I Find Myself becoming more and more disgusted by people and things. By that, I mean that I find people more and more vulgar and simplistic and sheep-like. Always wanting a little bit more, a little bit of extra gold plated debt.

I don’t know what it was. Maybe I’ve read too much, or read the wrong things, to make me think this. Everything that people do seems so acidic to what actually being happy constitutes, that I can’t help but see them as lost, parasitic people. Waddling around the malls, finding more furniture, bigger televisions to put on credit, more shiny trinkets to fill their homes with. And fuck me if I know why they do it.

Working jobs they hate, so they can buy things for people they used to care about, so their kids can get into State-U, and graduate with 100K in debt that their accounting job will help them pay off just before their own spoiled, entitled, gilded children go to State-U too, so they can continue the cycle. But don’t worry about it, just do what you’re told and don’t forget to get that new instant-starbucks-coffee-maker and the latest aluminum-and-glass iWhatever that’s got an extra .5gb of storage and a 10x zoom. And don’t you want to take that shitty summer cruise around Alabama that doesn’t go anywhere, just so they can brag to their “friends” about the mediocre food and shitty view of oil dericks.

And it’s not like these cruises offer any real relaxation or simplicity- oh no, it’s all activities designed to keep lazy women liquored up, and oversexed men busy ogling the 19-year-old  activities co-coordinator. And lets not forget the fact that the vacation, just like the rest of these lives, is just a big gilded turd, recently proven by the fact that once the electricity gets shut off, by day two, the seemingly respectable and vaunted middle classes with their electronics, designer clothes, and soul crushing boredom start caking the walls in their own shit because they can’t check Gmail.

You get a freckle every time you make Jesus cry.

She must be cute in that sinful way.

sonic-hip-attack:

List of Comedians that are being unapologetically dense about this issue:

• Jim Norton (“Why is it okay for an actor to play a rapist, but not for a comic to joke about it?”)
• Louis C.K. (“your show makes me laugh every time I watch it. And you have pretty eyes”) 
• Patton Oswalt (“Wow, @danieltosh had to apologize to a self-aggrandizing, idiotic blogger. Hope I never have to do that (again).”)
• Dane Cook (“If you journey through life easily offended by other peoples words I think it’s best for everyone if you just kill yourself”)
• Anthony Jeselnik (“An offended audience member repeating a comedian’s act from memory is worse than, literally, anything”)
• Stevie Ryan (“Daniel Tosh can’t make a rape joke but Eminem can have hit songs about it? PS. AIDS jokes are funnier”)
• Doug Stanhope (“You’re hilarious. If you ever apologize to a heckler again I will rape you. #FuckThatPig”) — wow.
• Opie Radio (“To all the idiots! I completely support Daniel Tosh being a comic in a comedy club! Even if it means rape jokes!”)
• Kumail Nanjiani (“Two things about the Tosh thing. 1. It was said in the moment and not a pre written thing. 2. If you think he’s pro rape you’re an idiot.”) — this one, though. as though it makes it better that it was an off-the-cuff comment. don’t you see how revealing that is about him and his values?
• Sarah Beattie (“calm down about rape jokes everyone’s been raped at least once by george lucas”)
• Doug Benson (“Maybe Daniel Tosh was confused about where he was. He wouldn’t have offended anyone over at the Rape Factory. #ThisTweetWillBeDeletedSoon”)

Just so you have a list and can see how horrible people are all in one place

Rape jokes are almost never funny. They really just aren’t. There’s almost no situation, no person, no premise, where they would be. Until one is. And at that point, I would be the first to laugh.

Why does rape get a special cordon? What about black jokes? Jokes where white people use the N word? Jokes about death, or disease, and poverty are all acceptable, yet rape jokes aren’t? That is one thing, and one thing only: sheer hypocrisy.

Black jokes are funny. Gay jokes are funny. White people jokes are funny. Jokes about women in the kitchen, jokes about stupid bumbling husbands. Jokes about the disabled, and jokes about Asians who are good at tests but bad at driving can be HILARIOUS. Jokes about recently deceased public figures, or homophobic celebrities are (or can be) funny.

So why do rape jokes get almost universally labelled as out-of-bounds? I think it’s because it’s actually one half of the population against the other. Regardless of class, race, orientation, or anything else, it’s mostly male comedians (most of whom happen to be unfunny), versus every single woman ever. And that’s not cool.

A joke is either funny, or not. There can be no limits on what a comedian can say, otherwise he or she has lost all purpose of their commentary. People who want to silence rape jokes are just as bad as people who wanted to silence George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, or Richard Pryor just because they cursed, used foul language, and/or disparaged people in power.

You want to be mad at Daniel Tosh? Fine. Be mad at him. I’m mad at him too, mostly because he just isn’t funny- he’s childish and useless, regurgitating the swill that the internet churns out day in, day out, 24/7 365. But don’t dare try to silence him because of a specific premise of a joke.

You want to prohibit jokes that offend people? Good for you, do it, try it.  But if you want to prohibit only rape jokes or jokes that you don’t like? I say Fuck you, you uptight, humorless, cherry-picking, tunnel-visioned, waste of space. The world doesn’t need you, or your useless, inane crying. Get a hobby- take up knitting. Collect stamps.

Or do the world a favor, and buy a cat and die alone.

allthingseurope:

Trier, Germany (by beeldmark)

Ah, der Fatherland

by Andrew Page1 on Flickr.

glukauf:

Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, with her son Edward, Prince of Wales (right), and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (left). Seated on the left is Alexandra, Tsarina of Russia, holding her baby daughter Grand Duchess Olga. UK, 1896.

I was about to say how fabulous is Nicolas’s outfit, but will you just look at Olga’s face!

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

The questions raised:

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made…

How many other things are we missing?

Glad we still have room.

enochliew:

Designers and their chairs: (from left) George Nelson, Edward Wormley, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames and Jens Risom