tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post2488323684234584899..comments2024-03-28T16:31:23.093-07:00Comments on Books in Northport: When Metaphor Fails: What Counts as ‘Porn’?P. J. Grathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12693462910472164289noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-37442802210114924312014-02-04T08:50:42.014-08:002014-02-04T08:50:42.014-08:00Gerry, you are too quick for me! Yes, I see what y...Gerry, you are too quick for me! Yes, I see what you mean about my having argued both sides, but do you see what I mean about the difference between a strong, vivid, obvious metaphor and a cliché? I know you do; that was a rhetorical question, i.e., not a real question at all. <br /><br />Fleda, you would love -- if you don't already -- Bergson. Life for him was not CHUNKS!P. J. Grathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12693462910472164289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-81755091697126502022014-02-03T05:21:12.697-08:002014-02-03T05:21:12.697-08:00Really smart and interesting post, Pamela. The arg...Really smart and interesting post, Pamela. The argument about language and metaphor may be a new thought in the west, but Buddhist thinkers have said exactly the same thing for 2500 years. All is metaphor. And that's okay. When we learn to live with flux, we can see life as it really is, not trapped in pre-digested chunks.fleda Brownhttp://fledabrown.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-24440699710811501912014-02-02T06:20:58.392-08:002014-02-02T06:20:58.392-08:00I don't do FB, but on the basis of what you wr...I don't do FB, but on the basis of what you wrote here, I think you ended up arguing both sides of your point - which makes sense to me, as I'm pretty sure all metaphors take their meanings from their contexts. <br /><br />I use "porn" in "violence porn" (works that pander to the appetite for loathsome details of horrors) and "ruin porn" (works that dwell on emblematic urban decay, feeding the fever dreams of the smug). These uses of "porn" are not at all humorous. In their contexts they are expressions of disgust. <br /><br />OK, I use "food porn" too - and in that context it's something different. Perhaps all language wears away as rock turns to rubble under moving glaciers. When the glaciers melt we come up with new metaphors for feelings - or for our numb inability to feel.Gerryhttp://torchlakeviews.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com