Punishing a group for the infractions of one is hardly a new technique, as anybody who's ever been to boot camp (or watched a movie about same) could tell you. It brings pressure to bear on each individual by threatening to make them a pariah within the group. I'm not sure how well it would work on fourth graders, though. (Also note that we have no real idea what the kids in the story were doing; the article refers to two kids has being involved in an "incident"; were the other children yelling, screaming, egging them on? That sure sounds like fourth graders to me.)
In the story of the teacher who had a female student thrown from a window (by two male students), I find it a little odd that discipline is so lax that she feels free to shout invective at him for his (entirely inappropriate and insulting) behavior, but the boys are so "frightened" of the consequences of disobeying that they assault a fellow student. I think perhaps tossing her out the window had, perhaps, occurred to them independently before. (As usual, we have no real details of what she was doing before the incident, either.)
Finally, the teacher in the chair-pulling incident is a shrieking hysteric, obviously terrified of his students. Humans, like any other animal, can detect and will respond to a display of fear, and this kind of shouty blowhard has been receiving natural comeuppance from chortling schoolboys since Biblical times. He craves respect, but has no idea how to earn it. (The boys, feckless losers though they appear to be, are at least behaving as nature intended.)
I know nothing of the Morrocan story because I couldn't be bothered to Bugmenot the Australian paper's site. (In this, I am displaying my standard laziness, which is also as nature intended.)
Two comments:
1. Either he spends a LOT of time dusting that stuff, or it gets absolutely filthy. During my brief action-figure collecting period, I found that the little plastic nooks and crannies were dust-catchers par excellance. I made up for this by severely limiting my collection "space" (keeping undisplayed items in storage) and rotating the display items regularly and frequently, giving the pieces going into storage a good clean.
2. I've had collections of two things: action figures and video games. In both cases, when the collections started going into obscure or rare items, I wound up having to carry a list detailing my collections, in order to avoid forgetting exactly what I already had and buying multiple "missing" items. (And believe me, a "Chase the Chuckwagon" cartridge costs enough just for one of the things.) This, in the days before cheap PDAs, meant that I had to carry the list on paper. A friend of mine, another collector, helped me design a page on his Macintosh which contained my entire collection, just barely, with something like 1/16" margins. It was printed in the tiniest type his laser printer was capable of (something like 4-point, as I recall.)
Just imagine the lists this guy has to carry. AND keep track of. A PDA would be a very good investment, I'd guess.
What makes it especially creepy is that you're never sure where to look; sometimes the head on the right moves first, sometimes the head on the left.
I've seen similar flash sites that were *intended* to be scary do things like this, but a (supposedly) serious business site?
I kept wondering when the overtly horrific stuff would start to show, which would happen right before the site revealed itself as an ad for "976-EVIL II: Evil...DOT COM!"
As religion is one of the more polarizing topics, especially to those who are emotionally immature, I would recommend utilizing whatever conversational skills you might have gathered since you were seven years old, and gently change the subject.
Attempting to modify the young man's spiritual beliefs, or teach him lessons in manners or morals is a job for his parents; And frankly, if the worst he does is attempt, as he likely understands it, to save your soul, then I would accept his juvenile attemps at proselytising as a token of his affection and good will.
You may be sure that he will soon enough find that the world is groaning under the load of people who will leap gleefully onto any opportunity to take offense at expressions of faith. You need not add to their number.
Fifty things, including thwacking and whizzing and shucking, yet not one word about New Orleans? Pffft. Snobbery.
posted by MightyClaw 19 years ago
In "What was she thinking?"
Punishing a group for the infractions of one is hardly a new technique, as anybody who's ever been to boot camp (or watched a movie about same) could tell you. It brings pressure to bear on each individual by threatening to make them a pariah within the group. I'm not sure how well it would work on fourth graders, though. (Also note that we have no real idea what the kids in the story were doing; the article refers to two kids has being involved in an "incident"; were the other children yelling, screaming, egging them on? That sure sounds like fourth graders to me.) In the story of the teacher who had a female student thrown from a window (by two male students), I find it a little odd that discipline is so lax that she feels free to shout invective at him for his (entirely inappropriate and insulting) behavior, but the boys are so "frightened" of the consequences of disobeying that they assault a fellow student. I think perhaps tossing her out the window had, perhaps, occurred to them independently before. (As usual, we have no real details of what she was doing before the incident, either.) Finally, the teacher in the chair-pulling incident is a shrieking hysteric, obviously terrified of his students. Humans, like any other animal, can detect and will respond to a display of fear, and this kind of shouty blowhard has been receiving natural comeuppance from chortling schoolboys since Biblical times. He craves respect, but has no idea how to earn it. (The boys, feckless losers though they appear to be, are at least behaving as nature intended.) I know nothing of the Morrocan story because I couldn't be bothered to Bugmenot the Australian paper's site. (In this, I am displaying my standard laziness, which is also as nature intended.)
posted by MightyClaw 19 years ago
In "Star Wars stickers."
If you like "Koyaanisquatsi", try Micheal Nyman's score for "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover". (Specifically, "Memorial". Brutal.)
posted by MightyClaw 19 years ago
In "Collecting"
Two comments: 1. Either he spends a LOT of time dusting that stuff, or it gets absolutely filthy. During my brief action-figure collecting period, I found that the little plastic nooks and crannies were dust-catchers par excellance. I made up for this by severely limiting my collection "space" (keeping undisplayed items in storage) and rotating the display items regularly and frequently, giving the pieces going into storage a good clean. 2. I've had collections of two things: action figures and video games. In both cases, when the collections started going into obscure or rare items, I wound up having to carry a list detailing my collections, in order to avoid forgetting exactly what I already had and buying multiple "missing" items. (And believe me, a "Chase the Chuckwagon" cartridge costs enough just for one of the things.) This, in the days before cheap PDAs, meant that I had to carry the list on paper. A friend of mine, another collector, helped me design a page on his Macintosh which contained my entire collection, just barely, with something like 1/16" margins. It was printed in the tiniest type his laser printer was capable of (something like 4-point, as I recall.) Just imagine the lists this guy has to carry. AND keep track of. A PDA would be a very good investment, I'd guess.
posted by MightyClaw 19 years ago
In "Creepy head shots."
What makes it especially creepy is that you're never sure where to look; sometimes the head on the right moves first, sometimes the head on the left. I've seen similar flash sites that were *intended* to be scary do things like this, but a (supposedly) serious business site? I kept wondering when the overtly horrific stuff would start to show, which would happen right before the site revealed itself as an ad for "976-EVIL II: Evil...DOT COM!"
posted by MightyClaw 19 years ago
In "Curious frustrated George"
As religion is one of the more polarizing topics, especially to those who are emotionally immature, I would recommend utilizing whatever conversational skills you might have gathered since you were seven years old, and gently change the subject. Attempting to modify the young man's spiritual beliefs, or teach him lessons in manners or morals is a job for his parents; And frankly, if the worst he does is attempt, as he likely understands it, to save your soul, then I would accept his juvenile attemps at proselytising as a token of his affection and good will. You may be sure that he will soon enough find that the world is groaning under the load of people who will leap gleefully onto any opportunity to take offense at expressions of faith. You need not add to their number.
posted by MightyClaw 19 years ago
In "The Manuary Project"
Looks like viral marketing to me. (Note links in sidebar, all to iFriends.)
posted by MightyClaw 19 years ago
(limited to the most recent 20 comments)