Post AVPwceGOqPI51opDLE by oddtail@meow.social
 (DIR) More posts by oddtail@meow.social
 (DIR) Post #AVPwcar7VwHqSXyU1Q by oddtail@meow.social
       2023-04-04T07:56:51Z
       
       1 likes, 1 repeats
       
       I just learnt from xkcd that one of the earliest pieces of writing was a complaint about a copper merchant.I know it's a cliché today to state the obvious - that people have not really changed all that much, and that one of the earliest pieces of writing preserved today is not that different from someone leaving a bad review on eBay or something - but in a weird roundabout way, it always warms my heart.We've accomplished so much, but we're still the same humans.
       
 (DIR) Post #AVPwccYlBAmxkBOqgK by oddtail@meow.social
       2023-04-04T08:00:15Z
       
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       When we read old books and watch old plays, the language barrier makes it look like people of old were dignified or weird or very serious. But we forget we're reading what people wrote as fiction - they were using language or characterisation that were not necessarily realistic even for the time. Old fiction operated on Rule of Cool just like modern fiction does.Beneath that veneer? Consider these:
       
 (DIR) Post #AVPwceGOqPI51opDLE by oddtail@meow.social
       2023-04-04T08:03:20Z
       
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       * Graffiti in Pompei wishing Marcus would get an STD, and another proclaiming the writer's love for some girl;* A play by Shakespeare including a "yo momma" joke.* Old (and I mean thousands-of-years-old) jokes about funny foreigners, sex workers and farting;* Government employees complaining in writing they are overworked and underpaid and nobody gives them their respect;* Intellectuals complaining about kids these days;* Stupid fashion fads throughout all human history.
       
 (DIR) Post #AVPwcfuqhVEy9Yl21o by oddtail@meow.social
       2023-04-04T08:10:29Z
       
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       And I mean, even in fiction. The oldest major piece of fiction preserved is essentially a story about two superheroes fighting like a pair of assholes for no reason, becoming best friends, teaming up and having adventures together. The epic of Gilgamesh could be adapted into a modern comic book or an action-comedy movie without changing much in the plot. Probably starring Chris Pratt as Enkidu or sth.Humans can be shitty, but I kinda love some things about human nature.