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Published: 2010-02-15 23:16:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 1289; Favourites: 3; Downloads: 9
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I'd suppose that anyone curious enough to probe this entry is probably at least somewhat familiar with the meme whose title I've necessarily appropriated for this post. I'm adamantly refusing to copy and paste the text proper into this entry - as I hope to make quite clear soon enough, doing so would be completely antithetical to my own opinion - but the gist of it, for those fortunate few who haven't yet had it foisted into their inbox, is that a true friend is going to perpetuate the meme. The thrust continues on as such: there is a preponderance of starved vampires waiting in the wings of your friend list, steadfastly sequestered off in their own dark sliver of the world until, serendipitously, you (their fresh blood) arrive! And once these leeches of literature, these avaricious administrators of the abattoirs of art, have discerned in you a noble spirit worthy of their sinister attentions, they ready their abominable salvo, and then... God, and then...Well, s'far as i can tell, then they'd really rather like a bit of feedback and maybe the chance to meet some new folks, but be ever vigilant! Beneath this beguiling guise Joe Everydood and Jane Averagefolk surely lies a beast infernal, ever poised to sap your human dignity and artistic integrity, right into their pitch-black veins!
Ah, but - God is too mercy - there is a ward that the tender soul might erect against these abominations! To snuff out their dastardly deceit, and thus determine who among your ranks could be considered a friend true in heart, you need only forsake the utmost joy of an artist! Post a meme, dispersed happily throughout the blogosphere, and - lo and behold - if you've a friend who is meritoriously a friend, he shall readily postpone any semblance of art, or indeed any insight whatsoever into his own unique and delightful disposition, to copy and paste a paragraph that has been copy-pasted ad infinitum ad nauseam.
Now that's a very fun and very obtuse volley of satire, isn't it? I am much afraid that while I have channeled the passionate indignation which inspired it, I have also unfortunately obscured the thesis. Burdened by such a doubt, I addend a reiteration, one hopefully replete with brevity and clarity of thought: I find the idea that a meme, one which requires absolutely no enthusiasm, incisiveness or input whatsoever on the part of the poster, is the most deplorable and repugnant means of proving that you're a good friend to someone. It's a slap in the face of the ideals of both art and friendship, ideals which ostensibly serve as the bedrock for a site like deviantART.
To wit: art is an extension of, as well as an expression of, the inner self - the spirit, if you're so spiritually inclined; or else the mind and all its own wonders if you traffic in a more terrestrial worldview. A journal doesn't need to be replete with the avant-garde, if you're coming to suspect as much of my accusations. It does not need to be universally compelling. Hell, if your journal's amusing enough, it doesn't even have to furnish a point. But there must be more of you, or whatever homunculus you've cobbled together to oversee your digital domain, present in an entry than the oxymoronic stoic indignation unilaterally evinced by that godforsaken meme. We are here because you are artists, and because I have the pretenses of artistry - and our journals should in some way reflect our relations to our crafts, or at least regale us with tales of fettered passions and those totally awesome times where we set (nouns) on fire and we had to watch (prepositions and nouns) and you should've just seen it, it was incredible. A journal is a window, eloquently opened. Please grant us a looksee at something more than sterile bullshit bucked from victim to victim.
As for proving friendship? More bullshit. Double bullshit. Double dog bullshit - which winds up as bulldog shit, maybe? I don't know where I'm going with that.
I do know that a friendship is expressed through more than a goddamn meme. You test a friend (accidentally and subconsciously, one hopes) in times of crisis and times of need. You test a friend on a rainy day, or when you've just broken up with someone, or your private jet is plummeting into the Bermuda Triangle and you're on the brink of the "I love you, dood" moment. You do not test a friend - fruitfully - when you've got a few minutes to slap a stranger's sentences up, and you certainly don't test a friend on their ability to pull off a slick right-click and then pass the buck. That's just tacky.
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Comments: 33
Forcedlactationlover [2015-12-06 03:07:06 +0000 UTC]
Fine satire! It's 'memes' like this one that have made me long since decide to have no 'meme'-ory at all.
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Fuiron [2010-09-28 07:58:03 +0000 UTC]
Now THAT is good and proper! I never really approved of memes, myself, though I am not above doing one or two a year.
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Pandagalartist [2010-02-19 03:04:58 +0000 UTC]
Hmm...I don't think I've stumbled across this particular meme, but I think this is quite interesting!
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Shujy In reply to Pandagalartist [2010-02-19 14:52:42 +0000 UTC]
^^ Arigatou!
Er... is it tough to read, though? ;_; That's been the prevailing critique thus far.
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Pandagalartist In reply to Shujy [2010-02-22 04:32:03 +0000 UTC]
Well, I think it depends on your style preference...? It's not exactly as "concise" as a lot of texts these days, but if I focus then I don't think it's exactly tough to read XD;
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Shujy In reply to Pandagalartist [2010-02-26 02:18:17 +0000 UTC]
Er... I-I'd rather it not be tough to read at all... do you have any suggestions for trimming the fat and whatnot?
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Pandagalartist In reply to Shujy [2010-03-07 22:38:03 +0000 UTC]
Hmm, I suppose being more sparing in your use of awesome vocabulary...? While that might sound odd, I think some brains--if they're wired similarly to mine--will have a nasty habit of automatically fast-forwarding through the text if they come across summat like, "...the oxymoronic stoic indignation unilaterally evinced..."
The prospect of trying to look through to see what sort of "fat" should be trimmed makes me sad though; I really enjoy the way the wording flows together once I remind myself to properly read through.
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Shujy In reply to Pandagalartist [2010-03-11 20:05:18 +0000 UTC]
O_O That's... I don't even remember using that many big words all at once.
That's probably a bad thing. Or at least not a terribly good thing. I-I'm glad that I've got a bit of a flow going, but it'd probably still be better to smooth it out and not just obfuscate darn near everything.
^^ This really helped out a lot! Arigatou!
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Pandagalartist In reply to Shujy [2010-03-13 15:56:18 +0000 UTC]
XDDD; Aww, Shuj.
No problem. :3
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Lumoroske [2010-02-17 18:55:31 +0000 UTC]
Very dense... quite a lexicon you have there @_@ It was interesting if a bit tedious to read.
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Shujy In reply to Lumoroske [2010-02-17 23:25:51 +0000 UTC]
Sorry about that... ;_; I don't suppose you'd be willing to help point out what needs pruning the most?
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Tagyr [2010-02-16 04:22:52 +0000 UTC]
My head hurts, and I don't know why. I don't seem to be able to follow the language you used up there, which is deplorable, given my love and admiration for reading anything. I know you had a point, and from what I could gather it was that a certain meme is awful, simply because its meant to see who is your true friends? Or that your true friends would not fill out this Meme?
I'm sorry, I'm not being constructive or useful in any shape or even complimentive. Which is not a word. Well I'll just go fade into obscurity again. Maybe I'll understand it if I read it again
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Shujy In reply to Tagyr [2010-02-16 05:42:13 +0000 UTC]
;_; No, I'm fully prepared to accept the blame here. I've gotten into a nasty habit of trotting out the densest bits of my vocabulary I've scrounged up, and it's gotten to the point where even I get rather disoriented when trying to make sense of what I've just written.
^^ This is actually rather constructive - it confirms what I've been thinking for quite some time now, that I need to be willing to give up the chance to show off a few five-dollar words in exchange for comprehension and plain ole readability. Thankee kindly for it!
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Tagyr In reply to Shujy [2010-02-16 05:53:25 +0000 UTC]
Yes, it is perfectly ok to use big words, however, one must use them in moderation. Unless one is a lawyer or an IT.
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Shujy In reply to Tagyr [2010-02-16 06:09:31 +0000 UTC]
I'm starting to think that I might need a crash course in simplification, to be perfectly honest - I don't suppose you'd be able to offer a few pointers?
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Tagyr In reply to Shujy [2010-02-16 06:13:54 +0000 UTC]
Did you want specific examples here or just in general?
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Shujy In reply to Tagyr [2010-02-16 13:44:59 +0000 UTC]
Hm... Well, if it's not too great a bother, both would be lovely...
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Shujy In reply to readthewholelibrary [2010-02-16 04:26:46 +0000 UTC]
^^ Arigatou! Glad to know I'm not the only one!
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Aeorys [2010-02-15 23:54:04 +0000 UTC]
Oh, this one. Wasn't it a journal meme, though?
And yeah, to be honest, I didn't read it all the way through. My eyes were skimming, but my brain was saying "NUH-UH, GIRLFRIEND." So yeah. Uh, hi. :]
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Shujy In reply to Aeorys [2010-02-16 04:24:20 +0000 UTC]
It was, and originally I planned on submitting it as a journal, but once I was done it just didn't seem very... journally?
;_; Girlfriend? B-but I'm a guy!
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Shujy In reply to TheSylverLining [2010-02-16 04:25:27 +0000 UTC]
I'm so relieved to know that it's not just me!
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Shujy In reply to DrearyWishes [2010-02-16 04:23:30 +0000 UTC]
O-oh, sorry, it means thank you! ^^ I'm very appreciative!
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DrearyWishes In reply to Shujy [2010-02-17 03:53:22 +0000 UTC]
Oh haha that's what i thought.. but ASSuming and what not.. And you're welcome
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Shujy In reply to DrearyWishes [2010-02-17 05:07:16 +0000 UTC]
^^ S'alright, assumptions are perfectly safe so long as there's no foul intent behind them!
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