Mortification of the Flesh
Oct. 21st, 2010 04:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rinueI have a love-hate relationship with the blog Apartment Therapy. At its best, it offers me beautiful pictures of spaces in which I like to imagine spending time. At its worst, it espouses decluttering, not in the moderate sense of throwing out trash or putting property in its proper place (as stuff and not a cage), but with wide-eyed zeal that labels books as dust collectors and fervently "purges" every few months regardless of whether, you know, there's a problem to be solved.* God save me from the new asceticism, where we're all vegans who don't read books. Kellogg called for bland food and no sex, so I know this strain of American society has always existed, but I find that horrible rather than reassuring.
As part of the move, Ciro recovered several boxes from Ed's attic, containing mostly cookbooks (hooray!) but also odds and ends his parents thought were valuable, by which I mean glass swans and ceramic thimbles from the Franklin Mint (which we will send to his grandmother, and serves her right). The height of absurdity to Ciro: extremely miniature versions of U.S. historic coins, and a loupe with which to look at them. The culmination of my hopes and dreams: same. It is coins. They are very small.
Further investigation reveals they were minted four days after I was born. Happy birthday, Rome. Love, the universe. Ciro says I must not touch them or they will tarnish, but of course I plan to touch them. Every day.
* It's very consumerist. "Get rid of your stuff so you have space for more stuff." "Trash your cleaning products and buy new cleaning products." There's also a strain of new New Age "make room in your house for new ideas." Because artists and creative types are known for their productive lack of clutter. It's about purity. If you cleaned your closet and did the master cleanse in the same week, you'd probably be able to astrally project.
The spellcheck refused to recognize either "decluttering" or "loupe," and the other day I ran into a program that wouldn't accept "lachrymose," among other things. I dislike that dictionaries have stopped being a place one looks for histories and nuances, and have become Scrabblized: This word isn't in here and doesn't exist. Oh I assure you it does.
As part of the move, Ciro recovered several boxes from Ed's attic, containing mostly cookbooks (hooray!) but also odds and ends his parents thought were valuable, by which I mean glass swans and ceramic thimbles from the Franklin Mint (which we will send to his grandmother, and serves her right). The height of absurdity to Ciro: extremely miniature versions of U.S. historic coins, and a loupe with which to look at them. The culmination of my hopes and dreams: same. It is coins. They are very small.
Further investigation reveals they were minted four days after I was born. Happy birthday, Rome. Love, the universe. Ciro says I must not touch them or they will tarnish, but of course I plan to touch them. Every day.
* It's very consumerist. "Get rid of your stuff so you have space for more stuff." "Trash your cleaning products and buy new cleaning products." There's also a strain of new New Age "make room in your house for new ideas." Because artists and creative types are known for their productive lack of clutter. It's about purity. If you cleaned your closet and did the master cleanse in the same week, you'd probably be able to astrally project.
The spellcheck refused to recognize either "decluttering" or "loupe," and the other day I ran into a program that wouldn't accept "lachrymose," among other things. I dislike that dictionaries have stopped being a place one looks for histories and nuances, and have become Scrabblized: This word isn't in here and doesn't exist. Oh I assure you it does.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-12-27 04:07 am (UTC)Anyhow, thank you. As always, you make a girl feel normal and sane just when she's starting to question it.
Love ya.