In a message dated 9/7/2001 11:32:20 AM Eastern Daylight Time, sopran@a... writes:
<< You could always include an "aside"--for example (NOTE: I'm being cynical here, but not trying to dis anyone!) >>
but judy, there was nothing inherently dissing about my comment. the possibility of someone taking it as such never occured to me and, i don't think it was taken as such. i believe it was objected to as being useless, rather than insulting, by someone who probably wasn't in the mood for such comments. i can understand that. better to just ignore it or comment privately but, it's not really a big deal.
on the other hand, another vocalister picked up the ball and ran with it so, we were able to laugh at something that probably frustrates us as well. some people deal with things with humor, some don't. is there not room for both?
using emoticons in satire is the death of satire. comedians who laugh at their own jokes are usually the only ones laughing. broadcasting the upcoming punchline with feigned laughter ruins any surprise it might have had, otherwise.
the first time i saw 'west side story', maria living at the end devestated me. in 'romeo and juliet', there is comfort in the notion that they are together in the stars. when i saw 'west side story' for the first time, because i had read 'romeo and juliet', i fully expected maria to die as well. but, when she lives, the thought of her as an old woman still pining after tony is the most despairing thought i could imagine and that realization hit me instantly, similar to the idea of one's life flashing before one's eyes. if someone had told me that she lives before i had seen it, the ending would have been ruined for me.
at both extremes, from the trite to the ultimate, the logic, for me, remains the same. put the thought out and let people react as they see fit. in that sense, the use of emoticons is telling people how to think. singers who get all emotional while they are singing limit the range in which their audience might react, too.
concerning the notion that we can't read someone's tone of voice, my deadpan delivery wouldn't have been much help either.
mike
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