Disqus - Friends of kwbridge

Re: sex, art, and politics

tristanjay7 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:28:30 -0000

Well done.

Re: so the answer's 'no', then?

tristanjay7 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:25:56 -0000

I understand the reaction. But I have to be honest with myself (it changed
my life at age 14).

But man, isn't the VW debut just delightful? I was so hesitant about them
because of the prep baggage, but it's really just sophisticated pop, but not
quite sophisti-pop:
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/bluffer/...

Re: For When I Feel Like Sharing - Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is a...

tristanjay7 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:47:52 -0000

I have to say that it's probably his worst book, since it's just a
collection of stories. At least Outliers tries to focus on one thing
(success).

Re: Oh Hey There

tristanjay7 — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:56:56 -0000

I just liked the snarky attitude. It's just another case of blaming the victim.

Re: Oh Hey There

tristanjay7 — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:22:31 -0000

Good thing the guy can field-dress a buck, am I right???????

:D

Re: Oh Hey There

tristanjay7 — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:03:27 -0000

I felt the culmination and all--I've been watching the Office since day one--but the end rehashed everything that Cafe Disco made a nice heartwarming episode--everyone dance and get along! Plus, I had recently seen the How I Met Your Mother wedding which flirted with a messed up ceremony, a secret side wedding and eloping on a boat, so The Office seemed derivative, Youtube parody notwithstanding.

Re: Tuesday Teaser #5

tristanjay7 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:39:04 -0000

Damn. I'll have to think about that and write up a postscript later.

Re: I don't really like Community but I've determined I'll watch anything with Joel McHale

tristanjay7 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:46:55 -0000

Yeah, the Aspergers kid. There's something very pomo and ironic about him, not just the references but how he knows nothing but references. It's like a really sharp Seth Cohen parody.

The only thing that bothers me with the show is the premise. Community college is a joke--novel! It's like doing a show about how high school is awkward--like Glee.

Re: Oh Hey There

tristanjay7 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:42:41 -0000

I think it's funny.

Re: but to be fair...

tristanjay7 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:15:56 -0000

The difference is quite simply. His is an attitude about the nature of language change, namely that "sloppy" and fluid changes in meaning over time is quite bad and kills off good words and makes the language worse for the change. My beef with "random" is just a small pet peeve. Am I worried about the word "random"? No. I understand that speakers are using it a new territory and I see its utility. The new meaning of the word just never really "clicked" with me when I first heard it.

I like what you have to say about random being a normal word that was adopted by mathematicians. In some respect, we've gone full circle: academics adopt it and give it a specific meaning and speakers have taken it back and fleshed out the meaning but kept the connotation.

Nice example with "infinity". Steven Pinker uses "disinterested" when he takes about semantic changes he's not comfortable with: "disinterested" now means "uninterested" and not impartial or literally having no interests (as in vested interests) or stakes in a matter. That's a good word to lose, but oh well... I never knew the original meaning until he lamented its loss.

Also, snark in conversations about usage is absolutely toxic. I hope I wasn't being snarky.

Re: Oh Hey There

tristanjay7 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:09:05 -0000

right. i read that after posting this!

Re: B. Michael and His Truly Epic Shit - Pavement - Spit On A Stranger I never got into...

tristanjay7 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:07:03 -0000

The production does get in the way of the later albums, which is okay
because those are not their best albums. The first four studio albums (three
Eno-produced) have their best material and the best production. It's not a
problem that you like The Name Of This Band since it's a really good live
album.

Re: News To Me

tristanjay7 — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:06:02 -0000

I mostly do it for socks and shirts and for playing fetch with pet toys. I
can't say what my success rate is, as it's not something I've really
cultivated into a talent. Anything small and round or just cloth is doable
though.

Re: A Post Punk Tumblr - The Top 35 Or So Songs of the 80’s #08: Joy...

tristanjay7 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:41:29 -0000

Control did initiate a backlash, true, but that never bothered me. I probably stood up for the band back then. It wasn't until I started blogging and noticed how much love LWTUA gets that I really became jaded.

Re: A Post Punk Tumblr - The Top 35 Or So Songs of the 80’s #07: Talking...

tristanjay7 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:17:02 -0000

Thanks!

Re: A Post Punk Tumblr - The Top 35 Or So Songs of the 80’s #07: Talking...

tristanjay7 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:16:02 -0000

Thanks!

Re: Oh Hey There

tristanjay7 — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:38:03 -0000

heh. it doesn't help that i spent today doing combinatorics and counting
problems

Re: A Post Punk Tumblr - The Top 35 Or So Songs of the 80’s #09: Lizzy...

tristanjay7 — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:56:54 -0000

I'm upset that this and "Beat Bop" have gotten such a lukewarm response.

Re: Oh Hey There

tristanjay7 — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:11:05 -0000

right click, view background image...
http://twitter.com/tjmahr

Re: A Post Punk Tumblr - The Top 35 Or So Songs of the 80’s #14: Cyndi...

tristanjay7 — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:52:04 -0000

Thanks for the nice words! If there's a downside to doing this list, it's
seeing someone gut my writeup and pass the song along without the
commentary, so I appreciate the comment.

Re: “Bizarre Love Triangle” – New Order (Words/music:... - Some Songs Considered

tristanjay7 — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:41:02 -0000

Nothing to apologize for! My take is that I only really know the single
version and as a result I find the narrator much more hopeful and more
caring about the person he's watching.

Re: yes! a phonological argument against behaviorism!

tristanjay7 — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:00:04 -0000

I'll have to get back to you on that. Philosophy of language is mostly about
the meaning of statements and not enough about our ability to introspect
about language.

Re behaviorism: It can have concepts, but methodologically it's hamstrung
itself by making internal non-overt knowledge off-limits. In phonology we
rely heavily on so-called underlying representations of words that are
derived by the successive application of sound altering rules. It's like the
abstract platonic pre-articulation form of the word, if I am using the word
platonic right. Without the underlying form--which is both a methodological
tool and a theoretical statement about the information inside the speaker's
head--we lose a lot of strong generalizations. That's the heart of the
argument: We simply can't do a lot of work without referencing an abstract,
speaker-internal level of detail.

Re: which is to say

tristanjay7 — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:02:04 -0000

it's fine

Re: yo looks like a freak

tristanjay7 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:02:51 -0000

Who are you and what have you done to Raynor?

Re: Oh Hey There

tristanjay7 — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:19:15 -0000

Yes, very respectable and intelligent.