>None of this is to say that I, personally, think anyone has a moral or civic
>*obligation* to dress nicely, not at all. A lot of people may have other
>things on their minds, and more pressing concerns, and that's fine. But, I
>enjoy and appreciate seeing people who make an effort -- not specifically to
>dress fashionably or in any specific way, but ANY kind of effort at all to
>express any sort of aesthetic -- and am grateful for it. I think plenty of
>other people feel the same way.
As someone who was treated as a dumb blonde as a kid, who professer's preferred to make passes at while stringing me along making me think it was b/c i was smart, who had to deal with a chair who preferred to describe my looks as beautiful, rather than tell a student that she was lucky to be taking a class with the person in the department who'd won teaching awards _and_ prestigious fellowships, and who had to deal with deans that stared at my tits.... UGH!
I just don't get it. And no woj, it's not about "them". I don't care how much money someone has. If he thinks he looks nice and chinos and a golf shirt, I can't agree with Duncombe that he doesn't care about anyone. I don't know who you people hang out with, but I just don't see people looking that badly. I guess I just don't pay attention. Kinda like it was a shock to me to learn that Sex and the City was all about clothes and fashion, or so thought Jon Johanning. !! I didn't even notice! In a vague way, since each woman is arhetypal and her fashion reflects the character, but the specifics? I was watching the show, not the clothes?!
What really annoys me is that failure to say just exactly what is beautiful and what is ugly. I think it's incredibly subjective. I think the purple clothes and red hats women are wearing lately, just ugly, though they are usually dressed up. Ugly nonethless.
But no one every wants to details what it is that's ugly. Steve Dunscombe does and he lists things that I can't see are a problem. Chinos? Golf shirts?
SAme thing with the left pubs are ugly trope. I personally think LBO qualifies and it's not my subjective opinion, but one I could back up with reference to appropriate use of negative space, font types, font size/line spacing/line length. All of these things make for a better reading experience and make the newsletter enjoyable to read. As it is, it's painful.
Now, I've just broken all kinds of norms of propriety. I'd say I'd make Doug feel bad, but I doubt he'll feel bad and instead see me as an asshole.
But at least I can say exactly what's wrong with it and why and even explain why it's a newsletter that sends the message that the author doesn't care about the readers -- even though he obviously does!
Kelley