April 27, 2005
I just don't get it
Behold, the Caesar’s Bath meme! List five things that people in your circle of friends or peer group are wild about, but you can’t really understand the fuss over. To use the words of Caesar (from History of the World Part I), “Nice. Nice. Not thrilling… but nice.”
I saw this meme in several places. I was directly called out by Elke, but I also saw this from Amanda Rohn, Julian Sanchez, Gene Healy, and Matt Yglesias. Since work and my Poli Sci class are conspiring to keep me from blogging very often (and that probably won’t change until I’m done with my term paper in late May), I guess I might as well participate.
As Elke said, “I know he loves fishies…” (as well as the hotness that is Natalie Portman) “…but what does he not care for?” Well, it took me a while, but here’s the answer:
- Memes, especially of the quiz variety. Yes, how ironic that this itself is a meme, and I’m sure this makes me a hypocrite, but whatever. It just seems to me that all of the plusses are for the writer, who gets a quick and easy post out of it (and perhaps traffic, due to linkage and whatnot), but I don’t see what’s in it for the reader unless they know you personally. Perhaps those of you who don’t know me in real life disagree, in which case, let me know in the comments, and I’ll participate in these things more often.
- Apple. I’m not fond of Microsoft’s business practices, but since I have to deal with Windows at work, I have a PC at home so I don’t have to switch back and forth. It’s annoying, but you get used to it, and it’s gotten better over time. Still, after many various recommendations, I finally got an iBook about a year ago, and I’m pretty happy with it (switching between them isn’t actually that big a deal). But I don’t see why some users get all cultish about it. Apple is just another company motivated primarily by shareholder interests, and their warm and fuzzy image is merely a marketing strategy to boost profits. In truth, they’d act just like Microsoft if they were the ones with the monopoly. Obsessing over Linux makes more sense to me, but I never got into that either, mostly cuz I don’t like spending my free time working on computers (yeah, kind of a sign that I’m not in the right field of work).
- Coffee. I don’t dislike coffee. In fact, I drink it several times a week, and that’s as much caffeine as I can tolerate before I start getting arrhythmia. And I drink it even though it doesn’t agree with my stomach. So that I’ll jump through hoops to be able to continue to drink it clues you in to how much I like it (or am addicted to it). But I just don’t see how espresso drinks are that much better than the free stuff at work, and I just don’t get how some people can obsess over it. I mean, I totally understand obsession, just not how you can obsess over a drink. Plus, I still wish that somebody could someday make it taste as good as it smells.
- Basketball as a spectator sport, both college and pro. It’s fun to play because there are a variety of different skills you can work on (and yet you won’t be a liability to the team as long as you can play defense), but it’s just not an interesting game to watch. Scoring happens way too often compared to every other sport. This is partially because the rules handcuff the defense (blocking fouls, picks are legal), meaning that the offense usually only fails to score if they screwed up. Not to mention that the free throw just totally destroys the pace of the game (of course, as you can probably tell, I’m a hockey fan).
- Always having the latest and greatest. I mentioned this in passing a while back. Why do so many people need to see movies on the very weekend it comes out, or rush out to buy the latest PS2 game or music CD or DVD, or need to have the most technologically advanced computers, gadgets, cars, etc.? You can spare yourself a lot of hassle if you can just wait a bit for the bugs and reliability issues to show up and get worked out, and you save loads of money if you can wait for the costs to plummet. Besides, these things just end up spoiling you where you start taking them for granted, and you’re not any happier than when you had them before. So you might as well wait, and you’ll probably end up enjoying it even more. I mean, I’m as much of a
stalkerfan of Natalie Portman as the next guy, but lining up to see her new movie weeks before it opens (and in front of a theatre that might not even show her movie) is just plain silly and will not impress her.
I won’t pass on the baton to anybody specifically, but feel free to weigh in with your own choices or thoughts in the comments or on your own blog.
Update 6/9/05
Okay, this is just sad. I guess it’s turned out that this is actually a list of things that I do get but am in deep denial over. Not only have I been participating in way too many memes (with a couple more on the way), jumping up and down over my iPod Shuffle and discussing Apple’s shift to Intel, drinking lots of coffee (including right this very second), watching and being interested in a few basketball playoff games, but I’ve watched both Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as well as Natalie Portman’s new film on opening weekend — twice. Oy.
April 27, 2005 02:31 PM in Culture, Natalie Portman | PermalinkFling93: “Why do so many people need to see movies on the very weekend it comes out”
I will gladly remind you of this statement on May 19 when you drag me to see Episode III.
Posted by yer wife at 04/27/05, 04:03 PM (link)Hey! Shhhh!!! I’m trying to cultivate a carefully-constructed blog personality that isn’t as geeky as I am in real life so that Natalie Portman won’t be scared off!
Posted by fling93 at 04/27/05, 04:06 PM (link)ahhh ha ha ha … yerwife makes an appearance, the fishy universe is demolished! welcome yerwife! long live the new universe!
Posted by hugh at 04/27/05, 10:48 PM (link)I don’t get the quiz meme thing either, and it can be boring for readers that don’t personally know the blogger. That I even read yours is a high compliment, that I found it interesting and informative (somewhat… I skimmed the Microsoft-Apple-Linux stuff)is amazing.
So, maybe you should keep doing them, but there sure are a lot of other people that should STOP RIGHT NOW.
Posted by Donna at 04/28/05, 12:17 AM (link)Donna: I don’t get the quiz meme thing either, and it can be boring for readers that don’t personally know the blogger.
Yeah, that’s what I figured.
Donna: That I even read yours is a high compliment, that I found it interesting and informative…is amazing.
Wow, thanks. I guess I did try to make it entertaining, anyway. Probably won’t do memes too often, but maybe if I think I have something at least somewhat interesting to say. The rest I’ll just put on my LiveJournal where they probably belong.
hugh: yerwife makes an appearance, the fishy universe is demolished!
Bah, I’ll just dig out the old magical balloon-fish hat and wave it at everybody to make them forget what she said… hey, what happened to the hat? It’s all deflated!
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Posted by fling93 at 04/28/05, 01:00 AM (link)Well, the free coffee where you work must taste okay, but some office brews are barely drinkable. Some are barely chewable. I figure if I’m going to obsess over something, it might as well be available and obtainable on a daily basis. Unfortunately, Natalie Portman is neither of those things. And, if I must obsess over a drink, coffee is cheaper than wine and more interesting than water, so I don’t feel too guilty. I agree with your statement about the taste though. If coffee tasted as good as its smelled, I’d be stoked.
Posted by david at 04/28/05, 08:54 AM (link)david: I figure if I’m going to obsess over something, it might as well be available and obtainable on a daily basis. Unfortunately, Natalie Portman is neither of those things.
Hello? What’s the fun of that? All the fun is in the hunt and all of the intricate planning required to ensure success! Not to mention the delicious thrill of victory is all the more sweeter that way.
Acquiring coffee is way too easy, and even when you succeed, other people can easily get coffee as well. Where’s the fun in obsessing over something that anybody can get? You can only act like Gollum when there’s only ONE Natalie Por… er, I mean one ring… to call myyyyyy preeecioooussssss!!!
Posted by fling93 at 04/28/05, 11:56 AM (link)I’ll join you in the not getting meme things too. Starting a chain letter got old when I was 15, and it seems to boil down to that a lot. If you’re on the web purely for socialization, or using the meme to actually get info for a real study, sure, great, go ahead. If I want to know whether someone prefers french roast or espresso, or purple or orange, I can go read livejournal. Even without a meme, the few glimpses I’ve had seem to get the whole group-think about what color to wear to which concert thing going quite well.
Some people are into that whole “what you’re thinking” analysis thing. Me, I’ve had a poll or two that I wanted to run, where I really wanted opinions, but never had a desire to participate in the blog version of a chain letter. Maybe that’s why I’m still a stuck-up, opinionated, doesn’t play well with others, unread, work-a-holic.
I come over here and read what you have to say, mostly because I find it interesting, particularly when you actually delve into the political arena. Chasing meme’s site to site might bring some readers in, and get the initiator’s name out more, but that’s not what I think blogging is about. All of us delve into the diary realm at some point, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Blogging has been a great sounding board, in a lot of ways. I’ve had people, like you (especially you? :) ) who come back with things I hadn’t considered or thought about, and I find new interests.
I don’t have (or make) the time to read a quarter of what I want to on the net, and the glimpses from insightful people sometimes make it easier to gain a broader understanding of life, the universe, and everything. (I just scrolled back up and realized you keep a livejournal as well, which I hadn’t noticed when I started this). It’s a busy web, with more than enough info out there. Adding silliness to it, while occassionally a good thing, can quickly get out of hand.
Posted by sQurl at 04/30/05, 01:59 PM (link)sQurl: Adding silliness to it, while occassionally a good thing, can quickly get out of hand.
Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. I generally try to use it as a tool to help hold a reader’s interest, but I’m a pretty silly person, so I’m sure it’d be really easy for me to get carried away.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I do agree with pretty much all of it, in case it wasn’t already apparent. I definitely know what you mean about lack of time to read everything you want to.
Posted by fling93 at 04/30/05, 10:39 PM (link)One reason to see a movie the weekend it comes out is to be with the opening day/weekend crowd. Movies are more fun in a packed theater of clapping, gasping, and cheering fanatics.
Posted by Jacqueline at 05/03/05, 03:55 PM (link)Ah, I was operating on the anti-social assumption that crowds were to be avoided at all costs.
And of course, for somebody who “claims” to not get it, I saw Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy this opening weekend — twice. So, like several other things on this list, maybe it’s something that I do get, but I’m in denial about it. :)
Posted by fling93 at 05/03/05, 04:54 PM (link)