#1: All Things Being Sequels

As I was thinking about the name for this blog I realized that names are tone-setters in life. Meeting new people usually begins with an exchange of names as the jump-off point to that first-impression-forming initial conversation. I am not so interested in the Freakonomics version of names and their importance, but more in how names are used to set up a dynamic. For example, adding a title/lengthening a name is designed to give it added significance and thus skew power in its holder’s favor. Mister. Sir. Miss. Queen. Senior. President. Baron! In most cases adding a middle name is another subtle power move that elevates that person’s standing in the conversation. Even famous killers like John Wilkes Booth and John Wayne Gacy are likely known by their middle names as a way of seperating them from us.

In contrast, nicknames (usually shortening as opposed to lengthening one’s name) are given to subconsciously remind friends/family that they are not better/above you. To take it a curious step further: despite the obvious/inherent comedy of dirty-talking someone in the bedroom with intergenerational trash-talk such as: “You love it Dirty Slut The Third!”, people don’t do that because, on some level, King Henry III and the rest of the “Thirds” in history have reserved it as almost a term of supplicancy. Why dirty talk involves stripping one’s name (as well as their clothes) is a topic for another blog, but this is my attempt to explain the nuetral/anonymous name of The Bearded Baby for this blog.

This blog will be dirty. And this blog is certainly not above you. In fact, the main tenet of this blog is that it is based on the (unoriginal) idea of all things being equal. There is not a different book with better chapters for rich people nor do albums come with different sets of lyrics/chords depending on how much the person had to spend. Movies may be seen slightly differently on fancier screens, but the film itself remains the same. So that will be the focus of this blog: discussion of things on a level playing field. So though I would LOVE to talk about travel or food (though I may discuss booze as it too is a great equalizer and common-ground-creator), the fact is, they take into account the user’s variables.  I may go to Europe and have an entirely different great time than you because we are working on the uneven playing field of money and time-constraints. In order to have a meaningful discussion and understanding, we must know that we are talking about the same things.

Thanks for reading and here is the youtube video of the week featuring living genius Theo Jansen and his amazing strandbeests.