Category Archives: Popular Culture

Science Fiction

is it cool? Was it ever? It never seemed to be when I was a kid, but maybe that’s changed. Scalzi thinks that 2001 and The Matrix were cool, but Star Wars wasn’t. I might completely agree if I’d seen The Matrix, but not having done so, I’ll take his word for it. I do agree on his assessment of the other two.

Slightly off topic, I use the verb grok regularly (I did so at work just this week) and when I do so I wonder how many people grok it? And if so, how? No one has ever asked me what it means, which means that either they already know, or they think they already know, or they don’t want to admit that they don’t know.

And getting back on topic, and speaking of “cool,” it’s remarkable how well the word has held up for decades. A lot of other words (groovy, groty) come and go, but that one seems to have stood the test of time, and become classic slang. It’s also interesting how well the word is grokked by most people.

End The Tyranny

What kind of man would think that this is attractive?

Answer: a gay fashion designer.

How much longer are women going to allow some Paris pouf who doesn’t find women attractive to dictate what they should wear and how much they should weigh? How much longer are they going to put up with being forced to look like skinny boys with long hair (and sometimes without the long hair)? What will it take for them to rebel against the schmecker-in-a-concentration-camp look, and demand that actual voluptuous women, the kind that heterosexual men like, be considered alluring again, as they once were in the fashion world and Hollywood?

And yes, before you comment, I know that Ralph Lauren has a wife and kids. But I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that he likes guys, too. And even if he doesn’t, he goes with the anorexic flow because he thinks that’s how you make money in this sick business.

[Update a few minutes later]

How did we get from Marilyn Monroe to Kate Moss? I’m wondering if this had something to do with it. Has the pill made women want their men to look more like women, and for themselves to look more like boys? There’s a lot we don’t know about hormones.

Another Good Thing About LA Living

Pippin apples. I could never find them in Florida, and they’re my favorite. Tart, crispy, and they make great pies. No need to add lemon. Or at least not as much. I’m munching on one as I type this.

Also, Bevmo. For years I’ve thought that there was a market for varietal apple juices and ciders. And lo and behold, this weekend I scored a six-pack of Granny Smith cider, 5% alcohol content. Better than beer for watching a fall football game.

A Benefit Of Being Back In LA

If I were still living in Boca Raton, I wouldn’t have been able to drive up to Hollywood (the one in California, not the one south of Fort Lauderdale — I could drive to that one whenever I wanted, but why bother?) last night for drinks and sushi with Iowahawk, Iowahawk female-confrere-in-hotrodding, and Armed Liberal at Yamashiro. The former looks just like his picture, except they don’t allow dogs in the restaurant, so he had to smoke something else in his pipe. It seemed to be pretty high-octane stuff. It would actually explain much of his output. He also turns out to be both a gentleman and a scholar. No pictures, though — the pipe is very shy. Beer and old fashioneds were consumed, politics was discussed, last year’s electorate and the current leadership of the country were bewailed, other bloggists who had the effrontery not to attend were gossiped about brutally.

A good time was had by all. And by “all,” I mean of course, at least me. It’s at least conceivable that my drunken table-top fandango-kabuki may have put off my table-partners and some of the other patrons.

But it seemed like a great idea at the time. This morning, with the cat stomping around? Not so much.

[Update mid-morning]

I suppose that I should put out a standard disclaimer: The descriptions of some of the events and people in this post may have a truth value of somewhat less than unity. It is (sort of) an Iowahawk post, after all. Let’s just call it fake but accurate. If it’s not true it should be, and anyone who didn’t have a good time didn’t deserve to. That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it.