Crazy turtle ladies and the interests meme again

[matgb]

Guess what? Yup, it's that interests meme, round 3. I suspect this one will run and run, but hey, I'm enjoying writing the posts so we're good. OK, two batches, both from innerbrat at hers:

ancient civiliasations, black, thirty years war

And also in a comment on my last post on this subject:

Evolutionary theory, flimsy moral standards, jaded old goths

So, once more unto the breach dear Friends...

Ancient Civilisations

Or, alternately, why you should go play Ur for a bit. Basically, as I mentioned a few times in the previous post, I'm a history buff. And while I tend to make my cut off at about 1600 (I like the early modern period most), the precursor civilisations, with their sometimes weirdly advanced technologies like electro-plating, fascinate me. This may, or may not, be linked to me being a huge Battlestar Galactica fan when I was a kid, and might be why I don't file Aliens Vs Predator into the 'worst film ever' category (close, but not quite there). Besides, the Egyptions built pyramids, and pyramids are cool.

Black

Um, yeah, what is there to say. Black is not a colour, black is the complete absence of colour. I'm a goth. Yup, I know this comes as a shock to some people, but I really am. I may not be an archetypal goth, and some people more gother than me on my friends list deny that I am a goth, but I came to terms with my gothness while I was still in my 20s. Black goes with everything, and it makes deciding on colour schemes (for both clothes and websites) a lot easier. frightened put it better than me though:

Well, it's the only colour for clothes, really, isn't it? I don't wear as much as I used to, but if you see me predominantly wearing one colour, it's gonna be black. Neil Gaiman: "It goes with anything, as long as it's black". Terry Pratchett's Vetinari: black robes because he just couldn't be bothered wasting time on deciding what to wear. Terry Pratchett's Death: "It went with anything. It went with everything, sooner or later." I can't explain my attraction to the Dark Side, given I can never be bothered with the makeup and jewellery and whatnot. But I do like wearing too much black. And hell, it makes life a lot easier when separating out the laundry.

So there y'go. Henry Ford may have been a git, but he was right on one point...

Thirty Years War

Ah, yeah. I studied this as part of my A level in history at school, and despite the fact the teacher was awful, I became hooked on the whole subject. I don't own many history books, because they're expensive and you can borrow them from any good library, but I do own twoentitled 'thirty years war', my only two Osprey books are on the armies of Gustavus Adolphus, my favourite "What If..." remains what if he hadn't died at the battle of Luetzen, it starts with a defenestration and ended at Muenster. My politics geekery can point to the Westphalian system of state sovereignty that it created. My military history buff can point to one of the very few battles of annihilation ever fought (Breitenfeld) - normally an army surrenders or can retreat in good order, but at Breitenfeld the Austrian army was destroyed and the Swedes picked up and recruited most of the (mercenary) stragglers. Plus, it represented a high-point in Swedish history; did you know that Sweden was once one of the pre-eminent European powers. SRSLY, they don't like tot alk about it much. Then of course there's Queen Christina. Rereading a book on Swedish history one Christmas was what me to quit GW and go back to college, going University made me pretty much all of my current friends and introduced me to the internet. So yeah, I like the Thirty Years War a lot.

Evolutionary Theory

Right, this one got added because of LJ. Someone (and I thought it was IB herself but I can't find the post) put up another one of those idiot fundies are being stupid posts, and suggested that everyone add Evolutionary Theory and Evolutionary Biology to their interests. While I know little about the actual science, I know enough scientists,a nd enough about the science, to know it's pretty established as The Way Things Work. So, no idea who did post it, but as one of the top results for people that have it listed is ms_ntropy (waves hi at new friend, I got the email as I was looking at that page, freaky, much?), I reckon it was IB and she's just forgotten...

Flimsy Moral Standards

Well, I picked this up from snapesbabe, but it's always actually been true. It's also a basic tenet of Pastafarianism (venganza_fsm). I basically live by the least harm principle, and if it's not hurting anyone, why should it bother people what I do? There's a link here to the earlier reference to categories and the fairly open status of our relationship - I don't want to hurt her at all, but as she's actively trying to set me up with some of her friends, I don't think that's going to happen. But if she aid it bothered her? If she wanted to put limits on people, put certain people off limits? Fine; my standards are flimsy, yes, but hurting her breaks them. Of course, my main problem with pastafarianism is the pirate obsession; everyone knows ninjas are better than pirates.

Jaded Old Goths

Ah, yeah. This brings me back to my first few days on LJ. I set up my journal, posted to say "I'll not be using this much", and started my journey home from London. nadriel posted saying I'd finally succumbed, and by the time I'd got home I'd been added by many friends. You know how when you first start, the best thing to do is copy how your friends do stuff? Well, I saw this in a friends profile, and added it. He's since unfriended me in a fit of pique, but I've kept the interest, because it suite me anyway. There are now 4 people on LJ with this interest, him, me, Jennie and a friend of hers who may have come up with it independently. And I know that, compared to many on my friends list, 32 isn't that old, but when you go to university as a fresher aged 25, and most of oyur friends are 5+ years younger than you, it can feel like it at times. And I'm definitely a bit jaded. On the other hand, one of the people I met last Wednesday at a meet up thing thought I was younger than him. He's 22. I credit my youthful good looks on my absolute dread of getting skin cancer gothness. Honest.

Ah beejezus. I have something like 6 icons that would suit this post. Hmm...

Comments

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

There's a link here to the earlier reference to categories and the fairly open status of our relationship - I don't want to hurt her at all, but as she's actively trying to set me up with some of her friends, I don't think that's going to happen. But if she aid it bothered her? If she wanted to put limits on people, put certain people off limits? Fine; my standards are flimsy, yes, but hurting her breaks them.

* smooch *

Love you.

Ahem, as for the jaded old goths; I pinched it off you. I added it to my interests list because I'm interested in them, not because I am one.

* is glad the wardrobe obscures the bed from here *

And of course ninjas are cooler than pirates. Ninjas wear black.

[innerbrat]

And of course ninjas are cooler than pirates. Ninjas wear black.

You're both dumped.

And Mat? It wasn't me. It absolutely definitely wasn't me. Partly because I don't really put that much weight on interest memes, but mostly because I distinctly dislike the wording, which is why a) I don't have it as an interest, and b) I bolded it the way I did in the original comment.

[matgb]

Fair enough, in which case I've no idea where I got it from; I don't think interest memes acheive much, but they do in a way act as a little sorter, when I see one of them bolded on a profile then there's a link in common somewhere.

Jennie's right in a way though; the best pirate ever was the Drea Pirate Roberts, and he was good enough to be an honorary ninja ;-)

(I tend to play Scorpion clan in L5R, they were doing cool ninja tricks way before everyone decided ninjas were cool, and the Mantis (pirates) are their sworn enemy as well)

[innerbrat]

Oh man, don't start on That There movie. Just don't.

This debate has already been unrevokably settled. So there.

[matgb]

OK, um, I won't mention it again.

But I disagree with your basic assumption there; is Yudoka (above) wearing tight pants? I think not.

Your argument only applies to ninjas with poor dress sense.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

You're both dumped.

Woe! Woe! And thrice Woe!

Not changing my mind, though.

[matgb]

I do hereby declare the Dread Pirate Roberts an honorary ninja, and thus this observation stands.

But, y'know, 'tis true.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

I think that's a good call. He wears all black and is stealthy and cool; he's clearly a Ninja masquerading as a Pirate.

I don't want to do Who Daily, I want to watch more BSG. Damn you.

[matgb]

I told you it was cool. And you're only on season one. So go do Who Daily quick (they had a reaction post last night, so there won't be the huge amount I hope), and then go back to watching them blow stuff up.

Although, considering it's author, Who last night wasn't that bad.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Uh, yeah, Kali is away this week, so I'm not just doing the reaction post, I'm doing the whole of Who Daily and the reaction post all rolled into one.

...

* terrified wibblings *

And yes, you did tell me it was cool, as did others, and it's not that I didn't believe you per se, just that I thought you might have been exaggerating a bit. Turns out you seem to have been underplaying it slightly...

[matgb]

Ah. Um, a whole complete have to read everything post? Ouch.

I'll leave you to it for a bit, I have catching up to do elsewhere.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

So, yeah, two episodes of BSG later and I'm about to start...

I'm confused as to why everyone thought I would like Gaius, and when everyone calls him the bad guy? He's not bad, he's WEAK. And he spends most of the time with that gormless rabbit-in-the-headlights look on his face.

I could never fancy that.

In fact, yeah, lack of totty is a severe downside. But otherwise, it's great.

[matgb]

I don't know really. Based on physical appearance, you did say you liked the look of him with that link posted ages ago, but character wise, yeah, a bit too pathetic at times.

I always felt he should've come clean; my assistant, security cleared, was a cylon, I didn't know because there was no way I could've, thre was no traitor, she infiltrated us, so now we need me to build a detector to find the evil ones, etc.

strangefrontier obsesses over the Chief, and I can see the appeal, not sure who I'd go for out of the men TBH.

Let me know where you've got to plot wise so I can at least talk about it? You could even post reaction posts and stuff every so often, the rest of us can share the love a bit.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

I *like* the chief, and can actually see why I came out as him in the personality test thing, but he has a mouth like a frog.

I just finished the episode where Gaius is a weedy wet and gives in to the blonde bird AGAIN gets accused of genocide and gets put in the Brig until the dude whose name I can't remember discovers fakeness in the photo and gets a homo-erotic hug for his trouble.

It wasn't the most exciting ep; I liked the previous one better (Chief/Boomer in court, Commander Adama going on about legal stuff). Actually, if he didn't have a face like a half-digested prune, I could go for The Old Man... Character-wise he's the one I find most interesting in THAT way.

[poifaerie.livejournal.com]

I basically live by the least harm principle, and if it's not hurting anyone, why should it bother people what I do?

Hear hear.

PS: Pirates >>> Ninjas. FACT.

Exemplar gratis (from modern pop culture):
Cap'n Jack Sparrow
Naruto

[matgb]

Now, see, you're giving crap examples there. I've heard of this Naruto thing, but ninja? If he was truly ninja, I wouldn't have heard of him. I suspect he's just smoke and mirrors, providing the necessary distraction while the real ninja do the business.

Now Jack, I'll give you. Jack is cool. But one cool pirate does not an argument win, I suspect there might've been more, but the ninjas killed them all, sneaky like.

[poifaerie.livejournal.com]

http://poifaerie.livejournal.com/91735.html

[lokean.livejournal.com]

Fact: any individual waku beats all pirates with a big stick and any individual ninja beats all waku with his bare hands. Thus, by a process of irrefutable logic, ninja are better than pirates.

This irrefutable fact can be seen illustrated in the fact that the third PotC film takes place in east asian waters, since waku are so much cooler than mere pirates...



On an unrelated note, Naruto is about the worst example of a ninja in popular culture imaginable. Try Shredder from the Mirage Comics series. Disciplined martial artist and psychotically brutal, revenge mad lunatic with more cutlery than Windsor castle? That's a pop culture ninja, a study in opposites, each pared down to its most perfect, fused together into the ultimate assassin.

[poifaerie.livejournal.com]

Shh! Stop undermining my arguments, dammit!

[matgb]

Why should he stop? My journal, and he agrees with me (sort of).

If I get the time, I'll dig out my sooper sekrit book of Ninja cool (actually, I'll go to nadriel's and borrow his copy of Way of the Scorpion) and explain in good detail why ninja are cool.

You know not ninja, you merely know of distractions, the true ninja is never heard of, never known. There are no ninja, Yudoka says so, it must be true.

Yudoka is head of the group assigned by the leader of the Scorpions Clan to destroy all non-Scorpion ninja. Set a theif to catch a thief. There are no ninja, we killed them all. Using ninja.

[poifaerie.livejournal.com]

He should stop because... um... I don't know. I'm sorry.

And "Yudoka" made me laugh, as it sounds suspiciously like the name of a certain Star Wars/Brian Froud character...

[matgb]

Heh, I'm not in any way bothered, it's a silly internet meme, I have no idea why it's always ninjas versus pirates, but it is.

Then, I did found the Ninja Pirates in that Infection LJ game.

[poifaerie.livejournal.com]

My obsession with it comes from my uni class... we have a bad habit of holding raging "ninjas vs pirates" arguments between our lectures, which normally disintegrates into shouting "Yarrrrrrrr!" repeatedly and pretending to throw shuriken at each other. Sometimes it feels all my cultural knowledge comes from the internet.

[lokean.livejournal.com]

*goes and undermines the argument some more over at your own journal!!

[eldar.livejournal.com]

The only reason I know that Sweden was once a pre-eminent European power is from noticing books/handouts about the Swedish Empire sitting on other people's desks during sixth form.

[matgb]

That'd be the one, it was her favourite subject. D'you know, I've completely forgotten her name now, annoying history teacher, not married, strict methodist, was my head of year all the way through so you might not have really encountered her outside of lessons.

I'm pretty sure the entire A level European history section was designed around background to Swedish history. Fortunately, I really enjoyed it, despite her, but then, they did have one king who went to war with Poland, Denmark and Russia all at the same time, and ended up with the remnants of his army in Turkey. And they still didn't lose. Crazy.

[eldar.livejournal.com]

Mrs Bishop?