"heady and abstract"
sissoula sent me an email. Included was a mysterious quote by someone who described this blog as "the most heady and abstract thing" s/he's ever seen. Huh. I admit I couldn't get the meaning at first. I thought I'd consult a dictionary, but I had to drive the family to a fine lamb-chops place through a fake snowstorm, so I figured there'd be plenty of time to investigate this later. Could it be an insult? Could it be that innocent passers-by were outraged by the content of this blog, never to return again? Well, later arrived and immediately turned into just and then recently and I was still trying to determine which dictionary to employ. Then I thought I'd ask sissoula and replied to her email with brief questions, despite knowing her net-cafe was closed on Sundays. Finally, I grabbed my secret weapon, Collins Gem 1967 edition, a pocket dix which can actually fit in one's pocket (mine, to be precise) and looked everything up. A-ha.
This is damn serious. As suspected, 'heady' is marked as both 'impetuous' (>vehement) and 'apt to intoxicate'. I thought, hell, this should come out clearly if I could see the comment in context. No such chance: sissoula is on leave until she returns. I felt I could possibly relate to 'heady' either way it was meant but 'abstract' just sounded too much. Way too much. 'Abstract' as opposed to what? 'Concrete'? I'd surely not want to end up in the bottom of the lake. There's no lake? Wrong. There is a lake. There's always been a lake. Darn, I just had to find a way to rephrase this whole blog business. To make things worse, I pasted the quote on the masthead. Then I added some more gryphs. Right.
Having slept on it, everything comes out much more clearly now. There's a number of things we should do to make sure this intellectually intoxicating blog manages to transcend the abstractedness brought about by the inability of three great minds to focus on points along a certain curve. Did I mention I personally like curves? I should have. There's nothing quite as boring as a straight line. So. Keep your eyes on the next few posts. It's going to be like a SOTB in installments. Sorta.
posted by dystropoppygus at 8:40 pm
2 Comments:
My Longman has two entries that may offer further help in the quest for understanding:
1. a heady smell, drink, etc. is pleasantly strong and seems to affect your senses (e.g. a heady aroma, a heady combination of wine and brandy);
2. very exciting in a way that makes you feel as if you can do anything you want to (e.g. the heady atmosphere of the early sixties).
My Greek dic says “methystikos,” but that’s only the half of it. Personally, I do feel driven to abstraction by this blog, but I think the comment referred mostly to the desire to impose a linear narrative on what is essentially a non-linear form. Either that, or the three of us are more intoxicating (intoxicated?) than anybody realized.
Wow, we got our first song dedication AND a theme song! Thanks so much, boys. As for me, I followed in some reliable footsteps, and I slept on it. But I'm still confused. Is there a lake or is there not? I'll have to check the satellite photos...
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