andy's definitions
Inhabitants of Harad.
Tolkien's portrayal of the Haradrim is open to criticism for racism - at one point he describes them as looking like trolls because they are black. However, it should be noted that the Haradrim are typically cajoled into combat by evil Numenoreans, who are white - effectively parallelling the use of colonial troops in European armies.
The name "Haradrim" means "people of the south" in elvish. Also known as Southrons (although these are rendered as a separate people in some accounts).
Tolkien's portrayal of the Haradrim is open to criticism for racism - at one point he describes them as looking like trolls because they are black. However, it should be noted that the Haradrim are typically cajoled into combat by evil Numenoreans, who are white - effectively parallelling the use of colonial troops in European armies.
The name "Haradrim" means "people of the south" in elvish. Also known as Southrons (although these are rendered as a separate people in some accounts).
by Andy April 19, 2004
Get the Haradrim mug.Heroic TransFormer, a member of the original good faction in TransFormers Generation 1 and several subsequent series. (Known as Seibertons or Cybertrons in Japan, and renamed as Maximals for Beast Wars).
Most Autobots transform into cars and land-based vehicles. Diverse in personality, they are usually given "human" traits in their various depictions (fallible, open to error, with personality differences, etc.). Their political economy is based on generosity and on protecting others, especially the weak. As an army, they seem to have been set up solely to fight the Decepticons, who pre-existed them as a fighting force.
The Autobot insignia is a red head, which looks quite like the head of the Autobot Jazz. In the cartoons, Autobots always fire red laser bolts, distinguishable from the Decepticons' purple bolts.
The Autobots nearly always win, usually because of the Decepticons' arrogance and stupidity, despite their usual inferior starting position (itself pretty strange since Autobot toys and named characters have always outnumbered their Decepticon counterparts). This gives a "moral" dimension to TransFormers stories.
Initially led by Optimus Prime, a strong-willed and steadfast yet also self-questioning and insecure Autobot who transformed into a lorry cab. Later led by a number of characters including Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus and Fortress Maximus.
Eventually won the war on Earth (where both sides had crashed), apparently due to their cooperation with humans. Were attempting to re-take Cybertron (long a Decepticon preserve) when Unicron struck in Transformers: The Movie. Later took over and rejuvenated Cybertron in series 3 (and after, in Japan) of the cartoon, although in the comics, the war on Cybertron continues indefinitely. (One obscure comic strip in an annual depicts the Autobots eventually winning the war, only to start fighting one another over who was to rule the spoils... hardly in character for the Autobots, probably written by a Hobbesian).
Most Autobots transform into cars and land-based vehicles. Diverse in personality, they are usually given "human" traits in their various depictions (fallible, open to error, with personality differences, etc.). Their political economy is based on generosity and on protecting others, especially the weak. As an army, they seem to have been set up solely to fight the Decepticons, who pre-existed them as a fighting force.
The Autobot insignia is a red head, which looks quite like the head of the Autobot Jazz. In the cartoons, Autobots always fire red laser bolts, distinguishable from the Decepticons' purple bolts.
The Autobots nearly always win, usually because of the Decepticons' arrogance and stupidity, despite their usual inferior starting position (itself pretty strange since Autobot toys and named characters have always outnumbered their Decepticon counterparts). This gives a "moral" dimension to TransFormers stories.
Initially led by Optimus Prime, a strong-willed and steadfast yet also self-questioning and insecure Autobot who transformed into a lorry cab. Later led by a number of characters including Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus and Fortress Maximus.
Eventually won the war on Earth (where both sides had crashed), apparently due to their cooperation with humans. Were attempting to re-take Cybertron (long a Decepticon preserve) when Unicron struck in Transformers: The Movie. Later took over and rejuvenated Cybertron in series 3 (and after, in Japan) of the cartoon, although in the comics, the war on Cybertron continues indefinitely. (One obscure comic strip in an annual depicts the Autobots eventually winning the war, only to start fighting one another over who was to rule the spoils... hardly in character for the Autobots, probably written by a Hobbesian).
"I will rip open Ultra Magnus, and every last Autobot, until the Matrix is destroyed!" (Galvatron, in Transformers: The Movie)
by Andy April 19, 2004
Get the Autobot mug.Port and city in Northern Harad, built by evil Numenoreans in the second age and later a base for the Corsairs of Umbar (although some renditions place the Corsair base near to, rather than in, Umbar).
The city is marked on Middle Earth maps drawn by Tolkien, in contrast to most of Harad. The city name is Elvish, as befits its origin among Dunedain. (Haradrim name-forms are not given in Tolkien... I wonder why...). It also occurs in most of the Tolkien strategy games, though way outside where any action is likely to be.
Presumably fortified. Some fans have drawn detailed maps which can be found by doing a Google search - usually showing a fortified city with a number of inner levels, similar to other Numenorean cities such as Minas Tirith.
The city is marked on Middle Earth maps drawn by Tolkien, in contrast to most of Harad. The city name is Elvish, as befits its origin among Dunedain. (Haradrim name-forms are not given in Tolkien... I wonder why...). It also occurs in most of the Tolkien strategy games, though way outside where any action is likely to be.
Presumably fortified. Some fans have drawn detailed maps which can be found by doing a Google search - usually showing a fortified city with a number of inner levels, similar to other Numenorean cities such as Minas Tirith.
Umbar stands on the borderline between Harad and Gondor, controlling Haradrim access to the North.
The Corsairs were led into battle by Lord Nimhir of Umbar.
The Corsairs were led into battle by Lord Nimhir of Umbar.
by Andy April 19, 2004
Get the Umbar mug.A leading anarchist theorist in the nineteenth century, author of classics such as "Mutual Aid", "Factories, Fields and Workshops" and "The State: Its Historic Role". Most of his works are out of copyright and are available online at the Anarchy Archives at dward.pitzer.au.
Kropotkin was an anthropologist by profession, and this is shown by frequent references to this science in his work. "Mutual Aid" is in large part an attempt to rebut Darwinist arguments for the necessity of individualist egoistic action by demonstrating that mutually supportive, cooperative and altruistic actions are common among animals and in human societies. Kropotkin seemed to think that cooperation is part of human nature, so pervasive it is across different cultures and so resilient it is to attacks by the state.
He viewed the state as a force of atomisation because of its tendency to persecute specific associations. He saw it operating in an imperialistic way, colonising everyday life from above and outside and counterposing itself to the force of society and sociability as an everyday factor. The state is based on violence and control, and hierarchic forms and unnatural and oppressive. The state should therefore be overthrown or overcome, and replaced with social relations based on mutual voluntary cooperation in a series of federated associations.
His thought is best located within anarcho-communism. Although dated in some respects, it still holds up as a critique of sociobiology and of theories of the necessity of state power.
I don't know how it could come to mean "a stupid person" - I assume this is a Slavophobe appropriation of this rather amusing-sounding Russian name.
Kropotkin was an anthropologist by profession, and this is shown by frequent references to this science in his work. "Mutual Aid" is in large part an attempt to rebut Darwinist arguments for the necessity of individualist egoistic action by demonstrating that mutually supportive, cooperative and altruistic actions are common among animals and in human societies. Kropotkin seemed to think that cooperation is part of human nature, so pervasive it is across different cultures and so resilient it is to attacks by the state.
He viewed the state as a force of atomisation because of its tendency to persecute specific associations. He saw it operating in an imperialistic way, colonising everyday life from above and outside and counterposing itself to the force of society and sociability as an everyday factor. The state is based on violence and control, and hierarchic forms and unnatural and oppressive. The state should therefore be overthrown or overcome, and replaced with social relations based on mutual voluntary cooperation in a series of federated associations.
His thought is best located within anarcho-communism. Although dated in some respects, it still holds up as a critique of sociobiology and of theories of the necessity of state power.
I don't know how it could come to mean "a stupid person" - I assume this is a Slavophobe appropriation of this rather amusing-sounding Russian name.
Kropotkin's Mutual Aid is a classic text of anarchist theory.
Anti-capitalist groups often unknowingly adopt a model of organisation similar to Kropotkin's, favouring small-scale voluntary groups which come together into larger federations for purposes of mutual support.
Anti-capitalist groups often unknowingly adopt a model of organisation similar to Kropotkin's, favouring small-scale voluntary groups which come together into larger federations for purposes of mutual support.
by Andy April 19, 2004
Get the Kropotkin mug.TransFormers which have a Nebulan (humanoid) companion who transforms into the head of the transforming robot, and does not form part of (but can usually drive or otherwise connect to) the large robot's vehicle and/or beast mode/s.
Sometimes used to mean the large robot, sometimes the small figure/head. (Japan only: some heads were brought out without bodies, and all heads were interchangeable between robots, making more sense of the term "headmaster").
Of course, it also means a male head-teacher (now rarely used for PC reasons) - presumably it's a play on words (used as a model for later names such as Powermaster, Targetmaster etc.). Initially appeared in series 4 of generation 1.
Also, the first series of the Japanese Transformers cartoon (the 4th series overall) is called "TransFormers Headmasters".
Sometimes used to mean the large robot, sometimes the small figure/head. (Japan only: some heads were brought out without bodies, and all heads were interchangeable between robots, making more sense of the term "headmaster").
Of course, it also means a male head-teacher (now rarely used for PC reasons) - presumably it's a play on words (used as a model for later names such as Powermaster, Targetmaster etc.). Initially appeared in series 4 of generation 1.
Also, the first series of the Japanese Transformers cartoon (the 4th series overall) is called "TransFormers Headmasters".
The Headmaster Mindwipe, a Decepticon who turns into a bat, has a Nebulan companion, Vorath.
OR
The Headmaster Vorath is binary bonded to the transforming robot Mindwipe.
OR
The Headmaster Vorath is binary bonded to the transforming robot Mindwipe.
by Andy April 19, 2004
Get the Headmasters mug.Leading anarchist theorist of the nineteenth century. Author of "Statism and Anarchy", "God and the State" and a number of critical essays on Marxism.
Best-known for the slogan, "the urge to destroy is a creative urge" (as in, "I want to create some smashed glass from that McDonald's window over there") - very much a spiky. The basic idea here is that clearing space occupied by existing (violent) relations is necessary to create the possibility of a new, liberated world.
God and the State is a strongly-worded attack on Christianity for enshrining the idea of unequal power in metaphysical absolutism. "If God existed we would have to overthrow Him". "A boss on heaven is a good excuse for a boss on earth". Bakunin is a strong materialist, one of a number of similarities with Marx.
In Statism and Anarchy, he analyses international relations from a perspective which, in common with conventional IR Realism, maintains that states are inherently violent and try to take over as much territory as possible, but which, unlike IR Realism, uses this as a basis to condemn the state.
His critique of Marxism is based on its alleged authoritarianism, especially in terms of the idea of dictatorship of the proletariat. He claims that Marxian socialism would inevitably degenerate into a dictatorship by a small stratum of intellectuals and bureaucrats because of its centralism and its lack of support for grassroots activity; also that the better-off workers would rule at the expense of the "lumpen-proletarian" (socially excluded) poor and the peasants. Marx and Engels try to rebut these claims in various essays, accusing the Bakuninists of taking a dogmatic approach to political action and of succumbing to bourgeois nationalism.
Today, his work is popular with both anarcho-communists and green anarchists, although they do not usually adopt his peculiar ideas on organisation (emphasising small numbers of professional revolutionaries as a catalyst for a movement which was nevertheless to be popular and mass-based) or his personal prejudices.
Down-sides to Bakunin's work include his nationalistic chauvinism and anti-Semitism. Also, he didn't clarify his own theoretical ideas; most of what he wrote is either short pamphlets or is incomplete.
Best-known for the slogan, "the urge to destroy is a creative urge" (as in, "I want to create some smashed glass from that McDonald's window over there") - very much a spiky. The basic idea here is that clearing space occupied by existing (violent) relations is necessary to create the possibility of a new, liberated world.
God and the State is a strongly-worded attack on Christianity for enshrining the idea of unequal power in metaphysical absolutism. "If God existed we would have to overthrow Him". "A boss on heaven is a good excuse for a boss on earth". Bakunin is a strong materialist, one of a number of similarities with Marx.
In Statism and Anarchy, he analyses international relations from a perspective which, in common with conventional IR Realism, maintains that states are inherently violent and try to take over as much territory as possible, but which, unlike IR Realism, uses this as a basis to condemn the state.
His critique of Marxism is based on its alleged authoritarianism, especially in terms of the idea of dictatorship of the proletariat. He claims that Marxian socialism would inevitably degenerate into a dictatorship by a small stratum of intellectuals and bureaucrats because of its centralism and its lack of support for grassroots activity; also that the better-off workers would rule at the expense of the "lumpen-proletarian" (socially excluded) poor and the peasants. Marx and Engels try to rebut these claims in various essays, accusing the Bakuninists of taking a dogmatic approach to political action and of succumbing to bourgeois nationalism.
Today, his work is popular with both anarcho-communists and green anarchists, although they do not usually adopt his peculiar ideas on organisation (emphasising small numbers of professional revolutionaries as a catalyst for a movement which was nevertheless to be popular and mass-based) or his personal prejudices.
Down-sides to Bakunin's work include his nationalistic chauvinism and anti-Semitism. Also, he didn't clarify his own theoretical ideas; most of what he wrote is either short pamphlets or is incomplete.
When Bakunin's train broke down, he saw a crowd of peasants outside a castle. By the time he got back on, the castle was on fire.
Stop spouting all that right-wing shit, or I'll do a Bakunin on your ass.
Stop spouting all that right-wing shit, or I'll do a Bakunin on your ass.
by Andy April 19, 2004
Get the bakunin mug.A swear-word invented for use in the TV series Farscape. Its meaning is unspecified, but it is generally invoked in phrases such as "what in the yotz are you doing?".
The word-structure is presumably meant to be alien, but closely resembles words originating from eastern European Jewish languages/dialects (e.g. putz).
The word-structure is presumably meant to be alien, but closely resembles words originating from eastern European Jewish languages/dialects (e.g. putz).
Why the yotz didn't you tell me about the frelling intruders on the bridge?
What the yotz do you think I'm going to do with this?
What the yotz do you think I'm going to do with this?
by Andy April 19, 2004
Get the yotz mug.