In today’s episode, I subject myself to the scrutiny of the unwashed masses on a personals site. With annotations.
draughtsman
With such a profile name choice, will anyone realize the intimation that a certain kind of upper-middle class life always devolves into an inheritance drama?
My self-summary
iconoclast and horticulturalist
here for 30 days
For better or for worse, these probably are the two main things that define me. And if you’re going to make a big move like calling yourself an iconoclast, you should follow through. What better way than thumbing my nose at the ridiculous economic calculus of this website, which supposes I’m going to pay a ridiculous sum of money over many months to “find someone”. There’s another benefit: anyone who picks up on this has demonstrated his cognitive skills.
What I’m doing with my life
Being an original.
But isn’t everyone doing that?
I’m really good at
Whatever I need to be good at…within reason.
Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food
books: I’ve been a terrible reader recently, but did listen to the unabridged In Cold Blood this spring. In my youth I liked an assortment of classic bildungsromans from The Red and the Black to Look Homeward Angel to Siddhartha. Also liked critical theory like Stanley Fish.
movies: early Peter Greenaway, obviously…David Lynch, Todd Haynes, Francois Ozon, the usual indie stuff. The last movie I saw in a movie theater was Carol, which should give you fair warning about how ridiculously pretentious my tastes are. I’m pretty sure the last “blockbuster” I saw in a theater was the first Harry Potter.
music: formerly a britpop fanatic, I’m mostly listening to classical these days or obscure electronica
yes, warn them. You hope at this point that 80% of people have already skipped along to another profile
The six things I could never do without
I have to admit right now I’m finding the election a pretty lurid train wreck to follow, so one thing I couldn’t do without are political websites like The Hill, Politico, WP.com, etc.
On a typical Friday night I am
watering
honesty is important, right?
You should message me if
if you can’t stand small dogs…
But, in all seriousness, I’m terrible at marketing myself in this way, as you can see. I’m in every sense Paul Fussell’s Category X – outside the American class system, and by extension, the American belief system. I’m liberal about many political issues, but do not identify with either party. As gay guys go, my knowledge of celebrity and pop culture is almost non-existent. My main hobby is serious horticulture…and in fact that’s probably my least geriatric hobby! There are no fronts: you get what you see. I’m sure I’m not here for the reason most of you are, but that doesn’t mean we might not have something in common. I’m a ‘software engineer’ if what I do for a living is important to you.
The interesting thing is every review ever of Fussell’s guide to the American class system has been confounded by the real meaning of Category X. Some see it as simply a joke. Some think it no longer applies in today’s world, or is something radically different. Clearly though, the whole work is a clever farce and category X is just the cherry on top.
inchoative: a journal 