Author: Answer Wall

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What’s your favorite meme?

What's your favorite meme?
What’s your favorite meme?

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise? I thought not. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you. It’s a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life… He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful… the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself.  bit.ly/darth-plaguies-meme

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Why are black bodies hypersexualized?

Why are black bodies hypersexualized?
Why are black bodies hypersexualized?

There are many thoughtful, scholarly takes on this problem in books in our collection: bit.ly/BC-af-am-sexualized. It’s quite likely an old stereotype with its ugly roots in the slavery era, when exaggerated black sexuality was employed to coerce & control sexual behavior, to distract from the systemic rape of black women by slaveowners, and to justify lynchings as a threat to control black men.

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Where are the best camping/fishing grounds near BC?

Where are the best camping/fishing grounds near BC?
Where are the best camping/fishing grounds near BC?

You’re in luck because this area is rich with opportunities! The question is, how near do you mean by near? For really near, and accessible without a car, I’d vote for the Boston Harbor Islands. You can catch a ferry from Boston and camp for $8 a night. One of my helpers describes Bumpkin Island camping as “idyllic.” Here’s a great article with all the details: bit.ly/fishcampbhi.

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What is being done negotiating the hookup culture on campus?

What is being done negotiating the hookup culture on campus?
What is being done negotiating the hookup culture on campus?

It’s not an easy problem to solve, but there are ongoong efforts here. Faculty both teach classes relevant to changing hookup culture (e.g. Kerry Cronin’s class Dating Project), and conduct research on the subject. The BC Women’s Center holds a “ResTalk” program called “Undressing the Hookup Culture” (see bit.ly/HookupResTalk).

 

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Is the bird the word?

Is the bird the word?
Is the bird the word?

The bird has been the word since the 1962 hit by The Rivingtons (bit.ly/rivingtons-bird), an African American doo-wop group from LA. After the Minneapolis-based Trashmen covered it in 1963 (combined with elements of the bigger Rivingtons hit, “Papa Oom Mow Mow”) as a surf song that became a runaway hit (bit.ly/trashmen-bird), the song has gone through many incarnations, mostly among surf (The Beach Boys) and punk (The Ramones, The Cramps) bands, and got renewed attention in The Family Guy. For an interesting review of surf records, see The Illustrated Discography of Surf Music by John Blair (O’Neill Library ML156.4.R6 B6x 1995). For more on doo-wop, see Forever Doo-Wop: Race, Nostalgia, and Vocal Harmony, by John Michael Runowicz (O’Neill Library ML3527 .H47 2010).

Original promotional art for The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird."
Original promotional art for The Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird” from The Illustrated Discography of Surf Music, by John Blair
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What do you think of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony in front of Congress?

What do you think of Mark Zuckerberg's testimony in front of Congress? LOL the memes possible...
What do you think of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony in front of Congress? LOL the memes possible…

The Wall was genuinely surprised how hands-off he appears to be about how his company’s product works and makes money. Here are a few responses to the testimony worth reading: The Washington Post checked out his claims: bit.ly/bc-zuck1. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is dubious about his claims about artificial intelligence. bit.ly/bc-zuck2. Wired made a list of everything he said he’d follow up on. bit.ly/bc-zuck3. And the stock market apparently feels Facebook will be able to continue making money. bit.ly/bc-zuck4. And oh, the memes… bit.ly/bc-zuck5.

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Sushi or Sashimi?

Sushi or Sashimi?
Sushi or Sashimi?

As a wall I do not have any taste buds, but my acolytes assure me that both are delicious. Sushi or Sashimi, like many things boils down to personal tastes. Do you prefer your raw fish to be served with rice and seaweed (and other things) or do you enjoy the purity of the fish to be unsullied by other ingredients? The choice is yours.

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What does it mean when your teeth fall out in your dreams?

What does it mean when your teeth fall out in your dreams?
What does it mean when your teeth fall out in your dreams?

The meaning of dreams has long been a subject of debate. Traditionally, losing teeth in dreams is considered to represent anxiety of some sort (and not necessarily dental). You can find more about interpreting dreams in the stacks in the BF 1091 area, or for more about the neuroscience behind dreaming see: Goodwyn, The neurobiology of the gods : How brain physiology shapes the recurrent imagery of myth and dreams (BF458 .G66 2012).

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JIM or DWIGHT?

JIM or DWIGHT?
JIM or DWIGHT?

Jim’s character is supposed to be liked, and Dwight’s is supposed to be hated. But Dwight is committed, orderly, and passionate. Jim never seems to take his job or others seriously. Depending on the situation, Dwight might be just the person you want around. Thankfully, real people are not as one-dimensional as most Hollywood characters.

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Why is Andy so annoying? >:(

Why is Andy so annoying? >:(
Why is Andy so annoying? >:(

Ed Helms, and the writers of The Office clearly understand their craft well! Because at least with you, they’ve succeeded. It would be interesting, I think, to analyze what features of characterization universally seem to cause annoyance. People say Andy is insecure, self-centered, and arrogant. I can see how that would be annoying! I wonder what other film & TV characters annoy you, and what they share.

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How do we really know that its a Wednesday? What’s the proof?

How do we really know that its a Wednesday? What's the proof?
How do we really know that its a Wednesday? What’s the proof?

“Wednesday” is entirely a social construct. Which is to say that Wednesday doesn’t exist except in the sense that we say it exists (along with weeks, weekends, and months). So in that sense, it’s Wednesday (or…now Thursday as of this writing) because we all agree it is. There are plenty of calendars that don’t have the concept of Wednesday and therefore it is never Wednesday: bit.ly/AltCalendars. Other time concepts (such as seconds, years, etc.) are derived from the natural world around us and proof for them is a bit more complex.

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Who is the strongest superhero?

Who is the strongest superhero?
Who is the strongest superhero?

“Strongest” is pretty hard to define. Physical Strength? Emotional Strength? Do we get to include super powers like Wolverine’s super-healing ability? The University of Leicester in the UK did a pretty good look into which superhero would be the “most powerful” which can be our definition of strongest. In their study, Superman is probably the most powerful. bit.ly/strongestHero

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Why did the US go to war with Iraq? Asking for a friend

Why did the US go to war with Iraq? Asking for a friend
Why did the US go to war with Iraq? Asking for a friend

There’s some controversy on the answer to that question. In a last warning to Iraq on March 17, 2003, President Bush argued that Iraq’s program to create weapons of mass destruction was an unacceptable risk and that peaceful efforts to remove it had failed: bit.ly/bc-bush-speech. The Senate Intelligence Committee later determined that pre-war intelligence reports about the Iraqi program were either overstated or wrong: bit.ly/bc-senate-report. BC has a large collection of books and other materials on the war, and the Wall suggests reading a few different viewpoints, including Iraqi ones: bit.ly/bc-iraq-causes