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Monday 28 March 2016

Understanding empathy, a tee and a B-side

Chairman Mozziah says

I probably should be posting part whatever of my Maladjusted essay, but I've lost interest (drama can be exhausting), so here's something else to upset people instead. Recently, Our Mozzer as the @BRSChairman tweeted:
It sparked quite a few replies:

Shoving aside the philosophical existentialism of identities (including pessoa), I'm interested in the concepts of truth, boundaries and attraction.

The Dramatically Delude Dozen of the #BRS frequently share divergent opinions, not least about issues relating to Our Mozzer and often about each other. Hence the various schisms over Faggate and Supremegate and the responses to my Jimmy Saville readings of Maladjusted songs. Only Morrissey knows the truth of his own actions, the inspirations for lyrics and fonts and the plethora of issues and rumors which surround him. The rest of us can guess or research, defend or reel back in bewilderment. Or try to understand.

Morrissey planning a holiday in the land of Skippy and Home and Away in a luxurious Supreme caravan. 
I can't claim to know what specifically led to the empathy tweet. Was it somethings that we tweeted or was Morrissey having a bad day with yes men? Maybe he felt the need to be challenged? Was the Mozziah experiencing a Monty Python moment? Is it that we see the Mozziah as our savior, to tell us there's nothing wrong with us? I mean, it's not like he cultivates a cult-like following, doesn't want to be judged etc. I dunno and I wouldn't expect an illuminating answer if I asked. Only Marcus replied with challenging questions, which were, of course, unanswered: just like prayer.

Who would seek empathy from a fully grown man who rides a short equine?

Anyway, the pessoa @BRSChairman doesn't was us seeking empathy from him. He wants us to be truthful and to be ourselves; although I'm sure that seeking empathy and being honest and yourself are not mutually exclusive.

Or I'll kill you

I must admit, that when I disagree with Morrissey or with Our Mozzer's pessoas, or even with other members of the #BRS, I tend to remain silent. I pretend not to have seen the tweet or post. Or, I reply with a tangential deflection.

One example of where I disagree with Morrissey and some other #BRS members is with a certain vegan t-shirt. I even felt a slight pang when Moby posted a pic of a man with illustrated arms wearing one (minus the Morrissey branding).
I agreed with the highlighted comment.
I made a tangential joke in reply to a photographic tweet of Miss Misery wearing the said item of clothing. I went for empathy over challenge.


You can buy this t-shirt at the Mporium and there are numerous non-Moz variations. OK, it's meant to be ironic. I get that. It's just something that I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing.

As a vegan, I can empathize with Morrissey wanting to reach for his arms cache shelved on the top bunk of his Supreme caravan at the Tweed Heeds South Big 4, as the stench of unholy murder drifts over from the evening's ritual BBQing. But I'm not a murderous zealot. And neither is Morrissey, nor, presumably, Miss Misery.

I just wouldn't want some crazed vegan doing a shooting spree at a Macca's like messed-up omnivore James Huberty did - especially if they were wearing a t-shirt like this or if the cops later found one in their closet.

I also wouldn't want veggies to do something like the recent lynching at Dadri, where a Hindu mob murdered a Muslim man and injured his son because they were thought to be eating dead cattle during Ahimsa (alas, they were wrong, it was mutton in the fridge and on not bovine), To quote The Times of India:

The real issue here is whether we will allow lynch mobs to enforce their dietary and cultural choices on others and let them get away with murder. Neither the state and central governments nor civil society should lose sight of that...

Christian Dior
A lot of people, including Mozziaphiles and members of the #DDD, have issue with many of Morrissey's pronouncements. I'm not talking about the hysterical responses in the media or the negativity at SoLow, but the reactions of people otherwise empathetic to Morrissey.

The thing is, Morrissey reads a lot, is apparently active on Twitter, spends a fair bit of time on YouTube, has a need to be heard and has identity issues, as played out via the pessoa. These things are referenced in numerous songs and interviews, TTY statements and Our Mozzer's Twitter personalities. What we have are a potent mix of exposure to many varied and conflicting world views and a complex, fantasy-prone personality.

As an aside, yes, conspiracy theories as we now know them did exist before the Interwebs became popular and any blithering idiot could create a website or a YouTube channel devoted to their own ignorance and paranoia. I mention this because in pondering Morrissey's interest in conspiracies, I wondered if they pre-dated his LA exile, but then realized that any well read, library, newsagent and book shop loafing oaf would have access to plenty of conspiracy theory literature. And I should know, because I used to be one.



So, what has this to do with a fashion designer? Let me quote a possibly overrated B-side ditty.

I could've run loudly and proudly 
all forcible entry 
and morally bankrupt 
and never non-violent 
and drawn to what scares me 
and scared of what bores me 
years alone will never be returned

It's a song that's a reflection on choices, including Morrissey's own choices for the pursuit of a career.

But I think the most revealing lines are what's I've highlighted in bold. Although the context of the lyrics claim otherwise, Morrissey is drawn to what scares him and scared of what bores him. Hence things like the videos with skin heads, the UKIP statement, the conspiracy theory stuff and Our Mozzer following Alex Jones on Twitter. And hence the I'll kill you tee.

It all adds to his mystique, but is a product of his adventuring and contrarian nature. He's drawn to what scares him and inevitably shares some of that with us. I think it explains a lot about Morrissey, Our Mozzer and the pessoa phenomena.

I could say more, but you get the general idea.

Tuesday 8 March 2016

The MorrisseysWorldVision Pessoa Contest

Preamble

Morrissey doesn't do social media. He's said so, not misquoted or taken out of context, but officially on TTY, THREE times concerning the Morrissey's World blob alone. He's also denied involvement with other Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts that have also claimed the air of officialdom.

Can he make it any clearer? Nope.

And yet, there still exists the Blue Rose Society, a fractious and Dramatically Deluded 1/2 Dozen who believe otherwise. It is an article of faith among the DDD that Morrissey wants his fans to take blue roses to his concerts, although this request has never officially been stated. The request has come from other sources. As have numerous predictions, which Morrissey has conveniently made come true.

The sources that are arguably the real Morrissey, hiding in plain sight and communicating online through Blogger and Twitter (and even So-Low) are a variety of persona, known to the DDD as pessoa (in honor of the heteronyms created by Fernando Pessoa). Each pessoa is a unique identity, with its own history, interests and writing style.

Here, your intrepid triumvirate of TWoM blobbers (orange mécanique, Jjazmine and comrade harps) are charting the top pessoa, but we'd very much appreciate if the rest of the DDD members, should there be any, would give their votes in the comment section. After all, this is a contest, as we'd never post a bloody countdown (or steal the idea and just modify it slightly). Our key performance indicators are:

  • Coincidence counter
  • Literary appeal
  • Enigmatic otherness factor 
  • C**t factor

Coincidence counter obviously includes accuracy of predictions, literary appeal covers blog comments as well as twitticisms, and the rest is self-explanatory. DJ judgement was debated as a possibility by the panel of THREE, but our jukebox jury decided (after much debate in the toilets of The Wrong Arms) that all pessoas would pretty much achieve full scores on musical taste, with possibly one exception, so it was dropped.

One of the critical debates was finding agreement on which pessoa to include. Along the journey there have been many false Mozziahs, with Italian housewives having been misidentified and some bedsit malcontents having been outed as fakers faking. Some have been prematurely consigned to the gulag only to be validated and levitated to the status of rehabilitated at a later date. The identity of others remains a popular topic in the several virtual pubs where the DDD conspire and debate. Thus, after some intercontinental messaging between breakfasts, dinners, work and sleeps, the TWoM THREEsome agreed on the following pessoa to compete in the coveted MorrisseysWorldVision Contest:

  • AlfsButton 
  • Astraea 
  • Broken 
  • BRSChairman 
  • Mademoiselle Fifi 
  • Not Astra's Derrière 
  • Our Mozzer

Pessoa Contest Rules

In good tradition of the once fabulous Concours Eurovision de la Chanson, each DDD member is asked to award 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 point(s) to each pessoa of choice (ideally all of them) in each category. If you decide to vote anonymously, please give yourself a creative, ridiculously stupid, or just any name. Otherwise, we'll do it for you...


DDD Votes

Orange Mécanique

AlfsButton

Coincidence counter: 10 (dix points)
Literary appeal: 5 (cinq points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 8 (huit points)
C**t factor: 3 (trois points)

Astraea

Coincidence counter: 2 (deux points)
Literary appeal: 12 (douze points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 7 (sept points)
C**t factor: 2 (deux points)

Broken

Coincidence counter: 3 (trois points)
Literary appeal: 3 (trois points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 8 (huit points)
C**t factor: 12 (douze points)

BRSChairman

Coincidence counter: 7 (sept points)
Literary appeal: 5 (cinq points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 2 (deux points)
C**t factor: 5 (cinq points)

Mademoiselle Fifi

Coincidence counter: 1 (un point)
Literary appeal: 7 (sept points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 8 (huit points)
C**t factor: 1 (un point)

Not Astra's Derrière

Coincidence counter: 1 (un point)
Literary appeal: 2 (deux points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 3 (trois points)
C**t factor: 1 (un point)

Our Mozzer

Coincidence counter: 12 (douze points)
Literary appeal: 10 (dix points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 12 (douze points)
C**t factor: 8 (huit points)


comrade harps

AlfsButton

Coincidence counter: 8 (huit points)
Literary appeal: 7 (sept points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 7 (sept points)
C**t factor: 2 (deux points)

Astraea

Coincidence counter: 2 (deux points)
Literary appeal: 12 (douze points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 10 (dix points)
C**t factor: 1 (un point)

Broken

Coincidence counter: 5 (cinq points)
Literary appeal: 7 (sept points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 5 (cinq points)
C**t factor: 12 (douze points)

BRSChairman

Coincidence counter: 7 (sept points)
Literary appeal: 10 (dix points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 5 (cinq points)
C**t factor: 5 (cinq points)

Mademoiselle Fifi

Coincidence counter: 3 (trois points)
Literary appeal: 12 (douze points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 10 (dix points)
C**t factor: 1 (un point)

Not Astra's Derrière

Coincidence counter: 1 (un point)
Literary appeal: 3 (trois points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 2 (deux points)
C**t factor: 1 (un point)

Our Mozzer

Coincidence counter: 10 (dix points)
Literary appeal: 12 (douze points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 12 (douze points)
C**t factor: 10 (dix points)


Jjazmine

AlfsButton

Coincidence counter: 3 (trois points)
Literary appeal: 6 (six points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 8 (huit points)
C**t factor: 2 (deux points)

Astraea

Coincidence counter: 3 (trois points)
Literary appeal: 12 (douze points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 10 (dix points)
C**t factor: 1 (un point)

Broken

Coincidence counter: 8 (huit points)
Literary appeal: 10 (dix points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 12 (douze points)
C**t factor: 5 (cinq points)

BRSChairman

Coincidence counter: 5 (cinq points)
Literary appeal: 7 (sept points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 10 (dix points)
C**t factor: 4 (quatre points)

Mademoiselle Fifi

Coincidence counter: 3 (trois points)
Literary appeal: 8 (huit points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 10 (dix points)
C**t factor: 4 (quatre points)

Not Astra's Derrière

Coincidence counter: 2 (deux points)
Literary appeal: 7 (sept points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 8 (huit points)
C**t factor: 3 (trois points)

Our Mozzer

Coincidence counter: 10 (dix points)
Literary appeal: 12 (douze points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 12 (douze points)
C**t factor: 5 (cinq points)


Derek Sandy

AlfsButton

Coincidence counter: 7 (sept points)
Literary appeal: 6 points (six points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 6 points (six points)
C**t factor: 7 points (sept points)

Astraea

Coincidence counter: 6 (six points)
Literary appeal: 8 (huit points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 7 (sept points)
C**t factor: 6 (six points)

Broken

Coincidence counter: 8 (huit points)
Literary appeal: 10 (dix points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 10 (dix points)
C**t factor: 12 (douze points)

BRSChairman

Coincidence counter: 10 (dix points)
Literary appeal: 12 (douze points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 12 (douze points)
C**t factor: 10 (dix points)

Mademoiselle Fifi

Coincidence counter: 12 (douze points)
Literary appeal: 7 (sept points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 8 (huit points)
C**t factor: 8 (huit points)

Not Astra's Derrière

Coincidence counter: 5 (cinq points)
Literary appeal: 5 (cinq points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 5 (cinq points)
C**t factor: 5 (cinq points)

Our Mozzer

Coincidence counter: 10 (dix points)
Literary appeal: 12 (douze points)
Enigmatic otherness factor: 12 (douze points)
C**t factor: 10 (dix points)


Current Results

AlfsButton:

Coincidence counter: 28/48

Literary appeal: 24/48

Enigmatic otherness factor: 29/48

C**t factor: 14/48




Astraea:

Coincidence counter: 13/48

Literary appeal: 44/48

Enigmatic otherness factor: 34/48

C**t factor: 10/48




Broken:

Coincidence counter: 24/48

Literary appeal: 30/48

Enigmatic otherness factor: 35/48

C**t factor: 41/48



BRSChairman:

Coincidence counter: 29/48

Literary appeal: 34/48

Enigmatic otherness factor: 29/48

C**t factor: 24/48




Mademoiselle Fifi:

Coincidence counter: 19/48

Literary appeal: 34/48

Enigmatic otherness factor: 36/48

C**t factor: 14/48




Not Astra's Derrière:

Coincidence counter: 10/48

Literary appeal: 17/48

Enigmatic otherness factor: 18/48

C**t factor: 10/48




Our Mozzer:

Coincidence counter: 42/48

Literary appeal: 46/48

Enigmatic otherness factor: 48/48

C**t factor: 33/48