sundries, in which we learn that everyone cares about the vuvuzela

[rm]

Can someone please explain to me what the point of a living will is if a family member gets to overrule it? Isn't the whole point to avoid this sort of thing? "A spokesman for the Utah Medical Association said a family member's wishes have more weight than what's written in a living will."

Mimicking is your friend.

Go make some giraffes.

Pianos are better than cows.

Apple reverses decision that blacked out panels in a graphic novel app that showed two male characters kissing. Apple still looks like shit for this ongoing app drama, however.

McDonald's CEO admits gay-themed ad from France would never air in the US. It's refreshingly frank about it, in a way that's sort of chilling. (Note: I had some other stuff here that I've since pulled that included things about my own biases as well as an inappropriate misapprehension on my part about Christianity. I apologize to anyone I've offended).

Anti-gay hate crimes double in Canada. That's from 2007 to 2008, the most recent years for which statistics are available.

Because every so often someone links me to the hanky code, usually because of some weirdly mistaken assumption that I am unfamiliar. In this case, however, the motivation was different -- the email came with the note "You're looking for 'flannel' and 'celery.'" Filled with NSFW words, and but those two entries are sort of hilarious for the DW/TW fen.

Since I don't really follow soccer, can someone tell me if the great vuvuzela controversy is a legitimate thing on some level or just a bunch of Europeans being all racist and not wanting the World Cup in Africa, to, you know, be in Africa?

Comments

[firefly124.livejournal.com]

Isn't the whole point to avoid this sort of thing?

It's supposed to be. It sounds like part of the problem was lack of a clear health care agent/proxy designation, but that spokesman's comment is particularly disturbing, because it makes it sound as though even that wouldn't have changed anything.


ETA: Also ROFL @ the "hanky code," especially the ones you flagged, plus the bubble wrap.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Apparently the players themselves have complained about the noise the Vuvuzelas create, sooooooo...

I think it's pretty racist on some level, but I have watched a match (UK/US) and it is really really agonisingly annoying!

[syzygy-lj.livejournal.com]

(I am moving this post lower down)

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

Re the vuvuzelas, there may well be racism involved but when I heard them on TV for the first time, just yesterday, not even knowing what I was listening to, my instant reaction was, 'What IS that intensely irritating and sort of scary noise?' And that was with the volume low.

[melebeth]

I tried to watch world cup matches on TV and even at low volume those things are like nails on a chalkboard made of 1,000,000 buzzing mosquitoes.

[weirdquark]

I heard something on NPR this morning that said the vuvuzela produced more sound than a chainsaw and that there was danger of hearing loss, so fans might want to use earplugs. But as this Yahoo article points out, screaming fans also produce more sound than a chainsaw, so, whatever.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

It's not the amount of sound, it's the quality... which is horrible, coming from the vuvuzela.

the great vuvuzela controversy

[speedingslug.livejournal.com]

It's very annoying, it got boring very fast. In soccer game the crowd sing chants and shout random thing, you can't hear anything except the bloody vuvuzela's making racket.

[mellacita.livejournal.com]

I own a vuvuzela. It's an annoying sound, but I find so many of the other ways people cheer on their teams to be infinitely more annoying. I would assume there is a significant amount of racism or colonial privilege kicking up, in addition to those just plain annoyed.

[speedingslug.livejournal.com]

I would disagree with that, most people I know don't care where it's being held they just love the game, you can't even hear the commentary properly for the things.

[kitaloon.livejournal.com]

I think a big part of the controversy is that, while screaming fans are capable of producing an equal volume of noise, that noise level fluctuates to reflect the action of the game. The vuvuzelas have only one volume and one pitch, and are played at a constant (and, from what I've heard, agonizing) level throughout the game regardless of what is actually happening in the game.

There's certainly some racism in the argument that the american/european chanting and cheering inherently has more "character" or "team spirit" than the sound of vuvuzelas. However, it is unrelenting, irritating even through broadcast, prevents any other country from engaging in their own traditional forms of noise, and players have been complaining that they can't concentrate, or think, or even sleep at night if they're too close to the pitch.

[lovefromgirl.livejournal.com]

...well, I guess this is why you update your damn living will if you break up with someone. *facepalm* Poor Gary.

Also, footie fans always find some way to be annoying. European footie fans appear to be upset because this time, they haven't cornered the market. And hey, Germany didn't appear to be too fazed by the vuvuzelas (four-nil, yay!). FIFA's got it right: when in Rome, get used to the way the locals celebrate.

-- the girl who saw a guy in biker gear with a yellow hanky stickin' out of his back pocket... in rural New York. Hey, awesome!

[kessie.livejournal.com]

The vuvuzelas do start to get annoying--the sound is relentless. During the US/England game, we could hardly hear anything else, cheering or drums.

[abnormal-apathy.livejournal.com]

Or announcers, even.

I'm not a huge soccer fan and only watch the World Cup as far as the sport goes. I find these things to be hilarious. Watch them running around the field for 90 minutes straight while it sounds like the biggest hive of bees in the world is chasing them. It rates high on my hilarity scale.

Just wondering

[newwaytowrite.livejournal.com]

I know close to squat about fandom of any kind. Maybe even less than squat. However, I was just wondering do people not get confused when you use DW/TW and maybe think DW is Deadwood instead of Doctor Who ?

Re: Just wondering

[rm.livejournal.com]

No idea, as I don't play in that fandom (although I did watch the series, which was rad) and don't know how they abbreviate. I think I usually only say DW if I am also either spelling it all out or also mentioning TW, so I think it usually makes it clear it's not Deadwood even if DW/TW is unfamiliar.

[angstzeit.livejournal.com]

I don't think legal documents have any power beyond someones desire and ability to advocate them.

[torenheksje.livejournal.com]

It's a constant, droning noise. No rise and fall of song or chant or cheer, just an enormous swarm of wasps for 1.5 hours. The officials are encouraging people to wear earplugs, but the poor players can't communicate, can't hear whistles from the refs, can't sleep, etc. As an observer, I have difficulty hearing the commentary.

I wouldn't mind if they were used when scoring happens, or even when there's a particularly good play. It's the fact that it NEVER stops.

[blu-22.livejournal.com]

I don't know how much of it is a race factor, but regarding the vuvuzelas, it's a constant, incessant drone akin to a swarm of bees. There's no rise and fall to it like cheering/jeering would have. It's so loud that the coaches can't communicate with players, players can't communicate with each other, and announcers can barely be heard over the constant drone. If you're trying to listen to a game on the radio it's damn near impossible. I could understand if they were used somewhat like trumpets when something exciting is happening, but this is non stop through the whole 90 min. match. And there's another month of this left. I'd rather hear a constant drum beating than that horrid noise.

[sageautumn.livejournal.com]

Though I'd seen it linked before, I'd not looked at the Hankie Code.

I'm not resisting the urge to go buy hankies for my (very black Southern Baptist traditional god-is-my-soulmate*) husband, who would have NO IDEA.

* he wasn't this crazycakes when I married him, honest.

[rm.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAH.

You are awesome.

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

I wish the pianos would come to DC!

We've had party animals and pandas but the pianos would be awesome!

[sunhawk.livejournal.com]

I think it's probably a bit of both: some with legitimate reason to find the drone disruptive and some doing it because of racist thought, but it's a mess to sort it out.

I was wondering what the bee sound was, but I didn't find it that distracting in particular, when the sound doesn't ebb and stays constant, I tend to tune it out like white noise.

[weirdodragoncat.livejournal.com]

LOL!! The snarky comments on the hanky code are hilarious!

[hoyland54.livejournal.com]

The was some discussion during the Confederations Cup last year as to whether complaints about the vuvuzelas were rooted in racism and the question was never really resolved. (I vaguely seem to recall FIFA saying they weren't going to ban them for the World Cup as it would be racist to do so, but, uh, FIFA are idiots and their opinion should probably not be given a whole lot of weight in the discussion.) They've seemingly not been around long enough to be a deeply-rooted, integral part of South African football culture. On the other hand, I feel like a lot of the complaints are rooted in a reaction against the foreign, more than legitimate complaints.

It seems like the only real legitimate complaint I can see is that the drone is interfering with the ability of the players to communicate (or that it's louder than typical stadium noise and thus a (greater) health hazard). There are suggestions that this is the case, but, again, we have to ask whether those complaints were made during the Confederations Cup. (I simply don't remember. The conditions probably weren't identical--I expect the crowds were smaller and more South African (I suspect that might mean fewer vuvuzelas--no novelty value).)

On a level beyond the World Cup, there's sort of a question of whether the vuvuzela could compromise football culture by drowning out songs and chants. (Presumably easy to test--what went on at South African matches pre-vuvuzela?) Of course, it would be a self-inflicted injury.

(I've come via torch_wood, if you're wondering how I've popped up from nowhere.)

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hello! Yay Torchwood We weigh in on all things, we do. Thank you for the insights. Being in the US and not really following most sports the whole thing is really a ball of puzzlement for me.

[kproche.livejournal.com]

OK, I'm just tickled that it's my friend Bootdog's version of the hanky code that you linked.

He is *good* people. :-)

I used to perform a stage fantasy wherein I went through a dresser with about 100 different hankies trying to figure out which *one* to stuff in which pocket. The finale involved discovering that I already had one in my back pocket, which proved in fact to be one of about 10 tied together in a classic magician's chain.

It was always entertaining to see which colors elicited the loudest cheers from the audience.

The soundtrack was, of course, "Hanky Panky" by Madonna.

[rm.livejournal.com]

That performance piece sounds BRILLIANT.

[pineapplechild.livejournal.com]

I admit, I have to double take every time someone uses the abbreviation DW for Who, because I'm so used to seeing it DW for Dreamwidth... but that's the circles I run in.

[rm.livejournal.com]

That one I have noticed and worried about.

[msp-hacker.livejournal.com]

I was wondering what that droning bee sound during the US/England match. Eventually, I just tuned it out, but for awhile it was really annoying. ( Less annoying than the satellite feed breaking in the middle of the game, but still annoying. )

[dawn-guy.livejournal.com]

The numbers for hate crimes are small enough that it could be anything from a statistical anomaly to a change in prosecution (improvement in recognition of hate as such) to our glorious right-wingnut leader fostering an atmosphere of greater intolerance among Canadians.

Man, I wish the Liberal party would replace Iggy with someone who has the charisma to bolster enough votes to stop the tyranny of the minority.

[guruwench.livejournal.com]

I agree regarding Iggy. We seriously lack for leaders up here the last decade or so... and I think the unite-the-left mumblings I've heard are concerning.

[marcmagus]

in which we learn that everyone cares about the vuvuzela

I think we should paint the bike shed green.

[austengirl.livejournal.com]

As a World Cup watcher, I do find the noise incredibly irritating. I hadn't considered the racial implications of a potential ban because it seems like there are fans of every nation in attendence blowing them, not just South Africans. And of course fans are going to make noise in a variety of ways at any sporting event.

I don't think a ban would be enforceable at this point, though FIFA is damn good at protecting its marketing interests, ejecting a group of women supporting the Netherlands yesterday for their supposed participation in an 'ambush marketing campaign'. Commentary from the Guardian here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/15/fifa-bavaria-beer-orange-dresses

Also on a totally unrelated topic an article about why Christopher Eccleston left DW that perhaps raises more questions than it answers, from yahoo news: http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/news-extra/article/14123/eccleston-reveals-why-he-quit-doctor-who.html

[rm.livejournal.com]

I've heard things about that situation (Eccleston) that imply he was the uptight dude amongst a group of pretty bawdy practical jokes and couldn't cope.

[maryling.livejournal.com]

I go to 35+ hockey games a year. When there was an Arena Football League team in the same arena, I went to those games too. I've been glared at and insulted at both for being too loud, to the point where I have ready-made comebacks about how a hockey game is not a chess match and one should expect noise. So I've got a fairly live-and-let-live policy regarding game noise.

That being said, at one Islanders game some genius in game ops decided giving out vuvuzela-type horns to the student section would be a great idea. MOST ANNOYING NOISE EVER. Now, these things sounded like dying moose so it might not be exactly the same, but they got enough complaints that this has never happened again.