April 17, 2017
In literary criticism, an idiot plot is ‘a plot which is kept in motion solely by virtue of the fact that everybody involved is an idiot’ and where the story would otherwise be over if this were not the case. It is a narrative where its conflict comes from characters not recognizing, or not being told, key information that would resolve the conflict, often because of plot contrivance.
The only thing that prevents the conflict’s resolution is the character’s constant avoidance or obliviousness of it throughout the plot, even if it was already obvious to the viewer, so the characters are all ‘idiots’ in that they are too obtuse to simply resolve the conflict immediately. Continue reading →
Posted in Art, Humor, Language |
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April 10, 2017
This Is Your Brain on Drugs was a large-scale US anti-narcotics campaign by Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) launched in 1987, that used three televiztelevised public service announcements (PSAs) and a related poster campaign.
The 30-second version of the first PSA shows a man in a starkly furnished apartment who asks if there is anyone out there who still doesn’t understand the dangers of drug abuse. He holds up an egg and says, ‘This is your brain,’ before motioning to a frying pan and adding, ‘This is drugs.’ He then cracks open the egg, fries the contents, and says, ‘This is your brain on drugs.’ Finally he looks up at the camera and asks, ‘Any questions?’
Posted in Drugs, Politics |
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April 8, 2017
Eggs Benedict is a traditional American brunch or breakfast dish that consists of two halves of an English muffin each of which is topped with Canadian bacon, ham or sometimes bacon, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce (egg yolk, liquid butter, water, and lemon juice). The dish was first popularized in New York City. Many variations on the basic recipe are served.
There are conflicting accounts as to the origin of Eggs Benedict. Delmonico’s in lower Manhattan claims on its menu that ‘Eggs Benedict was first created in our ovens in 1860.’ One of its former chefs, Charles Ranhofer, also published the recipe for ‘Eggs à la Benedick’ in 1894. Continue reading →
Posted in Food |
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April 4, 2017
The Barkley Marathons is an ultramarathon trail race held in Frozen Head State Park near Wartburg, Tennessee. Runners may elect a ‘fun run’ of 60 miles or the full course of 100 miles. The race is limited to a 60-hour period, and takes place in late March or early April of each year.
With 54,200 feet of accumulated vertical climb, the 100-mile run is considered to be one of the more challenging ultramarathons held in the United States, if not the world. In some years, no one has completed the entire course. The Barkley starts any time from midnight to noon on race day, with one hour till race start signaled by blowing a conch. The race officially begins when a cigarette is lit by the race director. Continue reading →
Posted in Games |
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March 21, 2017
The manosphere (or androsphere) is an informal network of blogs, forums, and websites where commentators focus on issues relating to men and masculinity, as a male counterpart to feminism or in opposition to it. Some of these forums have been described in the media and by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) of the United States as promoting a misogynistic worldview.
The content of manosphere articles varies widely. Common topics include the men’s rights, fathers’ rights, and Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW, a movement cautioning men against romantic relationships with women) causes; male victims of abuse; antifeminism; self-improvement; and pick-up artistry (PUA, a collective of men discussing seduction and sexual success with/access to women). Continue reading →
Posted in Politics, Sex, Technology |
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March 13, 2017
Absurdism is a type of philosophy centered on the conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any. The conflict itself is called ‘the absurd,’ by absurdist philosophers.
Absurdists, most notably French philosopher Albert Camus, believe that when human beings realize this fundamental absurdity the most sensible response was to accept the absurd, and also to keep trying to overcome it. He believed that a human being could become happy by finding meaning in their relationship with the absurdity of their existence. In acknowledging the absurdity of seeking any inherent meaning, but continuing this search regardless, one can be happy, gradually developing meaning from the search alone. Continue reading →
Posted in Art, Humor, Philosophy |
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March 7, 2017
The bicycle pedal is the part of a bicycle that the rider pushes with their foot to propel the bicycle. It provides the connection between the cyclist’s foot or shoe and the bike’s drivetrain. The rider pushes the pedals, which turns the crank arms, which power the gearset, which propels the wheels.
Pedals usually consist of a spindle that threads into the end of a crank arm and a body, on which the foot rests or is attached, that is free to rotate on bearings with respect to the spindle. Continue reading →
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February 28, 2017
The loyalty business model is a business model used in strategic management in which company resources are employed so as to increase the loyalty of customers and other stakeholders in the expectation that corporate objectives will be met or surpassed.
Customers are said to have a ‘zone of tolerance’ corresponding to a range of service quality between ‘barely adequate’ and ‘exceptional.’ A single disappointing experience may not significantly reduce the strength of the business relationship if the customer’s overall perception of quality remains high, if switching costs are high, if there are few satisfactory alternatives, if they are committed to the relationship, and if there are bonds keeping them in the relationship. Continue reading →
Posted in Money |
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February 26, 2017
A contrarian is a person that takes up a contrary position, especially a position that is opposed to that of the majority, regardless of how unpopular it may be. A contrarian investing style is one that is based on identifying, and speculating against, movements in stock prices that reflect changes in the sentiments of the majority of investors.
Contrarian journalism is characterised by articles and books making counterintuitive claims, or attacking what is said to be the conventional wisdom (a phrase attributed to Canadian economist and diplomat John Kenneth Galbraith) on a given topic. A typical contrarian trope takes the form, ‘everything you know about topic X is wrong.’ Continue reading →
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Science |
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February 23, 2017
Buck buck (also known as ‘Johnny-on-the-Pony’) is a children’s game with several variants. A very physical version of the game involves one group of players that huddles together. An opposing team of players climbs on their backs and attempts to make the pile collapse.
A less violent version has a player climbing on an opponent’s back and guessing the number of certain objects that are out of sight. As early as the 16th century, children in Europe and the Near East played Buck, Buck, which had been called ‘Bucca Bucca quot sunt hic?’ Pieter Bruegel’s painting “Children’s Games” (1560) depicts children playing a variant of the game. Continue reading →
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February 21, 2017
Vatnik (Russian: ‘cotton-padded jacket’), a derivative of and often shortened to ‘vata’ (Russian: ‘batting’), is a derogatory social slang neologisms in Russian and Ukrainian languages, and an internet meme used in reference to individuals with pro-Russian jingoist and chauvinist views. In the original meaning, ‘vatnik’ (also ‘telogreika’) is a cheap cotton-padded jacket.
The meme was created by Anton Chadskiy under the pseudonym ‘Jedem das Seine.’ His associated picture of an anthropomorphic square-shaped quilted jacket similar to the cartoon character ‘Spongebob Squarepants’ was first posted on Russian social network ‘VK’ September 9, 2011. The meme went viral in 2012, but became much more widespread in society after the Russian military intervention in Ukraine started in 2014. Chadskiy, claiming he feared political persecution, left Russia in late 2014. Continue reading →
Posted in Language, Politics, World |
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February 20, 2017
The ‘web brigades,’ also known in English media as the ‘troll army,’ are state-sponsored anonymous Internet political commentators and trolls linked to the Russian government.
Participants report that they are organized into teams and groups of commentators that participate in Russian and international political blogs and Internet forums using sockpuppets (fraudulent accounts) and large-scale orchestrated trolling (harassment) and disinformation campaigns to promote pro-Putin and pro-Russian propaganda. It has also been found that Wikipedia articles were targeted by Russian internet propaganda activities. Continue reading →
Posted in Technology, War, World |
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