1359 Do The Thing, Reggie!

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The sleep study was just as miserable as I expected. The guy who administered it was very nice though, so it took the edge off of it a little. All I know at this point is something good better come of it, because pissing away a month’s wages on a test that doesn’t help will go a long way toward making me flip the fuck out.

I got my season of In Search Of with Leonard Nimoy the other day. It’s the real show, not the hatched job that the “History” Channel did to it a few years ago. It was pretty cheap and the packaging and quality shows it. The cover is blurry and janky and the actual video is the same way. XD It looks like a television from the 80s no matter what you play it on. That’s what I wanted though, so I don’t care. In Search Of was one of those shows that made me want to research paranormal stuff. It was an important step on my path to skepticism. It’s sad not to believe in the magic of the world, but I think it’s better to lose that magic than to live your entire life believing in potentially harmful nonsense.
A lot of people only go as far as researching the pseudoscience of things like ghosts, or whatever. They drink the kool aide and then become chained to the bullshit that other paranormal “researchers” come up with.
I kept going. Kept going until I finally came to the scientific method. Sadly I found out that a lot of this “knowledge” I had amassed over the years was crap. Logical fallacies created to prop up the corpse of a magical world.
Science is one of the most misunderstood disciplines unfortunately. People like to frame it as learned people telling us all that this is the way the world is and that’s the last word on the matter, but it’s not. It’s the continual evolution of human knowledge about how the reality works.
The problem is that paranormal researchers steal scientific terminology and try to apply it to their nonsense. Sometimes they do it properly, but usually they distort the words until you get a bunch of people talking about how evolution is “just a theory”.
I can list off so many things that are supposed to be signs of ghostly activity. I used to think that information was grounded in scientific research. I know better now. Science is the gradual process of knowing better.

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“My body is ready…”

Couldn’t stop laughing.

It’s very important for bodies to be ready where Reggie’s are concerned.

How long were you waiting to use that one in a comic?

I don’t know why I assumed Reggie was a virgin, but I guess it’s true there’s someone out there for everyone

Arrogance is an effective stand-in for assertiveness in the short term, Dustin, and an assertive man is much-appreciated by women.

Now let’s see how improvisational Reggie can be.

While he’s still abrasive, Reggie is being honestly himself at this moment. I like this Reggie much more than the self-obsessed, incompetent primadonna he is at work.

Disappointed we don’t get to see Vicky’s reaction inside the mask. She may have to remove it if she starts to hurl.

I kind of think it’s funnier this way because the mask makes it look like she’s really excited to hear about it.

hahaha! I was thinking the same thing!

Vicky’s whole fursuit is diametrically opposed to her personality. I suppose some folks choose a fursona that matches their own profile, others defy it.

It wouldn’t be opposed to her personality if Reggie wasn’t about to explain his sex life, or wasn’t at the meeting at all.

I can imagine she is that happy normally, it’s just Reggie is breaking her world.

Mmmaybe, I just get the impression that Vicky is not a jovial character outside of her fantasy, and her home life has a lot to do with that.

I really hate to be the one to point this out since it makes me sound like I’m living in the gutters…

but Reggie telling her to ‘grab some carpet’ could be taken in a WHOLE OTHER contextual light considering the story about to unfold.

Oh thank God I wasn’t the only one who thought that.

…Oh wow! I just caught that! Thank you!

And Bridgette follows Reggie’s declaration with:
“My body is ready…”

I just want to point out that you are all horrible, horrible perverts for even thinking such a thing. Shameful. :3

(I’m glad I wasn’t the only one.)

So the question is, shall we here of Reggie’s first romp? Or will it be a cut away panel and we only see the people’s reactions.That might be better, as I’m not sure I want to hear about Reggie’s first time either. I’d rather just see everyone’s reactions. Still, if done well, we might all learn something about our favorite dick.

The first time I had sex was *inhale* probably a few hours after this meeting and I clear the sexual tension between this shrew and I.

Heh. In my world: Evrina (sp?) would KO punch him for that, and later that nite, take him up on his offer. :D

There is a myth about the fraternity/sorority/club that some Yale + [Vassar?] people join, called “the skull + bones”. The myth is:

As part of your initiation, you have to, in front of a room of people, tell everyone your sex life, + all the people that you’ve had sex with.

You also promise not to tell any non-club members about the sex lives that other club members have told YOU about.

Somehow, sharing all these “dirty” stories, + promising not to share them out of the club, is supposed to build “an unbreakable bond” and [a cherished, loved brother-type of bond(?) ], between you and your other club members.
*shudders* ugh. I feel so ghastly, after writing that. I think I’ll go walk through a car wash now. ; )

To clarify: you tell them you sex life, up to today. After your initiation, you don’t have to tell them any further stories.

Too critical? I dunno. I just don’t want to hear about some of the “escapades” of some of their club members, like: President Bush, SR., george w. Bush, John Kerry… [Ack]. :D

The story about the Skull and Bones initiation may be unconfirmed, but here’s a humiliating one that is well documented…

From the 1940s through the 1970s all incoming freshmen at certain Ivy League and Seven Sisters colleges (as well as Swarthmore), were photographed front, side and rear in the buff – ostensibly to gauge the rate and severity of rickets, scoliosis, and lordosis in the population.

http://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/15/magazine/the-great-ivy-league-nude-posture-photo-scandal.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League_nude_posture_photos

Weird enough for you? It gets worse…
The unusual photo sessions were part of a larger project run by a scientist of psychology, William Herbert Sheldon, who conducted them in co-operation with the universities. While the general idea was that the photos were meant for the use of studying scoliosis, rickets and other posture-related deficiencies, it’s believed they were actually being used to research something rather more bizzare. Sheldon’s classified written material has shown that the researcher was using Ivy League freshmen students to study the correlation between a person’s body shape and their intelligence. Ol’ Sheldon developed a theory of “somatypes” (a now discredited theory) associating body types with human temperament types. From type number, an individual’s mental characteristics could supposedly be predicted. The foundation of these ideas originated with Francis Galton and eugenics. The eugenics movement reached a climax in Nazi Germany where a state policy of racial hygiene based on eugenic principles led to the Holocaust and the murder by the German state of at least 10 million people. In short – Ivy League colleges were in cahoots with someone who was trying to scientifically prove that the Nazi’s were right…

This is one case where I’m pretty sure truth is much stranger than fiction and/or urban folklore!

That story has practically nothing to do with today’s episode, but it’s so fascinating I have to add this. I’m familiar with a lot of this since I was a Psychology Major in the mid-1970s, and Sheldon was one of the ‘disproved’ theories we studied.

Long before Sheldon, there was another diplomaed crank named Etienne Serres, a French anatomist. Serres concluded that Negroes were inferior to whites because the distance from their navels to the base of their penises was similar to that of a male Caucasian child. What? (Page 5 here.)

I suppose only my diseased mind would make the connections but I think it was sort of based on:
1) the photographing was in some ways an initiation
2) it was at Ivy league schools (like skull and crossbones)
3) it would be a humiliating experience – which sort of goes back to #1
4) it was a great example of pseudo-science. To quote Jackie:
“Science is one of the most misunderstood disciplines unfortunately. People like to frame it as learned people telling us all that this is the way the world is and that’s the last word on the matter, but it’s not. It’s the continual evolution of human knowledge about how the reality works.”

Anyway – I’m glad that although the Ivy League schools tried to recruit me to attend, I chose to go elsewhere. The only embarrassing photos of me I need to worry about surfacing are the ones my parents may have taken of me when I was getting a bath as a baby…
:-)

Yeah, my school was anything but Ivy League, but I was still initiated into an extremely exclusive fraternity. Fortunately, UPE doesn’t have any requirements more bizarre than good grades.

Hoo boy. That Sheldon sounds like a strange + mixed up man!

Just my view: Mr. Sheldon, how about I show you that I’m smarter than most of the people in your intelligence + body shape + get-nude-for-strange-reasons test, by NOT getting nude for you?

That Sheldon…what a weirdo! Stay away from him. :D

More to the point- I’ll prove my smarts by not getting nude for the test AND by not joining the test. etc., etc..

…and I went to considerable time and expense to get Sheldon’s books–Atlas of Men, Atlas of Childrens’ Growth, and one about juvenile delinquents (I forget the title–the book is fragile and packed in a box for its own protection).

Ignoring the theoretical crap and the racism, classism and general patronizing attitudes behind it all, they are a marvelous resource for the artist – body types, from unhealthily skinny to unhealthily bulky (in multiple senses) and everything in between, as well as annual photographs of individuals from infant to adult, and even, horribly, the series of annual photographs of children with what he considered pathological conditions, from scoliosis to rickets.–all photographed against a grid, classified by body type and on display, a eugenic butterfly collection for the ages.

Unfortunately, the one thing he didn’t do was an Atlas of Women, or if he did, I have been unable to find it.

And, incidentally, two places where they still use somatotyping is in athletics, where they use it to study body type in relation to success in different sports; and in fashion, where it is used to study differing body types in the hopes of developing better sizing standards for women’s wear, especially for older women (which is where an Atlas of Women would have come in handy…

I like that Reggie is officially joining a Furry club through pure spite. He’s probably going to go through everything they throw at him just because he can.

Jeez, with all the fat insults coming every other sentence I’m surprised Alex puts up with her at all.

In my experience, fat friends are OK with fat jokes as long you’re, well, actually friends (and they’re not super sensitive, which Alex doesn’t seem to be). If Alex and Evrina truly do have a tight relationship, then Alex probably truly doesn’t care.

Good points, both. I’m sure not many here remember Lesley ‘Twiggy‘ Hornby (well, that craze was fifty years ago), but Evrina need not apply. She’s not skinny by anyone’s tape measure. Little self-loathing going on there?

I was immediately reminded of the “40 Year Old Virgin” movie where Steve Carrell’s character describes boobs as “a bag of sand” because he has no idea what he’s talking about. I feel like Reggie is talking out of his ass in the heat of the moment and he’s gonna say something that makes everyone think, “What the heck is he talking about?”

Scene in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn3IRHhPXMo Beware coarse language

“My body is ready…”

Someone begin the countdown to *sploosh* city! I think those 2 on the end are ready, and not in the conventional sense…

For some reason I figured his sister would already know about his first time.

Granted not every detail, but it would seem if they were still living together at the time she would have caught clues that gave him away.

Of course, being an only child my pondering of the dynamics that exist between brothers or sisters might be way off base.

Speaking as a sister who lost my virginity waaaaaay later than my younger brother lost his, I’d say yeah, she probably knows he’s done the deed. She probably wouldn’t know, for example, the exact day, or maybe even who it was with (my brother considered me way too uncool to ever know about who his friends were/their names/whatever, so I wouldn’t put that past Reggie either), but she’d know he wasn’t still a virgin. Seeing how the specifications are “describe in epic detail” though, I still think it’s natural she wouldn’t want to hear him do that.

In most families discussion of a guy’s intimate life with siblings is considered a bit squicky. I’ve heard that some sisters get into pretty detailed discussions but bothers – not so much – and almost never with sisters. I dunno why, and my perceptions may be a bit off, but that’s my experience and that of those in my social circle.

bRothers, not “bothers” – sorry ’bout that

As siblings go brothers can and do get referred to as bothers more times than not but then again so are other close relations in the same age group that you have to deal with on an ongoing basis.

[runonsentenceohyeah]

And I finally dislike Evrina. I get that she is protecting her one safe space. Plenty of people haven’t had sex. Plenty of people didn’t have consent the first time and it really hurt them. Plenty of people would be persecuted for being lgbt. Some of us are ace.

This is irresponsible of her to a new level.

I like Alex’s “i just want to say we welcome people of faith” in Panel 5, but I agree – it’s a stupid, irresponsible, ridiculous, and harmful thing to make a rule out of.

Just my opinion – but if consent was not granted “the first time” it doesn’t count as sex – it counts as a crime. “The first time” only occurs when consent is granted.

The “we welcome people of faith” bit is awesome. Alex continues to be my favourite.

I used to think Evrina was just a hag, trying to make up for being small. Now I think she is a controlling, mildly highstrung, abrasive person. I have begun to consider that she was often overlooked due to her size, comes from a rather bombastic family, and therefore had to measure up in order to not get lost in the shuffle. If she has deeper issues, her insistence of ritual might follow from a lack of control over her situation growing up. The club may have started asher way of ensuring control over at least part of her life. I wonder what she’s like at work? It’s likely not customer service. I suspect a job where she works with a certain subtype of men, something like construction or the oil patch.(Does America have an oil patch?) something where being “rough around the edges” is a benefit, not a detriment. Alex might recognize all of this, and takes the insults as just Evrina’s way of connecting, because emotional intimacy makes her uncomfortable and she doesn’t know any other way to be. Alternatively, she may see Alex as having had all the advantages she did not, and is slightly bitter. Again, Alex might recognize this and accept it, because she is comfortable in how she is and the insults don’t ruffle her. The others, more inclined to be steamrolled by her personality, are understandably less willing to put up with it.

Pure speculation, of course. I’m a sucker for friendship stories.

Of all the things I though might come up in this discussion, “oil patch” wasn’t one of them, but yes, in my experience, “The Oil Patch” refers to the offshore wells along the coast line of the Gulf of Mexico. If you Google “oil patch” you’ll find it’s used in other locations with active oil fields and also in a more generic way referring to crude production collectively.

“In Search Of” was awesome! That and the “Project Bluebook” show are still (hazy but) fond memories for me. I think you and I underwent similar journeys in our childhood… :-D

@Jackie said: “It’s the continual evolution of human knowledge about how the reality works.”

And that pretty much sums up the Scientific Method. Find a decent, simple flow chart here.

Although I loved the original show, I’m sick to death of these damned In Search Of clones, the quick make-a-buck and blow smoke up the viewers’ butts type of shows. The evidence is hogwash and it’s presented by these creepy, phony ‘authorities’ with bad hair. There isn’t any real evidence that extraterrestrials visited Earth in the distant past, and it’s quite possible that the ancient Egyptians really did build the pyramids themselves. Early humans weren’t idiots, you know. It’s just another case of sneaking cultural bias that people overlook.

Really. I mean, for about 200,000 years, modern humans (H. sapiens) had nothing to work with but plants and rocks, and they survived periods of glaciation and large predators and other inconveniences. Hell, yes, they were smart enough to lay out straight lines and stack rocks.

Good flowchart, though it misses a branch of experimentation which is “hey, there’s, like, no data to start forming hypotheses in this area. Let’s get some.”

Working on my Masters we were looking at how foam reacts under stress (being pushed/pulled, not final exams). After data was collected, sure, we could then say “it looks like curve XYZ, can we refine it” but at the start there wasn’t much to go looking for.

True enough. Sometimes, you just just have to start with a W.A.G. (Wild A$$ Guess) and start testing from there

If you aren’t conducting final exams on your foam, you’re missing data points!

Yeah no sibling wants to hear the others sexual conquest

Which is precisely how I keep my brothers in line. Not to mention I’m dating one of their oldest friends, so they also don’t want any sexual details about one of their best friends, AND my boyfriend can pull the “doing your little sister” line anytime he needs a trump card.

Wow. Okay. So this is where we are when I walk in to see where everyone is at?

It has been a busy few months for me. I haven’t had Internet since late September. I got married in early January. I’ve been working at UPS since October. Stuff like that. I’ll leave it at that for now. I’m kind of sad Jackie has already done his sleep study. I was a polysomnography technologist in the past, so I could have helped with knowing what go expect, but it sounds like you did fine.

Anyway, I’m off again. Take care, everyone! Love you guys!

Oh god no, now there’s something I never wanted to learn about.

This seems like an unfair initiation though, what about the countless of individuals that have not had sex yet or maybehaps never will? Lord knows it would mean I wouldn’t have a single story to tell at my ripe old age of 23…

Does she have a fallback initiation strategy?

Also I wouldn’t wish this upon Victoria and John. This will be torture, I can feel it.

It continues to amaze me: you have entered your opinion about the non-existence of magic by pushing an only slightly less than random collection of buttons on a device made by almost completely without any kind of human actions whatsoever. This device is made first by burning sand (no, I am not making that up), and then by adding individual molecules of specific elements to the ashes, with the whole thing then being covered by a mixture of milk and vinegar, and powered by tame lightning. You have entered your opinion in one place in this world, and people throughout the world will be able to see that opinion within seconds of your having posted your comment…and yet, you still have taken the time out of your life to stop and look for magic.

Open your eyes, man! Just because we know how to make and/or use something doesn’t make it any less magical. You don’t need ghosts, or spirits, or gods, or demons, or witches, or spells, or anything like that to find magic. All you have to do is go to Richmond, Virginia, in the good old US of A, spend twelve hot hours outside in the summer, and then come inside to an air-conditioned room and feel yourself cool off. And if even that kind of temperature difference isn’t magic enough for you, than consider this: air conditioning works by means of moving the moisture in the air around…and it still works in the desert.

Or, to put it another way, for those who still don’t understand: sufficiently complex magic is indistinguishable from technology.

Maybe I’m just really tired right now, but this comment seems super douchey and a little cribbed from a Louis C.K. bit in my current mental state.

damn those girl are HORNY

pent up hormones of shy people that enters a situation where wild emotions comes clashing like sparks as two blades come into contact with each others.

who can resist but to be taken by the flow. and the fact that they are in a group lowers inhibitions as no one dare object( monkey see, monkey do)

I used to watch “In Search Of” back when it was on TV, once a week. Something always seemed ‘off’ about the idea of any truth behind the subjects they were talking about, but was enough to get people thinking. Which I believe has it’s own value, so long as they don’t STOP thinking… and subsequently just believe whatever somebody tells them.

I recently made somebody on facebork back down from the “evolution is just a theory” argument by explaining in great detail the difference between a ‘hypothesis’ and a ‘theory’, to somebody who claimed to be ‘in the scientific community’. From his responses, I’m guessing he’s a first-year Uni student. From your comment regarding this, I’m certain you already know the difference. ;)

Evolution IS a theory. The theory of Gravity is also a theory. Remember that Newtonian physics, the stuff engineers still use, is a DISPROVEN theory, replaced by Einsteinian physics if you need to go really fast.
That’s the thing about science, everything beyond 2+2=4 is a theory, because “hey, it might be wrong, someone could come up with something better.” Which is the difference between science and religion.

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