12:48 p.m. - 2006-10-04
idiosyncrasies and quirks
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
IDIOSYNCRASY: peculiarity of constitution or temperament; an individualizing characteristic or quality.
The idiosyncrasy of Viollet-le-Duc�s nineteenth-century restoration of Notre-Dame was very strange.
Eug�ne-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc was a gifted architect who spent twenty years of his life directing restoration of the cathedral in the mid-1800s. He did a marvelous job, and made every effort to remain faithful to the original design of the structure, as best it could be ascertained from the remaining structure and whatever historical documents could be unearthed.
Nevertheless, Viollet-le-Duc could not resist placing a few tiny references to himself in the restored architecture. He rebuilt the central spire of the cathedral, which had disappeared in previous centuries, and when he did so, he surrounded the spire at its base with statues of religious figures (mostly apostles). All of the figures are noble
and solemn, except one � namely, a statue of Viollet-le-Duc himself! In theory the statue is of Thomas the apostle, but in fact Viollet-le-Duc was the model.
The statue is on the southeast corner of the central spire; it is the topmost figure on that corner. It is noted that all of the figures are looking down at the ground
below, except for the statue of the architect, which appears to be looking up in amazement at the architect�s own work. Noted also the yardstick that he is holding in his hand, and his hair style, which at a distance looks mysteriously like an engineer�s pith construction helmet.
This is his subtle personal signature on the restoration. It is only visible if you are explicitly looking for it, but once you have seen it, it is hard to miss or ignore.
This statue can be easily seen from the ground, southeast of the cathedral, particularly in the square Jean XXIII. The front of the statue is not readily visible, unfortunately, since the spire is not open to the public. It can be seen from the opposite side of the cathedral, if you are on the other side of the Seine River, but that is quite a distance away.
ANYWAY, I guess we all have our little indiosyncrasies or maybe they are
QUIRKS: a peculiar trait. Our need to control something in our own life.
One of my little things is that if I make more than 3 typing errors, I have to start all over with a fresh page.
I can't leave the house unless I have make-up on.
I have to brush my teeth in the morning and at night.
I can't leave the house without using the bathroom and must use the bathroom again if I go to more than one place. i.e., home, library, shopping.
I must pick off nailpolish once it starts getting flaky.
I have to brush my hair first thing in the morning.
I eat any food I dislike before I eat the rest of the meal.
All in all, not too unusual, I guess.
There is a CURE-FOR-A-QUIRK FACILITY in England.
There are celebrities with quirks too.
MICHAEL JACKSON, no need to explain
BRUCE WILLIS; wears his wristwatch upside down.
CHRIS EUBANK: former boxer,likes to wear a bowler hat, monocle, dresses in jodhpurs and rides in a huge lorry in England.
ANNE HECHE; once proclaimed she was a "reincaration of God".
NICHOLAS CASE, once lived in a gothic castle in Hollywood with strange gargoyles, absurd furniture and statues of Pinocchio and said "weird things seem to appeal to me."
ROSEANNE BARR: claims to have 16 personalities.
URI GELLER, famous for bending spoons by thought has a 1976 Cadillac covered with 5000 bent tableware donated by celebrities including a spoon that once belonged to Winston Churchill.
NICK NOLTE, wears pajamas in public and has tanks of oxogen strapped to every room in his house and takes an oxogen tank on boats with him.
DAVID ICKE, a football pundit, once believed he was Jesus and now spends his time fighting giant lizards because they have thrown a frequency net over the world to keep higher intelligence out.
PRINCE; has changed his name several times and sometimes the name is unpronouncable.
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HERE'S A GREAT LETTER AND IF YOU ARE OFFENDED,........ TOO BAD.
Dear Kotex,
I recently noticed that the peel-off strip of my Pantiliner had a bunch of "Kotex Tips for Life" on it.
Annoying advice such as:
*Staying active during your period can relieve cramps.
*Avoiding caffeine may help reduce cramps and headaches.
*Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day to keep you hydrated and feeling fresh.
*Try Kotex blah blah blah other products...
Obviously the individual behind this was someone who has never possessed a functioning set of ovaries. Go ahead and tell a menstruating woman that drinking 6-8 glasses of water will help keep her feeling fresh. Like we need more fluid inside our bloated bodies from hell...but go ahead...
I triple-dog-friggin' dare-ya... See what happens and report back. I'll wait.
While you're at it, dump out the coffee at work and remove the chocolate from the vending machine. I garan-friggin-tee that the first responders will be females who just ovulated.
Staying active will relieve headaches & cramps...well guess what, the only activities that interest me is eating..sleeping..bitching..or crying for no apparent reason.. ...and oh...does ripping someone's head off count as a friggin activity?????
Look, females don't need or want tips for living on their feminine hygiene products. Younger girls are already hearing "helpful" crap like that from elderly relatives. Veteran females have already concocted their own recipes for survival, many containing alcohol & barbituates.
Printing out crap advice while sneaking in ads for the brand that was already purchased is just plain annoying, not to mention rude, and is enough to send a girl running to the Always brand.
It's not a fun time, but DO NOT try to cheer us up by adding smiley faces or bunnies or flowery cutesy crap to your products or the packaging.
Put the crap in a plain brown wrapper so we can throw it in our carts discreetly and have it blend in among the wine and beer.
There is nothing more annoying than having a blinding blue or even better, PINK package announcing your uterine state to everyone in the store. Why don't ya just add an in-store microphone to the damn package & announce that...
"Helloooo, another female in the store is on the rag!!!"
So take your tips for living and your cute bunnies & the smiley faces and shove them right up your behind.
P.S. How about adding a free sample of Pamprin & maybe a shot of Bourbon to your packages instead?
Love
ME
