What Mark Edmundson would like to tell the bores in his life: ‘“There is no more infuriating feeling,” says the classicist Robert Greene, describing this sort of an encounter, “than having your individuality ignored, your own psychology unacknowledged. It makes you feel lifeless and resentful.” That’s exactly how I feel when I have these encounters: lifeless and resentful. But why? Why is this kind of treatment so painful? People do all kinds of aggressive and antisocial things to each other—surely I do a few myself—and talking on and on can’t be the worst of them. Still, being on the receiving end of such verbiage reliably sends me close to the edge.’ (American Scholar)
Tag Archives: irreverence
Anonymous Postcard
“The artists behind Anonymous Postcardhave created a website with real-world applications. You send a suitably interesting message of complaint or congratulations. They create a one-of-a-kind postcard and mail it to your chosen recipient.
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke received an encouragement card fashioned from a $5 bill. Former governor Rod Blagojevich’s card was crafted out of a hair-product container. And the message addressed to “Moms of Mill Valley, CA” — asking them to control their bratty kids — was printed, none too subtly, on an empty condom box.”
Send Me No Flowers?
‘…[T]here’s increasing grumbling about Valentine’s Day, a vaguely defined occasion that forces people, at arrow-point, to declare their deepest emotions, and maybe even to manufacture some that aren’t there. Some call it FAD, “Forced Affection Day.” True, there are those who bemoan the commercialization of Christmas, or the seemingly contrived nature of Mother’s Day or Administrative Professionals Week. Yet Valentine’s Day is the only American celebration with a resistance movement. It comprises singles who resent the incessant emphasis on romantic love, parents who resent the necessity of procuring 24 Disney princess cards with red lollipops attached, and devoted couples, married and not, who resent the compulsion of it all…’ via WSJ.
And:
- Roland Martin: Don’t be my Valentine (cnn.com)
- Why I Hate Valentine’s Day (realmendriveminivans.com)
- Send Me Dead Flowers in the Morning (treehugger.com)
