Arturo, the aqua boy!
Yes, I have. Great book. It’s the first thing I thought about when I was reading her site. If she’s kidding, that rides the fence between the yards of you’re pretty funny and you’re a total shithead.
If she’s serious, then I think it can be summed up as this:
So, you didn’t get enough attention from mommy and daddy, huh?
Badtz, if you don’t mind, I’m going to have to upgrade that from a “somewhat disturbing link” to “totally freakin’ mind-bending link.” I mean, how am I supposed to get anything done at work now that I’ve read that girl’s “fantasy” story? I’m at a complete loss. What a sad, tormented, and yet naively optimistic young thing. I’ve seen and heard a lot of weird crap, but this one’s really gotten to me. She feels so out of touch with the world that in order to fit in, she needs to become an amputee to pinpoint a group to identify with. I’m just going to wander around the office aimlessly with a faraway look in my eyes for the next few hours . . .
An really interesting series of article on the possible psychology behind this desire/illness here.
Fran
If Peter Greenaway uses it as a plot device, chances are it’s considered by many to be… not right.
Speaking of which, woohoo! A Zed and Two Noughts is out on DVD, widescreen, baby! This film gives a compelling argument for amputation as a way of restoring symmetry.
To clarify - I think she shouldnt have kids in case she decides they would be happier with HOOKS instead of hands.
Did you read that link?
She is planning an ‘accident’ to lose her hands so no doctor would be able to reattach them. Would you want her caring for an infant who cant tell the doctor that mommmy did it on purpose?
Of course people with no hands can care for children, sheeesh.
(thanks Dave smootch)
Ok, this to me is like one of those End Of The World things. Just wait. Come May or June, you won’t hear a peep from this freak, 'cause it’s never gonna really happen, 'cause all that stuff IS NOT REAL. No one but an advertiser shoves “DORRANCE #5X STAINLESS STEEL HOOKS” into the verbage at every single opportunity. I mean, this is like me saying “So I’ve decided to blow my head off, and I’m going to use my trusty .22 caliber Ruger pistol, which, by the way, never misfires or your money back!” What freaks me out is the twisted method they’ve got going here. These are some seriously demented people. If I ever lose my arms below the elbows, remind me never to buy my hooks from this company.
runs yelling down the hall
Kelli smooched me! Kelli smooched me! WHOOOHOOO!
My member is now as hard as a DORRANCE #5X STAINLESS STEEL HOOK;).
swoons
DORRANCE #5X STAINLESS STEEL HOOKS
Does anyone know if there even is such a company?
What puzzles me is why she must have the #5X? Why not #3R and L? Is it a special model? Do you get some Ginsu knives with every purchase, so that your next dismemberment is easier than cutting a tin can?
If I believed in a Hell, I’m on a runaway bobsled to it, for this post
WAG here, but any chance that Dorrance isn’t a brand at all, but a style of hook?
I must be really really jaded, cuz beyond finding her self deluded optimism about the utopian world or hooks for hands. this wasn’t nearly as horrifying to me as I though it would be based on all the posts I read first.
Not to say that you aren’t all justified in reacting that way. quite the opposite. I’m starting to wonder about my own sense of detachment.
CJ
“Somewhat”? WTF do you mean by “somewhat”? I really think I am going to have nightmares about that woman.
The main thing that disturbed me was her writing style - she comes across as someone who, if not exactly retarded, is somewhat ‘slow’. The fact that she is married (or dating?) a guy whose ex-wife had the exact same kind of amputation that she wants is very disturbing too.
Ok, fair enough, I misread you. Apologies. offers hand to shake friends?
Fran
Perhaps her fiance is the sicko. His previous girlfriend was an amputee, and now she has this burning desire to be one. He could take some twisted pleasure out of dating women that are a little unstable or otherwise mentally handicapped, and convincing them to amputate their hands.
Or not.
Hmmm! I resemble that remark…and it just now occurred to me that the recent Atlantic Monthly article on this subject might be archived on the web…A New Way to be Mad.
Hmmm.
I can see real “annoying catch-phrase potential” here…
Redboss
I did a Google search to see if I could find anything on whatever company manufacturers those hooks, and came across this: http://cartalk.cars.com/Mail/BBS/Rant-And-Rave/18624x0.html. It’s the same woman writing, but as though the “accident” has already taken place - she makes note of several specific dates that haven’t occurred yet in 2001. Maybe this whole thing is some kind of bizarre creative writing exercise. There are lots of little things in the narrative (besides the dates) that don’t quite make sense.
She (or the character if this is a “story”) is also clearly obsessed with her myopia and how thick her lenses are - she repeats the words “thick plastic lenses” almost as much as “Dorrance #5X stainless steel hooks” and “my beautiful twin body-powered prostheses.” Creative writing or not, the whole thing is weird.
Hell yes friends!
smoootch!! Ha! I kiss you!
missbunny, that link gat me an error page, but maybe you came across her “fantasy” writing. She wrote a really long story set in the future about what life is like after her “accident.” Badtz is right, she writes like a child. I at least expected some kind of sexual aspect in this fantasy, but there wasn’t anything sexual about it (unless I missed it, I had to start skimming because it was so bland). She goes on and on about how swell things are with her boyfriend and how she meets another woman who had the same kind of “accident” and they become like sisters and have a lovely time at the mall. It’s so innocuous that it makes me think she’s not kidding. If it were a joke or a creative writing assignment, I think it would be more wild, funny, or at the very least creative. I imagine she’s all wrapped up in her boyfriend’s kink about amputees and not being very bright, she wants to be what he wants her to be. I don’t think she’ll actually do it, but just the thought wigs me out completely. I showed the sight to my SO and he snuck up on me with his arms folded up in his sleeves and I lost it. It was so awful and so hilarious at the same time.
I don’t know why I’m so confounded by this particular brand of obsession, but frankly, I’m stumped! ~cue laugh track here~
shocked
I’ve never been kissed here before, let alone smooched!
::hides under t-shirt, secretly thrilled::
Fran
DeskMonkey, you could be right about the fantasy writing. What is going on in this girl’s head is unfathomable to me. Here’s the link again - I tested it on preview and it seems to work: Car News, Blogs & Analysis | Cars.com
I was contemplating this woman’s story last night after reading the Atlantic Monthly article. It occurred to me that when I first heard about transsexuals (I remember reading about Christine Jorgensen when I was about 11 or 12) and how some of them have had surgery to remove their penis, or even attempted to cut it off themselves, I never once thought it was in any way bizarre - more that such people somehow developed wrong on a cellular level and how much psychological pain they must have gone through throughout their lives before having the surgery. I never thought they must be whacked out or weird, but I cannot for the life of me imagine why someone would think her life would be perfect if she could only cut off her arms. And apparently a lot of people think the same way. My mind just reels.
That’s pretty funny what your boyfriend did - just make sure he doesn’t start asking you to “help” him with his chainsaw or wood chipper! 