A reader sent me a message asking for more details about the phrase, "No shirt, no shoes, no dice." "No dice" is a phrase people sometimes use to refuse a request or to say there's no chance that something will happen. In this case, if you aren't wearing a shirt and shoes (think of being at the beach, for example), then you can't go into the store, restaurant, etc., i.e. no dice!
1. Where do signs block out the scenery in your area or country?
Oh, honey, in Las Vegas, signs don’t block out the scenery—they are the scenery. We are a city built on neon, LED, and billboards the size of small countries. You want to see the stars at night? Too bad. You’re getting a 20-foot-tall, high-definition ad for an all-you-can-eat crab buffet instead. The Strip alone is a visual assault of flashing lights, animated Elvises, and endless promises of a better life via slot machine. Even off the Strip, it’s a never-ending parade of personal injury lawyers, realtors with too much Botox, and questionable “gentlemen’s club” invitations. Somewhere beyond all this, there’s a desert with soul-stirring sunsets, but good luck catching a glimpse between the 24-hour wedding chapel signs and the five-story billboard of some guy named Vinny promising to clear your DUI.
2. How is conformity sometimes not so good for society?
Conformity is what happens when people decide it’s better to fit in than to think. It’s the reason we all spent a decade pretending kale was delicious. It’s why shoulder pads happened. It’s how bad ideas take root and stick around because no one wants to be the first person to stand up and say, “Hey, maybe this is ridiculous?” If society runs on blind conformity, you get Stepford Wives, McMansions, and dystopian hellscapes where nobody questions why Jeff Bezos owns the moon. Las Vegas, on the other hand, is a shrine to nonconformity. It’s a city that says, “Go ahead, wear sequins at 10 a.m., get married by an Elvis impersonator, and gamble your rent money on a game you don’t understand.” It’s messy and absurd, but it’s alive. If we all conformed, we’d still be living in caves, eating raw meat, and thinking fire was witchcraft.
Couldn't hold a penlight to Vegas, but downtown areas in big cities here in Japan also blink 24/7. How people are able to sleep is beyond me. Instead of wedding chapels, we have 24-hour nightclubs/karaoke/takoyaki shops and plastic models of Colonel Sanders in front of KFCs. Quieter out in the boondocks where I am.
Fitting in is a lot easier than thinking. And, a malleable workforce has done wonders for the economy until of late, not so good for the workers themselves, evidenced by karoshi tendencies (death by overwork). Nonconformity here means choosing another country to live in.
Note to students: if you'd like explanations of the cultural references in Gloria's comments, post your questions here.
Kaomoji (顔文字) Japanese emoticons made from text characters that express emotions, actions, or reactions. Unlike Western emoticons (like :) or :( ), kaomoji use a combination of punctuation marks, kanji, and letters to create more expressive faces and gestures.
Examples:
• Joy: (＾▽＾)
• Sadness: (╥_╥)
• Anger: (╬ಠ益ಠ)
• Excitement: ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆
• Shrug: ¯_(ツ)_/¯
• Crying: (ಥ﹏ಥ)
• Table Flip: (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
• Love: (♥‿♥)
(₍₍ ◝( ͡°³ ͡°)◜ ₎₎✎📜💋(๑˘ ³˘๑)🥀
(A love letter written in a Montmartre café, sealed with a kiss, slipped into a book of poetry…)
I always loved this song and clearly remember when it was released. Thank you for the memory!
A reader sent me a message asking for more details about the phrase, "No shirt, no shoes, no dice." "No dice" is a phrase people sometimes use to refuse a request or to say there's no chance that something will happen. In this case, if you aren't wearing a shirt and shoes (think of being at the beach, for example), then you can't go into the store, restaurant, etc., i.e. no dice!
I live in Vegas. It’s a common way to say “NO” here.
1. Where do signs block out the scenery in your area or country?
Oh, honey, in Las Vegas, signs don’t block out the scenery—they are the scenery. We are a city built on neon, LED, and billboards the size of small countries. You want to see the stars at night? Too bad. You’re getting a 20-foot-tall, high-definition ad for an all-you-can-eat crab buffet instead. The Strip alone is a visual assault of flashing lights, animated Elvises, and endless promises of a better life via slot machine. Even off the Strip, it’s a never-ending parade of personal injury lawyers, realtors with too much Botox, and questionable “gentlemen’s club” invitations. Somewhere beyond all this, there’s a desert with soul-stirring sunsets, but good luck catching a glimpse between the 24-hour wedding chapel signs and the five-story billboard of some guy named Vinny promising to clear your DUI.
2. How is conformity sometimes not so good for society?
Conformity is what happens when people decide it’s better to fit in than to think. It’s the reason we all spent a decade pretending kale was delicious. It’s why shoulder pads happened. It’s how bad ideas take root and stick around because no one wants to be the first person to stand up and say, “Hey, maybe this is ridiculous?” If society runs on blind conformity, you get Stepford Wives, McMansions, and dystopian hellscapes where nobody questions why Jeff Bezos owns the moon. Las Vegas, on the other hand, is a shrine to nonconformity. It’s a city that says, “Go ahead, wear sequins at 10 a.m., get married by an Elvis impersonator, and gamble your rent money on a game you don’t understand.” It’s messy and absurd, but it’s alive. If we all conformed, we’d still be living in caves, eating raw meat, and thinking fire was witchcraft.
Couldn't hold a penlight to Vegas, but downtown areas in big cities here in Japan also blink 24/7. How people are able to sleep is beyond me. Instead of wedding chapels, we have 24-hour nightclubs/karaoke/takoyaki shops and plastic models of Colonel Sanders in front of KFCs. Quieter out in the boondocks where I am.
Fitting in is a lot easier than thinking. And, a malleable workforce has done wonders for the economy until of late, not so good for the workers themselves, evidenced by karoshi tendencies (death by overwork). Nonconformity here means choosing another country to live in.
Note to students: if you'd like explanations of the cultural references in Gloria's comments, post your questions here.
I am a big fan of
Kaomoji (顔文字) Japanese emoticons made from text characters that express emotions, actions, or reactions. Unlike Western emoticons (like :) or :( ), kaomoji use a combination of punctuation marks, kanji, and letters to create more expressive faces and gestures.
Examples:
• Joy: (＾▽＾)
• Sadness: (╥_╥)
• Anger: (╬ಠ益ಠ)
• Excitement: ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆
• Shrug: ¯_(ツ)_/¯
• Crying: (ಥ﹏ಥ)
• Table Flip: (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
• Love: (♥‿♥)
(₍₍ ◝( ͡°³ ͡°)◜ ₎₎✎📜💋(๑˘ ³˘๑)🥀
(A love letter written in a Montmartre café, sealed with a kiss, slipped into a book of poetry…)
Yes, they’re so illustrative. They were quite popular here years ago before emojis took over. I like these, too:
(⧹^ ^ /)
| 0 0 |
⦫( o o )⦪
(well, it comes out better in a Word doc. )(╥_╥)
Yes. They are fun to make. I like them far more than emojis.