Yeah, it’s tame by Pit standards, but what the hell. And no, it’s not an invitation to name particular posters and state why you think their sig screams “I Took The Short Bus To School!”
It’s just that I’ve been getting e-mails from a new acquaintence (off the Boards, I swear) and her sig – which she appends to every single e-mail she sends – is: “A life without cause is a life without effect – Barbarella.”
Okay. First: Barbarella? Your meaningful quote is from Barbarella? One of the worst cheese-fest excuses for bad sci-fi that ever existed? The movie in which a badly be-wigged Jane Fonda has hand sex? That Barbarella? Because that’s not a work of art generally held to convey a lot of relevance and depth.
Second: Isn’t that quote pretty much 100% wrong? Doesn’t even quoting it as a profundity indicate you have no recognition of the law of unintended consequences? Lots of what we do in life is without cause (or motive, or intent) but sure as hell has effect. The hearts we didn’t mean to break. The way we drifted into a job, or a school, or a life. The consequences of apathy and indifference. The irony is, this girl fancies herself a bit of an activist, so what I really think she means is “life without a cause is a life without effect,” but that’s still so facile as to be just plain wrong. I can deal with sigs that are are meant to be funny or ironic, but are stupid; I’m finding it harder to deal with ones that are serious and “profound” – but stupid.
Anyway, I said this was lame. But every time I get an e-mail from this chick I think “that’s the most retarded sig I’ve ever seen.” So I thought I’d share.
Actually, I Googled the phrase, “A life without cause is a life without effect” and found at least one site that attributes it to Albert Einstein. Maybe Barbarella’s screenwriter borrowed the phrase for the movie. Either way, I think it’s a great signature line. Is it possible that this new acquaintance of yours intends it to be a joke? Like you said, the idea of using a line, any line, from Barbarella is pretty laughable. Maybe that’s the point. At least, I know that’s why I’ve now chosen it for my sig.
I’m simply embarrassed by my sig. I’m so damned lazy to come up with/research a new one. I usually forget where mine’s from unless I really think about it.
For what it’s worth, it’s from Ed. He wanted to see the zebras (apparently).
