Welcome to the Culture archives. The posts are listed in chronological order. Click the post title to read more.
The grass over there > The grass right here.
The Direction (AMAZING.) > The Narration (AWFUL.)
Idealism > Materialism…. or is it?
Vickys’ > Cristinas’ (as a general rule.)
Javier Bardem >>>>>
Real Life < The Inherent Honesty of Every Character in This.
Rating: 8.9/10
This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest contributions by the state of Arkansas to the American way of life.
In 1959, fraternity brothers at the University of Arkansas were suffering from a shortage of chairs. In protest, they took to “hunkering,” or squatting.
From Ivy Style
Before long, hunkerin’ had spread, firstly to Missouri, Mississippi and Oklahoma, thence across the rest of the country. While males were the predominant hunkers, it was reported that females hunkerers were welcomed.[3] Within months, regional hunkerin’ competitions were being held to discover champion hunkerers.[3]
Considered by authorities as much preferable to the craze of the previous year, phonebooth stuffing[3], people hunkered for hours at a time on car roofs, in phone booths and wherever people gathered.[2] Life referred to it as “sociable squatting”[4] Different styles of hunkerin’ were reported as “sophisticates” tended to hunker flatfooted while other hunkered with their elbows inside the knees.[3]
Reasons for the popularity of hunkerin’ included the ability for large groups of people to participate together peacefully to discuss issues such as politics or sport.[1] When asked about the popularity of hunkerin’, one hunkerer said hunkerin’ was
“A respite from a world of turmoil. The main purpose of hunkerin’ is to get down and hunker together. It’s a friendship thing: get your friends to hunker with you. The man you don’t know is the man you haven’t hunkered with.” [3]
(Swiped from A Continuous Lean — Click through for more great images.)
The Minnesota Twins = Duck Down Records
They’re never as great as people want you to believe but are always lauded by traditionalists for playing “the right way.” They compete well with homegrown talent (Heltah Skeltah/Black Moon/Smif N Wessun = Joe Mauer/Justin Morneau/Francisco Liriano) mixed in with some savvy free agents/trades (Kidz in the Hall/B-Real/Torae &Marco Polo= Joe Nathan/Joe Crede/Delmon Young). And Dru Ha is Ron Gardenhire.
“Shouldn’t the Twins definitely be Rhymesayers? Isn’t that screamingly obvious?”–Doc Zeus
I’m not sure besides Atmosphere and Ali what homegrown beasts Rhymesayers has produced. POS? Musab? The Twins always have 3-4 developed All-Stars, much like Duck Down. Plus, thumbs down to the entire Rhymesayers label for never making ONE reference to any hometown teams in 10 years.
“I can’t imagine Slug would ever be into sports. Who has time to root for baseball when you have a girlfriend to bitch about? I’d spit up blood if I ever saw him sporting a Twins fitted. Besides would YOU want to give a shout out to the Timberwolves if they were from YOUR hometown? I don’t think so.”–Doc Zeus
What Hip-Hop Label is Your Local Baseball Team? Find out at Clap Cowards
Remember Peter Arnell and his work? (Go ahead… click through… I’ll wait….)
He owns 1,600 pairs of eyeglasses, all fitted with his prescription…Having done advertising work for the New York Fire Department, he’s managed to get a fire-department badge and radio, and has outfitted his Jeep Commander with flashing lights. Two former business associates, who requested anonymity to avoid damaging their relationship with Arnell, say Arnell carried a handgun in an ankle holster. (Arnell acknowledges only having a gun permit and says stories of him carrying it at work are “inaccurate.”) He also carries a Sony digital camera, and he snaps pictures constantly-75,000 in the past 12 months. An assistant uploads and catalogs them. Arnell devours oranges, about 20 a day, which turn his hands yellow. When he’s done with one bowl, an assistant whisks away the peels and brings in another.
From his Newsweek Profile
I wish this crazy hooker had been a better fighter. ShamWow guy deserves a good ass kicking.
Also — Is that what $1000 gets you on the hooker scene? I’m pretty unfamiliar with it but it seems like if you’re dropping $1000 (and does ShamWow Guy really need to pay for sex??) you should get something first class.
pictures via The Smoking Gun and TMZ
Consumer psychologists call it hyperopia, the medical term for farsightedness and the opposite of myopia, nearsightedness, because it’s the result of people looking too far ahead. They’re so obsessed with preparing for the future that they can’t enjoy the present, and they end up looking back sadly on all their lost opportunities for fun. [...]
Splurging on a vacation or a pair of shoes or a plasma television can produce an immediate case of buyer’s remorse, but that feeling isn’t permanent, according to Ran Kivetz of Columbia University and Anat Keinan of Harvard. In one study, these consumer psychologists asked college students how they felt about the balance of work and play on their winter breaks.
Immediately after the break, the students’ chief regrets were over not doing enough studying, working and saving money. But when they contemplated their winter break a year afterward, they were more likely to regret not having enough fun, not traveling and not spending money. And when alumni returned for their 40th reunion, they had even stronger regrets about too much work and not enough play on their collegiate breaks.
“People feel guilty about hedonism right afterwards, but as time passes the guilt dissipates,” said Dr. Kivetz, a professor of marketing at the Columbia Business School. “At some point there’s a reversal, and what builds up is this wistful feeling of missing out on life’s pleasures.”
Oversaving, A Burden of our Time (in the New York Times)
Sarcastigate got your back….
Yes, it’s true – Japan’s new Ambassadors of Cute are mainly here to raise Japans profile and combat the threat of China.
These 3 ladies represent an effort to get the world to notice and love Japanese culture. By embracing Kawaii, or cute culture, we then will help Japan gain power in a world which is being increasingly dominated by their neighbors, China.
Shizuka Fujioka dresses as a schoolgirl, Misako Aoki, a Victorian doll in voluminous frilly skirts and Yu Kimura is a singer dressed in a polka dot shirt with a bunny print, offset by bouffant back-combed hair. Her look has made her “a fashion leader in Tokyo teens’ favorite haunt, Harajuku.”
Read the Article at YesButNoButYes and then Kill Yourself. (Via KFB)
“We are facing an unprecedented economic crisis. The ruling parties should make their utmost efforts to help (the nation) ride out this difficulty,” Aso told top officials from his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the New Komeito Party.
Aso’s order for the new stimulus package cheered investors, boosting the benchmark Nikkei 225 index by 371.03 points, or 5.2 percent, to close at 7,569.28.
It comes a day after the government said Japan’s economy shrank at a 12.1 percent annual rate in the October-December quarter, slightly better than the initial estimate of a 12.7 percent contraction, but still its sharpest contraction in 35 years.
AP Article on Japan Working on $900+ Billion Stiumulus Package
In two new studies, researchers who study consumer behavior argue that interrupting an experience, whether dreary or pleasant, can make it significantly more intense.
“The punch line is that commercials make TV programs more enjoyable to watch. Even bad commercials,” said Leif Nelson, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of California, San Diego, and a co-author of the new research. “When I tell people this, they just kind of stare at me, in disbelief. The findings are simultaneously implausible and empirically coherent.” [...]
The new consumer research analyzed similar dynamics at a moment-to-moment level. In one experiment, Dr. Nelson, along with Tom Meyvis and Jeff Galak of New York University, had 87 undergraduates watch an episode of the sitcom “Taxi.” Half watched it as it was originally broadcast, with commercials for the Jewelry Factory Store and the law office of Michael Brownstein, among other ads. The other half watched the show straight through, without commercials.
After the show was over, the students rated how much they enjoyed it, using an 11-point scale and comparing it with the sitcom “Happy Days,” which they were all familiar with.. Those who saw “Taxi” without commercials preferred “Happy Days”, but those who saw the original show, Jewelry Factory Store and all, preferred “Taxi” by a significant margin.
Seriously — It’s worth reading the Full Article at The New York Times
We drink Jim Beam. RSS Feed.
May 28th, 2009
Howl Sweet It Is.
Amazon Customer Reviews for Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt
Sales of this shirt have increased by 2300% since internet humorists began competing for who could write the funniest review. The Tuscan Whole Milk link is pretty boss, too.