Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The Concept of Kipple

I learned of kipple when a buddy of mine gave me a copy of Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" in the sixth grade. The film "Blade Runner" was in theaters and was based on this book. As I knew that this poor country boy was never going to see it in the theater, I accepted the book with many thanks and proceeded to tear through it. It warped me in a number of wonderful ways, and for a long time I would go back and reread it every year. I had to put a rubber band around it just to keep it together. Every Christmas I ask for a new copy as the old paperback finally disintegrated into kipple.

In the film there is a character named Sebastian, a brilliant engineer who helps design the replicants/androids and lives in a vacant apartment building. In the book the character is named J.R. Isidore, a man with limited intelligence who drives a fake ambulance to pick up and drop off electric pets that need repair, and he lives in a vacant apartment building. In the book Isidore explains kipple. Kipple is unwanted or useless objects, filth, rot, decay, or entropy. Kipple is invasive and self-reproducing. Isidore explains to the android Pris that the first law of kipple is "Kipple drives out nonkipple".

I think that may be one of the maxims of life. Life is about fighting back the kipple and trying to bring order to chaos, and driving out the it's degenerative forces. If you quit fighting the kipple, you die and are buried under it.

I thought of this today as I picked up the house. My two kids are fantastic kipple makers. As my Dad used to say "You could mess up a junkyard!", and I believe they could, the little scamps.

Then I got to thinking about fighting kipple. I can think of a few excellent warriors against kipple. The trashman who comes to my house every Wednesday for one. He takes my kipple and puts with it's own kind. Bubs over at Sprawling Ramshackle Compound for another. People can turn into living kipple and as a representative of the armed might of the state, he helps keep this human kipple off the street. Big Orange over at Frying Bacon is a warrior against kipple. He teaches kids how not to become human kipple, and how to use learning as a way to better themselves, and the rest of us how to keep the kipple from out of our heads with his regular feature of "God Talks". I'm sure even Evil Genius over at What I Like About The Universe does his part to fight kipple, although I couldn't cite examples just right here and now. Pezda does it with good cooking. GetkristiLove has been waging her own battle against kipple for about a year now. Cooper Green fights with one of the strongest weapons I can think of, humor. Chris combats it by designing new and better buildings, as well as shaving the cat. Megan joins him in his fight in much the same way I do.

May God bless you, one and all, for the fine work you have been doing.

I'm sure that I've left someone out but it was not intentional.

So tell me, how do you fight kipple? I look forward to your answers.

Doc

15 comments:

  1. Thanks for the recognition, I've been fighting kipple-infestation a long time now at my job and the kipple-factor of my hard drive alone is through the roof.

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  2. Thanks for the honorable mention! And thanks for introducing me to the term "kipple"

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  3. Kipple is a very good term. I am not very good at keeping it out of my life as I have grown weary over the years of trying to be organized when all about me are not.

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  4. Bless you, Doc and the Social Zymurgists, for being some of the brightest lights on the web. You've got the spirit, and the great links to boot. I love this place.

    Chris, I suspect you flush twice because you've got one of those stupid 6-litre toilets that were supposed to be an improvement over the 10-litre water wasters from the past. Except now you have to use 12 litres so your visually sensitive guests don't have to be treated to remnants of your most recent floater.

    The solution to this counterproductive Kippulosity at its worst? Make a better fucking toilet (I'm looking at you, American Standard).

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  5. I recently read Do Androids Dream... for the very first time. A few months ago I was visiting Evil Genius and pulled it from his shelve. Brilliant. Not quite what I was expecting based upon the movie.

    As far as kipple is concerned, my struggles are similar to yours. My two kipple machines are usually in overdrive, and can demolish a clean and organized room in just under three seconds. I can still fit my car into the garage, but the path to the house has nearly closed over. And I fear to tread in the basement.

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  6. CG - I was shopping toilets recently (no, seriously) and saw one that claimed it could flush a bucket of golfballs.

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  7. Pezda, that's a claim I don't think any of us would have anticipated. Personally, I've never passed a golf ball.

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  8. I think this subject is depressing me and I'm not sure why.

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  9. I just discovered PK about a month ago (having picked up Do Androids Dream at a thrift store) and was immediately fascinated (wrote an ultra-brief review here). God DAMN, that's a good read. I can see why you returned to it again and again. Must be interesting to have read it at 12 years old and compare your reaction then to your reaction now. I'm not sure if I'd have appreciated it enough at 12.

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  10. After considering this for a while, it occurs to me that I am pro kipple. You cannot win against entropy. It is better to learn to steer your vessel through the kipple than to continually row upstream. Still waiting on the android Koi I ordered months ago.

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  11. the problem?? Kipple is EASY. go ahead, walk down the wine aisle of your local grocery store, begin grabbing bottles and fling them everywhere. do this for, oh, maybe 2 minutes and you've caused enough kipple to fetch the police, shut down the store and maybe even hurt someone. Perhaps that's why terrorism is so popular with the desperate, the disillusioned and the fanatic: it's easy and it gets results RIGHT AWAY. No waiting 'round.

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  12. I'm on the other side of the kipple coin: I create it, not fight it. I'm an important cog in the kipple chain.

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  13. I'm drowning in it. I may start flushing twice like Chris. ...Androids...was / is one of my favourite books.

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