Did you post this as a southerner, or just to say something new about "stupid women celebrities?"
You've lost an important part of your life--the rest of it, the 10 years that you would otherwise have had. The quote makes perfect sense unless somebody deliberately scoffs at it.
And stop hating on women.
I mean, it's your blog, say what you want, but since "women are stupid" is what you apparently want to say, I hope you'll rethink posting this kind of thing.
Sheesh, Kathy, relax already. Of course it makes perfect sense, but that doesn't make it any less funny.
And it's a pretty big leap from Dr. Blosser's poking fun at two women celebrities to the conclusion that he "hates on" women. He's mocked men celebrities in the past. Perhaps he should have put a gender quota in place for his celebrity mocking.
He replaced the Mariah Carey debacle with this one. Which isn't even stupid.
So when you and Janice ridicule things Ralph writes, does that mean you're "hating on men?" Rather than assume a shot is being fired at feminine intellectual abilities, ask. A number of possible counter explanations pop into my mind.
1) Its a funny celebrity statement that mocks the willingness of our culture to value the statements of people who look nice in pictures rather than because they actually have demonstrated expertise in that area.
2) Like some of the Pres. Bush statements, it's an unexpected "duh" nonsequiter- ie, it fits the common criteria for a successful joke- an unexpected and comic twist to a chain of thought or events.
3) Our society has a lot of people who think they know best how other people should live. Anti-smoking propaganda, as a category of this nanny-state activity, is therefore an attractive target of ridicule for libertarian types.
4) The idea of Brooke Shields, known for her ability to look nice in swimsuits and swimming nekked in blue lagoons, as an agent of the federal government, is itself a funny nonsequitor. I think David Hasselhoff or one of the Backstreet boys would be equally funny in this role.
So, even though texts have clear meanings, and no enduring divine aspects can be assigned to ancient liturgies, it may be possible that, in this case, you may need to admit ambiguity of meaning and lack of necessity of motive in this most recent posting. At least that would seem to me to be the charitable thing to do.
I don't ridicule Ralph. Sometimes I ridicule him back.
I think the main reason for this posting is 5) The Mariah Carey thing didn't work out. Though I admit there is a possibility of error, there is enough reason to believe that you are picking on pretty celebrity model spokespersons (not just good-looking celebrities but good-looking female celebrities) that as a woman I can take offense without embarrassment. The fact is, the quote is not from David Hasselhoff, although it could be.
Shields is right; smoking evidently does kill. Call it anti-smoking propaganda, if you wish. Of course, her comments could have been worded in a less awkward manner. But we English speakers easily can apprehend the gist of her sentential locution. Maybe it would have been preferable for her to say, "If you die" rather than "If you're killed . . ." There are other quibbles one could make. However, I refuse to pick on Ms. Shields.
So "taking offense" is one of the new virtues? Give me that old time religion, it's good enough for me.
Of course, mockery is not a virtue either, or defense of it, so mea culpa....
propaganda is not necessarily lying, but rather official speech dedicated to changing behavior or alliances. It's primary function is utilitarian, rather than education, which it does resemble if done well and with a good will.
I didn't see the Mariah Carey thing. How far back is it
It's gone now.
I would not say that propaganda is necessarily composed of lies, though it could be. But we normally attribute pejorative connotations to the term "propaganda." Moreover, academia juxtaposes this term with that which is scholarly or fair. Propaganda usually implies one-sided information that is not fair and balanced. One may question the methods of the anti-smoking campaign or its efficacy. I'm not so sure that propaganda best describes it, however.
Ok, I checked the online American Heritage Dictionary and examined the word origins of "propaganda." I see that the word is a terminus technicus in Catholic circles. Additionally, the etymology supports your utilization of the term. I am familiar with the concept of propagating the Word of God. So, I get your drift, even though I am used to the concept as it is employed in academic circles.
Fos, good points. I think the reason libertarian folks get uppity with anti-smoking compaigns isn't because they think smoking is actually good for you, as much as they see government education programs as being about power- Power to tell me how to live my life, spend my money, raise my kids, power to deprive me of my livelihood if I don't think the right thoughts, etc. I think this sort of thinking is unchristian and wrong, and I think that seeing everything in terms of power is a source of a lot of the progressive dissent from magisterial teaching, and is a source of much confusion and evil. I am trying to inform my own mind with the "compendium of social teachings" in an effort to throw off libertarian leanings. But occassionally things will get my goat and the old "you can't tell me what to do" attitude comes out. That old man of sin, he just doesn't want to go easily.
That was a very long winded way of saying that I agree that propaganda was not the right word to use.
Sorry Kathy, but Shields' comment really is a lamebrained thing to say. It can only elicit a response of, "Oh, you don't say."
As for why Dr. Blosser opted for Mariah Carey and Brooke Shields instead of David Hasselhoff, I can't say, and don't much care either. But I'd much rather look at Brooke Shields than David Hasselhoff, flaming heterosexual male that I am.
That's all I ask! All I want is to look at Brad Pitt!!
I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find some goofy saying of Brad Pitt's. Come on, Dr. Blosser, can't you help Kathy out here? Fair's fair, you know.
Well, while you're waiting, here's David "I gotta feeling" Hasselhoff singing just for us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G...h?
v=Gi2CfuqcUGE
Wow. That's hard to believe, and hilarious. Even steven, thanks!
But Brad Pitt, or that new guy Jeremy Piven or whatever his name is, that would be fine too.
People have mocked, scorned, cackled, and "hated on" the scrambled thoughts of Yogi Berra for decades, Kathy. Where's the outrage, sistah?
Good point, there, Ralph. PP, next time you go hating on Yogi Berra, think twice, okay?
How's that?
Ralph, are you named after a certain archangel? If so, a very very happy feast day to you!
Celebrity,
I enjoyed reading your comments. They remind me of what poststructuralists have noted about episteme/power structures, though I am not implying that you're siding with Foucault or Nietzsche.
I agree with your observations about government intrusion and power. I really do not want the government making decisions for me about sex, smoking or how to spend my money. I believe that the dissemination of information is fine (e.g. anti-smoking campaign). But my propensity is to filter political-speak through the sieve of Holy Writ.
For the record, I am not a Catholic, but one of my favorite former professors and current friends is (i.e. Pertinacious Papist). I respect a number of things about Catholicism, though I largely disagree with the Church in terms of theology. Nevertheless, I love reading writers such as Thomas Aquinas or Bonaventure. Scotus is also a must read for me.
Best regards!
Philip doesn't hate women. He married one.
Men have been known to marry women just for their cooking. 
Aha! See, I knew I wouldn't have to look far to find an amazingly stupid quote from Brad Pitt -- and it's something that makes Brooke Shield's comment sound brilliant in comparison. Plus, it has the added advantage of having to do with a topic that always provoked diarrhea of the keyboard from a certain Irish priest sojourning in Japan.
Recently, Brad Pitt said he and his concubine won't get married unless -- well, this is what he said in an interview with Esquire magazine:
"Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able."
Okay, Dr. Blosser, now go get a pic of Brad Pitt, and you'll have everything you need: a dumb celebrity will have been tweaked, Kathy will be happy (for more than one reason), and you'll likely get another discussion/slugfest going on THAT topic again (not sure if that's a good thing). :-D
It looks like we can't post anything these days without having it politicized. The liturgy has been politicized. Now even stupidity has been politicized, apparently.
It goes without saying that in an age dominated by the hermeneutic of suspicion (Freud, Nietzsche, Marx, Feminism), few will be inclined to give anyone the benefit of a doubt, but gender did not even cross my mind as an issue when I posted Mariah Carey's and Brook Shield's remarks. I teach college, as most of you know. Over the past five or six years, I've seen a precipitous plummet in performance of my entering freshmen students who seem, except for a few honors students, increasingly unable to read their assignments, let alone whole books or even chapters of books. They struggle to articulate a coherent sentence in writing, or even in speech. They come from homes which had TVs in every room, but no libraries. They fall asleep in classes where they are easily outpaced by immigrant students from Romania, Mexico, Thailand, Korea, Laos, and Japan working in a second language. I'm appalled at this situation -- as I am appalled by the last forty years of catechetical negligence and liturgical irresponsibility in the Church.
When I saw the quote attributed to Mariah Carey, it struck me as a commentary on our time. I thus entitled it, the "Morning Optimist" quote of the day (explaining this is so lame), because the future looks so pathetically hopeless sometimes, humanly speaking. The reason I deleated the Carey quote wasn't because I felt duly rebuked for its chauvinism. (There was nothing chauvinistic about it, as far as I was concerned.) I deleted the Carey quote because someone called to my attention that it was erroneously attributed to her, and therefore I felt the humor was unfair to her, even if it was funny.
No, Kathy, I have no chauvenistic vendetta against women. As Chris said, I married one. I also have a daughter, whom I adore. And I can truthfully say that I respect most women, whether they're beautiful or intelligent or not, as long as they know their place. And I'd say the same for any man. (Analyze that!)
That Philip had to go back 24 years to find a teenager's quote to take out of context says a lot.
Just because I'm suspicious doesn't make me a Freudian.
(Quote that!)
Anyways, sorry, I believe that I jumped to an almost entirely false conclusion. I'm frankly not sure gender is ever far from anyone's mind. But I wasn't giving you credit for social commentary, which does in fact come across in your posting. As the kids used to say, "My bad."
"I'm frankly not sure gender is ever far from anyone's mind."
While I take exception, this establishes that it is never far from yours.
Wow. You really got me there, Joe.
I'm a misogynist and I come to this site for its humor.
Keep up the good work guys!
hahahahhaaha!
"Death is nature's way of saying, 'slow down'."
"That Philip had to go back 24 years to find a teenager's quote to take out of context says a lot."
Says a lot about what? About how much smarter and wiser teens are today than they were 24 years ago?
Says that Brooke Shields is smarter than Dan Quayle, for starters.
I have nothing against women. I just wouldn't want my sister to marry one.
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