The Monday Books folks have posted another essay on the Second Opinion blog. How did I miss this grim bit of humor when I first read the book?
In the bed next to his was a young woman with lime-green hair and a black eye. She also had a ring through her nose – I dare say that, had I asked, she would have told me she was easily led.
American slang converter:
‘humor’ – humour
I remember that line! 🙂 In the UK now one sees an incredible amount of people with metalwork in their faces, and “flesh tunnels” (holes big enough to poke your finger though in people’s earlobes) have become so common as to be highly conformist and not rebellious at all (much to the frustration, perhaps, of their bearers).
I often wonder what those people will look like in old age, especially since earlobes seem to be disproportionately large on the elderly without any such encouragement.
I’ve got the book and I’ve read that before but it still gets you no matter how often you read it.
At the risk of sounding “humour-challenged” myself, I’d like to point out that ‘humor’/’humour’ does not belong in the American slang converter. This is a difference of spelling between the British and American dialects of English. American English drops the ‘u’ from ‘our’ endings like colour/color, humour/humor, flavour/flavor, etc. I wouldn’t call that slang in any sense of that word that I’ve ever heard.
Here is a particularly severe example of what I was talking about (brace yourself): http://bit.ly/9lpMC1
I believe this self mutilation is indicative of a mental disorder – would be interested in TD’s views.
Also, on a completely different note, I hope he reviews this book…
http://amzn.to/dvnOkY
Henry – true enough. I think Steve was being self deprecating with that! 🙂
Not to belabour the point, but I was just endeavouring to use some humour.
“I believe this self mutilation is indicative of a mental disorder”
No, conservatism is a mental disorder (ask any member of the intellectual Left to dilate upon the Tea Party). And — thinking of the charming young fellow in your photograph — self-expression is surely a human right! …Though one, I fear, that we may so far have overlooked.
But not to worry! I’ve little doubt that one day the United Nations will move to ensure that those Caucasians who self-identify through their body art as Maori/Masai/Mayan/etc. (or some combination thereof) will be able to sue for racial discrimination should they encounter employment difficulties.