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  1.  
    bq. I confess, though, even though my accent is generally unremarkable, sometimes I do say y’all.

    Y'all was one of the greatest things ever to come from the south along with mashed 'taters and gravy, Lynrd Skynrd and Guns 'N Roses (most of the members were from Louisiana). And it's just so convienent.

    bq. Well, you have the New Yoik accent, and the Bawstun accent, and the Southern drawl, and the Midwestern drawl…

    Now I have a generic American accent in spite of ten years in the south but my accent changes whenever I talk to my southern relatives.
  2.  

    I have a vanilla accent, but I like using y’all. It’s just so handy!

    •  
      CommentAuthorSpanman
    • CommentTimeJan 4th 2012
     

    mashed ‘taters and gravy, Lynrd Skynrd and Guns ‘N Roses

    While I am unfamiliar with Lynrd Skynrd and my knowledge of Guns ‘N Roses is limited to a few songs I heard once and found distasteful, I love mashed potatoes and gravy. However, I get the distinct feeling that they came from somewhere else before they came from the South.

    •  
      CommentAuthorClibanarius
    • CommentTimeJan 4th 2012 edited
     
    bq. I have a vanilla accent, but I like using y’all. It’s just so handy!

    "Hey y'all!"

    "All y'all can just shut the hell up."

    "The hell y'all doin'?"

    "Y'all ain't gonna believe this."

    bq. While I am unfamiliar with Lynrd Skynrd and my knowledge of Guns ‘N Roses is limited to a few songs I heard once and found distasteful, I love mashed potatoes and gravy. However, I get the distinct feeling that they came from somewhere else before they came from the South.

    Lynrd Skyrnd is only the greatest southern rock band in the universe. :P Which GNR songs did you hear?

    Stop spouting such blasphemy about my beloved 'taters. Burn the heretic!



    Just of curiosity are there any good (and short) fics where Twilight is reduxed and would appeal to someone like me?
    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJan 4th 2012
     

    I have a vanilla accent, but I like using y’all. It’s just so handy!

    I’ve found myself saying things like “most def,” “no doubt” and “y’all” just because I’ve been watching so much of The Wire lately.

    somethingsomethingtwilightsomethingsomething.

  3.  

    I try to keep forcing myself to get a London accent, though it breaks apart when I have to talk to other people.

    •  
      CommentAuthorSpanman
    • CommentTimeJan 4th 2012
     

    Which GNR songs did you hear?

    I don’t know, I just remember that I didn’t like them. I am fully prepared for a reform, however.

    Stop spouting such blasphemy about my beloved ‘taters.

    My flesh is formed of potatoes, and gravy is my lifeblood. I am not even kidding.

    •  
      CommentAuthorClibanarius
    • CommentTimeJan 4th 2012 edited
     
    bq. I don’t know, I just remember that I didn’t like them. I am fully prepared for a reform, however.

    Sweet Child 'O Mine, November Rain, Paradise City and Patience. Some of their greatest songs.

    bq. My flesh is formed of potatoes, and gravy is my lifeblood. I am not even kidding.

    I have a sudden to put a spoonful of you onto my plate next to my meat.

    . . . Wow, a part of me thinks that's really weird while another part of me is laughing hysterically.
    •  
      CommentAuthorSpanman
    • CommentTimeJan 4th 2012
     

    I shall choose not to take that the wrong way. Also, because I’m feeling exceedingly good-natured today, I shall go listen to one or more of your recommendations.

  4.  
    bq. I shall choose not to take that the wrong way. Also, because I’m feeling exceedingly good-natured today, I shall go listen to one or more of your recommendations.

    Excellent! Thank you for not taking that the wrong way and for being so good-natured :)
    • CommentAuthorMnemone
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2012
     
    To Americans who believe themselves to have no accent I suggest they watch *The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp*, starring the lovely Deborah Kerr in a triple role. I suggest this because the main characters are British, but about an hour and a half into the movie there is an American soldier who relays information to the title character (played by Roger Livesey) and the sudden appearance of the American's accent is very jarring.

    However, none of this has to do with Twilight. May I present:

    !http://images.wikia.com/twilightsaga/images/f/f9/Team_Tyler_s_Van_by_Jack0King.jpg!
    •  
      CommentAuthorSpanman
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2012
     

    Thank you for not taking that the wrong way and for being so good-natured :)

    Potatoes and gravy work wonders for my mood, I’ve found.

  5.  
    bq. Potatoes and gravy work wonders for my mood, I’ve found.

    The world would be a better place if we all ate more of it. : )
    •  
      CommentAuthorSpanman
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2012
     

    Also more obese?

    I honestly have no idea if that’s true or not, because whenever anyone tries to talk about how butter and gravy make you fat or whatever, I close my ears and refuse to listen.

  6.  

    I confess, though, even though my accent is generally unremarkable, sometimes I do say y’all.

    I might suppress a lot of my accent (well… let those listening to the podcast judge) but I will never let “ya’ll” die. At least, not until English gets a proper 2nd person plural.

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2012
     

    What the hell is that thing?

    squints closer

    Good God, is that a… a purple Astrovan… a purple mid-80s Astrovan with 22-inch rims?!

    I dunno. Even if it did almost kill Bella I don’t know if I can wholeheartedly support it.

    Also, I picture Jesus as the lead singer of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band…

    •  
      CommentAuthorSoupnazi
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2012
     

    Yeah, by vanilla American accent I meant generic and typical—comparable to what most Americans think is just the “British accent”. On the topic of Canadian accents, the most extreme I’ve heard (and note that this is only from watching HGTV) is a slight “oo” in the words “house” and stuff, but it’s along with the “ow” sound too. It’s kind of weird, but not nearly as conspicuous as most people make it out to be.

    Team Tyler’s Van, sure, though I’m also team Mike because he’s a secondary character and that’s all Bella deserves!

  7.  

    Team Tyler’s Van, sure, though I’m also team Mike because he’s a secondary character and that’s all Bella deserves!

    Hey! What’d Mike ever do to you to deserve Bella?

    •  
      CommentAuthorSoupnazi
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2012
     

    Don’t blame me; it’s Stephenie Meyer who decided he gets to be a bad character.

    •  
      CommentAuthorFalling
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2012 edited
     

    On the topic of Canadian accents, the most extreme I’ve heard (and note that this is only from watching HGTV) is a slight “oo” in the words “house” and stuff, but it’s along with the “ow” sound too. It’s kind of weird, but not nearly as conspicuous as most people make it out to be.

    Now that you say it, I think you’re right about house, but I never noticed that despite knowing why ‘about’ is heard so differently. Thing is, I have no idea how you would close either of those sounds without changing the first vowel sound- abat? hawse? My sister attended a Bible college in Colorado and came with a lot of her short vowel sounds with a touch of ‘a’ in it. So pop and mom vaguely sounded like pap and mam, except not that extreme.

    And her boyfriend, now husband does say ruf for roof. Can’t get over that one :)

    ...we almost need an accents thread at this point so we don’t continue to derail the Twilight thread. Of course, once created, we’ll probably have nothing to say.

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2012
     

    Knowing this place, Falling, we’ll create it and use it to talk about Twilight.

  8.  
    bq. Also more obese?

    Well, IMO that's what God made long walks in the woods for.

    bq. I honestly have no idea if that’s true or not, because whenever anyone tries to talk about how butter and gravy make you fat or whatever, I close my ears and refuse to listen.

    I do the same thing and also when they start going on about the evils of bacon.
    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2012
     

    Who on earth would dare go on about the evils of bacon?

    What are the evils of bacon?

    That’s what I thought.

  9.  
    bq. Who on earth would dare go on about the evils of bacon?

    +1 But they do.

    bq. What are the evils of bacon?

    That's what I said.
    •  
      CommentAuthorSpanman
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2012
     

    And I still have no idea. Active nonlistening for the win?

  10.  
    bq. And I still have no idea. Active nonlistening for the win?

    Indeed. And that's an excellent name for it BTW.
    • CommentAuthorMnemone
    • CommentTimeJan 9th 2012
     
    !http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xWB0FOvSVXo/TISubBSPZNI/AAAAAAAAAWU/cZTkhjL3Kuc/s1600/twilight%20lol.jpg#twilight%20%20lol!
    •  
      CommentAuthorBlueMask
    • CommentTimeJan 9th 2012
     

    Oh no, not this again. I was once the witness to a massive flame war between Twihards and Twihaters over this meme.

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeJan 9th 2012
     

    I find last-panel Edward really adorable for some reason. If he would have looked like that for all three movies they would have been 200% more entertaining.

  11.  
    •  
      CommentAuthorFell_Blade
    • CommentTimeJan 10th 2012
     

    Ha, awesome vid.

    Have any of you see the Il Neige reviews of Twilight and New Moon on Reviewtopia.net? They’re pretty hilarious.

  12.  

    I think so, BUT HOW DARE YOU NOT LINK!

    Two minutes in the corner of shame. XP

    •  
      CommentAuthorFell_Blade
    • CommentTimeJan 10th 2012
     

    “I do not like the corner of shame.” =(
    What We Had To Watch-Twilight
    New Moon

    His Eragon movie review is pretty awesome too…
    What We Had To Watch-Eragon

  13.  

    If swenson didn’t make it, I know now she’ll be really happy.

  14.  
    ^ Eh?
  15.  
  16.  
    My sound doesn't work.
    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeJan 13th 2012
     

    SQUEEEEEEE! RED VS. BLUE REFERENCE!

    Tex and Church have an awesome love story, thank you very much. Yes, it may be based around hating and insulting one another every spare second they get, and occasionally killing or at least sort-of killing one another, and it’s all due to severe mental trauma, but still. :D

    • CommentAuthorSen
    • CommentTimeJan 17th 2012
     

  17.  

    Yeah, Sen, I think I read that one, but I can’t remember where it is. Was that one where she ragged on Buttercup and Westley? Or the one where she said: “nobody else lost an Edward”

    • CommentAuthorSen
    • CommentTimeJan 17th 2012 edited
     

    Yep, it was the Buttercup and Westley one. I’m not sure why this bothered me so much more than any other interviews I read about. I guess it’s because the entire time I’ve noticed her playing the victim. Sort of. I felt that way after she talked about how she couldn’t read Stephen King’s books as they were so scary. I’m pretty sure she was saying that, as he’s so horrible, his criticism against her doesn’t count, or something. Now I see she’s actually confident enough to speak like this. It’s a bit scary. What’s even more scary, is how arrogant her brother is. He absolutely refuses to let any criticism reach her and becomes quite cruel when people appeal to him in order to put some important, and difficult, questions to her. I had an idea that she was being very sheltered from the negative, but this is frightening. To be this blind and have so much influence and power at the same time; I can’t stand the thought.

    Apparently she’s writing something new, with arrows and bows (she said it, not me), and the excerpt looks awful. I thought it was a joke. She doesn’t look as if she’s done churning out this rubbish just yet. I wish it would all just stop.

    •  
      CommentAuthorSoupnazi
    • CommentTimeJan 17th 2012
     

    Sen, do you have a link to that excerpt?

    • CommentAuthorSen
    • CommentTimeJan 17th 2012 edited
     

    EDIT: LOL. It really was posted as a joke. She does intend to write a fantasy with swords and magic, but that was just their version of what it might turn out like. What’s so sad and unfunny about the joke though, is that it sounds like something she would really write. Tell me that looks nothing close to her writing “style”.

    •  
      CommentAuthorSoupnazi
    • CommentTimeJan 17th 2012
     

    Huh.

    •  
      CommentAuthorApep
    • CommentTimeJan 17th 2012
     

    Yeah, the fact that it was posted on March 31 should have been a big tip off. Not that I blame you for making that mistake – the prose is exactly like what SMeyer would write, only taken to 11 (“Jakob with a ‘k’”? really?). Sadly, the quote from SMeyer isn’t a joke. shudder

    Anyway, I was at Barnes & Noble today, when I saw this.

    For those afraid to click, it’s volume 2 of the Twilight “graphic novel” (in quotes because I’m not entirely certain that Twilight counts as a novel in the first place).

    Dear god, they finally made it. Will nothing stop SMeyer/her publishers from milking this cash cow to death?

    •  
      CommentAuthorTakuGifian
    • CommentTimeJan 18th 2012
     

    Apep, there’s rumours of a TV show possibly being discussed. Yeahno.

    http://dolly.ninemsn.com.au/dollywood/gossip/8403720/twilight-the-tv-series

    •  
      CommentAuthorFell_Blade
    • CommentTimeJan 18th 2012
     

    Oh gosh, they really don’t want to let this one die, do they?

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJan 18th 2012
     

    Personally, I think Twilight would work better as a TV series than a movie series.

    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeJan 18th 2012
     

    Dear goodness, a TV show? Say it ain’t so!

    On the graphic novel, I really hope ComicsAlliance rips it apart like they did to the last one. The brilliant part was that they didn’t even bother to talk about the story (which has had plenty of people rip it apart already, including some on our very own site!), they just focused on the technical aspects of the comic, pointing out that it’s very poorly designed. In a graphic novel, words aren’t enough, you’ve got to have good art and layout as well. But in the graphic novel, both sides fell down pretty hard.

  18.  

    Personally, I think Twilight would work better as a TV series than a movie series.

    It would be one of those shows where nothing happens until the season finale.

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeJan 18th 2012
     

    I was gonna say that.

  19.  

    I think if it was funny it’d work. Then you could excuse nothing happening. Hello, Seinfeldian Conversations :)

    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2012
     

    Can’t disagree…

    •  
      CommentAuthorSoupnazi
    • CommentTimeJan 20th 2012
     

    Weee-eeell…. Maybe.

  20.  

    I can’t decide either.

  21.  

    Dang, swenson beat me to it.

    Well….

    I was puttering around on a website, and while I don’t agree with everything this guy says (he has more than a few entries on Twilight, but I prefer this one since it points out the problems for both boys & girls), I think he makes a good point about how bad some of the culture effects this book may have.

    First, the vampire protagonist must be much, much older, but look young. Second, he must dominate the female protagonist, and also protect her against his own violent desires (to hurt or kill her). Third, he must overtly humiliate nice-guy ordinary rivals who are the same age as the female protagonist, and make them look like pale imitations of his dominant masculine energy. Fourth, he must be “hot” and of course, hairless. Fifth, he has to kill a lot of people. Sixth, he must have a past of killing a lot of people, which the heroine must harness for her own ends to “change him.” Finally, the vampire hero must dominate and often rape his female heroine, with sex so violent it leaves brutal marks.

    This is particularly true in the climax of the best known vampire series, beloved by tween girls, teen girls, and their moms, the Twilight books. Where the vampire Edward Cullen takes his human teen bride and has sex with her, so violent that every bone in her body is broken, as she’s transformed into a vampire. A teen girl, young and beautiful, forever! In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, vampire hero Spike rapes Buffy, which makes her love him even more. But she truly falls for him when he tells her of how many young girls, the age of her younger sister or younger, he raped and tortured before killing. In an earlier arc, Buffy finds her love for her other vampire boyfriend Angel unshakeable even while he’s killing and harming friends, acquaintances, and teachers. Very tellingly, Buffy loses all interest in her human boyfriend Riley, when he loses the status of super-soldier and becomes just a decent guy without powers.
    ...
    Writer Riley is just shocked at the true nature of female desire. When you boil it down, violence is no turn off, indeed is arousing, to most women, particularly those most desirable. As anyone who has observed the amazingly hot and often intelligent women around even the most pathetic lowlife who has a streak of violence. Indeed, the easiest way to be successful with women is through successful violence, as the winner, which is one of the major reasons the Ghetto and Barrio are so ridden with crime and cannot get out of it. When some “senseless” amount of violence, a shooting of a good kid with no gang ties, or a grandmother, or an infant occurs, rest assured some gang member will be having sex that night. Its guaranteed! Increasingly as Theodore Dalrymple argues, White British Chavs echo this same behavior, and of course White British Chav women find the men that beat them irresistible. As Dalrymple puts it, they find ordinary, decent men who would treat them well, boring. Sexless. In Chav Britain, the Barrio, and the Ghetto, this is normal female preference. Its shocking when a woman does not choose a violent thug. Even more when an attractive woman does it. Women have always found killers arousing, Geronimo when imprisoned at Pensacola, reputedly cut a huge swath through his jailers wives. Even though at the time he was a wizened old man, his body count made him sexy.
    ...
    Female fantasy reveals what women really desire, in the scheme of things. Which at its ultimate, is a violent, dangerous man they can control through being sexier than other women.
    ...
    But just as compelling, is the knowledge that women respond to violence. That as long as they don’t suffer from it directly, themselves (and even that is negotiable, witness Rihanna and Chris Brown), violence if successful (getting away with it) is the path to a woman’s desire, if not her heart. And if a man has her desire, her heart will soon follow anyway. This is the incentive at work:
    Be violent and successful at violence. Get the girl. And another. And another. Winner take all (literally). Loser ends up dead (or alone).

    Man, that was depressing. We need to lighten things up before we all end up trying to create an “II-island” to preserve sanity and civilization.

    Ah – much…. better?

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2012
     

    I laughed.

    Also, that article excerpt is depressing.

    trying to create an “II-island” to preserve sanity and civilization.

    Hell, let’s do it. From what I see of this place, II is humanity’s last best hope.

  22.  

    Hell, let’s do it. From what I see of this place, II is humanity’s last best hope.

    We’ll at least have a better book selection. XD

    • CommentAuthorMoggo
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2012
     
    About that entry, I just have to say...WHAT?!

    Look, I like Twilight, so I may be a tiny bit biased. But am I the only one who thinks that whoever wrote that has neither read Twilight or watched Buffy? First, the point he makes about Bella having to change Edward. She does not. By the time she meets him, he's already reformed from killing. There is nothing to change. In fact, the books state (whether you agree with it is up to you) that he is perfect, at least in Bella's eyes. Why would she want and try to change him? And then there is this sentence:

    "Where the vampire Edward Cullen takes his human teen bride and has sex with her, so violent that every bone in her body is broken, as she’s transformed into a vampire."

    It may just be my poor English, but I don't get what he is saying. He states that Bella is turned into a vampire during sex and while Edward breaks her bones. Even people who haven't read the books know that's wrong, so I won't even elaborate on it. But the Buffy parts are what pisses me off the most. I must have watched the censored version of the show. Either that, or he's referring to something that happens in the comics, because I can't recall Spike (who is a hero...since when? Calling him a anti-hero is already being generous enough) raping Buffy. He tries, which prompts his Heel Face Turn and makes him search for a way to restore his soul, and even then, she doesn't love him "even more". Her not loving him was the reason for the attempted (note the "attempted", because this writer didn't) rape to happen in the first place, for god's sake. They have a few moments after it happens, but by then, he's already re-souled, and it still takes some time for her to forgive him. The "young girls, the age of her younger sister or younger, he raped and tortured before killing" part I also can't remember happening, and somehow, whoever wrote this managed to miss that Buffy never loved Riley all that much in the first place, and that they had problems from the start (that, and zero chemistry, but that's just my opinion). On what he says about female nature and what women are attracted to...I just have to say that I wish I knew enough textile to call BULLSHIT in a bigger font.
    •  
      CommentAuthorBlueMask
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2012
     

    I agree with you. What the hell?
    bq. But just as compelling, is the knowledge that women respond to violence.

    I’m sorry? Sure, maybe some do, but generalizing woman like that is awful.

    Women have always found killers arousing.

    Just..wow. No.

    As Dalrymple puts it, they find ordinary, decent men who would treat them well, boring.

    I, for one, wouldn’t.

    • CommentAuthorMoggo
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2012 edited
     
    Thank you. For a second I thought I was alone in finding that article tasteless. Nate, I have lurked on this forum for some time now, and I think you can be really smart and funny (and REALLY pushy with your self-promotion, but that's neither here nor there), but posting this thing was neither. I have read pro-Twilight (read: pro-Imprinting, stalking-is-love) articles that weren't even half as offensive as this one. Wtf, dude?
  23.  

    I agree. I know nothing about Buffy (though I thought it was well-liked by non-horrifying individuals, so what the article says seems unlikely), but even though I haven’t read Breaking Dawn, I know that Edward doesn’t break Bella’s bones or turn her into a vampire while having sex with her. The birth of the demon spawn child does that. And then Ed changes her to keep her from dying.

    I do get what he was going for with the abused staying with abusers (though I don’t think the abused actually like the violence) and people sleeping with gang bangers and stuff, but jumping from that to “all women wanna be with rapists and murderers because rape and murder is so hot” is just… wrong and icky and really horrible.

  24.  

    His tone just seems uncomfortably misogynistic to me.

    violence if successful (getting away with it) is the path to a woman’s desire, if not her heart. And if a man has her desire, her heart will soon follow anyway.

    Um.

    • CommentAuthorMoggo
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2012 edited
     
    Classical Nice Guy attitude.
  25.  

    I wish I knew enough textile to call BULLSHIT in a bigger font.

    you put “h1.” in front of the giant part. It may need its own line.

    Classical Nice Guy attitude.

    Nice Guys are the worst, but we all know that.

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2012
     

    This is what happens when you listen to Social Darwinists, people. They’re crazy.

    Although I did read a fascinating article in a British medical journal about the psychology of the abused. I don’t know why I bring it up because I can’t for the life of me remember where it was.

  26.  

    Hey, every time I read “women” in his post, I was replacing it with “twi-hards”. XD

    I’m sorry? Sure, maybe some do, but generalizing woman like that is awful.

    Thank you. For a second I thought I was alone in finding that article tasteless. Nate, I have lurked on this forum for some time now, and I think you can be really smart and funny (and REALLY pushy with your self-promotion, but that’s neither here nor there), but posting this thing was neither. I have read pro-Twilight (read: pro-Imprinting, stalking-is-love) articles that weren’t even half as offensive as this one. Wtf, dude?

    whoa, hang on here. Gotta step back and think of it in market forces terms.

    Consider like… JC’s (James Cameron’s) Avatar. Did 100% of all people like it? Heck, one commenter and myself on my blog didn’t so that at least breaks that stat up. But, did enough people like it? Enough that studios, seeking profit, start aping things from that movie in a search to replicate it’s success and box office? Well since it didn’t have much of a story but great 3D, and more and more movies lately have been 3D (without much story)... looks like the answer is yes.

    So let’s turn this to the interaction between the sexes. Obviously, we’re going to be having some big differences here. Companies (like movie makers) are looking to attract millions of people in order to turn a profit. People (I dare say, most) will usually be seeking to attract just one other person (maybe more, but not past the hundreds) with a variable goal (sex, reproduction, relationship, etc etc). Here on out I’ll address straight relationships since I’m more familiar with them.

    Thus, the true fridge horror becomes: what market forces is twilight sending out (if any) to the person connection market? IF a large enough group of women are twi-hards (literally or just in spirit – maybe they’ve never had the chance to read the book – whatever), and IF that group has a sizable segment of women that are desirable by men (whether physically attractive and/or have desirable personality traits): Then the question becomes, how will the men seeking those women react (as well as how many)?

    Take this awesome video (completely with sexy accent) If her account’s accurate, then she, alone of a dozen girls, was creeped out by Edward’s stalkerish/abusive actions. So, if you’re a guy with no soul, you can look at something like that and realize that you can either behave – and have a shot at one girl, or act like Edward – and have a shot at a dozen.

    That’s one thing I definitely agree with the essay in the previous T&P, and am starting to dread about the twilight phenom. Every dollar spent “voting” for it unironically is just another vote for guys to be the worst sort of animal.

    Obviously no lessons from Twilight would apply to any Imp (because we’re all too awesome for that), and it’s funny how more and more, I’ve been gauging people’s reactions to the work to see if who’s worth the time to socialize with. Though at some point we’ll all have to figure out a way to vote with our own dollars to send out a “market signal” for sanity*.

    Nice Guys are the worst, but we all know that.

    Anytime something like that is said, I wonder if someone had a bunch of childhood memories (where they thought they were being complimented/praised) ruined into a lifetime of insults.

    • CommentAuthorMnemone
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2012 edited
     
    Gentlemen who are kind and gracious (as all gentlemen should be) should not be castigated for being this way, particularly if they have no ulterior motive for their behaviour.
    • CommentAuthorNo One
    • CommentTimeJan 26th 2012
     

    The closest you can find females who prefer murderers and rapists over genuinely nice men would be wild animals, like deers with those freakin’ scary antlers. Actually, I don’t know whether those female animals would prefer the violent males over non-violent males…?

  27.  

    Goddamn, it gets even worse if you read the whole blog post rather than just the selected quotes. Blogger sure is a bitch for a guy named Whiskey.

  28.  

    Gentlemen who are kind and gracious (as all gentlemen should be) should not be castigated for being this way, particularly if they have no ulterior motive for their behaviour.

    If they have an ulterior motive, they’re not gentlemen. But yes. Gentlemen are freaking awesome.

    And by gentlemen I mean guys who are trying to be polite and considerate, not unctuously smooth. It’s just so nice when they are. Makes me happy :)

  29.  

    And by gentlemen I mean guys who are trying to be polite and considerate, not unctuously smooth. It’s just so nice when they are. Makes me happy :)

    It really is. Of my two guy-friends in my Racquet Sports class, one is a bastard and the other is a complete gentleman. The contrast is hilarious.

  30.  
    bq. And by gentlemen I mean guys who are trying to be polite and considerate, not unctuously smooth. It’s just so nice when they are. Makes me happy :)

    Now I'm going to have to be on my guard all the time so that you don't find out the truth about me. : (
    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeJan 28th 2012
     

    Which is what, that at night you’re secretly a loudmouthed southern redneck? Don’t worry, we can keep a secret.
    :D

    C’mon, dude, you’ve got this “being polite” thing down.

  31.  
    bq. Which is what, that at night you’re secretly a loudmouthed southern redneck?

    Well, change at night for all the time and southern for northern. . . :P
  32.  

    Come on mate, admit it. You’re gentlemanly.

  33.  
    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeJan 30th 2012
     

    My thoughts on that article:

    No, what they [women] want to see is actual real human emotional stories that touch some chord with them.

    Precisely! That’s why I hate Twilight.

    It is interesting to note that self-sacrifice has been a theme in the series for nearly all of the characters, and yet it is only Bella’s willingness to surrender one thing (sometimes her life) for the sake of another that is called into question.

    Wrong. I criticize Bella’s idiotic insistence on throwing away her life, sure, but I also criticize Edward’s equally idiotic inability to live without Bella. I don’t see self-sacrifice as all that big a deal for everyone else anyway. There’s sacrifice, sure—Charlie has to give up his daughter, for example—but self-sacrifice is a whole different animal than general sacrifice. And I don’t see a whole lot of self-sacrifice there. What does Jacob sacrifice? Or Rosalie, or Alice, or Leah, or anybody else?

    Is a woman strong and capable if she chooses to forgo a family in favor of her work, and weak if she chooses the opposite?

    Arghityblarghgrumpface. Yet again, pro-Twilight people (note my polite choice of words there) completely misunderstand our point. My problem is not with Bella wanting to be a mother and a housewife; quite frankly, I have no problem whatsoever with her choosing that, and I think it’s just as valid of a choice for a modern woman as any other. My problem is that she’s such a doormat about it. If the only thing in life you want is a babby and a domineering husband, you have got just as many issues as the person who is obsessed with a particular career. You’ve got to be well-rounded. And Bella isn’t. The instant she gets her twu wuv, she’s obsessed with it forever.

    And finally…

    “I want to create great, complex, interesting roles for women,” she said. “When I say strong I don’t mean noble. I mean intense. I want to see complicated, damaged, flawed women — who also kick-ass a little bit, that would be nice. I want to see the female Iron Man, the female Tony Soprano.”

    THEN WHY ARE YOU PRAISING TWILIGHT YOU CRAZY WOMAN.

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeJan 30th 2012
     

    “And a cherry on top, that would be nice”.

    Snerk. Why is there so much silly wish-fulfillment in this particular area?

  34.  

    It was a deciding factor for me of whether or not to do the movie. If I could not find my way into it that didn’t violate my beliefs (because I am extremely pro-choice very outspoken about it, very much a feminist) I would not have written this move,” she said.

    OK WAT.

    Pro-choice? I’m not talking about how babies aren’t pro-choice (after all, most of the people I know have them because they want them) but Edward decides everything in her life. She might think she’s agreeing to it, but really when you look at it objectively, she would not have proposed an alternative that would ‘hurt’ him. And he’ll say anything hurts him if it’ll make her do what he wants her to. It’s manipulation.

    ...preaching to the choir now, so I’ll shut up.

    •  
      CommentAuthorTakuGifian
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2012
     

    Couldn’t resist. Actually true, too. At least one of them shows a genuine emotional response for the other.

    • CommentAuthorSen
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2012
     

    Pikachu crying! D:

    That’s just breaking my heart :(

    • CommentAuthorNo One
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2012
     

    PIKACHUUUUU!!! glomp AAAAHHHH SO CUTE man, makes me wish I was watching Pokemon right now…

  35.  

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeFeb 10th 2012
     

    I get that it’s supposed to be a joke, but Emma’s facial reactions are terrible.

    •  
      CommentAuthorSoupnazi
    • CommentTimeFeb 10th 2012
     

    At least she’s emoted. XD

    •  
      CommentAuthorTakuGifian
    • CommentTimeFeb 10th 2012 edited
     

    That poster is inaccurate. At least half of Stewart’s emotions should show her chewing on her lip.

  36.  

    I get that it’s supposed to be a joke, but Emma’s facial reactions are terrible.

    I think the person labelling them is the one who’s confused.

    •  
      CommentAuthorBlueMask
    • CommentTimeFeb 13th 2012
     

    Yes, there are plenty of other facial expressions that they could have used.

  37.  

    Reading a fascinating essay by the wife of John C Wright.

    I highly recommend you check it out – especially since it drops behind a paywall on wed.

    Interesting bits.

    Drama is about conflict. It is about breaking taboos, the more shocking the better! Thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, alcoholics, adulterers—all the things that traditional culture does not wish to glamorize—make for entrancing drama. But it is not just traditional culture that gets trampled by the needs of drama. Bigotry, class struggles, and inequality among the sexes also make for excellent storytelling.

    Are the people who fear the effect of drama on society starting at shadows? Perhaps not. Shock value is temporary. The moment you have seen a few stories that violate a particular taboo, that tension becomes old hat. Nobody cares anymore. There is no sense of surprise. People do not care if they see the same thing in another movie. They start thinking of that particular behavior as normal, or at least as a part of reality that must be endured.

    So those who wish they could guard culture by controlling drama do have a strong argument on their side. But they cannot change the facts: a story that explores boundaries and breaks taboos is often a better story than one that does not.

    •  
      CommentAuthorFalling
    • CommentTimeFeb 20th 2012
     

    “Drama is about conflict. It is about breaking taboos, the more shocking the better! “
    “Shock value is temporary. The moment you have seen a few stories that violate a particular taboo, that tension becomes old hat. Nobody cares anymore.”

    I guess. But I think the second quote creates an inherent problems as we are always searching for the next thing taboo to tackle. At some point is it simply obscene for it’s own sake and no longer art? Never seen them, but two titles that come to mind: Human Centipede and Cannibal Holocaust. And then if by the second quote, that becomes normalized- then what?

    •  
      CommentAuthorSoupnazi
    • CommentTimeFeb 21st 2012
     

    I do not agree with that quote; it seems to be saying “do edgy and new things for the sake of them and you’ve written a good story!” which I think is silly. If one is always trying to break taboo in writing, it’s just a bunch of sensationalized idiocy.

    •  
      CommentAuthorNorthmark
    • CommentTimeFeb 21st 2012 edited
     

    I think stories do well with some controversy (and often the role of art in society is to probe the unsavory side of it), but it can so easily turn into shock value for shock value’s sake. Something isn’t good just because it violates social norms, nor does making something shocking give it more of an artistic message.

    Recently I was linked to a game that was described as being in the horror genre. I thought it did that part well, because the idea was interesting and the presentation was really unsettling. However, the ending came out of nowhere and was so clearly shoehorned in as a LOOK AT ME I’M BEING DEEP AND ARTSY ARE YOU FEELING SHOCKED YET type thing. It totally changed my opinion of the whole game from “pretty neat” to “why does this exist” and grew my general hatred toward “art” games.

    • CommentAuthorSen
    • CommentTimeFeb 29th 2012
     

  38.  

    That’s like the best picture I’ve seen of her. She looks nice there.

    •  
      CommentAuthorSoupnazi
    • CommentTimeFeb 29th 2012
     

    That… that’s actually Kristen Stewart? She actually looks really great there.

  39.  

    I think it’s photoshopped. I can tell by the pixels and seeing many shops in my time.

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeFeb 29th 2012
     

    ...Actually that picture really does have awful resolution. And well played on the Gentleman 4Chan.

    SHOPPED GAIZ is a more traditional approach, but yours is much classier.

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeFeb 29th 2012
     

    And well played on the Gentleman 4Chan.

    what

    youre obviously a newcigarette

    •  
      CommentAuthorInkblot
    • CommentTimeFeb 29th 2012
     

    Lol Amerif## here

    ...I was considering reenacting a ‘chan argument, and then realized that I’d never actually seen one in my brief time there. Just the weight of a definite, though strangely objectless, crushing scorn. Those people are so strange.