The word "weird" amongst other things...
Mar. 4th, 2007 03:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatIt's been a quiet weekend - won't bore with details. Did a little of this and a little of that. Weather is being wonky. 60 degrees at noon yesterday, then proceeded to drop to 48. Today it's 37 degrees and flirting with snow. I don't know about any one else, but I'm beginning to think Mother Nature is irritated with the human race and playing games.
On my flist today two people mention the word "weird" in their posts. The first asks why does everyone mention that they are "weird" in their lj's and if they are, how, exactly? The other sort of answers the question, in an unrelated post, in fact I'm not even sure if the two are aware of one another (which is part of the fun of reading lj), but anyhow, they state in detail how their brain is weird. It's not. By the way. A lot of people I know think that way.
I think we use it as a means of apologizing for what we believe are our little quirks and idiosyncrasies. A way to protect oneself from unwanted criticism. The world let's face it can be brutal. One needs a few little words to throw out there to protect oneself from the onslaught.
How am I weird? I don't really have any wall hangings or photos or pictures on the walls of my apartment, outside of two posters hung in my bedroom. Don't know why really. Haven't found anything I want to hang on them. Or anything I wanted to spend money on in order to hang on them. How does this make me weird? Well, everyone else I've met in my life, outside of possibly my brother, hangs photos and pictures on walls like crazy. So I state I'm weird when I feel that I'm walking against the crowd, outside the window looking in, misunderstood, or just not quite fitting in - which is how others have "used" the word in relation to me.
Other ways in which I'm weird: My memory seems to be different. I can't remember multiplication tables, recite poetry from memory, or dialogue, or song lyrics. But I can tell you exactly what happened in King Lear, the motivations of the characters, describe the presentation I saw, the costumes, the set design, and staging. I won't be able to quote Buffy dialogue, but I can tell you the story in detail, why what happened did, what every characters motivations were, what they looked like, who played which role, the process behind the filming of it, but don't ask me to remember the names of the people in the credits.
If I interact with the material - I remember it. If I don't, I won't remember it. It's as simple as that. Some people seem to remember things the way a parrot does - they hear it once and never forget it. I only remember it if I really interact with the information, make it my own. Is this weird though? No, I've met quite a few people who seem to think the same way.
It depends on the company I keep I guess. Just like loving Buffy the Vampire Slayer is considered "weird" in one group but the norm in another. Or being a Trekkie may be weird in your home town, but isn't at a Trekkie Convention.
I'm weird about memes...I don't do most of them because I have no clue how to answer most of the questions posed. For example the book meme going around - there's only one question on that meme I can answer - okay maybe three. They are: 1) Have you ever fallen in love with a literary character? If so which ones? (2) What book are you reading now? 3) What was the last book you read? -But which books you'd want on a Desert Island or which book would you want to be in Farenheit 451? That I'm not sure I can answer - it would require limiting it to just one or five. And I'm moody when it comes to books, music, movies, and tv. Not to mention fickle. In short it depends on which day of the week, month, year you ask. But please don't hold me to my choice.
The answers?
1. Yes, I've fallen in love with literary characters. Too many to count. The one's who come to mind right now? Harry Dresden, Lymond, Sir John Smythe, Robin Hood, Hamlet, Frodo, ... How can one not fall in love with a literary character? It's one of the things I adore most about books and to be honest, the books I've loved the most are the ones that contained characters that I fell in love with. Did you know it is considered emotionally healthy to fall in love with a literary or fictional character? That it sends endorphins to the brain, makes one happy? Also falling in love with a character often will make the worste written book feel like a masterpiece, proving once and for all that say what you will about the importance of style, theme, etc - what makes a book succeed for a reader is the characters.
2. Current book? Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. Not loving it. But curious about why it is considered a cult fantasy novel, so sticking in there. Weird book or maybe it's just me? - It is written in a passive voice, first person - third removed. Most of the action is "summarized" and we don't actually see any of it, so much as hear about it after the fact or through innuendo.
3. Last book? Can't remember...I think it was Lamb. I tried Shadow of the Wind, got bored, and gave up on it. So sort of took a break from fiction and was mainly reading magazines.
Such as the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, and Harpers.
TV...weird here too. I like a broad assortment. These are the one's currently on the air.
Sci-fi:
1. Dresden Files
2. BSG
3. Heroes
4. Lost
5. The 4400
Serialized Drama:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Friday Night Lights
3. Veronica Mars
4. Gilmore Girls
5. Nip/Tuck
6. General Hospital
7. Brothers and Sisters
8. The L Word (except for this season which just does not appeal to me)
9. Weeds
Dramedy
1. Ugly Betty
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Boston Legal
Procedural
1. House
2. The Closer
3. The Dead Zone (on occassion) and Bones (on occassion)
Situation Comedy
1. 30 Rock
2. The Office
3. How I Met Your Mother (on occassion) and The Class (on occassion)
Reality Shows:
1. Project Runway
2. Top Chef (on occassion)
(will watch American Idol occassionally, but not frequently, since I find watching people sing incredibly boring. Watching people play music does very little for me. Love to listen to it, but just watching someone sit on stage and sing or play? Not so much. Musicals or music videos are different, because usually they aren't just standing there singing - they are acting or dancing at the same time - which is not only interesting it's far more difficult in my opinion.)
See weird eclectic tasts. Go figure. ;-)
On my flist today two people mention the word "weird" in their posts. The first asks why does everyone mention that they are "weird" in their lj's and if they are, how, exactly? The other sort of answers the question, in an unrelated post, in fact I'm not even sure if the two are aware of one another (which is part of the fun of reading lj), but anyhow, they state in detail how their brain is weird. It's not. By the way. A lot of people I know think that way.
I think we use it as a means of apologizing for what we believe are our little quirks and idiosyncrasies. A way to protect oneself from unwanted criticism. The world let's face it can be brutal. One needs a few little words to throw out there to protect oneself from the onslaught.
How am I weird? I don't really have any wall hangings or photos or pictures on the walls of my apartment, outside of two posters hung in my bedroom. Don't know why really. Haven't found anything I want to hang on them. Or anything I wanted to spend money on in order to hang on them. How does this make me weird? Well, everyone else I've met in my life, outside of possibly my brother, hangs photos and pictures on walls like crazy. So I state I'm weird when I feel that I'm walking against the crowd, outside the window looking in, misunderstood, or just not quite fitting in - which is how others have "used" the word in relation to me.
Other ways in which I'm weird: My memory seems to be different. I can't remember multiplication tables, recite poetry from memory, or dialogue, or song lyrics. But I can tell you exactly what happened in King Lear, the motivations of the characters, describe the presentation I saw, the costumes, the set design, and staging. I won't be able to quote Buffy dialogue, but I can tell you the story in detail, why what happened did, what every characters motivations were, what they looked like, who played which role, the process behind the filming of it, but don't ask me to remember the names of the people in the credits.
If I interact with the material - I remember it. If I don't, I won't remember it. It's as simple as that. Some people seem to remember things the way a parrot does - they hear it once and never forget it. I only remember it if I really interact with the information, make it my own. Is this weird though? No, I've met quite a few people who seem to think the same way.
It depends on the company I keep I guess. Just like loving Buffy the Vampire Slayer is considered "weird" in one group but the norm in another. Or being a Trekkie may be weird in your home town, but isn't at a Trekkie Convention.
I'm weird about memes...I don't do most of them because I have no clue how to answer most of the questions posed. For example the book meme going around - there's only one question on that meme I can answer - okay maybe three. They are: 1) Have you ever fallen in love with a literary character? If so which ones? (2) What book are you reading now? 3) What was the last book you read? -But which books you'd want on a Desert Island or which book would you want to be in Farenheit 451? That I'm not sure I can answer - it would require limiting it to just one or five. And I'm moody when it comes to books, music, movies, and tv. Not to mention fickle. In short it depends on which day of the week, month, year you ask. But please don't hold me to my choice.
The answers?
1. Yes, I've fallen in love with literary characters. Too many to count. The one's who come to mind right now? Harry Dresden, Lymond, Sir John Smythe, Robin Hood, Hamlet, Frodo, ... How can one not fall in love with a literary character? It's one of the things I adore most about books and to be honest, the books I've loved the most are the ones that contained characters that I fell in love with. Did you know it is considered emotionally healthy to fall in love with a literary or fictional character? That it sends endorphins to the brain, makes one happy? Also falling in love with a character often will make the worste written book feel like a masterpiece, proving once and for all that say what you will about the importance of style, theme, etc - what makes a book succeed for a reader is the characters.
2. Current book? Tam Lin by Pamela Dean. Not loving it. But curious about why it is considered a cult fantasy novel, so sticking in there. Weird book or maybe it's just me? - It is written in a passive voice, first person - third removed. Most of the action is "summarized" and we don't actually see any of it, so much as hear about it after the fact or through innuendo.
3. Last book? Can't remember...I think it was Lamb. I tried Shadow of the Wind, got bored, and gave up on it. So sort of took a break from fiction and was mainly reading magazines.
Such as the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, and Harpers.
TV...weird here too. I like a broad assortment. These are the one's currently on the air.
Sci-fi:
1. Dresden Files
2. BSG
3. Heroes
4. Lost
5. The 4400
Serialized Drama:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Friday Night Lights
3. Veronica Mars
4. Gilmore Girls
5. Nip/Tuck
6. General Hospital
7. Brothers and Sisters
8. The L Word (except for this season which just does not appeal to me)
9. Weeds
Dramedy
1. Ugly Betty
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Boston Legal
Procedural
1. House
2. The Closer
3. The Dead Zone (on occassion) and Bones (on occassion)
Situation Comedy
1. 30 Rock
2. The Office
3. How I Met Your Mother (on occassion) and The Class (on occassion)
Reality Shows:
1. Project Runway
2. Top Chef (on occassion)
(will watch American Idol occassionally, but not frequently, since I find watching people sing incredibly boring. Watching people play music does very little for me. Love to listen to it, but just watching someone sit on stage and sing or play? Not so much. Musicals or music videos are different, because usually they aren't just standing there singing - they are acting or dancing at the same time - which is not only interesting it's far more difficult in my opinion.)
See weird eclectic tasts. Go figure. ;-)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-03-04 10:27 pm (UTC)It's falling in love with a celeb that I don't quite understand...
no subject
Date: 2007-03-05 12:55 am (UTC)It's actually not that different. The process that is. Only one problem - the fictional view of the celebrity can be broken very easily. While not so much with a character. People never live up to how we picture them in our heads, I think. They disappoint us. Turn out to be different in some way. Since we don't know them, all we know is what they throw up there on the screen. Even their real height, weight, age, eye color and hair color can be a mystery. James Marsters is a perfect example.
I fell in love with Spike but not Marsters. The character interested me and still does. Marsters - I appreciate as an actor, but I don't know him and I'm well aware that what I see of him is nothing more or less than a well-rehearsed performance. The man is a consummate actor. Brilliant. Which means we will never know him. His accent, hair color, height, and age for a while were all lies= some people did not know until sometime around season 5 that the guy hailed from California, was almost 40, not 32, 5'6 or 5'8 not 6 foot, and had brown hair.
We knew more about Spike.
But either is healthy within moderation. But stalking the guy and sending him or his character love letters....not healthy.;-)
no subject
Date: 2007-03-05 10:51 am (UTC)Some fans get nuts and believe they know but actually they don't. As much as they reveal about themselves, they remain strangers.
I think I fall in love with literary characters, especially characters in books, because I know what's going on in their mind. I share their emotions and everything that make them true in a book and therefore real to me.
I understand having fantasies because someone famous is hot and charming (like me drooling over Hugh Jackman!)but falling in love? How can anyone become attached to someone they don't know?
no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 01:43 am (UTC)What I meant to say was the "emotions" or "process" is similar in that in each case, you feel greatly for someone or something that you are not actually interacting with. You are watching them, reading about them, listening to them - but they do not know you exist. They do not see you. You have never really *interacted* with them. If you've gotten their signature, or talked to them - you still don't know them - you know the persona they are showing you in that venue. You know more about them than they know about you and you have internalized a great deal of that information, translated it. Which is why there are so many different impressions of celebrities and fictional characters. Everyone picks up from the interviews, stories, etc - what appeals to them and ignores the rest. This isn't all that different than love at first sight or romantic love - when you've only just met the person and fallen for them.
The lovely thing about it - is that you probably won't meet the person, if it's a character - you never will - so you do not have to worry about your mental picture of that person or character being dashed on the rocks of reality. It's a vicarious sort of love, I think. A mental or cereberal one.
One of fantasy and imagination. Which is healthy - as long as it isn't taken to extreems - because it can inspire one to do things like paint, write, create. If that makes sense.