I hate this kind of thing:
Do I have to explain why, I wonder?
From the Paris Review interview with Michel Houellebecq:
I hadn't seen any novel make the statement that entering the workforce was like entering the grave. That from then on, nothing happens and you have to pretend to be interested in your work. And, furthermore, that some people have a sex life and others don't just because some are more attractive than others. I wanted to acknowledge that if people don't have a sex life, it's not for some moral reason, it's just because they're ugly. Once you've said it, it sounds obvious, but I wanted to say it.
Well, for the first statement he makes there, I can say that he hasn't read the corporate horror of Thomas Ligotti and he really should, especially as he digs Lovecraft. Someone out there should point Houellebecq in Ligotti's direction.
For the part about the sex life – yes. Why can't people acknowledge the blatant discrimation – for which there is no possible recourse or solution – that occurs every day on the grounds of one's place in the attractive/ugly spectrum?
Other reasons that none of these nauseating articles will mention for you being single are:
Lack of cash.
Honesty/sincerity.
Inappropriate or otherworldly longing.
Track record.
Age.
Lack of fashionable clothes (admittedly, the article for men mentions "slobbiness" as a reason, though only in relation to not washing clothes).
Wearing glasses.
Having unusual interests.
Liking science fiction (see above).
Having an incurable disease.
And so on.
The more I think about it, the more it seems to me that U.G. Krishnamurti was correct in his assessment of what is generally referred to as "love":
There is nothing to your love: if you don’t get what you want, what happens to your, ‘I love you darling, dearie, honey bunch, shnookie putsie, sugar britches, petite shu-shu, sugar booger?’ If you don’t get what you want out of all that, what happens to your lovey-dovey?
U.G. should have done stand-up.
The only way to solve this controversy is for us actually to get in touch with Houellebecq and offer to take him out to Shinjuku.
We must tell this to Houellebecq.
Justin Isis writes:Not being in a relationship is a result of not doing enough street approaches
Justin Isis writes:If there was a robot that was much uglier than Houellebecq but consistently approached 50+ women on the street every day it would be in about 15 relationships before the end of the month. I know several people who are trying very hard to become that robot, and their results so far are not inconsiderable. Some of them are French, so it doesn’t depend on nation.
In the interests of scientific repeatability, everyone should have the same line, and should not be able to deviate from it. For instance, “I am a famous French author of pessimistic novels, mainly realistic, but with some exaggeration of tone and incident for imaginative and satirical effect, and also with some science fiction influence. Now, let us proceed directly to the nearest love hotel.”
Justin Isis writes:If I was Houellebecq I would approach random groups of 2-3 girls and ask for advice on where to shop for business casual clothing in the area. Then I would transition into a more personal line of conversation and continue this for maybe 10-15 minutes. Then I would mention that at the moment I was working on producing a film based on one of my novels, and when they expressed interest I’d be like “Come on, let’s go to the bookstore.” Once there I’d show them that I’d written L’extension du domaine de la lutte or whatever. I would then tell them I was having a party at my place later, except the party would turn out to be just me and Bernard-Henri Lévy. I would break out the alcohol and after about an hour would get Bernard-Henri to distract 2 of the girls while I took the 3rd to my room to show her “pictures of France”; we would return after about 25 minutes.
unarex writes:Texas is bigger than France and I got lots of pictures of it.
You know, I’ve been wracking my brains trying to write some lyrics about Jackie Chan, and you have very brilliantly provided me with a line:Jackie Chan, Jackie Chan, Jackie Chan, Jackie Chan.There’s no way you can say he is not the man.Jackie Chan, Jackie Chan, Jackie Chan, Jackie Chan.Whatever you say, at least he has a gameplan.
Well, at least Justin has a gameplan!
“I’m looking for a man-sized hot water bottle, and I wondered if you’d volunteer?”
From Permission magazine, I believe, back when there was still a goth/punk/industrial zine scene:”I can fit my hand to the bottom of a Pringles can!”also;”Nice boots… Let’s fuck!”
I suspect that I will never call anybody “shnookie putsie”. Nevertheless, I have to concede that love exists; I mean, I can find examples within my own family of couples who met in their teens and twenties and were still together in their old age, till death, and not under duress.
Originally posted by JohnRenard:From Permission magazine, I believe, back when there was still a goth/punk/industrial zine scene:”I can fit my hand to the bottom of a Pringles can!”also;”Nice boots… Let’s fuck!”Someone once advised me not to talk about dead babies all the time in such situations.Originally posted by lesoldatperdu:I suspect that I will never call anybody “shnookie putsie”. Nevertheless, I have to concede that love exists; I mean, I can find examples within my own family of couples who met in their teens and twenties and were still together in their old age, till death, and not under duress.Well, I’m not quite adamant:… unfortunately. Though almost.But it is always nice to see someone unimpressed by U.G. Krishnamurti. Even though I suspect I’m karmically linked to him.
Originally posted by quentinscrisp:Someone once advised me not to talk about dead babies all the time in such situations.It certainly wasn’t Alice Cooper.
She ain’t no Houellebecq Girl…
God how I hate that song… I just had to share the horror. :clown: That’s one sad fucking clown.
unarex writes:Hey I’ve influenced at least one of these vids! Ha ha. Spader rocks.
But it is always nice to see someone unimpressed by U.G. Krishnamurti. Even though I suspect I’m karmically linked to him.The problem with these Nietzschean analyses of human behaviour is that they underestimate the human capacity for insanity.Every so often a sexologist will put forward some rationalist theory; for instance, that men are attracted to breasts because they are suggestive of fertility, or that there is some link to the mammalian suckling reflex, or whatever. But then there are men who are obsessed with women’s shoes, or the image of a woman smoking, or countless other manias with no apparent link to procreation, child-rearing, or the advancement of humanity. If such things as coprophilia exist, I don’t see why “philo-philia”, or devotion for the sake of devotion, cannot also exist.
Anonymous writes:You can have a sex life, regardless of how ugly you are… provided you have money and prostitutes. It really has nothing to do with how ugly you are. I’ve seen plenty of ugly people in relationships. I think he just wanted to sound funny.
Originally posted by JohnRenard:She ain’t no Houellebecq Girl…Arf arf, as they say.Originally posted by anonymous:Hey I’ve influenced at least one of these vids! Ha ha. Spader rocks. Yes, I ended up taking another look at Sex, Lies and Sellotape. The clip seemed apropos.Originally posted by lesoldatperdu:Every so often a sexologist will put forward some rationalist theory; for instance, that men are attracted to breasts because they are suggestive of fertilityYes, I’ve sometimes wondered why it can’t be the other way around, that is, why the theory doesn’t state that arses are attractive because they look like breasts.Originally posted by lesoldatperdu: If such things as coprophilia exist, I don’t see why “philo-philia”, or devotion for the sake of devotion, cannot also exist.I suppose I know what the Krishnamurti answer to this would be – that philophilia is essentially selfish – but that leads me to what Larkin said about… what was it, “The hardest part of love is being selfish enough, having the blind persistence etc…. But then the unselfish part…. etc. Only the one selfish the wrong way round is ever wholly rebuffed…” So, I suppose if the selfishness is that of mutual philophilia, it probably works.Originally posted by anonymous:You can have a sex life, regardless of how ugly you are… provided you have money and prostitutes. It really has nothing to do with how ugly you are. I’ve seen plenty of ugly people in relationships. I think he just wanted to sound funny.Well, I wouldn’t say it has nothing to do with it. Also, there are two separate points here, one about being able to pay for sex and the other about relationships. Or I could do a joke about those not being separate points at all, if requested.Or maybe it’s not a joke.Anyway, the wrong kind of ugly gets you nowhere. Those who are ugly the wrong way round are always rebuffed.
Time to end the stigma:http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/“69% of girls didn’t want any further communication at all.”Etc.
While I find that video to be generally true, I must point out at least one flaw in their “experiment’s” methodology:Even as someone who takes medication for mental problems themselves, I find that I run into a lot of people who mention that they have the same very early on after meeting them, and they are almost always very self-centered and annoying people. Perhaps I just meet a lot of hypochondriacs, but to me now, saying that right after meeting someone means you are probably just some poseur asshole who wants to seem ‘edgy’, whatever that means. It’s funny though, as I was just thinking about the whole issue of society’s treatment of those with mental issues. Mischaracterization of problems such as schizophrenia is one of my touchy points. Also the treatment of the ill by the medical community: I was in a day treatment center when I was in high school because of my anxiety and depression. I wanted to leave because I thought that they weren’t doing me any good, but the counselors there kept telling my parents that I needed to stay in their program and that I wasn’t improving. As soon as our insurance coverage ran out they said that I was cured and showed me the door.
Originally posted by JohnRenard:As soon as our insurance coverage ran out they said that I was cured and showed me the door.Maybe you should be thankful. If you’d had a lot of money, you’d never have been cured.
http://www.kawaiinot.com/?p=128
Ah, did someone say “so it goes”?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psBTPZWDFgQNot a great track, but one suspects he might have read Vonnegut, too.
Zaph writes:”And so on.”Damn, now I have sehnsucht for Vonnegut too. Makes you realise you are alive though. Thank you Quentin.