The Legion of Losers

[freitag]

Feb 19, 2015 8:56:45 GMT -6 wapatango said:

Nope, I've never been to Spain. That's an interesting custom. I want to make sure I understand correctly. In this custom you pay compliments whether they are true or not, right? Is that what you meant by "downright ridiculous"? Or did that refer to paying someone a compliment such as "You have the most beautifully-shaped toenails I have ever seen?" I am wondering because if the ridiculous compliments were ones that were not true, then I have to wonder about that compliment you paid me...

Thanks for the kind words.

No, they tend to be true as spontaneous expressions. (Oh, okay, some people "rehearse", but it's like picking a fight; you don't really do it without cause). It's a very personal thing, the sense of what's beautiful or what turns someone on. Bit of cultural anthropology, begging the pardon of the more delicate, but I was surprised to learn, for instance, that hairy armpits in women were hot in Italy. (There's a footnote in there that says this kind of compliment-paying evolved into the wolf-whistle when Italians in the States still hadn't acquired the necessary borrowed vocabulary). (And if you're wondering why Spain and Italy, that's another long story).

In the age of women's lib, guys like the firemen around here tend to hear the ridiculous side of it, as in women telling them "I wish I were your towel".

And that in verse, which is when it gets hooting funny (ever seen a man blush?) Anyway, there's even a tradition of extemporaneous poetry attaching. It's hard to explain because I'd get lost in translation. But in the local context, it's good clean fun. In bars and discos, a real icebreaker (which unfortunately doesn't export so well). I think in English you'd call them "pick-up lines". And maybe expect to be slapped. Except that, in the Latin tradition, you don't have to be a total stranger. It also works inside families.

Foreign women may resent it or feel picked on at first contact, but the local girls simply shoot back. In fact, it's cultivated as a kind of aggressive-defensive social skill. And as I said, it's not necessarily a gender thing -- mums get hyperbolic about their kids (who kind of grow up regarding it as normal).

There was a kind of backlash about this related to media bombardment, around the time impressionable kids were becoming anorexic. People felt their sense of what was beautiful was being imposed upon, and one upshot was the Body Mass Index ban -- as in, the health department started screening catwalk models accordingly. (To do a fashion show here, you have to look healthy. I mean, who'd be able to sell a size that didn't exist, anyway?)

Oh, well. Anyway, I meant it. It just looks like a lot of padding trying to explain.

[NinjaKiwi.]

Dear staff,

This would be a really cool thing to update

Fletch_smf, myke, ElektronX, Pixie, rion anyone?

[jamesvaler]

I'll see what I can do...
But currently I might be entering the Legion, unless you do instead, ninja

[echo9]

Dec 1, 2014 16:14:08 GMT -6 wapatango said:

No, I do NOTwant the title Wapa worst woebegone winner, I am not even in the 5-way tie, and I hope to keep it that way. That should be pretty easy since I don't plan to enter more competitions. All I have to do is get that crazy, non-existent ragnarok. Surely, it must be coming soon. I've made around 160 attempts now. I did figure out that GregDarcy must have managed to get past my defenses in some way. My wizards are working frantically to find the weak spot so that it can be corrected. In fact, I've offered a big reward to the one who discovers it and one to the one who fixes it.

I don't know if this will help, but I got two ragnaroks while trying for Elysium, no three; two in one park, one in another park.

[jamesvaler]

This has been updated. I think shernea has had the worst form recently.

There is currently no loser of the losers, although many are on 2 wins... Hoping to crown someone soon 
Sadly I was inundated not too long ago ...