Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Episode 192: The Right To Be Lazy
Play Now!Everyone seems aware of the appalling working conditions afflicting the poor in the 18th century; fewer seem aware, though, of what rationale drove employers to such torture. I dip into a book from that period in this Episode 192: The Right To Be Lazy.In this episode, I read from: a snippet of William Blake; the 1883 English translation of Paul Lafargue's book The Right To Be Lazy; and my computer's quickie dictionary.Musically, I open the show with KMFDM backing Henry Giroux's observation about civic literacy. Mistle Thrush closes the show once again.Also, listener Vincent voiced his frustration at me butchering his native language with a bit of foul French cursing. This one "bordel a queue", translates roughly to "a line outside a brothel." It's an oath uttered in frustration. "Damn it," it seems to say, "I won't get laid for hours!" I still giggle every time I quote his curses on this show! Thank you again, Vincent!While I'm here, let me ask: are their any other listeners who can curse a blue streak in their native languages, and who would be willing to record some doozies for the Attack Ads! Podcast? If so, let's talk! Drop me a comment!
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I know cursewords! In my native language, even.
ReplyDeleteMy native language is Dutch, so it won't sound as sexy as French, though.
Ooo! Dutch! I could work with Dutch.
DeleteSexy isn't what I need. Just hard, angry non-English curses uttered whenever I mispronounce a name or concept in that language (oh, and some help pronouncing the word or name itself).
I guess the low-hanging fruit would be Van Gogh in it's actual Dutch pronunciation, as opposed to the English bastardization.
I'll send you my direct email, and we can plot from there!
—Jim
D'oh! I missed that you don't have a Blogger account. Anyplace I can DM or message you?
DeleteThe connection between overwork and advertising...
ReplyDelete(Hope I'm not mixing up your quote in this episode versus 191; my notes are sketchy, but I think in this episode you asked the timeless question, "What the HELL does this have to do with advertising?")
The connection between overwork and advertising is as simple as dropping the phrase, "Keeping up with the Joneses." Duh. Advertising tries to convince us that we're lacking something that everyone else is enjoying, but it only treats with "somethings" which require money to purchase. Ergo the basic point of advertising is to convince us that we're not earning enough money to buy happiness, after which realization we're supposed to go back to work and work harder and longer in order to obtain more money. Absolutely basic connection.
I am not a native speaker, but I lived in mainland Mexico for three years, so I have a passable command of Mexican Spanish obscenities, should that ever become useful. There are some fun and fiery ones.
Hey, Kevin!
DeleteAdvertising tries to convince us that we're lacking something that everyone else is enjoying, but it only treats with "somethings" which require money to purchase.
Well, yeah, you have to pay for the ad with something, right? /snark
Yup. And it is surprisingly easy to convince someone that they absolutely want something they are predisposed to like. Just repeat, repeat, repeat….
Spanish is also good. Thanks!
Later!
—Jim