Wednesday, February 4, 2009

"If The Shoe Fits" or " Is Custom Made"

Criticism; to accurately describe the negative. Irony; an interpretation of something negative to accurately share details with a dash of dry wit. Snark; a lazy and referential stab as a knowing reference sent to inflame or injury. "If you don't have anything nice to say about anyone, come sit by me dear." My favorite quote by Miss Alice Roosevelt Longworth. She would have been my modern day best friend if not considered the trend setter of snark in her time.
Snark: The title of a new book by David Denby and a fascinating interview on Michael Krasnys' Forum show this week is worthy of your attention, really. Why take heart?
Since my personality is to throw gas on the fire whenever necessary or seemingly in need of a fuel boost sometimes just to watch the carnage burn, free throwing anguish metaphorically speaking is part and parcel of what i love about the blogshere. Well it just seems to go hand in hand..this blog is a natural extension of an itch that never goes away.
To quote David Denby “The trouble with today’s snarky pipsqueaks who break off a sentence or two, or who write a couple of mean paragraphs,” Denby notes, in a snarky aside of his own, “is that they don’t go far enough; they don’t have a coherent view of life. Spinning around in the media from moment to moment, they don’t stand for anything, push for anything; they’re mere opportunists without dedication, and they don’t win any victories.” Well that sums it up for me. If the shoe fits, I suppose I shall wear it. What Denby’s really talking about is consciousness, the idea that writers, thinkers, commentators ought to have a point of view. This seems obvious enough, but it tends to get lost in the noise of constant conversation, all the commenting and cross-posting, the tiny feuds and insignificant disputes. I do agree with Mr. Denby, we don't want to legislate the web but the web has liberated the dark side.
How to teach grace or good on-line manners to people like yours truly? Good Luck.

Time to lob the rhetorical question, what would the written word be without William Shakespeare and his sense of snark? Another saucy snarktress Maureen Dowd goddess of snark in my book and a bright spot in the blight of editorialized media. My favorite author Jack London named his boat "The Snark" Okay okay sure my standards have on occasion slummed but the pejorative makes my suburban subsistence less of a snore and a bit more palatable. You wouldn't be here reading on if it were any other way. ( All four of you.)

Where does one draw the line with the teasing? Pointing to the flaws of local government is taunting but isn't this part of the public discourse? Our local political scene sorely lacks any critical eye. The emperor has no clothes analogy taken to the village affect.

So wtf ? Is it wrong to be snarky ?

Not gonna win any points for Miss Congeniality. Lost that hope long ago.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the quote today, Dorthy Parker is my icon for all things smart and flirty. Loved your post today!

Anonymous said...

It is a problem for the community if one only pokes fun at the helpless, but because The Buzz seems to be hell-bent on attacking the powers that bee here in Los Gatos a little snarky helps your cause. I think you may have more than four readers btw.