Thursday, February 23, 2006

Did You Ever Wonder How Women End Up Falling In Love With Death Row Inmates?

I know I have. And now I have the answer. Now, I'm not saying I've fallen in love with anybody, because I'm not totally stupid. What I am saying, though, is that it's really easy to fall in like with somebody when you only know what they write to you. Writing is fucking powerful stuff. (When handled properly, of course.) Ok, must go read some Roland Barthes now to remember that the reader is the one who controls the text and that, since that is the case, that I am an idiot.

8 comments:

BrightStar (B*) said...

I guess I don't really understand why you suggest it's a problem to fall in like with someone through writing.

I hope the date is enjoyable!

Michael LeVan said...

or the blogs.

Dr. Crazy said...

Not a problem to fall in like with somebody through writing, but very important to confirm whether that is one's own construction of the person (remember: I read for a living, and thus I have fallen in like with many a fictional character) or whether that is a good assessment of who the person actually is. Here's what he wrote to make me post this, actually, because i'm too much of a spaz not to let people see it (though I probably shouldn't put this on the internets, but in comments I feel like it's buried at least a little bit):

"Yes, I have the impression that you're not shy. In fact, you seem quite bold. I find that trait endearing along with your fabulous sense of humor, your high IQ, and your generally good taste in music. You're pretty kick-ass. What is a guy not to like?"

What indeed? See, flattery can get anybody anywhere with Dr. Crazy. It's really quite pathetic.

Dr. Crazy said...

Oh wow. And this morning he threatened to start ending his sentences with prepositions in order to torment me for not being nice to him. People, i don't remember the last time I spoke to a non-professor who knew what a preposition WAS. Oh, love the Catholic. I hope I don't find him repulsive when I meet him.

J.K.F. said...

go, Catholic guy, go!

I get this completely. I met a guy at a wedding who I got along fine with, we went for a nice hike together, everything was okay. Then he went back to his home, two time zones away. And the emails began. That's where the love started, yes it did. So. I married him.

Though it IS different being with someone than during the stage where you check your email every 4 seconds to see if there's something new... the truth is, most people really ARE how they write. I think.

Have fun!

drsqueeze said...

coyote's links are bogus.

bitchphd said...

Don't be so cynical, Dr. C. (I know you're not, really.) I am a firm believer in falling in love with someone's writing first. Worked with my husband, worked with my boyfriend. People are a lot more honest when they write.

And yeah, Barthes, whatever.

Hope the date is fun!

helenesch said...

How exciting! I have definitely found myself attracted to people through their writing (and sometimes not even writing directed to me). Hope you have a nice evening...