droller than thou.

let's talk about nerds, baybee; let's talk about you and me.

So.  Let's talk about nerds.  

The origin of the nerd stereotype is something that has fascinated me for a long time.  It's part of  another totally fascinating (to me, at least) topic: the crisis of masculinity that emerged in the U.S. and Britain (and maybe some other places that I don't know about) among the middle- and upper-middle classes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  This "crisis" stemmed from a wealth of factors, but had a lot to do with modernism and its related changing ideas/practices/social identities.  During this time, the work landscape (at least for the middle class) was shifting to a more bureaucratic/corporate/office jobby-type situation (read: less manual labor and therefore less "masculine"), as well as the entrance of more women into the work world, and specifically into the field of education (read: our children are being feminized by all these lady teachers, being all ladyish and crap).  Which led to the appearance of all these hyper-masculine (and, rather ironically, pretty homoerotic) things--like the Boy Scouts and competitive bodybuilding and Teddy Roosevelt's whole manly-outdoorsy bag...

But that's really not the point of this.  So let's just move on:

All in all, I have nothing against nerds.  Generally speaking, I find them to be much better people than the majority of douchebags out there--you know, the ones who eat at Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar, listen to Puddle of Muddddd, and generally do despicable, "normal" things.  Yes, I realize that there are probably plenty of nerds out there who engage in these deplorable activities (and plenty of non-nerds who don't), but I'm trying to make a sweeping generalization here, people--cut me some slack.

But actually, to get a little less sweepy, I'll be the first person to point out that there are many flavors of nerd out there.  Of course there are the traditional, stereotypical nerds with pocket protectors, bow ties, and the tendency to snort snow off a top hat.  No, wait.  That's a different movie.

...But there are also a million other varieties of nerd out there, and plenty of cool or "normie" people who have their little (or big) nerdy indulgences. 

Take me, for example.  I definitely consider myself to be a nerd--but I'm a cool nerd.  And not just because my Mom said so, thank you very much*.  Yes, I love me some 50¢ words and book learnin' and obscure cartoons and snorting snow off a top hat.  But I'm also capable of normal (and, dare I say it, awesome) social interaction--to the point that most people wouldn't necessarily classify me as a nerd.  Until they get to know me a little better and I start lecturing them about the awesomeness of parasitic wasps.  At a keg party.  And, yes, I've actually done this before. 

[Note: According to my sources, Kids These Days (KTD) (at least at UC Santa Barbara) don't say "kegger" (or even "keg party"--why the fuck did I say that?), but instead "kickback."  As in, "Hey, are you going to that kickback in Brayden's room?  I hear it's going to be 'off da hook,' for shizzle!"]

[Note: The use of the name "Brayden" in the above note was not accidental.  KTD (or perhaps, to be more accurate in this instance, their parents) are disgusting.]

[Note: The use of the clearly outdated slang in the above note was also not accidental.  That's called "comedy."] 

So what was the point of all this?  Uh...Oh, right.  Nerds. 

Actually, my original intention for this post was to talk about the ridiculous level of nerdery going on in my Flash animation class--but, as usual, I got off on a sociological/historical/blabbering tangent. 

Because I'm a cool nerd.  Ahem.

...Okay, so I'm totally not trying to be all cocktease-y with you ("Oh yeaaaah; I'll definitely tell you all about my Flash class! ...Actually, I'm kind of tired now.  I'll call you...sometime."), but I'm going to save my actual tale of woe/amusement for the next installment. 

But I am totally planning on calling you later.  I swear.

PS: For further reading, please see Wikipedia's entry on nerds, which I find endlessly entertaining.  A reference to Freakazoid!?  Excellent. 

*Because she didn't.

seriously.

What's up the the cartoons in The New Yorker?  I don't get them half the time, and when I do get them they are so not funny.  Now, I know that I'm not stupid, and I also know that I have a sense of humor. So WTF?  I'm normally a big fan of the non sequitur, but this is just crap.

Apparently, I'm not the only person who feels this way:

I mean, every once and awhile there's one that's kind of funny.  But most of the time you get stuck with this:

What?  Why is that funny?  Christ.

Speaking of cartoons, have you ever read Snuffy Smith (actually, it's called Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, but whatever)?  Well, don't.  But also do, so you can see what I'm talking about here.  Snuffy Smith suffers from the same not funny and/or doesn't make sense thing that plagues The New Yorker:

My sister hates (or at least hated at one point) this cartoon, and would fly into a rage whenever she saw/discussed it.  For some reason, I always associate her intense dislike of Snuffy Smith with her intense dislike of Eddie Grant's "Electric Avenue."  Makes sense to me.

Also, I just remembered that I used to love reading Andy Capp as a child.   I mean, what eight-year-old doesn't like shiftless, chain smoking, wife-beating drunks who also have their own line of snack foods? 

Hm?

an endorsement

Have you ever seen Married To The Sea?  It's a jolly good thyme, as they say.  They say that, right?

Here are some of my favorites (I have to display links, unfortunately, because I can't figure out how to make the comics themselves display properly.  Aw, barnacles.):

Longest Fingernails

Roasted Wenis

Turtlemind

Nature Fight

Drink It Up Holmes

Statue of Myself

Oh yeah.

fleisch it up!

Max Fleischer is awesome.  If you're not familiar with his work, I suggest you get acquainted.  Not only did he invent the rotoscope, but he also created some really fabulous (and famous) cartoons during the early-mid twentieth century. 

Case in point:

This is another one of my favorites:

Here's a little clip that shows how Fleischer created some of his rad background/movement sequences:

By the way--for those of you who are concerned, I'm not planning on being lazy forever and just posting YouTube videos.  I have some other more substantial posts in the works.  Don't worry so much.

frapjacks

I need this.  Now.

And what is it, you say?  Why, it's the Pancake Shaped Decorative Pillow from Sofa Garden, of course!  In fact, they have an entire collection (OK, there are only four total) of "breakfast food pillows."  While the fried egg is a good contender for the world's best breakfast food-themed
decorative pillow, there's just something so damn delicious about the pancake stack. 

Unfortunately, I just realized that the largest size they come in is 24"x8".  For some reason I pictured the breakfast food pillows being approximately the size of a bed.  That's a totally normal assumption to make, right?  I think so.  I mean, what good is a stack of pancake-shaped pillows (with a pat of butter, no less!) if you can't lounge atop it in full body recline?  Seriously.

These pancakes make me think of a fantastic Chip 'n Dale cartoon from 1948 called "Three for Breakfast."  Much to my chagrin, I cannot find any actual footage of this online.  It stars, of course, Chip 'n Dale, as well as Donald Duck.  Let's just say that it involves real pancakes, rubber pancakes, a pinch of love, and a dash of racism.  I think those are also the ingredients for IHOP's Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n Fruity...

In a rare non-pancake-related aside, I feel it is my patriotic duty as an American to strongly recommend 1940s and 1950s-era Disney cartoons and shorts.  And not just for the amusing cartoon food and mouth-watering racism.  They just have this certain je ne sais quoi that contemporary animation lacks.

That is all.