Flippant Friday: Ask sabotabby

[sabotabby]

Really. Ask me anything*. I'll answer it, in a manner of speaking.

Does anyone know, speaking of flippancy, where I can find the equivalent of this for the year ahead? I heard the new colours suck and I'm just dying to know! (Actually, it's for work, but I am curious and the Color Association makes you pay for it.)

* But if it broaches certain topics, I'll lock the post.

Comments

[jk-fabiani.livejournal.com]

So, how is your vagina?

[sabotabby]

Are you determined to make me lock the post this quickly? Sheesh.

It's fine. Thanks for asking.

[jk-fabiani.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to hear that. Its really essensial to having a really good day.

One just can't be flippant so easily I find.

[apperception.livejournal.com]

In what ways do you think you're voyeuristic? Is it just in the usual sense of enjoying a good train wreck, or do you mean something else?

[sabotabby]

It's a sense of enjoying a good train wreck, or something more upbeat: "Hey, cool, the anti-depressants are actually working," or "Guess what my kitten did today?" or "I was wandering around my neighbourhood with a digital camera and I snapped this picture of a piece of graffiti that made me happy."

But mostly the train wrecks, I think.

[sabotabby]

I think basically I'm just fascinated by other people's lives.

[lovableatheist.livejournal.com]

I see that your friends page shares the same title as a Futurist manifesto. What is it about the futurists that you like so much?

Also, (am I limited to one question?), what's your greatest guilty pleasure?

[sabotabby]

1. I should point out that it's a Russian Constructivist manifesto; while they were arguably part of the broader Futurist movement, they're a world away from Marinetti et al.

In the case of Mayakovsky and the other Russian Futurists, I admire his energy, his urge to smash artistic and literary conventions, his odd combination of fearlessness and sadness, and his political convictions. With the Italian Futurists, it's pretty much the first two (with the exception, perhaps, of Severnini and Sant'Elia, who had decent politics).

2. Porn about Roy Orbison in cling-film. I'll leave it up to you to determine whether I'm actually being serious.

[sabotabby]

Eh, that should have been Severini. I'm having a bad proofreading-my-own-comments kind of day.

[lovableatheist.livejournal.com]

1. I see. I realized where the title came from after taking a Soviet history seminar last summer. I;m not too familiar with all of those people you mentioned, but I'm sure your answer is a good one.

2. You too?

[sabotabby]

If someone wrote a story about Marinetti*, Mussolini, and hot prison sex, it might quickly supplant my Roy Orbison obsession.

Just saying.

* Not my cat.

[jvmatucha.livejournal.com]

Do you think boys and girls should kiss on the first date?

And are we ever going to see any more pics of your Hello Kitty underwear? (Modeling perhaps?)

[sabotabby]

1. I don't consider it a date unless there is kissing. At least.

2. You probably don't want to see that much of me. Well, okay, maybe you do, but I am always aware of the possibility of something finding its way out of a locked post and onto the wilder intarwebs where my mum might stumble across it.

But I wouldn't rule out the possibility. In fact, you just gave me a really good idea. Thanks!

[jvmatucha.livejournal.com]

I just gave you a really good idea? Uh oh! I'm not becoming an enabler, am I?

I recently made a comment in my journal about a rash of underwear postings that have cropped up amongst my friends page lately, as well as wet t-shirt postings!

[sabotabby]

Yes.

People on my friends page don't camwhore nearly enough.

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

Yes, this sounds like a great idea. Model the undies and wear a wet t-shirt.

[jvmatucha.livejournal.com]

My friends just tell me about their underwear and wet t-shirts, they never post the pics. Phooey! >:(

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

Maybe you should entice them to do so by starting the trend...

[earthlingmike.livejournal.com]

Yeah no kidding, same for my friends!

[ironed_orchid]

Would you consider posting to 2hot4philosophy,?

You could, if you felt so inclined, be photographed reading your favourite political philosophers while wearing hello kitty underwear.

[sabotabby]

introduce yourself and convince us how smart you are, i.e. your current field of philosophical research, the precise of your doctoral dissertation, which degrees you're holding, etc. (but don't just list a bunch of dead philosophers' names because that doesn't prove anything)

Heh. I have an undergrad in graphic design. From York, no less. I would only embarrass myself.

[ironed_orchid]

We really aren't that fussy.

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting idea for a community, but the results are nothing but awful.

Here's why: philosophy undergrads. The most annoying people to have a conversation around with.

"How do we know that plants aren't intelligent?"

[ironed_orchid]

You don't have to tell me, I teach the little bastards. (Current bad mood induced by first year logic students failing their test).

But the community is mostly fun, and we let everyone join if they post photos of themselves with books and can say something about a philosopher they like. Thus we subvert the whole concept of ratings communities, which brings me a lot of pleasure. We also have a you must be over 18 to join clause, even if we don't enforce it very strictly, which keeps some of the more inane would be philosophers out.

Of Course You Knew!

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

Didn't you? That all manner of folk (er, such as myself - killing time while avoiding chores both domestic and otherwise) are even now threatening to take down lj's servers as we peruse your friends' list in hopes that some of the aforementioned posts are not locked.

Re: Of Course You Knew!

[jvmatucha.livejournal.com]

Oh no, I'm being a tease again, aren't I? ;)

Not only do they not post pics, but they don't make em' public.

Of course, I mentioned that only my female friends are talking about their wet t-shirts and underwear. It's not as if my male friends are doing that. How about it? Gender equity? No?

Re: Of Course You Knew!

[ed-rex.livejournal.com]

You didn't mention that it was only your female friends, but I presumed it. It seems that cam-whoring is primarily a female pass-time; of course, my sample is hideously skewed.

And yes: you were being a tease.

[human-loser.livejournal.com]

What's your favorite thing in Toronto that no one else knows about?

Totally selfish question, as I'll be there on Wednesday, and I wanna have stuff to do...

[sabotabby]

The stash of Roy Orbison cling-film porn that I keep under my mattress.

The little bronze plaques put up in various semi-secret locations by Rocky Dobey. I suppose some people do know about them, but it's always a thrill discovering a new one.

Do you have my number, by the way? I'm buried in craziness until the end of the month, but we should still hang out.

[human-loser.livejournal.com]

no i do not have your number. The email listed on my user info here is my main one, send it there. It'd be awesome to meet you! Email me with a suitable time and place, and I shall be there... unless it's the few days i"m in Montreal...

[seanmonster.livejournal.com]

My boots used to be pretty cool, now they're not. What happened?

[sabotabby]

Hot Topic.

[seanmonster.livejournal.com]

Gorram Mallrats.

[frippy.livejournal.com]

Can I someday be a guest artist on a future Gaybortion?

[sabotabby]

OMG totally

[bike4fish.livejournal.com]

Do you find the Color Forecast as disturbing as I do? and (sneaking in a second question, almost) do you think it has real influence on fashion? and (ok, ok) do you have any ideas for subverting it?

[sabotabby]

1. Yes. It's an evil cabal that exists for the sole purpose of getting people to pay more money for new things that they don't need.

2. Yes. Some years it's impossible to find enough things in pink and black (or alternately, in earth tones, depending on my mood).

3. We need to adopt strict dress codes that are contrary to the Color Forecast. If it calls for maroon and orange, we should wear khaki Red Army uniforms and trim our hair in accordance with the socialist lifestyle. If it calls for pastels, we should wear khaki Red Army uniforms and trim our hair in accordance with the socialist lifestyle. If it calls for pink and black, we should just listen because that's the greatest colour combination ever invented.

Because we are all such cool people, the clothes-buying public will be confused about whether to follow our example or the example of the reactionaries in the fashion world. This, in turn, will lead to social upheaval and the eventual overthrow of said reactionaries.

[princessrugger.livejournal.com]

when are you coming to san francisco? we need to hang out. and you need to meet the mittens.

also, you're way smart. how do i start to become as smart as you? what 3 books should i read first in order to be able to hold a conversation with you that isn't about kittens--assuming, of course, that there exists in the world a legitimate reason not to talk about kittens?

[sabotabby]

1. Yes indeed. Okay, guess what? The IWW elections are happening, and one of the possible locations for the next general meeting is San Francisco. I'm going to vote for that 'cause I haven't been out there in ages and I want to meet you and the mittens.

2. There's not a legitimate reason to not talk about kittens. Oy. Also see my comment to jupitah about my lack of eddumication in certain areas.

It's not so much which books you should read as it is the sorts of books you should read. They are:

a) Books about grammar that include geeky grammar jokes.
b) Books that reiterate your existing political opinions but say it in ways that sound smart.
c) Books with lots of pictures in them.

Those, along with the odd fictional work (preferably written by friends) will give you the depth and breadth of knowledge you need to fake smartness on teh intarwebs like I do.

[princessrugger.livejournal.com]

let's see...a week ago a friend of mine called me drunkenly to ask about the grammatical propriety of a roadside sign reading "jesus is risen" and i launched into an equally drunken semantic deconstruction of said phrase depending on the theological intentions behind it, so i think i'm ok on that front...my noam chomsky and michael moore books are staring at me right now, so if i ever read them i'll be fine...and i have lots of books with pictures of food in them! omg, i'm already teh brilliant!!1!!ONE!!

[one-serious-cat.livejournal.com]

Do you think there was much point in defending the Spanish Republic after the revolution was suppressed? I'm thinking of the argument, put forward most recently by Ronald Radosh, that the war was a clash between fascism and Stalinism (or, right-wing authoritarianism and left-wing totalitarianism; what was I thinking?), and so all respecters of actual freedom on the republican side died in vain.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

why are you taking seriously anything that Ronald Radosh has to say?

Sorry for butting in, Sabotabby. I'm drunk.

[one-serious-cat.livejournal.com]

I'm not taking him seriously. But I wonder if there's a particular 'take' on the post-1937 Republic that the majority of anarchists hold in common (perhaps with the left-communists?), or if the civil war is still a hotly disputed topic within groups as well as between them. I should know this already, but it seemed like a good question to ask at that late hour.

[sabotabby]

My own beliefs often diverge from the majority of anarchists (in my advancing years, I'm becoming more red than black, and I disagree with most anarchists I've met about the CNT's participation in the Republican government. I'm going to get flamed for saying that, too.) But for what it's worth, Radosh is wrong. (He's also wrong about the Rosenbergs.)

World War II was also a clash between unpleasant ideologies, but it was worth fighting in the sense that very little, if anything, could have been worse than a fascist victory. Same goes for Spain (although I think categorizing the post-37 Republic as entirely Stalinist is inaccurate).

[one-serious-cat.livejournal.com]

He's also wrong about the Rosenbergs.

Both of them? Not just Ethel?

[sabotabby]

I'm not convinced Julius actually gave the Soviets anything useful or anything that they didn't already have. (Whether he intended to or not is a different story.)

[one-serious-cat.livejournal.com]

It is testamentary of the gutlessness of (most) liberals and centrists in the decades succeeding the Rosenbergs' execution, that few could do more than quite theatrically roll their eyes at the ensuing controversy, rather than point out that, guilty or no, neither person should have been executed. Or, if it isn't cowardice or squeamishness in debate, it's a perverse tendency to jettison the most humane aspects of one's ideology in defense of said belief system. Perhaps that's an odd little corner to focus on, but I share a house with a conservative who dismisses the Katrina refugees as behaving like children in relation to the state; never mind that the very purpose of government, according to her belief system, is to protect property and the citizenry against the ravages of Mother Nature and the threatening state of nature. This sort of sloppiness drives me up the wall.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

(although I think categorizing the post-37 Republic as entirely Stalinist is inaccurate)

I agree with this. and Radosh is a weenie.

[swear-jar.livejournal.com]

The meaning of life?

[sabotabby]

Douglas Adams already answered that.

[lopukhov.livejournal.com]

Color can help us go back in time, and many of the shades suggest the pretty pastels of the 1950's, and the autumnal reds, oranges and browns of that decade, when gender roles were more carefully defined.

Ahhh, those good old days. By golly, how I wish we were back there again! By the way, which colour pallette is for whom? I get confused easily.

[sabotabby]

Well, that was last year. I think we might get let out of the kitchen this year!

I think the colour palettes are for everyone, which is funny. I saw two guys wearing the exact same striped pink dress shirt the other day. It only looked good on one of them, though.

[lopukhov.livejournal.com]

As they say, pink is not everyman's colour.

[ridemycamel.livejournal.com]

where did you go to uni? what did you major in?

i'm sort of confused as to where you are in your life! post-undergrad? post-grad? etc?

[sabotabby]

I went to York U and Sheridan College (a godawful joint program) in graphic design and later to Ryerson for publishing (which I never finished). Am now a wage slave. ;)