https://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?27817-The-Mephistophelean-Manifesto The largest classic literature discussion forum on the Internet. Read Write Teach Share. en Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:01:02 GMT vBulletin 10 https://www.online-literature.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg https://www.online-literature.com/forums/blog.php?27817-The-Mephistophelean-Manifesto https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?7204-Literary-Snobbishness Fri, 16 Jan 2009 18:10:58 GMT I don't get it.

Does the very existence of Twilight or Harry Potter somehow stop people from cracking open one of their dusty old tomes?

Is there suddenly less room in the world that producing a variety of reading material threatens to stretch us to some limit?

Does reading old stories somehow make you feel superior to people who read new ones? Why?

I love old books. Shakespeare is my favorite writer to read, I love the vivid imagery, the characters, the side-splitting comedy (Midsummer Night's Dream for example) the absolute tragedy. The man has no equal IN MY OPINION. That doesn't mean that I don't think others should enjoy exactly what makes them happy even if it is Twilight or Harry Potter or See Spot Run for f*cks sake.

As with most other forms of artistic expression, I try to embrace all writers of all genres as best as I can stand to because in my field of study I know Van Gogh, for example, was ridiculed for "fingerpainting". Not trying to say that one writer is as good as another but rather that there is room for all thought despite whether or not we personally like it. ]]> MattG https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?7204-Literary-Snobbishness https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?7148-One-of-the-funniest-threads-on-the-boards Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:58:02 GMT ...can be found right here.

I don't at all have the inclination to join in that self propelling and circuitous behemoth over there as it seems that reasonable posts have been largely ignored.

As such, I'll comment here. I think it's utterly ridiculous to say that something is terrible without having read it. It'd be like someone who's never read Dickens saying that Dickens is dry and boring and therefore a terrible writer who writes terrible stories.

It would be much more reasonable to simply say that a particular work is unappealing to one's own sensibilities and leave it at that.

I'll never understand why people think they know what's best for others.

That sentiment translates across all facets of life, unfortunately. ]]> MattG https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?7148-One-of-the-funniest-threads-on-the-boards https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?7124-Derelict Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:10:19 GMT I really like the word derelict and I also tend to like things that are derelict.

I've found that I have an odd attraction to crumbling buildings, rotting houses and the rusted hulks that used to be Fords and Chevys. As a child I searched out junkyards and would spend hours and days just looking at old stuff.

As I was driving past a staved in and rusted trailer house the other day I was subject to a sort of epiphany about it all. My fascination stems not so much from the object but from the history behind the object.

At some point in time these relics were the very pinnacle of import to someone. Someone dreamed up the design, someone planned the manufacturing, someone advertised the product, someone sold it, someone loved it and bought it. How could it now be so unimportant as to rest by the roadside uncared for? What happened to all of those people who brought whatever it was to life? I love to look at the lines, the designs, the styles of things past and see how those motifs were echoed elsewhere. I love radios from the 20's, 30's and 40's. I love how the old diners and buildings looked just like those radios and how the design sensibilities permeated the culture of the time. Seeing these things discarded works just like a time machine for me though where I go in my mind is an idealized representation of what was.

Secondary to this I realized that the search for motivation is one root of my never tiring fascination for all that is derelict. I wonder why things are the way they are and my mind is ever cross referencing this tidbit to that one.

Today, as I wander through junkyards and crumbling buildings I know that I am like them. I am degenerating exactly as they are, my facade showing rust and age as theirs does. In the religion threads people are arguing whether someone toiled to make me or whether I'm a cosmic accident. It doesn't much matter to me to be honest. That's almost ironic, isn't it? ]]> MattG https://www.online-literature.com/forums/entry.php?7124-Derelict