whynot | pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

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.meme me up scotty

pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

re: Leverage. Am I the only person who thinks Parker is just annoying? Like, she's kind of giving off the vibe of the kid who tries to be weird on purpose for the sake of being different and edgy.

re: Avatar. I'm almost done with Season 1 and, hands down, my favorite line so far is, "SOMEONE'S GETTING ATTACKED BY A PLATYPUSBEAR." lololol. It reminds me of this Wondermark strip. The world-building, with the technology and animals and stuff, is AMAZING, holy shit. (Keep in mind I'm coming from Narnia and Merlin, whose idea of world-building is *pulls things out of ass*.)

Okay, here's the first part of the rambling meme. I think the MO is to keep people's prompts together, but I'm going to disregard that and do these three first because they are related.

From

mumblemutter: The Philippines

It's one of, what, four Christian-majority countries in Asia? The others are Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, and I'm blanking on the other one. There is another one, right? I tell people I miss the food most, especially the fruit and seafood, 'cos damn, America, srsly. New England likes to be all, "Yeah, we do seafood," but you ain't got NOTHING, dude, you ain't got SHIT. Well, I guess we do have the advantage of being an archipelago... Anyway, I'm not from the Philippines, but I look like I am, and it kind of makes me feel like an impostor sometimes. People assume I'm from here and they'll talk to me in Tagalog (and I feel like the world's biggest ass because I haven't learned how to speak Tagalog, and that I only sort of understand it), and then I disclaim myself. The Philippines is officially a bilingual country, but English is mainly the language of official government and big business. My driving class was conducted in Tagalog, so it's a good thing he had diagrams, 'cos the next class, I was already driving a car. (My experience learning to drive in the Philippines is lollerskates, maybe I'll tell you about it one day.) The place where I look like everyone else, I sound different. The place where I sound like everyone else, I look different.

This post's icon is a photo of one of the commercial districts near where I live(d) in Manila. The text says 'Pearl of the Orient', which is one of Manila's nicknames.

From

bedlamsbard: acculturation

And to continue from the Philippines ramble: I sound American. When I went to France, they would assume I'm American because my accent is American. And it's funny, because I am from and grew up in NOT AMERICA, and have never even set foot on American soil until I was twelve. The English-speaking school I went to in the Philippines was full of all sorts of accents, and I'm not sure that American was even the dominant one. How did I end up with an American accent?! It's very weird. In all seriousness, I blame Hollywood. English is not the first language I learned to speak, but it is the language I am now most comfortable with, so I'm always befuddled when forms ask me for my 'mother tongue'. 'Cos seriously, what are they REALLY asking? When I speak my so-called mother-tongue, I have the vocabulary and articulation of a six-year-old. And an American accent. My cousins call me 'the English cousin'. I have many we's & us's & heres & theres, and no matter whether I'm flying from the Philippines to the US or from the US to the Philippines, I always use the verb 'return'.

Also, let's talk about fruit. For the first eighteen years of my life, I was spoiled as far fruit goes, 'cos hey, the tropics! We got three jillion types of mangos, six squillion types of bananas, forty-five frillion types of citrus, and okay, you get the picture. And I come here and it's like, apples, great, I guess. But in recent years, more and more 'exotic fruits' are being imported into the States, and what I think is really interesting is how what the fruit come to be called here is dependent on the culture/country that introduces them. Which I guess makes sense when you think about it. But it's interesting cognitive dissonance for me. Apparently, here a calamansi is called a calamondin. Everyone back in the Philippines, even the expats, call it a calamansi. And what I've always known as a bengkuang is apparently a jicama, and I sometimes I get a little proprietary, 'cos it's like, don't tell me what to call the thing I've been eating since I was a kid, English language.

But that's the thing about language. I mean, okay, so I understand and respect the impulse to protect a language and culture - they tend to be the building blocks of identity, after all - but you have to watch out for essentialism. Essentialism in a nutshell is the thinking that Culture X has always been Y and Z, and they have been Y and Z since the dawn of time. But languages change and cultures change, and once they do, you can't just undo them. You can't pretend history didn't happen. (Well, technically, I guess people do that all the time.) Look, I'm not saying "don't even try". Far from it. I'm just saying you should keep in mind that abstraction can bring about false ossification, which is stifling. Let language and culture breathe a little.

From

zempasuchil: Benedict Anderson

Benedict Anderson is one awesome dude. He used to live in Indonesia, but then got banned from the country for being critical. He speaks Indonesian! I am always like, BLOWN AWAY when a non-Indonesian speaks Indonesian, 'cos it's like, why would you ever?? (My colonial mentality, let me show you it.) It must mean you really care! I skipped my seminar to see him talk last semester, and he talked about how he's working on a biography of a Chinese-Indonesian dissident during Dutch Colonial rule. There was also a short documentary about the 30 September Movement and the corresponding communist purge and I fucking bawled my eyes out, partly because of the atrocities that happened, and partly because oh my god, the things my government keeps from me. I had to wait twenty years and travel halfway across the globe to learn them.

...Okay, that's not true. I knew about the 30 September Movement, though not in detail, and I could've found out more if I wanted to. But I didn't. That's my own fault. But I mean. I'm not sure what I mean. I have a lot of complex feelings about Indonesia. My knee-jerk reaction is that the CIA and MI6 shouldn't have enabled the overthrow of Indonesia's then-communistic government, though in a way it was inevitable ('cos the communism was working out well, and they knew it had to be stopped before it got the chance to work really excellently). But it's not like if Indonesia had remained communist, it would be this perfect country. And I don't think I would choose for Indonesia to go communist again now. You can't Ctrl+Z socioeconomic change. And I, in my position, am definitely benefitting off of the Western neoliberal model that we all love to hate on. I feel both marginalized and privileged, it's pretty weird.

That same week, I was wandering around the stacks of my library and I accidentally came across, like, THREE SHELVES of books about communism in Indonesia. And I was thinking, these have probably been banned in Indonesia. There's something about New York that attracts the exiled and the banned, I'm not sure what it is. It's like everyone else's minority groups come here, and we become this majority of minorities.

Right, I think I was supposed to be rambling about Benedict Anderson. His big thing is coining the term 'imagined community', from his book Imagined Communities, which is about the creation of nationalist identity and the evolution of the concept of the nation-state. The parts that made the biggest impression on me were where he talks about the politics of cartography and the democratizing influence of the printing press.

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...oh man, I keep on forgetting that part of living in Manila includes, like. Driving in Manila. You are far, far braver than I, that's for sure.

It's actually kind of liberating! Sure, they don't prepare you well and you don't know what the hell is going on, but then you realize... neither does anyone else on the road! You can do whatever the hell you want! As long as you don't get caught. This is probably why me driving in the US would end badly.

I think the writers really enjoy playing around with Parker, making her as socially inept as at all possible, which to me comes across as fishing for cheap laughs more often than not. But she's sweet when she wants to be and she keeps Hardison on her toes and sometimes she giggles and I kinda want her to be my girlfriend, although that'd probably be exhausting. And dangerous. In conclusion, Hardison/Parker/Eliot OT3.

I could listen to you talking about culture forever, no lie.

That's a pretty good description of the Parker character I think. It almost feels like the writers are pandering, with her character. And 'Leverage' is already pretty damn pander-ish. insurance company angst omg!

lol i'm glad, pretty much my major in college was an excuse for me to talk about myself in an academic setting, so it totally leaks over.

OH FRUIT.

the thing about tropical fruit being imported (at least to West Aus) or being grown somewhere around here is that it doesn't taste the same. By the time it gets here is kind of bland. The durian is frozen and the rambutans are listless; the tiny bananas are no where near as sweet and the mango is okay, I suppose.

re: language: I often have a similar feeling. Language changes, this is true. But at the same time I feel that there is legitimate change and non legitimate change. Those are not quite the right words, but let me explain. I know someone who refers to bok choi as 'choi.' I have explained this is not possible, 'choi' means vegetable, it would be like calling 'sweet potato' 'potato' - it's correct in a general way but if you're explaining a recipe then you're going to fail. this person's protestation is that language changes (the specific argument is 'stephen fry says language changes, so i can say choi'), to which i say: language changes, but OMG YOU'RE WRONG.

so, language changes. but sometimes there is appropriation and abuse and the change is kind of icky, and language. yes.

ps bangkuang = bangkuang, they can all shut the hell up with their jicama crap.

FRUIT INDEED. tiny bananas and rambutaaaaan <33!! What do you guys call these things (http://images.google.com/images?q=jambu&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi)? We call them jambu.

I'm always kind of :-/ when people call it Bahasa Indonesia or, worse, just Bahasa. It's like, okay, I can understand that designating one specific language as all-encompassingly 'Indonesian' can have a marginalizing effect on many of our ethnic groups, but, like, dammit, Bahasa just means 'language'! So how's that any better?! I don't know whose side I'm on anymore if I just call it 'Indonesian'.

FOR REAL. RUJAK FOR LIFE.

(deleted comment)

I love comment wordsplosions, don't worry about it.
Like, I feel more people have motivation to speak Spanish than they would to speak Indonesian. It's a pretty useful language to learn in the US (in some parts more than others) and in Central/South America, but where else are you going to speak Indonesian besides Indonesia?

We get the Spanish-Catholic thing too, with the whole colonialism thing. The Philippines is very Catholic, so my parents end up being more staunchly Muslim because of it, but my brother and I are like, "Meh." But we're always surrounded by that legacy as well. It's an interesting combination, with Spanish machismo + Asian hierarchy + patriarchal chivalry = Filipino culture, with bonus awesome beaches.

1. You are going to LOVE and WORSHIP Avatar. Everything, everything, EVERYTHING is freaking well-thought out. EVERYTHING. The concept of bending is so thoroughly discussed and yet, it will still manage to surprise you at times. For you, a person who loves world-building and beautifully constructed worlds, Avatar is going to a visual orgasm for you. I hope that you enjoy the series as much as I did.

2. On the Philippines:

Nice try, America, but our seafood still pwns.

It took me a while to get into its groove. It's such a weird combination of adorkable and badass. But yeah, I'm loving the ice city in the North Pole, and the earthbender slide/delivery system, and like all the weird animals. It's such a fascinating world!

BANGUS IS THE MOST DELICIOUS OF FISH.

You know, I really enjoyed all of your responses, and thought that a lot of it was funny and pretty thought provoking, but I think that my favorite line was:

You can't Ctrl+Z socioeconomic change.

True fact.

Also, there should be more fruit in my life. Lots more fruit of many different sorts from different places. *makes a note*

Thanks, I'm glad you do. I'm usually a little hesitant to post about myself on the internet (partly paranoia, partly shyness), so it's totally <3 to see that ppl are down for it when I do.

Yes, fruit is awesomepants! Like say the pomelo. My dad used to make us wheelie toys out of the thick pomelo peel. Also I love rambutan (which literally means 'hairy' but don't let that put you off), and dragon fruit is totally overrated.

Your icon = hehehe. I like to think of it as Bradley's blowjob face. Just open the mouth a wee bit more... You know his cheekbones are totally kicking it.

Ah paranoia. My old friend. I have a bajillion different email addresses, yet I still worry about the fact that you used to be able to draw connections between some of them and my lj. Note USED TO. Plus incessant self googling to see if anything incriminating turns up. Thank God no. Basically I know what you're talking about.

Pomelo. I will remember this word.

You're the second person to look at this icon and think blow job! When I see this icon, I think of him saying, "Damn, you fine." Possibly while looking into a mirror. But it can also work as an, "Oooh, that's awkward." Bradley and his versatile face.

"Bradley we need you- What the hell are you doing?"

"Nothing, I'm just-"

"You were totally just checking yourself out in the mirror."

"No I wasn't, I was-"

"James, you horrible liar, you were making the finger gestures and everything."

"I was just-"

"Whatever, waste your own time with this sort of thing later. Come on, we need to start shooting."

DO THIS MAKE ME A GOOD HO?

FOR REAL. Bradley ships Bradley/Bradley. Not in the body-double way. Though... that would also be awesome.

Bradley has decided that he is too awesome for others to appreciate.

Oh, fruit. I had the best orange juice of my life in this teetiny little green hotel in Bangkok when I was there in -- um, 2000? Gosh.

And imported American satsumas will never have anything on Japanese satsumas in Japan. Every time I'm in Japan -- especially during satsuma season -- I just sit there with a box and eat them one by one until my fingernails are orange. I mean, I do this in Washington too, but they're ten times better in Japan. And I never called them satsumas until, oh, middle school? High school? Always called them "mekans" before, which is the Japanese word for satsuma (actually, satsuma is Japanese, but this is how I grew up with it). God, I very nearly missed out completely on satsumas this year, except that I went home on time for satsuma season. They grow them in Louisiana too, but they're not the same.

And, dude, once there were these hundred bucks a pop melons in Japan -- um, obviously that would be in yen, not U.S. dollars, but that's how my mother put it to me. And they were fabulous. And in America, someone would throw a fit at having to pay $100 for ONE MELON. Unless you're Donald Trump. (And my grandparents get them for free because, uh, benefits of the priesthood? As far as my mother has explained it, people just, like, give my grandparents and my aunt and uncle fruit. Or something.)

So, yeah, fruit. *cough* (Or! I could talk about tea, and green tea specifically, and tea in America and tea in Japan and seriously, everything in Japan is green tea. It's actually kind of freaky sometimes. Except that this isn't...relevent at all.)

Citrus is my FAAAVORITE. I love the dalandan, which Wikipedia doesn't even have a page for. It's more aromatic than other members of the citrus family, and still awesome when carbonated. Also amazing is the pomelo! My dad used to make little wheelie toys out of the thick skin for my brother and I.

AVATAR IS SO AMAZING OMG. I CAN'T WAIT 'TIL YOU'VE WATCHED IT ALL SO I CAN FANGIRL ABOUT IT FREELY! Everything about the show is just so complete, like how each form of bending is based on a form of martial arts, and how Aang retains his sort of Buddhist upbringing through everything even though there are so many situations that would force someone to compromise, and how each culture has their own mythology and mindset and wow, I cannot get much geeky-er.

I've only been out of the US once, not counting summers with my Canadian family, and I have to tell you, I love when you talk about your life in other countries, even though it makes me feel kind of ignorant and boring. I mean that in the absolute best way possible, I swear!

I have just finished ep1 of season 2! My favorite character is probably Iroh. Possibly he's who I relate to the most. Sokka's pretty adorable too. (I was all :D when I saw him with his hair down. You should wear your hair like that more often, Sokka!) Man, and every time I see some freaky new animal, I'm like, "I WANT ONE." (PLATYPUSBEAR HAHAHAHAHA still hilarious.) I bet badfic!Zuko cries a lot, doesn't he? Angsts it up about his father and stuff like that. Oh honorable men and their daddy issues! He and Arthur should hang out. Draco can come if he's good. I guess that makes Azula Morgana. THE SOCIETY OF CLEARLY SUPERIOR SISTERS. I can roll with that. Also: 'Bumi' means 'earth' in Indonesian! Eeeeeeee!

I'm glad! I can be a bit of a broken record with this stuff sometimes. I enjoy learning/teaching new cultures, especially mine (both passport and adopted), especially since the Western news media has characterized both of them as 'the countries with the weird names where all the natural disasters happen'. I guess I'm becoming less paranoid about revealing personal details on my fandom journal, though I might flock this post later in the future though.

OH MY GOODNESS I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SECOND EPISODE AND THE HIPPIE NOMADS ARE THE BESTEST THINGS EVER <33333333

OH, AREN'T THEY? And regarding the animals, WAIT TIL YOU SEE THE KOALASHEEP.

Iroh is a secret bad-ass. I kind of wonder what he and Ozai were like as kids. I think Iroh would have fought back more than Zuko did with Azula. I don't know if Morgana is crazy enough to be Azula. Does that make Gwen Ty Lee? Or maybe a weird mix of Ty Lee and Mai, I don't know.

Bad!fic Zuko has this nasty habit of getting raped by Zhao or Ozai and then Katara heals him with her love! Or Jet tells him to stop being a whiny bitch. I tend to stay away from the Avatar shipwars, they're scary.

Sokka's hair is down all the time in the third season!

KOALASHEEP. And then there are wolfbats?? It's like, let's draw animals out of a hat and force our animators to make them!

Ooh, Jet comes back?? I did like Jet.

I'm only halfway through the swamp episode now, so I haven't seen that much of the Badass Ladies, but so far I am OT3ing them like a mofo. omg, they are superhot. I have also heard on the grapevine that Mai/Zuko and Sokka/Toph are pretty adorable, so I'm kind of waiting for that to happen also. This Toph person sounds cool.

\o/! Sokkaaaaaaaaa!

My geeky icons, let me show you them!

The Mai/Zuko kind of weirded me out in the beginning, but it grew on me, I guess. Mostly because she keeps his ass in check.

Toph is amazing. I have no words to describe her. She and Sokka, and their shenanigans? WIN. She's a snarky badass.

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pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

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