(no subject)

[sanura]

I seem to have turned procrastination into a sacred art. The Kreek Psalms and some Kodaly and other solemn items of perfection off the Landscape and Time album have been playing on repeat for hours, drowning out the movies playing right outside my room. There are candles everywhere, the occasional stick or cone of incense burning, as I lie on my bed and read self-righteous fantasy about a society trying to overcome ideals I'm finding unsubtly similar to issues relevant in current events. Ever so seldom do I switch books and make some progress with research for my Ling paper. I've managed to keep this up most of the day, conserving energy I would otherwise have to use in dealing with Gail's kids, an endeavor I believe I've likened before to dealing with Special Ops, and the likeness is even more striking now that they're visiting.

It was a reprieve taking Bryan to the airport this morning, but now all my brothers are gone. I have cousins instead. Well, when I finish this paper I will go jump on the trampoline with them.

Oh, and Roger sent me this, pertaining to the Sergei incident I told him about when he drove me home from the concert:

I wasn't very responsive to some of the things you said in the car -- mostly because I'm kind of slow on the uptake. Here is my considered opinion:

Flirting is fun. Enjoy it. Particularly in a performance environment, which is kind of structured, safe ... and adranalin filled. I have some happy memories of flirting before performances.

And ... tastes certainly differ, but I personally think that you are very flirtable. I think that many males would agree.

This is a bit strange to me, particularly since I wasn't actually flirting in any way; I really have no conception how to do such a thing even if I had the inclination. The idea seems to me both a little ridiculous and a little unethical, throwing around conventionalized indications of affection with no substance or intention behind them, and small or absent knowledge of the personality of the recipient. I'd like to think that every compliment and sign of goodwill I receive might be sincere and the result of an informed opinion, that I might deserve it. It's slightly insulting to me that people can give them out like candy, because I certainly don't. I don't know if I take people around me too seriously or what, but I apparently take them more seriously than they take themselves.

Comments

[music-dissident.livejournal.com]

Flirting is as unethical as sarcasm -- in other words it isn't unethical, just confusing, and best restricted to certain situations. Sarcasm is quite easy to pick up and use because its mechanism is simple, and flirting is something similar but far more oblique, and thus harder to pick up without the majickal intuitive interpersonal powers of doom.

[music-dissident.livejournal.com]

Excercises for identifying sarcasm/flirting.

Not sarcasm: "Jacob was just amazing on stage, don't you think?"
Sarcasm: "Jacob was just amazing on stage, don't you think?"

Not flirting: "You have a really great presence when you're on stage."
Flirting: "You have a really great presence when you're on stage."

1. Find the differences between the two identically written statements.
2. What changes occur between the two?
3. How do these changes alter the meanings of the statement?
4. Can you come up with a general rule for the type of difference and the change in meaning?

[sanura.livejournal.com]

How about you do them for me, and then tell me the answers? I have no ethical qualms or compunctions about cheating on a majickal interpersonal powers of doom quiz.