My five pet peeves

Welcome to another installation of the internet’s most underappreciated blog. Today the mood will be different from the last time, as I am listing five things, that drive me crazy, in that special kind of way. People who know me, know that I am quite calm and packed with tolerance, but when I see one of these five things I will often get very irritated and/or loose respect for the person doing it. That sounds a little harsh, but I’m allowed to be grumpy on my own blog damnit! Bear in mind, that some of the points on the list aren’t “personal” but rather an unfortunate development in our society as a whole. So, while giving you insight into my life and thoughts, please consider these issues as guides to acting like a cooler person!

Like this guy.

#1:  The death of creativity in entertainment

This first one is probably also the one, that most of you will agree with, as it concerns Hollywood and the games industry. Sequels and remakes are getting really out of hand, as pretty much every piece of literature or pop culture reference gets its own movie or game. Or both. Don’t get me wrong, I am not annoyed because of the industry uses the same template for most movies or games, it’s really just aggravating to see, that the next top movies and games are all either sequels or remakes. I looked at the coming attractions page of our local cinema and out of the 15 movies, 7 were sequels and 3 were reboots of franchises. That is disheartening. I won’t argue whether the movies are good or not, that’s not the point. The point is, that we are really narrowing the choices we can take as a viewer and ultimately as an industry, because when they see, that the most profit comes from safe sequels, then of course that is what they will keep making. Nolan’s Batman trilogy is concluded next month, but who’s to say another director won’t continue the franchise? Nolan doesn’t own it, the studio does. Even seemingly original projects are often ripped from lesser known ones. Avatar is Pocahontas in space, but in 3D! (wow) and Inception is pretty much lifted from an old Donald Duck cartoon, where they enter Scrooge’s head instead. I could go on forever about this, throw in a few jokes, but isn’t the industry doing that on its own?

Yeah i went there, laughing dog!

#2: Great people belittling themselves

This can be subtle, but it can also be used as a tool to completely destroy your self-esteem or the amount of work you have put in a project or an exam. To clarify this confusing statement I will use the classic example:

Guy1: “Schucks! My exam went really poorly, I only got a 4”

Guy2: “They are debating my exam right now, and I think I will barely pass, it was awful in there”

Guy1: “Aw man, that is too bad”

Teacher: “Guy2, you got a 10”

Guy2: “Not a 12? Darn…”

Guy1: “You will die by my hand Guy2”

That’s it. You have all experienced this behavior from a friend at some point, or perhaps you are “Guy2” yourself? Although the situation from my example was at an exam, this behavior translates to many different situations. I often hear girls say, that they are ugly, fat, stupid or whatever, even though they are all quite fantastic. I rarely say anything to those statements, I usually just sigh and wonder if they have heard of insight or something like that. It’s annoying and depressing to be around several people with that habits, as the mood will usually go towards the rest of us having to assuring them of their worth. Cool party huh? I think this behavior is not a conscious choice, but I don’t care it’s annoying as hell. I sometime wonder what would happen if you just took on the role of enabler, and confirmed those delusions they have? Alas, I do not have the heart to do so, but a meaner person might have experience with this. If so, leave a comment with your experiences. For science of course!

Science according to Google

#3:  Ignorance

“There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action”.  Goethe said that and he was absolutely right. Ignorance is embraced by some, and to me, that is as foreign as eating dogs, I won’t do it. Being unaware of certain facts can be forgiven, as the quest for knowledge is a nobel one, but the day you sit down and figure, that you more or less know the things you should, then you are doomed. Neil DeGrasse Tyson said in an interview, that only a true expert on a subject will show humility and that, it was ignorant to think you have mastered a field of knowledge. The expert will recognize the many things he can still learn, and I guarantee you, that that is a humbling experience. The best example of ignorance is when you toss something aside, or reject it without knowing anything about it. Homosexuality and racism being the prime examples here, as people do not even try to understand each other, but just blindly hate what they cannot grasp. It’s so sad, and the only remedy is knowledge and tolerance. 


I do not know what prompts these things, but sometimes I witness people turning to ignorance, because they are too stubborn to admit some truths, or too lazy to learn. It’s a shame. This is often tied in with religion and the oppression and bigotry it spawns, but I will dedicate a future article to that debate.  As a teacher you are often meet kids, who does not appreciate learning and knowledge as much as they should, but that’s different from true ignorance, as the kids need to learn how to learn before they can embrace ignorance. I could spew out several pages based on this subject and toss in racism and discrimination as well, but let’s just finish this off for now, as I seem to be picking really large discussions for bite-sized articles. That happens when your head is filled with crap and other great things.  Speaking of great things….

#4: Reality shows

Hate and love are two words, which have gone through a peculiar evolution these past years. Their meaning or implication today, are much less than what they used to be. It’s because we live in a society, where you either love or hate something. When you rate a movie or song, you either thought it was awesome or that it sucked. It’s a value system formed by two extremes. Two extreme opposites as well. Why am I mentioning this? Because when I tell you, that I HATE reality shows, I want you to know the full extent of the traditional, old fashioned meaning of the word. I really really hate the concept and that it has become as popular as it has. I have nothing but contempt for the people on those shows, who proudly display their ignorance and stupidity, and to make matters worse, they are celebrated for it, even revered. I was told by a fellow teacher, that one of their students had expressed a desire to be a contestant on one of those shows, and through that medium somehow gain fame and recognition. 


It’s baffling to me, that those people on those shows are allowed to influence our future leaders and scientists (probably not them) in such a way. “Wow did you see X, she totally stripped and shaved her pussy on tv last night? She’s my idol!” It’s a really unpleasant thought. But what can we do to stop that crap from ruining the minds of our kids? Stop watching it is the only solution, but that won’t ever happen, as many as my friends and readers of this article surely watch that crap as well. And that’s okay, because we can filter out the cesspools of human genes that wander the earth and try to sign up for shows like Paradise Hotel, as being stupid irresponsible media whores. But the kids can’t. Not in the same degree at least, and when they idolize the contestants, then it’s a problem, because you mimic your idols, it’s inevitable.

I do it too. Kris or Lady Gaga, can you tell?

#5: Passive aggression and other dumb crap on Facebook

The last entry for today is also my biggest gripe right now. I though it fitting to end on this, as Facebook’s pretty much your window to the social scene today. But some people overestimate its importance. I believe I have correctly identified its uses, as I use it to chat, post silly updates and arrange events. Remember that Facebook should only be a tool to enhance your social life, it should never substitute it. It will never replace a good phone call to a dear friend when something is troubling you. Never, unless it implements video chat. Maybe it already has, I am really not that tech savvy. When I see a status, where someone has written a vague line, that only serves to feed their need for attention, I just shake my head and wonder if they do not have any friends they can talk to instead. You’ve all seen examples of this: “Good to know who my friends are……” or “Wow did not see that backstab coming” (this might refer to a video game, I can never tell). All I think is why? Why don’t you pick up your phone or start a chat with a friend and type these words: “I am sad, will you comfort me?”


Comfort and help is a free commodity that your best friends provide for you. Don’t make them come to you and hold your hand and force you to ask for their help, because then it’s insincere and you just look a jackass for not respecting your friends enough to ask them directly. Another example is when you aren’t subtle at all and flat out (often in caps lock) type some very angry sentences, that often contain way too personal stuff for your PUBLIC wall to see. “I HATE THAT BITCH, SHE CAN BURN IN HELL FOR SCREWING ANOTHER GUY!” or “X YOU ARE A TRAITOR AND WE ARE NO LONGER FRIENDS”.  Like the previous examples, these are issues for your inner circle. If you feel like you have no friends to lean on to discuss these things, then that is a sad situation indeed. Pity is mandatory in that case. While these situations are annoying enough as they are now, they are often worsened by one little thing. If by some chance you decide to comment on that crap and you do not agree wholeheartedly with the status, then you are a monster. How dare you disagree with me, on my own wall, that is PUBLIC to all the people you acknowledge as your friends. An example is required. Let’s take the first example: “Good to know who your friends are…….” Dumb as you are, you summon up enough empathy to ask this idiot what is wrong. The worst reply in that case is the infuriating “it’s not for everyone to know”. THEN DO NOT POST IT ON YOUR PUBLIC WALL ON A SOCIAL SITE WHERE MANY HUNDREDS HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. 

God, I really hate that crap.

Me too Kris. Me too...