Althouse: "I’ve also never Googled myself. It wouldn’t occur to me to do so. It’s the same reason I don’t watch pornography."

November 3, 2015

"I’ve also never Googled myself. It wouldn’t occur to me to do so. It’s the same reason I don’t watch pornography."

"It’s not that I occupy some moral high ground. I just think: Down that road lies madness."

Says the memoirist Mary Karr, who also says "Narcissism is the bacterium infecting all bad writing."

15 comments:

chickelit said...: I once got some sage advice regarding narcissism from Rhythm and Balls of all people. He was writing under a different handle then: link; 11/3/15, 8:22 PM
MadisonMan said...: I haven't performed a websearch on myself -- I've done a websearch on other people who happen to share my name.

'Google' is not a verb, by the way. I'll go take an aspirin to counter the headache I have because of reading it that way. And get some kleenex to blow my nose.; 11/3/15, 8:31 PM
chickelit said...: I have web searched my published scientific work on Google Scholar to find out who read and cited my old work. I think many scientists do this.; 11/3/15, 8:36 PM
chuck said...: Who is Mary Karr? Oh, it's the NYTimes Magazine.; 11/3/15, 8:53 PM
Beldar said...: I'm at the opposite extreme, and I frankly recommend paying attention to one's Google footprint for identity-protection and related purposes. The easiest way, totally free and remarkably effective, is to set up a "Google Alerts" search on every variation of your name: Your name pops up online, Google emails you. Lots of false positives, but you can adjust the filters accordingly.; 11/3/15, 9:06 PM
Derp said...: As someone who reveals so much, is there a time that an interviewer has gone too far with you?
Oh, yeah, but I have no problem saying, ‘‘I’m not going to discuss that.’’ I would never talk about anybody’s penis. You can ask me about my relationship with David Wallace all you like; I’m not going to talk about his penis.
That’s one of the least interesting things about any man, really.
If only they knew that.

If only women could get their story straight!; 11/3/15, 9:26 PM
The Bergall said...: The Liars Club............well written, a troubling story; 11/3/15, 9:34 PM
Amexpat said...: 'Google' is not a verb, by the way.

Yes it is, although with a lowercase "G". If in doubt, you can google for verification.

Google's lawyers will say otherwise because they want to protect a brand name.; 11/3/15, 10:21 PM
Sebastian said...: "I’ve also never Googled myself. It wouldn’t occur to me to do so. It’s the same reason I don’t watch pornography."

The exact same reason? That is very odd.; 11/3/15, 10:55 PM
BN said...: "There's a lot of decent porn on the Internet, though. Even/especially the written stuff."

Wait! There's written stuff?; 11/4/15, 12:51 AM
BN said...: I googled myself once. A lot of stuff I guess I'd forgotten. Then I realized it wasn't me.; 11/4/15, 12:54 AM
Robert Cook said...: "'Google' is not a verb, by the way."

It has become one, if you hadn't noticed. It doesn't bother me, as "Google" is just a company name, and not a part of the english language with specific meaning and usage history. What really drives me crazy is when I see/hear/read the word "impact" used as a verb, or when someone says something like, "That was really impacful."

AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!

It's like cat claws on a blackboard to me.; 11/4/15, 8:13 AM
Wilbur said...: Of course "google" is a verb. Maybe you don't think it should be, but neither you nor I have veto control over language and usage.

The English language has always evolved, and rapidly so. We can shake our fist at the tide, but it still goes in and out.; 11/4/15, 11:16 AM
Lydia said...: Your bibliography in the back of the book contains a lot of classics, as well as some best sellers, like Lena Dunham’s ‘‘Not That Kind of Girl.’’ Did you read celebrity memoirs thinking that you might include them on such an august list?

It’s a list whose virtue is inclusion. How many great novels were there in the 19th century? Everybody will say there were thousands, but there really weren’t. As for the celebrities I included, I think all those people are real writers. It’s not the Real Housewives, you know? Those are all smart people. Lena Dunham went to Oberlin.

What a dumb comment re Dunham. Or is it ironic?; 11/4/15, 12:49 PM
Joe said...: But it did occur to her since she wrote about it.; 11/4/15, 11:27 PM

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