[WikiEN-l] CDcovermeme

[John Lee]

On Jan 30, 2008 8:27 AM, Daniel R. Tobias <dan at tobias.name> wrote:
> I find it interesting how often this random selection comes up with
> combinations of band names, album titles, and images that give the
> impression of having some sort of deep symbolic artistic
> significance... makes one wonder how many of the real-world arts-and-
> literature stuff, about which people write academic treatises
> discussing what they represent, were really just born of random
> thoughts of their artists.  I remember struggling in English classes
> in high school and college (where I was great at more "rational"
> subjects like math and computer science) where the teachers kept
> expecting me to understand all the symbolism that was supposedly
> there in the books and stories we read (the rocking horse isn't just
> a rocking horse... it represents the lost innocence of childhood!),
> but how is anybody to know what symbolism was really intended and
> what is a figment of the observer's imagination?

I feel less lonely now. =) With training I've become marginally better
at figuring out where the symbols are, and taking a stab
("bullshitting", I call it) at what they represent, but I'm never
confident that I've done it right. Surprisingly I always seem to be
right, which only confirms my belief that I am bullshitting and
symbolism is bullshit.

Johnleemk