Fashion

 One of my best friends once commented that I liked the requisite artists, designers, music and brands to enable myself to fit in with the whole artistic-hipster cliques popular throughout many parts of So-Cal. (and elsewhere).
But this was not an intentional process on my part.
It seems that as one becomes less generalized, he becomes more specialized in his tastes and desires. 

 Every group has it's own uniform and code. - and while these often overlap into other groups, there seems to be a certain amount of similarity required to enable one to be labeled as belonging to one group and not another.

 How many people follow fads, trends or traditions because they think that they are supposed to?

 Why are smart guys so often poorly dressed?
Do they have more important things to worry about than something as superfluous as fashion?

 Does wearing the uniform make you a member of a group?

 A quick measure is that of dirt.
Real cowboys show natural wear in their jeans.
Doctors have stains from bodily fluids on their clothes.
Nerds have ink stains where their pocket protectors have failed.
Preppies have clothes faded from days spent on crew or from their lack of care for the pretense of looking like a Preppy.

Pretenders are worried about dirt.
These are those who fret over a scuff on their travel bags because these accessories are intended to be more for show than they are for actual usage.

"Uppity Black Teen"?

"Uppity"?
That's how Christwire.org describes McGehee High School (Arkansas) co-Valedictorian Kymberly Wimberly (Yes, that's her real name.).
Apparently, Ms Wimberly attributes her race as the reason the school decided to name another (white) student as her co-Valedictorian even though Ms Wimberly had the higher GPA.
But some argue that the problem of "A big mess" (as quoted by her mother, Molly Bratton) was that Ms Wimberly was a teen mother and that that would not shine a positive light on the school nor the district.
Former students have noted that the school has had Asians, Eastern Indians and a Blacks (as recently as 1989) as former Valedictorians in the past and that Ms Wimberly's race should not have been an issue.
This case is difficult for this poor (Seventy percent of the students at this school are eligible for free (59%) or reduced (11%) lunches) school to defend as Title IX protects against discrimination directed towards pregnant female students.

One Too Many Video Games

Video game ideology +

Nationality based religion =

One Crazy Dude.

Making The Band?

 Of course I don't think P-Diddy is the smartest man in the world.
I was using him as an example to refute the argument that derivative products/ideas are a bigger advancement than those which are seminal.

 Some argue that the people who 'invented' sailing ships were smarter than those who first created simple carved water craft.

And that those who created vessels which could end the societies which they were created to protect are the smartest of them all.

P-Diddy an' dem are using the same model as much of Western culture - they appropriate and revise and then sell it as their own original thought.
But these rappers have taken it to another level - they sell people things (music) which can be had for free.

Okay, DesertFlower - One More Time...

What is 'Bacalao'?

The World's Smartest Man

No, he didn't 'invent' music - he didn't even invent Hip Hop.
Seminal/derivative... does it matter?
Original idea or better marketing?
P-did manage to take an under-exploited resource and repackage it to sell to the masses.
Sure, he just took what everyone had done before him and sold it as his own - but isn't this how many measure I.Q. and success anyway?
Didn't most great 'inventors' appropriate the ideas of others only to pass them off as their own original ideas or concepts?

I.Q.

I.Q. tests don't really measure intelligence - what they actually measure are gaps in intelligence.
Think of the tests as reference points on a Mo-Cap model.
The dots are useless unless one is able to fill in the spaces between the gaps - otherwise one just has a series of seemingly random dots with no purpose.
I.Q. tests just test ones ability to recognize and organize each reference point.
Like saying that being able to quote Faust is more important than being able to quote Pooty Tang - the author of the test determines the value of the answers.
Most of these test use an Occidental point of view as their starting point and anyone not familiar with this view is deemed to be inferior.
But what of those who can fill in the blanks without using such models or reference points?
What value is there in intuition,
or faith,
or talent?
What of one who ignores these constructs and decides to learn what is of real value to himself?
What do we do with one who has learned and excelled within the limitations of these rules but who has chosen to discard them in favor of a more natural process which can be understood by many?
What do we do with the one who seeks the simple instead of the esoteric?

I'll Never Understand...

(Among other things) Women.
I'm a peaceful guy.
I'm also polite, jovial, generous, sedulous, and whatever...
But a recent event at one of the clubs took me back to my youthful days.
Some big mother-effin' dude tried to call me out.
When I politely replied, the dude tried to step foreword.
As I waved him in, "Just don't approach me in an aggressive or threatening manner. Anything I do after that will just be "self defence" and you can't sue me.", I said calmly.
"You're a big dude. Big guys usually walk straight in and try to land a knockout blow while leading with their right.", I said as I raised my left to deflect any attempted blow.
"I'll bob and duck, you'll miss and I'll hit you in your gut with a solid blow that will leave you pissing in your pants and crying like a little girl.", I concluded.
The guy walked away mad - but he walked away.
(Later, he called his crew to meet him in the parking lot to jump me after the club closed but that didn't work out for him either.)

But a strange thing happened...
The women who watched or heard about the exchange suddenly became even more attracted to me.
"Dayum..., John turned Black in a second!", one would say.
I don't know...
Maybe the sight of two men fighting arouses women.
Maybe I began to sweat and to emit odors which match those found during mating.
Maybe these women were fearful and seeing a guy able to protect himself offered a sense of security.
But the last thing I want is a woman who needs to start trouble so that she can see me fight just so that she can become aroused.

Women...
I may get my fair share - but I'll never understand them.

I Don't Care...

 About Casey Anthony nor that she may have gotten away with murder.

I do think it's funny that the girl has to go into into hiding after being acquitted.
Some say that she can never get a job - but I'd hire her.
I'd give her housing and a job at a club.
For me - it would be a win-win.
Sure, she may have to live in the hood but she wouldn't have to pay rent.
The job would be at a nightclub so she could party all night every night.
I'm sure the place would be packed as many people would come just to hear her side of the story.
(Casey - If you need a place to live and a job - come to Beaumont, Texas and I'll hook you up.)

But I do care about the women's soccer team losing the World Cup final.

There is just something about women with nice quads...

Oh, and that they play for the USA in world competition.

Women's soccer? Yep.

Casey Anthony? Not so much.