Seven Reasons a Joke Doesn't Age Well

The Seven Reasons a Joke "Doesn't Age Well":

    1.  It references current events that are no longer current.

        "Boy, that Dan Quayle sure spells words wrong!"

    2. It's a joke that has been done way too many times.

        "Hey, did you ever notice that the food on airplanes isn't very good?"

    3. It relies on a worldview that is no longer relevant.

        "I saw a guy with one of those cellular phone things.  He must be a millionaire!"

    4. It uses a running gag that is no longer running.

        "So then I said, 'Where's the beef?'"

    5. It shows insensitivity to current social issues.

        "Man, school was so tough, I should have brought a gun!"

    6. The joke is fine, but the comedian connected to it is discredited.

        "Ladies and gentlemen, coming to the stage, please welcome Bill Cosby!"

    7. The translation from ancient Sumerian cuneiform stone tablets may be imprecise.

        "A dog walks into a bar and says, 'Shall I open this one?'"

When Creating a Political System

 

Whether you're creating a whole new system of government, or just trying to change a few local policies, there are a few things that one should always keep in mind:

Do your research!  Get all the facts straight before writing up your proposal, and find out if there are any solutions already in the works.

Be specific!  If you can't write up a detailed solution to a problem, including financing, then get help from someone who can.

Consider the worst-case scenario!  Think of every possible way that your plan could go wrong, how an unscrupulous person could take advantage of the new system, or what sort of unintended consequences might arise.  Then adjust your plan to prevent as many of these as possible.  It will never be 100% foolproof, but you can minimize the risks.

Don't include impractical add-ons!  Remember, you're not worldbuilding a novel.  You're trying to solve a real world problem in the most practical way possible.  Don't tack on a bunch of unnecessary details just because you think they're cool.

Be willing to give up your idea for a better one!  Regardless of how much work you put into your solution to a problem, or how proud you are of it, your first priority should always be to fix the problem in the best way possible, even if that means throwing out your own idea for someone else's.

Know where to compromise and where not to!  Any plan is going to have some aspects to it which can be changed or substituted without deviating from the original intent, and some which are vital to the original intent.  Don't confuse the two.

Don't seek personal wealth or power!  People will be less inclined to go along with your plan if they think you're doing it for personal gain.  Don't even begin to plan on how to capitalize on your victory until after you've succeeded.

Be willing to give up credit!  I'm not saying you should avoid taking credit, but if it comes down to a choice between solving the problem and taking the spotlight, solving the problem always comes first.

Be honest and direct!  You're going to need public support, and you're far less likely to get that support if people sense that you're being deceptive or manipulative.

Avoid being adversarial!  If someone disagrees with your plan, do not make an enemy of them.  Be polite and considerate.  If your plan is going to succeed, you're going to need support from as many people as possible, and you won't get that if you keep making enemies.

You can't please everyone!  There will always be a few people who, no matter what you say or do, will never accept your proposal.  Give them your best shot, but if it's not enough, just move on.  Otherwise, you'll end up wasting valuable time.

Don't respond to personal attacks!  When you propose a new idea, there will almost certainly be someone who wants to debate you on the subject.  Address all their concerns, but if someone ever tries to steer the conversation away from criticism of the proposal and into ad hominem territory, your best response is to steer the conversation back to the proposal.  Remember, you're promoting an idea, not yourself.

Don't get caught up in promotion!  Raising awareness for your proposal is an important step in the process, but if you're spending more time hosting events and giving speeches than you are in meetings with influential figures, then your whole project is certain to get stalled.

I Called It!

I called it! Back when I was a teenager, we were called "Generation X," which was a name that we definitely did NOT choose for ourselves, but was assigned to us pretty much before we were even born by sociologists in the late 1960s. However, by the 1990s, the letter X was showing up like crazy in advertising media (Elon Musk still thinks it's cool). Everything in the 90s was "eXtreme!!!!" Xtreme Ghostbusters. Xtreme Football. The X games. If you were to judge a generation by watching Mountain Dew commercials, you would think that Gen-Xers were proud to be adrenaline junkies, jumping out of airplanes, snowboarding, doing flips on skateboards, bungee jumping, and being totally out of control. I, being somewhat typical for my generation, was sitting on my ass on the couch watching these ads, thinking to myself, "Is this supposed to represent me? Do they really think I'm relating to this???"

Sometime later, in the mid-2000s-2010s, I was informed that the children being born at the time were called "Gen-Alpha," in keeping with the tradition of starting the English alphabet too close to the end, and having to switch to Greek letters. About the same time, there was a surge in social media ads and "informative" videos reviving the outdated concept of "how to be an alpha male," accompanied by a bunch of pseudoscience about wolf packs and alphas, betas, sigmas, omegas, and whatever else. I, being fairly good at pattern recognition, said to myself, "I see what's going to happen. They're going to wait until these Gen-Alpha kids are a little older, and then reframe all this macho-man pseudoscience as the mindset of today's teens, and then years later, retroactively pretend that Gen-Alpha was called that BECAUSE they were obsessed with being hypermasculine, and believing in this complicated Greek-lettered wolf pack social hierarchy, leaving the actual teens wondering, "Is this supposed to be us? Are we supposed to relate to this???"

Well, just recently, I saw a video clip about today's teen youth slang, which included "skibidi," (which is is a meme, not a slang; that's like saying "where's the beef" was a Gen-X slang for something), but also included Alpha, Beta, Sigma, etc. with their wolf-based descriptions, as though they were entirely new concepts invented by the young generation. Yep, the pattern is unfolding exactly as before! I suppose that Generation Beta is going to be the generation that beta tests operating systems. Generation Gamma is going to turn into the Hulk. Generation Delta is going to live near the mouth of a river.

Why am I always right?

Real Life is Not a Movie, and You are Not the Protagonist!

 REAL LIFE IS NOT A MOVIE, AND YOU ARE NOT THE PROTAGONIST!

I think we tend to underestimate the significance of the problem of people who see themselves as the "protagonists" of some grand narrative, and not a very well written one at that.

Certain phrases that I consider a red flag: "I'm on the right side of history," and "Someday, they're going to make a movie about my life" (with the optional "and this is going to be a scene in it").

Also a minor red flag, people who overestimate the reach of their own circles. For example: a blog ring with about a hundred or so followers and maybe ten or fifteen regular commenters. Yet a person in this community is surprised when a stranger hasn't heard of them.

There's also the obvious overlap with the sensationalist ratings-driven mainstream media and click-driven social media which resort to histrionic exaggerations of the significance of events and individuals, and fixate on particular stories which can be molded into narratives. Think of election news using phrases like, "the most important election of our time," and "a struggle for the soul of the nation." Also, be wary of too-cool intro graphics and catch phrases, or impressive-sounding nicknames given to minor events.

REAL LIFE IS NOT A MOVIE!

I cannot stress this enough. It's fascinating to me just how easily people will abandon the reality shown to them by direct observation in favor of a social narrative presented to them by the media, and how often people will change their natural behavior to fit into a character role.

From the would-be vigilante who carries a gun he barely knows how to use, expecting to take down an as-seen-in-movies street gang, to the self-important incel who glimpses a semi-attractive woman from across a room, and expects her to fall in love with him because he's the last "nice guy" on earth, to the socio-political activist who gives glib speeches about revolution for cheap applause, to the conspiracy theorist who is personally going to take down the evil lizard people, to the rude but completely talentless stand-up comedian who is convinced that his fart and dick jokes are "too edgy" for the prudish audience, and he'll one day be remembered as a ground-breaking genius. They're ALL just imitating shit they've seen in movies!

Another thought: All those times when people just take for granted things they've seen in media, which contradict reality. There are the obvious things, like cars exploding, which I think most of us are well-aware are unrealistic. But then there are some things like men only wanting no-strings sex, while women want long-term commitment. It's clearly evident that most people, regardless of gender, are basically figuring out what they want as they go along. Or the cynic who believes that people in general are evil, despite having met very few villains.

I have no conclusion to this. Just that we all need to be aware of the fact that many people are acting out a story, rather than living in reality, and the effects of this can vary from mildly annoying to extremely dangerous.

Proposed Federal Project Assignments

 FEDERAL PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS:

1. To create a free-to-use online education system for the benefit of those who are unable or unwilling to attend a conventional school.
2. To replace all fossil-fuel-based electrical power plants with either nuclear or renewable energy power plants within a reasonable time period.
3. To significantly reduce the amount of agricultural land by assisting in the development of vertical farming technology and the research and development of synthetic meats.
4. To develop more advanced robotics reduce the need for manual labor, and to develop programs of long-term compensation for those workers who have been replaced by automated systems.
5. To innovate new non-lethal weapons, and new methods for military, police and civilians to defend themselves with reduced risk of causing death or permanent injury.
6. To eliminate, by whatever means are appropriate, American dependency on unethical labor practices in foreign countries.

What is American Mythology?

 When we think about Greek mythology, we tend to think of the Hellenic era, and not separate the different time periods and sub-cultures. We generally just think of it all as "Greek." Same thing with Norse, Babylonian, West African, Egyptian, Japanese, Indian, etc., and British mythology, for most people, is pretty much just the Arthurian epics.

But when it comes to American mythology, we seem to have a pretty loose collection of sources to draw from, all of which *could* be considered "mythology," but none of them seem to fit the bill perfectly.

Maybe "American Mythology" is the pre-colonial myths and legends of the native people? Or maybe American Mythology is children's stories of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny? Or maybe American Mythology is conspiracy theories about the Illuminati and UFOs? Or maybe American Mythology is about the old Tall Tales of characters like Paul Bunyan and John Henry? Or maybe American Mythology is cryptids like Bigfoot, Mothman and the Jersey Devil? Or maybe American Mythology is one of the different time periods whose stories have been exaggerated, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, the Wild West, or Prohibition-Era Gangsters? Or maybe American Mythology is one of the new religious movements to emerge in the U.S., such as the Mormons or the Adventists? Or maybe American Mythology is something more abstract, like the irrational belief that "hard work always pays off," or that "one vote can make a difference." Or maybe American Mythology is the way that we inaccurately portray real life through movies and television, such as the way cars explode so easily, or computer hackers typing super-fast, or people flying backwards when they get shot. Actually, I don't think we'll ever figure out what qualifies as "American Mythology." Maybe this is something for future anthropologists to figure out.

Six Types of Men

The social script for masculinity is different from the social script for femininity in a very important way.  The masculine script is associated with dominance, while the feminine script is associated with submission.  This means that when a woman disregards the feminine script, it becomes a victory over the rules and expectations of society, and the ascension to a state of self-empowerment.  However, a man who has the strength to disregard the masculine script is nearly indistinguishable from a man who has tried and failed to follow said script.  Thus, men feel a significantly greater social obligation to follow said script without some sort of "reason" for the deviation, such as being gay or intrinsically gender-nonconforming.  For example, if we arbitrarily say that it is "masculine" to wear a suit, and "feminine" to wear a dress, women will be expected to "break the rules" and wear a suit, but a man wearing a dress will prompt an expectation of some seemingly logical explanation.  Because of this, cisgender-heterosexual men tend to fall into one of six general categories with regard to their relationship between their self-image and the latest version of the societal expectations on masculinity.  Bear in mind that most men will not fit entirely into a single category, but rather will tend to have one category or another being the dominant set of characteristics at any given time.

All images shown here are AI-generated.