North Carolina (in before MrFun!)

[Hauldren Collider]

So the ex-torontonian who fled to Alberta is mocking Texans for being rednecks? Sheesh.

Real rednecks ride and shoot guns and do all kinds of stuff. What would you know about rednecks? The only redneck you've ever seen is from your tanning salon.

Oooh, Asher. Are you gonna need some lotion for the sunBURN?

(yeah that was a bad pun. and I'm sorry.)

[Asher]

So the ex-torontonian who fled to Alberta is mocking Texans for being rednecks? Sheesh.

Real rednecks ride and shoot guns and do all kinds of stuff. What would you know about rednecks? The only redneck you've ever seen is from your tanning salon.

Tanning salon? Have you SEEN my pics? I'm most likely the whitest guy in all of Apolyton, if not the interwebs.

I don't even know what this ex-Torontonian business is all about. What is the implication? Toronto is redneck? Alberta is redneck?

You can't even get a cohesive zinger, Ben.

You could have also called me a hippy for my four years outside of San Francisco. Then you would've had a truly confusing insult.

[giblets]

I don't think it's terribly relevant. But actually if you think about it low turnout could be beneficial to something restricting the rights of minorities, because you can count on the minorities turning out in good numbers while unaffected people stay home.

You can count on religiously motivated nutjobs who outnumber the gays showing up. And if the Republican race for the presidential nomination had still been competitive, this would have been very, very relevant. And some people seem to have a fetish for having a larger number of people vote on this directly and whine if an elected legislature votes on it in a way they don't like.

[Ben Kenobi]

Hey, do you teach law, Ben?

No, I teach history. I have a few students I tutor as well - chem and biology atm.

My course focusses on ancient + medieval history - Greece + Rome + Byzantium up to the fall of the Turks. Focus on the Church and Church history, but it's a pretty broad survey. We cover a lot of stuff...

[Asher]

No, I teach history. I have a few students I tutor as well - chem and biology atm.

My course focusses on ancient + medieval history - Greece + Rome + Byzantium up to the fall of the Turks. Focus on the Church and Church history, but it's a pretty broad survey. We cover a lot of stuff...

Oh man. How did I know you loved ancient Greece?

[Ben Kenobi]

Tanning salon? Have you SEEN my pics? I'm most likely the whitest guy in all of Apolyton, if not the interwebs.

And why are you explaining the joke?

[Ben Kenobi]

Oh man. How did I know you loved ancient Greece?

Actually I far prefer the Baroque period, after the Romantics. Romantics > Baroque > Classical.

[Asher]

Actually I far prefer the Baroque period, after the Romantics. Romantics > Baroque > Classical.

Do you teach the full history of Ancient Greece or do you censor it to pretend the Church invented marriage?

[Ben Kenobi]

Do you teach the full history of Ancient Greece or do you censor it to pretend the Church invented marriage?

I teach the difference between marriage in a secular context and marriage as a sacrament, and how the understanding of marriage changed. The Christian position was very radical for the time. I have a whole class devoted just to this concept.

[Asher]

secular context? as in government?

[Ben Kenobi]

secular context? as in government?

Greek laws weren't the same as other laws, elsewhere. I look at the Mosaic code, and the Greek and Roman laws. I try to give them a good understanding of how different the world was back then, and what stuff hasn't changed. Simple stuff- like the days of the week, the calendar, the dating system. Stuff that people take for granted today that weren't present around the time of Christ. When you look around you and all you see are certain things, there's a cultural inheritance that you are completely unaware of, unless someone points these things out and asks the stupid questions, "why is Saturday Saturday?"

[giblets]

If I had children teaching them the origin of the week would not be a priority. Actually, I can't think of a good reason to teach American children about medieval Greece.

[Ben Kenobi]

If I had children teaching them the origin of the week would not be a priority. Actually, I can't think of a good reason to teach American children about medieval Greece.

Medieval Greece? You mean Byzantium? Most of the cool stuff we have today is stuff that they kept.

Why there is 7 day week, 30 day month and 365 day year is actually a really good question. It's a good astronomy primer. I teach the difference between sidereal and tropical years, and why people 2000 years cared about either, and why they are important to know.

200 years ago, these questions dominated people's lives, and we've mostly forgotten about it now, with the advent of electricity.

[giblets]

You just refuted yourself. It is irrelevant to modern life. Much like religion.

[Ben Kenobi]

You just refuted yourself. It is irrelevant to modern life. Much like religion.

The distinction is responsible for one of the larger achievements - the Gregorian calendar. Also, understanding the motion of the stars over the course of the year is really handy for navigating without a compass. Comes in handy if you're ever stuck someplace.

Maybe you won't do any exploring outside of your own backyard but kids are kids and they like learning about stuff like that.