Not from the 70s and unrelated ranting

In spite of the perfect dork on the left, the Beatles hair and everything else, this picture is not from the 70s. It's not from some sort of deliberate re-enactment, it's not a historic soap, it's not (intentionally) theater.

The picture comes from a local newspaper, relatively recentⁱ, and it preserves for eternity the images of some kids, in their teens, Romanian adolescents of today, who did very well at whatever intellectual contests they organise for teens. This is how they look, like they've just dodged the motherfucking draft and are getting ready to Biloxi Blues.

Unrelatedly,

mircea_popescu

After pawing away some silly questions with his trademark LaRussian dismissiveness, Popovich was asked if he could appreciate the historic nature, the spectacle, the momentousness of a Game 7 featuring seven future Hall of Famers to finish off the most thrilling NBA Finals in at least a decade. Popovich furrowed, focused and answered immediately, "It's torture. It's hard to appreciate or enjoy torture."

This introduced by "San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said one of the wisest things I've ever heard anyone say about sports." but then continued by

That's what it's like, I suspect, when you're burrowed so down deep. When you have put so much into this, when this is the sun around which your entire professional and personal lives orbit, when you are so close to all you have fought and worked for, and thus so close to losing it … it must feel like torture. It must feel like the most miserable thing in the world.

and im like... no you fucking disgusting worm. That's NOT what he means. He means it's motherfucking physical torture. Like being beaten. But fuckwit sports writer has no idea what physical means. Because he went to americanschool.

SGWVCIWPMⁱⁱ There are idiots and non-idiots in every country. Moreover, I toldja about american sportscasters.
mircea_popescu What ?

SGWVCIWPM Their job is basically to keep the attention of the most brain-dead, add-riddled, moronic people in the country.
mircea_popescu So ?

SGWVCIWPM So 1. his being idiotic doesn't prove anything about the us, whether or not the idea about the us is on the right track (which it may well be); 2. picking this guy out for his idiocy is like picking out a monkey for being hairy.
mircea_popescu But! I am picking him out for his cluelessness, and the complete lack of even the smallest sign of a clue in his environment. This is like picking a hairy monkey for not having any lice. Clearly his group is liceless then.

SGWVCIWPM Hahaha ok. Ok. I see what you mean.

The question of course remains whether you, my dear reader, know what I mean. In general speaking as well as in the particular.

1. March, because I don't consume newspapers if they've not marinated a few months first. [↩]
2. Ie, slave girl with very clear idea of what physical torture means. [↩]