PZ Myers. 2005 Jan 28. Friday Random Ten: Uncool Edition. <http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/friday_random_ten_uncool_edition/>. Accessed 2008 Dec 01.
Posted on M00o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr on Friday, January 28, 2005
Friday Random Ten: Uncool Edition
Uh-oh. I've just learned the Friday Random Ten has become uncool. And pirates are no longer hip. Since I'm a great big geeky nerd, though, that means I have to continue to do it, and I also must insist that you read it in Pirate Mode.
MP3 player, blah blah, random shuffle, blah blahbitty blah, first ten, pippity boo:
| Siren | Tori Amos |
| Give Me Novacaine | Green Day |
| Don't Make Me Dream About You | Chris Isaak |
| Sledgehammer | Peter Gabriel |
| Red Iguana | California Guitar Trio |
| Death Is Not The End (With Nick Cave) | PJ Harvey |
| Between The Bars | Elliott Smith |
| Ghost Riders On The Storm | California Guitar Trio |
| Diamond & Pearls | Prince |
| Werewolf | Cat Power |
Wow, that is tres gauche, lubberly even. Geek cred: unblemished.
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Wow, Cat Power -- yargh!
#: Posted by Kambiz Kamrani on 01/28 at 01:20 PM
- I've always been uncool. Thus, I will continue to do it, too!
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Well, I'll give you cred for the Green Day and the California Guitar Trio. I can't even really play this game right now, as I'm still ripping my CD collection, so any random shuffle would not be all that representative.
#: Posted by paperwight on 01/28 at 02:21 PM
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Hm. My library is also somewhat less representative after the "Airport Incident" (yes, I helped fill out the CD collection of some poor, musically deprived baggage handler in Atlanta) and the fact that I crammed my favorite albums on first and have been lazy about the rest, but anyway it has most of the important stuff:
Kiss Me, Son of God
They Might be Giants
Rocket
The Smashing Pumpkins
Cygnet Committee
David Bowie
Saviour Machine
David Bowie
Ashes to Ashes
David Bowie
Find the River
R.E.M.
Afraid
David Bowie
Pieces of the Night
Gin Blossoms
It's All About the Pentiums
Weird Al Yankovic
Time Capsule
Matthew Sweet#: Posted by on 01/28 at 02:35 PM -
What do you mean pirates are no longer cool!?
My life is pirates! I play "Sid Meier's 'Pirates!'" for hours on end. My recent bookshelf?
Philip Gosse, The History of Piracy
Alexander O Exguemelin, The Buccaneers of America
Geordge Francis Dow, John Henry Edmonds, The Pirates of the New England Coast
David Cordingly, Under the Black Flag
(and arguably) Jasper Ridley, Garibaldi
When a wee lad of eight, I single-handedly capt'ned a Day Sailer and took over a pleasure craft off Cape Cod. Next year I learnt how to pilot a sloop an' wi' maties took over a liner. Y'didn't hear o' it 'cause the federals paid me good to hush it up. Next I purchased a brigantine with me take. By age thirteen I was winning ocean-wide pirate contests. I am told this is unusual behavior.
Me says this not in puffery, m'lads, but because I reckon it supports m'case that pirate motivation and capability is innate, y'hearties, and not influenced by diet, exercise, mentors, self-esteem mongers, etc.
And that darn Piaget can go rot, the scurvey dog!
And whiles I know the fairer sex are sometime pirates, and darn mean ones, there aren't a lot o' them, and thus must be somethin' genetic thar, 'cause 'tis innate.#: Posted by Jan Theodore Galkowski on 01/28 at 02:43 PM -
And whiles I know the fairer sex are sometime pirates, and darn mean ones, there aren’t a lot o’ them, and thus must be somethin’ genetic thar, ‘cause ‘tis innate.
Seen this, Jan?#: Posted by Chris Clarke on 01/28 at 02:48 PM -
Yes, Chris, I was kidding around, o'course. Read and de Berry are well known and chronicled in Gosse. Indeed, perhaps the most famous woman pirate is a Chinese pirate by the name of Mrs Chang (we don't know her first name), who took over after her pirate husband was killed.
Actually, I chimed in because a small part of the story is true. I do like pirate lore, own and have read most of those books, and do find Sid Meier's "Pirates!" very entertaining. I also sail, although I'm current land-locked. The rest? It's a nautical yarn patterned, I'm afraid, after a recent pronouncement over on the MLK rotational velocity thread.#: Posted by Jan Theodore Galkowski on 01/28 at 02:53 PM -
What does a vegan pirate do in jail?
Starrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrve!#: Posted by on 01/28 at 03:40 PM -
What has 8 arms and 8 legs?
8 Pirates!#: Posted by on 01/28 at 03:41 PM -
How can you tell if a pirate is Jewish?
They have Barrrrrrrrrrrr Mitsvahs!!!!!#: Posted by on 01/28 at 03:43 PM -
What Star Wars character is really a pirate?
AARRRRGGH-2 D-2!
I'm sorry, I'll stop now.#: Posted by on 01/28 at 03:46 PM -
OK, one more I just made up...
What is a pirate's favorite virus?
Epstein-Barrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhh!!!!#: Posted by on 01/28 at 03:52 PM - You win, Ceibatree. You are officially the uncoolest.
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Ah, I see rrt is a fellow Bowie fan. Excellent taste.
That can't possibly ever be "uncool" (unless, of course, your favorite Bowie song is "The Laughing Gnome"). -
If we can have vegan pirates, we can have 'sustainable cowboys'. Oh, that's been done.
Enjoy.
Actually, pirates are a really curious and interesting lot. I think their lives and experience even has input to Torah! At their heyday, pirates had a strict code, largely because they did not trust each other at all, and in his day Exquemelin says they had injury insurance. That means all those rules in Leviticus and Exodus are there because the population broke them and they became problems. (Answer to question, "When do you put up a stop-light at an intersection?") Their age ended less because of concerted effort on the part of governments, and more because of the advance of sailing and communications technology, but that's another blog ....
Anyway, the code went something like:
1. Every man shall obey civil Command; the Captain shall have one full share and a half in all Prizes; the Master, Carpenter, Boatswain and Gunner shall have one Share and quarter.
2. If any man shall offer to run away, or keep any Secret from the Company, he shall be marroon'd with one Bottle of Powder, one Bottle of Water, one small Arm and shot.
3. If any Man shall steel any Thing in the Company, or game, to the Value of a Piece of Eight, he shall be Marroon'd or shot.
4. If at any Time we should meet another Marrooner (that is Pyrate) that Man that shall sign his Articles without the Consent of our Company, shall suffer such Punishment as the Captain and Company shall think fit.
5. That Man that shall strike another whilst these Articles are in force, shall receive Moses's Law (that is, 50 stripes lacking one) on the bare Back.
6. That Man that shall snap his Arms, or smoak Tobacco in the Hold, without a cap to his Pipe, or carry a Candle lighted without a Lanthorn, shall suffer the same Punishment as in the former Article.
7. That Man that shall not keep his Arms clean, fit for an Engagement, or neglect his Business, shall be cut off from his Share, and suffer such other Punishment as the Captain and the Company shall think fit.
8. If any Man shall lose a Joint in time of an Engagement he shall have 400 Piece of Eight; if a limb $800.
9. If at any time you meet with a prudent Woman, that Man that offers to meddle with her, without her Consent, shall suffer present Death.
And there were even religious pirates, at least those who insisted on Sunday practice. They didn't have much luck recruiting reverends, 'though, for some odd reason. And there was Mission, a pirate who came under the influence and guidance of a Dominican priest, Signor Caraccioli. They became great friends, and ex-priest Caraccioli joined on Mission's ship, the Victoire, participating in fighting and duels. I now quote Gosse:
During the whole voyage Caraccioli lost no opportunity of preaching to young Mission the gospel of atheism and communism, and with such success that the willing convert soon held views as extreme as those of his teacher. Those two apostles now began to talk to the crew and their views, particularly on the rights of private property, were presently shared by almost all on board.
These are all courtesy of Philip Gosse, in the abovementioned History of Piracy, Longman Greens, 1932.#: Posted by Jan Theodore Galkowski on 01/28 at 04:53 PM -
Okay:
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly Tewkesbury Abbey School Choir
Western Stars k.d. lang
As Tears Go By Marianne Faithful
Party in the Woods Tonight Jonathan Richman
Haifisch Biermösl Blosn
Kol Nidrei Jan Peerce & Warner Bass
ged Attwenger
We A de Rasta Israel Vibration
Orane Les Negresses Vertes
Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) Van Morrison
I assure you that any seeming coolness is merely an artefact of the iTunes Party Shuffle. Still, the program did at least show the token uncoolness of choosing that song by Israel Vibration, rather than the much cooler Babylon by Bus or IV's cover of Black Muddy River. And Peerce's Kol Nidrei?! That's so uncool it goes 180 degrees round, and drips icicles. (The Christmas carol is probably deemed officially Uncool here in partibus infidelium, but I really can't claim Uncoolness Credit for it, as it is a very pretty tune.)#: Posted by Mrs Tilton on 01/28 at 05:52 PM - You're good with me.
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Ahh, Orac. You have exposed my greatest secret...and shame. I must hang my head for as a follower of the Great Master of Pretention, I have failed in my duty to experience the legendary "Laughing Gnome." As penance, I must perform a pilgrimage to the land of iTunes, and once there, purchase the Deram Anthology.
#: Posted by on 01/28 at 07:40 PM
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Ah, I see rrt is a fellow Bowie fan.
Four Bowie songs in a 10 song random set?
I'd say we just crossed over into the obsessive.
Or... maybe rrt just "beat" the odds.
How about we ask one of Pharyngula'smalesmath prodigies to figure out the odds of 4 Bowie songs coming up? Let's just assume (for no particular reason) that rrt's collection has 25 Bowie songs, out of a total of 500 songs (this would, IMO, not constitute obsessive behavior).
Any volunteers?#: Posted by on 01/28 at 07:48 PM -
Oh, no need, let me save you the brain cells. 325 songs Bowie out of 1454 total? Happily obsessive.
Of course, the TMBG playlist comes in at 309.#: Posted by on 01/28 at 08:05 PM - Indeed, rrt. One cannot be a true fan of the Chameleon unless one has experienced "The Laughing Gnome" and convinced oneself that it is great art.
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Philip Gosse? The son of Edmund, son of Philip in his turn, the author of Oomphalos? Wonderful...
#: Posted by Bryson Brown on 01/28 at 08:55 PM
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Any volunteers?
Depends on what you ask the Oracle precisely. If the density of Bowie songs is 25 in 500, or 1 in 20, then the chance of getting 4 or more Bowie songs in a random pick of 10 is 6668:6483241. If, per later revision, the density of Bowie songs is 325 in 1454, then the chance of getting 4 or more Bowie songs is 595360:3589957.
The odds of getting precisely four Bowie songs in a sample of ten is 16985:17604537 when the density is 25:500, and 113811:990631 when the density is 325:1454.
Checks anyone?#: Posted by Jan Theodore Galkowski on 01/29 at 12:30 AM -
"Death Is Not The End" is not a PJ Harvey song. It's a Nick Cave song, off of Murder Ballads.
#: Posted by on 01/29 at 05:18 AM
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Jan, I posit that you are assuming too large a sample. Reading rrt's 'Airport Incident' comment made me think that the sample size was on the order of less than 5 discs, meaning 20% would be Bowie songs (if only one disc was Bowie), but if there are 2 Bowie discs out of 5 then 40% would be just right. I seem to recall that Bowie was mentioned as a favorite, so the Bowie disc percentage (BDP) may be higher.
In short the calculation is pointless unless we actually have the appropriate data.
But it is 3:45 am and why am I talking about this instead of sleeping! Yo, Ho, Ho and a bottle of rum, I say. AAARRGGG
What kind of socks do pirates wear ..... AAAAARGyle (apologies to cebiatree)
#: Posted by on 01/29 at 05:40 AM -
Just wondering - what's this pirate mode about, except a different skin?
#: Posted by on 01/29 at 05:41 AM
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DD, I was responding to the request from Jeebus. The data I had were two: One time the estimate of Bowie songs were 25 of 500. Another estimate was 325 of 1454. I assumed that the choices and selections were independent, not that if one was on a CD another on that same CD would be also likely played.
What do you mean by "too large a sample"?#: Posted by Jan Theodore Galkowski on 01/29 at 05:33 PM -
I find this highly amusing.
#: Posted by on 01/29 at 06:09 PM
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I'm uncooler than you, PZ. Here's my random 10:
Intro, Tom Waits, Nighthawks at the Diner
We'll Meet Again Sweetheart, Flatt and Scruggs, The Best of Flat and Scruggs
Joe Hill, Utah Phillips, We Have Fed You All For a Thousand Years
Wrinkled, Crinkled, Wadded Dollar Bill, Johnny Cash, Man in Black ('63-'69)
Balboa Park, Bruce Springsteen, Ghost of Tom Joad
I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash, Super Hits
Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear, Randy Newman, Sail Away
Delia's Gone, Johnny Cash, American Recordings
I'm the Man Who Loves You, Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Crossroads, Gordon Lightfoot, United Artists Collection#: Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein on 01/29 at 09:24 PM -
You do know that if you get reeeeally really uncool, it wraps around and becomes cool again, right?
And Joe Hill is the Man. -
FWIW, "argh" as an assent is just the S/SW English regional equivalent of "aye", which is used in the north and in Scotland. As many English sailors were from Sussex and Cornwall, this snuck into the jargon of the sea. Sailors were the first technicians, and their language was intentionally filled with jargon as a form of job-exclusiveness.
Other trivia:
In an official military toast, glasses are raised to "Gentlemen and officers of the Royal Navy", a tradition dating to their breaking collective word during the Spithead Mutiny of 1795.
The bulk Courage Ale served aboard Her Majesty's ships has 8-9% alcohol as it keeps better while in motion.
Grog is Rum cut 50% with water.
"Royal Naval traditions? Why, they've 500 years of rum, sodomy and the lash!" —Winston Churchill#: Posted by on 02/01 at 01:20 PM -
Jus' don' try t'raise t'Admir'lty Oar 'round here, Richard, y'scurvey lubber!
#: Posted by Jan Theodore Galkowski on 02/01 at 03:05 PM
