Month: October 2020

C Game

Chill Uncategorized

This is the behavior of 90%+ of attractive women. It’s completely typical. As someone pointed out, this is the most normal thing Aella has ever written.

It’s why I’d also want nothing to do with her sexually or in a relationship other than friendship — I’m confident enough not to need this or want someone to treat me like this. If I were interested in dating, I have too many other options to want to endure this. Perversely, this might make me more attractive to her (I’ve found this to be very true over the years), but that would not change my feelings about it.

I don’t need to be teased or shit-tested. My confidence in my own awesomeness just means this wastes my time and hers and makes the world worse for no reason at all.

We all end up with someone we deserve, for good or ill.

Real Risks

Chill Regular-ass Post

That’s about what I’d expect. Commercial aircraft (I hope for obvious reasons) have extremely good air filtration systems, there isn’t much talking, and mask wearing is enforced.

Most people have a far greater chance of being infected at home than in an aircraft. In the airport, depending on which one and what time of day, it might be a bit worse (but not by much).

Good news, because hiding in terror at home is not a real answer to anything.

Slated

Chill Regular-ass Post

And part of the long trend of liberalism (in the broad sense) of the past few hundred years is to insist that there is no such thing as human nature, this idea being instantiated in its modern form with John Locke’s “tabula rasa” in the 17th Century and re-codified in the 20th Century to push back against eugenics.

But the problem is that there is a human nature, of course. And liberalism is against much of it by its omissions and inclusions.

Fully Shredded

Chill Uncategorized

The video quality of this is terrible, but it’s still worth watching. Audio is not bad.

Ignore the prattle at the beginning if you want, but the playing…WTF. There is no rhythm guitarist and he is not using a loop pedal. Just craziness. I don’t even know how he gets half the sounds he does.

And those harmonics played so, so fast midways through the song. Those are really hard even playing slowly. Just all WTF in the best of ways.

This shows how the liberal lie of “10,000 hours of practice” and “genes don’t matter” are all just comforting fabrications.

I could have practiced 10 hours a day every day of my life for 40 years and I would never have been 1/10 as good as Eddie Van Halen at guitar. Never.

Peat

Chill Regular-ass Post

In my experience, and I have been working with computers (formally and informally) for almost 40 years now, every 10-12 years some tech “genius” invents something that already existed before, but has been forgotten by the newer generation.

This seems in no danger of stopping. It’s odd to observe how predictably it keeps repeating, though.

Virgil

Chill Uncategorized

O goddess-born of great Anchises’ line,
The gates of hell are open night and day;
Smooth the descent, and easy is the way:
But to return, and view the cheerful skies,
In this the task and mighty labor lies.

—Aeneid (Dryden translation)

Deny Aye Aye

Chill Regular-ass Post

That’s the bind we’re in with climate change. Nearly everyone is effectively a denier, until they can’t be. Then it’ll be too late.

EVH

Chill Regular-ass Post

Eddie Van Halen dead at 65: He broke the guitar solo.

This is the only decent write-up of Eddie Van Halen and his abilities I’ve found. A lot of articles say he invented the single-string triplet. He didn’t. It had been widely used by many artists since the 1970s (and likely before).

What was unique about EVH’s playing was his melding of classical sensibilities and styles with his actual understanding of rhythm, swing, and drama. He was like Segovia, Muddy Waters and Hendrix blended together, and all were better for it.

Like the author I am not a real Van Halen fan, but I am a huge fan of how Eddie Van Halen made the guitar sound and what he could do with it.

And also like the author, I love the song “Jump” and think the synth hook on that absolutely beautiful-sounding Oberheim OB-Xa might be the best one ever written for a pop song.

But I love 1984, and I absolutely adore “Jump.” It’s an exquisite pop record, so warm and alive, the sound of a bunch of guys who are totally aware that they’ve stumbled onto the best song they’ll ever write in their life. It’s four minutes long but feels like an epic; the sheer drama when the riff comes back in after the short lull at the end of the synthesizer solo, like everyone collectively stopping to gather their breath, is, to my ears, more thrilling than any moment of “Eruption.”

Agreed. That is a truly great musical moment, and could only have been created by someone who has been a student of classical music. It’s just perfect and I think “Jump” is another one of those rare perfect songs.

I remember sitting rapt the first time I ever saw “Jump” on MTV. It’s a song I’ve never grown tired of, even after all these years.

Ninja Turtles

Chill Regular-ass Post

North Florida white trash. I am not sure exactly what is meant by “comfort food” as my brain just doesn’t operate that way, but by far my favorite food is pizza.

My favorite food from my cultural background is deep-fried fresh-caught catfish, though.