Date: Thu, 14 Nov 1996 22:16:43 EST From: last tink on the left? Subject: INT: EmJay: A Muse On "Blatant Self Promotion" (for those who may wonder...this is just a relaxation with words, so abandon all reason and follow the bouncing pixels...) [in neverending avoidance of having to think about actual work and the other fearful inanities of so-called real life, let us quickly consider...(fair warning, he's been at the dictionary AND the thesaurus again... so he's loaded!)] Blatant Self Promotion? An intriguing phrase, lightly colored with a cultural veneer of knots and hairshirts, suggesting something...shall we venture in pursuit of it, little knowing where the path may lead, but trusting that it should come to an end somewhere? Very well, onward, good fingers, onward... Let us, as the saying goes, begin at the beginning. Blatant! Ah, yes, that beast... The blatant beast of fable and fiction, I believe, was quite concerned with learned stories and other wit, demanding riddles be solved, tales be told, and a trifle of poetry for desert? So quickly we have arrived at literary referents! Perhaps we are among writers...and readers? What an august company! (no, this is november, no longer august, just falling...:) [falling under the influence of bookish lore, we find] blatant, the OAD claims, is simply very obvious and unashamed. Or, off course, there's my thought...blatant probably is an adjective meaning possessed of many blats...as produced by tongues, flooglehorns, and other instruments of humorous intent? with a blat blat here and a blat blat there, here a blat, there a blat, everywhere a blat blat... Or perhaps, in truth, we are talking about the blat ant. This little insect, with a noise quite out of scale to its size, has been known to make large trucks jump and air horns faint as it blasts its "BLAT" from underfoot... But enough about the beginning. Let us tap our nose and raise a victory sign, moving on to the next word... Self! In some ways, naturally, all writing, even these meandering scribbles lacking great meaning and mostly insensible, are tiny shards of self, roughhewn or polished fine, laid out for all to see... a quick dip in the quotation pool leaves this on our potato chip... "The test of a civilized person is first self-awareness, and then depth after depth of sincerity in self-confrontation." Clarence Day, "A Wild Polish Hero," _The Crow's Nest_ (1921) hum? And when you present yourself to others, though the mirror be ever so dull or bright, you may see yourself and cower before that revelation... let's see what the OAD says... "1. a person as an individual 2. a person's special nature...former personality 3. one's own interests or advantage or pleasure..." So the self is the person, that inner being which is the real core of ourselves underneath all the masks and temporary postures? And of course, that person has interests, even pleasures... "adj? of the same color or material as that used for the whole" so the self could also be the particular expression of the whole which happens to be found here? the universe in a particular? how very intriguing, that english should have such insights in it... or, perhaps, prefix? "meaning of or to or done by oneself or itself..." What a delightful sentence for a grammarian! meaning of or to or done... indeed. the clash of levels of abstraction is almost painfully loud, but try to punctuate that definition for clarity... Where were we? Oh, that's right, word one and word two, probably on the nose and ready for baptism. It seems quite apparent that a blatant self is an obvious and unashamed self. Probably one that has spent adequate time dealing with all the difficulties of growing up, has moved past the various freudian fixations and washed their hands after flushing, perhaps has even put the lid down on that part of their life? Moved rapidly up the scale to self-actualization, primal screams freely ringing off the walls and echoing out into the greater universe which is our other self (for without that which is NOT self, can one find one's self? or does self dissolve like sugar into a cup of hot water, invisible but sweet? tea, anyone?) and moving right along to the third and final word in this our phrase of amusement, we find: Promotion... [shall we skip lightly past the notion of pro motion? Moving For, or being paid for moving, or at least being professional? actually, what is a fessional...is it related to a fusional? or is that con fucious? skip to...skip to...skip to...] OAD? promoting, being promoted?...go fish... and here we stumble over "Promote, promoted, promoting...1. to raise (a person) to a higher rank or office 2. to initiate or help the progress of, _promote friendship between nations_" So when we raise an obvious, unashamed person to a higher rank or office (e.g., by voting for them in a friendly display of camaraderie and honor), we are promoting that blatant self, that well-known persona of screen and bits, that writer among writers--you. We will seat you upon a throne of attention, let you bask in the light of adulation, and crown you your self. Don't forget the traditional garb of royalty--the price may be your dignity...or at least a draft on that lofty pedestal... Or...to initiate or help the progress of obvious, unashamed pleasure (interesting? of course!)...well, initiation is a time-honored tradition for making sure that things start well and continue better. Helping the progress of the self towards that unseen future which we always wend our way towards is such a generous gesture, reaching out and upward... So from the early appearance of harshness that "blatant self promotion" may have conveyed, we have found our way to the inner truth that this phrase indicates nothing more or less than the blissful sharing of help and support for the continued growth and expansion of individuals. and we thank you, for that encomium given to our efforts. may your words be always enlightened tink