tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post7191948811144839565..comments2023-12-20T04:18:41.617-06:00Comments on The Hunting of the Snark: The Princess Bride, Part IISusan of Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-84477517006914735212010-02-24T11:42:28.133-06:002010-02-24T11:42:28.133-06:00Susan of T.
BTW: on the subject of antique rings....Susan of T.<br /><br />BTW: on the subject of antique rings. I think its very easy to get them "sized" although I've never known what that entailed. presumably cutting and extending the ring. I looked at a ton of victorian and edwardian rings a few years ago, for fun, and the dealers all assured me they could be expanded to fit a normal finger. My own "engagement" ring is bakelite, and too small for me and quite ugly. But those can't be expanded.<br /><br />aimaiaimaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03956073425680585780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-90680536112440104022010-02-24T11:40:51.802-06:002010-02-24T11:40:51.802-06:00Susan of Texas,
You know, I think she would have...Susan of Texas, <br /><br />You know, I think she would have tried harder to marry up but I think she's even farther from dateable, or marriageable, by that type than we can possibly imagine. She's a hanger on, in a marginal position--her work at the Atlantic is the opposite of social or public. And she's old. By this time her highschool classmates and college friends are married and busy and they can't fix her up with anyone high powered. The marriage with Suderman is definitively the marriage of two mediocre lickspittles. Talk about settling! But the market is what the market is.<br /><br />aimaiaimaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03956073425680585780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-67933516698556701562010-02-24T09:37:51.701-06:002010-02-24T09:37:51.701-06:00KWillow, I was dying to buy an antique wedding rin...KWillow, I was dying to buy an antique wedding ring, but those Edwardian ladies were tiny and I'm 5-9. Rats!<br /><br />Aimai, I'm rather amazed that McArdle didn't try harder to marry up--like Elaine in Seinfeld, overcome with ambition and lust at the thought of JFK Jr. Were there no lesser Buckleys or Bushes to be had?Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-86855281873678246022010-02-24T08:07:30.261-06:002010-02-24T08:07:30.261-06:00Batocchio,
I like the locution, I don't find i...Batocchio,<br />I like the locution, I don't find it clunky at all. But the other thing Megan reminds me of was a book I saw, years ago--wish I'd bought a copy--it was black and white photographs and little paragraph interviews with the descendants and hangers on of wealthy wasp "old names." It was weird, and moving, and nauseating all at the same time. These were the collateral branches, or the failed younger sons' sons--sort of like the branch of the Forbes' that produced John Kerry. <br /><br />The girls fought to stay in the game, in high society, by selling their beauty, if any. Lots of attention was paid to getting the girls into the "right schools" and keeping them available, beautiful, and well dressed so they could marry back up the ladder. The boys were in a much more complicated place--lots of attention on the right schools and attending the right parties but if they couldn't get into the good law firms or marry wealth they knew they would eventually be disinvited *if they married down, or out.* One man in his forties said firmly that he would never get married because as a single man he would still be invited to "all the right places" but if he were dragging around an inappropriate wife from the wrong class and ethnic background she, and their children, would be a drag on him.<br /><br />Megan looks at that life as a hanger on and wishes it were hers.<br /><br />aimaiaimaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03956073425680585780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-34705565461694944432010-02-23T18:42:20.542-06:002010-02-23T18:42:20.542-06:00Also, I knew a Southern family so concerned with a...Also, I knew a Southern family so concerned with appearances they borrowed money and went into debt to keep up with the Davises. (That became more common this past decade.)Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-13439266117456143152010-02-23T18:39:31.951-06:002010-02-23T18:39:31.951-06:00aimai, I've toyed with the term "bourgeoi...aimai, I've toyed with the term "bourgeois authoritarianism," but it's clunky and I'm not sure it strictly applies here anyway. I think of that as more the Beltway Villager attitude that one takes stock of Beltway Conventional Wisdom, which is naturally always right, and one goes along with whatever those in power say – unless they're seen an outsiders and they get blow jobs, of course. But that's basic courtier/suck-up behavior, really. Aristocrats and their wannabes. Propriety is wielded as a weapon.<br /><br />I'd say McArdle is closer to Madame Bovary without the brains or romantic soul. She had her heart on getting at married at night by torchlight, as was the fashion – but had to settle for Zales.Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-15928872885526646312010-02-23T15:06:53.613-06:002010-02-23T15:06:53.613-06:00pretensions, not pretenses.pretensions, not pretenses.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03176801494652946278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-17607559966246871062010-02-23T15:05:54.619-06:002010-02-23T15:05:54.619-06:00So, Meg is a social climber with pretentious of be...So, Meg is a social climber with pretentious of being an intellectual, a wit, and of course a brilliant (and funny) writer who's talent need not follow mundane rules of spelling and grammar, let alone veracity. Being so superior and lofty *she* can shop at Zales or Walmart and not be tarnished with the blue-collar brush.<br /><br />Heh. We ( Husb. & I) got my engagement ring at an "Antique" store which specialized in estate sales. It was made in the 1930's and had a very pretty setting, tho ho-hum diamond. Beat THAT ArgleBargle!Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03176801494652946278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-67970494086414341752010-02-23T12:57:54.654-06:002010-02-23T12:57:54.654-06:00Megan's a really interesting example of someth...Megan's a really interesting example of something--I'm not quite sure what to call it--I think Bourdieu explored some aspects of her public life in his big book "Distinction" (IIRC) when he explored the ways in which class/social status was inherited and expressed even when the financial or economic underpinnings aren't continguous with it. <br /><br />In Megan's case her parents booted her up a class level through her expensive education and her own monkey like imitative genius. Now she's attempting to continue enacting an upper class life (its consumption patterns, entertainment, weddings, houses, travel, etc...) without the real financial base to do so. Making it all that much more interesting (or maybe I mean surreal) she is actually attempting to support her fragile class status by marketing it: selling herself as a kind of anthropologist or journalist of class and consumption to her blog/atlantic audience. <br /><br />She's like a Sally Quinn for losers: she thinks she commenting wittily on a technological and social scene of which she is Queen, to a readership of fawning friends and social equals. But her column really reads like the diary of a poor relation, a hanger on, endlessly reviewing the activities and social experiences of a class to which she doesn't really belong. <br /><br />Naturally her wedding would be one of the most painful moments for her bizzare social/class position to be worked out. Weddings are one of the major areas in which middle class financial and sexual anxiety are worked out publicly--debts to one's parents friends/relations need to be paid off (and also reaped in the form of return gifts) while class status vis a vis one's own school friends must be displayed. There's a space of play left for the unique and the personal, but for a would be upper class poseur like Megan its a very tiny space. She will want her wedding to stand out and be unique, but not tip over into kitsch or vulgar display--while she will be unable to afford the highest level of cost and the kind of display that is forgiveable because its upper class excess (like a restrained and elegant wedding in Greece, say, instead of a vulgar and over the top wedding in a faux greek palace in Brooklyn).<br /><br />aimaiaimaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03956073425680585780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-4204347087491552832010-02-23T12:28:10.502-06:002010-02-23T12:28:10.502-06:00Thanks, Susan, I think I get it. She basically wen...Thanks, Susan, I think I get it. She basically went to jewellery Wallmart (Costco, Target, Tesco, Carrefour ...) to buy her wedding rings. Now I know very little about these things, but having been at a few weddings, having witnessed their preparation and extrapolating from various other types of human interaction, I always thought the only option here is to have the rings custom made by a specialist craftsman to make them, you know, unique, special. Somehow picking out rings out of a catalogue just doesn't seem right.<br /><br />I really don't know where all that came from...<br /><br /><i>The other will adhere to tradition, seeing the event as admission to a club, with all its rank and privileges.</i><br />And how about when the only reason there is a formal wedding with all the bells and whistles are the parents? I've seen a lot of those, both where the couple goes along with the spectacle because they love they parents and when they do so out of fear of them. Has Our Lady of the Cheap Jewellery mention her parents' involvement at all?bulbulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14505565281151328789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-51319251165133961742010-02-23T12:08:57.261-06:002010-02-23T12:08:57.261-06:00Discretion is highly undervalued.Discretion is highly undervalued.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-27294397132117930452010-02-23T12:03:17.404-06:002010-02-23T12:03:17.404-06:00Perhaps there are two kinds of weddings--the kind ...Perhaps there are two kinds of weddings--the kind that are a celebration of the couple and the kind that are a celebration of the ritual. One kind will design their own rings or buy rainbow rings, get married in their back yard, or have <a href="http://www.fundeliver.com/theme-wedding-cake-toppers-c-1_7/princess-leia-and-hans-solo-cake-topper-custom-star-wars-theme-wedding-cake-topper-p-91" rel="nofollow">Princess Leia and Han Solo cake toppers</a>. The other will adhere to tradition, seeing the event as admission to a club, with all its rank and privileges.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-55080814001987820922010-02-23T11:50:36.494-06:002010-02-23T11:50:36.494-06:00Wonder what she makes of the "grooms cake'...Wonder what she makes of the "grooms cake'" and cake toppers? Are these, too, not subject to cultural revision for gay couples? Can't wait to see her new wedding themed column "uninformed comment" in which she discovers, reports on, and dismisses every "fad" of the wedding market. <br /><br />And then, oh the joy of hearing about her eventual pregnancy and/or adoption saga! I'm on the edge of my seat.<br /><br />aimaiaimaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03956073425680585780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-22224578422838435372010-02-23T11:47:55.757-06:002010-02-23T11:47:55.757-06:00i love the "shorter" commenters. I think...i love the "shorter" commenters. I think you should make it a regular feature.<br /><br />Also, I think the Zales thing is indicative of McCardle's real grasp of the market--high class/expensive/hand made wedding rings are *already* a niche market. And one that she apparently didn't fall into--she went to a definitional mass marketer, who caters to the mass taste. Its like going to the Olive Garden and declaring that "no real italians cook tripe" anymore because its not on the menu there. <br /><br />aimaiaimaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03956073425680585780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-51340443405238594712010-02-23T11:29:55.549-06:002010-02-23T11:29:55.549-06:00You mean Megan and her fiance didn't go to Jar...You mean Megan and her fiance didn't go to Jared?Tommykeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14751182125861177379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-88574495559476351112010-02-23T10:17:11.429-06:002010-02-23T10:17:11.429-06:00McArdle's argument is that there is no market ...McArdle's argument is that there is no market for specialized wedding rings, and when she went to buy her rings she didn't see specialized rings for gays and that the form of wedding rings was settled and done. No variation needed. But she went to Zales, which is very middle-market and aimed at the average consumer. <br /><br />I used to visit Zales every time I went to the mall to look at the semi-precious stones, which are my favorite. But I bought my wedding ring at a very large local jeweler because I wanted an ornately carved band.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-58445578822387631492010-02-23T09:14:45.077-06:002010-02-23T09:14:45.077-06:00Someone clue me in, please: what's wrong with ...Someone clue me in, please: what's wrong with Zales?bulbulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14505565281151328789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-91687452917292113552010-02-23T03:03:17.233-06:002010-02-23T03:03:17.233-06:00Also, it's a combination of laziness and arrog...Also, it's a combination of laziness and arrogance. Why bother with reality? Every worthwhile thought about how the world is or should be is obviously to be found in Cranium McArdle.Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-58492841932993579812010-02-23T02:59:53.467-06:002010-02-23T02:59:53.467-06:00Today, Megan McArdle discusses the most fascinatin...<i>Today, Megan McArdle discusses the most fascinating subject in the world, Megan McArdle.</i><br /><br />Shorter (Almost) Every McArdle Post Ever.Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-8921145875853986742010-02-22T20:38:09.962-06:002010-02-22T20:38:09.962-06:00And not only do her friends not buy such rings, bu...And not only do her friends not buy such rings, but they "never even considered them." So she just happens to know each and every ring that each and every one of her friends once considered buying?<br /><br />She never tires of arguing by anecdote. Why on earth does she still think she can get away with it without being roundly mocked?mwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08073128408237427704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-88259253378480161722010-02-22T14:46:01.183-06:002010-02-22T14:46:01.183-06:00I can't believe her responses--nobody she know...I can't believe her responses--nobody she knows buys such rings, so nobody will want them? How does she know?<br /><br />McArdle is elite when people discuss taste in diamond jewelry, but is middle class when people accuse her of being elite. Strange.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-51174069750195465472010-02-22T14:26:48.300-06:002010-02-22T14:26:48.300-06:00I think it's telling she felt the need to resp...I think it's telling she felt the need to respond to someone's shock that she were lower herself to the level of mere plebes like me and buy her gay wedding bands at Zales. My goodness, it's just that she didn't have the time to take the special trip to Tiffany's to be served champagne on a silver platter by someone wearing white cloves while the rings were being sized.Clever Pseudonymnoreply@blogger.com