Mailer
2007-11-20 @ 9:09 p.m.

Even though Mailer was known, it always seemed to be because of his personality as opposed to his work. Mailer's personality was larger-than-life, as was his ego and his not inconsiderable gifts.

Is it me or do we thrive on....reward....personality (using the term quite loosely). If Paris Hilton had died the story would still be 'page one' fodder. Mailer's passing was a one-day story.

A big Mailer fan I'm not. I always thought his critically acclaimed work overrated and his lesser work underrated but then...De gustibus non est disputandum.

Mailer came to prominence at an exciting time. The post WWII literary scene had a yearly, unwritten 'list' of hot, young writers. In the late 1940's, that list included Mailer, Vidal, Capote and John Horne Burns. An exciting time. Mailer never climbed much higher after The Naked and the Dead. He, like Capote, burst onto the scene and then seemed to retreat an inch or two every year.

Nevertheless, artists such as Mailer make our lives and our culture richer. I wish we honored them more or at least paid them more attention than would-be, has-been or never-were film stars/personalities that accomplish little more than wedding octogenarian billionaires. Then again, maybe I'm being a bitch.

Jealousy - Had an interesting conversation the other evening with another woman involved with two men. The conversation turned to jealousy. It was her belief that someone is either jealous or not and that jealousy destroys relationships. Period. End of story.

I'm not sure about that. I'm not particularly jealous. If I were, I'd be a completely unhappy person right now given my situation. Human beings experience a wide range of emotion every day. An occasional twinge of jealousy can crop-up here and there in an otherwise happy relationship. For me, this occurs when I'm feeling vulnerable and feel that an important relationship is threatened, regardless of the reality of that threat. I've watched Steve fuck other women and felt very turned-on. But, a few weeks back, while we shopped, I caught him checking out some hot, young thing and felt a small, stirring of jealousy. It was fleeting but real.

I believe there are jealous personalities where jealousy is an all-encompassing component of their personality. We can call it jealousy but these people are really consumed by envy. Their esteem was never nurtured or has been so battered and bruised that they feel everyone, in almost every way, is their superior.

Anyway, I found it an interesting, thought-provoking conversation.

As an aside, Steve and I went to a Fall Festival a few weeks ago and he caught me in my flat-ass jeans. I also bought this for his upcoming, albeit belated, birthday festivities. I hope it arrives soon. I fell in love with it's vintage style.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.