Greetings, Fellow Philosophers!
It's been a long time since I posted, and now I have like three different topics in mind, so I'm trying to take it one at a time.
I'm really happy because I have very little homework due this week, which is great, because I didn't do jack useful over the weekend. ^.^ This hopefully means that I will a) Get more gaming in, b) get more drawing in and c) catch up on some readings.
More good news! I had a great time with my family while they were here and I was so glad that my family and friends got along so well.
The real reason I'm writing this post, besides a brief update for those I haven't talked to recently, is to discuss a highlight of the weekend: The Freakshowcomic Photoshoot.
My good friend, Lily and I were modeling for a website that her boyfriend runs, basically trying to get his business off the ground. The characters we were portraying count as "Jugalettes", that is clowns or jesters as conceptualized by Insane Clown Posse. Now, I'm not really into rap music of any type, and though I've listened to a couple songs, ICP doesn't do a whole lot for me, but it's been the inspiration of a lot of the Freakshow stuff, so I'm rolling with it.
The pictures came out incredibly well and we had a ton of fun, but it did bring up a few philosophical questions, especially in the 'Us' versus 'Almost everyone else" variety.
Not just anyone would paint their face up like a clown, go outside with a Jesters hat on and be goofy for the sake of a photo op. Wearing that makeup home to your Mundane housemates takes even more courage and it's to Lily's credit that she is so fearless.
Apparently, after one of the few times I went to her apartment, her housemates (who I swear, are drones) said to her: "Your friend is so completely different from you.", which pissed her off because 1) it's incredibly judgemental with no real basis, and 2) it's so incredibly WRONG.
Lily and I aren't all that different, we're just opposite sides of the same page.
So this post is for her and all the reasons I love her and all the ways we're the same and we click and we're different and complete each other.
1) We're both heavily into symbolism. For her, that manifests itself into antique keys, lighthouses and little hatchetmen. For me, that involves a lot of wings and crosses. We don't just wear things whether it's accessories or clothes, without there being some meaning behind it. This means that she is incredibly feminine and graceful with earth tones and a lot of white and blue. Sort of a mix between the classic poet type and a flower-child (without the pot). I'm just really spikey :P.
2) We have a lot of the same interests, especially in writing and history.
3) We both have a 'dare you to challenge me' attitude which is what this photoshoot and the ensuing events really exemplified. Her character's name is Jester A, and like I said, is painted up like a clown. My character is kind of the 'token goth chick' Lotus C, but despite the fact that we're diametric opposites when it comes to color schemes and style, the basis is the same. It's that 'march to your own beat' mentality that lots of anti-establishment emos would like to claim despite their commodified hot-topic conformity. And wow, did that sound vain. I think a big part of these characters personalities though is that they don't care what other people think of them.
This is something I wish more people had: Comfort with themselves. Be alright with who you are. more people end up self-destructive and all around hateful because of a dissonance within themselves. Lily knows who she is, and isn't afraid to let you know who that is too.
That takes strength because to let someone know something is to let them judge it (unless you're her housemates where you judge anyway). And not many people think past the surface. They aren't interested in the Why's, which is probably why history is such an unpopular subject.
So what I think my point is, I had a lot of fun yesterday because it gave me a new respect for people who, though not vain, are proud of who they are or at least so comfortable with it that they can go outside the norm to display it.
Oh, here's a pic of our characters, hopefully, the artist Freaky B is cool with me showing you.
I'll be posting a political post and a historiography post soon, either later today or tomorrow. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I know there wasn't a whole lot of 'thesis statement' going on here, I kind of forgot what I was trying to write about at the time I started, but I think you picked up on the moral of the story.
Go read some of my fellow philosophers blogs, they have some good stuff there.
~C
