A brief reappearance before becoming elusive again

Pyre · 03-02-2009, 04:36 PM

Firstly, I am not a new member, but I haven't been on here in almost two years. I am keeping this intro short because I have written one in the past, and I don't have much time to delve into details. I am going to cut to the chase: I am here to study you. I am taking a youth subcultures course and have a project due at the end of the semester on my subculture of choice. As I am sure you have figured it out, I chose goth (if you want to know why, it's because it's the one subculture I identify with that I get the most defensive about when people blatantly misunderstand it). There aren't too many around here, so to study them I sought out ye olde interwebs. I won't be active on these forums possibly until a month from now, so don't expect much of me. Now, on with the questions!

1. What do you do? (Hobbies, job)
I sit on my ass all day and stare at my computer screen when I am not attending classes or working for financial relief. Or I play Mario Kart on my friend's wii, but that's a new(ly addictive) hobby.

2. Where are you from?
Currently I reside in Athens, GA. Feel free to contact me if you're nearby. Perhaps I can interview you. Or hang out. . . that's reasonable too, I guess.

3. Who is your favorite author?
Michael Crichton. I quite literally burst out in tears in public when I learned of his death on Nov. 5 (although he died on the 4th, but the election put his news on hold).

4. What are your favorite films?
Uh. . . oh god. I guess I could copy/paste from Facebook. Be prepared, it's long:
Aladdin and most older Disney movies
Amélie
American History X
American Psycho
Army of Darkness
Boondock Saints
Borat
Braveheart
The Butterfly Effect
Chicago
Donnie Darko
Edward Scissorhands
Eurotrip
Final Destination 2 & 3
The Fountain
Gattaca
Grindhouse: Death Proof
The Green Mile
Ichi the Killer
I ♥ Huckabees
Interview with the Vampire
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Kill Bill 1&2
LOTR trilogy
Party Monster
Pulp Fiction
Shawshank Redemption
Shrek 2
Sin City
SLC Punk
Snakes on a Plane
Ted Bundy
V for Vendetta
X-Men series

5. What music do you want played at your wedding?
I don't plan on ever marrying.

6. At your funeral?
"The Witch is Dead" song from Wizard of Oz would be fitting.

7. This IS a gothic website, so... how do you want to die?
Hopefully not with my pants down.

8. What kind of casket would you want?
I am anti-burial. I want to go out Viking style, but that's too elaborate. Green funerals are illegal. So, just burn and toss, I guess.

9. What's your FAVORITE outfit?
Corset + black peasant skirt from Goodwill + black knee high socks with rainbow stripes + boots

10. What's one thing you miss about being a little kid?
Being ignorant was OK. And so was playing in dirt.

11. What's your favorite band?
Very difficult question. I'll just name a few:
Siouxsie and the Banshees, Oingo Boingo, Depeche Mode, Eluveitie (metal, if you wondered)

12. What kind of education do you have? What is/was/will be your major?
Enrolled in college right now (Univ. of Georgia in Athens), currently in my second year, and I am declared as a Sociology major.

13. Why did you join?
To study you, creepily.

14. If the first 13 questions didn't give it away. What is your gender?
Female, but I act very boyish.

P.S. If you're interested in being interviewed via ye olde interwebs, let me know. I haven't worked on the questions yet, so it may not be for another month or so. Also, I procrastinate very well.

Godslayer Jillian · 03-02-2009, 05:03 PM

Hey, what's up, I remember you

Pyre · 03-02-2009, 05:07 PM

I remember you, too, my little Mexigoth friend :P I am surprised you still frequent this place after so many years.

HumanePain · 03-02-2009, 05:25 PM

Pyre! If only you knew how many posts your Emo threads spawned! I am sure glad to see you back, if only as a researcher.

So...post some pictures why don't ya!

Godslayer Jillian · 03-02-2009, 05:28 PM

Wait a sec, weren't you the one that built my myspace page?

HumanePain · 03-02-2009, 05:35 PM

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r.../Gnet/Pyre.jpg

Pyre in the old days (2007).

Pyre · 03-02-2009, 05:38 PM

Hmm. . . I may have, Jillian. I don't remember D: But, it sounds vaguely familiar. I know we used to chat on MSN a lot.

Humane: oh wow. I can't believe that emo thread was still active even a year after I stopped posting. I can't even imagine all the things that were said in it. I don't even remember what I posted (and I am too lazy to read, i.e. I am supposed to be studying for two exams this Friday).

EDIT: YARGH. Old picture. I don't really have too many new ones D: I get lazy with the camera, and I always look the same anyway. Different haircut is all that's changed, and I am too lazy for makeup beyond eyeliner.

Man In Room 5 · 03-02-2009, 07:22 PM

Here to study goth as a subculture eh? I assume you've already looked into relevant books but if not, you might try these:

http://www.amazon.com/Goths-Dark-Emp...6049593&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Goth-Identity-...6049681&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Goth-Subcultur...6049681&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Fashioning-Got...6049746&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/goth-Bible-Com...6049864&sr=1-1 (This one isn't so great but she publishes results of her own online goth study.)

Pyre · 03-02-2009, 07:37 PM

Yep, I have been looking online for books, and those turned up in a lot of results. I believe the Hodkinson book is the only one of that list immediately available to me through the main library here, but we seem to have a decent supply of books on the subculture, and I have a list of 5 other books on the topic I can get from them. Plus, there are plenty of articles online that I can use (my favorite find thus far being "Marilyn Manson is Not Goth: Memorial Struggle and Rhetoric of Subcultural Identity" by Joshua Gunn--the title immediately grasped my interest). Thanks for your concern and help

PortraitOfSanity · 03-02-2009, 07:43 PM

Books written about subcultures invariably suck enormous amounts of ass.

Slap Your Love · 03-02-2009, 07:45 PM

Welcome back Erin. :]

Pyre · 03-02-2009, 07:47 PM

Portrait: Paul Hodkinson is, himself, a goth, so he takes a very emic/subjective point of view on the topic.

Harro, Anthony. How's school? Not flunking out, I hope.

Slap Your Love · 03-02-2009, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyre

Portrait: Paul Hodkinson is, himself, a goth, so he takes a very emic/subjective point of view on the topic.

Harro, Anthony. How's school? Not flunking out, I hope.

Midterms make me want to. Astronomy is being a bitch, tests are hard
as hell but it's fun and you learn something everyday. How about you?

Pyre · 03-02-2009, 08:37 PM

Ah. Yeah, I have a midterm, an exam (fortunately not quite a midterm), and some article reviews due this week. Because of the 7in of snow we got my test for Wednesday was pushed back to Friday, which gives me more time to do the studying that I blew off for Mario Kart and snow. Then, next week is our spring break, hurray! When is UWG's break, anyway?

And what astronomy are you in? We offer one on the solar system and a stellar & galactic one; I took the latter and enjoyed it. I also took the lab component and very much enjoyed it. But, maybe only because I already had interest in the subject. I don't think Megan enjoyed astronomy very much, either.

Slap Your Love · 03-02-2009, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyre

Ah. Yeah, I have a midterm, an exam (fortunately not quite a midterm), and some article reviews due this week. Because of the 7in of snow we got my test for Wednesday was pushed back to Friday, which gives me more time to do the studying that I blew off for Mario Kart and snow. Then, next week is our spring break, hurray! When is UWG's break, anyway?

And what astronomy are you in? We offer one on the solar system and a stellar & galactic one; I took the latter and enjoyed it. I also took the lab component and very much enjoyed it. But, maybe only because I already had interest in the subject. I don't think Megan enjoyed astronomy very much, either.

Ah. We didn't get hardly any snow here of course. I also had a theatre and sociology midterm and had to write a play critique, an essay on ethos, pathos and logos for public speaking and an essay on the 2nd amendment for American Government.

I'm just in the introductory Astronomy 1101 class here. I'm in the lab as well
and I do enjoy the subject a lot but it's difficult that's why Megan didn't
like it. I have the same professor she had too. Break does need to hurry!
I'm sick of doing only school and work. I think it's the 16th. What about there?

Godslayer Jillian · 03-02-2009, 08:50 PM

SYL, I swear to you this isn't "obvious baiting", but I thought you said you were studying philosophy.

Pyre · 03-02-2009, 08:57 PM

I assumed no snow was had there (or not much) when I never received a call from my mom. She's pretty predictable, and if you guys had snow she would have called telling me about it.

It sucks that UWG is making public speaking mandatory. I'd fail that class if I had to take it. It also sucks that your ASTR class is difficult. Do they impose calculus or physics upon you guys? The lower-level ASTR courses here are, for the most part, math-free, which made it much easier. The class itself was pretty boring, though. Also, if you chose the teacher because s/he was the only one teaching it, well that blows. If you had options and just picked at random, I strongly urge you to start using RateMyProfessor.com. After nearly failing my political science class due to having the biggest ass teaching the subject, I won't take a class without first consulting that website.

Ours is the 9th of March, but I am leaving the Friday prior with some friends on a road trip to Houston, Texas. Should be fun

Oh, and if you ever see Megan, tell her I am sorry for forgetting time after time to send her my calculator. I am terribly absent-minded.

Slap Your Love · 03-02-2009, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godslayer Jillian

SYL, I swear to you this isn't "obvious baiting", but I thought you said you were studying philosophy.

I am studying philosophy as well as sociology. Midterm for philosophy
was last week because the class I'm currently in ends earlier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyre

I assumed no snow was had there (or not much) when I never received a call from my mom. She's pretty predictable, and if you guys had snow she would have called telling me about it.

It sucks that UWG is making public speaking mandatory. I'd fail that class if I had to take it. It also sucks that your ASTR class is difficult. Do they impose calculus or physics upon you guys? The lower-level ASTR courses here are, for the most part, math-free, which made it much easier. The class itself was pretty boring, though. Also, if you chose the teacher because s/he was the only one teaching it, well that blows. If you had options and just picked at random, I strongly urge you to start using RateMyProfessor.com. After nearly failing my political science class due to having the biggest ass teaching the subject, I won't take a class without first consulting that website.

Ours is the 9th of March, but I am leaving the Friday prior with some friends on a road trip to Houston, Texas. Should be fun

Oh, and if you ever see Megan, tell her I am sorry for forgetting time after time to send her my calculator. I am terribly absent-minded.

Yeah, everyone goes crazy when snow's here lol. They actually closed
school one day because it got too cold...yeah, I don't know.

Yeah, public speaking hasn't been terribly difficult. Just annoying because my other classes are all lecture ones and public speaking requires written work.
It's annoying. We barely use physics. The class itself is easy being just a
lecture but he makes the tests very difficult on purpose so that the class average out of 120 students is a 47 but he uses a bell curve.

Pyre · 03-02-2009, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godslayer Jillian

SYL, I swear to you this isn't "obvious baiting", but I thought you said you were studying philosophy.

He's still a freshman, so even if he's a philosophy major he won't even begin focusing on that for another year or two.

Here's a joke my tour guide in France told me:

What do you say to a philosophy major who's standing at your door?

"How much for the pizza?"

Pyre · 03-02-2009, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slap Your Love

I am studying philosophy as well as sociology. Midterm for philosophy
was last week because the class I'm currently in ends earlier.

Oh, SOCI, eh? We can be sociology buddies! Once I get my degree I am going to work for city sanitation picking up trash bags off the sides of the streets and doing research on how society affects the trash and vice versa. You can be my apprentice and add some philosophical flare.

Slap Your Love · 03-02-2009, 09:05 PM

Sorry, 5 minute edit cut post off.

Continuation:

The teacher is very good for it but he has a big ego and likes to show it off with his tests.

Ratemyprof is exactly what I use too lol. Huston huh? Sounds fun. We're all just going to Florida here of course.

Lol, I will do so but I haven't seen Megan around this semester.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyre

He's still a freshman, so even if he's a philosophy major he won't even begin focusing on that for another year or two.

Here's a joke my tour guide in France told me:

What do you say to a philosophy major who's standing at your door?

"How much for the pizza?"

This is true, I'm only in the entry level classes so far.
Aha..I wish I coulda went on the French trip..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyre

Oh, SOCI, eh? We can be sociology buddies! Once I get my degree I am going to work for city sanitation picking up trash bags off the sides of the streets and doing research on how society affects the trash and vice versa. You can be my apprentice and add some philosophical flare.

That's awesome! :] Sounds like an adventure. :P

Raptor · 03-03-2009, 06:57 AM

Welcome back, good luck with your studying. Oingo Boingo are awesome haha.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyre

Grindhouse: Death Proof

Not Planet Terror?

Also, how do you do astro without maths?

Malice In Wonderland · 03-03-2009, 08:18 AM

Welcome back, even if I wasn't here when you where.
What exactly are you doing with the project?
I'll gladly be like, interviewed for you.

PortraitOfSanity · 03-03-2009, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyre

Portrait: Paul Hodkinson is, himself, a goth, so he takes a very emic/subjective point of view on the topic.

I find books written from within the subculture to be just as bad, if not worse, than those written from outside.

Man In Room 5 · 03-03-2009, 10:55 AM

I just finished Hodkinson's book actually. It's sitting right on my desk even as I write this. I thought it was an excellent depiction of the goth scene; the best I've read so far. However, it's so matter-of-fact that it's like looking at a photograph. It's all laid bare but there is no interpretation of it. He made no argument. He pretty much just laid out an accurate picture of the scene and said, "here it is". Thus, he really didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.

Pyre, if you're going to do any sort of online survey thing like you mentioned count me in too. Someone over the age of 30 has to counter-balance all the 12 year old Manson fans here on Gnet and fuck up goth's usual Hot Topic demographic.