Tuesday, May 06, 2003

Loving the alien

The Alien. The Other. Why the appeal? What genetic imperative is at work here? Why am I drawn to this? A Freudian might postulate that my fascination with "aliens" is actually a sublimated fascination with the opposite sex. Or maybe just a secret fascination with human dynamics in general.

Human operating systems





Have you noticed how most people conform to a recognizable "template" or "operating system"? I meet people who are, in all respects except physical appearance, identical to countless others. I'm not saying they're subhuman zombies or selfless drones. But there's definitely something sobering about it. Are people really this easily conditioned? Or is it all just an act we play when interacting with each other, a kind of dehumanized neutrality?

Lastly but by no means leastly, why my smug conviction that I'm immune to it? It's more likely that I try quite desperately to blend in and just happen to fail. Or do I? It's unsettling: I have very little clue how I'm perceived. My intuition tells me this is a good thing.

People I can relate to

It's probably a pointless exercise, but I can name a few famous people I feel I certain kinship with. Don't laugh.

1.) William Burroughs. I'm really nothing like Burroughs. No bizarre life story, no consuming addictions (that I'm consciously aware of). I suppose I relate to Burroughs because he was iconoclastic; I've always had a problem with established "experts."

2.) David Bowie/Michael Stipe. Here I'm probably just flattering myself. Both are consummately creative, which is certainly something I strive for. And I have a weird respect for the way they handle their celebrity -- "weird" because I don't happen to be a celebrity. (I never claimed this made any sense.)

3.) Franz Kafka. But then again, anyone who's read and understood his books must feel precisely as I do.

Oh yeah -- and Robert Crumb. I'm self-obsessed and misanthropic, although probably more accessible (and slightly less neurotic) than Crumb.

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