Why are Wildean wits so miserable in real life?
Perhaps cynicism is not a containable talent - and ends up extending to oneself.
Brian Eno once wrote in reply -
True, the only person I ever knew with a Wildean wit was deeply miserable and a
serious alcoholic. But what is this connection? Is it that they are not just acting
out the cynicism that forms the basis of wit, but showing how they really feel -
totally cynical? What makes for good (modernists/humorists) is an ability to slide
between frames of reference unexpectedly, and to misapportion value to them. One
assumes that this is something people choose to do, but perhaps there are people who
can't help doing it, and who really can't make any convincing decisions about the
relative value of their different possible reference frames.
that's just one view I suppose. Eno makes a good point.
over^and>out
laura anne katter
�To be modern is the only thing worth being nowadays.� Wilde
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>From: Paul Thomas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: Hypothesis & Oscar Wilde
>Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 13:19:40 -0700
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>Mod(ernist) = Aesthete + Narcissist + Existentialist (+ Hedonist?)
>
>~~Here's some epigrams of Oscar Wilde, the paramount aesthete and shameless
>self-promoter. Would Oscar have a Lambretta or a Vespa?
>
> "Fashion is what one wears oneself. What is unfashionable other people wear." ~~An I
>deal Husband
>
> "A mask tells us more than a face." ~~ Pen, Pencil and Poison
>
> "I am always thinking about myself and I expect other people to do the same." ~~ The
>Remarkable Rocket
>
> "It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances." ~~ The Picture of
>Dorian Gray
>
> "When people agree with me I always feel that I must be wrong." ~~ The Critic as
>Artist
>
> ~~Paul~~
>
>
>Get your FREE Email at http://mailcity.lycos.com
>Get your PERSONALIZED START PAGE at http://my.lycos.com
>___________________________________________________________
>T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16
>Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
------------------------------------------------------------
.
___________________________________________________________
T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16
Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics