The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXVIII

[Civ'ed]

how do you stop white people

shotguns and barricades

 

[Farm Boy]

With a five to one ratio of yellow people? For great justice?

 

[Takhisis]

all your farm are belong to us, Farumuboi-san.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Alongside with all your tractors. And cows. And sheep.

...wrong age.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

On a scale of one to ten, how creepy is it to se a twelve year old girl and think "she is going to be so hot in ten years" ?

 

[Paul in Saudi]

You ever pick up an object and wonder "What the hell do the people in China who make this crap think of us?"

Or is it only me?

 

[Farm Boy]

On a scale of one to ten, how creepy is it to se a twelve year old girl and think "she is going to be so hot in ten years" ?

The phrasing makes the creep factor. Given that people say, ''what a pretty girl!'' all the time and it contains roughly the same sentiment and guesstimation, in and of itself the idea is not very creepy. Now, if you look at a 12 year old and say, ''I can't wait till it's legal to break off a piece of that!'' Super creepy.

At least that's me.

 

[The_J]

On a scale of one to ten, how creepy is it to se a twelve year old girl and think "she is going to be so hot in ten years" ?

Probably very creepy, but I've thought the same myself, so...um....

You ever pick up an object and wonder "What the hell do the people in China who make this crap think of us?"

Or is it only me?

No, I also think that some times, especially in souvenier shops in Amsterdam.
But what bothers me more: Who the hell buys that?

 

[Cutlass]

On a scale of one to ten, how creepy is it to se a twelve year old girl and think "she is going to be so hot in ten years" ?

There's an awful lot of people who wouldn't even consider all of those 10 years. They're creepier.

 

[Borachio]

It is pretty creepy. On the other hand some ugly girls grow up to be beautiful. And vice versa. But a good rule of thumb is not to look at them at all.

How creepy is it to see an octogenarian and think "She must have been well hot 60 years ago"?

 

[Atticus]

It's creepy, but a thought is a thought and doesn't harm anyone per se. People have disturbing thoughts all the time, and it's imo better just to let them pass than to be bothered about them. It is different if you let that thought to show on your face or if you speak it out aloud or something else of the kind. Or if you find yourself thinking that kind of things all the time and it takes a hold on you.

I'm looking for a name of a song.
- Probably late 60s -70s, kind of progressive rock
- It starts with (probably) vibraphone playing three notes that repeat throughout the song (it's 4/4 time though)
- It has Jethro Tull-style flute solo
- There's lyrics "crawls out of magic carpet" or something like that,

Found it!

 

[Mouthwash]

What exactly is enjoyable about reading classical literature? I picked up a copy of the Iliad (translated by Rouse) and it thus far hasn't made me cry or inspired me to conquer the world.

The translation is in prose (I don't see the point of poetry) so take that into account when you lecture me about how ignorantly I'm treating the subject.

So, the first big plot point is that King Agamemnon takes a woman as a sex slave after pillaging a town, but the father is a priest favored by the gods. So Agamemnon is forced to give his daughter back after Apollo murders a whole bunch of his soldiers. Regardless, he finds it unfair that he shouldn't get a sex slave while his generals do, so he takes Achilles' slave for himself. Achilles is anguished and calls on his mother (another god) to take revenge on the King. Now I realize values about love and marriage were different then, but I am finding it hard to empathize!

Then we go to the scene of war, and let me point out that the half-dozen pages in which the generals and forces of the Greeks are listed in excruciating detail are not an example of good storytelling. Neither is the enormous buildup to war in which Athena herself reaches into the soldiers' hearts and minds to make them desire battle, but then both sides readily agree to peace and friendship if Menelaus and Paris solve their personal conflict in a duel.

Please don't give me crap about how it is muuuuuch better in verse. These are story issues.

 

[Traitorfish]

What were you expecting? Machismo, lists and arbitrary divine intervention sounds pretty standard so far as ancient epic poetry goes.

edit: More constructively, I'd probably try to read it alongside a commentary, something which explains the significance of all the flexing and genealogies. Despite a lot of conventional wisdom, there's no reason to expect that a work should possess some ahistorical genius which simply leaps out you, so there's no shame on leaning on the scholarship.

edit2: There seems to be a fairly substantial Sparknotes entry, which might be a place to start before shelling out any extra cash.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

I have recently had myself some Poe. Some of his stories have a style which feels like it was inspired by court records.
That novel of Jules Vern about that submarine (something-thousand miles under the sea) was plainly a bad novel.

I feel your disappointment when it comes to classic literature. I think the simple truth is that "classics" are foremost and at times nothing but memes. Saying they are hold dear as a matter of custom, not necessarily due to any actual worth in the modern world of literature. And upon discovering this, one can feel betrayed, even infuriated for such misguidance and false pretense. However, classics still can be good, I am sure. I enjoyed a novel by Honoré de Balzac, for instance. And I vaguely recall furiously enjoying The Raven by Poe. But one should not trust the classic-label.

But all I just said is also in a way besides the point - because did you actually expect ancient Greeks to spot great story telling? In this case I think the label "classic" does not even imply such a thing. It just is an historic document.

 

[Traitorfish]

You're conflating "classic" and "classical", there, Terxpahseyton. Calling a work "classic" places it in a canon, but calling it "classical" just means it comes from a "classical" artistic period. There's overlap, obviously and it doesn't help that the academic study of classical literature is formally called "Classics", but I think Mouthwash is expressing his frustration with the inaccessibility of ancient Greek epic poetry rather than with the curation of the Penguin Classics range.

 

[Gori the Grey]

So, the first big plot point is that King Agamemnon takes a woman as a sex slave after pillaging a town, but the father is a priest favored by the gods. So Agamemnon is forced to give his daughter back after Apollo murders a whole bunch of his soldiers. Regardless, he finds it unfair that he shouldn't get a sex slave while his generals do, so he takes Achilles' slave for himself.

The overall military mission is grounded on the idea that abducting someone else's wife is wrong (Paris abducting Helen). That's it's whole rationale. Achilles has been here for nine years toiling on behalf of Agamemnon's brother with that as the rationale. The Agamemnon does that very thing to his own foremost soldier, putting the whole rationale for the war into question.

Then we go to the scene of war, and let me point out that the half-dozen pages in which the generals and forces of the Greeks are listed in excruciating detail are not an example of good storytelling.

Please don't give me crap about how it is muuuuch better in verse. These are story issues.

It's muuuuuuch better in oral verse. Remember, the Homeric poems originally weren't written down but were delivered orally. Imagine listening to someone reel off an hour-long catalog of soldiers and their homelands. Imagine someone listing, from memory, the names and backstory of every person who died on September 11. You'd be astounded he could hold all of that in his memory. Homer is proving his credentials to tell the story. Think of it as a poetic feat rather than a plot point.

 

[Mouthwash]

What were you expecting? Machismo, lists and arbitrary divine intervention sounds pretty standard so far as ancient epic poetry goes.

Owen says he is a fan of the poem, and he isn't not one to be pretentious, so I assume there must be some avenue to enjoying it.

You're conflating "classic" and "classical", there, Terxpahseyton. Calling a work "classic" places it in a canon, but calling it "classical" just means it comes from a "classical" artistic period. There's overlap, obviously and it doesn't help that the academic study of classical literature is formally called "Classics", but I think Mouthwash is expressing his frustration with the inaccessibility of ancient Greek epic poetry rather than with the curation of the Penguin Classics range.

The principle applies to classic literature, though. I read plenty as Wishbone novels, and I don't think they needed anything beyond that.

 

[Traitorfish]

Owen says he is a fan of the poem, and he isn't not one to be pretentious, so I assume there must be some avenue to enjoying it.

Well, you realise that there's a distinction between "things I don't enjoy" and "things that are pretentious", right? Maybe this stuff just resonates with Owen in a way it doesn't with you, no harm in that.

The principle applies to classic literature, though. I read plenty as Wishbone novels, and I don't think they needed anything beyond that.

I'm not sure what you mean?

 

[Lohrenswald]

Has anyone these past 100 years postulated that ancient litterature is something enjoyable to read as entertainment? As opposed to something to study, you know?

I don't really know, there might be something to the stories about over-ambitious men or something.

 

[Atticus]

What exactly is enjoyable about reading classical literature?
---
Please don't give me crap about how it is muuuuch better in verse. These are story issues.

First, isn't this more of a rant than a question?

Second, if you don't understand or accept poetry, why do you think reading poetry in prose form makes it any better? If I'd like to try out country music, but don't like music, reading prose versions of the songs wouldn't be a very good strategy. Or if I don't like movies, listening the soundtrack of, say, Citizen Kane wouldn't do the original work justice.

Third, Homeros is hardly representative of all classical literature. There's tons of other stuff too. Some of it is actually pretty good. Try Aristofanes for example.

ps. I don't enjoy reading Iliad either.