[MD] Avatars, SOM and me

[Mary]

Hi John,

[John]
Because an autobiographical account of personal history can never be
objective and I think there is a high value to being objective.

I mean, there are many tales told where the past self is fictionalized and
"his" story is told by the impartial narrator, but that seems low quality to
me because the momentary "I" is never admitted.

On the other hand, the first person is also a sort of lie, because I don't
live in the past, I live in the now remembering the past and the past I is
now a him.
-----

No matter how hard we try, we can never be objective about ourselves.  
You are the sum of all those past people.

[John]
If its good enough, maybe I can make my mortgage payments for a change.
 That would be reward enough for me.
-----
Indeed.

[John]
She was asked about the good philanthropic works of the
rich and she replies "You want philanthropy?  Philanthropy is poor people
working to feed and serve the rich on wages that don't even make them a
living."
-----
I did see that documentary.  Thanks for reminding me of the quote.  Nothing
truer ever said.

[John]
A bit presumptive, don't you think?  Sure, she had a lot of influence on
where you are now, but she didn't create the world, she just adapted to it
the best she could.
-----
You are right.  3rd person sucks, along with that 4th, 5th, and 6th person I
used to be. :)  She was a smug, self-satisfied little brat.  Nowhere near
the top of the American heap, but far enough up to be unable to see the
bottom from there.  She had lessons to learn, and learned them in the most
direct and immediate way.  I just hope they were the right ones.

[John]
But you should be mad at her for every hangover you have to suffer.
-----
???  Missed that somewhere.  Never was much into substances that cause them,
and into no substances now. :)

[John]
I'm very interested in the relationship between the cost of housing and the
minimum wage.  
-----
The crux of the matter.  Hard to stand on your own two feet when you are
standing on quicksand.

In my case, the situation has vastly improved through a combination of
extreme good luck and extremely long hours at a job I was lucky to get, and
(by virtue of the long hours) intend to keep.  There is no other way I can
see, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity.  

Does that mean that the Social Level has beaten me into submission?

Best to you,
Mary

-----Original Message-----
From: moq_discuss-bounces at lists.moqtalk.org
[mailto:moq_discuss-bounces at lists.moqtalk.org] On Behalf Of John Carl
Sent: Sunday, January 10, 2010 12:24 PM
To: moq_discuss at moqtalk.org
Subject: Re: [MD] Avatars, SOM and me

Thanks for the complimentary words Mary, and even more for the questions...

On Sun, Jan 10, 2010 at 5:40 AM, Mary <marysonthego at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi John,
>
> You write wonderfully imaginative posts.  You are already a writer, and a
> good one.  I think the point of view you choose will be whatever lends
> itself to the telling of your story.  Is this an autobiography you have in
> mind?  Why not be straightforward and use first person, then?



Because an autobiographical account of personal history can never be
objective and I think there is a high value to being objective.

I mean, there are many tales told where the past self is fictionalized and
"his" story is told by the impartial narrator, but that seems low quality to
me because the momentary "I" is never admitted.

On the other hand, the first person is also a sort of lie, because I don't
live in the past, I live in the now remembering the past and the past I is
now a him.

Maybe I'll call it "Rememberance of things Past"... Or has that been taken?
 :)



>  If it's good
> enough, you can still make the top of the best-seller list without being a
> celebrity.  I agree with you about second person.  If not done carefully
it
> can come off as supercilious or presumptive.  What makes you think
everyone
> would make your choices?
>

If its good enough, maybe I can make my mortgage payments for a change.
 That would be reward enough for me.




> I have been thinking about writing a book too for the past 3 years.  Every
> since I came to my senses. The sheltered Daddy's girl who did everything
> right; put herself through college, honor student, successful career,
> friends, nice home, cars, etc., etc., ad nauseum until the day she met the
> Biological Level head-on in the form of her third husband.  Wow!  Boy do I
> have stories - and I think my perspective is unique.  I was not a wild
> child, but became a wild adult there for a while.  All it took was for
> Daddy
> to die on my 41st birthday.  This set a chain of events in motion that had
> probably been poised to happen all along.  You see, I happen to believe
> that
> _everything_ that happens to us is our own fault.
>
>
A bit presumptive, don't you think?  Sure, she had a lot of influence on
where you are now, but she didn't create the world, she just adapted to it
the best she could.

But you should be mad at her for every hangover you have to suffer.



A few years ago some woman journalist wrote a book, "Nickel and Dimed", I
> think it was called.  She went undercover to live the life of the poor in
> America, and attempted to show how hard even doing the smallest things to
> improve one's situation could be.  She didn't know the half of it.



There's a documentary out there Called The American Ruling Class and she is
interviewed at one part of the documentary.  She said a  very profound thing
in the documentary.  She was asked about the good philanthropic works of the
rich and she replies "You want philanthropy?  Philanthropy is poor people
working to feed and serve the rich on wages that don't even make them a
living."

I'm very interested in the relationship between the cost of housing and the
minimum wage.  Real Estate is the ultimate bedrock of what is value, and
yet, it seems like everybody has a right to exist somewhere on the planet
onto which they are born.   Nowadays, the artificial inflation of Real
Estate value has us in an interesting spot where it's better to be under
foreclosure than eviction.  Banks are too big and impersonal to deal with
all the encumbered property, whereas landlords are much more involved in
their property rights.  You can get away with not paying your mortgage for
months and months.


>  For
> instance, did you know that when you are on food stamps you can buy food,
> but not toilet paper or toothpaste?  I used to know the best place to get
> an
> inspection sticker without car insurance for the price of a six-pack of
> beer.



The advantages of being a local.  Lu knows where to get our car smogged and
the guy who does it has started a blog for fellow smog checkers to share
information about the State's policy of "bait cars".  IT strikes again!

And yes, I'm fully aware of food stamp rules.  I actually applied a good
while back but there's such a backlog I had to wait for months and months
before it came through.  On Christmas Eve, no less!

That was a merry Christmas.  Prime Rib for Dinner!


> This can be life-saving knowledge since there is absolutely no public
> transportation in Texas unless you happen to live in downtown Dallas.
>  There
> are plenty of cops looking at stickers as they pass you on the road,
> though.
> There's a whole underworld out there that most middle-class type people
> never see.  Human tragedies big and small are playing out daily.



I've become quite the student of the difference between class shame and
actual suffering survival, so far, most of what we poor have to suffer is
class shame, but the time comes when it could get tough.


Dallas, eh?  From last night's performance, it looks like your boys might
win the Superbowl this year, so there is that.

Take care,

John
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