You guys! There were so many fab nominations for Comment o’ the Week* that sorting through them actually put me in a really great mood, which is why I’m going to post this very random image of a very random panel 2 from Dinosaur Comics (refresh for a new one):
I hope that put you in the mood for your Comment o’ the Week winner because HERE IT COMES:
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Bookitty
// Jul 23, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I was raised by my grandmother, a 4′9″ lady who wore gloves when she drove to keep her hands from getting suntanned. Her cocktail parties were pure Mad Men.
Behind this tiny, delicate, lady-like exterior, she was a Darwin-thumping atheist and the most logical person I have ever met. One who marched against the draft for WWII, worked to bring non-fiction into libraries and spoke her mind with gleeful disregard for propriety.
At one party, my Catholic great aunt said “Barbara, I don’t understand how you can live without God in your life.†Grandmother patted her on the knee in a friendly fashion and said “That’s because you’re an idiot, dear.†And they both laughed because it was an ongoing discussion within their group.
So it is difficult for me to see skepticism as a current trend. Rather it seems to have leapt a generation and is now coming back into popularity as an interesting topic.
If one was at a social gathering with many strangers and started a conversation about ghost debunking, moon-landing conspiracies, or any of the more pop-skeptic topics, the results would be immediate and gratifying.
With a little luck, you might even get an idiot there to feed you the straight lines.
Or you could use this:
http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/07/creationist-girl-scout-honored
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Seriously, Bookitty, your tiny grandmother sounds so seriously kick-ass I wanted to make sure all of Skepchickdom saw your post. Congratulations! Your prize is that you get to choose next Wednesdays Afternoon Inquisition! Send it to us using the contact form and happy Friday everyone!
*Remember: nominate your favorites by replying to them (click the little arrow on the right of the comment) and writing “COTW!”
“That’s because you’re an idiot, dear.”
Delicious!
I’d love to see a “Miss Daisy” say something like that.
Bookitty, is it pronounced Boo Kitty or Book Itty or Boo Boo Kitty Fuck?
Congratualations to your grandma and to you for remembering what sounds like an awsome lady.
Best. Grandma. Ever.
I immediately thought of Ellen Albertini Dow when I read that.
Congrats Bookitty!
I’m glad she won, but I was expecting Eliza’s great glowing vampires post to take the prize this week.
Can it be that glowing vampires are played out?
@MiddleMan: Eliza was a close runner-up! We rarely miss an opportunity to bust on Twilight, but Bookitty’s story was just too good not to share.
@Rebecca: Too true.
Reminds me of the time my Grandma caught me skipping church. I asked her not to tell my Mom (her daughter) because I knew she’d freak.
She told me not to worry, that I was a good boy and if I didn’t need church, she wasn’t going to force me to go, or tell on me.
I was stunned! I asked her why, if she felt that way, was my Mom so gung-ho for faith?
“That,” she replied, “was the fault those darn nuns she was taught by. I’m not taking that blame.”
I love my Gramma soooo much!
I’d totally be a fan of that Gran on Facebook.
First off, thank you. I am jaw-droppingly stunned.
Grandmother was amazing. A perfect lady, as comfortable talking about her beliefs as she was discussing hats. But never in an aggressive manner. She simply expected that everyone wanted to dissect the world and cut out the “nonsense.” (her favorite word)
She would have been appalled to find herself enshrined.
Gabrielbrawley, I pronounce it Book Kitty. I’m a bookdealer.
Oh goody! There is more Twilight-bashing to be found. My niece (13) was enamored of them. I read 2 of the horrid things for her sake. They have engendered many a entertaining conversation but gads! If I were ever tempted to burn a book it would be those.
That’s the best comment ever, as far as I’m concerned. She should be our new Skepchick mascot.
@Bookitty:
People like her always do, but we need more people like her in this crazy world. :)
How about making the AI something she would ask us?
@Bookitty:
I’m jonesen and need to score. What ya got? Ya got any Hemingway? I need some H.
@MiddleMan: That’s a lovely suggestion and I wish I had thought of it before I sent my question in.
However, the question I did ask was something that she would go on about at length. Her influence is inescapable.
Gabrielbrawley, Sticking to the soft stuff, eh. Can I get you a Wodehouse chaser with that?
Hahaha…that is so awesome. I wish i had a grandmother like that! Unfortuntely, i have to deal with a predominately Christian family when i am an agnostic so i’m the black sheep.
@Bookitty: Sure, anything. I’ve still got bugs under my skin since the last time I did Dick.
@Gabrielbrawley: Dude, tell me you weren’t mixing the PKD. Was it Gibson? Snow Crash? Please tell me there was no Camus involved. Even the most hardcore Dickhead treads lightly there.
Reminds me of the time I alternated Little Women with Simone de Beauvoir. Ended up in Taco Bell bathroom cutting my hair with a spork and screaming for “Marmee.”
@Bookitty: I’ve been mainlining PKD for years. I’ve got a problem. Sometimes I’ll cut it with a little Lovecraft or Howard. Sometimes I’ll skinpop a little Poe. You know. Just to take the edge off. I smoked some Melville once. Never had a high like that before or since.
@Bookitty:
Yay! You so deserved COTW! And how did you become such a great story teller?…. oh right, all those books you read. (Yay Kitty!)
@Amy: Waaaait a minute, you don’t KNOW bookitty, do you? I don’t want this to look like nepotism.
Just kidding, we love nepotism here.
@Rebecca: It’s true, it’s true! I followed Amy down this particular rabbit hole. It’s all mad here. You actually celebrate science and approach things rationally? How novel!
As I’ve said, I have always expected rational discourse to be part of any social gathering. And yet… that was so rarely the case. This blog is a most welcome reminder.
Man what I would give for a grandma like that. Mine has never been overly annoying about her religion but she did once tell me I was going to hell for accepting Evolution. She’s gotten much better since then.
@Bookitty:, @Gabrielbrawley:
Oh man I could totally go for some snow crash. Or possibly some Small Gods. I’ve been totally dropping the nonfiction lately, a little physics, some astronomy, a book about the Mercs in Iraq, a couple of books about a liberal Quaker at Liberty University, a book about an Agnostic Jew living biblically, that sort of thing. Cutting that with some Max Brooks.
@Bookitty:
My sister is in the process of attempting to finish reading the first of the Twilight books. She heard they were supposed to be good, but found them horribly inane. But being the sort of person who doesn’t pay good money for a book just to not finish it, she’s soldiering on. Granted the reason she finds it inane might have to do with the fact that she’s a thoroughly independent, soon to be Army Captain.
@Rebecca:
Yes, its true! Kitty is an official Surly Girl and a pal of mine. She is a dealer of rare and hard to find books and is one of the most eloquent gals I know. You can see the Surly photo shoot of the lovely Ms. Kitty here:
http://surlyramics.com/Surlyramics/Surly_Kitty.html
She completely rocks.
@Bookitty & Gabrielbrawley: LOL. Bibliophile Back-and-forth. Love it!
“Snow Crash!” ROFL