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15 points
Personal Ads 1 by Ink Tea
May 9th, 2006 8:48 PM
These are from the free "City Pages" newspaper (www.citypages.com). They're intriguing to me foremost in terms of how specific the authors of these ads are, what sort of thing they're looking for, what language they use.
"Burning Steer" is from the "I Saw You" section, which is sort of the City Pages "missed connections" type thing. Burning Steer is elusive in their use of language- this is an ad to which few will understand the significance. The author is someone who will scream, but only at the encouragement of the author's intended audience. Water is a nice symbol- in a more weighty piece of writing, I'd point out water as a source of life, but also the old use of water as a symbol for both change and madness. For these purposes we'll assume the author was being literal. The author admits to timidity, an unreadiness react to an unusual/surprising/demanding situation, but a desire for redemption.
"Wanted: One" is from the Male Seeking Female section, and is indicative of a complicated desire, shrouded in a seemingly straight-forward no-nonsense facade. The things the author desires are symbols for physical companionship, not necessarily of a sexual nature. The desires are all simple, until the last phrase: "just spend the rest of our lives together". This is someone who believes he does not desire a lot, and perhaps does not desire a lot, but wants it permanently, which is rather telling.
"Hasians Only" caught my eye, because I hadn't any knowledge before of what a "hasian" was. A quick google search gave me the following options: a half-asian or a hot asian. Aside of that, the ad seemed very uninteresting. Physical stats, a wide range of desires, and a reference to a desire to be "pampered". Again, this seemed to be someone who is more interested in physicalities (not necessarily sexual) and not necessarily someone who gave thought to intellectual, philosophical, or emotional traits.
"Midlife Crisis" was strangely poetic, and surprisingly so after such a bland, self-debasing title. The repetition of the phrase "empty" indicates a knowledge of her own shortcomings and sadnesses, but the desires she expresses speak to a still strong character. Tall and natural, and also her mention of her empty pockets are all signs of a very honest personality. The desire for a non-smoker who enjoys laughter points to her unwavering standards, and also her desire and intentions to not be sad in the future.
"Burning Steer" is from the "I Saw You" section, which is sort of the City Pages "missed connections" type thing. Burning Steer is elusive in their use of language- this is an ad to which few will understand the significance. The author is someone who will scream, but only at the encouragement of the author's intended audience. Water is a nice symbol- in a more weighty piece of writing, I'd point out water as a source of life, but also the old use of water as a symbol for both change and madness. For these purposes we'll assume the author was being literal. The author admits to timidity, an unreadiness react to an unusual/surprising/demanding situation, but a desire for redemption.
"Wanted: One" is from the Male Seeking Female section, and is indicative of a complicated desire, shrouded in a seemingly straight-forward no-nonsense facade. The things the author desires are symbols for physical companionship, not necessarily of a sexual nature. The desires are all simple, until the last phrase: "just spend the rest of our lives together". This is someone who believes he does not desire a lot, and perhaps does not desire a lot, but wants it permanently, which is rather telling.
"Hasians Only" caught my eye, because I hadn't any knowledge before of what a "hasian" was. A quick google search gave me the following options: a half-asian or a hot asian. Aside of that, the ad seemed very uninteresting. Physical stats, a wide range of desires, and a reference to a desire to be "pampered". Again, this seemed to be someone who is more interested in physicalities (not necessarily sexual) and not necessarily someone who gave thought to intellectual, philosophical, or emotional traits.
"Midlife Crisis" was strangely poetic, and surprisingly so after such a bland, self-debasing title. The repetition of the phrase "empty" indicates a knowledge of her own shortcomings and sadnesses, but the desires she expresses speak to a still strong character. Tall and natural, and also her mention of her empty pockets are all signs of a very honest personality. The desire for a non-smoker who enjoys laughter points to her unwavering standards, and also her desire and intentions to not be sad in the future.
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posted by Sean Mahan on May 10th, 2006 7:46 PM
The way "Burning Steer" moves from its life-and-death stuff ("scream", "bring him back") to the author hoping to "get lucky twice" (is that a double entendre?) is pretty great. I also like "a Man who's been there".
posted by beverly penn on June 2nd, 2006 6:14 PM
You completed this task nearly one month ago, but I am just looking at it now.
Regarding "Midlife Crisis":
The mocking of personal ads be damned, there is some poetry there, as you say. I commend her ability not only to open herself up again, but for managing to do so with so few words and in such a context.
I was fooled/fascinated by the "burning" in the ad's title and "water" in the text. Why bring water? To douse the burning steer? wtf? And screaming to bring someone out? Of what, unconsciousness? But finally, I deciphered the meaning. But still, as you say, there are no specifics.