March 31, 2009

So k*thy said "It’s good to see the tone of this post turning to suggestions to just ignore him."

"I was reading this, last night, had started to post, but got interrupted. My initial response was in the voice of talking to a close friend. Saying with all the sincerity, clarity and love I could muster, 'Generally, folks are more worried about their own shit and really not at all that interested in yours. You’re not at the center of their universe, they are. Anyway, it’s all a bunch of snark. Really. Let it go.' Anyway, enjoy this instead."

("Centraal Station Antwerpen gaat uit zijn dak!" Translation?) AND: It occurs to me that this is exactly the sort of thing Andrew Sullivan frequently posts under the heading "Mental Health Break." Like this one, posted at 4:20 p.m. yesterday, just a few hours after he demonstrated — at my expense — his need for one. Oh, sorry, k*thy, I couldn't resist. I know. "Let it go." But... is that my approach to blogging? I don't think so. See that quote in the banner? "Althouse digs in." You know who tried to push me back with that observation, don't you? I'm not pushable back. Althouse digs in. By the way, my mother's stock response was "just ignore him." Usually, punched up with: "You'll only encourage him." And I know it's true. Sullivan digs in.
Bah! It will never end. Blog on, bloggers.

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Althouse: A haven of whimsy and besotted love.

TMink said...

We have a saying in the South.

Don't wrestle with a pig. You will just get dirty, and the pig enjoys it.

Trey

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

The video translates losely to "Raising the roof at Antwerp Central Station"...with The Sound of Music...the Flemish have a strange sense of humor...

Lyle said...

Andrew Sullivan, whom I love (I disagree with him profoundly most days now), is a grump. He's going to die before most States in America respect his relationship with his partner Aaron.

That's no excuse of course, but he's just a bitter man right now about a whole lot of things.

Ann Althouse said...

"Don't wrestle with a pig. You will just get dirty, and the pig enjoys it.''

Yes... but... I am the pig.

Henry said...

Love the video. And the Cary Grant video.

But let it go.

The worst blogging is bloggers blogging about each other. It's claustrophobic.

Althouse is generally a much bigger space than that. A spatious terminal for the intersection of ideas, you might say.

Pure sappiness is the best revenge.

Chip Ahoy said...

Ik kon vertellen dat was 100% spontane.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

Chip, no, I think it is a T-Mobile commercial.

Bissage said...

(1) [H]e's just a bitter man right now . . .

(2) First Yokel: I caught my wife in bed with my best friend.

Second Yokel: You bitter?

First Yokel: Yep. Bit him, too.

Buck Owens: Heh, heh, heh, heh. And now ladies and gentlemen, here’s Mr. Conway Twitty.

traditionalguy said...

The undisputed World Internet Pig Wrestling title goes to the Wisconsin Whiz who has never lost a match, except of course one to her new Tag-team mate Meade.

john said...

Really small potatoes compared to the mass outpouring of exuberance and pure joy on the other side of the globe.

bearbee said...

Why waste time and energy on minutia.

Everything ultimately boils down to self-interest.

Chip Ahoy said...

The following anecdote is totally on topic.

I hosted a dinner party a few weeks back and a gay guest was regaling us with his naturally occurring charm and humor. He conversationally pronounced in braggadocio tone that he had never touched a vagina not even once, never even seen one, as a matter of personal pride. To bring him down a notch another guest delivers a declarative in the form of interrogative, "You were born, weren't you?" Without any hesitation whatever he instantly snapped, "Yes, caesarian!" Proudly again as if he had prenatally planned it himself. His ready answer was so fast it cracked us all up.

Trooper York said...

"Yes... but... I am the pig."

Too many jokes....promised I would be good....aaaaarrrrrggggggghhhhh!!

Peter Hoh said...

I am the walrus.

And I like to watch the pig.

Go ahead and dig in.

I like Andrew Sullivan, but I think he has made a few mistakes here. I suspect that Sullivan is looking at Althouse as though she were a political (and somewhat partisan) blogger.

DaveW said...

Just ignore him. Or if you must respond, blog about it but don't link to him.

It seems to me to be simply childish attention seeking behavior with a real nasty edge on his part, and by responding it makes him feel important (as well as drives him traffic).

I watched him do this to Reynolds for I-don't-know-how-long before Glenn finally stopped responding at all. Nowadays I think if Reynolds feels the need to respond he just links to some other blogger that has said it well enough to suit him.

Randy said...

It's your blog so I'm all for you writing about whatever you want to write about. That's what makes it interesting after all. (Not every post interests me personally but that's to be expected.)

Thanks for the delightful clip, btw. Interesting to see how many bystanders joined in. There are other copies with different camera angles floating around, too.

traditionalguy said...

Hint to all Pig wrestlers: never ignore the other wrestler in the match, unless you are only a spectator. There will be only one victor in a pig wrestling match, and the other wrestler can't "be Present", he will be the Loser. There is no second place. Let the games begin.

Anonymous said...

Some people have to stir up contention and create pain to make sure that they are still in the world and connected to other people, even if that connection is negative.

I know it sounds strange, but some people are afraid to stand still and allow people to love them.

The Dude said...

What a marvelous video. Thanks for posting it - that really brightened up my afternoon.

Julie Andrews sure could sing, that's for sure.

Peter Hoh said...

Julie Andrews sure could sing, that's for sure.

I'm sure Simon Cowell would find something that he didn't like.

TMink said...

"Yes... but... I am the pig."

I know pigs, my father had a pet pig, pigs are friends of mine.

You Althouse, are no pig.

Trey

E Buzz said...

Sullivan cries for marriage, yet also cries for frequent anonymous unprotected gay sex.

And then he is Mr. Catholic, passing judgment from high upon the Moun, yet can't get his little mind around his glaring contradictions that he puts in writing.

What a putz.

BJM said...

I sent email to a Dutch speaking cousin and she sent me a translation from another link that makes more sense than "Central Station from his(or its) roof".

"VTM turn Central Station Antwerp on its head"

(VTM is a TV production company.)

Anonymous said...

Zie, een proofessorijn van laaw!

KCFleming said...

...from St. Andrew's Sermon on the Mons:

Cursed are those whom I irrationally disdain, for they shall be called sons of bitches.

Cursed are you straight people, for I shall insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you, because of I am an asshole.

Cursed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the wind.

Dylan said...

Along these same lines: Someone started a blog encouraging people to ignore Ann Althouse. Futile irony or a subtle statement on the way people react to Althouse?

Randy said...

According to a Dutch-speaking friend, VTM is running an American Idol-esque program called "The Search for Maria." Contestants are vying for the Julie Andrews role in a production. This was a promo for the series.

kjbe said...

Glad everyone enjoyed the video. Got it from an a.m. tweet and it seemed appropriate to pass it on.

About your digging in - some, such as yourself, may be more up for it than others. Me, not so much.

Carry on and thanks for the pig story. I'd forgotten that one.

Randy said...

ElcubanitoKC: I think this is the T-Mobile video you were thinking about. It was filmed in Liverpool Station in January. Great fun to watch as well.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

Randy, you are correct. I got the two confused. :)

David said...

Hey, my wife is going to Antwerp tomorrow. She would join right in something like this.

Moose said...

Jeebus.

Sully is such low hanging fruit (purely from a take-a-shot-perspective) that it's kinda hard to ignore him.

He's SO easy...

JAL said...

My yes, Trooper is on good behavior. How many days left?

Less than 2 weeks, yes?

Very fun video. Thought at first might one of those freeze enactments. Thanks k*thy and Prof.

Methadras said...

Little Miss Sullivan has become the crotchity old woman who is never satisfied with the lot she got in his life. She wails and gnashes her teeth at the injustice(s) of it all only to find that not only is she not the center of the universe, but is pissed that she was duped into thinking she was.

Andrew, sometimes things can be solved by talking them out, by articulating what you want vs. what you need or think you need. Most people don't agree with you because you are just wrong. Hurts doesn't it?

former law student said...

From an authoritative-soundng website, "going out one's roof" is just a crazy idiom for going crazy:

The expression uit zijn dak gaan ‘go crazy’ has as base form (2-a) with the
noun dak allowing various possessive determiners
(2-b).(2) a.UIT DAK GAAN b. Het [the] publiek [audience] ging [went] uit [out] zijn [his] dak. [roof] ‘The audience went crazy.

Unknown said...

Pogo wins the thread by a mile.

Moose said...

Aw, c'mon!!

"Low hanging fruit" is worth at least an honorable mention!!!

YOu fell for that faux poetry of his...