21 Tuesday Jul 2020
Posted in Other Columns
≈ Comments Off on Get Out! Or else…
I’m about to start the depressing final post in my series on why intelligent young Americans might want to evacuate. This is the one I’ve been promising and which will feature the likely outcome of our near future here in the land of the mask and the home of the riot. You’ll want to read it, even as I dread writing it. Soon. Then, the whole series will go into a book of one format or another. Soon…
15 Wednesday Jul 2020
Posted in Other Columns
≈ Comments Off on EURO MICROS (and Others)
Tags
Andora, civilization, Europe, get out!, Liechtenstein, microstates, The West, travel, young people
EURO MICROS (and Others)
Welcome, intrepid travelers, to part nine, the final segment in our course on European escapism. Remember to review the following in order to come up to speed:
PART VI: Austria, Slovenia, Croatia (with Czechia)
PART VII: Estonia and the Baltics
PART VIII: Ukraine, Russia, and More
Let’s think small, for a moment, shall we?
Sometimes big, good things come in smaller packages. Here’s a quick look at the Microstates of Europe. These are postage-stamp-sized places in out of the way locations, some you’ve heard of, others you haven’t. In the end, I’ll add in a few nations outside Europe that are still worth a cursory investigation – a bonus for you!
Herein, I will concentrate on two quaint little nations, both mountainous, with a shortlist of others to follow.
ANDORA
Who else can say they harassed Hannibal with mountain guerilla warfare, fought the Moors with Charlemagne, and took an active “neutral” role in defeating the Axis Powers during World War Two? I have no idea who else could, but the Andorrans can.
Welcome to the zany, happy little mountain hideaway no one knows exists. Andora is real. She sits high on the hills (the Pyrenees) between Spain and France, a nation the size of a small US county. 75,000+ Andorrans happily share their prosperity, history, and traditions a world away from, though only a short drive to, the rest of the EU.
Of that 75,000 (and, due to rampant tourism, there are generally more folks than that about), a third are literal Andorrans. Another 60% come from Spain, France, and Portugal. We’ll say it’s 97% Euro homogeneous, with the bulk of the minority composed of seasonal and resort workers, generally from Arabic states. The people are roughly 94% Christian, with a full 90% belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. The national average IQ is roughly center-average, around 100.
All of these good people do something right because they hold the record for the highest life expectancy in the world! They’re as healthy as we can get, and they like it that way. They also enjoy decent novelty in their civic lives. The national postage stamp is governed by what amounts to a town council. And, they have a Prince for a chief executive. However! Unlike anywhere else in the world, the Monarch is … appointed! That’s right. It’s a strange deal, but when the time comes to meet the new boss, a leader is selected by a two-man committee composed of the President of France and the Catholic Bishop of some town (I forget which) in Spain. No hanging chads and no stupid fads; wrap your heads around that at your leisure.
When they’re not living forever, they like to socialize and talk, officially speaking Catalan (a Spanish-ish Romance language). And, given their geography, resorts, ultra-high-tech and modern everything, and status as a duty-free TAX HAVEN, they frequently entertain French, Spanish, Portuguese, and even English.
Being located between and sheltered by two larger nations, they have little need for any military or associated spending. They have police, of course, and a part-time, kinda-sorta might-show-up militia, not that it is regularly called on. Mountains are easy to defend and it’s all the simpler when an enemy would have to march through or fly over a larger country with a standing army. Of course, should France or Spain turn on them (you), it might go poorly – be nice to your neighbors! (This has rarely ever been more than an administrative issue).
Here’s a more common dilemma: how to get home from France. Assuming you drive back, you have to make this terrible choice upon reaching the border. Do you zip through the new freeway tunnel and arrive in minutes? Or, do you meander down the old highway, taking in all the gorgeous scenery and eating up a few more minutes? Well??? Així és la vida, as the Catalonians say.
All this perfection does not come cheap. Things can be a little pricey (and, it’s all priced in Euros). One popular local trick for beating the higher costs is to be rich. If you’re not, then there is work and, I suppose, some discounts here and there. Shop around if you’re interested. They’ve got it all if it’s a tad small. Geesh … now, to a similar story in,
LIECHTENSTEIN
After Andora, you’ll feel like a minnow in the tub with some other minnows in Liechtenstein. There, one finds only half the population, spread throughout the valleys of a nation the size of a medium-sized American county. Of course, there may be more tourists and passers-by than citizens, but you’ve still got a whopping 62 square miles of space.
Oh, and the natives are rather wealthy, hosting a per capita GDP somewhere between two and three times that of the US. Yes, it’s another very small and pretty expensive, but physically pretty, place.
Scenery everywhere! The little nation that can is situated smack-dab in the middle of Switzerland and Austria, in the Alps. If you need a job, you’re in luck, as Liechtenstein has more companies than people. And, the taxes are so low as to flirt with the ridiculous. Again, as things are priced, you’ll need the money.
And, you’ll like the people, 95% of whom are ethnically European, with a few “others” mixed in, usually for cheap labor, which – keep an eye on it – usually doesn’t turn out cheap in the end. The people are 85% Christian, and 75% Catholic. And, they all clock in with an above normative average IQ! The people are smart enough to warrant a rare direct democracy, though they are checked by the soothing influence of another kindly Prince, this one of the more common hereditary kind.
They all, officially, speak German, though one will hear the occasional French, Italian, or English conversation. Business is conducted in the Swiss Franc. If you must be doubly-landlocked, this might be the place to do it.
Now, for a brief naming of the other little-bitty city-states of Europe:
Malta – an island with some recent arrivals, but with a higher IQ.
Monaco – Another Prince’s wealthy backyard where Roman Catholicism is the official religion, the people are homogenous, and on average, brighter than Amerikans.
San Marino – It’s ancient and it’s essentially Italy. Home to some of the smartest people in the world.
Luxembourg – Pricey Monarchy where people are smart, look the same, are mostly Christian.
And now, for another bonus, I’ll throw out the names – and not much more – of some viable places of potential located elsewhere:
ELSEWHERE
New Zealand,
Chile.
Argentina,
Uruguay,
The far north of Canada (for the cold and hearty who require little companionship), and there are more, but you’ll have to do your homework. Anywhere will have pros and cons. I’d suggest perhaps avoiding the places already popular with American (Boomer) Expats, ie: Costa Rica, Belize, etc.
When you go, wherever it is, remember why you’re going. And remember that the evil never sleeps; we must resist the siren-songs of the globalist everywhere and all the time. Postcards, etc.
And, next time, we finally get around to those of us who remain in place.
12 Sunday Jul 2020
Posted in Other Columns
≈ Comments Off on UKRAINE, RUSSIA, and THE REST
Tags
civilization, Europe, get out!, Russia, The West, travel, Ukraine, young people
UKRAINE, RUSSIA, and THE REST
We’re nearing the end of the tour-of-Europe, with a quick glance at two final Eastern nations and a cursory glimpse at the Rest of the European West. Welcome to part eight.
PART VI: Austria, Slovenia, Croatia (with Czechia)
PART VII: Estonia and the Baltics
No apologies, young friends, but I really have to speed this along. Our first two destinations you have heard of, though they are somewhat historically, politically, and economically different than those we’ve covered. Both still fit within my tripartite matrix. The list that follows them is, well, a list. Here are the two final Eastern Euro nations of the great tour:
UKRAINE
It’s, as might be guessed, majority (78%) Ukrainian. The remainder is mostly Russian and the total demographic composition is roughly 98-99% similar, if not utterly homogeneous. 80% are Christians, with 60% belonging to the Eastern Orthodox Church; 95% are “believers.” As such, they tend to be intelligent, solidly “average” on average, and ahead of the declining US.
The languages are, again, as might be expected, Ukrainian and Russian. The currency is the Hryvnia, one of which roughly equals .04 USD. There’s is a wide-open, beautiful country, with a rapidly developing, increasingly sophisticated economy. They are a proud people of tradition. One of the traditions is intermittent disagreement with,
RUSSIA
Okay, here’s a brief slow-down. When I was a boy, we were reliably told that Russia (then, the USSR) was the “evil empire.” They were our “cold” adversaries and their people suffered miserably under communism. And, now, today… Today, we have completely flipped the equation around. The land of the free is dying from a million self-inflicted wounds. Meanwhile, in Russia, they have flat taxes, superhighways, skyscrapers going up at an Arab or Asian rate, as long as you’re not subversive, you’re as free as a lark, AKs are everywhere, and they have a government that appears to govern for (not against) the benefit of the people.
Those people are, nationwide, 80% ethnically Russian, and about 90% European. The country is huge, truly continent-spanning; in the Euro West, the demographics are closer to 99% homogenous. 75% are “spiritual” and 50% are Eastern Orthodox Christians. They have the fair share of atheists, likely holdovers from the terrors of the past, but the overall situation is better than much of the West. They’re smart too, with an average IQ a hair under a straight normative SB/WAIS average – nearly half an SD above that in Amerika.
You guessed it! They speak Russian. Their currency is the Ruble. And, they are a powerful, nuclear-armed nation, the most dominant one of the two countries that need not bow to the new evil empire. While known best for their vodka, they also produce some of the best local, craft beer – generally made on small farms by older women – in Europe.
These are two great and proud countries. They are not without issues. Think of it as trading one form of uncertainty for another, but in two places where the people and their lands will outlast the problems they face.
Now, for a very quick look at the rest of the larger nations of Europe. If they taught you anything in your school classes (a large if, I know), then you probably know a little already. SP, the Duck, and InfoGalactic can fill in the gaps. Many of these are the secondary lines of the real “Camp of the Saints” struggle, somewhat behind the leading descender, the US Empire. Beyond noting that the first two are nuclear powers, I’m just going to rattle off:
The UK,
France,
Germany,
Belgium,
Netherlands,
Spain,
Portugal,
Italy,
Switzerland,
Denmark and the Scandinavians,
Iceland, and
“Etc.” for anyone else I overlooked.
Some of them are worse off than others, but all are salvageable and all are (for now) better off than the dead USA. Make of it what you will. Watch the rest of Europe! The right is rising and the people are getting tired of being lied to and dominated by (decimated by) the globalists. There will be positive changes! If you’re part of it, I’d appreciate that postcard.
With regard to any of these alternatives, it is important to put aside any of the mainstream lies you have been told by the corporate-CIA media and your “schools.” Also, kindly discount or take with a grain of salt the “advice” you may have received from most Gen Xers and nearly all older generations about everything political and economic in these nations. Their pitiful obsession with taxes, rights, equality, and the rest of it blinded them to the destruction of their own nation; who really cares what they say about other lands? Yes, things are different elsewhere, but they work. And again, they’ll keep working while America fights her last wars and afterward, regardless of what happens in North America.
And! We’re not quite done with Europe yet. Next, we’ll investigate a few “smaller” options out of a medium-sized collection of tiny nations. After that? Well, there are more places outside of the US and Europe to consider. We’ll name a few at least. And then, finally, the time will come to discuss the potential and likely future of America and the United States.
10 Friday Jul 2020
Posted in Other Columns
≈ Comments Off on ESTONIA and the BALTIC STATES
Tags
Baltics, civilization, dying Amerika, Estonia, Europe, get out!, The West, travel, young people
ESTONIA and the BALTICS
“Estonia and the Baltics” isn’t a band, but I guess it could be. Welcome to Part Seven: Estonia, and the Baltic States!
PART VI: Austria, Slovenia, Croatia (with Czechia)
Pack your parka, because today we’re off to the lands beside the Baltic Sea. It can get just a wee bit cold there. We’re also straying deeper into territory that I honestly know little about, other than what I have (briefly) researched. I will say that a good friend vacationed in Estonia a few years ago and almost didn’t come back, saying he’d found the prettiest women on Earth. Above the pleasant aesthetics, note that I’m still running off of my three primary civilizational demographic requirements.
We’re moving very fast, and a little loose now, but I am more convinced than ever that this series is not a good, but a great idea for the right young people. It has come to my wandering attention that the Sanders camp, having been robbed once again by the DNC, has been given a consolation prize, a chance to forge potential policies with Team Biden. Buried somewhere very deep within THIS RELEASE (like page 107), after hundreds of lies, fantasies, and luciferian drivel, is the beginning of the implementation of an old UN plan to flood the US (and, if permitted, Europe) with the third world. They literally envision moving the entire population of refugees and/or people who just want to move, from everywhere else into the United States. Imagine 500 million to 1 billion new incompatible arrivals. Then, imagine the Rwanda Genocide times 10,000. This is a pipe dream and obviously a back-burner issue for progressives. However, the fact that they have put it in writing tells us something, or it should. This potential nightmare is posited in addition to the rapidly approaching cataclysm already beginning to boil over. The deadly-serious joke these days goes, “don’t worry about reading ‘The Camp of the Saints,’ you’re living it.” If that’s true, then it’s the light version. The Sanders-Biden plan would be the extreme edition.
Again, if you are not responsible for the mess and do not wish to participate in its conclusion, then this advice is for you. You have your search engine of choice for the in-depth research, so I’m going to keep this as succinct as possible, starting with,
ESTONIA
This nation is on the list, along with the others, because of cohesiveness. In Estonia, Estonians and Russians account for some 93% of the population, and virtually everyone, 100%, is European! The Russians came from a USSR immigration program and were originally viewed as problematic. However, assimilation over the passing decades has largely been a success, a successful mixing of cousins, so to speak.
Not dissimilar to the Czech Republic, the Estonians lack a definitive Christian majority (roughly a third identify as Christian, mostly Eastern Orthodox and Lutheran). However, unlike in Czechia, a great majority are “believers” to one degree or another and the number of outright atheists is small. Before World War II, the country was 80% Lutheran. Thanks, commies.
The national average hovers around, or just over the normative, Northwestern European average – high above the falling US.
The language is Estonian, which is related to Finnish.
Recently, they have tilted a little to the left, though not nearly as far or as fast as other Western countries. The great majority of the people still take pride in traditions – now coupled with ultra-modern living and convenience. Estonia holds full EU membership.
It is one of the most advanced of countries, fully “developed,” free, though – perhaps because of the full advancement – a little expensive. It’s a coastal nation, with low hills, and it’s cool. Summer days generally hover around room temperature, and winter nights can be thirty or more degrees (F) below zero. But, they host four, full and lovely seasons.
LATVIA
Rolling a little faster, now: Here, one finds 99% homogeneity, very similar to Estonia. However, the nation is 80%+ Christian, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and Russian Orthodox. The intelligence quotient is high. The language is called Latvian. The geography and climate are quite similar to Estonia. Full Euro, with high GDP growth rates.
LITHUANIA
(Really moving along).
84% Lithuanian, 16% other Europeans. 80% or more Roman Catholic. IQ? Several points higher than the US. A climate and geography that are similar to Estonia and Latvia. Speak Lithuanian in a high income, developed environment.
BELARUS
A little larger and inland, landlocked. Ethnically Belarusian and other Euros. 80% Eastern Orthodox, with more Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, and various Protestants. An IQ like Lithuanian. Flat and cool. A developed economy where privatization is still in progress. They’re not on the Euro, using the “new” Ruble – theirs, not the Russians. They speak Russian and Belarusian, officially.
Yes, these are now only glimpses. But, again, they’re presented for a reason. Duck and SP. If it works, great; don’t forget my postcard, perhaps with something about our new band?
*I keep mentioning the postcard like the US will have mail delivery in a few years. Silly old Mr. Lovett…
03 Friday Jul 2020
Posted in Other Columns
≈ Comments Off on Fact and Fiction: ROMANIA AND MOLDOVA
Tags
Americans, civilization, get out!, Moldova, Romania, The West, travel, young people
Fact and Fiction: ROMANIA AND MOLDOVA
Now, part five in this series, a look at a slightly different kind of Euro nation, Romania – with Moldova added as a bonus.
First, some series-related good news: Our second and third nations, Slovakia and Hungary, have entered into (another) cooperative agreement to ensure growth and prosperity in both nations into this decade. Among pooled resources to combat the likely CIA/DOD-based pandemic, the two coherent nations will further expand border crossing and a gas pipeline, among other items. A strange note for Americans to grasp: neither country will be robbing the other or off-shoring native jobs. Things are different when things are better.
And now, Romania.
Much like Poland and Hungary, this free, Christian country wedged between Hungary and the Black Sea has the unadulterated desire to see its families and children prosper. As such, the legislature has just passed reforms that will kill globo-pedo perverted sex education in the schools and which ban gender “studies” in colleges. They did their time under communism and have, apparently, had more than enough of it. Of course, some of us realized that (or should have) back around Christmas of 1989 when, during the short, happy Revolution, the good people dispatched Secretary-General Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife via firing squad. (Always shoot the communist dictators!)
Since then, it’s been throttle-down for freedom, wealth, and general happiness in Romania. The Faith of the People plays a huge role in that as does the nature of the people themselves. They are almost entirely ethnic Romanians, with a handful of other, related peoples (and some Gypsies) sprinkled in for seasoning. The overwhelming majority are Christians, 80+ percent of them belonging to the Orthodox Church.
Again, I wasn’t that happy with the average intelligence estimates I found. However, as-is, they are essentially tied with the dying US Empire in terms of raw IQ. The differences, I believe, are several. I don’t think they have had the necessary spread of testing in order to accurately gauge the measure. They are, while now a “first” world nation, still technically developing; they are – in terms of roads, schools, opportunities, agriculture, etc. – roughly where the USE is. However, as we decline precipitously, they, still recovering from Stalin’s boot, are rising. I suspect that at the end of this decade when the USE is … ailing … they will be closing on par with their neighbors regarding academic ability, opportunity, and ingenuity.
The fact that I have lumped these fantastic people and their rich heritage into this series should tell you something. I need not, nor will not, continue to repeat myself with all facets of the various societies. They’re members of the EU, they have money, you can learn Romanian, etc. Duck and Start Page all of that.
Instead, I’ll cover that matter that’s been eating at your brain since you first read “Romania,” above. Yes, this is the home of Vlad Dracula – the very real Impaler and the vampiric notion of Bram Stoker’s keen mind. When you go for your exploratory visit – and, again, you need to look before you leap – you can be part of the zany history of these interrelated characters!
There are much speculation and debate as to which castle or fortress was the exact home of whom or inspiration for what. They have castles like we have Waffle Houses. Start with this one, which may have had less to do with the historical Prince than some would— Just start there, okay? And, should you get tired of the keep-hopping, then make plans to retire for the evening at the favorite lodging of the fictional Count … Hotel Castle Dracula! Yeah, I must admit that it looks more than half like a tourist trap, but hey – the rooms and eats look inviting and the scenery is amazing. Note: I do not know whether this has to do with the Hoax of 20 or something else, but various sources are reporting booking difficulty and/or possible closure. ?? You got me. Whatever. Just remember to enter freely and of your own free will and leave something of the happiness you bring! Ha, I crack myself up…
Okay! The bonus. Next door, to the east of Romania and in between Ukraine and the Black Sea, one finds the lovely, little, overlooked country of,
MOLDOVA. (No, I’m not making any of these places up)
This gem of a nation and a people is rather related, in terms of people, culture, and history, with Romania, Hungary, and Poland – it fits with our exploration. And, it is remarkably homogeneous and unmolested by the Twenty-first Century! It’s essentially 100% one People, and 95% of them are Christians (93% Orthodox). The language – Duck or SP it! – is similar to Romanian while the IQ is closer in line with Poland.
Moldova is another “developing” Euro nation, perhaps a little behind, economically, Romania. Climate-wise, it is much the same – a “cool” kind of place. And, there, one can find that a “Saiga” isn’t just a Russian tactical shotgun! (You’ll see…) And, like just about anywhere I’d steer you, it’s a beautiful land full of beautiful people. Again, this is a traditional place that is rising while maintaining the ways that made it what it is.
Take a closer look and see if you might be a good fit for their great future. If so, whether it’s from Romania or Moldova, kindly remember my postcard. Thanks.
GENERAL NOTES:
This occurred to me sometime during my processing of viable civilizations: if you go, try to make yourself indispensable. As I mentioned a few posts ago, do not be that girl, who tries to Yankee-ize your new home; fully blend in. In doing so, find some way you can contribute to the community. It will help you learn more about them and how to mirror their culture and it will cause them to love and want you. Be a stand-in [Pole, Slovak, Hungarian, or Moldovian] that they wouldn’t ever dream of wanting to lose … or get rid of. I think the magnitude and importance of this sentiment will become more manifestly obvious as the decade drags on.
Also, I must admit that, as noted briefly above, this entry might lack a little of the steam that powered its predecessors. Maybe it’s just me and the fact that this is part five. But, if it’s so, then remember that it is difficult to keep up the intensity, repeating great things in and about various categories, over and over for a wide field of nations, each excellent. All of the countries I’m covering are here for a reason. They all at least pass my three-part test for high homogeneity, Christianity, and an average intelligence that meets or exceeds that of the US (an increasingly easy feat). In many ways, depending on the definition, the places I’m covering are more Western than the West (or, are just parts of it).
Travel Tip #1234: I’ve hinted at this before, but there is an added word of caution or concern if one rents an automobile in the Eastern nations of Europe. They’re all EU and Schengen, but the insurance companies have some funny restrictions. You can still go, but they have extra charges (imagine that) based on travel into what they (the insurance cabal) describes as the northern and southern zones of the Eastern Schengen area. Undoubtedly, your rental company will explain this and assist you in lightening the wallet accordingly. Just make sure you’re up-front about the itinerary. These being modern cars, one can safely assume they’ll know where you’ve been – and rat you out at your expense. There’s also the matter of toll passes and a few more small things. Consult Auto Europe for cursory information.
Next time, we go … to some other great nation.
26 Monday Mar 2018
Posted in Legal/Political Columns, Other Columns
≈ Comments Off on Worse Than Deflate-Gate
Tags
communists, fake Americans, football, freedom, get out!, gun control, Patriots, Samuel Adams, Second Amendment, Vox Day
Now comes a real conspiracy crisis from the Patriots organization. I now know what some of you went through with the off-pressure balls, except this incident is an affront to real rights. Vox Day explores the Peter King-Robert Kraft assault on the Second Amendment.
KING:
i. Gesture of the Week: Patriots owner Robert Kraft providing his team plane to fly students and families from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to Washington on Thursday, and then back home, after Saturday’s massive rally against gun violence.
j. No matter your politics, that’s a wonderful thing Kraft did. Because no matter what your politics, it is downright insane that semi-automatic killing machines, such as the kind that killed 17 people at the Florida high school, can be owned by average American citizens.
DAY:
I emailed Mr. King in response to his foray into gun control activism, and would encourage you to send him a similar message.
In response to your public support for violating American rights, I remind you of the words of Samuel Adams.
“We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you.May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”
Go to Mexico. Go to Canada. Go and live somewhere else, because you are not an American. There are literally dozens of other countries without the 2nd Amendment. Go live in one of them if you fear Americans exercising their unalienable rights, because you are not one of us.
“You are not one of us” and “you have to go back” are two of the most effective rhetorical killshots you can utilize against an SJW, because they weigh on the SJW’s constant subconscious fear of being rejected. It’s not a coincidence that these are considered to be some of Sam Adams’s most memorable words.
No, I will not email Mr. King nor Kraft. I don’t willingly waste time in discourse with communists and the mentally ill. But I do appreciate knowing what they really think of us and of our freedoms.
Know that when King writes, “average American citizens” he really means, “peasants and serfs.” Thanks, jackass. Now get out. Take Kraft, Hogg, and as many more commies as you can cram on those private jets and leave.
No matter your politics, if you are sane, and rational, and know how to read, and do rudimentary math, you realize that those “semi-automatic killing machines” save lives. And they’re safer, in terms of murder, than baseball bats, knives, and hands. If not, then no matter your politics (and we can guess about those), then consider doing as Vox and Adams suggested: just go away.
Go try one of of those other 100+ countries where they have far fewer guns than we have here. Yes, they all have much worse gun murder rates. But that’s a project you can tackle, work you can do – somewhere else.
Friends, these people hate freedom, America, the Second Amendment, “average” citizens, you and me. Their kraft would have us bow to a king. It’s contra to our interest to support these types of haters. Brady received a four-game suspension for the balls. Maybe a suspension for the duration of Kraft’s ownership is in order. This would be a huge and hard leap for an Patriots fan. But something to think about.
PS: Maybe Kraft should change the name. How about the New England Treason? Traitors? Kapos?
20 Saturday Apr 2013
Posted in Other Columns
≈ Comments Off on Misguided Education
Tags
Athens, BBA, college, education, foolish, get out!, girls, mistakes, UGA, useless, waste of time
A while back I wrote a piece about my journey through undergraduate school at the University of Georgia (“UGA”). I recently dredged up my transcripts from that experience and thought I would share the same with you – with commentary! Here follows a hilarious, self-deprecating look at the mistakes I made in Athens.
(UGA.)
As I related before, I majored in the wrong things and failed to realize my mistakes until it was too late. My grades reflected accordingly – I graduated with a “C” average. Considering how I felt about studying and how little I did, that “C” seems like a miracle. Also, I unofficially majored in girls, beer, and trail running/weight lifting; I worked full-time the last two years as well.
UGA is a great school, one of only 21 schools in America which received an “A” based on their required core curriculum. I think the requirements were a little different when I was there – last century – but I still had the opportunity for a first class education. My point here to two-fold: first, I want to entertain you by making fun of my foibles in college; second, and more importantly, I hope some of my younger readers may benefit from my mistakes so as to prevent a few of their own.
Fall Quarter, Year 1
I got a “B” in English 101 (composition). I write a lot and read well so this was no surprise. I recall the professor was a hot ex-business executive who decided she wanted to teach English. I got a C in Sociology. I hated this class and was terribly bored throughout. I gave it no effort – which, if I recall, was all it warranted. I made my only F, ever, in College Algebra. I can’t remember why I had to take this class in the first place. I did fairly well in math in high school. I think it was a weed-out class and it almost got me. I understood most of the crap in the classes but the tests were all administered by a computer with an incomprehensible software system. I suppose it was designed that way. Anyway, I learned a valuable lesso … actually, I learned nothing.
Winter Qtr, Year 1
I made a C in Eng 102 – the teacher was nearly as hot as the one from 101. Surprisingly, I made a C in American Government. Actually, I was not surprised. The professor was a nearly brain-dead liberal who “taught” straight from the New York Times, to which we were required to subscribe. I bet this is how the Times stays in business. I think my grade would have been higher had I made my term paper more politically correct. I wrote about American intervention in Bosnia – from my unique perspective. I wrote the whole affair off as illegal and unnecessary. Turns out, in hindsight, I was right. Still got a C. I got another B in a Geology class of all things. It was actually fairly interesting … I think.
Spring Qtr, Year 1
The transcripts say I took another Geology class. Or was it Geography??? I flopped through Microeconomics without much impressive success. I also took Anthropology 10whatever. The whole class was devoted to the study of a bunch of primitives in Africa. It might have featured Barry Sotoro, not sure.
Summer Qtr, Year 1
I met a super hot girl in the Obama class whom I started dating. She was entirely too good for me and later we broke up. Okay, she broke up with me. I deserved it. Anyway, she was a year ahead of me and I decided to take summer classes in order to try to graduate with her. I took Western Civilization (to 1500 AD), a class I really liked. The professor was a righteous dude! I retook the evil algebra class had no problems this time. They implemented a new software, just for me! I started an Intro to Cinema class thinking it would be easy and fun. It was not. They expected me to watch movies (that I did) and then analyse all sorts of weird entertainment theories and such. I dropped it.
Fall Qtr, Year 2
I studied Macroeconomics with the same success as Micro. Blah. I took Business Law, which I really enjoyed. I took a business major-related Pre-Calculus class (trigonometry?) and did much better than in the weed-out crap class. There was no computer involved. At the time, I absolutely hated computers, regarding them as evil, silicon-based lifeforms sent to make us miserable.
Winter Qtr, Year 2
Having quit the movies, I took a Theater class. I recall none of it but the transcripts say I got a B. I also got a B in MIS (Management Information Solutions??). We learned there was some sort of new thing on the horizon called the “internet.” Ever heard of it? Other than that, all I can recall is the professor stuttering his RRRRRRrrrrrrssssss… I almost got an A in Calculus! I should have got the A but I was quite happy with my B(+?). I was not sure why I didn’t get an A, seems I had a theory at the time. My secret to success was actually learning the material! I had to because the professor spoke not one word of English. I became intimately acquainted with the book. Everyone was required to take a PE class, pass or fail only. I took “Walking” because all of the cool classes like scuba and jousting were full. Turns out “walking” meant speed walking. I was the only man in the class and was always dead last behind the ladies. I had a theory. Anyway, passed it … barely.
Spring Qtr, Year 2
I started and withdrew from a Business Statistics class, which was the most dreaded class in the Terry School of Business. It was another computer-driven weeder. I took Accounting 1 and hated it. Hated it. Trying out one of my elective credits, I took Philosophy 101. I am philosophy! I loved it and made my very first A! I discovered there, that when you love something, it does not feel like work and seems to require no effort. I wish I had woken up and that point and made better use of my time. Onward…
Fall Qtr, Year 3
I did not take any summer classes – hottie and I had gone our separate ways. Anyhow, as the leaves turned I endured another useless Accounting class. I also muddled through another econ class – Money and Banking. I liked it (you know I write about monetary issues often) but I did only average, academically. For another elective I took a Classics class – Roman Culture. I absolutely loved it! As with Calc, I narrowly missed an A – I think I overslept for the final exam and only finished part of it. Anyway, this should have been another wake up moment. It wasn’t. However, given my constant recitation of Cicero and Sallust, by the power vested in me, by me, I hereby elevate my grade to an A! Haha!
Winter Qtr, Year 3
This was a miserable waste of a quarter. I found myself in a Marketing class. The high point was discovering the Professor was an avid hiker as was I. I forced my way through that Statistics class. Did you know that 60% of all statistics are wrong? True fact, that. At some point I walked into the Professor’s office and just asked for a D. A D and there would be no trouble from ol Perrin. She, perceiving my blight and perhaps my wrath, consented. “D” stands for DONE! My dad was a psychologist. I am not. I started a Psychology class and dropped it after being unnerved by the lab experiment – whatever the hell it was…
Spring Qtr, Year 3
The transcripts say I took “Prin of Prod.” I do not recall what that was. I didn’t do well, whatever it was. It matters not at all. This quarter I took my first major class, Real Estate something. I only got a B. that should have told me something. I’m sure it did but, at the time, I wasn’t listening.
Fall Qtr, Year 4
By only studying the manual which accompanied my fancy calculator the night before the final, I breezed through Finance! I still have the calculator! I also did well in some sort of Organizational Behavior (?????) class? I do not remember it at all. Unless, it was the one where I interviewed a local business owner (a “Republican” type) only to discover she was a government-loving zombie… My calculator trick did not work quite as well in my Real Estate Finance class but I made it through. Another flag ignored.
Winter Qtr, Year 4
I wasted away in another Management class and two Real Estate classes. I was upset about my grade in RE Development – the only time I ever cared. Professor C.F. Floyd, a local legend, gave me a B. I had an A all through the Quarter and had the highest grade on the class project (complete with glowing reviews). However, Floyd graded my final exam rather low – even though it was a completely subjective essay matter. Afterwards, when I protested, he said he just didn’t like my subject matter. I really respected the man but I went to the Dean with an appeal. The Dean, whose name I do not recall, told me Floyd was the senior-most teacher in all of UGA and I was out of luck. Sorry, Jack. I am not. I hereby elevate my grade to an A! +! I now have the power and you can just kiss my shrinking ass, buddy.
Spring Qtr, Year 4
This quarter I got my only A in my major (not counting the above post-fact elevation). It was in Corporate Real Estate. At the time, I liked the class and thought I had done a great thing. I since revised my opinion. Out in the real world, I discovered the class actually did me a grave dis-service. Based on what we studied, we all seemed to think we would immediately start out in Donald Trump’s shoes. None of us did. We were introduced to the “entry-level” world. Seems I took yet another unremarkable management class and something called “Interviewing” – who knew.
Summer Qtr, Year 4
Most of my friends took 5 or 6 years to graduate. With the help of one more summer session, I did it in the traditional four. Apparently, I took something called ADM Practices. Does anyone have the slightest idea what that is???? I also took two more Classics electives – Greek Culture and Mythology. Only at this last hour did I realize my business major mistake. For an hour or two I contemplated switching majors (or double majoring, maybe) to (in) something more classical – a real education. I regret not doing so to this day. Foolishly, I determined I had done all I could and accepted by BBA as was. Foolish.
I would like to say I have benefitted from that degree but I have not. It was completely useless. A friend of mine remarked the other day an undergraduate degree is a certificate which indicates you can sit still and concentrate on something for four years. It is nothing more – at least a BBA isn’t. It did not help me get a good job. It didn’t matter in law school. It doesn’t matter at all.
(A real BBA. Google.)
Should you find yourself in a similar situation, get out now! Either change what you’re doing or just drop out. You’ll be glad you did. You won’t have to sit and stare at your transcripts some day wondering what the hell “ADM” means…
PERRIN LOVETT 
You must be logged in to post a comment.