COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Saturday, March 06, 2010

Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? What Would You Do with that Gal?




20 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I am currently rereading William Henry's In Defense of Elitism.

    Okay, not rereading it, precisely (that would be too taxing) but glancing idly through its pages - having pulled it out of one of a hundred boxes of books. And I'll be damned but it's thoroughly dog-eared. I've recalled the premise at odd moments over the years - which is about all I could recall of it.

    I am for the first time mercilessly weeding books, having discovered by accident that one can live happily with far, far fewer of them.






    One of my former neighbors, a perfectly nice, educated, middle aged woman, came over to the house with her young son to make introductions one day. She asked me where we were coming from and when I answered, her son turned to her and asked, "Where's that, Mom?" She looked uncertain and said, "Well, I'm not sure, really."

    I think of myself as rather having cheated my way out of America's well-known geographical ignorance.

    Another seeming paradox: As the hyperpower, we just don't have a whole lot of interest in placing the rest of the world anywhere on a mental map.

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  3. Books, on the other hand, that one might save in a fire:

    The complete Calvin and Hobbes.

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  4. I take it you're a big Calvin and Hobbes fan.

    But if that was the question of the day, Kellie Pickler, probably would have thought it was a store on Rodeo Drive and wondered why she hasn't heard of it, instead of wondering whether Europe was a country or not.

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  5. She's on her second album and has been touring all over the US.

    She also has an awesome hair style.

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  6. Calvin and Hobbes is one of the best comic strips ever created.

    But the compilations have sentimental value as well. That's how my son learned to read: Calvin and Hobbes and Tintin.

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  7. So, overall, how was Kinnnnntucky?

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  8. What would I do with that Gal?

    Certainly not play trivia.

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  9. Oh, and then there's the Far Side.

    No one ever did more for cows and cat's eyes glasses than Gary Larson.

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  10. I am engrossed in the vintage advertising.

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  11. "What would I do with that Gal?"

    I assume that is a purely rhetorical question aimed at impressing the ladies at the EB sans T.


    .

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  12. It's awesome, isn't it?

    I've been fascinated with it since I was a kid.

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  13. Dilbert?

    Absolutely and that was the Upper Elementary favorite (well, among a surely odd lot of middle-schoolers) back in the mid-90's. And of my brother.

    I personally couldn't get through more than fifteen minutes' perusal. Just a little too...depressing.

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  14. "What would I do with that Gal?"

    I assume that is a purely rhetorical question aimed at impressing the ladies at the EB sans T.





    No Comment....

    Cause ANYTHING I said would get me into trouble.

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  15. For those that did not know...

    History of Buda

    In medieval times, Jews lived in Buda as merchants, shopkeepers and craftsmen. A Jewish community formed in the late 11th-early 12th century. A synagogue was built in 1307, but was destroyed a number of years later. The Jews were expelled in 1348 and again in 1360, but were allowed to return shortly afterward.

    The Jewish community gained prominence in the late 14th and early 15th century. In 1446, wealthy Jews participated in the royal ceremonies of King Mattahias Corvinus. The King designated the head of the Jewish community in Buda as a spokesperson for the country's entire Jewish population. A second synagogue was built in Buda in 1461 and survived for many years.

    The situation for Jews took a turn for the worse in the 1490's, their property was confiscated and loans to Jews were not paid. For the fifteen years before the Ottoman conquest of Buda, a period of unrest ensued.


    Get it thru your minds...

    The Moslems, the Ottomans, the TURKS were INVADING Europe......

    Sound familiar?

    It should....

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  16. Gee, sounds like we need another Vlad the Impaler.



    .

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  17. And, the Rufi Clan was getting the hell OUT of Europe.

    They could'a had it for all we cared.

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  18. The tides of war are coming to europe as we speak...

    From Amsterdam to Paris the Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations is happening...

    It's an old war....

    Back to the Gates of Vienna...

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