Maybe they migrated to UGGS-land for the winter, but now they're being replaced by the SJBF (skinny jeans and ballet flats) Princesses. Once in a while, you can see a hint of nylon in their legs but often it's bare or covered by the giant cuff of the skinny jean.
Critical Fluff doesn't have much use for SJBF Princesses either, or alternative grains like quinoa or spelt (can't mix the Bible with heathen organic foods). Sweet potato pancakes all around!
4/20/2007
Only In Virginia Tech (Today We're All Hokies)...
You may or may not agree with NBC's broadcasting of Cho-Seung Hui's "manifesto," but in some cases, it's better to identify what evil really looks like and learn how avoid it in the future than to deny that evil exists. If you deny that evil exists (such as insisting that killing 33 people was an act of mental illness and not just of pre-meditated, narcissistic, cold blooded murder) and you're not willing to stand up to it, then don't be surprised when evil finally comes and you can't escape it. If you agree that evil exists and you're willing to do everything in its path to defend yourself against it, then don't be surprised when the people who were under evil's spell and couldn't escape it lauds you as a liberator.
One interesting article comes from James Lewis...most of the teachers had genuine fear that Cho would snap, but there might have been a few professors who figured to lard up Cho with their angry, bitter, narcissistic teachings...y'know, as a dry run for the armed revolutions they yearn to undertake when that impeachment thing is stopped dead in its tracks.
One interesting article comes from James Lewis...most of the teachers had genuine fear that Cho would snap, but there might have been a few professors who figured to lard up Cho with their angry, bitter, narcissistic teachings...y'know, as a dry run for the armed revolutions they yearn to undertake when that impeachment thing is stopped dead in its tracks.
Give Vermont back to the Vermonters, you illegal occupiers from the Upper West Side!
Native Vermonters, unite! Stand tall and oust the yuppies, hippies, socialists, members of the legislature who think Bush and Cheney should be impeached...bring your pitchforks, key the Priuses, bring dogs to Ben and Jerry's plant to add extra oomph to Chunky Monkey and a little tang to Cherry Garcia...take your wild children to break up the art galleries and antique shops...and send them back to the Upper West Side of Manhattan where they belong!
4/18/2007
Malignant narcissism, fired through the point of a gun
We will tell you that it is not easy blogging about the Virginia Tech murders. We're not Dr. Phil nor are we psychologists. The murders bring back memories of 9/11/2001, when confusion and frustration reigned, and everyone seemed to concentrate on dead bodies and fear, rather than people getting out and being in safety. While administrators and police were in mass confusion on how to handle the situation, students were locked down. A brave teacher who survived the Holocaust sacrificed his life for his students, who managed to escape. The numbers could have been much higher than 33, had the shooter not taken his own life.
If there was ever a grand manifestation of malignant narcissism, the murders of 33 VT students certainly qualifies. Narcissism - the act of elevating yourself to a God-like status - is bad enough. Malignant narcissism takes it to a frighteningly dangerous, cult-like height. Dictators in the world didn't get evil reputations by being milquetoasts. The world's worst cult figures and dictators have brought malignant narcissism to the forefront, thinly disguised as charisma. Often, charisma can bring about good feelings among people without making them feel at the edge. Malignant narcissism makes people wonder if they can survive the day without angering the "powers that be."
Cho Seung-Hui managed to prove how dangerous malignant narcissism can be. He could have kept himself quiet and out of the way, but there were too many warning signs around him. The violent plays, the self-indulgent manifestos, blaming everyone else, and scaring everyone in the campus with his antisocial and violent fantasies catapulted Cho into a notoriety only reserved for cold-blooded assassins and the most evil of evil incarnate. Cho discharged his malignant narcissism through the barrel of a gun before turning it on himself, itself a selfish and pitiful act that will gain him no fans.
Cho's actions also brought up new - and hysterical - calls for gun control. In this age of political correctness and passive submission, the last thing we should be doing is trying to take the ability to practice self-defense, with or without weapons, away from those who know its power and use it with extensive training, a sharp mindset, and utmost discrimination, and only when in extreme danger. Cho could never have "engaged in a dialogue" and appeased to stop shooting. No skilled hostage negotiator would have survived five seconds attempting to quell Cho, as Cho's mindset was stuck on killing as many of his purported targets as possible. No politician, no lobby group, and no non-governmental organization could have come to the campus and convinced Cho that "shooting was not the answer." To Cho, shooting was an answer, and the only solution, to his problems.
The Virginia Tech students - still shaken to the core by these acts of domestic terrorism - are putting the blame for this right where it belongs: on Cho. The students could have taken the easy way out and blamed his actions on convenient bugaboos, and tied it up with calling for resignations and arrests of politicians who didn't protect them sufficiently. They could have also allied themselves with other groups with PhD's in quack religion, agitation and troublemaking, pouring gasoline into an already heady fire. They could have also elevated Cho to a legend, a martyr, and an anti-hero. They could have also easily denied that "shootings only happen in urban areas with high crime" as easily as they can order a coffee at Starbucks. When that reality comes to rural areas, that cant phrase makes obvious the utter denial of fools who try to wish things away, like conflict and war.
The VT students chose to band together instead, similar to 9/11/01. They bypassed the easy sound bites for something more concrete and difficult: moving on after these murders. They will attend funerals, light candles, and talk to psychologists, and deal with nightmares, each less vivid than the next. They will move on, wary that the next Cho will be in their midst, and not necessarily on their college campus.
If there was ever a grand manifestation of malignant narcissism, the murders of 33 VT students certainly qualifies. Narcissism - the act of elevating yourself to a God-like status - is bad enough. Malignant narcissism takes it to a frighteningly dangerous, cult-like height. Dictators in the world didn't get evil reputations by being milquetoasts. The world's worst cult figures and dictators have brought malignant narcissism to the forefront, thinly disguised as charisma. Often, charisma can bring about good feelings among people without making them feel at the edge. Malignant narcissism makes people wonder if they can survive the day without angering the "powers that be."
Cho Seung-Hui managed to prove how dangerous malignant narcissism can be. He could have kept himself quiet and out of the way, but there were too many warning signs around him. The violent plays, the self-indulgent manifestos, blaming everyone else, and scaring everyone in the campus with his antisocial and violent fantasies catapulted Cho into a notoriety only reserved for cold-blooded assassins and the most evil of evil incarnate. Cho discharged his malignant narcissism through the barrel of a gun before turning it on himself, itself a selfish and pitiful act that will gain him no fans.
Cho's actions also brought up new - and hysterical - calls for gun control. In this age of political correctness and passive submission, the last thing we should be doing is trying to take the ability to practice self-defense, with or without weapons, away from those who know its power and use it with extensive training, a sharp mindset, and utmost discrimination, and only when in extreme danger. Cho could never have "engaged in a dialogue" and appeased to stop shooting. No skilled hostage negotiator would have survived five seconds attempting to quell Cho, as Cho's mindset was stuck on killing as many of his purported targets as possible. No politician, no lobby group, and no non-governmental organization could have come to the campus and convinced Cho that "shooting was not the answer." To Cho, shooting was an answer, and the only solution, to his problems.
The Virginia Tech students - still shaken to the core by these acts of domestic terrorism - are putting the blame for this right where it belongs: on Cho. The students could have taken the easy way out and blamed his actions on convenient bugaboos, and tied it up with calling for resignations and arrests of politicians who didn't protect them sufficiently. They could have also allied themselves with other groups with PhD's in quack religion, agitation and troublemaking, pouring gasoline into an already heady fire. They could have also elevated Cho to a legend, a martyr, and an anti-hero. They could have also easily denied that "shootings only happen in urban areas with high crime" as easily as they can order a coffee at Starbucks. When that reality comes to rural areas, that cant phrase makes obvious the utter denial of fools who try to wish things away, like conflict and war.
The VT students chose to band together instead, similar to 9/11/01. They bypassed the easy sound bites for something more concrete and difficult: moving on after these murders. They will attend funerals, light candles, and talk to psychologists, and deal with nightmares, each less vivid than the next. They will move on, wary that the next Cho will be in their midst, and not necessarily on their college campus.
4/16/2007
Thumbs up to the BAA: keep the early marathons, please!
When the Marathon was moved from 12 noon to 9:35am, we noticed the following good things:
- Hardly any traffic in the morning (a windy, rainy, yucky day helps; so does April School vacation)
- No amateur runners in wrapped in mylar blankets, loitering around the train station
- The broadcasters seemed a little more subdued - no 'it's almost noon time' cheerleading or tearjerker stories (we'll take the ones where the runner had a really nasty disease and beat it, and are back to their old selves)
- Back Bay/Downtown area: clean as a whistle by 4:00pm
- Never knock Kenya - 15 out of 17 years as winners
- No drunks or college kids to be found
- Hardly any traffic in the morning (a windy, rainy, yucky day helps; so does April School vacation)
- No amateur runners in wrapped in mylar blankets, loitering around the train station
- The broadcasters seemed a little more subdued - no 'it's almost noon time' cheerleading or tearjerker stories (we'll take the ones where the runner had a really nasty disease and beat it, and are back to their old selves)
- Back Bay/Downtown area: clean as a whistle by 4:00pm
- Never knock Kenya - 15 out of 17 years as winners
- No drunks or college kids to be found
4/15/2007
White guilt and control freaks are "retarded"
"Retarded" is a politically incorrect word - only if you use it incorrectly. If you're growing tomato plants and the growth has slowed down to a yield of maybe one or two green tomatoes, that's the correct use of the word "retarded." If you don't like your teacher, or your friends did something unusual, then you can jokingly use "retarded" among yourselves. (Just don't use it on a talk radio program to refer to one of your rivals or like-minded guests.)
The gray area occurs when someone has Down's syndrome or any other developmental deficiency. The correct way might be to use the syndrome connected to the person. Using PC terms like "differently abled" might elicit eye rolls and even more questions you might feel uncomfortable answering.
The incorrect way to illustrate that "retarded" may not be helpful? Having an arrogant, elitist tone to dictate to others how someone should talk, while attempting to relieve your own guilt (see "The Right Response?")
Having two last names separated by a hyphen and plagiarizing a PBS slogan doesn't help either, and using Paris Hilton as an example is no excuse.
The gray area occurs when someone has Down's syndrome or any other developmental deficiency. The correct way might be to use the syndrome connected to the person. Using PC terms like "differently abled" might elicit eye rolls and even more questions you might feel uncomfortable answering.
The incorrect way to illustrate that "retarded" may not be helpful? Having an arrogant, elitist tone to dictate to others how someone should talk, while attempting to relieve your own guilt (see "The Right Response?")
Having two last names separated by a hyphen and plagiarizing a PBS slogan doesn't help either, and using Paris Hilton as an example is no excuse.
4/04/2007
Munchkins and Bob Ross trade burnt sienna for yellow ochre on I-495
"Follow the yellow brick road? That's not a bad idea for a painting...let me go back and get some pthatlo blue, titanium white, Van Dyke green, and the blood of the Wicked Witch of the East we'll paint some happy trees on the way to the yellow brick road."
Bob Ross, gentle painter, gentle man, and sometimes a little on the wicked side.
Bob Ross, gentle painter, gentle man, and sometimes a little on the wicked side.
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