me as somewhat made-up anyway. When it comes to asking whether Creationism should be taught in science classes, it seems to me to be a pretty clear-cut issue, since Creationism isn't science. That doesn't mean there's no possibility that it's true, but if it's based on faith and not scientific principles, then it doesn't have any place in the science classroom. I doubt there are too many evolutionary biologists and science teachers telling people they shouldn't believe in God; that's just not a scientific matter.
My opinions on gun and drug control fluctuate somewhat, since I think there are valid arguments on both sides of the issues. I guess my general thought is that I'm not a big fan of either guns or drugs, but an outright ban on either one just wouldn't work. I think you're right that mandatory gun safety instruction (for both kids AND adults) is a good idea.
weird dream
Date: 2006-03-11 12:49 am (UTC)Re: weird dream
Date: 2006-03-11 07:48 pm (UTC)I remember thinking you'd probably think that was cool that I just had Oz stuff lying around.
Well, that IS pretty cool. {g} I actually DO have some Oz things lying around, but mostly just because I haven't found a place for them yet.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 02:59 am (UTC)Um. Please don't report us to Netflix. :P