The Last Post Game!!!!

[pieces o nine]

Although my grandson is more interested in a differemt part of the anatomy, asked to make grandma (me) laugh he came up to me and said "bosoms" and fell about laughimg. 

Last   _{friend's toddler said 'bazooms' & was pleased  (though confused)  with our snorting-with-laughter-reactions}   Post

[Swatopluk]

I get the impression (mainly from movies) that East Asia has not yet developed beyond bowel and pie-in-the-face humor, although I hear that Monty Python fans exist in Japan and China.

Last _{also many East Asian filmmakers seem to be on controlled substances, given the weird movies they create} Post

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Last _{weird is relative, besides we only see a fraction of what they do} Post

[Aggie]

I get the impression (mainly from movies) that East Asia has not yet developed beyond bowel and pie-in-the-face humor, although I hear that Monty Python fans exist in Japan and China.

Korean film humour seems also to consist largely of men enduring prolonged humiliation by women.

Last _{apparently, it's funny because it's true} Post

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

[Possibly sexist comment below]
For some reason I'm under the impression that in a non chauvinistic world women have an absolute advantage in many aspects. That in no way advocates any form of chauvinism or discrimination, is more like an evolutionary description in which dominant males (mammals in most cases) are replaced by choosy females (birds in most cases), for instance, in mammals a strong male can force (aka rape) a female, but a male bird has a significantly harder time doing so and as a response, male birds are more attractive than females. If chauvinistic urges are removed from society I see how the trend would move toward a bird-type paradigm.
[/]

Last _{or I am closeted chauvinistic male?} Post

[pieces o nine]

There are some (human!) mammals that let the females choose.

I saw a respectful documentary on the Wodaabe Gerewol ceremony long ago and have always remembered the effort the young men put into showcasing large, bright eyes, a bright, healthy smile, and a strong, fit body.  (I also smile to imagine the horror of middle-class, middle-American males at the very thought!)

[Aggie]

It depends on resources.  Much of the chauvinistic behaviour of the past was based on circumstances where reproduction was the 'resource' of concern for males, and females didn't have much choice in the matter.  Men battled men directly for social dominance and access to resources for which to feed their wives and children, and to a large degree mate selection fell out of that hierarchy based on male-male interactions (not totally unrelated to some primate systems, but also uniquely human in that it was usually semi-monogamous).

In societies or social classes that have permitted free choice of mates, there has always been some mutual showing-off with regards to men and women. Women have obviously evolved purely ornamental secondary sexual characteristics (male bird/fish model), which is quite anomalous among mammals....  I'm struggling to identify a good example, other than perhaps the spotted hyena. This tends to back up your assertion somewhat, and deny it at the same time - it's not that men would have to turn into 'pretty boys' without chauvinism, but that women are using their SSCs to compete for access for top-resource males, and in turn men have to compete for access to resources to secure the most attractive women.  This can give women the upper hand without chauvinism, certainly, but doesn't negate intra-male power struggles.  I'm not sure that there's a directly analogous situation anywhere in the animal kingdom.

There are multiple resources at play in western society today, from the perspective of men and women.  Depending on the person and what philosophy they subscribe to, the 'resource' they are competing may be social status, sexual ability, material wealth, physical beauty, emotional support or a vague collection of intangibles.  It's largely removed from reproduction (certain of these resources are more closely tied to a woman's desire to reproduce rather than just copulate with a particular man, but total reproductive output generally isn't), so it's a purely cultural phenomenon.

The 'flashy male' also has several flavours, which can range frem metro to macho, depending on the cultural overlay. Our extended adolescence (i.e. the years where one is culturally permitted to engage in non-reproductive sex without choosing a life partner) has de-emphasized resource control for younger males of certain social classes, but it's still a big deal in long-term mate selection.

In a hunter/gatherer evolutionary setting where resources may be shared among a small group rather than focused on a single household, presumably a young male's worth would have more to do with his hunting skills and cooperative ability/political connections than his net worth.

Last _lengthy Post

[Swatopluk]

I get the impression (mainly from movies) that East Asia has not yet developed beyond bowel and pie-in-the-face humor, although I hear that Monty Python fans exist in Japan and China.

Korean film humour seems also to consist largely of men enduring prolonged humiliation by women.

Last _{apparently, it's funny because it's true} Post

They also seem to be experts for veeeeery long unhappy endings. And even in the few cases were not everything ends in tears, it is usually bittersweet.

Last _{Koreans seem to be very sentimental} Post

[Griffin NoName]

It depends on resources.  ................more to do with his hunting skills and cooperative ability/political connections than his net worth.

^^what Aggie said but don't think quoting it all would be helpful.

I disagree. Male and female humans make up their minds about each other in the first 3 seconds. It's all utterly geared to passing genes on. Anything social is mere window dressing.

Last_{The Selfish Gene} Post

[Aggie]

I'll agree to disagree, mostly because I'm a specialist in the slow development of attraction.  I grow on people slowly... like a fungus. 

There's a lot of crotch-level thinking and I don't dispute that first impressions are often the most powerful, but social status/class/subcultural signals quite often override the basic biology in those first three seconds.

_{from the male perspective, if the physical act of passing gametes on was the only consideration, the potential mate list is MUCH bigger than when social and interpersonal considerations are involved.}

They also seem to be experts for veeeeery long unhappy endings. And even in the few cases were not everything ends in tears, it is usually bittersweet.

I'd agree, from direct experience. A bittersweet ending seems fitting. Perhaps Koreans expect life to be like kimchi.

Last _{Bitter, sweet, salty, sour, spicy and pungent} Post

EDIT: Confirmation of the theory:
http://emanuelle9.multiply.com/links/item/34?&show_interstitial=1&u=%2Flinks%2Fitem

Very interestingly, life of a man is similar to the life of Kimchi. Kimchi' tastes are bitter, spicy, sour, sweet, and even puckery. These five kinds of tastes are exactly same as those of the human life. Through the process of fermentation, Kimchi generates lots of live micro-organisms. But, surprisingly, those that are profitable to human being collaborate with each other to push out the harmful ones. This is like love and sincerity of a person can be the sources of overcoming frustration and disappointment.

When all kinds of ingredients, that apparently don't' look to match with each other, are blended in together and pass through all those processes, then finally Kimchi is complete to produce such a profound taste. In human life, many, who have different personalities and goals, meet with each other, become to understand and love each other, and pass through a process of being 'fermented' to form a new family. Kimchi's life is just same as that of the human life.

(in reference to a Korean TV drama called Kimchi Family - I've never seen it.  The only drama I watched much of was Dae Jang Geum, which I'm a big fan of)

[Swatopluk]

Who let seriousness into the threat again? 

Although I think there can be attraction at first sight, my own experience with serious feelings (never successful, I might add) is different.  In the two cases where I fell seriously in love, I knew the girl in case for quite a long time (about 7 years in the first and about 2 years in the second) but they showed up on the radar only as as 'female body; designation <name>', not on the 'target' list (which was by no means empty).
No success in courtship.
#1 ignored it, became the first in our class to marry and died exactly 12 years ago of cancer   (picture from the last time I saw her at a class reunion)
#2 might have become interested but was already taken (and from what I get with some superficial googling she has a very successful and steep academic career unlike yours truly who took an eternity to even finish his PhD).

Last _{yearly cemetery visit in the afternoon} Post

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

I was lucky with my wife, then again we knew each other for almost 10 years before we started dating, and I was always interested.

Last _{that doesn't mean that I didn't pursue dozens of dead ends in the same period of time} Post

[Swatopluk]

The cemetery visit yesterday brought a nasty surprise. She got joined by her younger sister since my last visit. According to the dates at the same age (26), and I have the suspicion that the cause of death may therefore be the same (pure speculation on my part). Iirc that leaves only their in-between brother (who could not get that gender-specific cancer).

Last _sad Post

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Last Post

[Swatopluk]

I got off easy. What if she had fallen in love with me and then died while in a relationship with me.

Last _{that would have been, I think, much worse} Post