Max Riffner
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Egomania
I’ve been thinking about ego lately, mine in particular, while I was writing my bio (finally) for the Shocktrauma Studio site. I was instant messaging with Kenneth about how to write about yourself without coming off as a total prick. You want to make yourself sound good, though. Even if it is poncy to write about yourself in the third person, is it worse in the first?
If that isn’t enough, I was browsing my logs here for the Parlor this morning, and got two hits of self-important whoring thoughts:
- No one has commented on my I Remember Montsers post, and something inside me is kind of sad about that. My ego demands feedback; feedback and stroking!
- I get hits for some bizarre search terms off of Google (hello deviants who look for Butt Love), and occasionally I get visitors for “sexy drawings.” My ego-ridden mind thinks… should I add a pin-up section? I love to draw nekkid women, and I like my rising hit count; why shouldn’t I? It’s like peanut butter and jelly!
Both of these are shameful, or are they? This is really two different issues. Now the ‘no comment’ thing is not a big deal (sniffle, sob), because no one may care about what a particular post’s contents were about; I understand that. I’ve tried not to be a comment whore, but those damn little things are addictive! It’s proof that I am not just screaming out into the void (and I thank all twelve of you), but by that rationale, is it the only reason that I am writing? No, I would want to write anyway, so that is pretty easy to move past.
However, were I to do a pin-up section for instance, does that not feed into the greater good, and by the greater good, I mean showing off my drawing skills to potential comic book buying customers? Is it a business opportunity in disguise to turn Google visitors looking for pinups into customers, as well as an ego booster (c’mon… you can just see the hit counter rising as we speak)? I mean, it isn’t like my sketchbooks are not already filled with material; I’ve made no secret that I love the female form, especially in pin-up form. Plus, isn’t this what the Internet was made for, looking for questionable images? What if I took said pin-ups and made them a purchasable item, like a print? What would my mother think (not to mention the Chief)?!
How much does modesty hurt you, or ego for that matter? What is the perfect balance?
I don’t really care about the women in them, I don’t find them especially erotic or sexual… I just love the humor and the style of it. They’re such a great slice of… well, of Americana, if you will.
Exactly my thoughts on the subject. I first fell in love with pin-ups by looking through a book of nose art – paintings on WW2 planes from the popular pin-up artists of the time (Vargas, in particular). It wasn’t sexual at all. It was almost like a totem or a form of protection on the plane – “Our girl will see us home.”
Let me make that clear now: there would be no graphic depictions of sex. You hit it on the head, Kenneth, it is about playfulness, humor, and style.
I don’t think they’d add anything to your site, though. Seems to me like it would throw people off.
But since it is an interest of mine, would it be okay then? I mean, if people are coming here just for the writing, do they already get tripped up by mentions of comics or design? Is it any different from the awesome eyeheartzombies.com mp3 offerings? I don’t know, and I’m not sure either way.
But that’s just my $0.02, so take it as you will.
An always appreciated 2 cents!
Well, you’ve got a point on the MP3s (dammit all!), but my rebuttal there is that most of what I post are bands I’ve mentioned in posts…but still, you’ve got a point.
I think if you have them a nice section of their own, like Golden Boy and the Parlor, then it would fit in just fine. I was thinking more of an aggressive, front page approach. That would be bad, I think.
You know what? Go for it. It’s your site, and if it doesn’t work, you can always take it off.
I was thinking more of an aggressive, front page approach. That would be bad, I think.
I completely agree. It would either be a small thumbnail on Parlor, or section off of maxriffner.com, I think.
I think my overall problem with adding it is, would I feel like I was cheating a bit, even though there is interest obviously on my part and by Google searchers? I don’t know, it could be a non-issue, really.
Google’s a funny thing. I get hits from people looking for all sorts of strange things. Most of the stuff makes sense (torrents and music-related, bands/movies/video games i’ve mentioned, names)...but then I get referrals from sex sites and foreign search engines (that seem to have only one or two buttons total. I’m not sure how you use them, as I can’t read the text). I don’t think you could cater to it’s whims.
But if you’re interested in doing the pin-ups, and the current readership would be interested in seeing them (I would), I don’t think they would hurt the site (done as we’ve mentioned).
Besides, Google’s a whore. It’ll embrace anyone with a meta tag (yes, yes, I know Google doesn’t read meta tags…it’s a joke, ya tight ass!)
Pinups are the essense of the American spirit. A WWII plane just wouldn’t be as appealing without the sensual drawing of a red-headed bombshell, pouting her lips and winking at you as if saying, “Yeah, touch this plane. Go ahead.”
If I had lived in those days I would have been the guy drawing those ladies on the sides of planes. ;)
google is a weird thing.
For awhile, i had some odd sex linkage stuff, but it eventually went away.
Pinups are cool.
My grandpa did some wicked ass pinups for magazines in the 1940’s. He still has the paintings hanging in one of the rooms in his house. I grew up not thinking they were not a big deal whatsoever…I just loved the vintage look and didn’t even think they were sexual in anyway. Just funny and cool.
ChiefOct 22, 02:56 AM
Pinups are cool!
And just an aside, whenever someone ends a paragraph in a question, I immediately hear Sarah Jessica Parker’s voice reading it “Sex in the City” style.
BronsonOct 23, 02:26 PM
Max, you and Andrea need to go to blog comment rehab. Could N set this up? Andrea could lose her car keys, stub her toe, and have the stomach flu for two days and not even say a word about it. But, if nobody comments on her blog entry…”Here’s Johnny!” [Complete with axe n’ all.]
Speaking of grandads and drawing the ladies, my granddaddy drew and sculpted quite a few naked women (many being mermaids, and none being pinups), but I grew up with the same unconcerned, natural attitude about the female form in art as I’m sure Kate did. I just see it all as art. I know some people are overly sensitive when it comes to that sort of thing, but you wouldn’t scare me off if you included pinups in you site.
As far as comments go, I’m a sad case. I love to see comments on my own site, but I’m a lazy ass when it comes to leaving them. Just plain lazy.
You can also browse through the Parlor archives.
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Oct 20, 05:01 AM
You know I read your site daily, along with several otehrs that I consider must-reads (mostly friends and internet acquaintences), but I don’t leave many comments. Usually, if something requires me to tell you something, I’ll just hit you up on AIM or the like…but somtimes you have to leave a comment (like now).
As for the pin-ups…I’ve always found pin-ups to be a great art form. I don’t really care about the women in them, I don’t find them especially erotic or sexual…I just love the humor and the style of it. They’re such a great slice of…well, of Americana, if you will. I don’t think they’d add anything to your site, though. Seems to me like it would throw people off. “Blog, comics, buy comics, graphic design, se—What? Sex? Pin-ups? Holy Crap!”
But that’s just my $0.02, so take it as you will.