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Shadow Idol, Prompt 14: Happy Red Day.
Feb. 14th, 2012 10:47 pmSomething that sets my heart a-beating, makes me flush in the cheeks, and gives me a feeling in the pit of my stomach?
That would be when someone thoroughly embarrasses me, accuses me of lying to get out of trouble, calls a meeting to deliver formal discipline, or otherwise engenders the feeling of "Aw, crap." in me. That's not a fun feeling at all, and if it happens at your workplace, the effects can be far-reaching. When it happens repeatedly, morale suffers. When it happens from a manager, despair sets in. And a few other emotions, too. But despair leads the pack pretty well.
Or that would be when someone is not just Wrong on the Internet, but head-deskingly, Worst-Person-In-The-World, ignorant of basic facts Wrong. Rage increases the heartbeat and bloodflow, after all. And when they're talking about your profession in such a way, the only thing stopping you from going full-out against them is the Internet Adage, "Don't feed the trolls." Or, put more colorfully,
But wait, Silv, say some. That's not what twitterpated is! It's the feeling of True Love when you see your Destined Soulmate. To which the cynic says "Are you sure that feeling is originating in your heart, and not somewhere lower in the anatomy?" (Voicing that thought will often get you hit. Especially from someone who believes in True Love. Usually gently, thankfully.) I don't doubt that some people are highly compatible - I see it, so it can't be untrue. But a long-term relationship isn't usually days upon days of feeling dreamy about your crush. It's days of getting by, of annoyances, of fights and making up, of lust meeting "Not tonight", of shared pain, of conflict, budgeting, and a hundred thousand other things than romantic feelings. It's love, but it's also things that aren't love. No relationship is ever the idealized version of the Past That Never Was, not without an explicit consent to go there and put on those roles. (And even then, I suspect there are days where the role-playing just doesn't click.)
Ah, but there's not just gloom and doom in the things that manipulate our heart rate and our emotions. Gustav Holst, for example - Mars, the Bringer of War, Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, the Song Without Words. The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down. The Imperial March. Lady Gaga. Michael Jackson. Jackson Pollack, oh, and Playboy and Playgirl, too. The arts can still make our feelings different...or emphasise the feelings that we already have. They're one of the few ways we have to express our emotions to others. And yet, we don't carve out time for their teaching, we remove their funding from our budgets, and we make it difficult for those who want to spend their time in the arts to make a living doing so. We force them to chase megastardom, fame, or widespread commercial sales of their art just to be able to pay the bills. Or they find someone in their life with a steady paycheck to take care of the bills, which allows them to practice their art.
And something like that, which draws out the color of the world and removes the background music, is the opposite of twitterpated. There's no romance or love there, only the fluttering of a heart watching other great hearts put aside their passions for the necessities of the real world.
(This has been an entry for Shadow Idol, prompt 14: Twitterpated. As much as it might be fun to join the game now, there are still several things in Real Life that would preclude playing the game with regularity.)
That would be when someone thoroughly embarrasses me, accuses me of lying to get out of trouble, calls a meeting to deliver formal discipline, or otherwise engenders the feeling of "Aw, crap." in me. That's not a fun feeling at all, and if it happens at your workplace, the effects can be far-reaching. When it happens repeatedly, morale suffers. When it happens from a manager, despair sets in. And a few other emotions, too. But despair leads the pack pretty well.
Or that would be when someone is not just Wrong on the Internet, but head-deskingly, Worst-Person-In-The-World, ignorant of basic facts Wrong. Rage increases the heartbeat and bloodflow, after all. And when they're talking about your profession in such a way, the only thing stopping you from going full-out against them is the Internet Adage, "Don't feed the trolls." Or, put more colorfully,
"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference." -- Attributed to Mark TwainAnd when you represent The Company, they really don't want you going out and posting things, regardless of whether they make you look good or bad. Best to let the Community Relations people handle that, they tell you. Even if the blockhead in question is an elected official or a candidate for such. Perhaps especially so.
But wait, Silv, say some. That's not what twitterpated is! It's the feeling of True Love when you see your Destined Soulmate. To which the cynic says "Are you sure that feeling is originating in your heart, and not somewhere lower in the anatomy?" (Voicing that thought will often get you hit. Especially from someone who believes in True Love. Usually gently, thankfully.) I don't doubt that some people are highly compatible - I see it, so it can't be untrue. But a long-term relationship isn't usually days upon days of feeling dreamy about your crush. It's days of getting by, of annoyances, of fights and making up, of lust meeting "Not tonight", of shared pain, of conflict, budgeting, and a hundred thousand other things than romantic feelings. It's love, but it's also things that aren't love. No relationship is ever the idealized version of the Past That Never Was, not without an explicit consent to go there and put on those roles. (And even then, I suspect there are days where the role-playing just doesn't click.)
Ah, but there's not just gloom and doom in the things that manipulate our heart rate and our emotions. Gustav Holst, for example - Mars, the Bringer of War, Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, the Song Without Words. The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down. The Imperial March. Lady Gaga. Michael Jackson. Jackson Pollack, oh, and Playboy and Playgirl, too. The arts can still make our feelings different...or emphasise the feelings that we already have. They're one of the few ways we have to express our emotions to others. And yet, we don't carve out time for their teaching, we remove their funding from our budgets, and we make it difficult for those who want to spend their time in the arts to make a living doing so. We force them to chase megastardom, fame, or widespread commercial sales of their art just to be able to pay the bills. Or they find someone in their life with a steady paycheck to take care of the bills, which allows them to practice their art.
And something like that, which draws out the color of the world and removes the background music, is the opposite of twitterpated. There's no romance or love there, only the fluttering of a heart watching other great hearts put aside their passions for the necessities of the real world.
(This has been an entry for Shadow Idol, prompt 14: Twitterpated. As much as it might be fun to join the game now, there are still several things in Real Life that would preclude playing the game with regularity.)
