Karate Kid ruined the world

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

You know, it's not often that I think a blogger captures the essence of what's eating Western humanity, but in this case David Wong seems to have nailed it.

http://www.johndiesattheend.com/updates/?p=1071

Accomplishing worthwhile things isn't just a little harder than people think; it's ten or twenty times harder. Like losing weight. You make yourself miserable for six months and find yourself down a whopping four pounds. Let yourself go at a single all-you-can-eat buffet and you've gained it all back.So, people bail on diets. Not just because they're harder than they expected, but because they're so much harder it seems unfair, almost criminally unjust. You can't shake the bitter thought that, "This amount of effort should result in me looking like a panty model."

And it applies to everything. America is full of frustrated, broken, baffled people because so many of us think, "If I work this hard, this many hours a week, I should have (a great job, a nice house, a nice car, etc). I don't have that thing, therefore something has corrupted the system and kept me from getting what I deserve, and that something must be (my wife, my boss, the government, illegal immigrants etc)."

[Elder Iptuous]

Adversity will come, and we will have to work this hard simply to survive.
we will then enjoy the little things that we take for granted now, and not sweat the little things that consume us now.
Society will come back together with this adversity.  I have faith in that...

[Captain Utopia]

YES!  Fuck the ugly duckling.  Fuck Starwars.  Fuck American Idol.  Fuck Wicca.  Fuck the cheap feel-good factor sold wholesale in the expectation that skill and ability SHOULD magically come to those who aren't prepared to acquire them through sweat and blood and effort and time invested.

But you know, the kids who came out of a Starwars movie hitting each other with lightsabers made out of twigs, loved the feeling that they could get something for almost nothing.  And who wouldn't?  I was one of them too.

Still am.   

[Doktor Howl]

YES!  Fuck the ugly duckling.  Fuck Starwars.  Fuck American Idol.  Fuck Wicca.  Fuck the cheap feel-good factor sold wholesale in the expectation that skill and ability SHOULD magically come to those who aren't prepared to acquire them through sweat and blood and effort and time invested.

But you know, the kids who came out of a Starwars movie hitting each other with lightsabers made out of twigs, loved the feeling that they could get something for almost nothing.  And who wouldn't?  I was one of them too.

Still am.   

"Turn off your targeting computer, Luke.  Use the force!"

[Captain Utopia]

And those were amongst the same kids who decades later whined that "explaining midichlorians" was one of the worst things about Episode I.

[Doktor Howl]

And those were amongst the same kids who decades later whined that "explaining midichlorians" was one of the worst things about Episode I.

And - again - they're wrong.  The worst thing about Episode 1 wasn't the midichlorians bullshit, or even JarJar Binks.

It was that. fucking. kid.

[hooplala]

And those were amongst the same kids who decades later whined that "explaining midichlorians" was one of the worst things about Episode I.

And - again - they're wrong.  The worst thing about Episode 1 wasn't the midichlorians bullshit, or even JarJar Binks.

It was that. fucking. kid.

165% TROOF

[Elder Iptuous]

you know the worst thing about the gungans was that they were actually a pretty cool design.  it was just their choice of voice/accent that made them suck ass....
honestly lucas should redub the gungan voices to not suck, in the same way that he added effects to 4,5,6 to improve them...

[East Coast Hustle]

you know the worst thing about the gungans was that they were actually a pretty cool design.  it was just their choice of voice/accent that made them suck ass....
honestly lucas should die in a fire, quickly.

fixed that for you.

[Elder Iptuous]

It was that. fucking. kid.

yeah. too right.

the whole podracing thing stuck in my gullet. seemed like it was stuck in to compete with the quidditch in harry potter or something.

I think it was stuck in there for video game crossover possibility.
and the video game was good.
i think it was a good move, and the podrace scene in the movie wasn't bad...
i think it's funny how starwars is held up on a pedestal just because people thought it was so awesome when they were kids...

[Fuquad]

honestly lucas should redub the gungan voices to not suck, in the same way that he added effects to 4,5,6 to improve them...

Make up your mind.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

you know the worst thing about the gungans was that they were actually a pretty cool design.  it was just their choice of voice/accent that made them suck ass....
honestly lucas should redub the gungan voices to not suck, in the same way that he added effects to 4,5,6 to improve ruin them...

Fixed.

[Captain Utopia]

You know, it's not often that I think a blogger captures the essence of what's eating Western humanity, but in this case David Wong seems to have nailed it.

http://www.johndiesattheend.com/updates/?p=1071

Accomplishing worthwhile things isn't just a little harder than people think; it's ten or twenty times harder. Like losing weight. You make yourself miserable for six months and find yourself down a whopping four pounds. Let yourself go at a single all-you-can-eat buffet and you've gained it all back.So, people bail on diets. Not just because they're harder than they expected, but because they're so much harder it seems unfair, almost criminally unjust. You can't shake the bitter thought that, "This amount of effort should result in me looking like a panty model."

And it applies to everything. America is full of frustrated, broken, baffled people because so many of us think, "If I work this hard, this many hours a week, I should have (a great job, a nice house, a nice car, etc). I don't have that thing, therefore something has corrupted the system and kept me from getting what I deserve, and that something must be (my wife, my boss, the government, illegal immigrants etc)."

How do you begin to combat it?

Cheap products which don't work very well but which make you feel good, consistently outsell those which require more time/money/effort.

It's like every decision is reduced to the simplest possible context - as long as it has four tires, we don't even bother to kick them.

[Elder Iptuous]

you know the worst thing about the gungans was that they were actually a pretty cool design.  it was just their choice of voice/accent that made them suck ass....
honestly lucas should redub the gungan voices to not suck, in the same way that he added effects to 4,5,6 to improve ruin them...

Fixed.

ruin?
i thought the effects were good. different strokes...
but i'm not a star wars purist.  i think they could be improved.  i think he did improve them.
i also like the idea of layered media.  i think more people should pick up movies and layer new shit onto them to make them different/better. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

you know the worst thing about the gungans was that they were actually a pretty cool design.  it was just their choice of voice/accent that made them suck ass....
honestly lucas should redub the gungan voices to not suck, in the same way that he added effects to 4,5,6 to improve ruin them...

Fixed.

ruin?
i thought the effects were good. different strokes...
but i'm not a star wars purist.  i think they could be improved.  i think he did improve them.
i also like the idea of layered media.  i think more people should pick up movies and layer new shit onto them to make them different/better. 

It was mostly just the Jabba's palace scene which pissed me off massively. Oh my god. I can't even think about it without gritting my teeth. Hate hate hate.