Friday, March 20, 2009
Everyone is a critic. The magic of the internet is that you can find out the opinions of total strangers, many of whom are completely anonymous or people you are unlikely to ever meet in person.
According to the scale this morning I weigh 218 pounds. I am also 45 years, 7 monhs, and 4 days old. So yeah, some people consider me fat and old. And are kind enough to tell you this. They are also kind enought to tell you that your silk jacket from Hong Kong, a fun piece of clothing I drag out of the closet for very special occasions, is "A piece of tacky kitsch orientalism masquerading as taste."
Back in 2003, before I started this blog, I helped put together a museum exhibit at the Historical Society here in Tucson. It was a big event attended by the mayor and other important people. Yes, I know we are a little town to some, filled with people who don't know the right things about the right things. But still, I decided to have fun and I wore my silk jacket, crafted by M. K. Loo of the Peninsula Hotel Arcade in Hong Kong. Numerous ill-informed individuals, including the mayor of Tucson, were amazed that I had such an interesting and fun piece of clothing and I was asked to pose for pictures with the elite of Tucson. But since they didn't know the right things about fashion, and I was slimmer and younger back then, it was all a big mistake.
I was already trending toward a bad mood this morning because of a crappy article in the local "newspaper" (see, I can be a critic too). But being told you are fat and old and that you and your mother "look like joyless refugees from a Diane Arbus photo-shoot" and then discovering that Ms. Arbus was known "for her portraits of people on the fringes of society, such as transvestites, dwarfs, giants, prostitutes and ordinary working class citizens, in unconventional poses and settings" made me feel really, really special. I admit, I had to find out who Ms. Arbus was, since I am culturally ignorant.
So yes, we are all critics in one way or the other. I mostly tell people positive things, because that is the way my personality works, although I recognize I could improve myself in that regard. In any case, it always surprises me what total strangers will share with you.
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According to the scale this morning I weigh 218 pounds. I am also 45 years, 7 monhs, and 4 days old. So yeah, some people consider me fat and old. And are kind enough to tell you this. They are also kind enought to tell you that your silk jacket from Hong Kong, a fun piece of clothing I drag out of the closet for very special occasions, is "A piece of tacky kitsch orientalism masquerading as taste."
Back in 2003, before I started this blog, I helped put together a museum exhibit at the Historical Society here in Tucson. It was a big event attended by the mayor and other important people. Yes, I know we are a little town to some, filled with people who don't know the right things about the right things. But still, I decided to have fun and I wore my silk jacket, crafted by M. K. Loo of the Peninsula Hotel Arcade in Hong Kong. Numerous ill-informed individuals, including the mayor of Tucson, were amazed that I had such an interesting and fun piece of clothing and I was asked to pose for pictures with the elite of Tucson. But since they didn't know the right things about fashion, and I was slimmer and younger back then, it was all a big mistake.
I was already trending toward a bad mood this morning because of a crappy article in the local "newspaper" (see, I can be a critic too). But being told you are fat and old and that you and your mother "look like joyless refugees from a Diane Arbus photo-shoot" and then discovering that Ms. Arbus was known "for her portraits of people on the fringes of society, such as transvestites, dwarfs, giants, prostitutes and ordinary working class citizens, in unconventional poses and settings" made me feel really, really special. I admit, I had to find out who Ms. Arbus was, since I am culturally ignorant.
So yes, we are all critics in one way or the other. I mostly tell people positive things, because that is the way my personality works, although I recognize I could improve myself in that regard. In any case, it always surprises me what total strangers will share with you.
