KASS Cultural Commentary ... in the New York Times!

Lindsay Perigo's picture
Submitted by Lindsay Perigo on Thu, 2012-11-22 05:14

The Age of Irony-for-Irony's-Sake is one of pomowankery's most insidious contributions to the demise of civilisation. I am personally acquainted with several Ironists, who consider their Ironism to be a mark of sophistication. Their brains are contentless and they have no discernible reason for living other than to be "cool." Much of my Kindle book, and SOLO's Credo, is directed at their assault on sincerity. I am obliged to Peter Cresswell for drawing my attention to this delectable take-down of their pitiful ilk. Excerpt:

The ironic frame functions as a shield against criticism. The same goes for ironic living. Irony is the most self-defensive mode, as it allows a person to dodge responsibility for his or her choices, aesthetic and otherwise. To live ironically is to hide in public. It is flagrantly indirect, a form of subterfuge, which means etymologically to “secretly flee” (subter + fuge). Somehow, directness has become unbearable to us.

How did this happen? It stems in part from the belief that this generation has little to offer in terms of culture, that everything has already been done, or that serious commitment to any belief will eventually be subsumed by an opposing belief, rendering the first laughable at best and contemptible at worst. This kind of defensive living works as a pre-emptive surrender and takes the form of reaction rather than action.

Life in the Internet age has undoubtedly helped a certain ironic sensibility to flourish. An ethos can be disseminated quickly and widely through this medium. Our incapacity to deal with the things at hand is evident in our use of, and increasing reliance on, digital technology. Prioritizing what is remote over what is immediate, the virtual over the actual, we are absorbed in the public and private sphere by the little devices that take us elsewhere.

...


Damn

Michael Moeller's picture
Submitted by Michael Moeller on Sun, 2012-12-02 09:45.

Just checked Snopes. That article was a spoof:-(

Haahah

Jules Troy's picture
Submitted by Jules Troy on Sun, 2012-12-02 09:04.

Omfg that's the BEST!

I can think of more than a few people that could discover the secret handshake firsthand!

KASS Cultural Action

Michael Moeller's picture
Submitted by Michael Moeller on Sun, 2012-12-02 08:53.

Didn't know where to post this, but this had to be posted. Bikers' response to PETA protesters:

“They peed on me!!!” charged one activist. “They grabbed me, said I looked like I was French, started calling me ‘La Trene’ and duct taped me to a tree so they could pee on me all day!”

Still others claimed they were forced to eat hamburgers and hot dogs under duress. Those who resisted were allegedly held down while several bikers “farted on their heads.”
[...]
When confronted with the allegations of force-feeding the activist’s meat, using them as ad hoc latrines, leaving them incapacitated in fast food restaurant dumpsters, and ‘farting on their heads,’ the organizer declined to comment in detail. “That’s just our secret hand shake,” assured the organizer.

Read the whole thing, it's definitely worth it.

Alive and Real

Kyrel Zantonavitch's picture
Submitted by Kyrel Zantonavitch on Sun, 2012-12-02 02:13.

The most non-ironic -- and painfully sincere and earnest -- character I ever saw was the lead in the 1985 t'v' mini-series Anne of Green Gables. It really hurt to watch her. I never remotely seemed to be good enough.

Megan Follows, 17

Baade

Lindsay Perigo's picture
Submitted by Lindsay Perigo on Sun, 2012-11-25 22:03.

How does one not let it happen?

One would never know with you whether your inquiry were sincere or not, but on the off-chance that it is: the unattributed Ayn Rand quote you posted was the theme of my presentation at SOLOC2. You must have missed that one. It's in my book, too:

http://www.solopassion.com/nod...

Irony

Kiwiwit's picture
Submitted by Kiwiwit on Fri, 2012-11-23 03:09.

Luke - I think we all know a young lady who needs to read this.
Richard - the answer is, one succeeds and one doesn't apologise for it.

I Know a Young Lady Who Needs to Read This

Luke Setzer's picture
Submitted by Luke Setzer on Thu, 2012-11-22 14:52.

I know a young lady who needs to read this desperately. This is perfect timing. Thanks for posting it.

Welll..

Jules Troy's picture
Submitted by Jules Troy on Thu, 2012-11-22 10:38.

By having a really good sense of life and enjoying yourself. 

By accepting and loving who you are and always knowing that the world is always going to throw a curveball or two but like a kid that falls off his bike just dust yourself off and get back on it.  Enjoy the bikeride for what it is and where you are peddling it to!

How does one not let it happen?

Richard Goode's picture
Submitted by Richard Goode on Thu, 2012-11-22 10:21.

One does not have to let it happen.

How does one not let it happen?

Wow

Jules Troy's picture
Submitted by Jules Troy on Thu, 2012-11-22 08:04.

That is a gem, especially since it was in the New York Times!

Time for a cup of tea and a lie-down

Richard Goode's picture
Submitted by Richard Goode on Thu, 2012-11-22 06:37.

When people look back at their childhood or youth, their wistfulness comes from the memory, not of what their lives had been in those years, but of what life had then promised to be. The expectation of some undefinable splendor, of the unusual, the exciting, the great, is an attribute of youth - and the process of aging is the process of that expectation's gradual extinction. One does not have to let it happen.

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