Life and connected thoughts...
Feb. 27th, 2005 09:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflyaka 'Things I think about whenever I think about people who have fallen into the smart and yet hopelessly pretentious trap (ex. Kevin Smith of Jay and Silent Bob fame; fanfic authors that I won't mention because I'm still hoping that they'll recover because I like their fic, damn it, much like I can think that KS has become fairly laughable and still think that parts of Dogma were brilliant and the entire movie could have been brilliant if he'd let someone else direct it, the pretentious git. My disdain comes along with a great heaping of affection. No clue if that makes it any better. Probably not, though.)'
The other title was shorter, though.
One of the problems of being called smart is that you run the risk of believing your own press. I never want to be actually pretentious, instead of saying things and then laughing at myself for being so serious. And if I ever do get to be like that, I'd like to believe that someone would puncture my balloon and take me back to earth, rather than encourage me to go on like an idiot.
Because I think that both sides, humor and drama, are equally vital to life. Like Moulin Rouge or most of Shakespeare's plays. Comedy and tragedy existing on the same stage. Did I ever write that glowing comparison of MR to Shakespeare? More than anything, that's what it reminded me of.
It's all part of the wheel -- elevation and then grounding. The idea that you have to dig your hands in the dirt in order to truly appreciate the stars, and vice versa.
Like, the day you can't laugh at yourself is the day that you deserve it the most. Because things can be important and still be a laugh.
Doesn't mean that things can't be dark or depressing or horrible, but the sun shines again after, and, as Sam says, it shines out all the brighter. Live in either side, and you lose something.
Because it's important to be wrong, sometimes, because no one's always right. And sometimes you have to do something stupid to understand just how stupid it is. Because knowing something and feeling it are different things.
And you can enjoy something that other people slag off, find the gold in it, and they'll still hate it. Just like I'll never understand why people find sports riveting. I don't 'get' sports, some people don't 'get' sci-fi and fantasy (like my aunt, who only likes things that are firmly reality-based). But I know that about myself and I'm not going to let someone talk me into going to a baseball game and then complain about it. Which is why I can't understand why someone who doesn't like fantasy going to see the Lord of the Rings and then complaining about it. tLotR is the epitome of fantasy. If you dislike fantasy, you probably won't like the story that started epic fantasy as we know it. QED.
People can say, "Oh, you'll like this one, though," but really, if you don't like fantasy, you probably won't. Just tell them that and then leave it. That's what I do. You let people talk you into doing something that you know you'll get nothing from, that's your department, as far as I'm concerned. For myself, if you say no enough times, it does sink in and I stop asking. I only ask in the first place because I like to share the love. If you don't have the love, I don't want to annoy you with something you'll dislike. Unless you're my brother, in which case, I want you to suffer. In return for those nightmares about the train in Little Nemo. And I've no issue saying no. My brother asked me a million and one times to play Magic with him. After I'd done it a few times, I realised that I hated the pointlessness of it, and just told him that I didn't want to, whenever he asked. He asked for about three years solid because he realised that I would never be in the mood, but it's not like saying 'no' takes all that much effort.
If you're curious to know, I tend to lj-cut anything that I would have to scroll to read on my computer. It's a courtesy-cut, really.
On a competely different subject, I hate it when authors delete things that they've written. Maybe I liked what you now think is an overblown epic. Of course, I can't get too mad because I did the same thing with my few Britney pieces, but that was about realizing that Britney wasn't anywhere near as deep as I was writing her. I was disillusioned. Still, it would make me a hypocrite to actively critise other people for doing it. No, wait, I can say that I did it when I was young and stupid and that I wouldn't make the choice now. Then, I'm not a hypocrite, I'm just someone who learnt her lesson. There you go -- I hate it when authors delete their fic or set up a new website for their fic without actually putting the fic there, so you click on a story and end up with a broken link. That's brilliant, it is. Of course, I'm still working over my timidity issues, so it'll be ages before I work up the courage to mention it to the author, who may have abandoned that fandom ages ago but is in a new one now. Just because the author's moved on, doesn't mean that the old stories can't get new readers. I was chuffed to bits to find my Angel stuff rec'ed and I get a warm glow when I get feedback on an old story.
But I don't get tired of my old fandoms. I just posted that review of Witch (season one BtVS) and my love for that show is as powerful as it was when I first saw an episode. That's... what, over nine years, yeah? I do seem to have a different way of collecting fandoms than most people do. My love appreciates over the years. Of course, I'm a woman who can, and has, eaten the same thing for weeks on end and not care. It's just as good the tenth time, so why bother buying something I don't know I'll like? Likewise, BtVS never stops being brilliant, so why should I get tired of it, just because I've seen it so often that I can recite lines?
So, the more I watch QaF, the more I realize that I'm like Vince. Only, I keep arguing that in my head, because Vince is wonderful, he's simply fantastic, so how can I be like him? And that's such a Vince thing to think, you know? It's a vicious circle, it is. Because I am like him. I've got the obsessive sci-fi addiction and the horrid white lie habit and I just talk and talk forever without even thinking about what I'm saying. And I've got terrible self-esteem like Vince has. If I were a British gay man on a television show, I'd be Vince. Well, I've got one out of four.
Which is 25%. That's flunking, it is.
The other title was shorter, though.
One of the problems of being called smart is that you run the risk of believing your own press. I never want to be actually pretentious, instead of saying things and then laughing at myself for being so serious. And if I ever do get to be like that, I'd like to believe that someone would puncture my balloon and take me back to earth, rather than encourage me to go on like an idiot.
Because I think that both sides, humor and drama, are equally vital to life. Like Moulin Rouge or most of Shakespeare's plays. Comedy and tragedy existing on the same stage. Did I ever write that glowing comparison of MR to Shakespeare? More than anything, that's what it reminded me of.
It's all part of the wheel -- elevation and then grounding. The idea that you have to dig your hands in the dirt in order to truly appreciate the stars, and vice versa.
Like, the day you can't laugh at yourself is the day that you deserve it the most. Because things can be important and still be a laugh.
Doesn't mean that things can't be dark or depressing or horrible, but the sun shines again after, and, as Sam says, it shines out all the brighter. Live in either side, and you lose something.
Because it's important to be wrong, sometimes, because no one's always right. And sometimes you have to do something stupid to understand just how stupid it is. Because knowing something and feeling it are different things.
And you can enjoy something that other people slag off, find the gold in it, and they'll still hate it. Just like I'll never understand why people find sports riveting. I don't 'get' sports, some people don't 'get' sci-fi and fantasy (like my aunt, who only likes things that are firmly reality-based). But I know that about myself and I'm not going to let someone talk me into going to a baseball game and then complain about it. Which is why I can't understand why someone who doesn't like fantasy going to see the Lord of the Rings and then complaining about it. tLotR is the epitome of fantasy. If you dislike fantasy, you probably won't like the story that started epic fantasy as we know it. QED.
People can say, "Oh, you'll like this one, though," but really, if you don't like fantasy, you probably won't. Just tell them that and then leave it. That's what I do. You let people talk you into doing something that you know you'll get nothing from, that's your department, as far as I'm concerned. For myself, if you say no enough times, it does sink in and I stop asking. I only ask in the first place because I like to share the love. If you don't have the love, I don't want to annoy you with something you'll dislike. Unless you're my brother, in which case, I want you to suffer. In return for those nightmares about the train in Little Nemo. And I've no issue saying no. My brother asked me a million and one times to play Magic with him. After I'd done it a few times, I realised that I hated the pointlessness of it, and just told him that I didn't want to, whenever he asked. He asked for about three years solid because he realised that I would never be in the mood, but it's not like saying 'no' takes all that much effort.
If you're curious to know, I tend to lj-cut anything that I would have to scroll to read on my computer. It's a courtesy-cut, really.
On a competely different subject, I hate it when authors delete things that they've written. Maybe I liked what you now think is an overblown epic. Of course, I can't get too mad because I did the same thing with my few Britney pieces, but that was about realizing that Britney wasn't anywhere near as deep as I was writing her. I was disillusioned. Still, it would make me a hypocrite to actively critise other people for doing it. No, wait, I can say that I did it when I was young and stupid and that I wouldn't make the choice now. Then, I'm not a hypocrite, I'm just someone who learnt her lesson. There you go -- I hate it when authors delete their fic or set up a new website for their fic without actually putting the fic there, so you click on a story and end up with a broken link. That's brilliant, it is. Of course, I'm still working over my timidity issues, so it'll be ages before I work up the courage to mention it to the author, who may have abandoned that fandom ages ago but is in a new one now. Just because the author's moved on, doesn't mean that the old stories can't get new readers. I was chuffed to bits to find my Angel stuff rec'ed and I get a warm glow when I get feedback on an old story.
But I don't get tired of my old fandoms. I just posted that review of Witch (season one BtVS) and my love for that show is as powerful as it was when I first saw an episode. That's... what, over nine years, yeah? I do seem to have a different way of collecting fandoms than most people do. My love appreciates over the years. Of course, I'm a woman who can, and has, eaten the same thing for weeks on end and not care. It's just as good the tenth time, so why bother buying something I don't know I'll like? Likewise, BtVS never stops being brilliant, so why should I get tired of it, just because I've seen it so often that I can recite lines?
So, the more I watch QaF, the more I realize that I'm like Vince. Only, I keep arguing that in my head, because Vince is wonderful, he's simply fantastic, so how can I be like him? And that's such a Vince thing to think, you know? It's a vicious circle, it is. Because I am like him. I've got the obsessive sci-fi addiction and the horrid white lie habit and I just talk and talk forever without even thinking about what I'm saying. And I've got terrible self-esteem like Vince has. If I were a British gay man on a television show, I'd be Vince. Well, I've got one out of four.
Which is 25%. That's flunking, it is.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-28 07:13 am (UTC)People with this ability make the most enjoyable companions.
*hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-28 07:15 am (UTC)Aw, thank you.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-28 11:34 am (UTC)Yeah. The trick, as you say, is to make sure you have friends ready to tell you when you're being an ass. They're the best kind of friends, really. :)
Speaking of comparisons between Shakespeare and popular media, here's something a friend of mine wrote a while back (http://www.google.co.uk/groups?selm=a8ibqe%24sh17f%242%40ID-130565.news.dfncis.de) that you may like.
Also: hi!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-01 08:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-01 08:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-02 11:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-28 03:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-01 08:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-28 10:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-01 08:30 pm (UTC)