Althouse: "She is hot in the way she is not detached, shows her emotions, seems often to say whatever comes into her mind..."

March 26, 2009

"She is hot in the way she is not detached, shows her emotions, seems often to say whatever comes into her mind..."

"...gets publicly and quickly agitated, yet at the same time in the midst of this hotness, keeps cooly her private self to herself, reveals only what she wants to reveal, does not make a complete exhibition of herself, and is, I believe, both calculated and spontaneous, if that’s possible, about her outbursts and her feuds. An example of that is her going teasingly public about her pending marriage yet being selectively guarded about her fiancée. That hot cold tension is consistent with her apparent openness to getting *married* on this site, where a fairly meaningless (to her) ceremony and a site on the blogosphere beget each other, and she can maintain her commitment to a certain measured trashing of public/private distinctions, such as in vouching for increased public kissing."

From an interesting comment on that Bloggingheads called "Love in the Time of Commenters." Written by one Itzik Basman, who — for good or ill — has partaken of the media philosophy of Marshall McLuhan.

19 comments:

Wince said...: Sounds familiar. Where have I heard this comment before? Hmmm...

Oh yea, I know!

She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child,
But she's always a woman to me

She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe
And she'll take what you give her, as long as it's free
Yeah, she steals like a thief
But she's always a woman to me

CHORUS:
Oh--she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh--and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always a woman to me
--Mhmm--

Bridge

CHORUS:
Oh--she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh--and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
And she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me
--Mhmm--; 3/26/09, 10:47 PM
BJM said...: "Marshall McLuhan, What yuh doin?"; 3/26/09, 10:55 PM
Chennaul said...: Gawd-that song is totally puke-ariffic!; 3/26/09, 11:08 PM
Anonymous said...: You've become the subject of scholarly analysis!; 3/26/09, 11:21 PM
Fen said...: hmmm. Gotta say he's on target.; 3/27/09, 12:03 AM
Eli Blake said...: And then there are those of us who for years have come here to be intellectually challenged and have never ruminated about whether Althouse is 'hot.'

Which I suspect is most commenters on here actually. If the blogwriter were a male, how many of the comments here would be substantively different? Very few, I wager.; 3/27/09, 12:34 AM
Anonymous said...: Eli -- You may be missing the point of the McLuhan reference.; 3/27/09, 1:06 AM
chuck b. said...: "calculated and spontaneous, if that’s possible, about her outbursts and her feuds"

Yeah, so you're like Michael Steele that way.

Or Pee Wee Herman. I meant to do that!; 3/27/09, 2:00 AM
blake said...: Seven--

Are you suggesting that Althouse is saying Itzik knows nothing of her work?

Or is the fact that she's referenced this scene indicative of the very thing he's discussing, though done in an ambiguous enough way that it reinforces his point by suggesting he's wrong.

Whoa. Meta.; 3/27/09, 5:19 AM
rhhardin said...: I took public kissing as the Althouse situation expressed as a public policy suggestion, a new figure of speech not cataloged in rhetorics.

If you now go out and look for it, you can find it all over politics in less winsome form.; 3/27/09, 5:21 AM
OhioAnne said...: Ann,

I think you should explore the "not wanting a wedding" as a blog post. The reactions could be interesting. How many would do what they did again if given the choice? How many wanted to do it in the first place?

Personally, the last thing I want to have to think about on such a day is whether the DJ showed up or not. I would opt for my fiancee, the minimum witnesses required by law and the officiator. (I have no kids, but, if I did, I would add them - especially if they could function as the witnesses.)

Then I would go on an extended honeymoon in a warm location.

Six months or later, I would have a party for the masses to thank them for the well wishes. Hopefully, it could double as a housewarming party.

I love my family, but the focus on the day should be on two becoming one - not on making some nameless relative happy about who they are seated next to on the occasion.

If I had the money for a platinum wedding, I would be funding a neighborhood center - not spending it on a one day event.

Good wishes on your union. The older I get, the more I appreciate the moments of happiness that we find when we can - and usually in the most unexpected places.; 3/27/09, 5:49 AM
Richard Lawrence Cohen said...: I would say he takes at least a bronze in the Understand Althouse event -- but then, if I'd placed higher myself, I might have lasted longer.

And I love the modesty of scholars. "Although I have not yet graced Sartre with a complete reading..."; 3/27/09, 9:17 AM
kjbe said...: She's a paradox, a puzzle, an anomaly and riddle...; 3/27/09, 10:08 AM
traditionalguy said...: Althouse seems to be a normal person in everyway. Maybe that is why she is hard to handle for some people who don't know any normal persons. (1)She is open to intelligent writing by others and produces it herself. (2)She appreciates the spontaneous display of human personality and nature that we call art.(3) She is courageous when fighting, with all intellectual tools available to her.(4) Then add in her occaisional sharing of personal Charm, and she is so normal that it is actually unfair to her competition. They should just shut up and enjoy her.; 3/27/09, 12:07 PM
Banff Innkeeper said...: I own and operate a small Inn in Banff. I am also a wedding planner and I have beautiful weekend wedding experiences at the Inn all the time. The beauty of having everyone under one roof together for a period of 48 hours brings everyone together in such a way that you can literally feel the love in the space. The ceremony certainly is a celebration of your love for one another, but the love felt among the guests is amazing. Especially if 2 people families are coming together for the first time, you have almost unlimited quality time with your guests and feel very connected with everyone. This generally does not happen at the large hall wedding in the city.

Enjoy Banff!

Lee O'Donnell
www.banffboutiqueinn.com; 3/27/09, 12:56 PM
lowercase said...: Do you have bad memories of your first wedding? I'd say forget it, but you didn't think you wanted a relationship either, so maybe you'd like it once you did it.

Even if it's at city hall you should at least blog the signing of the marriage license.

Honeymoons and bachelor parties are both relics from the days when people weren't supposed to have sex before marriage.; 3/27/09, 1:41 PM
former law student said...: She's a paradox, a puzzle, an anomaly and riddle...

She's a headache! She's an angel!
She's a girl!

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Ann Althouse?
How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?; 3/27/09, 2:17 PM
former law student said...: I disagree. Bachelor parties are relics from the days when people weren't supposed to have sex with other women after marriage.; 3/27/09, 2:18 PM
Richard Lawrence Cohen said...: Traditionalguy: Well said.; 3/28/09, 1:40 PM