The (blank) Spider-Man
Here's something my old pal Dan Caffrey told me: not everything is AMAZING. And if it is, the "amazing" thing in question deserves a more thorough description. How credible would I be to say that the new Kanye West album is "amazing"? I've heard the term thrown around more than a tennis ball, ripped to shreds like my dog would to the green orb, and tossed further; and yet, unlike tennis balls, there are countless replacements for the word that even the most laconic may employ with ease. Therefore, if I chose to be garrulous, I could say that Late Registration is a second helping of West's unique taste in the cultural buffet that is middle class youth and the black experience! Though I won't go so far.
You see, the point here is not to condemn our own appreciaton of things, but to give important works of art or even experiences a proper contextual evaluation. To go around calling everything "amazing" is, I feel, mockery of the finest of things that we enjoy as a culture. "Oh, Hemingway is amazing! Iron and Wine? Amazing! Six-person orgy? Amazing!" And this, to me, is as empty as the sentiment as "Honey, you're beautiful." because she will ask you "What makes me beautiful" and if you dare say "you just are", then be prepared for a long series of brief romances and a lifetime of cheap sex. Someone who is beautiful needs to be told everything but; they deserve the spendthrift of words.
On the subject, I'd like to adress a the topic of sentiments. And though I will elaborate, all I wish to tell you all is that a sentiment does not require to be returned. In the past three days of classes, I've had at least three different people (mostly women) compliment my drawings in class. I say thank you, and the banter ensues: me hiking through an explanation that my notes for class often end up being abstract comics. Now were I a man of tact or any social awareness, I may then compliment them on something, or ask them about themselves and yet I don't care. It may just be that it feels a little condescending to ask a person to just "tell me about yourself" - but when have I ever cared? I admit this only because I wish more people would. It's okay not to care. If it weren't, we would all be in a paniced fit over the Hurricanne in New Orleans. I have some sympathy, but most of it is related to my own fears of having my home lost.
I've also been receiving many compliments on my shoes, though I have no desire to talk about them or any article of clothing, be it on my body or anyone else's (unless it's this)
"Where'd you get 'em?"
"Somebody bought them for me..."
"Oh? Where at?"
"I dunno."
"I was thinking about getting a pair like those, except silver instead of yellow."
"That's cool."
It may be that I'm looking out for them. I want to spare as many people as I can from conversation with me. That way, I am sure, they'll have less to dislike about the world. And don't take this as misanthropic, because, besides myself, I think people are pretty amazing
Alex
You see, the point here is not to condemn our own appreciaton of things, but to give important works of art or even experiences a proper contextual evaluation. To go around calling everything "amazing" is, I feel, mockery of the finest of things that we enjoy as a culture. "Oh, Hemingway is amazing! Iron and Wine? Amazing! Six-person orgy? Amazing!" And this, to me, is as empty as the sentiment as "Honey, you're beautiful." because she will ask you "What makes me beautiful" and if you dare say "you just are", then be prepared for a long series of brief romances and a lifetime of cheap sex. Someone who is beautiful needs to be told everything but; they deserve the spendthrift of words.
On the subject, I'd like to adress a the topic of sentiments. And though I will elaborate, all I wish to tell you all is that a sentiment does not require to be returned. In the past three days of classes, I've had at least three different people (mostly women) compliment my drawings in class. I say thank you, and the banter ensues: me hiking through an explanation that my notes for class often end up being abstract comics. Now were I a man of tact or any social awareness, I may then compliment them on something, or ask them about themselves and yet I don't care. It may just be that it feels a little condescending to ask a person to just "tell me about yourself" - but when have I ever cared? I admit this only because I wish more people would. It's okay not to care. If it weren't, we would all be in a paniced fit over the Hurricanne in New Orleans. I have some sympathy, but most of it is related to my own fears of having my home lost.
I've also been receiving many compliments on my shoes, though I have no desire to talk about them or any article of clothing, be it on my body or anyone else's (unless it's this)
"Where'd you get 'em?"
"Somebody bought them for me..."
"Oh? Where at?"
"I dunno."
"I was thinking about getting a pair like those, except silver instead of yellow."
"That's cool."
It may be that I'm looking out for them. I want to spare as many people as I can from conversation with me. That way, I am sure, they'll have less to dislike about the world. And don't take this as misanthropic, because, besides myself, I think people are pretty amazing
Alex