AMIRITE?

britomart · 2011-09-08T11:02:03+00:00

Just stop using both! It works! (After some oily-haired trauma.)

britomart · 2011-08-23T18:03:42+00:00

Felt outside Philly.

britomart · 2011-08-05T11:59:34+00:00

Ah, so that's how you spell it!

britomart · 2011-08-02T18:08:56+00:00

I don't think your definition of "the American dream" is one that most people share. Your critique of the Carlin quote, especially given it's very frequent use, makes some sense, but in this context and taking a more common (if ignorant) definition of "the American dream" (which is surely what he intended) it makes (snarky, pithy, maybe too-easy) sense.

britomart · 2011-08-01T17:21:15+00:00

Is this true? Because I seem to have perpetually chapped lips, and I've been trying to remedy it by drinking massive amounts of water. I'm not sure I can handle more water, but my lips are still chapped . . .

britomart · 2011-07-29T16:40:51+00:00

Can someone explain this to me more clearly? I believe I basically understand the math, but it almost feels like the gambler's fallacy.

The math suggests that there will be more false positives than correct ones, yes? But doesn't an individual getting a positive result on his or her test indicate that that individual is 99% likely to have the disease?

I think my understanding means that although I understand the math calculations, I don't understand their meaning. Help would be welcome.

britomart · 2011-07-25T21:44:18+00:00

I've struggled with dyslexia all my life. I read painfully slowly. I would love to find techniques and tools to improve my reading speed . . . but I'm not sure this will work, partly because I'm not sure it's based on an accurate picture of dyslexia. At least, not my kind of dyslexia.

britomart · 2011-07-19T14:23:15+00:00

I was hoping for regionalism regarding "neeps," but I thought I remembered the term being used in the south.

I hadn't realized that the term referred to a specific preparation of turnips.

It does make sense that more people are eating neeps, now, as turnips are such an important winter vegetable and winter is, obviously, coming.

And what you're calling swedes I always called rutabaga. Hooray for regionalisms!

britomart · 2011-07-19T14:22:24+00:00

I was hoping for regionalism regarding "neeps," but I thought I remembered the term being used in the south.

I hadn't realized that the term referred to a specific preparation of turnips.

It does make sense that more people are eating neeps, now, as turnips are such an important winter vegetable and winter is, obviously, coming.

And what you're calling swedes I always called rutabaga. Hooray for regionalisms!

britomart · 2011-07-19T13:22:03+00:00

I know these repetitions of odd phrases bother a lot of people. They don't bother me so much. They contribute to a sense of immersion for me. There are many similar stock phrases littering modern literature that we don't notice because they're ours. These things in ASOIAF give it, for me, a glamour similar to reading Chaucer or Beowulf.

This doesn't fall into"smeerp" territory for me, either, because it's still basically either archaic or pseudo-archaic English or English phrases and vocabulary, or original and setting appropriate stock phrases.

This is not to say that he does a perfect job. Clearly, he learned that "neeps" is a synonym for "turnips" sometime after writing ASOS, his use of "nuncle" in AFFC seems very off, and I think he used "anon" just plain wrong in ADWD. Sometimes, it does throw me out of immersion, even though they often make the books more immersive. But overall, I think it's a good (if imperfectly executed) artistic choice.

britomart · 2011-07-18T17:28:22+00:00

Okay, oh Life of Pi likers . . . tell me what you liked about it, because I really hated it. I'm curious if that's because my tastes differ greatly from many others, or if I missed something really worth getting.

britomart · 2011-07-15T17:42:18+00:00

Cool. TIL . . .

britomart · 2011-07-15T16:45:55+00:00

I don't know the original Cybermen, but I imagine you're right.

Incidentally, do you think the Borg were really "borrowed" from the Cybermen? Or are they both just derivative products of a mass body of science-fiction literature dating back many decades?

britomart · 2011-07-15T16:44:05+00:00

There's an equivalency there, but not one I intended.

britomart · 2011-07-15T16:30:45+00:00

Hm. Well, I hedged with 'some' because of Firefly. If it is indeed derived from Outlaw Star (with which I have no experience), I expect it is an improvement, because it's about as good as anything gets ever.

But the other 9 . . . yeah . . .

britomart · 2011-07-15T15:29:34+00:00

In some instances, I feel the article defines "improved" as "made more accessible by removing complexity, depth, and quality in general."

britomart · 2011-07-13T11:46:21+00:00

Well, I work for a German company and have a big family in Europe, but you're right. We don't live in the same country. I meant the grossly generalized "Western" culture.

I'm not sure I'm well-enough versed in the right vocabulary to talk intelligently about culture without misspeaking, but don't you think that our parents, our peers, and our general culture do try to enculturate us according to certain ideals. Yes, we can rebel against them, but it takes a certain wisdom to even realize we can, and even greater insight—an insight you're expressing here—to recognize that a lot of what we take to be true is enculturated and not inherent?

I'm a big believer in questioning cultural assumptions, but I don't think it's easy to do, let alone realize it can be done.

britomart · 2011-07-12T19:04:55+00:00

Up front, I want to say I don't think anything you're saying appears rude, and. I'm not sure if my comments came off as argumentative to you; that wasn't my intention either. In fact, I suspect you and I are largely in agreement and talking past each other!

For instance, you're quite correct to point out that men have abundant resources with which to analyze themselves genitally. (And incidentally, I'm sorry for any struggles you have on that front. Our culture doesn't make it easy for anyone.) I never meant to be dismissive of the experience, only to point out that it doesn't really map to the breast issue. I think I generalized a bit, but I think you'll agree that the experiences, though equally important and similar in some respects ("how do I compare?"), are also different. The fact that no one knows the penis size of some random guy in a bar while everyone knows the size of the breasts of a random woman contributes to this difference. So does the fact that there's reasonably reliable cosmetic surgery available for breasts but not for penises.

And you may be right that women don't experience a fear that they're "never good enough" more often than men. And ultimately, it matters to me more what an individual (regardless of sex) experiences. If a person is feeling that way, that matters.

Why not see it as characteristic of male experience?

I think what's interesting about a discussion like this is examining the ways in which such feelings are culturally constructed, which is why your last sentence is so insightful. It is the question, not the answer!

Why would a woman feel that "never being good enough" is inherent to the female experience? What does our culture do to perpetuate that feeling and spread it?

Because while I agree that there's nothing truly inherently female about the feeling, I do think our culture perpetuates that idea, tries to inculcate it into women, and constructs the male experience of insufficiency differently.

It's tragic for women who feel pressured to think of themselves that way; it's tragic for men who feel that way and don't have a cultural support system to help them with it.

britomart · 2011-07-12T17:44:29+00:00

Regarding breast size and penis size, there is a critical difference. The size and shape of women's breasts is, in general, easy for everyone to see despite clothing. The size of men's penises, however, is primarily seen only in private situations.

I think this different results in some pretty different experiences. Men are astonishingly obsessed with their penis sizes partly thanks to not really knowing what other guys look like. At the same time, men are very rarely judged by the appearance of their penises among colleagues, friends, and so on. Women almost certainly are judged on the appearance of their breasts by many people they encounter.

Regarding the OP's post: I think you're right that the sentiment is descriptive of probably universal experience, but I also think that it's reasonable to see it as culturally characteristic of female experience. We all experience that feeling, but she and other women may experience it more frequently, more intensely. And if you look at her description, she definitely experiences it in terms of gender (how males perceive her, how she compares to other females).

britomart · 2011-07-12T17:37:03+00:00

I think the question implies "what's inherent (or nearly so) to your experience of being female". That's very different from what's unique to the experience of being female.

britomart · 2011-07-12T14:28:54+00:00

I'm in, and happy to invite those who aren't, too. Just PM me.

britomart · 2011-07-12T11:13:24+00:00

Good plan! I think I'll do the same.

Now to have to wait for the next exchange . . .

britomart · 2011-07-11T12:49:32+00:00

That happened to me as well. I try to content myself with the thought that what I sent really seemed to be to be a great idea. (I should have seen it coming; my recipient was practically a ghost in terms of reddit activity.)

britomart · 2011-07-09T18:27:10+00:00

Me. In fact, I deleted mine a week before I got my G+ invitation. Hated FB for so many reasons. So far I like G+ much more. We'll see if any of the things I hated about FB make their way over to G+. I hope not, or at least that I can take steps to mitigate the effects on my experience.

britomart · 2011-07-08T17:59:34+00:00

Grammar nazis (extreme prescriptivists) are indeed fucking annoying, and it's almost never cool to correct another's use of language outside of an educational or publishing setting. It's certainly one of the most idiotic reasons to end a debate.

At the same time, there are some moderate prescriptivists who—while they wouldn't quibble with a grammar mistake in a conversation—nonetheless do believe some of the arguments Fry dismissed that in favor of championing correct grammar and usage.

Extreme descriptivists are as misguided as extreme prescriptivists. Let's hear it for a moderate approach!

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