Everything is Interesting
‘Meditations‘ (‘thoughts/writings addressed to himself’) is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161–180 CE, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy (the Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment).
It is not clear that he ever intended the writings to be published, so the title is but one of several commonly assigned to the collection. These writings take the form of quotations varying in length from one sentence to long paragraphs.
A bon viveur [bawn vee-vur] is a person who enjoys the good things of life.
The phrase is derived from the French ‘bon vivant,’ meaning ‘good living,’ a bon viveur being a ‘good liver,’ or one who lives well. The phrase is not derogatory but conveys a sense of overindulgence. In his book, ‘Mind the Gaffe,’ linguist Larry Trask advised that the phrase is pretentious.
Angelyne is an American singer, actress and model who is known for purchasing billboards advertising herself. Her billboards became a trademark of Los Angeles and made her an icon who is considered one of the pioneers of the term ‘famous for being famous.’
A significant part of her ‘mystique’ comes from her refusal to answer questions (and giving contradictory information when she does). Consequently, much of Angelyne’s actual biographical information is unknown or doubtful.
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is a 1965 exploitation film directed by Russ Meyer, who also wrote the script with Jack Moran. It stars Tura Satana, Haji, and Lori Williams. Consistent with the genre, the film features gratuitous violence, sexuality, provocative gender roles, and camp dialogue. It is one of Meyer’s more boldly titled and unflinchingly exploitative films; however, there is no nudity. The film was shot in the extreme western parts of the Mojave Desert and outside Baker, California).
The film depicts three thrill-seeking go-go dancers (Billie, Rosie, and their leader, Varla) who encounter a young couple in the desert while racing their sports cars. After killing the boyfriend with her bare hands, Varla drugs, binds, gags and kidnaps his girlfriend, Linda. On a desolate highway, the four stop at a gas station, where they see a wheelchair-bound old man and his muscular, dimwitted son, Vegetable. The gas station attendant tells the women that the old man and his two sons live on a decrepit ranch with a hidden cache of money. Intrigued, Varla hatches a scheme to rob the lecherous old man.
Bad girl art is a superheroines art form genre coined after the analogy of ‘good girl art’ (‘girl art’ that is ‘good’) which also includes strong female characters in comic books. Bad girls are typically tough and violent superheroines.
While the ‘good’ in ‘good girl art’ refers to the art itself, the ‘bad’ in ‘bad girl art’ refers to the girls: anti-heroine characters, often portrayed as cruel, mercenary, or demonic, although it may also be intended to reflect on the crude mannerisms and exaggerated anatomy of the drawing style associated with those characters. While Good Girl Art was common in the 1940s and 1950s, Bad Girl Art arose in the comic book market of the 1980s and 1990s. During the heyday of the style, some 50 titles within the subgenre were being published, with ‘Lady Death’ as the best selling title.
Good girl art (GGA) is found in drawings or paintings which feature a strong emphasis on attractive women no matter what the subject or situation. GGA was most commonly featured in comic books, pulp magazines and crime fiction. When cited as an art movement, it is usually capitalized as Good Girl Art.
The term describes the work of illustrators skilled at creating sexy female figure art; it is ‘girl art’ which is ‘good.’ Popular culture historian Richard A. Lupoff defined it as: ‘A cover illustration depicting an attractive young woman, usually in skimpy or form-fitting clothing, and designed for erotic stimulation. The term does not apply to the morality of the ‘good girl,’ who is often a gun moll, tough cookie or wicked temptress.’
Veronica Lodge (first appearance ‘Pep Comics’ #26 in 1942) is a fictional character in the ‘Archie Comics’ books series. She is called both by her name Veronica and her nickname Ronnie. Bob Montana, creator of the original Archie characters, knew the Lodges, because he had once painted a mural for them. Montana combined that name with actress Veronica Lake to create the character of Veronica Lodge. Her character was added just months after Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, and Jughead Jones debuted, and just a few months before Reggie Mantle.
Veronica is the only child of Hiram Lodge, the richest man in Riverdale, and his wife Hermione Lodge. She is tall, slender and attractive with long black hair. Veronica favors expensive, up-to-the-minute fashion. In some comics, Mr. Lodge claimed that he moved his family to Riverdale in order to avoid Veronica becoming spoiled, like many of the children he knew and grew up with. Continue reading
Women have been portrayed in comic books since the medium’s beginning, and their portrayals are often the subject of controversy. Sociologists with an interest in gender roles and stereotyping have outlined the role of women as both supporting characters and as potential leaders finding limited success at being accepted as equals.
Another point of study has been the depiction of women in comics, in which, as in other forms of popular culture, body types are unrealistically portrayed.
Guido [gwee-doh] is a slang term for a lower-class or working-class urban Italian American. Originally, it was used as a demeaning term for Italian Americans in general. More recently, it has come to refer to Italian Americans who conduct themselves in a thuggish, overtly macho manner.
The time period in which it obtained the latter meaning is not clear, but some sources date it to the 1970s or 1980s. The term is derived from either the proper name ‘Guido’ or the Italian verb ‘guidare’ (‘to drive’). Fishermen of Italian descent were once often called ‘Guidos’ in medieval times. Continue reading
Redneck is a derogatory slang term used in reference to poor, uneducated white farmers, especially from the southern United States. It is similar in meaning to ‘cracker’ (especially regarding Georgia and Florida), ‘hillbilly’ (especially regarding Appalachia and the Ozarks), and ‘white trash’ (but without the last term’s suggestions of immorality).
By the 2000s, the term had expanded in meaning to refer to bigoted, loutish reactionaries who are opposed to modern ways, and has often been used to attack white Southern conservatives. The term is also used broadly to degrade working class and rural whites that are perceived by urban progressives to be insufficiently liberal. At the same time, some Southern whites have reclaimed the word, using it with pride and defiance as a self-identifier. Continue reading
Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia in the east but also the Ozarks in the center of the country. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term can be offensive to those Americans of Appalachian heritage.
Origins of the term are obscure. According to Anthony Harkins in ‘Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon,’ it first appeared in print in a 1900 ‘New York Journal’ article, with the definition: ‘a Hill-Billie is a free and untrammeled white citizen of Alabama, who lives in the hills, has no means to speak of, dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takes him.’ Continue reading
Honky is a racial slur for white people, predominantly heard in the United States. The first recorded use of honky in this context may date back to 1946, although the use of ‘Honky Tonk’ (a type of bar common in the South) appeared in films well before that time.
The exact origins of the word are generally unknown and postulations about the subject vary. Honky may derive from the term ‘xonq nopp’ which, in the West African language Wolof, literally means ‘red-eared person’ or ‘white person.’ The term may have been brought to the US by slaves.
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