Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Re: shrinking/vagueness (anti flame capsule)
Author: Randal Phelps Posted: 9/28/2000; 6:32:00 PM Topic: anti flame capsule Msg #: 21830 (In response to 21703) Prev/Next: 21829 / 21831
the reason that vagueness is a virtue in this culture is (for the sake of reductionists--like me) 2 things. 1) the sharp knife cuts too deep. (big vocabulary brings too much meaning to the table...too dense a meaning for a culture obssessed as I am with Britney Spears GIGANTIC breasts.) Lets face it we are a *gross* society...if you go to a conference we have to have a tshirt and those shirts come in 3 sizes L-XL-XXL....We (our culture) are a gigantic vacoule jamming anything and everything in...hoping to be *filled* up. Walker Percy writes very well about this issue...worth the read if you can find the book---it *wasn't very popular* --less popular than say Dave and Tim's water balloon fight....whoops off topic..sorry...so, 1 reason is the detente we have with meaning as too ballistic a weapon and 2 I would lay at the feet of each of us who don't really want to confront the razor. (hesse's words not mine) To really consider and have a life of the mind that would result in words with meaning...that would be----hmm troublesome.
Josh, I loved your reference to the npr story about us being visual more acute...that is so hilarious....almost as hilarious as the day we went to the Microsoft thing and the lady who won the computer asked for a macintosh...I still tell that story and include the tshirt you were wearing....great stuff....the point in mentioning it is only that so long ago (what about 3 years?) you *did* something that made me see you as a kindred spirit---and the words that you and mccusker write in here are powerful and important--thoughtful an d interesting...
it takes work to think and read and type and respond and turn off Britney's GIGANTIC breasts and own one less mp3 and consider the writing of Wendell Berry and to read 9 reasons I won't own a computer and live in the world. It is complicated....maybe more complicated than Al Gore or W or the Internet.
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