'Tis hot

[mandragora]

And as usual, we're surprised by it. Despite the fact that five out of ten hottest summers on record in Britain have been in the past decade, heat really isn't something that we expect. Rain, we expect and are always amazed when we don't get it. Heat, not so much.

It's hot enough that I voluntarily went to the supermarket this afternoon when, really, I could have waited until next weekend, just so I could drive the air conditioned car. And enjoy the air conditioned ambiance in Sainsburys. Alas, the coolness is now but a distant memory.

Met up with some friends last night. We were going to see Stander (film about a confused South African cop) but it turned out that the internet listing was wrong and we had about 3 hours to go to the actual performance. So, we went to see As You Like It at the theatre instead. *g* One of the things I love about living in London is that such spontaneity is possible. We were right by Leicester Square anyway, on our way to a bar to have a drink and mull over options and, there was the half-price ticket booth. Quick instant change of plan, suggested by myself and the theatre it was. We rejected the musicals (okay, left to myself I might have voted for a musical on the basis that it was So Damn Hot and a musical was suitably mindless, but the Men were Not Going To Some Damn Musical) and went for the more highbrow. Again, my suggestion of As You Like It was accepted, mostly because no one else seemed capable of making a decision. One of the Men even said that it was all happening too fast for him. What is it with men and organising social events and why are so many of them so bad at it? (Not all, I know a few men who are very good organisers).

Rosalind was very good, Orlando okay, and the Shakespearean singing was surprisingly affecting. And, the theatre was air conditioned. Thank you, God.

Am trying to write long SGA story, whilst playing SGA Season 4 DVD in the background (again). Am up to The Brotherhood. Socially inept Rodney and Mensa snark here we come. But it's so hot am having trouble concentrating. Maybe I'll revise some earlier writing as opposed to progressing the story.

Back to wilting.

Comments

[filenotch.livejournal.com]

MENSA?! Gah!

There's a Mensa chapter on Atlantis? [google] Holy crap.

Look, >50% of the people I work with daily (and yes, [brag] self included [but you knew that]) could qualify for Mensa, but we don't bother. You know why? Because most of the people we know who choose to join that organization are idiots. Sure, they take IQ tests well, but they can't seem to find any other way to define themselves. What do you DO with those brains, if you supposedly have them? That's what counts - what you produce.

It's an automatic negative if you put that on a CV for a biomedical research job, at least in the US. I'd like to think that the engineers have a similar attitude...

I mean, WTF do you do at a Mensa meeting except talk about how smart you supposedly are?

Socially inept Rodney and Mensa snark here we come.

Much snark. Socially inept is a common characteristic of members, for sure.

/rant

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Yes, that's the joke; that the socially inept McKay is a member of Mensa, whereas the rather cooler Sheppard passed the test but chose not to join.

I think it's widely known that being in Mensa is, well, not something that you'd necessarily boast about. There's no way I'd join, that's for certain, although I could if I wanted to.

Incidentally, McKay is a bona fide genius, whereas Sheppard is simply very bright. There's a qualitative difference between the two, although I don't know how many people realise that being a member of Mensa doth not a genius make. God, no.

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

Oh, actually, thinking about it, I'm doing Sheppard a disservice. In general, he comes into the 'very bright' category, but he is a genius at maths (although he chooses to conceal it; we don't know why as yet).

[filenotch.livejournal.com]

...I could if I wanted to.

No doubt in my mind. That counts for many of the original SaB folk. What a great bunch of brains. I love brains. Well, not in that way.¹

And simply (as in merely) and very bright should rarely be put together. There aren't a lot of very bright people, or people who let themselves.

And speaking of eating brains, did you know that Ash was the male lover of Set, and that's the name of the Bruce Campbell character in the Evil Dead movies.

1. "Balls of string have twiney goodness."

[mandragora1.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. Braiiiiiinnnnnnssssss. Yummy. (Love the cartoon).

I agree with you that 'simply' very bright is a bit of an misnomer. But it was in the context of comparison with someone who is a genius, and there is a qualitative difference between the two IMO.

I did know that Ash was the lover of Set, but not the Bruce Campbell connection.

[filenotch.livejournal.com]

Yep, there is a qualitative difference. I know very few geniuses, among a crowd of literally hundreds of very and extremely bright people.

I don't know that there was any intention originally with the name, but there was an Army of Darkness comic that pits Ash agains his evil Egyptian counterpart.